White-bird-in-a-cage Is Five Years Old!

              white-bird-in-a-cage is five years old!

Five years ago, on August 7th, 2012, I made this blog under the url not-a-nobody. My preference was not available for another year, and I have been under that changed url ever since. Since then I have grown and changed, both as a person and a writer.

Naminé as a character is truly very important to me. No other character is more beloved. I first saw her in 2006 and I was immediately drawn to her. It is because of this girl with an angelic appearance that I got interested in Kingdom Hearts… without her I wouldn’t be here, or have met any of you. Seeing as how I’ve met my best friends on this blog, that’s really saying something. To me, Naminé represents hidden strength and the truth. She could’ve easily lied or not said anything to Roxas; she could’ve easily used him and Sora for her own gain; instead she not only spoke the truth, she fixed her mistakes. Naminé also defied DiZ and Riku to do what she felt was right, and even more awe-inspiring, she stood up to Larxene and Marluxia upon realizing her mistakes. It is never easy to stand up to your abusers and captors. For someone so small, Naminé has left an indelible mark on my life.

I’ve been in these groups: Kingdom Hearts Ultimate RP (KHURP for short), Pyreflights, Aeon Soul, Somnium Finite, and Crowned Kingdom. Each taught me something and introduced me to new friends. I’m happy to say that I’m still friends with people from each group!

Five years is a big milestone for me. At this moment I have 630+ followers, and I’m happy to have all of you on board! I never dreamed I would last this long; I have no idea what I was thinking back in that August before my freshman year of college, but it certainly wasn’t this.

I’ve been through a lot on this blog: group changes, friends and partners leaving and changing, being bullied (though thankfully that has long since passed), learning time management, and so much more.

I wouldn’t be here with you all. Obviously I could not possibly name everyone, past and present, but I thought I should show at least some of you my thanks. This is not a follow forever or a bias list; instead this is a thank-you post. Some people might get repeated because I couldn’t just leave them under one category. Oh, and alphabetical order because I like to have everything orderly.

I know why the caged bird sings - to those who have helped me grow, and who have supported me

@ainokizuato/@redheartedmage/@talesofmino/@talesofharima, @blitzballstar, @musicandlights, @noxtalgie, @parttimedeliveryboy, @radiantheart/@milessomnia, @thecentralheart/@vens-gonewiththewind, @the-lonely-soul, @the-sixth-apprentice/@unversed-nightmare, @unquenchedresolve, @xambiefoxx 

Memory… the cruelest and most beautiful of gifts - to those who have moved on; I miss you and I have not forgotten you, and I wish you the best 

@duelwielding, @parttimedeliveryboy, @screndipitouskxy, @thecentralheart/@vens-gonewiththewind, @the-sixth-apprentice/@unversed-nightmare

You’ve got the light to fight the shadows - to those who make every day here a joy

@ahmyhotdog, @ivory-paragon, @lazuliss, @professorxehanort, @radiantheart/@milessomnia, @redheartedmage/@talesofmino/@talesofharima/@ainokizuato, @thetaintedemotion, @unquenchedresolve, @valorhearted

Your House will be like your family - to my beloved Crowned Kingdom 

@ahmyhotdog, @chaoshearted, @cindythegreasemonkeygal, @dogstreetstyle, @heartseekingfreedom, @iokanchieftess, @lovelysweetxhart, @malevolentwind, @milleuda-folles, @professorxehanort, @radiantheart/@milessomnia, @redheartedmage, @somnusheir, @steelwolfgrey, @theicequeenslion, @thespellweaver, @thetaintedemotion, @unquenchedresolve, @valorhearted, @vespersung, @whitedressedoracle, @wingedcomposer, @xxpinkseeressxx

If only I had five lifetimes! - to my fellow Naminé blogs; I don’t follow or write with you, but we have all chosen a beautiful character, and I am glad you are here 

@fadxngmemcry, @frailwaves, @oblivion-witch, @namine-constellations, @noxtalgie, @reflechir, @scatteredcrayons, @sketchedinnocence, @paintedpaeonia, @p-aperr-oses, @vvatercolors, and those I cannot name because I don’t know who you are

Reader, I married him - to all 630+ of you, my Readers

((Just some pics of our lady sniper. Just stuff I did for fun, really.))

---

=CHAPTER 10D: SNEAK INTO THE PRISON=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

{Meanwhile…}

[Felix looked up from the console as shouting intensified.

He had been focusing on analyzing his own notes on the whole matter, but now…]

<DWN-019>: > GRAH! Why won’t you LISTEN to me!?

<DWN-013>: >No offense, bro, but if that’s all—

<DWN-019>: > IT’S NOT, YOU TWITS!

<DWN-019>: >There are some temporal anomalies and you’re all getting caught up in it! It’s not just you, it’s Mikhail as well—and do I need to remind you, YOU SPECIFICALLY, TWELVE, of how dangerous that could be to YOU, personally?

<DWN-012>: > -Mnnrrgh…!-

<DWN-019>: > Where is Mikhail?!

Felix: -Narrows his eyes a little- -Out loud even though Siam can’t hear- He’s resting— you shouldn’t even be calling, there’s a reason he told me to keep it quiet…

<DWN-019>: >I need Cardinal over here to properly oversee the updates, and I need his help with—

<DWN-013>: > Ugh—

<DWN-013>: >I’m SORRY, Gem, but— -BLAM!- 000 is still processing everything, we can’t move him yet, and it seems there are other problems—

<DWN-019>: >HOW can this possibly get worse?

<DWN-013>: > -Irritable- I think Mikhail is under arrest, Gemini!

Des: --....

Des: (Damn it...)

Des: (Ugh, with the way the Doctor and the Mighties reacted to that, I don't even want to think about how THEY will...)

<DWN-019>: > …

[The feeds were slammed with acerbic data.]

<DWN-019>: > -PANIC DATA-

<DWN-019>: > -PANIC PANIC PANIC-

<DWN-011>: > …

<DWN-011>: > …Joking, right?

<DWN-011>: > Right?

<DWN-012>: > He was IN handcuffs, brother—

<DWN-019>: > Nnnnnnnn-nnn-nnn-noo—

<DWN-019>: > Stars above I don’t think I can do this—

<DWN-018>: >Look, I doubt that if—

<DWN-019>: >IT DOESN’T MATTER! NOT WHAT YOU THINK!

<DWN-019>: > I DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO KEEP THAT DATA FROM REACHING THE COSSACK NUMBERS!

Felix: ?!

Des: --...

Des: (Son of a...)

Des: (This is exactly what the Doctor said before...)

<DWN-018>: > Are you serious.

<DWN-019>: >I’m not the Admin, Nico! I don’t have that kind of power!

<DWN-018>: > That’s it. As head of the family, I’m intervening. Dealing with our dysfunctions is plenty; I am not going to put up with fighting the Russians.

<DWN-018>: >Siam, there’s got to be SOMETHING you can do—

<DWN-019>: > Well I’ll TRY to stall—I think I can by changing the data Snow gets— but hurry up as much as you can, I need the rest of the family back as soon as possible!

[MN.6] //: Roger Dodger–

<DWN-018>: >Fine, do it. Gem, get that guy on the line. We’ve got to talk this out before it gets out of hand. And as for you two…

<DWN-018>: >Speedy, Jaden, you guys were BUILT for Combat, can’t you work ANY faster?!

<DWN-013>: > Grrr…

<DWN-013 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

[MN.1] //: –!!

[Jaden began to glow white.]

Felix: -Stands, raising an eyebrow- ?

Des: What in the--?

Des: (What is this bright LIGHT? It's almost like...Nine's...?)

Felix: !

((pic))

Jaden: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

[MN.1] //: ??!?

[Jaden had changed. The was larger now, and bulkier—and based on the energy ratings from him, he was packing some SERIOUS heat.]

Felix: Well this is new—

Des: (These Robot Masters can change forms too?)

[Hatches popped open.

YEP. Those were some sort of missiles inside.]

Jaden: WE’RE TAKING A DETOUR!

Felix: Goodness. I wasn’t aware they had this capacity.

Des: (...For some reason, that doesn't comfort me in the slightest.)

Des: (Do they ALL have this level of form shifting...?)

[He wasn’t given much time to think on it. A notification opened up a third window in the screen.]

[INCOMING CALL]

Felix: …

Felix: I… I’m not sure how to answer that, but I think we really should.

Des: (....)

[After a brief glance at Felix, Des himself walks over to the terminal and presses a single button, accepting the call.]

Des: (I got a good guess who this is...)

[Nico’s face greeted him on the screen. He was wearing full armor, minus the helmet, and his arms were crossed.]

Des: (...And I was completely wrong--)

Des: -Raises eyebrow- ...I assume you want to speak to either this guy-- -Jabs his thumb behind him-

Des: ...Or me.

Nico: I’m assuming with you, as I know who Felix is.

Des: -Yup, thought so-

Nico: What’s Dr. Cossack’s physical condition? Is he okay?

Des: He's sleeping, right now. Resting. (Even though he really didn't want to, I noticed, but that Felix person did something to get him to rest...)

[Nico seemed to relax quite a bit at this.]

Nico: Thank goodness… that should buy us more time…

Des: (...So this must be one of his patients, I would think...)

[He turns to yell over his shoulder.]

Nico: Siam! The Doctor’s okay, he’s just sleeping!

[As he does so, the brand on his shoulder is visible:

DWN-018. ]

Des: (Another DWN...)

Nico: Okay, next question—

Nico: What’s going on over there? Is he really under arrest, or is my brother exaggerating?

Des: ....

Des: Sir...

Des: Dr. Cossack is currently in custody for...unauthorized access into federal security.

Nico: -Pained expression- (Oh no…)

Des: ...

Des: (And there is still the matter of the Military Base's security breach too...)

Des: Since the Doctor... simply refused to answer all of our questions...

Des: I am...

Des: ...

Des: ...Ugh...

Des:

I am forced to put him under arrest given the situation, and--

Nico: !

Nico: You mean— (N-no, they mentioned handcuffs…)

[He holds his head in his hands, looking very concerned.]

Nico: Might I suggest an alternate form of restraints? Anything?

Des: . . .

Nico: First of all, that… that’s… not exactly what happened. And second of all…

Nico: He was kept chained up in some form or another for at least three months, maybe up to as much as six—and this wasn’t too long ago.

Nico: My brother used spikes on the inside of the bracers, even.

Des: .....

Des: (The burns...)

Des: ....

Des: I'll see what I can do in that regard. …I promise.

Nico: …Thank you.

Des: ....

Des: -Looks to the side- He told me. Showed me, actually.

Des: About where you're from.

Nico: —… -Looks to the side himself, rather distressed expression- (He can’t mean Monstropolis… that would only make Toby look worse…)

Nico: -Forces himself to hear this out-

Des: ....

Des: I still don't completely understand why, but.

Des: ...

Des: I can tell the Doctor...he isn't what the law thinks he is right now.

Des: >> If anything, I know he's stonewalling.

Des: Listen.

Des: I can't...

Des: ....

Des: If he keeps doing that...

Des: . . .

Nico: Please—

Nico: Please don’t SAY it, I can’t—

Des: .......

Nico: Nnng…

Nico: We’re connected to the RMDC, his sons will pick up on that data.

Des: >> (Right....)

Des: ...

Des: (Man, Min, I don't know about you, and no offense, but this is REALLY the worst part of the job...)

Nico: Sir, I…

Nico: (Nnngh…! I can’t just hand Tobias over, but I can’t let Dr. Cossack take the fall for this! Even if I felt like it, his sons…)

Nico: We… can’t we talk this out? Just a little bit? I really don’t want this getting out of control…

Nico: My brother is good, but after M—… after what happened to the First Gens, Mikhail made sure no one else could mess with his kids’ minds, and that includes outside Doctors our equivalents.

Nico: So… we don’t have a whole lot of time, either. I’ll try to stick to the point.

Nico: What happened with the system was more complex than that. What he probably told you is the super-simplified version. Interaction in the Cloud… that’s not how it happened.

Nico: He printed out notes… do you have those on hand?

Des: Mmm--right, I do...

Nico: You might want to read those as I talk this over.

Nico: First of all, he did try getting feeds from the Pentagon first. He had Sanda’s secretary call, I think. But when that didn’t work, he knew that the security system was out of control.

Nico: So when he says he ordered Tobias to take over the security… he means that in the sense he’d have to fight it, and more precisely, the malevolent force controlling it.

Nico: From what I understand based on the data we’re getting in the update, he had to tell Tobias not to go overboard and zap both the system and Shade to soot crisps.

Des: (What--?)

Des: -Flipping though the notes-

Des: (...Shade does have a weakness to electricity, true...)

Nico: Fighting through infected security isn’t an easy ordeal, sir.

Nico: The Cloud is a desolate and dangerous place. Your systems, when they are fully working, would be… like fires of Hell to any unauthorized program—including Awareness ones. Firewalls manifest that way, metaphorically speaking. And viruses? Eldritch abominations. Monsters.

Nico: Fighting against the virus was to restore control to your systems. Because staying there? Would have meant more fighting, and just about equally dangerous fighting.

Des: (--!)

Des: (That explains the sudden return of our feeds--)

Des: (It was in OUR favor--?)

Nico: And that is what happened. As the virus was being pushed back, your firewalls started turning back on.

Nico: Part of the reason Tobias got so agitated and aggressive—don’t know if you heard him while you were there—part of that was that he was starting to get burned by them, and it hurt.

Des: . . .

Nico: -Scratches his head- Trying to get in if the firewalls had been working wouldn’t have been a quick or easy task. The reason Tobias got inside so quickly is because they were down.

Nico: If he’d had to disable them first, I dunno… he’s brilliant, but I don’t think he’s ever intentionally done THAT before. Not to my knowledge. (Other things, yeah, but getting around firewalls he wasn’t already immune to? Not so much.) He couldn’t even bypass the RMDC firewall, actually.

Nico: Barring the control being returned, though, Dr. Cossack needed Tobias to keep it from going too out of control. To take the controls from the virus to keep her from frying Beck, Cardinal, and you guys. Which is what he means by shutting it down.

Nico: It’s hard for an outsider to know what happened in there, sir. He had to cover all options when he let Tobias go, and when he told you about it. I’m not sure how much he knows about what happened.

Des: ......

Nico: Before that incident, well…

Nico: He’s been working on things for Cardinal for a VERY long time. It’s within the past few days for both of us that he’s made some real progress. Medical progress. And he…

Nico: I’m not sure if anyone told you, sir, but there are only three Doctors of his caliber in our entire world. He’s the only one we can trust. Literally… the only Doctor in the world who can do this. Unfortunately…

Nico: …That kinda has exacerbated his innate tendency to wear himself out.

[He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his right hand.]

Nico: Man, he must be exhausted. After all that this has put us through, we all just want it to stop. I’m not surprised he gave the short version—

Nico: Do you know what would happen if any of us were caught?

Des: . . .

Des: It was mentioned.

Nico: …

Des: -Sigh- Ngh...

Des: (Well, this just...)

Des: (The fact that he tried to help us, it makes things better, but unless I can get it out of him...)

Des: (Ugh, but he doesn't even have the energy to be AWAKE right now...)

Nico: He didn’t consult with us beforehand, you know, before talking with you. >.>

Nico: He doesn’t have the authority to give direct orders to Wily Numbers. I’m sure he could if he wanted to, but he respects us more than that. The ability to shut us off was a negotiated exchange for using his server to house our extended neural network.

Nico: No one would have approved of him taking everything onto himself, but…

Des: >>;; (Even I don't...)

Nico: What are you planning to do to my brother if you were to get your hands on him? -Visibly afraid-

Des: Well, we aren't going to dismantle him, if that's what you're...Well.

Des: -We KNOW it's practically murder, honestly--

Des: From the account you've given and Cossack's own...

Des: ....

Des: All we want are a few answers.

Des: Some sense out of this entire mess, and honestly, even the answers themselves are a little... -I don't even have a proper word for it-- ...Delicate...

Nico: I can try…

Nico: Was there something else you were wondering about?

Des: Cossack already explained the Queen's Finals, in a sense.

Des: ....

Des: There was...

Des: Also another security breach, but not at the White House.

Nico: I don’t know how he got past the Brit firewalls, I’m going to guess an emergency services loophole—

Des: Not that. (Though that explains some things.)

Des: The...incident regarding MNN-005.

Nico: …

Nico: Huh?

Des: There was a security breach then where Battalion was...infected.

Nico: Wait, Bat—

Nico: Oh GEEZ—

[He looks TERRIFIED. There are a number of pings in the database showing that the whole line was going into Defensive mode…]

Nico: If—if everyone went where—

[His pupils shrank to only just being visible, and he broadcast over his speakers out of fear.]

Nico: “OH GLITCH YOU MEAN HE WENT TO— HE WENT TO A MILITARY BASE?!”

Des: (...An unauthorized base.)

Des: -~- -This is almost embarrassing to say-

Des: (Still, it seems like I won't be getting answers here too.)

Des: Was DLN-008 active during that time?

Nico: No way! He was still out cold from being fused with Avi!

Des: (So it wasn't him...)

Des: (WHO, then? Some third party?)

Nico: Avi saw the depths of suffering that floats about the collective consciousness, it was bad.

Des: . . .

Nico: Oh man—does Mikhail know? He’s going to freak if he hears that those kind of “fireworks” were getting ready to go live. It’s been our mission since learning of this world to try and prevent—…

[He winced for a moment, seeming to calm down again.]

Nico: …try and prevent things from… reaching what they got for us.

Des: ...More or less...

Des: -Long sigh-

Des: =~=

Nico: Ouch.

Nico: No, that wasn’t us, and it wouldn’t have been Mikhail either. Especially not after the Russian incident. If Cardinal hadn’t gotten there in time, he would have died and that would have set off WWIII. He really still blames himself for this, and he’s super sensitive about it. He wouldn’t have done that.

[A pause.]

Nico: After Beck fixed up Toby and Avi, Toby was asleep until Cossack woke him up to try and get the White House feeds back. He, uh… well. Tobias needed the rest, honestly. It was a very disorienting experience.

Des: (I can only imagine...)

Nico: Sorry, but you’re going to have to look elsewhere for your base phantom.

Des: (Ugh, now what? I'm out of leads...)

Des: (...But at least I have a good idea of what this DLN-008 is like...)

Des: (They all really need some help...)

Nico: I… I don’t think that it’s fair to say Dr. Cossack is responsible for us, no. We’re… sorry about all that’s happened. All we wanted was to… hang out with our friends. Everything just started to get out of whack starting with the finals…

Nico: Poor Jack, too. Sawblade to the back, ow.

[Another pause.]

Nico: -Looking off to the side, still with a concerned expression- I’ll be honest with you, Mister Secretary.

Nico: I’m not just going to hand my older brother over. I can’t do that.

Des: .....

Nico: But… Dr. Cossack… he in all honesty is just our medical provider. He doesn’t have control over us the way he does with his sons. Who by the way, are going to really panic [color=black]if[/color]… -Trails off-

Nico: I’m sorry that he wouldn’t answer the questions, but… that’s the truth of the matter—from the finals to the White House.

Nico: We still want to help sort this out as much as we can, you know. I know Dr. Cossack would help unravel this…

Nico: …if he weren’t in trouble, of course—and also not so exhausted. >.>;

Nico: Isn’t there something that can be done?

Des: Unless Dr. Cossack can say this on record himself, I--

[There’s sudden yelling from one of the feeds.]

Des: --??

-*-*-

Avi: DAD I GOTTA GO–

<DWN-013>: >Woah, woah, woah—

<DWN-013>: > -Avs are you okay— -

-*-*-

Nico: —?

-*-*-

Will: What–

Avi: Got a hot scoop to deliver to Doc Sanda-Man, DON’T WORRY I’LL BE RIGHT BACK–

[Without another word, Avi shifts into Jet Mode and zooooooms back out the way Will and Beck came in.]

Will: Wait–Avi! What about Soi?!

-*-*-

Nico: -Turns to yell over his shoulder- Siam! What’s going on?

Des:

What--what just--

Des: (--Sanda--isn't he at the Prison, why would Six--)

-*-*-

Beck: K-9…?

<DWN-013 and DWN-012>: > …

<DWN-012>: > Scrap—

<DWN-012>: > Canine models can get VICIOUS…

Beck: Combat model designed to patrol and guard–

Beck: Maximum security establishments–!

<DWN-013>: > UGH this is all Fahrenheit 451 on us—

Beck: -THERE’S ONE AT THE PRISON–

Will: SOI!

-*-*-

Des: --. . . .

Des: Damn...

Des: (The Cerberus Units...)

Nico: …

Gemini: …Mikhail was going to be sent somewhere with those?! ._.

Siam: Well it’s not like he would have done anything but sleep—

Gemini: But Dr. Soichiro Sanda is over there!

Nico: Can he handle something like this?! He just went over with his secretary!

Des: (...but--Isn't his secretary also a Combat Unit--?)

Des: (At the very least, he has SOMEONE protecting him...)

Des: =_= (Although I still think it's nuts.)

Siam: I’m sure he’ll be fine…

Gemini: …I think…

Nico: Can’t we just talk to him over the feeds?

Siam: They don’t have that capability on their end, that’s only a Meadow-capacity thing—

Des: (...Meadow? Is that some sort of code?)

Nico: —!

[He looks… shocked at something.]

Des: --?

Nico: “R-Roll—?” -Reaching his hand out to touch the screen-

Des: --???

Gemini: -OH GLITCH expression-

Nico: (N-no… it’s not her, it…)

Siam: NICO YOU STAY PUT—

[Unfortunately, this was the worst thing that Siam could have said. Nico quickly snapped out of it, and his data became almost horrifically aggressive as he turned to glare at his brother—his eyes burned green as his helmet appeared.]

Nico: …You—

[There was a burst of data as everything was VIOLENTLY flung outward by a sudden magnetic field, Siamini included.]

Nico: YOU’VE BEEN /LYING/ TO ME—!

Felix: Oh dear…

Des: . . .

Des: | /;;;;; (Um...)

Nico: How dare you keep this a secret from me?! You’ve denied her MONTHS of time, of celebrations and sadness alike, all because you thought that I couldn’t handle it?!

Siam: -Sitting up, rubbing his head, also in armor now- Alnico—

Nico: DON’T!

Nico: Don’t call me by that name SHE gave me, don’t use it to LIE further!

Nico: We’re going to talk this over later, Geminiman. Talk about two-faced…

Nico: -Narrows his eyes to glance over in Des’s direction in a glare-

[His face plate at least gives the advantage of making him only look annoyed. How mad he really was was hard to say.]

Nico: Permission to enter the building, sir?

Des: --What, the Prison--

Des: . . .

Des: (In hindsight, I have no idea if Call can even handle the K-9...)

Des: (Sanda doesn't have an entire team behind him like White does.)

Des: (He's going to need back up.)

Des: Permission granted.

Nico: -Nods and salutes with two fingers-

[He then hovers out of there, gaining momentum. Gemini helps Siam up, and the two of him look at the transmitter.]

Siamini: Great.

Gemini: He knocked out the transmitter.

Siam: At least that’ll buy us a bit more time…

Gemini: …Are we still transmitting? How?

Siam: Because Felix is there. Something about Psynergy…

Felix: -Shakes his head- I’d focus on the Cossack Numbers for now. : / The Second Generation Wily Numbers are capable of handling themselves: you know this. Though I must ask—did you know about the second forms?

Siam: Not exactly, no—

Gemini: I’ll have to get back to you on that later.

Siamini: Nineteen out.

[That feed closes.]

Felix: -Looks over at Des- …

Des: . . .

Des: (...This is going to be a long day.)

Des: ....

Des: Do you have something else that can...Er.

Des: >> -Looks at Mikhail-

Des: (I'd ask for rope, but that seems insulting too.)

Felix: I can use Halt on him.

Des: . . .Right. . .

Des: (...Just who is...--and how did he do that, back there...)

Felix: …If you need something more conventional… well, I’ll see what I’ve got on me.

[…He starts pulling out some things that just WOULDN’T—or SHOULDN’T—fit in a bag that size.]

Des: O.o???? (What.)

Des: (How--how would that even--)

Felix: Why is it always on the bottom of the bag under all the extra equipment…

Des: (Did he just pull out a suit of ARMOR?)

Des: -Blinks-

Felix: Ah, here we go.

[He pulls out what appears to be some large rocks, a few crystals, some silk, and some reptilian leather.]

Felix: This should work, temporarily, at least.

Des: --???

[Felix used GROWTH!]

((pic))

[A vine started growing from a gathering of Venus psynergy near the floor. Felix let it snake through his hands, intertwining with the silk to create a harness of some sort. He went over to place it around Cossack gently before it finished and bound up together, becoming enclosed.

The leather encased the vines to create the appearance of straps, and it ran to the rocks and crystals. Felix then used these together to create a strong cable, which ended at a stop within the floor itself.

The cable was long enough to allow for sitting, standing, and slight movement in sleep, but not much else. Not being within reach of a console, the only way he could have any input now was to use voice commands—and he was asleep.]

Felix: I trust that will do, at least for now?

Des: . . .

Des: Uh...yeah. o_o (Who IS this person--?)

Felix: -Notices this look and grins- Is there something you wanted to ask me, Master Desmond?

Des: ....

Des: -Yeah I kinda have a question or 50-

Felix: Go ahead. -Looks at the screens, where everyone is busy fighting- We’ve got a while.

Des: ....

Des: How did you...do that?

Des: That and...Back there, with the Mighties and the Doctor...

Felix: Psynergy. Your world might call it “magic,” but it follows a defined set of rules, just as much as physics does.

Felix: I’m not quite human, myself; not in the traditional sense.

Des: (He's not human--?)

Des: (...Well, I guess that makes a little sense, if he can do all that...)

Felix: Research I’ve done indicates that in my world, humanity split into three branches. What most people think of as human is a different branch than what I am. We are closer to “monsters” than to “humans” in most but appearance and behavior. Like many monsters, we can make use of elemental energy, or Psynergy. We are also incredibly sturdy.

Felix: However…

[He pulls off his own gloves.]

Des: ...--!

[Like Mikhail, he has scars— burn scars, but also nasty healed cuts—all over his forearms and some on the back of his hands.]

Felix: We are not invincible.

[He takes off his cape and pulls down on the inside of his collar enough to show there are more around his neck and over his collarbone, probably continuing over his torso.]

Felix: I was trained by Mars Adepts—dragon sons and daughters. They were harsh and often cruel taskmasters.

Felix: I am not a Mars Adept—their style is not my way. Venus Adepts are best at defense and hard hits, not taking the initiative. It took a lot of hard hits from much stronger warriors before we all realized and came to accept that fact.

Felix: That was not the end, however.

[He puts the cape back on.]

Felix: One of my former sparring partners—and one of the two last Warriors of the clan—attempted, with the other remaining Warrior, to kill me atop the perilous heights of Jupiter Lighthouse.

Felix: I was not strong enough to withstand her. If someone else hadn’t intervened, I would have been killed then and there. Her preparation to do so was the last thing I remembered before my strength left me entirely due to the injuries.

Felix: -Pulls his gloves on- I was quite unhappy when the hands of fate—or rather, that which claims to be so—pulled a nasty trick at Mars Lighthouse, and I was forced into a darkness that has ever stained my hands and haunted my dreams. She was but one of the five casualties in that place—all of them tricked onto us, and carried out under my command.

Des: (Jeez, this all sounds like some kinda...storybook or something...)

Des: (With not a very happy fairytale context...)

Felix: But even that would not prove to be the end.

Felix: When we finally came home—somewhere I had not been in years, in nearly five years—

Felix: My former best friend—who by the way, had spent the better part of the last two years quite literally chasing me across the world to the ends of the earth in the effort to slay me—

Felix: —went and told someone that I had been involved in restoring the elemental energy of our world to the natural balance.

Felix: This was forbidden in our home land, and punishable by death.

Des: . . .

Felix: -Shakes his head- I was chased out, and haven’t been home since. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my family again, not in this life.

Felix: Since then, I have wandered the worlds. That is how I came to meet the Rebel Angels, and later the Mighty Numbers.

Felix: I fought Countershade myself, once, before all of this.

Des: You what--

Des: --.... (He isn't human but still, against Eight--?)

Felix: It was a test of endurance, and I lost. We were both holding back, of course—I wouldn’t use my true power on them, not without good reason.

((pic))

Felix: Venus is the element of man… the element of the earth, yes, of plants and the ground, of living things…

((pic))

Felix: …But also of death, of poisons and necromancy, the Judgement of the world…

Felix: While it can be intoxicating, that kind of power is not a toy, and not to be used in play. No—I’d only use that in great need.

Felix: I did lose, but it was a close judges’ call—as I had managed to wear him to exhaustion as well.

Des: . . .

Des: (I...)

Des: ....

Des: (I think I have severely misjudged the scope of all this... Again...)

Des: And you...come here, often...?

Felix: What, to California?

Des: Yes...

Felix: No… I’ve only been over here for birthday celebrations. Everything else was at the Meadow.

Des: --I heard one of the Robot Masters say that before...

Des: The Meadow.

Des: I don't suppose that is code for anything...

Felix: No, not really. It is a literal meadow. Nice place, really. There is a VR set up there, as well as a lab/recreational center.

Felix: I live further out in the undefined parts of reality, in the Wilderness. That’s where Eight and I fought.

Felix: It is a very nice place, and I imagine you’ll be seeing it once the time is right.

Des: --Me?

Felix: Though with time being what it is, you might “already” have done so, and the memories will catch up to you.

Des: --.....

Des: Are you saying I might have already--BEEN there?

Felix: There’s a good chance of that, yes.

Des: I...

Des: Good Lord...

Felix: I understand this can be overwhelming, sir, particularly given your responsibilities. But now that you know, you are only more likely to learn more, to better understand the situation and learn who is friend and who is foe.

Felix: There are more parties in play besides the Rebel Angels and the Cossack Numbers, their sister, and their father.

Des: (....More...?)

Des: (...He can't mean Blackwell, can he?)

Des: ...Like...What?

Felix: For starters, mirror realities. There is a “what-if” come true that has become very close with your own. Tell me…

Felix: Do you remember the publicity campaign for when Mighty Number Eight was first being revealed?

Des: (...That was out of left field...)

Des: ....

Des: There were a few adverts for the overall cowboy design...

Des: (But they looked...)

((pic))

Des: (...Different than what Eight does now...)

Des: ...What does that have anything to d--

Des: Do...

Des: With....

Felix: -Gets a somewhat amused expression-

Des: . . .

Des: (The Highway--!)

Des: There...

Des: (So that image we got from the tunnel cameras in the highway--)

Des: (If what he's saying is right--)

Des: There's TWO Eights?

Felix: Mighty Nine Number Eight and Fighting Mighties Number Eight. The Teal Silence and the Teal Widow.

Felix: The latter is the lady of silence, the siren sniper.

Felix: …Though she does have quite a fondness for dairy.

Des: (...Dairy?)

Des: >> (This makes me wonder how much the CAL knows about this...)

Des: (The whole two of the same person deal...)

Des: ...Are there more?

Des: -Doubles, that is.-

Felix: Well, that whole family, yes.

Des: ....

[Des takes a moment to re-think it all over his head, crossing his arms and placing one hand on his face.]

Des: (Min, I REALLY wish you were right here right now--)

Felix: There’s more to it than that, though. The Fighting Mighty Numbers are benign forces. True, Kate got sick, but, well… if you know about her, you would have to had seen her. And if you saw her, then you saw him, too.

Felix: Yes, Jack helped rescue her. They’re both safe.

Felix: However.

Felix: It’s unlikely that he’ll be released to you any time soon, because they’ve been worried. They know that the rest of his team… “disappeared.” They don’t want any unsavory sources knowing his whereabouts or status.

Des: . . .

Des: (So that's what happened to Dencerjack.)

Des: (Mmm. No wonder we couldn't find him, he practically dropped off the face of this Earth.)

Felix: Including DWN-022.

Des: --Another DWN?

Des: (...22? Just how many are there--?)

Felix: Yes. Not all DWNs are tended to by Mikhail Cossack.

Felix: Most of them are dead. You know why already.

Des: ....

Felix: But there are some… DWN-022 specifically was rebuilt, but—Dr. Wily? He’s still active, Master Desmond.

Felix: As is Viper. He was scouting about where Jack was.

Des: !

Des: (But--)

Des: (All the way back in England?)

Felix: He’s after Cardinal, you know. And now that Cardinal has a close friend… going after them jointly is the way to cause the most pain.

Des: MN.8...

Des: (...Definitely need to bring this up with Min, this Viper character sounds...)

Des: (...He gives me VERY bad vibes for some reason--)

Felix: Exactly. This isn’t over yet. Cardinal has been a target for a while, ever since he pulled one over on Wily… twice.

Des: -Raises eyebrow- (Twice...)

Felix: Wily has never been one to share a spotlight, though. He’ll wait until this is over before he strikes. How long? I don’t know.

Felix: Cardinal will want to keep everyone out of it, but… the chances of that succeeding are… small.

[He sighs, putting a hand to his face.]

Felix: At least the Doctor and his daughter will be safe. They have powerful forces looking after them. But the Rebel Angels? Not so much.

Felix: But one crisis at a time, shall we? No use worrying over something beyond our scope that we know will not happen until this is over.

Des: ....

Des: -Right...-

[((Transition scene here, or not—as need be.))]

[Felix stood.]

Felix: Well then. I need to go speak with Dr. White, now that he’s back. There’s something important I need to ask him, anyway. May I leave?

Des: Er, yes, yes, of course--Thank you for your time...

Felix: Certainly.

[He took his leave.]

Des: ....

Des: -Phone, Phone, where's--

[CALLING: MINNIE MOUSE.]

Des: -Come on, Min, pick up--

[Click.]

“Hello, Ducky. Something up?”

Des: Something like that--

Des: >> I may have some news you might not like.

Des: ...Someone else might be looking for Dencerjack.

Des: Another DWN not in Dr. Cossack's care.

Minerva: …The snake?

Des: Bingo-- (...At this point I'm not surprised she knows by now--)

Des: Also learned that Jack's...well, flown the coup, so to speak.

Minerva: Oh? You know where he is?

Des: More or less.

Des: He's safe, and, well.

Des: ...You know those images we got from Highway Alpha?

Des: From the tunnel cameras?

Minerva: The ones we couldn’t decipher?

Des: I'm pretty sure by now someone in Tech managed to clean up those images.

Minerva: Well, I had the one intern—remember the report that the Pentagon submitted regarding Five’s rescue?

Minerva: About the lower level worker who worked with them, even when his superiors had hung up on the Whites?

Minerva: I set him on duty to tend to tech information that may pertain to the cases, for now…

Des: You might want to take a look at those...

Des: ...As well as launch some sort of investigation into CAL.

Minerva: I assume he is writing up a report, but—what’s this about investigating CAL?

Des: >> I think they know a little more than they're letting on.

Minerva: …

Minerva: -Dryly- They’re assassins and half of them are spies of some degree. Of course they know more than they say.

Des: -Exactly--

Des: >> Felix was kind enough to let me in on this, but...

Minerva: ? -Listening-

Des: ...Mngh, at this point, I feel... ugh.

Des: I feel useless here.

Des: The situation is in good hands, I know that--

Des: But I'm not exactly the one making the decisions here, and I think it's starting to get to me...

Minerva: -Soft sigh, but still listening-

Des: >> Haven't been in the field in a long time.

Des: ...Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky or something.

[She chuckles at that.]

Minerva: Oh, Donald. I understand the sentiment. It’s just part of being in these offices, when you lead such a large amount of people.

Des: ...How are things in your end?

Minerva: I’ve learned some very interesting things. And to that end…

Minerva: I’m going to come over.

[A beat.]

Minerva: As in, join you on the East Coast.

Des: --Wha--

Des: Min--the city is practically still Ground Zero--

Minerva: Mr. Desmond.

Minerva: I can’t go back to my House, that’s been utterly trashed, and needs to be checked for nuclear radiation.

Minerva: I certainly can’t go back to my home; that’s not secure, and doesn’t have proper resources.

Des: --...

Minerva: Right now, all of our leads are generated over there—whereas on Capitol Hill?

Minerva: The only thing being generated is more paperwork as it becomes more apparent that we will need a serious look into internal affairs.

Minerva: I don’t like how little DoHS has done to help matters. I don’t think your counterpart is involved, but “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, as the saying goes.

Minerva: Quite frankly, I need an office somewhere that is both technologically secure and has communication and computation resources. As of right now, that lab is the only place that I, personally, feel sure of—and I went through quite a long list of other safehouses before making that decision.

Minerva: The city itself may be dangerous, but let’s be real here—almost all major cities have been badly hit.

Des: ...Good point...

Minerva: Besides… what I’ve learned has completely convinced me that there is no way someone could steal information or otherwise effectively spy on the place.

Minerva: And that same thing also makes it very necessary for me to speak to Dr. White in person.

Des: -- Dr. White?

Minerva: Yes. Dr. William White.

Des: ....

Des: (That's...I thought our focus was on Dr. Cossack, why would Min want to suddenly talk to him?)

Des: (And directly, at that; if she just wanted him to be questioned, then she'd let me do it--)

Des: ....

Minerva: I believe I learned something about what happened during Battalion’s rescue, and I need to confirm the sequence of events with him.

Minerva: And also discuss his days as a fencing champion.

Des: ...Now you've lost me.

Des: What does THAT have to do with anything--?

Des: --The fencing, I mean--

Minerva: Oh, you’ll find out, Donald.

[Well that was ominous.]

Des: ....

Des: -Sighs- Alright...

Minerva: As for Dr. Cossack—

Minerva: He seems to be more forthcoming when speaking while he isn’t being recorded, anyway; and you’ve had to play bad cop, which has yielded minimal results. It sounds like you’ve learned more from Felix than Cossack himself, which is telling.

Minerva: Perhaps if I play good cop, we’ll learn something enlightening—

[SPLOOOSH--]

"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY--"

Des: What the--

Des: -Hey wait a min--

[...There's...the sound of a lot of water over the phone--]

[Min had hung up, but—]

[The action had certainly not ended.]

[Having burst the door open with a jetstream of water, Cryo proceeded to rush over and spray Dr. Cossack in the face.]

Des: -Is now SOAKING wet--

Cryo: I said--

Cryo: WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY, UNCLE COSSACK--

[Mikhail was scrunching his eyes, swatting at his hair to try and get some of the water out. He, too, was soaking wet.]

Mikhail: -VERY much awake now- {What—}

[He was talking in Russian, presumably from being tired.]

Mikhail: {Cryosphere, why are you screaming about breakfast—}

[Cryosphere responded in English, though.]

[MN.2] //: -CUZ I'M HUNGRY AND EVERYONE IS KINDA GOING BONKERS RIGHT NOW-

Des: --???

Mikhail: {What?!}

[It only takes him one look at the status screens to make his decision. He looks alarmed.]

Mikhail: {Emergency shutdown! Authorization MC005!}

[There’s a flurry of status messages showing all the Robot Masters going Offline.]

[…Well.]

>ERROR: DLN-000 CANNOT BE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT DAMAGE TO SYSTEM.

>Internal Database ALERT: 06.30.20XX MEMORY DATA HAS GENERATED NEW PRIMAL ANALYSIS NEXUS: DATA CANNOT BE ISOLATED UNTIL UPDATE IS COMPLETED. ALL SHUT DOWN PROCEDURES MUST BE PERFORMED MANUALLY BY AN ADMIN.

<DLN-000 is still in Maintenance Mode.>

[…Almost all of them.]

Des: -What is--

Des: -It's just one thing after another, isn't it--

Mikhail: -Mumbles- {Now what is—}

[He stood, but quickly found he couldn’t move over toward the console. He wasn’t even able to reach it.]

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Tired- Mr. Desmond, I appreciate this less painful means of restraint, but— a harness, really?

Des: Don't look at me. <<

[Mikhail has already turned to look at the cord binding him to the floor. He had to squint rather hard, though.]

Mikhail: (Vines. Of course.) …So I can see, now. Apologies.

Mikhail: -Puts both hands to his face- I believe we need to obtain a status update at this point.

Mikhail: What’s your call? I’m not the one in charge in this range.

Des: -Turns- Cryosphere, where is your Father--

Cryo: -Back over there, you guys might wanna take a look, things are going cray cray--

[PING!]

[DR.WHITE] //: -Mikhail--

[DR.WHITE] //: -Mikhail if you can see this, Nico just went to the Prison after Soi and Call--

Mikhail: …!

Mikhail: He—

Mikhail: {Mother Mary help us, no wonder…}

Mikhail: Will. Will, we’ll be right over—

Mikhail: Hold on, we’ll come down to the lobby.

Mikhail: -Please-

Des: ....

Des: -Mngh-

Des: Alright, fine--

Des: -But I'm sticking close to you every step of the way--

Mikhail: I’d appreciate that, sir—

Mikhail: It seems the water has washed away my glasses, so I can’t see very well at the moment.

Cryo: -...Whoops-

Cryo: -UH, YOU GO SEE WHAT'S UP, ILL FIND THEM--

Mikhail: Alright, Cryo. Thank you.

Mikhail: Alright, Mr. Desmond, it’s your lead— though I’d appreciate it not being so obvious if you really do intend to use the cord as a lead.

Mikhail: You’ll also have to cut this free somehow, first.

Des: -I got this--

[...Oh, well, that's definitely a Military grade Swiss Army Knife.]

[Mikhail couldn’t see, but he could definitely hear, and he seemed a bit nervous at the sound. He took a slight step back, out of instinct.]

Des: -JUST going to cut this-

[Des moves to cut Mikhail free as quickly as possible--he seems practiced with it.]

Des: -Okay--

Des: That should do it.

[Probably the fact he couldn’t see very well helped in Mikhail not reacting much to it. And he did seem grateful at Desmond being right next to him—gave him a point of reference in moving around.]

[It wasn’t too long before they made their way down to the lobby. Felix and Will were both there.

Felix looked a little surprised to see them in their current state.]

Felix: You’re both soaking wet.

Des: =~= -Don't ask-

Will: Mikhail--

Will: -Oh thank goodness, sorry about the rude awakening--

Felix: Your glasses are missing.

Mikhail: Not important right now.

Mikhail: Where is Alnico? Is… is he really at the prison?

Will: He's--

Will: Yes, we--we couldn't stop him--

Will: -Oh Soi, please be alright--

[Mikhail groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.]

Mikhail: So he found out about her at last, did he? (What a mess…)

Mikhail: Well, he’s Offline, now. Someone will have to go and get him, before he gets further injured.

Mikhail: I’ll—

Felix: No.

Des: ...

Felix: No you won’t, Doctor.

Will:

-Mikhail, please...-

Will: You still need rest--Soi is in there, let--

Des: Not you either, Doctor.

Will: ......

Will: (Soi...)

Felix: For one thing, I don’t recall Master Desmond releasing you, Mikhail.

Mikhail: —…

Des: Right.

Felix: And for another… now that you’re awake, if you insist on being awake and not taking more rest…

Felix: It should be to tend to some patients. Jaden sustained significant heat damage, and Carlos was injured by a fracture in time.

Felix: Now either go rest or go heal and THEN rest, because you aren’t leaving the building.

Des: As for you, Dr. White.

Will: --?

Des: You have an appointment.

Des: POTUS is coming here.

Will: -Wha--

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: What…?

Des: Gentlemen.

Des: Our White House is down.

Des: And all our info is coming from here, in Titus.

Des: Seeing as Sanda Labs is not only fortified, as well as having the technological equipment needed to function as a HQ...

Des: There is no where else President Morandi can go.

Mikhail: …I… suppose that makes sense, but—

Mikhail: What do you mean by “appointment"?

Des: >>

Des: ....

Des: I'm not so sure myself.

Des: But it has something to do with No. 5 and...

Des: ... your championship fencing days, Doctor.

Mikhail: ???

Mikhail: ({What does Bat have to do with fencing, I don’t get it—}) -Clearly confused-

Will: (Championship fenc--)

Will: --....

Will: -Pales-

Will: (Oh my God, no--NO--)

Will: (Sh-She can't have--!)

Mikhail: …Will?

Will: (Oooooodearlordno--)

Will: (No, this--can't be happening, not NOW--)

Will: ...... -Swallows-

Will: I...I see.

Des: (...Well THAT was CERTAINLY a reaction if I ever saw one.)

Mikhail: Will?

[He’s squinting pretty hard, because he can’t see at the moment.]

Will: (I didn't think...)

Will: (I thought...)

Will: I...

Will: -I need to sit down a f-for a bit...-

Des: (A VERY strong reaction.)

Will: (G-Greg--I can handle Greg--)

Will: (B-But her--s-she can do s-so much WORSE--)

Mikhail: Will, are you alright?

Will: (Oh, Mikhail, I'm so sorry--!)

Des: Doctor.

Will: --...

Des: She'll be coming over as soon as she can get a bird in the air.

Des: ...She'll also want a word with DLN-000 once he's recovered.

[Mikhail looks… VERY tired all of a sudden.]

Mikhail: Fully recovered? That could take up to a year.

Felix: —?!

Felix: A year?

Des: .....

Will: (Cardinal...)

Mikhail: …But— regarding Nico and Soi—

Felix: Appointment or not, Will was just in the midst of a very stressful fight, so no, he needs rest, too.

Felix: Master Desmond, may I go over to help them?

Felix: If your superior is coming here, you’ll be needed for a briefing, and you have people to look after. It seems that the staff there cannot help—and Nico is assuredly injured. I’m sure you remember from the Finals and the White House that Robot Masters do not bleed Xel, and if someone else were to notice this from Nico…

Will: ....

Des: ...You raise a good point.

Des: ...And I've... experienced what you can do...

Felix: Not all of it.

Felix: I can also escape fairly well. As soon as I find them, I will be able to leave from that spot, and then teleport here.

Des: -... Impressed.-

Des: ...Although... You're not a Xelbot either...

Will: We have false...transponders...

Felix: That should work, if it is acceptable. Although—would the readings be able to tell I’m organic?

Mikhail: You give off a lot of energy radiation. It… obscures that fact a bit.

Felix: -Raises an eyebrow- I was not aware you’d already measured that.

Mikhail: I didn’t have to measure, it’s actually observable.

Des: (...As in, entirely visible...?)

Des: .....

Des: ... Alright.

Des: You're cleared for entry to the Prison, Felix.

Des: I suggest that someone else prepare a room for POTUS once she arrives.

Will: (Erk--)

[Mikhail seemed to realize something.]

Mikhail: Oh—

Mikhail: Is she bringing Scout with her?

Will: --Scout--

Des: ...Right, the... -Ahem-

Des: I imagine so.

Des: >> I should have known he belongs to you all, really.

Mikhail: Oh? And why’s that?

[Felix had already made his way off. Man, can he move quietly when he wants to.]

Des: Well, he was with 000 during the White House raid...

Des: And he seemed to know Eight as well, in particular.

Des: >> ...That, and we learned that he isn't even...

Des: -We can't tell if he's some sort of dog or raccoon or both-

[Mikhail laughs at this.]

Mikhail: Well, I could tell you more later.

[He shakes his head, putting a hand to his face.]

Mikhail: I… can’t see right now, so I won’t be able to help with repairs. Unless you have instructions for me, Mr. Desmond… no matter where I end up, I’ll probably fall asleep again, so I might as well rest.

Will: -...what DID happen to your glasses--

Des: -Your daughter-

Will: --...Oh-

Will: -Can't help but grin- I'm sure she just got a bit excited.

Des: -Excited is underselling it- =~=

Mikhail: That sounds like her.

[He wrings his lab coat a bit.]

Mikhail: I do have my devices waterproofed, but I’m nevertheless thankful that they didn’t get drenched.

Mikhail: Alright then… might as well tell Pyro and Seven, I imagine they’ll make the best of the preparations.

[He seems… very tired again. Or rather… weary.

Almost defeated, in a sense.]

Mikhail: ({…Not much has changed…})

Mikhail: ({Still so much… to [color=black]answer[/color] for.})

Will: (...Mikhail...)

Will: (Mngh...I'm running out of time...)

Will: (...What...)

Will: (What am I going to do--?)

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

[A different story for every day of the month, perhaps—but never the chilling truth of what REALLY happened…

Such thing were best left upon the fringes of nightmares, right…?]

((Aaaaaaaaa thank youuu~~ <333 ))

-Amputation- 

Small request for @mowseries |  @sirensniper of the AU version of Countershade <:

I can never turn down MN9 related stuff, honestly. I love a lot of the designs way too much haha. Not super gory on this one given the robot in question is essentially made of nanomachines but aaayyyy!

---

Goose: dON’T TALK TOO LOUD OR THEY’LL HEAR YOU—

AVAIL— Don’t you think your actions are reckless?

[ KING ] - “Hmm…”If Avail was REALLY honest with himself…Well, yes. He COULD be reckless at times, and..Sometimes his sister Hense didn’t like that. At all. But, in a way, he couldn’t help it–There was just so much to see and do, and it was literally in his programming to adventure for the sake of Firixia–the game, that is.Hense had that too, just…not to the very same degree–more sensible about it.“I guess. But, hey, I’m no pushover! I can always find myself out of a jam if I have to, heh.” …Still, Hense had a point–He should be more careful–If not for his own kingdom, then for her.“I’ll just have to practice being more, uh…aware of what I’m doing, if anything!”

---

CHAPTER 10C: SNEAK INTO THE PRISON

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

{Meanwhile…}

[Felix looked up from the console as shouting intensified.

He had been focusing on analyzing his own notes on the whole matter, but now…]

<DWN-019>: > GRAH! Why won’t you LISTEN to me!?

<DWN-013>: >No offense, bro, but if that’s all—

<DWN-019>: > IT’S NOT, YOU TWITS!

<DWN-019>: >There are some temporal anomalies and you’re all getting caught up in it! It’s not just you, it’s Mikhail as well—and do I need to remind you, YOU SPECIFICALLY, TWELVE, of how dangerous that could be to YOU, personally?

<DWN-012>: > -Mnnrrgh…!-

<DWN-019>: > Where is Mikhail?!

Felix: -Narrows his eyes a little- -Out loud even though Siam can’t hear- He’s resting— you shouldn’t even be calling, there’s a reason he told me to keep it quiet…

<DWN-019>: >I need Cardinal over here to properly oversee the updates, and I need his help with—

<DWN-013>: > Ugh—

<DWN-013>: >I’m SORRY, Gem, but— -BLAM!- 000 is still processing everything, we can’t move him yet, and it seems there are other problems—

<DWN-019>: >HOW can this possibly get worse?

<DWN-013>: > -Irritable- I think Mikhail is under arrest, Gemini!

Des: --....

Des: (Damn it...)

Des: (Ugh, with the way the Doctor and the Mighties reacted to that, I don't even want to think about how THEY will...)

<DWN-019>: > …

[The feeds were slammed with acerbic data.]

<DWN-019>: >  -PANIC DATA-

<DWN-019>: >   -PANIC PANIC PANIC-

<DWN-011>: > …

<DWN-011>: > …Joking, right?

<DWN-011>: > Right?

<DWN-012>: > He was IN handcuffs, brother—

<DWN-019>: > Nnnnnnnn-nnn-nnn-noo—

<DWN-019>: > Stars above I don’t think I can do this—

<DWN-018>: >Look, I doubt that if—

<DWN-019>: >IT DOESN’T MATTER! NOT WHAT YOU THINK!

<DWN-019>: > I DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO KEEP THAT DATA FROM REACHING THE COSSACK NUMBERS!

Felix: ?!

Des: --...

Des: (Son of a...)

Des: (This is exactly what the Doctor said before...)

<DWN-018>: > Are you serious.

<DWN-019>: >I’m not the Admin, Nico! I don’t have that kind of power!

<DWN-018>: > That’s it. As head of the family, I’m intervening. Dealing with our dysfunctions is plenty; I am not going to put up with fighting the Russians.

<DWN-018>: >Siam, there’s got to be SOMETHING you can do—

<DWN-019>: > Well I’ll TRY to stall—I think I can by changing the data Snow gets— but hurry up as much as you can, I need the rest of the family back as soon as possible!

[MN.6] //: Roger Dodger–

<DWN-018>: >Fine, do it. Gem, get that guy on the line. We’ve got to talk this out before it gets out of hand. And as for you two…

<DWN-018>: >Speedy, Jaden, you guys were BUILT for Combat, can’t you work ANY faster?!

<DWN-013>: > Grrr…

<DWN-013 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

[MN.1] //: –!!

[Jaden began to glow white.]

Felix: -Stands, raising an eyebrow- ?

Des: What in the--?

Des: (What is this bright LIGHT? It's almost like...Nine's...?)

Felix: !

((pic))

Jaden: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

[MN.1] //: ??!?

[Jaden had changed. The was larger now, and bulkier—and based on the energy ratings from him, he was packing some SERIOUS heat.]

Felix: Well this is new—

Des: (These Robot Masters can change forms too?)

[Hatches popped open.

YEP. Those were some sort of missiles inside.]

Jaden: WE’RE TAKING A DETOUR!

Felix: Goodness. I wasn’t aware they had this capacity.

Des: (...For some reason, that doesn't comfort me in the slightest.)

Des: (Do they ALL have this level of form shifting...?)

[He wasn’t given much time to think on it. A notification opened up a third window in the screen.]

[INCOMING CALL]

Felix: …

Felix: I… I’m not sure how to answer that, but I think we really should.

Des: (....)

[After a brief glance at Felix, Des himself walks over to the terminal and presses a single button, accepting the call.]

Des: (I got a good guess who this is...)

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