No one could deny that Cole had serious balls for putting himself forward for a plan as utterly insane as this, combined with the fact that he had suggested the plan with such confidence.

"As it turns out Cole, I just happen to have these chips. I never really found a use for them though, so you're in luck." She explained. "Now, where do you want the chip?" Cole knew the answer straight away, producing a hat similar to his favourite from his coat. He turned it upside down and revealed a false bottom. "I want it sown into the fabric of this hat." Green Heart was surprised by the request, but fair enough. "What if the hat falls off?" Booker asked, it being the question on everyone's mind. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." Cole chuckled.

"So you might be going away for a while?" Cole had met up with Monika, to talk for what Cole hoped would be the last time for a few days. He didn't mean for that to sound as mean as it did, just that he hoped Cortana's side would take the bait.

"That's right." Cole nodded. "With some luck I'll be back soon." Monika thought about what she was going to say for a moment. "Are you sure about this? What if you don't come back?"

"Again, that's something I accepted when I suggested the idea." Cole answered. "But I'm gonna be hopeful. I think it'll go alright." Monika didn't seem too worried, perhaps just more concerned than anything in the first place. Then she remembered something.

"Oh yeah, did you see the new technology that came in?" Cole was intrigued. "Haven't heard about it."

"Apparently it was only installed this morning." Monika explained. "I haven't seen it, but it's supposed to be pretty interesting." Cole didn't know why Monika of all people was telling him this, him being as computer illiterate as they came in the Microsoft Elite, but he was kind of glad that she did. "Is there anyone who knows more about it?" Cole asked. "Yeah, ask Chika to show you. She should be in her quarters right about now."

Cole was already getting up to leave, taking his hat off the table and putting it back on. "Well Monika, until we meet again."

Alan Wake finally had a chance to catch up with his documentation of everything, having a lot to write. He was amazed at everything he had seen, as well as what he had heard too. So much had happened that he never got to see, though perhaps some things were better off unseen. He was going to take some liberties with his source material anyway, so it wasn't like it mattered that his accounts weren't 100% accurate. He was looking around in one of his coat pockets for a red pen, when he felt a scrap of paper. Odd. Alan took it out, and noticed that it was written in Japanese. Ah! Now he remembered.

Hisako had written this note shortly before Cortana's first attack on the city, and Alan never had the chance to translate it. It wasn't that much that was written anyway, only about three or four sentences, and Alan could still remember the question he asked her: "Could you write down what you feel?"

There was machine in Leanbox's library that could translate text from any language into any other that Alan knew about. Alan didn't know whether or not it was there before the Elite showed up, but at least someone got to use it. The thing looked like it had never been used before with how clean it was. Alan put the piece of text in and waited for minute as the machine spat the text out on a fresh sheet of paper.

Alan took the sheet in his hands and began reading to himself.

I hate this.

I didn't ask for any of this.

I just want people to stop looking at me funny.

Wow. That surprised Alan a lot. It surprised him so much that for a minute, all he could do was stare at the note. It was just something that never really occured to him, that Hisako might have feelings underneath her tough and terrifying exterior. She never spoke about them, though to be honest, she never spoke much with her stammer. Come to think of it, was the stammer something she was born with, or just a result of her own social skills or lack thereof?

It was a lot to think about, and some of it made a lot of sense to Alan. Maybe it was just confidence. She seemed more confident in battle, and she never stammered there. Not even once, simply showing how adept she was at the art of combat. Maybe it made her happy? Alan couldn't say. Hisako was unaproachable, unreadable, almost emotionless, aside from bitted anger and resentment for anyone who picked a fight with her.

But was that a front she put up, or just something she couldn't escape? Alan had to find out.

Chika was far more composed when Cole met her again in her own little office. She looked a like she had been putting something away quickly before Cole walked in, but nothing looked off.

"Hm?" Chika raised an eyebrow. "New technology?" Cole nodded. "I was told by Monika."

Cole looked at Chika as she thought about it for a second. Maybe she didn't believe him? "But that was only set up this morning, I thought?" Chika muttered. "Well, why do you wanna see it?" She asked Cole. "I'm just curious. I was told this was new technology, but I have no idea what it does. I was hoping I'd be able to find out." Chika thought about it for a minute, before arriving at her decision. "Right, I'm going to have to be honest with you, aren't I?" She cringed at something, though Cole couldn't remember anything that would warrant that. He said nothing though, letting Chika tell the story.

"The machine is designed to get rid of Cortana for good. It'll slowly delete her from existence, eliminating any chance of her coming back." Cole nodded. "That seems reasonable." He replied. "Could you show it to me?" Chika shook her head. "No. But I can show you pictures." She pulled up a virtual screen, showing security camera feed of a room which looked like it was underground, based on the walls looking the same as the walls where the prisoners were held. There was a hugely elaborate control panel in the room, it being the only thing in the room, aside from two doors. One was to go in and out, and the other had 'DO NOT ENTER' in bright red written across the front. There was a screen on the door too, so you could look inside. At the angle the camera was looking at though, it was hard to see anything in the room. "Is there anything in that room?" Cole asked. "No." Chika answered. "Apparently that's where Cortana will be sealed in so she can be deleted." Cole looked at the image again to see if he was missing anything. "So how come I can't go down there?"

"Lady Green Heart's orders, not mine. I didn't ask for a reason." Chika answered. "All I know is that only she is allowed down there for the time being."

Cole didn't really understand still, but he trusted Green Heart. She wouldn't make that rule for no reason. "Fair enough, I understand. Thanks for your time." With that, he got up and left. Oh well. It wasn't exactly what he was hoping for, but he still found out an awful lot. At least he could say that.

Alan finally found Hisako, training by herself using facilities she had provided for herself. Orchid predicted that she'd probably be doing something like this, wanting to avenge her very near loss against Blinx. Perhaps not just Blinx either, as Alan knew she had lost to Richtofen and some guy called Marius Titus on Cortana's side. She had plenty of wins too, but Hisako was far more likely to remember her losses than her victories.

"Hey." Hisako stopped, and slowly walked over to Alan. It was unnerving, but he knew she was trying her best. If she ran towards him, then she would have frightened the shit out him, or anyone in the same position. He handed Hisako the note back, and she immediately remembered it. Alan then took out a small translator, and began speaking into it.

"We can understand each other without that."

Hisako said that. Without a stammer. Alan was amazed, and he was more amazed by the fact that she was right. It wasn't like he heard what Hisako had said in English, but rather, he heard the Japanese and for some reason he knew what it meant as if he'd been speaking the language his entire life.

Alan was losing track of himself though, he really needed to get to the point. "I managed to translate that note."

Hisako already knew that. "I f-f-figured you would have done so by now." Her stammer was back. So it was just luck that got her over the line after all? "I'm here because I want to ask you about it."

Hisako brushed it off. "I think I s-s-said everything I needed to."

"Maybe. How about what you want to say though?" Hisako paused. "Alright." She said. "I-it's just that sometimes I can get a l-l-little lonely by myself..." Alan nodded.

"I d-d-don't really blame people for being scared. I f-f-find myself to be terrifying too." Well. Alan once again found himself to be stumped. The notoriously terrifying Hisako was scared of her own face.

"I th-thought if I was able to shut myself off then I'd never have to w-w-worry about scaring anyone. But then as time went on and I grew r-r-restless, and more isolated..."

Alan understood now that the stammer Hisako had came as a result of not speaking to anyone. Other than speaking, her social skills were quite good, she kept eye contact, didn't cut across the other person and she listened. "I-I-I just want someone to talk to...but I unders-s-stand if no one wants to."

Hisako wasn't crying, her own stoicism and lack of tear ducts would prevent that, but she looked so genuinely disappointed and hurt. It was the most emotion Alan had seen the onryo ever exhibit, outside of anger. "Well, I'm glad you decided to tell me about this" Alan reassured her. "Anytime you need to, one of us'll be there to help out, okay?"

He put his hand on her shoulder, which was probably a mistake based on how cold and uncomfortable it was to touch, but now wasn't the time to say stuff like that.

Hisako looking at him through her stringy black hair should have been frightening, but it wasn't. She didn't show any ill intent, any signs that she might have intentions of hurting Alan, or anything like that. She simply looked back, with a mix of relief and wonder in her eyes.

"T-t-thank you, Mr. Wake." That much was Hisako speaking English herself. He could tell as it was just a little harder to understand, though the message was still as strong.

"Call me Alan." He said while smiling. "I'll catch up with you later." Without another word, Hisako returned to her training, as if nothing had happened.

Marisa was slowly waking up. She knew she was in a prison cell, but that was all she knew. A face came into view, kind of blurry at first, and it was calling out to her. Maybe it was her time? No, that couldn't be. Why was she still in a prison cell in that case? That didn't make sense.

"Marisa?" Oh shit. "R-reimu!" Her eyes shot wide open. Reimu breathed a sigh of relief. "You're still alive anyway, thank the Gods." Marisa felt around her head just long enough to realize she wasn't wearing a hat. It was right next to her though, so it wasn't long before the hat was back where it belonged.

"Where are we?" Marisa asked, holding her head as the groggy feeling returned. Did they drug her or something? Marisa felt like that was the only explanation.

"We're in Cortana's base. I've been awake long enough to figure that out. Where exactly that is though, I have no idea. We could be anywhere." Marisa got up slowly and looked around. There was a bed next to where Marisa had been lying against the wall, and one on the other side of the room too. Neither of them had been touched though, meaning Reimu hadn't been asleep. If that was the case, then they couldn't have been here for long at all.

Looking down either side of the hall, Marisa could see more prison cells, most of which were empty, and the only reason she knew some of them were full was because of noises coming from them. "Yeah, it really looks like we're in the middle of nowhere, huh?"

Reimu sat back against the wall, looking defeated. It was easy to see why someone would be looking so dejected at a time like this, though Marisa felt like she should be doing something to lift the spirits of her favourite miko. But what though? Wasn't like she was wrong.

Then she had an idea. Marisa moved over to Reimu and sat down beside her.

Almost immediately, Reimu looked over at her with a seductive look in her eyes, moving her lips towards Marisa's. The magician didn't need a second-

"Hey, are you alright?" Marisa snapped back to reality as her head was leaning towards Reimu's. It took her a second to realize that nothing had actually happened, and it had all been a daydream. Marisa's face immediately lit up a bright red, with the serial thief doing her best to hide her embarassment. "I'm soooo sorry!" She repeatedly apologized. "They must have drugged me-" Wait. Was Reimu...laughing? She was indeed. "Drugs or no drugs, that's adorable." She said, pulling Marisa's apron away from her face, leaving the witch with no cover for her face. "I'm surprised you don't get more guys who are into you." Marisa tried smiling, though she didn't say anything.

"...unless, you're batting for the other team, that is." Marisa's heart jumped. Damn! Had she figured it out so soon?! That couldn't be...

"T-that's kinda out of left field!" Marisa's blush only grew while she stayed turned away. "Ah! I'm sorry!" She clearly hadn't expected such a strong reaction. She was quick to compose herself though. "It just came into my head because...Some people have perceptions that I'm against that kind of thing, and I didn't want to lose any friends because of that. So I'm gonna say it here that I honestly don't care if you are or not." The magician still wouldn't look.

"Marisa?" Marisa turned to face Reimu, even though this was something she found to be almost impossible, so she simply nodded while playing with her hair. "Y-y-yeah, if that's how you say it..." She stammered.

Time must have frozen for a full hour in the seconds between when Marisa had said that and when Reimu spoke, that was how long it felt to Marisa.

Reimu smiled. "Wow, what a stroke of luck..." Marisa's ears perked up. D-d-did she just hear what she thought she heard? "I suppose I should explain myself, huh?" There was a degree of awkwardness in Reimu's speech, like she wasn't really comfortable with what she was going to say next, but even then she kept a very cool head, taking a deep breath before her next words. "I'm kinda in the same boat as you." Marisa's heart was wildly beating by this point, not even believing what she heard. "Y-yeah?" Reimu nodded. "I don't know when I started to notice, but it's been like this for a while now." She explained.

Marisa wanted to say something now more than ever, but despite all her willingness, she couldn't put any of it into practice. There was a lump in her throat preventing any words from getting out, and having so much that she wanted to say only made things worse. She could feel herself sweating as well. 'Say something!' She screamed internally. 'Don't just sit there like a fucking dumbass again!'

Reimu took note as Marisa began breathing heavily. She was getting concerned, seeing that Marisa was sweating as well. "Marisa, are you sure you're alright?" Marisa was desperately trying to come up with a cohesive answer in her head, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. Reimu then placed a hand on her head, catching her totally off guard. She sat there, frozen, not knowing what was going to happen after that.

"You feel incredibly hot." Reimu commented. "I don't know what they gave you, but whatever it was, it sure worked on you." She then stood up, providing some relief for Marisa. "There's not a lot I can do for you now, stuck inside this cell. I think you better get some sleep. I'll probably do the same."

So a few minutes later, Reimu was out like a light, and Marisa was still trying to recover. Admittedly she had calmed down a little, but she was still breathing heavily and sweating. What a sensation. Marisa wanted it again, but at the same time, she didn't know if she could deal with it again. She'd probably pass out.

Then there were those words..."I'm kinda in the same boat as you."

Maybe it was all just a blind wish, but those words...oh man. Those words filled Marisa with hope more than anything ever had. What if she was right? Imagine if Reimu felt the same way...

Marisa eventually, with nothing better to do, fell asleep.

"Okay..." Green Heart had found it at last. Richtofen was on hand to confirm what she saw. "That is it." Richtofen nodded. "If nowhere else, then this is definitely his base." Now the Elite were paying attention. It was an old house, though there was some more to it than that. There was a field around the house about two hundred yards wide, where there seemed to be this blue energy running through the ground. There was also a small cluster of rocks suspended in the air with a similar blue energy being given off my them.

"That is probably 115." Richtofen explained. "It shouldn't be harmful though, so long as no one dies or sustains a serious injury." Green Heart nodded. "I think just sending a small team would be alright. I don't wanna commit. 47, Booker, Elizabeth, Cole, Saya, Irisu, Gordon, Madotsuki, Shu and you with the rest of Primis."

"Very well. I have no complaints."

Orchid found it strange that no one had taken out the camera yet. It was still going. Still, she said nothing, assuming everyone already knew it was there. That had to be it, right? She did tell everyone that the camera was there, but she had to wonder why no one had fixed such a glaring security threat...

Cortana was in fact watching them, though she had found the Shadowman's base a day earlier, but she was waiting for Vert to find it too so she knew where the other side was going.

"Right." Cortana muttered. "That's definitely our opportunity to attack them." There was something bugging her though, and it refused to go away. It was somewhat obvious, but no one was paying any attention to the camera, even after Orchid made her threat...

Sure, it made spying on Leanbox a hell of a lot easier, but it just didn't add up. Did she just forget that the camera was there? Could that really happen? "Everything alright?" Chief asked. Cortana nodded. "Just thinking." Cortana replied. "I think we should go after them." Chief suggested. "I mean, if they really are in kahoots with the Shadowman, this can only mean bad things for us. We're really not left with much choice in the matter, as much as it hurts to say."

"You're probably right." Cortana agreed. "If we are going after them, then we'll need a team to go after them. I'm gonna send Banjo, Kazooie, Shepard, Conker, Sun Kin, Dragonborn, Isaac, The Jack, Kaim, Shovel and the Gunstringer."

"Not me?" Chief was surprised. "I want to keep you here for the time being." Cortana explained. "You're more useful to me here." That wasn't the whole truth, but Cortana didn't want to elaborate, and right now she didn't need to. Her suspicions were raised, and she felt as though sending Chief off would only end badly. "I see." That answer seemed to satisfy Chief. He left Cortana by herself, ready to put her final plan into motion. It was a gamble alright, but at such a stage in the fight against evil anything was worth the risk. Cortana wasted no time in getting her team ready to fight, and to be completely honest, they seemed relieved to be going somewhere. It was almost like they were getting tense too, with so many of their teammated being captured that hanging around the base without them felt like isolation.

Either way, they were more than prepared to fight.

Ultratech City wasn't the same after the attack. It went without saying, but attacking the main building with meteor, especially a tall one like Ultratech's HQ, was likely to collapse the entire thing.

"It will take at least a month to rebuild." ARIA explained. "We don't have a month." The Shadowman countered. "One of those two will destroy the other shortly, that's a guarantee now. And based on information I now know to be true, combined with my own plans, I would give them at most a week before one side crumbles."

"Is that so?" ARIA was impressed. "And if that is the case, then what are your future plans for this city?"

"This city will be saved." The Shadowman assured her. "There is no benefit for me to have this city gone." ARIA wasn't so sure though. "Then why was this city destroyed in the first place?" She asked. "As I explained before, the opportunity was too good. As we saw, those Riptors were as useful as paper towels when it came to stopping the Elite." ARIA didn't really have an answer for that. None of the Riptors had been the same since the one which had helped stop Gargos, but that one had since been killed. Green Heart had proven her worth too in holding off every single Fulgore available to Ultratech too.

"Very well." She conceded. "But you understand why I'm annoyed." The Shadowman nodded. "I understand."

Of course he understood. He wasn't a fool.

The thing was though, he would have easily done it again.

Author's Note

Some of the scenes are based off insane ideas I have that would never work (there's a lot of those), especially the scene with Reimu and Marisa which was much more...lewd, I guess, the first time around. I'm not that interested in flexing the M rating though, so I toned it down.

Hisako finally opens up too. I can't remember why, but I always imagined Hisako being terrified of ghosts for some reason related to childhood trauma.

Aside from that, there's not really much I can comment on.