Wolfe stared at the newly reopened distortion, Wolf pacing behind him. It flashed suddenly, and a moment later Sonia and Geo reappeared on the roof, neither looking very satisfied.

"Empty," Sonia said as she closed up the Noise Wave entrance. "Not even any Noise beasts—they must have used another exit before we got in."

"Can't you find it with your program?" Wolfe asked.

"We tried," Geo said, "but the Noise is way too intense in there. We'll never be able to find the access point from the inside."

"What a shame," Lyra said. "At the very least, I've taken further readings for our friends at WAZA to comb over. Perhaps they'll be able to improve our tools before such a thing occurs again."

Wolf came forward then. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Sonia said, "I, um…I'll go check in with the Satella Officers. They're probably ready to go by now."

She made her way to the Wave Road. Geo deactivated his Wave Change, and Mega materialized next to him, arms crossed and face pointing away.

"You son of a bitch," Wolf said. "If you knew Corvus was on Earth, you should've told me."

"Oh, was that Corvus?" Mega said. "I thought he looked familiar."

Wolf snapped his teeth. Mega brandished his claws and snarled back.

"Hey, take it easy!" Geo said.

"I don't know why you're so keen on keeping secrets these days, Mega, but this one crosses a line!" Wolf said. "After what that bastard did, you know I want him dead!"

"Yeah, of course," Mega said. "I kind of agree, but I always thought it was a bit out of character for you. You always told me murder wasn't your thing."

"Killing a killer ain't a crime! Especially when he tried to kill me first!"

"I think you know our resident heroine would disagree with you on that!"

"What, you're taking her no kill rule all of the sudden?"

"I haven't decided yet. But I knew that if you found out Corvus was here, you'd get swept up trying to kill him, and that'd put you and Sonia at odds. The last thing we need right now is infighting!"

Wolf growled quietly. "So what was your brilliant plan then, Mega? Just hope I didn't find out?"

"I was going to keep fighting Dealer and hope it settled itself. If Corvus happened to die, then it wouldn't matter and I could tell you then. If we caught him, then after things settled down we'd have a chance to debate the issue."

"Sounds spineless to me."

"Wolf," Wolfe said.

The FM-ian whirled. "What?!"

Wolfe shifted nervously, saying, "…I…don't want to kill anyone. I understand why you want revenge on Corvus, but…I can't help you take it."

Wolf glared at him. Before he could say anything, however, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and everyone turned to see Shepar stepping out from the stairwell.

"Oh," Geo said, "M-Mr. Shepar! Sorry, I was just on my way back to class."

"It's my fault, Mitch," Wolfe offered. "I asked him to help me get started cleaning up. Thanks, kid, you've done plenty."

Shepar looked from one to the other. Eventually, he quietly asked, "You two know what's behind all these strange things that've been happening, don't you?"

Geo rubbed his neck.

"Please, tell me what's going on. My students keep getting put in danger: if I know why, maybe I'll have a better chance of protecting them from it. I need to know if there's anything I can do."

After a tense pause, Wolf scoffed and said, "Tell him."

Mega eyed him. "Huh?"

"He was the one Libra attacked, right? He'll probably be of use to ya. Tell him."

"You know Libra?" Shepar asked. "Does he have something to do with this?"

"Er, no, he doesn't," Geo said. Exchanging a look with Mega, he took a deep breath, and then turned back to Shepar.

Meanwhile, back inside the school, the students had been gathered in the gymnasium so the faculty could make sure they were all accounted for. Luna finished a conversation and then stepped off to the side, drawing her Hunter to find a new mail from Sonia.

"Are you okay?" it read

She smiled. The reply she sent said, "Perfectly fine. What about you?"

The response came almost instantly. "Nothing to worry about."

Hesitantly, Luna typed out, "What about Jack?"

"He's okay. But, the Satella Police are taking him into custody. They're getting ready to leave as soon as they're done talking with the faculty."

"Are you going with them?"

"I was thinking about it. But, I could just as easily go report in later if you want me to stay nearby."

Luna considered it a moment. "No, you should go now. We're all fine."

"You sure?"

"Of course. Why else would I have said it?"

"Okay, I'm going. I'll call you once everything's settled. Love you!"

"Love you too."

After hitting 'send', she returned the device to her pocket and sighed, taking a seat on the bleachers. She glanced over the crowd. Many of the students looked nervous, but they seemed to have calmed considerably now that they knew the Satella Police had arrived. Zack pushed his way out of the mess of people and jogged over to where Luna sat.

"They're still looking for Geo," he said. "I hope he's got a good excuse lined up."

Luna nodded.

"Well, in all likelihood the election will be rescheduled for some time next week. Should we use the opportunity to get in a little extra campaigning?"

"Maybe…I don't know."

Zack scratched his head. "Um, Prez…are you okay? You seem a bit…er, that is to say…"

Luna gently rubbed her hands together. "…It just feels like I ran away."

"Luna," Ophiuca chimed in, "that's not at all what happened."

"I can't help it. I know we could've joined in, but I decided to do nothing. It doesn't seem right."

"You know that you aren't ready for that yet. The way you reacted, it's clear you still need more time to recover. That's the most helpful thing you can do right now."

Luna hung her head. Zack said, "Prez, there's no reason to feel guilty or anything. Everything turned out fine. And, didn't the others all agree that they wanted to give you the time you need? There's absolutely no pressure."

"It just…" Luna started, pausing to look up at the ceiling. Quietly, she went on, "It just…makes me feel…weak. Vulnerable, I guess. And I hate feeling like that. I'd rather fight back, even if I know that's not the smartest thing to do right now."

Zack stepped forward emphatically. "Prez, no one here thinks you're weak! The rate at which you're already recovering is awe-inspiring! And as for vulnerable, well…as long as you have us, that's nothing to worry about, right? Brothers protect each other! So let us take this chance to protect you, as thanks for all you've done for us!"

Luna looked at Zack for a moment. Slowly, she grinned. "Heh…thanks, Zack. I really appreciate it."

She leaned back and breathed deeply. Zack sat down next to her, and together they silently watched the crowd.

Ace called a display from his Hunter. Glancing around the Shaman's hut, he said, "So, let's be sure we get all the relevant information covered. Three Wizards working for Dealer attacked and were deleted."

Everyone sat in a circle, except for Solo, who leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. They took a moment to exchange glances before someone finally went first.

"There was no sign of the Noise Cards they used," Hyde said. "It would seem they were destroyed along with the poor follows."

"And we did try to avoid deleting them," Ace added, typing away. "Feel like that's gonna come up…also, no Crimson detected?"

Copper shook his head. "If I had to guess, they crystallized all the Noise they had generated when they made that armor you mentioned, and it went with them too. We were able to scrape up that bit he threw at you—we'll take that back and have the doctors analyze it, see if maybe we can learn something."

Ace nodded. Turning to the Shaman and Condor, he said, "And you're now properly registered as Transcode 014! Contact info for WAZA is in the Hunter that Detective Copper gave you, so call us if there's anything urgent…or, if you change your mind about taking the fight to them."

Copper grunted. The Shaman said, "Thank you, but it now seems more important than ever that I stay here. Dealer could very well return. I only hope that we will be enough to stop them if they do…"

"We will because we must," Condor said. "No matter what, we will find a way to keep Whazzap safe."

The Shaman nodded, but he still looked distraught. Ace thought for a moment before saying, "Well, that's a good point. We'll help you out."

Looking up, the Shaman asked, "What?"

"WAZA can help you protect Whazzap from Dealer. Stopping them is our main goal right now, and preventing or managing an attack would certainly help with that."

The Shaman's eyes widened. "Truly? You would offer us your aid?"

"Of course. Although, the thing is…" Ace stopped for a moment, seeming to wonder if he should continue. "Well, I'm sorry for this, but we wouldn't be able to get a full security detail out immediately."

Hyde raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was Amy who asked, "Wait, why's that? Aren't all the officers pretty much recovered?"

"That isn't the problem," Solo said. "He's not sure who he can trust."

"Huh? What's that mean?"

Ace put a hand over his mouth as he stared at the screen in front of him. "When Sonia, Geo, and Acid left WAZA to track down Luna's data, Dealer attacked immediately. It was too well-timed to be a coincidence. And it was the same today: those Wizards were here just in time to welcome us. It's possible they just monitored the Wave Roads or something…but…"

Amy frowned. "Oh."

"We can't totally rule out the possibility that there's a Dealer spy somewhere in WAZA," Copper said.

"Right," Ace said. "So, I'll need time to assemble a force of people I trust to protect this place."

The Shaman looked down. "I see…"

"Still, we should make some kind of arrangement for now. If one of us stays here while I get things sorted, that should keep things covered well enough, don't you think?"

"But who would that be?" Hyde asked. "You need to be back at WAZA to assemble this team. Our dear detective here cannot Wave Change, so he alone would make little difference."

Copper scowled at him. "And no one here trusts you."

Amy scratched her head. "…Well...exactly how long are we talking about? It's just, I'm really not doing well in this heat, so I'm not sure how useful I'd be."

Ace glanced at Solo. The boy kept his eyes closed as the silence dragged on, but eventually, he said, "I'll do it."

Everyone looked up. The Shaman stood up and said, "Oh, we would be honored to have you as our guest! Yes, I'm positive the people will feel much safer simply knowing a descendant of Mu is protecting them!"

Ace turned towards Copper, who was staring hard at him. Reluctantly, Copper gave a short nod, and Ace typed into his screen.

"Thanks, Solo! We'll keep in…oh, wait, you don't have a Hunter. Do you have another spare, detective?"

"I don't want your human technology," Solo said. "If you must speak with me, then contact the Shaman. And make sure it's something important."

"As long as you're okay with that?" Ace asked.

The Shaman nodded. "Yes, of course." He inhaled sharply, looking around and smiling. "Thank you all so much. I don't know that Whazzap has ever been treated so kindly…I cannot tell you how much this means to me."

"It is an honor to work with you," Copper said with a bow. "We will return to Electopia tomorrow and immediately begin constructing your security team. The moment we have news for you, we will contact you."

"That should do it, then," Ace said, closing the display. "Thanks, everyone. Now go enjoy yourselves while we're here!"

As the others got up, Ace realized there was a notification on his Hunter. Pulling it up, he discovered it was a new mission report, and as he began to read its contents a heavy frown came to his face.

Sonia sat against the wall not far from the door to Jack's cell, neither of the guards seeming all that willing to interact with her. She hopped to her feet when she saw Boreal approaching.

"I got the gist from the officers," he said. "Is he awake yet?"

"Yeah, he is."

She followed him over to the door. Before he opened it, however, he stopped short. Turning back to face her, he said, "You've done enough. You don't need to be involved in this part if you have something else to do."

Sonia gave him a confused look. "Huh? No, I'll stay."

Boreal slowly undid the door. Inside, Jack was pressed up against the bars, holding them like he expected to rip them off and shooting a malicious glare at his visitors. Boreal sat down. Sonia remained standing.

"Where's my sister?" Jack asked.

"She's still being held here," Boreal said. "No need to worry about her."

"I want to see her!"

"We can't allow that."

Sonia glanced at him sideways.

"Aren't you supposed to be in charge?" Jack asked. "It's not like anyone can stop you, right? Make it happen!"

Boreal opened the file he had brought and flipped a few pages.

"Hey, asshole!"

"So tell me, Jack," Boreal said calmly. "Where is Dealer's base of operations located?"

"What?! I'm not telling you anything until you let me see my sister!"

"That's not how it works here. Please answer the question."

Stepping forward, Sonia said, "Mr. Boreal, we can at least let them see each other. I'm sure they'll be more cooperative after—"

"Not if we just give in to their demands," Boreal interrupted. "Jack, what can you tell me about what Dealer is planning?"

Sonia furrowed her brow. Jack, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not telling you anything! If you want answers so badly, let me see Tia—then maybe I'll feel like talking!"

"What can you tell me about the Noise Wave you used to attack the school?"

"Listen to me, you idiot! What part of 'I'm not talking' do you not understand?"

Boreal sighed and closed the file. "Well, if that's the case…"

He got up to leave. Jack's eyes widened, and he said, "Hey, hang on a second!"

Boreal grabbed the door, but Sonia put her hand against it. "Mr. Boreal!"

"There's nothing more to be done," Boreal said. "If he's not willing to give us any information, then there's no point in talking to him."

"If we let him see Ms. Tia, we'll probably get some answers! It can't hurt to try!"

"It can, Sonia. I can't just let them meet on good faith. One of them needs to give me something before I can even consider an exchange." He turned back to Jack. "Do you have anything for me?"

Jack just glared at him.

"Still," Sonia said, "this doesn't…even if we don't get any additional information, isn't it enough that we've captured them? Can't we just—"

"No, Sonia," Boreal said. "That's my stance until they hand over something to negotiate with. Now, let's go."

Sonia stared hard at him. Behind her, Jack mumbled, "Fine…I got something you'll want to hear."

Boreal glanced over his shoulder.

"Before I left, I heard King giving Joker his next orders."

Sonia bristled.

"Let me meet with my sister, and I'll tell you what they were."

Boreal just looked away.

"I'm serious!" Jack shouted. "He's gonna attack in a matter of days—if you guys don't stop him, who knows how many innocent people he'll kill! Don't you want to stop that?"

"Mr. Boreal," Sonia said. "You can't really—"

He silenced her with a look she'd never seen before. It was enough to get her to release her hold, so he opened the door and left the cell. A few moments later, Sonia's surprise started to turn to anger, and she rushed after him.

"Mr. Boreal!"

He didn't answer her, just continued down the hallway.

"If Joker's going to attack, then we need to know where! How is that not something we can work with?"

"It is," Boreal said.

Sonia blinked. "What…?"

"Assuming he's not bluffing, that's valuable intel. But we're not going to discuss whether to grant his request or not in front of him."

It took her a few moments to process his response. Shaking her head, she asked, "Mr. Boreal…what are you doing?"

Boreal stopped in front of the elevator and sighed. "Sonia…I'm just trying to get as much information as I can. Jack's much more likely to give us something, but I'm positive he'll clam up once we let him see Queen Tia. We have one chance. I need to make the most of it, and the best way to do that…is to make him think he needs to tell us as much as he can, or he'll never see his sister again."

Sonia gaped at him.

"I know. But this might be our only chance. Dealer is dangerous, and has to be stopped."

"I don't need to be reminded of that," Sonia said quietly. "But this isn't the right way to do it. Jack's scared, and lonely, and just wants to see his sister so he knows everything is okay. How can you take advantage of that?"

Boreal looked her in the eye. "By approaching it as a scientist. It's a simple matter of what's likely to do the most good, and if Jack can tell us something that'll help us stop Dealer soon, that'll go a long way towards keeping plenty of people safe. When you look at it objectively, the choice is easy."

"So that's it?! You're willing to let the end justify any means?"

"Of course not. I'm not going to take this too far, I'm only going to apply a small amount of pressure before I give him what he wants."

"This is already going too far! How can you be okay with what this is going to do to Jack?"

"Look at it another way. Suppose he does know where Joker's going to attack next, we let him see Queen Tia, and then he decides he doesn't want to tell us anymore. Would you be alright knowing we missed an opportunity to prevent the damage Joker ends up doing?"

Sonia clenched her fists as she tried to think of a counterargument.

"I know you don't like it. But if we have a chance to stop Joker—"

"Stop it! Of course I want Joker stopped, you don't have to make this about him!"

"It is about him, Sonia."

"No, it's about Jack! We have a chance to help him, and you're only making things worse! Wherever Joker shows up, I'll be there to tear him down, but we don't have to hurt Jack to get there!"

"This will get us there ahead of time. We can help Jack when this is all over."

"But he's here now!"

"Sonia, you aren't thinking ahead at all. This could be the difference that saves someone's life! Is letting Joker kill someone really worth this?"

Sonia jerked a half-step back, her face twisting into a dark scowl. She shouted, "He's not going to kill anyone else! I can stop him—"

"You don't know that!" Boreal said. "I know you'll do everything you can, Sonia, but that doesn't mean you'll get a perfect victory! There's no way to guarantee Joker won't kill someone before you even get there, no way to guarantee he'll leave them in a state where we can piece them back together afterwards. It's too risky a gamble! You can't just expect you'll find a way to resolve this in a completely ideal fashion. We can take steps to increase your chance of success, but sometimes the only way to do that is by doing something less than ideal."

"That's terrible! You sound just like…" she started, but couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn't need to, however. Boreal knew who she meant.

"I may not be able to do things ideally, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up all my ideals. It isn't that black and white, Sonia—I wish so much that it could be, but it's not. You've already had to do things you didn't think were ideal, haven't you?"

"Only when I didn't have a choice! We have a choice here, and you're choosing what you know isn't good for Jack."

Boreal sighed. "Sonia. Was Jack open to you helping him when you fought him at the school?"

"…No."

"Did he seem all that open to it now?"

"No."

"Do you think meeting with Tia, and having her tell him not to share any information at all, will make him more open to it."

"We don't know that she's going to say that!"

"She's hardly said a word since coming here. Her stances on giving up information is already clear, and Jack will do whatever she tells him to do."

"…Maybe…but…"

"We can't help them right now, Sonia. All we can do is get information that will help us end this, and see if that changes their mind. What other choice do we have?"

A heavy silence spread over them both. Sonia tried desperately to think of something to say, but her mind was reeling, still trying to process exactly what was happening. And then her thoughts turned to Joker.

Sonia looked down and mumbled, "At least keep me informed."

"I will," Boreal said.

She turned and started walking. She wasn't sure which way she was headed, but she just kept moving.

King looked at the card-sized display in his hand. An image from security footage outside Echo Ridge school was on it, showing Jack being taken away by the Satella Police. He sighed and dropped it in a pile.

"Now perhaps he'll learn his lesson," King muttered, shuffling the remaining cards he had. "He's always been a tough one to discipline, but perhaps WAZA will have better luck with him than I."

He spun his chair around and moved it forward, coming to a stop next to Heartless. Joker stood ahead, just down a handful of stairs, and he waited attentively to hear what King would say next.

"Regardless, I have a feeling we'll get much more work done now that we won't have Jack blundering about. It is time for us to play our wild card."

Joker nodded. "I will not fail you again, Mr. King. Now that Jack has been captured, have my orders changed? He may leak our initial plans to WAZA."

King laughed. "That is precisely the point, Joker! How do you expect to collect multitudes of Crimson without our friends there to harvest it? I gave Jack this task knowing that he would fail it—of course I don't want Harp Note dead! This was chosen as punishment for Jack's disobedience specifically so that he could deliver a message to them, so that they could mark their calendars and come lend us a hand."

"I see. Forgive me, Mr. King, I did not realize."

"Oho, no harm done! Though, there is one thing I want to be sure you keep in mind."

King beckoned. Joker stepped forward.

"While you are most certainly free to have a bit of fun…I will not tolerate any more unauthorized killing."

Joker nodded. "Yes, Mr. King. I understand."

"Excellent!" King said, clapping his hands together.

Joker paused for a moment. "If I may, Mr. King…should Acid be there…what permissions do I have?"

King stroked his chin. "Hm, not satisfied with the copies, it would seem."

"To be frank…no."

"You must have known we lack the required programs to fully recreate Acid," Heartless said. "Do not act as though this comes as a surprise."

"But they are weak," Joker said. "Weaker than I expected. And weakness does not befit Acid."

King chuckled. "Indeed, I do not think the Acid copies possess much potential either. So, all things considered…yes. I will permit you an opportunity, Joker."

Joker straightened up in surprise. A smile came to his face, and he said, "Thank you, Mr. King! I truly appreciate your generosity!"

"And that is one opportunity, my boy. If they turn out to have the stronger hand, you are not to play another round. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, sir. One opportunity is all I require."

"Hoho, it is nice to see you so enthusiastic! That will be all for now, Joker."

Joker made his way out of the meeting room. As King returned to shuffling his cards, Heartless brushed aside her hair and glanced at him.

"It's a fool's wager," she said.

"Of course, my dear Heartless. I know how to read the odds."

"And you are certain Joker will stick to his orders when he fails to reach Acid?"

"Ho ho…well, he is a wild card. It's difficult to say for sure. But if it worries you, my dear, fret not: I have prepared for the possibility of Joker defying me."

Heartless simply looked away and hummed.

"It's too late for them to stop us now," King said, drawing a card that depicted Meteor G. "Joker's efforts are only to hasten the inevitable! Ho ho, I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when the deck runs out!"

Notes:

-I somehow managed to get this one done quickly. Since last one took so long (and this one ended up a bit short), I figured I'd go ahead and post it in an attempt to balance things out a little. Anyway, Red Joker now has more chapters than Tribe, but is actually about 2000 words shorter—next update will be the one to officially make this the longest story in the series. Just, trivia.

-It may seem like Solo's been sidelined for the time being, but given the situation he was the best candidate for the job. He's also still fairly curious about Whazzap, so he's not totally ready to leave just yet, and I think it'll be a good experience for him to be somewhere that actually welcomes him. He won't be here for long: as soon as Ace gets a second to send over a team, Solo will head back to the main story and take center stage. Sonia will have his help in several key battles coming up, I promise!

-The "approach it as a scientist" idea is something that's going to be in a fairly important scene late in the story, and I've been finding other places to start working out what that means as build-up to it. When Boreal first mentioned it, it was to Sonia's advantage, but this time, not so much. I won't hammer it in so much it gets repetitive, it'll just pop up a couple more times to further complicate Sonia's take on it.

-"That's terrible! You sound just like…[Walters]"

-Joker cares a good deal more about Acid this time around. This is going to change his behavior a bit, but I will do my best to make sure it doesn't clash with his core character. We're entering the part of the story with a lot more Joker, so you'll soon understand why as this version of the character gets fleshed out. I definitely think Joker is interesting. But, there are a few aspects that I thought it would be better to put more focus on, sort of like with Rey.

-To The Unplanner: there are nine numbered Mal Wizards, 2 through 10, and they're basically the rank between generic grunt and "officer" (Joker, Tia, Jack, formerly Ace). (Heartless has her own special rank above that.) I'm thinking the currently open spots will be filled by new Wizards in the near future, but I'll make a note of that when it comes up. And thank you for the ideas on Terra Condor! I might borrow a few of those for the next time we see him in action

-And that's that. I have half an idea for next chapter, I just need to get on it and figure out what the second half is going to be about. Hopefully it'll be out some time in October.