Crystal Palace
It had been a wild day. In the past twenty-four hours, Rini and Serena had been reunited and returned to Crystal Tokyo, where the boys, sleep deprived and beaten, fell into deep sleeps. Sammy had been picked up and brought to the palace, though somewhat reluctantly. They awoke to find that Canute had vanished, leaving a small note:
Guys,
It's been great meeting up with you, but I can't stick around right now. Don't worry, cause if you ever really need me, I'll stop by. I know you can stop Demitri and purify the Battle Netwarriors. The sad part is, though, that there are a lot of places that may be worse off than… just focus on Demitri.
Your friend and teammate,
Canute Summers
After they realized that it was time to go after Demitri, despite worry over Canute's little rant, they each began their goodbyes.
Ash
The teen walked through the hallways of the palace and looked around. He smiled when he approached the large hole in the floor, the place where he had pile driven Gary. He backed up a few feet and ran forward, jumping over the gap. He landed on the edge and tried to pinwheel forward, but he fell back. "Oh, crap!"
Fortunately, a hand reached out and pulled him back. He found that his savior was Rei. "Thanks." he chuckled out.
"No problem. A bit of an apology for the attack yesterday."
"Hey, I deserved it. I hit you before that, so we were even. I guess I owe you one now."
"I also wanted to thank you for helping save the Queen. We had no idea that you were on our side. We were just worried about Sammy."
"He can be a little bit of a handful, but we like him. Besides, I can't really agree with the same side stuff, really." Ash laughed again, looking out a nearby window. "I never thought this could happen to me, but I guess that's what they all say."
"I know what you mean." Rei replied. "It can be weird at first, but you get used to it eventually."
"I guess so." Ash sighed, looking to Rei. "It's not always easy, though, is it? Having to be the hero?"
"It's a lot easier with friends." Rei now looked to him. Mesmerized by each other, it only seemed natural to kiss. And it wasn't as wimpy as the one Lan and Rini had shared. Though it was enough to pull a sigh out of Molly, who turned and walked away from the scene, sad and unnoticed.
Tracey
A smile was on the green haired teen's face as he walked towards the North Wing. All of his life he had wanted to have a real adventure, not to just stay cooped up in the lab, and now he was. Best of all, his best friend, Ash, was there. The way things were going, he now had best friends.
He reached his destination, Setsuna's room. He knocked on the door and stepped in. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had taken. Tracey blushed a little, not used to being alone with a girl, and said, "I brought back your staff. Sorry we took it so brutally, we just felt you wouldn't listen to reason. We can use the teleport pad in The House, so we thought you might want this back."
"Thank you." she took it from his hands and laid it down on her bed. The girl smiled at him.
"No problem." Tracey croaked, feeling the blush come to his face. This was not the adventure he had been looking for.
"Look, give me a second to get dressed." Setsuna asked, retreating into her closet. Tracey couldn't take it. He lost his cool and left the room.
Lan and Chaud
The duo had been apologizing for the better part of the day, for beating up the royal guard, lying about their identities, and assaulting the Sailor Senshi. The two were now sitting in the garden, remembering working there a little while ago. Lan laughed. "Can you believe we're now the heroes?"
"We were heroes back home."
"Yeah, but that was our cyberspace counterparts. Here, we're the ones who fight the evil forces. It's pretty cool. We've even made some new friends. This new life is both a curse and a gift."
Chaud smiled. "You're right. It is weird, being part of a team, but so is everything else. I do have a bit of a personal question. Do you like her? Rini, I mean."
"I don't know." Lan replied, blushing. "She is cute and we're about the same age. Maybe."
"You sure seemed to enjoy sucking face last night."
"Dang it, Chaud!" Lan shouted, his friend just laughing.
Sammy
"Oh, son, we missed you so much!" Mrs. Usagi cried, hugging her son close. His parents had been relocated to a wing inside the castle that gave them easy access to the town. "We thought we would never see you again."
"Uh, honey," Sammy's father began. "I think you're suffocating him." she let him go and the boy took in a deep breath. "How have you been, son?"
"Well…" and so, Sammy told his parents about the Battle Netwarriors, Desola, Demitri, and everything else.
"Oh my." his mother stated. "I thought that my children were destined for big things, but heroes and royalty? It makes my head spin."
"I'm proud of what you're doing, son."
"So I have your blessings?" he did. "Thanks, you guys."
There was suddenly a voice in the room, coming from Ash, who sounded more mellow than normal. "It's time to go, Sammy. Tracey figured out where Demitri and the others are. They're in a world called Vania, going after Brandon Grant. And hurry, cause Trace seems to want to get out of here fast. Ow! Don't hit me, dang it!"
Sammy turned towards his parents. They said their goodbyes and he left.
Transport Room
The groups, Battle Netwarriors and Sailor Senshi, had gathered in a large room in the palace. It had been dedicated to their trips to and from Crystal Tokyo. Sammy and his sister stood facing each other. They stood this way for a moment, not saying anything. They had come to an agreement: As long as Sammy kept them informed, she would agree with him going after Demitri, and offer whatever help the Senshi could.
Molly sighed, stepping from the group, Ash's brow raising. "Where you going, Molly?"
"I think I'll stay here and train, you guys. Until I'm strong enough to keep up with you."
"You sure?" the cap wearing teen asked, dejected, not wanting to see Molly leave.
"Yeah. You guys, go get Demitri."
Vania
Brandon stepped into his house and was met by Gary and Tony. "Why are you here?" he realized what they had and frowned.
"Because we had to get our newest member." Tony said, an evil smile on his face.
Meanwhile…
The trio appeared in the middle of a small cave. Ash, Lan, and Chaud exited and found that the sky was pitch black, no sun, but an eternal full moon. Tracey and Sammy were in the world of Cyfra, the location of one Mag Launcher, whom they had found through the House's mainframe.
"Looks like it's a good thing we got some rest." the silver haired Eugene commented. Standing near the mouth of the cave were Tony, Gary, and their new partner, Brandon.
Cyfra
"Run, run, run!" Tracey shouted out. The duo had found themselves in the center of a canyon, which was home to a large serpent. Out of nowhere, a silver haired boy with topaz eyes jumped down and punched the creature into the wall. Just as soon, he disappeared. "Was that Chaud?"
"He looked… familiar." Sammy said, staring at the empty air where the large sleeved youth had been.
"Well, who are you guys, and why are you in Serpent Canyon?" the two jumped at the mysterious voice. They turned to see a red haired boy. He had emerald green eyes and was wearing a bunch of roughed up clothes. The most distinguishing feature was the robotic third arm in his back. "The name's Mag Launcher. And you are?"
Some time later…
"Whoa." Mag said, after hearing their story. "Are you serious?"
"I know it might sound weird, but you have got to believe us." Tracey said.
Suddenly, Mag broke out in a smile. "Finally, another adventure! I knew my life of action wasn't over yet!"
"So does this mean you're on board with us?" Sammy asked excitedly.
"You'd better believe it!" his third arm gave a thumbs up.
"If you don't mind me asking," Sammy began. "What's with the robot arm?"
"This? Everybody on Cyfra has one of these things. They're called Cyframes. Some have swords, some are guns. Mine is called the Magic Hand."
"Okay. Don't think we've heard of them before."
"That's okay. Right now, we need to get to Vania. Let's go!"
Vania
Chaud and Brandon continued to stare at each other. They had been that way for a while, reading one another. Eugene was the first to say anything. "So that's it. They're holding something over your head, right?"
"Well, a teenager who can read a person's eyes. I'm surprised an off worlder would know about it. Yeah, it's true. I never planned to work with these fools, but when I found out they knew my secret, I had no choice." he gave a disgusted glance at Tony and Gary.
"You wouldn't mind telling us would you?"
Brandon smirked. "Let's just say, I'm not the most honest guy. They found evidence linking me to over thirty thefts in Vania."
"What!" Ash and Lan shouted in unison. Brandon sighed. Ash continued, "You're telling me the reason you were willing to help them is because they knew you were a thief? Why would a thief not work with the bad guys!"
"Here on Vania, thievery is common. You know, as long as you don't get caught."
"So," Chaud asked, "I'm guessing the evidence is with Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb over there?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Gary laughed, ignoring the insult. Tony smacked him in the back of the head, realizing his partner's mistake for him. Ash jumped at his rival and slashed the straps off his backpack, falling into the waiting arms of Lan. He quickly sunk into the ground, dodging a strike from Tony. He reappeared next to Brandon and handed him the sack. After a quick look inside, Brandon smiled at the sight of his spoils of war.
He turned to the two who had been blackmailing him. "Now let me show you why you shouldn't piss me off." he was about to attack, when a dark shield came up in front of him.
"Congratulations, Battle Netwarriors." Demitri stepped out of the forest . "Unlike the bumbling idiots I've found, you were able to get a new member. Or should I say, two?" they turned to the cave entrance and saw Tracey and Sammy, followed by Mag. "If I wasn't around, this team would never grow." a boy stepped out of the forest next to Demitri. He had silver hair and gray eyes. He had large blasters of some sort on each arm. "Meet Jutah Fate."
Next: Growing Evil
Jutah is from the little known Play Station game Silent Bomber. If you can, find a copy and play it.