AN: Alright folks, here we are at chapter 28. Only about 4 or more chapters and this story arc will reach its conclusion. Also this means Riku and co.'s battle with Shade is just around the corner. Sorry for the long wait, but job hunting as well as other things have been on the rise for me and those not only take up time but also induce writer's block, but don't worry I'll do my best to update quicker.

Well, a couple of things to my reviewers:

To ShardclawKusanagi: Thanks so very much for the kind words and all for this fic, they've really helped me get going further in this story. Glad you liked last chapter's sparring matches, as well as the character interactions. Anyway, hope the stuff I've sent you has helped with providing good entertainment as well as given you some ideas. Well, sit back and enjoy this chapter and the ones to follow. I guarantee you'll enjoy them.

To GreyWolf4: Glad you enjoyed Youji and Michael's interaction. To tell you the truth, I got the idea for the scene sort of last minute as I rewatched WK and suddenly got the thought 'Hey, Youji and Michael sort of have a similarity in this aspect'. Anyway, I'm also glad that you enjoyed Kagero and Yukimura's interaction (and I can guarantee that you'll see plenty more soon enough (when this part of the story finishes of course) and I also like hearing how you said how I portrayed the character's emotions in the previous chapters (I was kinda worried I didn't do so well in that field when I wrote them). Anyway, enjoy the upcoming chapters.

To Jyde: I'm very glad that you're enjoying my fic, and also that my fic has made it to your favorites list. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and the ones to come (also hope you update 'Bring me to Life' soon, cause I'm really enjoying it). Oh yeah, one more thing, be sure to check out Shardclaw's fics 'Children of Evangelion' and its companion fic 'Soldier X' to see further adventures and all for Riku and co. as well as other characters (read COE then SX otherwise SX's story will confuse you). Also, the Ceres cast has shown up in SX and will show up in COE sometime, so that's another reason to have a look at the fic. Anyway, enough of my rambling, enjoy!

To dunno: I think Wei would want to come after the people of Viz who released the manga, if his surname really is 'Li' (like Syaoran from CCS and Tsubasa) and not Lee. Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of this fic, and you can bet wanker man Kagami will get some more of his before his soon to come demise.

To windwingxs: Glad you're liking this story and I'm sure you're going to enjoy this chapter. Well, sit back and enjoy.

Anyway, everyone sit back and enjoy!

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.

Chapter 28: Into the Lion's Den Part 1: Infiltration

Aogiri Residence:

Riku, Nagi, Tot, Michael, Ran, Youji, Ken, and Omi were doing a last minute inspection of their gear and weaponry before heading out. The FOXHOUNDers were wearing their sneaking suits while the four members of Weiss were wearing their typical outfits for missions.

Riku was carefully inspecting the ninja gear he was going to equip, checking to make sure the various shuriken he had (, kunai, throwing star, and Fuuma (the big throwing stars) were sharpened and in good and wieldable condition. When he was satisfied, he then proceeded to equip a set of caltrops, vampires, senbon needles, his USP (silencer already attached), ammo, some C4, grenades (regular, stun, and chaff) a couple of rations, IR goggles, and then put on a vest that doubled as one for protection and also storage of his more 'special' equipment. For in various pockets (some visible some not) throughout that vest, Riku had in each one a type of herb, powder, or small vial of liquid, one or the other. These could either work as medicines and/or antidotes, or be deadly poisons or drugs to be used on the enemy. Riku had marked each one so that only he could recognize them and tell them apart.

Nagi checked his USP to make sure it was in good condition before equipping that and the ammo that went with it. He did the same with his sniper rifle and then proceeded to equip some rations, and IR goggles.

Tot and Ran checked to make sure their katana blades were sharpened and usable before equipping the other equipment they'd be taking with them, while Ken made sure his claws were in good condition and Youji did the same with his wires. Omi carefully equipped both his darts (poisonous, stamina draining, and explosive) and arrows so that they would be ready to for use to be either thrown, or loaded and shot from the crossbow or his PSG1-T.

As they finished checking their equipment, Yuhi, Chidori, and Shuro came in. They were wearing typical clothing, but had on protective vests that would protect them from bullets, burns, and/or shrapnel. Chidori was also carrying something in a sack.

"It looks like you guys brought enough weaponry to start a war." Yuhi noted as he saw the equipment everyone was bringing along.

"For a normal sneaking mission yes, this would probably be overkill, but not in this case." Michael spoke as he checked a case that held a Stinger missile launcher. "We'll be facing up against expert mercenaries and probably even metal gears, so we can't afford to do things lightly like usual. Since the enemy is expecting us, we may end up having to fight our way through the whole thing."

"Oh yeah, about that." Chidori spoke. "Suzumi, Shuro, and I made some stuff for you guys to help you." She then reached into the sack and brought out several sets of what looked like wristbands and one headband. All of them had the celestial symbol in the center of them.

"What are these things for?" Tot asked. "Are these sweatbands or something?"

"No actually, these are types of bands endowed with celestial energy." Shuro explained. "They're talismans of a sort, featuring the crests of the tennyo."

"They also happen to work as good luck charms, or so I've been told." Chidori added. "Anyway, they should improve your defense pretty well and maybe even block attacks, small ones anyway." She then sighed a bit. "Though I admit, these things are harder to make than you'd think. Suzumi, Shuro, and I were up most of last night making these. In fact Suzumi's resting from that right now."

"Are you sure that the two of you will be alright?" Michael asked. "If you're worn out from all of that then maybe…"

"Don't worry about it." Shuro replied. "Chidori and I rested up as soon as we finished making these so we're fine."

"Alright, if you say so." Michael nodded.

"Hey, there's one set that's missing." Yuhi spoke, after counting the bands.

"That's because I already have yours, Yuhi." Chidori said and then reached into her pocket and took out a set of wristbands and a headband. She then blushed a little as she handed them to Yuhi. "I…well, asked Suzumi to teach me how to make these a while back. I was going to give these to you sooner, but…" Chidori paused for moment and then continued. "Anyway, I reinforced these so they'll probably protect you a lot better than that protective vest you're wearing."

"Thanks, Chidori." Yuhi smiled as he took the bands.

"You're wel-." Chidori was suddenly cut off when Yuhi surprised her by suddenly kissing her. The two of them were blushing furiously when they broke apart.

"I…err, figured I should thank you at least a little more." Yuhi said.

Normally Riku would have made a joking remark or something, but decided not to as he figured it wasn't appropriate with the situation.

"Well, I guess we'd better get ours on too." Riku spoke and then noticed something. "Hey there's only one headband."

"Sorry, but we only had the time to make one of those." Shuro said. "Don't worry, its absence won't make much difference in terms of defense."

"I guess I'll call first dibs then." Riku replied as he picked up the headband. "Besides I think I've got a use for this thing." Riku then reached into his vest pocket and took out a rectangular metal plate with the FOXHOUND symbol in the middle of it. He then threaded then band through some attachments in the back.

"What's that supposed to be?" Yuhi asked.

"A forehead protector." Riku answered as he put it on and adjusted it. "Standard ninja defensive head gear."

"Well, enough talking let's get these things on and then finish checking the rest of our equipment and then prepare to move out." Michael said seriously.

"Right." Everyone chorused.

The equipped bands have given Riku, Nagi, Tot, Michael, Ran, Ken, Youji, Omi, and Yuhi a boost in defense.

Meanwhile: Mikage Base:

Crawford stood in front of Kagami as he listened to the final details of the secrets that the former leader had kept hidden for so long. Kagami was still handcuffed to the chair inside his cell, and Schuldich was standing behind him; the three men were alone in the room as this conversation was for both Crawford's and Schuldich's ears only. While Kagami's body showed no signs of abuse, however the wearied and pained look on his face showed that the affects of Schuldich's mental torture had done their job.

"My, you have been doing quite a lot of planning, haven't you Kagami." Crawford spoke with a smile, fixing his glasses after hearing what Kagami had to say. "Or rather you, your father, and all those other higher ups in the Mikage family…that metal gear project of yours is quite fascinating. A metal gear designed to enter space and act as a colony to support and cultivate living things…an effective Noah's Ark for your C-Genomes. Do tell me, what are you planning such a thing in preparation for?"

"I already told you, the plan is for our people to take the C-Genomes away from this dying and pathetic world and…" Kagami began.

"And build an ideal and perfect civilization, a utopia, someplace else; on another planet." Crawford finished and smirked. "Sorry Kagami, but that little half truth won't get by me, Schuldich, or the Patriots. Do tell us the other half…"

"I don't know what you're talking a-AAARRGH!" Kagami's calm yet weary expression suddenly twisted into one of pure agony as he felt sudden multiple feelings of pain lance into his stomach and chest area. If his hands weren't bound, Kagami would have grabbed that area in a vain attempt to lessen the pain, but all he could do now was writhe there in the seat he was bound to.

"Having a sudden flashback, Mr. Mikage?" Schuldich spoke as he looked down at his suffering former employer with a friendly grin. "You're remembering our little 'chats' from not too long ago. Well, sort of. Actually your brain is specifically remembering the pain from those experiences, which is why you're not completely re-experiencing things. You see, the human mind is a very interesting thing in how it can…"

"That will be enough for now, Schuldich." Crawford said firmly. "We need Mr. Mikage alive after all."

Schuldich shrugged and glanced at Kagami, canceling the torture. Kagami jerked as the pain suddenly vanished before collapsing into the seat, breathing heavily.

"I would suppose apologies would sort of be necessary since that may have been unnecessary." Crawford said to Kagami. "I have a bit of a guess as to what the purpose of your metal gear project is. Tell me, Mr. Mikage, was this done because you have knowledge of the occurrence of something on the level of Second Impact on the horizon? And by that, I'm not referring to that ridiculous meteor cover story, I'm referring to that incident in Antarctica so many years ago…"

Kagami, despite the after affects of Schuldich's sudden mental torturing, took a sharp intake of breath in surprise at what Crawford had just said.

"If you know the true nature of Second Impact, then you should realize the importance of what I am trying to do!" Kagami half shouted.

"Importance is in the eye of the beholder, Kagami. Though I admit that I am curious as to how you discovered this information. Could it have been from a leak in the Patriots' information or SEELE's, or something else?" Crawford asked, and then stopped as if he remembered something and then shrugged. "In any event, I'm afraid our time is up. The FOXHOUNDers and their allies will be arriving here shortly, and before that I'm afraid we need you and your men to appear before Ragnalek."

"Not the Wiseman's Committee?" Kagami asked in reply.

"I guess the Patriots have better things to attend to instead of you, my friend." Schuldich said. "Though I don't blame them, you're pretty much useless now." He then paused and turned to Crawford. "Still boss, you sure we shouldn't find out what exactly he knows about…"

"If another Second Impact does occur we have what it takes to evade the destruction it will cause." Crawford told his partner. "With my ability to see into the future, I should know when it will occur beforehand to ensure we're not of the half the population of the planet that will perish."

Kagami fought to hide an expression of surprise at what he had just heard.

(So they don't know about Third Impact, at least not its true nature…) Kagmi then fought an urge to smile. (It appears I still have an advantage. If I play my cards right, then perhaps…)

"Oh yes, Mr. Mikage, before I have the guards outside escort you to the room along with your men, I have something I should inform you about." Crawford spoke to Kagami. "That Russian man you had working for you, Ryurik Lediev, won't be joining you."

"What!"

"I'm afraid the Patriots required his services so they had him taken to a different location, after all he was the one who you were depending on for your metal gear project. The Patriots figured Mr. Lediev, with his vast knowledge of biotechnology would be of more use in the completion one of their projects that they've codenamed 'Ultimatum'."

(So 'that' project is already underway…) Kagami thought to himself. (Well, the loss of Ryurik is unfortunate, but not enough to stop C-Project if I can escape from here.)

Meanwhile: Outside the Mikage Base:

Inside a fishing boat docked in a cove far from the main base for the Mikage, Shade stood in front of a cornered middle aged fisherman. Lying close to the two men were the broken bodies of three other men who had been the fisherman's crewmates, their bodies beaten and torn almost beyond recognition.

"Well, you're the last to die." Shade commented as he took a step towards the frightened man. "I must admit your friends did happen to provide some help in killing time and relieving some stress…so any last words?"

"P-please don't kill me!" The man screamed, begging for his life.

"It's pointless for you to beg for mercy that you won't be receiving." Shade replied with a grin and reached for him to deal the killing blow. Suddenly Shade stopped as an idea came to mind.

The fisherman was surprised at this sudden thing that to him looked like hesitation. He quickly looked to try to find a way to escape.

"It's pointless, you won't escape." Shade said. "However, I just realized I may have a use for you. But to be fair I'll let you decide, will you do me a favor and leave this boat alive or will you refuse and die now? Choose."

"I…I'll do whatever you want just spare me!" The man replied quickly, relief showing on his face.

"Good, I like agreeable people." Shade smiled, suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed the man firmly by the neck and lifted him up. "However, I'm afraid this favor will require you to die once…"

Meanwhile: Aogiri Residence:

"Sis, you promise you'll be careful, right?" Shota asked Chidori as everyone else was getting ready before heading off to start the mission.

"Of course Shota, I'll be fine." Chidori answered confidently and then her expression softened as she saw her younger brother's worried expression. "Don't worry, that bit of VR training Riku and the others ran me through should help and I'll also make sure to follow the directions Riku and Michael give me, so…"

"Okay, I understand." Shota nodded. "I'll try not to worry…" Shota's expression then became a little saddened. "Just make sure that you come back alright, Chidori…I don't think I can go through losing anymore people I love…"

"Hey what are you talking about? No one's going to die, I promise." Chidori then smiled to reassure her brother. "And besides after this, we'll all go karaoke and celebrate."

"Alright." Shota nodded and smiled a little.

"Hey Chidori, we'll be leaving in a few minutes." Riku called.

"Alright, I'll be right there." Chidori called back to him and then turned back to Shota. "I'll see you later, alright, Shota."

"Okay, sis." Shota replied and then watched his sister go to join the others.

"No matter how much she reassures you, you still worry about her, huh?" Yuhi's voice spoke from behind Shota causing him to turn.

"Sis has always been the one who's gone through most of the hard stuff." Shota replied. "She was the one who bore the guilt of our parent's death, and also she did her best to care for me and encourage me to try to walk again, and…I just want her to be happy."

"I know exactly what you mean, Shota." Yuhi said. "Though there are differences between how things are between you and Chidori and me and Suzumi. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I promise I'll make sure Chidori is safe."

"I know you will." Shota smiled. "Just promise to be careful too. I don't think Chidori could take it if she lost you."

"I'll do that." Yuhi promised. "After all, I want Chidori to be happy too."

Meanwhile: Mikage Base: Control Room:

Kagami, Lee, Asamu, and Viper stood in front of a set of monitors, each one of them with a person in them, their faces hidden and their voices altered by computers. Crawford, Schuldich, Farfarello, and a whole squad of soldiers were also in the room to prevent any possible escape attempts. The people in the monitors were the members of Ragnalek, a council of many key leaders of several countries formed to promote C-Project. These people reported and worked directly for the Patriots.

"Well, Mikage Jr., it seems from these 'unedited' reports we've received from the Patriots' agents, you've lost quite a number of the C-Genomes you have here." One of the council members spoke. "It makes me, as well as the rest of us wonder if C-Project ever was running smoothly in your hands."

"Our purpose is to make a better future by creating a superior human race." Another spoke. "Perhaps we should have asked for more aid from the Patriots in this affair instead of relying on your family for this, as your C-Project has failed to be more than just a 'project'."

"And considering all of that vast funding we, and even the Patriots, have given you in order to make this project a success…" Another councilman spoke. "Kagami, your revealed treachery has become quite a nuisance to our plans."

"Yes, by all rights we should have you executed as befitting a traitor such as yourself." Another councilman said.

"However, we have decided, that due to your contributions, along with the fact that you still have some value to us, we will be lenient." The first councilman spoke. "We will have the Patriots' agents keep an eye on you and ensure that you complete 'our' version of C-Project. The one the Patriots and we desire. Should you do this we will see that you will be spared any 'unpleasant' consequences for your previous actions and be allowed to retire."

"One thing though." The fourth councilman added. "If you do anything to spurn our merciful judgment, the consequences for you will be far more terrible than the ones you have just avoided."

"We hope to see some real success soon." The third said. "We especially look forward to the completion of the hagoromo."

The monitors then went blank as the members of Ragnalek ended their transmissions.

"Well, today's your lucky day after all, Mr. Mikage." Crawford spoke with a light smile.

"They don't know about the FOXHOUNDers coming attack do they?" Kagami asked.

"Attack!" Lee exclaimed and turned to Crawford. "What is all this anyway, Crawford? If you're working for the Patriots, then aren't you working for Ragnalek as well? Why are you…"

"Ragnalek and the Patriots are hardly the same." Crawford replied simply. "Ragnalek does have quite a bit of power politically, but that power is merely what the Patriots are letting them have in exchange for being their lapdogs."

"And in that perspective it's better to work for the master and not the servant." Schuldich added. "You'll find that in the case of old man Takatori as well as those old coots from Eszet…"

"Servants, no matter how high up they are, are always expendable." Farfarello spoke as he licked the edge of one of his knives.

"That what you people call 'load of crap'!" Asamu shouted. "You work for Patriots then you nothing but their slaves too. You the same as Ragnalek."

"Dear boy, we are far from the Patriots slaves." Crawford replied to Asamu coolly. "That is simply a role we play out for them of our own choice. A role that we can cast aside should we choose."

"What exactly are you getting at, Crawford?" Viper asked suddenly, his eyes showing suspicion at what he had just heard.

"Nothing that you, or the rest pf the guardinals, need be concerned about, Viper." Crawford answered and turned to the soldiers. "In any case, we're running low on time. Do take Mr. Mikage and his associates to their cell."

The soldiers nodded and then proceeded to escort Kagami, Lee, Asamu, and Viper to the cell they were to be confined in. As they left the room Viper glanced back at Crawford.

(Is what he said back there true, or was that just talk to baffle Kagami?) Viper thought to himself. (Crawford…ever since I've run into him and his two cronies I haven't been able to figure one of them out. All three of them are like walls. But still, I can't help but feel there was some truth in Crawford's words. If that is the case then I should report this to the Patriots at once.) Almost as soon as he thought this, Viper then realized he couldn't do it. (No…at this stage, contacting the Patriots now over a mere suspicion would cause too many unnecessary complications in the mission. I'll report this later when I submit my report on the situation…)

As the door closed, Schuldich then turned to Crawford.

"Boss, you sure it was a good idea to let Viper hear all that?" Schuldich asked. "That guy is pretty tight with the Patriots in terms with how they are with their minions."

"It doesn't matter." Crawford answered simply. "Viper won't risk causing any disruption in this operation at the state it's currently in so he'll delay any mention of this for now. Besides, his part in all of this will soon be coming to an end."

"I can see to that myself." Farfarello volunteered.

"No, someone else will be taking care of Viper for us." Crawford replied. "Besides, I have a more important task for you. I want you to follow those guards who were in the room with us and after they return Mr. Mikage and his men to the cell, make sure that they don't ever breathe a word of this to anyone."

"In other words, make sure they don't by making sure they never breathe again." Farfarello smirked as spun his knife before smoothly sheathing it and then drew out a short sword that had a long rapier like blade. Aside from his knives, this was another weapon Farfarello used for both throwing and close combat. "I'll get started then."

"Just don't get carried away." Crawford warned. "These men are supposed to be our allies after all. Make sure that the bodies are well hidden."

"Of course." Farfarello nodded and then left the room.

A minute later the door opened and Shade walked into the room.

"I assume you enjoyed that time you wasted on those fishermen." Crawford spoke to Shade casually.

"It was better than anything else you had to offer me, which was nothing. Besides I made sure that it was far from a waste of time." Shade replied with sarcasm. "Anyway, how much longer will we have to wait until those FOXHOUNDers arrive?"

"They'll be arriving within the hour actually." Crawford answered.

"Good finally I can have some real fun." Shade grinned. "If you ask me, I had much more kicks from the WOTAN mission."

"Just save your 'fun' until they take care of a few things for us." Crawford reminded him. "Other than that…"

"Whatever you want, Crawford, just as long as I get the pleasure of fighting whoever it is FOXHOUND has sent here. That and having a little extra fun with any women that are hopefully part of the group sent in."

"Very well then, as long as we're clear on that." Crawford nodded as he fixed his glasses.

"Actually Crawford, I have a request." Shade added.

"What is it?"

"I have a little 'test' ready for this group of FOXHOUNDers. Would it be alright if they took it not too long after their arrival?"

"As long as this test doesn't kill them before they do what we need them to do." Crawford said.

"You need not worry about that." Shade replied confidently. "This is merely my way of gathering information on my soon to be opponents."

"In that case do whatever you want."

"Good, I'm glad to see we finally reached an agreement on something." Shade smiled, and then he stopped as he remembered something. "What about that hidden one inside the Mikage girl's cell? If you didn't sense whoever…"

"Oh, I can assure you that I knew of the girl's presence." Crawford then smirked. "You mean you couldn't tell that it was a woman? I'm surprised; after all, someone with your…history…"

"Don't make the mistake of ruining my good mood, Crawford." Shade warned him. "So why didn't you do anything about it, and how did she get in there?"

"That girl, Maya Hirobe, who ironically happens to be the descendant of a celestial maiden as well, apparently was somehow put in there by the FOXHOUNDers I'm sure of it." Crawford answered. "As to why I did nothing, that girl will be the beacon that our guests shall follow to the ones they intend to rescue. She will also be the beacon that they will follow to their death."

"Like moths to a flame, eh?" Shade grinned. "But the problem is if this Hirobe girl has a communication device on her, then…"

"Miss Hirobe is equipped with one, a codec to be exact." Crawford interrupted. "That part has also been handled. Earlier I had a new type of security measure that the Mikage recently had installed in this base activated around the area for the cells. It basically causes interference to block any transmissions from communication devices, in the codec's case, it will be enough to block any messages but not enough to block the signal which our guests will undoubtedly follow."

"So all I need to do is get in my position and wait." Shade turned to leave.

"Oh yes, about that." Crawford spoke, causing Shade to stop and glance back at him. "I happen to have a good idea of where you should meet my student and his companions."

"Just as long as it guarantees I get my fight with them." Shade replied.

"Of course, after all I'm looking forward to seeing how your battle with my student goes."

"If you happen to see it." Shade smiled in anticipation. "I do hope your expectations aren't too high for your dear pupil, though."

"I'm fully prepared for any outcome." Crawford shrugged. "Oh yes, I have one more important task for you, Shade. Now here is what you must do…"

Meanwhile: Fishing Boat:

As the fishing boat that Riku, Nagi, Tot, Michael, Ran, Ken, Youji, Omi, Shuro, Yuhi, and Chidori were on chugged forward towards the island that the Mikage base was located on, Riku sat on a bench on the deck watching Michael steer the boat to make sure it stayed on its present course.

"So how much longer till we get to the island?" Riku asked.

"Not too long, we'll be there in about forty to forty five minutes." Michael answered as he glanced at the ship's map. "Anyway, in a few minutes you and Nagi should be ready just in case. If those RAYs are sent after us, we'd better destroy them quickly before they get a chance to sink this boat."

"Of course, Michael." Riku nodded and got up. "In the meantime I'll go below deck and help unload everyone."

"Good idea." Michael agreed, and then his expression grew slightly troubled. "Riku there's something you should know. I've been trying to contact Maya ever since we left, but I haven't gotten any response."

"That doesn't sound good." Riku said. "Are you sure your codec's working right?"

"I've looked at it and it seems to be fine." Michael replied. "Why not try yours just to be sure?"

"Got it." Riku nodded, and reached to his ear for his codec. He then selected Maya's frequency. After a few beeps, a 'No Response' showed on the screen.

"Definitely not a good sign." He said.

"Unfortunately, the only thing we can do right now is hope that the signal's just being jammed." Michael spoke. "For now, don't tell the others about this. There's no reason to cause unnecessary worry."

"I understand, I just hope nothing's happened to Maya." Riku then turned and headed towards the ship's cabin. "Anyway, I'll go down and get everyone else."

Riku then walked into the cabin and then down some steps to the storage bin. The strong smell of dried fish immediately greeted him as he went inside. There, Riku saw that all four of the members of Weiss were out of the crates they had hidden in before. The crate Yuhi and Chidori were in had just been opened by Nagi and Tot and Yuhi climbed out and then turned and helped Chidori out of the crate.

"Did we have to do this?" Chidori asked Riku, making a face at the strong smell of fish in the room.

"The only way to get all of you guys aboard without raising any suspicion was this." Riku answered. "Face it, eleven people getting on a boat that's intended for three or four people would look suspicious, while four people loading a bunch of 'fishing equipment' onto a boat isn't."

"Couldn't you have at least picked someplace else on the ship that didn't smell this bad?" Chidori asked in reply.

"Yeah, this fishy smell smells awful." Tot complained, covering her mouth so she wouldn't smell it.

"This is a fishing boat, you two, of course it would smell like fish." Riku replied with some sarcasm. "Besides the smell isn't that bad."

"Hey I noticed something, how come Tot and I are the only ones who don't like the smell?" Chidori noted looking at everyone else in the room. "Even you Shuro…"

"Well, if you just breathe through your mouth, you don't really smell it." Shuro said, smiling a little.

"As for the rest of us, we've smelled worse stuff before." Ran spoke for the Weiss members, Riku and Nagi nodded that it was the same in their case too.

"Same here, when you're a cook not all of the ingredients you use smell very good at all." Yuhi spoke.

"Actually, dried fish, or any non-poisonous fish for that matter, makes for a pretty good ration." Riku said. "You know in another time and place, like a mission in a jungle area or something like that, this place would smell like a banquet."

"You mean…under certain circumstances, this would make you hungry?" Chidori asked, sweat dropping, along with Yuhi and Shuro.

"Well, yes…what?" Riku asked in reply as he saw his friends' expressions.

"You really do destroy the typical image of a ninja…" Chidori shook her head.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Riku asked with a miffed look on his face, and then shook his head. "On second thought, tell me later, we need to get up on deck. We'll be at the base pretty soon, and Michael thinks we should be on the deck to be ready in case the enemy uses those Metal Gear RAYs."

"Good idea." Ran nodded in agreement, and with that the whole group went up to the deck.

45 Minutes Later:

As it turned out the boat made it into the bay without so much as a sign of any of the metal gears. The boat then found its way to the small dock that the fishermen used. As it pulled in, Riku and the others could see that another fishing boat was docked there as well. After a few minutes, their boat had stopped and Michael quickly tied it to the dock.

"So what do we do, I mean…" Riku spoke to Michael, indicating the boat.

"We'll speak with the owners and see what happens, but be on your guard just in case." Michael replied.

Riku nodded and checked to see that the safety of his USP was off. He then turned to Nagi and the others.

"You guys get the stuff unloaded, Michael and I will handle this." Riku instructed.

"What if these are just ordinary civilians?" Yuhi asked.

"Then we'll probably have to knock them out and leave them here on their boat so they don't get caught up in any of this." Riku answered.

"Can't we just tell them to leave?" Shuro spoke.

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but unfortunately we can't do that now." Michael replied. "First, there's a good chance their leaving may alert the enemy that we've arrived and we need to conserve our element of surprise. Second, letting them leave may put them in danger of being targeted by the RAY units that are in the water either with them mistaking them for us or to eliminate potential witnesses."

"I see…" Shuro nodded that she understood.

"Alright Riku, let's go." Michael turned to Riku, who nodded and got off the boat. The two of them then walked over to the other boat. Seeing that no one was on deck, Riku decided to call out to whoever was on board.

"Excuse me…" He said. "Could any of you guys give us some directions? We got a little lost…"

There was no reply. After a few minutes of waiting, Riku turned to Michael, who shrugged. The two men then got onto the boat and walked over to the door to the cabin below deck. Riku then knocked on the door, only to not get any reply. Suddenly a bit of the door inched open with a slight creak. Riku then reached to push open the door, but Michael's hand quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"I'll go in, you cover me just in case." Michael said. Riku was about to object, but he decided against it and reluctantly nodded and put a hand to his USP, while his other hand drew out a kunai shuriken.

The two then looked at each other, nodded, and Michael shoved the door open. He then rushed in with Riku close behind. But the site that greeted them definitely made the two men regret it.

Right before them, in the cabin they rushed into were the corpses of three men who, from the clothes they were wearing, were probably the owners of this fishing boat. The fishermen had all been mutilated beyond belief, one of them looked as if he had been horribly beaten to death, another one had multiple deep gashes all over his body, and the last one was lying face down, which was probably a good thing because a closer look showed that much of the man's head had been crushed by some intense force.

Riku had to fight back the urge to throw up as he felt bile rise up in his throat at the gruesome sight before him. It was true that he was no stranger to the sight of carnage, for he had seen more than his share of it in battle, but there was something about this that was different. He could feel some strange aura around this place similar to the one he felt in the Mikage building.

(This…this is…) Yuki's voice said in Riku's mind as she also took in the sight before him and Michael. Riku could almost immediately feel an intense feeling of both fright as well as revulsion coming from Yuki, and suddenly a strange feeling started to affect him, causing Riku's body to tremble. Riku immediately realized what was happening and shut his eyes and then turned away towards the door, stumbling a little as he did.

(Yuki, please…) Riku spoke to the frightened spirit within him. (I know this is a lot for you, but you must control your fear…and your other emotions…they're affecting me too!)

For a moment it seemed as if Yuki hadn't heard what Riku had told her, but suddenly the uncomfortable feeling Riku had gotten vanished entirely.

(I…I'm sorry…) Yuki spoke, her voice sounding miserable. (I'm supposed to be helping you…but instead all I'm doing is hindering you…)

(Hey now, it's natural to panic when you see something like that for the first time.) Riku tried to reassure her. (Look, all…)

(You don't have to lie to try to make me feel better.) Yuki interrupted him. (I've never been a strong person…that's why it always seems that no matter what I do I always just cause problems.)

(And what I was telling you was genuine truth, Yuki.) Riku replied firmly. (I experienced similar feelings the first time I was in a battle. To be honest, back then, when I saw a nearby soldier, I can't remember now if it was friend or foe, get literally blown apart by enemy fire and then others nearby get shredded by the shrapnel, I froze and nearly panicked completely.)

(But you didn't run away?) Yuki asked.

(I might have.) Riku admitted. (But I knew that right then a lot of my comrades and friends were there with me, and knowing that, I couldn't just abandon them and leave them to die, nor could I just abandon the mission either. A true shinobi doesn't do either of those things.)

(But you're a ninja, I'm not…)

(My being a ninja was only part of the reason I didn't run.) Riku corrected her. (While it's true that part had a great deal to do with it, there was also another part; my friends who were there with me. I knew that they were counting on me to be giving them support, so I knew I couldn't let them down in that area.)

(So you mean I should just remember the people counting on me.) Yuki said. (Aya, her brother, Hirobe-san…)

(Not to mention I'm counting on you too.) Riku added. (Since we are merged, I'll be counting on you to help me in case any of the fights we get into turn nasty. So in a way, I'm going to stake my life on you.)

(Are you really sure you want to do that?) Yuki asked. (Like I said, I'm not a very dependable…)

(Maybe you are, maybe you're not.) Riku replied. (But you're my friend, and I trust you. That is what friends do, right?)

Yuki was silent for a moment and then finally spoke.

(Okay, I promise that I'll do my best.) She said, with some confidence now in her voice.

(That's the spirit.) Riku smiled. (Er…no pun intended.)

(I understand.) Yuki's voice then became serious. (Riku there's one thing that I think I should tell you, though. It's about this cabin, I'm sure you feel it too.)

(Yeah, the aura around this room.) Riku agreed. (Any idea what caused that? I don't think a C-Genome…)

(No it's something else. I'm not sure what, but…whatever it is, it's strong.)

(No kidding. Anyway, I'd better cut this short now. I need to tell this to Michael.)

(Alright.)

"Are you alright, Riku?" Michael spoke with concern in his voice as his friend slowly stood up. "I thought for minute you were going to pass out."

"It's nothing." Riku answered. "Yuki just had a small…reaction to this and that made me a little dizzy. It's nothing to worry about though, I'll be fine."

Michael then put a hand to Riku's head briefly and then withdrew it.

"Well, you don't seem feverish or anything, so I'll take your word for it." Michael said.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you've felt it by now, but do you have any clue who or what could have done this and created this weird aura?" Riku asked. "Yuki felt it too…"

"Maybe…" Michael looked deep in thought as his gaze shifted to the dead bodies of the fisherman as he inspected how each one had died.

(One of them was beaten to death…the other was sliced up by a fine edged weapon, and this last guy here had his skull crushed.) Michael thought as he surveyed the scene. (The way these men were killed are way too similar to 'his' methods of killing to be a coincidence…)

"Riku, there's something I need to inform you about as well as an order that you must follow." Michael said seriously as he turned to Riku. "If, during this mission, you and your team encounter a tall man dressed all in black that uses a chakram and advanced forms of martial arts, especially ninjutsu, I need you to promise that you'll run away. That one…"

"You're the second person to give me that warning." Riku spoke, surprised at what he had just heard.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked in reply.

"My grandmother gave me a similar warning when I was talking to her over the codec when we sent Maya into Aya's cell." Riku answered, and then stopped as he remembered something. "Hold on, did you say this man uses a chakram as his main weapon as well as advanced ninjutsu?" And Michael nodded.

"Well, I doubt this is a coincidence but, earlier before when I went to get Maya away from the Mikage agents sent to capture her, I ended up running into a kenin who used a chakram." Riku continued. "I didn't see his face, but the guy was obviously skilled, as he was able to sneak up behind me before I could even sense him. He held me up, but I shot him and got away so I could continue the mission. Then in the Mikage building, that kenin used some type of jutsu to reanimate the body of one the many people he killed there and spoke to me through it."

That was all Michael needed to hear as he felt his heart sink as his suspicions were confirmed beyond doubt.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Michael asked, half shouting, surprising Riku.

"I kind of forgot, alright." Riku answered. "I mean, the first time I thought I had either killed the guy or badly wounded him, and after the Mikage building, things started to move so fast…"

"Okay, I understand that." Michael calmed down. "I'd explain more about this man, but in light of this we need to hurry and get inside the base and find Aya and the others first."

"What can you tell me?" Riku asked. "I'll need to tell at least something to Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, and Chidori just before we go in."

"This man you were warned about it a mercenary and assassin named Shade." Michael answered. "He's highly skilled when it comes to martial arts, and cruelty and mercilessness are the closest things he has to good qualities."

"How skilled is he?"

"Riku, you know how skilled Garland is?" Michael asked in reply.

"He's that powerful?" Riku's eyes widened as he heard this.

"More than that, I'd say Shade is, at the very least, as strong as Garland when he goes into his 'Berserker' mode."

(This is REALLY not my day…) Riku thought to himself.

"I'd tell you more, Riku, but there isn't enough time. For now, let's divide into our teams and begin infiltration. Just remember to run away the moment you see Shade, and contact me."

"I understand, consider it done." Riku nodded.

Later:

It hadn't taken long for the gear to be unloaded. After that, the large group had split into two teams to carry out the infiltration. Michael's team consisted of Ran, Youji, Ken, Omi, and Shuro, while Riku's team consisted of Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, and Chidori. Each team had a C-Genome with them in order to help locate the hagoromo.

The plan was simple, the moment one team located where Aya, Aki, and Maya were, the other team would quickly move to where that team was. After that, there would be another division into two teams based on the current situation. One team would escort Aya, Aki, and Maya, along with anyone too injured to continue, out of the base and then use the codec to give an okay to either the Aogiri's or FOXHOUND to send a retrieval chopper for them. The other team would concentrate on finding Alexander O. Howell, any other C-Genomes held within the base, and finally the hagoromo. Afterwards that team would then retreat and then also signal for a chopper.

Riku's team made it to their infiltration point without any problems. Now all they needed to do was enter it without alerting the small number of guards patrolling the area around it.

"How many of them are there?" Yuhi asked as Riku surveyed the area. The group was hiding in a large patch of bushes that didn't have any security devices hidden in it.

"Eight of them, but the only ones that we really need to worry about the most are the three closest to our entrance point." Riku answered. "I should be able to take care of those guys quickly, but there's still a good risk one of the other five might spot me while I'm doing this."

"No problem, I'll just use some telekinesis to create a distraction so you'll have time to." Nagi spoke.

"Good idea." Riku agreed.

"What about us?" Yuhi spoke, indicating him and Chidori.

"Provide some cover, just in case I either miss a guard or another one comes back early. Here." Riku said and tossed Yuhi his M9, and he quickly caught it.

"Since I'll probably be using my beretta, you can use mine." Nagi said as he handed Chidori his M9.

"Are you really…going to kill those men?" Yuhi asked.

"I'm not sure I want to answer that." Riku replied, seeing Yuhi's expression. "And before you say something about this, bear in mind these men are professional mercs. Their skills are on par with many special forces type soldiers, unlike those goons the Mikage use."

"I understand what you're trying to say." Yuhi said. "I know once we're inside the base, when a fight breaks out you might not be able to avoid killing, but…"

"I understand what you mean; I don't enjoy killing people either." Riku replied. "But for your sake, I'll spare the ones out here."

"Thank you."

"Oh, one last thing." Riku said, now turning to everyone else. "From what I've learned recently, the enemy has an expert mercenary and assassin by the name of Shade in their ranks. Should we encounter him, we run away from him no questions asked."

"But…" Chidori said to object.

"According to what Michael told me about him, this Shade is not someone to be underestimated." Riku replied. "Because I'm in charge of this team, my primary duties include not just the mission objectives but to make sure everyone stays alive."

"Is this Shade person supposed to be strong?" Tot asked.

"Actually, I've heard rumors on the net about an assassin by that name as well as heard Crawford mention that name before." Nagi spoke. "If even a fraction of what I've heard is true then the idea of running would probably be a good idea." He then turned to Riku. "What do you know about him?"

"Nothing except, Michael obviously knows the guy." Riku answered. "That and according to Michael, this Shade is at least as strong as Garland is."

Both Nagi and Tot's eyes widened as they heard that.

"On second thought, scratch 'probably'." Nagi mumbled.

"What exactly is this about?" Chidori asked. "Who's Garland?"

"One of our senior members of FOXHOUND as well as a mentor to all three of us." Riku answered. "Before he joined FOXHOUND, he was a famous mercenary known as 'Bloody Hands'."

"Since he's your mentor, that means he's stronger than you, right?" Yuhi said. "If that's the case I can see why you…"

"Just to let you know, Garland is many times stronger than me." Riku interrupted, his voice serious.

"For that matter against the three of us combined, he's still way stronger." Nagi added. "Not to mention that he probably has enough strength to annihilate a whole army."

"And…this Shade might be stronger than that?" Yuhi said, neither he nor Chidori could believe what they had just heard.

"Yeah…" Riku then shook his head. "Anyway, let's not worry about that for now. Right now, let's just focus on getting past these guards."

Riku then used his right hand to draw out three pairs of senbon needles, one pair for each guard, each pair held between a pair of fingers. He then turned to Nagi and nodded. The young psychic nodded at his friend and then closed his eyes as he concentrated on his power. A moment later a crash was heard off in the distance, immediately catching the guard's attention. The first five immediately went in the direction of the sound while the remaining three remained behind to keep guard.

That was the moment Riku was waiting for, he quickly used his free hands to use the necessary hand signs.

"Cloak of Shadows." He muttered, and immediately a thin layer of chakra covered his entire body and blended in with the surroundings, making Riku almost completely invisible.

Riku, knowing he only had thirty seconds until the jutsu was cancelled, quickly dashed out from the hiding place, concentrating chakra into his feet to increase his speed as well as stop any sounds his feet would make will running. He then quickly threw the first two sets of needles, each set aimed for a specific pressure point in their respective target's necks.

The two guards didn't even know what hit them and the moment the needles struck, the guards collapsed to the ground in a heap. The last guard, who Riku was really making the dash towards, immediately saw his comrades suddenly fall over. The man quickly brought up his assault rifle, his eyes searching in vain for the mysterious attacker. The guard's eyes only managed to catch a glimpse of a hand suddenly materializing out of thin air, which held a pair of long thin needles.

"Wyvern's Sting!" Riku then jabbed the two needles into the guard's neck, successfully hitting the required pressure points and knocking the man out. With a small sigh, the guard slumped over onto the ground.

Riku breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the plan had worked, but that sense of relief was short lived as he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and raised behind him. Riku turned just in time to see that one of the soldiers had come back and had his rifle aimed at him.

(Damn it, I was careless!) Riku thought to himself, as he knew that even if he dodged the shot, the sound of the gun going off would alert the other guards in the area and that would blow any chance of his team going in undetected.

As Riku prepared to dodge the shot and then throw a shuriken at the soldier, his would be attacker suddenly stiffened up and then fell over, two tranquilizer darts sticking in his back. Riku looked over where Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, and Chidori were hiding and saw that one shot had come from Yuhi and the other from Chidori. He then smiled and nodded in the direction of his friends as a show of thanks.

Riku then walked over to the unconscious body of one of the soldiers, searched it and found a ration and some USP ammo, and then proceeded to hide the body. As he lifted the guard, Riku saw that Nagi, who lifted the other unconscious guards up and placed them in the bushes using telekinesis, was handling the rest. After tossing his guard into the underbrush as well, Riku stopped and looked around to make sure none of the other soldiers were returning and then nodded in his friends' direction to say it was all clear.

Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, and Chidori quickly ran out from the bushes they were hiding in to where Riku was.

"Alright, let's get inside before the others come back." Riku spoke. "Also, remember to keep your guard up once we're inside." Riku then paused and turned to Yuhi and Chidori. "Also, thanks a lot for helping me back there. I really appreciate it."

"Like we were just going to stand around and let you guys do everything." Chidori said with a smile.

"You can definitely count on us for support." Yuhi added.

"Alright, let's go then." Riku smiled in reply.

"Right." Everyone else chorused.

Later:

Riku was leaning against the wall of one of the base's corridors, looking past the corner for any enemy troops. Yuhi and Chidori were behind him while Nagi and Tot acted as rear guards in case any enemy troops suddenly showed up from behind.

Presently they had gotten through various hallways and sections of the base without any discovery by enemy troops, though there had been some very close calls. After a while, Riku decided to stop so that they could contact Michael's team, which Riku, after he was satisfied that there were no enemies headed their way, did, selecting Michael's frequency on the codec.

"My team's managed to get in without any incident, though until we find a node I can log into we're pretty much lost." Riku reported to Michael as soon as his face appeared on the codec screen. "How are things on your end?"

"About the same. We're using the signal from Maya's codec to try to locate her and that should lead us to where Aya and her brother are being held. The signal we got at first was weak but it's showing signs of getting stronger, meaning we're getting close." Michael replied. "A few soldiers did spot us, but your friends from Weiss got them before they could do anything. Don't worry though, we're all fine."

"That's a relief to hear." Nagi spoke as his face appeared on the codec screen.

"Oh yeah, so far there's no sign of this Shade you told me about." Riku said. "What about you?"

"Thankfully we haven't run into him either." Michael replied, and then he stopped as if he noticed something. "Well, it looks like there's some more guards on the way. I'll have to contact you later when we get past them."

"Alright, good luck." Riku said before the transmission ended. He then turned back to the others. "So far every thing looks good on their end, now let's…"

Riku was interrupted by the sound of a woman's scream coming not too far down the corridor they were going down. Riku, not sure what to make of this, turned back to Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, and Chidori.

"Crow, Usagi, guard Yuhi and Chidori. You guys follow me, but don't get too close in case this is a trap." Riku ordered, and everyone nodded that they understood. With that, Riku dashed in the direction of where the noise had come from until he finally reached what looked like a storage room. He glanced back to see that the others were catching up behind him before quickly readying a shuriken just in case and then opening the door.

What he saw inside of the room shocked and reviled him to the core.

Two of the enemy soldiers had a struggling woman with pale hair forced onto the floor. The woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, was only wearing the tattered remains of a shirt and there multiple bruises all over her body, which were obvious signs of abuse. Despite this she was obviously doing all she could to fight the two men off of her, even though it obviously appeared to be a futile struggle. One of the men was holding her down while the other was forcing her legs apart.

"Hey, this is a pretty frisky one, huh?" The first soldier spoke with a lecherous grin, keeping a firm hold on the woman despite her efforts to throw him off, and her screams of protest. "Hard to believe the commander got bored with her. Oh well, good for us, huh?"

"Just don't overuse her." The other soldier, who was holding the woman down, growled. "I want to have a chance to enjoy my turn at least as much as you."

"You're the one who lost the coin toss over which one gets her first, so sucks to be you." The other replied, suddenly he noticed that the door had been opened and turned to where Riku was, expecting it to be another soldier. "Hey if you want a go at her, wait till we're through. The commander said that we-."

The man never finished as Riku, his lips curled back into a snarl of outrage at what these two men were doing, threw his kunai shuriken right into that soldier's face with as much force as possible.

The soldier gave out a loud shriek, dropping the woman, as the blade plunged straight into his eye, piercing through his skull and into his brain before he tumbled to the ground giving a few twitches before he finally died.

The other soldier, quickly realizing this was an enemy, immediately let go of the woman and made a grab either for either his weapon or his radio to summon back up. Riku quickly drew out his USP, fully intent on shooting the soldier before he could use either of those, but stopped as he saw that wasn't necessary.

The soldier's face suddenly twisted up in a grimace as he suddenly started to choke. The man quickly brought his hands up to his neck to try in vain to stop whatever it was that was choking him. Suddenly, with a sickening snapping sound, the man's head was sharply twisted to the side, breaking his neck and killing him instantly.

Riku, knowing where that had come from, looked back to see that Nagi was standing behind him. Riku was about to call out to his friend to thank him when he noticed something, Nagi's eyes weren't their usual blue, but were now red. Riku then blinked a few times to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things, and then saw that Nagi's eyes had returned to their normal color.

(I must have been seeing things. It was probably just a trick of light.) Riku thought to himself. (But then again, if Nagi's eyes were red, could that mean he's a type similar to…No, it couldn't be…)

"Nice job." Riku commented to Nagi.

"I just felt like helping with taking out the trash, that's all." Nagi muttered in reply, and looked over at the woman. "Is she alright?"

Riku didn't reply and then turned to the woman, who was looking at the two of them nervously and at the same time trying to cover herself.

"Hey it's alright." Riku spoke to her reassuringly and then offered his hand to help her up. "We're here to hel-."

"DON"T!" The woman screamed swatting his hand away, and then backed into a corner of the room. She then curled up and began to whimper. "Please…don't…please don't hurt me…"

"We're not going to hurt you." Riku said taking a step towards her. "Like I was trying to tell you, we're here to…" Riku stopped, when Nagi put a hand on his shoulder.

(Her emotions are in a lot of turmoil right now, Riku. If you try anything right now you might make things worse.) Nagi said to his friend telepathically. (It's obvious what happened to her long before we got here…)

(So what are we supposed to do?) Riku asked in reply. (We can't just leave her like this.)

(First let's go out and then we'll think of something.) Nagi answered.

(Can't you…well, do something with your…) Riku began.

(If I used telepathy on her right now, I might cause damage to her mind.) Nagi replied. (In a way she's in a worse state right now than Aya was in when I helped her.)

Riku glanced back at the woman and then reluctantly followed Nagi out, where Tot, Yuhi and Chidori were waiting for them.

"What happened in there, you guys?" Tot spoke.

Riku and Nagi looked at one another not sure how to explain this to Tot. Finally Nagi spoke.

"Just trust me, Usagi, it's probably something you're better off not knowing." He said, but then glanced over to Yuhi and Chidori.

(Can you two hear me?) Nagi spoke to them telepathically.

(Huh, how are…?) Chidori exclaimed in surprise. (Oh that's right, since you're a psychic I guess you can do something like this.)

(Is this about what you guys went into that room for?) Yuhi asked.

(Yeah, that's pretty much it.) Nagi answered. (Well, there's a woman inside there, who I think may be Mikage personnel. She's been…hurt, and…)

(What do you mean by 'hurt'?) Yuhi asked in reply and then suddenly realized the answer. (You mean…)

(Yeah, apparently some enemy troops decided to use her for their 'entertainment'.) Riku spoke, disgust obvious in his voice. (Anyway, I'm going to head back a little and check some of the lockers to see if we can get her something to wear. After that…well, I'll tell you when I get back.)

Riku then ran back in the direction they had come from until he reached some lockers in the hallway. He opened each of them, but the only article of clothing he could find was a large lab coat obviously for a lab tech. With a shrug, he took the coat and then ran back to where the others were.

"I'm afraid this is all that I could find." Riku said as he laid the coat on the floor and then sat down. "But before that…"

Riku then opened one of the vest pockets and then took out a small pouch of something that had a few small markings on it. The young ninja then inspected the pouch to make sure it was the right one. After he was sure, Riku reached into another pocket and took out a small measuring cup, he then reached over to a water bottle he had brought with him and then put in a set amount of water. Afterwards he took out a small pinch of some green-brown powder, put it in the water, and waited a few seconds for it to mix. He then turned to Chidori.

"Could you give this to her along with the coat?" He asked Chidori.

"Sure." Chidori answered as she picked up the lab coat. "But why me?"

"Considering what just happened to her, I think you're probably the only person in this group she might not get startled by." Nagi spoke for Riku.

"Okay, I guess that's understandable." Chidori said and then reached over and took the cup with the strange mixture. She then stopped and looked at it. "What's this supposed to be anyway?"

"It's something that should calm her a bit." Riku answered, and then noticed Chidori was about to say something. "And before you jump to conclusions, no, this isn't some kind of drug. It's an herbal mixture used to help calm people in order to prevent them from going into shock, and larger doses are used to help soothe someone who's having something like surgery in the middle of a battle. I should know since I gathered the necessary herbs for this and made the mixture myself."

"Alright, I understand." Chidori nodded and took both the coat and the herbal mixture into the room.

While she was gone, Tot turned to Nagi.

"Crow, was what happened to whoever it is in there really so bad that you're keeping it a secret from me?" She spoke, surprising Nagi. "I can tell when you speak to people using your power since I've seen you do it so many times."

"It's not like that, Usagi." Nagi replied. "It's just that…what happened to the woman in there…I just don't fell comfortable telling you about something as horrible as that. I'm sorry…"

Tot looked at Nagi and could see from his expression that he was telling the truth.

"It's okay, Crow, but…" Tot paused for a second. "Could you please promise that you won't keep me out of when you talk to people like that when it's important? I don't want to feel left out…"

"Alright." Nagi nodded, and then smiled warmly at Tot.

(I promise, Nanami.) He finished using telepathy.

Tot/Nanami giggled and then threw her arms around Nagi, causing him to blush furiously.

As this was going on, Yuhi turned to Riku, who was smiling a little at his friends' interaction.

"You never told me you were a medic, Riku." He said, causing the ninja's attention to turn to him.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call myself that." Riku smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "If I were a real medic, I probably wouldn't have had to have gotten Chidori to a hospital back when she got injured and been able to treat her wounds myself. But to tell you the truth in the last few months I've been trying to train myself so I can act as a medic for an emergency when my team is in the middle of a mission."

"Wouldn't that be tough for you, though?" Yuhi asked. "I mean…"

"Learning anything is tough, but in my case it's not as tough as you would think since my being a ninja would actually help me in that area." Riku answered. "A ninja is supposed to know at least some types of poisons as well as the antidotes for them which does cover the medicine area. Also, using shuriken effectively requires one to know the vital points of the body so you'd know where to aim. Knowing the vital points helps you know which patient is more seriously injured, and it also insures that you don't accidentally injure him more during treatment. Also, if you know which blood vessels circulate poison the fastest, then you also know where to tie them off to stop bleeding."

"So in other words, knowing how to kill someone can actually be used as the first step in order to save them, right?" Yuhi said.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Riku smiled.

A few minutes later, Chidori came out with the woman, now wearing the lab coat, following her close behind. The woman still had the same frightened look in her eyes as before, and stepped back when she saw everyone else.

"It's alright, they're my friends and they won't hurt you." Chidori said to her. The woman looked at Chidori, nodded, and reluctantly followed her out of the room. As they came out, Chidori handed Riku the now empty cup.

"Excuse me, but could you tell us your name, miss?" Riku asked the woman, who just turned and looked at him but said nothing. After a moment Riku decided to say more. "My name is Riku. What's yours?"

The woman was silent for a moment and it at first looked like she wasn't going to say anything, but she finally spoke.

"My name is Gladys. Gladys Smithson." She replied hesitantly, and then paused and looked at Riku, her expression like a frightened child. "You…you won't hurt me, will you?"

"I won't hurt you." Riku promised her. "You have my word as a ninja."

Gladys then noticed Nagi and then turned to him.

"You…you won't hurt me either, right?" She asked nervously.

"I won't, I promise." Nagi answered.

"And this guy over here is my boyfriend so I can vouch for him." Chidori spoke, gesturing at Yuhi.

"A-alright." Gladys nodded.

Chidori then looked over at Riku and then gestured at her ear where her codec was. Riku nodded that he understood and made the same gesture towards the others to do the same.

"I kind of know who she is." Chidori said when her face appeared on the codec screen. "That woman, Gladys, was one of the personnel with Kagami when I was captured by the Mikage."

"If she's that high up in rank, then maybe she knows where Aya, Aki, and Maya are at." Yuhi spoke.

"I don't think she's in the best of conditions to either be interrogated or for that matter lead us anywhere." Riku disagreed.

"He's right about that." Nagi said in agreement. "If we do anything drastic, that poor woman's mind may end up breaking and the worse case scenario would be she might go insane."

"So I guess we have no choice but to bring her with us, huh?" Yuhi said. "Just to let you know, I don't have any problems with that."

"Me neither." Chidori agreed. "Gladys may have worked for Kagami, but…what happened to her…she didn't deserve that."

"I feel sorry for her." Tot spoke. "What exactly happened to her anyway?"

"Some bad people hurt her, and very badly. That's all you need to know." Riku answered quickly, not wanting to go into details about what had obviously happened to Gladys, especially not with Tot.

"Oh…" Tot nodded a little, not completely understanding. "So I guess in case we run into any bad guys, we protect Gladys too right?"

"Right." Nagi nodded.

"And since she seems to trust me, so I'll help lead her along." Chidori volunteered.

"Are you sure that you're alright with that?" Yuhi asked her. "I mean…"

"I'm not going to blame her for my grandparents' deaths." Chidori replied firmly. "That blame rests solely on the hands of one person. Kagami Mikage, and sooner or later he's going to answer for it."

"Amen to that." Riku said with agreement. "Anyway, let's get going. I haven't been able to contact Maya but we should be able to find her using the signal from her codec as a tracer."

Meanwhile:

The soldier that had been unfortunate enough to be on guard duty in front of the cell door gave one final gurgle before dieing as Youji's strangling wire did its work. The blond assassin then loosened his wire and then retracted it back into its reel at his wrist. Youji then glanced over at Michael, who had taken out another guard nearby simply by breaking his neck.

"So Venom, you think this is the cell Aya's in?" Youji said, turning to Michael.

"No, according to the signal from Maya's codec it's still a little farther ahead." Michael replied, and then turned to see Ran, Omi, Ken, and Shuro walking towards them. They had gone behind to make sure there weren't any enemies following them.

"So who do you think is in here since those soldiers were guarding this cell?" Ran asked, having heard what Michael had said before.

"Well, we'll just have to find out." Michael answered and turned to the others. "Have your weapons ready just in case there are some soldiers on the inside."

Ran, Omi, Ken, and Youji nodded and drew their respective weapons and Shuro took out an M9 Michael had given her earlier.

Michael then searched the bodies of the two guards and found a card key for the cell. He quickly used it and the door opened. Inside were five men. Aside from one tall dark haired man in a black outfit similar to a sneaking suit, the other four everyone recognized mostly from photos and descriptions from Riku, Aya, Yuhi, and Chidori. Wei Fei Lee, Asamu Bagte, Alexander O. Howel (who they were also supposed to rescue), and finally Kagami Mikage.

Before any of the men could react Michael quickly drew out his USP and pointed it at Kagami, while Ran dashed forward towards Lee before he could react and pressed the edge of his katana against the Chinese bodyguard's neck. Asamu looked like he was about to try something but stopped when he saw Omi's crossbow was aimed right at him.

The strange man looked like he was about to make a move, but Youji, not trusting that this was an ordinary prisoner, quickly threw his wire, which swiftly wrapped around and firmly bound the man's right hand. Ken quickly caused the claws in his gloves to come out and then dashed forward until the claws were only a few inches from the man's chest.

"Don't move." Ken instructed.

"So you're Kagami Mikage, the man behind all of this." Michael spoke, as he kept the gun pointed at Kagami's head. "The one responsible for making the lives of innocent people like Aya Mikage, Chidori Kuruma, Shuro Tsukasa, and Yuki Urukawa a living hell…"

"From that ridiculous statement, I take it that you're one of the agents from FOXHOUND." Kagami replied. "So have you come to kill me?"

"As tempting an idea as that is, we're here to take you into our custody." Michael answered him. "Since according to what we've heard, you are, or were, a candidate for the Patriots' Wiseman's Committee."

"So you're taking me prisoner in order to get information." Kagami smirked slightly at this. "Why is it that people like you are so predictable?"

"Hey, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you." Youji spoke glaring at Kagami. "You just so happen to be on the shit list of everyone in this group, especially me."

"Youji, not now." Ran spoke. "As much as I hate to say this, this isn't the time or place for this."

"Is it alright if I say something to this man?" Shuro spoke as she stepped forward from behind Omi.

Michael made a quick glance back at Shuro and could see from the look on her face that whatever it was she had to say was important.

"Alright." Michael made a light nod as he still kept the gun he was holding trained on Kagami.

Shuro then walked up to where Kagami was standing, her expression seemed emotionless, but one look into her eyes showed that she bore a great deal of hatred for the man in front of her.

"So you're Aya's cousin, the one who was in charge of C-Project…" She spoke.

"You're probably going to tell me how much I've made the lives of your friends miserable as well." Kagami said. "You can say all that you want but…"

"That barely scratches the surface of what I'd have to say to you!" Shuro cut him off. "I could go on forever about how much you've made life miserable for Aya and just recently Chidori, not to mention me too…But there isn't enough time for that, and since Aya and Chidori will probably get their chance soon enough…"

Shuro then punched Kagami in the face, hard, with her right fist. The crystal that had been part of the ring Kei had given her, digging into the flesh of Kagami's right cheek and leaving a long and nasty cut.

"That was for what you did to Kei…and to me." Shuro finished with a bitter tone as she turned away and wiped the blood off of her ring. She then walked past Omi and out the door.

Not one member of Michael's team moved to help Kagami, none of them feeling any pity for the man at all.

Youji then reached into his pocket and drew out a beretta and aimed it at Asamu, and glanced towards Ran.

"Hey, Abyssinian, I think it would probably be a good idea that we have Bombay go and make sure Shuro's alright." He said.

"Good idea, Balines." Ran nodded, and then smiled slightly. "Though, knowing you, I'm a bit surprised you didn't volunteer for that."

"I'm a bit tied up here, or rather he is." Youji pointed at the man whose hand he had secured with his wire.

"I suppose that's understandable." Ran said still holding his katana firmly at Lee's neck, he then glanced towards Omi. "Bombay…"

"Of course." Omi nodded and then left the room.

When Omi was out side of the room, he turned and saw Shuro was standing some distance away from the door and she was leaning against the wall. At first, Omi assumed that she was just resting and walked towards her, but as he came closer he could hear some light sobs coming from her. He then realized that she was crying as what had just happened had probably brought back a lot of the pain of the loss she had felt at losing Kei.

"Shuro-san…" Omi spoke, not sure what to do.

Shuro gave a start and then quickly wiped at her face before turning to Omi, her eyes closed to try and hide what had just happened.

"Oh, O- I mean, Bombay." She said. "Why are you…?"

"With where we are now, it's not a good idea that you leave the group by yourself." Omi replied.

"Oh…I understand." Shuro nodded and then turned away. "I…I'll keep watch from this direction and you can from the other…alright?"

Omi didn't reply, and for a moment there was silence between the two of them. Finally he spoke.

"Shuro-san, it's alright if you feel that you really need to cry." He said. "I know it doesn't really solve anything, but it's also not a good idea to keep something like the grief over the death of someone you loved bottled up like that so soon after their death. I know from experience…"

For a moment, Shuro didn't say anything, but without turning to Omi she replied.

"…thank you…" She said through a choked sob, and Omi simply nodded in reply.

Meanwhile:

Riku, Nagi, Tot, Yuhi, Chidori, and their recent addition to their group, Gladys, after managing to sneak by some more enemy patrols, finally came upon a connecting hallway that bridged between two different buildings for the Mikage base.

Riku checked his codec and saw that the signal was getting stronger in the direction down that hallway.

"Well, I guess that's where we'll find Aya, Maya, and Aki." He said, turning back to everyone else. "Well, let's…"

Riku suddenly stopped as he heard a faint whistling sound and his eyes darted to the side in the direction of the hallway in front of them. knowing he had only seconds to react, Riku quickly drew out a kunai shuriken and brought it up in a defensive position.

There was a sudden ringing sound of metal striking metal as Riku felt something strike his kunai. He barely got a glimpse of a disc like object with a metallic glint as it returned the way it had come from.

(No mistake, that was a chakram.) Riku thought, and looked down the hallway. Before that he glanced behind him and saw that Nagi and Tot had noticed the sudden attack and were already getting into a fighting position.

"I know you're down there, so why don't you come out, kenin, or should I call you by you're proper name, Shade?" Riku spoke looking in the direction the chakram had come from.

After a brief moment of silence there was the sound of footsteps coming towards the group, and then a tall black haired man in a black trench coat and hat stepped into view. He walked until he reached the exact midpoint of the hallway and stopped to survey the group in front of him.

"Well if it isn't the fledgling ninja." Shade spoke with a smile. "Come to rescue your friends, the Mikage twins as well as that Hirobe girl you have hidden in their cell?" Shade's smile then became a smirk as he saw Riku's surprised expression.

"If you're curious as to how your friends are doing, the cell they're in is on the other side, in the building I just came from." He continued.

"Then in that case, would you please be so kind as to let us pass?" Riku asked in mock politeness. "You'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you do."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, boy ninja." Shade replied. "If you intend to get to the ones you seek to rescue, you must pass through me." Shade then stopped as he glanced to the side, noticing Gladys, and then smiled. "Well, it looks like you and your group found my little toy, how kind of you…"

Riku glanced back at Gladys and saw that her expression was one of both shock as well as fear as she saw Shade. Her body was becoming rigid as she trembled in fear. Riku then noticed that her lips were moving and, even though her voice was practically a whisper, he could hear what she was saying.

"Please…don't…don't touch me…no." Her voice pleaded as she relived what Shade had done to her in her mind. "Please don't hurt me…"

"Well, I know that expression well enough." Shade noted with a smirk and then turned to Riku. "Hey boy, I'd say she's ready. Would you like me, as a favor from one ninja to another, to let you have a go with her just before our fight? She's can be quite good you-."

Shade didn't have chance to finish as Riku, at an unbelievable speed, suddenly turned to towards Shade, and in the blink of an eye a flurry of throwing star shuriken flew straight at him.

Shade smirked and in a sudden display of acrobatics, dodged each one of the projectiles with ease, expertly turning his body at very exact moments like he was doing a dance. After dodging the last shuriken, and his feet touched the floor Shade began to laugh at Riku.

"That's enough." Riku growled, his voice low and had a dangerous tone to it. "I don't know how you survived my shooting you, but you've obviously survived for far too long now."

"My, a stronger reaction than I expected." Shade noted with a sneer at Riku. "You really are such a child aren't you?"

"Well this 'child' just managed hurt you, kenin filth." Riku replied. "No, even that's too good a term for you. You're 'ko' pure and simple."

"What are…?" Shade stopped as he felt his body seem heavier than usual and not respond as quickly either. He then glanced down and saw that there were several senbon needles sticking in him on various parts of his body.

(I see…so that boy never lost his temper after all, he actually anticipated my dodging his shuriken and was really using these needles to target key pressure points all over my body.) Shade thought to himself.

"Well, perhaps you're not a mere child after all." Shade said, and then closed his eyes as if to meditate. Suddenly he let out a harsh cry and the needles all shot out of his body, pinning into the walls, floor, and ceiling near him. "Perhaps you can provide me with some entertainment after all."

"Then let's hope you find the idea of dieing to be entertaining." Riku said as he drew a kunai shuriken out.

(Riku, aren't we…?) Nagi spoke telepathically.

(Nagi, the only escape route is the way we just came in and with the condition Gladys is in right now, the only way we could successfully retreat is to leave her behind.) Riku replied. (And you and I both know what that son of a bitch will do to her if we leave her in his clutches.)

(Fine, but if things get tough for you, get over here and I'll destroy this connection hallway with my powers and hopefully send that thing down with it.) Nagi said. (I can float us over to the other side afterwards.)

(Got it.) Riku nodded.

"Crow, Usagi, Yuhi form a defensive position around Chidori and Gladys." Riku ordered and then turned to Shade. "I'm killing him alone."

"Then by all means, come at me!" Shade called to Riku.

(Are you sure about this, Riku?) Yuki spoke to him.

(No not really.) Riku replied. (In all likelihood, Nagi's plan may have to work.)

(So why fight him?) Yuki asked.

(It's hard to put into words but there's something that feels fake about this guy's power.) Riku answered. (You should be able to feel it too if you try hard enough…Anyway, I'm going to try to find out what it is. Can I count on you to back me up if this fight gets serious?)

(Count on it.) Yuki replied.

(Here goes.) Riku thought as he prepared to make his attack. (Sorry, Michael, I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise…)

"Yes come at me just like that." Shade smiled. "The more that you struggle the more enjoyable it is for me to watch."

AN: Major cliffhanger! Sorry, but I had to end this chapter here since a lot's going to happen in the next chapter.

Riku: I suppose that includes my ass getting kicked by this guy, since anyone here who's read SX knows how the fight turns out.

DF (grins evilly): Assuming of course next chapter's fight turns out to be 'that' fight.

Riku: NANI! Are you saying Nagi, Tot, and I have to fight this psycho more than once!

DF: Oh relax, you're not going to die. That would create a time paradox in the storyline.

Riku (shakes his head): I still have a really bad feeling about this.

Anyway, here's some Easter Eggs and stuff about this chapter:

1) The idea of giving Riku a forehead protector with the FOXHOUND symbol on it was inspired by Naruto.

Riku (mumbles): If you ask me this particular author is obsessed with that series.

2) The idea for that scene with Yuki and Riku was inspired by two things actually. The part for how they're connection affected Riku was inspired mostly by a favorite TV series of mine, Farscape, with Crais and Talyn's connection (though not as nasty as in Crais' case).

The conversation between them was inspired by a scene early in Suikoden IV. Where one of the characters, Snowe, abandons the ship he was the captain of and the hero character takes over. I was pretty put out with Snowe over that and thought 'what kind of loser leaves his ship and crewmates behind, especially if he's the one in charge?', but then I thought, 'but then again what would make the hero character stay?'. That pretty much inspired Riku's conversation with Yuki.

3) Riku's conversation with Yuhi about learning to be an emergency medic was inspired by a scene in the manga for Peacemaker Kurogane, where Susumu Yamazaki (also a ninja) is recruited to fill out that role in the Shinsengumi (fans of Rurouni Kenshin should check this anime series out, by the way (you'd almost expect Kenshin to suddenly show up in it (though Saitou is portrayed differently than in RRK).

4) The scene with Shuro and Omi was also inspired by a scene in the Peacemaker manga where the main character, Tetsunosuke Ichimura, comforts another character named Akesato.

5) This isn't really an Easter Egg, but a translation note. 'Ko', which Riku calls Shade is a Japanese term whose kanji is made up of three 'mushi' (insect) kanji (don't ask me what it looks like since I just got this from a translation note for a manga I'm reading). It can mean one of the following, vermin, worm, bug, or bad company. So that's pretty much an insult on Riku's part.

Well folks, I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I can. Provided I can find a new job and not get writer's block. Anyway, please review.