Finally! Sorry that I haven't finished earlier; lots of things going on right now that I can't control. This chapter is dedicated to MurderShadow, the ONLY FREAKING PERSON who has responded lately. I cannot tell you how frustrated I've been lately. (I thought my story was terrible because people weren't responding) Well, to the 30-40 or so fans (only 30 hits on Chapter 10 ) enjoy, peoples! Soon, I'll get back on the actual plotline, but I believe this is essential for the story too.

Cipher's Code Ch11

"No!" Cipher stared at the bloodied town before him with open despair. Several soldiers in his team ran forward in shock, looking for any survivors. All they found were bones to bury.

"Damn them." Colbur gritted his teeth as he came across a message, written in blood. Too blurred to read, he moved on to assist the rest of the crew with managing the body count.

"Cipher?" A voice inside his ear asked him an unspoken question tentatively, afraid to hear his answer.

Cipher held the communicator softly. "We were too late, Sorra. They got here first." Cipher examined the bodies closely, noticing that they all had deep, precise sword injuries. Who could have done this, Cipher wondered to himself, but he already knew the answer. The renegade group of soldiers who had ransacked entire villages, always leaving a path of death and destruction in their wake- nicknamed Shadow for their ability to always stay unseen. They were truly a shadow of demise for all who crossed their path. The only proof of their existence was the trail of bodies they left behind. No matter how much defense, how many weapons, they always succeeded in their quest for blood.

Cipher closed his eyes as the rotten smell of countless people filled his nose. "Colbur, let's get out of here. It's hopeless. You know Shadow."

Colbur remained resolute, but only for a second; Shadow never left any survivors, and they both knew it. "You're right. I'll call Allouette; we don't need medical attention, we need body bags."

Inside the base, the atmosphere took on a very grim mood. Several resistance soldiers had entire families that were lost in Shadow's most recent raid, and floods of funerals were soon following. The order was given to torch the town, but members like Colbur followed in their unspoken vows to ensure the proper burial of the villagers. Until they were finished, it was forbidden for anyone under a certain age to leave the caravan, so evil was the sight.

"Well this'll certainly put a damper on the guardians' visit," Venti said bitterly. She was quite possibly the only one who was not looking forward to their visit.

"Oh don't be such a downer. Their visit should take people's mind off of the recent attacks," Specter said cheerily.

Cipher turned to stare at his fiend. "Okay, what's up with you?" Specter never acted cheery, optimistic, or generally anything that has to do with happiness.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that two guardians are coming here. Isn't that a great chance to catch Shadow, for one?"

Venti thought about that for a moment. "Well, I suppose that's one good thing they can do."

"What did they do to you," Specter shot at Venti at her sarcastic remark.

"Nothing! That's precisely what they didn't do. Where were they when we were escaping from Aranea?"

Cipher had a feeling that their dispute might have lasted a long time if someone hadn't appeared at the door at that instant to inform them of the guardians' ship approaching fast.

"Lead the way," Cipher told Skie, who was all too happy to oblige.

"The guardians," he said excitedly. "Who would have thought they'd come here?"

"Well, it was pretty obvious after the weeks of warning," Venti said under her breath.

Skie went on like he hadn't heard her, which was actually quite possibly true, seeing as he didn't stop talking until they got to the hangar.

"We have a hangar?" Cipher stared at the loading deck in disbelief. "I thought I had seen everything, but this is just plain insane."

"Hi guys!" Sorra greeted them from Allouette's side.

"Hey, what are you doing? I thought you were with Allouette."

"What am I, invisible?" Allouette joined in the conversation. "We're here just in case any fights get out of hand, besides we want to see them too, you know.

Cipher grinned as he saw Zero gripping his saber tightly. Apparently he and the guardians were not the best of pals. "Well, here they come," he said slowly.

"Back off, back off!" The landing dock guards were trying to pull back the crowd from the landing ship, a hulking green thing that revealed two reploids, one green, another an eerie gray.

"So that's Phantom, huh?" Cipher turned his head as Specter mentioned the guardian. For years, Phantom had left the world thinking that he was gone in an explosion where he self-destructed. What really happened was that he became known as one as the most feared mercenaries in the world. It was said that he had settled in a nearby village for some time, protecting it from harm, but that was just a myth in Cipher's opinion.

Harpuia nodded curtly to Zero as he walked down the crowd. His eyes scanned the crowd of Advents, confirming Cipher and Specter's suspicions. Phantom was less conspicuous about his search, grazing the Advents until his eyes narrowed at Specter. The guardian then seemed to shrink into the shadows, truly living up to his name.

Cipher looked at Specter, but decided not to ask. "Well, at least we know the real reason why they're here. Do you think anyone else does?"

"Hmm?" Specter looked up, too lost in thought to have heard Cipher's question. "What were you saying?"

"Never mind. Where's Venti?" Sure enough, there was no sign of their hot-tempered friend. They scanned the crowd, but found no trace of Venti. Well that's odd. Where's she go?

Inside, the guardians, along with Ciel and Zero, were having a meeting, where only a select few were allowed. Naturally, Specter used his talents to sneak into the room beforehand, under his invisible state to place a bug there. Venti, Cipher, and Specter then proceeded to go to the break room for some donuts while eavesdropping on their conversation.

"So that was your reason." Ciel was the first to speak.

"Yes… We had no further places to look. When we heard of Aranea's recent outbreak, we knew they had to be here."

"It seems to me that your chances of finding them are slim, though. There are over one thousand Advents here, and you can't figure them out just by appearance, you know." Maybe you could try a trial of sorts? I'm sure lots of the unclaimed Advents who don't have their memory would leap at a chance to see if they have any relation to you. I'd wager quite a few claimed ones would go, even, just for an autograph." Allouette's voice now filtered through the speaker.

"That seems to be the problem." An unknown voice- Harpuia's? now spoke. "We don't know how to identify them. They might not even recognize us, it's been so long." His voice had a surprising tint of sorrow when he said those last few words.

"Cheer up. I'm sure you'll find them sometime!" Ciel tried to encourage them with her words.

"I'm not so sure if it's such a problem after all." A slightly shifty voice that must have belonged to Phantom drifted in the air. The three eavesdroppers leaned in eagerly, trying to catch every minute detail. "As we all very well know, Advents' talents lie in their reploid half, along with a few of the human characteristics. They may look like the human, but underneath…" his voice trailed off.

"What do you mean," Zero asked them curiously.

"Well, for one, not every Advent can turn invisible at a moments notice. Who was the person who snuck in here earlier?"

Specter smiled to himself as if he was confirming a suspicion he held for a long time.

"What Advent?" The other members were genuinely curious. Only Phantom, who made a habit of doping that very thing knew of Specter's talents, because he was present when he placed the bug there, not that he would ever reveal himself.
"Never mind that." Harpuia now spoke again agitatedly. "The others believe this to be a discussion on Shadow's threat. I for one agree with them as well. While it is true that we have devoted all our previous time into protecting Arcadia, we still need o focus on what's important, not simple family matters." He sounded like he had told himself this a thousand times over, but still didn't believe himself.

"They seem to be virtually invisible," Phantom agreed, frustrated. "I tried to learn something about the villagers previously hit, but the most interesting thing I heard was about an unusual stranger." He seemed to take the losses personally somehow.

"It's a complete disaster," Allouette agreed solemnly. "I sent a team of doctors over to another area, but we haven't heard of them since. We presume them along with the other remaining citizens to be deceased."

Deceased, compromised, taken out of action. These words are being used far too much lately, Cipher lamented to himself silently. I thought Aranea would be the biggest of our worries. But now this…

A new voice shook him out of his stupor suddenly. "I saw what they did to those villagers. They were good people, and many of them I counted among my friends." Colbur pounded his fist on the table. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"If there is, we haven't thought of it," Zero replied grimly. "The only thing we can do now is hope." Coming from Zero, a down-to-earth kind of reploid who believed very few of the earth's problems could be done with a well-aimed blast or thrust of a saber, this was something.

"I agree." Phantom spoke somberly. "If it was a matter of finding them and ending them, it would be simple, but to have remained under the radar for so long…"

"There's no use lamenting over the dead while there are those living under our care." Zero stood up to leave, scraping his seat as he walked away. "Meeting over."

Ciel shook her head at the closed door, which Zero was behind a second earlier. "You'll have to forgive him," she told the others. "This is just the way he deals with his issues." Without any further notice, she too, left to join him.

"Not much point in staying," Allouette said now. "Meeting adjourned, let's go."

Phantom and Harpuia were among the last to leave. "So how did you know there was a bug in here, and why didn't you tell us earlier?" Harpuia interrogated his friend curiously.

"Well, for one, we still haven't removed it. The fact that I'm not going to tell you is another matter altogether. Good luck with the search for her."

"What about you," Harpuia asked his friend/brother/whatever wryly.

"I have an idea," he said airily. In a flash, Phantom disappeared, leaving Harpuia to his quest.

"It's you, isn't it?" Cipher looked at Specter. "They're talking about you, aren't they?"

Specter inhaled deeply before answering. "I had my suspicions as well. My oversol, along with having many physical traits as Phantom, also possesses the ability to cloak myself in invisibility. Now I just wonder what to do now." He sat back in confusion, leaving Cipher a little sorry for him. His identity was thrust upon him without warning; they would have to look for their families on their own. Well, not on their own, Cipher corrected himself. I'll help them as well. That is, if they're willing to accept it, he thought as he remembered Venti's denial. They had confronted her earlier, and she absolutely refused to admit something like that. Though she would never admit it, she was scared of the possibility that it wasn't true. They all were.

Cipher made up his mind as he left the room. "See you, Specter; good luck." Aha! Cipher smiled to himself; finding a celebrity hero really isn't that difficult. Just close your eyes and listen to the huge crowd, and that's where you want to look.

"Hey! Listen! Harpuia!" Cipher's shouts were drowned by the multitude of fans. After being nearly trampled to death several times, Cipher made his way to the green reploid.

"Cero?" Harpuia looked at him in surprise. "When did you get back? You worried Ciel to death, you know."

At his stern glance, Cipher shrugged indifferently. "Amnesia. Can't help it. Anyway, I think you might want to hear this…" After extracting him from the crowd, he pulled the reploid into an empty room and bolted the door in case the flood of people realized that the Object Of Their Attention was gone. "Look at this, " he said; pulling a slide he had put together in a last minute attempt effort to convince Harpuia. Inside, clips of Venti using her electric blasts, along with her bright green oversol put Harpuia into a dazed shock.

"How…"

"We were put in the same car back on Aranea. Umera said we were some of the most powerful people of the age, and an Advent's power comes from its parent, doesn't it," Cipher said, echoing Phantom's words.

"Is it you," Harpuia said, lost in the slide. "Can this really be so easy, after so long?" (The sentimental stuff- it burns!)

Cipher smiled to himself as he excused himself from the room. It was up to fate to see how things worked out now. Now it's time for Specter.