Chapter 5

Shock & Awe

"Well good morning sleepy head." Whisper said as Chaud walked into the room, it was shocking really he had been the last one to wake up. "I didn't think it was possible for you to sleep past 5 o'clock, it's 7:45 must be a record."

"I guess the jet lag affected me more than I thought." Chaud replied.

"Sure it did," Whisper replied with a sarcastic tome and a roll of the eyes trading glances with Mega, Lan and Proto.

"So what smells so good?" Chaud asked ignoring Whisper's remark and noticing the aroma that was filling the air.

"Breakfast," Maylu replied, as she and Roll appeared from behind the bar, "everyone else has already eaten, but I made something for you and kept it warm."

"You cooked?" Chaud inquired as he walked over.

"Yeah, here," Maylu replied as she handed him his food.

"What is it?" Chaud asked as he looked at it. It was some type if sandwich on hoagie bread.

"A breakfast sandwich," Maylu replied, "It has an omelet and sausage on the inside."

"What's the purple stuff?" Chaud asked as he continued to inspect the meal.

"Grape jam," Maylu simply replied, "I know this is a little different than what you use to, but trust me it good."

Chaud continued to look at the sandwich, he wasn't sure if he was going to like it of if he was going to give his gag reflexes a workout. When he realized he hadn't heard a certain witty comment he noticed that Terra wasn't there. "Where's Terra?" he asked.

"We don't know, I haven't seen her since last night, and no one else has seen her this morning." Whisper replied, "She was gone when I woke up. Hey where are you going?" Whisper asked when Chaud stated walking towards the door.

"I'm going to look for Terra, the car will be coming for us soon, I'll be right back." Chaud replied as he left.

Everyone looked at the closed door for a second before anyone spoke.

"He better not throw away my food." Maylu commented breaking the silence.

As Chaud walked down the hall he continued to look at the sandwich, he knew he had to eat it, Maylu may look docile and innocent all the time but he had heard of how much the tables could turn if she got ticked off. He closed his eyes and took a bite and to his surprise he didn't gag, the sandwich was actually good. After a few more minuets Chaud still hadn't found Terra and he had no idea of where she could be, that was when he heard the music. There wasn't anything special about the music, but it wasn't music you'd think you'd hear at 8:00 in the morning. Curiously following its sound it led him to the indoor rink. Going inside he was met with the cold rush of air and the song "Hey Babe," started blaring in his ears, as he looked on he saw a girl skating to the music on the far side of the rink, her body moving in pace. It wasn't until she came around toward him that he noticed who it was, "Terra?" he asked surprised as the girl passed him.

Terra turned around sharply at the sound of his voice, she obviously hadn't heard him, as she did so she lost her balance, "AHH," Terra said as she fell in the cold ice.

"Terra are you ok?" Chaud asked after she fell, running to the glass wall and looking over.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine," Terra replied as her hands came clumsily up and gripped the wall so she could gain her balance, "but what are you doing here?" Terra asked as she lifted herself off the ice.

"I could ask you the same question." Chaud replied as he offered her a steady hand, "I didn't know you could figure skate."

"You never asked, and its not something that I offer" Terra said as she looked out of the glass walls and saw Lan coming, "Oh shoot," she exclaimed as she ducked down below the wall that separated her and Chaud and put her back to it.

"Terra what are you doing?" Chaud asked when she ducked down.

"Chaud!" Lan exclaimed as he called the dual haired teen's name from the door, "Have you found Terra yet? The car's here." he asked.

Chaud turned toward Lan and then looked back at Terra. When he looked at her she was throwing him a threatening look. "Uh no, not yet." Chaud replied.

"Ok," Lan replied as he walked on.

After a few seconds when Terra surmised he was gone she let out a breath of relief.

"Ok, would you explain to me what that was about?" Chaud asked.

"I didn't want Lan to know," Terra said in an obvious tone as she jumped over the wall. "The whole skating thing is kinda personal. Sky doesn't even know I do it."

"Why, when did you start?" Chaud asked.

"After the accident, a little after you moved," Terra replied as she unlaced her skates, "My mom wanted me to do something to keep my mind off Skyler's death. She already had me in gymnastics and dance classes but at the time that wasn't enough to keep me occupied so she added skating into the mix."

"And the cloak and dagger routine?"

"It's more of a personal escape now," Terra replied as she placed her skates in her bag, "Everyone needs something personal they can do for themselves. Something that isn't common knowledge, figure skating is mine." Terra said as she stood up and turned toward the door but then turned sharply back, "And if you tell about this I will kill you." Terra said as her voice suddenly turned threatening.

"Hey there you are, we've been looking for you everywhere! Where've you been?" Mega asked as he walked in the door causing both Terra and Chaud to look in his direction.

"Around," Terra replied innocently.

"What do you mean our agents are AWOL?!" the chief exclaimed.

"I mean they're out of the country." Regal replied, "Out of this hemisphere to be exact. So they're not going to be performing any rescue. And to think you personally brought this fate upon yourself and your colleagues. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"How so?" the chief asked.

"Simple," Regal replied, "you've overworked your employees. It was only a matter of time before they made a break for it. All I had to so was bide my time and wait to step in."

"There you are where were you?" Maylu asked when she, Lan and the rest of the group met in the lobby.

"Around," Terra replied, giving Maylu the same answer she had Mega keeping it vague as they all walked toward the revolving doors that led out of the hotel, "Maylu?" Terra asked when Maylu didn't say anything back.

"Have you ever noticed that Lan still looks 12?" Maylu asked, the question being totally random, as her gaze stayed fixed on Lan who was walking ahead.

"Not really," Terra replied as she looked at Lan's back, "considering the fact that I didn't even know him when he was 12. But he does look less than 14 now that you mention it."

"It's those clothes," Maylu commented, "the puff vest and those shorts make him look childish. He'd look his age if he's loose them."

Terra looked back at Lan again and than at Maylu; she had just found her first vacation activity. "Well if you're that concerned we could do something about it." Terra stated.

"Like what?" Maylu asked. "He's way too stubborn to take advice and do something on his own."

"Oh I can think of something," Terra said as she thought about it. This was going to be one fun vacation.

"So where to first?" Chaud asked, everyone was in the limo and they were heading out on the first day of their vacation.

"We have a suggestion," Maylu and Terra said together smiling.

"Shopping?" Lan asked taking a stab at what their answer would be, when neither one of them objected he continued, "you've got to be kidding."

"We're not, and it's not for us anyway, it for you." Maylu replied.

"Me?" Lan asked.

"Yes, you," Terra said, "lock the doors Maylu."

"What are you going to do to me?" Lan asked as he half walked and was half drug out of the limo by Terra and Maylu once they reached the biggest mall in LA. Whisper and Roll were walking close behind them and Chaud, Mega and Proto walking a safer distance away not sure whether Terra or Maylu were in their right state of mind.

"Oh you'll see," Maylu replied.

"UGGHH," Lan groaned when his body slammed down in a chair in Aéropostal with Maylu and Terra standing over him with a rather devious smile on their faces.

"What are you going to me?" Lan asked again only this time more tentatively.

"A metamorphosis, or a makeover, whatever you want to call it," Terra replied, "Lan have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Why?" Lan asked.

"Because you look like you're still 12," Terra replied, "I'm surprised I didn't notice it until Maylu called it to my attention."

"Lan just think of us as Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear." Maylu said.

"Yeah Lan we're only doing this because we care about you," Terra added, "You need to think about your future. You're going to high school in three months. And if you don't want to get pounded by a senior for looking younger than 14 you'll do what we say. You can trust us, we known what we're doing."

"Can I-" Lan started.

"No!" Terra and Maylu said together cutting him off. Lan sunk deeper into the chair like a scolded child.

"Don't worry Lan this will be painless we promise, it'll be over before you know it." Maylu said as she began to walk away with Terra following her.

"Whisper, watch him would you please?" Terra asked as she turned around after catching Lan start to move out of the corner of her eye. "We'd rather not treat him like a prisoner, but we know if we leave him unattended he'd run." A second later and saw a defeated look flash across Lan's face. She couldn't help but smile.

"You don't have to do this you know," Lan stated once Terra was out of earshot.

"I know," Whisper replied as she stood in front of him blocking any escape. "But I'm too curious to see what the two of them have in store for you. Will it be a geeky collared sweater, or a freaky goth angle?"

"Oh come on Sky-" Lan started to say when he cut himself off when he noticed that Roll was there too, this was definitely not his day.

"Wow someone's done their research," Terra commented when she and Maylu walked over to the boy's section of the store and the fuchsia haired girl went strait to the jackets and picked out an orange vest. Non puffy of course.

"Research?" Maylu asked as she reached for a pair of dark gray cargo pants.

"Yeah," Terra replied, "it's one of the many symptoms you go through when you have a crush on a guy. There's embarrassment, denial, acceptance, and somewhere between denial and acceptance you start to imagine what he would look best in. That's all you're going to get?" Terra asked when it looked like Maylu was done picking out the clothes.

"It's all he needs don't you think?" Maylu asked, "Once we get rid of that puff vest and those tired out shorts?"

"Maybe, but I think this would help him have more of a skater look." Terra said as she picked up an orange and blue cap off a nearby rack. "After all he's always leaned toward that look far as I can see. Besides I think he needs to teach his hair to lay down before it gets stuck that way."

"Perfect," Maylu stated with a laugh, "Let's go."

When Terra and Maylu arrived back to where they had left Lan they found him in the same spot looking highly annoyed. And what they were about to do wouldn't help is demeanor a bit.

"Lan it's time to begin," Terra said pretending like she was putting on a pair of surgical gloves. "Say goodbye to your childish clothes."

"And say hello to some that are more age appropriate." Maylu added as she handed Lan the vest and pants.

"I don't have a choice do I?" Lan asked.

"No," Maylu simply replied.

"Don't look at me." Terra stated when Lan turned and looked at her. "I may have come up with the plan but Maylu's the one who thought of this in the fist place. Like I said before I didn't even notice you sill looked 12 until she said something about it, and that was an hour and a half ago. My hands are clean."

"Fine," Lan said as he took the clothes, "and just for the record my clothes aren't childish, they're youthful."

"Lan, Mega looks way older than you; that should tell you something." Terra replied in an undertone, "Plus looking youthful doesn't fair well in high school." Terra added as she shoved Lan into the dressing room, "Change."

About five minuets later Terra looked down at her watch and then back at the dressing room door that Lan was currently behind. This was taking way to long. "What's he doing trying to use a hanger to tunnel out?" Terra asked as she turned and looked at Maylu. Maylu just shrugged. "I know Lan's slower than Christmas but this is getting ridiculous."

"Lan how long dose it take in there?" Maylu asked about two minutes later, "I can change faster than you." After she said that the door opened and Lan stepped out.

"I don't think this dose a thing." Lan said as he came out, everyone else just stared. Obviously he hadn't looked in the mirror. "What?" Lan asked.

"Have you even looked in the mirror?" Maylu asked.

"Wow, it really does add two years." Terra commented, "Lan see for yourself," she said as she turned an unconvinced Lan to a nearby mirror.

Lan looked in the mirror a little begrudgingly. That was until he saw his reflection.

"See you actually look your age now," Terra said while she grabbed the front of Lan's hair pulling it forward over his headband and slipping on the cap causing some of his hair to fall into his eyes. Then she grabbed some of his hair in the back and pulled it down, she held the cap firmly in place for a while half in fear that it would pop off if she let go. When she was satisfied that it would hold she released her grip. Lan didn't speak for a long time and when he did it wasn't something she was expecting.

"I look like Mega." He stated.

Terra blinked. "Well you are identical twins Lan, I think you're suppose to," Terra whispered as she grabbed a portable scanner, scanning the price tags so she could go and pay. "Take off the tags." Terra said patting Lan's shoulder as she left. While Terra was going up to the counter she gave quick a wink to Maylu who had just slipped into the dressing room past a fully distracted Lan and grabbed his old vest and shorts. Maylu caught the signal and slipped out of the store and headed to the Salvation Army across the hall.

Lan had just taken off the last price tag when he looked at his reflection again. He hadn't ever thought his clothes were childish but compared to the ones he was wearing now he had to admit that they didn't make him look his age. That brought another thought to his mind: what had happened to his old clothes?

Terra had just finished paying for Lan's new outfit when she felt his presence behind her and his hot breath in her ear.

"Where are my clothes?" Lan asked.

Terra was surprised when she heard Lan's voice. For a second he sounded like Mega's darker side. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. "Maylu has them." Terra answered and slowly turned around when Lan left.

"Who would have thought he would be so protective over a vest and a pair of shorts?" Terra asked when she walked over to Chaud, Proto, Mega, Whisper and Roll. But none of the four had a chance to reply, Lan's sudden outburst diverted everyones attention.

"You did WHAT!" Lan exclaimed in question when he heard the news that Maylu and donated his clothes.

"I can't believe you got rid of my clothes." Lan continued to say as the group walked on.

"Believe it or not they needed to go," Maylu replied, "you've been wearing the same outfit since we met."

"What's wrong with that?" Lan asked.

"Because we met nine years ago." Maylu answered, "It was time for change, trust me they'll find a good home. Somewhere out there there's a kid who'll really appreciate them."

Lan still remained quiet, he really missed his vest.

"How long do you think he's going to sulk?" Proto asked as he watched him.

"Not for long," Terra replied as she steered Lan into a nearby arcade, true to her statement the dark room and the glittering & flashing lights soon had their effect.

"This isn't far play," Lan said as he felt himself begin to unwind, "what is this place anyway?" Lan asked as he took a closer look, this arcade wasn't like the ones he was use to back home.

"It's a retro arcade," Terra replied, "like the ones our parents use to go to before there were PETs and the internet became a second world…or while it was becoming." Terra said thinking about it. "Anyway, just think of this new and fun experience that you're about to have as a token of my apology for putting you through such mental distress back there."

"Oh, I'm sure you're very sorry," Lan replied sarcastically.

"I am very sorry, I want you to feel better," Terra said back, "thinking back it breaks my heart. Maylu's the one who isn't sorry." Even though she sounded sincere, anyone looking at the smirk that was currently showcased in Terra eyes knew she was acting.

Lan stared at her until her apologetic face broke into a grin. "Ok, ok, so I'm not that sorry but I really do want you to feel better. We were a little harsh on you."

"Come on Lan, maybe some air hockey will cheer you up." Mega stated when he spotted an empty table and led Lan over to it.

Terra watched as Lan and Mega left and then looked back at everyone who was remaining. Whisper and Roll were wearing the biggest smiles on their faces that Terra had ever seen and their eyes were literally shinning. They must have tuned Lan out a long time ago. "What are you two smiling so big for?" Terra asked.

"We just realized that this is the first time that we've been in an arcade and not in one of the game's computer systems." Whisper replied.

"And it's so beautiful." Roll stated slowly sounding like the mosquito before it got fried on It's a Bug's Life.

"Ok," Terra said slowly in reply, "well, while yall are observing the beauty of this room, I'll be snowboarding." Terra said as she walked over to a virtual reality machine stepping on the board and slipping the shades over her eyes. "So who'll be my first challenger?" Terra asked as she turned around.

"B-Bye," Terra stated as she beat the 7th person in a row at the VR game. She had won against Whisper, Maylu, Roll and four other random kids. The last boy who was around the age of 16 begrudgingly got off his board, Terra continued to fold her hand as she waved him off. Maylu, Roll, Whisper, Proto and Chaud all watched as the boy left, "So who's next?" Terra asked as she looked around, her eyes came to rest on Chaud and Proto and to her surprise Proto stepped forward. "Wow, big bro wants to challenge me, bring it on." Terra stated in a whisper.

"Well I have always wanted to try this." Proto admitted with a shrug.

"I'm sure you have," Terra replied deciding not to comment on the strangeness of the moment. It was weird enough knowing that Proto was Chaud's older brother, but it was even weirder knowing that under that hard exterior there was personality. At least with Chaud she knew that in the past he had had a personality, or at least a more diverse one. With Proto there was nothing, nada, niente, nichts, 何も, he was hard, monotone, (not annoyingly monotone though) and overly serious, (although he had defrosted some), just like his operator had been right after she moved back. Now something was unfolding, changing in the both of them and she had no idea what it was, even though she was sure seriousness would always be an underlying characteristic. "You might as well take your shades off," Terra said when she saw Proto fixing to put the VR goggles over his dark glasses, "I don't see how you can see out of those anyway, as dark as it is in here. Wait a minute don't answer that." Terra stated when she saw Proto fixing to open his mouth. "Why don't your keep shades off anyway? Everyone already knows." Terra asked when he game started.

"Not everyone knows." Proto replied.

"You're telling me you're afraid of Roll and Maylu?"

"Maybe I don't want to explain the Roll and Maylu."

"Emery, Maylu would understand. Ever heard of Hub Hikari?"

"Mega told her?"

"The other day, although I would be careful around Roll, she doesn't know yet."

"And the reason for that?"

"I don't know, maybe he doesn't know how to go about telling the girl who has a crush on him that he's not exactly 100 percent navi." Terra replied as she prepared for a jump that was coming up.

"I don't think so," Lan stated as he blocked the oncoming puck before it slid into his goal, "Oh yeah, I'm a cobra in the desert, a cheetah in the Sahara, an eagle in the Pacific, a-"

"Lan!" Mega exclaimed interrupting his brother, "it's just a game of air hockey, it's not that exciting." It was obvious that Lan had gotten over his distress.

"Oh come on Hub you know how competitive I get," Lan replied, "besides I kinda like the fact that I'm beating you for once," Lan finished as he looked at the score that was currently 6-2, and in his favor.

"Maybe I'm letting you win," Mega said.

"Yeah right," Lan said as he knocked the puck back in Mega's direction only to have it returned so fast it was a blur on the verge of invisibility. Lan stared at the field a few seconds before he spoke.

"Ok, next time I'm going to keep my mouth shut. Who are you Julius off of DS9?

"Perfect human, no, part netnavi, yeah," Mega replied with a smile.

"And that's a wrap," Terra said breathing slightly heavily as she claimed another victim on the virtual slopes, even if she had just claimed the victory by the skin of her teeth. "Good run, you really gave me a run for my money." Terra said as she looked over at Proto. "But I guess you can't be number one at everything." Proto started to say something when something caught Terra's eye and she cut him off. "Hold that thought," she stated, "they have laser tag."

"Ok, these are the rules, you're going to be in a semi pitch black room, the only lighting comes from a few strobe and floor lights and black lights. Teams are constantly going out and coming in, your goal is to get as many of your opponents tagged as you can and avoid getting tagged yourself. The only way to identify your teammates once or if you separate are with these." That was the statement of the counter boy as he held up a hand full of glow sticks and continued stating the rules.

"We make sure that no two teams have the same color. Since there are eight of you I'll have to split you into two teams, you, you, you and you are the blue team," the boy stated as he tossed, Mega, Roll, Proto and Whisper each a blue glow stick, "And you, you, you, and you are team violet." The boy stated again as he tossed Chaud, Lan, Maylu, and Terra each a purple glow stick. "You have ten minutes, have fun." The boy finished as he tossed the whole group laser guns and then had the now two groups enter two different doors. Once the two teams were inside the field neither one could see the other.

"Hey where'd they go?" Lan asked once his eyes adjusted to the light and he noticed he couldn't see his hermano or anyone else who had been grouped with him.

"This place is like a maze." Terra explained, "Since that guy had us enter from two different doors he probably has us heading off into two different directions but I'm sure well find each other sooner or later and probably sooner."

"Why?" Chaud asked.

"A side effect from the whole twin thing, with our links as strong as they are and our siblings being part netnavi they can pinpoint our location faster than a GPS. That is if they actually use the link" Terra answered. "And speaking of a certain member of our opposing team Mega ended up beating you at air hockey didn't he?" Terra asked, directing the question to Lan.

Lan slightly hesitated before he answered. "You actually have to ask? The dude beats me at pretty much everything."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it Lan, you'll get your moment." Terra replied.

"Look out!" Chaud exclaimed as he tackled Terra to the ground as a laser beam passed over the two of them.

It was a couple of minuets later and they were right in the middle of the fray. Lan, Terra, Chaud and Maylu had decided to split up soon after entering and now Terra and Chaud were on their own. The person who had just tried to tag them donned a green glow stick and quickly ducked behind the corner they had appeared from.

Terra and Chaud rounded the next couple of corners before they sat down to catch their breath. Terra placed her gun between her knees as she rested her back against the wall. She was shocked at how much Chaud has gotten into the game, even in the dark she could sense the presence of a smile and an absence of tension. And even though it had been her intention to try to make Chaud normal when she discovered how monotone his father had made him, the fact that he was smiling right now and letting out a laugh every now and then was starting to freak her out. And what she was about to hear next was sure to make her jump out of her skin.

"You want to ditch this place?" Chaud asked suddenly out of the blue.

TBC