Chapter 10

Home Sweet Home?

"Sweet freedom!" Tasha exclaimed as she ran into a somersault as she exited the law office, it had been three days and her parents had made no progress. Needless to say she was going to stick around anymore.

"I was wondering when you were going to break out." Breeze stated as she materialized beside her. "What's up with the whole jailbird routine anyway? Why did mom say you couldn't leave?"

"I have no idea," Tasha replied. "I think mom needs to prove that she's a competent parent since dad decided to challenge the custody arrangement. But I'll tell you what, if dad does somehow get custody away form mom there's no way I'm going to live with him and his new nineteen year old bride. Not even if it's partial custody."

"Well that's just great." Breeze replied, "Now you're going to seem like a rebellious child and make it look like mom can't handle you."

"I think the lawyer will understand," Tasha replied, "besides, what teenager is going to stay in a law office, when all Tokyo is laid out before them?" she replied as she noticed on of the retro movie theaters that showed nothing but old movies. "Come on!" Tasha suddenly exclaimed as she grabbed Breeze by the hand and pulled her into the theater. Breeze smiled as she saw the title that had to have caught Tasha's eye. Transformers...

"Now this is what I call a vacation." Lan stated as he and the gang got out of the car at one of the greatest state parks on the west coast, in-line, skateboards, dirt boards you name it, it was all there. Not to mention it was a hop, skip and jump from the beach.

"Tell me again why we had to come here?" Proto asked as he got out of the car, skating wasn't his thing. Yet again what was?

"Because we don't want to hear Lan gripe for the whole vacation." Terra said as she walked up and glanced back at Lan who seemed completely content. Like a kid in a candy store.

"So you think with eight years of practice you've finally gotten to the point where you can finally handle me?" Mega asked as he walked up behind his brother as a skateboard materialized in his hand.

Lan looked back, this is what he had been waiting for, while Lan had fallen in love with in-line skating Hub had been a boarder. "You're on."

Terra looked as the two brothers walked away and then looked back at Roll who was currently following Maylu to some of the stands and looking as lost as ever. Mega really needed to tell the poor girl the truth.

"Someone really needs to tell Roll the truth." Terra commented out loud. "She hasn't enjoyed herself since she got here."

"And who do you suggest tell her?" Chaud asked.

"Well I was thinking Hub," Terra replied, "You know since he's the secret keeper."

"So you don't think that a little bird should tell her?" Proto asked as he looked over at the green eyed girl. Proto had his shades on but Terra didn't need to see his eyes to know what he was implying. His vibes said everything.

"Exactly what are you implying?" Terra asked in mock defense.

"Maylu," Proto replied, "she may be perceptive, but she knew the exact questions to ask and how to spin it."

"Yeah, that was great wasn't it?" Terra asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"Not really," Proto replied, the only reason he had even told Maylu was because he had sensed that she already knew.

"You told her?" Chaud asked in surprise, the way Proto had been holding back he was amazed he had come forward so soon. "Well you were going to have to tell her sometime Emery, as much as she's around."

"You're taking her side?" Proto asked, he still hadn't warmed up to the fact about telling anyone his secret.

"It's not as much her side as it is practicality." Chaud replied.

Proto remained ever silent.

Terra looked back at the lone navi; she could see where his feelings were coming from. It wasn't that he was so against telling anyone the truth as much as it was what the truth reminded him of; his father, the man who in essence had abandoned him. If he only knew who he had become. Terra's attention slowly turned from Proto and back to the skate park, and caught a glimpse of Lan and Mega who at the moment were completely enjoying themselves.

"So are you going to stand here all say or are you going to skate?" Chaud asked after a while. The atmosphere had cooled of and needed to be picked up somehow.

"You know me all too well," Terra replied as she looked over her shoulder at the boy and back to the rental shack.

"You're not going to rent your skates are you?" Chaud asked.

"As opposed to buying a custom pair?" Terra asked, "of course I'm renting, you know how much those cost? My dad may have given me his credit card but that doesn't mean I can go buck wild.

"Whoever said you were going to be the one paying?" Chaud asked as he flipped put his platinum card, "Besides I don't know why anyone would even want to rent shoes, everyone knows that that little spray of Lysol they shoot in the heel doesn't do anything, and who wants fungus on their socks?"

Terra batted her eyes in disgust as she took the card, "Thanks for reminding me."

Whisper looked on as she watched Airie and Chaud walk over to the rental shack, and then back to Proto who was still silent, but it wasn't his usual coolness.

"Hey, cheer up." Whisper said softly as she took Proto's hand and swung it a little, attempting to cheer him up. She knew what he was thinking, that Maylu wasn't the only person who in the long run would need to know. With high school fast approaching he and Chaud were going to be around Lan's group of extended friends more often and it would be a lot easier for everyone if they knew, because I mean seriously, who would want to watch what they say 24/7?

"It's kinda hard to." Proto replied, he hadn't thought about his father in a long time, and now that he was it was bringing back a lot of old feelings.

Whisper took in a deep breath as she thought about what she was going to say next. "You know," she said as calmly and caringly as she could, "if you're ever going to move past this you're going to have to face him."

Proto looked back at his friend through his shades. "I know,"

"Well it's about time we got some new customers," the manager of the custom shop stated as Terra and Chaud walked in, "business has been pretty slow lately believe it or not. So what can I do for you? Skates? Boards? Repairs? My name's Kaleb by the way."

Terra smiled, "Skates will be fine, my dear friend here reminded me of the many advantages of having you own pair, mainly the health reasons." Terra replied as she sat on one of the many stools and grabbed a nearby catalog and skimming through the various styles: retro, modern, futuristic...

"So you see anything you like?" Kaleb asked a few seconds later as she came back with a scale to measure Terra's feet. As Terra took off her shoe to give him her foot she noticed just how cute he was, tanned skin, sparkling blond surfer hair, and gleaming blue eyes.

"Yeah," Terra replied just as soon as she tore her eyes away, "I like this retro style, they remind me of a pair my mom had as a kid." Terra said as she handed him the catalog pointing to a pair of in-line skates that were a combination of plastic, man made materials, and mesh, laced up the front and were equipped with the brakes in the toe and heel.

"Nice choice," the boy replied, "you have a good eye, that's our best seller, people tend to like the high ankle, the support helps their balance." Kaleb replied as he finished measuring both her feet, "and you're in luck, we have your size, you run a little narrow through the heel but that's easy enough to fix. Any specific colors you prefer?"

It didn't take Terra anytime to think about it. "Purple, black and sliver," she replied as she reached back to unfasten her locket chain. "Would it be any trouble to add this symbol to the ankle guards?" she asked as she handed it to Kaleb.

"Not at all," Kaleb replied as he took the necklace in hand giving it a quick look, "now if you'll excuse me your skates should be done with in the hour." Kaleb said as he headed to the back.

"Nice guy," Chaud commented as she walked over to where Terra stood after Kaleb had gone into the back.

"Yeah," Terra replied as she looked at her friend smiling. "Thinking about getting a skateboard?" Terra asked. She had noticed Chaud looking at the boards when she was having her feet measured and was wondering if the boy protégé was thinking about resurrecting an old hobby.

"Already thought about it," Chaud replied as he showed her a board that he had in his hand, it was a shimmering midnight blue and had silver flames that ran up vertically and black wheels.

"You even remember how to ride?" Terra asked thinking how it had probably been 8 years since he'd been on one.

"Of course," Chaud replied. "Skateboarding is like riding, a bike or driving, once you learn you never forget." Emphasizing his point he placed the board on the ground and shot it up in the air by bringing his foot down on its tip instantly catching it. "Besides, I thought it might help me blend in since I've registered for the next school term."

"You've what?" Terra asked in surprised shock as Chaud's face remained completely calm. "You're serious?" she asked. "Why?"

"Tutoring's gotten a little old." Chaud stated "and I'm tired of forcing myself into Dad's mold."

Terra looked on at her friend in almost disbelief "Wow, you really are changing," she replied, "becoming you're own person, kinda scary."

"Maybe," Chaud stated, "but I think it's about time I did, I don't think my mom would have liked me turning into a carbon copy of my old man."

"I'm sure she wouldn't have." Terra replied. "She'd be proud of you Chaud," Terra said realizing that another dampener had been placed on the mood, even though it wasn't as bad as before but it was still bittersweet. She couldn't help but wonder that for a day that seemed to be perfect why did it seem that it was becoming anything but?

-Schooom, schooom- That was the sound of wheel against cement inside the bowl as Lan and Mega had at it. Lan was surprised that Hub's leave of absence hadn't affected his skills. After 8 years he was still better than him, just out of reach, like he always had been.

"So you want to try again?" Mega asked after Lan landed and coasted to the edge of the bowl a few feet over, "best 2 out of 3?"

Lan contemplated his brother's challenge, as much as he would have loved being able to prove that he was capable of outshining him, they both knew that there was something much more important that needed to be taken care of.

"Nah," Lan replied, "I know I usually let my competitiveness override my better judgment, but when it comes to you I know I'm beat. Besides there's something you need to resolve that you've put off long enough." Lan stated as he looked into his brother's eyes noticing a slight tinge of fear and nervousness, "you need to tell her," he continued, "she's seen the changes from the very start, and she doesn't know what's going in with you, she's worried, and you need to stop avoiding her, because it's only making it worse."

Mega knew that Lan was right, Roll knew him almost as well as anyone, and he knew she noticed the small shifts in his personality that had been made since Lan had discovered the truth. But it was one thing to tell your brother that you were still alive but was now a netnavi, and quite another to tell the girl who has a crush on you that you're not exactly like her.

Mega smiled, "This is so weird," he stated, "usually I'm the one nagging you to get something done, it's never been the other way around."

"Yeah, that's why you need to do this," Lan replied, "I won't last long as the responsible one."

Mega chuckled as he looked into the stands and spotted where Roll was sitting with Maylu. She did look pretty unsettled. After a second or two Roll noticed that Mega was looking at her and gave him a short wave. Mega waved back.

"Hey it's now or never," Lan stated trying to keep the pressure on, "waiting's not going to make this any easier."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mega replied as he popped up his skateboard catching it before he turned to leave. It was now or never.

Lan smiled as he watched Hub walk away, maybe after he told Roll the truth and the stress was lifted from his shoulders things would finally get back to normal. Normal for them anyway, however Lan was only able to enjoy the fruits of his labor for so long before he had to move to avoid being clobbered by another boarder who suddenly appeared over the bowls edge.

"Hey watch where you're going jerk!" Lan exclaimed as the boy landed about a foot away, "who do you think you are?"

"Just the person who thinks you need to stop being such a safety hazard Hikari," the boy replied as he pulled off his helmet. Giving Lan the shock of his life when he did. It was Chaud.

"Who are you?" Lan asked when he was able to speak again before he had to make another quick dodge. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stand so close. This time it was Terra.

"Yeah I know, it's scary isn't it?" the green eyed teen stated as she skated over. "But he was a normal kid once Lan, believe it or not."

Lan remained awestruck, he still hadn't quite gotten over the shock of having seen Chaud dance the night before, and now skateboarding? Although when he thought about it, it did strangely fit in with his personality.

"What's the matter Hikari?" Chaud asked attempting to get a rise out of Lan, "cat got your tongue or you're just afraid I'll school you?" That did the trick.

"Heh," Lan chuckled as he looked the teen the eye, "we'll see about that." Lan might have been humble enough to accept defeat from Mega , but it would be a cold day in Hades before he would allow Chaud Blaze to outshine him at his own thing.

"Well then let's go," Chaud replied as he placed his board over the bowl's edge before dropping off, with Lan right behind him leaving Terra all alone.

"Boys." Terra thought as she watched the two for a second before she looked toward the stands and spotted Maylu and Roll. Being ever thankful for thick socks she pulled off her skates before heading over, as she got closer she noticed she wasn't the only one headed that way when she saw Mega, slowing down she watched as he spoke to Roll for a few seconds before they walked off together. As she sat down next to Maylu neither one of them spoke but they were thinking the same thing. This was it.

"So have you been enjoying yourself?" Mega asked as he and Roll walked along, "we haven't been around each other lately."

"It's been ok, but I miss you," Roll replied happy to be finally with him, but she could sense that he wasn't here just to be with her so she forced up the courage to as a question she had been afraid to ask ever since the beginning of the vacation. "You haven't been avoiding me have you?"

The question hit Mega like a ton if bricks, he had been avoiding her, but wasn't for any reason she could possibly be thinking of.

"That's why I need to talk to you," Mega replied as he led Roll off to a quite spot. "I kinda have been avoiding you; but it's not what you think."

"Mega what's wrong?" Roll asked as the boy took a hold of her hands, he was tense, hands trembling, and she could feel the apprehension in his voice.

Mega took a deep breath; there was no turning back now, not when Roll knew something was up.

"Roll has Maylu ever mentioned a boy named Hub Hikari to you?" Mega asked as the long buried pressure of his secret began to rise.

Roll had to think about it as the question caught her off guard. "Once or twice," she replied, "Maylu's never spoken to me personally about him, but she's said the name before. Why, who is he?"

"He's Lan's brother," Mega replied, "older brother actually, Lan's a twin." Mega watched for Roll's reaction as he spoke the words, but received none, it was obvious the blond navi didn't have a clue where he was headed.

"I thought that Lan was an only child," Roll replied, no one's ever mentioned he had a brother, what happened to him? Where is he?"

"See that's where everything gets complicated," Mega replied, "Hub died when he and Lan were six, he had a heart condition called HBD, there was never much hope. And since he died so young no one really ever knew about him, epically since Lan made most of his friends after Hub died. Maylu was the only one he had from before."

Roll caught her breath, "Oh poor Lan, that had to be horrible, losing someone like that who's so close to you. But what dose that have to do with you?"

"Everything," Mega replied, "you've noticed how Lan and I have gotten closer lately haven't you?"

"Sure," Roll replied, "it would be pretty hard to miss. Why?"

"Well let's just say that Lan discovered that he and I have a little more in common than he thought."

Roll was still confused, "Mega what are you saying?" she asked, his vagueness was beginning to concern her.

Mega smiled softly, "What I'm saying is that contrary to what everyone believes Hub didn't die, not technically anyway. When Dr. Hikari learned that his son's life was in jeopardy he was desperate to find a way to save it, and he did. Roll I'm Hub Hikari." Mega watched as everything sunk in, all his vague statements were coming together. Out of shock Roll remained silent. Mega continued. "Right when I was about to die my dad found a way to upload my consciousness, so even though my body failed me I wouldn't disappear, after that he took my DNA and turned it into a navi code. He saved my life."

Roll looked deep into Mega's eyes she was surprised that he had managed to keep his secret under wraps for so long, it seemed so unbelievable. Mega was human?...

"Roll please say something," Mega asked as he looked at his friend, it was apparent that she was trying take everything in, but her silence was killing him. However just when Roll was about to they were interrupted by a burst of white noise as all the music and advertisements suddenly stopped and were replaced by static...

"What I wouldn't give to know what they're saying." Terra commented once she and Maylu lost sight of Mega and Roll. "How do you think she'll react?"

"I wish I knew," Maylu replied, "unfortunately Roll's never been in this situation before. There's a lot riding on this though."

Terra thought about what Maylu was saying finding that it was true. There was a lot riding on this. Roll's reaction would have a huge impact on Mega, after all that's what had held him back so long, fear of nonacceptance,of being treated diffrently.

"Maybe once this is all over things will go back to normal." Terra replied. "At least our version of normal."

"Hopefully," Maylu replied as she thought about Mega as well. Besides her Roll was one of Mega's closest friends excluding Lan, and how she was going to react would either make his day or turn his world upside down. Maylu continued to think about all the different outcomes that could happen as she looked down the beach, suddenly smiling when she spotted a rather interesting sight.

"What's so funny?" Terra asked when she noticed Maylu's disposition change.

"Look for yourself," Maylu replied as she pointed toward the beach. "even in the darkest of storms they're always a silver lining. At least someone's having fun."

Terra turned to see what Maylu was talking about expecting to see that she had been pointing to Lan and Chaud but was surprised when she saw that it was Whisper and Proto, and even more surprised to see them playing volleyball. She had wondered where they had wandered off to. She could even see that Whisper had managed to get Proto to take his shades off. Now that was interesting. Just when Terra was about to comment about the scene herself the music that had been playing in the background abruptly stopped and was replaced with a shrill whine and white noise; as static came over the radio, as well as the advertisement screens that were around.

"What is that?" Maylu asked as she covered her ears.

"I have no idea," Terra replied as she covered her ears too catching the static clear from one advertisement screens out of the corner of her eye, what she saw shocked her...

"Regal..."

"Nooooo..." Tasha said as she let out a whine trying to fight back tears as she looked at the movie screen. The evil Sector 7 FBI agents were capturing Bumblebee pinning him to the ground.

"You do know that this is just a movie don't you?" Breeze asked as she leaned over and whispered into her sister/cousin's ear.

"I don't care." Tasha said letting out another whine, as her tears finally spilled over, just as the scene was about to change, the movie suddenly stopped as static replaced it, and then Regal's face...

"Come on guys hurry we have to catch the first flight out of here!" Chaud exclaimed as the group of friends rushed through the airport. Once Regal had made his brief appearance the group had dropped everything, called a car and got there as fast as they could. They hadn't even gone back to the hotel. "I knew that there was something telling me tha this was a bad idea, we played right into Regal's plan."

"Chaud don't blame yourself, its not your fault," Terra replied as she tried to console her friend. "we can't let Regal control our lives just bacause he's out there."

"But if something happens-"

"Nothing's going to happen Chaud, not if we get back in time," Proto interjected as he tried to calm him down. Chaud always felt as if he had to put the world on his shoulders. When Chaud looked back he noticed that in the midst of the rush that Proto hadn't put his shades back on, his azure eyes glowing with confidence, even if he could see concern fraying at the edges.

"That may be a problem." Mega replied as he looked at one if the time boards as all of the outgoing flights suddenly showed as having been cancled...

"There is no way we're leaving here," Terra said as she came back, the group had split up trying to find any open flights back home but they had come up empty, "Regal's virus jammed up their systems for like five minutes, and there were a lot of near misses, they're surprised no one was killed."

"Yeah, I found the same thing," Mega added as he walked up, "they want everyone to stay here for the time being."

"And I would totally agree except for the fact that we can't stay. So what are we going to do?" Terra asked, "Who knows what Regal's doing back home?"

"I think I may have an idea," Maylu stated as she looked back at the time boards.

"What?" Lan and Mega asked simultaneously causing Roll to flinch when they did, she could see it now.

"Well they said that all the comercial flights had been cancled, but they didn't say anything about private."

"But we don't have time for that." Chaud mentioned. "Do you know how long it would take to send for another plane?"

"I wasn't talking about one of your jets," Maylu replied, "I was talking about someone else's. We can hitchhike a way back."

"There's a flight going west in ten minutes," Lan said once they found a time board that showed the private flight's plans.

"Where's it headed?" Chaud asked.

"Netopia," Lan replied as he took a closer look, "and they're making a fuel stop in Dentech."

"How many seats?" Whisper asked, it would be horrible to find a flight back but there not be any available room.

Lan smiled, "Four," he replied.

"Looks like some of us are going cargo," Mega commented.

"Come on hurry they're going to leave any minute!" Proto exclaimed as the group climbed the last flight of stairs. Lan had neglected to mention that the outgoing flight was a helicopter.

"You could have mentioned that the flight was a helicopter, Hikari." Chaud stated annoyance ringing in his voice.

"Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures," Lan replied, "besides I wouldn't have taken you for someone to complain."

"I'm not complaining," Chaud replied, "But the fact that we would have to climb ten stories to get to the roof since the elevators have been shut down should have been taken into account."

"Whatever," Lan stated.

"So were you able to tell her or did Regal cut you off?" Terra asked as she caught up to Mega as she climbed the stairs, since Roll was further back Terra decided to take advantage of a moment when Roll couldn't overhear.

"I got to tell her," Mega replied, "but Regal cut off her answer."

"How'd she take it?"

"Blank shock," Mega replied, "not that I blame her, there was no way she could have predicted what I told her."

Terra didn't say anything else as they reached the top if the stairs that led to the roof, there wasn't much she could say.

"Ok, 2-4-9-0 you are clear for take off."

"Roger that," Charlie Airstar replied as he pulled back on the steering wheel to take off, after a long trip he as finally going home.

"Charlie wait!" a voice suddenly exclaimed from within the computers systems, it was Charlie's netnavi Gyroman.

"Gyroman what's wrong?" Charlie asked as he let go of the wheel, his aviator type navi hardly ever yelled.

"There are some children on the roof," the navi replied, "they came from nowhere."

"Children?" Charlie asked in question as he looked out of his window to see what his navi was talking about, noticing that there were four teens standing at the edge of the roof by the door and they seemed to be trying to flag him down. Taking a closer look it seemed like he'd seen them somewhere before but he couldn't place them. Turning off his engine he stepped out. "Do you know how dangerous it is to be up here when a helicopter's taking off?" he asked. "What are you kids doing here?"

"We need a ride back home," Chaud replied to the blond aviator, "you're making a fuel stop in Dentech, Japan before heading on to Netopia aren't you?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied, "but home might be the last place you want to be right now. From what I hear that Dr. Regal's pretty much gotten control over everything."

"That's exactly why we need to get there." Chaud stated as he brought up is PET showing Charlie his digital netsaver badge. "We need to shut him down."

Charlie smiled, "I thought you looked familiar," he replied as he realized why they had been so desperate, "Don't worry, I'll get you back."

"So what were you guys doing in the states?" Charlie asked as he sat back in the pilot's seat and handed Terra, Lan, Chaud, and Maylu a set of headphones, "You're pretty far from home."

"We were on vacation, not that that matters now," Terra replied as she slipped the headset over her head, this was low, even for Regal.

"Well I wouldn't worry, you guys took out Regal once, you can do it again," Charlie replied as he punched something into his PET. "Gyroman are we still clear for take off?" he asked.

"Roger that, Charlie," came the navi's reply.

"Good," Charlie stated as he looked at his four new passengers. "Now let's get you guys home."

Regal smiled as he looked at one of his monitors observing that there was a private flight leaving the LA International Airport with four more passengers than it was scheduled to have. He could only guess who they were. Only a little while longer...he pressed a button on his thrown.

"Yeah master?" a darkloid replied, he was the unidentified one from before.

"You're almost up."

"Finally..." the navi replied as he clinched his fist.

Regal typed in a few commands and pulled up a new window that peered into the security room where he had stationed Dark Megaman, Protoman and Whisper, it was time for their end. He pressed the intercom. "Dark Protoman," he called adressing the whole team, "you're up.

"You're up..." the words rang in Dark Whisper's mind as she. Dark Megaman, and Protoman walked through the metro line's computer systems, there was no turning back.

"Hey you're not suppose to be in here!" one of the metro line's security navi's called out when he noticed the intruders. The three darkliods turned around.

"I'm sorry," Dark Whisper whispered, so low it was barely audible, she then raised her default weapon. "Whisper Shock!"

"Here we are!" Charlie exclaimed as he landed in the middle of Dentech Park the blades whipping up the air causing the trees to swirl, it was eerily calm. There was no music, no noise, no advertisements running. Everything was almost at a stand still.

"Thanks for the ride." Terra replied as she handed her headset back and everyone else pilled out. "I don't know how we can ever repay you."

"No need, just save the world." Charlie replied as Terra got out and he shut his door, pulled up on his wheel, and once again headed off onto the skies.

"You can guarantee it." Chaud stated as he and the rest of the gang watched as Charlie disappeared out of view.

"Nice kids," Gyroman commented as he took over the piloting for a while.

"Yeah they are," Charlie agreed as he looked back out the window watching Dentech City disappear, "be careful."

"Now what?" Lan asked once Charlie finally disappeared from view and Mega, Proto, Whisper, and Roll materialized. Regal was out there somewhere, but they were pretty much helpless if they didn't know where he was.

"We wait," Chaud replied, much to his dismay, "Regal knows we're here, it's his move."

"How right you are," Regal's voice replied as the static cleared once more reveling the twisted doctors face. "Welcome home."

TBC