Disclaimer: you should know who belongs to who by now, except for Doctor Karo. But now you do know.

Ashe coughed, turning in her bed. Small motes of light filtered through the window, twinkling like the stars from which they came. They lit up the small area, illuminating the bland cabinets and furniture customary to any hospital. Blinking away tears of fatigue, she yawned loudly. With a start her eyes shot open, sitting up as quickly as she could.

"What the heck? Where... This isn't the ruins!" she exclaimed, looking about hurriedly. Her eyes fell on the hunched form of Grey, who was fast asleep in a chair next to her bed. The youngest Mega Man had stayed awake for as long as he could, waiting faithfully for her to wake. Ashe frowned, snatching him by his shoulder and shaking him.

"Oi, get up! What's going on here, Grey? What am I doing here?" she demanded. Grey grumbled, still half-asleep. He took a long time to get up... or would have, if Ashe wasn't so impatient.

"I said get up!" Ashe commanded, bopping him roughly over the head.

"Ow!" he responded, wincing and placing his hands on the lump that popped up. He faced her, small tears in the corners of his eyes and a look of indignation across his face, "What was that for?"

"I don't know, maybe because I haven't a clue what's going on and you were too asleep to tell me?"

"Figures, the minute I hit the hay, I get hit by you," he complained.

"Not my fault you sleep like a log!"

"At least I don't hit people for no reason!"

"I had a perfectly good reason! I felt like it!"

"And that's a good reason to you?"

The two continued arguing. Behind the door to the room, one very exasperated wind Mega Man sighed. So much for just going in and explaining to her what happened. If she was this riled just by Grey being asleep, no telling what she would do once he told her about her condition. At least she seemed to be alright...

Aeolus knocked on the door, causing the Model A mega men to stop their fight abruptly. "Come on in already, the door should be open! At least I think so," Ashe muttered. Aeolus complied, his long jacket flaring regally as he turned and closed the door behind him.

"It seems you are up, Ashe. The Masters sent me to update you on some news, mainly about the two 'special Mega Men', as well as your own condition." he stated.

"Then hurry up and tell me already, I haven't got all day," she snapped. Aeolus took no notice.

"I believe it is nighttime, actually. But very well, let's start with the Mega Men," he huffed regally. "The Masters have decided that they will be put in a "witness protection program" of sorts. Henceforth, they will be known as Black and White. Somewhat inspired by Grey's name, I suppose." he smirked. The gray haired pair nodded, but let him continue, "Now for your condition. Due to your injuries, the surgeons have highly recommended that you take some time to recover. This means absolutely no vigorous activities. No hunting, no fighting, and no physical exertion of any sort."

The treasure hunter frowned, "No activity? At all? For how long?"Aeolus adjusted his collar nervously. This was the information he'd dreaded having to give.

"At least a month-"

"A MONTH! For god's sake, how can anyone expect me to sit still for a month? This is ridiculous! Absurd! Totally unreasonable!" she ranted, oblivious to anything else except her anger.

Aeolus sighed once more, massaging the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long night.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dawncame slowly, invading the living room as it beamed down inconsiderately upon Omega. The red demon ignored it, still curled up on the couch from last night. The light continued regardless, illuminating the apartment thoroughly. About a half hour later, one of the Gem Gang, he didn't know which one due to his face being stuffed into the couch, sauntered lazily into the room. Yawning, they opened the fridge and began rooting through it, objects chinking together before they found what they wanted. The fridge door was closed and the radio was turned on shortly after. Omega didn't bother listening. More of the group's members slowly filed out of their bedrooms or from the front door, until Omega could tell by the footsteps that they were all there. Some chairs scraped against the floor. Apparently, it was breakfast time for the gang.

Someone poked his back. By the small fingers, it had to be either Pink or Blue Pearl. He took no notice it, despite the fact that they were starting to poke pretty hard.

"Wake up sleepyhead-"

"-It's breakfast!" said Pink, right before another set of fingers began prodding.

"Aren'tcha hungry?" asked Blue. Omega didn't so much as move, and as such missed the concerned look the pair shot the others.

"Hey, Diamond-"

"-I think something's-"

"-Wrong with him!"

"He isn't moving!"

"Huh? He isn't?! I'm pretty sure I saw him breathing earlier..." replied Diamond, surpised. The white-haired leader got up, quickly walking over to the couch. He grabbed Omega, shaking him lightly. When that proved fruitless, he beckoned Emerald over. The muscular man also shook Omega gently. When the action proved useless again, Emerald grabbed his shirt near the scruff of his neck, lifting him up.

Omega glanced over, emotionless and lethargic, but soon looked down to the floor, not bothering to put in any more effort than the one gesture. Emerald dropped him back slowly to the couch, this time facing outwards. Omega was too emotionally drained to protest.

"Fine," grunted the giant. Diamond knelt down in front of Omega, placing his hand on Omega's forehead.

"Are you alright, buddy? You look kinda out of it. Not sick, are you?" Omega responded by closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep and shut out the world.

The twins shook their heads simultaneously, "Poor guy, he should've-"

"-Eaten more!"

"Bad things happen to-"

"-Those who don't eat right!"

"Maybe he wasn't eating right because he was sick?" Sapphire called over from the table. Diamond snapped his fingers together in agreement.

"That must be it! Amethyst, make him up a plate right now!"

"Sure thing," Amethyst nodded, setting to the task immediately.

"I'm not hungry..." Omega mumbled, rolling over to face the couch's back.

"Nonsense! Come and have a little grub!" Diamond smiled, tugging at Omega.

"I said I'm not hungry!" Omega roared, smacking Diamond away. Opal stole the plate of food from her purple companion. She dashed over as Diamond held his smarting hand, blowing on it to lessen the pain.

"Geeze, we're only trying to help," she chided. "What's with you anyways? You've been doing nothing but sulking lately. Go on, some food will do you a world of good," she encouraged, holding the plate close to his head. He only shifted further into the couch.

"Look, I know the whole lockdown thing has you down, it's got us all feeling rotten to be honest, but there's no need to be this upset about it! Lighten up and have some grub!" Diamond said as Opal shoved the plate closer to him.

"I don't eat."

"What?"

"I. Don't. Eat." he snapped, "so just leave me alone!"

"What do you mean, you don't eat? Everyone eats except..." Opal started to say, stopping at some sort of realization. "You... aren't a purist, are you?"

"What the heck is a purist?" Omega grumbled. He really just wanted to be left to his own devices right now...

"They're some sort of religious group that believes that humans and reploids should be different, completely separate... you know, pure. It's a bunch of... uh, it's not great, and it's actually kinda illegal, I think?" Amethyst started.

"Its a bunch of poppycock!" Opal finished, not at all apologetic. "So what, are ya a purist?" she demanded.

"I don't give a damn about religion of any sort. I just don't eat. So buzz off already, will you?" he growled, starting to get a little emotion back to his voice. Even if it was just frustration, it was better than nothing as far as Omega's companions were concerned. They pressed on, or would have if Amethyst hadn't called them on it.

"Whatever it is, its his own business," Amethyst stated, leisurely moving towards the group heckling Omega, crossing his arms in the process. The twins imitated him.

"Fair enough. Guess there's just no reasoning with some people..." Opal sighed. The gang went back to their own business, although Ruby and Opal continued shooting him suspicious looks. They finished their breakfast and left Omega to himself. As they left the apartment, muttering to each other so that he couldn't hear, Omega dozed off, still numb from yesterday's discovery.

Hours passed. The day grew bright and cheerful, birds sang and flitted across window. Omega slept on, oblivious to the uplifting atmosphere around the camp.

The door to the apartment opened. Three sets of feet rumbled happily into the apartment and over to his resting place.

"It's over, it's over-!"

"-The lockdown is over!"

Both Pearls jumped onto him, waking him with a start. He gave them both filthy looks, complaining.

"And why the hell should I care? Makes no difference in the end."

"Give it a rest, you great fussbudget," Ruby lectured, "it makes all the difference in the world! Without the lockdown, we can go get jobs again! And getting a job will help lift your funk! So hop to it!" Ruby dragged him up off the couch, patting him on the back and leading him to the door.

"Where in blue blazes am I supposed to get a job?" Omega grunted, reluctant to leave his misery.

"No need to worry about that, mister! We've already got one!"

"And it's high level enough that we're gonna need the whole team to do it!" Pink and Blue piped in. Omega missed the wink the three sent to each other.

Omega looked down at them. Nothing for it, he supposed, "Hmph... Maybe it will help... What kind of job is it?"

"You'll see!"

"If you say so..." he replied, unsure of what to expect.

x-x-x-x-x

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Omega shot, almost appalled at what he saw.

"Language!" Ruby scolded. Not one fifteen minute train ride after being woken up, Omega was standing in front of a large, quaint looking cottage. It was so cheery looking that it was sickening. The building sported a rainbow of brightly coloured flowers, a cute cobblestone path leading to the front stairs, a sunny welcome mat, and beautiful green grass waving lightly in the breeze. Designed to look like an ancient, old English style house, it had wooden window shutters and accents. To the left of the door was a sign reading "Dr. Karo's cyber elf research facility".

"You honestly expect me to sit around and babysit cyber elves?" Omega snarled incredulously.

Diamond waved his arms towards the house, "Quit acting like this is an easy job. Cyber elves are an endangered species, and we've been entrusted to take care of a bunch of them for a whole day! This is a C-rank mission, we need to focus to be able to complete it!"

"Besides," whispered Opal cheekily, "we're getting paid a tonne of bucks for it! All that money to stand around watching harmless little kids for a day, heh heh..."

"No way... You can't... this isn't right! I'm a fighter, not a nanny! Who the hell do you think you're kidding!" he exclaimed angrily. Ruby bopped him over the back of the head.

"What did I tell you about your language? Most of those cyber elves in there are babies! We don't want them hearing swear words, or Doctor Karo will chew us out!"

"I don't give a f-!"

WHAP!

"Ouch! What was that for?" Omega complained, rubbing his sore nose.

"For your language, you numskull! I already warned you about holding your tongue!" Ruby scowled, putting away the newspaper in her bag.

"Geeze, I get it, I get it! No more swear words!" he pouted, the bridge of his nose still smarting from the attack. Diamond, meanwhile, had gone up to the door and knocked on it, stepping back as he heard someone shuffling about on the other side. The door was opened, and a petite scientist in a white lab coat and glasses stepped out. He was thin, reedy man,nervously smiling at the people on his doorstep.

"Who is it?" the scientist asked, adjusting his glasses by their frame..

"It's us, the Gem Gang! You called us to help you out with your cyber elves!" Diamond smiled. The scientist blinked and grinned back, nodding.

"Ah, good, good, you came! Step inside, there's a few final things to discuss before I leave." He opened the door wider, inviting the group inside. They complied. Omega noticed, as he entered, that the inside of the cottage was quite different in places from the outside. While the entryway and the large living room were traditional, the rest of the house truly looked like a research center ought to. Steel surfaces covered most of the floors, walls and counters, while spacious energy containment and monitoring units were installed in one or two of the walls. Inside those cages were some of the smallest cyber elves Omega had ever seen, while outside them were more mature looking elves, some even holding weapons. Toys were scattered randomly across the floor in what looked like a nursery, and elves only slightly larger than the babies were playing or running around the house with them.

"Oh, aren't they cute?" Ruby sighed, picking up a bird-themed one. It tweeted happily, then fluttered off to collide with another one. Nearby Sapphire giggled, comforting the two elves as the rest of the gang sat down around the living room table. It was low to the ground and surrounded by cushions, so seating wasn't a problem.

"You bunch are like clockwork, coming here at exactly the right time. Now as you probably know, I need to head to town to get some special supplies, as well as visit my cousin who's come to see me. I've made a list of the things you need to do," he took a piece of paper out of one of his pockets, placing it on the table, "but I also wanted to warn you about the elves. They can be a bit of a handful, especially when there's strangers around. So please, don't underestimate them, or get too angry at them. After all, they're just babies, most of them," he explained, moving his glasses back up his nose as they slowly slid down it.

"You can-"

"-Count on us, sir!" the twins chimed.

The scientist smiled and laughed, patting the twins on their heads, "I'm sure I can! I'd better get going though, or I'll be the one who's late. Be back at five!" He got up, heading towards the door. After picking up a jacket, he turned and said goodbye. The gang echoed the farewell, with the exception of Emerald and Omega, whom was still sulking. After Dr. Karo left, Diamond picked up the list and quickly read through it.

"Alright, feed the adults at twelve and four, feed the babies every hour starting at twelve, make sure to keep them and the house clean, monitor the babies at all times... Alright, I think we can do this guys! Stay alert!" he commanded. The gang simultaneously stood up, throwing their fists into the air.

"Let's go, mission start!" they all exclaimed. Omega sighed.

What the heck had he just gotten himself into?

x-x-x-x-x

The mission seemed to pass smoothly overall, with each of the group's members given specific jobs. The twins were charged with playing with the younger elves, as did everyone who had a spare moment. Diamond, Emerald and Amethyst cleaned up the house whenever a mess appeared, the girls took care of the feeding, and Omega took care of monitoring the baby elves. Not the worst of the jobs, he supposed, but not something he'd like to do regularly. It was at about two pm, during one of the feedings, that Omega had to do anything else.

Some of the baby elves were crying for food. The women half-shoved him aside, though not before shoving a baby at him to feed. After wiping off one of their mouths (never again, he promised himself, never again), he was putting their feeding formula away in the kitchen cabinet. A full grown animal elf suddenly appeared right next to his shoulder.

"Why do you smell so strange?" it asked innocently. Omega whirled instinctively, accidentally knocking over a box of spice.

"Blast it... what do you want?" he asked it impatiently.

"I wanted to know why you smelled like... that place..."

Omega knelt down, trying to see if he could salvage the spice. No such luck, the reddish powder spread across the floor. Instead he stood up and headed towards the sink, "That place? What place? Quit speaking nonsense and go bug someone else."

"You're not too bright, are you? Then again, that place is special. We elves tell no one about it," it teased, its cute monkey cheeks showing dimples.

"Tell no one what?" he asked, his curiosity aroused. He dampened a dishcloth, then returned to the spill to clean it up.

The little elf grinned mischievously, "It wouldn't be a secret if we told you about it, would it? Mama told us not to tell anyone..."

Mama. When had he heard that? He strained his memory, finally remembering with a shock where the term had come from.

"When you say mama, you don't mean... the mother elf, do you?" he looked up from his task, his gaze was intense.

"Teehee! How'd you guess? But I can tell you want me to tell you where she is. Too bad mister, she's gone! She went to cyberspace a long time ago, long before you came. She only ever came here once, when I was really really little... but like I said, she's gone for good!" it laughed. Omega glanced around the room, making sure that no one else was there. No one was, so he continued their conversation.

"So what is that place, anyways? Does Dr. Karo know about it?"

"Teeheehee! Dr. Karo knows nothing about this! He thinks he runs this facility, but I know better... we're only sticking around here because we like this place. And I told you, I won't tell you about that place! It's a secret! Teehee!" It began flying around the room, taunting Omega. "A secret, a secret!" it kept repeating happily. Omega ignored the taunts, deciding that it would be for the best to let it go. Instead, he put on a pleading, big-eyed face.

"But... I met mama too! She never told me that great secret! Please, please could you tell me? Mama will be okay with it, I was her friend once. Please?" his eyes widened, getting almost watery. He even put his hands together for effect. As much as he hated to admit it, he could be quite the charmer if it meant getting what he wanted. Maybe. He was really disgusted with himself at the moment and just hoped it didn't show.

"You met mama? Why didn't you tell me? Poor mama acted so strange when she talked about that place, I thought it was because she didn't have friends! I should go to cyberspace and tell her that you were here, she'll be so happy-"

"NO!" Omega shouted. The elf looked at him, scared. Omega quickly regretted his outburst, so he patted the elf on its head. "Er, I mean, please don't. It's been a long time since I saw her, and I don't want anyone to ruin the surprise if I do get to see her. Let's keep this between you and me, okay? It'll be just like..." Omega stopped, grinning sneakily. He beckoned the elf to come closer, and it did, "It'll be another secret," he whispered slyly.

"Oh boy, another great secret! Thanks mister!" It squeaked, racing around the room a second time, "I should tell you my secret, too! That'll be really fun!"

"Fun!" Omega repeated, grinning happily, and slightly menacingly (thank heavens the elf didn't notice).

"Okay, my secret is..." the elf started. It peered around the building, making sure no one was within earshot, before it flew towards Omega. "That there's a special place somewhere that's supposed to lead to cyberspace, where mama is. But the thing is, nothing has been able to pass through it because it's so special! Not even data! So no one knows anything about it, not even the reploids and elves in cyberspace! Any data about that place gets sucked back into it before it gets to cyberspace, so that's why it's such a secret. Mama thinks the reason it does that is because someone really evil died there, and that evil person had the strange ability to destroy the barrier between reality and cyberspace! Silly if you ask me, but I guess when they died, the barrier came back so suddenly that it made a sucky-black hole thingy between the worlds in one area. Whatever goes in, never comes out..." it said, moving its hands slowly in front of his face for effect.

Omega wasn't sure what to make of the information. "So, don't other things get sucked into the area too? And what's so strange about the reploids in cyberspace not knowing about it?" he asked.

The elf looked at him like he hadn't been listening, "Silly mister, don't you get it? The reploids in cyberspace know everything! All data and information flows to cyberspace, so they always know what's going on in this world as well as theirs. Even data that has been deleted, or is in a Legion database! They can access it while no one's the wiser. We cyber elves aren't all here just for fun and games, you know! We're here to help get info that hasn't passed over yet! Even if it all passes over as soon as it gets made," the elf laughed. Omega nodded, showing that he was listening. The elf kept ranting.

"As for your first question, nah, nothing else got taken in. No one knows why that is either. The others have tried a lot of times to get in, but each time they try they fail. Not that they can try all that much though. It's actually really lucky that anyone knows about it at all. I mean, only the data I've told you about so far hasn't gotten sucked away, and everyone only knows it's approximate location because of it's strange smell and energy signature! Which we cyber elves are good at picking up!" It giggled. "That's another reason why cyber elves on this side of the barrier are so important! We can sniff it out, and data that has been collected by someone on either side if the barrier seems to stay where it's put. Having guys working in the real world can get more data to help narrow down both the location of that place and the way in! If we could use this place to it's full extent, who knows, we may be able to make a stable door between this world and the next! If something started to go wrong in one world, agents from the other could be sent over to help stop it! We could have a whole lot of everlasting peace!" the elf concluded triumphantly.

Omega grimaced inwardly. Everlasting peace... What a foolish notion! There would never be eternal peace, that was for sure. Too many people would be tempted to use the power of the "special place" for evil. Himself probably being one of them. Outwardly, he smiled enormously, as if the thought pleased him as well.

"That's amazing! Who'd have thought it? Eternal peace... neato! But, one last question..."

"Sure, anything!"

"Is that all they know? Is there really no other information available?"

The elf looked at him strangely. It turned, "pacing" through the air as if contemplating the most important decision of all time. "Promise you won't tell anyone if I tell you."

"I promise." he said solemnly.

The elf frowned, "Promise harder!"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"With an arrow in your eye!"

"With an arrow in my eye," he repeated. The elf nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Well... okay. The biggest of all secret about this place, and this is a REAL big secret, mind you, is..."

Omega leaned forward, "Is...?"

The elf stared at him, its eyes full of pure seriousness. "That there is other info that gets sucked into this area. And that info, that crucial data, is about none other than the reploid that died long ago, creating the disturbance in cyberspace! Whatever info that was on it, even the stuff that was being taken care of, suddenly disappeared. The only info that survived was that which was related to another reploid at the time. The rest... well, let's just say that the bad reploid is a complete mystery! Whatever wasn't related to the other guy, the legendary red hero Zero, just disappeared. Even the stuff that had been read already. Almost everyone forgot, just like that. Only those in the real world were spared... but barely. So few people knew him here, and what they did know never got to cyberspace," it finished. Omega was unsure and somewhat astounded at what he'd found out. Then he smirked. It seemed that the world was on his side this time around.

"Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate you telling me all this," he said. The cyber elf giggled, hugging itself embarrassingly.

"Oh please mister. It was my pleasure! No need to praise me like that!"

"Oh, but there is all the need in the world! I love to share secrets with friends! How's about we share another one?" he grinned.

"Yes yes please mister!" it joyously sang.

"Let's keep our meeting a secret too, okay? We'll be the only ones to know, it'll be so much fun."

The animal elf saluted, "Yes sir, mister sir!"

"Okay!" Omega reached his hand forward, shaking the hand of the little elf. "Hey, by the way, you hungry? I'm sure I can sneak you a little snack, if you'd like!"

"Yaaaaaay! A snack, a snack! Can I have a cookie, please?" it asked, its eyes widening happily.

"Comin' up!" Omega turned back into the cupboard. Searching through it, he managed to find some small animal crackers, perfect for the elf. Picking out two, he gave them to the elf with one final word. "Now, be a good little elf and go play now, alright? Keep our secrets all to yourself!"

The elf nodded, grabbing the cookies and blasting off to find other mischief to get into. Omega finished cleaning up the spilled spice, wringing out the cloth in the sink. Looking at the now-empty spice box, he sighed and called out to the rest of the gang.

"Hey, I accidentally spilled some stuff in here. I'm going to go get more, okay?"

"Alright! We'll hold the fort until you get back!" was the reply. Omega grabbed the jar, almost sprinting to the front door. As he left, some of the medium-age elves poked around a door frame, watching him leave.

"Smelly man's gone now..." one of them said to the others. They shook their heads, one of them grinning malevolently.

"Smelly man's not here anymore. Think we could have a little fun now?" chuckling followed his remark. Another piped up.

"No moar smully mun, hulloo fun-fun."

"Eheehee, yer right, Moley. Time for fun..."

x-x-x-x-x

Omega arrived at the nearest grocery store, still toting the empty spice box. Looking down at the label, he surmised that this would be the best place to find some more of it. Trotting forward through the automatic doors, he scanned the aisle signs detailing what was in each one. Seeing the appropriate aisle, he headed towards it. A few people watched him as he passed, but he ignored them. In fact he nearly bumped into someone as he walked quickly towards his destination. Once at the spice aisle he searched the shelves for the same spice as the one he had spilled. It took a few minutes to find it amids all the colourful herbs. As he took it down, he noticed its steep price. Raising his eyebrow, he wondered if he had enough for a box the same size. Taking out his money, he began counting it to see if he had the amount necessary to buy it. To his dismay, he didn't.

"Damn it... I thought I had more than this? There's gotta be moresomewhere!" he groaned, groping through his pockets. Only a little more came out, but it still wasn't enough.

"Having a little trouble?" came a familiar voice. Omega left his pocket-pilfering to look up at its source.

"Alfredo? Is that you?"

The raider grinned, "That it is! It's a small world, isn't it? What brings you here?"

"Figures I find you in a spice aisle, Alfredo. I'd rather not say. It's a mission I'm having to do in order to stay low, if you know what I mean," he sighed.

"How bad?"

"Babysitting."

Alfredo rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "Shame, a warrior like you having to do such menial chores. Waste of your talent, if you ask me."

"You flatter me, Alfredo. Let me guess, there's something you want from me," Omega noted.

"You're good. Indeed, there is something we'd like from you. And not your squad, just you," Alfredo replied, gently taking the spice from Omega, "what's this for? I thought you were just babysitting."

"Spilled some. But I don't seem to have the money on me..." Omega frowned, trying to take back the spice. But Alfredo wouldn't hear of it.

"No, no, don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of it for you. It's the least I can do." he insisted, taking the spice and putting it in his shopping basket.

"I hope you're not going to try and make me feel indebted to you," Omega grunted, crossing his arms and following Alfredo as he went towards the checkouts.

"What? No, of course not. We should be the ones indebted to you, if anything. Thanks to your, our organization is quickly progressing through the ranks, mostly unopposed."

They arrived at the register, Alfredo placing the groceries in front of the cashier, "That's good news, I suppose," Omega picked up the spice after the cashier was done with it. Alfredo payed the bill, then the two left.

"Very good. Now, back to business. Both our leader, Scimitar, and I were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

Omega kept walking, out of the store and towards the train station. "No," he replied bluntly.

"Why not?" Alfredo asked, surprise at the red reploid's curt tone. He followed behind Omega anyways.

"Well, first and foremost, I dislike taking sides," Omega explained, "not only that, I like not having to be tied down to anything. I can get jobs as I like and do as I please. Most of the time anyways," he huffed, paying for a fare and hopping on the express train. Alfredo kept following him. Omega gave him a strange look, but kept silent.

Alfredo caught on to his odd glance, "I know you don't like joining sides, but please, just hear me out-"

"Look, I'm on a mission right now, and I'd appreciate a little quiet until I get there, okay?" snapped the silverette, his patience wearing thin.

Alfredo took the hint. "Fair enough."

The ride passed in silence, the train rocking and bumping gently as it passed over the tracks. Staring out at the scenery passing by, Omega took the rare opportunity to relax. He sighed as the beautiful countryside passed by at a frenetic pace, still not quite used to desert wastelands not being at every turn. But the peace didn't last, as they were soon at Omega's stop. As he got up and left, so did Alfredo.

"You really don't need to follow me, you know," the mercenary shot at him.

"No, but there's something I wanted to give to you before we part ways again. Besides, what's the harm? I've got some spare time, and there are other missions I'd like to ask you about when we have a chance," the raider offered.

"Whatever, just stay out of my-" Omega started, stopping suddenly as he caught sight of the sign to the facility. A cyber elf was scribbling all over it, and had covered up two of the words on the sign. It now read "Dr. Karo's Cyber facility".

"-Way... oh hell, what now?" Omega dashed forward, depositing the box of spice in Alfredo's hand as he went. Alfredo watched him go before turning to look at the obscure (obscene?) reference on the sign bemusedly.

"This ought to be interesting..." he pondered as the front door was opened.

Omega stared at the carnage inside. Emerald was tied and gagged on the table, cyber elves flying this way and that with wild abandon. One with a pair of sharp looking swords was being chased by Opal, while another was giggling and gripping a ceiling fan, rotating it faster as the twins screamed for mercy on top of it. Baby elves cried for food, but the girls couldn't get to them because they were being harassed by larger elves. Food was splattered all over the walls. Amethyst and Diamond rocketed past, chasing down two more elves rather unsuccessfully. Then the whole shebang just stopped dead. Everyones' eyes crept towards Omega, the only break in the chaos.

His eyes shadowed and not turning away from the audience, Omega slowly put his hand on the door handle behind him, pushing it back to where it belonged. The door closed with a soft click. Outside, Alfredo covered his ears as the world seemed to explode.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE! I LEAVE FOR THIRTY GODDAMN MINUTES AND THIS IS WHAT I COME BACK TO? USELESS, PATHETIC IMBECILES! WHAT HAPPENED TO TAKING CARE OF THESE DATA-FILLED DIPSHITS? AND YOU GODDAMN LITTLE INGRATE CYBER ELVES, IF YOU DON'T START CLEANING THIS PLACE UP IN 5 SECONDS I'LL-!"

Judging by the flurry of noise and movement from inside the house, no one was interested in finding out the rest of his sentence. Watching through a window, Alfredo saw wide-eyed cyber elves and gang members alike scurrying as fast as possible to comply with Omega's demands, cleaning the walls, rescuing the twins, or whatever else they could to avoid the fury-filled tyrant. The door slammed open as three elves raced to the sign, scrubbing furiously away at the graffiti the moment they got there. From his vantage point, Alfredo spotted Omega just before he went further into the house to command the others. His normally uncaring visage was etched with rage, his teeth seemed longer and sharper, and his hair, he could have sworn, was puffing out with energy. Alfredo was very glad he was on the other side of Omega's visual radius; that guy, he was sure, could go off on a killing spree any minute.

Sitting down, he rummaged through a pack at his side. Taking out a thermos, Alfredo unscrewed the cap and poured the hot drink from inside the thermos into it. The cyber elves kept cleaning away as Alfredo sipped the liquid gingerly.

"Nothing like a good ole' spot of tea," he sighed to himself pleasantly, continuing to watch the occupants of the research facility through the window.

Some time later, Alfredo peered over his shoulder as a scientist running up the path caught his attention, the small man breathing heavily with physical exertion. The scientist stopped beside him, puffing.

"Would you be Dr. Karo?" asked Alfredo. He nodded, leaning forward, still gasping too hard to answer properly.

After catching his breath a bit more, Dr. Karo straightened up and looked over at the raider, "Hello there... Uh... whatever your name is... whooff... Where are you from?"

After another sip of tea, the raider responded, "Oh, nowhere in particular. I was just discussing job opportunities with one of the members of the group in there."

"You were? How proactive of you... hack, hurf!" Dr. Karo began coughing, so Alfredo offered him some of his tea. After a few gulps (it was much cooler by now), the scientist continued, "I suppose things must have gone well for them if they were idle enough to talk with others."

After taking back his cup, Alfredo screwed it back on the empty thermos, "Well, actually, it was a bit hectic not long ago. I guess after the one I was talking with left to get something, the elves went a little nuts."

"Oh dear, not again! Every time I have to head out, they cause a huge mess! I'd hoped getting a group of babysitters would've worked this time, but I guess not... Huhh, time to go assess the damages..." he groaned, reluctantly walking up to the stairs. Opening the door, it was clear that he expected the worst of the worst. And judging by his face, what he saw was not what he expected.

Everything inside the house was spotless. None of the mess from earlier was anywhere to be seen. All of the older elves were sitting in corners, silent as can be. The babies were all being fed by the gang, and all of the toys that were usually scattered about the house were neatly tucked away in their boxes. Overseeing the whole thing was a very solemn looking Omega. Whichever way he turned, elves quickly averted their gazes. He kept pacing tirelessly around the house, with nothing escaping his keen eyes. As Dr. Karo entered, Omega turned to look at him.

"You're back early," he said. Karo blinked in surprise, then let out a nervous laugh.

"Aheh... it's clean..."

"Yes, it's clean. I made sure of that, now, didn't I?" Omega growled, glancing over at the group of elves nearest the door.

"Yes sir, you certainly did, sir," they chorused dejectedly. Alfredo came up behind Dr. Karo, taking out the box of spice.

"By the way, I think this was for you, wasn't it?" he looked over at Omega, who nodded. Karo took the box, looking at Omega skeptically.

"Why this? I thought I had some already," he asked.

Omega frowned for a second, "Well, you did, but I accidentally dropped it. My apologies, but I got you some to replace it, so no harm done, hmm?"

"No, no, of course not. Thank you for replacing it," Dr. Karo replied. He took the box into the kitchen, then walked over to Diamond. "You are the leader of this group, correct? I believe I owe you some money," reaching into his pocket, the scientist took out a sumofmoney. After handing it to Diamond, he picked up one of the elves. "Thank you for your excellent service. Perhaps another time?"

"Perhaps. Well, mission is over gang, time to head home," interrupted Omega. The group left, their postures subdued. Omega watched them go. Just as he was about to leave himself, Alfredo handed him a business card.

"Any time you'd like a job, or just a mission, feel free to call us," he smiled, then turned and headed towards the train station. Omega followed without another peep, leaving Dr. Karo standing in the door way with the elf. He shut the door, then went inside.

"Well well, I'm certainly surprised at you all! You behaved so well! Perhaps the next time I need to go out you'd like me to invite them back-"

"NO!" they screamed. Karo stopped suddenly as one of the adult elves flew in front of him.

"Please dad, don't let the scary man come back! He... he... he disciplined us! We'll be good from now on, just don't let him come back, ever! Please dad, we'll be good, promise! Please!" All the other elves yelled in agreement, setting up a cacophony of noise. Dr. Karo was left scratching his head as the mischievous little elves all promised to always be good.

x-x-x-x-x

At home in the apartment, Omega flopped down instantly on the couch. Less than a millisecond later, he was asleep. The gang tiptoed into the room behind him, cautiously watching his position.

"I think he's insane, you know that? One minute he's dead to the world, the next, he's ready to rip it to shreds!" muttered Ruby, keeping her voice down so as not to disturb the red demon.

"He'll probably be as bright as a bumblebee tomorrow," Diamond complained.

Amethyst shook his head, "No, I think he's more the strong, silent type. Guys like that do their level best not to show others how they feel."

"He certainly doesn't seem to care-"

"-About showing others when he's angry."

"Yeah, I know! He's bloody worse than Diamond!" Opal agreed.

"Hey! I heard that!"

"Wait, say that again..." Amethyst said strangely.

"I heard that?"

"No, not that! I wasn't talking to you! I meant the "bloody worse than Diamond" thing! Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Amethyst looked around at everyone's faces. Apparently, by their looks, they didn't. That didn't stop Sapphire from scrunching up her face in thought.

"Go on, tell us what you're thinking," Diamond encouraged. Amethyst obliged.

"Well, remember how he said he was a fighter? When Opal said "he's bloody worse than Diamond", it got me thinking about his name. Have you guys ever heard of a blood diamond? They're supposed to be diamonds that are sold to pay for war efforts, or red diamonds that are extremely rare. Now, he was kind of a "diamond in the rough" when he came and saved our backsides from those elves-"

"Even though he yelled at us, too," Ruby sniped.

"Alright, even though he yelled at us, too. I'm just saying that he came out of nowhere with that commanding tone, and none of us were expecting it, that's for sure! And I dare one of you to want to go and fight him. Here's what I'm saying, guys. Why don't we call him Blood Diamond? That's one gem we haven't used yet!" he finished, grinning. The other members pondered the name, but Diamond quickly came up with a reason why not.

"Amethyst, as fitting as a name it is, it's still a bit too much like my own to go calling him in public. Besides, we're good guys, "Blood Diamond" just seems too sinister!"

"A-and it's pretty long as well..." Sapphire added quietly.

"True that. Maybe we could find something shorter?" Opal agreed.

"Or we could just abbreviate it," Amethyst shot back, "No one else has come up with a better name for him yet after all."

Silence. No one was able to argue with that. The twins looked at each other, then began voicing their thoughts.

"Well, if we shortened it to BD-"

"It wouldn't be so long-"

"And BD sounds a bit like beady!"

"And beady sounds like-"

"Bead! We could call him Bead!" they finished at the same time. High-fiveing each other, they turned to the others, smiling. A fewof them raised their eyebrows,but they kept quiet.

Diamond scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Bead would be an okay name, at least for now. Not too long, not nasty sounding, and short for Blood Diamond... what do you guys think?" he asked, turning to them. Each of them nodded, some more vigorously than others, but nevertheless, it was decided.

"Alright than, it's settled! His name is Bead! Or at least until we find something better?" Diamond pounded the kitchen counter triumphantly at the name, then flinched. The others looked at him questioningly.

"Aheh... don't want to wake up Bead now, do we?" They all looked at him, sleeping peacefully (as much as a god of destruction can) on the couch.

"Yeah... we should wait till tomorrow to tell him," Amethyst said. The others agreed.