DISCLAIMER: CORPSE PARTY AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY TEAM GRISGRIS/GRINDHOUSE. ZENKA IS OWNED BY AXEL THE MOON. KITT IS OWNED BY GLEN A. LARSON PRODUCTIONS, THE CREATORS OF KNIGHT RIDER CLASSIC. MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, PACKER, RUSH, QUACKENBUSH, DUSTIN, ANGEL, AND TUNDRA ARE OWNED BY ME.

CHAPTER 38: SOULMATES II

(Final Fantasy VII's Boss Battle Theme begins playing in the background)

BOSS FIGHT: GREEN DRAGON

"This is very, VERY bad!" Zenka shouted.

What Zenka said was a glaring understatement, because what was directly in front of Dustin's car, which contained himself, Dustin, 'Seiko' and 'Packer' was a huge green creature, resembling a storybook dragon. Straddling the house that made up their temporary command post, it looked down at the cars that had just arrived.

"Let's move, Zenka!" Dustin shouted, quickly jumping out of the car and slapping on his badge as he ran toward the dragon. Zenka would do the same, and once the light encompassing them vanished, they were decked out in their Battle Rigs.

Dustin had gold and ebony armor, with a long scarf wrapped around his neck, his Dragonsabre strapped to his back, and a dragon emblem as his belt buckle.

Zenka was wearing jet-black onyx armor, and had his katana, Zangetsu, strapped to his back. His belt buckle resembled that of a lightning bolt.

As 'Seiko' and 'Packer' got out of the car as well, they watched the two Knights unsheathe their respective swords and run toward the dragon.

"Let's go after them, Seiko!" 'Seiko' shouted. 'Packer' looked back 'her' in shock.

"And why would we do that?!" 'Packer' exclaimed.

"Because my Battle Rig has the tools we need to fight that thing!" 'Seiko' answered.

"Oh… right," 'Packer' realized. "In that case, let's roll!"

"KITT, get the others clear!" 'Seiko' shouted into 'Packer's' comwatch.

"Roger, Packer," KITT replied, quickly driving away from the dragon.

As they ran after them, 'Seiko' reached into one of 'Packer's' pockets and pulled out his Covenant badge as well and slapped it onto 'Packer's' chest. Light encompassed 'his' body, and once it died down, 'Packer' was decked out in 'his' emerald Battle Rig, complete with Shiden and twin Kobra pistols.

"Did you see if it damaged the house at all?" 'Packer' shouted as they ran towards the huge dragon.

"No, but I don't think it did, it's just standing over it," 'Seiko' replied. "At least this tiny skirt isn't getting in the way, but how do you run in these heeled shoes?"

"Can't go into detail now, for now just remember heel toe, heel toe... There it is!" 'Packer' exclaimed as 'he' pointed up towards the creature.

"No damage to the CP, or anything else nearby," 'Seiko' observed. "Let's hope it doesn't sit down, though or else that could change really quickly!"

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks upon the sight of the huge creature standing right in front of them.

"It hasn't even moved from the CP since we got here!" Zenka shouted.

"Good!" Dustin replied. "I thought it might step on my car!"

"Should we attack it? We don't want to provoke it into doing anything since, so far, it hasn't actually threatened us," 'Seiko' inquired.

As if answering the young brunette's question, the dragon slowly stepped away from the Knight's command post and into part of a wooded area surrounding it. Its movements were practically calculated with precision so that it would prevent any possible damage to either the CP or the trees.

"Wait! Is it leaving? What should we do?" 'Packer' was rightfully confused.

"Well, I think we should at least keep it in sight and... Wait… What the heck?! What's happening to it?!" Dustin shouted, equally as confused as the others. The dragon started changing shape as it moved through the woodland. "It… its scales are turning into bark!"

"Well, we can't just stand here gawking at it!" 'Seiko' shouted. "Hurry! It's starting to shrink too! Let's keep track of it!"

As they ran after it, the creature had completely transformed from a large green dragon, into a tree. It continued to run from the Knights as they chased it through the woods. Thinking fast, Dustin powered up a spell through his Dragonsabre.

"DRAKSLASH!"

Slashing his sword outward caused a bright ball of yellow energy to discharge from it and fly toward the now tree-like creature. It dodged the blast as it slammed into an adjacent tree and continued to run from its pursuers. Zenka powered up a spell of his own.

"INAZUMA! (LIGHTNING BOLT!)"

A massive bolt of lightning shot from Zenka's outstretched hand, but the creature managed to dodge that as well. 'Seiko' reached over and grabbed one of the Kobra pistols from 'Packer's' holster, causing 'Packer' to look back at 'her' in surprise.

"Since when do you use guns?" 'he' asked.

"Since I lost my powers," 'Seiko' replied, slowing to a stop and taking aim at the creature. 'She' pulled the trigger and fired, but because of the difference in strength between Seiko's body and Packer's, 'she' was knocked to the ground by the gun's powerful recoil. The bullet missed its target and sliced through the bark of several trees, eventually becoming lodged in one of them after losing its momentum.

'Seiko' looked down at the Kobra in shock.

"Damn, this thing's got some recoil on it," 'she' remarked. 'Packer' grabbed 'her' hand and helped 'her' back to 'her' feet. Turning around, they watched as the tree-like creature leaped into the air and transformed into a cloud, before disappearing before their eyes.

Everyone glanced at each other for a few moments in silence.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," Zenka quipped.

"Indeed," Dustin replied. "I've never heard of a monster actually running from us, so it really makes me wonder what it was doing at our command post."

"Speaking of which, let's head back there now," 'Seiko' suggested. "The others are probably waiting for us there."

Turning around, the four of them walked through the woods back toward the command post.

(Turok 2: Seeds of Evil's Adon Theme begins playing in the background)

As they walked out of the woods, they could see KITT coming toward them. The black car pulled to a stop in front of them, allowing everyone inside to get out.

"So, what the Hell was that thing?" Yoshiki asked.

"If my calculations are correct, that creature was some sort of polymorphic being," KITT said.

"Polly morbic what?" Nana mumbled in confusion.

"Polymorphic being, Nana," Dustin replied. "A shapechanger."

"Correct," KITT agreed. "You said it resembled a dragon when near the command post?" Four simultaneous 'Yep's were the replies.

"But then it started to become tree-like when it walked from the CP and into the trees," 'Seiko' stated. "And then it jumped in the air, transformed into a cloud, and disappeared."

"Did it damage any of the trees in there?"

"No, none at all," 'Seiko' replied. "What are you getting at, KITT?"

"I believe that this polymorph mimics the area in which it is located."

"That makes sense!" 'Packer' exclaimed. "It looked like a tree in the forest, looked like a cloud in the sky and looked like a storybook dragon over the command post!"

"Yeah, but why was it here, what does it want, and what do we do now?" Ayumi asked.

"Well, Shinozaki, we'll find out later, its likely Covenant related, and we go inside now," Zenka replied as he began walking toward the command post. He turned around when he realized no one was following him, and arched an eyebrow as everyone else looked at him as if in shock. "What? You asked!"

Everyone chuckled as they followed Zenka toward the command post, which was up a flight of stairs. 'Seiko' sighed as 'she' stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Great, stairs," 'she' began. "I'm having a hard enough time walking on flat ground with these heeled shoes and now I've gotta go up stairs?!"

'She' looked to 'Packer', who merely answered with an innocent smile as 'he' began to walk up the staircase toward the command post. 'Seiko' sighed once more.

"OK, heel toe, heel toe..." 'she' mumbled as 'she' tentatively walked up the stairs.

Everyone gathered inside a large room often used for sparring within the house the Knights were using as a temporary command post. 'Packer' had reverted back to his regular clothes, as regular as those could be, anyway.

"Comfy?" 'Packer' asked, who was constantly changing positions on the floor trying to find a comfortable one.

"About as comfy as you are," 'Seiko' replied, who was doing the exact same thing. "Try just sitting on your butt and sticking your feet straight out."

"OK," 'Packer' replied as 'he' tried it. "Hey, that is better! My turn, then. Try crossing your legs."

"You know I can't cross my legs!" 'Seiko' exclaimed. 'Packer' smiled and blushed.

"You can with those legs," 'he' replied. 'Seiko' sighed as 'she' tried it.

"You're right, I can! Thanks!" 'she' said. "I think I'll just copy what you're doing though, and cross my legs over my knees, since I am wearing a skirt after all."

"Good idea, I should have thought of that," 'Packer' replied with a blush.

Dustin was doing his best to not seem impatient.

"Okay, now that that's all settled, can we discuss what just happened out there and then try and figure out how we can help Packer and Seiko?" the dragon Knight asked.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, because I want to know what that thing was doing here," Zenka answered.

Just then, the door opened, and in walked several of the Knights of the Covenant: Rush, Quackenbush, Tundra and Angel.

"Nice of you guys to join the party," 'Seiko' joked.

"We came as soon as we heard," Rush replied.

"How did you get here so fast?" Ayumi asked.

"Sonic Jet," Quackenbush answered with a smile. "Another of my brilliant designs."

"So, what kind of monster did you guys encounter here at the command post?" Rush asked.

"Well, according to KITT, it was a polymorphic being," Dustin explained. Rush arched an eyebrow.

"A shapechanger, huh?" he mumbled. "That certainly complicates things. What else?"

"When it was here, at the command post, it resembled a dragon," Dustin continued. "When it ran into the forest, it transformed into a tree, before turning into a cloud and blowing away into the sky."

"Did you guys attack it at all?" Angel inquired.

"Only when it tried running away, which was quite unusual," Zenka replied.

"I guess it's just another minor monster sighting like all the rest have been, then," Dustin finished.

"Well, that's a good thing," Angel began. "But it's also bad, because we don't know why these minor occurrences have been happening for the past few weeks."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," 'Seiko' interrupted. "There have been more monster sightings than just this one? Why wasn't I informed?"

"These have just been weak monsters, so we figured it wasn't necessary to bother our Elite Knight with them," Dustin replied with a smile. "Besides, you had other things to worry about."

"Right," 'Seiko' acknowledged with a nod.

"The locations the monsters have been arriving in has also appeared to be random. Do you think that has anything to do with it?" Quackenbush asked.

"Possibly," Dustin replied. "But because they've been so weak, we've been able to defeat them each time easily."

Everyone nodded in understanding this time. Zenka pulled a note pad from his jacket.

"The appearances have been somewhat random, but always within a close radius to where some of us are located at the time," Zenka said, looking at his notes.

"My main concern is how they've been arriving here, and what can be done about it," Rush added.

Everyone in the room was silent after that, each of them pondering the possibilities.

"What also bothers me is what that polymorph was doing here, and why it ran when we engaged it in battle," 'Seiko' spoke up.

"Yeah, and why it didn't attack us when it had the chance," Dustin added.

"Still, it was able to get away, the first time any monster has accomplished that feat," Zenka said. "Maybe it realized it was outnumbered and took off."

"Perhaps," Angel interjected. "I still don't like it though. Since that monster managed to escape, what happens now? How do we find it?"

"Do you think it has anything to do with Packer and Shinohara's situation?" Satoshi asked.

"I'm not sure," Rush replied, now focusing his attention on the persons in question. "Speaking of which, I would like to run some scans on the both of you, to check both of your conditions more definitively. Maybe we can figure something out that can help you get back into your original bodies."

"Sounds good to me," 'Packer' replied.

"This way," Rush replied, leading 'Packer' and 'Seiko' into a room filled with all kinds of high-tech equipment. He led the two over to what appeared to be two small beds, with various sensors overlooking them.

"This is a Sub-Molecular Scanner," Rush explained. "It'll give us a more detailed analysis of your bodies' molecular structures than an MRI machine ever could. Let's get started."

'Packer' and 'Seiko' both lied down on each of the beds, as Rush inputted several different commands into the computer with fast-fingered reflexes. Several beams of light moved over both 'Seiko' and 'Packer', collecting valuable data as it moved. As Rush analyzed the data, a frown began to appear on his face.

"I don't like this one bit," Rush mumbled. "This is not looking good."

"What's wrong, Rush?" 'Seiko' asked, moving 'herself' off the bed, 'Packer' doing the same.

"If these scans are accurate, and for once I sincerely hope they aren't, it appears that you're adapting to your new bodies faster than we originally thought," Rush replied solemnly.

'Packer' and 'Seiko' glanced at each other with wide eyes, while Naomi scratched her head in confusion.

"So, what exactly does that mean?" she asked. Rush sighed.

"Simply put, unless we figure out a way to reverse it, Packer and Shinohara will eventually adapt completely to their current bodies," he answered.

'Seiko' was practically in shock.

"You're saying that we may become each other mentally as well as physically?" 'she' gasped.

Solemnly, Rush nodded, his voice now but a whisper.

"When I factor in all of the calculations the Sub-Molecular Scanner gave to me, I calculate that it has already begun to happen," Rush explained. "I estimate that we have less than 24 hours to reverse the process, or you may be stuck as each other forever."

'Seiko' began to turn a pale shade of green as 'she' collapsed to 'her' knees, gasping for air as 'her' stomach churned, threatening to incorrectly empty itself, while 'Packer' simply struggled to remain standing. Somehow, 'he' was able to do and 'he' just stood there like a statue.

"Well, this just got crazy in hurry," Quackenbush remarked.

"Indeed," Angel agreed. "This just became our top priority."

"But how can we reverse this thing if we don't even know how it happened in the first place?" Ayumi asked. Rush scratched his chin as he pondered Ayumi's question.

"Honestly… I have no clue," he replied in a defeated voice.

Finally, in a desperate attempt to regain 'his' composure and to possibly accept the finality of the situation, 'Packer' attempted to utter the following words, and barely succeeded.

"If we're stuck in each other's body, then we might be better off with each other's mind as well..." 'Packer' murmured.

With that, 'Seiko's' eyes grew wide with horror, followed by 'her' stomach following through on its threat...

'If we're stuck as each other, we might be better off with each other's mind as well...'

'Seiko' unwillingly refused any other thoughts but those simplewords, which only moments ago were uttered by the original owner of the body'she' now possesses, now seemingly forever stuck in 'her' own former had caused 'her' to throw up where 'she' had fallen to 'her' knees. 'She'felt a hand on 'her' shoulder, and could hardly register what the person wassaying, or even who it was as 'she' was helped to 'her' feet.

"Are you alright?" Mayu asked, always investing herself in the well-being of her friends. "You should really sit down, we'll clean that up for you."

Nana, quite obviously, didn't like that idea.

"We will? But that's really gross and icky and..." She was cut off by a dirty look from Mayu's normally kind face, a sight so rare none can honestly remember the last time they witnessed.

"Alright," Nana quickly mumbled. "I'll do it."

(Final Fantasy IX's Loss of Me begins playing in the background)

'Seiko' just kept staring at 'her' body, much like 'she' did when this entire escapade began. Tears began to flow freely within a matter of seconds.

On the other side of the room, Dustin was helping 'Packer' to a chair as well, as 'he' was beginning to look a little green since 'Seiko' threw up.

"Guys, no matter what happens, we're always going to be here for you," Ayumi said. She was trying hard to sound like she believed what she said. She knew that college and university would come sooner than later, and that eventually their lives would be pulled apart in different ways, but she was definitely not going to bring that up right now.

'Seiko' tried to speak. "We... we know that, of course you will. This is just... too hard to really comprehend. It's like when my mother disappeared, I just couldn't believe that…"

"What did you say? When your mother disappeared?!" Naomi immediately interrupted.

'Seiko' thought for a moment, then realized what had just happened.

"Yeah, yeah, I did say that, didn't I?!" 'she' exclaimed as more tears followed. "It's happening already, and so quickly, too!"

Rush, in deep thought, was rather concerned. This was occurring far quicker than he had believed. The amethyst Knight went over to his laptop and began typing furiously.

"With you recalling that major a memory as your own, I believe that you will first receive more of the memories that changed Shinohara's lifestyle rather than the simple everyday ones, which means you will become Shinohara much more quickly," Rush surmised.

'Packer' was quick to react.

"You mean, soon I'll be wondering who Packer's parents are as if they were my own, and think that my old parents are really those of my girlfriend?" 'he' inquired.

Rush was alarmed at how nonchalantly 'Packer' had said the words 'my girlfriend'.

"Yes," Rush replied. "At this rate, it will be only a matter of hours before you are Packer in every way, and vice versa."

Yoshiki broke his silence once he heard the sobs resuming from 'Seiko'.

"You guys, there are only a couple of things we can do," Yoshiki declared. "We can either sit here and watch you two cry over this until you accept the fact, we can do things and let you guys adapt without bringing attention like this to it, or we can go and try to stop it from happening in the first place. I'll bet that the shapechanging creature has something to do with it, because right after you guys switched, it stopped attacking."

"Yeah…" Quackenbush agreed. "You might be onto something, Kishinuma."

"Yeah, he does, doesn't he?" 'Packer' replied as 'he' stood upright.

As 'Packer' began to walk around the room, Rush was constantly monitoring 'his' movement. It seemed too masculine for someone who had only been male for a few hours now.

Naomi apparently noticed it as well.

"Well, it looks like you guys won't have to worry about teaching each other how to be each other after all. I guess that's somewhat of a good thing..." Naomi said as she put on a painfully false smile. "Don't you guys agree?"

"I suppose, but I still can't believe it," 'Seiko' replied as 'she' stood up as well, now able to stand on 'her' own. "At least, I don't want to believe it. Everything will be back to normal by this time next week, Packer and Seiko will be their old selves, except that we won't really be who we're supposed to be." Tears once again began to flow. "I don't want to lose my identity and be someone else..."

'Packer' then approached 'Seiko' and once again did what seemed to come natural for the both of them, as 'Seiko' cried into 'his' shoulder.

As Nana finally finished cleaning the area where 'Seiko' had thrown up, Rush and Dustin finally announced the plan they had been forming.

"I think we should find the creature that was here when the four of you arrived, and the best place to start with is Tenjin Park," Rush said. "We have to figure out just what exactly caused this and what else is going to happen."

"Besides, everything seems to happen at that park sooner or later," Dustin stated.

"Right," Rush replied. He was obviously anxious to discover the answer as well. "Are we all going?"

Everybody immediately looked at 'Packer' and 'Seiko' and waited for their response. It didn't take long until they got it.

"We're in, too," 'Seiko' proclaimed. "If it will help us by getting us distracted from this, them I'm all for it. But before we do, I need to change first."

With that, 'Seiko' walked down the hallway where 'she' knew the armory would be. 'She' opened the door and walked in, quickly closing it behind 'her'.

When 'she' reemerged, everyone gasped at what 'she' was wearing.

"Well, then…" Naomi laughed.

'Seiko' was now wearing a green girl's t-shirt, black jeans and combat boots. On 'her' arms and legs were wrist gauntlets and knee pads, and her torso was covered with body armor. Two 9mm pistols were strapped to 'her' waist, and a sheath carrying a 12 gauge pump shotgun was strapped to 'her' back.

"I got to say, Packer," 'Packer' chuckled. "You really make me look good."

"Nice to see you haven't lost that side of you yet, Seiko," 'Seiko' replied with a smile, before turning toward the other Knights. "I'm ready."

"Alright," Dustin announced. "Let's go."

Parking their vehicles in the parking lot of Tenjin Park, everyone glanced around as the sun began to set in the sky.

"You're sure it's here, KITT?" 'Seiko' asked.

"I'm positive. I can't triangulate its position, since it seems to be scattering its energy signature, but from what my sensors tell me, the creature is definitely somewhere in Tenjin Park."

"Keep us informed," Rush replied, before turning to 'Seiko' and 'Packer', who was now decked out in 'his' Battle Rig. "Shinohara, Packer, you two come with us. The rest of you, hang out here with KITT until we find and deal with this creature. We can't risk any of you getting hurt."

"Understood," Satoshi acknowledged. Rush nodded and turned to his fellow Knights.

"Let's get this over with," the amethyst Knight said.

Nodding in response, Angel, Quackenbush, Zenka, Dustin, 'Packer' and 'Seiko' followed him into the park. Ayumi checked her watch, noticing that it was almost seven in the evening.

"They'd better hurry," Ayumi said. "It's getting pretty late."

After Dustin ran for several yards inside the park, he slowed his pace to a walk and began scanning the surrounding area. After a few minutes, he came across the public washrooms.

"Now that's good timing," Dustin said as he entered.

He thought he heard a noise upon entering the building, but dismissed it as the door closing behind him. As he did his business at one of the standing urinals, he heard the noise again. He finished up as quickly as he could, and as he went to wash his hands, he heard it yet again. Now regretting the decision to relieve himself, he realized that he had to check out the noise, which was why he was in the park in the first place. He approached the stall, noticing the door was slightly ajar.

"Um, hello?" the dragon Knight called out. He hoped that it was merely someone having... difficulties, and that they could handle the problem on their own.

His answer wasn't quite what he expected. A loud crashing noise from within the stall was heard, and what sounded like a wall crumbling followed. Dustin pushed open the door and found a toilet-sized hole behind the toilet. Dustin ran out of the bathroom using the conventional door and quickly looked for the hole in the wall that the… well, whatever it was, escaped through.

What he saw was undoubtedly the weirdest thing he had ever seen in his career as a Knight. Extracting his Dragonsabre from its sheath, Dustin stopped dead in his tracks and evaluated the situation, eyes wide as saucers.

"You've got to be shitting me..."

As they continued to walk through the park in search of the creature, 'Packer' turned to Rush, a curious look on 'his' face.

"So, Rush, do you have the exact time for when we… become each other?" 'he' asked.

"I believe so," Rush replied. "Do you want to know it?"

"No, I don't think so," 'Packer' replied. "I mean, we know it's within a day's time, so it'll probably be easier to just let it happen."

"True, especially since you two will only have minor trouble adjusting," Rush replied. "Little things like memory conflicts will occur, but they should pass almost immediately after they begin."

"How do you think you guys will cope with it, Rush?" 'Packer' asked.

"Oh, probably fairly well, Shinohara," Rush retorted. "Since you two will be acting the way you always have, it shouldn't be too long before everyone just takes it for granted like before. I am somewhat surprised that you're taking this so well. I mean, the two of you are practically giving up on all hope of switching back."

Rush, 'Packer' and 'Seiko' had seemingly gone over this part a thousand times, at least 'Seiko' and 'Packer' thought so.

"I know, and it still scares me," 'Packer' began. "But it's probably just part of what's happening to us."

'Seiko' was quick to chime in.

"I know it sounds like a defeatist attitude, but everything will work out for everybody else in the long run," 'she' interjected, before pausing to look at 'Packer'. "Besides, it might not be so bad living as Seiko after all."

That statement caused 'Packer' to smile, as well as the need to wipe a tear from 'his' eye.

Then, all of a sudden, the silence in the park was broken by…

FFFLLLUUUSSSHHH!

(Final Fantasy VII's Boss Battle Theme begins playing in the background)

BOSS FIGHT: POLYMORPHIC BEING

All three glanced in the direction the sound came from, weapons at the ready.

"What the Hell was that?!" Rush exclaimed.

"Was that what I think it was?!" 'Packer' shouted.

"Sounded like…" 'Seiko' couldn't believe what 'she' was about to say. "…like a huge toilet flushing!"

"That's exactly what it was!" shouted a soaking wet Dustin as he ran up to them.

"Dustin!? Are you alright? You're drenched, what happened?" 'Seiko' asked, but couldn't help but smile at the situation. "You fell in, didn't you, Dragon Boy?"

"At least you haven't lost that part yet, Packer, but this is serious!" Dustin exclaimed. "I found the creature in the bathroom stall and… well, you know how it mimics the area it's in?"

"Yeah? Ohhhhhhh..." 'Packer' realized, and like 'Seiko', had to smile even though 'he' knew the severity of the situation.

"Exactly," Dustin replied. "Let's just be happy that we're fighting a giant toilet with arms and legs and not what we'd find INSIDE of a giant toilet!"

"I heard that," 'Seiko' retorted, pulling out 'her' twin 9mm pistols.

"Wasn't it following you?" Rush asked as he unsheathed his twin ivory daggers.

"No, Angel was in the girls' washroom when it happened and she was keeping it preoccupied while John was checking out the hole in the bathroom," Dustin explained. Everyone looked at Dustin questioningly. "Ask again later. Anyway, Tundra and Zenka just arrived when it flushed me and are there too helping Angel. I'd imagine John's there as well."

The sound of another giant FLUSH was heard followed by the combined shrieks and moans of disgust from Quackenbush, Tundra, Zenka and Angel.

"We have to help them!" Rush shouted as the four of them ran toward the area the creature was in.

As they ran into the field, they could see the polymorph, which as Dustin stated earlier, was now a giant toilet with arms and legs. It had splashed the four Knights battling it with water, which, while it didn't hurt them, stopped their attack momentarily. Fortunately, backup had arrived just in time.

'Seiko' raised her pistols and began firing at the creature, strafing around it to make 'herself' harder to hit. The giant toilet tried to hit 'Seiko' with another splash of water, but 'she' was able to dodge out of the way and continued firing, stopping only momentarily to reload 'her' pistols.

As 'Seiko' distracted the monster, Dustin ran toward it as well, quickly powering up an attack.

"PHOTON!"

A large ball of light with various insignias appeared in Dustin's hand. He quickly launched it at the creature, but it didn't appear to do any damage as it contacted its ceramic surface.

The toilet turned toward the dragon Knight and tried to hit him with another blast of toilet water, but Rush was quick to power up a spell himself.

"TORNADO!"

A small tornado appeared in between Dustin and the volley of water. As the vortex sucked up the water, Rush willed it into the sky, taking the water with it. Dustin looked toward Rush and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks, McCloud!" he shouted.

"Anytime," Rush replied.

Meanwhile, 'Packer' had extracted his Kobra pistols, and for a few seconds was uncertain about whether or not to use them considering 'his' inexperience with them, before a thought crossed 'his' mind.

'Since I'm in control of Packer's body, I have all of his strength and experience as a Knight, which means I should be able to wield these guns with ease,' Seiko thought. 'Well, only one way to find out!'

'Packer' raised 'his' Kobras and fired them at the creature, and true to what 'he' had thought, the bullets found their mark, leaving small nicks in the ceramic. Still, it didn't seem to be enough to stop the creature, which continued to attack with splashes of water at the Knights it was engaged in battle with.

Meanwhile, the other Knights had recovered and joined the fray as well. Tundra tried to hit the creature with an Ice Beam, but the cold attack just seemed to reflect off its surface, redirecting the beam toward a large tree, freezing it solid. Quackenbush tried to hit it with a Fireball, but it too seemed to have no effect, as did Zenka's Lightning Bolt. In fact, no elemental attacks seemed to affect the giant creature, and their weapons seemed to have no effect as well.

Realizing that 'her' pistols were ineffective, 'Seiko' sheathed them and pulled out 'her' 12 Gauge Shotgun. Jacking a shell into the chamber, 'she' took aim and fired, the blast taking a sizable chuck out of the creature's ceramic armor. Seeing the damage the shotgun was able to do, 'Seiko' quickly pumped another shell into the chamber and fired, taking another huge chunk out of the creature.

"Packer, it's working! Keep it up!" Rush shouted.

Before 'Seiko' could continue 'her' assault, however, the toilet stopped and stood as upright as it could, opened its 'mouth' and disappeared in a bright flash of light coupled with an explosion that scattered everyone throughout the park.

As the Kisaragi group waited with KITT out in the parking lot, they suddenly felt the ground shake from the explosion, followed by a giant flash of light from inside the park.

"What the Hell was that?!" Yoshiki shouted.

"My sensors just picked up a massive polyluminous burst coming from within the park."

"Do you think they found that monster they were looking for?" Ayumi asked.

"It's possible."

"What if that was one of its attacks?" Yoshiki inquired. "If that's the case, then we need to help them!"

"Normally, I'd disagree, that we should stay put and let the Knights handle this, but this is an unusual situation, so in this case, I agree. Everyone hang on. This could get a tad bumpy."

Suddenly engaging Auto Mode, KITT began driving into the park on the sidewalk, running over quite a few bumps along the way.

"A little bumpy?!" Nana exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.

(FF7: Crisis Core's The Price of Freedom begins playing in the background)

Now seated high in a large tree, Quackenbush awoke with a throbbing headache. As he shook the cobwebs from his head, he glanced down below him, and what he saw made his eyes widen in horror...

'Packer', deep within a prickly bush after the massive energy burst from the giant toilet, which is actually some sort of shapeshifter, was awoken by the sound of someone screaming. Strangely enough, waking up in a park bush wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to 'Packer' lately, since only recently 'he' and 'Seiko' had somehow switched bodies.

'Packer' crawled out of the bush and began to look for whomever was screaming. He didn't have to look very far however, as Quackenbush, perched on a branch high in a tree, was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"NOOOO!" Quackenbush screamed. 'Packer' started towards the base of the tree, and as 'he' got closer, 'he' began to realize why Quackenbush was screaming. Angel was there, unconscious, a large dent in her Hazard Helm from where she had struck something hard.

'Packer' ran as fast as possible towards the unconscious body of Angel and kneeled beside her, quickly followed by Quackenbush's eventually descent from the tree. Upon closer inspection, 'Packer' noticed the dent in the armor of her Hazard Helm, while a large rock beside her had a slight scraping of ivory on one of its jagged edges.

Seiko, though trapped within the body of Packer, still had a quite a bit of her old female self inside, and the sight of one of Packer's best friends in this state was almost overwhelming, even though she barely knew her.

"Angel! Angel, can you hear me?" 'Packer' called out.

Quackenbush got to his knees as well, taking Angel's head and shoulders in his arms.

"Angel! Please, wake up!" he shouted.

'Packer' was startled when 'he' felt a hand on 'his' shoulder. When 'he' turned to look up at who it was, 'he' saw that it was 'Seiko'.

"What happened, is she alright?" 'Seiko' asked.

"I... we don't know... she hit her head... that rock..." 'Packer' mumbled almost incoherently.

"Hey, hey, calm down, come here," 'Seiko' murmured, realizing just how hysterical 'Packer' had become. 'She' opened 'her' arms motioning for a hug and 'Packer' rested 'his' head on 'her' shoulder.

Just then, Rush had arrived, along with Zenka, Dustin and Tundra, to assist in trying to revive Angel.

"What happened?" Rush asked. Quackenbush didn't answer, obviously too preoccupied with Angel. Realizing that John would be too upset to answer very coherently, Rush looked to 'Packer' and 'Seiko', and his Hazard Helm's computer automatically scanned some strange readings.

'Not the priority right now,' he thought, as he stored the data and turned his attention back to Angel. "Packer, can you give me hand here?" he asked.

"Sure," 'Seiko' replied, detaching 'herself' from 'Packer'. 'She' took a seat next to Angel and began checking her vitals. "Her breathing's normal, and her heartbeat's normal, so that's a good sign. She took a good knock on the head, considering the bruise she has near her temple and forehead, but I think she'll wake up soon. If it hadn't been for her Hazard Helm, the damage could've been a lot worse."

"So you have some medical knowledge, Packer-kun?" 'Packer' asked.

"More like battlefield medicine," 'Seiko' replied. "You saw a few samples of that inside Heavenly Host."

"True," 'Packer' remembered.

Just then, they heard a low moan, and looking down, they could see that Angel had awoken.

"Angel, you're awake!" Quackenbush exclaimed happily.

"Johnny…? What happened?" Angel asked wearily.

"That creature used some sort of energy blast, and it scattered us all over the park," Zenka explained.

"It looks like you hit your head, but it could've been worse," Rush continued. 'Seiko' took out a flashlight and shined it several times over Angel's eyes.

"Is the light a problem for you?" 'Seiko' asked.

"Well, it is a little glare-y…" Angel admitted.

"Okay, that's a sign you have a concussion, but all things considered, you're lucky to get off with that," 'Seiko' replied.

Just then, KITT arrived with the Kisaragi group, and they were quick to jump out of the car and check on their friends.

"What happened? Are you guys okay?" Naomi asked with concern.

"We're okay, for the most part," 'Seiko' replied. "But the creature got away again."

"That's twice," Quackenbush growled, his eyes blazing with fire. "Only this time, it hurt my wife. Next time, I WILL destroy it!"

"In due time, John," Rush replied. "For now, we need to get back home and come up with a new strategy to find and destroy this creature, as well as treat Angel's injuries."

"Right," Quackenbush replied, picking Angel up in his arms. Turning tail, the group began walking back toward the parking lot to their vehicles as the sun finished setting in the sky, uncertainty in all of their hearts.