Assassin Mikara (A Trio of DEF Alternate Universe)

[Spirit of DMG]

[spoiler=Part One]
[spoiler= Chapter 1]
Name: Yvan Cort Maker
Age: 32
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Height: 5'10''
Sex: Male

"Well, this is useful," a man said, putting a file into a folder. The folder was placed into the messenger bag he carried with him. "There must be half the population of the country that match that description. It would help if I had a photo, or even a sketch. How does a man live to be thirty-two without having a photo to put on an assassination file?"
His train pulled into the station, prompting him to stand and walk to the door. His trench coat trailed behind him, his head angled so the brim of his hat hid his face. He raised his face only to look at the sign on the Terminal. Realistic Platform it read. Isn't this place supposed to be a hub for advanced technology? Surely they can come up with better names than that. He turned to walk off, striding out of the terminal.
"Look, Allan, all I'm saying is that Tacos are not worth the time you'd spend in jail."
"You think that bothers me? I'd gladly steal the new PlayStation for a Taco. And I've told you a thousand times to call me Deustodo. Heck, I'd probably go after Y.C. if I thought I was given enough of them." The man's ears perked up at the mention of the initials.

"Y.C.? You surely don't mean Y.C. Maker, do you?" he said, striding over to the two men. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation."

"Yeah, actually, I do. Name's Allan Deus, though I prefer going by Deustodo. This here is Lichroy Creator. He won't give anyone his real name," one man answered. He was wearing a leather jacket with black denim jeans. He brushed a hand through his messy - obviously dyed - black hair.
"So, how is it you know Maker, anyway? I've not seen you around town before," the other one said. He wore a lab coat with plain blue jeans and a black shirt. He pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose and stared at the man, looking at his own reflection in the sun shades.
"Oh, yes, of course. My name is Donovyn Gerra," he said simply, holding his hand towards the man in black, his eyes piercing Deustodo's shades. The hand shake was firm, satsifying him, until the moment Deustodo attempted adding on to the handshake. The shake he recieved from Creator was more satisfactory. "And you're correct in the assumption I'm from out of town. I am here because I have heard of someone named Yvan Cort Maker. I was told that there was a Y.C. Maker residing in Drac Ohiguy City."

"Well, he does live here. Thing is though, Y.C. Maker is a very important person, so only his personal guard, called the Mod Corps, is permitted to know his exact whereabouts. In fact, there aren't even any existing images of him, at least that anyone knows about," Deustodo said.

"I think that's enough, Allan. We don't want to tell too much to an outsider who's only here chasing a reputation," Lichroy stated, pulling the other man away. He smiled to himself, walking out of the train station and on to the street.So, Yvan is here after all. My employer will be pleased to hear that. Careful where you step from now, Yvan, your days are numbered.


"This is very useful information, Mikara. We at least now know that our suspicions of his location were correct. The only problem is that now we need to find out exactly where he is. You said the Mod Corps, correct?" The man in the shades nodded. The man on the screen was silent - Mikara could not see his face, as his silloluhet was all that could be seen through the shadows.
"We have no information on the Mod Corp. This could pose a problem. Mikara, you will have to join this Mod Corp as soon as you can. Make yourself known as a leader, and find Maker. Do it as fast as you can, it is imperitive you complete this assassination."

"Yes, sir. I will be certain to do so," Mikara said, closing the computer.


"Allan, you really need to work on your judgment," Creator stated as he and his partner walked down the street.

"How so?"

"Simple, you just told a complete stranger to the city about the most secret organization in the entire world. Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Just about anything in the world you can think of is wrong with me, you know that. Besides, just because he knows what they're called doesn't mean he'll be able to track any of them down. Seriously, we've lived in this town pretty much our entire lives and don't know anyone from the Mod Corps."

"Either way, we know nothing about this man. How can we even be sure he told us his real name?"

"Oh, look, we're here," Deustodo said, veering right in front of Creator into a shop named Karnan's Kills.

"Why are we here again?" Creator asked, following Deustodo into the shop.

"I told you, we're here to pick up an order," Deustodo answered, walking up to the counter. A brown paper package tied up with string sat on the counter. "It's one of my favorite things."

"Ah, Deustodo, Creator, I wasn't expecting you until half an hour from now," a man said, emerging from a room in the back. "It's ready now, if you have the money to pay for it."

"Of course I do," Deustodo said simply, pulling out his wallet. "Now, let's see," he said, opening one of the three zippers. "No, that's not money. That isn't either. I need that for later. Come on, where is it." Creator stared at him with an odd look on his face. The cashier stood with an amused look, as Deustodo kept muttering and rummaging. "Ah, here it is!" he said, trimphantly pulling out five hundred dollars.

"This better be worth my time," Creator said as Deustodo laid down the money. He immediately opened the package grinning.


A boy with light brown hair sat outside the principal's office, next to two other boys. One of them sat with his face down, and his hand grabbing his shoulder-length black hair. The other sat with his dark brown hair against the wall, his grey eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Hey, El, what do you think we're getting this time?" the Dark-Brown haired boy asked.

"Who knows. Daisuke, we've been in this office so many times, I'm surprised they haven't embroidered our names onto the chairs yet," the black haired boy stated. "So, stranger, what are you here for?" El asked the other brown haired boy.

"Oh, um... I kind of blew up the science lab," the light-brown haired boy said sheepishly. The other two stared for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Dude! That's freaking awesome!" El said, laughing uncontrollably. "I've been making plans to do that for years! Hey, your name is Chris, right? Chris Xander Denver?"

"Ummm, yes. How do you know my middle name?"

"Simple. That's Elfman Make. He has connections all over the place. Too bad none of them are useful."

"Hey, I have information on the Mid-Term exams coming up in a couple months."

"Yeah, because Creator told you about them."

"Daisuke Link, if you ever start doubting the usefulness of being able to steal cookies from the snack counter at lunch again, I will pour hot sauce into your orange juice at breakfast," El stated, narrowing his eyes at Daisuke. "And if you ever use my full name again, I will make sure to stuff Habanero Peppers into your breakfast burrito."

"Okay, so, umm..." Chris started.

"Christopher Denver," the woman working the office desk called.


Later, outside of Ohiguy Middle School

"Twelve consecutive detentions? Harsh," Daisuke stated. "Still, I think I got off easy. All I have to do is mop the floor in Mr. Dragan's office. For a month." El stifled a chuckle. "Oh, I forget, what was your punishment?"

"Ummm, I kind of have to serve in-school detention for the next two months," El said, his humor fading. Chris stared wide-eyed. What in the world did these two do? I must be getting myself into something I shouldn't be.

"So, um, what did you two do, exactly?" Chris finally asked. The two stared at each other for several seconds, as if telepathically asking each other if Chris was important enough to know.

"Well, we both let loose a swarm of fleas in Mr. Dragan's office," El began. "Daisuke procured he fleas, and set up the distraction that let me do it. And then I carried a bucket of mud into the building and dumped it out from the second floor. That time I acted alone becuase Daisuke was sick that day."

"And, do you two commonly act up in school like that?" Chris stated, stopping in the middle of the street.

"Come on, someone has to make this an interesting place. If not us, who's gonna have the balls to rage against the man?" Daisuke said. "Oh, and you might wanna finish crossing the street now." El punched Daisuke in the arm, and Chris darted to the corner of the sidewalk where his new friends waited for him.

"If you ever say 'rage against the man' again, I'll hit you even harder, and even lower," El told him.

"Don't worry too much, you two. I know that we'll get through these punishments. For the three of us are in the Springtime of Youth! And through our Youthful Vigor, we shall persevere, regardless of what they throw our way!" Chris stated, striking a heroic pose with his fist angled toward the sky. Daisuke and El stared at him like he was insane, nodding their heads slowly.

"You know," El began, "suddenly 'rage against the man' doesn't seem so bad."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 2]

Mikara sat at a table at a pavillion in the middle of Pop Park, located in the middle of the city. He sipped a cup of Herbal Tea, watching three kids walking through the park. I need to make myself known as a leader if I want to attract the attention of the Mod Corps. The only question is how to do that. There's the Order of the Black Knights, but they don't seem to do much. The Organization XIII seems to be important, but it doesn't seem very feasible to work my way up their ranks. It would take to long, and be too difficult to keep my intentions concealed. No, if I'm to draw the attention of the Mod Corps and flush out Yvan Maker, I'll need to start my own organization.
"Hey, you're Donovyn, right?" he heard a voice say behind him. He turned to see the two men he'd met yesterday.

"Deustodo, correct?" he said, pointing to the one in black. The man nodded. "And Lichroy," he added, pointing to the other one.

"You'll call me Creator if you know what's good for you," the man in the lab coat stated as an answer.

"What... is... that?" Mikara said, pointing to a tiny robot running around chasing a butterfly. The robot looked at Mikara with light blue eyes that took up half it's head - which itself was half the robot's two foot height.

"Oh, that's Gir," Deustodo said, looking very proud of the robot. "Trust me, that little robot will be very useful one day." Mikara smiled. This could be my opportunity.

"That day could come sooner than you'd expected," Mikara stated, sipping his tea.

"You gonna make biscuits?" Gir asked. "You gonna make biiiscuits?"

"Ummm, no. No I'm not," Mikara answered shortly. "I have far grander visions than making biscuits. Although, they would go good with tea. More to the point, I've noticed that, despite the multiple organizations in this city, there's a fairly high crime rate."

"Go on," Creator stated. "I'm interested in hearing your solution."

"I think I'll start my own organization. You two can be my co-leaders, if you like. Granted, I'd be ranked above both of you, as I would be the founder and leader. We will reduce the Crime Rate to less than half of what it is now."

"I don't think that's even possible."

"Then we'll make it possible. I'll give it a year. If I can't do it in that time, I'll give up and turn myself in as a vigilante."

"What about us?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Alright, I'm in, but only on the condition that I get to be in charge of punishment within the group, and I will have sole authiority to accept and ban members of this organization."

"And I'll help you just to shake things up," Deustodo stated. Donovyn smiled again. This will be easier than I thought. [hr]

"Hey, what do you think they're doing over there?" Chris asked, pointing to three men at the pavilion. Two were in black, and one was wearing a lab coat.

"I don't have a clue. Wanna go see?" Daisuke asked. "I bet I could get that robot to tell us exactly what's going on."

"Better than sitting around under this tree trying to figure out what to do next," El said, heading over to the trio. Chris and Daisuke chased after him, walking up to the pavilion.

"Yo," Daisuke called out. "What's going on over here?"

"Don't I know you?" El asked, pointing to the one in the lab coat. "You're Lichroy Creator, right? The one who single-handedly moved Drac Ohiguy City into the future?"

"Indeed I am. That's Deustodo, and one of these days I'm going to figure out why I hang around with him," Creator answered.

"My name is Donovyn Gerra. And you are?" Mikara asked, sounding polite.

"My name is El Make. This is Daisuke Link, and Chris Denver," El stated. "Anyway, what's going on over here. And, what is that thing?" he asked, pointing toward the robot mimicking a squirrel.

"We just started an organization," Donovyn began saying. "And, that robot over there is Gir. Deustodo claims it's useful. Perhaps he plans to get stressed out a lot. Either way, would you like to join us? It's only us three at the moment." Chris, El, and Daisuke thought about this offer for a long moment. Daisuke and El agreed to join, but Chris declined, saying that he had too much in school to be able to join any group.

"That's too bad. Would have been more fun if you had joined us," Daisuke said. "So, when and where do we have our first meeting?"

"Tomorrow, for when. As for where, Creator, why don't you think of that?" Donovyn asked.

"Well, there's a secret room beneath Realistic Platform. The drainage grate on the tracks is broken, so it's wide open, plenty big enough to jump through. After you go in there, it's a straight shot to an abandoned vault we could hold meetings in," Creator explained.

"Alright, we have a headquarters. I think I'll go straight there and check it out. The rest of you, see if you can recruit anymore members without drawing attention from those who wouldn't join us."[hr]

Chris walked down the street with El and Daisuke, looking for people who may wish to join the organization they had just joined. "You know, something just occured to me," he stated.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Daisuke asked, he and El looking at Chris as they walked.

"You guys joined an organization you don't even know the name of. How are you gonna recruit anybody?" Chris asked. Daisuke and El both stopped mid-step, looking at each other.

"Well, I guess we'll find out when we get there. After all, I'm sure he doesn't expect everybody to show up with new recruits. There are only five members and it's new. Like, it was formed thirty minutes ago new," El stated. Chris shrugged and the three started walking. [hr]

"Hey, Deustodo, did you notice before now that we don't even know the name of the organization we just helped start?" Creator asked, watching Gir chase a butterfly.

"Yup. I noticed before I said yes that he hadn't told us the name."

"But you joined up anyway?"

"You did, too. You just said that you didn't know."

"I didn't notice I don't know until now, though."

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"

"Shut up."[hr]

The next day...

"Now that everybody's here, I'm sure we can start," Mikara stated as Daisuke and El took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. Mikara sat at the head of the table, with Deustodo to his right, and Creator to his left. "To begin with, I think we should all introduce ourselves. My name is Donovyn Gerra, and I'm the leader of this organization," he nodded to Deustodo.

"My name is Allan Deus. Please adress me as Deustodo. I'm to be the Head General."

"Lichroy Creator, Head Warden. I'm the one who will administer the test to see if you're skilled enough to join, and I'm also the guy you need to impress with your ability to follow the rules. From here we will go clock-wise, starting with you," Creator stated, pointing to a girl to Deustodo's left.

"My name is Katie Kyoku," the red-haired girl stated.

"Kana Shuja."

"Hannah Shuja, but I answer to Aqua."

"Karin Shuja."

"Elfman Make. Call me El or you die."

"Daisuke Link."

"Alright, then. I guess this is as good as we'll get at this point. Once we get more recognition, I'm certain others will seek us out. Do not, however, reveal where we are located unless you are certain the recruit will join. Understand?" Mikara asked, addressing everyone at the table. They all nodded their understanding. "Good, now, if you'll follow me." The group got to their feet and followed Mikara to the door behind him. Through the door lay an observation room looking out over a sparring ring. "Creator, you may now administer the test."

"Good. The test is very simple," Creator stated. He pressed a button on the control panel, opening a door in the arena. A giant robot stepped forth through the door into the ring. The joints and eyes were colored red, in sharp contrast to the black sheen of the rest of it. "You must defeat PROTO in combat. You needn't worry too much, he currently only knows my style of fighting. He is programed to learn as he goes. And, yes, you're allowed to use any weapons you may have." He stopped, letting this bit of information sink in for a few seconds. "Katie, you're up first. The rest of you, pay attention."
Katie swallowed and stepped through the door on the left of the observation room. Well, I'm first up, so I shouldn't have too much difficulty. She drew the sword strapped to her back, stepping closer to PROTO. The robot took a basic Horse Stance, while Katie lunged at him with her blade raised. Her blade sliced through the robot without any difficulty. "Well, that was easy," she stated, sheathing her sword. The robot repaired itself as the door opened to let Katie out of the ring.
"I knew we should have let Deustodo teach the robot how to fight. Kana, if you don't mind," Mikara said.

"Umm, how did the robot repair itself?" Katie asked, walking back into the room.

"PROTO. Programed Repair Operating Technical Outfit. It's a robot that learns how to act by interaction, and is capable of self-repair under almost any conditions," Creator stated. "It's my own design." Kana walked through the door and down the stairs to face PROTO. The robot resumed its stance, and Kana looked around the ring.
The small girl - no more than ten years old - ran toward the robot. She swung at the robot, who moved a hand to block the attack. She ran around it, making the robot spin in circles. She jumped out of her path, launching another punch to the robot. The attack landed on its face, but did little to defeat it.
"How long will she keep this up?" Creator asked, watching the fight with arms crossed. "More important, who brought her here?"

"That'd be us," Karin stated. "She insisted on following us when we were leaving the house." She leaned in to watch Kana kick the robot in the eye.

"I'm guessing you, Hannah, and Kana are all three sisters?"

"It's Aqua to you," Aqua chimed in, "And, yes, we are." She joined Karin to watch the young girl land a punch to the robot's eye. The red light in the robot's joints faded for several seconds. The door opened for her as the light turned back on.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that. Aqua, looks like you're up," Creator stated. When Aqua stepped into the ring, the robot took a more defensive stance. "Looks like PROTO learned a lot from Kana. This is where things get interesting." Aqua pulled a length of rod from her sleeve. She held it laterally at shoulder level, and it extended. She ran toward the robot, who blocked the attack with it's arm. The robot threw a punch, which she jumped back to avoid.
She thrust the pole into the ground, using it to vault into the robot. She hit the robot square in the face with both feet. "Nice move," Creator said quietly. He watched as PROTO grabbed Aqua, and litfted her up. The other Shuja girls gasped, their eyes widening, while Deustodo sipped soda through a straw.
A blade struck through PROTO's hand, causing him to release Aqua, who landed on her feet. She threw her weapon at PROTO, and hit it in the neck. The robot's red joint lights faded again. "Interesting weapon. It can shift between a staff and a spear. I'll have to examine that at some point," Creator stated as Aqua walked in. "Karin, it's your turn."

"Great," Daisuke muttered to El. "He's going in the order we introduced ourselves. That means I'm last."

"Sucks for you. We both know I'm a better fighter than you are, and this thing learns from every move its opponent makes," El stated, smiling to himself. "No one would blame you if you decided to just run away."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 3]

Karin stepped toward PROTO, drawing a small knife from her waist. She took a defensive stance, mirroring PROTO's stance. Karin narrowed her eyes, running toward PROTO like a crazy woman. PROTO threw a punch toward her, which she avoided by jumping onto its fist. She ran up the robot's arm, and aimed to slice its neck. The robot slung its arm around in a circular fashion, throwing her against the wall.
"She won't beat him like that. Not now, anyway," Creator said proudly. "He's not only learned to counter moves he's seen, but he's learned to anticipate moves he hasn't yet. I don't care how many times she tries to cut him, PROTO has effectively mastered close-range combat."

"And yet, you're insisting on making her win in order to join, right?" Hannah questioned.

"That's right. She's either going to beat him and be accepted, or take a serious beating and be barred from joining."

"I thought Donovyn was the head of this organization, why are you coming up with the rules?"

"I only have power over who's a member, it was my idea to have that power, and his idea to let me have it."

"It makes things easier for me," Donovyn interjected. "Creator has sole power to accept or deny members, and I have power over everything else. In the event that I'm not around, Deustodo takes over that power. It's quite an efficient way to split power, don't you think?"

"I guess so," Hannah admited.

"What in the world is that girl doing?" Katie asked, pointing toward Karin. She was running toward PROTO and jumping out of the way of his punches. She jumped left to avoid a straight punch, and then jumped onto his fist to dodge a left hook. She jumped toward him, only to be caught in mid-air by a right hook. Karin spun to land on her feet, and resumed running toward the robot.
She jumped and threw her knife, which the robot leaned to the left to avoid. Karin unsheathed another dagger from the thigh of her tight jeans, throwing that at the robot. The robot's lighted joints and eyes faded, much to Creator's surprise. He cracked a smile, and started chuckling. The others stood around, stunned. Karin reclaimed her weaponry, and walked out the now-open door.

"Well, I really didn't think you'd be able to do that," Creator said to her. "That was quite a surprising victory," he told her.

"That's what you told me yesterday. I was joining a group that made the impossible possible," she said, sheathing both blades.

"Indeed. Now, let's see how good at that you are, El Make," Creator said, pointing at the young man. El smiled confidently, and high-fived Daisuke, who gulped. El stepped up to PROTO, now lit up again, and cracked his knuckles. "He doesn't have any concealed weaponry, does he, Daisuke?"

"Nope, he and I didn't know we'd be doing this, so we left our plastic swords at home," Daisuke said, watching El do his best to beat PROTO unarmed.

"As though they'd do much anyway. He's had three girls come at him with weapons. Two of them were after Kana, who somehow defeated him unarmed. You'll have to do it again, by the way," he said, turning to her. "You two had him easy, so it's only fair we let everyone fight him twice."

"Yeah, I guess it would," Katie said, watching El try to run up PROTO's arm like Karin had attempted. He met with the same failure, only he kicked off the wall behind him. He punched PROTO square in the chest, and the robot stumbled backward. El took the chance to throw a kick in the same area. His foot bounced off the metal, but knocked the robot onto its back.
He jumped onto the robot, and jumped onto its neck. PROTO recovered and knocked El off of its body. The robot rolled over and tried to stand up. El, however, ran up to it and landed a solid punch in PROTO's left eye. The eyes and joints faded with the robot in a knealing position.
Creator's eyes widened, blinking rapidly in confusion. He chuckled, and didn't have to announce Daisuke's turn when El returned to the room. He gulped as hard as he could, and started toward the door. The boy inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. "Alright," he told himself, "El defeated him, but didn't really do much. Come on, psych yourself up, this is for real, you can't let the fact El went before you distract you from the fact you have to beat this thing, or get seriously hurt."
Daisuke walked into the ring, and faced PROTO. PROTO assumed an offensive stance, and Daisuke just started running toward the robot. Daisuke's robotic foe swatted him away without much effort. Daisuke shook off the impact, and ran towards him again, and again was swatted aside. Daisuke repeated the cycle a third time.

"Look at that, he just keeps running toward his opponent head first. What an idiot," Creator stated.

"Eh, you obviously don't know Daisuke," El said, smirking. "I'm a better fighter than he is, but the first time we fought each other, this is how he beat me, just watch, he's about to do it." El pointed toward the fight. The others looked just in time to see Daisuke duck underneath PROTO's fist, and then jump up, nailing the robot in the chin with his fist. "Get your opponent used to dealing with a frontal attack, then change it up. Pretty good strategy, actually."

"I guess it is," Creator thought out loud. "But still, it'll take more than that to deal with PROTO." Daisuke took advantage of the robot being thrown off balance in order to land a series of strong (albeit slow) punches in the robot's face. The robot fell backward, giving Daisuke a chance to land a solid double-fisted blow straight to PROTO's chest. "I don't believe it. That unorthodox method?" Creator stated, watching PROTO's lights fade, and the door open.

"Yup, that's Daisuke for ya. His methods are unorthodox, and his plans look like they shouldn't stand a ghost of a chance of working, but then they do work," El stated as Daisuke walked into the room.

"Well, anyway, I think now it's Katie's turn again, and then Kana gets to go, and then I think that everyone will have gone against him on a difficult setting," Creator stated, looking at Katie.

"That was easier than I thought it would be. Katie was the only one who took less time than I did," Daisuke said, sitting down.

"Yeah, and Aqua was the only one who suffered more damage than you did," El said, sitting beside him and grinning.

"Either way, it was the most amusing fight, though I think Kana's second match will be the most interesting," Creator stated, watching Katie's fight. She had drawn her sword, and was holding the laterally in front of her face, looking at PROTO. "Don't know what she's waiting for. PRROTO isn't able to act offensively yet. Couldn't work that into the designs in time for this."
Katie rushed PROTO, aiming at his chest. The robot moved back, avoiding the slash, and then threw a punch, which hit Katie square in the chest. "Not so easy now, is he, Katie?" Creator said under his breath. Katie lept toward her opponent, and was caught with a right hook, though not before she could stab the robotic fist with her sword. The robot took the sword out of its fist and held it pointing toward Katie, repairing the damage done to its other hand.
Katie rushed the robot, who began to swing the sword at her. She slid underneath the attack to avoid it, and then curled up to launch a kick at the robot. PROTO retalliated by sweeping Katie to the other side of the room with its own powerful kick. "That didn't do a lot of good," Creator chuckled. Deustodo's straw made a slurping sound, prompting him to hold the can upside down over his eye to check if there was more in the can.

"All right," Katie said. "So, it learned from every applicant who showed up, and it has my sword. I guess I'll just have to fight like none of them have done yet. Question is: How do I do that?"[hr]

Chris lay on a park bench, staring at the birds flying around. "Well, this is fun," he told himself. His homework was done, he had completed all his chores, and now there was nothing to do. "Well, won't find anything to do just laying around here," he stated, jumping off the bench and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He started walking through the park and noticed a group of eight of kids about his age gathered under a tree, all wearing black clothes and masks.

"Alright, everyone's clear on the plan?" Chris heard one of them say as he crept closer. The others in the group nodded, and they all started running into town. Chris followed them as they ran, doing his best to remain invisible to the group. I probably could get in trouble for this, but as long as I stay out of their sight, I should be fine. Besides, it's better than sitting around bored. I probably should have joined that group yesterday, but I don't want to join something I don't know anything about.
The group and Chris ran for several minutes, Chris breathing hard and trying his hardest to remain quiet. The group stopped in an alley opposite the local bank, and Chris took the opportunity to sit on a bench in front of the bank and pretend to read a book. The group ducked behind garbage cans and a dumpster - the only reason Chris could spot them when they looked out was because he already knew they were there. Chris heard an alarm ring behind him, and jumped off the bench at the same time the group he had followed started running across the street toward the bank. A group of three assailants ran out of the bank, only to be tackled by the group of kids.
"Come on, let's go!" Chris heard one of the kids yell. It only took one-and-a-half minutes for all eight kids to be thoroughly beaten down in front of a large crowd. The three bank robbers immediately threw the bags they carried into a car and sped off. Chris immediately went to check on the kids ro see if they were okay. One of them had had his mask ripped off in the struggle, so Chris could identify him.

"Aa'une? What in the world, man?" Chris asked when he saw they were all still conscious. "You're not a fighter, why would you try to do that? What if they had guns?"

"Clearly, they didn't have guns, or we'd be dead. I'll answer the rest later, Chris, just see if you can get us back to the park," the blonde-haired boy called Aa'une answered.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 4]

"Alright, Aa'une, now answer me," Chris demanded once everyone was back under the tree in the park. "Why would someone like you start a fight with guys like that?"

"Because, Chris, the guy leading that gang is a friend of mine," Aa'une offered as a reply. Chris just stared at him, clearly confused. "You know my friend Calvin from school? Well, he's kind of in financial trouble right now. I heard him planning to pull off a bank heist like Bonnie and Clyde used to do. I just wanted to keep him out of trouble, so I got together a bunch of friends and tried to stop him from getting away."

"Aww, I'm touched, I really am," a man said walking up to the group. "That just tugs at the heart strings," he said, feigning a tear. Chris watched as the muscular, shirtless man pulled a large sword off his back. "Rule one: Having an opponent outnumbered doesn't mean you have them outclassed. The more skilled side will always win, no matter how strong their numbers are. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I've got one," one of the other members stated. "How many piercings does one person need? I mean you've got like," he silently counted each piercing on the mans face, "twelve."

"Then I guess one person needs twelve piercings," the man answered. " I don't think I need to remind you what happened when you group of amateur fighters ganged up on three people. It was eight on three, and you eight got your butts thoroughly and irrevokabley defeated! Rule two: Don't judge an opponent based on thier appearance. I may have multiple piercings and a green mohawk, but even at the top of your game, I could easily defeat all of you.
"There's a barn at the far edge of the park," he pointed with his sword in his right hand to his left. "Be there tomorrow at eight am. I will teach you how to defeat numbers three times your own. If you don't follow this simple order, then I will find you, and drag you over there. If you want to save your friend, then show up on your own, but I will teach you to fight, whether you want to or not. Everyone gathered here today is now a member of the Akatsuki," he finished, walking away from the group.

"You just had to ask about the piercings, didn't you, Dranzer?" Aa'une asked, narrowing his eyes. Dranzer chuckled nervously. "Oh, well. I guess it could work in our favor to have that guy train us. I mean, if he really could beat all eight of us, then I guess he could help us beat Calvin and his two cohorts."

"But what about me?" Chris asked. "I don't wanna fight. I'd rather try to talk him out of a life of crime than beat him out of it."

"It won't work. I tried that before anything else," Aa'une told him. "Anyway, it sounds like if you don't show, you'll have to learn how to fight just to survive." Chris moaned, sinking back onto the grass.

"This just plain sucks, you know that? Why do I always find myself caught in the middle of other peoples conflicts?" he asked.

"Probably because you always follow people around and get yourself involved in other people's business," Dranzer observed. Chris shot him a look that made it's meaning painfully obvious: Shut up or I'll kill you. "I would love to see you try to back that look up, guy. You just made it obvious to everyone that you refuse to fight anyone."

"I don't even want to fight anyone. All I want is to graduate High School and get a nice, safe job. Like a banker or something. Something where I know what I can expect during my day."

"Good luck with that. You just saw for yourself what happens when you're a banker," Aa'une stated. [hr]

Katie avoided a slash from PROTO's sword by dropping to her knees. Still on her knees, she looked up at the robot, who was preparing to swing the sword again. Katie growled, and jumped back from the robot. PROTO slashed again, and Katie jumped on its arm. PROTO slashed at her, and she jumped off, causing PROTO to cut off its own arm. She ran up next to the robot, who ended up cutting off its leg.
The robot fell to its side, unable to balance without both legs. Katie jumped onto its stomach, and grabbed the sword from the struggling robot, only to be knocked halfway across the room again. She started limping over, bruised and battered from the multiple hits she had taken. She raised her sword at the robot, who was begining to get back on its only remaining foot. She slashed downward, slicing the robot's head in half.
She moved slowly toward the door, the robot beginning its self-repair. "Well, that was quite a spectacle. Thought PROTO might win that one," Creator said, smiling, "And, at some point, PROTO will win. Maybe he'll win against Kana," he said, prompting a grin from Donovyn, who watched as the young girl walked toward PROTO, who was finishing up the repairs on its arm. The other two Shuja sisters stood at the window, staring horrified at the floor.
The tiny, unarmed girl stood staring at the robot, who had fought multiple opponents with various ways of fighting. "She was barely able to defeat a robot with negligable combat skills. How is she planning to defeat it now that it's learned so much more?" Creator asked the group in general, grinning smuggly. Aqua groaned anxiously, gripping the console until her fingers turned white. Karin seemed unable to even make a concerned sound.
Kana rushed the robot, jumping from side to side in order to avoid being hit. She managed to punch the robot in the leg, only to be kicked to the far wall. She hit the wall hard enough to crack it, and fell to the floor. She got to her knees and shook her head. PROTO stepped closer to the girl, who immediately stood up, and ran around behind the robot.
She jumped up, and attempted to grab on to its back. The smooth, shiny metal proved to be impossible to get a hold on, and she fell to the ground. PROTO turned around and picked the girl up, making her unable to move. Kana heard banging coming from across the room, and turned to see Aqua and Karin banging on the window, though she couldn't see the faces. She imagined that they were looking horrified by her present situation.
Kana struggled against the mechanical grip, though she couldn't break free of it. "Please, you have to stop this!" Karin said, shaking Creator.

"Not possible. PROTO doesn't have a shutdown switch, and there's no way into the room unless the signal PROTO gives off is shut down. She'll have to either win or get beaten almost to death. If she looses, then she won't be able to join, and at that point... well, I don't make that rule, so whatever Donovyn decides will have to be done," Creator said. Karin looked at Donovyn, horrified at what he might do.

"Don't worry about it, somethin's goin on," the man in a black trench coat and mirrored shades was looking out the window. The others looked to see Kana finish squirming out of PROTO's grip and run up its arm. She jumped just in time to avoid being thrown off, and punched it in the eye. The robot stumbled back, and the small child kicked the robot's left knee, which caused it to fall over. She ran to its head, and proceeded to jump on its left eye repeatedly until the lights faded.
Creator looked at the scene, stunned into silence. Kana walked into the room, holding her hand to her chest. Karin and Aqua rushed over to her; Karin wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and Aqua started looking at her hand. Donovyn smiled at the three girls, watching as Aqua bandaged her young sister's hand. These people are quite exceptional. They're doing quite well in defeating PROTO, training him to be the ultimate weapon in the coming days. He let out a contented chuckle.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. Everyone has proven that they know how to handle themselves," Creator announced. Daisuke sighed, and El patted him on the back.

"Wait a second," Katie called out. Everyone looked at her, but she said nothing.

"Let me guess," Creator started. "You want another go with PROTO, right?"

"No, I want him to have a go with PROTO," Katie said, pointing to Donovyn. The group looked over to Donovyn, who shrugged and walked toward the door. Katie blinked as he walked toward PROTO, as calm as he had been while watching the others fight. "Didn't think it'd be that simple."[hr]

Chris lay in his bed, staring up a poster of Sasuke and Naruto tacked to the ceiling. What am I going to do? If I try to stay here, then that guy is going to come in here and drag me there. On the other hand, if I go on my own and mom finds out, then she'll kill me. Chris jumped out of bed, landing on his feet. "Know what, I'm gonna show up at this guy's 'Akatsuki' meeting, and then I'm gonna take out every single person there," he said, his fist held to the sky, "I'M LIVING IN THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH, AND THROUGH MY YOUTHFUL VIGOR, I SHALL SURVIVE ANYTHING THIS WORLD HAS TO THROW AT ME!!!"

"Chris, stop making heroic speeches and come down to dinner," he heard his mother call from the bottom of the stairs. "You have friends waiting for you at the table, so if you don't hurry up and get down here, there may not be any food left for you!"

"Friends?" Chris said quietly. He ran through the door and rushed down the stairs. He ran into the kitchen, and noticed that the friends his mother had mentioned were Dranzer and a boy with short black hair and a tee shirt with a skull stitched on to it. "Cortez? What in the world are you doing here?"

"Just got back from a cruise through Greece. Thought I'd drop in on my favorite cousin," the boy answered.

"I'm you're only cousin, dude."

"Probably the only reason your rating is so high, so don't complain about it," Cortez said, laughing. The others in the kitchen started laughing along with him.[hr]

Mikara faced down PROTO, giving a small smile. The robot had already assumed a stance saying it was ready to fight, however, Mikara maintained a casual stance much like one would have if they were talking to a friend about the weather. He pulled a dagger, its blade made of diamond, from inside his trenchcoat, swung it once, and ran toward the robot. PROTO attempted to throw him across the room, an attack Mikara avoided by jumping over the robotic hand. The robot swatted Mikara while he was still in the air, and Mikara stabbed the robot in the hand, using the dagger (Which was stuck at an angle) to hold himself to the robot.
The robot moved its hand back and forth quickly, attempting to throw him off. The dagger came loose, further damaging the robot, and throwing Mikara off of it. He jumped off the wall, and used the same tachnique used to cling to the robot's hand to cling to the robot's back. The robot intentionally fell onto its back, and Mikara let go of the dagger in order to escape being crushed. He pulled a standard pocket knife from his pocket, and used the blade to stab the robot's eye.
He retrived his weapons from the repairing robot and exited the room. The faces that stared back at him were more stunned than Creator's had been when Kana defeated PROTO. He walked toward the meeting room, and stopped only to ask if the others intended to follow him. They wasted no time in filing out of the room and taking their seats at the table. "Now, for today, that will be all I require of you. Tomorrow, we will meet here at zero-nine-hundred," Mikara stated. "In the mean time, see if you can't find more recruits. Make sure they're strong enough."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 5]

Dranzer and Chris were the last ones to walk into the barn. The shirtless man from yesterday was seated on a bale of hay with the rest of the group seated around him. "I was hoping you would show up. It's a lot easier like this," he said, looking right at Chris. Chris gulped hard, and he and Dranzer sat down with the rest of the group.
"Now that everyone's here, you can call me Ninjew. First comment I hear abut my name will result in severe pain. I'm what you might call an Assassin. I'm the best there is at what I do."

"So, why are you telling us this?" Dranzer spoke up.

"Because I believe you should know who's teaching you when you learn. Since I'm leading this group, I'm going to teach you how to fight, and master whatever weapon you match up with."

"Wait, what does that mean? Can't we just be good at fighting with whatever weapon we want?"

"You could do that, sure, but I firmly believe that everyone has a weapon that they connect with. Something that when they pick it up, it feels like it was made specifically for them. That is the weapon you will train with." Ninjew motioned to a row of items laid out along the far wall. The others didn't need to be told verbally that these were weapons Ninjew had laid out during the night. They contained everything from a basic Mace to a pair of pistols.

Each person in the group walked along the row of weapons, looking for the one that matched what Ninjew had told them about what he wanted from them. [hr]

"I'm not sure about this," Daisuke said to El. The small group had grown to include twelve people, nine of whom were wearing featurless white masks and black cloaks. Donovyn, Creator, and Deustodo, though they had the same cloaks, were wearing different masks. Deustodo's mask was green, Creator's was purple, and Donovyn's was gold.

"Relax, Daisuke, just think about the mission. These people are criminals, and we're stopping them. The police won't show up until they're leaving, and we're in place to do something as soon as it starts," El stated.

"Well, that's true, but... Well, how does Donovyn know about this ahead of time?"

"I don't know. Wait, something's happening," El stated as a large man in a ski mask pulled out a gun in the middle of a jewlery store. Donovyn immediately rushed across the street and threw a smoke grenade into the building. The others followed, and rushed into the thick cloud of smoke. In only a few minutes, the police had arrived to witness the culprit tied up in front of the store, and a group of people wearing cloaks and masks.

"About time you showed up," Donovyn said, sitting on a chair he had moved out of the store. "Of course, had we not been waiting, he would have escaped long before you showed up. He knew exactly what he wanted." Donovyn threw a diamond-studded choker into the officer's reach, and the officer still let it hit the ground. The group left simultaneously, following the three men in distinctive masks.

"Who was that?" the officer stated. "The Black Knights?"

"No, I don't think so. They just take photos and gather evidence. These guys actually did something to prevent the crime," another officer answered.[hr]

Ninjew threw a plate into the air, which Dranzer fired at. He had taken the pistols, which seemed like regular pistols with a twin "K" on the hilts (The symbol used for Karnon's Kills products,) but when the trigger was pulled, the pistols released a thin red laser. Dranzer was hitting each plate Ninjew had thrown, melting holes in the center of them without fail. He twirled them around his fingers, and placed them in the holsters at his waist. When Ninjew threw the next plate, he drew each pistol in turn and melted two holes in the plate before it hit the ground.
Aa'une had taken the explosive balls from the row of weapons. Chris was throwing plates for him to work with, and he was having less luck than Dranzer. He wasn't doing terrible, but there had been a few missed plates, and one instance where Chris had just barely avoided being hit with an explosive. Other members of the Akatsuki were practicing with Shuriken, swords, and knives. The only one who had failed to find a weapon was, of course, Chris.[hr]
At school the next day...

Chris, Daisuke, and El sat at a table eating lunch together. "So, Chris," El began, "You didn't join up with us, so what did you do yesterday?"

"Well, I'm kind of not allowed to talk about that," Chris said. "I was forced to join some group." Daisuke and El stared at him over their food. "I witnessed a group of kids we know get the pulp beat out of them by another group, and then a shirtless guy appeared out of nowhere and forced us to join a group he started. After that, well, I'm under orders to keep quiet."

"Can you at least tell us what this group is called?" Daisuke asked.

"Akatsuki," Dranzer said ditting down next to them. "The guy called it the Akatsuki. You're welcome to join up with us if you like. By the way, what did you two join?"

"The Fake Type Knights," the boys heard a voice say from the television in the lunch room. The screen was controlled by the office, so that told them the story was one the principle wanted them to see. The boys saw a man in a black cloak and a gold mask on the screen. "This city, despite its reputation stretching across the globe, is a mess. When I came to this city, I expected to see a Utopia.
"What I found was a mess that needed to be cleaned up, and I now extend an invitation to the city in general. Those who have already joined know what I intend with this group, those who haven't, this is what I have to offer," he stated, motioning behind him. A museum robbery had been thwarted by Donovyn and a couple other members. Six men had been captured and tied up, three bags full of artifacts were sitting beside them. "These men would have gotten away with this crime had the Fake Type Knights not been there to stop them."

"Hey, isn't that..." Daisuke began.

"Calvin..." Aa'une whispered behind him, his eyes wide.[hr]
Somewhere in the city...

"Flame, this man seems dangerous," a woman in a red dress warned.

"I agree with Crab," a man stated. "He's taking legal matters into his own hands, and he's broadcasting it. Anyone who has that much in the way of guts can't be trusted."

"This coming from a man who calls himself 'Pizza'?" the man called Flame stated. "While I agree that we have to keep an eye on this guy, there isn't much we can do about him. For starters, we don't know what his name is. Even if we did, he stated he's not from this city, so we don't have any files on him."

"So, for now we just keep a lookout for these 'Fake Type Knights' as they call themselves, and make sure they don't get carried away with power," a shadowed man at the head of the office table stated. Everyone stood up in sync and left the room.[hr]

Chris, Daisuke, and El stood outside the school. Daisuke and El stood typing something into their phones while Chris waited for them to finish. "Well, looks like we don't have anything to do for a couple hours. We'll check out this Akatsuki thing you joined with," Daisuke said as the three began walking toward Pop Park.

"Hey, did you guys hear the rumors?" Chris asked as they walked.

"What rumors are you talking about this time?" Daisuke answered.

"The ones about that guy in the mask."

"No, I don't think so," El answered.

"Rumor mill says that he's part of that terrorist group. The Inactive."[hr]

Daisuke and El were given the same speech about fighting as the other Akatsuki members had been given, and then they were told to choose their weapons. Chris, on the other hand, had been told to find one the night before. He showed up with a sledge hammer. This made Ninjew slap his own forehead, but it was accepted as Chris's weapon. As for Daisuke and Chris, they had both chosen Katanas.
"Chris, why would you have a hammer as a weapon? This isn't a game of Fable where you can put in a small stone and make a person's armour less effective. You need something that does a lot of damage right off the bat, and a hammer isn't going to cut it," Dranzer mentioned to him. Aa'une, who was practicing with his explosives, smiled a bit, and then caused his partner to have to dodge. "Aa'une, you're getting better. An hour into the session before you nearly hit your partner."

"Oh, hush up, Dranzer. At least I'm hitting the plates most of the time now," Aa'une said, returning to his thoughts immediately after.

"What is he thinking over there?" Chris asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Who can say," Ninjew answered, having told Daisuke and El to spar with each other. They were now in the process of whacking each other with bamboo swords.

"So, Daisuke, you think Donovyn is a member of the Inactive?" El said quietly, slashing at Daisuke.

"No, I don't think so," Daisuke said, blocking El's attack, "Why would he be so open about his name if he were?" he launched a downward stroke at El, "Besides, he just showed up in town." El blocked Daisuke's attack, and then proceeded to stab at Daisuke, "They don't really do much around here, but they have been spotted." Daisuke jumped backward, and then attemtped a horizontal slash, "I can't imagine they would be doing anything elsewhere, either." El blocked that attack, as well. "Otherwise, they'd be more closely monitored around here."

"Even so, it's possible, isn't it?" Daisuke spun around, taking out El's legs with a sweeping kick. El hit the ground with an "oomph" and then rolled to the side, kicking himself up. "Perhaps he's trying to find more recruits for the group?" Daisuke thought about this for a couple seconds, still blocking El's attacks. He thought through several scenarios for a minute or two.

"Yeah, I guess that could be the case."

"Ground Control to Major Daisuke!" Ninjew shouted. "Ground Control to Major Daisuke! Who are you defending against?" Daisuke's eyes widened and he looked around, noticing that he was still blocking attacks, despite the fact El had moved to join the group gathered around Ninjew.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 6]

"I've seen your latest exploits, Mikara. I must say, I'm not impressed," the shadowy figure on the screen stated.

"I wasn't expecting you to be impressed just yet," Mikara stated, removing his golden mask. "I was simply expecting to inform you that I am making progress."

"How do you plan on getting recognition when you hide your face?"

"My group is not registered with the Mod Corps. I need to get the group to fame as being beneficial before I let myself be known as its leader."

"Hmmm... I suppose so. Keep me informed of your progress, Mikara. And you may want to move beyond petty bank robbers if you want to make an impression." Mikara nodded and closed the lid of his laptop. He placed his mask back over his face, and walked out of the room.

"Next time you want to eavesdrop, you might want to show up before the conversation is over, Deustodo," he said quietly before closing the outward-opening door. Doing so revealed that Deustodo was standing behind it, casually leaning against the wall, smiling.

"Well, perhaps next time I wish to eavesdrop on you, I'll let you know ahead of time, and we can coordinate better," he said, laughing about it. "By the way, since we're in our headquarters, do you think we can take these masks off?"

"I suppose it couldn't do any harm," Mikara stated, removing his own mask as he did so. He smiled and began walking down the hall. Deustodo took off his mask and followed. "Why did you come here anyway? I doubt you're that interested in my personal conversations. You didn't even know ahead of time I was talking to anyone."

"Well, someone came by and wanted to whine about something. Some guy named Tim." Mikara sighed and rolled his eyes, placing his mask back on his face.[hr]

The Fake Type Knights were sitting around the table, cloaks and white masks on. Most of them were sitting straight, though a couple had their hands crossed on the table. Though one man, who was wearing a purple mask, sat leaning back in his chair, right ankle on left knee, and his head resting on his left hand. A young man was sitting in a chair by a wall, dressed in a flannel shirt and blue jeans. Though he appeared to be only fourteen or so, his hair was silver in color.

Through a set of doors behind the table, emerged two more people wearing cloaks and masks. One mask was green, and the other, gold. "About time you showed up. What's the idea, keeping me waiting?"

"I'm sorry," one of the men said. As they were standing right next to each other, Tim couldn't tell which was speaking, though he guessed it was the one in the gold mask. "I had more urgent matters to tend to. Now, what is this I hear about you having complaints?" The two men walked calmly over to the table, and the one in the golden mask took the place at the head of the table.

"Well, the reason I'm here is to file a couple complaints. You have decided that it's a good idea to go around this city and act like law enforcement. However, comma, you're not. My father is, and he's already tracked this place down," Tim stated.

"Your point, if you don't mind?"

"The city police feel threatened by your presence. I've come to ask you to shut down." Tim looked striaght into the eyes of the man at the end of the table. He was in a similar position to the man in the purple mask.

"I don't even know who you are, little boy. Therefore, I must decline your offer, tempting as it is. I suggest that if your old man is threatened by me, that he come to me himself, and we can talk. Better yet, if it's the police that feel threated - and trust me, the two are very different entities - then the chief of police can find me. Better yet, they can start making a dent in the crime rate," the man said, adopting a smug tone toward the end of his statement.

"My name is Timothy Majora, and my father is the chief of police. If you call me anything other than Tim, then you will have crossed me to where you don't even know how much trouble you're going to be in!" Tim shouted. He noticed that, despite taking the most threatening tone he could, the man seemed unimpressed.

"Well, pup, I still don't know who you are. In addition, I really don't care. Leave, and tell your daddy my conditions, then maybe we'll have an understanding," the man said, sounding bored.

"I'm not leaving until you disband this group of vigilanties. I searched my father's database, you're not registered with the Mods. That makes you guilty on two fronts: an unregistered group, and a vigilante."

"I don't care what I'm guilty of, nor do I care what your daddy's computer tells you about me, or my group. If you want to complain to someone, complain to the local bank about having a network of tunnels and a vault that no one knows about." Tim growled at him, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. "Well, my knights, I think it's about time we start building a defense for the HQ. Any ideas?"[hr]

A boy with long brown hair slashed his Kunai knife at another boy with spiked-up black hair. "Come on, Smesh, aren't you bored with this yet?" the black-haired boy said, tracing his palm over one of the thick red streaks he'd dyed into his hair. He answered the Kunai slash by swinging a Shuriken at the boy called Smesh.

"Frankly, Shads, no, I'm not. I'm gonna hit you with this thing at some point," Smesh said, using his Kunai to block the Shuriken. Smesh quickly pulled the other boy down on top of him, just in time for both of them to avoid being hit by a katana. "You know, Shadow, this means that you owe me dinner or something."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Shadow said, standing up and dusting himself off. He walked over to the katana he'd nearly been hit by and turned to see Daisuke standing next to El. El was holding his katana with the hilt pressed to his forehead, and Daisuke was chuckling nervously with his hand on the back of his head. "Really, dude? Next time, keep better hold of your sword. Seriously."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Daisuke said with a sigh. "Next time, I'll make sure that El knocks it out of my hand in a direction no one else is in."

"No, next time you'll hold on to your sword," Ninjew said, boring holes through Daisuke with his eyes. "If this were a real battle, you'd be dead. Do you think that an actual opponent will give you a chance to pick your weapon back up? Do you think that someone defending their life will just hand you back your weapon if you drop it? NO! In a real situation, you're going to have to hold on to your blade, or let go of your life!"
Daisuke lowered his head. "Boy, you'd better pick your head up. If you let stuff like this get to you, then you'll get yourself killed. Pick up your weapon, and next time a weapon flies across the room, it better be his," Ninjew said, pointing at El. He stayed where he was, staring at Daisuke until Daisuke looked him in the eye, and then he walked off without another word.[hr]

"He's not doing much," Flame stated. "Catching a couple criminals here and there, and turning them over to the police."

"True, but he is violating the law on two fronts. 'An unregistered group within Drac Ohiguy City Limits' and 'Vigilante activity.' Isn't that enough to convict him?" Crab told him in response.

"Along with every single one of his collegues," another man added, though not as a question.

"I'm still not convinced that he's actually a threat, Pizza" Flame stated. "His organization seems weak. They're acting more like any other cilvilian would: They get caught in the middle of a bank robbery, and then stop the guy who's doing it. Stupid, but not illegal. Certainly not dangerous. To us, anyway."

"I'm aware of his actions, Flame. What I'm worried about is his motives," Pizza said calmly.

"Well," the shadowed figure at the head of the table spoke up, "I still think Flame's right about this man. Let's just continue monitering his activity. Let this play out a bit more." Crab groaned, but did not object.[hr]

Velma Hems stood in her book shop, watching as three boys walked down the street. The school day had just let out, and many kids were making their way home. She wasn't looking at the boys in particular; what caught her eye instead was the man sitting on the bench. He wore a fedora and looked at the building across the street through his mirrored shades. That's so odd. He's been sitting there the last three days looking at that Tower. Why is he so interested in the Any Other Tower?
A boy with sandy-blond hair walked into the building and turned to her with a smile on his face. "Well?" Velma asked him.

"Lead role. This year's RP820 play is gonna kick the can out of any other play in the history of RP820."

"Zets, that's great!" Velma said, clapping her hands in front of her chest.

"Yeah, it is. Quick question: Why is it that this last week, you've been wearing that librarian outfit? I mean, I realize you own a book shop, but it clashes with the red hair of yours. Especially considering that you keep it in that emo style. Maybe if you had it in a bun, but..." he cut himself off to dodge a flying dictionary. He and Velma laughed while outside, the man in the mirrored shades got up and began walking down the street after the three boys from school.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 7]

Mikara sat facing Creator and Deustodo. The rest of the Knights were off doing whatever they did when they weren't on call. Mikara didn't care what they did in their free time, as long as he knew where they were when he needed them. "What are we gonna do with him?" Creator asked, motioning toward the doors that led to the area the Knights had faced PROTO. "I can fix his limbs, but what then?"

"Why not just turn him loose?" Deustodo asked.

"Because he's seen our faces. If he's not loyal to us, then we could be tracked down before we have a chance to accomplish our goals," Mikara stated. Creator furrowed his brow, apparently deep in concentration.

"Well, if I'm the one fixing him, then he'll be able to take on PROTO easily. Why not let him join us? If you're worried about his loyalty, then what better way to ensure it than by making him one of us?"

"That's brilliant, Creator. Very well, once this man, let's call him 'Flandre Scarlet' until he tells us his name, is well enough to move, he shall become a Knight."

"Where do you come up with a name like that?" Creator asked. "I get why you chose 'Scarlet' but what about 'Flandre'?"

"Cause it rhymes with 'Waffles!" a high-pitched voice spoke out from behind Creator. Creator slapped his forehead, letting himself slide down his chair.

"Deus, why did you bring him here?"[hr]

Tim stood in front of a door which had been painted to depict Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu. He knocked hard on the door, and waited for it to open. The classic challenge of a password came from behind the door. Tim growled. "Just open the door Chester! I've got an important assignment for you, and besides, you don't even have a password, and you know it!"

"Uh-oh, it's Tim," someone said behind the door. It quickly opened, revealing a large group of kids wearing Pika-print clothing. One boy was wearing a Pikachu-ear hat, destinguishing him as the leader. "What can I do for you this time, Rai?"

"I've already told you a million times not to call me that, I'm not a member of this group. I only come here when I have some need for your services," Tim replied. He looked around the room, and walked into the building, allowing the boy to close the door. He didn't look at him, but continued to speak. "Unless you've been living under a rock for the last week, you've heard about an unregistered group of vigilantes, Chester."

"Please call me 'Pikachu.' The group is in session, after all," the pikachu-eared boy stated.

"I want them gone," Tim continued. "Stage a bank robbery tomorrow. You and... Pichu..." he hesitated at saying the name, "will be the only two in the bank. The rest will be lying in wait outside, ready to attack. I want the Fake Type Knights blown away, understood?" He turned to adress the groups leader, his eyes narrowed. The boy he spoke to lowered his head, nodding his approval.[hr]

"Where are Daisuke and El?" Dranzer asked Chris. The Akatsuki had learned from Daisuke that there was someone had targeted the bank for a robbery again. Aa'une had thought that Calvin was being ballsy, and had begged Ninjew to let them fight. They were now waiting on top of a roof next door to the bank.

"They had prior engagements," Ninjew answered instead. "Apparently, very important, and took precedence. You won't be fighting, anyway, unless you have to. Just watch me." The others nodded, spotting a couple of young men entering the bank.[hr]

Daisuke watched as the two young men walked up to the counter. He and the other knights were waiting in the bank, dressed in street clothes, but had their cloaks and masks ready in the bags they had slung over their shoulders. They were trained to take no more than two minutes to get ready. He noticed one of the boys pulling out a gun, tucked into the back of his jeans and underneath his shirt. He gave the signal, a simpe act of throwing his bag toward the restroom and then running after it.
Two minutes later, the knights were running out of the bank after the two criminals. What they found was chaos. "Club Pikachu will destroy the Fake Type Knights!" he heard a familiar voice yell. He looked to the left to see Tim and Donovyn battling. Tim had been the one shouting, but it was obvious that Donovyn wasn't even trying. Although Tim lashed out with wild slashes, Donovyn was moving effortlessly with his diamond-bladed dagger to block them.
To Daisuke's right, Creator and the boy Daisuke recognized as Pikachu were fighting unarmed. And in front of Daisuke, Pikachu's younger brother was running toward Daisuke with a common kitchen knife. Daisuke dodged the downward slash Pichu attempted by simply stepping to the left. He launched an uppercut at Pichu, and noticed another familiar face fighting another member of Club Pikachu. Actually, it was several members.[hr]

Ninjew slashed horizontally at six opponents. They all jumped back, and he threw another member off his back, knocking one of the six to the ground. He looked around for anyone else who might attack him. Then he noticed a weapon that seemed familiar. The black hilt and silver-colored blade revealed the katana as belonging to El Make.
"So, it's a case of first loyalty, then?" he blocked a slash from a member of Club Pikachu. "That would mean that Daisuke is also a Knight." He spun around to slash at several members who had him surrounded. [hr]

"He's in trouble," Chris said, pulling out his hammer.

"Down, Chris, he's fine," Shadow stated. "He's Ninjew, he's got this covered."

"I didn't mean Ninjew. I mean the guy down there with the staff," Chris said, pointing at a knight who was surrounded. Though he had a staff, he didn't see to be holding up well against the number of opponents. Club Pikachu had quite a few members, and the few members of the two small organizations weren't doing well at taking them out. "I've gotta help out!" Chris yelled, jumping off the building.
Shadow slapped himself before turning to the other Akatsuki members. "Alright, let's just follow Denver's lead and jump right into the fight. Ninjew will kill us later, but we can't just let Chris be the only one," he told the others. With that, he and the rest of the Akatsuki jumped down into the battle.[hr]

"That's not a good sign," Black said on his way to rehearsals. An entire three blocks was taken up by a fierce battle. He recognized the majority of the combatants as belonging to Club Pikachu. "I thought those guys were just a bunch of nerdy cosplayers, though. If they're in a war frenzy, then this just plain isn't good."
He attracted the attention of one of the frenzied nerds, nearly costing him his life. "Hey, hey, hey, whoa!" he said, holding his hands where they could be seen. "I just wanted to know what's going on here."

"Club Pikachu was chosen to get rid of the FTK," the girl informed him. "They're at the bank, but the rest of us are waiting for anyone who tries to escape."

"Well, hang on, I know who to call."

"Ghost Busters?"[hr]

"This is getting us nowhere," Creator stated, knocking the third Club Pikachu member to the ground, unconcious. He pushed a button on his watch, and started a fight with another nerd in a Pikachu outfit.[hr]

"I think it's time to get serious," Mikara said, kicking Tim in the stomach. He stabbed Tim in the head while Tim was doubled over in pain, and twisted the blade. "That takes care of that," he said, rushing a group of stunned onlookers. They were cut down just as callously. He heard a rumble from inside the bank.
"So, he's called out PROTO? Looks like we're not gonna be here much longer," Mikara stated before returning to cutting down his attackers. the robot crashed through the front walls on the bank, and picked Creator off the ground, placing him on his shoulder. The robot immediately began following Mikara's lead, flattening out the enemies of its master.[hr]

Chris began crippling the Pikachu fanatics that were attacking the Knight holding a spear. "You okay, dude?" he asked. The knight simply nodded, not speaking. "Are you guys allowed to speak when you're dressed that way?" he said, blocking attacks from another opponent.

"Yes, we are," the knight answered. "By the way, concentrate on what you're doing!" the knight swung the spear around, cutting through a couple attackers. Chris stared wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry! I thought you were a guy, but..." he was cut off by a thwack to the head from a member of Club Pikachu.

"I don't care at the moment! More urgent matters!" she said, stabbing the new attacker in the eye.[hr]

"Velma!" Black said, running into the store, out of breath. "At the bank... a war... Knights... Pikachu..."

"Club Pikachu is attacking the Fake Type Knights?" Velma asked.

"I don't know... who attacked... first," Black said, trying to catch his breath.

"Go rest, I can take it from here," Velma said, walking into a back room of the store. Once there, she took her cell phone out of her pocket, and dialed a number. "Hello, Flame. The Knights are at war with Club Pikachu. They're in front of the bank."[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter Eight]
Daisuke sliced through another yellow-wearing nerd. Then he noticed someone he recognized among the carnage. A man with spiked, red hair, and wearing orange robes with a yellow flame-pattern was examining the corpses of the members of Club Pikachu. He looked straight at Daisuke through, his grey eyes showing stern disapproval. "What in the world? Hey, what's Mr. Dragan doing here?" Daisuke called.

"He's not the only misplaced one, dude!" El shouted back. "Velma Hems, you know, the book store owner," he stabbed his opponent through the heart. "She's here, too."[hr]

Mikara stood facing the group of newcomers in robes. What remained of Club Pikachu had scattered when they arrived. "Who are you?" Mikara demanded.

"Crab Helmet," A woman answered. He recognized her from the book shop across the street from the tower he'd been inspecting. Her real name was Velma Hems.

"Flame Dragon," a man answered. Another alias, belonging to Mr. Dragan, the local school Principal.

"Rinnie," a girl answered. She sported pink, shoulder-length hair and wore green robes. This one actually used her real name, but he wasn't sure of her position in the city.

"Falling Pizza," the last man responded. He had a brown crew-cut, and wore black robes. Mikara didn't recognize him. "We make up the central council of the Mod Corps. We've been watching you."

"So, the Mod Corps is comprised of stalkers?" Mikara answered, the Knights gathering behind him.

"We keep the city in order. There is an interceptor blanketing the city, designed to pick up any frequencies outside the few that are used within Drac Ohiguy. In other words, we know who you are," the man called Falling Pizza stated, pointing at Mikara, "Mikara Hitsugaiya." The Fake Type Knights all looked at their leader, who had begun laughing. They were all murmering their surprise, some of them bringing up the rumors of Inactive membership. Mikara took his mask off, throwing it on the ground to the side.[hr]

"I knew I should have changed my frequency," Mikara stated, removing the cloak from over his usual outfit. He stepped away from his group, facing down the Mod Corps. Creator took this as an opportunity to spare himself punishment from the Mod Corps, and attempted to attack Mikara, only to be blocked by a random counterstrike from someone dressed like a ninja. "Ah, I believe you've noticed my other posse, right? You've called them 'The Inactive' but I assure you, they've very actively been studying this city.
"You see, I hired these people over my career as an assassin to study the patterns of the most influential people of the world. It has served me quite well, they even do this just to be doing it, I don't have to pay them a thing. The only person they've not been able to locate is my newest prize: Yvan Cort Maker." Mikara shrugged. "Can't expect to get everything quite so easily, can you?"

"So you've been using us to get to Y.C. Maker?" Katie asked.

"Why, yes, I have. I've also used you to do something else," Mikara said, pressing a button on his watch. PROTO immediately began humming, and started attacking the Mod Corps, while the ninja-looking members of the Inactive kept the Knights under survailance.[hr]

Ninjew looked on as Club Pikachu scattered, and the leader of the Fake Type Knights was revealed to be Mikara Hitsugaiya. A giant robot started attacking the Mod Corps, and so the Knights focused their attention on trying to get to Mikara. "Akatsuki! Pull back, head for the headquarters!" All the Akatsuki members voiced their agreement to comply, and raced away from the scene. "Fake Type Knights, as you've seen, you can't beat him!" Mikara and the Knights looked over to him.

"Ah, so you're here," Mikara said, laughing. "I'm attracting all kinds of stalkers today! There are two things I can always expect to see, no matter where I am," Mikara said, stepping toward Ninjew.

"And what would those be?" Ninjew asked, walking toward Mikara, getting his sword ready.

"What else? You and Aldebaran," Mikara answered.

"Aldebaran?" Ninjew asked, obviously confused. Mikara didn't answer, he just moved to slice Ninjew at the chest. Ninjew moved left, and raised his sword to block Mikara's dagger. "You always were one to disregard honor in a fight."

"Honor? Honor is for Samurai and the walking dead. Seize what opportunities present themselves, and win by whatever means necessary," Mikara replied, letting no pressure off his dagger.

"Honor is what permits one to hold his head high in public, and stand tall in the afterlife!" Ninjew stated, narrowing his eyes, staring straight into Mikara's eyes.

"Honor is what puts one in the afterlife to begin with!" Mikara returned, giving an unsettling grin that seemed out of place with the intensity in his eyes. Ninjew pushed Mikara back, and slashed downward. Mikara jumped to the right and slashed diagonally from his upper left.[hr]

Falling Pizza jumped upward to avoid a low-aimed punch from PROTO. The other Mods had gathered in a circle around PROTO while Falling Pizza had kept his attention. "Alright! Attack pattern 5-13-Alpha-Omega!" he yelled out after he had firm footing in front of the robot. Flame Dragon drew out a Claymore that was strapped to his back with the "Karnon Kills" emblem, and pressed a red button on the hilt, causing the blade to ignite. Rinnie drew a Rapier, which was held in place simply by the belt she wore, the same symbol on its guard, and the same button, though hers caused her blade to vibrate.
Crab Helmet extended a staff, which was collapsable so she could carry it as a one-foot section under the back her robe. When extended, it was three feet long, and had gold bands where the sections meet, and a small plate on the middle section, the overlapping double "K" there, as well. The weapon Falling Pizza drew, a shotgun-looking weapon, was the only one lacking the symbol. Flame Dragon immediately rushed in from the left to stab the robot in its thigh, while Crab Helmet attempted to hit it from the right on its shin. Rinnie rushed from behind, swinging upward; Falling Pizza squeezed and held the trigger on his gun, though nothing happened.
The three mods using Melee all missed their target; the robot had rotated its upper body, hitting them hard. When the rotations ceased, Falling Pizza released his trigger, realeasing an electric surge from his shotgun. The electricity hit the robot square in the chest, and the lights faded from its joints and eyes. Flame, who was the first to recover, sliced the robot's limbs from its body. Rinnie the stabbed its chest, and the vibrations from the rapier altered until it hit the resonent frequency of the metal, causing the robot to vibrate apart.
Crab Helmet, somehow the only one who had taken damage, slammed her staff onto the lower half of the robot, the impact shattering the metal of its legs, damage that a weapon of the style and weight should not have been able to do. "Flame Dragon, give me your Claymore," Falling Pizza demanded. Flame Dragon agreed without an argument, and Falling Pizza pushed a button on his shotgun. A chamber on top opened up, and he fit the sword into the hollow, though it only fit into the gun enough to be held in place. The robot had begun its self-repairs, but Falling Pizza had squeezed the trigger.
When he released, PROTO was reconnecting the wires to its upper and lower half, but instead of electricity, Falling Pizza's shotgun released a wave of heat, which melted the ciruitry within the robot, halting it from healing itself, and leaving it a pile of melted metal. Rinnie stabed the remains of the robot, and the rapier once more found the resonence with the metal. The metal vibrated apart, falling to pieces where it stood.[hr]

"Well, it looks like the Mods have taken care of your robot," Ninjew said, attempting to cut down Mikara again. Mikara just gave a 'tch' and blocked Ninjew's attack again. He jumped back, sliding his diamond blade along Ninjew's steel blade. [hr]

"Rinnie, that man Mikara is fighting right now, that's that other assassin, isn't it?" Falling Pizza asked, handing Flame Dragon his sword. All four Mods put their weapons away, and Rinnie pulled out a PDA from her pocket.

"Correct. It seems they have a rivalry. 'Ninjew, real name unknown. Assassination targets comprised entirely of corrupted corporate or public officials.' Pretty stark contrast to Mikara. He targets whoever he gets paid to target," Rinnie answered. "The files say the Ninjew follows Mikara wherever he goes, and always tried to kill him after the assassination."

"Rinnie, sometimes the things you can pull up on that PDA frighten me," Crab Helmet stated flatly.

"That's beside the point," Rinnie said, putting away her PDA, "it also states that Ninjew usually ends up in a hospital with a cripling, but not fatal, wound. It seems Mikara enjoys watching Ninjew attempt to kill him." The Mods were quiet for a minute, and then Rinnie spoke again. "I think this has gone on long enough, it's time we take Mikara in." Falling Pizza drew his shotgun again, and took aim at Mikara.

"It's no good," he stated. "The two are moving around too much, I can't get a clear shot." He lowered his weapon, and looked to the other three. "You're the ones who will have to do this." The other three nodded, preparing their own weapons yet again.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 9]
"You and your star are about to have your hands quite full," Ninjew said, jumping back out of Mikara's range. He laughed, and ran in the direction the other Akatuski had run earlier.

"This just won't do at all," Mikara stated, turning to face the mods, three of whom were calmly walking toward him with weapons drawn. "Looks like I'm going to have quite a bit of trouble on my hands," he stated as the Knights began recovering from their injuries. Though Creator simply had an emotional breakdown when he saw that PROTO had been destroyed, the other Knights began joining the Mods to attack Mikara.

"Mikara Hitsugaiya, for your countless crimes against the human race, you will stand judgment here, and now!" Flame Dragon stated, pointing his blade at Mikara, and igniting the blade. Mikara took up a defensive stance, and Flame Dragon let loose a battle cry and charged toward Mikara.

"My servants, defend your master!" Mikara cried, causing the Inactive to rush toward the group racing to Mikara. The Inactive quickly caught up to the back of the group, and beat down the unarmed Knights. At the front, Mikara defended against attack after attack from the three Mods. Falling Pizza, still at the reckage of the robot, was shooting his electric blasts at the Inactive. The dozen Inactive at the scene were quickly picked off, along with half the Fake Type Knights.
Mikara growled, blocking another attack from Flame Dragon, and then took a hit from Crab Helmet. He let out a yell, and collapsed. All the armed assailants immediately surrounded him, preventing him from even standing up. "There, you've beaten me. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to end you," he heard Falling Pizza call out from behind the group. The sea of bodies parted, allowing Falling Pizza to access a close range to Mikara. Falling Pizza pumped his Shotgun, and aimed point-blank at Mikara's head. "Any last words?" Mikara laughed, looking Falling Pizza in the eye.

"You should have disarmed me first," Mikara said coldly, lunging at Falling Pizza, and stabbing him in the stomache. He abandoned his dagger, and ran as fast as he could. "That woman," he said, straining against pain in his chest, "She may have broken a few ribs with that strike." He chanced a look behind him, expecting to have been caught by now. He saw that rather than pursue him, they had allowed him to escape so they could tend to their fallen comrade.[hr]

"Oh, man. I can't believe he turned out to be the most wanted man alive," Daisuke said to the small group. "I mean, if the leader is on the run, what happens to the rest of us?"

"Simple. I step up and replace the guy who's obviously copletely insane," Creator stated. Daisuke and Deustodo looked at him in surprise. "It makes sense, doesn't it? I already had acceptance power, so it's natural progression to step up and take leadership. Besides, I already registered with the Mods to make the Fake Type Knights official crime patrol."

"Well, I'm leaving the group," El stated. "It was fun for a while, but if this is what the group has to offer, I'm out."

"You know you would have been there, anyway, right? The Akatsuki was involved in that, too," Daisuke told him.

"I'm leaving anyway," El stated. A pink-haired man in a doctor's jacket stepped out of the room.

"How is he, J-Maxx?" Velma Hems asked.

"J-Maxx?" Daisuke asked, looking confused. "He's Jason Strange, the city's most skilled surgeon. So, the alias means..."

"He's a Mod, yes. The only doctor in our ranks," Mr. Dragan stated. "So, how's Pizza doing?"

"He'll live, but it'll be a while before he can get out of bed. That dagger cut his small intestine wide open. By the way, what should I do with this?" Dr. Strange asked, holding the dagger in his hand.

"I'll take that!" Deustodo said, raising his hand. Everyone present gave him an array of odd looks. "Well, the blade is made of diamond. Most people can't make weapons out of diamonds, so I'd like to have Karnan's Kills take a look at that. See if they can learn how to do stuff with it." Mr. Dragan nodded, and Dr. Strange handed the dagger to Deustodo, who then started studying the blade. [hr]

Mikara stood overlooking the arena the applicants had faced PROTO in. Well, that war set me back months. Now it'll be very difficult for me to even move through the city, let alone find Maker. This calls for drastic measures. He pushed a button on the console, which opened a door on the far side. A young man, who appeared to be eighteen at a glance, and wore a knee-length red sundress walked through it. There was nothing special about this man with long red hair, except that his limbs were made of metal.
"Flandre, my dear, I need a favor," Mikara said into a PA system, sounding like a father speaking to his daughter. The man with metal limbs looked right at him, showing his attention. "There are a few people I need you to hunt down. They are quite troublesome, you'll see the list on your way to the door." Flandre nodded, and walked back through the door he had emerged from, when Mikara heard a sound behind him.

"Creator said you might be here," he heard a female voice say behind him. He knew who it was without turning around.

"I'm sorry for what we have to do, I was hoping we could be friends," another, younger sounding voice added on to it. Mikara grabbed something from the console before turning to face Karin and Kanna. "You can still just come with us."

"No, I won't be going anywhere," Mikara said, showing the sisters a detonator. "You see, while you and the other Knights were busy installing turrets and pit-spike traps, Flandre and I were putting in a last-resort." He paused for a couple seconds, waiting for a response he didn't receive. "The support beams of this room are strapped with C-4. When I pull this pin, we will have about two seconds to escape." The two girls gasped at the declaration, following which, Mikara pushed the pin, and gave it a quarter-turn.
"Flandre will be leaving the building about now. He's the only one who's going to be leaving this underground vault today, however," Mikara said. The two girls screamed their protests as Mikara pulled the pin on his detonator. Two seconds later, the explosions had destroyed the support beams, collasping the room.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chpater Ten]
"You won't get away with this!" Hannah called out, drawing a card from her deck. "Now, I activate Lightning Vortex, destroying all of your monsters!" The dark-haired boy who stood opposite her stared wide-eyed, unable to defend himself. "Now, Queen Madolche Tiramisu, strike down the last of his Life Points!" The attack landed square in the boy's chest, causing him to be knocked back a couple feet.

"Not bad, Hannah, not bad at all. Zetsubo, that last part seemed a bit like a graham cracker, but other than that, you did fine," the instructor stated. "Now, it's Karin's and Kanna's turn for dress rehearsals. Hannah, be a dear and get them on the stage?"

"Yes, Sir," Hannah said, running to the dressing rooms. "Karin! Kanna! You're turn to do rehearsals!" She met with silence. She ran into Karin's dressing room, and found it empty. Okay, maybe she's with Kanna going over their lines. She ran into Kanna's dressing room, and found that empty as well. "Odd, where are they?"
Hannah ran back to the stage, and found the instructor giving Zetsubo tips on his acting. "Karin and Kanna aren't in their rooms, for some reason. I don't know where they would have went to, either."

"Try calling them, then. Maybe they'll answer their phone if they see it's you," the instructor suggested. Hannah ran back to her dressing room, and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jeans. She dialed Karin's number, and went straight to voice mail. She tried Kanna, again, it went straight to voice mail. She dialed another number, and someone picked up after a few rings.

"Joseph? It's Aqua. I'm good. No, rehearsals aren't done yet. I can't find Karin or Kanna anywhere, have you seen them? Are you sure? Okay, I'll let you know when rehearsals are done, call me if you hear or see anything. Love you." She hung up and ran back to the stage.

"Get them on the phone?" Zetsubo asked.

"No, straight to voicemail for both of them," Aqua answered, sounding worried. "Joseph hasn't heard anything from them, either. It's so odd, they normally call me or Joseph if they're going to miss practice. I know they were home when I left."[hr]

Chris walked into a store with Cortez. "Well, here we are, happy now?" Chris asked. His cousin had been begging to go walk to the candy shop in town,claiming it'd be a good idea to surprise Chris's mom with a treat. The shop owner and sole employee of the small shop stood behind the counter, watching the two young boys as they walked in. Cortez immediately ducked into a seperate row of shelves than Chris, as the bell on the door chimed again, announcing the arrival of a girl who appeared about fifteen.
"Cortez, did you just... Oh, hello," Chris said a bit sheepishly when he saw who had walked in. "Who might you be?"

"Oh, hello, my name is Rosa. Would you happen to Chris Denver?" the blue-haired girl answered. Chris took a moment to look into her hazel colored eyes before giving a small nod. "Well, you're even cuter than your cousin said you'd be."

"My... CORTEZ!" Chris said, walking to where Cortez was eyeballing a selection of hazelnut turtles. "Exactly why is there a girl up front saying that my cousin told her I was cute? That's all kinds of awkward."

"Well, I when I heard about what all's been going on lately, I thought you could use a girlfriend," Cortez answered.

"So you, my cousin, who happens to be male, have been going all over town telling girls that I, also male, am cute?" Chris asked in response. Cortez nodded slightly. "Dude, what's wrong with you?" Chris almost yelled.

"Has anyone told you you ask too many questions? There's a pretty girl out there all ready to take you on a date, and you're worried about how it happened. Just get out there and kiss her already," Cortez said almost laughing.

"I don't even want a girlfriend! I want life to go back to my old routine of surviving school, doing homework, and then trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my day!" Cortez was about to say something, but Chris grabbed his collar and held him against the shelf. "Next time you get the idea to hook me up with someone, don't do it!" Cortez pushed Chris off of him, and knocked over the opposite shelf.

"Way to show gratitude, man, and look, you just broke Remo's shelves!" Cortez stated. Chris looked over at the guy behind the counter, watching the spectacle unfold.

"I didn't break anything, man, you pushed me," Chris responded, aiming to punch Cortez in the face. Cortez was hit in the eye, and threw a punch at Chris, hitting him in the gut. Chris grabbed on to Cortez's arm, and threw him to the ground. Rosa, meanwhile, was too stunned by the sudden fight to do much, and Remo had run over to the two, and was trying to pull Chris off of Cortez. Chris pushed Remo off of him, and proceeded to throw a series of punches to Cortez's chest.
Remo ran over again, and grabbed Chris's arm. Chris grabbed Remo's shirt, and threw him in a random direction, where he landed in a fireplace. Remo jumped out, but not before his pants cought fire. He began running around the place, screaming like a banshee. Rosa rushed over and succeeded in pulling Chris off his cousin before he did any further damage.

"Chris, I don't know what this is about, but you need to stop. Look, you lit the shop owner on fire!" she yelled.

"It's actually quite painful, Remo stated calmly, watching as two new patrons waled in. Daisuke and El looked at each other, then at him.

"Dude, your pants are on fire," El stated just as casually to Remo. Remo looked down, and resumed running and screaming. "Right, anyway, Chris," he looked over to see Rosa holding him from behind, her hips against his buttocks, "First off, you're doing wrong. Second off, we just heard an announcement. The Mods just broadcast that there's a meeting taking place in Pop Park, at the RP 820 Theater." He grabbed Remo as he ran past, "Quit running and screaming like a wild child, and use that fire extinguisher over there," he told the shop owner while pointing at the object he was referencing.[hr]

Daisuke stood between the rest of the Akatsuki and the Fake Type Knights. There were three people up on the stage, two of whom were tied to their chairs, but the third was sitting pretty. All three had their faces covered in featureless black masks. The person in the middle, who was the only on not tied, stood up only when RP820 had made the transit from the School to the Stage in the Park. "Now that RP820 has decided to join us on their stage, I have an announcement to make. If it's okay with Icy Blue that I continue use of his theater, that is," the man said, looking at the acting instuctor.

"How is it he knows Icy's alias?" Velma said quietly to Mr. Dragan. "This spells trouble." She looked over to see the RP820 members take their place behind and between Akatsuki and the Fake Type Knight, Hannah standing next to Daisuke.

"Ah, what's this?" the man asked, looking straight at Hannah. "Right at the front? Is this an offering, Ms. Shuja?" The crowd murmered for a few seconds before the man began chuckling. "Ah, that's right, I never told you. You see, I have decided that the Inactive have been, well, inactive for far too long, and thus, I have mobilized them onto Drac Ohiguy City. As long as you don't interfere with their investigation, you needn't fear them. Their sole purpose is to locate their target, my target: Yvan Cort Maker."
A collective gasp filled the park. The people the man addressed didn't seem able to comprehend why someone would be so dead-set on tracking down Y.C. Maker that they'd make it the sole function of a terrorist group. "This can end soon, within the next day, in fact, if the Mod Corps would be so nice as to give me the information right now," the man stated. "Principal Dragan, A.K.A. Flame Dragon? No? What about you, Velma Hems, A.K.A. Crab Helmet? Rinnie? Acting Coach Ivan Yazul, A.K.A. Icy Blue? Dr. Jason Strange, A.K.A. J-Maxx, which for some reason is spelled with two X's? Still no? Hm, Falling Pizza seems to be missing. Where could he be, I wonder?"

"How is it you know all the members of the Mod Corps? No one in the city knows who we are," Velma shouted up at him. She didn't wait for a response before rushing up onto the stage, drawing her weapon. The man wasted no time in striding to stand between the two people who were tied up on the stage.

"Calm down, Velma," he stated calmly as he pulled the masks off the two people tied to the chairs. Velma, the other Mods, all of the Fake Type Knights, and RP820 let out another loud gasp.

"Karin! Kanna!" Hannah screamed from the audience. She began to run toward the stage, but stopped as the man pulled out two pistols and aimed them at the two girls' heads. Hannah stared, stunned by what she was seeing. Karin and Kanna, tied to chairs, in front of everyone in the city. They had been gagged, and now a man whose face was covered was holding pistols to both of their heads.

"What is it you want from us?" Velma asked, holding her weapon at the ready.

"I've already told you what I want. I want you to tell me where Maker is, and then get out of my way."

"Okay, but why do you want Y.C. so badly? Just who are you?"

"What difference does that make? Will you tell me or not?"

"I'll never disclose Y.C,'s location. Especially not to a terrorist like you!"

"Then you leave me no choice, Velma," the man said, firing a bullet at the woman. The bullet hit the corner of her eye, but it wasn't fatal to her. "If you won't cooperate, then I'm seizing control of this city until I get Maker's head on a silver platter, am I understood perfectly?" the man shouted to the crowd.

"You'll never be able to succeed. So long as there is a single Mod to protect him, he will never fall by your hand," Velma stated, covering her wounded eye, which now was bleeding profusely. "Why are you so dead-set on killing him anyway?"

"You don't know? Fine, then I'll tell you a little story about Yvan Cort Maker," The man said.[/spoiler] [/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 10 1/2]
Ten years ago, a young man was working at a corporation based in Japan. His eyes narrowed at the papers in his hand. "Another law suit? What's wrong with those people at Industrial Illusions?" he sighed as he got up from his desk and walked to the window. "It's a competative market, of course Kaiba Korp is going to cash in on Duel Monsters," the young man said as he looked out over the city.

"Mr. Maker, you have a call on Line Three," the secretary called over the phone.

"Put it through," Maker answered, still facing the city.

"Oh, Maker-Boy, you hit the big time at Kaiba Korp, and then I get kicked to the curb, is that how it works?" a male voice on the phone said.

"Pegasus. Should I be aware of something? Last time we met, you tried to ruin me."

"Oh, don't make me out to be so bad. It was business, and you were just starting out. I can't just let someone grow into a threat to my corporate success after all."

"Skip the pleasentries, Maxwell. What is this call about?"

"Oh, such an impatient man you've become, Maker-boy."

"Only when some big-shot tries to waste my time. What do you want?"

"Simple. I've decided that the best thing for both of us is to merge our companies. Think about it, Industrial Illusions began making Duel Monsters cards while Kaiba Korp was still a weapons company. Then Mr. Seto Kaiba made it a game company, making Duel Monsters Accessories, and now you're getting into the card making business as well. We may as well become one big company."

"I'll pass. Tempting as your offer is, I think I'll keep Kaiba Korp its own entity. Now good bye, Pegasus," Maker hung up on his business rival, and then dialed another number. [hr]

"Oh, I will have Kaiba Korp under my control," a blonde haired man, looking in his late fourties, sat looking at his phone, "I will not have my families business threatened by some corporate newcomer." He dialed a new number, and didn't have to wait long for an answer. "Ah, Mr. Hitsugaiya, I have a favor to ask."

"Pegasus. I knew I recognized that number. What is it you want this time?"

"So impatient. Can't I call an old friend just to say hello?"

"You still owe me two-thousand dollars from your last favor. What reason could I have to help you out again?"

"I'll have the money wired into your account within the next five minutes, with interest. In addition, I'll pay you three times your usual rate for this favor."

"Send me a list. Yellow note paper, written in Angelic. Use the postal service, as if you were sending a letter to an old friend, since you want that illusion."[hr]

"Sabotage?" Muramasa asked, reading the note. "Well, he did already pay me three times my rate. It's not a difficult job to accomplish, anyway. Could be fun." He sat down at his desk, producing a lap top from a locked drawer. "Now, let's find who Kaiba Korp's main provider is," he said, bringing up Kaiba Korp's executive page. His hacking program ran for a few minutes, and then alerted him that he was granted access.
"Okay, now, who is the source," Muramasa Hitsugaiya asked the computer. He searched through several shipping records and made notes of what names came up, and how often. After several hours, he had compiled his targets. "Alright," he said, arching his back in his chair. He looked over the list, which wasn't long. Kaiba Korp recieved most of its supplies from only five sources. Disrupt the routes, sabotage the company. Barely a challenge.
He spent the next day and a half monitoring the supply routes, and the times, and the days of delivery. "Okay, let's shake these guys to their core," he said, walking out of the room. His first target was set to deliver his shipment the next day, giving him time to set up his ambush. This proved to be effective, though his tactic was a simple sniper attack. "Too easy," he said, watching the shipment truck veer out of control. He walked toward the truck, and threw a grenade into the window, avoiding the blast by ducking behind a concrete barrier he had set up the previous night.[hr]

All five of the shipment trucks had been taken out. However, a problem emerged, as the companies supplying Kaiba Korp simply sent out new providers. This prompted Muramasa to dial Pegasus again. "Ah, you missed me," Pegasus said as he answered.

"The situation escalated, Pegasus. I want another payment."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Simple, turns out, it's not as easy as I had thought it would be. I have to travel to five different places, and that's not going to be cheap. I need to attack the supply companies directly, and I want to be reimbursed, and turn a profit. I'm not a charity, after all."

"Oh, alright, I'll give you one additional payment, and then reimburse you for your trouble once you're finished," Pegasus said, sounding somewhat amused.

"I'd better see that money. I'll call back in a week," Muramasa stated, hanging up on Pegasus.[hr]

Back in the Present Day...

"Muramasa didn't call back a week later, however. After he bombed the loading dock at Kaiba Korp's largest provider, Yvan Cort Maker had caught on to the sabotage, and alerted the remaining companies to the situation. He was captured in his second attempt, and tried in court. The proceedings were lengthy due to the various assassinations he had commited, and he was sentenced to death," the man concluded.

"And what does this have to do with you?" Hannah asked. She had moved up onto the stage during Mikara's tale.

"You haven't figured it out? You weren't able to make that deduction?" he took off his mask and threw it into the audience. "Muramasa Hitsugaiya was my brother! And it was Yvan Cort Maker who directly led to my brother's death!" Mikara shouted, his face a mask of rage.

"Muramasa got what he had coming to him, and you will be persecuted the same way," Velma announced, beginning to run at him. She stopped, however, when Mikara dropped one of his pistols and opened his cloak, revealing a device on his chest.

"This is wirelessly linked to a series of seismic generators scattered throughout the city. If my heart stops, the weakpoints of this city will be hit with seismic activity on the order of a nine on the richtor scale. I can disarm this thing, but I won't until I have Maker."[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Part 2]
[spoiler=Chapter 11]
Chris threw off his jacket as he walked through his front door. He stopped in his tracks for a moment as he caught sight of the crossed hammers marked on the back of it. He remembered when he, El, and Daisuke had done that. He walked slowly to his couch, and let himself fall on to it. His eyes weren't focused on anything in particular: He was thinking of that day, when his world changed.[hr]
El was looking at the two strips of bacon embroidered on his beanie. When Daisuke and Chris convinced him to do that, it had been the closest thing to normal he'd had in the last year. He dropped it at the base of his living room coat rack and turned to walk to the kitchen. Ever since that day, nothing had been even remotely normal in Drac Ohiguy. Even he was starting to savor the spontaneous outcries of youth Chris was prone to.[hr]
Daisuke was sitting on his couch, staring at the Shield embroidered on both of his gloves. He had suggested to his two friends that they come up with emblems and embroider them onto their clothing. El Make had objected at first, but eventually, Daisuke had been able to change his mind. That was the closest thing to a normal day his trio had been able to enjoy in the last year, all because of that one man, and his actions on that day. Daisuke's phone rang, jerking him out of his fantasy world.[hr]
Mikara ducked behind a wall, growling into his earpiece. "Of course I'm going to get this job done. Have I ever been known to fail?"
"Well, you've been attempting this for over a year now, not to mention that you've resorted to terrorism," came the voice of his employer. "It just seems that this guy may be more than a match for you." Mikara switched off his earpiece, and looked around the corner.
"That guy is always annoying," he muttered, watching the turrets move back and forth. He had attempted to break past them, the security on the first floor, many times in the past year. He had yet to succeed, but he wasn't about to give up. "Now, how do I get through this? There has to be something I haven't thought of," he stated to the empty lobby, his eyes scanning everything in sight.[hr]
Daisuke met up with Chris and El outside the bookshop across from the Any Other Tower. "So, what's going on here?" Daisuke asked his two companions.
"I don't know," Chris answered. "It wasn't any of us who made that call, but I don't recognize the number."
"I'm the one who made the call," came the voice of Velma Hems from the entrance to her bookstore. "Life is in the tower." Daisuke looked across the street to the tower. Life, the codename used to identify Mikara. So he was attempting to get up the tower again. "He's been in there longer than he normally is. I'm certain he won't be able to get past security, but I want you three in position to ambush him when he comes out."
"With all due respect, ma'am, we've done that before," Chris spoke up. "What makes you think we'll be able to do it this time?"
"Cause last time, we didn't have this," another voice spoke up from behind Velma. Deustodo walked out of the store, the little robot Gir ahead of him. While Daisuke, Chris, and El were looking at the robot, Deustodo pulled a diamond shotgun from underneath his leather jacket. He held it at the low ready, with a grin on his face.
"Dude, where did you get that thing?" Daisuke asked.
"Remember how Life left his diamond-bladed dagger behind when he made his escape that night against Club Pikachu?" Deustodo asked. The other three nodded, so Deustodo continued. "Well, I took it to Karnon's Kills, and had them examine the thing, figuring out how Life had made that thing in the first place. Once they figured that out, it was a simple thing for the old man to use that same process to make a shotgun, and they had figured out the laser technology long before that."
"That thing fires lasers?" El asked. Deustodo answered with simply a chuckle. "Nice deal, dude."[hr]
Mikara had walked every inch of the lobby, examining everything he could find. Whatever method the Mods used to bypass the security, he hadn't been able to find it. It would have to wait for another day. Time to return to base, and examine the blueprints again. Maybe this time he could decrypt the code it was written in.
It was then that he walked out of the building, only to see five people gathered around the book shop from across the street. He knew them, one was Crab Helmet, the mod who was now wearing an eye-patch from when he had shot her. The others were members of the group calling themselves "The Banned." He turned quickly and began walking down the street. He was stopped by an explosion a few feet in front of him.
He turned to see Deustodo pointing a shotgun in his direction. Mikara stared at him through his mirrored shades, staring Deustodo right into his conventional shades. A breeze blew Mikara's trench coat against his legs, and prompted him to adjust his fedora. "Ahh, Deus," he said loud enough for the man in the leather jacket to hear him. "How long has it been since we've had a decent conversation?"
"Can it, you bastard!" a female called out behind him. "I've been trying to find you for quite some time, and now that I know where you are, you're going to tell me where my sisters are!"
"It's a regular reunion, I see!" Mikara laughed. "Trust me, Hannah, the two girls are fine. They're being kept nourished, and they get plenty of exercise. I don't think I know you, young man, but could you please keep my former colleague's temper in check, she looks like she wants to kill me right now," he said to her male companion as the girl let out a low growl.
"Not that it matters, but my name is Joseph. Joseph Zavara."
"I'm curious to know why you feel your name doesn't matter. Of course, very shortly I will be leaving this city, and then you can all get on with your lives. All I ask is that that woman over there disable the Tower's security system," he ended with a shout.
"That will never happen!" Deustodo shouted as he fired his shotgun again, the blast narrowly missed it's target, blasting the building behind him. Aqua and Joseph tackled the man, and were quickly thrown to the ground. Daisuke, El, and Chris began running forward, only to be stopped by two blasts landing in front of them. Daisuke looked up and behind him to see a familiar figure standing atop the roof top. "Well, at least the young man holds a sense of honor," Deustodo stated.[hr]
"Now really isn't the time for that!" Chris said, deflecting a laser blast with his hammer. Daisuke looked to Mikara, only to see him running around the corner of the building. The young transvestite jumped down from the roof of the shop, aiming both his pistols at Chris. "Put your weapons down! You don't have to do this anymore!"
"Chris, in the last year and a half, three assassins have shown up in Drac Ohiguy, and I hold you solely responsible for that," El stated as he and Daisuke drew their swords. Deustodo aimed his shotgun at the young man, and pulled the trigger. The beam struck the man in the center of his chest, burning away the fabric of his red dress. However, a metallic plate formed to his chest prevented fatal damage.
The young man simply looked at the shotgun, and lowered his weapons to his side. El took the opportunity to raise his sword, but Chris stopped him as the man whose name they did not know dropped his pistols to the ground and slowly walked toward Deustodo, transfixed by the weapon he held.
"This... this is diamond, yes?" the man said in an effeminate voice. Deustodo looked over to his companions, clearly confused. He simply nodded his response. "That man... who saved me... had a diamond weapon... you know him?" Deustodo was taken aback, but he nodded an affirmative answer. "You... you work with him." Deustodo had an idea of where this was going, so he nodded again. "Then... I work with you."
"What's your name?" Deustodo asked.
"My... my name..." the young man thought for several seconds. "I still can't remember. But that man calls me 'Flandre Scarlet' so that's what I answer to." Flandre Scarlet so this was the young man he had aided to rescue along with Creator and Mikara.
"Well, Flandre, first thing you need to know is that Chris is not an enemy. Nor are any of us. That man who rescued you, well, let's talk about it inside, you'll wanna sit down for this."[hr]
Flandre had just listened to a years worth of history about the man he had been trying to assist. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open in disbelief. "Is... is he really that bad?"
"Well, it's not like he actually tries to terrorize anyone," Deustodo answered. "He just wants revenge for his sibling. He spends all his time trying to get into that tower and kill Y.C. Though, that hasn't stopped him from killing other people who try to stop him."
"Only last week, he killed three people who had attempted to stop him at the entrance to the tower," Aqua spoke up. "He didn't even bother with giving the poor people any kind of respect, he just slashed them, and went about his business."
"So... Mikara... bad? Flandre... stop him?"
"At this point, it seems you're the only one who can..." Chris stated, letting his head fall into this hands.[hr]
Mikara walked into an abandoned warehouse in the News District of the city. I need better leverage over them. I was hoping to not need to do this, but it seems I have no choice. He walked into one of the sections he had cordoned off, and looked at the two girls chained to the wall. "You," the older one said in a menacing voice. Both of them had been left with only undergarments to wear, and were bound by heavy chains. "Why did you come here?"
"Easy, Karin," he said, removing his shades to show her his eyes. "Can't an old friend come by just to talk?"
"We're not friends, you freak! You keep me and my sister bound in a warehouse for a year, freezing, with only our underwear to clothe us, and you think you can say we're friends? Well, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies!"
"Well, usually if they're an enemy, I just kill them," Mikara said in a disaffected voice.
"I think I'd prefer that to this," Karin said through narrow eyes.
"Your words wound me, Karin!" he said in a theatrical voice. "I at least give you some form of clothing, I keep a roof over your head, I feed you three times a day, I keep you safe from the chaos that's been going on in the city, and you act as though you don't appreciate any of my trouble!"
"DON'T PATRONIZE ME, YOU SICK BASTARD!" Karin shouted, lunging for him in spite of her bindings.
"Ah-ah, we mustn't injure ourselves. You see, I came here today to give you a new role to play. I thought that this whole hostage thing would be getting on your nerves, so I thought up something better for you to do. Comply, and you may even get to see your sister again."
"Why should we trust you?" Kanna spoke up. "How do we know you aren't using a double meaning on your words?"
"My dear Kanna, you're acting like this is an offer," he stated, removing a coin from his jacket. He held it at arms-length and let it swing in front of Karin's face.[hr]
"You can't be serious," Ninjew stated as the group walked into the room that served as the hideout for the Banned. It was located within the towers that the Organization XIII operated out of. "You really managed to convince someone like this to join our cause?"
"It wasn't really very hard. We just told him what Mikara was doing, and then he joined our side. Easy," Aqua explained.
"It seems that the hard part now is to figure out where he's based himself and how we can stop him before he does figure out how to get through those defenses. If he ever finds the blueprints for that tower, then knowing him it won't take very long at all to get through them," Ninjew stated to the small group.
"I have a theory," a voice stated. The group turned to see a young man with brown hair, slightly taller than Chris, and not overly muscular walk in the room. If they didn't already know who he was, then they'd probably have forgotten him within five minutes of seeing him.
"Ragnarok. What perfect timing," Ninjew stated. "So, what is this theory of yours?"
"He's obviously got to hide two people who don't want to be with him, himself, and a set of blueprints. But before he was able to hide those prints, he would have needed to find them. Now, at this point it's only speculation that he even has them, but, where do the construction workers stash the prints once they finish the building?" He watched the group think for a minute. It was El who finally said something.
"The News District! The place is littered with warehouses, and hardly anyone ever goes there! It'd be the perfect place to hide!" he said. Chris threw himself in his chair and slapped himself. "Why didn't you think of this earlier, Rag? We could have been done with this months ago," El demanded, looking at the man who'd been leading the Banned.
"I hadn't given it any thought until I was watching the news yesterday. There's three or four warehouses, each one in a separate part of the news district, that've been closed down for no apparent reason. But they're locked, and no one seems to have the keys that unlock them. Moreover, the locks can't be cut. They repair themselves." He watched as recognition dawned on the faces of the Fake Type Knights.
"That's PROTO technology..." Daisuke whispered.
"So, who do you think set up those locks? After all, the only people in the world with access to what makes PROTO such a special robot are Creator, and, of course..."
"That man who refuses to die. Mikara Hitsugaiya," Ninjew finished for him. Ragnarok nodded in response.
"So, we simply need to go down to those warehouses, blast the doors off, and see what's inside."
"Is that all we have to do?" El Make stated. "Yeah, we'll just waltz on up to a warehouse Life is in, and just blow up the door. 'Hello, Mr. Assassin, are you hiding any hostages in here?' I'm sure he'll be happy to see us."
"Okay, so, maybe it's a bit reckless, but unless you have a better idea, what choice do we really have?" Ragnorok threw back. "Besides, it could be Creator hiding out in those things, and we know he's on our side. After all, he has access to that programed self-repair stuff too." El leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, mulling this over for several seconds.
"Well, if we go all 'Black Hawk Down' on a warehouse in the News Section, I certainly hope we find a friendly face."
"I'm hoping we find two friendly faces," Aqua voiced, almost choked. Daisuke and Chris looked to the floor. Ninjew, however, had something else on his mind.
"How exactly are we going to breach those doors? If Creator's in there, then he would have gone in before security in the area was ramped up. Mikara can come and go as he pleases, but you're right, we haven't seen Creator in several months, and then his tech shows up in the area? No doubt he's been hiding out there for a while. But what about us? They aren't gonna let us in there unarmed, let alone carrying dynamite and weapons."
Ragnarok pressed his thumb against his canine. "Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. Presents a bit of a dilemma."
"Not necessarily." Ninjew stated.
"You just said that it would be impossible to get in there with everything we need."
"No. I asked if you'd considered how we'd do it." Everyone was looking at him. "I think it's a very good possibility that no one in Drac Ohiguy wants Life walking around with that seismic generator strapped to his chest. We just tell the guards that we're there to get rid of those pesky locks on their warehouses, and see if Life is using them. They'll probably let us in. Unless they already know Creator is in there."
"So, the only problem is... who here has enough dynamite to blast open four News Section warehouses just laying around?" Daisuke asked.
"Oh, you can just leave that to me," Deustodo answered. "Gir, go get the boomy stick things." The little robot let out a high-pitched, enthusiastic squeal before rocketing out the door. "He should be back in about half an hour. In the mean time, who's doing what?"
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 12]
With snow on the ground, the citizens of Drac Ohiguy gathered to watch a play in Pop Park. Despite the events that had taken place there in recent history, most of the people seemed interested only in the next few hours. RP 820 had managed to put together their annual Christmas Play, and was performing tonight. Aqua, however, seemed a bit preoccupied with something. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had been more worried about her sisters in the last few days than she had been in some time. Something didn't feel right in the air tonight.
Zetsubo, on the other hand, seemed a little more nervous than worried. Two of the more brilliant actors were missing, and although Aqua had made it clear to him their situation, he wasn't able to pull past the fact that RP 820 was down two members and attempting to do a play. He was confident that the remaining members would be brilliant, but there was always that chance. Opening the curtains enough to see into the audience, he noticed that nearly the entire city had shown up. In the front row was Joseph Zavara. That should help Aqua to focus. No time to worry now, though, the curtains were being drawn back, it was time to start. [hr]
Mikara walked into the local prison, clearly looking for one Cell in particular. He stopped in front of one of them, and simply stared at the occupants. He smiled s he stated "I take it you two have been enjoying the accommodations?"
"You... you're the one who killed Tim, aren't you?" the elder one said, moving his arm as if to shield the younger one.
"Tim... ah, the silver-haired young man with a bad attitude. Yes, I killed him. But, I have not come here to discuss the past. No, I'm afraid I'm here on business," Mikara stated. The elder of the two boys, one could tell they were brothers simply by looking at them. "You see, I recall that you once attacked me. I'm guessing from your lack of ability on someone's orders. I hold no grudge on you, in fact, I admire your bravery. That's why I want to use it to my advantage now, Chester Miyazai, AKA Pikachu."
The young man stared, confused by what he had just heard. Mikara just smiled. "It's nothing too dangerous. I'm not asking you to start another bloodbath. I just want you to cause a disruption. Are you aware of what day it is?" He could see in Pikachu's face that he did not. "It's Christmas Day. I have a gift for you, and your brother, Kenny, AKA Pichu." He held up a set of keys, a smile tinged with wickedness curling his mouth. "All I ask is for a favor, tomorrow."[hr]
"How dare you hurt her!" Aqua yelled, throwing a shuriken at the dark-haired man. He simply stepped to the left, letting the young girl he had in his hands drop. "If she's dead, then I swear on the Nexus that you will pay ten-fold for her suffering!"
"And just how do you plan to do that when you can't even touch me?" the young man said, a chill in his voice, and shards of ice in his eyes. He walked to the edge of the stage, and pulled the star out of the wall. The multitude of onlookers simply watched as he turned it over in his hands, asking if she'd like it back. He turned to look at her, and without warning threw it in her direction. Aqua attempted to dodge, but succeeded only in causing the star to land in a non-fatal portion of her chest.
The man walked toward her, pulling a dagger from his hip, he didn't notice that the girl who he had beaten so thoroughly was attempting to stand up. As he walked by her, she suddenly leapt up and grabbed him under his arms.
"Finish him, my Princess!" she yelled. Aqua started to object, but the girl cut her off. "You must defeat him now, for if you don't, then our entire kingdom is ruined. I haven't the strength to hold him off for long, so you must act quickly. Lyla Soranei, Princess of Light, and Life of our Land, strike down the Prince of Darkness, and save the people of this fair kingdom!"
"I can't kill this vile man if it means ending your life as well!"
"You must! Please! I will not survive my injuries, anyway, but if you extinguish his life along with mine, then at lease my sacrifice will not be in vain. Defeat him, and let me die knowing that my people are safe!" Aqua paused for a moment, a look of sadness on her face, and then ran forward, thrusting the sword she had drawn from the sheath on her back through both the young man and the girl holding him. "Thank you, my princess, now I can rest in peace." she whispered.
The curtain fell, and the crowd stood applauding the act. Zetsubo Black tossed the prop to the side and offered a congratulations to the two girls. The rest of the cast of the play walked on to the stage as the curtain rose, and bowed to the audience. When the curtain had fallen once again, Aqua quickly ran to her bags and pulled out her phone, sending a text message to Joseph to meet her in one hour at the school. With that done, she joined the rest of the RP 820 on the bus to be taking them back to the school.[hr]
"The old club house," Pikachu said as he walked into the Pika-print covered room. He and his brother looked around, taking in the surroundings. "So many good times we've had here."
"What did we come here to get, though?"Pichu asked as his older brother walked to a chest on the far wall of the room.
"Something our father left me several years ago. It was supposed to be passed on to you when you turned eighteen, but it looks like it'll be seeing a different use before then," Pikachu answered as he kneeled down to open it.[hr]
"Merry Christmas!" Chris's parents yelled out as they tackled Chris and Daisuke. Cortez simply looked on as the two boys fell to the ground.
"Wow... I'm glad I was walking behind those two," he said as he watched the two boys being strangled by the hugs they were receiving. The two parents looked up from their original targets to the young man who had spoken, and with grins on their face, released the two on the floor and simultaneously tackled him. It was at this point that Rosa walked up to the scene, and saw Cortez land on the ground.
"Ummm... is this where Chris Denver lives?" she asked, blinking rapidly. She was half-hoping she'd walked to the wrong building, due to the awkwardness of the timing. However, she had to admit that the over-enthusiasm she was witnessing did seem to fit with what Chris had told her about his parents. Plus, it was also amusing.
"Yes, this is where he lives," Chris's father stated, standing up and dusting himself off. "Who might you be, I can't help but wonder?" he said, walking over to him with his arms out for a hug.
"Umm... Rosa Seijo. Chris's girlfriend," she said, unsure if she wanted to hug someone she had only just met. Having stated her words, she began to worry about if what she had said would spark a fight between Chris and his father. After all, it had sparked one with Cortez at the candy shop last year. She laughed at the memory of the shop owner running around with his pants on fire.
"Chris has a girlfriend?" his mother asked, looking into the house. Chris walked out, his hand behind his head. He gave a nervous chuckle. "And when were you planning on telling us you had a such a cute girl as your girlfriend, Mr. Denver? Or were you planning to blow up the kitchen in a science experiment and say something about having a date when you realized you were missing an eyebrow?"
"Why would Chris... Oh, were you the one who blew up the science lab last year?" Rosa asked, a smile on her face. Chris just blushed and nodded, embarrassed by the incident. "Aww, he's so cute when he's embarrassed!" Chris's mother just laughed, and Rosa ran over and hugged him tightly.
"Can we just go inside and have Christmas dinner now? That's the reason I invited Rosa over," Chris said, half-mumbling. The group walked inside, Rosa and Mrs. Denver laughing about Chris's embarrassment, Mr. Denver slapping Cortez on the back. Once inside, Mrs. Denver ran upstairs, only to return a couple minutes later wearing a knee-length Santa dress, and a Santa hat. She also placed a hat on everyone else in the house, save Rosa, who she didn't know was coming.
"I would have had one for you, but I didn't even know you would be here!" she stated. Rosa giggled a bit, and said it was fine. The family moved over to the dining room table, which was laid out with several different foods. Rosa and Chris made it a point that they should sit next to each other, while Chris's parents did the same. Cortez and Daisuke were left feeling awkward, as the table seemed divided into couples.
"Is there any chance we can get a couple of other girls here?" Daisuke asked as the turkey was carved and passed around. Rosa giggled and told him that there was no need, as he looked cute sitting next to Cortez. Daisuke resisted the urge to throw his slice of Turkey at her.
"Oh, by the way, where is El Make anyway? Aren't you three normally inseparable?" Chris's father asked as he helped himself to some of the other food.
"El had something to take care of with the Knights. Creator sent him a message saying that he was worried Life might try something, with everyone distracted by the Holidays. So El was chosen to pull security at the Tower," Daisuke explained. [hr]
Two cloaked figures walked up to the Tower, while El watched from the window of the book shop. He wasn't sure what was going on, so he called Aqua for backup, knowing that she'd either not be doing anything, or else be just meeting up with Joseph, which would help him in the long run. Ten minutes later, Aqua and Joseph ran to the door of the bookshop with El waiting for them. He told them that two people in cloaks had gone into the Tower, and had yet to come out. Aqua and Joseph nodded their understanding, and drew out their weapons.
Aqua extended her rod, and Joseph slipped his fingers through the handle of a set of brass knuckles, which he had filed to a sharp edge to serve as knives. El Make lead the way, keeping his sword sheathed. None of the three-man group knew what they were expecting, so they moved cautiously to the entrance of the Tower. El opened the door slowly, and then ran in, preparing to draw his sword, the other two followed, holding their weapons ready. The two cloaked figures were standing in front of a section of wall which had been cut away, revealing a service panel.
"You two, identify ourselves!" El Make called. The two looked over, and he saw that they were wearing featureless, crimson masks. Neither one said anything for several seconds. "Okay, so far I've worked out that whoever you take orders from, which I'm guessing is Mikara, has a fetish for vampires, and if you're working for him, you must be Inactive. So, just tell me what your names are, and I'll make sure to kill you quickly. "
One of the two nodded to the other, and the one closest to the panel revealed a small knife in their hand, and struck at the panel. El ran up to them, quickly followed by his two comrades. Rather than draw his sword, El attempted to grapple with the unarmed opponent. His arm was grabbed at the elbow, and he was thrown around his target, and through the hallway door. Joseph and Aqua, meanwhile, attempted to assault the one with a knife.
Joseph's knife-bladed punch was blocked with the traditional knife, and Aqua swung her staff at the person's face, cracking the mask. Aqua was quickly struck from behind by the other assailant, and fell to the floor. El, meanwhile, had recovered, and grabbed his target from behind, putting them in a choke hold. He removed their mask. Joseph looked at the two faces, shocked by what he saw.
El looked at the assailant whose mask was broken by Aqua, and promptly released the person he was holding. "I don't believe it..." he whispered as the two ran out without saying a word. None of the three who had seen them attempted to give chase, and El simply sent a text message to Ragnarok and Creator.[hr]
Chris and his family were sitting in the living room, what remained of the Christmas dinner sitting on the table in the Dinning Room, Rosa resting her head on Chris's shoulder. Daisuke was laying Spread-Eagle in the middle of the floor, while Cortez was sitting cross-legged on a footstool. Chris's father was laid back in a recliner, and his wife was sitting in his lap. Daisuke's phone was the one that rang, and he excused himself to step out the front door. Chris watched him leave, and then proceeded to stroke Rosa's hair.
Only a couple of minutes later, Daisuke came back into the living room, a puzzled look on his face. "Fusion... Cortez... That was Creator on the phone. We need to go to the Banned. Ragnarok has an announcement for us."
"Aww, do you really have to go?" Mrs. Denver asked, a pouty look on her face.
"I'm afraid so," Chris answered. "If Creator is contacting us, then this is something vitally important."
"Can I follow with you?" Rosa asked. Chris looked to Daisuke, who just shrugged in a "Don't look at me" gesture. Chris sighed and agreed to let her tag along. A minute later, the group was on their way to meet with Ragnarok. [hr]
Ragnarok was sitting on a desk, facing Aqua, Joseph, and El, in small room when Chris walked in with Daisuke, Cortez, and Rosa. "What's she doing here? I don't recall her being part of the Banned."
"Yeah, she twisted Chris's arm to bring her," Cortez said. He was promptly slapped on the head by Chris. "Well, she did."
"That's a minor issue, we'll sort that out later. Right now, we have a problem. Aqua, if you would." Aqua choked a bit, and then explained what she had seen at the Tower. Chris was wide-eyed, and Daisuke slid down the wall. "So, as you can see, Life is beginning to get a lot more serious about things. I don't know what's going on, but it's not good."
"Great," Cortez said, slapping his own forehead. "So first, this guy has the city in a strangle hold, and now he's a freaking hypnotist. What do we plan to do now?"
"Well, Deustodo should be ready with the explosives any minute now. When he report in..." He was cut off by Gir rocketing into the room squealing in a high-pitched voice.
"When Deustodo reports in, then what?" Deustodo asked as he walked into the room, carrying an Army-issue Ruck Sack on his back. "Who is this 'Deustodo' person anyway? My name is Lieutenant Dan." Ragnarok laughed at the entrance, shaking his head with his forehead in his palm. "So, who's ready to go blast some doors off their hinges?"[hr]
As the group strolled up to the entrance of the News Section, they were quickly stopped by a guard. When questioned about their business, Ragnarok answered simply that they were investigating the warehouses with the self-repairing locks on the doors. The follow-up question was predictable: Why they were interested. The answer was equally as simple as the first: If it had anything to do with Life, then they wanted to know about it, so they would then be able to put a stop to it. The guard nodded, and granted them access to the News Section.
The part of the city they were now in was nothing short of ordinary. They were walking between two rows of warehouses, with the only distinction between two individual warehouses being the number on the door. "How are we going to find the four that have the locks on them?" Chris asked. He was beginning to wish that he had paid attention to the number on the warehouse they had shown on the news broadcast. The group stopped in their tracks, looking at each other.
"Simple, the warehouse they showed on the news was warehouse number 154. Since we're surrounded by buildings that have numbers in the two-hundreds, then it would make sense to see what the numbers are on either side of these, and then that should give us a clue about where the first on is." It was Rosa who suggested that. Ragnarok and Deustodo just looked at her in awe. What she said made sense, so they immediately ran in opposite directions.
"The numbers are lower on this side!" Deustodo called back from the groups left almost two minutes later. The group immediately echoed the announcement to Ragnarok before running to join Deustodo. One thing became immediately apparent to Chris: The warehouses were huge! Easily big enough for Life to be hiding himself and the two girls. Plus, if one of the warehouses was being used to hold the Tower's blueprints, then he had been either lucky, or planning this for a while.
"What number did you say we were looking for?" Deustodo asked of Rosa when Ragnarok had caught up to the group.
"One fifty-four," she answered, looking around. The closest building to her was numbered 193, the group needed to travel further in the direction they were headed. They walked for nearly half an hour before seeing the first of the warehouses they were looking for. Examining the lock, they found that it was colored much like the PROTO the mods had destroyed, with the base of the lock being a slick black, and the locking bar being a bright red. "Now, all we have to do is destroy this door, and we're in," Rosa stated, looking at Deustodo, who simply nodded before sliding the ruck sack off his shoulders.[hr]
"We disabled the turrets, my Lord," Karin said, kneeling down. Kanna was in the same kneeling position as her sister as Mikara smiled. He was seated at a desk in the same room where they had been detained earlier. "There is one problem however. Three of our enemies ambushed us during the mission, and they saw our faces."
Mikara rested his hands on his fingers, the smile still on his face. "That's of no concern. In fact, I was rather hoping that they would be able to remove the masks." He chuckled a bit before turning in his chair to face his laptop. "Now, I need to make a call, so if you would be so kind as to leave the room?" The two sisters lowered their heads in acknowledgement before standing and walking to another cordoned off section of the building. Mikara waited until they had left before opening his laptop and contacting his employer.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 13]
Deustodo placed a line of C-4 from his pack on the hinge side of the door from top to bottom. "Now, lets see what's behind door number one," he said as he put a blasting cap in the explosive line. The group ran back as far as they could go with the shock tube. They crouched down at the side of the adjacent building, and pulled the pin on the cap. After the explosion, they waited a couple seconds before running back to the door they had just blown off.
"Alright, let's see what's in here," Deustodo said, walking through the destroyed door frame. The group got ready to face down Mikara, as soon as they found him. "Hey, know what I just realized? We're hunting down Mikara, one of the most notorious and deadly assassins in the world, whose skill is matched only by Ninjew. And yet, Ninjew is not in our group." This made the rest of the group stop dead in their tracks.
"Too late to do anything about it now," Ragnarok stated after several seconds of silence. "Let's just keep moving," he said, shining a flashlight into the darkened warehouse. What they saw was rows upon rows of desks and book cases with papers strewn all over them. Aqua moved over to one of them, motioning Ragnarok to move over to her. "What is it?" he asked, shining his light onto the paper.
"It looks like blueprints for something," Aqua said softly. "I can't tell what, though." She set it aside and saw a sheet full of notes. "Ultima?" she read through the notes a bit further. "Some kind of ship. But, its way beyond what anyone can do with the technology found on Earth. Who drew these up?" The rest of the group began looking through the papers. Chris looked further ahead, using his phone as a light.
"It doesn't seem like anyone's in here, though," he called out. "It seems this is just a place to store blueprints and notes. Whoever uses this one has a lot of time on their hands. And a very high IQ. Let's find one of the other warehouses with the PROTO lock." The rest of the group nodded and walked back towards the door. After walking for nearly an hour in silence without success, Chris spoke up. "You know, Ive been thinking. Maybe it is Creator who was using the warehouses. I mean, it's his tech, and he is smart enough that he could design some of those things in there."
"Well, yes, that's true," Ragnarok stated. "Let's not forget, though, that Mikara also had access to the PROTO Tech. Maybe Creator was using that warehouse, but there are three more somewhere in here. Mikara could be using one of those." Chris swallowed, and Rosa put her arms around him. "Oh, and I forgot, Rosa," he added on, pulling out Mikara's old diamond dagger. "Deustodo gave me this after he got his diamond shotgun. You might want to have it if we do find him. You'll at least have something to defend yourself with."[hr]
Ninjew was surrounded by the Akatsuki, minus Daisuke, El, and Chris. "I just got a message from Chris a few minutes ago," he stated. "They, along with a few others, have gone one a hunt for Mikara. I want one volunteer to go with me to the News Section. They'll need help finding the three warehouses they have not already found and searched. Not to mention, if they do find him, then they will need help fighting him."
Every hand in the group went up, and Ninjew smiled. "Aa'une. I'll choose you to be my accomplice in this." The blonde young man stood up. The rest looked disappointed at having not been chosen, but respected Ninjew's decision and didn't say a word. "Now, let's get moving, we have a decent walk ahead of us."[hr]
"You may have defeated the turrets on the first floor, but you're still far from the top. There are many more defense systems he will be employing, Mikara."
"I know, and I will find out how to defeat those, as well. Trust me, I will not fail here. I have never failed on a mission, and I will not fail now."[hr]
"He has disabled the first floor turrets," Maker told the gathered Mods. "What's more, according to Ragnarok, he has somehow convinced Karrin and Kana Shuja to join his side."
"Does he have anything to do with those warehouses in the News Section?" Flame Dragon asked.
"I doubt it," Pizza answered. "I've been reviewing his documents. He's too clever to use a lock that stands out so much. He's most likely in the News Section, but I doubt he's behind a self-repairing lock. He'd find some way to defend himself by being invisible. That's his preferred method."
The other members of the small corps were silent. "We should have destroyed him long before the Club PIkachu incident," Pizza stated.
"Yes, if we had jailed him when he first showed up as the leader of the Fake Type Knights, then he would not be a problem now," Maker agreed, reflecting on his error. "But, this is no time to dwell on the past. We must plan out how to solve the problem facing us now."[hr]
"There's another one!" Rosa finally yelled. The group used the same process as the previous warehouse, and when they entered this one, they found the same scene: desks and shelves covered by papers. As they searched through the papers, they found that the plans here were, if anything, more elaborate than in the previous warehouse. "What is all this?" Rosa asked, looking at the plans for what looked like an evolved form of PROTO.
"Looks like plans for a world takeover to me," Deustodo said jokingly. "You can bet that whoever's drawing up this kind of plan has grander dreams than flipping burgers at McDonald's."
"Well, that second part's right," Chris said as he looked at a bunch of notes that didn't make any sense to him. The group spent several more minutes looking through the papers. When they had exited the building, they noticed two more people waiting for them. "What the... Ninjew? Aa'une? What are you two doing here?"
"Got a message from Ragnarok. Seems pretty obvious that if you are going to fight the man you're looking for, you'll need my help," Ninjew answered. Chris laughed in a way that showed he agreed. "I saw one of the other warehouses on the way here while I was searching for you. I can take you there. Finding the last one will have to wait until tomorrow, though. It's getting too dark."
The group nodded, and proceeded to follow Ninjew. Once they had breached the door, they found a much tidier building. It seemed as if someone had been living in this one. It had a nice bed pushed up into the corner, neatly made. There was a small television in the adjacent corner, and a sofa on one wall, with a coffee table in front of it.
"He could be in this one," Chris whispered, holding his hammer ready. He walked to a corner of the makeshift wall, and peeked around the corner. He motioned that it was clear, and moved around the corner. After a thorough search, it was discovered that no one was in the building. "So, this whole day's been wasted?" Chris asked.
"Searched three of those four buildings, and haven't found anyone," Daisuke said. He shook his head disappointedly.
"I wouldn't say you found no one," a voice said behind him. "I'd like to know why you decided to destroy my door." The group spun around to find no one other than Creator, the leader of the Fake Type Knights that had been missing for half the year.
"We had heard that there were self-repairing locks on four of the buildings here, and thought that maybe they were placed there by Life," El explained. "Maybe next time you can let your faction know what you're doing before you fall off the face of the Earth." Creator remained stoic through most of the explanation, but then something struck him. He furrowed his brow for a few seconds, as if making sure he had heard something right. When he finally spoke, it was slowly.
"Wait a second," he began, "You said there were four buildings with my lock, right?" he waited a moment before continuing. "There's only one problem with that explanation. I only put it on three buildings. There's no way there's four." The group looked surprised by the news.
"That settles it, then," Ninjew stated factually. "Mikara is hiding in that fourth building. There's no other explanation."
"You'll have to destroy his door in the morning," Creator stated. "It's a bit dark out to be man hunting right now. Besides, someone has to repair my door." [hr]
The next morning, Aqua and Joseph had left the group, as Aqua had to participate in the encore performance of the Christmas play. The rest of the group, and Creator, had set out to find the fourth building with the PROTO lock. Aqua changed quickly into her costume, and convinced Coach Yazul to allow Joseph to ride on the bus. "I don't like this," Coach Yazul stated as the RP820 stepped off the bus. "There's too many of us."
The rest of the group looked around at the crowd. The first thing to strike their attention was that every mod who's identity had been revealed was present. "Why are so many of them here right now?" he asked in a low voice. "Okay, cast and crew, take your places, the show starts in half an hour. I have to find out some unrelated information, so if I'm not back by then, you all know what needs to be done."
The group all walked backstage, some questioning why their coach was behaving in such an odd manner, others just fighting the usual pre-show nerves. Joseph gave Aqua a quick hug, and then made his way to the audience. Aqua clutched at the charm she was wearing around her neck, a gift she had been given by Karin not long before her sudden disappearance. She sighed, and walked to her place behind the curtain.[hr]
"Are you sure it's around here?" Daisuke asked of Deustodo. Deustodo looked around, and then stared to the sky for a few seconds, holding his shotgun on his shoulder.
"Well, I know we're looking for a warehouse, so... I think we might be close."
"Yeah, I'd say we are," Daisuke said, sighing. "Seriously, though, does anyone here have any clue where this thing is?"
"Very likely, he'll be posted on the far side of the Section. That place receives that least amount of traffic, and it also has one of the biggest warehouses on the lot. It'd make sense for someone like him to be there," Creator answered, looking over his shoulder. "Now, keep up, or I'm gonna leave you behind." Ninjew simply strode past him, as if challenging him to try.
"Sometimes, it's a mystery who has the biggest ego here," Fusion said to Daisuke. [hr]
"Why are so many Mods attending this play today? I thought having Mod Corps presence was why I was put in charge of RP820," Ivan Yazul asked the group of Mods.
"That's precisely why you were put in charge. Though, don't you think it's odd about yesterday?" someone answered. It was a man Ivan didn't recognize, who was wearing what looked like a giant key on his back. "Mikara is skilled enough that he could defeat you, Ice. I don't mean to doubt you, but he can. So, why didn't he show up? And why did he use two girls who haven't been seen all year to disable to turrets? He's up to something. He's not using his usual tactics."
"That makes sense, but, who are you?" Ivan asked.
"Oh, that's right, you were with RP820 when I was read in. My name is Roxas Fenton. Or Phantom Roxas," the man stated, extending his hand for a handshake. Ivan took it, and started asking further questions about what Maker was worried Mikara was going to do.[hr]
In an office deep in Organization XIII's office building, a young, red-haired man sat behind a computer. He was reading a code on the screen, his facial expression intense. How did he find that? It was perfectly hidden. Oh, well, we have no reason to worry about level one. he can't defeat level two.[hr]
Mikara was standing, leaning against a wall, checking his watch on occasion, while watching Karin and Kanna play-fight. Every now and then, Karin would let Kanna get in a good hit, apparently to refine her technique. More often, though, she'd lightly tap Kanna's head when she made a mistake. The jovial moment was quickly ended, however, by a rather louder explosion from any of the three the previous afternoon. Mikara chuckled after the initial shock wore off. "I was wondering if they were going to find this place."
Karin and Kanna ran out the door to greet the people who had blown the door, while Mikara retreated deeper into the building. Karin stepped forward upon meeting the group of people. "Karin! You've come back to us!" a young man in green said, running up with his arms outstretched. Karin, however, simply drew out her knife and attempted to slash him. The young man jumped back enough to make it a shallow cut, staring horrified at her.
"Karin... don't you remember me? We used to hang out when we were kids. We know each other from school. I've been to every one of your plays. You tagged me with the name Fuse after I blew up the science lab." The young man was beginning to cry at this point. "It's me, Karin! It's me, Chris Denver, remember?"
"NO! You're lying!" she screamed. "Chris Denver is dead! Maker killed him, and my sister! Maker killed everyone... that's why... I have to stop you! Come on, Kanna!" the two girls rushed the group, intent on doing whatever was necessary to defeat the invaders.
"Kana, whatever you were told, it's not true! Maker hasn't killed anyone! The only killer here is Mikara!" Daisuke said, avoiding Kana's punches. "Him, and maybe Ninjew over there," he added, avoiding a punch to the face. He pointed at Ninjew, who had to jump back to avoid being stabbed in the abdomen by Karin.
"It's no use, Daisuke. These two strictly believe what the girl stated. I knew that man was a master assassin. I had no idea he was able to hypnotize people this completely, though," Ninjew said, drawing his sword.
"No!" Chris yelled out. "Don't kill them, Ninjew, they don't know what they're doing!"
"We have to take them out, though. They aren't planning to let us pass through here without a fight," Ninjew stated. Chris let himself drop, which Karin took as her cue to stab him in the stomach. "See what I mean, boy!" Ninjew roared, prepared to strike her down. A young girl, however, ran to Chris, preventing Ninjew from striking.
"Chris..." she almost whispered. Chris smiled, placing his hand on her cheek. "You're an idiot." she added, kissing him.
"Heh, I know," Chris answered after she had lifted her lips from his. "Heck of a time to get stabbed, huh, Rosa? While I was enjoying the meadows... of the Springtime of Youth." The phrase seemed to strike a chord within Karin.
"Fuse?" Karin said, as if reality were dawning on her for the first time. Kana stopped trying to fight Daisuke, and looked over at the scene. "Fuse!" she yelled, kneeling down beside him. "Oh my God, I am so sorry about that, I... I thought you were..."
"I know, Karin. I know. It wasn't your fault," he said. Daisuke ran over and knelt at his side. "And to think, I actually thought I'd get to have kids some day," Chris said, seeing Daisuke. He laughed a bit, and laid his head on the ground. Rosa and the two Shuja sisters began crying. [hr]
Aqua stood facing Zetsubo on stage. "I will never forgive you for this," she stated, drawing a card from her duel disk. "I activate Madolche Chateau!" she called out, the scenery rotating match the field spell. "Now, my Puddingcess has 2300 attack points, making her able to take out your outdated Curse of Dragon!" she announced. Before the actor playing Puddingcess could move, though, several cherry bombs were thrown onto the stage.
"What? That's not part of the script!" Ivan called from his spot with the other Mods. He started to move towards the stage, when he noticed Aqua taking control of the situation.
"You two shouldn't be here! You were banished from here long ago!" she said, genuinely surprised. "You called them here, didn't you, Demon!" she called, pointing at Zetsubo. Zetsubo took a second, but then started chuckling.
"Yes, in fact. I was the one who called forth these two," he stated. Pikachu and Pichu walked on to the stage, Pichu carrying a silver-bladed rapier. Pikachu tossed a couple more cherry bombs in Aqua's direction, causing her to jump back. "Yes, my creations, fight for me!"
"I won't let this happen, Evil One! Madolche Puddingcess, destroy those two sons of darkness, the evil spawn of the night!" Puddingcess immediately charged the two unintended players, dodging Cherry Bombs, and at one point ducking underneath Pichu's Rapier. She landed a kick in Pikachu's chest, sending him flying back through the background. Pichu slashed downward with his rapier, hitting her on the shoulder.
Aqua immediately pulled out the staff she kept up her sleeve and rushed him. Pikachu had recovered at this point, and began walking toward the actress who had kicked him, clutching his chest. She stared him down, holding her shoulder. Aqua was deflecting Pichu's slashes with her staff. Puddingcess dropped to the ground and wept Pikachu's legs out from under him, dropping him to the ground.
Aqua drew the sword that was part of her costume and swung at Pichu's side. It his him in the ribs, knocking him to the floor. He looked up to his attacker, and saw that she had extended the blade on her staff. "Your minions have been defeated, Dark Prince. It's time for you to admit you have lost," Aqua announced. The curtain fell, signaling the end of the act.[hr]
Remo checked his watch, making sure that it was Noon, before closing the lock to his store. He liked closing at Noon the week of Christmas, no matter what. Bundling himself up in his coat, he set off down the street, heading in the direction of Pop Park. With any luck, he might be able to catch the second act of RP820's play. What he saw on the way made him retract those hopes.
A boy wearing Pika-print was running away from Pop Park, and it looked as though he'd just escaped from a fight. Remo ran after him for nearly a minute, and then tackled him to the ground. "I swear, I didn't want to do it! He made me!" the young man yelled.
"What did you do? Who made you do it?" Remo asked, not letting him get up.
"Life," was all the young man said. Remo got up, a look of dread on his face, and ran toward Pop Park, leaving Pichu laying on the ground. It was about five minutes before Remo came up on the scene: The stage was in flames, and the audience area was empty. Remo ran up to the backstage area to find that empty as well, which he hoped would mean that the cast and crew had escaped alright. Coming out behind the stage, he saw that everyone had gathered about fifty feet away, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
As he began walking toward the group, he started feeling warmer than he should. It was when he looked down that he noticed that his pants had caught on fire while he was searching through the backstage area. Thinking back on that, he realized that it was a silly thing to have done, as no doubt everyone who was already there had made sure to get everyone out. He began screaming in pain as he ran toward the group in a zigzag pattern. He tripped on a half-buried tree-root and landed in the snow, which extinguished the flames.
"Remo, you might want to think about switching to a non-flammable material for your pants," he heard someone shouting.
"Well, I'll consider that," he called back, getting to his feet. "How is everyone doing? Anybody hurt? Why are you all staring at me like that?" He held his arms out to the side, looking himself over, and realized that the flames had left him standing in pants that were barely longer than Daisy Dukes on one side, and revealing his choice of briefs on the other. "Oh, come on..." he said aloud to no one, letting his arms fall to his side.
"Wardrobe malfunctions aside, two things are very wrong," Ivan Yazul answered as Remo walked toward the group. "The first: One of the Pika Brothers escaped. Pichu."
"Yeah, I ran into him on the way here. Left him laying on the road, he seemed scared," Remo interjected. Ivan nodded, and continued.
"The second matter is much more severe. Hannah inhaled too much smoke. She's alive, but her breathing is shallow. We've already called Dr. Strange, J-Maxx as he's now known, but we're still waiting for him to show up."[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 14]

Daisuke and the group, sans Chris and Rosa, sat in a circle surrounding the two Shuja Sisters. Daisuke had come prepared with a basic first-aid kit, and had stopped Chris's bleeding. Chris and Rosa were a few feet away, Rosa sitting next to Chris, who was lying on the floor, muttering apologies to Rosa every few seconds. Kana and Karin hadn't said a single word since Daisuke began to bandage Chris's wound, though Karin had opened her mouth as if to say something several times. It was Ninjew who finally broke the silence.
"I don't like this situation," Ninjew said loud enough for Chris and Rosa to hear him.

"Neither do I. I mean, first Karin and Kana attack us from out of nowhere, and then Chris gets stabbed," Daisuke replied.

"That's not what I meant," Ninjew answered. Everyone turned to stare at him. "Terrible though those scenarios are, they aren't our biggest problems. We've been here for quite some time, with no sign of Mikara. You'd think he'd have come to investigate when these two failed to report back to him." The rest of the group went wide-eyed, their jaws dropping.

"Oh, man. You don't mean to say that he planned all this as a distraction, do you?" Deustodo said loudly. "If this was all a set-up, then..."

"THE TOWER!" the group all yelled together. They all jumped to their feet, except for Chris. He tried to sit up, but ended up falling back to the ground, grunting loudly.

"He's not fit for duty," Ninjew stated flatly. "Girl, see him back home, the rest of us have no time for wasting. We need to get back to the Tower and stop that man from completing his plans." Rosa nodded and helped Chris to his feet. The larger group ran out of the room, while Rosa and Chris staggered through the door.

"Rosa... I'm sorry," Chris said in a low voice.

"I've told you, you don't have to apologize. You were trying to protect them. Your friends," Rosa told him. Chris just shook his head.

"That's not what I'm sorry about," Chris told her. She looked at him, and he explained. "I'm sorry that you had to get mixed up in it. I don't want to fight in all this, and I know you want less to do with it than I do," he explained, fighting through grunts of pain. Rosa looked at the ground, looking as though she were about to cry.

"You really are an idiot. I'm glad I got mixed up in this. If I hadn't, then who would be walking you home now? Deustodo? Daisuke? We both know Elfman can't be bothered to do it. And then they'd be one man shorter. And from the stories that go around the rumor mill about Life, they can't afford it. So, even though I didn't do much today, being able to keep you safe right now, without weakening the overall group, I feel like I'm contributing to the effort. I'm glad I came along."[hr]

J-Maxx ran up on the scene and saw the young actress laying on her back near a tree. He dropped to his knees next to her, and immediately placed his ear next to her mouth. Several seconds later, he removed his ear in favor of checking her pulse. "Well, that's good. At least she's still alive," the doctor stated, pulling a small oxygen tank from the bag he carried with him.
He quickly placed the mask over her face, then stood up. "Okay, that should help her get more oxygen for the time being. However, this is far from being a permanent solution. She'll be fine, but I want her in a hospital so that I can monitor her condition. That being said, Icy, I would like you to help me carry her to that ambulance over there," he stated, pointing in the direction he had just run from.
The acting coach nodded his head, and watched as J-Maxx produced and unfolded a Talon Litter from the same bag the oxygen tank had come from. The two mods wasted no time in strapping her in and carrying her away toward the waiting vehicle. After driving for a couple minutes, J-Maxx finally spoke again. "So, tell me, Icy, what's the real reason you called me?"

"I was worried about the health of someone who was in poor condition. You were the first person I thought of. You should feel honored," Ivan Yazul responded, a hint of feigned shock in his voice.

"Icy, you and I both know that smoke inhalation can be handled by simply tking her to the hospital. Something you can do yourself, and all you had to do for her to recover naturally was just leave her in fresh air. So, why call a Mod?"

"That fire was no accident. Those two Pikachu leaders broke out of prison for the sole purpose of lighting the stage on fire during the intermission between Act 1 and Act 2. Boys like that don't come up with this kind of plan on their own. Put two and two together..."

"And get Life," J-Maxx interupted. Silence fell between the two for nearly a minute, until J-Maxx spoke again. "Has it crossed your mind that we may not be able to defeat him?" Icy just nodded his head slowly. "You're still going to try, though, aren't you?" Once more, his answer was a non-verbal affirmative. "I don't blame you."[hr]

"Visible laser grid?" Mikara asked as he approached the second floor. "That's too easy to avoid, there must be something else." He looked around and found a breaker box. "Also suspicious. After so cleverly hiding the box on the first floor, they place that box in such an obvious area." He looked over every inch of the floor he could see from the top of the stairs.
He removed a pen from his pocket, and carefully threw it to an area where it crossed no lasers in the grid. One second after it landed, it was hit by four lasers from each corner of the room. "So that's their game. And that box there only turns off the visible lasers. The deadly side of the floor is much more cleverly hidden."
After spending the next half an hour taping the wall around the stairwell, he heard someone running up the stairs. He turned just in time to see Ninjew, accompanied by a small group, standing on the landing. "I see you managed to break through my hypnosis," he stated, noting that Karin an Kanna were staring him down.

"Mikara, I have known you to do some horrible things in your time, but to hide behind children? That's a new low, even by your dispicable standards!" Ninjew called, pointing his sword at the man, whose initial response was a chuckle.

"Ninjew, if only you knew the true nature of our shared profession. We're assassins, we take lives for money. The only difference between us is how far we're willing to go to do that job."

"As well as who we target. I will only agree to assassinate people who are using their position for personal gain at the expense of the population."

"And I make a living for myself. I must ask that you turn around now, I need to get through this floor. I have personal business with the man at the top of this tower," Mikara said, tapping the wall again. Ninjew took several steps forward, enciting a sigh from Mikara. "Karin, Kanna, will you get some tea for daddy?" The two girls gasped simultaneously, causing the group to look at them.

"Yes, father, I will get it for you," they both said. Immediately, they began attacking Ninjew, who through them against the wall. Daisuke held Karin against the wall, pushing against her chest. El Make pushed Kanna by the shoulders. Deustodo and Ninjew faced Mikara, weapons aimed at him as he seemed to find what he'd been looking for.

"So, I guess you win. Clearly, there is no way for me to esape this situation," Mikara said calmly. Ninjew said something to Deutodo quietly, and Deustodo simply nodded, not moving the shotgun. "Don't trust me? Well, I dont blame you. I'm pretty good at reading lips." He held his hands in the air, as if in surrender. Deustodo closed one eye, taking careful aim, and Mikara smiled. He gave a loud whistle, which was followed by the sound of someone running up the stairs and tackling Deustodo.
"Never trust plan 'A' Ninjew. That's rule one. Sometimes, it's plan 'E' that ends up working. Though, the 'B' plan seems sufficient this time around." He then kicked the spot he'd been tapping, and began uing his knife to cut away at the pannels. Deustodo, meanwhile, was wresting for control of his shotgun from a man who was fighting against Ninjew, who was trying to pull the man off of Deustodo's shotgun.[hr]

J-Maxx came to a stop in front of the hospital. He and Icy both got out of the ambulance, and quickly got Aqua out of the ambulance. Her breathing had stabilized, and seemed to be getting deeper. However, she was still unconcious. J-Maxx sighed, stating what a pain it would be if Life had indeed planned this out. Icy quietly shook his head, noting that it didn't matter either way, since there was nothing that could be done about it.
"Come on, let's get her to a room and get her set up. She should only have to be here a couple days," J-Maxx said. Icy followed J-Maxx's nonverbal directions on where to go, nearly having the litter pulled out of his hands a few times. Once inside the door, however, a nurse rushed over and transfered the girl onto a wheeled stretcher. After J-Maxx and Icy had filled her in on what her condition was and how it had changed, the nurse wheeled her to a room. The two Mods left out, however, the suspicion that Life had somehow been involved in the incident. [hr]

Mikara stabbed the control box several times, looking over at the fight Ninjew and Deustodo were having with the Inactive member, and glanced at the two girls being pinned by the two young boys. Once he saw that they were properly distracted, he made his way through the room. He saw the security turrets follow his movements, but they failed to fire on him. He smiled to himself as he reached the opposite side, but stopped as soon as he rounded the corner and saw another security element.[hr]

Deustodo allowed himself to be pushed up against the wall, and used the added element to kick his legs up and push the inactive off of him. Ninjew fell back with the guy, and put him in a choke hold, holding it until he felt it safe to let go. He pushed the man off of him, and proceeded to check his pulse. "Well, he's still alive. I'll tie him up, when he wakes up, we can ask some questions."

"What about Life?" El asked, still holding Kanna by the shoulders. The girl had been kicking, scratching, and punching the entire time, but El just kept pushing her shoulders against the wall. On occassion, her head would continue back and hit the wall, making the girl even more angry at him.

"There's another ten floors past this, each with an even more elaborate security than the last. I think we've got plenty of time here," Ninjew informed him. While Ninjew occupied himself tying up the Inactive man, Deustodo walked over and helped subdue the two hypnotized allied. "The real question is, how many more of these surprises does Mikara have? I don't think any of us saw this guy on the way up here. Did he follow us? And if so, when did he start?"

"All excellent questions. But, here's one we can answer now: Who is he?" Daisuke noted, Deustodo wrapping a rope around Karin's arms and torso, albeit with a great ammount of difficulty. Ninjew pulled the man's mask off, causing Daisuke and El Make to gasp. "Hey, El... is that...?"

"Odin Shuja," El Make said softly. The two girls stared at the man, who in turn stared at them. "I don't believe it... I thought he hd died in a traffic accident years ago," El said, releasing Kanna. The girl slowly walked over to the unconscious man.[hr]

Several minutes later, and many blocks down, Rosa Seijo hung up the phone in Chris's living room. "Chris, I have good news, an bad news. The bad news is, Life is still two or three steps ahead of everyone else." Chris nodded, and Rosa went on, "The good news is, I'm not pregnant. That, and the fact that Karin, Kanna, and one member of the Inactive appear to have been cured. At least for now." Rosa smiled, and Chris followed suit, motioning for her to walk to the couch and give him a hug.

"Now really isn't the time to be making jokes like that, but I appreciate the effort to make me feel better," Chris stated, and Rosa sat down next to him. "So, did they identify who the guy was? I mean, how did they all get cured at the same time?"

"That's the interesting part. Remember that car reck years ago? The one that killed Odin Shuja?" Chris looked on wide-eyed, nodding his head, and Rosa went on. "Well, it didn't kill Odin Shuja."

"Wait, what? If that was the wreck that killed Odin Shuja, how did he survive?"

"That, I don't know. The guy they unmasked was definitely him though. It knocked Karin and Kanna out of their hypnosis, too. I guess Mikara installed a command to get them on his side whenever he needs them." The two sat, deep in thought. "We need to know how to snap them out of their hypnotic state when they slip into it. It'd also be nice to know how he puts them into it."

"Well, we did something back in the warehouse that got them back to normal. We also know that Mikara muct have done something to put them back into it at the tower. Did they happen to mention how he did that?" Rosa shook her head. "Then we're gonna have to send those three home. Otherwise, there's a chance we're gonna end up having to fight Odin Shuja and two of his daughters. That wouldn't be good at all."[hr]

"Really? Now?" Mikara muttered, switching on his ear set. "What is it? I'm a bit pressed for time. The blueprints didn't ay anything about a second security system on the second floor."

"What? A second system? The beams should have been the only one on that floor!" Mikara's employer almost yelled.

"Well, I'm looking at a series of tripwire and explosives right in front of me. Given the fact that the previous trap had an obvious trap as a decoy, it's a safe bet there's something burried in the floor," Mikara said calmly. He looked back the way he'd come, and noticed that all three of his hypnosis subjects had been broken free again. "Look, I gotta bail. Those guys are on my back again, and I don't have enough space. Rest assured, I will get my revenge," Mikara said, hanging up. He growled low in his throat as he watched Ninjew point his sword at Odin Shuja, apparently interrogating him.
There was nothing to worry about. Odin didn't know any important details. More importantly, he needed to find a way out. He quickly scanned the walls, and noticed several windows lining the walls. He made a mad dash for the nearest one. Sparing another glance, he noticed Daisuke and El Make running toward him, and Deustodo aiming his shotgun.
Deustodo fired off a blast that came uncomfortably close to hitting him, and the leapt for the window before Daisuke and El were able to reach him. He didn't bother with looking behind him when he landed, and simply took off running. His legs hurt, and felt certain that he'd have to find a medic in his ranks and have them examined before attempting anything else. He didn't have time to slow down and ponder that, feeling it more important that he not get hit by the shotgun blasts he had been hearing. He ducked around the corner at the end of the street, and kept running.[hr]

"Soon, Mikara, soon," Dustodo said, lowering his shotgun. Daisuke and El Make watched the end of the street Mikara had disappeared around. The three sheathed their weapons, and turned to walk back to Ninjew and the Shujas. "Got any information?" Deustodo called out.

"Nothing. Apparently he either doesn't remember anything from his hypnosis, or he just flat out never knew anything," Ninjew answered, following suit and putting his weapon into its sheath. "Either way, we need to get moving and let Ragnarok know about this, Mikara won't be coming back in the next several days. He would want to make sure his legs are up to the job after that jump."[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 15]

Back in the News Section, Mikara was sitting at his desk, an Inactive member taking a close look at his legs and feet. The medic meticulously applied pressure to any part of his master's legs that could have been damaged by the jump from Any Other Tower's second floor. Given that there was nothing to cusion the fall, there were many areas that had been made sensitive, and possibly had recived greenstick fractures. "To be honest, sir, I'm impressed you managed to get here on these legs without further injury. I would have thought such a leap onto solid concrete would have resulted in much more damage."

"That's simply because my body is tempured," Mikara informed, laying his head back in his chair. He began to speak more to himself than to his companion. "The various assassinations I have done and the escapes I've made have hardened my bones. Drinking large ammounts of milk at each meal helps, as well. Though, as this proves, I am not immune to injury." He closed his eyes, apparently in thought.
"If you would, I need my laptop now," he said, not changing his position. It was no more than five minutes later by the time the Inactive member had set Mikara's lap top on his desk. At that point, Mikara spun around in the office chair, and began pressing buttons on the computer. "Maker, for the misdeeds you have done to me, you shall pay. However, you are more clever than I had anticipated, I'm starting to understand how you caught Muramasa, I will require the entire Inactive to take you down."[hr]

The group walked over to Chris's home, Deustodo telling Creator about reasons why Burritos should be legal currency. Creator would, of course, respond to each statement wit h reasons why such a thing wouldn't work. The remainder of the group ignored them, having learned years ago that interferring was pointless. Odin walked with his arms around Karin and Kanna, all three of whom remained silent the entire trip. Ninjew opened the door to the Denver home, and a startled Rosa jumped off the couch and ran over to them.
"Well, how'd everything go? What happened? How did Mikara escape?" she asked, not even taking a breath inbetween each question.

"Well, burritos would make more sense to use to purchase the PS3 than paper would," Deustodo used to defend himself. "At least a burrito can't be fake, unless it's plastic, and if it were, then there would be no need to use a pen to check it. Oh, and to answer your questions, Rosa, everything went Taco-tastic, except for Mikara re-hypnotising Karin and Kanna, and Mikara disabling another security element, and Odin Shuja nearly breaking my ribs. What happened, well, I just told you that. And he escaped by jumping out a window."

"I'm telling you, Deustodo, if you're not going to use buckshot in that shotgun, you need to take it to a zeroing range. That way you can get your accuracy worked out on it," Creator said, walking into the kitchen.

"Hey, I almost hit him sixteen times today, and you know it!" Deustodo called out after him. The rest of the group walked to the living room to sit with Chris and Rosa. "Hey, Chris, if I remember correctly, Mikara said something about tea to re-hypnotize Kanna and Karin. If I said that line, do you think they'd do what I wanted them to?" In answer to the question, Karin ran over and punched him in the face, knocking the back of his head into the window behind the couch.

"If you had asked, Deus, I would have told you she'd do that," Creator told him as he emerged from the kitchen. He opened a can of soda and took a large gulp.

"Sure, Creator, you can raid my fridge, thanks for asking," Chris told him in a sarcastic tone. "Anyway, has anyone bothered calling Rag about all this?"

"Not yet," Creator answered. "In fact, we came to hold that meeting here. Didn't want to leave you out of any details, and we'd better not risk transporting you all the way to our usual meeting point."

"And you've already told him about this arrangement?" Chris asked. He was answered by a knock on the door and Deustodo running over and opening it, revealing Ragnarok waiting to enter, the along with a few members of the Mod Corps as well.

"That answer your question, Chris?" Creator said, motioning for the guests to enter. "Now, let me fill you all in on what has transpired in the last day."[hr]

Mikara waited for the program to boot up, a process which took longer than he would have liked. The data, due to age, he guessed, had been fragmented. He stared at the screen as the fragments were slowly, but steadily brought back together.[hr]

"That's it in a nutshell. The only question is this guy," Creator finished up, pointing a thumb toward Odin. "And how he survived that crash."

"That's another story, though I'm sure you'd like to know it," Odin said slowly in a deep, rich baritone voice. Several head nodded, including Karin and Kanna. "Alright, well, I forget how many years ago, but I was driving one night. As I recall, it was late, and in a mild shower. Quite a light rain, I didn't think too much of it.
"Anyway, as I was driving, I started to notice that the road was becoming more slippery. I would guess that was because of the rain. It wasn't hard, but it had been going on for a while, I guess that was enough. So, I was keeping an eye out for pedestrians, and I had slowed my car so that I could stop if I needed to. I was only a few blocks from home at that point, when I noticed something was... off. Well, not just off, but... wrong.
"The road was far too slippery for just a light shower, no matter how long it had been going on. I guess that because of how late it was, I hadn't noticed it, but I would guess that something like that would be due to the road having been covered in oil, or some other form of lubrication. As a Mod, I really should have been able to detect such a thing, but for some reason I hadn't. I guess because it was so gradual. Anyway, as I rounded the corner, I saw a man step out into the road.
"I can't be sure, but it seemed as though he actually turned towards me as I veered of to avoid striking him. Well, next thing I know, my car is totaled, and I'm struggling to remain conscious. I climbed out of the car, and watched as the guy walked toward me, totally unfazed. He pulls me away from the car, and places a dummy in the driver seat. Well, then he opens the gas cap and stuffs a newspaper into it.
"He kept the paper covered and out of rain the entire time. I remember wondering why he was doing it, and then he lights the paper on fire. He dragged me further from the car, and then I see the whole thing go. Well, at the blast of the explosion, I lost consciousness. Next thing I know, I'm sitting inside a building, and this guy is trying to hypnotize me. I fought as hard as I could, but he's good."

"Interesting," Ragnarok stated simply. "So that corpse we had assumed was Odin Shuja was really just a fake." Everyone was silent for several minutes while the new information was being processed. "I guess there's only one question left to ask. Do you remember anything from the time you were hypnotized?"

"Everything, unfortunately. It's like I was a prisoner inside my own body. I was aware of what I was doing. Of what I was being made to do. However, I wasn't able to act to stop it. I tried to break myself free of it, I knew that everything I was thinking was a lie. But for some reason, I wasn't able to stop myself. His voice, whatever he did, or said, was absolute."

"I felt the same way," Karin said softly. She hadn't inherited her father's vocal qualities, clearly. "I knew that Chris was alive. I knew that, but i couldn't keep the thoughts out. He told me that Chris had been killed. That everyone had been killed. I knew that, but somehow, everything he had told me seemed to be so true. I had to listen to him, even though I didn't want to. It was horrible."

"So after all those years of hypnosis, he hadn't worked that part out," Ninjew observed.

"Never needed to, it would seem," Ragnarok stated. "And if it's not broken..."

"Then there's no reason to fix it," Flame Dragon finished. "But it is broken. The fact that Odin and those two girls were able to break free proves that."

"So then, all we need to do is figure out how to break the Hypnosis, and we can defeat the Inactive army, and then defeat Life," Rinnie stated. "However, there are so many of them that it would be absurd to believe they can all be broken out the same way."

"That's true," Odin stated thoughtfully. "If I remember correctly, I once witnessed him setting up a program on his computer. Apparently an inentory of his Inactive army. There were thousands of them." A silence fell over the group, many of them staring at him, some looking at the ground. "Just to shift the subject away from such depressing topics, what happened to Yazul and Dr. Strange?"

"Oh... they're currently at the hospital," Flame Dragon answered after a moment of deep thought. "Your oldest, Hannah, she joined the RP 820 Acting club at her school. And, well, the Christmas play was sabotaged by Life. She was otherwise uninjured, but suffered smoke inhalation."

"Take me there," Odin responded.[hr]

"Finally," Mikara stated. He stared at what seemed to be a list of people he had hypnotized. "Now, time to bring my recruits to me." He pushed several buttons, and the screen changed to a display of audio frequencies. He clicked on the screen a few times, and the frequencies displayed merged together. He leaned in closer to his screen, and begn to speak.
"Shine, oh blackest night. The mid-summer's day be chilled, and the frost of winter burn. Sleep now, but dream only when you wake. Sleep, and come under my command. Come now, to Drac Ohiguy City."[hr]

"Not good," the man sitting in the Organization XIII stated. Many alerts had gone off at once, and no sooner had he pulled up the collective list of which alarms were triggered were even more alarms triggered. Quickly, he rolled his chair to his phone and dialed a number. Not getting a response from the first number, he immediately dialed another. This time his call was answered.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but we have a major problem," the young man stated urgently.

"Nexev, calm down. Take a few breaths, and then tell me what this problem is," the voice on the other end of the line stated. Nexev took several slow, deep breaths before speaking again.

"Roxas, our worst fears have been realized. Actually, it's worse than we had prepared for. Every single member of the Inactive have just been summoned to this city. He's declairing war."[hr]

Across town, Roxas's face was a mask of stunned silence. Without saying a word, he closed his phone and let his arm drop. "What's wrong, Roxas?" Creator asked, seeing what the new Mod had done.

"Mikara just summoned all of the Inactive. Every single person he's ever recruited, presumably through hypnotism, has just been contacted at once," Roxas repeated, his voice betraying a man ill-prepared for what has just been forced upon him.

"So, what you're saying is..." Chris started, before being cut off by Roxas.

"The entire group has been ordered to come here. To Drac Ohiguy city." The entire room went silent, staring at him. "Even with the preprations Organization XIII has made thi last year and half for the possibility... we never dreamed he'd go this far."

Ninjew, who had been deep in contemplation untili this point, now spoke. "He's getting desperate. It's never taken him so long to complete a task before, and he's never had such a personal connection to his assignment before. These two things, frustration and allowing his emotions to get involved, have made him unpredictable. This has made him dangerous. However, I think this also gives us an advantage."

"What do you mean?" Ragnarok asked, looking at him.

"In adition to being unpredictable, as emotionally invested in this as he has allowed himself to become, he will also be sloppy. The numbers of his Inactive are great. Indeed, some may believe beyond comprehension. But very few of them are combat experienced. Thy are used mainly as a spy network, a point of contact he can use to learn his target's habits while he's still in transit. Between the Fake Type Knights and the Akatsuki, we outclass them. Along with groups like the Black Knights and the RP 820, I'm quite certain that we can destroy Mikara along with his network."[hr]

Odin sat on a chair next to Aqua's bed, with Karini and Kanna sitting on the opposite side of the bed. The girl was still unconcious, but was not hooked up to anything. Icy and J-Maxx stood at the doorway of the room, along with Flame Dragon. J-Maxx's phone rang, prompting him to slip ou of the room. Only a minute later, he entered the room again, his skin pale. After explaining the situation, Odin and his two conscious daughters looked at each other, their eyes wide.
"Oh, no," Karin whispered. "If that was why we all got such a headache on the way over here, then..."

"We're in serious trouble," Odin finished for her.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 16]
Odin kissed Aqua on the forehead, and accompanied by Flame Dragon, Karin, and Kanna, walked out of the room, and proceeded to leave the hospital. "So, while you're still in control of yourself, what do you want to do to prevent your doing Life's bidding?" Flame Dragon asked the three.


"There's not much we can do, is there?" Odin asked in answer. Flame Dragon nodded, apparently understanding what was being said. The group took their place in the car and drove away.[hr]
Approximtely 1 week later...
Mikara stood atop a platform in the middle of the News Section. Around him, countless people, all in cloaks and masks, were gathered. Mikara couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight as he spun around, his arms outstretched. "Your skin is mine, Maker!" Mikara shouted to the heavens, not even attempting to surpress a laugh which betrayed growing psycopathy.[hr]

"Mikara's gone too far to simply react to him," Ninjew stated to the group, which had once more gathered in Chris's living room. "He's never called his entire Inactive Forces together this way."

"Yes, this is troubling," Ragnarok agreed. "The problem is, without knowing what he's going to do next, it's very difficult to formulate a plan to counter-act his intentions."

"Clearly, he wants to get to Y.C. Maker, and so he's going to storm Any Other Tower. That much is obvious," Chris observed. His brow was furrowed, deep in thought. "The only problem is that it's too obvious. If we just sit and wait, then there's no telling how long we're going to be waiting for him. On the other hand, if we storm the News Section, which is obviously his hide-away at this point, then we don't stand much of a chance of success."

"That is true," Deustodo said, chuckling bit t the end. "Of course, we have one asset tht you're forgetting." Everyone turned to look at him as he spoke, and Gir jumped up in front of his face.

"No offense, Deustodo, but I don't think that Gir will be able to do much against someone like him," Creator spoke up.

"Not him, although I'm sure he would be able to single-handedly destroy the Inactive and Mikara in under two seconds," Deustodo spoke up. Creator began to say something in objection, then decided better of it. "I was referring to something that you helped create. Well, sort of." At this, people started murmuring, and Creator just stared, confused. "Actually, two things that you had a hand in."

"Just come out with it. What have I done that gives us such an advantage?"

"Flandre Scarlet, alongside with the Ultima," Deustodo said shortly. There was a loud gasp from the Mods, and a look of shock came over Creator's face.

"How do you know about that ship?" Rinnie nearly shouted. "That project has been top-secret for years, no one outside the Mod Corps..."

"Enough, Rinnie. You've just revealed more than you should have," Zetsubo stated.

"Wait a minute..." Ninjew said, staring back and forth at Zetsubo and Creator. "If those plans were unknown outside the Mod Corps... and they were found in Creator's warehouse... and if Zetsubo here is concerned about it..."

"Yes," Velma said. "It's true." She exchanged looks with Rinnie for several seconds before continuing. "Both Creator and Zetsubo are part of the Mod Corps."

"This could prove useful," Ninjew said, smiling a cunning smile. "As far as we know, Mikara is unaware of their status. A sort of Trump card. Now, explain, what is this Ultima? At this point, we can't spare any information being kept from us." Creator looked to Velma, who nodded. He cleared his throat and began his explaination.

"The ship you speak of is classified above top secret. Nothing I say leaves this room, understood?" He waited for nods from the crowd before continuing. "The Ultima is a large, weaponized airship. Larger than any ever concieved. It's construction has been going on for umpteen years at this point, and it's nearly finished.
"The United States government has been giving Drac Ohiguy's Mod Corps funding since the concept's inception, before I was given my comission as a Mod. It's intent was to be a secret weapon, something that was ready to go at a moment's notice, but no one outside of those who were trained to use it would know about. That way, if the Country was ever in peril, then we'd have a way to end it quickly. Those of you who play Duel Monsters are familiar with the card 'Self-Destruct Button.' It's the same idea: a last resort to get you out of the worst situation possible."

"Wait a minute," Chris said, interupting. "Self Destruct causes a Draw. The one using it ends up a casualty along with his opponent." There was silence, in which Creator's facial expression showed he was weighing his next words carefully.

"The weapons Ultima is designed to carry... aren't designed with precision in mind. The ship is supposed to simply launch a barrage of powerful, destructive attacks... and cause as much damage as it can."

"So, what you mean to say is... it'll destroy everything. Without regard to civilians and friendly forces?" Rosa said stunned by the news. Creator simply lowered his head. Rosa gasped, wide-eyed, as Creator simply looked at a spot on the floor over his left shoulder.

"I could... well, it's possible... to make last minute alterations to the design. Put a more pin-point aiming system on some of the weapons... I'm not sure it'd work though," he said quietly. "It's construction is taking place right below the city. In the News Section."

"Creator, go," Ragnarok ordered. "Make the alterations, I don't care what you have to do, but make it something useful for this situation. We want to eliminate Life and the Inactive, not the world." Creator nodded, and motioned to the other Mods to go with him. Once they were out of the building, Ragnarok continued. "Now, on the topic of Flandre. Deustodo, he listens to you, convince him to fight Life. He's got very useful skills, and I'm sure he would be a great asset to Ninjew."
Deustodo nodded, and he and Gir exited the room as well. "Everyone else here will tackle the Inactive. A full-frontal assault on them will not stop Life from whatever he'll be doing, but it will give Ninjew and Flandre a chance to sneak in and begin their assault on the main objective."[hr]

Mikara continued laughing toward the heavens as the final members of the group arrived. Abruptly, he ceased his laughter and lowered his head, a psychotic grin on his face. "Now, my loyal followers, we shall march on the building known as 'Any Other Tower' so that I may exact my revenge from that man who killed my brother!" He laughed once more, a loud, manical sound that went on for nearly a minute. Only wen he was finished did he step down from his platform, and walked toward the warehouse that served as his home.[hr]

"Creator, why did you tell them this could be altered?" Rinnie asked, looking at Creator. Creator simply stared at the giant ship, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Because, if they believe that the weapons are precision, then they will trust us. If they trust us, then they will be more inclined to do what I want them to," he answered, walking toward the far wall of the room. The group simply looked after him for several seconds before following him on his walk. "I have no intentions of altering this ship's design. If it becomes necessary that a precision weapon is used, then I have my own plan for such things."

"In that case, then what are we doing here?" Rinnie finally asked as Creator sat down at a desk in the corner.

"Well," Creator began, giving a single chuckle, "I am listening to my IPod. Whatever you do, I don't care." He scrolled through the playlists on the device as he continued explaining. "We'll just wait here a while so they think we're actually doing something, and then, when we know where Mikara is, we blast him." Rinnie stared at him in shock, and acted like she was about to speak, then thought better of it. "You could always go and tell them about it. Of course, then they won't trust you either, and then what?"[hr]

Two people sat at the table in the room atop the Tower. One of them was the Mod known as Falling Pizza, and the other, who he had been sharing a silence with for nearly an hour, was an average-built man of about thirty-something. He brushed a hand through his mid-length, soft brown hair. Looking into his soft hazel eyes somehow gave the big Mod a sense of peace. Looking at the man, casually dressed in street clothes despite being more than wealthy, he could see why this man once ran Kaiba Korp.

"Sir, we don't have much time," Falling Pizza said to the man. "He will have gathered enough of them by now to begin marching toward the Tower, if he hasn't begun doing so already."

"I know, Kyle, I know," Maker said, staring at the floor. "What I don't know is how to counteract it. He's not being his usual self anymore, and with this threat... I'm not sure we'll be able to stop it."

"We will stop it, Sir. I don't know how, but those groups, the ones who call themselves the 'Banned,' they'll think of something. I know they will. They've managed to hold him off this long."

"I wonder, though, if that's not the cause of this. They haven't been able to stop him completely, and because of that, he's resorted to this."

"That's true. Right now, though, we need all the help we can get."[hr]

"Oh, Flandre!" Deustodo called out loudly. He was outside a long-abandoned homeless shelter on the outskirts of the city. As it was in an area that was rarely visited, except by the stray traveller with no particular destination, as occassionally happened, it had been left alone. This time, it was Allan Deus, a local, who kicked open the door, and Gir, his pet robot, who went in giving a loud shriek.
"Flandre Scarlet!" Deustodo called out, extending the pronounciation of each vowel he encountered. Continuing in the same fashion, he continued with "I am looking for you!"

"Biscuits!" Gir called at the same time, mimicing the vocal patterns of Deustodo. "Waffles! Tacos!" Strangely, it was to Gir that the target of their search appeared. Emerging into the hallway, guns ready, he noticed the small robot. After string at it for many seconds, he apparently recognized who it belonged to. "Master, I found a man in a dress!" he called out in his high pitched voice. Deustodo came running up behind his robotic companion not long after.

"Master? That's... your name?" Flandre asked in his broken speech.

"Actually, my name is Count Leopold von Lichtenstein, but people generally call me 'Master.' Actually, that's a lie. My name is Allan Deus, but I make people call me Deustodo."

"Deus... to... do? A... lie?"

"Yeah... don't worry about it, just focus on calling me my prefered name."

"Okay... Master."

"Or you can call me that," Deustodo said. He assumed the stance of a man trying to remember someting for several seconds, then spoke again. "Oh, right, there was a reason I came here."[hr]

Mikara emerged from his home carrying a large cannon-like object, with a grappling hook sitting inside the barrel. "This," he stated, "Is how I will bypass the security of the tower today," he announced. Turning toward the entrance to the section, he began the walk toward the Tower where his prize waited for him. [hr]

"Regardless of how long we have to wait, we're going to meet them at the Tower," Ragnarok stated. "Chris, your wound is not well enough for you to move. You and Rosa will stay here."

"No, I want to be there for this," Chris protested. He stood up, and clutched his stomach in pain, before falling back on to the couch.

"You're staying here. You are in no condition to walk, let alone fight," Ragnarok stated plainly. Chris began to object, but Ragnarok silenced him by raising a hand. "Chris," he began in a calm voice. "Just now, you tried to stand, and succeeded only in falling back onto the couch. What do you think you can do against an enemy like Mikara?" Chris simply looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, but the best thing you can do now is stay here, and keep your family and Rosa safe. If you want to do something to help, then call Deustodo and tell him to meet us at the Tower."
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 17]
The group, which consisted entirely of the Akatsuki, several members of the Black Knights, the Fake Type Knights, and some random people who lived in the city, caught site of well into the tens-of-thousands of people marching toward the Tower. At the front of the defending forces, which was vastly outnumbered, were Daisuke, El Make, Ninjew, and Ragnarok. "Where is Deustodo?" Ragnarok voiced with concern, "We need him and Flandre to get here as soon as they possibly can..."

"All we need to do at this point is just prevent him from entering the tower," Ninjew said quietly. "I can easily hold him off until Deustodo arrives, and then Flandre can deliver a finishing blow to him." Of course... that all depends on if he actually gets here...[hr]

"Ah, there's a larger group than I thought!" Mikara voiced with a laugh. "They seem to think that numbers like that will be able to defeat us. Well, they have skills, I'll give them that, but we're still going to overwhelm them!" From three blocks from the Tower, Mikara began running. His troops followed suit, rushing into battle with the Banned. The Inactive members all ran around him, drawing various bladed weaponry and the occassional laser pistol.
The Banned, meanwhile, were countercharging with their weapons of choice. As they clashed, the Inactive dropped like flies, though, somehow, a large gap was left in the street only feet away from the Tower, in which Mikara and Ninjew stood face-to-face. Mikara had his grapple-cannon slung over his shoulder, and stood unarmed. Ninjew slowly drew his sword, and held it, tip angled at fourty-five degrees toward the sky to his left. "Are you ready for this, Mikara? Since your character is the morally-vindicated bad guy, you are not going to be alive at the end of this tale."

"You're calling me the villain? You're the one who's breaking the fourth wall right now," Mikara said, pulling the grapple-cannon off his back and firing it toward the building. Ninjew attemtped to slash at Mikara, but Mikara simply jumped on his rival's shoulders. Only a fraction of a second later, the hook caught on a ledge, and the motor began to spin, pulling Mikara skyward. "You can try to follow if you like, Ninjew! However, by the time you reach me, I will have already left with the proof that I've succeeded!"[hr]

Falling Pizza looked at the scene below, and watched as Mikara's grappling brought him several floors up within a matter of seconds. "I fear, Mr. Maker, that the final battle will tak place not in the streets among two armies, but i this room, among individuals," he said grimly as Mikara now stood o the narrow balcony, aiming his grapple to take him higher. The hook caught on the lip above the top window where Pizza stood, and not long after, Mikara was hanging in the window, stabbing at it with his knife. Pizza aimed his gun at Mikara, and began charging the blast. The blast shattered the window, and for a second Pizza thought he'd killed the assailant.

"So, you survived," came the cold response as Mikara lowered himself through the window. "Let me ask you this, then: Did you dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight?" Mikara chuckled a cold, hate filled chuckle before he rushed Pizza. Instinctively, Pizza pulled the trigger, though the blast from a less-than-a-second charge barely equated to more than a minor static discharge. "This time, I'll make sure you die," MIkara said, stabbing him three times in the face.
He left the knife where it was, and picked up the gun. "This gun cost me a very valuable weapon in PROTO. As well as a lot of time," he said softly, pointing it at Maker, who had stood frozen, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the spectacle. "Now, however, it will allow me to fnish the job my brother began over a decade ago." As he was about to pull the trigger, something pushed against his hand, and forced the gun to the floor, clattering to a stop against the wall.

"That's right, Mikara!" he heard a familiar voice say from the window. As he turned, his eyes grew wider than Maker's. What is this? Mikara tried but failed to speak, though the words formed in his head. There's five, no, six, no, seven of them! Yes, clearly seven, but, how? Then he saw Creator step in front of them and continue speaking. "PROTO LIVES AGAIN!"
Mikara had to struggle to believe what his eyes were showing him, but it was there. Sure as he had nearly succeeded before PROTO blasted his weapon away, seven PROTO units, plus Creator, were standing on a platform that appeared to be a large ship. Wait, PROTO blasted my weapon away? But, with what? "You're quite familiar with how PROTO works, Mikara, so I'll skip that part. However, I've upgraded him over the last year. Enjoy his concussion blasts," Creator stated coolly, and then returned to behind his robots.

"Concussion blasters? Well, that complicates things a fair bit," he said, narrowing his eyes. Instinctively, he reached for his waistline, only to find his dagger missing. Oh, that's right, I left it behind when I made that escape. I guess that explains how Deustodo was able to engineer that shotgun. Without warning, he was pushed back to the wall. "Great, they can fire without any warning movements."
He pushed himself at an angle off the wall, and began running full speed toward Maker. He could hear the concussive blasts hitting areas behind him, but it seemed that PROTO hadn't been trained to hit moving targets. Within a few seconds, he had Maker in a choke hold. All seven of he PROTO units had their blasters aiming at him, but they weren't firing. "Gotcha, Maker," he whispered.
He heard the door open, and turning his head to see the cause, he saw a girl run toward him with his own dagger. Even though he jumped back to avoid being hit, he wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack completely, and sustained a large cut on his abdomen. "This is unexpected," he said, looking at her, grabbing his abdomen. Maker could only watch, eyes nearly bulging out of his head, as the girl rushed him again. This time, however, he grabbed her arm and twisted, freeing his dagger.
Maker looked behind him, and dove to one side. Maker being out of the way, PROTO fired a series of concussive blasts on Mikara, though he had already stabbed the girl through the chest. The concussive blasts threw Mikara against the wall, and sent the girl out of the door. "Damn you, Maker. I will end your life today, one way or another, I will end you."[hr]

"Dranzer! Day Break!" Daisuke yelled out. His Akatsuki patners had been lost in a sea of Inactive. Daisuke slashed his way through multiple Inactive members, a task made much more difficult by the act Creator had decided to hover the Ultima right over the battle field. Looking up, he could see a couple of PROTO units standing on the edge of the platform, though he couldn't tell what they were doing. "El Make, where are you?" [hr]

"Time for an entrance!" Remo called out, approaching the scene on a motorcycle. He had changed out his normal attire for a grey muscle-shirt underneath a leather jacket he hadn't zipped up and a pair of leather pants with a flame pattern sewn onto them. Holding a lance out to his side, he drove through the sea of robes and masks, slicing several Inacactive members in half before having his bike disabled by a laser blast. He slid across several feet of asphault before being swarmed by a group of enemy fighters, which he quickly disposed of. He did, however, sustain many cuts from them.[hr]

"Up here, Flandre! There they are!" Deustodo yelled, pointing his shotgun at the large group in front of the building. Flandre pulled out his pistols, and Deustodo took aim at the group with his shotgun. "I hope our guys aren't where we're aiming. Ready, aim, FIRE!" Deustodo called out. Immediately, all three guns fired simultaneous laser blasts. A small group of enemies went down, causing a larger portion of the group to begin an assault on the two shooters. "Let's rock and roll!" Deustodo called out, beginning to fire on the group. Flandre said nothing, but followed suit.[hr]

Odin and his two girls struggled against their restraints, while Flame Dragon sighed and looked at a wall. "Look, you guys, I'm sorry, but you did ask for this. Quite literally, you wanted me to chain you to a wall so you wouldn't do what Life wanted you to." They continued to simply shout threats at him, and he just sighed and sat down, looking at the wall. Just then, the door opened, and Aqua walked into the room, with a young man Flame Dragon didn't recognize.

"Odin Shuja," he said, ignoring that Flame Dragon was even there. "Karin, Kanna." The young man walked toward them, leaving Aqua by the door. He stopped just a few feet from everyone. "My name is Joseph Zavara," with that he looked at Odin, "Your oldest's fiancee."

"Daddy, I-I'm having his child," Aqua said from her position. Flame Dragon just stared at her. She's still so young though, barely in High School, and already... "I've already picked out a name for the baby, assuming that it's a boy..." Flame Dragon just looked at the restrained party, and was surpreised that, although they were not acting like a family in their normal state, they were clearly paying attention to what was being said. "I've decided to name him, if it is a him... Odin Joseph Shuja."
This statement seemed to get Odin's attention. His eyes flew open wide, and he looked at her, not in unrecognition, but more in deisbelief. He was attempting to speak, but he was stumbling over half formed words. Joseph laughed softly to himself and undid the restraints. Kanna was the first to perform a coherent act. She ran over and kicked him between the legs while his back was turned.
Flame Dragon laughed seeing Kanna's shin ram Joseph in his most precious area, and hearing her yell at him about what he'd done to her sister. Aqua laughed as well, and even let it go on for a few seconds after she'd managed to stop. "Kanna, it isn't true."

"What?" was the collective of the family, plus Flame Dragon.

"Well, Joseph and I were having a discussion, after I woke up, about how to snap you three out of Life's grip. He jokingly said to tell them I was pregnant, and though he had a different plan in mind coming in here, I just went with that one."

"Next time I... I think I'll just keep my jokes to myself," Joseph said, writhing on the floor.

"More urgent matters are at hand here," Odin said, shaking his head at the young man. "Mikara - Life, as you've been calling him - is currently making a move on Maker's life. We need to get down there and assist in any way we can."[hr]

Chris stumbled into the hallway and saw Rosa laying against the wall opposite the door. "Rosa!" he yelled, and moved as ast as he could to hold her. "Rosa! Please, please don't be..." he cut himself off, unable to continue speaking throug the tears forming in his eyes.

"Chris... I'm sorry," Rosa said softly. "I... I thought... I could finish. I... I saw... an opening..."

"Rosa, it's okay," Chris said, starting to cry. "Creator... He has PROTO robots doing something. You're going to be okay, and then..."

"No. I'm sorry... Chris... I won't be... okay. I... I'm such... an idiot."

"No," Chris said, choking back a large sob. "But... I even wrote you a song," he said, trying not to cry. He was choking on his tears. "I was going... I was going to sing it to you... when I proposed."

"You still could," Rosa said, barely audible. "It's... it's still not too late." Chris choked back another sob. He took several long, deep breaths to calm his emotions, and then began humming a soft tune.

"Standing close to me, close enough to reach perfect time to tell her. But I can't even put the words together. Beveling eyes getting in my disguise, can't you see me hiding? What am I afraid of her finding? I know what I'm thinking, but the words won't come out. If eyes could speak, one look would say everything.[hr]

"Dray!" El MAke yelled out. He looked up to see that Ninjew was about one quarter of the way to the top of the building, in spite of the rain which had begun blowing onto the battlefield. He was using his sword, along with a pair of boots he had custom made for climbing buildings to scale the Tower. "Day Break!" he called out. He was tackled by several Inactive, which he cut down where they stood. "Daisuke!"[hr]

"About the way you laugh, the way you dress, the way your beauty leaves me breathless. If eyes could speak, I wouldn't have to talk. Here we go again, trying to pretend my hands are steady. The way she looks tonight isn't helping. Visions getting blurres, got to calm my nerves, it's now or never. There's only one way to the answer. I know what to tell her, but the words won't come out. If eyes could speak, one look would say everything.[hr]

"I'm coming for you, Mikara," Ninjew said, stabbing his sword once more into the building. HIs hand grabbed for a hold in the brick-work, while the spikes on his boots dug into the rough face of the building. "You're not going to escape this time, not if I have anything to say about it." Slowly, but steadily, he scaled up the face of the building.[hr]

About the way you laugh, the way you dress, the way your beauty leaves me breathless. If eyes could speak, I wouldn't have to talk. Maybe I can finally get it right. Finally get the nerves to speak my mind and tell ou the things I can't say. And baby I would look into your eyes. and maybe you will finally realize words are just words anyway. If eyes could speak, one look would say everything.[hr]

"No! Day Break!" El Make shouted, running to his fallen friend. He held up the young man's blonde head, though the soft blue eyes simply stared into the distance. IT didn't take much investigative work to realize he'd been fatally stabbed. El Make simply stood up, and ran screaming into a sea of inactive, leaving a crimson trail behind him.[hr]

About the way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you dress, the way your beauty leaves me breathless. If eyes could speak, I wouldn't have to talk. If eyes could speak, I wouldn't have to talk.[hr]

"Dranzer!" Daisuke called out, witnessing the young man get cut down from behind. "Dranzer!" he called out as loud as he could. He nearly drowned out the thunder that was crashing against his ear drums. As lightning flashed in the sky, Daisuke mercilessly cut down multiple Inactive members.[hr]

If eyes could speak, I tell you all about, the way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you dress, the way your beauty leaves me breathless. If eyes could speak, I wouldn't have to talk.[hr]

Remo sliced through a few more Inactive members with his lance, and the threw it at an Inactive who was attempting to aim his pistol. The lance pierced through the Inactive's chest, dropping him to the ground. "Nice one, whoa!" he said, leaning back to avoid a stab from an attacker running from the side. He picked up a sword from a fallen Inactive and began a counter assault.[hr]

Chris held Rosa close to him, crying loudly. Though her face bore a smile that said she had been very happy, Chris knew that she had died before he had finished his song. He let out a series of loud, pained sobs. Out of nowhere, his sobs of sorrow turned into a roar of rage. "Rosa, I'm sorry. I'm useless. I should have been there to protect you," he said, a mask of anger on his face.
He held her head next to his, holding her in a protective manner. "Now, I'm going to make it right. I don't care if I join you while I'm doing this, I'm going to go in there, and I'm going to avenge you, I won't let you have died in vain!" he said, gently placing her on the floor. He folded her hands over her chest, and stood facing the room where his enemy stood in wait.
He took his hammer off of his belt, and let out a battle cry that could be heard by those on the ground. Then he entered the room. He found Mikara zig-zagging across, and slicing at PROTO units. They reapired, themselves, and he could see Creator enjoying the show behind the robots. Chris walked across the room, holding his hammer tightly, his face showing nothing but unrestrained fury. This would be too easy...[hr]

"Master, I did it!" a high-pitched voice said behind Deustodo.

"Ah! So you did, good robot!" Deustodo said, turning to see that Gir had brought him the fuse box for a number of seismic generators. "That means that they can now kill Life without worrying about his threat, and... Gir, why are we missing one?"

"Missing one?" Gir said, tilting his head.

"Yes, there should be one more fuse box here, why isn't it here?" he answered. "Know what, I'm going to go find it. You just tell me where you got these from, and Flandre, you continue fighting here!" Deustodo called out, running in a random direction away from the battle.[hr]

"Enough of this!" Mikara called out, running into the ship. He continued outrunning the blasts, and Creator stood up in surprise. He attempted to stop Mikara from making a full circuit, but as he had been unarmed, save for the units that were now blasting the inside of his ship, he was powerless to do so. As Mikara jumped back into the Tower, the Ultima was beginnging its decent. "And that, gentlemen, is why you never put the engines controls for a giant ship right next to the small arms hatch," Mikara said snidely as Ninjew climbed into the room.
Rain continued to be blown into the room where the three now stood. Maker was standing back, witnessing the flashing lightning outside the long-since broken window. Mikara's swui was soaked, rain water slid down the skin of this shirtless man who had climbed the Tower, and now this young man with a hammer had mist blown onto him as well. Ninjew let out a roar and charged Mikara, raising his sword as he did so. Mikara blocked with his dagger, and Chris attempted to attack with his hammer, which was dodged by a jump to the side.[hr]

"There it is!" Deustodo called out, running up to the final generator. Though it had taken several minutes of running, Deustodo found it. Burried in a service tunnel in the cities long-unused, older sewage system, a light on the generator blinked, showing it was active. "Now, just remove the fuse box on this, and then we get out of here and... where's the fuse box?"

"I dunno," Gir said. "I couldn't find it, so I left it alone."

"Great, then we'll have to improvise," Deustodo said. He looked at his shotgun, then decided that firing a laser-blasting diamond shotgun inside an enclosed space at point-blank range was a bad idea. "So, then, how do we do it?"[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 18]
The Ultima nearly crashed into the sea of fighters when it pulled back into the air. "Not quite, Life. Not quite," Creator said, pulling at the controls in the cockpit. He leveled out the ship above the scene, and pushed a series of buttons, bringing up a screen displaying the battlefield below him. "Though, opperating on the reserve engines like this, I can't leave the controls."
He aligned the front cannon with an area of Inactive fighters on the edge of the scene. "I may only be able to control one cannon from my position, but I can still shake some stuff up," he announced, flipping a series of levers, and then pushing a button at the end of the series. A low hum began filling the ship, and as he waited, the large red button he had pushed to start the hum began glowing in pulses. When the pulse became a steady, soft glow, he pushed it once more. "Moonstone Cannon, Fire!" he proclaimed as a large flash of light filled the screen he was looking at.
When the beam's glow died down, the area was full of dust. Once the dust had settled, the only thing left of the area was a crater, and several people on the edge of it were on the ground, whether dead or wounded, Creator couldn't tell. "Now, where else to target?" he asked himself. "Oh, one more thing to do," he said as if remembering something, "PROTO Units, begin firing where no Friendly Forces are currently engaged." As the robots began targeting and firing on areas Creator didn't care about, he began rotating the Moonstone Cannon, a bored look on his face, trying to decide where to aim next.[hr]

"Well, looks like we're not getting this thing disabled the same way we've done the others. So, we're just gonna have to move it somewhere else!" Deustodo concluded, trying to pull it off the wall. Then he tried again, and then again. "Okay, so just pulling it is not going to work. Let's see here, what can we use..."[hr]

Ninjew launched a series of rapid slashes at Mikara, who skillfully blocked or dodged the attacks. Chris ran around Ninjew, aiming to strike Mikara with a powerful side-sweep, which was blocked. Mikara jumped back to avoid another slash of Ninjew's sword, and then jumped forward, cutting Ninjew's side despite him jumping to the side. He twisted upward and left a deep gash in Chris's wrist as he tried to strike Mikara off balance. Mikara grinned, and then rolled out of the way of a downward stab from Ninjew.[hr]

"Hey there, how goes it?" Remo called out as he caught sight of Daisuke. Despite being caught in the depths of unfathomable rage, Daisuke turned to the familiar voice. He stabbed another Inactive, and trained his eyes on Remo.

"Now's really not the time for jokes, guy!" Daisuke called out. "We've already lost two guys, at least." He sliced someone in half, then added, "Dranzer and Day Break are confirmed dead. I don't know what else is happening in this mass, though it looks like Creator is enjoying himself," he said as he narrowly missed being hit by an invisible attack. "Hey, I'm fighting here!" he yelled up to the ship hovering overhead.

"Oh, man, that doesn't sound good," Remo answered, slashing at an Inactive member. He leaned back to avoid being cut himself, and came up, hitting someone in the face. He spun around, killing several Inactivein the process. "Are we even making a dent in these guys?" he yelled out.[hr]

Flandre continued firing on the crowd of Inactive. So many things were running through his head now. He had been convinved that the man he had originally followed was evil, but this other guy with diamond weaponry was so similar. His actions showed that he was good. Didn't they? Though, perhaps, the first man was the good guy, and the army he was fighting against were the evil ones. That was possible, too, wasn't it?
Flandre dropped his weapons and grabbed his head. Why couldn't he remember the difference between right and wrong? For that matter, why couldn't he remember who he was? What his real name was? A headache started to build, and began yelling out and convulsing. Something about all this just didn't make sense to him, and whatever memories were trying to surface themselves were hurting him behind his eyes.[hr]

"Okay, on five," Deustodo said, now thrusting his shoulder into a prybar to get the device detatched from the wall. "One... Five!" he yelled, running at the bar from about ten feet away. He hit the bar, but succeeded only in causing himself immense pain. "Alright, that's not gonna work either," he said, pulling out the bar and tossing it over his shoulder. He sat on the ground and looked at the device. "You're coming off of there whether you like it or not," he told the piece of machinery.[hr]

"What destruction..." Flame Dragon said softly as they pulled up to the scene. Corpses littered the area, the Ultima was firing its Moonstone Cannon at random points in the swarm of Inactive, and at some points, a blood-covered Banned Member would be sighted before once again being hidden from view by the Inactive. The occupants of the car stepped out of the vehicle, and stred at the view. "In my wildest nightmares, I never even dreamed of something like this..." The rain began falling harder, and thunder crashed, illuminating, for a breif second, the crimson which covered the streets around the Tower.

"Such needless loss of life," Joseph said, looking at the battle. "I don't think, however, that we're going to be able to stop them any other way. Flame Dragon, where are the other Mods, the Banned will not be able to handle this fight themselves."

"By now, Ninjew, and hopefully Flandre Scarlet, will be fighting Life."

"No, something tells me that's not happening. We need to get as many Mods to Life as we can," he said, looking through a pair of binoculars he had around his neck. As lightning once more flashed in the sky, he saw Mikara though an open window. He was slashing at Ninjew with his dagger. "Wait a minute, Rosa had that dagger. If that's the case, then, that other man is Chris. That's not good." Another flash of lightning, and Joseph saw Chris attempting to smash Mikara's head.

"No, if Chris is trying to kill rather than disable..." Karin wasn't able to finish her sentence. Odin, however, had no such qualms.

"Then that girl, Rosa, has already fallen. Mikara no doubt re-obtained his dagger from her," he speculated. Though his voice was calm and even, the tone was sombre. A tear ran down Karin's cheek, and she stared ahead, silently observing what was happening. Odin pulled his phone from his pocket, and dialed for a confrence call with the Mods he had been introduced to at the meeting at Chris's home.[hr]

Ninjew let out a roar as he slashed at Mikara again. Mikara jumped to a side and lunged for him, but Chris stopped him with a punch to the face. Mikara was knocked the ground, but quickly recovered and stood up, shaking his head. He rushed Chris, and stabbed him the abdomen. Chris wrestled with the man, and threw him to the ground. Ninjew attempted to stab him, but Mikara once more rolled out of the way.
"You two, are getting on my nerves. Very, very quickly," Mikara stated, panting between phrases. He spat a mouthful of blood on the floor, and took note that his two opponents were just as out of breath as he was. "This fight won't last much longer. It's clear, all of us are tired. We've all used most of our energy already. It's going to come down to who's got the most endurance," he nearly yelled the word as he ran for Chris.[hr]

Daisuke, Remo, and El Make had joined together, standing back to back with each other. Remo slashed downward, cutting down an enemy. "So, how many do you think are left?" he asked. Daisuke slahed at another one, and then El Make.

"Pretty sure, there are thousands left," El Make answered. "And it doesn't seem like they're even fazed by each other's deaths." He slashed at another Inactive, and someone else attempted an attack immediately after his companion fell. Daisuke's sword reached over and blocked the strike, and a surprised El Make quickly stabbed the attacker, freeing Daisuke to slash at another opponent.

"At this rate, we're all going to die," Daisuke said to himself. All three of the boys were panting as hard a they stood, waiting for someone else in the crowd to try to get them.[hr]

"Chris, I'm not sure how well this is going to end," Ninjew admited. Blood had dripped from a wound on his forehead into one eye, and his muscles were now sore. Chris wasn't faring much better, the only consolation being that Mikara didn't look in much better shape, either. "We need to formulate a plan, get some kind of coordination between us."
Mikara stared at them, taking deep, long breaths. He seemed to be trying to form a plan of his own now. Ninjew continued, lowering his voice, hoping Mikara wasn't able to hear him. "What I want ou to do is this," Ninjew began.[hr]

Flandre's eyes widened, and a memory came flooding back. He suddenly remembered who he was, and he also remembered something about his pistols he had somehow forgotten. Slowly, he picked them up off the ground, and began walking toward the crowd, picking off individual Inactive members as he went. He knew, with complete certainty, Mikara was evil, and although Deustodo may have a similar dress style to Mikara, Deustodo was certainly on the side of good. In his own, crazy, insane way, Deustodo was the man to follow.[hr]

Within minutes, Flame Dragon was joined by Rinnie, Icy, Zetsubo, Velma, and J-Maxx. "This is it, then," Odin began. "I wish we had more people with us, but we don't have any more time. We have to move, and we have to get to the top of that tower three minutes ago. Understood?" Even though Odin had been out of the picture for years, and no doubt his status as a MOd had long since been revoked, the current Mods nodded. He evidently still carried some authority. "Then, let's move," he said, and the Mods began running. Joseph and the three Shuja sisters stayed back, watching. [hr]

Getting to the top of the tower was quick. The security had already been deactivated, and when they got to the top of the Tower, they found out why. "Nexev, was it you who deactivated the security?" Flame Dragon asked. The young man nodded, and looked down the hall.

"They told me Life had found an alternate way of getting up, so I let them pass," he explained. "A sneak attack didn't work as well as they'd hoped." The group of Mods looked over, and gasped at the sight of the girl. Though she'd been laid respectfully, they knew she'd been killed. "I don't think she's the only casualty on our side so far. You may want to hurry," Nexev said calmly. Odin nodded, and ran to the doorway.
Busting into the doorway, weapons drawn, they found a horrific scene. The window had been shattered, Maker was trying to fuse with the wall, shock written all over his face. Blood was all over the floor, and it appeared that all three combtants had contributed. Lightning flashed against Ninjew as he ran, attempting to stab Mikara. Chris ran behind him, and when Ninjew's attack was thrown to the side, and Ninjew jumped to join it, Chris swung his hammer upward.
Mikara jumped backward just enough to avoid the hammer strike, and swung his dagger, wounding Chris's side and spilling more blood onto the floor. Chris stumbled back several feet, and was stablized by Ninjew grabbing his shoulder, though it appeared that Ninjew himself was also stablized by this act. Odin nodded toward Flame Dragon, who pushed the button to ignite his sword. The other Mods also activated their weaponry.

"Mikara, you're going to answer today for all you've done!" Odin's voice echoed throughout the room. All three combatants looked over to the new arrivals. "This time, there is no escape for you!" Odin raised his spear and charged at the man, who raushed forward. He blocked the spear with his dagger, but failed to noticed that Velma had come around from the side, and hit him toward the floor with her staff. Flame Dragon was about to finish the fight once and for all, but Mikara managed to get out o the way and onto his feet.

"Fine," Mikara said, looking at each of his opponents. "I know when I'm beaten. I can't win, not in the shape I'm in," he admitted, droping his weapon. He raised his arms in surrender. He backed up to the edge of the window.

"After all you've done," Ninjew said, running toward Mikara, "you think I'll let you off with suicide?"

"No," Mikara said shortly, Ninjew's sword protruding through his stomach. "I simply refuse to go down alone," he whispered into Ninjew's ear. He wrapped his arms around his oldest adversary and stabbed him in the chest with his pocket knife, and began laughing. It started off softly, even weak. However, as Mikara leaned back further out of the window, his laughter grew louder, stronger, and more psychotic. He laughed his manic laughter all the way to the pavement at the base of the tower.
The Mods walked to the window and looked down. The fighting continued even after Mikara had been defeated. Chris looked on, now sitting down. Maker hadn't moved, and still pushed himself against the wall as if becoming one. Finally, Rinnie spoke.

"The fighting is not going to calm down until the Inactive are either freed or destroyed. With Mikara dead, freeing them is unlikely," she pointed out in a matter-of-fact voice. She dialed a number on her phone, which Chris noticed, despite his shocked state, was pink and decorated with all kinds of beads. "Creator, we need you to pull the platform next to the window." Less than a minute later, the request was fulfilled. Each Mod filed into the ship, and the PROTO units dispersed to holding chambers within the ship. Creator made his announcement.

"Attention all Banned Fighters," he called over the ship's PA system. "All Ultima weapons are now armed. In only two minutes, this block of the city will be nothing but a crater, and the Tower, a memory. Unless you want to be a part of this, I suggest you high-tail it to somewhere else." He once more pushed the charge button on the Moonstone Cannon, and filled the cockpit with the hum. That hum was joined soon after by various other humming sounds.[hr]

"You hear that?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah, sounds like Creator lied about what he was doing," El Make answered. He blocked an attack from an Inactive, and then what he had just heard registered.

"It also means we need to get out of here," El Make and Remo said simultaneously. The trio ran through a sea of Inactive, not stopping to confirm that the moves they made killed anyone. As they broke free from the border, they noticed that they were casting shadows despite the heavy rain. They joined a sea of people whom they hoped were Banned fighters. Only a few seconds later, they felt a shockwave shak the ground as every weapon on the Ultima was fired at once.
The group dropped to the ground, covering their heads with their hands. Small bits of debris showered them. It was nearly two minutes before any of them looked up, and they saw that, contrary to Creator's prediction, the Tower still stood. The sea of Inactive, however, was nowhere to be seen. Not even a scrap of cloth was left behind of them.

"Maker was still in that Tower," Daisuke said in a low, shaken voice.[hr]

Deustodo had finally gotten the generator off the wall when the light started blinking more and more rapidly. "Uh-oh, let's get this thing outta here!" Deustodo said as he started running. He reached the main sewage line of the tunnel, and began running down it. Mid-way down, he found a steep drop-off, which he stopped to look at. "This must be why they abandoned using this one," he stated, realizing he was looking at an old mine-shaft that had penetrated the wall of the system.
As he ran down the mine shaft, the generator began to hum, and the light to blink more and more rapidly. "It's about to go!" he called out to no one. He continued to run as fast as he could down the mine shaft, with Gir at his heels. "Come on, come on, come on," he said, looking around everywhere he went. "There's got to be some way to destroy this thing." After more than fifteen minutes of running, Deustodo found what he was looking for.
Panting, he stood looking at a pool of lava that had leaked into the tunnel. "This is as good an opportunity as I'm going to get. The rocks began to crack as he carried the generator into the lava pool. Another loud crack, and something dawned on Deustodo. He dropped the generator into the lava pool as it started it's seismic activity settings. It shook violently even as it began to melt.
Lava burst through the walls of the mine shaft; it had become a lava tube. Gir looked at his master with sadness in his robotic eyes and voice. "Tacos?" Gir said as his circuits fried and his little body melted. Deustodo looked at the ceiling as the lava closed in on him.

"Yes, it is Taco night, isn't it, Gir?" he said, noticing cracks were even forming on the ceiling of the mine shaft-turned lava tube. "And tonight, we dine in Hell!" he shouted in the direction of the heavens as lava began pouring down on him.[/spoiler][/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Two Chapter Epilogue]

[spoiler=Chapter 19]

 

The Akatsuki, with the addition of Flandre Scarlet and sans Chris, stood in the center of the small graveyard, built over the course of a week behind the Any Other Tower. Within the graveyard were all the casualties from the local war, most of the graves being marked with "Inactive Member - Identity Unknown". However, there were three graves in particular the large group stood around. They were marked as such: "Deustodo - Psychopath who saved the city", "Ninjew - Noble assassin who fought Life", "Mikara - AKA Life, Wicked assassin who nearly destroyed the city". At the base of Mikara's headstone was placed another small stone with an extra engraving. "Fought for his lot brother, but went down the wrong path. United the city in the process."

"You know, I don't think Mikara ever really wanted to win," El Make stated to no one.

 

"Yeah? What makes you think that?" Daisuke asked him, somewhat surprised. 

 

"Well, he said he was trying to get revenge for his brother's death, right?" El Make answered. Daisuke nodded. "The thing is, I think that was only partially the reason he was going after Y.C."

 

"Well, the other reason would be that there's someone out there who paid him to do it,' Daisuke mentioned as though El Make hadn't already figured that out.

 

"That's true, yes. Though, I think he saw a city that was fragmented. A city that needed to be brought together, and he saw this as a way to do it." The group thought about this for several seconds before Daisuke spoke again,

 

"You know, I don't think that ever crossed his mind at all."[hr]

 

As El Make and Daisuke Link continued to argue over Mikara's motivation, Chris was several yards away, sitting cross-legged in front of another grave. "Rosa Seijo - The queenliest dead to ever die so young." Chris stared at the stone in silence. Many times, he began moving his lips to speak, but then decided against it. Finally, he stopped fighting it back and let the tears flow onto the grave.[hr]

 

Three days later, the group was conveined again in Chris's living room. Chris was still crestfallen, but they had to deicide where to go from there. "Clearly, the Mod System is broken," Creator stated as though it decided the matter. "I mean, it allowed a psychopath like Life to roam the city unsupervised for half a year, and then was unable to stop him before he started an all-out war!"

 

"Creator," Velma poke up, "while it's true that some of what the Mod System can not prevent may be catosrophic, let's not pretend that it could not happen if we had moved on him sooner. Remember, for that half a year when he first came here, he used an alias - a name not in our system. We knew Mikara was in the city, since we intercepted his transmissions. However, and this is important, we didn't know where they were broadcasting from, since he was bouncing them around all over the city like a game of Pong."

 

"We'll work on that later. Chris, while the Mods think of what to do about this, why don't you explain what the heck you were doing at the Tower to begin with. You were told to stay back here," Ragnoarok requested. Chris was silent for a long moment before he answered.

 

"Well... I wasn't comfortable with just sitting here. I knew that if I was barely able to move, then I wouldn't be much use against someone like Mikara." His voice was getting choked at this point. "Though, I wanted to do something. Rosa encouraged me to at least try, and so we went over. We walked around the edge of the battle to the entrance of the Tower, and an Organiation XIII guy let us go to the top."

 

"I'm gonna have to have a talk with Nexev, Roxas said, shaking his head. "Still, you should have stayed put like you were instructed to do."

 

"She ran ahead of me once we got to the top of the stairs..." Chris added quietly. "I tried to stop her, but the pain kept me from running. Then, after she... she died... I just..."

 

"You snapped," El Make finished for him. Chris nodded, and the meeting ended for a discussion within the Mod Corps.[hr]

 

Remo unlocked his store, wearing the biker outfit he had worn for the battle, now cleaned of bloodstains. "Back to normalcy," he said to himself as he walked in. He took a deep breath and looked around, recalling the moments when Chris and his cousin had first walked in here. He nodded at he memories and walked to the counter. "Let's not have another fight start up in here," he said quietly as a lady brought in her children. As the two small girls started running around looking at the sweets he had in stock, he couldn't help but smile.[hr]

 

Daisuke and El stood on the roof of the school, and watched as several teachers walked through the front door. "Wait for it," El said as they held a large pot of vanilla pudding teetering on the edge of the roof. "Wait for it..." the school's ninth-grade math teacher was walking toward the door. "Now!" El Make called out, and the pot tipped over, letting its contents spill onto the least-enjoyed staff member of the school.The two boys high-fived each other and ran back to the door of the roof.[hr]

 

Ragnarok sat in the corner of a small room. No television, no couch, no chairs. Just a matress to sleep on, and many bottles scattered on the floor. The dim lighting revealed all of them to be Mountain Dew. "Home sweet home," Ragnarok stated to himself. He stood up and walked out the door of the small-run down shack that he had lived in for years. When he was recruited to lead the Banned, he'd been asked about why he lived there. He still remembered his answer.

"I don't live here. I sleep here, and drink a lot of Mountain Dew at night. I live in the city. For entertainment, I don't watch TV, or play on a computer. I go to the park, lots of stuff to do there. I don't need to watch the News for current events. I can rely on talking to people for any information I need. Everything people think they need a concrete place to live to get, I get by walking through the city. I don't live here, just sleep here."[hr]

 

Chris was once more sitting in front of Rosa's grave. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have protected you. I was supposed to be the man in the relationship, the protector. Turns out I wasn't very good at that," he said to her headstone. "I'm such an idiot..." he said, crying into his hands.

 

"You wouldn't have been able to prevent it," a voice aid from behind him. "Even if you had insisted you stay, that girl would have simply run on ahead of you."

 

"Always eager to help," Chris sniffled, standing up to look at the man who had spoken. It was Zetsubo, who had volunteered to be the caretaker for the Graveyard. "She was like that... would have rushed into the middle of that army if she thought it would make a difference."

 

"A lot of people liked that about her. She always put the welfare of others before herself. I told her several times... but, let's speak of happier things," Zeborova said with a smile. Chris didn't need to hear it, he knew what the actor was going to say: Rosa's restless attitude was going to be the death of her. Of course, it was.[hr]

 

Creator sat in the cockpit of the Ultima looking over the city. The monitor was capable of zooming in enough to see individuals walking over the city. Of course, if he were to fire any of the weapons systems, he'd decimate the landscape. He wasn't here to destroy anything, however. Instead, he was here to simply observe the daily patterns of Drac Ohiguy. 

Record

"Many plans have formulated in my head since the Inactive War, as it has been dubbed. I have selected one to act upon. Many months of observation will be required before Phase One completes itself. After that, the people of this city, and indeed this country, will feel the impact of what intellect is capable of doing. This will be very time-consuming, but, I have nothing but time."

Stop

Creator slipped the tape recorder back into his breast pocket and continued observing the monitor. Not much seemed to be happening in the city below, and that worked out great for him. This was what he was studying; people living out their daily life. One city, especially one like this, didn't make much of a sample for him to study. He'd spend a month here, and then another month on a different city. Once he felt he had a decent sample size, he'd start Phase Two.[hr]

 

Katie Kyoku watched a couple kids ride their bikes down the street. She had left the Fake Type Knights after the Inactive War had ended, and now lived her life as jut another face in the crowd. She sat on her front porch, simply watching the city. Aqua came up to her and sat down beside her. "Nice day, isn't it, Katie?"

 

"Yes, very. I remember enjoying days like this in the Park as a kid. Amazing how time just slips away from you, isn't it?"

 

"That's true. Sometimes, I just think of how things use to be and how they are now, and I just can't help but think how different things have become. All these people," Aqua gestured at everything in sight, "have no idea how much this city's changed in just the last year."

 

"Not a single one," Katie agreed. "Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?"

 

"Sure, why not?" Aqua smiled and followed her hostess into the home. Inside was a carpeted floor with moderate furniture in the living room. Aqua sat on a cushioned rocking chair in front of the twenty-six inch television positioned in the corner of the room. "You live alone?" Aqua called.

 

"As a matter of fact, I do. It gets lonely sometimes, sure, but I like it. Offers privacy," Katie called back. A few moments later, she emerged holding a tea cup in her hands. She sat it on the table by Aqua and retreated back to the kitchen to get another cup. "Sometimes, I wish I had more company, but usually I just sit and watch everyone outside. It's a lot better than it used to be." Aqua said nothing, but just sipped her tea.[hr]

 

Odin looked at the two girls still at home and smiled. Hannah had wandered off to see a friend, and he was thankful that these two had decided to stay with him and keep him company. He could always get Hannah to talk to him later. It was completely reversed; instead of the old man sitting in the recliner telling war stories, he was listening to two of his kids tell stories about their life. He couldn't help but shed a few tears as he listened to all the things Mikara had forced him to miss out on. Ocassionally, he'd have to nod his head a few times saying "No, it's okay, go on." 

Kanna had told them how their mother had passes when they were all young, and that Hannah had taken charge of raising them. She had said she was worried they'd be seperated. She also talked bout how she wasn't able to be called by their mother's name without being disheartened, and so the two of them started calling her "Aqua" because it sounded pretty, and their older sister was pretty. Odin smiled when he heard how close his girls had always been, though he was sad that his wife had left this world. He quickly learned that Kanna was also a very animated speaker, and was unable to sit still while she was talking. He wondered if this ever caused problems for her in school.

Karin went on and on about the trips they had taken to the park, and how it was Hannah's idea they all join the RP 820. All three of them were excellent actresses, and he questionaires that came with the programs all spoke of "The brilliant Shuja sisters." When there were plays that all three were not part of, which was a rare ocassion, the commentary portion would request that all three be part of it. Apparently, the people of Drac Ohiguy had quite a deep affection for the three sisters. This made Odin smile, pride showing in his eyes. He'd have to get his eldest daughter to tell him what she thought of all this later. He'd never heard of anyone having so much support, even if it was only in one city.[hr]

 

"You loved her, didn't you?" a woman said behind Chris. He was still visiting Rosa's grave every day, even a year later. He didn't cry anymore, though he always made sure that the flowers were fresh. He had become the caretaker of Rosa's grave, something her parents both pitied and respected. Chris just nodded in response to the voice coming from behind him, without turning o see who it was. "I knew her, you know. I was a friend of her's since childhood. Chris knew who it was then. Aka Rentari was a frind Rosa had wanted to introduce him to, but never got the chance to.

Chris smiled and turned around. "Denver, Chris Denver," he said, holding out his hand.

"Rentari, Aka Rentari," the barely more than five-foot brunet responded. Her amber eyes showed that she was hoping to get Chris to do something other than take cae of a single grave, without latching too much on to her. "I'm hoping we can become good friends, Dever Chris Denver." Chris and Aka both laughed. They bid their farewells to Rosa, and walked out of the graveyard together.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 20]

 

Many years later, Chris sat holding hands with Aka in the middle of Pop Park, watching the annual play of RP 820. This year was a re-enactment of the Inactive War. Joshua Black played his father, Zetsubo, and the Shuja sisters were played by girls Chris didn't know. The boy playing Chris looked enough like Jospeh Zavara to be his and Aqua's son. Watching the boy go down on stage at the hands of the girl playing Karin, Chris remembered he hadn't had any contact with that family in years. He'd have to track them down later.

He found it painful to watch a reenactment of his friends dying, and wasn't sure how accurate some of them were; no one knew how or why Deus had ended up in a pool of lava, and he hadn't told anyone about the song he'd sung to Rosa. However, he smiled, and even laughed, at other parts of the play, and it seemed Remo had made sure the the scene in his candy shop dead accurate. The reason he waned to watch it, though, was the girl who as playing Rosa. After the final scene ended, Chris and Aka stayed in their seat until the crowd cleared out.

The two walked around to the backstage area to find the girl who had played Rosa Seijo waiting for them. "Did you enjoy it, Daddy?" the girl asked, seeing them coming toward her.

 

"Of course, Lisa. I loved it. They couldn't have picked anyone better than you to play her," Chris said smiling. He'd become quite adept at hiding his pain when speaking of Rosa, especially since his daughter had turned out to be able to pick up on even the slightest sign of someone hiding something. Chris worried she might use that for a Vegas Carreer.

 

"You made mommy proud, the way you played her old friend," Aka said, leaning down to kiss Lisa on the forehead. This made Lisa giggle, and Chris's smile widened. Lisa demanded Chris kiss her cheek, and when he gave in, she decided to race them to the car.[hr]

 

"Surely we weren't this bad?" Daisuke asked of El Make. They were sitting in front of the middle school's priniple's office yet again. Daisuke's daughter, Maria. and El Make's son, Stefan, had been asked to deliver letters requesting the two show up.

 

"No, not this bad. Though, to be fair, I don't think we were far behind," El answered. Daisuke laughed, abd had to admit El was probably right. Though they had never had their parents meet Mr. Dragan eight times a year, they had recieved many threats to meet with the parents. Daisuke's favorite memory was they time they almost got expelled, and he shared this with El. "Man, we need to re-think how we're raising these kids." The lights shut off, and an announcement came oer the intercom for everyone to get to the nearest television. 

The two old friends ran into the office to see a face that tripled their dosage of nostalgia. Lichroy Creator, a man no one in the city had seen in over a decade, was sitting pretty in a throne room. "Greetings," was the first word he said. "In case you're wondering, I've been observing many, many people these past, oh, what was it? Eighteen, Twenty years? While I was at it, I took the liberty of selling as much of my tech as able to nearly everyone in the country. 

"The Banned Soldiers know what this means. This means that I have remote control over the country. Lights, transmissions, audio, even toasters, I'm able to control everything. The reason I chose this drastic course of events is this: humans can't decide for themselves. They need someone of a higher intellect to decide for them. That would be me. So, Maria Link, Stefan Make, I believe my first act as Emporer of Lichfield will be to ban you from the education system, since it's clear you two have every desire to interrupt the process for those who wish to partake in it."

Daisuke thought that at first the man was joking. Then he remembered that it was Creator who was on the screen, and that was enough to convince him of the seriousness of the sitation. The country had been enslaved by a man arguable more psychotic than Mikara had been. A man who had time, patience, and equipment to seed a takeover so thorough that all he had to do was push a button and the country would bow before him. Worse, he had renamed the United States to "Lichfield."[hr]

 

It was a meeting of the Akatsuki, Black Knights, and Fake Type Knights, the three factions who had made the Banned that fought Life. After he fell, though, it was renamed "The Freed." Daisuke led the Akatsuki, a man who called himself "Zero" led the Black Knights, somthing that Daisuke, El, and Chris thought prooved he was far too into the anime, and Joseph and Aqua shared leadership of the Fake Type Knights. Above all of them was the commander-in-chief of the Freed, Ragnarok. It was him who spoke up first.

"We can't fight him," Ragnarok stated. "Even two decades ago, his technology was formidable. He's had that long to sow it through the country and hide himself some place far away. We can't make a move without him knowing what we're doing." Daisuke sighed, and Aqua and Joseph hugged tightly. Ragnarok was right, with the level of technology Creator had access to, he had a strangle hold on the planet.[hr]

 

Record

"For five years, I've been in this position. My preparations for the Freed trying to overthrow me were not needed, as it would seem they realized everything I was capable of doing. The reason I did this was simple, really: I wanted to instil a fear of retribution in anyone who might attempt to cause a war like what Mikara Hitsugaiya did all those years ago. I believe that five years will be enough to do the trick. If at this point they have not figured out that they can't even sneeze without me knowing and doing something about it, then they never will."

Stop

Creator slid the recorder back into his pocket and got off his chair. He handed the crimson cape people had become used to seeing him wear and handed it to one of the many PROTO Mark Fives he had as his personal servants. "You know what to do with this," he said shortly as he walked out of the room. He'd artificially created a large sample of his own blood, which the cape would be covered in and then dropped behind the Tower. On the hidden elevator he'd had built into the wall, all he did was curse the annoying music that played the whole trip. Walking out the front door, he took the time to push a large red button just inside the door, again hidden by a removable panel.

The result was that a trap door opened just outside, which landed Creator right beside the Ultima. Creator powered up the giant ship and set the autopilot to take him to nothing more specific than Antarctica. Then he went to the back of the ship and, propoing himself up against a wall, drifted off into sleep. The ship carried on it's course, the populace never knowing that right beneath the city, the man who'd been their government was now heading for a hatch somewhere in the Sierra-Nevada.[hr]

 

"Still no word on what happened to Lichroy Creator, first Emporer of Lichfield. All that is known is that the blood on the cape matches blood samples belonging to him," the news reporter said. Chris, El, and Daisuke sat in Chris's living room with Aka and Lisa. None of them knew what to make of the news, except that it was too easy to predict what was going to be said next. "A meeting is being held in former Washington, D.C. to reinstate the United States of America, and re-establish Mexico. Whether or not Canada will be re-established or left a part of the United States is still under debate."[/spoiler][/spoiler]

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Hmm it seems like another fic I'll have to watch carefully ^^

I await chapter 2, Don!

[Lt. Colonel Remo]

Same here

You seem to adding useful information that was left out of the original DEF fanfic

I am also looking forward to chapter 2

[Fusion X. Denver]

[quote name='iRemo' timestamp='1343529098' post='5991451']
Same here

You seem to adding useful information that was left out of the original DEF fanfic

I am also looking forward to chapter 2
[/quote]

Wait, what was left out?

And you know how I feel already.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Intriguing.

Don't really have much to say, other than it should be interesting to see how so many characters will all link together (I'm guessing they will).

Will give it a few chapters to see how it goes certainly.

[Lt. Colonel Remo]

[quote name='Fusion X. Denver' timestamp='1343534833' post='5991534']
Wait, what was left out?
[/quote]
Well

that YC Maker's first was Yvan (at least I don't[i] think [/i]any name was mentioned)

And that the Mod Corps was tasked wit keeping YC Maker safe and hidden (or that they were a Corps)

[Fusion X. Denver]

[quote name='iRemo' timestamp='1343583753' post='5991927']
Well

that YC Maker's first was Yvan (at least I don't[i] think [/i]any name was mentioned)

And that the Mod Corps was tasked wit keeping YC Maker safe and hidden (or that they were a Corps)
[/quote]

Hey
Hey Remo
See that thread title?

[Reinforce]

Seems like an interesting story, I'm looking forward to reading more of it now.

[Lt. Colonel Remo]

[quote name='Fusion X. Denver' timestamp='1343586792' post='5991968']
Hey
Hey Remo
See that thread title?
[/quote]
I'm well aware that its an alternate universe

It's just that those are some seriously big things that weren't emphasized in the original

Besides the Mods being an off-screen police force/elite unit of [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigGood"]big goods[/url]

[Fusion X. Denver]

[quote name='iRemo' timestamp='1343615159' post='5992418']
I'm well aware that its an alternate universe

It's just that those are some seriously big things that weren't emphasized in the original

Besides the Mods being an off-screen police force/elite unit of [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigGood"]big goods[/url]
[/quote]

YCMaker was just the school principal (and later the mayor when things were all over), nobody need to know his first name >.>
And I guess you have a point about the Mods, but for the record, they were basically elite police agents designated for special cases like how SHIELD employs the Avengers for galactic threats, and in the meantime basically acted as police chiefs/commissioners.

[Spirit of DMG]

Now why did I not get this kind if discussion on the last couple works I put up here? Anyway, I'm debating on weekly releases or putting up chapter two tomorrow.

[bury the year]

I'm wondering the same too. The last version of this thread was locked for too much off-topic discussion. This is an early warning. ;3

[Fusion X. Denver]

^Well to be fair, we are kinda on-topic, but message received.

[Spirit of DMG]

Hey, guys. Decided to go ahead and share chapter 2

[Fusion X. Denver]

Hrmm mixed feelings, though mostly good.
Meh stuff first, you need to at least give some basic descriptions for your characters since a lot of them have grouped together; the reader will need to establish some sort of mental picture in their minds to help differentiate between them later on. The other thing is that the dialogue's a little plain; don't be afraid to spice it up a bit. Kana's a bit of a hothead, right? It'd probably make sense during her time fighting PROTO, she'd be yelling stuff like, "Don't underestimate me!" or "You stupid robot!" whereas Aqua could have said something like, "Heh! Not bad!" after winning. Even the little things can go a long way. (No need to go back and add stuff in, just keep that in mind for future chapters)
Now good stuff. I liked PROTO's abbreviation since it didn't even occur to me to do that the first time. That and I liked Aqua's fight , but also the changes you made to PROTO. I'm really looking forward to seeing DL fighting it. And Deus sipping the soda was a nice touch there xD

[Lt. Colonel Remo]

xD it would seem that Daisuke is in a bit of a bind

But wouldn't that mean that he's at least one par with El when he defeats the robot?

And will the normal events of DEF happen at all or will Mikara's actions prevent the story from going as normal?


(Basically, will it be DEF's plot but through Mikara's eyes or will be completely different?)

EDIT: Sorry about the nonsensical question about Daisuke. I'm kinda sick and I can hardly think straight =/

[Fusion X. Denver]

I'd imagine things take a different turn since the FTK's origin was woven within the plot that ultimately led to Life's downfall, though I think Life and the Inactive might still play a part in this.
Or DMG might have thought totally new villains with more than two dimensions, whatever works.

[Spirit of DMG]

I've actually thought that part out. Life and the Inactive will play a role in this story, though not quite the same as in the original.

[Spirit of DMG]

Speaking of events proceeding in certain ways, I've posted chapter... uh... um... what's the name of that number that comes after "two"?

[Fusion X. Denver]

Whoop, sorry I'm late.

Interesting chapter, though I feel PROTO got taken down a little too easily by some of them >.>
I liked Daisuke's fight though, since I could actually picture DL doing something like that.

I'm guessing we'll get some sort of insight into Chris and Aa'une's relationship for context next chapter, looking forward to it.

[Spirit of DMG]

Hmmm, well, not next chapter, no. Although, we get to see some bones break next chapter. And another group shows up, along with everyone's favorite character.

[Fusion X. Denver]

Sweet, I like me some action.
Everyone's fav-
NINJEW
YEEEAAAHHH.

[Spirit of DMG]

1, 2, 3, 4, We ain't the dang Marine Corps, We like it here, we love it here, we finally found a home!

...

Basically, Chapter 4 is up.

[Fusion X. Denver]

Ninjew has green hair now?
Sure wynaut
Chris wants to be a banker? And has a Naruto poster?
Sure wynaut
Cortez is Chris' cousin?
Sure wynaut

Ninjew's entry seemed a little forced, but everything else checks out okay. Dunno if we'll see Mikara's fight with PROTO, but I'm sure we'll see him doing something soon.

[Lt. Colonel Remo]

I just thought I should point out that the parenthetical remarks are unnecessary and kinda take away the professional feel of the story

Other than that I didn't really see much wrong =/