Miku slept as peacefully as an unconscious girl could as she leaned against Rock, who was driving the motorcycle back to their home.

"Damn it." She cursed under her breath. How could she have let Miku out of her sight like that? She got hurt as a result of her mistake and probably would have been murdered by DM if Ren and Stella hadn't happened upon the scene. But her mind kept trailing back to Mato. If that idiot hadn't chased after her, none of this would have ever happened. Still, she was relieved to see she was safe and unharmed….but…

As she turned a corner onto their street address, she began to wonder what had happened that caused her to connect with Stella and turn her into…whatever she was when she had got there. Just what had happened? As she drove up into the driveway and into the garage, she recalled that Stella's form had this familiar feeling to it, although she herself didn't know why that was. Picking up Miku, she carried her to bed and tucked her in. As the light of the moon shone down on her other, Rock couldn't spot any major wounds on Miku, just a few scratches and such. It was like she was never in danger at all. 'Another one of Stella's form powers, perhaps?' she thought. In any case Miku and Mato were both safe for the time being. Lightly kissing Miku's forehead, Rock left her to sleep in blissful peace. She however, needed to know more about Stella's mysterious form. It might become crucial in the next few months. 'V-TEC, huh?' she mused before getting back on the bike. 'Ren and Stella are there now, as well as the answers I seek.'

Ren scratched his chin with his hand while Stella silently viewed her father's final message to her.

"Well," Ami sighed as the message ended. "That's what was on there."

Stella was silent, yet conflicted. She was happy about seeing her father's face and voice after many years, but this 'Beast'….

Ren however, was a bit more vocal. "So the Prof still had some secrets to share then. That explains what Stella turned into. But, the point that he thinks this Beast thing is sentient is a deep cause for concern."

"Err, so…I'm a little lost here." Ruko said while scratching his head. "Is Stella an alien or something or…?"

"No, she's from another world." Ami corrected. "From what I understand, she's from a desolate future world where humanity has gone extinct, and she's a sort of cloned weapon who combats the aliens that wiped them out. But, this new information certainly is curious." She crouched in front of Stella. "Say, you wouldn't happen to remember what you felt like before you transformed would you Stella?"

Stella looked up. "…Felt? What do you mean?"

"It's simple! I've done enough research into people from other worlds that have undergone a transformation to know that sometimes certain feelings can trigger them. Anger, sadness, guilt, tension…these are some of the emotions that serve as this trigger. Why even Ren is the same when Kuri-"

"Stop." Ren cut in with an angered glare. "Don't ever speak her name. Ever."

"Ah, I'm sorry little brother." Ami apologized while Stella puzzlingly looked at Ren. "Anyway, it's certain emotions that trigger the transformation. Now, did you feel anything at all prior to transforming? Any small detail helps!"

Stella looked down and closed her eyes. It was only a few minutes ago when it happened, but it seemed like an eternity. However, she was able to clearly remember how she felt.

"Helplessness….hatred….and….fear."

"I see…those are some pretty powerful feelings Stella. So, what we have to do is to learn how to control those emotions. You control the emotions, you control your transformations, and this 'Beast' thingy won't control you!"

"I think I can help with that." Ren said.

Stella turned around. "You can?"

"Sure! I've had Synergy form for a couple of years now. I can handle it no problem. Besides, what kind of person would I be to you if I didn't?"

She let a small smile curl her lips.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, it's just a matter of mastering and perfecting control. You just have to think about what you need to do and focus on that. Don't let your power control you, and make it yours. It's not as easy as it sounds, but once you do it more often you'll see what I mean. We can start anytime you like, Stella."

"Then how about tomorrow morning then?" She asked. "If this is as dangerous as father said it is, then we need to start as soon as possible."

"Great! But you know, don't feel like you need to rush through it. If you're afraid of not mastering control in time, then you might trigger the transformation by accident." He replied with a concerned face.

Ami shook her head. "I don't think it's as precise as your form Ren. It'll probably take a lot of stress to make Stella lose control and transform against her will. But in any case I agree! The sooner you can get a lid on it, the better off Stella and everyone around her will be. Plus…" She looked at Stella with a confident smile. "I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. You've already saved your own world and came to ours of your own will, so this shouldn't be a problem for you right?"

Stella thought for a second. "…I don't know."

Ren put his hand on her shoulder. "You don't know until you try is what you meant to say, right?" He said with a wink.

She smiled and blushed when she heard Marion's quote from the past. "Yes."

"Then there you go! So Ami, is it alright if we get a copy of that disk?"

"I think it's best if you keep just the one, little bro. I already downloaded some of the data that was on it into a secure server here at work. No one but me or you will be able to access it, so don't worry."

"Hm, ok then. Well if there's nothing else, we'd better get back. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

"We'll let you know if anything happens." She hugged her little bro along with Stella as well. "Sweet dreams, both of you."

"Sure sis." Ren said as Stella went over to wake Nana.

About thirty minutes after everyone left for home, Ami herself was getting ready to retire for the week. She was looking forward to her leave for once. All those accumulated days of coming to work and skipping her approved vacation time when Ren went missing were sounding pretty good right about now. As she hung up her coat and prepared to walk out the door, she felt something in her head start to tingle. It became more and more noticeable and powerful as she went down the elevator. "Do I have some kind of headache now? Maybe I need that vacation more than I originally thought after all." As she stepped out of the elevator she was greeted not by the lights of the parking garage, but instead, white space filled with blues and blacks.

"W-what is this?" She wondered as she cautiously stepped out into the new environment.

"This is my domain, Ms. Vortex." A familiar voice came to her ear.

"W-who's there!?"

Slowly in front of her, a black figure came into her view. She recognized it as she got closer.

"Rock..? You're one of Serena's friends…right?"

She nodded.

"Um…just, what IS all of this? Where's the garage?"

"This is my domain, as I've said before. We are still in the garage, but I've pulled you into my world for a bit."

"Why?"

Rock stared straight into her eyes. "I need to know about the form Stella took."

Ami back away cautiously. "H-how do you know about that!? Why should I trust you?"

Rock sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure you can. But I know of your brother and your family well enough by now because of her. She told me that you could be the one to help me if I should ever need it. And…" She looked off in the distance. "I fear that two people that are precious to me could be in danger if this…Beast…were to take hold of Stella. I have to know what it is, and if it goes rampant, how to stop her without hurting her. I know how you feel, I've dragged you into a place you're unfamiliar with and I'm asking much of you, but I'm asking you…give me a chance to protect the ones I love."

"No…" Ami shook her head. "Somehow…I do feel I can trust you." She sighed. "Alright. I'll help you. But, how do we go back to…um..?"

Rock closed her eyes, and after a few seconds her world dissipated and left the parking garage, true to her word.

"Amazing!" Ami cooed in awe. "Just what kind of being are you, Rock?"

"I'm sorry, but can we focus on the task at hand for now?"

"Ah, of course. Please follow me." Ami stepped back into the elevator with Rock in tow. 'Guess that vacation's going to have to wait for now.'

The next day…..

Rock sat at her desk and gazed out the window as the classroom buzzed with students talking and laughing. She and Miku were able to attend school together thankfully; her injuries from last night were completely gone. Not even a scratch remained. It was like the incident never had occurred at all. Plus, thanks to Ren's sister, she was able to understand more about her counterpart. Where she came from, who she was, what she suffered through to get here, and of course her father's final message detailing what he knew about 'The Beast' within her.

'This turned out more complicated than I would have liked…but at least I know the full picture now.'

Suddenly, a loud BANG startled everyone in the class except Rock, who casually looked over to the source of the sound, and Ruko, who was fast asleep on her desk.

"ALL RIGHT! SETTLE DOWN YA BUNCH OF RASCALS!" A man wearing a black suit and black fedora yelled as he kicked the door off its hinges. "It's time for all of you to get schooled, so sit down, shut up, and get ready to learn…eh… "He quickly scanned a piece of paper he was holding with one foot still in the air. "Math!? Aww fuzz nuggets." Turning on his heel and moon walking to the teacher's desk, he picked up a stick of chalk and wrote his name down in a fancy signature, changing directions to make it legible before he Jackson'd into the teacher's chair and propped his feet up on the desk. The chalkboard read, "Mr. Onmyo".

"SO! Mr. Teacher-Person-Guy-That-I'm-Subbing-For told me that you're doing algebra, so anybody wanna solve a problem? Any takers? Anybody at all?"

The class was silent. Mostly because of the sub's exaggerated entrance, and mostly because algebra sucks.

"No takers? Wow, what losers you all are. Guess I'm gonna pick…" Mr. Onmyo's eyes locked onto Ruko snoozing away the class. "YOU!"

Ruko was jolted awake to a loud *thunk* in front of his face. A pencil was embedded halfway into the desk. Rubbing his eyes, he groggily went up to the board to find a problem on the board. Just as yesterday, he solved it in record time and went back to his desk. But as he sat down…

"YEOWCH!" Ruko yelped while clutching his bum. Rock looked at his seat and saw there was a pencil sticking point up from the seat almost perfectly. And just as quickly as it materialized, it was gone.

"That's not possible…unless..." Rock glared at the sub. 'Who are you really…?'

The sub saw her glare, and returned it with a grin. "You want to solve the next one there flat-chest?"

"Ren?" Stella called out through the house. "Nana?"

"Out here Stella!" Nana's voice came from outside. Stella stepped out and Nana and Ren were waiting for her by the training area.

"Hey Stella. Good morning." Ren greeted her with a smile. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Mhmm." Stella replied as she stretched her arms a little. "All things considered because of last night, I did."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Ren walked up to her and offered his hand to her as Nana watched on. "Ready to get started?"

Stella smiled and took his hand in hers. "Yes, let's."