Chapter 10

Sonia surveyed the beach from the Wave Road with a smile on her face, letting the warmth of the sun seep into her.

"I can't believe I've never been here before!" she said. "Next tour I definitely need an Alohaha concert—this place is too gorgeous to skip!"

"I suppose it's nice enough," Lyra said.

"What, is that all?"

"This human fascination with beaches still eludes me. I don't think I've ever seen a species so fascinated by a bed of sand and a large pool of salt water."

"I'm sure you'll come around eventually."

"You really think? Now that the novelty of oceans has worn off I'm inclined to think my ways are quite set."

Sonia giggled, and then turned to look up the Road. She could see Claud eagerly running in her direction, and a short ways behind him, Kidd came at a more leisurely pace. The alterations to their Wave Changes were barely noticeable: the hair-like protrusions on Claud's helmet stuck out less and had blue tips, and the blue areas on his pincers were a good deal more narrow, meanwhile the belt and trim of Kidd's uniform were now the same shade of green as the swirl designs on its legs and sleeves, which now extended to intersect with the trim, and the bell he once carried at his waist was gone.

"Sonia!" Claud shouted, skidding to a halt. "It's so great to see you!"

"Great to see you too!"

When Kidd arrived, he paused to bow slightly. "Hello, Miss Sonia, Miss Lyra. Apologies if we're a bit late, we encountered a few viruses that proved rather tenacious."

Sonia returned the bow. "No, I haven't been here long. Nice to see you again!"

Cancer materialized in front of Claud, asking, "Hey, so, you're not here because anything b-bad is going on are you?"

Appearing next to him, Goat said, "Cancer, do not be rude."

"It's a fair question! If she's asking to meet with Strong out of the blue like this, what am I supposed to think?"

"Even if something is about to happen, we must face it with courage when it comes. Be patient, and steel yourself."

Cancer scoffed. "Easy for you to say…"

Sonia's gaze drifted. "Well…it's nothing too extreme. Mr. Boreal just thought it'd be worth asking Strong to keep an eye out for us."

"Huh?" Claud said, jumping. "Sonia, if something's going down you shoulda called us! We'd be happy to swoop in and bust some chops!"

Taking a few steps back, Cancer said, "Now now, Claud, no need to be overeager."

"We haven't exactly had notice," Lyra answered. "Rest assured that should the time come to marshal our forces, you're all at the top of the list."

Claud and Kidd nodded and turned to each other, while Sonia hummed quietly.

"Then let us not waste any more time," Kidd said. "Please follow us, and we will show you to where Lord Strong resides."

Smiling quickly, Sonia said, "Ah, thank you!"

It was a short walk to where the beach gave way to a paved plaza, and rising up from behind the dozens of small shopping stands was a long building made of ancient gray stone, with a gabled roof made of rounded, bright red shingles. As they came closer Sonia noticed several lion-like statues in front of the building and on its roof, but she only examined them for a moment before noticing her friends had stopped.

"We shall go greet Lord Strong in the material world," Kidd said. "Please join us on the castle's Wave Road, and I am sure he will be willing to speak with you."

Sonia nodded and they temporarily parted ways. While Kidd and Claud went to find a point where they could get down from the Wave Road, Sonia continued through the arched doorway of the castle to find a hall with a high ceiling that housed several small displays, though her eyes were drawn to the massive computer console that took up most of the far wall. In front of it floated a Wizard who looked as if he were made of the same stone as the castle, with his body, shoulder armor, and head all having a distinct rectangular shape to them. He sported a few blue lines and green squares on his armor, and wore a red belt with gold designs along its length. A red staff with a gold tip that held three floating rings was in his hand, and as he watched over the hall, his expression never changed from the neutral, not quite stern one he had when she entered.

Kidd and Claud soon entered the hall below Sonia, and quickly made their way to where the Wizard floated. After bowing, Kidd said, "Good day, Lord Strong. Pardon the intrusion, but may we ask for a moment of your time?"

Strong's expression remained the same as he faced the children. When he spoke, his voice was deep and clear, with a very even tone that gave his words a soothing quality. "Good day to you all. I trust you are doing well?"

"Never better!" Claud said. "Hey, a friend of ours is in town, and she wanted to talk to you if you had the chance."

"Oh? A friend, you say? I would be delighted to meet her. Of course, I do have to execute a manual maintenance cycle in roughly an hour…where is your friend now?"

"She should be here now, on the Wave Road," Kidd said.

Strong looked up, spotting Sonia. She waved and took a slow step forward.

"Ah, that sort of friend," Strong said. "I should have suspected. In that case, I believe we should meet in the environmental system's Cyber Core. This way."

Kidd and Claud thanked Strong, and then they both raced back out of the castle to find a place to discreetly Wave Change. Strong disappeared inside the environmental system, and when she reached the end of the Wave Road, Sonia followed him to find a wide expanse of Road, empty save for more lion statues that lined the edges.

"Pleasure to meet you," Strong said. "My name is Strong, and I am the Administrator of the Alohaha Environmental System."

Sonia bowed. "The pleasure is all mine. Thank you very much for letting me speak with you."

Strong turned his head for a moment—a screen appeared next to him, and after he scrolled through a few lines of data, he turned back, and the screen vanished. "Forgive me, I may receive updates on the system from time to time. Now, if I had to guess, are you perhaps another Wave Change user like those boys?"

"Yes, that's right. My name is Sonia."

Lyra appeared next to her. "And I'm Lyra, from Planet FM."

Strong nodded once. "I see. And would I be correct in guessing that you are the famous Harp Note I've been hearing about?"

"Yeah, that's us," Sonia said.

"Remarkable. It is an honor to meet with someone who has been able to defend the Earth from such extravagant dangers as you have. What is it that brings you to my humble island?"

Before Sonia could respond, Claud and Kidd entered the Cyber Core. "Let us hear too!" Claud said, bounding her way. "I'm dying to know what's going on!"

"Sure," Sonia said. Turning back to Strong, she said, "I'm actually here representing WAZA. They were hoping you could assist them in monitoring the activity of a criminal organization that's been causing some trouble recently."

"Oh dear," Strong said. "That's worrisome news, but I will help in whatever way I can."

Sonia nodded, and took a moment to prepare. "Have you ever heard of Dealer?"

Strong stroked his chin. "Hmm…not that I can recall."

"Have there been any incidents of Wizards going out of control, like they were losing their minds?"

"There have been crime reports involving Wizards, but I would not say any were behaving in that fashion."

"I see…and would you be aware if there were abnormally high levels of Noise anywhere on Alohaha?"

Strong checked a screen. "Yes, the environmental system would detect such a thing. The levels have been somewhat high, but still within the levels projected as a result of the Hunter and such devices—there have not been any unusual spikes."

Sonia breathed deep. "Okay. So it sounds like they haven't been here. That's good."

"Wait, hang on," Claud said. "What's this about Noise and Wizards going out of control and stuff?"

"This group, Dealer, has been using these special cards to infuse Wizards with Noise, overwriting their programming and making them run wild. When they do, they create a lot more Noise, and then Dealer harvests it and retreats. We've been able to stop them, but…if we hadn't, plenty of people would've gotten hurt. They don't seem to care much about the results of their actions so long as they can make Noise."

"Understood," Kidd said. "So we should be on the lookout for any Wizards acting suspiciously, and any sudden rise in Noise."

Strong took a moment to look at another screen, and then returned his attention to Sonia. "Thank you for the warning, Harp Note. I shall pay special attention to the Noise levels going forward, and should I notice anything unusual I will contact WAZA at once."

"Don't you worry, Sonia!" Claud said. "If those creeps show their face around here, we'll shut 'em down faster than they can blink!"

Strong chuckled softly. "We are in good hands. These boys told me of their Wave Change abilities several months ago, and offered to assist me in maintaining order on the island. Their help has been indispensable."

"We are privileged to assist you, Lord Strong," Kidd said, bowing again. "It is an honor to work alongside the guardian deity of Alohaha."

"Yeah, and it's been a ton of fun!" Claud said.

"So that's what you've been up to?" Sonia asked. "Well, I feel better already! Just be careful, alright?"

"Of course," Claud said, "we're always careful."

"You could afford to be a bit more careful," Cancer mumbled.

"Thank you again, Strong," Sonia said. "Hopefully nothing will happen, but I'll be around to help for the next few days."

"Your help is much appreciated," Strong said. "Though, I too hope we will have no need for it."

"One last thing," Sonia said, calling up a screen of her own. "WAZA wants to provide you all with Noise Filters, to keep you safe in case Dealer does make a move, or if the Noise levels become a problem on their own."

"Be sure to hibernate while it installs," Lyra said as Sonia distributed the programs. "Once it's in place, you'll be perfectly safe from the effects of Noise."

Strong nodded. "I see. Thank you very much—we have been attempting to combat Noise using the environmental system, but our results thus far have not been encouraging. If I may ask, will this tool be made readily available at any point?"

"Definitely," Sonia said. "Once WAZA feels they've got all the bugs worked out they're planning to put Filters in a Hunter update."

"I am glad to hear it. It sounds like Noise shall soon be of no concern for the people of Alohaha."

Sonia smiled. "We'll do what we can to speed that up."

They exchanged goodbyes, and then Sonia, Kidd, and Claud left the Cyber Core and followed the Wave Road until they were outside the temple. Claud snapped his pincers and said, "Man, I can't wait to get a shot at these Dealer creeps! It's been way too long since I got a real fight!"

Kidd chuckled. "Do you mean a fight you can win?"

"Hey!" Claud said, pointing. "Our matches don't count 'cuz we're friends! I'm talking about a serious, tough battle, with real stakes!"

"Well we don't know if they'll target Alohaha for sure," Sonia said.

"Then I'll just tag along with you, Sonia! Trouble always seems to follow you, after all!"

Sonia made herself laugh, but couldn't manage much. She turned, looked at the ocean, and let her expression droop for a few seconds.

"Sonia?" Lyra asked.

She turned abruptly. "Hm?"

"I think that Wave Liner coming down the tracks is the one we're waiting for."

Spotting the transport, she said, "Oh, thanks Lyra."

"Those are your friends?" Kidd asked.

Sonia nodded. "Yeah, should be."

The Liner slowed to a halt, waited a moment, and then opened its doors, releasing a flood of passengers mostly made up of the Echo Ridge students. Shepar acted quickly to keep them from scattering, and once the class was all rounded up he led them to a less busy section of the plaza.

"Alright," the teacher called, "I know you're excited but just hang on for a second! Let's see, is everyone here? No one's still on the Liner?"

He did a quick roll call—all the students were accounted for.

"Okay. Ms. Tia, why don't you remind everyone what our schedule is?"

Tia turned towards him, actually looking a little surprised. "Me?"

"Sure! You're going to need some lecture experience at some point!"

Tia looked at the students for a few seconds, her face blank as ever once again. She closed her eyes, called up a screen from her terminal, and scanned over it quickly.

"Shortly…" she began, too quiet for many of the students to hear. She stopped and cleared her throat, and then started over in a more audible voice. "Shortly, we will visit the hotel and ensure that everyone knows where their rooms are, but beyond that the majority of today is free for you to do as you please. You are encouraged to be on your best behavior, and remember to be safe—try not to wander too far by yourself. All students are expected to report back to the hotel by 7 PM this evening; the school has provided for a barbecue event to be held at that time. As for tomorrow…"

She gestured to the castle.

"We will be taking a tour of Alohaha Castle to learn about the history of this region, as well as the famous environmental system that maintains the climate and prevents natural disasters. Following that, we will return to Echo Ridge in the afternoon."

Tia looked at her screen again, then to Shepar. He nodded.

"You heard her!" Shepar said to the class. "If there's anything you want to do while we're here, make sure you do it today! Now let's find our hotel! Everybody, this way!"

The class began to move. Sonia watched, picking her friends out of the crowd: Luna appeared to be lecturing them, with Bud and Zack nodding along. Geo and Pat were off to the side having their own conversation, and Jack was fiddling with his Hunter, though he did stop every now and then to respond to Luna or glance at the stalls they were passing.

I haven't talked to Luna much since I told her I was coming here.

She shook her head.

Well, this is the perfect time to change that!

She turned in the direction the class was headed, but then stopped.

…But then, I guess I need to wait until they get away from the rest of the class.

Before long they were out of sight. Claud asked, "Are they coming back?"

"I'm sure they'll get in touch once they're checked in," Sonia said. "So Strong says you've been helping around here? What exactly have you been doing?"

"Fighting viruses mostly," Kidd said. "Though on rare occasions we will have a run-in with human or Wizard criminals."

"Yeah, like those Mal Wizards that are going around!" Claud said. "I still don't get why people would even use that model. Even if the Wizard is going to do something illegal, why make them look so suspicious?"

"They are predictable through and through," Goat said. "You are right that there is no one challenging out here. I am not happy to hear trouble is brewing, but I cannot deny I hope to get a good fight out of it."

Sonia hummed. "You'll probably get one. The first time I saw a Noise Card it was used on a normal utility Wizard, but it made him a lot tougher than I expected."

"Really?" Kidd said, his eyes gleaming. "Then I may get to push my limits a bit more after all!"

"In that case, the actual Dealers must be super tough!" Claud said. "Have you fought any of them yet?"

"No," Sonia said, "I still haven't met any. Seems they're the type to control things from behind the scenes."

"Aw, that's lame. A battle like this doesn't really start until the top brass get out and fight!"

"I'd definitely like to settle things as soon as possible. But there's no telling when they'll attack next, so for now all we can do is wait."

A loud grunt from below caught her attention. Turning, Sonia saw a Wizard down at one of the stands who was doubled over in pain, stumbling out into the street as he moaned. It wasn't long before more Wizards started acting the same.

"Perhaps they're more punctual than we give them credit for," Lyra said.

Sure enough, Noise began to erupt from the Wizards, startling the crowd as they began to mutate. Sonia held her arm in front of herself and said, "Claud, Kidd, we need to do something! I'll be there in just a second!"

Claud bounced to the edge of the Wave Road, snapping his pincers in glee. "Awesome! First day on lookout and I'm already getting to kick these goons around with Sonia! You coming, Kidd?"

Kidd simply chuckled and leapt onto the street below, entering the visible spectrum as he did. Claud soon followed, leaving Sonia to execute her transformation.

"Hey!" Claud shouted, pointing at the nearest Wizard. "You lot better not be planning to make any trouble! Surely you know that you'll never get away with it as long as Cancer Bubble is around!"

Ignoring him, the Wizard turned and brandished their new sword, smashing it into the stand they had just been operating. The rest of the bunch did the same, some of them swinging in the direction of the humans nearby, causing the surprise in the area to swell into a full panic.

Kidd dashed out in the blink of an eye, knocking a Wizard flat. "Seems it'll be a bit more difficult to get their attention."

Claud spotted a Wizard about to attack a human, hurling a pincer through the air; it clamped onto the target's arm, pinning it to the stall right behind them. While they tried to pull free, Claud charged, opening his other pincer and shooting a jet of water at his foe. He was almost on top of them when a stream of bullets from another Wizard hit him. Kidd leapt at this Wizard, kicking them in the head, but had to react quickly to block the swing of yet another Wizard. Claud was recovering slowly, and had only just realized that his initial target was free. The Wizard loomed over him, but before they could swing, something came down from above and smacked them into the pavement.

Looking up, Claud saw that it was Sonia, her new form complete. She had rather simple-looking armor over her torso, and her hands were encased in gauntlets that thickened around her wrists. Her shoulders sported large, flat, hexagonal plates; her scarf was pulled up over the bottom half of her face, and the nodes on her helmet had grown into horns. The guitar, currently pressed against the corrupt Wizard's back, had a more metallic sheen and a number of circular openings down the length of its neck, while the now-red body constantly spouted two tongues of flame near where the neck joined, and the head was in the shape of a bull's head.

"We need a way to lure them away from the plaza," Sonia said as she surveyed the area. "There are too many people here to keep track of!"

Getting to his feet, Claud said, "Got it! Kidd, you hear that?"

Between punches, Kidd replied, "I did! I believe I can manage that, but I will require a moment!"

Sonia and Claud went to his aid, the latter shooting many of the Wizards nearby to encase them in bubbles. As Sonia flung them away with a sound pulse, Kidd took a few quick steps backward and put his hands together. Around him, several duplicates of the fighter flickered into existence, jumping in different directions almost as soon as they appeared, and then another set appeared in their place. After producing over a dozen doppelgangers Kidd stopped to catch his breath, and then he turned, found a target, and jabbed. Similarly, his clones each sought out a different Wizard to attack, managing to snag the attention of all who weren't already focused on Sonia and Claud. Once that was done, they all withdrew just slowly enough to keep their foes' attention.

"Great job!" Sonia said. "Lead the way!"

The mob converged on Kidd's location just as his doppelgangers began to vanish. Sonia battered the rows of enemies with musical notes, and Claud jumped from one to the next bashing them with his pincers. A pair of Wizards went straight for Kidd, but he flipped back into the air to avoid their strikes, retaliating with a bolt of energy that stunned them both. Claud and Sonia regrouped with Kidd as he headed onto a now deserted road—the horde followed them, shouting and shooting wildly. Once they were far enough away from the plaza, Claud jumped forward and raised his hand, and his pincer suddenly grew until it was three times his size. He scattered the Wizards with a single swing.

Kidd rushed some of the survivors, meanwhile Sonia paused to enhance her transformation: her armor turned red, and her scarf became gray with black circles that resembled the openings on her guitar's neck. Aiming the head, she played a note, and an orb of fire shot into the pile of Wizards trying to pick themselves up, exploding on impact. The Wizards that managed to avoid getting hit raised their guns. Sonia ran to avoid their shots, letting Claud trap them in bubbles so that Kidd could more easily kick them into each other. One stray Wizard moved forward and raised its sword, but Sonia just ran faster and tackled it to the ground. Before she could follow-up, however, the Wizard coughed up a ball of energy, paralyzing her. She was unable to do anything as the Wizard knocked her back and unloaded a series of bullets into her. Once the effects wore off she slammed her guitar into the ground, causing a line of fire spouts to shoot up in front of her and send her foe reeling. Another Wizard was coming in fast, and she prepared as best she could, but before either got a chance to attack, the Wizard was sent flying by a blast of energy.

Sonia turned to see Geo standing there, buster aimed. Smiling, she said, "Thanks for the help."

"We heard Wizards were going berserk, and we figured you could use an extra pair of hands," Geo said, keeping an eye on the Wizards as he ran closer. "It's just me, though—we thought it'd be too conspicuous for us all to try to sneak away."

Sonia turned and shot a fireball at an incoming Wizard. "Makes sense. We're pretty covered here, though. It's just that these guys came out of nowhere; I'm not sure when they could've gotten corrupted."

A massive axe appeared in Geo's hands, and he teleported a few feet forward to swing it at a group of enemies. "Guess Mr. Boreal was right that Dealer would take this opportunity. We're going to need to be careful while we're here."

"Don't worry too much—between all of us I'm sure it'll be fine."

She checked Claud and Kidd: both were still steadily whittling down their opponents' endurance, looking like they were having the time of their life. When Claud prepared to hurl a pincer, however, he froze up suddenly, and he lost his footing. About the same time, Kidd put a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. Sonia scrambled to aim her guitar at the Wizards closing in on them.

"Shoot, that's right, they haven't had a chance to install the Filters!" Sonia said. She blasted away a few of the attackers, but the explosion didn't catch all of them. "We've got to hurry!"

Geo activated a Whistle Battle Card, emitting a shrill sound that stunned the Wizards and caused them to be dragged through the air away from Claud and Kidd and towards Geo. Sonia began to smack them with her guitar, but she couldn't get them all, and Geo wasn't able to load another card fast enough to take proper advantage of the situation.

"Rain of Fists!" called a deep, clear voice. In an instant, a storm of projectiles rained down on the mob of corrupted Wizards, pummeling them all into the ground. Sonia looked up: just past where Claud and Kidd stood, making his way onto the road, was Strong.

Sonia sighed. "That's impressive. Thank you, Strong!"

"I became concerned by the ruckus I was hearing," the Wizard said, stopping next to Claud. "I would've been here sooner, but I needed to ensure the environmental system was properly secured. Tell me, what exactly is going on?"

One by one, the Wizards were starting to revert to normal. Sonia gestured to them and said, "This is what I was telling you about: these Wizards were corrupted by Dealer. They'll be fine now. Oh, but we should try to pick up their Noise Cards, and…" She looked around. "Is there any Crimson?"

Strong helped Claud and Kidd to their feet. "I see. This is every bit as horrific as you described it. Is everyone unharmed?"

"I'm not really sure," Claud said. "I felt totally numb for a minute there…"

"I felt the same," Kidd said. "Miss Sonia, is this some technique these Wizards employ?"

"It's the effects of Noise," Sonia answered, stooping to pick up a few cards. "That's the reason why we gave you Filters: once you install those, you won't have to worry about that again."

Kidd nodded. "I see. What an awful feeling…"

"Hm," Strong said. "To think it would take effect so quickly...I must be sure to install this Filter as soon as possible. But for now, I think it best to return these Wizards to their homes. I hope you do not mind if I leave the disposal of these Noise items to you, Harp Note?"

"Oh, not at all! That's what we're here for," Sonia said. Turning to Geo, she added, "We can handle this, if you need to get back."

Geo looked over his shoulder for a second. "Well, it can't do much harm to take another minute to help you with this. Prez would probably scold me for leaving you so quickly anyway."

Sonia smiled a little, and then returned to what she was doing. Claud and Kidd were helping Strong revive the other Wizards and lead them back to the plaza, so she didn't say anything to interrupt them.

"Hey, Sonia," Geo said.

She turned. "Hm?"

"I know you're going to be on lookout, but you should come to the beach for the barbecue later. It'll be a lot of fun!"

"Heh. I don't know—I definitely want to spend time with you all, but I can't exactly join in the party with everyone else around."

"I think you'll really enjoy it. Trust me."

He handed Sonia the cards he had picked up. She let out a breath as she counted up how many they had collected, and mumbled, "Maybe." She looked around to make sure they hadn't missed any Noise Cards, and to verify that Crimson didn't seem to be turning up.

I'm glad this wasn't a huge problem…but then again, I doubt Dealer would make the trip if this was all they had planned.

Notes:

*Walks in over a month late with Starbucks* …Heeeeeey…

I'm sorry this took so long. I don't even really have a good excuse—I have been a bit stressed, but there were plenty of times where I could have written but just didn't, so in the end it's all down to my poor work ethic. If you're still reading, thank you so much for coming back!

Anyway, time to see if I can get through this scenario with accidentally typing "Alola"…

I thought it was a bit strange that Kidd was mentioned to be from Alohaha but wasn't included when we actually got to see it, so I wanted him involved here, plus I established him and Claud as friends in Tribe so I had to bring Claud along too. The only things I could think of to upgrade Kung-Fu Kid was an enhanced doppelganger ability and ki attacks, meanwhile Cancer Bubble gets water jets and the ability to increase the size of his pincers. In case I can't find a good place for it in the story: Kidd is Transcode-008, Claud is Transcode-009.

Taurus Noise Harp Note is pretty straightforward. The scarf's design and the fact that it's pulled up over her face is meant to resemble Taurus Fire's flamethrower snout.

Okay, moving on to the reviews:

-Sdarkynecro: Those are some really interesting ideas for Mega Noise! Unfortunately, now that I've had Lyra make a big deal about how all the Noise Changes are FM-ian, I'm not sure I can work in a Mega Noise without it feeling shoehorned in. I might try using those for something else, though!

-Guest: Woody and Pedia have both been cut from this series. I felt giving Woody's role to Zack would help to flesh him out a bit more, which is something I'm still struggling with, and that led to bumping Pedia in favor of Magnes. Sorry for the confusion!

Next chapter…I don't even know. I feel like if I state a goal I will inevitably fail to achieve it. I'll do my best, hopefully something unexpectedly encouraging will happen!