TURN ORDER @Owens @Nick Shields @pro gramer move @Nanaimobars @scenegraph

Dr. Hikari wandered the unfamiliar facility, PET in hand, typing as he went. The rescue team would be present any second, and he was ready for their arrival. There. In front of him, a group of four stood, determined as could be. Though none were familiar to him, there was no one else who would be in a building like this. Was this everyone who decided to show up? Well, it didn't really matter. The fewer people who made it to Regal, the better. "Hello, everyone." Yuichiro's voice echoed through the building as he made his presence known. "Here to rescue your friend, are you? How cute." His voice was cold, showing very little concern for the topic at hand. He stared at his PET as he spoke. "Follow me. I have something to show you all." @Nick Shields

Nick took a moment to look at Dr. Hikari and tried to refrain from grimacing. "I'd say 'hand over the kid and nobody gets hurt,' but I have the feeling that's the least likely result." Seeing someone familiar from another dimension with a nefarious personality started to bring up some bad memories, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Phantom chimed in from Nick's earpiece. "I can't really detect anything up ahead, but that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous." Nick turns his head towards the group. "What do you guys think?" @pro gramer move (edited)

Pat should not be here right now. ...A little too late to have that thought. Dr. Hikari's figure is unfamiliar to him, even if he'd heard of this man before. Finally able to put a face to those callous words from the chatroom. The boy's hand rested on his bag, a earpiece cord creeping up from it to his ear on the off chance Gemini had any "helpful" advice for him. He didn't. His Wizard had been vehemently against "playing the hero" and now Pat was paying the price. He's been quiet, looking around at the others now too. He was the youngest one here right now, and as much as he wanted to make it clear that he could help despite that, his nerves said otherwise. Luckily those nerves could be hidden- he was accustomed to that. His expression was tense but otherwise hard to read. "...If it's a trap, I feel like... we're already in it. Do we even have a choice?" @Nanaimobars

Mel squinted after the doctor. It was an obvious trap, but what else was there really? She was unfamiliar with everyone around her but Pat- the only person she knew she could trust in the group. She caught eyes with him as he glanced around. He was nervous, she brought a hand down on his shoulder maybe a bit too roughly- but it was more than one would expect from her at all. "Doesn't matter. 'Scientists' like these usually have the same tricks up their sleeves. It'll either be goons or robots, neither of which are that hard to deal with." "The man himself though-" He looked just like the Dr. Hikari where she was from, she didn't know him well, but she did know that he was a weak-ass nerd that she could take. "He's nothing. I can go first if you want, I'm not afraid of getting like- I dunno, electrocuted or whatever." @scenegraph (edited)

“First a Beyondard Netto, and now a Beyondard Hikari-hakase,” Meiru realized immediately after Yuichiro made his appearance. “Gosh, that’s so weird…” It was hard for Meiru to tell if she was the oldest or the most experienced of the bunch. Nick towered over everyone else in the group on top of seeming to have taken charge, and Mel certainly seemed to have the swagger down. But a facility like this was nearly always hiding traps in Meiru’s world, and Yuichiro’s demeanor did absolutely nothing to convince her otherwise. More importantly, Pat was similar in age to Meiru’s own junior Net Saviors, and she wasn’t about to run off and let something happen to him without seeing his Navi—or Wizard, if that was the case—in action first. Or seeing what Yuichiro had on hand to neutralize opponents sending Navis into his devices. “I can’t sense anything, either, Meiru-chan,” Roll reported. “Okay.” Meiru glanced down surreptitiously to see her Navi continuing to feel out using her antennae; she had little doubt that when there was any change, a spike in energy or an out-of-place data type, she would be hearing about it. In the meantime, there was nothing she could see to use against Yuichiro in the corridor, and no telling what he might pull out of his coat if they refused. To the rest of the group, she said, “Let’s stay close until we’ve got a better sense of this place.” In an undertone, she added, “And then we can shove this guy in a locker.” @Owens

"Good. You're making this easy on me. Come along." Yuichiro turned and began leading the group down the corridor from which he came, never looking away from his PET. Preparations were almost complete, he just needed to buy a few more seconds.

Initializing...

"Well, I suppose you're all familiar with me already. Unfortunate. I was enjoying anonymity. But since you know who I am, I might as well tell you a bit about where I come from." They turned a corner, approaching a wide, empty space. Once they reached the center, Yuichiro stopped and turned to face the crowd once more.

Loading NebulaGray.EXE...

"You see, we have a little thing in my world. A type of network that unites all of humanity via their very souls... a thing called Soulnet."

Loading complete. Soulnet status: ACTIVE

Pocketing his PET, Yuichiro pulled a small, black box out of his other pocket -- a microserver. It whirred to life upon activation, sending out its signal. Though limited in range, only reaching about half the building, it would serve more than well enough for his purposes. Under the effects of Soulnet, rescuing their friend would be the last thing on this group's mind. "Have fun." @Nick Shields

"Wait, what?" Nick before react, a massive wave of anxiety suddenly hit him along with nausea creeping in as well. Everything and everyone looked more... dangerous. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Phantom, can you see this?" Phantom tried talking but the only audio that came out was a light static. And for a moment, he heard heard her chucking. @pro gramer move

Pat should not be here right now. That ill-timed thought flashed again for just the briefest of moments. Then it was promptly buried by something indescribable. No, no, not indescribable... it was something he knew. And that was so much worse. The boy's vision had almost immediately lost focus, falling off of looking at anyone in particular. Processing, still doubting these thoughts were real. He hadn't felt quite like this since he'd ~~battled~~ betrayed Mega Man, after all. In that moment, it didn't matter how much he'd tried to move on, it hit him like a ton of bricks. How painfully outcast from the world, any world, he still was. How they still hadn't found it. Closure. Was that Rey, or...? He didn't know. He hated not knowing. This wasn't right. There was something buzzing at him. It was already difficult for him to tell it was coming from his device, though he was able to feel it against his hand. He grabbed it out. Though he couldn't tell, Gemini had become... very excited. @Nanaimobars

There were no goons or robots. Mel didn't recognize the name Soulnet-did she? She didn't go on the same grand adventures as everyone else, she did her best to stay home and be a ‘normal girl’, if normal girls stalked alleyways at night for mooks to beat or dumpsters to set alight. She would be home right now instead of here if it weren't for that girl- and how she felt partially responsible for this. Things always went wrong when she tried to do good for a change. So just don’t. Something snapped, a crushing weight fell over the room- or was it just her? Her knees buckled and she barely caught her balance. The weight lifted as quickly as it came and for a moment she felt freer than she ever did trying to fix herself. This was the real Mellicent, and has been all along: Warped Who needed saving? This kind of thing molded who she was. Triese be damned, she’ll become stronger for it. Maybe even thank them for it too. The chronic stress of 7 years she had been trying to repress came forth in a wave. It was hurt. It was angry. That freeing feeling was quickly replaced with nothing but red. Saliva began pooling under her tongue she had to start swallowing excessively to control the sudden resurgence of her hypersalivation. It was getting harder to breathe- between the extra spit and the hate. The swallowing turned into laboured breathing which turned to growling like an animal. A dog. ‘Still snarling like a dog I see’ Words from her last encounter with ████████ flooded into her mind, sinking in and stinging like thorns. ‘You think I don’t know what you’ve done?’ ‘You even beg like a dog when it suits you, don’t you?’ That’s right, that’s all she was ever good for- Following orders and biting the hands that fed her. ‘Do you understand? Maybe you’ve finally learned something after all.’

1:10 PM

It hurt. It hurt too much. It wasn’t something she was trained to keep in anymore. In the objective silence she let out a deafening scream ~~howl~~ before dropping to her knees and slamming her face into the floor. Slam! Slam! That didn’t make it stop. It wasn’t going to stop. It was too hard to fight. There were a few small drops of blood on the ground from her face, which were soon spread by Mel beginning to rub her face over the floor like a pained dog who has done something wrong. Still huffing, growling and salivating. “Ah! Mel!” Dragonman called out worriedely from her pocket. Something was buzzing loudly nearby and he felt like it was reverberating right through his core…all of the negativity in the room was causing his mind to fog up. It was hard for him to tell what was happening anymore other than the absolute rancid vibes that were somehow…not so bad maybe… Maybe they were even…Good. ‘Still as ungrateful as ever I see.’ Mel snapped back to reality briefly as the words formed again. The blood pouring from her forehead paid for her outburst for now. When she was done she glared up through her sweaty bangs at the man who caused all of this. He was his friend, his partner once. That was good enough. He’d do. @scenegraph

Roll should have talked Meiru out of it. Sure, they were powerful in their own world. But that was when they were surrounded by allies. What had they expected going in alone? And how had Roll assumed everything would turn out fine? They’d received so little information going in about both the situation and the capabilities of the people they were up against. They’d had no plan. It was nothing like how things were done in her world, and Roll could now see that was due to incompetence rather than the strength of the group. She had completely failed in her duty to keep her Operator safe. In the PET, she sank to her knees, immobilized with regret. — Why had she come here? She couldn’t remember. Everything was happening too much for her to process it, but the emotion slamming most prevalently into Meiru was shame. It had bothered her how unorganized their leader had seemed, how he’d never seemed to gain that sort of confident mask her Netto always donned in these high-pressure situations, but she’d stupidly decided not to worry about it. She had thought she could be like her version of him and find the way regardless. She’d thought she could be like Enzan and come up with a strategy on the fly that would keep everyone as safe as possible. But instead they’d been easily divided, even more easily led to this room like sheep, and she was just standing there. She couldn’t think. Her head hurt so much. Enzan or Netto would’ve been able to handle it, but she was nothing like them. She’d been so full of herself that she hadn’t even told them where she was going, and now that hubris was her undoing. After all these years, she was still the same stupid girl she’d always been. So useless. She had known she didn’t have Rush with her to fend off any sort of physical weapon, and she had gone running headlong into the situation anyway. Useless.

1:23 PM

Roll hadn’t even noticed the microserver in the false Hikari-hakase’s pocket, but that wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t programmed for these kinds of things, but Meiru had dragged her into it because she’d wanted to be some kind of hero. Because she was special by dint of associating with truly special people, when really she was— USELESS. Why had she come here? The last thing she could remember was… that fake Hikari-hakase. They were going to kill that fake Hikari-hakase. He had to be carrying a gun—she vaguely remembered something about going along with him for now so he wouldn’t pull it—the unearthly feeling of substantiated power next to her told her that the kid had needed that caution a whole lot less than she had—that had been a useless gesture, too, coming here had done nothing because she was useless—a stab of pain through her head stopped her thoughts again. Was she laughing or crying? She felt more than heard herself mumble, “At least he can go down with me…” She was dead anyway, standing in enemy territory with her useless, stupid, empty head; so she crept toward the fake Hikari-hakase, senses alert to any sign of him pulling the gun so she could turn her stride into a mad sprint. @Owens (edited)

Good. Everything was working as planned. Yuichiro surveyed the crowd's reactions, taking careful note of their mental states. The anger, the despair, the hopelessness, the liberation, the ability to do whatever you want without holding back. It was behavior that made sense to him, behavior that these same people had judged him for prior to this little stunt. His only regret was that this was temporary for them, a slight reprieve from the shackles of morality. When this was over, they would be right back to claiming moral superiority, but that was okay. The damage was already done. Everyone was acting as expected, a fact that was both good and bad for Dr. Hikari. Good because he would have to put very little effort into distracting them further, but bad because he was now in danger as well. This was also expected, however. He was used to the constant threat on his life, a danger that loomed over him every time he left his office. Of course he came prepared; self-defense was almost second nature by now. He slipped the microserver back into his pocket and left his hand there, resting it on his weapon of choice. It would come out when the time was right, but with the way the pink girl was approaching him, he had a feeling that this was not that time. "Now listen up," Yuichiro said, remaining calm under pressure. He made eye contact with Meiru, but spoke to the entire group. "I know you are all eager to see me dead. A natural response, really, but not a smart one. I pose no threat to you unless you attack first. I can't say the same for your fellow teammates, however. Maybe someone here has a grudge against someone else. Maybe they want to get to me first. Maybe they just need to let out some anger. In any case, wouldn't it be safer to make the first move on someone who's actually a threat?" Dealing with others under the influence of Soulnet was always a gamble, but one that Yuichiro dealt with every day. Prey on their insecurities, add an element of paranoia, and hope that their hatred of him doesn't outweigh their urge to tear each other apart. In such a volatile state, they shouldn't be too difficult to manipulate. And if they do all manage to kill each other, well, less for him to deal with. @Nick Shields

"You're... not fooling anyone... here." Nick struggled to say with his senses still being overwhelmed. He noted the pocket the portable server was being held in. A strong swing from my bat would be enough to crack it. He thought to himself. The quicker that thing gets shut off the better. Phantom was trying to alert Nick that something was manifesting near him, but all that came out of the earpiece was more static. "Why don't we crack open his head instead?" Vyle's voice suddenly chimed in with unusual clarity. "This whole environment feels rather homey to me." Nick's anxiety started to spike further hearing Vyle talking in the room. There's no way she's actually here, I'm hallucinating. He let small cough onto his arm sleeve. Pulling his arm back, he realizes a small amount of black ooze was staining his sleeve. "Oh no..." @pro gramer move (edited)

Too many people talking. Can't concentrate. Can't say that, though. They wouldn't understand it. They wouldn't care. They were all so muffled, anyway... except for the one coming in through his earpiece.

"Oh, you feel it, don't you? You're done playing pretend with these worthless people that don't have your interests in mind? I'll stop you from being incomplete again, it'll be easy. You know what to do."

Gemini didn't know which he was speaking to right now. He didn't care. This would work, he was certain. This cocktail of emotions he felt from his human host, from all around him, were even more powerful than what he'd drawn out himself years ago. What a lucky break. He'd have to learn what this 'Soulnet' was... Pat shouldn't have played a hero. He knew he wasn't one. Right now, he just didn't want to feel anything. It'd make the inevitable easier. Needed to retreat again, back where the only person he had to worry about was himself. Needed to break away from these people so they didn't waste their energy trying to stop him. As he felt himself drifting away from his own body, his voice was a mumble. "....EM Wave Change ... On Air..." A flash of light as Gemini Spark materialized, twins appearing at each other's sides. One with the same hollow expression, the other with a pointed gaze over the group of them. The latter, the black-armored twin, wasn't taking quite as long to process, but this feeling eating at him did give him pause. He didn't know why he felt so full of raw, burning venom for these people all of a sudden. Or did he? "...You're all in the way. That's what's going on here, huh? Huh? Sidetracking us to this stupid building to keep us from where we SHOULD be and what we SHOULD be doing!" he spat, any level of reason quickly dropping away. His right hand, his large golden gauntlet, was already coiling with electricity. "Why don't you come stop me again?! Stop me right now! I DARE you!" @Nanaimobars

There were more voices now- some that Mel wasn’t sure were even there in her state. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but making it stop. Hurting. Hurting needed to happen. Spitting up some extra saliva, she pulled herself up from the floor gritting her teeth in a sneer, still glaring the doctor down while he spoke. She didn’t know any of these people, what they were capable of, or what was even causing this. Was anything causing this? No, this was normal. This anger was always there. The only one she knew was Pat and- A bright flash and suddenly the air crackled with static electricity that caused every muscle in Mel’s body to tense with a sick familiarity. As if the hairs on her arms and back of her neck weren’t already standing on end. She was not familiar with whatever that was standing in Pat’s place. “What’s going on Mel? I can’t see.” Dragonman asked. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to project out there and see the horrors- but the oppressive buzzing was so much worse now. He had to know. “Cross Fusion.” Mel answered erroneously- and annoyed. She fucking hated Cross Fusion.She didn’t know Pat could do this shit too and it was somewhat of a pissoff ontop of all of the crap they were spewing now. “Shut the FUCK. Up. Who do you think is side-tracking the mission by being a flashy idiot HUH?” It was working. Gemini Spark became the most annoying thing in the room for all of her unbridled aggravation to get distracted by. Her eyes fixed on the sparking gauntlet. "Do it. I dare you." @scenegraph (edited)

And there it was—Yuichiro’s hand finding his weapon before some villain speech she honestly couldn’t comprehend over the everything going off in her head. (What was he expecting? She was a stupid girl, after all.) It felt like she’d seen it a thousand times, albeit not with this face looking back at her. Meiru didn’t know any of these other people, not enough for them to matter, but she did know the false Hikari-hakase was wearing the face of… someone whose face it was an insult for him to be wearing. Someone who made it seem as though those councilmen and representatives were right about him all along. When an unfamiliar voice spoke precisely what Meiru was thinking—Why don’t we crack open his head instead?—she readily agreed, “Let’s! He shouldn’t have this face, anyway.” She continued to close in, expecting whoever else wasn’t taken in by the fake Hikari-hakase’s tired old posturing to appear alongside her. What she didn’t expect was a flash of light behind her, a different yet horribly familiar feeling. Slowly, as if cornered by a wild animal, she turned to take in Gemini Spark. She had no idea what Spark Black was talking about, though she knew a substantiated enemy when she saw one. She certainly wasn’t about to stop anyone from ridding them all of Yuichiro; in fact, if he’d seemed inclined to she would’ve cheered him on. But she felt terribly certain from the look in his eyes and the power radiating from him that he wasn’t going to. A wave of pure despair made her shiver. She’d been so useless alive. Was she really even going to be denied a purpose in death? Meiru could stand there and politely wait for Gemini Spark to kill her first, or she could— Impulsively, she whirled back around, sprinting for Yuichiro at a frighteningly fast speed, head down in a tackle. It didn’t matter what happened to her now. She’d been such a useless girl. @Owens

Everything was going as expected. Unfortunately. Yuichiro fell to the ground from the sudden force of the tackle. He was really hoping that he could avoid physical contact entirely, but one out of four was a manageable number. Were there even four of them, still? Between the new entity materializing out of nowhere and the green boy multiplying himself, he was losing track of exactly what was happening. But that was fine. All that mattered was that the rest of them were raring to fight each other. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Yuichiro pushed himself off the ground. Though he wasn't the most physically adept, he wasn't going to let someone best him. Hands slightly shaking from the impact, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Meiru. "I warned you." Though still calm, there was a harsh, threatening undertone to his voice now. Something was bubbling underneath the surface. "But you couldn't listen, could you? Typical." With as much focus as he could muster amidst the chaos, he pulled the trigger. @Nick Shields

As soon as he saw Meiru charge toward Dr. Hikari, Nick swallowed his fear and ran towards him as well. From inside Nick, Vyle chuckled as Meiru tackled Dr. Hikari. "Heh, now there's a gal that's got her priorities straight." Her attention turned to Gemini Spark. "Don't know what those little green men are bickering about, but I get the feeling things are going to get a lot more entertaining." Nick was still coughing up black ooze as he was moving, but was less focused on Vyle and more on the Doctor himself. As soon as he saw him starting to pull his gun out, Nick went from running to going into a mad sprint to reach him before he could fire off the weapon. As Dr. Hikari was pulling the trigger, Nick grabbed the gun and the Doctor's arm with both hands and pulled them away from Meiru. @pro gramer move

Every year, every god forsaken day of their life Rey can remember, his- their - anger has been pointed at a force they didn't even know. A pair of faces they couldn't see, but existed, surely existed, just out of reach. Taunting. No possible retaliation. In this moment, this was not the target he would have wanted. He should not be feeling this way. But something in his chest was burning with that fire, a forced acidic burn, dredging up that directionless rage and pointing it here, now, at this room, at anyone. It's been sitting there so long. "You think you're doing that much better?! What have you been doing, huh?" The dark-armored twin was hard focused on Mel now. His tone was mocking, nothing but spite remaining. A step forward as the electricity drew into his fingertips, now pointing straight at her. "I was right. Every one of you is so FAKE!" He didn't want this to be over immediately. He wanted to prove his point. His other, more 'regular' hand suddenly swung around as he pushed himself forward and leapt at Mel. The white-armored Gemini Spark, meanwhile, was taking every ounce of what he had to not completely collapse. He wanted to no longer be conscious but he knew he couldn't. "....Stop... how do I make it stop..?" He saw everyone fighting, but his feet felt like lead. Fighting. Running. The indecision paralyzed him. Which way was out? @Nanaimobars

Fake. That was rich, this was as real as she’d felt in a long time. He was fake, with this cross fusion crap. Becoming two people? That’s cheating. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” The black one was coming at her fast with his normal fist. Mel had been caught in a dimensional area by accident once or twice- she remembered there not being much regular people could do against the navis or viruses that appeared in them- but sense be damned! She was pumped with vitriol and adrenaline! She held out her arms- ready to catch the blow and likely break her arms in the process- had she not instinctively dropped to the ground at the last second upon hearing the gunshot ring out. @scenegraph

Meiru cringed away from the gun as it fired harmlessly into the air thanks to Nick, then slammed the heel of her palm into Yuichiro’s nose just like Enzan had taught her before reaching to fling the gun out of his hand and away. Damn, that felt satisfying. She was… alive? “You’re so dumb!” she scoffed, even though she was still trying to process what had just happened. “The real Hikari-hakase would have a way better evil plan!” What had he been expecting to do with a gun that small? Sure, he could’ve killed her, but it wasn’t like conventional firearms under a certain size did anything against substantiated enemies (at least in her world). He would’ve been up shit creek against both Gemini Spark and whatever Nick’s ooze was. But never mind that, she was alive. And she’d made sure that the fake Hikari-hakase no longer resembled the real one so much. Her head still hurt too much for her to think much further on it. She was useless, but somehow she’d made it this far. That was right, she was here to kill the fake Hikari-hakase. Meiru looked around frantically. Why wasn’t there anything close by in here? These people always had dangerous things in their bases! It was so frustrating! And she didn’t have much time—Gemini Spark was distracted with the other girl, but she was a human against a substantiated being. Maybe he wanted to play with his food, but he could stop whenever he wanted. It was still inevitable that Meiru would be next on the menu. She had to think of something fast… @Owens

Yuichiro recoiled from the force of the blow. Great, a broken nose was the last thing he needed at this second. It took a few seconds to return to his senses, and even then, the pain was overwhelming. But he wasn't giving up yet. He broke free of Nick's grasp and ran to the corner of the room where his gun fell. He was out of his depth, that much was obvious. While direct confrontation was never his forte, he didn't realize just what this team was capable of. Transformation? Whatever that black ooze was? Even the girl was more physically capable than he expected from someone her size. He didn't stand a chance in this brawl unless he did something extreme. As he retrieved his firearm with one hand, the other was busy interfacing with his PET. Someone was sure to run after him, so he had to act quickly. If they were in his world, he would be able to call for backup or grab some better tools or do something, but none of that was possible in this instance. There was only one thing he could do, and he was just desperate enough to try it. It was clear that, on some level, Soulnet had yet to reach its maximum potential within these souls. Normally, that took time, but time was the one thing he lacked. But as long as these individuals still had some idea of what they were doing and who their true enemy was, he would have no chance. Left with no other options, Yuichiro increased the signal. The system was not designed for this. If left unchecked for too long, it could cause major damage both to the physical server and to the minds of those affected. He would have to risk it, though. Hopefully a 5% increase would be enough -- risky, of course, but not high enough to break anything instantly. But there was one other reason he hesitated to do this, one that he felt immediately upon doing it: he would also feel the effects. He was used to Soulnet at this point and knew how to function under it, but with the increase in strength, he felt the pain all over again. Up until this point, he hadn't realized that it could get any worse. If it was bad for him, he couldn't imagine how it felt for the others. But this was his intention. As long as they suffered and forgot about what was happening in the first place, it would be worth it. @Nick Shields (edited)

With the SoulNet signal further intensifying, Nick begin to feel even sicker than before. He quickly moved himself away from Meiru and threw up a alarmingly large amount of black ooze. "Oooh, I'm feeling great today! I think it's time I lend a hand, or two, or ten." Vyle stated, though this time, her voice came from the ooze on the floor. All the remaining ooze begin to condense into one spot between Nick and Dr. Hikari. It pulled itself up off the ground and shaped itself into a humanoid figure. Upon furthering detailing itself, a pair of yellow and red eyes could be identified along with armor similar to what a NetNavi could wear.

8:04 PM

8:04 PM

Vyle completed rebuilding herself and looked at Nick, who was still reeling from both SoulNet going haywire and vomiting. She turned her attention to Meiru and grinned. She pointed at Dr. Hikari with her thumb in one hand and started stretching her fingers into blades with her other. She then turned her attention to Dr. Hikari. "Hey Doc, you don't look so good. You look like you're about to lose your head."

8:04 PM

@pro gramer move

The gunshot had not managed to stop him in any way, but with Mel dodging suddenly, all Spark Black hit was open air. Not facing him head on. Even more frustrating! He growled under his breath as he lifted a foot up over her, bringing it down on her open back with enough force to pin her there. "No. Running. Don't tell me you were all talk this whole time!" That was all he was able to say before the Soulnet ramped up. The acid burn feeling starting to eat at him, that anger becoming a double-edged sword. He cried out without thinking, pain and rage in equal measure. The sparks from his arm were erratic, bits striking the floor and ceiling with loud pops, licking at Mel's body. At the same time, however, his balance had become unstable, the pressure he was putting on her loosening somewhat. Spark White, meanwhile, slammed himself up against the wall, hand to his head, gritting his teeth. "S--top it... stop it, stop ittt--" He'd never been so unable to escape this feeling. Then he heard something. A way out. Gemini had never needed to assume as much direct control as some other FM-ians to keep his human host doing what he wanted. And nowadays they were peskily against his ideas, making it too difficult for him to even attempt. In this state, however, this body was quite literally begging for someone else to take the reins. Of course, how could he ever object? The white-armored twin stood back upright. "A-ah....." With surprising speed he'd approached the group doing battle with Dr. Hikari. "Don't... kill him.. yet." It was still Pat's voice, his tone, albeit more methodical, but the words felt forced. "What's controlling this...? That.. machine there..?" He looked not with disdain, but empty fascination. @Nanaimobars

Mel hadn’t fallen flat when she hit the floor- but she sure was by the time Black had his boot in her back. Then it hit. It wasn’t the first time she had been electrocuted, it was one of Wily’s favourites. Every muscle in her body constricted at once. She grit her teeth through it like she had trained herself to, excess saliva containing ground particulates frothing onto the floor where she failed to suck it back in. The metallic taste of her tongue piercing became a prominent sensation besides the full-body prickles. The oppressive weight from before pounded in her brain. It hurt more- more than the shock. Compounded by the shock. She was fucking pissed! While that weight compounded, the weight on her back slacked for the briefest moment. She had her chance. With a grunt she started to push herself up from the ground against Gemini Black’s boot. “I’m sick of this. Get off me you ugly fuck!” Growling through her teeth, and with the extra burst of adrenaline she needed to be even remotely on par with the being let alone move after being shocked- she managed to shake off and grab hold of Black’s leg with the intent to catch him off balance and floor him. (edited)

1:42 AM

@scenegraph

Meiru tumbled backward as Yuichiro shoved her aside, bewildered more than frightened. Where had he even found the focus to do that through the blow she’d just delivered to him? She scrambled back to her feet, wary of lying prone with Gemini Spark and Yuichiro both on the move—aah, shit, he had the gun again, but at least he hadn’t straightened up yet. She had time to charge him agai— “Gah—!” The agonizing pain in her head caused stars to flash in front of her eyes. It was stabbing at her brain, giving her no chance to recover. She was on the ground when she could perceive what was happening again, clutching her head in a futile effort to make the pain recede. For a fleeting second she saw shadows looking at her with disdain, all with names she couldn't remember— She felt too sick to move, her stomach turning with every motion. All that came when she tried to remember or act at all was pain. Where was she? Who were these unfamiliar people around her? Why had she come here? Why was this happening? Even when she wasn’t thinking of anything, it still hurt. She curled into a ball, sobbing, unable to even find the words to beg for it to stop. @Owens

Between the physical injury and the mental anguish, it was getting really difficult for Yuichiro to think straight. Though he managed to take care of the two that were bothering him earlier, he was now faced with a new, much more threatening opponent. What was that black ooze? How did a navi materialize in the real world? He longed to figure it out, but that would have to wait. His biggest priority was making sure he stayed alive for long enough to answer those questions. "Who are you?" Yuichiro snapped, losing all composure under the stress of the situation. If only he could think clearly, he could come up with a clever way out of this. He tightened his grip on his gun, as if that would be able to harm the navi. But then he noticed one of the twins approaching, and jumped at the opening. "Don't just stand there!" He said to the twin in white armor. "Do something!" He wasn't sure why the boy would want to keep him alive, but that didn't matter. Any help was appreciated. @Nick Shields

Vyle grinned as she started closing the distance between herself and Dr. Hikari. "Come closer Doc, I can't quite hear you." She says as she gestures with her blade-like fingers. While Vyle didn't seem to pay any attention to Spark White, Nick managed to pull himself together to answer him instead. "Y-Yeah. That device in his pocket. Br-break it. D-don't let her take it." Nick says as he manages to stand back up. He pulled out a wooden baseball bat and weakly made his way towards Vyle and Dr. Hikari. He knew without a doubt if Vyle got her hands on that SoulNet device, things would only get worse. @pro gramer move

If you're sick of it MAYBE we SHOULDN'T have come here!! It's what he would have said, but Spark Black was not in a state to trade sarcasm. His thoughts were clouded by vicious static, making it hard to even think about speaking. Not helped by Mel's hand grabbing his leg. It did what she hoped it would, dragging him down with her. Dragging that sparking arm dangerously close to her too. Spark White eyed that bat for a moment. This wasn't what Gemini wanted, but in the horrid state that young man was in, he could be left as a secondary issue. "Are you ignoring me...?" With Pat's inflection blended into Gemini's words, the question almost sounded genuine. Almost. He was looking to Vyle now. A real wild card, it seemed. Gemini couldn't be sure of what she would do, and what remained of Pat's consciousness didn't like her being here. "I wouldn't." His left arm raised, a bolt shooting from his fingertips at this unknown entity. @Nanaimobars

Hah! She did it! Mel scrambled to get to her feet before her opponent, letting out a low, building laugh. Everyone said it wasn’t possible to go up against ‘digital beings’ in the real world- BUT SHE WAS PROVING THEM WRONG NOW! She was the unstoppable killer mutt she always knew she could be. While she still had the highground, she returned Black’s previous gesture by stomping hard on his stomach. Whether she actually managed to hurt the being or not was a different story- so she added another for good measure. She wanted to keep going- this small win was heady. She wanted to go full out, bite and maim- but a small-very small part of her remembered that it wouldn’t be so easy. Glancing around the room at the rest of the rabble gathered around Dr. Hikari her eyes locked on exactly what she needed. “Don’t go anywhere.” She jeered, launching herself in a mad dash for the tall man with the bat, skidding and catching herself as she ran through her small puddle of blood from earlier. She came here with him right? Surely he wouldn’t mind. He was looking worse for wear- he wouldn’t need it. There was a lot going on in this area of the room- Mel had missed out while she was busy getting curbstomped. She didn’t care about any of them now- she needed to finish the job- the weaklings, the white one, and the new goop freak could wait. “You won’t be needing this.” She grabbed the top of the bat with both hands and yanked, intending to pry it from Nick’s hands and go back to Black swinging. @scenegraph (edited)

Slowly, Meiru struggled to her feet. It was so loud, and everyone else seemed intent on making it louder. Nick’s explanation of the device jogged her memory just enough—that was the cause, she’d seen Yuichiro slip it in his pocket! If she could just move it away, maybe everyone would be quiet. But the closer she stumbled toward Yuichiro, the worse she felt. After a few steps, she couldn’t remember why she’d wanted to approach him. She needed it to stop hurting, not hurt more! Meiru flinched away as Mel ran past. What could someone like her do? It was so scary and loud and it hurt. She had to get out of here. She had to get away from the awful little device, so her head would stop hurting and she could remember who she was. She scrambled toward the only opening she could see, warily keeping her eyes on the fight, biting down on her lip to try and keep from drawing attention to herself. @Owens

The oozing navi was distracted. The twins were fighting other opponents. The redheaded girl had a vengeance against her teammate. The pink girl was attempting escape in vain. For just that second, no one had their eyes on Yuichiro. About time. In this moment of distraction, he slipped away. He couldn't leave the room entirely, as he had to keep an eye on his little experiments, but he used this opportunity to get away from the action. And what was the point of an experiment if nobody recorded the data? With this second to breathe, he pulled out his PET and began typing notes of everything he noticed. @Nick Shields

Vyle jittered slightly from the bolt Spark White shot out at her. She stopped walking towards Dr. Hikari and turned her head over her shoulder, glaring at Spark White. "Boy...." Vyle suddenly raised her arm and her hand stretched out, immediately constricting Spark White. She pulls him up over her head, winding up to throw him. "The adults are talking here, go play with your brother!" She says before throwing Spark White onto Spark Black. Vyle turned back to where Dr. Hikari was and notices he fled. She sighs and looks around. "Gah... figures." With his attention seeing Vyle launch Spark White to the other side of the room, Nick didn't notice Mel grabbing his bat. He fell over backwards, but still had a grip on the bat. "Oww... Agh... W-what are you doing?" @pro gramer move

Spark White was quick, but not quite enough. Gemini hated how it felt like he was working through lag; even in a scenario where his power felt amplified, he couldn't hold complete control over this body. He did, however, have enough time to summon up his Elec Sword before he was grabbed, the solid electric energy appearing from his fingertips, burning away against Vyle's deformed arm as it lifted him. At least get a little damage in before he gets flung. Being stomped on only really served to further irritate Spark Black. He was being stalled. His fist slammed into the floor in rage. Not that he would have much time to dwell on that as his twin flew right into him soon after. The two skidded a ways down the hallway, only for Black to come to a realization... ...He could concentrate now? It was by no means a fix. His anger was still overwhelming to the point of physical pain-he wasn't fighting enough, they still thought they could beat him, CAN'T stop until NO ONE stands against them- but now that he was further away, he could actually keep his balance as he got back to his feet. He could see Mel, looking for a weapon to try another weak attempt at hurting him. He wouldn't pull his punches this time. "You coming back or not?!" he yelled across the room. @Nanaimobars

Mel was hardly phased as the White Gemini got blown past her- sparks flying as he went. At least his collision with the Black one would keep them busy for a while. She sneered down at the older boy, and continued to try and twist the bat out of his hands, pulling them as she made strides back to the fray. Clearly she was a worthy opponent, which was the only respect she could offer to herself right now. She needed to get back in there and hurt so that her own could stop. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and let go, before I make a mess of your face.” @scenegraph

Meiru’s run slowed to a walk after finding nothing down the hallway but the door that had trapped her in here. She’d fled like the coward she was, but perhaps that was just as well. What was the point of always forcing herself to be brave like she did? It wasn’t like there was ever anything she could do. Even her attempt at doing something to stop all this head-splitting noise and fury earlier had been swiftly neutralized. Why did she even try? Even down here, the sounds of the fight reverberated along the metal walls. “Just shut up,” she begged, sinking to her knees. And then, from the shadows, there came an answering canid whine. “What the hell?!” Meiru knelt next to Rush, who was curled into himself in the furthest corner of the room. “You said you didn’t wanna come here! Why’d you follow me?!” Instead of answering, Rush simply whimpered some more, flinching away from Meiru’s voice. “Rush,” Roll said gently. Meiru looked down at her wrist, surprised—Roll had gone so completely silent for so long that she’d thought her Navi was as uselessly catatonic as she was tempted to become. (It wasn’t like there was anything around to plug Roll into, anyway, so she didn’t blame her for checking out. Who wouldn’t?) “Rush, why don’t you come inside the PET? It’ll be more comfortable in here.” With a fearful look at Meiru, Rush wasted no time disappearing into the PET’s landing page. Meiru watched as he emerged from a Rush Hole onto the screen—

11:34 PM

—and Roll slammed a charged Heart Slash into the back of his head like an icepick. It’d been years since she’d used this ability to charge Heart Slash with suggestive power to brainwash lesser enemies and programs to follow her command. Once they’d learned to fight more competently on their own, Meiru had given it little thought; a duplicitous and unreliable method for a girl who wasn’t strong enough to win legitimately. Rush only had a millisecond to process the betrayal before pink hearts appeared in place of his eyes. “You’ll materialize,” Roll ordered coldly, “and you’ll turn into the Rush Synchro Chip.” Just then, the tangle of Gemini Spark was flung down the hallway. Meiru narrowed her eyes, catching her Rush Synchro Chip reflexively. What did a girl have to do for some peace and quiet around here? “Rush Synchro Chip, slot-in! Cross Fusion!” R-Roll was ready to find out. @Owens

As the others continued to fight, Yuichiro leaned against a wall in the corner of the room, taking notes. At this point, he was less concerned with how they were reacting to Soulnet and more about their unique powers. Several of them had abilities that were not possible in his world, and he needed to figure out how they worked. Thankfully, they were all leaving him alone still. It took a bit of time, but they were finally dealing damage to each other. With some luck, they would all be too injured to do anything by the time this was all over. @Nick Shields

Vyle turned her attention towards Nick being dragged away by Mel as they head towards the Gemini twins. She lets out small cackle. "Oh... this is going to get good." She turns her attention to Meiru who just Cross-Fused with her Navi. "Oh, now you look deceptively dangerous. A bit too cutesy for my tastes, but who am I to judge?" After being dragged on the ground for a few seconds, Nick manages to re-position himself and yank back at his bat. "W-what are you doing? We n-need to go after the Doctor. H-he's the one responsible for all t-this!" @pro gramer move

Spark White was not doing quite as well as he was previously. Being further away from the source had allowed Pat to become more active and the result was not ideal. Gemini bit back the frustration of the boy's thoughts plaguing the body's ability to operate. This isn't worth it. None of this is worth it. Everything's already ruined beyond repair. You're making it so much worse. Betraying them all. Hide away. Run. RUN. He looked somewhat blearily to Meiru as he brought himself shakily back to his feet. She transformed? When? Didn't matter. None of it mattered. "...Why didn't you get away..?" he muttered. "Are you coming or not?!" Spark Black yelled out again. Holding himself still was agonizing. He didn't process that moving caused the same pain, but he needed that feeling to cling to. That he could make this go away if he did what he needed to do. It drove him, so it had to be the truth. "I thought you weren't done! LET ME HAVE IT!" @Nanaimobars

Mel looked back and forth between Nick and the Geminis. Black continued taunting her and she needed to get back over there. However this waste of space would just not let go. She was getting just fed up enough to turn all of her aggression onto Nick. ”Right, you were doing a great job throwing up over there.” She growled, still slavering. Her hold on the bat was firm but she jittered from the elbows up; Was it muscle tension from the shock? The adrenaline? Shaking with good old fashioned pure rage? All of the above? “Why don’t you give this to someone who can actually use it rather than wasting everyone’s time!” Still gripping her end of the bat, she lowered her body and kicked out high to catch Nick in the general trunk area. @scenegraph (edited)

Thoroughly irritated with the entire situation, R-Roll whirled on Spark White. "Because there's nowhere to run! Gold Fist!" A golden glove appeared over her right arm... ...and then Spark Black started yelling again, giving her just the right idea of how to angle her punch: so that White would fly into Black once again. "Why don't you ever SHUT UP!" @Owens

Nick knew what was about to come next and moved his leg in front of him to block the kick, but ended up having his kneecap taking the impact of the hit. Nick blinked a few times and let out a pained exhale. "Oww..." He takes a deep breath. "If y-you're not a-attacking the Doctor, you're w-wasting time." Keeping his hold on the bat, Nick suddenly charges towards Mel with his shoulder. @pro gramer move (edited)

R-Roll's voice caught Black's attention. He turned on his heel, now was the time! If there was an attack coming his way, he'd smash it right down. It didn't matter what. "Try HARDER!" His own fist swung. The attack, that was all he could see it as, was slammed away into the nearest wall. "Why don't YOU go back to crying?!" Black's gauntlet electrified, he dashed up to meet her, releasing a burst of lightning as he swung toward her chest. His own twin, nothing but an attack to deflect, coughed uncontrollably as he fell down to his knees against the wall, forced to drag himself up again. There's nowhere to run. White's coughing became a sputtering yell, frustration hitting the boiling point. His own gauntlet arm launched off of him, the Rocket Knuckle aiming to strike either of them. He didn't care which. @Nanaimobars

Mel didn't argue with Nick, it wasn't worth it. She scoffed at his exclamation. He was weak, but not as pathetic as she initially thought. He was still holding on. The uncomfortable swallowing continued. He retaliated with a tackle that she didn't have the distance or time to brace for. She stumbled back, letting go of the bat and immediately trading the empty space in her left hand for a flash of steel flipped from her pocket. The small knife would have been nothing against the Gemini, but it was perfect here and it marked it's course for Nick's closest hand. @scenegraph

After all those years of fighting on the front lines as a Net Savior, keeping track of the Geminis’ attacks and moving to counter them was as instinctual for R-Roll as riding a bike that was actively trying to kill her. (At least training against the much-faster Blues and all those lessons learned the hard way hadn’t been for nothing. She would’ve really been crying if a little head-splitting pain had been enough to forget all of that learned instinct.) There wasn't even time for her to snidely point out how much processing power Spark Black was wasting on his amateurish attempts at taunting. She let his arm pass overhead via a sliding backbend, skidding on her knees in the opposite direction, then sprang back to her feet once the incoming Rocket Knuckle had passed overhead. That also left her facing away from Spark White on the far side of the corridor, which wasn’t exactly ideal. But if the Rocket Knuckle was decidedly no longer attached to its owner— “Fuujin Racket!” R-Roll swung the racket in an arc like an overhead smash. She was aiming to ensure the Rocket Knuckle struck Spark Black—and with considerably more speed and momentum than it’d been fired with. @Nick Shields (edited)

Nick felt the knife going into his left hand. Adrenaline started to kick in. He immediately drops the bat he was holding in his other hand and grabs Mel's wrist. He pulled her hand away, forcing the knife to come out as well, and then kicks her backwards to put some space between them. He rolls part of his coat over his injured hand. Nick wasn't sure if it was the pain, the adrenaline, or if he was going into shock, but his mind started to focus a little bit. He looks over at Mel. "You stabbed me... Heh, you stabbed me pretty good." He lets out a nervous laugh before checking his injury. There wasn't any blood, but it was covered in black ooze. His face turned pale again. "I can't have you bleeding out and dying here now can I?" Even though Vyle was on the other side of the room observing everyone fighting each other, Nick could hear her talking as if she was right behind him. "Maybe I should give this gal her very own hand injury too." On the end of the knife, there was also black ooze covering the front part of the blade. However, it appeared to slowly moving toward Mel's hand. It took Nick a moment to realize it. "Look out! On the knife!"

10:49 AM

@pro gramer move

Spark Black growled as he was once again unable to hit his target. It was fine though. He just needed to add some reach. Though the twins were far from 'properly-trained', the handle on their skills had improved over the years. His Elec Sword appeared from his gauntlet as he made a quick turn, hoping to catch R-Roll before she got too far. White's Rocket Knuckle was now between them. It had lost its course, but that didn't matter. As soon as it was struck by R-Roll, it exploded. Black wasn't safe from the explosion or the resulting shrapnel. He was knocked backward, taking everything he had to keep his feet solidly planted. Particles of EM energy drifted out of his wounds. At this moment he couldn't care about pain, he had to land a hit. Sword out, he made a jump towards R-Roll, aiming for a wide diagonal slash. White's gauntlet regenerated onto his arm once the previous one was no more. There was a blank stare on his face, locked in but so far away. His own sword bursting to life, he ran in, poised to join the tangle that was their battle. @Nanaimobars

The kick sent Mel back and she caught herself on one knee, causing her to gasp out a short laugh. “Hah..” From what she had seen of him so far, she wasn’t expecting him to fight back. She glanced between Nick and the black goop at the end of the knife that had come out of him as she got back to her feet. He wasn’t right either. None of them were but her apparently, and she was as far from average as she had thought for the longest time. Regardless, stabbing him made her feel better…a little…but it wasn’t enough. She smirked a little as his commentary, holding the knife up to her face when he warned about it. It was moving alright. It didn’t bother her much. For a split second she thought about licking the blade but reconsidered. Even in her fucked up state that might be a little too edgy- though it would make for a good reaction if Nick was so worried about it. Instead she held the small blade forward, still covered in the sludge that continued inching toward her hand. She flinched ever so slightly at the explosion happening behind her and paid almost no mind to the shrapnel whizzing by- if anything hit her, she was too hopped up on adrenaline to notice. Ultimately- she was going to get her hands on that bat, and started closing the distance with Nick, knife leading the way. @scenegraph

Well, that wasn’t supposed to be so delicate. R-Roll shielded herself with her arms as she was flung backward, feeling the remains of the Rocket Knuckle cut deep into them—and looked up just in time to put a Wide Blade up to block Spark Black’s Elec Sword, sliding further from the impact. It seemed clear from what she’d seen so far that Gemini Spark was an Elec-element… EM Fusion? Whatever. And his twin was coming up from behind to attack. She needed to buy herself more time to deal with Spark Black. Left with little choice while holding him off, she blindly thrust her free hand back with a cry of, “DoroTsunami!” A wave of purply-brown water formed a wall between R-Roll and Spark White; either he would have to go around or R-Roll would score some elemental damage on him as it crashed down on him. @Nick Shields (edited)

Nick quickly picked up his bat from off and ground and started jogging backwards to keep himself away from Mel. He calculated that Mel is smart enough to be able to dodge any obvious swing he could make and counter with her knife. He backed into a small table, almost losing his balance. He briefly glanced at it and grabs the table's stretcher with his injured hand and pulls it up in front of him, using it as a makeshift shield. She would have to make a move to give me an opening. He thought to himself. He noticed the injury on his hand appeared to have healed up, leaving a scar. But that didn't make him feel any better about it. @pro gramer move

Finally, contact. It was a blade clash, which still wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he could do something now. Spark Black was determined to break through her defenses now, pressing down hard against her blade, little bits of electricity flying from his own. Spark White couldn't get a grasp on why he was doing all of this, all he knew was that feeling he'd experienced fighting Mega Man for the first time was back. That hopeless dread. He had to. He had no choice. The twin saw the water coming as he ran forward and made a long slash, breaking through it. This did, however, cause the part of the wall above him to slam down on top of him. He couldn't help but cry out. The pain was more severe than he expected, causing his Elec Sword to fizzle- with no experience in Battle Chips he couldn't have predicted that the water was Wood element. Between that and the previous times he'd been thrown around, he was reaching his limit. Desperately, he brought up his sword and swung around R-Roll's other side, pincering her between the pair of them. @Nanaimobars

She growled as he ran off with the bat. He wasn’t even going after the doctor like he was boasting about, just blundering around backwards. He was pathetic. Running away and hiding behind a table from a little girl. Weak and pathetic like every other adult in her life. The high was immense. “Why are you even here?” Mel asked harshly inbetween sucks of air through her teeth and subsequent swallowing. “You can’t do anything, can you? If you would hand that thing over I could take care of that thing and the doctor while you’re still over here pissing yourself.” She approached the table, grabbing the side facing her and forcefully sliding it aside.. “If you’re so intent on holding onto it thinking you can do anything why don’t you prove it? Prove you’re not the weak link here.” Her tone crescendoed to a roar and she slammed the knife point into the table, abandoning it.

“Better make it hurt.

Better make it count.

Better do it in one shot!!”

@scenegraph (edited)

R-Roll couldn’t hold another opponent at bay in a contest of strength for much longer than this even with her free hand supporting the Wide Blade, a limitation of Roll’s base stats that softened the full effect of both her fury that these two wouldn’t just lay down and die and Meiru’s sheer frustration with managing the overstimulation of SoulNet—but with Spark White seemingly preoccupied, R-Roll didn’t have to. With Spark Black’s force bearing fully down on his blade pushing against hers, she knew that there was no time for him to reverse direction in response to her antennae winding up for a “Roll Whip!” angled to catch him under the chin and throw his head back before pummeling his head once, twice— Then, pain like lightning arced across her back as Spark White proved himself to be much more reckless than she had bargained for. She staggered, screaming as the interference of SoulNet and the damage compounded to make her vision go white. Another hit like that and she would Cross Out. She needed to finish this, fast… @Nick Shields

Nick began to wind-up with the bat in his hand, but as soon as Mel shouted those words, he lost his composure. Forgetting to stop his momentum from the wind-up, Nick spun around and hit Mel in the back with the flat side of the table by accident. Nick staggered around, trying to catching his balance while cackling. "Oh. My. God. You're such a dork!" His laugher suddenly turned to pained coughing. He catches his breath and tosses the bat on the ground towards Mel and pulls the knife out from the table. "H-How about we trade weapons then? Go d-do... whatever. B-but I'll tell you this, last one t-to draw blood from the doctor is a l-l-loser." @pro gramer move

Stinging. So much stinging. Spark Black couldn't differentiate the anger from the pain as his head was whipped back, quickly followed by the rest of him. "You're-- holding up like this for WHAT?!" he sputtered. He'd slid away for now after getting knocked backwards, turning off his Elec Sword. A sneer crept onto his face as R-Roll was struck by his twin. It was almost over. He'd finish this with his fists. Ignoring his own deteriorating state to do that would be easy. Spark White was still there beside R-Roll, and he wasn't about to stop now. He couldn't. There was no other option. He had to empty himself... forget about any possible 'friendship' they could have had. It wasn't meant to be. While his twin was standing away, he went for another strike. @Nanaimobars

She readied herself to take the hit, the good physical pain that would make the mental pain stop, if not for a little while. Mel was not expecting to get knocked from behind by the table and stumbled forward. Laughter wasn't what she was expecting either. What was so funny? Nothing about any of this was funny. She meant what she said and the chump didn’t follow through. ”Who are you calling a dork?” She growled, It would have pissed her off more than anything, had it not been that she now had what she wanted: The bat. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, the pandemonium told her there was no chance of her rejoining that fray. She was dumbstruck for ultraviolence- but not that dumb. As much as she wanted to take it out on Gemini, it would have to wait. Chewing on the inside of her cheek she gave Nick's proposition an almost genuine thought for a couple of seconds, spinning the bat and knocking it on her heel to get a good feel of it. “Hmm yeah sure,” She started, intent to catch him off guard. “I'll get around to that after I get yours.” She took that built up time to reel back for a swing at him. She didn't have time to go for the doctor, or the other mess in the room. She needed the violence sated now. @scenegraph (edited)

“I could say the same for you,” R-Roll retorted, her Yo-yo chip appearing on her arm and spinning out to wrap its string around Spark Black in one smooth movement, the body of the Yo-yo itself slamming into his back. “But they say misery loves company!” She supposed she could see why Spark Black kept trying to taunt her—it was a decent distraction from everything else she was feeling. The Yo-yo reeled back in, and R-Roll rode the momentum, swinging herself away from Spark White as the ensnared Spark Black hurtled past her and toward his twin. It was a reckless move on her own part—she could feel the crackling power of the Elec Sword along the cuts she’d already taken in the fight as it nicked her shoulder. But all she would need after this would be one more strike, and she’d be squarely in position to take it. (edited)

@Nick Shields

The bat made contact with Nick's left arm letting out a loud CRACK. Nick winced and restrained himself from screaming. Something in his arm was fractured at the very least. For as much as he tried, Nick had been doing his best to hold himself back from the effects of both SoulNet and Vyle from pushing him too far over the edge. But enough was enough. He quickly retracts the knife's blade and puts it in his pocket. He then grabbed Mel by the throat with his free hand, lifts her off the ground, and chucks her towards the nearest collection of computing equipment. From a distance, Vyle grinned and slowly started to make her way towards Nick. "Heh, about time." @pro gramer move

"Grrk--!!" Stuck in the Yo-yo's grasp, Black couldn't resist in time to not get yanked along. Even still, he wasn't about to shut up now that he knew it'd get commentary back. Something else to think about, to psyche him up, keep his body going longer until there was nothing left- that wouldn't happen, he was going to win- "--We aren't looking for company!! Least of all you!" White's sword vanished as he was forced to prioritize softening the blow of his twin being pulled into him. The two were unsteadily still standing, shoulder to shoulder. So close their gauntlets could touch. The perfect position... for all three of them. The poisonous feelings that plagued their thoughts and actions only amplified the sensation of power. Hopelessness and vengeance. Their arms rose simultaneously before everything in front of them became blinding yellow death. "GEMINI THUNDER!" @Nanaimobars

The crack was so so satisfying. Finally the constant malefic pounding was getting somewhat of a reprieve. Mel’s crooked smirk widened, she let out a choked laugh and reeled back for another swing. He was fast- and strong all of a sudden, more than she was anticipating from his frame. Nick had her in his grip before she could fully catch up with the situation. She dropped the bat instinctually to grab for his wrist to claw him off. He didn’t have hold of her long enough for her to do anything that mattered though, as the next thing she knew she was catching air and landing hard in a pile of machinery. She groaned and didn’t move for a few moments. The pile of scrap was nostalgic, even if the corners hurt. This place really did have that haphazard machinery Wily™ feel to it. She could almost curl up and be comfortable in this mess if it weren’t for the hurt seeping its way back into her brain. The memories were nostalgic but they hurt too. A lot. She couldn’t stay down though, not just when Nick was proving to be a worthy opponent. Clambering to her feet, she wiped excess drool from her chin and stumbled slightly- exhaustion was starting to catch up with her. He had the knife, and the bat- AND the freaky goop lady closing in…maybe she could keep her distance. Looking through the hardware Mel settled on a hefty looking monitor. She hoisted it over her head with both hands and lobbed it at Nick as hard as she could. @scenegraph

Instead of bothering to answer, R-Roll shouted, “Bamboo Lance!” and watched with satisfaction as the stalks burst out of the ground, finishing thi— (edited)

9:59 PM

# ”GEMINI THUNDER!" (edited)

10:00 PM

She’d been treating this entire outing as just another mission. (Even when she’d volunteered for this, it’d just been to help out as a Net Savior, to save someone else from knowing the pain of a close friend disappearing without a trace, not because she’d known the girl who was kidnapped.) She’d treated these two in front of her as just more enemies, another Asteroid or Syntheroid. But they’d given it all they had, and she’d been too cocky to stop treating them like obstacles and rise above their level. And now they’d beaten her, before she could even manage to make the thing causing the noise in her head stop. Why had she come here? It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

When the Gemini Thunder dissipated, Meiru fell unconscious to the ground, blood seeping through the scratches left beneath her clothes. The Cross Fusion fell away around her in a flurry of data to reform her PET. It clattered to the ground as well, no Navi displayed inside—Roll was in sleep mode, in as poor condition as her Operator. Rush was still conscious, but only barely. He inched away from his unconscious owner and the PET that had fallen next to her, fearful, completely unaware that he was moving closer to Yuichiro in the corner. @Owens

Yuichiro paused his dutiful note-taking to look at the dog approaching him. He grabbed it by the collar and brought it up to his face. A virus in the real world? Now that was worth looking into. It presumably had something to do with the pink girl's transformation as well. And in the state it was in, it wouldn't be fighting back. Capturing the thing would be trivial. Just a few button presses on his PET and... ...There. A hole opened in the ground, and Yuichiro dropped Rush in. The virus was now in the PET for... safekeeping.

Tadashi arrived in an ancient email attachment, sent right to Firebird's public email address. Thank goodness for backwards compatibility! Sorry to the netnavi who had to read it, though. It was probably weird. Out came Tadashi, in all of his glory- and by that, he was dressed in a Scilabs uniform, as if he was the same as the last day he worked. But he did look like a ghost, somewhat ethereal, and- That was totally an AlphaBug, sitting next to him, staring. Tadashi leaned on it like a cane. "Evening, world!"

8:40 PM

@chloe, Green Team Bean powered

A looming but lean navi shift back at the appearance of the... man? in front of him. A ruby red rifle appeared from under his poncho of segmented armor, and a snarl peaked out from under his large, radial brim of a helmet. "Stand down, Countershade." The navi complied after a beat, tsking under his breath as a screen appeared to show his navigator. Firebird's helmet was tilted at an inquisitive angle, obviously perplexed by the program? standing in their PET. "I charge extra for transporting elderly." They noted in an airy voice. Behind them the world moved at a blur. They were traveling, presumably towards the lab where the Guardian requested. "I feel like I've seen you before. In a textbook or something."

9:46 PM

@hub_batch

Tadashi, who'd raised his hands at Countershade, lowered them when the gun was retracted. He could almost feel the inertia of the movement- this was interesting. He hadn't been out of the house in a while. Isn't that how it goes in old age, he supposed. "It wouldn't be real fair to be keeping too many secrets, since you're helping me out, I think." Tadashi kept eyeing Countershade. So did the AlphaBug, staring directly at the navi, one big eye pulsating as it took in the stimuli. "I am a memory bank of Tadashi Hikari. Now, I'm called the Guardian." "And your name- Firebird?" Tadashi pauses, then says, "Quite hip of a name."

10:09 PM

@chloe, Green Team Bean powered

"Most of the clients I work for hear hundreds of names per day." Firebird explained, "A name like this makes it easier to remember. I barely need business cards." They seemingly looked away for a moment as they turned a corner onto a darker stretch of road. Their dark figure almost vanished in the night, only to be illuminated by a passing street light. Over, and over... "Tadashi, huh? Makes sense why you have so much power then. Can't say I'm starstruck or anything." "Y'meet one world-renowned scientist, y'meet them all..." Countershade grumbled in addition. (edited)

"Oh, I'm not expecting applause, haha." The AlphaBug moved in closer to Countershade. It was clearly not a threat, just curious, interested in the other Navi. "The chatroom is linked through old Alpha networks, so I suppose that's why I'm its moderator." Tadashi shrugged. "I did not make it, neither did the remnants. I don't know where it sprouted. It's too bad it causes so many problems, because it could be revolutionary." There was a brief pause, again. Tadashi leans on the AlphaBug, and it bristles at his touch. "Much like our failed SoulNet, I suppose." His voice was a little bit sad.

10:35 PM

@chloe, Green Team Bean powered

"SoulNet. I've heard nothing but bad things." Firebird's tone also shifted. Instead of sounded indifferent, seemingly above it all, there was gravity to their tone. The rhythmic pulse of streetlights slowed a touch as they slowed for another turn. Countershade's head shifted to focus on the bug. The red lens at the center of his brim glinted in study. His scowl deepened, revealing to the bug a set of sharp teeth as a warning. Firebird continued, "This instance had its own run-in with it a few years ago. We didn't have to deal with it for long, thanks to some group led by officials." They paused for a moment, their mic picking up a heavy breath. "Still, it was bad. Even if it only lasted a few hours." (edited)

10:46 PM

@hub_batch

"I am sorry for this. As the father of that technology, I bear some responsibility." And he meant it. It wasn't posturizing or pandering. Tadashi truly seemed to be mournful over this- over many things, maybe. The AlphaBug shook, suddenly- maybe they were getting close. "Which is why it is my duty to take care of it now. Such reckless behavior- from someone who bears my legacy." The AlphaBug shook again, harder. Tadashi's expression wasn't readable. "Pathetic. He needs to be taught a lesson." Tadashi cleared his throat. It wasn't something a program needed to do. "Are you concerned? Do you- you probably don't have that metal, do you." Tadashi wished he could have tought of some way to block out the effects. That rifle- he hoped the navi would stave it off long enough for him to make a difference. @chloe, Green Team Bean powered

"That's probably something you should have told me to get before now, Creator." Firebird hissed in a flicker of anger. The heat died down as quick as it came, much like the receding snear on Countershade's face. Their picture started to quiver as the road stopped and dirt began. It cut out entirely for a few moments as Firebird pulled their motorcycle off the path and into the trees. When they came back in frame, tension could be felt in the PET. They were gripping it tight, maybe even quivering as the hold continued. Countershade lifted his chin at the change, noting the similarities between the air and the quivering virus before him. "... Sure. I'm concerned." Firebird finally answered as they started to walk into the woods. "I might even be a little nervous." (edited)

11:18 PM

@hub_batch

"Forgive me for thinking you knew," Tadashi said, and meant it. The AlphaBug bristled, shuttering harder as the image went out. Tadashi rubbed it like it was a pet, like it was trying to be soothing. "I will do my best to live up to my title," said the Guardian, somewhat sadly, looking at the very bug that kept him here. -- The facility was extremely dark, save for very few outdoor lights turning on in the dwindling dusk. There were no guards, there were no security systems. Regal clearly wasn't planning on spending long here. Or, well, maybe he plucked the wrong target. He had assumed Triese was weird enough maybe she would not be missed so soon. Wrong target. Maybe he should have taken the mirror. The AlphaBug becomes more erratic as they get close to the entrance. "I can feel the signal," Tadashi grimaced. "Tread carefully."

11:35 PM

@chloe, Green Team Bean powered

Firebird didn't reply. They set their PET to silent and finally released it into the pocket of their jacket. The wings of the red bird embroidered on the back spread wide as Firebird pressed their hands against the entrance. They didn't need the Guardian's warning, they could already feel it. The unsettling hum of electric pulses flowed through their helmet. Their gloved fingers could pick up the tingling sensation coursing through the metal door. "... Fuck it." A gravelly voice hushed as Firebird slammed the door open. It's rattling BANG echoed down the corridor before them. A scream bounced back, almost in reply.

"Ngh." Countershade grunted as Firebird finally walked forward. He turned away from the alpha bug and took a few paces back. His large brimmed hat shook as he tried to brush off the feeling along the back of his neck. "Damn bugs..." Firebird forced themselves to stride down the hallway. As they continued down, they seemingly hit an invisible barrier. Their hand reached out to the wall stabilize, only to look up like nothing happened at all. A sharp breath was sucked in as they kept walking. Their fingers traced a seemingly predetermined path along the painted cinderblocks beside them. "Hm." they hummed quietly, curiously. It wasn't long until they came across a large room. There had been echos of skirmishes and tragedies lining the corridor on their way down. This seemed to be the epicenter. As they turned the corner, a crack of thunder spliced the room, and a heavy object was hurled across the other end. But Firebird seemingly ignored all that. Instead they focused on one person in particular. A diminutive figure standing in the shadows. If the flash of light hadn't been caught in the reflection of their glasses, Firebird would have missed him. "... You." They growled as they marked their prey. That fraud claiming to be Dr. Yuichiro Hikari. The failed assassin, now reassigned. "I told you to never come back here." (edited)

Yuichiro craned his head towards the new voice. It was familiar, one he had heard somewhat recently, and one that invited a slight bit of dread. "Oh. It's you." He turned his body to face the newcomer, adopting a wider stance. Though he had been bested by the rider once before, that was a situation in which he was disadvantaged. This time he came prepared, and as such, carried himself with confidence. "Like I would actually listen to you," Yuichiro scoffed, tilting his head to the side. "There's too much of interest happening for me to stay away. What I want to know is how you ended up here. Rescuing the rescue team, perhaps?" With an exaggerated motion he gestured to the others. Those who were not outright unconscious were close to it, ragged and miserable. He clearly took pride in the chaos on display. If he were lucky, Firebird would be close to succumbing as well. "Quite the competent group here, obviously. Do you really think you'll fare any better?"

"My client mentioned no rescues." Firebird answered effortlessly, voice unmatched to the state of their body. Their chest rose and fell with labored breath as they continued to walk forward. Steps primed with purpose picked up pace as their hand casually swiped across their waist. A cold glint of metal appeared in their hand, gripped tight in their leathered fingers. "And this city has no secrets to me. If your employer thought they could keep this hidden, he was wroиg." Countershade fell to a knee in the PET, his hand slapping across the back of his neck. Fingers tried to dig into the area, like it was scratching away a pest. "Ggr... th' hell is this?" he muttered, just loud enough that he hoped for the Guardian to hear. (edited)

"Soulnet," Tadashi murmured, holding himself against the AlphaBug, which was borderline writhing under the pressure. "You may feel- negative emotions. You're connected to everyone in the room, and- all of the negative things they feel." He recognized this feeling from a long, long time ago. A test Wily had conducted. What if SoulNet was poisoned? And that was the main reason the project was discontinued. Because it was so, so easily poisoned. "Just a little closer," Tadashi said, sounding breathless (which was odd for a program, for a ghost). "And I can rid us of this."

2:09 PM

@Owens

"My employer." Yuichiro chuckled at the word choice. "That's one way to put it, I suppose. Well, you sure took your time getting here for someone who knew what was going on." His amusement did not last long, however. As soon as he saw Firebird's hand move, he reached for his own weapon. This opponent would be harder to shake off than the others, surely, so he would have to act quickly. Hopefully the effects of Soulnet would slow them down enough for him to get away. "Why don't you save yourself some trouble and leave now? Before you suffer the same fate as everyone else who walked in here. You can't be feeling great right now." @chloe, Green Team Bean powered (edited)

Firebird scoffed, or did they laugh? Their boots stepped over a fallen girl, barely paying her any mind as they passed. The pace only got quicker, matching the rate of their breath. "I fэel fine." They stated simply. Their weapon rose, the gun stolen from this aberrant Yuichiro from their last encounter. Its frame shimmered in the dim light as it trembled in their hold. "But I'm not going to let you get an answer. It'll forever be an uиsatisfied, insatiable сцяюsiту." Firebird was well within ten feet if Yuichiro now. More than close enough to guarantee a hit. "Don't. Move. Doctor." Countershade wheezed as he forced himself back up. He flipped back around to face the Guardian, snearing and growling. "You made this? This is... hell! Why the fuck would y'think this is good?!" he seethed. (edited)

"My apologies," Tadashi said sincerely. "Our best laid plans often go awry." He was close enough. Yuuichiro was in range and he could feel the microserver in his pocket. He could feel that cyberworld thrum and he just had to imagine himself there, imagine himself-- And there Tadashi went, AlphaBug in tow. Inside of the microserver, Tadashi nearly felt the effects of SoulNet. But the AlphaBug bristled with the opportunity to consume. "Hello world!" Tadashi announced. His voice reverberated in the room, seemingly coming from nowhere. Close to Yuuichiro, though, as if he were behind his back, whispering into his ear. "You must know the saying, Yuuichiro-" The AlphaBug approached the internal server. The NebulaGrey program was for the picking. The AlphaBug surged forward, and destroyed it in one fell swoop, turning every bit of it to garbage data. Tadashi reached for the bug, and his hand slowly passed through it, then his arm, his body- "Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it." The microserver inside of Yuuichiro's pocket grew hotter and hotter- Suddenly, the microserver burst from his pocket, and what appeared to be AlphaBugs swarmed from it. They attached themselves to Yuuichiro and pinned him to the wall. One of them raised to stare at Yuuichiro, bright eye burning. "And oh, my boy, are you doomed."

An electric feeling shot down Yuichiro's spine as he realized something bad was about to happen. Firebird wasn't alone. Of course they would have something up their sleeve. The voice echoing in Yuichiro's ear was familiar as well, but not in the same way Firebird's had been. This feeling was vague and unplaceable, a gut feeling of recognition rather than something he knew for a fact he had heard before. The speech mannerisms alone were enough to give away who it was, and beyond that, he would have to be a fool not to piece it together. Yuichiro had no memory of his father. His name, his personality, his appearance, what their relationship was. Frankly, he didn't care about something so trivial, in the same way he didn't care about his own children. But he knew that, for better or for worse, that old life of his was something he could never go back to. And if this doomed him, so be it. He would walk through hell for an eternity before returning to the shackles of a moral life. And walking through hell, this was. Well, swimming was perhaps a more apt term. Try as he could to break free from the bugs, more kept piling on, drowning him in place. There was no escape, that much was clear, yet Yuichiro found himself fearing for his life less than a few seconds prior. Someone like Firebird would have no mercy, but would his own father be capable of doing such a thing? Surely not. No amount of torment was worse than what Yuichiro experienced daily under Soulnet. He had survived the worst humanity had to offer, and survive he would continue to do. "I have... no regrets," Yuichiro strained as he continued to struggle against the bugs. "What kind of guardian can't save his own son?"

The AlphaBug acts like just that- a bug, shivering and struggling and it writhes at the words Yuuichiro chooses in response. In this moment, there is hardly an Alpha, hardly a Tadashi Hikari- there truly is only Guardian, and it takes offense to these words. "A foolish one," It grumbles, "A guilty one. One who knew the inevitable and chose to believe instead." The AlphaBug lurches forward and shoves itself into Yuuichiro's mouth, choking him. "How does the mirror feel now, Yuuichiro Hikari? Does the legacy of death truly haunt you?" That wasn't Tadashi. "This path had always been laid out before you-" Something else is happening here. Something worse. "But I suppose when the stakes are high, we all become what we fear the most." Tadashi- Alpha- Guardian slams Yuuichiro's head against the wall. "What kind of father carries his son to the grave?"

It took everything in Yuichiro's ability to remain conscious. The words reached him only superficially; the only things he could focus on were the pain and the struggle to stay alive. He was afforded no chance for introspection, not that it would make a difference. At this point, changing his mind was an impossibility. His eyes drooped. He fought to stay breathing amongst the sea of bugs. Just. Remain. Alive. In the grand scheme of life, this would be nothing more than a minor setback. He just had to survive.

A shudder went up Firebird's back. Their gun lowered slowly as it became obvious that the bugs had control. With a tilt of their head, curiosity briefly took over their thoughts. The bugs looked so... familiar, as the scene played out in front of them. Curiosity only got cut off when they noticed Yuichiro's skin growing pale and clammy. Silently, under the rush of the alpha bug swarm, Firebird walked around Yuichiro. They waited for their chance like a shark in a feeding frenzy. One snap of their jaws, and another client would be satisfied. There. THWACK. The bug left open a small space at the base of Yuichiro's skull. It was more than enough force to knock him out cold with the stock of their pistol. That would at least spare him his life. If not? Oh well. @hub_batch @Owens (edited)

Nick was sitting up against a wall taking deep breaths. He looked pale and unwell. He slowly got up after seeing Dr. Hikari get incapacitated. Alphabugs? Were those Alphabugs? He thought to himself. No time to ponder about that now. He needed to get everyone else out before Vyle, or anyone else for that matter, decided to try anything else. "Excuse me." He speaks to Firebird in a quiet whisper. "Is the door you came in s-s-still open? I need to... to..." He takes a deep breath. "I n-need to g-get the r-rest of them out of h-here." He gestures to the others in the room.

They'd seen the end in sight. Then the pain had become overwhelming. R-Roll's last-second attack had pierced through both twins, causing them to reel back with buzzing pixels spilling out of their mouths as they'd both ended up in stunned silence. Their forms had become unstable, and right as the Bamboo Lance had dissipated, the Wave Change completely degraded, two bodies becoming one again. Pat had fallen forward and lay there, swimming in and out of consciousness. Though the grievous bodily harm thankfully didn't carry over, his nose was bleeding and he could feel bruises. A thought had vaguely come to him... it hurt less all of a sudden. Not only that, but he could pinpoint where the pain was, what was sore. It wasn't an incomprehensible mess like it had been. At this point, was that really all that much better? There were people talking. Arguing? He couldn't think about who or why right now. Nothing made sense yet, it still didn't feel fully real. His palms pressed against the ground as he tried to weakly push himself up. Seemed like he was going to need help. @Nanaimobars

Mel couldn’t even be mad that her throw missed by a mile- the newcomer and goop situation turned out to be far more interesting. She slunk out of the rubble to watch until the signal from soulnet finally wore off. The pounding malevolent weight eased instantaneously- only to be promptly be replaced by the weight of something else, and not just the physical exhaustion of everything that had just happened catching up to her. The slavering didn't stop, she brought her elbow up to wipe her chin and swallowed hard with a wash of guilt. The compacted stress did not disappear with the evil atmosphere that had wracked the room. Despite all the residual pain from getting stomped, tased, hit with a table, choked and tossed- the inexplicable pangs of guilt in the palms of her hands stuck out the most. She clenched them open and closed; all of the work she had done on herself in the last year or so snapped away in an instant. Completely burned to the ground. All this because she was selfish enough to think she could do anything for this girl. She didn't even know her. She shook for a moment full of impotent rage before being snapped back to reality by Nick speaking out. As he pointed out she took a look around the room, deliberately avoiding looking at Nick. The pink girl was down for the count and Pat…She didn’t want to think about him right now. At least Nick was offering to do something about them, she sure wasn’t. “I think we need to keep moving forward. At least, I am.” She was talking out her ass, she wasn’t sure how long she could hold out for actually- but all of this could not be for nothing after falling off this hard. Dragonman finally shook himself of whatever daze he was in. “Mel are you ok? Is everyone else ok?-Oh.” He realized he was a tad behind Nick mentioning the others. “I'm so…I don’t know what happened there I'm sorry.” He wasn't quite sure how to explain what happened himself. Surely he was under the same effect of the Soulnet as everyone else but there was that buzzing- that weird frequency that was coming off of- Gemini maybe? He didn't know but what he did know was the sensation knocked him flat on his ass and made him feel…full? Too full. Like he had starved in a desert for thousands of years and suddenly got stuffed to the point of immobility- whatever that felt like. He shook it off, it was over for now. Though, this wasn't the first time he felt like this in the face of overwhelming negativity- was it? He materialized in hologram form on Mel’s shoulder, finally catching a glimpse of the mayhem that had ensued. His voice hitched for a moment, “Mel…h–help Pat.” She didn’t respond right away, he prodded her again. “Please? Help Pat.” Wordlessly Mel shuffled over to Pat, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything, or look directly at him besides how much she needed to hoist him somewhat roughly to his feet. Her hands were still shaking.

Firebird's head snapped up at the movement of others in the room. Their posture shifted, shuddering more as they backed up into the same shadows Yuichiro hid in before. The gun was put away, replaced by a PET in their hand. It's screen reflected off their helmet as they slowly scanned the room. Countershade shook off the effects of SoulNet in an instant, only to quickly realize something else was wrong. The Guardian had left the PET, and his owner was off character. "We gettin' out of here?" Countershade grumbled quietly. Firebird shook their head, then silently directed the darkloid to look at the mess of bugs and human before them. The silent treatment made Countershade sigh in annoyance as he disappeared. A small hologram of the bandit appeared on Firebird's shoulder. "Hey, gramps. Eer, Guardian or whatever. Y' done?" @hub_batch (edited)

There was a moment where the AlphaBug looked at Firebird, like it's going to charge them. Then, it blinks. "Ah." It lets Yuuichiro crumple to the floor, finally allowing him some air, despite being out cold. "Apologies. The server is no more." Guardian disappears, like the bugs had never been there in the first place. "The danger has passed. They should leave." And it appeared back in the PET, Tadashi appearing once more- he looked exhausted. Suddenly being nearly a hundred looked plausible for him.

Nick sighed as Firebird was seemingly ignoring him. He hobbled over to Meiru, who appeared to be unconscious, and picked her up. With everything still hurting, he wasn't really able to move well. He slowly started making his way towards where Firebird entered from. A few sparks lit up in the air beside him. Suddenly a portal opened up. Abby looked through the portal and notices both Nick and Mel carrying Meiru and Pat. She quickly moves through the portal. "Listen up, I'm getting you all out of here. I've got medics on the way over." Abby says as she takes Meiru out of Nick's arms and moves her through the portal. Nick quickly hobbles his way through the portal as well.

Mel looked between the bugs dissipating, Nick, and Abby with the portal growling. “Are we not seeing this through or something?” “I’m sure the other guys have it taken care of Mel, please take it easy. We should help here.” Dragonman spoke feebly. “Oh yeah, help here. Help with the fuck-all we did helping. Fucking useless.” She huffed and pulled Pat up to support him better with her shoulder, scrunching her face real hard to keep herself from emotionally imploding. That needed to wait until she could get back and isolate. Finally, she begrudgingly followed Nick through the portal protesting along the way. “I’ll take him through that thing, but I sure as hell ain’t going to no fucking

hospital.” (edited)

With the Guardian back in their PET, Firebird stood up. They acted as if the others and their portal weren't there. Not even the unconscious Yuichiro was searched to enact the first part of their lingering threat. They simply... walked. Firebird walked back out the way they came, hands sticking close to their person. Their boots made steady, silent progress out of the building, into the woods, and down the path they rode in on. Countershade shared the silence, at least until he was sure they were far enough away from the rescuers. He didn't want to be overheard sounding so kind. "Those kids had it covered. Sounded like help was on th' way." Countershade began to explain as he pulled up a console window beside him. "Stickin' around and lettin' the paramedics and officials see us would make things complicated." Firebird reached their motorcycle, still shrouded in the dark of the woods. Along the path, their breathing grew ragged and shaky, and now they sunk to the ground beside their vehicle. A hand rose and pulled their helmet off, discarding it at their side as the PET was held up. "Don't-" "Y' know I gotta." Countershade snapped, shutting their owner up. "Yer not the only one I have to listen to." Firebird said nothing else. Instead their eyes fixed on the Guardian instead. @hub_batch (edited)

Guardian- no, Tadashi stared back at the image. He didn't say anything for a long time. He wondered if he should say sorry, if he should ask, if he should really say anything at all. Maybe this silence was necessary. Many of them are. Instead of sorry, he settles. "Thank you for your help." It's good to know there's a human under that mask.

Silence befalls the haunted facility, the only sounds are the whir of machines long since forgotten. Regal steps slowly through the halls, emerging as if made of shadow. He's checking the halls, the rooms- there's some blood, he hopes its Hikari blood. Young or old or girl or boy doesn't matter. Inside of the ballroom he scrapes a sample from broken glass, tucking it into his pocket. He hums as he walks. His footsteps echo, showing the emptiness of the facility. As he approaches the half of the facility that had handled SoulNet, he can feel the remnants of the program. It almost sings to him, a nice, nostalgic memory. And there is his fallen angel. Regal approaches the body of Yuuichiro, dipping to check his pulse. Slow, but alive. Just knocked out. His hand shifts, never leaving his neck, caressing his chin. He inspects the doctor with the same curiosity he had before. Concussion, likely. Something had forced his mouth open- his lips were sort of...puffy. His thumb brushes those parted lips. He hums out alien affection. "It's alright," Regal coos. His arms slip under Yuuichiro and pick him up, cradling him like he is made of glass. "I'll take care of you." He began to descend back into the facility. "After all-" Red eyes appear in the dark. "We have a family to raise."