I've been having issues with my internet service, so I may have a week or two where I don't update if I can't get to another computer. Sorry.

Before we continue, I'd like to ask for a moment of silence and remembrance for all the poor Mankin characters now so brutally butchered by the American dub.

"So how long are you staying around?" asked Yoh.

"Oh, I dunno," said Hao, musing thoughtfully. "A while, I hope. I've missed having a little brother to bother." He grinned and put his arm around Yoh in a mock headlock. "Been rather dull, really."

"Really? Have you gotten in touch with any of your hacker friends? I bet they'd be jealous to know that you've found the matrix," suggested Yoh.

Hao gave a snort of derision and leaned back in his seat. "Tried once. I was watchin' 'em talk in a chat room when they were discussing the very subject. Embarrassing, really. They got close enough to guess that the matrix controlled their lives."

Yoh nodded, wondering if any might become the newest addition to Morpheus' or Luchist's crew.

"Then someone guessed it was MTV. Got shot down pretty quick. They've concluded its another name for Sega." Hao sighed. "And to think that I was once one of their number."

"Now you're a hacker extraordinaire," teased Yoh. "You can't just be good anymore, you have to be incredible."

"Sure do," replied Hao with mock arrogance, a grin lighting up his eyes.

"You had a reputation, you know," said Yoh. "I heard an authority refer to you as the 'notorious hacker SoF' once."

"Notorious, eh?" said Hao, gazing at the ceiling with a dreamy look in his eyes, "I like the sound of that…"

Yoh snorted. "You wouldn't if you heard the way Agent Marco said it. He's scary."

"Agents in general have issues," agreed Hao. "They all need psychiatrists."

"You're one to talk," mutter Yoh.

Hao was about to come up with a witty retort when they were rudely interrupted by a shrieking alarm that began wailing through the Nebuchadnezzer. The atmosphere changed abruptly from calm to a charged, slightly frightened feeling. The chatting groups from either ship broke up abruptly, scattering people to their own stations.

"Squiddies!" called out Chrom, the warning quickly being picked up by the rest.

"Back to our ship," ordered Luchist.

Kanna nodded and started over toward Hao. "Let's go."

"Can't we wait it out here? Does it really matter?"

"We don't joke about Sentinels. Let's go."

"Don't worry," put in Yoh quickly, alarmed by the sudden change in ambiance. "Look, I'll see you off. It should be no problem meeting up again, right?"

Reluctantly, Hao agreed. Kanna and Luchist hurried him off the ship with little chance for goodbyes. The elder Asakura, however, did his best. "I'll talk to you soon, Otouto-chan!" he called over his shoulder. "And say goodbye for me to that cute blonde…er…Anna! Okay?"

Yoh couldn't help but grin. "Okay."

*

Yoh ran into Lyserg as he hurried to the cockpit. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Not sure," said the green-haired boy, looking a little dazed. In the dim light of the hallway, Yoh thought he saw a bruise on the crewmember's face, but he wasn't certain.

"What are sentinels?"

Lyserg's eyes snapped to life. "Oh no!" He darted off down the hall, Yoh close behind. They arrived at a room with windows looking outward. The entire ship had been shut down, and everyone was gathered, waiting, tense.

"What's going on?" asked Yoh, whispering out of instinct.
"Those are sentinels," said Anna quietly, pointing to two things that looked much like giant mechanical jellyfish. They moved with a surprising speed and grace, however, and their glowing red lights held a deadly appearance. "Killing machines. Designed for one thing."

"Search and destroy," said Horohoro.

"Power offline," said Silva, his hands hovering over the nearest keyboard. "EMP armed and ready."

"EMP?" asked Yoh.

"Electromagnetic pulse," said Anna, an edge of impatience in her voice. "It disables any electronic system in the blast radius. It's the only weapon we have against the machines."

"Where are we anyway?" asked Yoh, studying the scene outside with a mix of interest and disgust.

"Old sewer systems. They stretch for hundreds of miles; all we have left of the old cities."

"And what--?"

"Shush," hissed Anna.

Yoh was quiet.

The silence seemed to weigh down on them as the sentinels drifted closer, searching. Horohoro fidgeted, earning a ferocious glare from Anna. The light of a sentinel gleamed through the window, and everyone froze, but it moved on without incident.

The crew continued to wait for a few minutes, even after all signs of hostile machines were gone. Then, slowly, Silva activated the ship portion by portion until everything was running normally. Manta disarmed the EMP, and the rest went off to their various duties.

Yoh was about to sneak off and catch a nap when Anna grabbed his wrist. "You still have a test to take."

"Eh?" He looked at her with pleading bewilderment.

"To the Core," she said tersely, gesturing Silva to come too.

*

"So what kind of test is this?" asked Yoh, sitting down on one of the familiar chairs in the Core.

Anna took the one next to him. "You forget so quickly."

He winced as Silva plugged them in, still not quite used to the accompanying sensation, and then opened his eyes in a completely new surrounding.

He and Anna were standing across from each other in a dojo-style room, sunlight filtering in through rice-paper windows and onto the tatami floor. They were both dressed in simple white gi, traditional martial-arts uniforms. The clothes seemed a mix of styles, not judo, not karate, not tae kwon do.

"You must demonstrate what you have learned. Against me," said Anna. She fell into a karate basic stance, her right foot slightly farther back from the left, her fists loosely clenched and raised to about chest level.

Yoh's arms merely fell slack at his side. "But…"

She gave him no time. In an instant, she had crossed the room, her fist barely missing his head. She glared at him for not being ready. "Show me what you can do!"

He ducked as she aimed a high kick at his head, executing a judo-style tumble to get clear. He had barely stood when her fist struck his chest, pushing him back. He jumped, flipping in the air as she executed a low sweep that would have knocked his feet from under him.

"Coward," she said, contempt obvious in her voice.

He attempted a half-hearted blow as he landed behind her, but she caught his arm and flipped him over her shoulder and onto his back. He had to slide in a most ungainly manner on the tatami to avoid her foot connecting with the side of his head. He gulped, looking at the dent she had left.

The flat of her hand caught his cheek. "Focus!" she snapped.

He nodded, scrambling to his feet and taking a defensive stance as she moved forward again. She lashed out again, but he executed a backwards handspring, avoiding what could have been a very painful bruise to the shoulder. Blending her landing and the beginning of her next attack in one smooth motion, she took two steps up the wooden pillar at the edge of the mats and pushed off into the air. Time seemed to slow and she appeared to float as she drew her legs up beneath her, a meter and a half off the ground. Then everything seemed to snap to faster than normal as her foot shot out in a fierce kick, catching him in the chest and knocking the wind out of him as he fell backward.

Even through the initial pain, he couldn't help feeling that this was not even close to the best she could do. He was almost glad she was holding back; he didn't want to know how she could fight when provoked. Then she was standing over him, feet apart for optimum balance and mobility, breathing heavily, but still tireless. "On your feet."

He rolled slightly and stood, moving to her right to avoid a straight-on attack. She seemed not to have been expecting this, but recovered quickly, spinning as she jumped impossibly high, landing just in front of him.

He managed to block most of the rain of blows she sent at him, but his chest, arms, and shoulders were soon aching with the repeated impacts. He was thankful when she stopped, even if she looked thoroughly disgusted with him.

"You're not doing anything!" she berated him. "You're just trying to block! For heaven's sake, this is close range and I left some opportunities wide open! The least you could do was attempt a judo throw!"

"I'm not sure about that…"

"Look, it's incredibly simple. You grab the inside of the collar with your right hand, my sleeve with your left, pivot quickly and throw!" She irritably yanked his hands into the position she described.

"Hand inside the collar?" he asked, wondering why it felt so awkwardly difficult.

"Yes," she said, curling his thumb around the edge of the cloth in an attempt to make him grasp it properly. "Is your brain short-circuiting or something?"

Something like that. He felt his face grow hot as his fingers brushed the skin of her neck and his wrist rested slightly on her collarbone through the gi. She was so soft, and the stray strands of golden hair teased his fingers to venture the smallest caress. Despite her intimidating personality, she was still as fragile as any other human.

She looked up to see why he was not concentrating, and caught the blush spreading across his face. Throwing his hands off, she glared, trying to hide the similar shade of red on her own face. "Fine! Forget about the judo throw, but at least do something!! Stop running away and try to hit me!"

"I can't…" said Yoh uncomfortably, scuffing the mats with his left foot.

"See? That's why! It's all your mentality! Haven't you realized that that's what's limiting you?"

"No, that's not it," he said, still studying the floor. "I…I can't hit a girl… It's not…proper…"

She stared.

"And I feel bad grabbing your gi." Not to mention that the only thing keeping it secured and closed is that belt around your waist.

"I have a shirt underneath!" she protested, pulling the collar wide open so he could see the white tank top she was wearing. Both were quite definitely blushing by now.

"You don't mind my touch?" asked Yoh timorously.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Anna.

Yoh scratched the back of his head, still a proper shade of crimson.

"It's all about the fight, nothing more," she added quickly, realizing how easily misinterpreted their conversation could be. "And chivalry died centuries ago."

He didn't move. "I'm sorry, Anna."

She sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "If only your brother had qualms of honor like that in the presence of a lady…" Her hand burned as she remembered how Hao had clasped it, though momentarily.

"Yeah. Sorry," he said.

"You don't have to apologize for him. It's not your fault."

"Okay."

She raised her head, balancing lightly where she stood, ready to move again. "But we're here to fight, remember? Not discuss relationships."

"But…" started Yoh.

"I'll fight him," volunteered a voice.

Both turned to see Manta, as tall as he had been at Yoh's history lesson, walking toward them, dressed in a similar gi. Yoh breathed a sigh of relief. This he could handle.

"You think he's ready?" asked Anna, eyeing Yoh with doubt.

"Only one way to find out," said Manta with a shrug.

"Okay then." She turned to Yoh. "But I'll warn you, he's even stronger than I am." They watched her walk off the mats and into the shadows, where she vanished, leaving them and returning to the real world.

Yoh turned to Manta, his heart pounding in slight anticipation, observing the unshaken calm in his temporary opponent.

"Let's go."

Yoh moved first, executing a flying kick like the ones he had admired in the Lee Pyron movies he had watched a couple times as a kid.

But to his shock, Manta wasn't where he was supposed to be when Yoh reached him, but a little to the side. Yoh had only time to see the hand reach out and grab his ankle before he found himself suddenly on the floor.

Shocked, he jumped to his feet, and let fly a barrage of kicks and punches, each of which Manta calmly and flawlessly blocked or dodged. Even with his extensive knowledge of almost every martial art known to man, Yoh could not even shake his opponent's calm attitude.

*

Horohoro wandered into the Core to find Anna and Silva focused completely on the screens before him. "What's going on?"

"Yoh's fighting Manta!" exclaimed Silva, watching the action in awe.

"Yow! Really?"

Anna nodded, her eyes not leaving the battle.

Horohoro ducked into the hall for a moment. "Heey!!! Yoh's fightin' Manta!!!!" he bellowed, knowing Pilica or someone else would hear and spread the news. He then rushed over to get a good spot before everyone else arrived. Indeed, a matter of seconds later, they could hear the pounding of feet in the halls as the rest of the crew hurried to see the spectacle.

*

Yoh stopped, panting from exertion, Morpheus' hand holding his fist in a perfect block. "Good," said Manta. "Adaptation. Improvisation. The technique is not your weakness."

This time the master took the offensive, his fists a blinding blur as Yoh scrambled to protect himself. Every time he jumped, flipped, tumbled, or nearly flew off the walls, Manta was waiting where he landed, giving him no escape and no rest.

In no time at all, Yoh was on his hands and knees, frustrated but fully defeated.

"How did I beat you?" asked Manta as if he were inquiring about the weather.

"You…you're too fast," gasped out Yoh, brushing his sweaty bangs from his face.

"Do you think," said Manta, musing, "that my strength and speed have anything to do with muscles in this place?" For a moment, he seemed to be his small, weak self before returning to his average height.

Yoh bit his lip, trying to come up with a proper answer.

"Do you think that's air you're breathing right now?" offered Manta.

Yoh blinked.

"If you can free your mind, your body will follow."

See? …It's all your mentality! That's what's limiting you! said Anna's voice in his head.

"Again," said Manta, beckoning.

Lips pursed in concentration, Yoh answered the challenge by leaping to his feet and flying at Manta with doubled vigor.

*

"That boy is fast," said Faust with awe.

"You ever see anyone that fast that soon?" asked Horohoro, practically bouncing in place with excitement.

"Never," breathed Silva.

"Manta's right," admitted Ren reluctantly. "He's got to be the One."

Anna said nothing, but watched the screen with no visible emotion.

*

Yoh flew back from the impact of Manta's kick, shattering the wooden pillar he collided with. He stood more slowly this time, still trying to catch his breath.

"Stop trying to hit me," said Manta, "and hit me." His right hand moved in an infuriating beckon to continue. With a frustrated yell, Yoh began again, his fists flying almost as quickly as Manta's.

Then, in a single, incredible moment, he made contact, catching Manta in the face.

*

The Core echoed with a chorus of gasps.

"I don't believe it!" breathed Horohoro.

*

"You are angry with me," said Manta quietly.

The burning, frustrated fury within Yoh died quickly, shame at hurting his friend taking over. "I…uh…sorry."

"It's all right," said Manta with a smile. "It's natural."

"I feel better," said Yoh, hoping the tension between them was only temporary.

"Good. Anger is a gift in a way, but a heavy one," replied Manta cryptically. "Even for one who is rarely angry about anything." He looked toward the ceiling at nothing in particular. "Tank, load the jump program."

*

On her own ship, Kanna sat back, her boot-clad feet resting on the table before her as she lazily perused the Internet.

"How was it?" asked a fellow crewmember, a boy, walking in and taking a seat across from her.

"Interesting," she said. "I'm not sure what levels the other kid's at yet, but we'll find out. Do you know how, Ashil?"

"How?"

"There's a transmitter on him. Minute, cheap, and disgustingly easy to plant. It was only natural that I touch his hair to see how real it was, was it not? The transmitter is on his scalp, monitoring his mind. It's not high-definition technology, but it'll give us the basic idea of what's happening."

"And Luchist knows?"

"Luchist approves."

"What about Hao?"

She shook her head, taking a drag from her cigarette. "No," she replied, breathing out a cloud of smoke. "He might not like us tampering with his little brother. I'm not about to tell him."

To be continued

To mouse-chan, I have figured out where to put Amidamaru in, but it will be another chapter or so. ^_^