Gou and Kiriko had wanted to spend time with each other before bed, so the two went off into the guest bedroom where Kiriko was now staying with Rinna to catch up on the five months they hadn't seen each other. Rinna and Harley decided to stay in the lab to add more security on Harley's computers.

Shinnosuke decided to get some fresh air and walked out on the back porch. He was surprised to meet Chase outside, who had been unloading the car of all of Gou's and his belongings.

"Hey Chase, need any help?"

The Roidmude shook his head as he began to walk inside. "This is the last box but thank you for the offer Shinnosuke."

"Um…wait Chase. Can I talk to you?"

Chase looked at Shinnosuke and nodded and sat the box down just inside the door. He joined the cop on the porch swing. "Is everything okay?"

Shinnosuke sighed. "Yeah… I just… It's been a weird and long day. A week…shoot… this entire five months. I just never expected that Krim could have possibly been corrupted this entire time. Why didn't any of us realize that could be the case? We worked with him for a year so…we should have realized that it wasn't really him…"

Chase put his hand on the cop's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it Shinnosuke. Coming from personal experience, Krim…has his moments as I'm sure you're aware. In the entire time I've known him, he never once talked about any family. He's not one to really grasp human relationships as well as one should. Even Banno…through the small bits of my memory I have retained during their testing of me, talked about his family more than Krim did."

"You've know Krim a long time, haven't you Chase?"

Chase nodded. "He was there during my initial activation, that much I remember. I don't know how much of my testing he was present for before Banno started the numbered Roidmudes and deactivated me, but the next time I saw Krim was when he reactivated me to become Proto-Drive. After that…well, you know. Although…I do wish he would have called me Chase at least more than once. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to start exploring humanity, to prove I'm capable of not being just my Roidmude number."

Shinnosuke smiled. "From what I know of Krim from knowing him, he's got to be shown or told that his method is harmful and he'll usually change his mind about something. Once we figure out how to rescue him from Banno, I'm sure if you tell him how you feel, he'll realize how badly he's treated you."

"I hope so. He's technically one of my creators, so he's sort of like a parent figure. I know we won't have the same relationship that Harley and I have in that regard, but I'd still like to know if he's proud of me for what I've accomplished."

"You've accomplished a lot Chase, even from just seeing you these past few hours. I had hoped that you and Gou would try to be friends once all the fighting was done but it's obvious that it's evolved way beyond that point. Actually…that's a bit on what I wanted to talk to you about. About your…feelings for a certain person… I know the last time we really talked was in the cafeteria…"

"Kiriko is my sister. While I was in Gou's body, both of us were assaulted by each other's memories. Any feelings of romantic love for her are gone due to the intense brotherly love Gou has for Kiriko transferring to me as well as her unknowing rejection of the confession I was going to make in her hospital room."

Shinnosuke looked at Chase confused. "Unknowing?"

The Roidmude smiled softly. "I asked her if she had any feelings for you. Her response was the exact same freakout like you had in the cafeteria. So, I decided to not confess since her heart belonged to you. It's a good thing I didn't because of the circumstances that happened. By the way, if you haven't…you should let Kiriko know how you feel about her, especially while you have the chance to be alone with her."

Shinnosuke sputtered, causing Chase to laugh. "Gou's right…you ARE hopeless… Do we have to lock you two in a room together so you can confess your feelings?"

"N…no! I'll…tell her…eventually…"

"If you don't, Gou and I WILL intervene. You don't want that to happen."

—-

Rinna walked back and forth in front of the whiteboard with the different plans everyone suggested. "Alright, due to Gou and Chase working quickly to separate Harley's computer from the tracking device, Banno wasn't able to get much data from that computer. However…there's no telling if he actually knows that they're actually here. We're going to have to be cautious about the situation when we get back to Japan to initiate our plans."

Chase pulled up blueprints on the computer he was at. "I've still got most of the plans of Krim's Driver technology still in my memory from when he explained everything to me and downloaded certain things I needed to know for the Driver to work. I'm sure if I go over these thoroughly, there might be a way to separate Krim's consciousness from Banno's. What my biggest concern is just exactly how much of Krim's systems Banno has corrupted."

Gou came up behind Chase and put his hand on Chase's shoulder. "Not to mention the fact on how far Banno's backed himself up. No doubt he's just as resilient as Krim was and has several backups. We need to single each one out and take it down and make sure he can't back himself up anywhere else before we finally destroy him for good, while also trying to rescue Krim."

Harley noticed the looks Gou and Chase were giving each other, the same looks the two got when they would mentally talk to each other. His face grew grim. "Boys…what are you up to?"

They both looked up at the professor, not saying a word. Finally Gou sighed. "This isn't a physical fight. It'll be a mental one. And the only ones that can actually enter the digital consciousnesses of Krim and Banno would be…us. I have just enough of a Roidmude body to at least transfer my mind into data. Both of us would have to enter whatever cyberspace world they're in and destroy Banno as well as protecting and saving Krim."

"Since both Gou and I have memories of both Banno and Krim, we'll be able to tell who is who and accurately separate the two. Since we'll both be in there, we'll be able to back each other up should something…"

"NO!" Kiriko stood up, interrupting Chase and walked over to the two, quickly slapping them. "Neither of you will be doing that! It's far too dangerous! What if Banno tries to corrupt either of you? What if that's been his plan all along? He's trying to get you back and you two actually WANT to fall into his hands like that!?"

Gou looked at his sister sadly as she cradled her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Nee-chan…it's the only way that will destroy him for good that won't cause damage to Krim. We don't want to do it either, but…Chase and I are tired of hiding. It's been a long five months and I just want us to all be a family again. If you were in our position, I know you'd do the exact same thing. Please…let us do this."

Kiriko looked at Gou and then at Chase. "Promise me. Both of you promise me right now that if something goes wrong, you get out as soon as possible. I don't want anything to happen to you two."

Chase smiled softly at Kiriko. "Don't worry, we've been talking a few things over with Rinna. We won't be going in there unprepared. There's a way we may be able to enter in our Rider forms for an extra layer of protection."

Rinna wrote a rough guideline of the plan on the whiteboard. "And I'll be working behind the scenes on my computer in Japan to monitor everything. I'll have to create a similar setup for your computers Professor Harley, so you'll be able to help should things start getting a bit heated for them. Anyway, we won't be able to start this until after we get back and we've still got a day left before we leave, so I suggest that we all spend the last day doing something fun."

Kiriko looked at everybody before landing her eyes on Gou. "Actually…I have a suggestion. It may be a few weeks late…but Gou and I had been planning his twentieth birthday for years. We'll have to do a bit of tweaking to our plan, but I'd like to celebrate your birthday. As for you Chase, I need to make up for lost birthday time as well. So how about it?"

Harley clapped his hands. "Wonderful idea Kiriko! We'll have to go shopping for supplies, but I think we can whip up a good celebration for our boys!"