Kairi: Aww... not even a 'Welcome back, how have you been?' Or 'Where the (censored word) have you been for three and a half months?' Seriously? I'm kinda sad now... And I lost my inspration to write this story... Although, seeing as how I'm up to Chapter 27 finished and have the epilogue written out on paper and the two chapters between summarized, it shouldn't be a problem for a short while yet... And besides, my Hope Flies readers will be happy! I'm bringing them another chapter soon! (Like, as soon as I post this...)

Lillith: Anyway, it's good to be back... We don't own anything... But, all OC's belong either to Kairi or one of her friends.

Kairi: And a few reviews might prompt me to update early next week. Like, on Sunday instead of Tuesday... (hint, hint)

Chapter 20 - Intervention

"Hey, isn't that Zero?"

"Ugh. Why the hell did you have to follow me again?"

"Because I slipped past your guard when I changed weapons."

"It was a rhetorical question, Corylle."

"So?"

"If you're attempting stealth, you're failing."

"Shut up, Zero."

"How about all three of you shut up?" Phoebus grumbled as he pushed past a rather large bush. Corylle, Angel, and Zero glared at him.

"And you are here, why?" Angel growled, though the question was aimed more toward Zero than Phoebus. Angel's doppelganger shrugged.

"Gathering data for Number 44," he replied. Phoebus crossed his arms.

"Zale's only on 43, isn't she?" he asked. Zero smirked.

"New one," he said simply. Angel groaned, then looked back out toward the street. A scream, definitely feminine, pierced the night before being silenced only moments after starting. The silver-haired teens took off running for the noise, with Corylle and Phoebus on their tails.

"You know, it's not often that Angel and Zero cooperate," Corylle said quietly to Phoebus as they turned a corner. The man's straw-colored hair flew behind him as he ran. A sigh escaped his lips as they turned a second corner.

"At times like these, I'm almost glad," he said, pointing. A dark-haired man's mouth was against a woman's neck, and all four of them could see the blood dripping down.

"Hey, let her go!" Angel yelled. The vampire turned blood-red eyes on them before throwing the woman to the ground, where she laid lifeless. His black hair was streaked through with gold, and his eyes seemed to be almost glowing.

Despite having just fed and the fact that his hair didn't have the normal silvery sheen to it, his eyes didn't shift from their crimson shade into another.

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously. Zero smirked and ran, toward the man and past him, running out of the alley and leaving the group to their own devices.

"Sheesh, what was that about?" Angel grumbled. The vampire waved his hand toward them with a smirk before running off himself.

Angel and Phoebus collapsed as if they had fainted. Corylle collapsed, but lay there gasping as she tried to get feeling back into her extremities. She looked over at her companions, wondering why they had collapsed as they had.

The question of what had just happened ran through her mind as well as she began to fall asleep.

"Hey, you okay?"

Corylle opened her eyes and frowned. The woman in front of her had magenta hair and brown eyes, a combination that reminded her of her sister, Zale.

"Yeah. Who are you?" she replied, slowly sitting up and looking around.

"I'm Akiza. I found you and your companions last night… I was… trying to find a friend…" she explained. Corylle nodded once, taking the information in.

"Black hair with gold highlights, red eyes?" she asked. Akiza's expression became dark.

"His eyes should be blue… he's been… brainwashed, so to speak," she replied. Corylle sighed.

"That explains a lot. Where are Angel and Phoebus? And where are we?" she wondered. Akiza motioned for Corylle to follow her, so the girl did so. They headed down a hallway and entered another room. There were two beds within. On one rested Angel, on the other, Phoebus.

Both were still seemingly unconscious.

"They seem to be some kind of android or something," Akiza told her. "We had no idea how to turn them back on, if it was even that easy."

Corylle frowned and moved over to Phoebus, lifting his head and pushing his hair to one side before pulling the back of his collar down slightly. A dark brown 04 was 'tattooed' on his lower neck, and the crimson-pink-haired girl nodded before setting his head down again and moving over to Angel to do the same.

No such marking existed on his neck, which caused Corylle to frown. "That's odd… Either Angel isn't one of Zale's androids… or she made him before she started numbering them…" she muttered.

Akiza frowned. "Zale?" she asked. Corylle sighed.

"My twin sister. She's created 44 androids and is on her 45th. Or 46th, if Angel really is one of hers. I'll have to call her up to reboot them. Her, or Fourteen," she answered. Then she turned to the woman in the doorway. "Do you know what happened?" she asked. Akiza sighed.

"Sora thinks that Yusei used a shockwave in an attempt to paralyze the three of you before escaping. Except…" she trailed off. Corylle nodded.

"Yeah, a shockwave would short their circuits. They're both first gen," she replied. Akiza decided that asking would not help her cause. "Do you have a phone or something?" Corylle asked a minute later. Akiza nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a moment," she replied, running off. A few minutes later, she returned, a shiny iPhone in her hand. "Here. It's Rosalie's," she said before rolling her eyes. "Why did I tell you that? You don't have any clue who she is…"

Corylle chuckled. "That's fine. I don't have any clue what my sister is talking about half the time so I figure you're doing pretty good. You haven't lost me yet, at least," she told Akiza, taking the phone and dialing. A moment later, the phone on the other end picked up.

"Zale Moryl, can I help you?"

Corylle smiled. "Well, not me, but you can come reboot Angel and Phoebus," she replied. A groan echoed on the other end before Zale hung up.

Akiza took the phone back as Corylle offered it to her and ran it back to Rosalie. She was back in a moment and looking at the girl confusedly.

"Zale put a tracking device in my brain somewhere. She'll use it to find us. It shouldn't have been shorted out, since it's the same tech that's in the sixth gen androids," Corylle explained.

"Actually, I don't even really need it. Kairi showed up right before you called and decided to rope us in on the lovely little mess that Neo Domino City just got caught up in," a rather similar voice to Corylle's grumbled. Akiza turned to see a girl with very short, spiky crimson-pink hair and amber eyes. She walked right past the vampire and headed to Angel's side.

"I offered to give her a lift," Kairi added, leaning against the doorway. Akiza sighed.

"I think I'm going to go check up on Jack and the others. They were arguing over something earlier," she said. Corylle gave Kairi a look after she left.

"Where's mom?" she asked. Kairi shrugged.

"Hell if I know. I haven't seen her since… Well, long enough ago that I can't give you a date," she replied. Zale chuckled.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Hey, how's Aunt Kiara?" she said. Kairi rolled her eyes and 'ported out, reappearing a moment later.

"Ask her yourself in a moment when she and Kanan get up here," she answered. Zale just smiled.

"Miyoku and Linare?" she asked. Kairi sighed.

"Miyoku is with her father, and Linare is helping Whisper, who is helping Kisa, who is helping Alice, who is currently stalking someone for their head," she replied. Corylle's face went pale and Kairi smirked. "Relax, not you."

Corylle shivered.

Zale laughed.

And then Angel woke up.

"Okay, what's so funny? What'd I miss?" he grumbled, sitting up slowly as Zale started rebooting Phoebus. Kairi chuckled.

"Alice is after heads," she said simply. Corylle glared at her, while Angel looked between them before cracking a smile.

"Okay, that is funny," he agreed. A sigh from behind Kairi got his attention.

"Not really, but then, you're mean, so that's beside the point," Kanan grumbled, walking into the room, then smiling at Corylle. "Hey, cuz."

Corylle smiled. "Hey, trouble."

Kanan just chuckled, while Kiara rolled her eyes.

"You got that one right," she muttered. Then she smiled. "It's good to see you two again," she added. Zale shrugged, tapping her tablet before standing and walking off.

"I'm just gonna look around a bit before I poof," she said in way of explanation. Kairi and Kiara exchanged a glance before shrugging.

"Almost as bad as Lolly, huh?" Kanan asked.

Kairi shook her head. "No. Worse."

"Well, well. If it isn't the most reasonable of my siblings," Heylii said with a smile. A true smile, for once, rather than her normal sneer. Yusei turned to get a look at the new arrival, and raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter, cutie?" the young woman asked, her white hair mostly held in a ponytail while an icy blue streaked through it. Emerald green eyes were set in a familiar face.

Heylii chuckled. "He's… met both of your sisters, dear," she replied. The girl sighed dejectedly.

"Aww… And here I was thinking I'd turned another head. Now I'm little depressed," she said. Then, sighing, she turned back to Yusei. "You talk, cutie?"

"Only if I have to," he told her, his glare telling her that he wasn't enjoying her hitting on him. The girl giggled and skipped toward Heylii taking her arm in hers as she slowed to something that could be considered a walk once more.

"So, how do you like the hair? It was red and white a while back, but then I realized Kairi's was gold and red, so I changed it," she asked. Heylii rolled her eyes.

"Before we go any further, what on earth have you been smoking?" she inquired, laughing the whole way through it. Her little sister started laughing, cackling almost.

"Nothing from Earth, I can assure you," she replied. Heylii shook her head as she started laughing along.

"Ah… Kitsuna. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually missed you," she told her.

Kitsuna smirked. "Missed you too, sis."