Gasp! Can it be? MidMole has returned! Yes, after weeks of being lazy (well, I have school. That can be my excuse), I have finally written chapter 18 of MidMole! Well, it turns out we won't be finding out where Bakuryu gets his seductive schtick just yet. Don't worry, it'll be a lighthearted chapter (poor snapped Kenji). You could probably figure it out if you read Chapter 17 really closely for a certain thing he does that should tip you folks off.

I hope you still like my MidMole after all this time and after all the things that have happened.

Chapter 18 - The Unforgivable Crime

~~~~~~~~~

The scientist heard the pitter-pat of tiny footsteps that only a small child would make. He turned, figuring he knew who made them. Wide yellow eyes stared back at him from a familiar face. "Excuse me, Doctor," he politely requested in his quiet voice. The child was dressed in yellow and in his arms was old red plate armor much too large for his own arm. At the same time, his little hands clutched a rag and a small container. Though he looked back up at him with his usual solemn face, a hint of excitement could be sensed from him. The green haired man grunted and moved to let the boy pass.

With his treasure in his arms, he ran to a normally quiet corner of the labs and sat down on a footstool. He opened the container of polish and put a little on the rag. Beaming with pride, he smiled slightly as he rubbed the ancient metal plates to bring out their full beauty.

"Young Dragon," the scientist, having just remembered something, called to him, "Come here a moment."

The little ninja set the armor down on a table and ran to see what the doctor wanted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hmmm..."

Uriko tried to wipe the grit from her eyes, which still wanted to stay shut and groaned. She shifted her position and stretched slightly before finally sitting up in bed. Scattered over the rumpled sheets were green leaves.

"Good grief..." she sighed while sliding out of the covers. The girl donned a thick robe over her slip and stepped out of her bedroom, where the prince was there to greet her. "My, you're up early," he cooed.

"Good morning, Cronos." She slid into her chair at the table, to where a plate was brought for her. The food did nothing for her appetite and was merely something to poke around with a fork today.

"Is something wrong, Kitten?" the prince asked. He then smiled and asked her, "Did you like last night? I bet you weren't expecting dinner for two on the rooftop, hm?"

She nodded slightly and managed to bring a morsel past her lips.

"It was great," she whispered, her eyes straying away from him. The prince got up from his chair and walked over to her so he could brush back her brown hair and give her forehead a delicate kiss. "You're free to thank me anytime, if you wish..." he purred, sending a wave of guilt through her.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Kitten?"

"N... nothing... Umm... Cronos? Do you know Ke- erm, Young Dragon?"

Still beaming, he replied, "The young heir? I've known him for years!"

"Well, he's be- I mean," Uriko nervously stuttered, "I've heard he's been acting very strange lately"

"That child is always strange" Cronos sighed, shaking his head. His expression wavered slightly, but he still kept his smile, as he was thinking of his love.

"Well, he goes missing and then he just pops up and starts, um, being all strange, you know? He gets a completely different personality."

"Interesting... So, Kitten, why are you concerned with the likes of him? The ninja do not normally go near the experiments."

"Well, before that old pervert got to me, I was living in the ninja's quarters, so... I kind of bumped into him."

The prince stirred his food with his fork. "And you are concerned for him... He does attract pity very well, doesn't he?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I... I guess..."

~~~~~~~~~

Marvel yawned with a wide-open mouth and blinked away a small tear of sleepiness. She was going through document after document, searching for a way and a reason to bring down the enemy of her father's division of the police once and for all. Although the experiments were secret to most people, the police were well aware of the atrocities that went on. Unfortunately, for every accusation, Tylon managed to come up with some way to disprove what little evidence they had other than some eyewitnesses who had to remain anonymous for the sakes of their lives or they had some reason their labs could not allow inspectors. They assured the public their facilities were not the barbaric and extinct labs people automatically assumed they were, but no reporter or inspector was allowed within its doors.

"Well, it works for slaughterhouses..." Marvel grumbled. Her weary state immediately shot to alertness when she heard the doorknob turn. "Angel?" Gado called to her, "Are you in here?"

The woman hid the desk with her body and began hastily gathering the papers together. "Can't you knock?" she complained. Her attempt was futile.

"Sweetie, are you reading the top secret files again?"

"....No?"

"Honey..."

"You might think you're doing something by just sitting around, but I'm not going to let this go by unpunished!"

The old inspector let out a tired breath and averted his eyes. This was not the first time he had heard this outburst.

"One of these days...." she growled, slamming one clenched into her palm, "Those Tylon freaks will taste my claws."

"Sweetheart, you know I-"

"'Don't want me involved.' It would do a little good if you got yourself involved! And you say you're fighting for these people!"

She shoved the papers into his arms and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "For Pete's sake," she grumbled to herself, "If those people were my partners and friends, those bastards would be long dead!"

The old inspector gazed at the door for a few seconds and let out a weary sigh. He knew he cared, especially after they assassinated his best partners, but what was he to do in the current situation?

Meanwhile, outside his door, the blonde looked over he shoulder and, when she was sure the coast was clear, she took out some of the papers she managed to smuggle out without his noticing. Marvel gave a pleased chuckle and hoped she could do something with these.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bright green eyes and little brown fingered peeked from the corner. He quietly crept into the room and gazed around at the cold blue metal and all the strange devices that filled these labs. Strictly speaking, he was not allowed to wander around the building, but he managed to slip by his nanny to sneak around and get a glimpse for himself. Not too long before, he and Ganesha had moved in for some strange reason. As far as little Cronos was concerned, his homeland was better by tenfold. He impatiently wondered when he would have a chance move back. This building did not accommodate children or royalty at all and much of it was off limits.

Well, there were no weird experiments or cut open people or animals here. Those scared his socks off. There seemed to just be equipment here, and blue, greens, and teals colored everything. This made the bright red and gold of something that lay on a table stand out even more. What was that?

He picked up the samurai-style armor and admired it. He had not seen something like this so close before. He looked around and smiled happily as he sprinted away with his find. It was so pretty he just had to take it.

He was not quite paying attention to where he was going and he wound up almost running right into a populated area. He slunk back to where he could not be seen and wondered how he could get out of this mess.

Outside this area was a lobby full of men and women in the typical dark suits of office workers. This quarter was like most of the Tylon complex. Cronos was allowed to run around the lobby here and the passers by noted his existence and greeted them, though many were unaware of just who he was. He saw his chance to cut through unnoticed if he were to run quickly enough and he zipped right down the center as all of their backs were turned. He ran right into a small garden, where, since nobody at this time had a moment to relax, there was not a person in sight.

Cronos, not familiar with the world in which these people lived, did not know this. He still ran, trying to not to be seen with his super secret find. It was far too special to show anyone. Besides, he did not want to explain to them how he came upon it.

In his haste, his foot hit a stone and he fell forward, right on front of the pond. His treasure flew out of his arms and, before he could get up, he heard a loud splash. When he peered into the pond to look for it, he only saw dark murky water, green algae, and the occasional white figure that must have been a fish.

Cronos stared at the dark depths for a tense moment. All was silent and still as he registered what happened. Finally, he stood up and ran away with a speed he had never used before.

What if someone found out he had lost it? It occurred to him only now it must have belonged to someone.

It probably was not all that important in the first place.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Some tea before you go?"

The rabbit accepted and the two of them sat down for a cup of the tea over which the Kenpo master spent many a day meditating. Yugo did not care for tea, and he was a little sick of the smell. He stood by the table and paced from time to time. It was a hard night sleeping on the floor (Alice had the privilege of sleeping on Long's humble bed and stone pillow, joy of joys). Now it was morning and it would not be time to wake up by the time the long subway ride was over.

Alice, however, needed something to calm her nerves. Thoughts of Uriko and Tylon burned in her mind constantly.

"I can't even tell Mom about Tylon..." she sighed.

Long reminded her, "It would be a sure way to get the two of you killed."

"Uriko... I can't sit here and let this continue. There has to be something I can do about Uriko!"

"It's not like you're going to get anything done with Gado!" Yugo but in.

Long rose from his chair and slowly approached a small chest of drawers whose top served as kind of desk. He concentrated on a piece of paper and then finally took a pen and began to write.

"There is a young woman who goes by the nickname 'Marvel.' She is Gado's daughter, and she feels the same way you do. She, too, has lost faith in Alan Gado and she makes plans against Tylon of her own in secret."

He returned to the table and gently placed the paper in Alice's hand, his palm over hers and the other hand cradling it from underneath. "I have refused her pleas many times, but perhaps you may find an answer in her plots."

Alice had just then become cold marble, unsure of how to move or react in any way. Yugo, not liking the vibrations he was getting one bit, tugged at Alice's sleeve to signal the time to leave. The nurse, after barely whispering a farewell, stumbled out slowly, with unsure steps, in complete silence. Before Yugo himself left, he turned around to Long.

"Look, I don't know what the deal is with you, but I do know Kenji has your eyes."

The man closed his eyes and solemnly nodded his head. Yugo did not know what to make of this response, if it was one at all. He simply left Long to stand there and continue to contemplate whatever it was those solemn types contemplated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ganesha?" the prince chirped, "Did it come in yet?"

"Yes. I already unpacked it and hung it up," a reply came from the next room.

"Excellent," he replied, I can't wait to see it. I wonder why Father insisted nobody from Tylon see it..."

Cronos strolled into a bright red room heavily decorated with priceless reminders of his homeland. He had always loved his treasures, though he sometimes felt another piece could be added to them. When his father sent them something to add to the collection, the younger Cronos loved picking out the perfect place for it. Hung over the mantle place was its latest addition, a framed piece of an ancient silk robe. On top of the deep purple was embroidery in intense yellows, oranges, and reds, still vivid after the time's unforgiving trials. A gold shrine from a temple of ages past was shown surrounded by teardrop shaped flames. The fire, in the center, seemed to merge together in the center around the base of a form that rose from the fire.

He cocked his head and wondered what was so special about this picture. Something in it seemed reach out to him some how. The more he gazed into the story it attempted to tell, the brighter the room seemed to become and the warmer his body became. He did not notice this at first, since it was so gradual, but he did notice when the room burst into flame. He felt hot air rushing up against his face, blowing his hair back. Cronos' feet were rooted to the ground. He dared not move from his place. His head spun and his heart raced as the rest of his body started reeling from the force surrounding him. Was it trying to enter him? No, this power was rising up from inside of him. In his mind, he began to realize that his shaking hand might not be there if he looked at it soon.

"What do you think of it, prince?" Ganesha asked as he was passing by the room. He stalled at the lack of a response.

"Prince Cronos?"

The young man dropped to his knees and clutched at his heaving chest. His bodyguard rushed to his aid and helped him up. He was panting heavily and sweat dripped off his face.

"Prince, you feel feverish. Perhaps..."

"I'm fine!" He curtly snapped at him. Cronos immediately turned and walked away from him with somewhat shaky steps. He had to stop at the door and lean on the frame for a second or two.

"Prince..."

"It's nothing!" He yelled once more, averting his gaze. Ganesha looked back at the room. It looked perfectly normal, and the new piece was a harmless work of embroidery.

"Did Busuzima give you an injection lately?"

"Yeah, I guess that was it," he whispered, "That bastard's shit's been getting worse and worse... I don't see why Uriko wants to wander around the labs with Dr. Sonofabitch on the prowl-"

"Prince?" Ganesha questioned upon seeing Cronos suddenly freeze up for a moment. A sudden realization had come upon him and he stayed still a moment in thought as two and two came together in his head.

Ryu was interested in some girl who was staying in their quarters for an unknown reason. Kitten came to me, and shortly after Ryu is all sad because the girl has left. Kitten says she was living in the ninja's quarters... and she's curious about Ryu... Oh, shit...

"Well, he wouldn't know what to do with her anyway!" he declared triumphantly all of a sudden.

"Erm..."

"Oh, I am fine! Yes, that child... wouldn't..." he paused, the enthusiasm in his voice fading.

"...."

Cronos immediately set off to the labs. "I... just have to go for a little walk..." he said, "It's nothing important."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The boy trembled. "I... I don't know where it is..."

"You lost it," his Master rephrased for him.

"It... disappeared... I just set it down and..."

"You lost it."

"I lost it. Please forgive me."

Bakuryu narrowed his eyes. "Such a crime," he told him, "cannot go unpunished. It would betray generations past and generations to come. To let this pass goes against all tradition. You want me to forgive you?"

"I'm sorry. I know I have no right to betray tradition," he whispered.

"Our colors... you dare to come to me wearing those..."

The boy clutched at his gi and looked up with panicked eyes. "Master? N-no! Please!"

"Are you pleading? I thought my former heir was higher than that."

"Master, I'm not pleading!" he cried. A choked tone tempted to enter his voice.

"You annoy me. Must you force me to acknowledge you?"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out before quickly shutting himself up and cursing himself silently.

"Well? Get rid of those clothes and leave this place before somebody sees you. There is only one other home for a child like you around here."

~~~

The prince hummed to himself as he went through another lab excursion. In his hand was a bag of chocolates swiped from a box Ganesha had just bought. He popped one into his mouth occasionally. He spotted a familiar form of someone he had met not long ago. He was huddled up inside the first of a row of new and still unused cells. Cronos wondered why he was wearing an experiment's gown. The door was open, so he hopped up into the chamber.

"Ryu!"

"Please... I cannot be called that."

"Hm? Why?"

"If I go by any name that alludes to the time when... when I was..."

Cronos looked at him curiously as he cycled through many cut-off beginnings and finally stopped at, "The period of my life before three days ago."

".... You mean when you were a ninja?" The dark-haired child shut his eyes, as if in pain, and then finally breathed, "Yes. It would shame them."

"I don't get it," Cronos admitted. The shamed boy looked downwards with his long-broken heart and gave no reply.

"Well, Ryu is a boy's name. By itself, it doesn't have anything to do with ninja."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Besides, I'm the prince Cronos. I'll call you whatever I want," he explained, biting into a chocolate, "Ick, coconut! Here, Ryu, want a chocolate?"

He stared at the half eaten chocolate in his hand. "You... would give me a treat? I can't eat this. It would shame-"

"Oh, shut up! Besides, it's coconut."

"What's a coconut? Is it bad?"

"It's nasty in chocolates."

"I see," he said before eating it.

"So, Ryu, why are you suddenly an experiment?"

His expression became very troubled. "I... I lost something very important. It was very old and important."

"Oh really?" the Prince asked through a partially chewed chocolate without thinking about any old or important items he might have encountered at some point, "Losing stuff stinks."

"It was really, really important... and I lost it..."

"Hmm... So he kicked you out?"

"...Yes. Now I'm where I belong."

"Hm" Cronos sighed, still thinking this was all strange, "Why isn't your cage locked?"

"Doctor says I don't need it... But it only makes things worse..."

"Why's that?"

"It puts me above the other experiments."

The prince cocked an eyebrow and stared at him before finally coming to a conclusion.

"You're weird!" he yelled.

Ryu sighed, holding his legs more tightly against his chest. "But Doctor also has me do chores for him, so it's not so bad this way."

"Maybe if I work hard..." he started to say, but then he quickly stopped himself.

"Eh? If you work hard what?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"I'm sick of this. As the prince, I order you to tell me what you were saying!"

"I'm sorry. I was saying that... I've been thinking that maybe... if I worked hard and I was obedient to the doctor as I was to, um, my former master, then, maybe..."

He looked around and then turned his face completely towards the floor in embarrassment before whispering the rest.

"Then maybe... perhaps... Master might not hate me anymore?"

Cronos scratched his head. "So? That makes sense"

Ryu looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, Father pardons prisoners who show good behavior. I guess your master would decide kicking you out wasn't such a good idea if he sees the only thing wrong was the fact you lost something."

" I never thought of it that way Thank you."

Cronos sighed and told him once again, "You're really weird"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is my prey, he chuckled to himself. Below him, the girl was innocently looking over a terrace. He gave a slight grin before tossing a nearly undetectable smoke bomb in her direction so he could show up in a shower of leaves. He created the allusion of appearing from out of nowhere and he wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting her only see the swirl of green. It was his favorite trick.

The ninja lightly kissed the back of her neck. "Ah, you're so soft..." he purred as he nuzzled her, "You're all I desire and all my desires are you."

"Kenji, cut that out," the Uriko moaned. The ninja ignored her and nibbled at her skin. "I don't care about anything... So long as I can have you, nothing matters to me."

"Kenji, can't you see this is the last thing on my mind? I'm a prisoner in this awful place and you want me to go along with this? You're acting really weird and you want me to go along with this?"

"We're all prisoners. What's important is if you actually give a damn or not... I don't care. Why should you?"

Uriko pushed him away and spun around in anger. "What do you mean you don't care?" she yelled, "How can you not care that I might never see my family again or that all these people are suffering?"

His only reply was, "Caring about anything or anybody leads nowhere."

"Do you care about me, then? What do you want?"

The youth stalled a moment, slightly taken aback. He blinked his golden eyes and questioned himself for a fleeting moment. A familiar voice, very faint now, was beginning to be heard once more. So you were so sure this would work? I thought we were smarter than this.

Shut up, he mentally hissed at it, you think you know everything...

"Uriko?!"

"Cronos!" the girl yelped, "It I uh"

The prince stared in disbelief from the hall. "Kitten...?"

Bakuryu glared back at him. Cronos called out, "How long has this been going on?"

Uriko tried to say something, but Bakuryu yelled over her voice, "I've owned her before you gaze ever touched her. She doesn't want you."

"So why does she look so distressed?"

"She is repulsed by the sight of you."

Cronos angrily marched nearer, challenging, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better watch your tone around me." The response was "Feh. I do what I want."

The Prince glared at him and then noticed that his fears were, indeed, realized. Though his stance and expression were very different, the face belonged to the Young Dragon. "Ryu?" he questioned this stranger, "What's gotten into you?"

"I do not think this is a question of something getting into him," a voice interrupted. From another hallway they could see the elder Master Bakuryu. He stepped into the light and continued, "I fear this evil is coming from inside of him."

Ignoring him, Cronos pleaded to his love, "Uriko, why are you with him?"

"I wasn't doing anything! He just keeps popping out of nowhere!" she yelled back. The grip on her tightened violently. "So you never wanted me from the start?" Kenji hissed.

"No!"

"So you never had feelings for me, Kitten?"

"That's not true-"

"Little girl..." the ninja growled menacingly while holding her so he started to hurt her, "Tell him how close we are and how you hate him." Uriko whimpered and then squirmed out of his grip. "Nobody who loved me would treat me like that!" she argued.

Cronos agreed wholeheartedly. "That's right," he pouted, gently taking her shoulders in his hands. Uriko was not planning on this happening. She looked back at Kenji, who looked almost shocked and even betrayed by this. A familiar pang of guilt hit her. She wanted to get out of Cronos' gentle caress and tell him it was not like that, but she could not bring herself to do so.

The pitiful hint in his expression soon faded into rage.

"Getting emotional, are we?" the master reminded his heir. He whipped his head around to the old ninja.

"How shameful, getting into such arguments and such messes... And while wearing our colors and our heirloom, at that..."

At this, the younger started to tremble. Uriko wondered if he looked scared now. Inside his head, he could hear that returning voice chide him in contempt, And you thought you had killed the child? He then, in a sudden fury, ripped the plate armor from his arm and hurled it against the wall. The sound of crashing metal plates echoed throughout the labs.

"I hate you," he hissed. The elder's eyes widened.

The youth continued to growl, "I hate you all..."

He turned around and pointed a single finger at the girl and whispered in a voice just as violent, "And you... You will be mine." She shrunk back without thinking into the other young man's bronze arms, and he held her defensively, yet still very gently.

He took a step back and then he ran to the balcony overlooking the lab and leapt off. Pulling his arms toward his chest, he spun one revolution before a smoke bomb set off. All that was left of him were lightly fluttering leaves.

Uriko ran from Crono's grasp to the railing and called out for him.

"Kenji!"

Cronos looked out at the familiar leaves that had mysteriously shown up around him in the past few days. He whispered that a new fiend had entered Tylon Laboratories.

Bakuryu, familiar with disappearing acts, stared at exactly where his unruly heir was treading undetected. He then turned to the young lady, who had collapsed over the railing in frustration and confusion, which tempted her eyes to weep.