After I learned a bit more about ZX Advent, I had a sudden idea that will incorporate some characters from Advent to this story, kind of like the history that leads to Advent except I twisted it into my own version.
I think I answered all your reviews by email and sorry I couldn't post this yesterday, I already put it in EXEHQ but I was working on something else and forgot about fanfiction-dot-net for a while. Here's the new chapter:
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-----------POV Shift: Normal-----------
Outside Accarat
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, let me get this straight. You're saying that you don't know where you are and you're kidnapped?" Divah rubs his temples impatiently while standing in the rain.
"Kidnapped doesn't exactly describe my situation, but that would be the best word to use for now." The voice on the other hand replies and Divah walks around in the rain impatiently.
If I try to find cover, then I might lose the signal. This may just prove to the bosses that I'm a competent officer and then I'll finally be put on more important missions than this. Still, this isn't the first time I got excited over what seemed to be something big only to have it turn out to be a prank call. Divah weighs his choices before speaking again. "Listen, kid, a part of your story really doesn't make sense to me. I have more important things to do then pursuing prank calls."
"It's not a prank call, honest!" The other voice pleads desperately. Divah listens carefully for any snickers or other signs of mischief.
Well, I'm tired of hearing everyone talk about how I'm a spoiled brat and won't amount to anything. I have to at least put some effort into this, prank call or not. "Alright, just tell me your name and try to describe your surroundings for me."
"Sure, my name's Vent. As for my surroundings, there are no windows in sight but I did manage to go outside once. There were only a few pine trees and grass covered the surrounding area, but other than that, it all seemed a bit bare."
"Can you be a bit more specific than that, kid?" Divah coughs as the rain soaks him even more. "It's raining outside right now, so you better hurry up."
"Sorry, that's all I know." Vent replied sheepishly. "Isn't there some way that you can track the signal down and find my location?"
"I'm not exactly good with technology and I have to ask our leaders. As much as I hate to say this, I'm not exactly one of the top officers at IRPD." Divah's voice is becoming hoarser as he continues to speak in the rain. That's the understatement of the century.
"Look can you just try your best for me, please?" Vent's voice is cautious and desperate and footsteps could be heard in the background. "Alright, I really have to go now, thanks." The sound of the phone falling is heard in the background and Vent desperately slaps the cell phone to try and turn it off.
Well, I guess I have no other choice. I doubt anyone would go this far just to pull off a prank call, but his story seemed very vague and messed up. Kids these days… I don't remember being like this when I was his age. I am still considered young in IRPD, of course. Divah walks toward the IRPD building while trying to rehearse what he would say to his boss in his head.
-----------POV Shift: Forte-----------
Forte's Home
"I'll be back tomorrow when the rain lets up a bit." Right after she finished changing back into dry clothes, she asked if I had any communications device so she could contact the Guardians again. "Oh, I'm staying with a friend right now. No. Alright, thanks for taking care of things. Bye."
Now she hangs up. That's going to cost me a bit when my bill comes. Why do people spend so long on the phone? I could summarize everything important she just said during her call in three simple sentences, but nooooo, she has to keep beating around the bush and talking about completely unrelated things.
I had to lie down next to her on the couch as she keeps chattering. I won't be caught dead saying this, but I think Prairie's right about the junk on my floor being a health hazard. I could have sworn that the pile grew bigger in the ten minutes that she's been talking. Wait, something heavy is on top of me! Wait, it's a body and it's wearing pink…
"What are you trying to do!?" She moves back to her area of the couch and I let my chest slowly rise and fall. She's a lot heavier than she looks, probably because she's made out of metal.
"Sorry, I needed to put the..." She waves her hands as she tries to find the right words.
"Phone."
"Right, that. I needed to put the phone away and I told you to move out of the way. I thought you heard."
"Well, the fact that I didn't move should have told you that I didn't. It was unnecessary to climb on top of me, you know? I could have died under your weight." I had to spend ten minutes to teach her how to use the phone and then another ten minutes to find out if there was a way to contact Ciel with it. How can she not know how to use a phone if there is one in the Guardian headquarters and she's the commander?
Wait, she's quiet. She looks kind of mad. Was it something I said? Did I just say all my thoughts out loud and now she's mad and thinks that I think that she's dense for not knowing how to use a phone? Well, it's harder to trace the signals on phones since they aren't common these days and there are a lot of illegal things going on here.
"I'll have you know that I watched my weight carefully and I'm made up of a very light alloy, lighter than most humans." Well, she wasn't that heavy when I carried her earlier. Why wasn't I able to push her away earlier? It felt like my whole body was paralyzed.
"Why do you bother watching your figure so much? I'm sure no one will notice anything." She seems madder now, what did I say wrong this time? Are all females this touchy about their appearance or what? I have to say something to save myself. She's reaching for a nearby object… "Umm… what I meant to say was that you look perfect to me and you shouldn't worry about it too much."
Did that sound better? The intent to kill in Prairie's eyes disappeared and she lied down on the arm of the couch again opposite from me. Watching those romance videos that came with this room wasn't such a bad idea after all. "I'm tired, where's the bedroom?"
"It's right over there." I point it out to her. Wait, she's walking towards my room. She can't do that! It's the only room that I bother actually keeping clean! "Hey, can't you sleep on the couch?"
"I don't feel safe sleeping piles of machinery. What if there's something dangerous there? Can't you act the part of a proper polite host and say: 'Go ahead and use my room, Prairie, it's the least that I can do after inviting you to an unkempt room'?"
"My room is not unkempt. If you think this is bad, then you should go to floor four, but I highly suggest that if you value your current view on life that you don't. What kind of guest are you anyways? I waste my precious time to help you make your call and now you're trying to take over my room?"
"Precious time?" She replies. Well, I do consider lying down on the couch doing nothing to be very relaxing and stress relieving. "You were looking at flies. You should be glad that I saved you from boredom. Why are you afraid of sleeping on the couch?"
Afraid!? Who does she think she's talking to? Alright, that's it. "Fine! I'll sleep here. Go ahead and sleep in my room. I'll show you who's afraid." Wait, I think I fell right into her trap. Damn it! Females are indeed very dangerous and cunning. I'll have to watch out from now on. That's why Rockman kept letting Roll boss him around, I bet she was blackmailing him.
"Do you have any extra blankets?" It's getting pretty cold here. Am I shivering? Damn, I would wear my armor, but that would leave me in a very awkward position here. I'll just have to bury myself into the couch.
"I don't need a blanket." Alright, I'll just have to think distracting thoughts. Explosions, yeah, that's hot. Zero in a bathing suit… Where did that come from!?!? Get it out! Get it out! Bad mental image…
"Are you okay? You're shaking."
"I'M FINE!" That came out a bit snappier than I intended, but who wouldn't be after having a mental image of what I just had?
"Fine! I never said I was worried about you!" She slams the door to my room closed. Should I apologize? Nah, I have nothing to be sorry about, right? I didn't do anything wrong, and if I did, which I'm sure I didn't, it's not my fault whatsoever.
My left leg's stuck in the couch. Damn it! This is going to be a very long night…
-----------POV Shift: Normal-----------
Robot Master Base
"I have returned. Everything's been set up in Innerpeace, is everything ready in the other places?" Shademan teleports back into base to find Plantman in the hall.
"Everything should be in position in a few days." Plantman replies to Shademan. "I'm going to go and check on my garden now. Tell me if anything interesting happens."
Shadowman appears from the walls after Plantman leaves. "It seems that Vent managed to call the Inner Regional Police Department of Innerpeace with a cell phone that he's been carrying."
"The IRPD? Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's only a matter of time before Innerpeace falls before us soon followed by the rest of the world." Shademan walks towards his room. "How has he been progressing?"
"His skills have increased substantially since he first began. I had Freezeman and Plantman check his copy of the biometals and it seems that they have a flaw. My estimation is that he has one more week before they stop functionin. Should I tell him?"
"One week? Well, telling him won't change anything but go ahead if you wish." Shademan heads for his room. To make sure that everything will go according to plan when the time comes, I'll have to run a trial first. Which part of Innerpeace should I choose to unleash our plan at for the trial?
A map of Innerpeace appears in front of Shademan and the vampiric Robot Master points from one location to the other while weighing his choices.
-----------POV Shift: Vent-----------
Am I getting weaker? Last time I used the biometals, I couldn't hold the transformation for long. Maybe I shouldn't have handed them over to the Robot Masters to check on it, they might try to sabotage it or something. Still, so far, they don't seem that bad and I have a feeling something's wrong with my biometals.
I don't know how far this place is from Innerpeace, so I have no idea when that IRPD officer will arrive here. I just hope that the reinforcements will be enough to help me get out of here and save Aile. I feel kind of guilty doing this since the Robot Master's haven't exactly done anything wrong yet, but something tells me it won't stay that way for long.
"Hey, boy, we just finished analyzing your biometals." Huh who said that? I don't see anyone here. A shadow comes out of the floor and a ninja appears. He has to stop doing that. "Here."
I catch the Model X and P but unfortunately, I only have two hands, so the other three biometals are rolling on the floor right now. After pocketing Model P and X I grab the other biometals. "Can't you be more careful with those? Did you find out what's wrong with it?"
"It seems that your biometals are imperfect copies, including O and Z. They're missing something and because of that the biometals are getting more difficult to function properly. My guess is that you have one full week before it stops working altogether."
One week!? "I need more time than that to save Aile!" Out of the fourteen biometals I had to pick the copies. Where did my streak of unluckiness come from?
"Do you think that having the biometals will automatically make you invincible? Even if you were twice as powerful as you are now, you'd still die in seconds after rushing into Weil's base."
So even after all of that, I'm still nowhere near strong enough to save Aile? "If that's true, then what's the point of everything I've been doing up until now?" Have I been wasting my time and effort while Aile's in trouble?
"It hasn't been in vain. You just need to find another way to save your friend than rushing in there and picking fights that you have no chance of winning. Sometimes, it is wiser to tread softly. Your biometals have a lot of uses outside combat."
I guess that makes a bit of sense. Wait, where did Shadowman go? I look around the room for the ninja, but he's already gone. If I could do that as well, rescuing Aile would be a lot easier. Wait, I have Model P! I see now, I'll have to fully utilize all my biometals in order to have any chance of saving Aile and avoiding fights. Just wait a bit longer, I'll save you soon.
-----------POV Shift: Normal-----------
IRPD
"You're back, Divah. Tell me, how has your investigation gone?" A towering figure dressed in rich white robes with spiky crimson hair and an equally red beard greets Divah as the officer enters his office.
"A Guardian is looking into it right now and I've got a call on my cell phone from another source. This could be something big. I was wondering if…" Divah pauses as he tries to find the right words to ask for a favor from his boss. "You could help me locate the signal and tell me where the call came from."
"This could be another prank call, Divah. Are you sure that you want to pursue this case?" The red haired man questions Divah while calmly stroking his beard.
"I want to be able to prove to you and the others that I can take care of this. I'm tired of running around Innerpeace and dealing with cases of strange activities." Dviah kneels down and bows his head. "Please, I have to pursue this."
"The truth is, inner conflicts can sometimes be far more dangerous than outer conflicts. Your father was killed during an investigation of strange activities in Innerpeace and he was an ace officer." The man stops stroking his beard and looks at Divah. "However, if you really want to pursue this then I see no reason to stop you. This could get dangerous so take Maxwell with you."
"Maxwell? It's just a machine! I don't need it with me." Divah stands and announces venomously. The other occupant of the room just chuckles at the hotheaded officer's reaction.
"Your mother created that machine to aid your father as an officer. What do you think she would say if she was still alive and heard you right now?" Divah backs up a bit at the cold-mannered response from his boss and his legs begin to shake.
"Maxwell wasn't able to save my father! What makes you think that it would be able to protect me now!?"
"Silent, Divah. If you continue to let your emotions get in the way, then I may be forced to cut you off from IRPD for good. It's either you take Maxwell with you or you don't go at all." Divah freezes and thinks for a few seconds before his lips move again.
"Alright, I'll take the stupid machine with me. Don't expect me to like it though."
"Excellent. I'll get my associates to trace the signal from your call and then you can be on your way."
"That won't be necessary, Thomas." Both heads turn towards the source of the new voice. A tall figure wearing robes similar to the ones that Thomas is wearing stands at the doorway. He has long light blue hair and doesn't look as and looks more serene and younger than his associate. "I've already listened to your call and tracked down the co-ordinates. Maxwell is waiting outside the room so you can leave whenever you're prepared, Divah."
"Thank you, Master Albert." Divah bows to both Thomas and Albert before leaving the room. After the officer leaves, the red haired leader of IRPD turns to Albert.
"Did you attach the program to Maxwell?"
"Once it gets in range, we'll have solved the Robot Master problem once and for all. It's just too bad that a few innocents will be killed in the process, but the need of the many outweighs the need of the few." Albert opens the door and prepares to leave. "Well, see you, Thomas. I'm expecting a guest tomorrow morning."
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And that, my dear readers, is what the Three Wisemen were before Legion was formed. For the next few chapters, you'll learn more about Divah and Maxwell while the plot continues to move forward.
Remember to R&R!