Chapter 18
The Kanto Chronicle I Part 2
"So this is the Kanto Region?" MECHA asked as he stepped out the plane. The trio had landed on a small runway not too far from Cerulean City. The robot scanned his surroundings. The sky had a bright orange color as the sun rose over the horizon. "It's different from what I imagined..."
"Kanto is one of the few places that isn't heavily influenced by the war." Deryk explained, tossing his guns into his backpack. "You could say it's neutral territory. It has yet to accept an alliance with the U.F. nor has Biostar shown any interest in conquering it."
"The only region Terren has so far is the Kalos Region." Hunter said, putting a device on his weapons, turning them invisible. MECHA raised an eyebrow at that. "Johto, Honnen, Sinnoh and Unova all joined the U.F. about three years ago, the most active of the four being Sinnoh."
"Why are you guys hiding your weapons?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"What part of "neutral territory" did you not understand?" Deryk asked incredulously before sighing. "We can't walk around armed, it will draw too much attention..."
"Speaking of which, can't you do something about those eyes of yours?" Hunter asked, pointing to MECHA's LED optics. "Kinda stands out a bit too much." MECHA was still confused for a bit until realization struck him.
"Oh!" He said, recalling his abnormal "eyes". "Sorry about that. Hold on." The robot shut his optics as tight as he could, making a small whirring sound. opening his eyes again, they looked like normal human eyes, his being lime green. "Better?" He asked.
"It will do." Deryk replied. "Now let's go. Cerulean City's not far from here." And with that, the trio took off down the path leading to the city...Completely unaware of the faceless man watching them.
"So Barren, what do you think will happen when I become the king of hearts?" An eight year old Matthew asked as he and Barren sat at the coast of Dream Lake, looking up at the starry night sky.
His friend didn't seem to understand the question. "What do you mean Matthew?" He asked.
"What kind of adventures will I have, the kind of people I'll meet, the stories I'll tell my grandchildren...That kind of stuff!" He cheerfully replied, giving the red eyed warrior a large smile. Barren chuckled as he lied down onto the sand.
"Who knows Matthew?" He said, watching a shooting star pass by. Nothing uncommon there. Those thing always seemed to pass by this place. "You might have adventures like grandfather, or even greater ones like the first king of hearts..." Matthew laid on his back so he could see him better. Barren had a solemn look on his face, one that made Matthew worried.
"Barren, what's wrong?" He asked. Barren rolled onto his side, his back facing Matthew.
"How many of those adventures will we share Matthew?" Matthew...wasn't expecting that. "You and I have been best friends since we were in diapers...But will it always be like this? Will I get to come with on all those adventures of yours or..." Barren sighed. "I just wish things could stay like this forever..."
"Don't be like that Barren..." Matthew said, sitting up on the sand. "What makes you think I'd possibly forget to bring you along?" Barren turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. "I promise you right here and right now." He started, making a small circle in the sand with his index finger. "That as soon as I can truly call myself the king of hearts, I'll take you on the biggest adventure of your life!" He exclaimed with a smile on his face. Barren raised an eyebrow, staring at the circle. He let out a chuckle.
"Pretty bold claims for someone so small." He said, earning a pout from Matthew. "Okay, okay. Calm down." He replied, making an "X" in the circle Matthew had made. "Than I promise you, I won't go on that adventure until I've proven to myself I'm a true warrior." Matthew looked puzzled. "I'll go on an adventure of my own before I head out with you. Just so I can show the world who they're dealing with when they see me fighting by your side!" Matthew smiled.
"It's a deal!" He said, as he shot up from the ground.
"Nope." Barren replied with a laugh. "It's a promise."
"Is he okay?" Siren asked as the doctor finished signing a few papers. She was in the medical ward, the most logical place you take a guy who just falls over unconscious out of nowhere. Matthew himself was laying on one of the beds, his flute on a small table next to him. The doctor smiled at the hyrulian as he looked up from his paperwork.
"No signs of any injury and he doesn't seem to be showing signs of any disease." He explained. "From what you told me, I'd say he just passed out from shock. He'll be up soon." Siren sighed in relief, glancing over at the young king.
"I still don't see why he'd get so surprised by a flute though..." She thought before shrugging the thought She'd ask him about it later. She was going to ask something else before the two heard a pair if footsteps and heavy pants coming from the door. Sure enough, Miles busted in, breaking down the door and dashed towards the unconscious king. Tip came in shortly after. At first he stared at the broken remains of the door.
"We're going to have to fix that..." He shook it off before running towards the doctor. "We came as soon as we heard!" He exclaimed, not even noticing Siren next to him. "Is he all right?!" The angels wings were rustling uncontrollably as he spoke. Miles was already right in front of the king.
"Matthew!" He yelled in his ear. "Don't go into the light! Stay with us buddy!" He yelled before repeatedly slapping Matthew across the face.
"Miles! We're here to check on him, not make him worse!" The angel exclaimed, grabbing the blur's arms before he could worsen Matthew's now red cheeks. The chaos wielder struggled in Tip's grip as he tried to reach for Matthew's face again.
"Let me go Tip! I gotta try and wake him up!"
"Slapping him silly won't do anything but give him a concussion smart one!"
Siren and the doctor sweat dropped.
"Boys, calm down. Matthew's fine." The doctor said, getting their attention. Tip held Miles in a headlock while the blur was chewing on his arm. "He should be up in a bit." The two released each other and sighed in relief. It was good to know that their third member was okay. It was only than that Tip noticed the hyrulian warrior standing there.
"Siren?" He asked. Miles saw the girl as well. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought Matthew here." She replied, walking up to the two boys. She turned to Miles. "You must be Miles. I'm Siren. It's nice to meet you." The blur smiled
"The pleasures all mine." He replied.
"Siren-" Tip said, getting her attention. Before he could speak however, Siren hushed him.
"No need to worry Tip. Deryk already talked to me about Lucaria...Don't beat yourself up..." Tip raised an eyebrow.
"I know. Deryk told me about that. I was just wondering if you knew what happened to Matthew." He replied. Siren blushed a little, embarrassed.
"O-oh! Sorry..." She glanced at the unconscious boy before sighing. "He just fainted out of nowhere when I showed him that flute." She pointed the instrument on the table. Both Tip and Miles raised an eyebrow. "Do you guys know why?"
"No, but I'm starting to wish I did..." Miles said, crossing his arms while glancing at Matthew. "This is the first time I've seen that thing...Where was it?"
"He dropped it...Or at least I think he did..." She trailed off. Tip picked up the flute and examined it. It was a very beautiful flute, that was for sure. It practically glowed with some sort of radiant power. The craftsmanship was amazing! It must have taken at least two years to make. It was silver, but it had some kind of golden pattern engraved into it. It almost looked...angelic.
"Hmm...I've seen these markings before..." He said, getting their attention. Even the doctor looked up from his papers to listen, though no one noticed.
"What markings?" Siren asked. Tip showed the patterns to his comrades.
"It looks like an old ancient text I saw once back in Skyworld." The angel explained. "Not quite sure what it means though...Maybe Lady Palutena could tell us what it means..." He said tapping the flute into his hands repeatedly.
"Well, it's a start..." Siren said. "But it still doesn't explain why Mat-Tip, where's the flute?!" The angel raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean? It's right..." He trailed off. He could no longer feel the flute in his hands. It was gone. "What the-"
"Uh...Guys? Look." Miles said, pointing at Matthew's hand. The two were confused for a minute until they saw what he was holding. The flute.
"Did he grab it from me?" Tip asked as he stared at his hand and than back at Matthew's.
"I don't think so. He didn't even stir..." Miles said as the king moved in his sleep. "Looks like he's waking up." Unfortunately he was wrong, proven when Matthew started snoring.
"Or not." Tip replied, earning a glare from Miles and a laugh from Siren.
"Well in that case..." Siren started before her stomach growled. The boys eyed her strangely, making her blush. "I'm going to go eat." She said before doing a small bow and dashing towards the door. "Bye!" Tip smiled. She seemed a lot different now...
"Well, Matthew ain't waking up anytime soon so~..." Miles trailed off before taking out a camera and a hockey stick behind his back. Where he had kept those thing, Tip had no idea. "Wanna film ourselves doing something stupid with shopping carts?"
Tip's entire reaction in one second.
0-200 milliseconds - Tip reacts in shock, loading "Say what now?"
200-300 milliseconds - Tip realizes Miles is being serious, "Say what now?" now pending.
300-500 milliseconds - Tip's examination of the rest of the day reveal he has nothing better to do today, "Say what now?" cancelled.
500-800 milliseconds - Tip begins formulating his response for Miles's question, "Uh...", "No." and "Sure." all pending use.
800-1000 milliseconds - Tip prepares for his speech.
This concludes Tip's reaction to Miles's question in one second.
"Sure."
Back with Team Deryk, the trio had just arrived in Cerulean City and while MECHA was marveling at the big city, Hunter and Deryk were having a very serious discussion.
"I'm still not certain it's a pokemon." Hunter told the soldier as the were walking into a park. Deryk sighed.
"Hunter, we're in Kanto of all places. Of course it's a pokemon." Deryk stated firmly. "Either that or a non-human smasher, but I can't think of smasher who'd come here if they weren't a pokemon." Hunter had to admit he was right there.
"I suppose..." He admitted as they fell into silence. However, there was something that bugged Hunter for a while. The look in Deryk's eyes...That and his overall appearance. "Hey Deryk."
"Hmm?"
"Are you familiar with a man named Joshua Williams?" Hunter asked.
He immediately wished he didn't.
Deryk had his head down, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Hunter stopped next to him, worried.
"Deryk?" He asked.
Hunter didn't know what made him break into a cold sweat all of a sudden. Was it Miles's glare? His eyes seemed to glare into the bounty hunter's soul...In fact, Hunter swore he saw some kind if dark energy swirling in his eyes...Deryk himself looked like he was about to commit bloody murder. His arms were trembling with pure rage as a loud and animatistic growl escaped his throat, startling a few passerbys.
Hunter took a step back. Just what was with this kid?
Deryk's sigh brought back his attention. The glow in his eyes died down as he walked by the hunter, forcibly driving his foot into Hunter's when he walked past him.
"Ow!" Hunter yelled, clutching his foot. Kid's a lot stronger than he looks. Hunter glared at him until he saw that Deryk wasn't even looking at him.
"Don't. Ever. Say that name again." Deryk growled as he kept walking. Hunter's foot started feeling better, so the mercenary followed a few steps behind him. MECHA had realized that the two had started going without him.
"H-hey! Wait for me!" He yelled, running to catch up with them. Seeing his bounty hunter friend limping, MECHA raised an eyebrow. "What happened to your foot?" The robot asked, earning a sigh from Hunter.
"It's nothing MECHA." He said, not bothering to look at the bot as his eyes were fixed on Deryk. "So you do know him..." He thought as a small alarm went off. The hunter looked around, trying to find out where it came from. His eyes found a red light coming out of MECHA's ears and nose, getting both his and Deryk's attention. "MECHA? What's wrong?" The robot opened his mouth to speak, but a piece of paper started printing and slid down the robot's mouth.
"Ziddn'd vnow I kould zho jat..." MECHA said with his mouth full before yanking the sheet from his mouth.
"What is it?" Deryk asked, tapping his foot impatiently. MECHA scanned the sheet of paper and it's contents made his optics grow wide.
"Guys! I'm picking up a large reading of smash and chaos energy nearby!" He yelled. Both his comrades recoiled a bit in shock.
"Chaos energy?!" Deryk yelled, momentarily forgetting his bitter reaction to Hunter's question. "Here?!" MECHA nodded.
"This is big..." Hunter muttered while glancing around. "If there's a chaos emerald here, Terren might know about it already. And if he does..."
"Be on alert boys." Deryk said as one of his hands subconsciously reached for his guns, only to remember he put them in his backpack. "We may not be the only ones out here...MECHA! Where is the energy coming from?" The bot's eyes turned blue for a minute as a chorus of sounds were emitted by MECHA's body. A small ding was heard and an arrow burst out of his chest, pointing to the left. Unfortunately, this attracted some attention from a few passerbys, who couldn't help but stare at the robot.
"Uh..." MECHA trailed off. "That way?" Deryk face palmed while Hunter groaned.
"We're wasting time!" Hunter said, grabbing MECHA's wrist and pulling him in the direction of the arrow. "Come on!" Deryk nodded and was about to chase after them...
Until he heard crying.
Now normally something like that wouldn't bother him. He had been to various war zones before and he had heard many children cry before...So why was this different.
Even though he tried to hide it, Hunter's question still affected him a bit. And that crying reminded him of...
"Daddy!" He heard a young voice cry out.
"No!" He screamed mentally. "Stay focussed Deryk! You have a mission to accomplish." He turned around to march away...But he couldn't. It felt as if his legs were glued to the ground. He couldn't move..."No! I will not feel helpless again! Never...Again!"
"What's wrong son?"
Hook.
Line.
And sinker.
Deryk gulped. That voice...So calm and...So caring. The soldier forced himself to turn around and quickly hid behind a few bushes. Mustering up all his courage, Deryk parted the leaves just a tiny bit so he could see what was going on...
And what he saw made his heart stop.
On the ground was a little boy, clutching his knee as tears spilled from his eyes. Kneeling next to him was a man, most likely his father, trying to comfort him as he looked through a first-aid kit.
"Don't cry son. It will only make it worse." The father said as the boy clutched his knee even tighter.
"B-but dad! It hu~rts!" The boy cried. The father chuckled as pulled the boys hands of the wound.
"I know it does son..." He said as he treated his wound. "But you're a big boy now Billy. You can't cry for no good reason."
"But it hurts! Isn't that reason enough?" The father smiled.
"Yes Billy, it is a good enough reason..." He said before wiping his sons tears. Billy looked up to his father with red puffy eyes, not understanding what he meant. "But do you know what a man does when he cries?" Billy recoiled, almost as if he heard the most surprising thing in the world.
"You cry too daddy?!" He yelled, making the man laugh.
"Of course I cry Billy." He said, a melancholic smile on his face. "I've cried more than you'd think." Billy couldn't believe it. His daddy, of all people? Crying? No way! "But do you know what I do when I cry?" The boy shook his head. "I wipe away my tears and smile. Because I know the pain will go away." He finished, patting the bandage on his son's knee. The boy stared at the now patched up wound and smiled at his father.
"You're right daddy! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Billy yelled jumping to his feet and hugging his father tightly. "I love you daddy!" The father chuckled
"I love you too son." He said as he hugged his son back...
Just like how Deryk's dad would...
No one in the park noticed the child soldier punch the nearest tree in anger. His eyes were covered by his bangs and he panted heavily, almost as if he had seen a ghost...
And if you looked very closely, you could almost see one small tear trickle down his face.
"N-not...Now..." He muttered before wiping the tear away. "I'm a soldier now...I don't live to weep. I live to fight..." He clenched his hands. "I swear it...Never again..."
"Master?" A seven year old Matthew asked his mentor, interrupting the undefeated of the east's meditating. "Can I ask you something?" The man gave Matthew a smile.
"Of course Matthew." He said, patting the spot next too him, signalling Matthew to sit down. The young king happily obliged. "Whar seems to be troubling you?"
'Master..." Matthew started, nervously glancing to the side. "Why am I going to be the king of hearts?" Now Asia wasn't as shocked as you'd expect him to be, but he was still surprised by the question.
"What do you mean "why"?" He asked, earning a sigh from the boy.
"I know I've been training for a long time now...But why me of all people?" He stated, this time more firmly. "What makes me so different than everyone else?"
"The fact you managed to go to Hell and back three times perhaps?"
"Besides that." The master sighed.
"It's complicated to explain..." He said, glancing over to his desk. "I suppose you could say that it's destiny Matthew. There's no explaining it."
"But why me?" Matthew asked, emphasizing the word "me". "Why is it my destiny?" The master sighed in frustration. This conversation was getting them nowhere.
"There are things that not even I know the answer..." Matthew sighed, obviously disappointed. "But if I took a guess..." Matthew looked up, confused. "I'd say that you were chosen because you have one thing that no one else has." He pointed at his chest. "You have a heart as radiant as gold Matthew. It's hard finding someone like that." The boy stared at his chest, confused.
"My heart's made of gold? How?" He asked, making Asia face palm.
"It's an expression Matthew..." An idea formed in his head. "Would you like me to explain it to you?" Matthew nodded ecstatically. "Very well than. You see..."
"How much farther MECHA?" Hunter asked as the two. ran in the direction of the energy source. The robot's head made a few noises before another ding came from his head.
"About two kilometers..." He said. Hunter groaned. They were still pretty far away.
"Need a ride?" A voice above them asked, making them stop. The two looked up only to see Deryk, floating in mid-air with his jetpack.
"Where the heck have you been?!" Hunter yelled the moment he saw him. MECHA sighed in relief. The two were worried sick...Well, at least MECHA was.
"I was busy taking care of something..." He lied, glancing over to the side. MECHA didn't notice anything unusual, but just the way he said it made Hunter feel uneasy. He just didn't sound like him. The soldier dropped to the ground and turned around, pointing to his jetpack's wings. "I'd hold on tight if I were you." The two nodded, each taking a firm grasp on one of Deryk's wings. As soon as they heard it starting up, they braced themselves before Deryk took off into the air, the two dangling behind him.
"So the four all just disappeared outside, leaving the stolen good behind?" Officer Jenny asked, earning a nod from Romi.
Well of course she called the police! You don't get robbed/almost raped with telling anything to the authorities. She was outside, talking to Jenny as the rest of the crew investigated the crime scene. Her boss was talking to another officer, being asked if he knew anyone who would want to vandalize his shop, a question to which he repeatedly answered "no".
"I know it sounds strange, but it's true!" Romi shouted, pointing at the quarantined shop. "They were picked of one by one right in front of me! You have to believe me!"
"I do believe you." The officer replied.
"See! I knew you'd-" She stopped herself short. "Say what now?"
"I said I believe you." She stated, making Romi grow a large smile.
"You do?!" She asked happily and loudly. The officer flinched a bit at her tone.
"Yes. I do." The officer stated one last time, making Romi do a little cheer for herself. "It's not the first time this has happened around here..." Romi stopped her cheer. She turned to the officer with a confused look.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, earning a sigh from the officer.
"The description of the man you gave us matches Simon Dales." She said, taking out a folder from behind her. "Did he looked like this, right?" She said, taking a photo from the folder. Sure enough, it was the same guy from last night. Fedora, trench coat, brown hair, brown eyes...Yep. It matched. Romi nodded.
"That's him!" She shouted, confirming Jenny's suspicions.
"He's a well know criminal in all the regions actually. His main targets are usually jewelry stores, banks..." She trailed off, scanning Romi up and down. "And young women..." Romi blushed a little, remembering the embarrassing and shameful incident last night. "He was last seen robing a jewelry store in Pewter City about a week ago. I'm not surprised he'd be here..."
"But what happened to him exactly?" Romi asked. Officer Jenny bit her lip. She hated talking about this.
"It's more of a rumor actually..." She said, looking to the side. "In the past few months, most robberies that have been hapening in Cerulean City have been stopped the same way this one was." Romi took a step back in shock. "This "vigilante" lures the robbers out one by one and knocks them out of commission. The robbers are than usually found dangling from a tree, alive and with barely any scratches." She looked over to Romi, who was still listening with interest. "Almost all the stolen goods are returned. The guy apparently takes some for himself-"
""Almost"?! What do you mean "almost"?!" Romi yelled, surprising the officer. "But I looked through everything! All the gems are there! I swear it!" The officer raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure? Not even the "beautiful amethyst" that your boss told me was missing?" She asked.
...
"WHAT?!"
"Ugh~ My aching head..." A man groaned as he opened his eyes. He must have had one heck of a hangover, because his head felt like it was gonna burst. He reached for his covers..
Only to find air.
His eyes, finally adjusted to the light, widened when he saw that he wasn't in his bed. Instead, he was dangling from a branch that had gotten stuck to his shirt.
"The hell?!" He yelled with a notable Scottish accent. How did he get here? Last thing he remembered was-
"Boss!" A voice called out underneath him. The man scanned around and found two men, one blonde and one brunette, and a Greninja. "Where are you Simon?"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, startling the two men.
"Gre." The Greninja said, pointing at his trainer in the tree. The two sighed in relief when they found him.
"Boss!" The blonde yelled rushing over to the tree. His compatriots behind him. "There you are! Are you okay?"
"DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU TREVOR?!" He spat, making Trevor flinch. "GRENINJA! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Greninja nodded before hopping from one branch to another until reaching his trainer. He put his hands together, water building up between them. "Whoa whoa whoa! What are you doing?!" He yelled before Greninja broke the branch with a water shuriken, sending Simon crashing down.
"Hold on boss, we got you!" Luis said as he and Trevor prepared to catch their falling leader...
Only for him to land about two meters away from them.
"Oops." Trevor said as Simon got up on his knees. There was dirt in his mouth and he looked like he was ready to kill.
"You morons!" He yelled whacking the two upside the head. "Cant you two do anything right?!" The two held the bruised head and whimpered, making Simon groan. "Bunch of big babies..." He muttered before whistling to his Greninja. The water pokemon landed gracefully in front of him, expecting to be punished, but was surprised felt his trainer pet him. "Good job Greninja. Here." He took out a treat and tossed it the air, which the Greninja caught in his mouth expertly.
"Hey~!" Trevor whined. "How come you thank him? He was the one who dropped you!"
"Well at least he does his job right." Simon said bluntly. Luis laughed at Trevor, who was pouting. "What happened anyway? Last thing I remember is..."
!
"The jewelry store!" He realized as memories of last night flooded his thoughts. He remembered everything. The clerk, his friends screams, his decision to check it himself, that tall figure... "Where are we anyway?"
"Somewhere in Route 4 I think." Luis said, glancing at his surroundings. "We're not that far from Cerulean City..." Simon tsked.
"Than we're going back." He stated, surprising the two men. "There's no way I'm letting some punk humiliate me like that."
"Boss, are you sure?" Trevor asked. "We don't even know what that thing is, let alone how to stop it!"
"Than we try again tonight." Simons said, reaching for his gun, only to see it was missing. Whoever did this must have taken it from him when he was out. "I know another place we can try and rob nearby. We go there and draw him out straight to us."
"But how do we fight it! We could barely see what is was!" Luis protested, watching Simon rummage through his pockets.
"Easy. We'll beat him..." He took out something from his pockets. Something that made his friends eyes grow wide. "With this."
"B-boss..Are you sure?" Luis asked, staring at what his leader was holding.
"Damn right I'm sure!" He said, tossing it up and down. "No one humiliates me and gets away with it!" He ran a hair through his chocolate brown locks, only to find that something was missing. "Hey, where's my fedora?" He asked, looking around for his "iconic" piece of headwear.
"You mean your hat?" Trevor asked, earning a glare from Simon.
"It's. A. Fedora." He growled, shutting Trevor up. "That was my favorite one too..." He sighed. Luis, run back to the hideout fetch my spare clothes." Luis nodded before taking off. "So this guy thinks he can mess with Simon Dales? Hah! He's just won himself a one-way trip to Hell."
"Alright boys, I'm going to land, get ready." Deryk said as he slowed down and approached. Both of his passenger nodded an okay before letting go of Deryk's wings, landing gracefully on the ground. Deryk's feet slipped on the ground as his jetpack's wings retracted, sliding him to a halt.
"Where to now MECHA?" Hunter asked the robot, who pointed in a direction. "Come on! No time to lose!" He said before running in the direction MECHA showed him, his comrades right behind. Deryk had caught up to Hunter and was running beside him, while MECHA was still a few steps behind him. "Hey Deryk?"
"What?" Deryk said. "Is something wrong?"
"That's what I should be asking..." Hunter said, worried about his friend. "You've been acting...different since I mentioned...you know." Deryk stayed silent, his hair shadowing his eyes again. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything...It's just that you remind me a lot of him." The soldier sighed.
"I suppose its better I tell you now so I can get this out off my chest..." He said, prompting the bounty hunter to raise an eyebrow. "Joshua Williams is my father." Hunter jumped back, surprised. "Killed by Biostar when I was about two years old...I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I just don't like it when people mention him..."
"No, I'm sorry." Hunter stated. "I should've figured you were his son. Afterall, you're the spitting image of him...I don't remember him much though..." Deryk raised an eyebrow, confused. "He was a good friend of my mother. I met him when I was about three years old, so I don't remember him that well, but I do remember he was a very kind man." Deryk remained quiet. "Do you still want to continue this mission?" Hunter shrunk when he saw Deryk's glare. Why the heck was his glare of all things so terrifying?!
"If I abandoned every mission that involved my father, I'd never be where I am now." He stated coldly, which admittedly made Hunter gulp."If I managed to handle it in the past, I'm pretty sure I can handle it n-" He stopped, Hunter imitating. This allowed MECHA to catch up with them, panting.
"*Pant* Why'd you guys *Pant* stop?" He asked, only to be hushed by the two.
Deryk's instincts had kicked in the moment he heard the soft rustling sound of the grass. Some thing was moving towards them and fast. The hilt of a sword came out of Deryk's backpack. The soldier kept his hand a few centimeters away from the blade, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
Hunter removed the cloaking device from his weapons and already had one finger on his blasters trigger. The other was on the hilt of his blade. He around, sensing that there was something wrong.
It took a bit longer for MECHA to realize what was going on. He tuned his ears up so he could listen for the slightest movements in the trees, only to hear lots and lots of rustling. He gulped. This was his first time fighting for real and whatever was coming their way was not friendly. The mere thought made his metallic skin crawl.
"Hey!" Deryk called out, getting the robot's attention. "Get you're head in the game. Just think of this as another training exercise, nothing more." God, was this guy a mind reader?! How do you even read a robots mind?!...
Still, he had a point. He couldn't just run away like that. What would ROB say? Or his "father"? No. He had to fight too. Whatever was coming their way...Bring it on.
Time seemed almost nonexistent as the trio scanned around for what whatever was after them. The sound of something moving through the grass seemed to be almost everywhere. Even MECHA was having a hard time picking it up...
"What the heck is making that noise?" Hunter muttered under his breath.
"Not a "what" my good man, but a "who"."
The trio froze.
"Who's there?!" Deryk barked, looking around for whoever spoke. The voice laughed. You could tell it was male and it spoke with a somewhat gentlemanly yet sarcastic tone.
"My, my...Is that how you treat all newcomers?" The voice asked. It didn't seem to be coming from anywhere...It felt as if he was inside their heads. And the very thought of something like that made Deryk growl like a beast.
"Show yourself!" Hunter yelled. He was getting just as angry as Deryk. The only one who looked more afraid than angry was MECHA, but he did his best to keep his "brave face" on. The voice tsked.
"Hmph! Why must children be so impatient nowadays?" It said as they heard...and felt something slide past their legs. But they even though they could feel it, they still couldn't see anything. "But if you really want to know...Why don't I introduce myself?" It was then that they noticed something moving in front of them...It kinda looked like a pile of dirt...
Except for the fact those clumps of dirt all had legs and looked surprisingly like...
"Bugs?!" The trio asked at the same time as they watched more and more bugs climb into the pile, making it larger and taller with each passing second. Some of them carried pieces of fabric with them. Others carried strings. Eventually, the bugs just stopped climbing onto the pile...
And what came next made MECHA's "brave face" go away.
The bugs started moving, molding like some sort of living puddy. The patches of cloth were stitched together as they molding into a more human like shape. The bugs finished sewing up their burlap-like skin as the remaining bugs went into two large holes that looked like eyes. Oddly enough, it's facial features looked fairly human. Heck, everything about him looked normal, except for his "eyes" and skin though. A mouth, a nose, ears and even realistic brown hair...
But all he had for eyes were those big black holes being illuminated by a bright yellow glow right the middle of them, almost like pupils.
The figure was slumped forward, arms dangling in front of him as if he was some kind of zombie. A few more bugs climbed into his hair and stitched together a yellow scarecrow hat for him. To summarize, he looked like something straight out of a Halloween horror movie.
"What in the world?..." Deryk said, completely flabbergasted..He had seen many wierd things, but never before had he seen anything so...disgusting. Hunter took a few steps back, still recovering from the shock of seeing the figure take his corporal form. As for MECHA...Well, let's just say he leaked some oil into his pants.
The trio heard a loud sickening crack as the figure arched his back, a smirk forming on his burlap face.
"Well, well, well..." He said with a sickening slur in his voice. He eyed the trio with those large nonexistent eyes of his, his "pupils" gleaming with mischief. "What have we here?"
"Romi, calm down." Officer Jenny said as the young woman panicked around her, yelling worst-case scenarios as she ran around aimlessly.
"How can you ask me to be calm?!" She yelled waving her arms frantically. "The most valuable item in the entire store got stolen and I don't have any lead as to where it may be!" Her arms slumped, sadness present in her features.."That gem meant so much to my boss...And I let it get stolen..."
"There, there Romi..." Jenny said, patting her shoulder. "It's not your fault all this happened..." Even though Jenny was right, Romi still didn't feel any better. "We'll do our best to find who took it. You have my word." Romi sighed. She gave the police officer a sad smile before nodding.
"Okay Officer Jenny..." She said, glancing back at the store. "I guess I'll just leave it to you..." The officer raised an eyebrow at the odd statement, but didn't question it.
"O~kay..." Jenny said, trailing off for a bit. "Just...Don't do anything crazy Romi...You know, like you always do?" The clerk scratched the back of her head, a sheepish smile on her face. "I don't wanna have to get you out of prison again because of one of your hair-brained schemes." She finished before heading towards her group, who were finishing interrogating Romi's boss.
"Sorry Jenny." Romi whispered, taking her hand out from behind her head, revealing something very interesting. "Fingers crossed!"
"G-guys? W-what is that thing?" MECHA asked his comrades as he and the two were being stared down by some kind of living scarecrow. He gulped as he started feeling his legs turn to jelly...Now he really started wishing he didn't have emotions anymore...
"I-I..." Deryk tried to find words to explain it, but couldn't find any. He truly had no clue as to what that thing was. It was literally a living bag of bugs...Deryk was completely flabbergasted.
And he hated every second of it.
"Let's see~!" The scarecrow said with a smirk gracing his lips. He pointed to the trio. "One who seeks courage, one who seeks pride...And one who seeks vengeance..." The trio raised a collective eyebrow. "Oh what fun! Such on odd mix of lifetime goals! I've never seen anything like it!" He took a step forward, which instinctively made the trio take a step back.
"W-who..What are you?" Hunter asked, earning a laugh from the scarecrow.
"Oh where are my manners?!" He said, overdramatcally slapping a hand on his forehead, as if saying "How could I forget to tell them?". "I've been given many names..." He paced a few more steps closer. ""The king of fear". "the shadow on the moon at night"...Hehe. The "Sack Man"...But out of all of them..." He stopped, his hat shadowing his eyes. "I prefer...The Oogie Boogie Man..."
Now, normally, if Deryk heard anyone call themselves that, which he has, he'd probably just call them stupid and beat the living snot out of them...This was a different case. The air around this guy was...different. You could feel his presence no matter where you looked. Those eyes that seemed to stare into your soul, that burlap skin and the way he spoke...
As much as the soldier didn't want to admit it, he shuddered.
Hunter wasn't acting any different. A simple stare from Oogie felt like a thousand Deryk glares combined! It seemed so dark...So twisted and mischievous at the same time...He has seen his fair share of aliens. Very ugly aliens...But he had never seen anything like this. He was literally living bag of bugs...What kind of monstrosity was he?
MECHA...Well, the poor robot was having a hard time standing. He had never felt so terrified in his life!...True, he had only been active for about a week, but still! And to think a few minutes ago he was saying he was gonna be brave...
No...He clenched his fists. ROB had been in a situation like this before. Right at the end of the fourth Smash Tourney. And though Oogie Boogie was probably the scariest thing he ever saw in person, what ROB faced was much worse...He hoped. Gulping, the robot stood his ground.
"W-what do you want?" He said, surprising his comrades. They didn't expect him to be the one to speak up. Oogie smirked.
"And the coward makes his first step towards goal! This is gonna be easier than I thought! You'll all do just fine!" He said, clapping his hands together. Deryk raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a few steps back. The Boogie Man smirked as a strong wind blowed.
"Easy child..." He said before the patches of burlap his skin was made of was blown away by the wind, scattering his bugs on the ground. The three jumped back. Any trace of him was gone in an instant.
"The hell?!" Deryk screamed in his head. How did he do that? The guy was like some kind of organic group of nanobots! He didn't know where he went...Until he felt warm and surprisingly minty breath in his ear.
"Each of you are here for a reason..." Oogie whispered. How did he get there so fast?! Deryk wasted no time in taking out his blade and slashing the monsters head off, only for him to deform into bugs again. "And yet you're all going about it the wrong way..."
"Huh?" The three mouthed together as Oogie materialized leaning onto a tree.
"Must I spell it out?" He asked incredulously. He groaned before taking off his hat and rummaging through it. Whil he searched, a yellow and black snake came out of his right eye. It went down his shirt and back up into his other eye.
"Gross..." Hunter muttered, sticking his tongue out.
"Aha! Here it is." Oogie said as he pulled out a small book. "Now where was I?...Oh yes!" He cleared his throat before scanning through the books pages. "Each of you have your own objectives, your own "dreams" if you will, but are all united by a common goal..." He looked up from his book. "To finaly put an end to the war..."
"And you know his how?" Deryk asked. His initial shock from seeing Oogie for the first time seemed to be going away...
"I'm the Boogie Man." He said as if it were the most obvious thing ever. "I hide under your bed at night. Boo." Okay, now even MECHA was starting to loosen up. "But that's not important now...I'm here to tell you that you're doing it all wrong." Oogie finally stopped at a page and started reading aloud. "A rich man gives his servant a task." He said earning a confused look from the trio.
"What is he-" MECHA started.
"Hold on MECHA..." Hunter said. "I think he's trying to tell us something..." Deryk stayed silent and listened.
"The servant is tasked to recruit a new servant. Now it was a long trip, so he stopped at hotel, but while he was there, a treasure catches his eye. The finest gold in all of the kingdom. The servant blissfully forgets his task and takes the gold, believing that his master will reward him deeply. However, before he could arrive home, a man appeared in the path, the owner of the gold. The servant was called a thief and killed on the spot…Now, another servant was sent as well. He stayed at the hotel saw the gold too, but was more loyal than the other and brought the new servant his master asked. In thanks, the rich man gave the servant even more gold than the gold he found and he lived happily ever after. " He closed the book. "Wasn't that a nice story?"
"What do you want?" Hunter asked, getting fed up with the Boogie Man's games. The monster sighed.
"You were all sent here for a reason, a common goal." He shoved the book back in his hat. "But you've been attracted by a treasure that just may cost your life."
"Huh?" MECHA said, tilting his head to the side.
"He's saying that we need to stop looking for the emerald and start looking for the smasher or else we'll get killed." Hunter said.
"Not that difficult to put two and two together." Deryk said as the Boogie Man smiled.
"It wasn't meant to be some deep emotional riddle. Just something a little different. I'm not much of a "Boogie Man" anymore...More of a "Goofy Man" nowadays." He said with a playful smile, making the soldiers eye twitch. "I just wanted to lighten the mood before I told you the real news."
"...Is this a joke?" Deryk asked, no longer amused or intimidated by anything the "Boogie Man" had to offer. This earned a chuckle from Oogie.
"Oh don't get used to it..." He said, his cheerful smile turning more into a melancholic one. "I'm just repaying an old debt..." He stared into Deryk's eyes, which made the soldier feel uneasy. The Boogie Man smiled when he saw a familiar red spark in Deryk's eye. "No. You don't know who I am...But I know who you are." Deryk raised an eyebrow.
"Come again?" He asked. But the Boogie Man still stared until his eyes.
"Someday, it will all make sense to you." He turned away. "I'm helping you now to pay my end of the bargain…As for you three…" The three eyed each other, before glancing back at the monster. "The next time we meet, I will truly be your worst nightmare."
"H-hold on! I'm confused! Can someone tell me what's going on?!" MECHA cried. "Why aren't you here to fight us now?" Oogie stopped, which made MECHA's metallic skin crawl. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut…
"This world will come to an end…Soon." He said. His solemn voice made the three jump. "Unless you find all of your comrades, I'm afraid there may be no hope…"
"But if we find the emerald, we'll-" Hunter started.
"NO!" Oogie yelled, making the three jump. "I understand your precaution…For I have seen it before many times in the future…" The three tilted their heads. "I cannot explain it too you all…But I can show one of you what I mean…Please…" Deryk looked unconvinced. Hunter was a bit more convinced than him, but still eyed the monster strangely. Oogie sighed. "Of course…No one trusts the Boogie Man…" He said, glancing at the only one who didn't seem apprehensive. "What about the robot?"
"I..." He started, looking at his two friends. Both were looking at him, just waiting for his response. "I...Okay..." Hunter nodded while Deryk scoffed.
"Another robot in the scrap heap..." The soldier muttered, earning a glare from Hunter. MECHA gulped and turned back to the Boogie Man...But, for a split second, he could've sworn he saw a man wearing a white top hat in his place...
"Are you sure you can trust me?" Oogie said, now only about three feet away from him. How did he get there so fast? "What I'm about to show you may save your friends life and yet it can also kill them...Are you sure?" MECHA pondered for a minute, looking back at his team and back at the monster.
"What would ROB do?" He asked himself..."He would take the risk if it meant saving his friends. Just like the boy he kept mentioning in the video..."
"Okay. I'm ready." He said, summoning all of his courage. The Boogie Man smiled. A true genuine smile.
"A wise choice...ROB would be proud..." That comment made something inside MECHA's robotic heart move...
"Aristotle!" Oogie cried, making a red snake come out of his eye. "Future." It was more than enough explanation for the snake. Aristotle nodded, quickly making his way down Oogie's body and climbing up MECHA's. The bot shuddered as he felt Aristotle slither up his stomach and wrap around his neck. "Last chance. Are you sure?" MECHA nodded. "Very well then...Um destino a ser revelado...Uma...ou mais almas a serem salvos."
"Is he speaking Portuguese?" Hunter asked.
"Apparently." Deryk answered back.
"Revela a este o futuro que pode o salvar...E da a ele a coragem parar lutar..."
To Hunter and Deryk, nothing happened. All they saw was MECHA close his eyes for a second and then see them open instantly.
For MECHA on the other hand, it was whole different story.
Flashes of light, a black and white pokemon attacking a young woman and a faceless man, a fedora...
And one dead corpse...
Aristotle unwrapped itself from the bots neck, jumping its way back into Oogie's eye. MECHA looked like he was about to go into stasis. After a minute or two, he fainted on the spot. Hunter ran up to the two.
"What happened to him?!" He demanded, crouching next to the fallen robot. The Boogie Man rose his hands in defense.
"Believe me, I did you all a favor..." He glanced at Deryk, who still watched him indifferently. "He got a glimpse at the current stream of time and how it's going to end up." He turned back to Hunter. "If I were you, I'd wait until he wakes up. He knows things that just might save your life..." He turned and walked towards Deryk, who defensively took a step back. The Boogie Man smiled. "The king really did change you Schwarz."
?
"Excuse me?" Deryk asked, looking at the monster.
"Oops. Wasn't supposed to say that." He said before walking away. The wind started blowing and his seams looked like they were gonna fall off already.
"Hey." Deryk said, getting his attention. "What did you mean by you becoming our "worst nightmare"?" Oogie smirked.
"I haven't met you yet..." He said, making the soldier raise an eyebrow. "Or did I? It's hard to recall...Ah yes...Well, I've met you..." He gave him one last glance before getting blown away by the wind. "But you haven't met me yet...And when you do...I'll truly be the king of your fears..." And with that, the Boogie Man and all his bugs were swept away by the wind, far out of Deryk's sight. The soldier stared at the disappearing mass of bugs and cloth somewhat indifferently...His story sounded so preposterous, it sounded like a lie Matthew would come up with...
Than why did part of Deryk believe him?
"Hey Cain, can I ask you something?" Eight year old Matthew asked his older friend as the two ate breakfast. Cain smiled.
"Sure thing little dude! Ask away!" He said before taking a nice sip off coffee.
"Where do babies come from?" And that bitter sip of Joe just spit out of Cain's mouth like a geyser. He panted as he stared at the young king, who still stared at him with innocent curiosity.
"W-why are you asking me?!" He yelled, his voice a bit too loud.
"Well I tried asking Master, but he told me to ask Barren. When I asked him he told me to ask you." He replied with a childish smile.
"Thanks for nothing jerks!" Cain thought as he stared at the young boy. He gulped. As perverted as he was, he did nor want to be the one to give Matthew the talk about the birds and the bees..."Matthew it's...Complicated."
"Why?"
"Because there are...rules."
"Why?"
"Because without them things would go out of control!"
"Why?"
"Say "Why?" again and your face will be kissing that wall!" Cain threatened, though it didn't do much as Matthew only stuck his tongue at him.
"I just wanna know..." He whispered, making Cain sigh.
"Matthew, you're just too little to know these things..." He said. "Do you even know why boys and girls like each other?"
"Huh? They do?" Matthew asked, tilting his head. Cain face palmed.
"Geez! This kid doesn't know anything!...Not that that's a bad thing, but still!" He thought, looking at Matthew's confused expression. "Well Matthew...You have a mom and dad right?" The boy nodded. "Do you know why they're married?" Matthew opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't formulate a response.
"Uh...Because it's fun?" Cain face palmed again. He had to at least explain this to the kid.
"No~...It's because they love each other."
"What's love?" Seriously, why couldn't Master Asia explain this to him?!
"Love is...It's kinda like a...Sorta like a..." His eyes seemed to look at anything but Matthew. "How do I explain this?" Matthew waited patiently, looking at Cain with his big blue eyes. "Well...Do you have something or...Someone you really really like?" Matthew nodded.
"Yeah. There's Master Asia, you, Barren, Himawari, my mommy, my daddy, Junior, Amy..." He trailed off, trying to think of more people, which made Cain chuckle.
"And you'd do anything to make us happy?" He asked. Matthew nodded vigorously.
"Of course!" He said, his voice surprisingly serious. "You're my friends! My family! Why wouldn't I want you guys to be happy?"
"The innocence of a child truly is a wonderful thing." Cain thought as he saw Matthew's determined expression. "Matthew, that's one if the many kinds of love." Matthew tilted his head.
"There's more than one?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Yep. The fact you want all your friends and family to be happy proves that you truly care for us. That's love. Caring for those around, whether you know them or not." Matthew was still a bit confused.
"But what about my parents? What kind of love do they have?" Cain's eyes twitched.
"Well you see..."
"Alright than. You boys ready?" Simon asked over his walkie talkie as he and his Greninja stood on the rooftop of a Pokemart. Not far from it was a fairly large jewelry store, with a large sign that read "Aqua Crystals".
Night time was already starting, making it perfect for a heist. Simon was now sporting a brown trench coat, with a matching fedora, obviously. His eyes scanned the surroundings. There weren't many people on the street, which made his job a heck of a lot easier.
"Ninja." His Greninja answered, taking position to the jump off the building.
"Ready boss!" Luis's voice said over the talkie.
"Uh...Why are we doing this again?" Trevor asked. Simon growled.
"Fo the billionth time Trevor..."
"This is the closest jewelry store from ours, and that guy who rescued me couldn't have gotten far. So if I try and rob it, he should show up and try to stop me and I can get the amethyst back!" Romi explained over her cellphone. She was on the rooftop of the towns Pokemon Center, now wearing a black jumpsuit the showed off all of her beautiful curves. "What do you think?" She asked happily, earning nothing but silence from the other end.
"...That...IS THE STUPIDEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD!" A Scottish female voice screamed from the other end, which made Romi wince. "Romi, plea~se tell me your not thinking about going through with this harebrained idea of yours?!"
"Sorry Sara, I'm already here."
"WHAT?!" Sara yelled. "Get out of there now! Honestly! This is worst than the time you tried to prove was an alien in disguise plotting to take over the world!"
"Hey! She uses a fork to eat pizza! A fork! For pizza!"
"And the time you tried to prove my brother was a serial killer!"
"He's cree~py! Just the way he looks at me..." Romi shuddered.
"And the time you tried to prove that Gym Leader Cindy's boobs were fake!"
"That one wasn't that bad..." She said, remembering the event that occurred not to long ago. "She didn't mind either...She even gave me a free camera!"
"SHE THREW IT AT YOUR HEAD!"
"Yeah, for free!" Romi replied happily, completely oblivious to her friends bewilderment.
"How are you not in prison yet?!" Sara asked, earning a giggle from the pinkette.
"Because I have friends like you and Jenny to back me up!" She said with a wink, earning a groan from her friend.
"Why can't I have any normal friends..." She muttered, which was ignored by her friend. "Romi, please don't do anything stupid..."
"Too~ late!" She happily exclaimed. "Because..."
"It's now or never boys." Simon said as he finished instructing his team. "It's time to raise some Hell!"
"How long has he been out now?" Hunter asked Deryk. The two were sitting slumped on a tree, with the unconscious MECHA right beside them. The soldier checked his watch.
"About two hours...And it's already sunset..." The soldier replied, looking at the sun disappearing into the horizon. "The mission's taking longer than I expected..."
The two remained silent, occasionally glancing at the robot. Their encounter with the Boogie Man still fresh in their minds...
"Do you think he meant it?" Deryk asked. No further explanation was needed. Hunter knew what he was talking about.
"We have to account for every possibility..." He replied, looking over at MECHA. "From the little riddle he told us when he left, it seemed like he was implying..."
"That he's from the future?" Deryk asked, earning a nod from the bounty hunter. "With Octavio's recent discover, it is plausible..." He said, putting a hand on his chin.
"Well, from what I heard, a Chaos Emerald got Matthew and his group in some trouble last time." Hunter said.
"True..." Deryk said, playing with his guns. "But the chaos and smash energy was detected together. If we find one, we're bound to find the other..."
"Maybe that's not what he meant..." He said, glancing at his communicators watch. 6:55 PM. Sun was gone and replaced by the beautiful stary night sky of Route 4. "Maybe he meant we're focussing too much on the finding the emerald and not the smasher...Putting it as our top priority instead of what we came here for." Deryk nodded. It was the most logical explanation...
But why did he call him "Schwarz"?
A rustling sound caught their attention. They instinctively grabbed their weapons, thinking it could've been another visit from their scarecrow "friend", but sighed in relief when they saw it was MECHA, his eyes wide and breathing heavy.
"MECHA!" Hunter said walking up to the robot, who stared back at the hunter. "Are you okay? You've been out for a while now?" MECHA didn't answer him, which made the bounty hunter worry. "ME-"
"What time is it?!" He yelled, scrambling back onto his feet. Hunter took a step back, surprised at his sudden outbreak.
"Uh~...6:56 PM..." He said. He immediately wished he didn't. MECHA's eyes widened as he took a few steps back.
"Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno!" The robot said as he paced around frantically, getting both of his teammates attention.
"MECHA, what's wrong?" Deryk asked, making the robot stop. The robot looked terrified, which was expected...
What wasn't expected was MECHA grabbing Deryk by the collar and shaking him frantically.
"How far away are we from the Cerulean City Pokemon Center?!" He yelled as he shook the soldier
"U-uh...Ab-bout two and a-a half kilometers f-from here..." He managed to say. MECHA immediately stopped shaking him and let go, dropping the boy on the ground. "...Ow..."
"We have to hurry!" MECHA yelled grabbing Hunter's wrist and the back of Deryk's collar, proceeding to take off in a a random direction, dragging them behind him.
"W-whoa! MECHA, hold on!" Hunter said, wincing at the robots hard grip. Must be one of the perks of being a machine.
"Ack! You know...This is very uncomfortable!" Deryk squeaked. Being choked by your collar is far from anything pleasant...
"No time! We gotta hurry!"
"Do you even know where you're going?!" The two yelled, making the robot skid to halt. Deryk sighed when he felt MECHA let go of his shirt. At least wasn't deprived of oxygen anymore. The soldier dusted his pants as he got back onto his feet.
"MECHA, could at least tell us why you're so jumpy...Is this about what the Boogie Man showed you?" Deryk asked, earning a nod from MECHA.
"What did he show you?" Hunter asked, hoping to make some sense of the situation.
"Guys...I know where the smasher is." He said, making his friends jump back in surprise. "And we have to find him, now!"
"Calm do-"
"Don't tell me to be calm!" He yelled, shocking his friends. "If we don't we'll never get all the smashers in our team!"
"Because we'll be dead?" Hunter asked, but was surprised when he saw MECHA shake his head.
"No...We won't die...
The smasher will."
Hello everyone! Silvermane here!
Wow. I've never had such a conscutive string of updates in such a short time...LONG AND WELL WRITTEN updates too! However, I have some news for you all. Don't worry, I'm not going on another hiatus, nor am I cancelling this story. I've decided that the first chapters, all of them since my "resurection" need a complete rewrite. Just looking back at them make me see how stupid I was when I started out. So updates will be a bit slower from now on until I finish rewriting my story, starting from chapter one. Until I finish rewriting all the chapters, I'll only consider this an actually story from "MDX-00001-"MECHA" Part 3" and onwards. So watch out for new chapters, revised chapters and a whole new story coming very soon. :) Silvermane, signing out!