Cyberworld Immortals

by Manus Dei

After the Cybeast incident, a temporary peace settles in. However, time flows ever onward, bringing new changes within and without. The Hikari twins are about to face their greatest challenge, as mysterious forces begin their work and visitors from afar enter their lives.

37. Masks and Mirrors

Chapter 37 – Masks and Mirrors

"So…" Lan started. "Since we have a few hours until the next meeting, there are a couple of things I need to talk to you about."

Lan had prudently waited for almost everyone else to leave the room before turning to Cadmus again. At the moment, only Lan, Hub, Cadmus, Ciel, Zero and Gallant were inside. The Guardians had run off to draft a security plan for the formerly inactive building, while Lune was doing something in one of the adjoining rooms. Nur-Ab-Sal was still silent, and likely gone for the time being, and given the circumstances they would likely not have another chance to speak in private anytime soon.

"Such as?" Cadmus asked. "Are you thinking about what Heim said about the communication equipment? Or something else?"

"Today I met someone rather peculiar. Someone who said he knows both of us, and says he has already had a somewhat lengthy conversation with you as well. Tall guy, really likes his books, intense stare, tends to talk too much? Unusual back ornaments?"

Hub gave his brother a quizzical look, wondering what exactly he was going on about. Cadmus, on the other hand, had a different reaction, looking at Lan with his jaw half open as if struggling to recall something.

"He called himself… Raziel?" Lan insisted.

Cadmus froze in place as if caught doing something he was not supposed to. The mention of the name definitely broke through the haze and the full memory came flooding back into his mind, as if it had never left his grasp. After a moment, he managed to compose himself and articulate a reply.

"You mean… He's real?"

"He does have the habit of calling people when they're not exactly conscious, doesn't he?" Lan pointed out.

"Tell me about it..." Cadmus said with a sigh. "I had honestly almost forgotten about the whole thing. Considering that I was unconscious, after getting a good chunk of the skin on my chest singed, I almost dismissed the whole thing as some kind of freaky nightmare or hallucination. The whole thing was unusually vivid, but he picked what had to be the worst time for that little chat."

"Raziel?" Ciel intervened. "As in…?"

"That's what he called himself." Lan said.

"Yes, the author of a certain infamous lost book, with quite a bit of history with humanity." Cadmus confirmed. "This happened after you dragged me home and put me in bed after the scrap at SciLab. He certainly looked the part, and when I asked him about it, he did not deny it. In fact, he pretty much confirmed it. Definitely not how I expected that day to end."

"And why did you not tell any of us about this?" Ciel questioned.

"Like I said, I was unconscious after taking a nasty shot to the chest and seriously thinking I was done for. I suppose I might have exaggerated the whole parting words bit, but I was in so much pain I honestly thought that was it. And then I found myself in a weird place in the clouds, standing in front of a weird guy with wings and a huge book who claims to know everything about my life and so-called potential. What would you think if you found yourself in this situation?"

"Probably that someone… had spiked my tea?" Ciel conceded. "Or maybe that it was just a very weird and vivid nightmare brought about by that set of circumstances."

"Exactly." Cadmus pointed out. "I never had the intention of concealing that from you, but considering the state I was in, and the other issues we had to deal with, I guess I ended up pushing it out of my mind without even realizing it… much like when you wake up from a dream and forget it in a matter of minutes unless you focus really hard."

"So what did he tell you exactly?" Lan asked.

"That he was very interested in our potential as a whole – and mine. That he knew why I had no known family, and that I wouldn't like to find out. At one point he even talked about sticking me with a pair of wings, if memory serves, though I would probably look ridiculous with those. Bottom line is, he talked a lot."

"He did mention that he might have shared too much information when you came along." Lan said with a grin. "I don't think he gets many visitors."

"He's a gracious enough host, I'll give him that." Cadmus pointed out. "But his invitation method needs work. Which reminds me. Did he do the spinning thing to you too?"

"The spinning thing?" Lan mouthed to himself. His eyes then lit up as he remembered the last few moments of the encounter. "Oh yeah! On the way out. What's up with that?"

"I have no idea. But what did he want to talk to you about?"

"Our potential – again." Lan recalled. "And a warning about not running off to the stars after getting inspired by our strange visitors. He said Earth is not ready to be fully exposed to other worlds yet."

Reminiscing about these events for the second time in one day struck a chord with Cadmus, and, suddenly remembering something else, he instinctively reached for his shirt's breast pocket, his fingers finding inside additional – and tangible – confirmation that those strange events had most definitely happened.

"How did I forget something so important?" Cadmus thought, feeling like an idiot.

"On that we can agree." Ciel chimed in. "After all we've seen in the last few days, I'd say we still need to put more work into dealing with threats from here, let alone beyond."

"He also showed me a few pages from his book." Cadmus recalled, the memories of the event slowly becoming clearer as he called upon them. "While I still don't fully know my family origins, he did show me something… some kind of genealogy record that suggests the line will continue. I just wonder what he meant when he said that there were no Atreides in his domain – not from this universe at least. People don't just sprout out of the ground. There had to be others before my father."

"There are several possibilities to explain that." Ciel pointed out. "Your father might have been the first to officially call himself that – changed his last name from something else. Scientists, writers and other eccentrics do that sometimes. Or, given all the crazy stuff we've been seeing, maybe they ended up somewhere else entirely."

"And then there was this." Cadmus added, revealing the ring. "He said it had belonged to others before me – other bearers of the name. It definitely looks old enough to have been worn by several generations, but it still does not answer the questions of where they came from and where they are now. At this point maybe I should expect to find relatives riding flying saucers or wherever Old Atlantis ended up."

"Well, you can be a bit strange sometimes..." Ciel remarked with a smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to have alien relatives. But I'm one to talk."

"Raziel said I could just move on, become something else." Cadmus said. "Of course it took more than that to keep me away from you. What matters to me is right here. Other worlds can wait."

"Well, about that..." Lan said. "You may or may not have heard that before this whole mess started, I was gone for a while, and you're not going to believe where Sean and I ended up."

"Are you sure this is the best time to be having this discussion?" Hub pointed out. "We are still missing some people who could have something relevant to add."

"Well, about that..." a male voice interrupted, coming from the door behind them, as if intentionally echoing Lan's words.

The people most of those present knew as Xavier, Zeus and Ten stepped into the chamber, looking somewhat tired but also considerably fired up. Axl was not too far behind, but seemed content to give them some space.

El came up behind the others, holding his side and leaning on Elise for support, and though his open coat the others could see a large, thick bandage bulging out from under his shirt.

"It's time." Ten said, taking the lead.

"So it seems." Lan replied, walking up to meet her.

"Are you sure about this?" El asked with a wary look. "Things are about to get awkward."

"I gave my word." Zeus pointed out. "Besides, they have the right to know who exactly they are dealing with."

He then turned to Cadmus and Ciel, who at this point were logically looking rather confused. On his part, Zero and Gallant just watched, each of them leaning against a wall nearby as they wondered what exactly was going on.

"I have been called many things over the years." Zeus said. "Hero, monster, ancient god of destruction, devil… and friend by some. But in the end, there is only..."

With slow, deliberate movement, he reached for his sunglasses. Holding their frame with his thumb and index finger, he lifted them out of the way. Despite the shorter haircut and the biker style of clothing, the face and especially the eyes were immediately recognizable.

"Zero…?" Ciel muttered, her gaze darting across the room between the one she had always known and the stranger in front of her.

"Two of them?" Cadmus pondered. "Could a copy of the original code have been found by someone else?"

"Not exactly." Ten intervened in turn.

She removed her thick glasses and Cadmus had to physically stop his jaw from hitting the floor. In retrospective, it seemed utterly baffling and completely ludicrous that a single facial accessory would have been so effective at hiding something before his very eyes.

"OK, what the hell is going on here?!" Zero shouted, voicing what half the people in the room were thinking. The reaction seemed to amuse his doppelganger for some reason.

"Some things never do change, regardless of the world." the man previously calling himself Zeus remarked.

"Parallel Earths." Lan cut in, putting a stop to further theatrics.

"You knew?" Ciel asked. To her credit, Lan mused, she did not seem as baffled or shocked as he might have expected.

"He accidentally set foot in mine and we had to go get him back." the other Ciel pointed out. "That's where he and his friend ended up after that experiment. He must have been so confused." she added with a warm smile which was unnervingly the exact same as that of the Ciel they knew.

"As we have abundantly demonstrated before..." El intervened. "We are not from around here, but my people are from a different place from them altogether. We possess the ability to jump between parallel worlds or different universes altogether. Our friends here come from an Earth very close to yours, where technology progressed along a different path."

"Things ended badly." Xavier added, abandoning the disguise he had worn for so long and switching to the blue armor Hub had previously seen. "My real name is X. In our Earth, the path of robotics was pursued instead of network technology. It… did not go so well."

"That's one way of putting it." the other Zero remarked. "Are you afraid they might think we come from some kind of post-apocalyptic hellhole?"

"Post-post-post apocalyptic, technically." X pointed out. "But getting better." he added with a smile.

"So what exactly are you doing here?" Ciel asked, staring at her counterpart and feeling more than a little disoriented to have someone with her exact same face staring back.

"It was my idea." El intervened. "Over the centuries, their world has suffered one man-made disaster after another, and now things look like they are finally going back to the way they should be. But their struggles have taken a tremendous toll, and the work never ends. So I decided it was time to give them a little time off, in a different place. To show them the possibilities of another, more peaceful Earth and to remind them of what theirs can become once again."

"So the reason why we've been getting a bunch of weird and cryptic visits is because… you were bored?" Zero growled.

"I do not care much for your tone." the other Zero retorted, glaring at him. "Kindly keep it civil."

"Bored? No." the other Ciel corrected. "Intrigued. We did not expect to find alternate versions of ourselves here, and naturally we took interest. We also wanted to make sure that you did not have to go through some… unpleasant experiences we had on our side of the mirror."

Cadmus noticed something odd about the other Ciel's behavior. She seemed to be avoiding looking directly at him, and would look away whenever she felt his gaze upon her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, feeling genuinely concerned.

Although that was not the version of Ciel he knew, he still couldn't overlook her distress. Searching his memories, he realized she had been avoiding looking at him since the first time they had met.

"I-I'm sorry..." she replied. "I was not emotionally prepared for this. Between the incident at SciLab and what happened in my own Earth..."

"So what you're saying is that I don't exist on your Earth then?" he asked with a frown, bitterly recalling his own Ciel's devastated look at the time.

"Not anymore." she replied, shaking her head.

"Ciel doesn't like to talk about her past much." the other Zero remarked, approaching her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Her childhood experiences and the events that shaped her path seem particularly painful, and out of respect I did not pry. But from what I gathered, even she was a child once, and forced to part all too soon with too many people she knew and cared for."

"There is… was... a city in our world called Neo Arcadia." X explained. "Due to a long succession of wars between humans, Reploids – what we call our sentient robots – and various groups of robot criminals, outlaws and maniacs collectively called Mavericks, our Earth was devastated several times over. Most of the human and Reploid populations were decimated, the environment was largely ruined, and huge portions of the world were rendered uninhabitable. Neo Arcadia was the latest large scale attempt at creating a sustainable community that stood a chance at one day reclaiming the Earth."

"And it all went horribly wrong." the other Ciel added bitterly. "The people grew lazy and complacent, focused only on satisfying their immediate wants, and forgot all about the city's original purpose. When their comfort was threatened by a massive energy shortage, they slapped the Maverick label on the general Reploid population as an excuse to scrap them and repurpose their internal reactors and the crystals powering them."

"It's important to point out that at this point genuine Mavericks had been almost completely eliminated." X said. "There were some scattered pockets of them, yes, but they seemed to be unable to increase their numbers beyond a certain threshold."

"So did you do something about it then?" Zero asked pointedly.

X shook his head and frowned.

"Not as much as we would have liked to. Neither Zero or I were in any condition to do much of anything. Due to different circumstances related to previous major Maverick outbreaks, we were both out of commission for a very extended period. Our Ciel eventually found him and was able to reactivate him with a little help from my unbound consciousness, and that was when the fight escalated to a whole different level."

"We are… cutting ahead a little though." the other Ciel said. "The reason why I was in a position to do so was because a few years prior, the government of Neo Arcadia selected a batch of fifty promising children. They were taken from their families and enrolled in an accelerated learning program that would supposedly prepare them to be the next generation of leaders. Some even received genetic modifications to augment their intellect, resilience and other desirable traits."

"I think I can see where this is going..." Cadmus muttered.

"Yes, that was where I met him… the other you." the other Ciel said. "We were all a bunch of kids, excited and nervous in equal measure. Mostly around the same age range, though there were a couple of slightly older ones as well. The other you was… about a year or two older than me. We treated it all like an adventure, stuffing our heads with as much knowledge as we wanted and dreaming of the day we would actually be able to put it to use. But… it would not last. One of those last remaining pockets of Mavericks found our facility and somehow made their way inside… and on that day, a brave boy acted like a man… and then was no more."

She pulled out the same framed picture she had previously shown Lan out of a pocket and turned it to Cadmus. He studied the faces on them intently, feeling a chill as he beheld the preserved moment in the life of his alternate self.

"At least I am consistent, regardless of the world." Cadmus remarked sadly. "But by the look on your face I dare say that in doing so, my other self caused you much grief."

"You have to understand once and for all." the Ciel he had always known intervened. "While I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to keep me safe, I refuse to let you throw your life away. And now you have proof of the damage that would do, straight from the mouth of someone who was there when another you took another path."

"I do understand." Cadmus defended himself. "It took me time but I do understand. I know I tend to act rashly, but my life is not mine to give anymore. You hold it in your hands, and if it is your wish to continue doing so, then I will not argue."

"Oh. NOW you're waxing poetic!" Ciel quipped, momentarily forgetting the larger implications of the situation and lightly elbowing him in the ribs as she turned a shade of pink. "Where was that eloquence just a couple of hours ago?"

"I'm sorry..." Cadmus added, quickly composing himself and turning to the other Ciel again. "That was inconsiderate of us."

The other Ciel shook her head.

"I'm just glad I had the chance to see a different outcome. We did not have the time to grow as close as you are, but he still became a dear friend. I did not expect him to do what he did, but when he told us to run into the evacuation tunnels and collapsed the hall between us, I knew that some things are lost forever. His continued company would have been welcome over the difficult years that followed, but it was not to be… and in my grief I did something reckless and stupid that cost everyone dearly."

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked, feeling increasingly uneasy at the revelations.

"After the attack, the project was canceled and all the kids were sent home." the other Ciel explained. "The whole thing was a massive disaster and the people responsible were quickly dismissed or reassigned. We were lucky to have avoided higher casualties, given the circumstances. But unlike the others, I did not go home. After much soul searching, I decided on a course of action. And so, I talked to my mother and she helped me skip a few grades so I could enroll in the local university and complete my training. I was driven towards one singular purpose. To ensure that something like this never happened again. In the process I began to delve into what was left of the historical archives of old, and into the legendary Maverick Hunters. Two of them in particular."

"I was not conscious for much of what followed, but I can tell you what happened." X said.

"No." the other Ciel intervened. "This was my failure, and I should tell them with my own words."

She then sighed and continued.

"I attempted to recreate the original X. As close a match as possible. A kind soul with the ability to learn and the resolve to fight to protect those who could not. To assist him in this task, I also created four new Reploids that would be his hands. Four… Guardians."

"OK, please tell me you're joking." Zero chimed in, having a difficult time processing what he was hearing. "Those four weirdos outside?"

"Regardless of the world, they are very competent at their work." the other Ciel remarked, though not without a hint of amusement at his reaction, which quickly faded as she continued. In fact, they could see a flash of anger in her eyes.

"But all five were flawed. The Guardians were too subservient to Copy X, and Copy X, rather than becoming the kind soul I was hoping for, devolved into a psychotic little bastard, who was obsessed with outdoing his original and stroking his own ego. Instead of fighting to build a future for all, he blatantly sided with the human extremists and openly attempted to exterminate his own kind. I was devastated by this betrayal and my inability to stop him from the inside, and quit my position as head researcher in disgust. I left Neo Arcadia entirely along with a group of like minded colleagues, both organic and synthetic, and we set out to work, trying to find both a solution to the energy crisis and a means of ending this renewed tyranny."

"And fight back she did." the other Zero added. "But resources and manpower were limited. The Resistance needed something else. Something different… but not entirely new. They were able to locate and reactivate me, though my memory was a bit of a mess. A story for another time perhaps. The point is, the Resistance started winning. As I regained my old abilities and picked up a few new ones to boot, I beat back the Guardians and the copy. Their Phantom was a bit of an idiot though, blowing himself up after our first battle. But things got a lot more complicated."

"In the end, Copy X's countless transgressions and his alliance with one of the worst still living criminals in our history was the tipping point." the other Ciel added, her face twisting in disgust as she spat out the name. "This monster… Weil… had already been responsible for a botched world domination attempt in the distant past. He showed up out of nowhere after so long, effectively took over Neo Arcadia, and reduced Copy X to his puppet. The remaining Guardians finally decided they'd had enough and left for good. We also found Phantom skulking about in the Cyberworld instead of going back to the fight. He would pop up again later, but he clearly had no interest in being their errand boy either."

"Shortly before this time, my original body was effectively destroyed." X continued. "I had been assisting Ciel and Zero from the background in incorporeal form, but without a physical anchor I was starting to run out of energy. I had enough energy to foil another of Weil's schemes, an attempt at hijacking the Reploids in the Resistance in mass, but I was pretty much out of the fight after that. To make things worse, two other things happened. A beast by the name of Omega was unleashed… and Weil set about recovering other long forgotten weapons."

"Omega..." Zero groaned. "So you have one of those too. Did yours also never shut up?"

"He was nearly a complete opposite of the one you have here." the other Zero replied. "Obscenely powerful. Not much for words, but definitely a beast. And there's a reason for that. Omega was… my intended final form, hijacking my original body. I was originally created by our version of Dr. Wily as part of his feud with the creator or our version of Mega Man."

"I would have assumed X to be your version of Mega Man after what we've seen." Hub intervened.

"No. There was another before me." X explained. "We never met, but I can tell you from what little I was able to piece together that he was… somewhat different. Smaller, more childlike. But definitely cut from the same cloth. He definitely resembled the two of you, but somewhat younger. As for our creator, his name was Thomas Light, but I have seen pictures of your grandfather. The name may be different, but there's no mistake about it. They could have been twins."

"This is all pretty freaky." Lan remarked. "Like looking at a mirror in an amusement park. Similar, but not exactly the same. So what happened to your brother?"

"Nobody alive knows." X said. "I was sealed in a capsule in order to run tests and diagnostics on my system and ended up spending decades in that state. There was some kind of calamity in between, but even the details about that are scarce. I also had two other siblings, also missing. The first of us was codenamed Blues, but the world knew him as Proto Man. And then there was… Roll."

Hub paused and blinked, struggling to process this last bit of information.

"The hell..." he managed to say.

"Never figured you'd be into that stuff bro." Lan quipped with a grin.

"I cannot even begin to imagine what it would have been like to have those two as siblings." Hub groaned. "I'm not even going to touch that subject..."

"Moving on…" X said, clearing his throat, also looking like he was feeling a little awkward. "While records are scarce, we know a few key facts. Wily created Zero in order to enact his final revenge plan. Zero too was sealed in a capsule, and his systems were overflowing with a viral program that increased his strength by an obscene margin, while driving him completely berserk. This is what would later be known as the Maverick Virus. He was eventually purged of it, but it escaped into the world, resurfacing every few years to cause more havoc."

"My memory on that point is still a bit lacking." the other Zero continued. "But I do know that much later on my body was once again taken over, and my consciousness needed to be transferred into a new one. I dealt with Weil's little stunt at the time, and we thought Omega was down for good, but I was afraid of the implications of still carrying some leftover form of the original Maverick Virus, and sealed myself in stasis. That was how I ended up dormant again for a few centuries until Ciel found me. Amusingly enough, we later found out that the scientist who created this new body was one other than one of her ancestors. Memory loss is a bitch though. Side effect of being inactive for so long, I guess."

"Humph. I guess you and I aren't that different then." Zero remarked. "I too was created by Wily, only as a virus, not a dispersal method. These two are responsible for giving me a fresh start, though I didn't know what to do with it at first. I wandered around the Cyberworld, trying to figure out what to do with myself until I eventually started hanging around a certain university's network space. And the rest, as they say, his history."

"I suppose that no matter the parallel world you're in, some events still play out similarly and some people are still drawn to one another." El remarked. "We still don't fully understand how or why, and since I'm pretty much one of a kind across all parallel worlds, I haven't been able to study it in depth."

"What happened to you anyway?" Lan asked. "You're not looking so good right now."

"Oh, this?" El asked, pointing at the bandage under his shirt. "Since blasting that abomination out of the sky was not an option given the potential for collateral damage if it crashed to Earth, we went for a controlled demolition. Or at least we tried to. However, we underestimated the density of that damned debris field. Word of advice, when your people go back to space in full, do try to get that crap cleaned up before something worse happens. Anyway, we got hit by a shower of debris while setting up the explosives, there was a premature detonation and I got a nasty piece of shrapnel through my space suit."

"Should you even be walking around right now then?" Hub pointed out.

"Ah, I've had worse. The only reason why I didn't take care of it right away is because I was in a hurry to get back here. I can't exactly take a day or two off in the present circumstances either, so..."

And with that he raised his right hand and a familiar white light started glowing in it. He touched his wounded side with it and exhaled, visibly relieved.

"I guess you won't be needing the bandage anymore then?" Hub asked.

"No, but I'm leaving it as it is right now. You can travel a thousand worlds, see all kinds of strange things… but when you find an adhesive tape that doesn't give you an involuntary wax job when you try to pull it off, do let me know."

"Anyway, what happened with Omega and Neo Arcadia?" Ciel asked.

"Oh, I wrecked him eventually." the other Zero replied. "Yes, the Guardians came around and showed up to lend a hand too. The bottom line is, he won't be bothering us again. But Weil definitely got pissed and tried to pull a few final stunts. Since by this point the environment outside Neo Arcadia was on the road to recovery, he cranked up a new army of robotic thugs and decided to destroy it again so that nobody would be able to survive outside his dominion. He also recovered an old orbital station with a particularly nasty main cannon."

"What he didn't count on, however, was someone whose hatred of Neo Arcadia exceeded our own." the other Ciel continued. "There was this Reploid named Craft, who had been picking fights with Zero consistently by that point, and doing his own thing. He was driven, but definitely in the wrong ways. For a while, he pretended to follow along with Weil's plan… until he had his opportunity. He turned this cannon on Neo Arcadia… and reduced it to a crater in a single shot. We evacuated as many people as we could once we found out what he was planning, but… it was not enough."

"So the crater we ended up in front of..." Lan realized. "The one they were calling a graveyard..."

"Yes..." the other Ciel said with a sad nod. "We wanted that stupid conflict to finally end… but not like that."

"Craft was out of the picture for good after that… but one snake remained." the other Zero added. "I chased Weil to the orbital station and ended him. Organic, synthetic… in the end he was just another filthy Maverick and met his end like one."

"I do wish you had made some kind of plan to get back down, though." the other Ciel cut in, giving him a glare. "Do you have any idea how many tears you made me shed that day?"

The other Zero lowered his gaze and sight.

"Sorry." he was able to say.

"Eventually I stumbled across their Earth during my journeys." El continued. "They were already making admirable progress, but I lent a hand while trying to keep things discreet. I was able to get enough data to build a new body for X with Ciel's assistance and started making periodic visits to check up on the situation and share interesting technology I found elsewhere. By my estimates, they were at it nonstop for over five years before I decided they needed a break. It took some persuasion, but eventually we made it happen. I just did not expect that the Earth I had picked would get embroiled in a crisis of its own during our stay."

"Which begs the question." Lan said. "What exactly are you?"

El shrugged. "Just a simple traveler trying to spread some good around… and see what lies beyond the next hill, the next world, the next star."

"So what about the light show back there?" Lan pointed out.

"Your power is similar to mine, so you know what it is about… or at least you now have a basic understanding of it. Congratulations, by the way. I knew you would be able to manifest it in the right conditions. Mastering it, however, will be a journey of its own."

"You're capable of far more than you're letting on, aren't you?" Hub prodded.

"Perhaps. But if we took all your burdens, all your challenges, and robbed you of them, how would you grow and evolve? If the situation calls for it, our fury will be like the breaking of seals. But nobody should have to take on the burdens of an entire world on their own. Not you, not me. That is the path to madness."

"And the people already dying in this rampage?" Lan pointed out.

"My boy… you overestimate our power." El said with a sigh and a sad expression, closing his eyes for a moment.. "We cannot be everywhere at once. We are also not omniscient. This power is also more difficult to wield the more subtle the use you try to give it. Think of the difference between blasting a wall with explosives and doing brain surgery in zero gravity. But I tell you what we CAN do. We can intervene when that would be beneficial to this world and its people. We can teach others to wield this power so they can be ready to defend it when the time comes."

"Well, what about what you did to me?" Cadmus asked.

"Extenuating circumstances." El said. "We were already more than willing to intervene as a matter of general principle, but a certain young lady did not want you to fall that day. Besides, I checked your wounds. It looked worse than it actually was. Yes, you got a very nasty burn that would have taken months of conventional treatment to heal, but it was not life threatening. You just passed out from the combination of pain, shock and exhaustion. Those lasers were garbage. Nasty on flesh, but not very good at getting through the average synthetic mesh… like those coats you're so fond of."

"Well… that was awkward..." Cadmus muttered, blushing as he recalled the things he had said before blacking out.

"But there's a question I've had in my mind for a while." Ciel intervened. "Where DID they get those weapons? The first few robots did not have any. The second wave showed up with lasers, and the others with construction equipment, lasers, and worse."

"I suspect they brought in the lasers with them." El said. "The first batches were not assembled locally. They were smuggled into the country. I imagine that someone wanted to do a preliminary field test on their ability to spread terror and destruction. I do not know how they managed to avoid detection until they were poised to strike though."

"And the others?" Cadmus asked.

"This global malware attack took over countless factories and assembly lines across the world. My guess is the schematics to build those weapons were included in the package. However, since most of the facilities were for civilian use, some of the components were not of a high enough grade to produce reliable results. Others had to be repurposed, originally having been made for something else. We recovered some wrecks before coming to meet you. Even though the magnetic accelerators on the guns were powerful enough to kill, their targeting optics were myopic in many cases."

"How did you find the time to run such an analysis anyway?" Cadmus asked.

"Aeon is very good at this sort of thing… and far better at multitasking than I am." El said with a smile.

"I noticed that your lady companion doesn't say much." Cadmus remarked.

"I prefer to observe." Elise added with a smile. "If I start speaking too much, then you know the gloves are off."

"She is far more dangerous than I am, I assure you." El said with a mischievous smile.

"But so in the end, how did you get rid of that damn thing up there?" Lan asked.

"The explosives did some damage, but we needed something else to finish the job." El explained. "From what I understand, your Zero also has a rather nasty energy sword, correct?"

"I do." Zero confirmed. "But what does this have to do with it?"

"Picture if you will a colossal version of it, hooked to a reactor capable of producing enough energy in a minute to power a whole continent for a year." Elise said, looking rather pleased with herself.

Lan and Hub exchanged wide eyed glances, while Zero just grinned.

"Lady, I like the way you think." he remarked.

"A blade without weight is much easier to handle." the other Zero added. "I have wielded two different Beam Saber variations during my long life. The older one was much simpler in design, basically a metal cylinder from which the blade would extend. It felt good to have something like that in my hands again… once we solved the heat dissipation issues from such a scaled up version."

"So… Now that you've told us all this, what are you planning to do?" Cadmus asked, placing his right elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on his hand.

"This is your world and your fight." El said. "We're not here to get all flashy and steal the spotlight. However, for the duration of this crisis, we will assist to the best of our abilities. As guests here, we cannot do any less."

"Will you join us for the next meeting with the representatives then?" Lan asked.

"We will watch." X said. "But there is no need for them to know we are here. Or that we exist at all. Right now their heads are already overburdened with the current situation. They don't need the added confusion."

"By the way…" Lan said, turning to Cadmus. "There is something else I need to discuss with you."

"Would that have anything to do with the suit?" Cadmus pointed out with a hint of amusement.

"Still waiting for the giant robot… but yes."

"So what is it? Did you end up using the emergency package I gave you? Is that why you went for the new outfit?"

"Yes, but… not in the way you planned. See, after coming back from that parallel Earth, we ran into some trouble with those robots, and I think I ended up breaking my arm. I absolutely couldn't sleep for three days and let the nanites do their thing so…"

"We hacked them." Hub said. "With a bit of overclocking on the side."

Cadmus once again had to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor.

"You did what?!"

"I know you're probably going to be upset, but it was an emergency..." Lan said.

"It's not that." Cadmus explained, looking visibly disturbed. "When I set up their code, I was extremely careful to prevent anyone from doing what you did. Just think about it for a second. These machines are designed to multiply and operate inside a living person's body. What do you think might happen if someone tampered with the programming while they were in use? What kind of damage do you think it could do to living tissue?"

"I've already had to bear some of that, actually." Lan pointed out. "Doing it this way… and fully awake… Pardon my language, but it hurt like a bitch. I also had to eat two weeks' worth of food later because I almost passed out on two separate occasions."

"You didn't have the nutrient pills then?" Cadmus asked. "They are part of the package for a reason. The nanites need energy and materials to do their work with. If there isn't enough, they might start leeching matter from the host. As for it hurting, I imagine it was caused by you being fully awake, stuck with the bone fracture and in a state of heightened nervous activity. But we're going to have to run some tests on you because apart from your recovery, I don't like the sound of all that one bit."

"There's more, actually..." Lan said with a sheepish grin. "I don't know if it was because of what we did to the nanites to get them to work faster, or something else, but… I've definitely been feeling some other changes."

"What kind of changes?" Cadmus asked with growing alarm.

"You're a bit of a superhero geek too, from what I've seen of your tastes in entertainment and suits..." Lan explained, his grin even bigger. "Would the words Kamen Rider mean anything to you?"

Cadmus looked like his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets.

"Are you telling me that you've been going around on a motorcycle doing insane stunts and kicking monsters… or rather robots… until they explode?"

"Minus the motorcycle and explosions… yes..." Lan admitted. "Definitely wrecking some faces. I've been feeling insanely strong, faster and more agile than my wildest dreams, and considerably tougher. Not bulletproof though. I've also eaten a week's worth of food in the last few hours because I was feeling drained something fierce."

Cadmus stood up and started pacing around Lan, looking deeply disturbed. He raised a hand as if straightening his glasses, before remembering he no longer needed them, and then took a deep breath.

"I never designed or coded the nanites with combat augmentations in mind… Only health monitoring, self-regeneration and a degree of personal protection." he finally said, stopping in front of Lan. "Boosted healing, improved immune system, reinforcements to the skeletal and muscular structures. Increased energy efficiency. Perhaps a degree of adaptability to account for unexpected circumstances. Whatever you and your brother did to them was not something I planned for… and the implications are very disturbing."

"How so?" Lan asked.

"If you could do it, then so could others. Human nature being what it is, the end results could be absolutely terrible. Humanity is not ready to wield this kind of power."

He then sighed.

"We definitely need to run some tests. But all my equipment stayed behind, and the machinery in this facility is at least twenty years old."

"You said something about adaptability though?" Lan asked. "And what happened to your glasses?"

"Another unexpected result." Cadmus explained. "When I woke up, I found out they were no longer necessary. Perhaps I underestimated the program's ability to adapt to the needs of the host, but that still is not enough to explain such radical results. And you were saying something about not being bulletproof? Did you get shot?"

"Your machines weren't enough to handle that in their current state, but apparently all I needed was to… lighten up a bit."

"Meaning? This power they are saying you were able to manifest?"

Lan nodded and raised his right hand. It took some focus, but the same white light appeared once again.

"Fascinating." Cadmus said. "I definitely could not have foreseen this either."

"Did Raziel not say anything about you having it inside you as well?" Lan prodded.

"I thought he was being metaphorical."

"Wait..." El interrupted. "Raziel? Big bookworm, feathers, talks a lot, likes napping under trees?"

"You know him too?" Lan asked.

"I've had some encounters with him myself." El replied. "If you think he looks weird now, you should have seen how he was when I first ran into him."

"So… clear this up for us, would you?" Cadmus cut in. "Is he the real thing? 'The' Raziel?"

"As far as I know." El said with a shrug. "I suppose you get used to dealing with such creatures when it becomes more regular a thing than you'd care for. My life can be weird like that."

"And why, of all the people in all the worlds, would he take an interest in us and ours?" Cadmus asked.

"He has an interest in all the worlds." El explained. "Keeper of Knowledge and all that. Though for some reason I still cannot fully understand, he absolutely loves humans… which is even more baffling when you consider some of the things he went through because of them."

"What do you mean?" Lan asked.

"His habit of sharing too much?" El pointed out. "It used to be much worse back in the day. Knowledge is power, and power given but not earned is like a loaded gun in the hands of a child. Those who receive it that way often have no respect for it, and no idea of or concern for the harm they can do with it, both to themselves and others."

"Is that why you keep hiding behind the curtain, like some kind of space wizard?" Lan asked. "Why you don't tell us everything up front but get us to figure it out ourselves?"

"In part." El admitted. He then grinned in a way that surprised those outside his entourage, since it seemed to completely break the image of composure he tried to project. "But I have to admit that part of me also enjoys leaving people a little perplexed and wondering what's going on."

"You should ask him about the time he visited some dignitaries in another world, took a shuttle with a military band in uniform and had them play the Imperial March as he walked down the boarding ramp in one of his scarier looking armors." Elise chimed in, trying not to laugh.

"Worth it." El said with a smug smile. "Besides, the dignitaries in question were friends of ours. It was our first time visiting their home. I think our princess and her guardian ended up becoming quite the fans of the material too."

"You people are really damn weird." Lan said, still processing the fact that so much of the stuff from his grandfather's old movie collection was much more grounded in reality than he could have ever imagined.

"Pot, meet kettle." Hub quipped.

"Incidentally, I didn't want to ask in front of him, but does Verus know that his distant ancestors are considered fiction around here?" Lan pointed out.

"Not as far as I know, and I have no intention of telling him for now." El said. "The same intertwining effect I described before that results in one reality blending into another's imaginary… and all of them together... is most likely at work here, but he has enough to think about right now. Even if in this particular universe those locations co-exist, there are so many where they do not, and from which the knowledge, distilled through mortal minds into the form of legend, myth and fiction, feeds back into the imagination of the people here… It's enough to get even me dizzy sometimes despite how long I've been swimming in those waters."

"Yeah… and this world already has enough on its plate right now without pondering all those tangents." the other Zero pointed out.

"Agreed." Zero said. "I can understand why this sort of thing isn't common knowledge either. One Earth is already unstable enough on its own. Infinite Earths, all tangled in a web with countless parallel versions of other worlds..."

"There's a reason why a good portion of those whose minds touched upon this in the past went insane." El said.

"Present company included then?" Hub quipped.

"Maybe a little." Elise said with a smile.

"Incidentally..." Lan added. "You said you were pretty sure you were one of a kind. That you had no parallel versions anywhere. Surely you must have watched some TV during your stay though? There's a pretty popular show airing right now, and the main character looks like it has a lot of elements in common with you. Almost too many."

"Now that you mention it..." Cadmus chimed in. "I think I know which one you're talking about. Starstrider Paladin?"

El just laughed.

"Oh, I was definitely surprised about that one. The most likely explanation I could find was that tales of my antics in other worlds might have ended up feeding back into the whole multiversal flow of creative ideas. I expect that more stuff like that will pop up across parallel realities the more I go out there and do my thing."

"Just how long have you been doing this?" Lan asked.

"A very long time." El admitted, suddenly looking somewhat tired. "I can't even put it accurately into years because the flow of time between some realities is different, and I never set foot in my point of origin again since the beginning of my journey… not to mention that I do tend to lose track of time out there. My body also doesn't seem to age like that of a normal person anymore."

"But what exactly are you?" Lan asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Human, believe it or not. Too human sometimes, for better and for worse. Though some of the powers I've been exposed to have most likely changed me in some ways. I wasn't born with the ability to conjure light from my hands or take shrapnel to the gut and bounce right back up. I also remember being much more stupid and impulsive in my younger years. Then again, when I started out, I was on my own and still just a kid. Younger than you were when you started your heroic shenanigans."

"The lung, technically, not the gut." Aeon intervened, eliciting horrified looks from those outside their group. "Regardless, we have the equipment to run the scans you need. Just let your bodyguards outside know that they should expect us again in a few minutes. We sort of… bypassed them on the way in."

"I stand corrected." Lan quipped. "Space wizards? More like space trolls."

"And now you know why I have my work cut out for me." Elise said with a knowing smile.

"It never gets dull." Aeon added. "Anyway, it's time for us to go collect the equipment you'll need for that check up."

For his part, El simply raised his right hand and waved it at them, sticking out his thumb and joining his index and middle fingers together at one side and the ring and pinkie on the other. With that, he disappeared in a flash of light along with Elise and Aeon, leaving X and the alternate versions of Zero and Ciel in the room.

"Did he just..." Cadmus muttered, before cracking up and laughing like an idiot.

"Aliens..." Zero grumbled before letting out a sigh.

"Not entirely." X corrected. "But yes, they can be a handful."

About thirty minutes later…

"So, how does it look?" Lan asked, as Cadmus stared at the screen with a frown.

"You were very lucky, all things considered." Cadmus scolded. "See here? As I suspected, activating the nanites like you did end up doing some internal damage. It also triggered a set of augmentations I never designed."

Cadmus adjusted the position of the screen so Lan could have a better view and started pointing out his findings on display.

"You have a protective layer under your skin, and I can see another one coating your bones, which were part of the original design but… considerably mode developed here."

He paused for a moment and frowned as he continued explaining the readings.

"Your body's fat reserves were completely burnt out. The nanites also leeched some minerals from your skeletal structure, likely to construct the protective layers and mend the fracture. I can't even find any sign that your arm was ever broken in the first place, so that part worked as intended."

He then turned to face Lan.

"Pigging out was the smart thing to do given the circumstances, but you're going to need more than junk food. We need to get you some mineral supplements and vitamins. You're all set as far as sugar goes, and your body is in the process of digesting the obscene amount of food you gobbled up, but we're going to need to keep an eye on things. I just hope the energy efficiency boost will kick in now that the most aggressive parts of the process are concluded. The autonomous health monitoring systems will take care of repairing the secondary bone damage once the proper materials get into your system."

Cadmus turned his attention back to the screen and pointed out at the section displaying the state of Lan's limbs.

"Now for the muscles… They are definitely tougher, but I see some signs of strain. Nothing permanent, but most likely the result of going into combat so soon. Get some proteins in you and the rest will sort itself out."

"So, overall, stupidly reckless, but no permanent harm done." Hub said with a look of relief on his face.

"Now that we took care of that though, I insist that Lan rests and gets some proper food before the next meeting." Cadmus said, staring at the twins a look in his eyes that indicated he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Lune was pacing around the room, and had been doing so for the previous ten minutes, struggling to grasp the fact that there were two versions of her daughter standing there. The string of revelations and confessions had definitely left her feeling emotionally exhausted, but she refused to leave.

"Mom… please, settle down." Ciel pleaded.

Lune stopped in her tracks and looked at her.

"Things got even more awkward and confusing than I thought..." she finally said. "I did not expect them to turn out this way, but if someone is going to be able to keep people's heads straight, it should be you. My little girl is all grown up."

"Did the Council raise any objections about the change in statutes?" Cadmus asked.

Nur-Ab-Sal popped back up on the screen briefly, seeming hesitant to linger for long. Even through the emotionless mask, the AI seemed rather uncomfortable, though whether due to the recent outbursts, Lune's presence or both, Cadmus could not say.

"It was already a provision in the constitution." he explained. "There was some initial dragging of feet, but at the core they still respect the Founders. After all, they personally set up the original council. Some of the first members are still serving in some capacity as well."

"And if they had chosen not to cooperate?" Cadmus asked?

"They are constitutionally obligated, and it is part of their oath of service." Nur-Ab-Sal explained. "If they had elected to violate their obligations, they would have been replaced."

"More conniving antics?" Ciel asked with a glare.

"Only when necessary." the AI replied matter-of-factly.

"Do you actively try to piss off everyone around you, or does it just come naturally?" Zero asked pointedly, with his arms crossed and not bothering to face the screen.

"I take no pleasure in this. Carrying out my duties is already difficult enough without the additional incidental hostility." the AI replied.

"If you hadn't spent all these years lying, hiding important information from people and meddling with their lives, then they wouldn't be so hostile." Zero retorted with a scowl.

"Hate me if you must. We all serve in our own ways." the AI said bluntly.

"I must. You had no right." Zero spat, with fire in his eyes.

He then turned to his parallel Earth counterpart.

"Did you have an asshole like this on your Earth too?"

"Thankfully no. It's not even my Earth and I still feel like punching him in his smug mask face."

"You will not need to worry about that for much longer." the AI remarked, again infuriatingly dispassionate.

"And why would that be?" Cadmus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The hardware I am based on has been running nonstop for over twenty years with little to no maintenance. I fully expect it to start failing within the next two years."

"How can you be so damn calm about it?" Zero growled.

"The Founders' notes, work logs and other annotations are all safely stored in a separate database with redundant backups. The Imperative and the Affirmative are in office. My mission is complete."

"You bastard… You planned for this outcome all along, didn't you?" Zero spat with a glare.

"My continued presence will no longer be necessary, and I took all the appropriate measures to ensure stability. The Founders were heavy proponents of AI rights. They ensured I was registered as a person with equal rights and recognized as executor of their design in the event of a catastrophe."

"So why were their names scrubbed from public records?" Cadmus asked.

"It was their intent." the AI said. "I believe their words were 'Worship the ideal, not the idol.' They were concerned about being elevated to some sort of mythic status, and that those who came after them would be bound, not inspired by their legacy. That others would be unable to look upon their past work with a critical mind and the drive to improve upon it, but rather treat it as some kind of monolithic dogma. Their scientific and academic papers remain, however, with their names removed."

"And yet you went through all this trouble to groom their sole surviving heir." Zero pointed out.

"Despite their sentiment, I could not allow their legacy to simply fade out."

"And why is that?" Zero asked. "Did you care for them at all, or were you just obsessed with order and continuity?"

This time, Nur-Ab-Sal was silent. Nobody else said anything for a few moments either.

"So… Do you think we can get some food delivered, present circumstances considered?" Lan asked to break the awkward silence.

"Neo Atlantis didn't get hit anywhere near as hard as the rest of the world due to its network security being so far ahead, so it is a distinct possibility." Cadmus said. "And to be honest, all this excitement has made me forget about food too."

He then reached for the intercom console on the desk and pushed a button.

"You rang?" Phantom's voice asked through the speakers.

"You probably know this part of the island better than we do. Is there a good place to order food from around here? One that doesn't take two hours to deliver?"

"One moment..."

The call went out, and after Phantom's reassurances that it was not a prank and that the address was correct, a large truck stopped outside the building about fifteen minutes later. From inside three people stepped out in full chef outfits, looking both agitated and overwhelmed with emotion.

The oldest of them, a thickly built man in his fifties with short black hair, gray eyes and a thin face framed by a graying beard, walked up to Phantom, who was waiting at the door.

"Is it true then?" he asked in hushed tones.

"The Sanctum is back in operation, and overdue for some upgrades." the Agent said in his usual monotone. "The heirs to the Founders have come home."

"I didn't think there were any left..." the man said, his eyes beginning to water. "We will give them something to remember!"

Everyone inside was utterly baffled by the sheer amount of food that was soon delivered to the reception area. The Guardians had managed to find some old tables and laid them out next to each other, setting up an ample surface where mouthwatering dishes were laid out, ranging from meat, vegetables, local seafood and even an ice chest containing a veritable trove of high quality ice cream.

Having been the first to step out of the elevator, followed by Ciel and Zero, Cadmus immediately drew the attention of the odd-looking chefs. The man with the graying beard stopped in his tracks and stared at him as if seeing a ghost.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Cadmus said. "Is… something wrong?"

"I guess they didn't tell you, did they?" the man replied, starting to wipe his eyes again. "Nom de Dieu, you are his spitting image… All you're missing is the beard. The last time I saw you, you were so tiny!"

"There is a lot they did not tell me." Cadmus remarked bitterly. "I'm still uncovering parts, bit by bit."

"Then I suppose we have a lot to talk about."

The man paused for a moment and reached into his breast pocket, producing a business card which he handed to Cadmus.

"Your parents and their colleagues were frequent visits at our establishment. We were often called to deliver when they worked through the night and forgot to look after themselves as well. We were their first and only choice when they decided it was time to make things official, and when they were gone, we closed down for two weeks because everyone was too depressed to work. I don't know how much time you will have in the days ahead, but please do call when you can. The stories I have to tell you!"

"I will." Cadmus said, taking the card with teary eyes. "Thank you."

"Porco Dio!" another of the cooks interjected, pausing in his task to look in their direction. "È come vedere un fantasma!"

He appeared to be in his late forties, with a rounder face tempered with years of exposure to sun and sea. His blond hair was more than a little ruffled, which was made evident by the fact that he had removed his chef hat, and there was an excited, almost maniacal glimmer in his green eyes. Not taking his eyes off of Cadmus, he offered a handshake.

"Alberto Valentino Benedito Rossi Lombardo Mosconi!" he introduced himself. "A pleasure to see you again after all these years!"

"Alberto!" the older man scolded. "What do I keep telling you about that kind of language?"

"Vaffanculo Marcel!" the blond man thundered, looking like he was going through his own storm of emotions. "This… is a day to remember!"

The third chef, a much taller man in his late thirties built like a brick wall, glanced at them with deep blue eyes and sighed as he continued his work.

"Dummköpfe..." he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he finished setting the packages and unboxing the food. Despite his attempt to remain professional, however, Cadmus did notice the occasional glance in his direction.

Fairy took that opportunity to intercept Lan as he was about to fill his plate, and placed a small plastic bag on the table next to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Calcium, vitamins and other supplements." she said. "Normally you'd be taking these over two or three weeks, but after what your little experiment it's probably best if you just take it all now. All capsules, none of that chalky pills crap."

"Nice. Thanks!"

"Watch yourself out there." she said, gracing him with a smile before stepping back outside.

Back in the basement area…

"Before you join the others, there's something I need to ask you." X said, facing Hub. "Were you able to make use of the data I sent you?"

"Well, the transfer was a little sudden and overwhelming, especially considering everything that was going on. I think I get the general idea behind it, but I'm not used to transforming parts of my body on the fly."

"Yes, I figured that would be the case afterwards. Still, it's an important ability for those like us, and it will definitely save you a lot of aggravation until you get a better handle on those powers of yours."

"I have to ask. Do you have anything like them?"

"I suppose you could say that. I tend to reserve them for absolute emergencies though. I did spend an excessively long amount of time trapped in incorporeal form, and each use was a drain on my remaining energy."

"Wait… they drain your energy?" Hub asked with a concerned frown.

"My energy was already bleeding out since I was drifting without physical form and had to exert my will several times to varying degrees. You should be fine as long as you have an intact anchor to the physical world or strong bonds to hold you to it. But I do believe I can show you some tricks to help you with that later. For now though, watch my hand closely..."

A few minutes later, when Hub and X stepped out of the elevator, they found Lan stuffing his face with food while making a token effort to appear dignified in front of the chefs, while everyone else seemed to be settling for a moderate meal. Both versions of Zero were sitting side by side, and Hub realized that despite their different origins, their synthetic bodies were equally capable of processing food.

Since gaining the latest sets of modifications, Hub had discovered the pleasures of food himself, finally understanding his brother's gluttony while not needing to worry about the health consequences due to the differences between his anatomy and that of organic humans. Knowing his brother's ravenous appetite, he scurried to the nearest empty seat and filled his plate before it was all gone.

Emotionally drained, Cadmus and Ciel were eating some roast turkey legs and steamed rice when all of a sudden he froze in place. Wondering if he had choked on something, Ciel looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking concerned.

Cadmus consulted his wrist watch and then looked at her.

"With all this chaos, it completely slipped my mind..." he muttered before swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Oh…?" she muttered, as something clicked in her own mind. "Oh!"

"Zero!" Cadmus called out. "Combination Attack!"

With that, their version of Zero jumped out of his seat and rushed to their place. Ciel yelped lightly as they gave her a surprise hug together.

"Happy birthday." Cadmus said.

Since both scientists had forgotten about it the previous time due to being swamped in work and then exhausted, Cadmus had made sure to take precautions for the next one, though he had been unable to prepare something suitable in time. Instead, he smiled and ruffled her hair, knowing that no matter how many years he lived, he would never be able to forget how ludicrously adorable she looked to him.

"How long has it been since that first day?" Ciel pondered for a few moments.

"Let's see..." Cadmus muttered. "Seventeen… You started at eleven. Seven years… One and a half since we officially concluded our studies… It feels like an eternity."

His expression turned to one of momentary shock, as if suddenly checking the clock and realizing he had been working all night again.

"Did… did we really do all that? Did we really come out of Asimov University with three degrees each?"

"You're right." she said. "Our studies, our side projects, the fake Nur-Ab-Sal, Blue Moon… It does feel like time has a way of just rushing by."

"May it be kind and preserve us all." Cadmus said somewhat solemnly.

The alternate versions of Ciel and Zero exchanged glances at their corner of the table, looking somewhat flustered. She gave him an expectant stare, putting on the most adorable smile she could muster, and he made a show of looking away as if blinded for a few seconds, before scurrying over and patting her head. She puffed her cheeks in mock outrage and grabbed him in a bear hug, with surprising strength for someone her size, and he finally relented, returning the embrace.

Hub and X exchanged glances, smiling in amusement as they watched it all.

"Some things never change..." X said, pausing his meal from his seat next to Lan to watch the exchange.

"Whatever you do, don't let them team up…" Lan quipped under his breath. "If both of them did the puppy eyes thing together, they could give people heart attacks."

Moments later, as everyone continued their meal, Lan's PET rang.

"Oh hi Sean." he said as his face came up on the screen and turned up the sound so the others could hear it. "How are things on your end?"

"The situation in the city is slowly coming under control, now that the military are taking action. Not to be the pot calling the kettle black, but you definitely know a lot of unusual people. Those… I want to call them martial artists, but at this point they look like something out of a superhero show… anyway, they've helped tremendously and are still out there. By my estimates, now that the factories have stopped churning reinforcements nationwide, we're close to a full rout. However, I can confirm that the source of the communications jamming was not their communications hub. Those things are still operating, though they are definitely being pushed back."

"And the other thing I asked of Mayl?" Lan asked.

"I'm pleased to say that your idea had tremendous success." Sean said, allowing himself a smile despite the circumstances and his mounting fatigue. "While most of those contacts were primarily Net Battlers, their local knowledge is being a tremendous asset to local forces. Some of them with a more formal background are also putting their skills to use. Additionally, we've had some… unexpected offers of assistance from people who took the initiative of contacting us."

"Such as?"

"Just to mention a few… A pair of twin sisters, who are apparently school teachers in different parts of Dentown, for starters. A rather average-looking old man who somehow has insane computer skills. A former gym teacher from Cyber City. The president of the National Net Battlers Association. We're still trying to sort everyone out since we weren't expecting such a volume of calls."

Lan and Hub exchanged glances. The fact that so many people were stepping up of their own initiative in the middle of such a crisis was heartwarming. They had touched so many lives over the years, not knowing what had become of some of them, and now the world was coming together to fight back against the robotic hordes.

"Have you been able to get in touch with Laika and the like?" Lan asked.

"Oh, have I ever." Sean replied. "I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but he is definitely not limited to Net Battling skills. While you weren't looking, they bumped him all the way to Major. Youngest to ever attain the rank, from what they're saying. These days, he's commanding his own unit up north. Some kind of blend of tech specialists and covert operatives. They ended up pinned down in Siberia when communications went down, and they're more than eager to get some payback."

"So it's confirmed?" Hub asked. "Global communications are back?"

Sean nodded. "The parties responsible for the disruption still attempted to sabotage some major network and telecom links with malware attacks, but between the Colonel and Iris systems and the sheer amount of network specialists we have on board, they're not having their way."

The mention of those names made X and the other Zero exchange glances.

"Are we any closer to identifying the source of the control signal?" Cadmus asked, getting in closer.

"Progress has been slow." Sean explained. "The signal was being covertly disseminated through a combination of co-opted satellites and compromised radio transmitters, even piggybacking on other, legitimate signals. At this point though, we're pretty sure it's coming from somewhere in Antarctica."

"Given everything we've uncovered so far, it's hardly surprising." Ciel said. "But now that we have definite proof, the world at large will be compelled to act."

"There's still too much we don't know about what's going on over there." Sean pointed out. "They've mostly kept to themselves since the Reordering and the one person who was in a position to give us useful information had ten years of memories wiped form his mind."

Sean paused for a moment before continuing.

"There is… something else too." he added. "We've been getting reports that the second bout of malware attack attempts are being carried out by some kind of drone Navis. They basically look like the baseline robot models we saw in physical space, so there's no doubt about who is responsible for this. For now, between Colonel, the network specialists and the veteran Battlers, we're holding the line, but… there's no end to their numbers in sight. We suspect that they were prepared as a backup plan, and that means they would have vast reserves."

"Well then, it's a good thing the newly appointed heads of state in Neo Atlantis are already speaking with internal and external representatives to coordinate an official global effort then." Lan said.

"Huh?" Sean muttered. "That's news to me. And newly appointed heads of state? What exactly happened?"

"It looks like there were suitable heirs all along..." Lan explained "Even if they did not know about their status. That's why we didn't head back to SciLab right away after dealing with the factory district situation. They wanted to hook us up with the rest of the representatives right away."

"Oh? Someone we know?" Princess Pride intervened, appearing on the screen.

"It is a distinct possibility." Lan said with a grin.

"Before you all start getting any funny ideas..." Ciel chimed in. "No crowns, no fancy hats and no over-designed outfits."

"What about fancy uniforms for the Empress's personal guard?" Zero quipped.

"None of that." Ciel said in mock scolding tone. "Shame on you."

Hub consulted his internal clock and realized the time for the next meeting was quickly approaching. With a frown, he turned to the screen.

"I hate to cut this short, but we're expected for another meeting in about fifteen minutes. We'll be in touch as soon as we're done."

"Do keep us posted." Princess Pride said. "And good luck out there."

"Likewise." Hub said. "Good luck to us all."

And with that, Lan ended the call.

"Which reminds me, do we still have enough time to take care of the representatives' request before we start?" Lan asked, turning to Cadmus and Ciel.

"Are you kidding?" Ciel replied with a smile. "The parts and software have already arrived. We can install them on your PET and in Hub's system in ten minutes. We still need to monitor your progress further, but at this rate you might be able to interface directly with electronic equipment soon. Uploading new programs to the nanites to boost their utility range may not be too far off, but for now it's best not to touch anything."

"Yeah, better leave that last bit for later." Lan conceded. "Give these things in my system time to settle down, work out the kinks. After all, you also didn't make them with that kind of extra bells and whistles in mind, right?"

"Right." Cadmus said. "Best we wait until we can figure out how safe and feasible that is. Besides, your PET and Hub's original Copy Bot hardware should be enough. It'll be good for me to do some manual work again too. At times like this, I find it's great stress relief."

"To be honest, I'm still surprised." Hub added. "This entire new range of sensations, of possibilities… Even looking at the science behind it, it still feels a bit like magic."

"I know what you mean." Aeon cut in, making his way into the reception area from the elevator. "Every day I'm thankful for it."

"Huh…" Hub muttered. "There you are. What have you and the others been up to?"

"Giving you some space and privacy." Aeon said with a shrug. "And taking a look at the battle plans so far. The reasoning is sound, so if anything, we would only be acting as force multipliers. We're still trying to figure out where our abilities would be best put to use, preferably keeping a low profile."

"Have you seen my mother?" Ciel asked. They had lost track of her shortly before coming upstairs. While she too had a PET, she was not answering calls.

"She took a mild sedative and is resting." Aeon explained. "The whole thing downstairs… it dredged up a lot of painful memories, as you saw from her state. Then there was also seeing two copies of her little girl running around. She did ask us to call her when the next meeting started though."

"Well then..." Cadmus said. "Time to get to work. Ciel, where did they put the package?"

"I think they left it on the reception counter." she pointed out.

"Correct." Agent Phantom said from his post at the reception security desk.

"You've been there this whole time?" Cadmus asked. "Why didn't you join us? You have the same modifications, so you should be able to enjoy the food."

"It is not my place." he said with his usual emotionless demeanor. This seemed to strike a nerve with Cadmus, as he stood up and glared at him.

"You listen here." he said, stepping towards the security post. "Regardless of what that thing downstairs says, or your protests, I haven't forgotten your dedication to our safety well-being. Yes, I am hurt that you wouldn't tell us the truth sooner, but we've still grown fond of having you four around and you did spend months practically living with us. During all that time, your colleagues started acting less like robots and more like actual people, but you are always standing apart. Why?"

"This is… all I've ever known." Phantom admitted, showing a rare crack in his demeanor. "I will not tell the others what to do with their lives, but someone has to stay focused on the mission."

"That's bullshit, and you know it." Zero cut in. "You four asked to get the modifications together, as if you could not bear to leave one of your own behind. We watched as as you grew used to the changes and started opening up, little by little. I saw Sage walking around dressed like a normal person, interacting with children and pets, and how happy he looked when he came back. I saw Fighter getting fired up when he snuck out to practice martial arts in the backyard and his body started responding. And Fairy… she actually cried when she tried ice cream for the first time. You, on the other hand, are always wearing that infuriating mask, and I know why. You're scared."

"What are you talking about?" Phantom hissed, sounding like his voice was beginning to crack.

"You're scared of losing control. Of feeling, of having actual emotions. Of being not just a secret service agent but a complete person. Which I'm guessing has something to do with your original personality matrix… or maybe you just being so damn stubborn."

"I think you're hitting that nail on the head." the other Zero said. "Our Guardians were much like them at first, after all… though our Fairy had some rather… disturbing craving for fighting me."

"You insist on this ludicrous parallel Earth thing then?" Phantom contested.

"You've seen enough evidence to prove it." the other Zero remarked.

"It does not matter what I believe, only what the ones I am supposed to protect believe, and whether or not you are a threat to them."

"Honestly, I think we should have brought them along on the trip as well." the other Zero said with a sigh. "Then you could see how much of a pain in the ass you can sound like to other people."

"Look..." Cadmus insisted. "If you really feel nothing, then you can just keep doing what you do. But if you and your colleagues… or should I call them siblings? Well, if you will accept it, all four of you will always have a place at our table."

Phantom blinked in genuine surprise.

"Why?" he asked, his voice cracking again.

"Because to us you're not mere tools or bodyguards." Ciel pointed out, having crossed the distance while they were distracted. "Synthetic, organic… it doesn't matter. You're people… and we would like to be able to think of you as friends."

That seemed to be the breaking point for Phantom. He barely made a sound as his hands and eyes twitched, the first involuntary reactions he had displayed since the modifications. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm himself and looked at the two scientists.

"Thank you." he said, his voice finally losing whatever sense of restraint he had been trying to impose on it. From outside, the other three Agents exchanged glances, having overheard the whole exchange.

"I can't believe he told them that!" Fairy protested, her face turning a fierce shade of scarlet.

"Still, it looks like dear old Phantom is finally starting to wake up." Fighter remarked.

"We are definitely living in… interesting times." Sage remarked, turning his gaze to the night sky.

The next meeting finally started, the Agents having had the foresight of procuring enough chairs for everyone present to watch from a comfortable position. Cadmus and Ciel sat at the large desk before the monitor array while Lan and Hub were sitting next to them and everyone else was some distance away, outside the focus of the cameras.

As the faces of the representatives appeared on the screen, this time more numerous, Heim officially began the proceedings.

"Ah, good. I see everyone was able to make it." she said, surveying her visual feed. She then blinked and stared directly at the camera.

"Is this… some kind of practical joke?" she asked, not looking particularly amused. "The national representatives of Neo Atlantis are…?"

"A young adult and a teenager whose intellect renders her more mature than many people three times her age." Cadmus pointed out, firmly but politely. "Both of which are the holders of several academic degrees and have been running their own research projects since before concluding their studies. Would that be an issue, Frau Heim? Not to mention that the young men you accepted as recommendations last time are younger than I am, and only slightly older than my colleague."

"It is… definitely an unorthodox situation." Yu chimed in. "But then again, so is the current state of the world. Your nation has always been out of the norm, right from the beginning. We cannot even get a full and proper account of some of the events of its foundation and early years."

"The result of a misguided decision from someone who thought they were acting in the best interests of our predecessors." Cadmus said. "Now that we are in charge, things are going to be different. But I believe we have more pressing matters at hand right now."

"So young..." Heim muttered, looking at something outside the camera's focus. "And already taking up that kind of burden..."

"We do what we must in the service of our people and humanity." Ciel said.

"That, we do." Karamazov added. "I believe our young Major Laika is another fine example."

"You know him then?" Lan asked.

"I have followed his activities with great interest. His service record is outstanding, even if his interpersonal skills still need some work." Karamazov said with an amicable smile. "Your battle at Red Sun was most impressive, by the way."

"Ahem..." Stark interrupted. "I believe we have some some important news to share with everyone present."

The other representatives went silent, and Stark continued.

"In light of the recent global situation, and given the recommendations we received from various representatives across the world, this Council has agreed to form a special task force for the duration of this incident. Given your extensive and notorious experience in dealing with various forms of cybercrime and cyberterrorism, we have unanimously agreed to place Lan and Hub Hikari in command for the duration of operations, with some of our most experienced field staff in an advisory and support capacity. Congratulations, Commanders."

While the possibility had been brought up and they had already been addressed as such by the Agents, hearing it from an official source was a different experience altogether. Lan and Hub stood up from their chairs and stared directly at the camera.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence." Lan said.

"We will not let you down." Hub added.

The fact that Lan was being given this responsibility at his age was already telling, but that Hub, who had until recently been living as a Navi and was still becoming fully accustomed to his new life, was not only invited along but given the same rank, spoke volumes both of how dire the situation was and how grateful the people in charge were for their past heroics. This experience was considerably different from the accolades when they won tournaments, feeling like something more solemn and heavier on their shoulders, but they were still overall elated.

More screens came to life, displaying various tactical readouts of the global situation, including force densities for both the combined Battlers and Official forces and the drone Navis. A separate display was showing Colonel and Iris' progress in burning away the malware and restoring network functionality.

"So, what should be our first step as a team?" Lan asked.

"Any new commander worth their salt should address their troops before beginning a campaign." Heim pointed out, showing the hint of a smile. "With your appointment, the task force is fully assembled and ready to join the efforts already underway."

"If I may..." Phantom intervened. "I know the perfect way to get a message across."

"You may." Lan said.

Phantom nodded and, with the aid of the other Agents, pulled off a metal panel from the floor in front of the large chair. The four sitting in the front row turned around, watching what they were doing.

Underneath, mingled with a mess of cables, they uncovered some old equipment that had apparently been there since the days of the Founders. From the exposed cavity, they pulled up a circular metal platform, surrounded by what appeared to be sensor arrays. Phantom approached one of the old computers on the side desks and turned it on, bringing the old equipment to life. As he interfaced with it and located the program he was looking for, the rim of the platform lit up and it finished raising itself until it was slightly above the floor, still low enough for someone to step on it.

"Communication channels are open." Phantom said. "Task force frequencies are set. Holographic and voice projector arrays are online. Gentlemen, you have the stage."

"Wait…" Ciel interrupted. "That reminds me..."

She then reached for something in her pocket and produced two squares of an odd material, cut in the shape of handkerchiefs. She located the spots where Lan's suit had been torn and slapped them on. They melted away in a matter of seconds, covering the holes with an adaptive substance that soon took on the exact same color and texture of the original. Moments later, his suit looked as if it had never been damaged at all.

"Thank you." Lan said. "Wouldn't want to go on national TV with torn pants either, even if they can't see it."

The helmet would take more work than that, but for the time being, this would have to do. Ciel's small gesture also bolstered Lan's confidence, which he would need as he was not used to speaking in public. For the time being, he kept it stowed under his arm, just like Hub was doing with his.

With that, Lan and Hub climbed on the platform, grateful that they could not see the vast majority of their audience. Despite its age, the equipment did its job, projecting their image to hundreds of PET, computer and other screens.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Lan started. "You know who we are. You know what we're up against and what's at stake."

"Despite our differences..." Hub continued "Some more striking than others, we still share the same world, and now – yet again – sinister forces are conspiring to take it from us."

"No more." Lan said with firm determination. "And this time, we are all directly and immediately affected. So this time, we all fight this together."

And with that, they simultaneously put their helmets on and stood at attention before ending the transmission.

"Time to get to work." Lan said firmly, turning his attention back to the tactical displays.