And he updates!

Disclaimer: Read at your own discretion. Especially this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

It's about time, yeah? Heart's Illusion is taking up a lot of my time, but it's coming out great. And even though every other day is un-doable for both stories, here's an "in the meantime" update for you all. Thanks to the people who are favoriting, following, and reviewing; you guys keep me going when I'd rather play video games.

Once again, thanks to XxSanitariumxX, despite the fact that this chapter has little to do with his story.

I took a deep breath when the helmet stopped working, opening my eyes widely. I pulled it off with numb hands and leaned forward, breathing heavily. The feeling slowly began to return to my extremities, and I shook my head after a few seconds.

"Are you okay?" Krystal asked, unfazed despite the fact that she'd joined me within the simulation using her telepathy.

"Yeah," I breathed. "Just a little lightheaded."

"All simulators do that," Michael said, setting his helmet back in its place. "And out here it's only been like, what, five minutes?"

"Can't wait until Friday," I said sarcastically.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Fox and Falco said they were going to –"

"Fox? As in Fox McCloud? Son of James McCloud?" he asked.

"Yeah..." I said uncertainly, trying to stand. Krystal took the helmet and put it away.

"Like, Star Fox James McCloud?" he asked as we made our way to the front of the store again.

"Yes," I said, becoming slightly annoyed.

"I didn't know you knew those guys!"

"I don't know them," I said, assuming he meant the current Star Fox team. "And I've hardly met Fox, anyway."

"But you will, right? Friday, you said."

"Yeah. After school, they're doing a simulated arwing battle. For bragging rights, I guess."

"Can I go with you?" he asked intently.

"Why?" I asked. "To meet James? To walk around in the Great Fox? Sorry, Michael, but I'm not making this a tour of Star Fox."

"Maybe I just want to try the simulator. I beat you in videogames, didn't I?"

"That's a little different."

"And you've never used an arwing before, have you?" Krystal asked.

"No, but it's not like Ditto has, either."

I looked at Krystal knowingly, but I didn't respond. Instead, I began to look over the boards again. The differences between them weren't as simple as different paint jobs; I'd tried several in the simulator, and I actually knew exactly what kind I wanted. Finding it on the wall of boards, though, proved to be difficult.

"Wait, you are actually going to buy one?" Michael asked.

"That was the plan," I replied without turning around.

"You can't afford it. There's no way."

"That reminds me," I said, patting my pockets. I reached into my right pocket and pulled out the bag, handing it to Krystal. "So, which one can I afford?" I asked. True, I could've done it, but I wasn't confident that the Cornerian numbering system was the same as my own. I heard a small gasp and turned toward her, but she quickly closed the bag and lowered it, looking at me intently.

"Did you count the money?" she asked.

"No, I just sort of took it. How much is there?"

"You could probably buy this whole shop, give away all the merchandise, and have enough left to restock it again."

"So it's not unlimited," I said, turning to the wall again.

"It's still a lot of money."

I assumed Michael would be wondering why Krystal hadn't responded aloud, but I managed to find the one I was after before he asked any questions. In the simulator, this hadn't been the fastest, but it hit its top speed the quickest, and it could turn better than almost any other board. It could also apparently jump pretty well, and it hardly slowed down at all when going uphill. It still couldn't take me straight up a wall, but I figured Slippy could help me there.

I took the light board off of the wall with a smile, and held it at arm's length, inspecting it now that I wasn't in a simulation. It was only about two feet long, shaped like a pair of circles, but I knew it was expandable; a handle on one side, with a button to expand it, gave that away. I turned the red board over, and saw the oddly familiar blue circles on the bottom that let it hover. And just to test it out, I hit the button. It nearly doubled in length with a soft shink, and I dropped it, letting it come to a rest a foot or so off of the ground. It didn't let off a whirring sound while hovering, but I didn't mind the silence.

"Good choice," the owl said as I collapsed it with the same button. "You actually lookin' to buy?"

"Yeah. This is the one," I said, turning toward him.

"You want a carrying clip with that?" he asked, moving behind a cash register of some kind.

"A what?" I asked.

"It sticks to the clothes on your back, and holds the board when you aren't using it. It's another fifty credits, though."

"I've got a little extra cash," I said, handing him the board so he could do the transaction. "I'll take it."

"Good choice, my friend. Good choice," he said, distracted by the apparently complicated procedure.

Krystal? The money, please, I thought, hoping she was listening. After a few seconds of silence, I turned around and saw her looking through some other kind of devices. Many of them looked a little bit like hoverboards, but they were all only big enough for one foot. Hoverskates? I wondered.

"Krystal?" I asked to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she said, holding the money bag toward me.

"What, you want a pair?"

"I do," Michael said. I ignored him.

"Well, I don't want to impose..."

"Just pick a set out," I told her. "I'm splurging."

"Are you buying me something, too?" Michael asked.

"Your mother would kill me," I replied. The shopkeeper called out a price, but I didn't quite catch it. I just reached into the bag, grabbed a fairly large chip, and handed it to him. He took it with wide eyes and apparently started working out the change.

"I don't know which to get," Krystal said. "I didn't do the simulator like you did."

"We've got time," I told her. "Go ahead and do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've still got to figure this little carrying clip out."

"Well...okay. I'll be right back," she said, heading back toward the simulators.

"That your girl?" the owl asked once she was out of earshot.

"...yeah," I said.

"Nice," he said, handing me the change. Part of me wanted to proudly agree, but the other part wanted to punch him in the face. "She got an older sister? Like eighteen, twenty..."

"I don't think so. And no, I'm not going to check."

"Fine, whatever. Look, here's your board," he said, handing it back. "And here's the clip," he added, handing me a smallish cylinder. It had four buttons on it, and a white light on one side. "It's pretty simple. Push the buttons, twist, and pull it apart."

After setting the board on the store's front desk, I listened to his simple instructions, and it came apart smoothly. Once that was done, I found that both halves had a light, but one of the halves was much smaller than the other, with tiny teeth all around the outer edge.

"This one," he said, pointing to the smaller of the two, "goes inside your jacket. It'll stick to the other through your jacket, and then your board will stick to that. People used to complain that the board wouldn't stay still very well, so this one has a really small gyroscope that...basically, it'll correct itself. Now, it'll be fastest if you take your jacket off."

"I've got it," I said, pulling my left arm into the sleeve. I twisted my arm behind my back, and managed to stick the device against the back of the jacket. Before Michael could help, I twisted my other arm around, too, and connected the two.

"Now push the buttons again, and twist. You should hear a little beep to tell you that it worked."

"Crap," I said, twisting my head around. I'd managed to connect the two, but I could barely grip the outer one, much less push its buttons. "Michael, help."

"Yeah?"

"Do what he said with the one you can see."

"What about the other one?"

"I've got that one."

"Well, okay," he said, grabbing the device. I let go and pulled my jacket down to make it easier on my left arm. "What'd he say to do again?"

"Push the buttons and twist."

"Got it," he said, doing just that. I heard the beep and let go, pushing my arm back out my sleeve. I grabbed the board again and tried to get it to attach to the clip.

"Other way," the owl said. I flipped it around, and the board stuck with a click. "There you go. And just hit the button on the handle's side to take it back off."

"There are two buttons?" I asked, grabbing the handle again. I found it with my thumb, and when I pressed it, the board came off smoothly. "Cool," I whispered, looking it over again. "My hoverboard."

"Whew!" Krystal sighed, reentering the main room. She leaned against me, feigning dizziness. "That's completely different when the helmet's on you."

"I know," I told her. "Ready to pick out your...skates?"

"I sure am," she replied. "I already held them, too." She picked up a pair of green and yellow skates and held them up. "Do they have these in blue?"

"Well," the owl said, "we can do a recolor, but it takes a few minutes."

"Can we?" she asked, looking at me imploringly.

"If you want. It's not like we could possibly take longer than Katherine."

Krystal walked out of the shop ten minutes later with a high-tech device on each shoe. Apparently, the skates she'd chosen could expand, too, and they stayed out of the way by becoming a shell for the wearer's shoes. I was almost regretting my own choice, wishing I'd taken the more versatile skates, but I convinced myself that I would make the same choice again. And as we left the store, she was thanking me repeatedly.

"You're welcome," I said simply. "Not like it's my money, anyway."

"Are we allowed to try these out in the mall?" Krystal asked.

"No," Michael said. "And even though they're supposed to be water resistant, I wouldn't use them in the rain, either."

"That's no fun," Krystal said, letting her ears droop.

"I didn't think you were the skater type," I said.

"I didn't think you were, either," she replied.

"I'm not."

"And neither am I."

"Touché."

"Hey, guys," Katherine called. She wasn't carrying as much as I'd thought she would be, but then again, the store she'd entered wasn't a big one. Still, she had two bags filled with clothing and accessories, which was surprising given how long she'd been in there.

"You went into one store," Michael said.

"So did you. And look what store that was."

"Hey, I didn't spend a credit."

"But looks like Ditto did," she said, noticing the board on my back.

"Yeah. And he's loaded," Michael said.

"I am not," I told them.

"You kinda are," Krystal said.

"Maybe, but they don't need to know that."

"Then how did you afford that?" she asked before noticing Krystal's skates. "Or should I say 'those'?"

"I...uh..." I stammered. My mind had once again left me.

"You like them?" Krystal asked, looking down at her own shoes. She gave a short hop, and the skates turned on, stopping her in midair.

"Hey!" a security dog nearby growled. "None of that, now."

"Sorry," Krystal said, before pointing her toes up. The action turned the skates off, and she landed softly on the ground again.

"I guess so," Katherine said, setting her bags down on a nearby bench. "But I still want to know –"

"Hey, human!" someone shouted. I turned toward the voice. "Why don't you go back to earth where you belong?!" the black hawk asked, eliciting a laugh from the frog and feline around him.

"Ignore him," Krystal said, and I turned toward her with a confused expression.

"Is that supposed to make me feel bad?" I asked.

"Hey, kid!" the hawk shouted again. "What are you doing here? Mommy and daddy weave you aww awone?" he asked in a mocking voice.

"Hey, why not get a life?" Michael shouted.

"Mike..." Katherine warned.

"We ain't got no problem with you," the hawk said. "It's your little friend there. What, couldn't find enough things to wreck on earth, so you came to Corneria?"

"I don't have a problem with you," I told him. "Keep it that way."

"What'd you say?" he asked, stomping toward me. "I'm not about to let some human scum tell me what to do!"

"What's your problem?" I asked.

"Ditto, we need to get out of here," Krystal warned.

"Maybe it's you," he said, standing toe-to-toe with me. Despite his ruffled feathers, I wasn't intimidated at all; he was half a head shorter than me.

"Do something," I invited. Just as I was sure he was about to call my bluff and lay me on my backside, he glanced behind me, toward the security guard.

"Maybe we should take this outside," he said.

"I have better things to do," I replied, taking a step back.

"Whatever," he replied, brushing past me and bumping my shoulder. He muttered something under his breath, but I only caught the P in the word, followed by an S sound. "Let's go!" he shouted, and his pair of friends caught up with him. I watched them enter the shop we'd just left, and I shook my head.

"Does that happen often?" Katherine asked.

"I was about to ask you. Those could be some of the first anti-human Cornerians I've met."

"Yeah," Michael said nervously, scratching his feathery head.

"Well, why didn't you fight that guy?" Katherine asked.

"It wouldn't have done anything. Besides, I would have probably lost."

"Most guys would still do it. If it had been anyone else at school, that hawk would need a new beak."

"I guess Ditto's special," Krystal said.

"In more ways than they realize," I said.

"Well, not everyone needs to know that you're rich, psychic, and magical."

"But...none of that is true."

"You really are rich, you know the future, and you can do those little...'sin' things."

"So, where are you going next?" Katherine asked, unknowingly interrupting a conversation.

"We're just gonna walk around," Michael said. "I'll see if Ditto will buy me some video games."

"Good luck with that," I told him.

"So, where should we meet?" Katherine asked. "Food court? Say...noon?"

"Yeah, food court at noon. How original," Michael said.

"That'll work," I said. "As long as someone knows where that food court is."

"I do," Michael said. "Now, let's get –" he began, when the hawk from before skated out of the shop on a hoverboard. His friends rushed out a moment later, each one also on a board.

"Stop them!" the shopkeeper shouted. The security guard scowled their way and sprinted after them, but by comparison, he may as well have been riding a turtle.

"Should we help?" I asked Krystal silently. Her response was to hop up, turn on her skates, and speed after the thieves.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked as I turned on my own board and dropped it on the ground.

"I have no idea," I told him, before leaning forward. The board took the cue and shot forward fast enough to leave me behind, had I not been ready for it.

"Hey!" the security guard shouted when I passed him. I slowed down and hovered beside him while he ran.

"We're trying to help," I explained.

"That's my job," he growled. "And I don't want you kids to get hurt."

"Well, I'm not just going to watch them get away with this."

"Grr...fine. Just help the other guards apprehend them. Don't try to do it yourself, okay?"

"Fair enough," I replied, before speeding up again. Krystal had gotten quite a ways ahead of me, but she had gained on the thieves, too. But the whole mall was shaped like a triangle, and the thieves had nearly reached an exit. "We'll never reach them," I muttered fighting an odd feeling of disappointment. To my surprise, though, they didn't go through the doors. Instead, they took a sharp turn and continued fleeing.

"What are they up to?" I asked myself as I made the same turn. Dodging people constantly, I caught up with Krystal, who was beginning to get tired.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why aren't they leaving? It's almost like they want –" she began, when two of the three jumped into a hole that led to the next floor. "Ditto!" she shouted. "Skates can't take a fall like that!"

"Got it," I replied, heading straight for the hole. Please don't be far, please don't be far, please don't be far, I thought, before jumping over the handrail. It didn't end up being too far, and the hoverboard took the landing well. I spied the two thieves, and I leaned forward again. I had to continue to dodge people, but once they saw the commotion down the hallway, they rushed out of the way, making it easier on both me and the thieves. Still, my board was slightly faster, and I was slowly gaining on them.

"Well, look who it is," the hawk said, turning to face me. "Thought you'd gone home to mommy."

"Yeah, and I thought you weren't dumb enough to rob the mall," I called forward.

"Your witty comebacks could use some wit," the other kid, a bluish frog, said without turning.

"Witty...you just robbed someone! This isn't a tea party! Now give those back!"

"Give those back!" the hawk mocked. "Jeez, you sound just like my mother."

"She ever tell you to look where you're going?" I asked.

"Yeah, a couple times – woah!" he said, looking forward and narrowly dodging a small stand. A security guard had noticed the commotion, and managed to tackle him off of the board before he could get away. I focused on the only one left, and sped toward him.

"One down!" I shouted, hoping to scare the frog. It apparently worked, because after turning around and giving a gasp, he sped up and jumped into another hole. How deep is this mall? I wondered, still following him. I hit the ground surprisingly softly, and had to pull a U-turn to follow the frog.

"Just give up!" I shouted across the sparsely-populated bottom floor.

"I can't!" he shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't stop now! I'm already a criminal!"

"You'll be in less trouble if they don't have to chase you all around the mall."

"None of this was my idea!" he shouted. "It was all Duke! He made me do it!"

"And you can explain that to the guards. Just don't make me take you down."

"Leave me alone!" he shouted, turning around again. I shook my head and kept at it.

"Why do you even follow that guy?" I asked.

"I don't have a choice!" he shouted back.

"There's always a choice."

"No there isn't!" he said, before making a hard left. He crashed through the "No admittance" door there, and I followed him quickly. What greeted me was a bare white hallway, lit from above by fluorescent tubes. I saw him make a right turn, and I followed cautiously. Once I reached the turn, I glanced around the corner, and saw him look at me in surprise, before dashing through another door.

"What, does he have a map?" I asked under my breath. I mentally marked the door he'd passed through, and hopped off of the board once I came to it.

I reached for the doorknob, but the door was yanked open, making me recoil in surprise. A blue hand reached out of the room, grabbed my shirt's collar, and pulled me into the room, banging my head on a wall in the process. I sat up slowly and watched him retreat through the door, before slamming it shut.

"Ow," I said, rubbing my head. I turned toward the wall I'd hit, and saw thick glass. "What the –"

"Oh, good. You fell for it," I heard. I turned toward the voice, and saw the feline who had been with Duke. The room he was standing in was mostly dark, so I figured whatever store it was had been closed.

"What's going on here?" I asked, standing.

"Not much. We're just cleaning up the planet."

Somehow I don't think they're talking about janitorial work, I thought. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. He didn't respond, but I saw a door outside of the glass open, and the blue frog came out.

"I think the boss'll be happy," he said.

"I don't think so," I said confidently, "I'm pretty sure Duke isn't going anywhere."

The feline snickered, then looked at the frog, before both burst into laughter.

"Duke?" the cat asked. "You told him that his name's Duke?"

"I know! He believed it, too. Ohh...I fed him this whole sob story. 'I'm innocent, it's all his idea...' He ate it up."

"What are you talking about?" I asked angrily, hitting the glass almost noiselessly.

"I can explain," I heard from the same door that the frog had come through. I turned to see the hawk, and he was really starting to get on my nerves.

"You got caught. I saw you," I said.

"Please. These rent-a-cops? They hardly know which end of a gun to hold."

I sighed. "Then tell me, what the heck is going on around here?"

"Or what? You'll go all 'Hulk smash'? You're not going anywhere."

I looked around, and saw that he was right. The glass that trapped me in circled back to the brick wall behind me, and the door had all but disappeared into the wall. Above me, a metal grating sat, weighed down on each side by a hunk of metal.

"That there's a full ton of metal holding you down. If you can move that, you deserve to live."

"Live?" I asked in surprise. "As in, I could die?"

"Well, unless you grow gills in the next few minutes, I think so," he said, nodding. I looked around again, and finally took note of the decorations in the small room. Fishes painted on the wall. Fake seaweed and sand on the ground. I'm in an aquarium, I thought with horror.

"What the – why would you do this?" I asked, fighting panic.

"Didn't someone already tell you? You're a human," he spat the word out. "You arrogant bastards destroy everything, and Corneria's only the next stop on your conquest. Well, not if I have anything to say about it."

"You're insane!" I shouted. "I'm not part of any war! Most of my friends are Cornerians!"

At least, the ones that currently exist, I thought.

"I don't believe that," he said with a sneer. "I'll bet you bribed those other three just to hang out with you."

"Come on, can't we talk about this?"

"No! I'm finished talking to your kind. Now, come on, you two. Let's give him something to drink."

"No, no, no," I said, starting to panic. Water began to fill the aquarium slowly, and I saw all three Cornerians walk out the door.

"Hold on," I told myself. "Keep your head. It's not like anything in this universe can hurt you," I said, rolling up my left sleeve. I glanced at my wrist, and felt my jaw drop. The two marks were there, of course, but they had gone dark. Now, they looked like ordinary scars.

"It doesn't mean..." I began, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. Instead, I closed my eyes, and tried to reach into that pool of never-ending power. But when I would normally feel a rush of energy and near-omnipresent awareness, I felt nothing. I looked at my arm again and fell to the ground in disbelief.

"I...I can't get out..." I said quietly as the water slowly drew higher.

A/N: GASP! Ain't I a stinker? Well, Ditto's in a heap of trouble. And considering I wrote this passage yesterday, he'd be dead in real-time. But good thing it's not real time, yeah? Otherwise that simulator would have lasted a whole week.

Two marks...he did have two marks, right?

Anyway, there is a good reason Ditto's Sins aren't working, and it's not just phlebotinum. Okay, maybe it is, but I do have a reason. What is that reason? I guess you'll find out later. Besides, if he can just get out of any situation, it makes it less suspenseful.

Again, I'd like to thank reviewers, followers, and even the person reading this right now. You don't have to leave a review, but if you "follow" the story, it makes my day. Not to mention, you'll be informed as soon as my updates become less sporadic.