What Dreams Are Made Of

A Witch From Mercury

Story

Chapter 7

Mythmakers

Rain thumped against the window of the Kamakura Café as Koichi Nanase sipped on a cup of black coffee. December was not known for its clear skies and warm temperatures, but this one seemed especially bleak. A pair of first graders passed by outside, splashing in water puddles, along the riverside. At least somebody was enjoying themselves. He didn't have the luxury of being so carefree.

"Still no sign of him?"

Across from him sat Kyoya Kisugi (Kyoya Kujo, when he was online), Captain of the Force: Avalon, and the highest ranked player in all of GBN.

"He's not answering messages either." Said Koichi, adjusting his glasses "And I know he's seen them..." They were waiting for someone very important: an old friend of Koichi's. Well, friend was a strong word. The two of them had barely spoken in the past few years, and even now their relationship was, strained. They had been trying to repair it recently, but the guy still wasn't the most social person they knew.

"I hope he shows up soon." Said Ruck Arge (better know as Shahryar), "It took us forever just to set this meeting up."

Beside him sat Kotaro Oogami: the famous Tigerwolf. "We should be back in GBN." He said impatiently, "For all we know that creep could be wrecking the place, while that criminal strings us along. Hell, he could be in on it!"

"Would you please lower your voice?" Shahry asked, "I'm fairly certain they can hear you in space."

"GBN should be safe for the moment." Said Kyoya, exchanging messages with the Admin, "Katsuragi says there's been no sign of them since their first appearance."

"Oh yeah," Tigerwolf scoffed, "That guy really knows what he's doing! Remember what a great job he did during the first Mass Diver crisis?"

Koichi ignored him, too busy staring at his messenger app. A minute passed, and then two, then five, and ten.

Fifteen...

"Oh forget it!" Growled Tigerwolf, "He's not coming, so just start this thing without him."

And then the bell rang, and a young man stepped into the cafe. His crimson hair peeked out from under his hoodie as he took a seat next to Koichi.

"Tsukasa." His friend said, "What kept you so long?"

The redhead took a deep breath. He did not look happy, at all. "There are three different Kamakuras," he grumbled, "In three seperate districts around the city. Next time, be more specific."

"Oh..." Koichi said, meekly, "Yeah, sorry about that..."

"So," Tsukasa said, his thin face peeking out from under his hood, "Why'd you call me here?"

"Well," Kyoya began, "We may be seeing a return of Mass Divers..."

"Not me." Tsukasa said, sharply.

"Didn't say it was." Kyoya replied, "Just thought you might know who's behind it. Ruck?"

Shahryar took out his phone. "This Gunpla showed up in Perisia a while ago." He said, as the video played, "It's dark aura and regenerative powers match the function of your advanced Break Decal, along with it's ability to push a Gunpla passed its limits."

Tsukasa watched closely, as Scheherazade's claw passed right through the thing. "Interesting..." He said, "If this is a Break Decal, looks like he's using his own variant." He listened to the audio distort, as the machine crashed through the city. "It sounds like he's talking..." He wound it back a bit. "Lemme turn the volume up..."

The Messer turned to the camera, its red eye glowing as it seemed to stare right through the screen.

XX-I-XXX-AM-XXXXXXX-NO-XXX-ONE-XX

"Auntie, I'm not complaining," Aaron lied, doing his best to scrape grease off a frying pan, "I'm just saying it's his turn to do the dishes."

Belmeria Winston stared at him, unamused, "It should have been Elan's turn today, this is true. Just like it should have been your turn to vacuum the house yesterday, and it should have been your turn to buy groceries two days before." She shook her head, as the privileged boy wrestled with a piece of leftover fat. "How your parents raised you is their own business," The woman said, "But, as long as you're in my house, you're expected to do your chores, just like him."

Aaron turned to argue, but Ms Winston gave him a look that could stop a charging bull. "This is going to ruin my skin..." He whined.

"I'm sure you'll live." His Aunt quipped, "Long enough to wipe the floor, at least."

"What!?"

"You wouldn't have to, if you did your chores when I asked." She said, cheerfully.

Knowing he'd get no mercy from her, he called upstairs, to beg salvation from his cousin. "Elan, come on! Help me out here!"

"What did we say about special treatment?" Elan called back. He had no time to deal with Aaron's melodrama. He was working on something much more important. The Phantom Gundam sat in front of him, split into six parts, head, torso, and limbs. He'd been working on this Gunpla for several days now, and the end was finally in sight. He'd assembled the parts together, spray painted it himself - that was the easy part. Now came the real challenge. Elan held the hobby knife as steady as possible, touching it to the stencil and cutting into the kit's arm. One little screw up, he'd need to get a new limb 3D-printed. A costly error indeed. Slowly, steadily, he cut the shape of a bird into the inner arm, and slid the new piece into place. He repeated this a few more times, until all the pieces were set. At last, he was done. Finally, he had a Gunpla that was all his own. It was, surprisingly, disappointing. His work on the Phantom took up most of his free time in these past few days. The whole building process was such a joy, and now it was done. But there was excitement as well. This new mobile suit was ready at last. Now he could take it online, finally set it loose. How would it feel? What new abilities would he gain from this build? He couldn't wait to find out.

The boy rushed downstairs, Gunpla in hand. "Mom?" He said, "I'm going to see my friends at the mall. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes dear." Said Ms Winston, "Just be back in time for dinner."

"Can I come too?" Aaron asked, hopefully.

"Of course!" Belmeria told him, "After you do your chores."

Elan kicked back, listening to the hustle and bustle of GBN's main lobby. In the past, he'd always liked it quiet, and loathed being around others. Watching people make friends, find love, talk about their future; he resented that. Friendship, romance? The old ladies would not allow that. Interfered with his job - his purpose. As for future, that was just a carrot to dangle in front of him - a carrot that wasn't even real. But, after a few weeks in the Common Era, he caught himself enjoying this. Listening to the white noise of the crowd. Friends making plans for the day, celebrating a victory, setting up a Force. It made him feel at peace, because it was something he could finally understand. He had friends, he had a future. He had those things he'd always wanted, that his old life denied.

Elan thought back to the students at Peil House. All the people who'd come to him seeking friendship. All the people he'd coldly turned down. That one girl who asked to go out with him... and the look on her face when he refused. It was pretty mean of him, looking back on it. Even if he couldn't embrace those people, he still felt bad for hurting their feelings. Just for a moment, he wished he could go back, apologise to his housemates, show them the same affection they offered him.

"Elan?" The boy jumped, as Nika snapped him out of his fantasy. "Is everything alright? You look really out of it."

"Oh, I'm fine." He said, "Just thinking. Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"We were talking about setting our Force up." Said Chuchu, "We can get some sweet unique rewards for beating Force Missions, and we should have enough players to get a mission going."

"You sure you're alright with Aaron joining us?" Miyuki asked, "I mean, if you're not comfortable around him, I could give it a shot."

"It's alright." Elan told them, "He's still kind of a nuisance, but he's getting better. As much as he annoys me, I'm willing to give him a chance."

"Where is he, anyway?" Asked Suletta, "Didn't he come here with you?"

"I was late," said a voice: very familiar and very irritated, "Because somebody left me hanging back at home."

"You mean you had to stay home, because you shirked your chores." Said Elan, "Did you have fun playing Cinderella?"

"Oh shut up." Aaron said, taking a seat at the table. "If I'm Cinderella, then that makes you the ugly stepsister."

"Says the guy with my face."

"Ok, girls, break it up." Chuchu grumbled. "You're both pretty."

"Chuchu's right." Said Miyuki, "We have more pressing matters to discuss, namely putting our Force together."

"Right!" Aaron said, having almost forgotten, "I'm ready. Sign me up!"

"Hold on a sec!" Said Nika, "We need to get you to Rank D at minimum. It's the rules, I'm afraid."

"Oh, right..." He and Elan had been visiting GBN rather sparsely over the past couple of weeks. They were still a bit on edge, after the appearance of NO-ONE. Granted, they hadn't seen that black Gunpla, not since then, but you could never be too careful. He brought up the news on his tablet. Few sources even mentioned the incident, and those that did claimed that NO-ONE had yet to make a second appearance. Elan almost laughed at himself. What on Earth was he thinking? Here he was, living in fear of some loser who was cheated at videogames! How sad was that?

"So, we're going on a mission now, right?"

"That's right." Said Miyuki, "A seek and destroy mission, in Neo Hong Kong." She brought up the mission on her screen. "The place will be overrun with Kowloon Gundams, but only one of them is actually real. You'll have to find and destroy the real one within a twenty minute time limit. Nothing special, but it should give us enough Diver Points to get the rookie to Rank D."

"Well, that's all I need to know." Said Elan, getting up, looking down at his 'cousin', "Think you can keep up with us?"

Aaron smirked back at him. "Please." He said, "By the time this mission's done, you'll beg me to join you."

The two boys sat in darkness, waiting quietly in the Hangar Bay, waiting for the launch sequence. Really, there was no need for this. The cutscene added nothing to the gameplay, and was entirely skippable. But there was a certain thrill to this sequence. The sound of their machines coming to life, the rush they got as they sped through the hangar, it felt great, especially when Elan had a new mech to debut.

"Here we go..." Said Aaron, as the green mono-eye lit up the darkness. "Roar to life, my Alonso!"

Elan rolled his eyes as the Sinanju flew into the depths of space. It was almost childish, the passion he had for this game. Then again, Elan was in no position to judge. Besides, after a lifetime of quiet reservation, surely he could enjoy a bit of childish glee himself.

"Alright..." He said, as his own suit bathed in its own emerald light "Rise again, MSP-04: Gundam Dream Phantom!"

A jet of green flame burst from his engines, carrying him through the stars. His new mech was not unlike the Phantom Gundam, but modifications had been made to suit Pharact's loadout and abilities. The arms were a few inches longer: a subtle change, but one that let it wield Pharact's rifle with ease. Speaking of his old Gundam, Elan had its red parts reprinted a deep, rich green. These emerald pieces were placed on Phantom's knees, covered the vents on its shoulders, and replaced the skull on its chest. The jets on its back, majestic in their own right, had been removed, they were replaced by the massive wing-shaped jets of Aaron's Sinanju. Pharact's backpack was used in place of the original, a lone shoulder booster mounted on top. The more slender jets on the Pharacts shoulders were moved to the waist, flanking the new suits legs. And, for the final touch, the Peil Gundam's head was placed on top, and the whole thing was painted purple and silver. These mods combined, granted the Dream Phantom speed and handling on par with his first Gundam (plus a more birdlike appearance), allowing him to blow past his 'cousin' with ease.

"Hey!" Aaron yelled, as he watched the phoenix mobile suit dive toward Neo Hong Kong, from Mobile Fighter: G Gundam.

"Sorry, cousin!" Said Elan, as he neared the flower-shaped asteroid, "First come, first serve!"

Alonso's pilot gritted his teeth, speeding after his double. "Oh, you just wait 'til we hit the ground!"

The girls looked on in disbelief as the boys rushed ahead, seemingly forgetting them. "Well that's boys for you." Sighed Chuchu, shaking her fluffy, pink head, "Always trying to one-up each other."

Suletta chuckled awkwardly. "Well, we are here to get Aaron's rank up." She reminded them. "We can afford to hang back and let them compete a while."

"I agree." Miyuki said, as she watched, from the lobby, "Let the idiots do the hard work and jump in if things look bad."

And indeed, those idiots were hard at work. Alonso hit the ground with a great thump. Just as Peil's heir had promised, the his Gunpla was right at home on the ground. The pale horse was slow in the air, and handled poorly. But, when combined with Alonso's boosters, it turned out to be wicked fast on straight runs, letting the boy cover an incredible amount of space in a few seconds. The mono-eye scanned from left to right, checking the alleyways as it galloped downtown until he finally caught sight of his target. The Kowloon Gundam: a chunky mobile suit, protected by ancient Chinese armour. Perfect. Aaron pulled on Fusaki's beam reigns, and the horse reared up with a deafening neigh, Alonso's spear whistled through the air, striking Kowloon in the chest and slaying the comical Gundam in one blow. "First blood!" Said Ceres, dismounting his horse, and pulling the spear from the ground, "Hope you're paying attention, cuz."

Elan smirked as he hovered above the city. While Alonso worked best on land, Dream Phantom ruled the sky, and its higher vantage point allowed Elan to pick out targets with ease. In fact, he already had three Kowloons in his sight, taking out his beam arquebus and reducing their heads to glowing green dust. "Second, third and fourth blood." He said, proudly, "Try and keep up, will you?" He flew in low, buzzing Alonso and leaving its pilot in the dust.

"Keep up, huh?" Aaron groaned, hopping back on his steed, "Alright then. How do you like this?" He hit a button on his console, and the Rose Gundam's cape flew open. With most of Sinanju's weapons abandoned, Alonso's combat options were severely limited. It did have one other weapon however, and quite a potent one. From out of its cape shot a set of roses, golden barrels protruding from their midnight petals. These Rose Bits hovered around his mobile suit, giving Aaron some much needed range as he charged down the streets. Once again, he scanned left and right. But, when he spotted his target again, he rode right past it. His Rose Bits did the job, blasting the Gundam to hell, while Alonso kept on moving. A simple tactic, but one that took out another three or four Gundams. "Who needs to keep up now?" He said, grinning.

Elan caught himself chuckling. It would be easy to stun Alonso with his GUND Bits, and take on this mission alone, but that would be very unsporting, especially to someone on his team. He would crush his old employer, but he wouldn't fight dirty. It was strange, really. Competing with his false cousin, trading barbs as the tore up the city. He never thought he could have fun with someone like Elan Ceres.

Neo Hong Kong soon became a scrapyard. Countless mobile fighters were trashed by Phantom and Alonso, both teens making great use of their strengths. Within the time limit, those two destroyed almost a hundred fake Kowloons. The score stood at 47 for Elan, and 42 for Aaron - basically meaningless, outside of their little contest, but it was fun to keep score.

Aaron looked around the city. Only a two minutes left, and the streets were eerily silent. They must be getting close by now. And then he saw it: a single Kowloon, at the end of town. While the others stood around, waiting to be destroyed, this one fled the scene immediately. That had to be the target, he thought, giving chase. If Elan got that mobile fighter in his sights, he'd smoke it in an instant. This was Aaron's one chance to make the kill, and take the glory for himself. He galloped down the street, using the Sinanju's leg boosters to make up for Fuunsaiki's awful handling. It still resulted in some very awkward turns, but he could still keep up with his quarry. The Gundam pulled out a long, white sash, spinning it in a circle and running around in it like a hamster wheel. This gave it an effective (if cartoonish), speed boost, but it could never escape Aaron on land. Alonso caught up in no time, raising its spear to the sky. The Kowloon turned to strike, but it was too late. The beam impaled it through the eye, and the head was torn from its shoulders as Aaron raised his spear in triumph.

MISSION CLEAR

"How do you like that, 'Cousin'?" Aaron taunted, "Nothing beats the original, am I right?"

Elan was almost impressed. "Well what do you know." He said, "Guess you're good for something, after all."

An alarm sounded in Alonso's cockpit, its pilot bathed in red light as a new message covered his view screen.

DANGER!

The mission's timer shattered, resetting to ten minutes, as the battle went into overtime. "What is this?" Elan wondered, as the DANGER message popped up on his screen, "Some kind of bonus round?"

The Kowloon's body started to move, shuddering as a second, V-shaped head burst from the hole in its neck. "Wh- what the hell!?" Aaron yelled, as he tried to pull back. But he was too slow. The Kowloon's arm shattered, revealing a more slender, purple one. Its clawed hand glowed with an evil aura, as it struck Alonso's steed, filling it with dark energy and blowing it to bits. The Kowloon's armour crumbled as Aaron hit the ground, revealing a menacing, winged mech. "Wait..." The boy said, "I recognise that mobile fighter. That's Master Gundam!"

Master Gundam - Master Asia's villainous mobile fighter - loomed over Alonso, opening its palm and revealing a set of beam emitters in its hand. The hand glowed again, firing a blast of energy that Aaron barely dodged. "Geez..." He said, as the Master turned, firing at him again, "This is getting intense..." Alonso summoned its Rose Bits, concentrating all its fire on the boss mecha, but Master Gundam folded its wings over its chest, forming a crimson cape, which shielded it from the incoming laser blasts. "Fine..." The blonde whispered, charging the Gundam with his spear, "Then how do you like this!?" He thrust the point against the cape, and his weapon shattered on impact. "Oh..." He said, looking at the shards in his hand, "Oh no..."

The Master Gundam switched back into Attack Mode, piercing Alonso's chest with its hand, destroying it from the inside out.

"Oh, great..." Said Elan, as he watched Aaron's Gunpla shatter, "Guess I have to clean up your mess, again..."

The Dream Phantom hovered above its target, arquebus at the ready. There was a trump card he could play, if necessary, but better to test the waters first. No need to go all in, just yet. Elan took aim with his rifle, adjusting the sights, until the reticule lined up with the Master's head. His finger touched the trigger, ready to squeeze, and then...

Everything went black.

"What?"

The word left Elan's mouth, but he heard nothing. This place again? How could that be? He only experienced this in his sleep before!

He heard a voice in the distance.

"Mom!" A boy cried, desperately "Mom, come back! Please!"

The darkness faded, and he found himself in a cold, dark cell, surrounded by steel walls. This place looked familiar. His cell at Peil HQ? Then there was the sound of fists against steel, and Elan turned around to see a young teen, beating his hands against the door.

The boy he saw, was another him.

At least, it looked like him. He doubted that could be the real Elan Ceres. Locking up their own heir - it didn't sound like something the old ladies would do, heartless as they were.

"Mom! Please, don't leave me here!" He begged, his fists banging weakly against the door as he fell to his knees, "I'll do anything! Just please take me back!"

What was this? Another lost memory? If it was, Elan forgot it for a reason. The boy laid down, curling up in a ball and crying softly to himself. Elan approached, carefully. Real or not, he couldn't just let the kid suffer. He got on his knees, placing his hand on the teen's shoulder and the crying stopped. Elan felt a bit of relief as he sat there, comforting, himself.

But it passed quickly, and the teen began to cry again.

No, wait... That wasn't crying...

He was, laughing?

It began as a small giggle. Then it became a chuckle, and then laughter. Mad, wild laughter. What on earth was going on with this guy!? Elan took his hand off the laughing boy, backing away, slowly as the noise grew louder.

And then, the boy rolled around, an eerie smile on his face.

Nice to meet you, friend.

Elan snapped back to reality. Far as he could tell, he was still floating above Neo Hong Kong. "What the hell?" He groaned, his head pounding in the aftermath of his nightmare. "What even was that?"

He looked up, and saw the Master Gundam, inches from his face.

"Crap!" He yelled, hitting the jets hard and dodging the Boss' clawed hand. God, that was close. A moment slower, he'd be out of the game. The Phantom drew a sabre, and dyed the night sky green. He was still getting used to close combat, but this thing was a danger at any range. The Master lunged again, but Elan was ready, strafing to the left and swinging at its back. He struck it in the wing, melting right through the metal and removing half of its shield in one blow. The Boss hovered awkwardly, unbalanced by the loss of its wing. "Yeah, that's right." Said Elan, "What now?"

The Master Gundam stared at him. It almost looked angry, despite being an AI. Slowly, it descended, its last wing shielding its right side as it landed on a nearby skyscraper. Its left arm extended, and its palm glowed again. The evil Gundam fired its Darkness Shot, but the Phantom rolled out of the way. With this kind of mobility, Elan could just run down the timer, no problem. But that didn't feel right. He wanted to win this. He took aim with his rifle, but the Master fired again. No matter what he did, Elan couldn't get a shot in. The Boss' rate of fire was simply too much.

Alright, he thought, time for Plan B.

A set of bird-shaped drones detached from Phantom's arms, legs, and back, hovering in front of him.

"Go, Phantom Bits!"

The GUND Bits flew into action, emitting their red stun beams and flying straight at the Master Gundam. The Boss leapt from rooftop to rooftop as they Bits gave chase, firing its Darkness Shot with its left hand. They wouldn't catch the mech any time soon, but they at least they kept it busy. Elan took his arquebus in hand, aiming at its exposed left side, and pulling the trigger. But, to his surprise, the Master turned in the air, blocking the beam with its right wing. In a strange way, removing its wing had made the Boss more formidable, allowing it to block with its right side, and attack with the left. And now, its attention was back on Elan. It leapt straight at him, colliding with the Dream Phantom. Together they crashed into a nearby office building and, as the skyscraper broke it in two, smashing into the side of another, Elan lost focus, and the Phantom Bits fell to the ground.

Shit...

The Master Gundam hovered over him, aiming a Darkness Shot straight at Phantom's chest. One shot, and it would be over. But Elan had one last trick up his sleeve. If he remembered right, the Phantom Gundam had a unique ability. Whether it would translate to GBN, he wasn't sure. But, if it did, then surely Dream Phantom could do the same. With all other options exhausted, Elan Winston closed his eyes, and took the risk.

"Phantom Light!"

His Gunpla roared back to life, as green flame poured from its jets. Not just that: Dream Phantom's whole body was wreathed in fire the colour of Elan's eyes. The Master Gundam fired its blaster, but Elan raised his hand, creating a shield of flame, which the beam glanced right off. The Phantom Light wasn't just for show. It also let him create an I-Field barrier. This, in practical terms, meant his resistance to beam weapons increased dramatically, rendering the palm blaster useless. The Dream Phantom rose to its feet, drawing a sword that was not made of beam energy, but literally burned with the power of the Phantom Light. It cut through the Master's second wing in a flash, grounding the boss, just like that.

The battle was all but done, but Elan wanted to add some flair to his victory. He held the sabre in both hands, raising it over his head like a samurai as they stood on the bridge between two buildings. The mobile fighter seemed to recognise this, striking a martial arts pose. An AI with a taste for the dramatic, who'd have thought? The two stepped forward, ready to end it. Phantom lunged at the mobile fighter, flame sword at the ready. Its opponent went for a high kick, but Elan ducked, avoiding the kick and plunging its sword into the Boss' chest. He dealt a fatal blow, leaving a molten hole in Master Gundam, as the infamous mobile fighter dropped to its knees, and the lights in its eyes went out. Elan pulled his sword from the wound, giving it a little flourish, just for fun. The perfect ending.

At least, it would have been.

The Gundam's eyes lit up once more, and it got to its feet. Strange. That should have been a killing blow. The hole in its chest started to close, and the frayed wires inside strained, as if trying to some how reconnect. Oh, of course. Devil Gundam Cells. The Master Gundam had been granted similar abilities to G Gundam's main villain, in particular, regeneration. It raised its hand, prepared to deliver its finishing move: Darkness Finger. This could be dicey. His flame shields could resist beam weapons, but Darkness Finger was a more physical attack. If that dark hand struck him...

Sure enough, the claw passed right through his shield, taking some damage in the process. Its sharpened fingers struck Dream Phantom in the side. Already Elan could feel the dark energy start to fill his mech. Despite putting his all into this battle, it seemed it was all for nothing. Oh well. He did everything he could.

But, luckily, he wasn't alone.

A volley of shining, green blasts struck Master Gundam in the back and, in that moment of weakness, it let go of Elan. The boss recovered quickly, going in for the kill again, but a familiar whip caught hold of its arm. Elan looked to the sky, and there were his friends, floating above him. "Girls?" He asked, surprised to see them. "I thought you weren't coming."

"Hey, we're not gonna let you get merced like that!" Chuchu shouted, "Now are we gonna finish this prick or not?"

"Oh, right!" Elan said, as he summoned his Phantom Bits again. "Let's see how these things react to Phantom Light..."

The emitters began to glow green, not their usual red, as the bird-shaped Bits hovered in front of the Dream Phantom. Soon after, a jet of chartreuse flame burst from one of the metal birds, melting through the Master Gundam like butter. The Phantom Light had turned Pharact's GUND Bits into a swarm of tiny flamethrowers. With the Erinyes' whip stopping any chance of escape, the Bits made short work of the boss, reducing it to ash, with less than a minute to spare.

And just like that, it was over.

Gundam Dream Phantom fell to his knees, as its pilot took a deep breath, and savoured the victory.

The Aerial Gundam descended, placing a hand on her friends shoulder. "You doing alright, Elan?"

Elan said nothing. He just reached out toward his friend's Gundam, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Seriously!?" Aaron whined, as he checked the rewards, "All that work, for a frame?"

As he said, the main reward for completing the bonus objective - for beating the Master Gundam - was the Gundam's inner frame. The reward for beating the main mission (a set of of G Gundam effect parts) honestly seemed more enticing.

"Well, inner frames can be useful too." Nika pointed out. "They may not mix well with a lot of parts, but if you get even a few pieces in there, you could gain some of that suit's power. Besides, having some spare parts is never a bad thing."

Elan barely listened. He sat away from the group, lost in thought. What on earth happened back there? That nightmare he had, what was that? A memory? A delusion, created by past trauma? That other Elan: he called him friend. Had he known the other Enhanced Persons? That seemed, unlikely. Or maybe it wasn't a memory. Maybe the boy who spoke to him wasn't an Enhanced Person. Maybe...

"What are you thinking about?"

Elan turned around, and there was Anastasha.

"Umm, a lot of things, really." He said, a little bit spooked, "Sorry. It's just, it's been a while. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back..."

"Oh, of course I was gonna come back." She placed a hand on his own and Elan's anxiety began fading. "It's just I have a lot to deal with at the moment. I do love you, and I want you to be here for you, but there are other people who need me."

Elan felt a pang of guilt. "Right. Sorry." He said, "Either way, I'm glad to see you again." The boy closed his eyes, relaxing with his friend, for a while. "So, what kind of people do you look after?"

"Oh, you know..." Ana said, "People like you, mostly."

"What do you mean?" The teen asked, "People who've had a hard life? Who've lost everything?"

"More or less."

"You don't know other Enhanced Persons, like me, do you?"

Ana looked a bit uncomfortable. "Yes..." She said, "A couple of them. I spend time with Two and Three, when I'm needed."

"Really?" Elan asked, intrigued, "What are they like?"

"They're nice enough." The girl said, "Two mostly has it together, though he's a bit dour. Three... Well, he needs a lot of care."

"I see." Said Elan, "And where are they now?"

"They're in their own worlds, right now." She told him, "I found them each a place where I thought they would thrive. Why the sudden interest?"

"Oh, no reason." He said, disappointed, "Just, I would have liked to meet them. They're not starved for friendship or anything, are they?"

"Oh no, far from it!" She said, "Two has his own little friend group. And Three, well, he's almost too eager."

"What do you mean?" Elan asked.

"He's..." Ana began, "Let's just say he's a bit too trusting."

"So, what about him?" Elan asked, pointing to Aaron, as he chatted with the girls, "I mean, he has some problems, but his life can't have been that hard." He thought on what he said, and realized it made him sound spiteful. "It's not like I wanted him to die," He clarified, "I'm just curious."

"Oh, he didn't die." The girl said, casually.

"Huh?"

"I just... found him." Said Ana, rather vaguely, "I saw into his mind, saw what those women had planned, in your old world. Seemed to me that it would be safer for everyone, including him, if I took the boy back with me, so..." She froze.

"So, what?"

Ana didn't answer. She just stared right past him.

"Ana, what happened?" He asked again, "What did you..."

Elan turned around. His friends were looking at him. Looking, very concerned, at him.

"Uhh, talking to your imaginary friend again?" Chuchu asked, half-teasing.

"Oh, yeah." Elan said, lying poorly, "Thought it would be good for a laugh."

Aaron seemed especially curious. "What was Ana doing here?" He asked.

Elan's eyes went wide. "Ana?"

The girls turned to their new friend. "Who's Ana?"

The boy was about to explain, but his double signalled to stop. "Oh, she's nobody." Aaron said, casually, "I was just teasing my cousin."

"Well, never mind that." Suletta said, "Come on, girls, we gonna put our Force together."

They all returned to the Lobby, but Elan stopped his 'cousin' along the way. "We need to talk when we get home."

The gang gathered round, as Suletta registered all six of them. "Ok, that's taken care of." She said, "Now we just need a name."

"How about... Gal Pals?" Miyuki suggested.

Aaron shrugged. "It's a bit generic, isn't it?"

"Plus, two of us are guys." Elan added.

"Well," said Suletta, "You're one of the girls, in a way."

"You certainly look the part." Said Chuchu, grinning ear to ear. "What about, Metalheads?"

"Nah, that's not really indicative of what we are."

"Dream Team?" Elan offered, weakly.

"That would suit you." Said Aaron, "But not all of us."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that one's been taken from Day One."

Suletta looked at her friends, thought back on the Gunpla they piloted. What common theme, if any, did they share?

"How about a something mythic?" She asked, "All of us have a bit of mythology in our looks, or our Gunpla. I'm a Tanuki, Erinyes is named after the Furies. Mion, your outfit kinda' looks like a snow maiden."

"Are you calling me an ice queen?" Miyuki asked, her eye twitching.

"Oh! N-n-n-not at all, Miss Miyuki!" She squeaked. "Umm, Aaron, you're outfit kind of resembles a vampire..." She turned to her green-haired friend, "Elan..."

"A ghost?" He asked, remembering his old avatar.

"I was gonna say a Phoenix."

"Huh..." The boy said, glancing at the emblem on his cape. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"What about me?" Chuchu asked, "I'm a mouse."

"Weeeell..." Suletta thought about it, "Tom and Jerry is a sort of modern myth, right?"

The mousegirl shrugged, "If you say so."

"Alright then!" Suletta said, beaming, "In that case, I propose we call ourselves..."

MYTHBUSTERS

"Taken." Nika told her, "In and out of game."

"Oh..." Suletta said, deflated, "Well then, how about..."

MYTHMAKERS

"Interesting..." Tsukasa said, as they went over the footage, back at Koichi's house. "It's basic abilities seem to match that of the Break Decal, but they manifest in a very different way." He rewound the footage, watching as NO-ONE's head appear to phase back onto its shoulders. "One thing I can tell you is that this isn't the work of a Break Decal. Not one of mine, anyway. Those were based on code left over from Gunpla Duel, and this is not that; this is something new." He scratched his chin, as the monstrous mobile suit was blasted from above, seemingly destroyed. "Its powers are inconsistent." He noted, "It could take damage from other Divers, but not from the Seravee Gundam. Can't say why, though."

"Perhaps their own tech hasn't quite been perfected." Koichi said.

"Maybe..." Said Kyoya, taking his phone in hand. "What about you, Katsuragi? Did you manage to get anything on our mystery man?"

The Administrator's voice echoed down the line. "We may have something..." He told them, "I checked the server data for the incident in Perisia. As far as I can tell, that Black Messer was never registered with GBN. Not only that, we can't find any Diver account that matches it. According to the data, this NO-ONE doesn't actually exist."

"A Diver that doesn't exist huh?" Tigerwolf stared at the image of the Messer, flickering in and out of existence. "Think it might be an effect of their Break Decal, or, whatever they're using."

"Possibly." Tsukasa said, "I have my own theory though. Look at the way it behaves, the way it flickers on the spot. Listen to its voice - how unnatural it sounds." He shook his head, "I'm not convinced this is a Mass Diver. To be honest, I'm not convinced it's human."

"What, you think it might be a glitch?" Kyoya asked.

"More like an AI with a glitch." Tsukasa explained, "I mean, it's not as if we haven't encountered sentient AI before..."

"There's one more thing," said the Admin, "I sent the audio to a friend of mine. He managed to clean it up, somewhat. Here, take a listen..."

He sent Kyoya an audio file. The first few seconds were just a repeat of NO-ONE's introduction, left untouched:

XX-I-XXXXXX-AM-XXXX-NO-XXXX-ONE-XX

The audio repeated again, cleaner this time, without all the noise and audio distortion. For the first time, they heard NO-ONE's voice clearly.

"Ok, that's interesting." Said Tigerwolf, when the recording was over, "But that raises more questions than it answers."

"Whatever it means," said Kyoya, "I think it's best we keep this under wraps, until we can figure out the meaning behind it. In the mean time, I propose we conduct a thorough, daily search of GBN's servers." He turned to Koichi Nanase, "Can we count on your friends to help."

The scrawny man smiled at Kyoya. "I know one of them will be up for it." He said, confidently.

"That's very good." Said the champ, before looking to Koichi's former friend. "What about you?" Tsukasa had helped them before, for his own reasons.

"I'm in." The redhead said, casually, "I'm not about to let some nobody one-up me at my own game."

"As for me," said Shahryar, "I'll go looking for those Divers from Perisia. I happened to meet them during the competition, so I can recognize them, no problem."

"Well then..." said Kyoya, getting up, "I think that covers everything. Let's call it for now, and meet back here in a few days."

Tsukasa left on the spot, but the rest stared a moment, to say their goodbyes. It was nice to see each other IRL, after all this time. A few handshakes, a man-hug or two, before they parted at last, leaving Koichi alone in his room.

The man looked back at his computer, staring into the Messer's eye. Whoever this was, he knew they'd see him again.

To Be Continued

Before I go, I just want to let you all know that I won't be continuing the main story until after Christmas, as I have some seasonal shopping to take care of, plus the next chapter or two is going to introduce several new Gunpla, so I'll need time to think up concepts for them.

I will have something for you next week, however, as I will be working on a short bonus chapter, which should be out between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. I hope you all enjoy it.