Night. Z: Dun even ge' me started. :( Ye peeps shoul' be glad Ah'm still workin' on this instead of droppin' it. [mumbles] Ah hate this job!!
------------------------------------
Red: (Chibi-chan: "Well… I doubt you know what happens when Nightmare finds something cute." Night. Z: "--;;" [CLANG] Chibi-chan: "OW!!!" Night. Z: Ah'm not all tha different from Zeal, eh?)
TJ and Rikumon: Oo?? How the bloody hell did he do tha???
You know who: No sweat. Chocolate? [hands out chocolate] These've healin' capacities.
Trinity: [shrugs] Big deal. 'n' Ah'd rather not remember the times Ah'd been lied too. [holds up hands] Had Ah been able ta count 'em on these two, Ah woul've told ya.
Serenade DS: [gape] ……………
Pyra Akaidra: [chuckle] Lita, eh? Arrite.
Sol Sabre: [blushes] Um… uh… (D. Zero: "Did Sol just make Nightmare blush?!?!" D. X: "[gaping]" RCM: "…Someone punch me, I must be having a nightmare!!" Night. Z: "[still blushing] THA'S NOT FUNNY, MAGE!!" RCM: "[grins cockily]")
Navi-Zero: Did ya get the mail Ah sent ya?
ERL: [blinks] Ye act'ally know RCM????
------------------------------------
Chapter X Part 1: Planning (For) The Intrusion
"So now what do we do??"
"We make sure they don't get their hands on the Synchro-Chips."
"What?! How do you even know about those!?!?"
"I have my ways. Anyway, we should head for the Science labs."
"How so?"
"Because I told the Officials to move them to a safer spot."
"You did?!"
"Yes."
--
Mike wiped a stray lock from his eyes. There were slight black circles forming under his eyes, but he refused to give in to the sleep his body desired so badly. Lan could easily tell Mike was about to collapse, and the others too for that matter.
"Why don't you just take it easy for now?" Lan suggested, placing a shoulder on the other boy's shoulder. "Mega and Bass could probably take care of everything."
Mike looked at the other Operator in surprise, blinking a little.
Pyra gave a small yawn, saying: "Well, I know I'm gonna get some sleep. I'm gonna need it. Maybe I'll see ya later, Mike?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure," Mike mumbled absentmindedly.
Pyra smiled and left the Center, waving over her shoulder as she headed for the subway. Mike watched her go, simply nodding at her, not bothering to wave back. Sara watched this all, then gave soft sigh. After telling Mike she was going home too, she followed the brunette to the subway. Shun also left, saying he had to re-upload Quint. Mike wasn't the least bothered. He wasn't one to say the night had turned out the way he'd hoped.
And maybe it would be better if he got some rest.
"You know… maybe you're right," he finally said to Lan, who blinked in surprise.
"Huh?!"
"But listen," Mike added, "if you're going to try to stop X, you shouldn't do it on your own. Most likely, he's not going to let this one go the same way the last mission ended. So you'd better be careful. All right?"
Lan said nothing for a moment, but then a grin spread on his face.
"Ah, don't worry about that!" the slightly smaller brunette said. "So, how're you going back anyway?"
"I'll get a cab," Mike said simply, already walking off.
"Hey! Mike!! Wait up!!" Lan shouted, running the short distance to bring him in front of the other.
"Hmm?"
"Thanks!"
"For what??"
"For helping Chaud the way you did. He might be a jerk, but he's not really all that bad. And no one deserves to die like that."
"…No problem."
--
As the cab pulled away from the Center, Mike watched as Lan waved enthusiastically until the cab had most likely left his line of sight. The brunette sighed and leaned back into the seat, resting his head on the black leather.
"Rough day?" the driver asked calmly.
"You can say that…" Mike responded quietly.
Bring-bring! Bring-bring!
Mike blinked in surprise, before he reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell-phone. After checking the small screen on the lid, he flipped it open, and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
………………
"He'll live. And stop whimpering like that."
………………
"Heheh. Sure sounds like it."
………………
"Postponed?? Why?"
………………
"All right. Thanks. Ciao."
Mike clicked the cell-phone shut and slid it back in his pocket. After that, Mike pulled out his PET, and began to write a small email to several people.
--
Lan yawned slightly as he headed for the subway himself, some time after Mike had left.
"Lan, maybe you should get some rest too," Mega said worriedly.
"Maybe… but somebody's gotta stop Zahler, right?" Lan mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.
"Yeah, but---"
Beebee-beep!! Beebee-beep!!
"Huh?? Hey! It's from Mike!!"
Lan blinked, and hurriedly opened the mail.
--
To: Lan Hikari; Pyra Akaidra; Shun Obihiro; Sara Kuki; Jinn Mito; Bass.EXE;
From: Michael Necros
Subject: -----
Night Star Motel, room 983, 2000 hours, tonight.
- Mike
--
Lan blinked in surprise. Unable to understand what was going on, he turned to his Navi instead.
"Hey Mega, do you know what this is about?" he asked the Navi.
"No clue, Lan. But we might as well check it out tonight," Mega responded.
"Alright," Lan said, then thought things over. "Maybe I can ask the others for help…"
Mega simply groaned in aggravation.
--
"Intriguing…" a brown haired male of around 30, 32 murmured, as his contracted purple irises scanned over the information given to him, one hand keeping the tip of the still bloodied Stiletto between a set of teeth. "Whoever designed this was very good with this kind of stuff."
"You're talking about Yuuichiro Hikari," Sol said calmly from his seat on one of the large crates in the room, one leg pulled up as he took apart and put together the gun he owned over and over.
The purple-eyed scientist allowed a maniacal chuckle to come from his mouth as he looked at him from the corners of his eyes.
He was a smart person, but by just looking at him, it was clear to say that he had positively lost the last of his marbles. His face always held a maniacal grin, even when in the face of death, and his irises were always contracted, while the pupils weren't even visible anymore. A lot of people wondered if that didn't obscure his vision any, but surprisingly, it didn't. Not at all. The dark black rings under his eyes spoke of multiple sleepless nights, and the pale skin indicated that he was most likely always cooped up inside somewhere.
Nevertheless, the clothes he wore were always neatly taken care off by several people who had to take care of that kind of stuff, so he still looked reasonably presentable. The labcoat hid most of it, though.
"Hikari, you say?" he questioned, the maniacal glint never leaving his eyes as his brown hair was tousled by his uneven breathing. "Wouldn't think him to be the kind to make this kind of thing…"
"Quit marveling at the data and start using it already!" Zero hissed coldly, tapping his foot in annoyance with his arms crossed over his chest.
X was still resting, as he hadn't slept in quite some time. A lot of things were to blame for that, but Zero had no intentions of reliving them all. But he was determined to have the DA ready when his Operator awoke.
"Arrite, arrite!" the man said, clicking the Stiletto shut and placing it in the sheath on his thigh.
He gave it an almost affectionate pat, before he allowed his fingers to fly over the keyboard like the crazy lunatic he was.
Sol said nothing as he watched the display, his hands blindly dismantling his gun, before putting it back together and starting all over again. It was just something to keep his mind occupied. He owned a gun ever since his child-days in Greece, as no place was safe anymore nowadays. Back then, it had only been for self-preservation, a.k.a. self-protection.
Now though…
He clicked the barrel on the gun again and gave the metal object one glance, as if it taunted him somehow. He had never aimed it at someone with the intention to kill. And that had been exactly what X had done last night.
Without a hint of hesitation, he'd raised the gun and fired with utmost precision. Determined to make it a slow death, he'd deliberately avoided piercing any organs. Sol was left to wonder what could've made X do such a thing. He knew X would expect him to do the same, but he wasn't all too sure if he'd be able to if he was forced to draw his gun to kill. To defend was one thing, but to kill…
He was roused from his thoughts when maniacal laughter rang out through the room. And that could only mean one thing;
Things were going exactly as they had planned.
--
"Chaud is in a hospital?!!?" Mayl demanded in shock, her eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets.
Dex, Yai and Tohru were equally surprised at the news, unable to comprehend why and how.
"How did that happen?! What'd he do!?" Yai finally asked, feeling fear bottle up in her small body.
Fear for the stoic boy that had become part of their gang so long ago.
"We interfered with Zahler, that's what we did," Lan said, his hands in his pockets as he did.
Anyone who watched would've thought it to be a casual gesture, but Lan did it to stop his hands from shaking so badly. Now that he had little else to occupy his mind, he was really beginning to get worried. He was actually hoping against hope to get an email that would tell him to stay out of it from now on. It wouldn't matter to him, as long as his friend survived.
"Zahler??" Dex questioned, quite confused.
"It's a new Net-Crime organization," Lan explained as calmly as he could. "And they don't play fair."
Tohru seemed seriously shaken, and he seemed ready to cry. Though it wasn't sure why. Or maybe it was.
The gang had always accepted Chaud, but had never tried to get him to open up, or to really join them. But now that he was about to be taken away from them, they seemed to realize how much of a friend the whitehead really was.
Beebee-beep!! Beebee-beep!!
Lan blinked and pulled out his PET.
"Lan! It's from Shine!!" Mega exclaimed.
"What?! What are you waiting for then?! Open it!!"
Mega opened it, but blinked in surprise when he read it.
"It's in Japanese! Just a sec, I'll translate it."
Mega quietly worked on the message for a few seconds.
"Done!!"
--
To: Lan Hikari
From: Shine Goldlane
Subject: He's alright
Hi Lan-kun. Sorry I'm writing this in Japanese, but you never know if Zahler can get a hold of our messages now. They're most likely getting suspicious. But anyway, Chaud's going to be alright. He's still unconscious, but the doctors said he's stabilized now. He won't let go of his PET though. I'm doing the best I can to reboot ProtoMan without him waking up, and so far, I'm doing fine. I'm sure he'll be up and about before you know it. Which means I need to keep my eyes peeled. Just in case he does something stupid.
Be careful, Lan-kun. You never know when Zahler's going to strike again.
- Shine
--
Mega had read it aloud, so the entire group breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.
"Whew… well, that's a relief…" Tohru finally said, holding a hand to his chest. "I was seriously afraid he wouldn't make it."
Lan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "I'm surprised too. But I'm still glad he's alright. So, how 'bout we go visit him later on?"
"Good idea!!" Mayl exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.
"We should get him a few gifts as well! Poor guy probably won't get any from "dear old dad"," Yai added, and everyone shuddered, thinking of the last time they met Chaud's father.
Lan finally shook it off and said: "Right, let's find him something then! Last one at Higsby's a rotten egg!!" and he was off, with his friends hot on his heels.
*Dream Sequence*
"Delta Shira!! Slot in!!"
"Long Sword!! Slot in!!"
--
As both swordfighters' swords crashed against each other, both Navis were sporting almost playful grins as their small sparring-session was becoming more and more hectic as the seconds ticked by. The thin saber crashed against the long purple blade of his opponent, who stepped back to avoid a collision, before returning with twice as much space.
Both Operators were standing on the edge of the arena, each with a folder chucked full with powerful chips lying open in front of them. Most of the chips were all swords, but there were also several cannons and bombs, though they were pushed aside to allow better access to the swords.
Both of them were merely kids below ten years of age, and already, they handled their custom-Navis as if they had been battling ever since they left their mothers. Both Navis had been customized from a standard-Navi, and they had modified them on their own, without the help of their parents.
The eldest Operator gave the younger one a cool little smirk, pure blue eyes sparking with a challenge as he shouted over the sounds of battle: "You're going down, Blaze!! It's over!!"
The younger one chuckled, closing his eyes a softly, before looking up with a same type of smirk on his face, saying: "Oh, this is far from over, Thimoto!"
--
"Proto-Sword!! Activate!!"
"Z-Saber!! Activate!!"
--
Zero screamed as he lunged out at the red-armored Navi. Proto ducked under the blow, before lashing out with his own sword. The blonde smirked, blood red eyes sparking with excitement. Proto's eyes flashed with the same type of excitement behind his shades, making it seem invisible, but it was obviously there.
"You should really give up, Proto! You're bound to lose anyway!!"
"Oh contraire, mon ami. I believe it's the other way around!!"
Both Navis screamed as they lunged forward yet again, before their swords crashed and shrouded everything in a blinding light.
*End dream sequence*
A set of piercing blue orbs snapped open as the dream came to an end, and his breathing had become erratic. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and he was shaking all over. Weakly, he called out the name of his friend, but it was no use. His voice just didn't desire to cooperate, and he simply lay there, shaking all over as he fisted his hands in the sheets.
The soft pitter-patter of feet came into the room, even though there was no real way to tell. To anyone else, it would've been inaudible, but to him, it was as clear as day. His right hand tightened its hold, as the one person he hadn't wanted to see was now standing there, glaring him down.
"Father…"
--
With a groan, the young man tossed as sleep began to escape him, making him slowly wake up. Once it had escaped completely, he gave a sigh of displeasure and sat up, popping his aching muscles a little. His eyebrows furrowed when he recalled his dream.
"Damn… I hate it when that happens."
"Master X."
X looked up in surprise to see the holographic image of Axl.
"Axl," X greeted as he stood up, not in the least bothered that he'd slept with his clothes on.
"Master X, Gate has managed to crack the DA's code. The DA is now free to use whenever we please," Axl said.
The holographic version of Axl was at least a good foot shorter than X was, but Axl wasn't the least bit bothered with it.
X nodded and said: "Very well. But we must plan this better than last time. We can't afford yet another failure on our list."
"But Master X, we did not fail our last mission," Axl corrected, earning him a nasty glare from the brunette. "I-I apologize, Master X. That was rude."
"Quite. Now, let's see what Gate's done this time."
--
The young girl coughed a little, before taking a quick swig of her water. She'd left the room for a moment to get some water. She'd started coughing some time ago, for no good reason, and she needed something to drink to make it go away.
"You're not catching a cold, are you?" Muramasa asked, one eyebrow raised curiously.
"I don't think so," Shine said to her PET, which was still in its holster on her belt. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask. What's up with Bass? Why is he helping us?"
Muramasa shrugged, then, realizing her Operator couldn't see, said: "Rightfully, I don't know. But it's not like I asked him to come to us for help."
Shine nodded, and was about to lift her cup again, when she noticed someone heading toward the exit of the building. Someone who was very familiar. But instead of heading out, he went to the information booth.
"Muramasa," Shine said, not liking where this was going.
"I know. I'm on it."
Muramasa hurriedly worked with the PET as Shine pulled it out pretended to work with it, while keeping it aimed at the tall man near the counter.
"I'm sorry sir, but we can't allow him to leave just yet. He needs---"
"He needs nothing! He's the best employee I have and he has a job to do! Now!"
"Maybe he does sir, but I doubt he's ready for---"
"Just shut up and release him!!"
Shine, for once in her life, displayed her anger on her face, her eyebrows furrowing and arching downward to form a frown similar to Muramasa's. Deciding she'd heard enough, she placed her PET away, removed the frown from her face and quickly headed for Chaud's room.
--
Gate's fingers flew back and forth across the keyboard, typing in a little around 50 commands within 5 minutes, his deep purple eyes glittering with insanity and crazed excitement. The only other female in the room was tapping her foot impatiently against the floor as her arms were crossed over her chest.
"Are ya finished?" she asked, her eyes sliding to the edges of her eyes to lightly glance over her shoulder.
"Almost," Sol said calmly, picking up a small ribbon and tying it around the small braid he'd fixed her. "Yep, I'm done."
"Thanks," Ananda said plainly.
"Right! That oughta do it!!" Gate finally exclaimed, tapping in the final button on his keyboard.
The second he did, the entire room almost exploded in a flash of light. Everyone in the room yelped in surprise as they shielded their eyes from the lights.
"What the fuck?!" X cried out in shock as he tried to see what was happening, but unable to see a thing.
--
"So how'd you get him out of here, anyway?" Lan asked curiously.
Shine simply offered a smile and said: "Lan, you don't want to know, trust me."
Chaud chuckled a little at that.
"Better believe her," he said calmly. "You seriously do not want to know what she said to him."
Mayl smiled and look sideways to Shine.
"Well it's about time someone did something about that man! Gave me the shivers!" she said, still smiling.
Shine gladly returned the smile. Mayl and her had easily become good friends, as they were some of the few girls in the group. And besides, there were several things that just weren't meant for boys' ears. Yai had also joined the small 'club' after that.
"But I gotta tell you, he sure looked angry with me when he left!" Shine said simply, and everyone in the room had to laugh about the small joke.
That was so typically Shine for you! Always good at cheering people up.
At the moment, the group just didn't want to worry about anything. Not about Zahler, not about what they would do with the DA, or any of that crap. They just wanted to enjoy this small time of peace while it still lasted. It probably wouldn't last, but they weren't about to just throw it to waste.
So they chatted about this and that, as all teenagers are used to doing, and for once, Chaud actually joined in on the idle chatter, for once, not caring about what his father would think. Because they had come for him, hadn't they? And who was he to throw that away?
--
"Now, if we had to hide those things, where would we stash them?" X questioned as the small group of people was crowded around a map of the Science Labs.
"Most likely somewhere no one would think of," Sol said on his account. "But the question is, where would that be?"
"There're a lot o' places ta hide them chips," Ananda added. "But it's got ta be hard ta find, 'n' at the same time, so damn obvious that ye gotta hit yerself in the head ta miss it."
X nodded in understanding. It made sense. Those scientists may be forgetful sometimes, but they weren't stupid. Nor were the Officials for that matter.
So, they had to plan it perfectly to get this mission done flawlessly. He studied the map carefully, before his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Gate, what do you make of this?" he asked, pointing.
The purple-eyed scientist peeked at the map with a look of surprise, but still with that insane gleam in his eyes.
"Hmmm… looks to be some sort of test area. I don't know…"
Something suddenly clicked with Sol.
"That kid actually showed the girl how to use Cross-Fusion in a testing-area. The chips were right there on the desk in plain sight."
X looked up with a cocked eyebrow.
"You're joking, right?"
"No, sir."
X rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue slightly in annoyance.
"They're making this too easy on us."
--
"970… 971… 972… 973… 974… Crap, lot of rooms here!" Lan mumbled, walking down the long hallway.
Once the visiting hours at the hospital had ended, Lan had decided to head for the room Mike had told him to come to. He was still 15 minutes early, but it didn't really matter. At least he was on time this time.
"981… 982… Ah! Here we are!!"
Lan calmly knocked on the door, and waited for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping a foot against the floor. As he waited, his mind wandered to their current situation.
X could've easily killed Chaud out there, and hadn't it been for Mike, he most likely wouldn't have made it out of that situation. And Lan was positive that this wasn't the end of what X had in store. If X was really after the Synchro-Chips, and he was willing to kill those standing in his way, then things were really starting to get out of hand.
"You're early," a familiar voice said, making Lan look up in surprise.
"Oh, hey Mike," Lan said with a smile.
The other brunette was leaning against the doorframe, and he seemed to be well rested now. At least better than when he'd climbed in that cab.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure. Come on," Mike said, walking back into the room.
Lan followed closely behind, and closed the door behind himself. As he looked around, he was a little surprised to find the place to be very tidy.
"I don't have too much time to do anything in my room nowadays," Mike said, as if reading his thoughts, picking up an arena he apparently owned. "My job takes up too much time."
Lan nodded softly, then asked: "So you don't go out much?"
"Never said that, did I?" Mike retorted, placing the arena on the coffee table. "With this weather though, I really get out. Whenever I'm confined to my room because of the weather, I'm trying to figure out as much as I can about X. Because I have a suspicious feeling that I've heard the name 'Thimoto' somewhere before."
"Oh? Where?"
"Well, that's the point. I can't remember. It's gotta be somewhere in the back of my skull, but I can't relocate it."
"Ah."
Just then, a calm knock sounded, coming from the door, and Mike frowned a little. He turned to look at the clock hanging over the kitchen-counter. It read 7:54. Lan looked at the door in equal suspicion. Lan had been early because he didn't want to be late. But what reason did the others have to be early?
None.
Mike walked over to the door, but in such way, that his feet made no sound as he practically slithered his way to the door. Ever so carefully, he looked through the small peephole, frowning slightly, before he seemed to relax slightly.
"Well, you're not the only one who's early."
--
"Plug in!! MegaMan.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"Plug in!! Razor.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"Plug in!! Ragnarok.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"Plug in!! Sonica.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"Plug in!! Quint.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"Plug in!! Tsuchi.EXE!! Transmission!!"
"…Plug in."
--
"So Razor, wha's this all 'bout?" Sonica asked the green-armored Navi.
All Navis sat in a room that seemed almost identical to the room Mike and the Operators were in, and they were all seated around the 'coffee table'.
Yes, even Bass.
Razor sat on the couch, cross-legged and his hands resting on his knees. He said nothing for a while, and just looked around the six other Navis for a moment.
Finally though, Razor gave a soft sigh and opened his mouth.
"Mike and I have been informed that the attack on the Science Labs has been postponed. The reason for this is because Zahler's Navis were injured from the previous ransacking, as you all probably remember."
A round of nods followed the statement.
"The attack will begin tomorrow at 10:00 AM. By the looks of it, they're no longer afraid of being discovered. Either that, or they aren't going to use the same Navis they used for the raid."
A couple of confused glances were exchanged between the group, but Bass didn't seem surprised.
"…Then they'll probably use Red Alert."
Mega blinked in surprise, then asked: "Beg your pardon?"
"Red Alert…" Razor murmured. "Wait… weren't those the Navis that…"
"DON'T even remind me!!" Bass hissed, making Razor shut his yap.
"Sorry. Anyway," Razor said, setting his feet back onto the ground, "if they really are going to use Red Alert, and the DA, then we're in deep shit. Bass," he said, turning to the black- and gold-armored Navi, "do you think you'll be able to jack in the DA when it's used?"
Bass frowned ever so slightly, then gave a short nod.
"Alright. Mega," Razor then turned to the Blue Bomber, "do you think you and Lan will be able to use Cross-Fusion when the time comes knocking?"
"Of course!! No problem!!" Mega said, a confident look on his face.
"Right, that leaves the rest of us," Razor gestured for the other Navis, "Mega, do you think it's possible for us to use Cross-Fusion as well?"
Mega frowned a little, then gave a small shrug and said: "I really don't know. But of course, it's worth a try. But I can't promise anything."
Razor nodded.
"I understand. We can only hope for the best from here on."
--
"The Synchro-Chips are located… right… here!" the youngest of the figures said, pointing out a spot on the map.
"Right there?" X asked, just to be sure. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, My Lord. I'm positive. And if you do not believe me…"
The figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a wondrous blue chip, with a familiar red emblem with a black line running through it and a light green gem on it.
"This is a Synchro-Chip?" X asked curiously, accepting the chip from the figure.
"Yes, My Lord."
X frowned at the small chip, then flipped it into the air, before snatching it with a calm arc of his arm.
"Right then. You know the plan. All of you."
The group of Navis now standing in the room nodded simply.
X chuckled coldly.
--
Tomorrow, Blaze… Tomorrow you'll learn the might of my fury…
--
D. Zero: Wait… since when is Gate one of the bad-guys??
Night. Z: Didn't ya eva play MMX6??
D. Zero: Not that I recall. Why?
RCM: Gate was the bad guy in that one. Or actually, he was being manipulated by (the original) Zero's DNA, which made him go psycho.
D. X: Ah, no wonder he's so insane in this story.
Night. Z (???): Took you long enough to figure it out……… What the fuck?!?! [looks down at armor in surprise]
Everyone: Oo?!
Z: Well… that surely didn't last long.
RCM: That's a first. Cases of self-healing for Nightmare-Virus are very rare.
Z: Well, there's a first time for everything, right?
RCM: I guess.
Z: BTW, do you have those bios?
RCM: Bios?? …… OH!! Yeah, don't worry. I'll get to it as soon as I can.
Z: Thanks.