Walking down the halls of AMAKEN was nostalgic for Sonia. She just wished it could've been under better circumstances.

It had taken a long time to get in touch with WAZA, which she then found out was due to a Dealer spy crippling their network—even once that was dealt with, everyone had been so busy evacuating the damaged headquarters that it had taken even longer for someone to arrive on-scene to retrieve Ace and Acid. She and Geo were given some instructions on how to stabilize them both, and luckily it had worked well enough. Ace had been taken to a hospital nearby, meanwhile the majority of WAZA's personnel regrouped here at AMAKEN, save a select team who stayed behind to guard equipment and data that hadn't been safely moved yet, and Acid had been brought in to be repaired by Goodall and Vega.

Sonia entered a lab to find the both of them, as well as Boreal and Dubius, gathered around a computer screen. After a small pause, she came over to join them.

"How's Acid?" she asked.

"He'll be alright," Goodall said. "There wasn't really all that much damage done to him. I've got him straightened out—he just needs a bit more time to rest."

Sonia nodded. Turning to Dubius, she said, "Thanks for letting us come here, Mr. Dubius. I really appreciate it."

Nodding, he said, "No problem at all. I'm more than happy to help out."

Then facing Boreal, Sonia asked, "…Any word on Ace?"

"He's stable," Boreal said. "They say he should wake up soon, and then it's just a matter of getting him to rest until he's fully healed. That's probably what's going to be the hard part."

Sonia hummed to herself.

"Sonia, can you go over what happened again? Just in case we missed something."

"Uh, sure. When the Noise Wave opened, it spat out a bunch of those Noise Beasts, so we had to focus on fighting those first. We tried to get into the Wave when we had a chance, but then…Joker showed up…" She clenched and unclenched her fist. "We tried…well, really, he was trying to talk to Acid. He was saying that Dealer would give them the freedom they wanted, and that he wouldn't have to…be denied his purpose, or something like that? I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. Ace charged at him, but his attack did nothing. Joker just grabbed him and started pumping Noise into him. Then he left, and…Ace just went berserk. He didn't say anything—I don't think he could even understand us. He just kept attacking, until the limiter activated and broke his Wave Change."

Vega put a hand to her chin. "And you said his armor turned black? It sounds as though Joker was trying to force him to Finalize…"

"Yeah, I think he did say that."

"Goodness…I didn't think our restrictions would cause that to happen…"

"He shouldn't have been able to hack the Ace Program to begin with," Goodall said. "King must've made some nasty adjustments to the Joker Program."

"Sonia, you'll need to be extra careful," Boreal said. "Both you and Geo: the second generation Noise Control Programs should have better security, but Joker might still try to hack them and overwhelm you with Noise."

Sonia shuddered. "So…we could go berserk too?"

Boreal glanced to Vega. She answered, "…Only if you aren't able to retain control over the Finalization process. Acid has been modified explicitly to make that impossible, which is most likely why he became temporarily corrupted by the Noise."

"Okay, but…what is Finalization?"

"It's a type of Noise Change," Goodall said. "A very powerful, very dangerous one that calls upon files from deep inside the Meteor Server to supercharge its user. Acid used to be able to do it, but after…after Joker left…"

She trailed off. Boreal picked up, "When Joker left, concerns arose over the possibility of Acid doing the same thing. So I ordered Acid's abilities to be limited. That way, if he did betray us—"

"He wouldn't betray us," Vega interrupted. "He's not capable of being lured away with false promises, not without emotions. It was unnecessary, and it was those very modifications that led to this fiasco."

Boreal narrowed his eyes a bit. "Might I remind you, doctor, Acid always had trouble controlling himself when Finalized. If he hadn't been modified, and Joker had forced him to Finalize, he may have still gone berserk…and a properly Finalized Acid would have done much, much more damage."

Vega looked away. Sonia glanced at Goodall, who sat staring at the floor with a sad, distant look in her eyes. Clearing her throat, Sonia said, "Dr. Goodall…I'd hate to pry, but I've been wondering something."

Looking up, the doctor said, "Oh? What is it, Sonia?"

She hesitated a bit. "…Are you…Joker's mother?"

Goodall stared at her for a moment. Then, the sad look came back to her eyes, and she chuckled once. "Well…in a way. He certainly always thought of me as such." She turned around, facing the screen again. "…There's no reason to be coy about it now. Sonia, the truth is that Joker is not a human. He is a Wizard. One that I was responsible for programming."

Sonia blinked, wondering if she had misheard the doctor. "…What? But…he…"

"Looks human? Yes, that was the intention." Goodall tapped her fingers against the desk. "You might have already heard—when we were creating Wizards, there was some disagreement over whether to give them emotions or not. Veggie here was dead set against it, but me, I was all for it. We could never quite agree, so when the time came to create Wave Change-capable Wizards to use the Noise Control Programs, we compromised: Veggie could program Acid however she liked, while I took the lead in programming Joker."

Sonia furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of it. "Okay, but…emotions are one thing. Why make him look just like a human?"

Goodall gazed up at the ceiling. "I wanted Wizards to be able to integrate into society as seamlessly as possible, to be treated just the same as people. It wouldn't be enough to make them the same underneath—humans can be so petty when it comes to appearances, surface differences. So I thought the best way for Joker to be treated like a human was to make him indistinguishable from one." She shook her head. "Hah! Or, maybe I got a little carried away and just wanted to play God? Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time…"

Sonia glanced over the doctors. "…Okay. Whatever the reason…why am I only being told this now? Geo and I both hesitated out there because we didn't want to hurt an unarmed human! If we'd known he was a Wizard—that he was capable of taking a few hits—then we might've been able to stop him from screwing up Ace and Acid!"

"To be fair, dear," Lyra said, "Mega did point out he defeated Solo. We already knew he could take a few hits."

Sonia looked off into a distant corner of the room. Goodall glanced over her shoulder and said, "Well, regardless…the main reason we don't talk much about Joker is just down to the fact that I'm embarrassed over the whole ordeal, and no one wants to remind me of it. Even I've done what I can to try not to talk about him. I know it's not a good enough reason, not by a long shot…but what's done is done. I'm sorry, Sonia."

Sonia stared at her. Eventually, she took a deep breath, put both hands over her face, and just laughed. "Okay! So!" Counting on her fingers, she went on, "Ace was raised by Dealer before defecting to our side, there's a gigantic meteor made entirely of Noise headed for Planet Earth, and Joker is actually a Wizard made at WAZA. While we're here, is there anything else I should know?! Anything at all that could be helpful?! Because to be honest, I'm getting really tired of surprises!"

Boreal quietly said, "I can't think of anything."

"Well if you do, please let me know!" And with that, she stormed out. She made her way through the lobby, ignoring everyone she passed, and out onto the grounds to find some place where she could be alone. When she finally sat down on a nearby hill, she buried her face in her arms and screamed.

"This revelation explains a few things," commented Lyra, who materialized next to her. "We should have a much better understanding of Joker now."

Sonia glared at her. "Who cares?! All that's important is that I beat him, and you were right: I already knew everything I needed to do that! Next time, I'm not going to let him get away!"

Lyra stared at her. "…Sonia…are you listening to yourself?"

With a sigh, Sonia faced forward.

"Dear, this isn't like you at all. Normally you'd be doing whatever you could to understand your opponent, trying to find some way to talk them out of what they're doing. We finally have a real chance to do that with Joker. Don't you want to take it?"

Sonia leaned into her arms again. "…No. I don't think I do."

"…My," Lyra said. "You really hate Joker, don't you?"

Sonia just hid her face.

"Is it because of what he did to Luna?"

"Of course!" Sonia said. "He tried to kill her, Lyra! I thought he did! And he had no reason at all!"

"He had his own reason, it—"

"No good reason! And even if it hadn't been Luna, even if he had only killed Strong, I'd still hate him! You know how I feel about killing, Lyra. Why…" She took a moment to breathe, and then, more quietly, finished, "Why shouldn't I hate a killer?"

A very long pause followed. Eventually, Lyra looked at the ground and sighed. "Sonia…there's a conversation I've long dreaded having with you. I'd hoped to avoid it, but now I think perhaps we need to have it."

She shifted a little. "…What's that?"

"The FM-ians, for the longest time, were a warrior race. We thrived by attacking and destroying other planets." Lyra paused. "Dear…do you really think that none of us have killed people?"

Sonia slowly looked up.

"I had my suspicions you hadn't thought about it, and I suppose I was too afraid to ask. But, Sonia…we have. I have."

The girl remained frozen in place.

"I wouldn't now, of course. I realize that it was wrong, and I regret it. All of it. I think that's how a lot of us feel now, because we've been able to change for the better. We were able to do that because you were willing to show us compassion, and believe that we could change—you said you wanted to help us to do it, if you could. And you did."

Lyra's gaze fell.

"And of course…that doesn't make my mistakes any less terrible. If there is something in this universe that will judge me, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out I've already been condemned." Looking back up, she went on, "Still…even still, I truly want to behave differently going forward, simply for the sake of doing so. And that's not something I ever expected to feel."

She turned back to Sonia. She wouldn't face her.

"I won't tell you how to feel towards Joker, dear. I find his actions quite deplorable myself. But you have been able to change those who have killed, and prevented them from killing more. So I suppose the real question is…do you still believe that all people have the ability to change?"

Sonia said nothing.

"…You don't have to answer now. I just felt this was something you should consider. I'm worried about you, Sonia. I've never seen you like this, and I've no idea how it might change you. But, if you're content with that, then I won't pretend it's my place to stop you. It's your decision. But please…all I ask is that you take some more time to think before you make it. That's all."

Lyra dematerialized, and Sonia remained frozen in place, still not saying a word.

From his hospital bed, Ace reached out to take the folder from Boreal, inspecting the papers within quickly but thoroughly. His superior asked, "Do these look alright to you?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah—no complaints here, Chief. I trust all these people."

Boreal took the folder back and tucked it away. "Good. The sooner we get this team over to Whazzap, the sooner we can get Solo back. I have a feeling we're going to need him."

Turning to Dubius, Ace said, "I bet you'll be relieved to have a few less people crashing at AMAKEN."

"It's no trouble, really," Dubius said with a smile.

Ace turned to the other side of his bed, where Acid floated, saying, "And thanks for your help in getting Acid back on his feet…so to speak. I was really worried Joker might've corrupted his systems for good."

"There was no cause for alarm, Ace," Acid said. "My program is fairly resistant to Noise. Additionally, even if I should sustain irreparable damage, WAZA still possesses my backup data and could recreate me quite swiftly."

"What? Don't say it like that—just because they can make a new you doesn't make it okay if something happens to this you!"

Acid cocked his head. "…I fail to see the distinction. Nothing would be lost, barring perhaps a short period of memory."

"You would be lost. And I don't want to see that happen."

Not sure how to respond, Acid faced Boreal instead. "Chief Boreal, I wish to apologize for losing control of myself. I have been working on potential ways to upgrade my Ace Program's security so that this will not happen again, and will share them with you as soon as I am satisfied with the results."

"Good," Boreal said. "I look forward to it."

"Why don't we just disable his limiters?" Ace said. "Then he'll be able to maintain full control over the Finalization."

Boreal ran a hand over his face. Acid said, "That is not guaranteed, Ace. You will recall that I—"

"Yeah, you used to have problems, but you've grown so much since then! I'm sure you could stay in control now! We should at least give him a chance, right Chief?"

"It's a dangerous thing to consider," Boreal said, "especially in the wake of this latest development. Right now I think it's better to keep Acid restricted, and just have the rest of our team focus on keeping him from begin hacked again."

Ace got a thoughtful look, muttering, "So we should focus on the team…" A glint came to his eye, and he turned to Dubius. "…Hey, while I have you here: I don't suppose there's any chance you know where Cyg—"

"Stop it," Boreal said.

"What? I'm just asking. When will we get another chance?"

Boreal shook his head sternly, and Dubius glanced between the two of them. "Um," he said, "are you asking about Cygnus? I know where he is."

Ace and Boreal both turned to him, the former asking, "Really?!"

"W-Well, sort of. I know he's…around."

"Has he been bothering you?" Boreal asked.

"No, nothing like that!" Dubius said, waving his hands. "I've just…I've seen him. I've been keeping an eye out for any EM wave bodies, with the scanners and the security cameras, and a while back I noticed that Cygnus had come by the facility. He didn't do anything, he just kind of…stopped by. I didn't know what to make of it. But, then he started to do it more and more—I've never actually approached him face to face, just seen the recordings. I'm not really sure why he's been doing it."

Ace grinned at Boreal, saying, "This could be our chance!"

"Hold on," Boreal said. "We don't have any idea what his intentions are. For all we know, he's still sees us as enemies."

Dubius fidgeted. "…Well…actually, I, um…"

Boreal faced Dubius, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"…I guess you could say…I left him a peace offering? On one of the more recent recordings, I noticed he was having some kind of spasm, and I figured it was probably due to Noise. So, um…I left out a data packet containing a Noise Filter…"

Boreal's eyes widened. "You left a Filter sitting out in the open?!"

"W-Well, it was on the Wave Road, so most people wouldn't even be able to get to it, and it was encoded so that a virus wouldn't be able to open it. Plus, I was keeping watch! Cygnus came back, and…he seemed hesitant, but he took it. It was a while before he came back, but he did, and he seems fine now." Dubius glanced at the wall. "It just…seemed like the right thing to do…b-besides, it'd be really dangerous for everyone if he ended up corrupted, right?"

After a moment, Boreal nodded. "No, you're right. Good call, Tom."

Dubius gave a relieved smile. Ace said, "So we can approach him! This'll be perfect! Mr. Shepar already said he was interested in helping us out, and who knows, maybe Cygnus can even lead us to Libra! We'll be able to—"

"Ace," Boreal said. "Slow down. I'm still not convinced Cygnus would join us if we asked him."

"I'm sure we can swing it. Especially if we let Sonia do the talking!"

Looking down, Boreal said, "I…don't think that's going to work right now…"

Ace frowned. "…Oh. Is she not…?"

Boreal shook his head.

"Oh. That's too bad…I was hoping she'd be ready to talk some sense into Jack and Tia once we track them back down." He paused. "Any word on them?"

Again, Boreal shook his head.

"Shouldn't be surprised. Tia's been honing her plan to escape Dealer for as long as I can remember. If she can avoid them, she can surely avoid us too."

"Did she ever tell you anything that might give us a clue?"

Ace shrugged. "I used what I remembered when I escaped, and even that wasn't perfect. I wouldn't have made it if not for…" He cut himself off.

"Right," Boreal said, quickly moving the conversation along, "but at the very least, you still know them. What do you think they're planning to do now?"

Ace leaned back as he thought, eventually saying, "Tia's main goal is always Jack's safety. But...I think she's considering more than just his physical well-being? I remember her talking a lot about revenge, saying that as long as the people who made them suffer were still around, Jack would never truly be okay. I think…I think she wants to erase anything that could remind her or Jack about what happened to them. And King has definitely done a lot to them. So, as long as we keep fighting Dealer, I'm positive we'll bump into them again."

Boreal nodded, saying, "We'll keep our guards up, then."

Ace looked out the window. "…If Sonia won't be up to talking sense into them…then are we going to have to capture them again? Even if I was as good at this as her, Tia's never going to listen to me, which also means Jack won't. I'm beginning to wonder…if we'll ever really be able to help them…"

He didn't get a response, as Boreal simply tugged on the brim of his cap.

"I wish they'd been the ones who managed to escape. They deserve freedom so much more than I do."

"You aren't helping anyone by beating yourself up, Ace. Everyone makes mistakes, and your circumstances were pretty extreme to boot."

Ace looked at him. "Back when the FM-ians invaded…Sonia more or less had to kill some of them, didn't she? She must have hated it, but she seems fine now. How did she cope?"

"…I'm not sure she did," Boreal said. "I didn't really have many chances to catch up with her while it was going on, but she seemed to just be pushing it out of her mind as much as she could—and eventually, of course, the FM-ians were all reconstructed by the FM King. So at that point, I guess she didn't really need to deal with it."

Ace's gaze fell, and then he turned it back towards the window. "...I'm glad, for her sake. Because the people I've killed never got to come back…and I don't think I'm ever going to be okay with that…"

A long silence followed. Eventually, Dubius received a call and left the room, and Boreal also got up to leave.

"Sorry for almost spilling the beans, Chief," Ace said.

"Don't sweat it," Boreal said. "I trust Tom, so it wouldn't be a problem if he knew. It's just…you never know who else might be listening."

"Right. I won't bring her up again."

"Get some rest, Ace. Acid, I'm trusting you to keep him confined to this room by any means necessary."

"Understood," Acid said.

Ace finally cracked a smile. "Don't be so dramatic, Chief. I'll be up in no time! Besides, won't you need my help transporting whatever's still in HQ?"

"We've got that covered," Boreal said. "I've been in talks to get it transferred ASAP, and I've already asked Geo to take the lead. You rest. That's an order."

"…Well, he can definitely handle it. Maybe I should take it easy for just a bit."

"Good. I'll stay in touch with the guards, so if you need anything just let them know. Get well soon, Ace."

Boreal left, and Acid dematerialized. Ace stared back out the window, his smile gone at once.

Please save them, Sonia. I don't think that anyone else can.

Notes:

-Hey, so…it's been a while. Sorry about that. I went into detail over on Twitter, but basically, trying to juggle so many stories at once was killing me so I decided to focus on one at a time, and my Mega Man ZX fic was closer to completion so I focused on finishing that one first. But now, it's done, so I'm going to be focusing on this one until I get it wrapped up! Current estimate is putting that somewhere around 40 chapters? Maybe? We'll see how things go.

-In hindsight, it's really pretty strange that no one at WAZA tells you Joker is a Wizard in SF3. And, as far as I can remember, I don't think they give you any kind of reasoning for why they don't? I decided to roll with it and show Sonia get frustrated with WAZA's habit of withholding information, since this story is partly about putting as much pressure as possible on her to see if and when she'll break.

-So…earlier on, I don't think I really put much thought into the fact that the FM-ians have definitely killed a lot of people, or how this clashes with Sonia's absolute refusal to kill. It has finally occurred to me, and I've been wondering how best to address it, because…well, I guess I'm worried how it'll look/what it might "say"? Despite focusing in on the redemptive aspects of Star Force, to be honest, I'm not really the type who feels every person/character can be redeemed. I feel like it's a very tricky subject. Like, I love Vegeta, the Final Explosion has made me tear up, but dude killed a LOT of people and it is definitely weird the others don't talk about that more. Lyra and the other FM-ians have definitely changed—bad people can change, I do believe that—but there are some things that you can't exactly "make up for", you know? Maybe part of why Star Force's redemptive aspects are so interesting to me is because it's a subject I haven't entirely figured out. Still, that kind of becomes a problem when I decide to write my own take on it, and I'm not sure I properly took that into account when I embarked on this series. I'm going to do my best to handle it…hopefully it'll work out.

-Sorry it's a bit short, but I'm ending it here for pacing's sake. Next time we launch into another set of battles to put the final pieces in place for the climax of act two!