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Episode 5, Act 4: "Battle in Darkness..."

"What do you mean they already left?!" Michael exclaimed. "I thought we were supposed to go together!" Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"I already told you, Duke tried to get you up, but you were still knocked out!" As the sun shone through clear blue skies, as the ocean waves splashed merrily along the seashore, as people were playing without a care in the world...

...Michael ended up oversleeping. AGAIN. The group's plan was simple: they would wake up early and head for the Solar Planetarium, its main tourist attraction. Since it was in walking distance from the hotel, the gang would hang around the place for most of the day before going back for dinner. After many unsuccessful attempts in waking Michael up, the group agreed that Duke and Rachel would go on ahead and meet Rebecca there for lunch.

Unfortunately, Michael's sight had not returned overnight, so he was still forced to wear the mirrored sunglasses to be able to "see". This left Rebecca the tedious job of dragging Michael along having the outward walking style of a drunk.

"Why are we going to a museum anyways? I thought since we were near the beach, you guys would want to go swimming, get a tan, check out the...er...sights." Rebecca sighed.

"Because Duke and Rachel didn't think it was fair for you to miss out on all the fun; so we decided to do something that we could do together," she explained.

"Oh..." Michael was stunned (and a little touched) that they would actually give up the tropical temptations just for him. "Well, thanks."

"Besides," Rebecca continued with an air of excitement, "I've always wanted to check this place out. Just never had the time."

"What exactly is so special about this place, anyway?" Michael asked.

"Are you kidding?! This is like THE place to be for interactive science & historical experiences! I mean, they have this hall of technology that just..."

"History was never my best subject, Beca," Michael interrupted, "let alone, the most interesting."

"Well, I know you'll change your mind once you see this place!" she blurted excitedly before remembering. "Oh, right. My bad."

In the entrance of the museum stood a giant triangle prism that seemed to radiate with a mysterious energy. The entire building seemed to have been built directly around it. If Michael had been able to see, he probably would have gaped around in astonishment. The building looked more like a megamall than a museum. Its high-arched glass ceiling drenched the building in warm, inviting sunlight. Thick transparent tiling separated the levels from each other. Exhibits as far as the eye could see. A food court/cafeteria with over 40 restaurants. At least three floors of answers to every question never asked. One could spend all day in the area and still wouldn't have been able to see everything one floor offered.

"Whoa! I had no idea there would be so many people here!" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly. She could see a congregation of people start to line up around the giant prism for another guided tour. "Oh look! Another tour's about to start!" Michael sighed.

"Could you at least aim me in the right direction?" She looked slightly embarrassed about forgetting that he was still mostly blind.

"Sorry, almost forgot," she apologizes, gripping his hand and starts leading him toward the tour group.

"Wait," Michael says slightly resisting her tugs, "I thought we were supposed to meet with the others." Rebecca shakes her head.

"They're probably with another tour group right now. We're supposed to meet them at the museum cafeteria in another hour or so."

"You mean I could've slept in?" Michael asked half-jokingly.

"...allow me to present Helio Central's pride and joy: 'The Focus Point'!" the tour guide was saying. "This prism is actually made of solid light waves that can absorb any source of light, converts it to energy and can be redirected to any given power source, multiplying its power exponentially! It raises..."

"Hmmm...not bad." Michael said. "I didn't think solid light actually existed."

"Huh?" Rebecca muttered half-listening.

"Well, you know. Light's supposed to be just energy waves that..." Michael began to explain.

"I know that," Rebecca snapped. It was obvious she was intent in absorbing as much information as possible. Michael barely listened to the rehearsed banter from the tour guide. He was still trying to get used to distinguishing various heat signatures at once. So instead of trying to do any more conversation with Rebecca, he tried to visualize the details that he couldn't see to somehow get a feel of the area around him. After a few scheduled stops...

"Hey Beca," Michael asked suddenly. "What's that?" He pointed toward what looked like a row of glass panels. "I'm seeing major heat signatures over there." Rebecca broke her focus long enough to glance at the display's sign from her position.

"Oh, those are old-fashioned solar panels. They're basically ancient sunbeam collectors."

"They used to be that big?" Michael gasped in astonishment. "Man, if it weren't for improvements in technology, I'd probably be lugging one of those things on my back."

Rebecca was still half-paying attention to what he was saying, so she only let out an indifferent, "Uh-huh." The tour group started to move again.

"Where are we heading now?" Michael asked.

"It looks like a hall of statues or something." The area they were now walking through had rows of life-size likenesses of historical figures, both known and unknown. Medieval knight's armor lined up on one side, samurai uniforms lined the other. It was as if a time-traveling army from the past, present and future had all decided to gather for a party.

"Hey, nice robes!" Rebecca commented as she looked over some mannequins sporting silky shimmering cloaks. "So these are what magicians wore back then." Michael responded with a non-committal grunt. She glanced back at him. "You may laugh now, but there's a whole lot of history behind magic."

"Maybe," Michael replied, "but as I recall you only know about three."

"I'm still in training, dork. Translating the text into verbal attacks isn't exactly easy. I mean, it's ANCIENT magic, remember?"

Michael gave her a piercing look. "By the way, where exactly did you get that book anyway?"

"I thought I told you already," Rebecca says as she starts giving her glasses a good polish. "Grams left it for me in her will."

"Oh, right." There was an awkward pause filled with the tour guide's rehearsed speech. "How well did you know her?"

"Why are you asking me all of this now?" Michael shrugged.

"I just never thought much about how you got your magic in the first place."

"Look, it's complicated," she snapped. "So just drop it, alright?"

"But..." Michael began, but promptly became silent. He knew better than to argue. Instead, he turned his attention to some familiar-looking clunky shapes a few feet from him.

"Hey Rebecca? What's that over there?" Rebecca breaks her gaze from the wizard's uniforms to see what Michael was pointing at.

"Oh my god," she whispers. "It's..."

"It's what?"

"It's the Robot Masters," she replied in wonderment. "Almost every single one of them. That's Quick Man over there." She pointed toward a familiar-looking crimson robot. "And over there," she motioned toward a hulking round robot, "that's Frost Man, right?" Michael focused in the direction Rebecca was pointing at.

"All I can see are dull purple outlines right now. But, yeah, I kinda see what you're saying."

"You mean your sight's back?"

"Figure of speech." Michael said impatiently. "Anyone else that looks familiar? We might have to take them on later." Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about it. I uploaded the info about all the possible Robot Masters into Data."

""Data"?" Michael repeated.

"My watch." He stared in disbelief.

"You gave your watch a name? I know you're into technology and all, but..."

"What's wrong with that?" Rebecca crossed her arms defiantly. "I think the name suits it."

"Why Data?"

"It's short for "Defensive Adversary Tracking Accessory.""

"And you made up that acronym yourself?" Michael asked incredulously. "Why not just name it "Chibi-Monkey" or something?"

"What's that?"

"It's short and to the point."

"No, not that." Rebecca interrupted. "Something just blocked the windows and doors of this area. No sunlight's getting through." Michael could hear people's confused chatter around him. The tour guide was busy trying to assure the crowd not to panic.

"Rebecca, talk to me. What's going on?" Before she could reply, all the building's inner lights suddenly shut off, immersing the entire inside into complete and total darkness.

"Hey! Who turned off the lights!"

"Oh my god! We're under attack!"

"I want my money back!"

Michael had no idea what was going on. All he could hear was people panicking and the sound of giant metal security gates sealing off all exits in the area.

"The doors are locked! We can't get out!" People started to run around in a clamor to get out.

"Beca," Michael repeated in a slight panic, "what's going on?"

"Michael, it's pitch dark in here! No one can see any...Hey! Who are you?! Let go of me!"

"Rebecca?" Michael could see Rebecca's form struggling, but he couldn't see who she was fighting with.

"Help! Mi..."

"Flash Stopper!" A high-speed zipping sound rang out immediately silencing the crowd. Michael quickly looked around and saw that no one was moving. The only thing in motion was Rebecca's heat signature being carried away.

"Get back here!" Michael stumbled around as fast as he could, but there were too many obstacles in the way. Thinking quickly, he decided to use a high-risk maneuver. "I'm probably going to regret this." He set his palm onto the ground. "Nimbus Wave!" FWOOM! Michael catapulted his body into the air sailing over the crowd's heads. He winced in expectation of hitting the ceiling. Fortunately, there was plenty of space to maneuver through.

"Heh heh," the kidnapper chuckled to himself. "Too easy." And that's when Michael landed clumsily right in front of his path. He turned to face in the general direction of where he thought his enemy was.

"Let her go...right...now." Michael growled in his killer tone. The figure halted in surprise.

"What? But you should be frozen like everyone else!" Michael got into his fighting stance.

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

"The only way you could've been immune to my flash is if you...were...blind..." he realized. From what Michael could see, the assailant looked like he had an overgrown cranium that seemed to radiate some sort of heat.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing with my sister?!" Michael roared.

"My, my. You're a rambunctious kid, ain't ya? The name's Bright Man and..."

"Let me guess," Michael starts in a monotonal bored voice. "You're one of the so-called Robot Masters from the Robot Wars era and now for some lame reason, you're here to try to kill me and destroy the world. Am I close?"

"Listen you ignorant brat, this has nothing to do with you. But..."

OOK-EEK! Rebecca's data watch Data let out a chimp-like cry, freezing both Bright Man and Michael in their tracks. "What the..."

* * *
Bright Man
Fourth Generation Unit
His Flash Stopper emits one million watts of power in order to stun enemies.
Weakness: Rain Flush
* * *

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Bright Man yelled.

"Rain Flush?" Michael muttered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up!" Bright Man snapped. "I wasn't expecting you to be immune to my Flash Stopper this time."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean "this time"? I've never seen, I mean, met you in my life!" The big-headed bigot ignored him.

"I had orders not to engage you if I could avoid it. But since you came to me..." He aims his cannon arm point-blank in Michael's bewildered expression. "Time for a little payback."

(Note from author: And there you have it. The transfer is complete. And that's all I have about Michael and the others so far. I'm planning to continue this after I've finished Wedding or Switched. Until then, hope this interests you just as the other fanfics did. :D)

OOC: I'll have to think about this. I don't want to screw it up. And exactly how would I detail the life there? I only know whatever happened in Castle Oblivion via cutscenes and script. Unless you're asking me to testify made-up stuff about the daily life of Nobodies and how they never seem to use a bathroom...:huh:

BTW, it's TWO "S"s in "dessert," not "desert." Unless you're thinking about a dry cookie cactus. :p

Stated the obvious.

Episode 5, Act 3: "Blind Justice..."

(Note from author: I've only got one chapter left before I finished transferring over everything I've got so far.)

"So you can't see a thing?" Rachel asked as she leaned against the hotel dresser, arms crossed. After Duke lead Michael back up to their room and explained the situation to the girls, Rebecca decided that this was the result of a technical problem and ran into the other room to get her emergency tool kit. Michael was sitting down on the bed's edge, massaging his eyeballs in a vain attempt to get his vision back. As for Duke, he went to help Rebecca in case she needed some help looking for equipment.

"Imagine skydiving blindfolded naked at midnight," Michael said, turning his face toward the sound of her voice, "without the blindfold. It feels kinda like that."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up. "It's that bad?"

Michael gave her a painful smirk. "No, not really. But it sure feels that way."

"How so?"

"It's just..." Michael lets out a sigh of frustration. "I feel sort of...kind of..." he stutters.

"Helpless?" Rachel finishes. Michael nods meekly.

"Exactly." Rachel shrugs, causing her blonde hair to ripple.

"Well, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Last I checked, we were here on vacation, not to fight." She gave him a stern, suspicious look. "Why, is there something you're not telling me?" Michael shook his head.

"No, of course not," he said hastily. 'No sense in giving her more stuff to worry about,' he rationalized. "What makes you say that?" Michael could feel her eyes staring daggers through him as she plopped down next to him on the bed.

"You've been completely out of it the past couple of days. Like you're worried something or someone's out to get you." As Michael stayed silent, it was Rachel's turn to become flustered. "Michael, how long have we known each other?"

"About three years, I guess."

"Yeah, well in those three years, I'll admit that you've had your moments of maturity. But don't you think it's time you stop being bullheaded and start trusting me?" He looked up to face her, or at least tried to. "Look Michael, I'm your friend. If there's something bothering you, just tell me instead of bottling it up inside. I mean, I'm a big girl, you know. Whatever it is, I can handle it." Michael considered her words, contemplating a response.

After a few moments of silence, Michael finally asked, "Could you help me up, please? I'm still trying to work on my balance." As he heard the bed springs creak from her absence of weight, Michael rocked back and attempted to jump to his feet. However, his equilibrium was still off. The moment his body rocked to an upright position, he felt his center of gravity shift backwards forcing him to reach out for something to retain his stability. It's probably safe to assume where his hands ended up grabbing...

"You pervert!" Raising her fist instinctively, she swung with her usual fiery passion. That's when Michael did something completely unexpected.

He ducked.

Taken completely off guard, Rachel's momentum twirled her right into Michael causing the two of them to fall right back onto the bed. Her body landed on top of his with a soft thump. "Well, this is awkward," Rachel says, her face inches from his. Michael could feel her heartbeat start to quicken through her breast. As she stared into his blank-looking eyes, Rachel started feeling blood rush to her face against her will. She tried desperately not to think of any fantasy scenarios that started whirling around in her mind.

Finally Michael broke the silence. "Um...could you get off of me, please? It's...uh...kinda hard to breathe."

"Hey, don't stop on our account." Rachel immediately rolled off of Michael to see Duke and Rebecca in the doorway both grinning from ear to ear. "This is a tropical paradise after all," Rebecca said as she tried to keep the amusement out of her voice. Rachel's face blushed even more furiously.

"No, w-wait! It's not like that! I just..." she stammered.

"Uh huh, sure," Rebecca replied. "If you two are done with your afternoon foreplay, I'm ready to do that diagnostic now."

Michael sat up straight and waited patiently. Rebecca started to gently run her fingers through his scalp. "Um, Rebecca?" Rachel said. "What exactly are you doing?" Rebecca shook her head and gave her a loud shush causing Rachel crossed her arms in annoyance. After a few more seconds, Rebecca pushed firmly into Michael's skull resulting in a soft click. To Duke and Rachel's astonishment, the back of Michael's head split effortlessly into two halves revealing what looked like a regular human brain except it was clear, transparent and complicated bundles of colored wires intertwined together within it.

"What," Rebecca said with a smirk, "you were expecting something more sci-fi?"

"Whaddya know? Michael actually does have a brain in that thick skull of his," Rachel teased.

"It's disturbing to see his head open like that," Duke said scratching his head, "but at the same time, I can't turn my eyes away from it."

"After seeing mythical creatures and ancient robots try to kill us, THIS surprises you?" Michael asked rhetorically. Over the next few hours, Rebecca went and did a diagnostic on Michael's condition. Finally after what seemed like an eternity...

Rebecca sat back, red-faced and apparently exhausted. "Well, I've done all I could do," she said wiping her forehead of sweat. "And I've got good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" Duke asked.

"Well, whatever that beam was, it completely shorted out the optic nerves," she replies, leaning back, arms crossed. "It's going to be awhile before Michael gets his sight back."

"And the good news?" Michael asked.

"The good news is that your body's self-repair is already attempting to correct the damage. In the meantime, most of your body's systems are being given a slight boost in functionality."

"In English for us non-tech junkies, please?" Rachel asked.

"In other words, while he's blind, all his other senses should be enhanced somewhat. That's how Michael dodged your punch."

"Really?" Michael said, mildly surprised. "Because all I did was move out of the way the moment I heard Rachel's shrill tones."

"Shrill?" Rachel repeated as she took a pillow and flung it at Michael who, feeling it coming, ducked.

"So in other words, I'm pretty much screwed on sight until it comes back, huh?" Michael asked. Rebecca brushed her hair back thoughtfully.

"Well, maybe if I...but what about...no, it wouldn't be..." she muttered to herself. The gang exchanged confused looks.

"Um, was there something you'd like to share with us?" Michael asked. Rebecca chewed on her bottom lip in thought.

"There..." she hesitated as she debated whether to bring his hopes up or not. "There might be a way to give you some sort of...temporary sight."

"What do you mean by temporary?" Rebecca sighs.

"Just what I said. Temporary sight. It's not going to be perfect, but at least you'll be able to 'see' instead of stumbling around like a drunk."

"And how is that any different than how he usually walks?" Rachel quipped. Michael ignored her and shrugged.

"Well, some vision's better than no vision, I guess." After tinkering around for a few minutes, Michael's field of view burst into blinding white light. "GAH! IT HURTS!" he yelled, immediately clamping his eyes tightly shut. Rebecca's expression was mixed with confusion and alarm.

"What happened?" Rachel asked with concern. He felt a barrage of tears flowing down his face as he winced in pain.

"I opened my eyes and BLAM! All I saw was white!" Rebecca peered inside Michael's open skull at her work.

"I don't understand! That should've worked!" As Rachel and Rebecca started to panic, Duke (who had been silent the entire time) was hit with inspiration.

"Here, try these." Duke thrust his mirrored sunglasses straight onto Michael's face. "Now, open your eyes." Suspense seemed to hang in the air around them.

"Did it work?" Rebecca asked. Michael blinked a few times, but his vision still didn't seem right.

"All I'm seeing is a lot of rainbow colors."

"Here, let me see those sunglasses for a moment." Before Michael could reply, Rebecca snatched the sunglasses from his eyes.

"AUGH!" Michael yelled as he clamped his eyes shut again.

"Sorry!" Rebecca apologized as she hastily replaced them back on Michael's face.

"Do you mind warning me before you decide to burn my retinas even further?!" he shouted as the pain started to pulsate again.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Never mind about that," Duke interjected before Michael could retort, "how's your sight?" Michael took a few seconds to wait for the pain to become bearable before answering.

"Well, like I said, I can sorta see outlines of objects and stuff," Michael said as he took a good look around the room, "but nothing too definite." Rebecca nodded.

"Yeah, I adjusted your vision so it'll pick up heat signatures."

"Heat signatures?" Michael repeated. "So, what I'm seeing right now is thermal-optics?"

"Like I said, it's not perfect. But, it'll have to do until your vision comes back."

"Then how come it didn't work until Duke put the sunglasses on?" But Duke was ready for that question.

"They're special polarized lenses," he explained. "It's automatically filtering the white light into the rainbow colors you're seeing right now." Rachel and Rebecca looked at him in pure astonishment. Duke shrugged. "Well, at least that's my theory anyway."

"So as long as I wear these, I should be fine." Michael looked at Duke's hazy and colorful form. "Is it really okay for me to wear these, dude?"

"No prob, little buddy." As he spoke, Duke reached into his vest pocket and whipped out another pair of mirrored shades. "I'm always carrying six extra pairs of these babies ever since Hover Castle."

Rebecca glanced at the time. "Well, there's nothing else we can do for now and it's getting late," she said stifling a yawn. "I think we should just turn in for the night."

As she and Rachel left the room, Michael still had the ominous feeling that tomorrow he was going to end up with more questions than answers.

Does not apparently LOVE cookies. :cryinganime:

Episode 5, Act 2: "Warnings..."

"Dear Mr. McMann:

"You will not remember us, but we find it essential in both yours and our interests to warn you of a potential attempt on either yourself or a close acquaintance of yours within the next few days. Take the necessary precautions before setting off for your journey to Helio Central. It’s best if you don’t mention this to anyone else.

“Sincerely,

“R.G.L.

“P.S.: When in doubt, combinations work.â€

This was the message that was sent to Michael that particular Friday morning. As promised, Michael and Rachel were finally hanging out together alone. Unfortunately for Michael, it ended up with him being dragged into shopping for new outfits. Fortunately, needing a guy’s opinion on some choices, Rachel modeled some of the cute attires for him. He leaned against the door outside Rachel’s changing booth with his arms crossed and his head drooped in thought mulling over the meaning of the message for almost the entire day.

'When in doubt? I'm really doubting you right now.' When Rachel held up two different pieces of swimwear to compare before trying on and Michael stared off into space uninterested, it became extremely obvious Michael’s mind was elsewhere.

“Michael!†Michael’s head jerked up, snapping out of his stupor.

“Huh?†Rachel rolled her eyes.

“That’s like the third time you went all zen-like on me! What’s up with you today?â€

Michael was tempted to mention the letter, but decided to hold his silence for the time being. “Sorry, Rach. I still have a lot on my mind right now.â€

“You mean that whole Proto Man incident?†Rachel asks as she heads into the changing booth. “Look, it’s over and done with. Don’t worry so much about it.â€

Michael shakes his head. “No, that’s not it. It’s just...†He hesitates, not sure what else to say. Meanwhile, Rachel peels off her shirt and starts putting on a bikini top with blue wavy lines. Finally, he ends up saying, “I’ve got a hypothetical question for you.â€

Rachel glances over her shoulder into the mirror, checking to see how well her top fits. “Shoot.â€

“If you had to choose between the life you live and the life that’s been planned out for you, which would you choose?â€

Now it was Rachel’s turn to stare silently in thought.

...

“NO! I won’t do it!â€

“But, princess. You are almost of age. You must choose a suitor to marry. Your father...â€

“My father doesn’t know squat! He wouldn’t care less who I marry, so as long as it benefits him!â€

“My lady, that’s far from the truth...â€

“You tell that pompous old beanbag that I’d rather be disowned than marry! I’m not going to let him dictate who I’d like to spend the rest of my life with and nothing he does is going to change my mind!â€

...

“Rachel?†Michael calls. When Rachel didn’t respond, Michael felt a twinge of worry. “Rach? You okay?†He knocks on the door and waits a few seconds. When Rachel remained silent, he tried to open the door.

Surprisingly, the changing room handle was unlocked. That fact didn’t register until he attempted to turn the knob. The door quietly creaked open revealing Rachel with her top transitioning between off and on. Fortunately for her, her back was to him and the mirror’s angle was off. The sudden breeze of air snapped her out of her daze. As she noticed Michael’s stunned expression, Rachel quickly covered her chest with her left arm and arched back her right fist.

“You pervert!†she shrieked. CHAWONG! Michael’s form flies through the air in a graceful arc before ricocheting off the far wall and bursting through the dressing booth adjacent from Rachel’s.

“Michael...you idiot,†he muttered to himself as he painfully pushed his body off the ground. “Like you couldn’t see that coming.â€

...

Helio Central was a famous tourist attractor for not only its year-long summer weather and its long beach planes at the Rolas Resort, but for its museum/planetarium: the Planet Sanctum. Being one of the top research areas for forms of energy conservation, most of the visitors were either college students or scientists. The Rolas Resort itself looked like an amalgamation of the best parts of beach resorts from around the world. It could’ve been the perfect getaway if it weren’t for the extremely steep prices and the yearly vacancy shortages.

“Man, smell that ocean breeze!†Rachel said enthusiastically, carrying a large, heavy suitcase in each hand. “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe we’re finally getting a chance to relax! Three days of surf, sand and sun. It’s unbelievable!â€

“I’m more interested in the babes, bikinis and bajoingas,†Duke added, peeking over his sunglasses. Rebecca smacked him upside the head.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to stare?†she asked rhetorically, giving him a dirty look. “I mean, come on. ‘Bajoingas’? You make that term up or something?â€

As the group made their way to the front desk to check in, Michael’s eyes drank in the beautiful landscaping that left him with feelings of peace and contentment. All of his worries were momentarily forgotten. 'If only life were this breathtaking,' he thought with a smile. After a few moments, he reluctantly pulled his focus back into reality as Rebecca was talking to the front desk clerk.

"Reservation for McMann?" Rebecca was saying. The clerk did some random typing for a few seconds.

“Ah, yes. The Booster Canyon winners. Your rooms are ready for you. Here are your keys,†the clerk says handing them card keys. “Would you like our bellhop to take your bags for you?†The group shrugged their shoulders. In response, a group of bellhops seemed to appear almost instantly.

Seeing that it took multiple bellhops to even drag her bags, Rachel decided it was better off that she carry her own stuff. “Don’t want you guys to complain about breaking your backs later,†she said.

The hotel rooms that were given to them were large, spacious and extremely inviting, complete with minibar, clean sheets and world satellite TV. Each of their rooms held two single beds with a small connecting hallway separating the two adjacent rooms.

After dropping off their luggage, the boys went through the hallway to find Rachel's open suitcases revealing numerous accessories, outfits and portable hand weights. “This might take a while,†she said, grinning with embarrassment.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “We’ll meet you guys in the lobby after we finish unpacking, okay?â€

...

As Michael and Duke headed down to wait in the lobby, Michael couldn't stop himself from mulling over the meaning of the note. 'Combinations work? Potential attempt? What's supposed to happen exactly?'

Seeing Michael's dazed off look, Duke playfully punched Michael in the bicep. "Dude, cheer up! We're on vacation! Surrounded by beach bunnies and bikinis wherever you look! Whatever you've got on your mind, let it go already!"

Michael sighed. "Sorry, Duke. I've just..."

"Whoa, hey!" Duke interrupted. He peered over his mirror shades in his usual "playa" persona. "Who's that tall glass of hotness approaching?" Michael turned to see who Duke was talking about. A hourglass figured blond in a water-lily patterned sarong was making their way toward them. Her banana-like ponytail bounced around with every step. As she got closer, they noticed she had a nametag pinned to the left breast of her ocean-blue tanktop.

“Hello, my name is Talia," she greeted, "and I’ll be your personal tour guide today!†She stared at Michael and blinked a few times. Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh my god! You’re...you’re...Michael McMann!†She started to giggle uncontrollably. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting the famous “Blue Blazer†of Ultima! You’re like just the coolest!â€

As she continues with her long self-supplied dialogue, Michael leaned over toward Duke and whispered, “Blue Blazer?†Duke shrugged.

“I guess you’re starting to get a reputation that precedes you.â€

“Why? I haven’t done anything except save a city, liberate a castle and win a race. Not like any of that was important.â€

"Either way, it seems we've met your first groupie," Duke joked.

“I’m just wondering," Talia was saying, "are you busy later?â€

“Huh? Why?â€

“I’ve always dreamed of actually being able to meet you in person and I don't get off until six and...†Talia stopped and gave him a shy smile. Michael was stunned and speechless.

“I think she wants to go out with you,†Duke whispers. “You’re lucky Rachel’s not here. She’d probably be kicking your butt out of jealousy right now.â€

"What?!" Michael exclaimed. "You're crazy, dude." But Michael knew better than to disbelieve his statement.

"Listen Talia," Michael began, "you're probably a nice girl and all, but..." His voice trailed off as the cryptic message forced its way to the front of his mind.

Immediately Michael sensed something was wrong. Using his peripheral vision, he checked for anything suspicious. He heard the hum of the weapon charging before seeing it.

“Look out!†Michael instinctively threw his body into a tackle, knocking Talia off her feet. He used his momentum to spin his body toward the point of attack. Milliseconds later, a beam of concentrated white light shot through the air right where Talia’s head used to be. Her head hit the floor with a dull thud, knocking her unconscious.

The force of the beam snapped Michael’s neck back as his face took the entire brunt of the attack. Stars and flashes of light filled his entire field of vision as he lay on the ground, struggling to get his bearings. He could hear murky voices fade in and out until finally he felt Duke’s gloved hands prop him up.

“Dude, are you okay?†Michael didn’t answer at first and started applying pressure to his eyeballs because of the intense throbbing pain pulsating from them. He slowly opened his eyes.

“How long have been I out?†He could sense people running around in panic as security forces immediately started to investigate the origin of the blast.

“What are you talking about?†Michael could hear the confusion in Duke’s voice. “Th beam just hit you like ten seconds ago.†Michael blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to wash away the darkness with his tears, but to no effect.

“Well, either there’s been a lunar eclipse or...†Michael was afraid to admit it. “...I’m blind.

Episode 5, Act 1: "Upgrades..."

(Note from author: He's got his own life outside of the viewpoint. What he's doing at the moment isn't important.)

“Your majesty! Your majesty! It’s terrible!”

“Wait, wait! Slow down, squire! What’s happened?”

“I was on my way to Sir Thomas’ safe house as you ordered, but when I got there...Oh, the horror! The entire village was in flames! Creatures from outside the realm have broken through our barrier, killing and slaughtering many of our people! The royal guards did everything they could, but their powers were too strong! Our efforts were futile and useless. All we could do was wait until they left before searching for the survivors.”

“You’ve done a body count?”

“Yes sire. Sir Thomas' family is no more...”

“I was afraid of this. How could we have been so careless? Hiding them in plain sight seemed such a good plan, but I never expected outside forces to interfere. The warrior’s bloodline was supposed to last until the foretold crisis. Without a champion, I’m afraid that our very reality is in jeopardy. And now with all of the descendants dead...”

“...‘Cept one.”

“What?! Who? We might still have a chance!”

“My liege, ‘tis the princess’ chosen.”

“The child? He survived?”

“However, the entire royal fleet cannot find him anywhere. The royal court is consulting the oracle, but all she’ll reply is that “Destiny’s Force has finally set fate into motion.” What it means, I do not know.”

“Heh heh. That’s the difference between you and me.”

“Sire?”

“I didn’t end up king by being ignorant. Destiny’s Force is the ultimate weapon of legend. But it can only be obtained by combining the Trinity Blades of Reality: Calibur X, the Blade of the Warrior; Spiritual Light, the Blade of Holiness; and Elemental, the Blade of Ultima.”

"Forgive my ignorance, but what does that mean?"

"It means that the child has left the realm into the outside world. For what purpose, I haven't the foggiest. But, mark my words, he will return in due time."

“Your majesty, what about the princess?”

“Tell her...that she is still to marry at 21, whether the chosen one returns or not...”

...

“What? Why is it so dark? Where am I?”

You were never supposed to exist...

“Huh? Who said that?”

Only a chosen few can wield the Elementals...

“Elementals? Wait, what are you talking about?”

Light shines within you. Not just your heart, but in your soul...

“Okay, creepy voice. Whatever you say.”

You cannot begin to understand what fate has in store for you...

“If that’s the case, could you stop with the enigma thing and tell me already?”

As long as you exist, the Robot Masters and the Elementals incarnate will continue to cross your path until you send them back whence they came or they destroy your very being...

“At least that made sense. Anything else?”

Before you return to the realm of light, remember this: At the final crossroad, you must choose between the life you live now or the life destiny has chosen...

“What? Wait a min...”

...

After much trial and error, Rebecca was finally able to create a new forearm for Michael. Attaching it was pretty easy for her. Michael was now laying on the operating table recovering, but still unconscious. Rebecca was busy studying the sword in a far-off corner of the lab.

Deep molecule scans showed that the hilt was made of pure gold, encrusted with ruby and sapphires. The blade was composed of titanium alloy while the core itself was a composition of adamantium and vibranium. The entire length of the sword was covered with an almost invisible layer of coating that would allow the weapon to withstand virtually any temperature or weather condition and still retain its shape and strength. Other than the high value of the sword, the only thing worth of interest were the words “Titanium X” engraved at the bottom of the hilt.

While Michael was still asleep, Rebecca managed to make a few improvements to her portable data analyzer as well. Using the data from the I.D. chips that she acquired, she was able to include the function of automatically detecting Robot Masters. And as an added bonus, she had the watch custom made to have a cute chibi-monkey face on the front and dubbed her new creation "Data". Michael let out an involuntary groan, causing Rebecca to jump.

"Hey! You're finally awake!" Michael sat up and took a deep breath.

"How long was I out?" Michael asked.

"It's been almost a week." His eyes widened.

"A week! What about..."

"School? Don't worry about it. You've been given an excused leave of absence."

"Huh? Why?"

"Turns out the headmaster had a side bet going on with the leading members of other foreign academies. He bet that the winners would be students enrolled in his jurisdiction," she said smiling. It took a few seconds for him to realize...

"You mean, we won?" Rebecca nodded. Then he remembered. "Where's Rachel?" Rebecca's smile faded as she turned back toward her research table.

"She's been here every day waiting for you to wake up. She's been worried about you." Michael was stunned.

"Really?" He pursed his lips together in thought. "What exactly happened?" Rebecca lifted Michael's Titanium X and peered at it closely as she gave him a rundown of the events that had happened and the information that they had learned, casually avoiding the fact that she and Rachel had gotten most of it from Roll.

Michael nodded with interest. Suddenly he asked, “What about Zack?”

“Huh?” Rebecca took a few seconds to realize what Michael was talking about.

He raised an eyebrow. “You guys did keep an eye on him, right?”

Rebecca smiled sheepishly. “Um, yeah. Sorry, we kind of forgot all about him when the whole hacking thing started. Then there was the whole deal of you almost dying and all...”

Michael cricked his neck a few times with his left arm before realizing the sudden absence of weight in his right. He intently stared at his right palm before slowly turning it to the back.

“Hey, I distinctly remember my arm being cut off. Did you...”

“I was able to find weapon schematics and...” She stopped mid-sentence. “You know, I think it’s better if you see for yourself. Try charging a Plasma Cannon Punch.”

Michael didn’t know what to expect as he closed his eyes and started focusing his energy into his new attachment. As he clenched his fist, the new attachment burst open, blue metallic half-pipes the length of his forearm encased his entire limb inside an arm cannon. “The hell?!” Michael exclaimed panicking.

Rebecca giggled at his reaction. “Relax, bro. I took the liberty of giving your arm an upgrade.”

Michael, no longer shocked, wiggled his fingers within the cannon. “Even though I know this hand is artificial, it’s still hard to believe that I even lost my arm at all.” He ran his left fingers over his right arm, amazed at the fact he still retained his sense of touch.

“Well, most of your body is technically artificial, so it shouldn’t feel all that different,” Rebecca responded as she placed the sword back onto the table.

“It does, though. If I had to describe it, this new arm is a whole lot lighter than my old one.” Scanning over the articulate detail, he noticed a dim-lighted rectangular strip of yellow along the side of the cannon.

“That’s an energy indicator showing the power of your charge,” she stated noticing what he was looking at. “Go ahead, try it.” Michael stared at his arm, concentrating on building up a charge. As he felt the energy start to flow into his fist, the yellow bar started to light up in increments. The longer he held his focus, the more the bar lit up until finally the entire cannon started to vibrate with contained energy.

“Okay, I got the charge. Now what?”

“You should have felt a trigger pop up within the cannon. Basically, when you want to fire the charge, just aim and pull. Simple as that.”

“But what if I want to lose the charge without firing it?”

“Just quickly extend your fingers outward.” Michael did so, causing the energy that had built up to drain out, the lit up display going dim again. "Since your fist is no longer exposed, the cannon can propel the energy that you charge instead of physically having to swing your punches."

"Does it do rapid fire?"

Rebecca nodded. "Every quick shot that you take is equivalent to one of your souped-up punches. You can rapid fire and all, but since they all drain your internal energy, you'll get tired faster. Charging up the cannon first before firing powers up your shot exponentially, but like I said, huge energy drain." Then she smiles. "On the other hand, your blast becomes this massive..."

"You didn't do this on both arms, did you?" Michael interrupts. "Because you know I'm usually a close-range fighter. I might want to ram my fist into something every now and then."

"Don't worry, you can still use your Plasma Cannon Punch with your left."

"Fine," Michael grumbled, "but it's going to take some getting used to. I usually swing with my right."

“Now try activating one of your powers.”

“Elementals.”

“Huh?”

“These powers are called Elementals,” he clarified.

Rebecca peered at him over her glasses with interest. “And how would you know something like that?”

“Uh...” A confused look washed over his face. “To be honest I have no idea. I just know.”

“Whatever, just activate it already.” As Michael switched his focus to building up Absolute Zero, the entire cannon’s color dissolved from its original metallic blue to crystallic ice blue. “I figure with the cannon, you’ll be able to aim your attacks better instead of firing wildly like it usually does,” Rebecca explained. Michael nodded in agreement as he released the charge, the cannon fading back into its original color.

“So how do you get this thing to disappear?” Michael asked, a twinge of worry struck his mind with the thought of carrying a gigantic barrel on his arm in public. Rebecca waved the question aside.

“Don’t worry about that. Just extend your palm out for a few seconds.” Michael complied and within a matter of moments, the cannon’s shell split open and disappeared within the arm’s compartment as quickly as it appeared.

“Not bad,” Michael said, obviously impressed. “So what’s with the sword?” he asked as he grabbed Titanium X off the table.

“Don’t know. According to Rachel, it’s yours.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Mine?” He let out a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right. I wish I did own a sword like this. It looks expensive to use, though.”

Rebecca shrugged. “Believe it or not, it’s yours to use.”

“Yeah, I can see it now. Being stopped at every security checkpoint because I’m lugging this ol’ thing around,” he replied sarcastically. He twirled the sword around in his hands, getting a feel for the weapon. “I’m impressed, though. This thing has a good balance between being light with agility and heavy with brute force. Whoever created this knew what they were doing.”

“Can’t say I’m that familiar with swords, so I’ll take your word for it.” Michael grabbed his Laser Saber that was lying on a nearby table and started wildly swinging both swords together in unison. “Hey, watch it!” Rebecca shouted as the Laser Saber barely nicked her glasses.

“Hey, question,” Michael says as his arms stop their whirlwind flourishes. “This arm cannon isn’t going to interfere with any of my sword attacks, will it?”

Rebecca nodded. “I thought of that. I installed the safety feature allowing the ‘Rock Buster’ to sense if you’re holding something preventing it from activating.”

“Wait, ‘Rock Buster’?” Michael shook his head as he placed the swords back on the table. “That name’s kinda lame.”

She crossed her arms in impatience. “Alright, smart guy. What would you call it?”

Michael stared at his arm, the cannon safely hidden from view within. Smiling, he replied, “I think ‘Mega Buster’ sounds a whole lot cooler.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, that’s a whole lot better. You know, I could’ve just left you with a bleeding stump.”

Michael starts to retort, but ends up letting out a sigh and nods in agreement. “You’re right, Beca.” Michael gave Rebecca a hug. “Thank you.”

Rebecca returned the gesture warmly. “You’re welcome, little brother.” As they broke the embrace,
Michael stretched out his limbs and yawned.

"Well, alright. I'm going to go do some training in the workout room, then take a shower." He started for the door and stopped. "By the way, did Rachel happen to get the mystery guy's name?"

“Proto Man.” Michael nodded, reaching for the control panel. "By the way," he added, "nice watch."

"Uh, Michael?" Rebecca started to say. Michael turned his head toward her, not noticing that Rachel just happened to walk right through the door at that exact moment. He went and placed his hand on what he thought was the hand scanner.

"Huh? Was the panel always this firm?" he asks, pushing slightly. That’s when the realization came to him. Without turning his head, he asked Rebecca, “I’m not...am I?” Rebecca nodded, struggling to keep her face expressionless. “No. Way.” Michael says as his hand was frozen to the surface.

“Believe it.”

“You’re joking.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“I’m afraid to look.”

“But you must.”

"Oh crap," he muttered, slowly turning his head toward a red-faced Rachel.

"You pervert!"KAPOW! As Rachel's fist connected with Michael's jaw, Rebecca sighed.

"You know he just finally regained consciousness and now you're knocking him out again?" Rachel, slightly horrified at what she did, runs toward Michael's fallen form which had left a huge imprint in the wall.

"Michael?" She grabs him by the collar and starts shaking him vigorously.

"I'm happy to see you too, Rachel," he mumbles.

Your sentence begins...
Don't see why not. ^_^
NOW!
Geez, I'm still trying to get used to
"Darndarndarndarndarndarndarndarndarndarn..."
my username being magenta.
*Five minutes later*
After a year, it doesn't look right for some reason.
"...darndarndarndarndarn!" Let that be a lesson to you!
I'll get used to it, though...eventually.
*runs off*

You don't deny it?!
You're a Kookie Kween, right?
Blasphemy!
Why haven't you looked for a King yet?
I condemn thee to five minutes of me darning you to heck. (Since the charge isn't that serious. :xp:)

Episode 4, Act 6: "Blue Bomber..."

(Note from author: Eventually...but not with what I have written up at the present time. :cryinganime:)

“Hold on. Back up.” Rachel looked at Rebecca as if she had just belched the alphabet. “There's two things wrong with that statement. I may be ignorant when it comes to history, but I'm not totally stupid. First of all, I remember my professor mentioning that Dr. Light was a bachelor and never had kids. Second, how is it that your family name changed from Light to McMann?”

“I didn't believe it either at first, but then I did some digging. Turns out there was a sperm bank not that far from the city. So, the family might have been different, but we're still technically descendants.”

“Huh. Go figure.” As they watched the scientists go about their business, Rachel walked around the oblivious workers to get a better look at what they were working on. That's when she noticed an odd familiarity with the robot that was lying there. “Oh my god, it's him.”

Now it was Rebecca's turn to look at her funny. “What are you talking about?”

“That robot they're working on,” Rachel said, pointing toward the metallic humanoid. “There's no mistake; that's the robot that I met at Booster Canyon.”

“My oldest brother,” Roll said. “His name is...”

“Proto Man.” Dr. Light wiped the sweat off of his brow. “Our first achievement, Albert.”

“Meh heh heh,” Wily chuckled. “Finally, we’ll get the fame and the recognition we deserve, Tommy ol' boy.” Dr. Light looked at him sternly.

“I agree this'll be a breakthrough in science, but maybe we should run a few more tests before we reveal this to the public.” Dr. Wily, however, completely blew off the warning with a “Pfft.”

“That's always the trouble with you, Tommy; you're always too overly cautious. Come on, live for once!” Wily goaded. Dr. Light didn't look all that convinced.

“That's just it, though. The Independent Determination chip isn't fully perfected yet. It would be a mistake to go into mass production with a prototype like this. What if something goes wrong?”

“Look, Light,” Wily sneered, his fists clenched in annoyance, “I'm continuing the work whether you're in or out.” The scene starts shifting and swirling before the girls' eyes.

“Despite his instincts, Dr. Light agreed with Dr. Wily and started their work on the new robots,” Roll continued, “They soon were creating robots that would improve the human lifestyle, assigning them to specific areas that would be able to do increase the workforce tenfold. They made a total of eight robots, calling them 'Robot Masters'...”

“That's not true,” Rebecca interrupted. “All records of that era stated that there were only six Robot Masters that were created in that generation: Ice Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Guts Man, Bomb Man, and Cut Man. The usual eight-robot generation series didn’t start until the year afterwards.” Rachel shook her head.

“And how exactly did you know that?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “It's kinda been in the history books for awhile now. You should pick up a book every now and then instead of flirting with Michael all the time.”

“Flirting?!” Rachel shouted angrily. “With that pervert? Of all the...”

Before Rachel started to go berserk, Roll cleared her throat, causing the blonde teenager to fall silent. “Well, what most people didn't know is that there were two others: Time Man and Oil Man,” she continued as if there was no interruption. “They weren't officially Robot Masters in the records due to the fact they were programmed to guard non-populated areas. But they were Robot Masters just the same.” The environment finally became sharp and vivid again. It was the exact same laboratory. There wasn't much difference other than the additions of new gadgets and appliances. Dr. Light was still hunched over the operating table, but instead of Proto Man, the space was being occupied by a different humanoid. Wily was nowhere to be found.

“After a few months, Dr. Light was able to create the Beta version of the I.D. chip which he promptly installed into the next robot that was built.” The humanoid looked almost like a regular teenage boy. Dark brown hair, smooth synthetic skin; if it weren’t for the absence of fingernails and fingerprints, it would be almost impossible to tell that he wasn't human. “This was my other brother, the so-called “Forgotten Hero” of legend.”
“He's kinda cute,” Rachel commented. Rebecca gave her a sidelong glance.

“You do know he's a robot, right?” Rebecca asked incredulously.

Rachel shrugged. “I call 'em like I see 'em. What's this guy's name?” she asked jerking her thumb toward the motionless body.

“His name is...” Roll began. But the instant the words were about to leave her vocal synthesizer, white noise blasted throughout the air causing Rachel and Rebecca to cover their ears. Furthermore, a mosaic technicolor box appeared over Roll's lips preventing the girls from seeing what she said. After a few seconds, the noise stopped and the box disappeared. As Rachel and Rebecca uncovered their ears, Roll gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it seems some type of restriction in my programming’s preventing me from directly telling you his name.” At their disappointed looks, she quickly added, “What I can tell you though is that his nickname was the 'Blue Bomber'.”

“'Blue Bomber'?” Rebecca repeated. “Who the heck came up with nickname?” However, Rachel seemed to take a slight interest in this information.

“'B. B.', he said,” Rachel muttered.

“Huh?”

“I couldn't see anything that was going on, but I distinctly remember Proto Man calling Michael 'B. B.' before he vanished. Why would he say something like that?”

Before they could give the matter some thought, the girls were interrupted by Dr. Wily's roar of anguish and rage. He stomped toward Dr. Light holding what appeared to be an electronic clipboard with digital writing glowing from its surface. “The daily news,” Roll explained as Rachel and Rebecca stared at the object curiously.

“Did you see the latest news?” Wily shoved the flat piece of metal right into Dr. Light’s face. “The media is declaring that you're the greatest robotic genius in the world today!”

“Well, that's wonderful!”

“Wonderful?” Dr. Wily shouted, his veins throbbing. “Haven't you noticed? All the stories and digital streaming are all about you! They don't even mention my contribution to the project!”

“I think it might have something to do with the fact that you had me take all the public interviews ever since you raved about some type of 'robot revolution' in the future.”

“I wasn't 'raving'; I was advertising! I figured if people saw me as an insane psychopath, people would be more interested in our creations! And besides,” Wily said, veins throbbing, “I'm right! These people are starting to depend on our robots too much. The I.D. chips we installed are supposed to cause the Robot Masters to evolve and adapt independently. If civilians start to take them for granted, the robots might start realizing that the human race is obsolete!”

“Even so, that was no excuse to start throwing eggs at city hall with polka-dotted boxer shorts on your head and your trousers dropped screaming 'You owe me for that cheesecake!'”

“Hey, that governor of ours stole my mud-pie cheesecake at the last banquet we attended! I demand to be reimbursed!”

Rebecca let out a snort of amusement. Rachel and Roll looked at her curiously. “Sorry,” she apologized still smirking, “but it does bring a hilarious thought to mind.”

Dr. Light threw up his hands in exasperation. “Oh, for crying out...What does that have to do with anything?”

“You know what?” Dr. Wily slammed the electronic news media in anger. “I'm sick of living like this. A genius like me shouldn't have to be mocked by those simple-minded fools. As of this day forward, I, Dr. Albert Washington Wily, vow to become the most-respected scientist in the entire world!”

“His middle name was 'Washington'?” Rachel asked rhetorically.

“That's nice,” Dr. Light said unperturbed, “now that we have that established, do you happen to know where my...”

“Don't you get it?! I'm done with the likes with you!” Dr. Wily sneered with an accusatory glare. “I'm going off on my own and there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind otherwise!” And with that, Wily marched out of the room and slammed the door. Dr. Light stared silently, wondering when he would ever see his former partner ever again.

Then Wily opened the door a crack and asked, “I don't suppose you have any spare cash for a cab?” The holographic surroundings started to fade and swirl again as the next segment of history started to load.

“And that's when events starting to take a turn for the worse. Every robot that was ever installed with the Alpha I.D. chip started to go rogue. A time-delayed virus started to corrupt the logic and ethic parameters within their systems and caused them to attack human society.”

“Even you?”

“Fortunately, Dr. Light was able to neutralize the virus within me before it did any serious damages. However, the others weren't so lucky. The Robot Masters' prime directive was overridden causing the domains they were programmed to watch over to become targets of destruction. Construction sites, oil fields, skyscrapers; they all became war zones. People were in a state of panic; security forces were overwhelmed by the sheer power and abilities that these Robot Masters wielded.
“Proto Man was the exception, though. Since he was the very first one installed with the I.D. chip, neither Dr. Light or Dr. Wily bothered to give him any instructions. With no primary directive, he ended up setting off on his own away from all the chaos to find his purpose in life.

“The public was desperate for a hero. The only A.I. robot that wasn't affected by the virus was my newly created brother. However, despite that he was the only one that was installed with the Beta version I.D. chip; he was only a housekeeping robot. Dr. Light spent the next few days upgrading and transforming him into what the community called a 'super fighting robot'. He was equipped with an arm cannon, armor and a 'Copy Ability' which would enable him to replicate any weapons of Robot Masters that he defeated.”

“That process kinda sounds similar to those orbs of light that Michael keeps absorbing,” Rebecca commented. “Every time he destroys one of those creatures that attack us, the orb happens to give him the attacks of whoever was destroyed. Maybe it's the I.D. chip that’s giving him that ability as well.”

Rachel nods in agreement. “I guess there's something in that thick skull of his that’s useful after all.”

“When he finally became battle-ready,” Roll continues, “he set off to defeat the Robot Masters and liberate the areas that were taken over. However, when he returned back to Dr. Light and showed him the data that he had acquired, it became evident that the virus was triggered by Dr. Wily.

“Armed with evidence that his former partner was responsible, Dr. Light took it upon himself for an explanation to the sabotage.” Their surroundings started to come back into focus again.

The group was now standing in a big office room that could've belonged to the CEO or president of a wealthy company. There was a spectacular window view of the city landscape. It was pretty clear by the skyline that they were at least 150 stories up.

“Now that he knew what he was up against, Dr. Light miraculously managed to hack his way through Wily's secret headquarters until they finally confronted each other face-to-face.”

Dr. Light walked into the room, his face expressionless. Wily sat behind his desk with his hands clasped together, a smug expression on his face. It seemed that he was expecting the unwelcome intruder.

“Albert, what's the meaning of this?” he asked calmly.

“Meh heh heh!” Wily cackled. “Tommy-boy, great to see you again. Can I offer you a drink? Something to eat? How about a quick death?”

Light shook his head, slightly amused. “Still playing the ol' insane nutsack persona, eh?”

“When you broke our partnership months ago, you lost the right to criticize me, Light!” Wily sneered.

Dr. Light wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “Uh, I thought you broke the partnership.”

“Shut up! Why are you here?”

The Santa look-alike leaned over the desk. “You know why I'm here,” he says staring Wily straight into the eyes. “I'm here to ask you to deactivate the virus that you implanted in the Robot Masters.” Wily leapt to his feet, his long mustache becoming frizzier. “Don’t bother to deny it. Only you would know the schematics of the technology. You were there when I developed them.”

“We developed them,” Wily corrected him, emphasizing the “we”.

Dr. Light shrugged. “Well, you walked away. I tried to give you a share.”

The mad scientist slammed his thick veined hands onto the table. “I went out on my own so my ideas wouldn’t be stolen by you! And I didn't need your charity!”

“We were friends, Albert. I never understood why you left.”

“You never understood me, period! You were always pretending to be nice and patient...and competent! Well, I'm sick of living in your smug shadow!”

Light raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I'm sorry, I never knew...”

“Enough with this!” Wily reached into his long white lab coat and pulled out a shiny-looking object. It didn't take any explanation from Roll to know what Dr. Wily was planning to do with it as he aimed its muzzle right between Dr. Light's calm eyes. “The only way to finally get the recognition I deserve is if my competition no longer exists!” Wily was about to pull the trigger when a giant explosion outside shook the room. “Wha...?”

Dr. Light smirked. “I believe that would be my equalizer taking apart your faulty security forces.” The doors burst open to reveal a humanoid in metallic blue armor, his arm cannon smoking from its constant use. Faster than he could react, the Blue Bomber fired a non-lethal blast that knocked Wily's weapon from his hand.

“The military's right behind me and should be making their way here in a minute. Ready to go, Dr. Light?” the robot asked calmly. Dr. Light nodded.

“Well, it's been a pleasure to see you again, Albert. I’ll be sure to ask them not to wrap that straitjacket too tight.”

The last thing the girls saw was military personnel handcuff a disheveled Dr. Wily and leading him toward the exit before the scene shifted back into its swirling time tunnel effect as the data was processed.

“Time passed. With each coming year, new enemies rose to the challenge into taking out the human race’s champion. Attackers like Bass, King and Duo were among the very few that almost succeeded. Look them up,” Roll added as Rachel opened her mouth to ask. “Each time it was found that Wily was behind the attacks despite the fact that every time he was defeated, he was thrown in prison only to escape a few days later.”

“Then that day came. While my brother and I were out on a mission, Dr. Wily’s forces stormed our home and brutally murdered Dr. Light before setting the entire building ablaze.” Roll let out a painful sigh. “It was extremely graphic and tragic. My brother never had any violent intentions toward humans, but Wily's blitzkrieg caused an override his core programming. Before I could stop him, he went off on his own in a vengeance mission to kill Wily himself.”
They were now standing in a gigantic warehouse-sized room. The remains of what looked like a domed alien-type craft lay in ruins. The blue armored robot was standing over a cowering Dr. Wily. From the sight, it looked like they had just missed a major battle. The scientist was on the ground, backing away panicky. He no longer had the smug, dominant look on his face that he usually had. Now his eyebrows and mustache were twitching in fear. “No! You can’t do this! Robots can't kill humans!” Wily cried. The Blue Bomber’s expression said otherwise.

“You murdered my father,” he growled quietly, “destroyed my home, tormented my friends and family, and have been nothing more than a cancerous sore to society." His arm cannon started screaming with the charge that was building up. He aimed. “Robot's can’t kill humans, but I'm more than just a robot.”

“But...” Wily's face changed from fear to arrogance as he realized something. “But if you kill me, how are you any different? You may think I'm insane and evil, but what is “evil” exactly? If I'm loyal to what you say is right, is that all it takes to make me “good”? You claim justice on your side, but destroying your own kind just to get to me? The I.D. chip was created to allow a robot to evolve and think on its own. Destroying each robot was like killing another life from having the opportunity to evolve, learn and adapt. Is that really justice, or is it evil? No one can truly draw the line between just and unjust, good and evil. My boy, kill me and then what? Your purpose would be gone and you'd become another insignificant piece of metal taking up space in this world.” The speech seemed to cause internal conflicts in the robot’s logic circuits, freezing him in his tracks and losing the charge in his cannon.

Unfortunately that moment of hesitation was all Wily needed. A dark, black robot wearing what looked like a wing-shaped crash helmet jumped out of nowhere and knocked the Beta chip wielder off his feet. “Bass...” was all the Blue Bomber could say.

“He who hesitates is lost,” Bass said simply. Before the blue robot could start up his weapon again, Bass grabbed Wily and teleported away in a purple pillar of light. The moment they disappeared, the entire castle started to shake violently.

“No! Get back here Wily!” he raged, oblivious to the destruction around him. Leaping out of the shadows, Proto Man landed behind the angry android, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“There's nothing more you can do!” Proto Man shouted over the increasing din. “Wily activated the self-destruct countdown! If you stay here, you're going to end up scrap metal!” The Blue Bomber knocked Proto Man’s arm away as he whirled to face him.

“What's the point?! Wily's gone, my home's in ruins and our father's been psychotically murdered! There's no reason I should even exist anymore.” Proto Man stood silent for a moment before thwacking the robot with his shield across the head.

“You idiot! You still have family who needs you! Humans depend on you to protect them! You're the only one that has ever stood up to Dr. Wily and survived! And you’re choosing now of all times to start doubting yourself? Are you going to throw all of your accomplishments away just because of what some butt-munch says?” As the girls watched, B. B. stood up and without another word, teleported himself outside. The scene swiftly changed to the outside, leaving the fate of Proto Man to their imaginations. They were now standing on a rocky cliff, miles away from the explosions.

The Blue Bomber stared at the remains of Wily’s fortress from the distance. Retinal cleanser fluid started to leak out of his artificial eyes. He fell to his knees, his entire life’s battle all for nothing. Looking to the sky, he screamed, “DAMN YOU, WILY!”

“After that day, Bass, Wily and Proto Man were never seen since,” Roll continued sadly. “Unfortunately with the disappearance of Wily, the Robot Rebellion broke out. Robots started to create robots, installing copies of the faulty I.D. chip. They in turn turned on the human population, slaughtering many. The human population dwindled down into the low millions. It became a dark time indeed.”
Now Rachel and Rebecca found themselves standing in the middle of a barren street. Ruined buildings towered over them casting dark, hovering shadows from above. The sky was blood-red and the sun seemed to be perched on the horizon, its rays seemed hazy and had an aura of unwelcome discomfort. “The surviving humans were forced to live underground. My brother and I had nowhere else to go, so we were invited to help defend them from the opposing forces. Years went by in an instant. I was forced to constantly transfer my entire consciousness into a new updated body with every passing century in order to keep up with him. We ended up forming a liberation group called the Maverick Hunters. Robots that were liberated from the virus joined willingly. One of them was Zero.”
A robot with wearing red and white armor and a torso-length ponytail stood before them, oblivious to their presence. He was carrying a neon-green sword that seemed remarkably similar to Michael’s Laser Saber. It looked like he had just finished slicing apart some enemy droids. “No one knew where he came from, but he eventually became my brother’s best friend and closest ally. I know he’s a little girly looking with the ponytail but trust me, this guy was good. Really good.”
"That's an interesting sword he's wielding," Rebecca commented. Roll smiled.

"A 'Zero Saber' we called it. It's known as one of the most powerful artifacts on the planet."

"'Artifacts?'"

"After the Robot Wars, certain weapons, armor and accessories disappeared without a trace. They were rumored to be hidden away in storage somewhere in case another war broke out."

The scene shifted again. They were now standing in what looked like a night-time desert. There was no sun, but it was light enough for the girls to see. Rachel and Rebecca were shocked to find themselves surrounded by horrific-looking robots. Among them were Frost Man, Air Man and Quick Man. They were all clearly Robot Masters and they seemed to be grinning stupidly at them. Rachel looked down and was stunned to see the Blue Bomber on his knees, his armor dented and beat up; his free arm dismembered and half of his synthetic skin was ripped off his face. However, despite the fact that he was on the verge of being destroyed, he had a determined and fiery look in his eyes. 'That expression looks a lot like Michael's,' Rachel thought.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Roll muttered, blushing slightly, “I was lured out alone and stupidly walked into a trap, causing me to become a hostage. Zero had been taken out of commission weeks earlier and was in the process of being rebuilt. Proto Man hadn't been seen for centuries. None of the other warrior robots were strong enough power-wise. So, my brother decided to go off to rescue me on his own. And therein lay the most fatal mistake he could ever make.

“Every Robot Master that was ever created was resurrected for one final attempt to terminate him. The odds were 100 to 1, but he fought anyway. In the last few minutes he was functioning, he uploaded all of his data and memories into a remote terminal before initiating his self-destruct.” Roll looked like she was about to cry from the memory. “It was a terrible sight, sacrificing himself for the rest of the human race. I almost wish I could delete the entire ordeal from my memories. But he made me promise to recreate the Beta I.D. chip, download all of his data into it and give it to someone in the immediate family, someone I could trust. So, with the human populace finally left alone to repopulate the world, I set out to find Dr. Light’s closest blood relative.

“After explaining the situation, I was accepted as guardian of the family who I protected as long as I could function. In the last few minutes before my data became fully corrupt and inoperable, I downloaded all my memories into the I.D. chip as well and handed over the last known remaining piece of an era that was long forgotten. Then my program remained in hibernation until the installation of the I.D. chip into Michael reactivated me.”

“The human population was finally able to move out of underground and started to slowly rebuild their cities again,” Rebecca concluded. “That would explain why we live in the society we live in today. But it doesn’t explain why with all that technology back then, why is it that we’re no more advanced than you were in that era?”

“What you probably didn't know is that after the fallout of the era, technology started to regress,” Roll explained. “With very few scientific minds left, discoveries that people once took advantage of had to be recreated all over again. Most of today’s machinery aren’t as current as you might think.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take the teleportation system for example. Back in our era the machinery was pretty common. The only real difference was that only robots and machinery were the only objects stable enough in order to survive the transition. Anything organic would usually end up in a comatose state or become completely obliterated in the process.”

“So in other words...”

“In other words, the world is basically going through a 'Re-industrial Revolution'. The only difference between now and then is that since both science and magic coexist (even though 98% of the global population still don't believe in magic's existence), technology's growth rate has been increasing more dramatically than a thousand years ago.”

“Yeah, kinda too bad that even after all this time, we still don’t have hovercars,” Rachel said. “Hoverboards, maybe, but no hovercars.” Then her watch alarm tone started to play. She looked down in amazement. “Shoot! Is it that time already? I almost forgot all about it.” She winked at Roll. “I'm sorry about this, but we’ve got to leave.”

Rebecca looked at her own watch. Her eyebrows raised in shock. “You're right! I almost forgot we had a self-defense class today!”

Roll smiled. “I understand completely. However, there’s one last thing before you go.” Rachel and Rebecca gave Roll their undivided attention. “Could you promise not to tell Michael that you know about me? He’d probably freak out if he knew you had access to his head.”
Rachel nodded in agreement and waved goodbye to Roll as she headed toward the exit. “Thanks for the info and all, but it's probably not going to sink in until later. Anyway, I'll meet you there, Rebecca. Nice meeting you, Roll!” she says with flourish of her naturally blond hair, leaving Roll and Rebecca alone.

“If there's anything else you need to know, just ask,” Roll says, smiling.

Rebecca grinned back. “Thanks for the offer, Roll. But I'll have to take a rain check. I still have to figure out how to...” A thought occurred within an instant. “Actually...”

“Yes?”

“I don't suppose you have any schematics on that arm cannon your brother had?”

“It's called a 'Rock Buster',” Roll clarified.

“A 'Rock Buster'? Let me guess,” Rebecca said in a weary, semi-sarcastic voice, “it was originally created to bust rocks.”

Roll shook her head. “To be honest, it was named after him.”

“Named after...” Rebecca repeated. “Wait a minute. I thought you couldn’t say his name.”

“At the moment, my programming won’t allow me to say his name directly. Doesn't mean I can't hint toward it.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever. Anyhow, could you please upload it into the database?”

After a few seconds, Roll stated, “Upload successful. But you’re not seriously planning on attaching a mechanical arm to him, are you? I don't think it’d be compatible...”

Rebecca had a twinkle in her eye as she said, “It's like you said before, technology might be similar to back then, but there have been upgrades since. When it comes to integrating biology with technology,” she said giving her an astute wink, “it's what I was born to do.”

Your statement is obviously false. The brownie cookie has already been invented by...

...Mrs. Fields!

If the press ask, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :p

Are you serious?!

Wow. Creepy.

As for you, a Dark-type Pokemon that helps out in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon but seems to be really weak in everywhere else.

Epic cuteness. Seriously, I just want to reach through the screen and...well, you know. :p

OOC: Hmm...Repliku's got a point. True, normal courtrooms have the examination and cross-examination. I think this whole thing is getting confusing and muddled due to trying to adhere to the Ace Attorney universe. If this whole thing were being played from the defense's point of view, this might actually work. But since BOTH prosecution and defense have both point of views in this case, the rules might not necessarily apply for all of this. Just my two cents.

EDIT: Crap. You guys already continued without me. Okay. But I'm curious, do I answer in one-liners or paragraphs? That would kinda determine the questions.

And do we still wait for Erkz to give ANY of the okays or are we just going to continue without him? :huh:

Another EDIT:

I wasn't thinking correctly when I made that statement. But thank you for reminding me. :)

Episode 4, Act 5: "Robot Wars..."

"Anything?" Duke and Rebecca were frantically trying to figure out how to unblock their frequency. Duke slammed his fist in frustration.

"Nothing! There's only one way to..."

CRASH! A crimson projectile came flying in out of nowhere, smashing through a window of their station. As it fell to the floor, it let out a hollow CLANG.

"What the hell is that?" Duke exclaimed. Rebecca picked it up and started rotating it in her hands. On closer inspection, the crimson object turned out to be a head of a robot. A yellow "V" was plastered straight in the middle of the forehead.

"Quick Man," she muttered. As Duke looked at her in curiosity, Rebecca reached carefully inside the hollow disembodied head. After a few moments, her hand came out holding an I.D. chip.

"What's that for?" Duke asked. "And more importantly, how the hell did this thing end up here?" Rebecca let out a snort of amusement. In response, Rebecca turned the head sideways and pointed to the unmistakable imprint of a fist embedded into the metal.

...

Rachel could hear all the commotion going on the other side of the boulder wall, but dared not say anything in case it might distract Michael. She could only imagine how the battle was faring, but it sounded like her hoverboard partner was losing.

"Figures," she thought to herself, "the dork can't do anything right." She crouched down to glance over Rush’s energy levels and let out a huff of impatience as the charger showed it was only at two percent. "Despite all of these upgrades, they should have at least put in a better charger." She stood back up, bored at the inactivity.

“Well, I can’t just stand here doing nothing. Maybe that landmark’s around here somewhere...â€

...

WEEEEOOOOOWEEEEEEEOOOOOOWEEEE

Verocity's head snapped up in shock as a strange, musical whistle pierced the air.

"Proto Crasher!" A blast of white-hot plasma energy streaked through the sky, landing front and center right in-between the monster's eyes. Verocity roared out in pain, instinctively removing his claws from Michael's shoulders.

"My...eyes..." The next thing Michael knew, he sensed his head being lifted and a cool, refreshing liquid flow into his throat.

"Don't know how this'll interact with your system, but..." Michael's body felt a slight energy boost, enough to stay conscious. He slowly opened his eyes attempting to focus on his rescuer. It looked like a human with a dented red and white crash helmet, but his face's synthetic skin was torn up revealing metal skeleton underneath. The eyes were completely enveloped by an opaque visor that had multiple cracks; a ripped yellow scarf hung around his neck and his right forearm appeared to be some type of handheld cannon. The entire body looked like it had been beaten through numerous encounters; flecks of red paint dotted the almost silver frame. In the being’s visible hand was a glowing blue can with a large “E†plastered on it.

Verocity shook its canine head and growled at the newcomer. "You...traitor..." The humanoid gently placed Michael's head down and stood to its full height.

"Hey, I never said I was on your side you Egyptian reject. Look, I'm grateful that he reactivated me, but I'll tell you what I told your so-called master: Take your world domination plan and shove it."

"You're...a...fool..."

"Takes one to..." Before he could finish the insult, the creature zipped straight at the cyborg, its claws ready to tear through its mechanical torso. The robot stood completely immobile at the incoming threat. Then at the last second, he punched his cannon's muzzle right into Verocity's overgrown schnoz. "Down, boy." The monster’s eyes widened in horror as the cannon charged to life.

KABLAM! The monster’s head was blown clean off, leaving a headless corpse that started disintegrating into ashes. “Pitiful. I can’t believe someone with your potential would have trouble with an underdog this weak.â€

Michael raised his head with great difficulty. "Wh...who are you?" was all he could say before he slipped back into unconsciousness. The robot looked back at Michael and sighed.

"You've got a long way to go, B.B." He turned around just in time to notice a rusty-red orb rise from the remains of Verocity.

"Weapon Copy System Initiating," came an electronic voice emitting from the robot's head.

The orb of light flew straight towards the humanoid. "Thanks, but it doesn't match my style." Before it could make contact, he whipped out a battered red and white shield deflecting the magic entity right toward Michael's unconscious body. During the usual flashing light show, the stranger started talking again. “I know you can hear me even in that comatose state, so I’m going to give you some much needed advice. First off, you’ve got to learn to stop fighting head-on. That strategy’s probably worked for a couple of fights, but that’s not going to cut it later. Secondly, stop wielding those damn powers of yours as if you’re all-powerful. Everything takes energy and if you don’t conserve them, you’re going to wind up powerless like you did.

“And finally,†the robot enunciated, “don’t let up your guard. Your very existence has caused a major imbalance in the timeline. That day your parents were murdered, you were supposed to die along with them. But you didn't, you survived. As long as both you and that I.D. chip in your head remain functioning, the Robot Masters and the Elementals that have been attacking are going to continue to come after you and your friends.†As the light finally faded, the stranger had returned the shield across his back and was now facing toward the boulder barrier. He charged his cannon again and fired off another plasma barrage, melting and incinerating the rocks.

The dust cleared to reveal Rachel, who was just about to blast through the rocks with a fully-charged Rush. She had realized that it took a few minutes for Rush to warm up its charger before it could start regaining energy. While she was waiting, she successfully found the last landmark. Her eyes widened as she saw the state of Michael’s beaten form.

“Oh my god,†she whispered. While Rachel stood in shock of seeing Michael’s beaten up body, the robot carefully picked Michael up and placed him gently on the hoverboard.

“Listen, we don’t have much time. The moment you get back to the lab, tell Rebecca to activate the SubCon Program Roll Control, Extension 727. Ask about the Robot Wars.†At Rachel’s confused look, he replied “Trust me, you’ll understand.†He pulled the battered shield out from behind him again. This time, he reached into a hidden compartment and produced what seemed to be a rolled-up bundle of golden cloth folded up inside itself. Rachel didn’t know what to think as he thrust the package into her hands. “Don’t ask questions. His predecessor wanted him to have this. Now move!†he ordered in a hurried voice. Before she could blink, the humanoid’s body shifted into a transparent pillar of light and rocketed into the sky with a BLOOPBLOOPBLOOP.

“...achel? Michael? Can you guys read me?†Rebecca’s voice rang out from the earpiece snapping Rachel out of her stupor. “Come on, you two! Answer!â€

“Rebecca?†Rachel let out a sigh of relief. “Man, it’s great to hear your voice. We’ve got a medical emergency here.†She propped her unconscious teammate against her to keep him from falling off, revved Rush up at maximum burn and started speeding toward the finish line as fast as she dared. “Michael was attacked while we were in radio silence.â€

“How bad is it?â€

Rachel glanced at the dry, crusty blood that was smeared over Michael’s blazer and shuddered. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing you specialize in artificial limbs.â€

After a few seconds of silence, Rebecca replied, “Alright, I’ve alerted the medical officials. The finish line’s only five minutes from your position. They’re standing by at the ready. FYI, Duke’s got all the systems back online and working properly.â€

“And the hacker?â€

“Disappeared without a trace. It’s as if he were never there.â€

“The guy’s good,†Duke added, “I’ll give him that much. If I had more time, I could’ve been able to identify our intruder.â€

“You could’ve, but we didn’t have a month,†Rebecca teased. While Duke and Rebecca started to get into another friendly verbal joust, Rachel slowly unwrapped the bundle of cloth that she was holding while Rush flew on auto-pilot.

To her amazement, the package was revealed to be a bright, gleaming sword. It was obviously ancient, but extremely taken good care of. The sword had a pure golden hilt encrusted with rubies and sapphires. The blade itself seemed to be made of a transparent metal with a silvery core in the middle.

“Wow,†she whispered, “this has got to be worth a lot more than Michael’s Mega Gem.â€

...

Later that evening, Rachel and Rebecca were back at the lab. Duke had to go back home due to family issues, but he asked to be kept updated on Michael’s condition. They had placed Michael’s body in a stasis chamber to prevent any more degeneration until Rebecca had time to create some new body parts for Michael. Unfortunately, even with her advanced knowledge of biotechnorganics, she didn’t know exactly how to create a new arm for Michael. The only person who knew was the Professor, but he was on a business trip and was going to be unreachable for an entire week. The girls put the race out of their minds and were now focusing on the baffling events that had just taken place. Rachel had told Rebecca everything she knew, but since she didn’t know anything that happened beyond the barrier, there wasn’t much to tell.

“So, let me get this straight,†Rebecca began as she examined the sword; “Some robot walks up to you carrying Michael’s body, tells you about some program that I’ve never heard of, then gives you a sword that seems to be worth millions and teleports out before you can say anything?â€

Rachel gave an impatient sigh. “I told you, unbelievable, but it happened. I thought you’d make more sense of the situation then I could.†Rebecca nodded, as if she were agreeing with her. Without another word, she placed the weapon down onto a table, headed straight to a control console and started to type some seemingly random stuff.

“I’m going to initiate some safeguards, just in case this SubCon program ends up unleashing a virus into the systems.†After a few minutes, Rebecca said, “Computer: Activate SubCon Program. Extension 727.†The girls were taken by surprise as the holographic simulator started to activate.

“Virtual uplink complete. SubCon Program: Roll Control online.†They cautiously entered the simulator’s doors, not sure of what to expect. The room was completely void of any artificial programs except a lone holographic entity standing with its back toward them. The figure turned to reveal a cute, blond teenage girl wearing a black blazer over a red dress. Her emerald-colored eyes met theirs. “Hi there!†she greeted enthusiastically; “We haven’t met face-to-face before, but it’s finally nice to meet you. I’m the Subliminal Consciousness Program, Roll Control.â€The two girls stood stunned and speechless. ‘If she were brunette and wore glasses, she could be Rebecca’s twin sister,’ Rachel thought.

Rebecca was the first to regain her composure. “What exactly are you?†she asked, peering over her specs.

“I’m an interactive avatar that resides in the I.D. chip located within Michael,†Roll explained without hesitation. “My main functions are to act as Michael’s subconscious, regulate certain special functions, and to retain the persona and memories of everything that happened since the I.D. chip was first activated.â€

“Wait a minute,†Rachel said slowly. “Are you saying you have access to Michael’s thoughts and memories right now?†Roll nodded politely. Rebecca had a mischievous grin on her face.

“Could you tell us what he really thinks about Rachel?†Rachel gave Rebecca an incredulously look.

Roll smiled. “Between us girls,†she said in a stage whisper, “he really likes checking out her...â€

“That’s not important right now!†Rachel interrupted whose face started to redden. “We’re supposed to be asking about the Robot Wars!â€

“Usually I wouldn’t be able to access that type of information in my data bank,†Roll said. “However, since you used the extension code, one of two things probably happened. One, you probably just guessed at a random number but that’s pretty unlikely since the only living person who knew about the SubCon program was Michael himself.â€
“And the other?†Rebecca inquired.

“No one’s supposed to know about the data stored in the I.D. chip except a select few. But only one person knows that specific code.â€

Rebecca crossed her arms with controlled patience. “And that would be?â€

“My eldest brother. How he survived an entire millennium is beyond my comprehension.â€

“Hold up. Your brother’s a robot?†Rachel asked. “Because let me tell you, he looked like he’s seen better days. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be a holographic program stored on the I.D. chip.â€

Roll shrugged. “Most of the data stored are memories that were copied and downloaded from the original robots of the era, including mine. But as a precaution, certain memories were blocked and repressed from being viewed. Some aspects of the Robot Wars weren’t supposed to be released to the general public.â€
“Whatever,†Rachel said impatiently. “History was never my forte, so could you give the abridged version?â€

“Either way, this might take a while.†Roll closed her eyes as she started to load her databanks into the holographic matrices. The environment around the trio started to shimmer and blur as the human girls waited with nervous anticipation. After a few minutes, Rachel and Rebecca found themselves standing in a laboratory not unlike the one outside the simulation. However there were major differences. The entire area wasn’t well organized. Instead of the artificial limbs that looked human, in their place were robotic-looking arms and legs that were scattered about. The calendar tacked on the wall stated that the year 20XX, with the X’s being smeared with some type of fluid making the digits unreadable. And in the center of all of this stood two men wearing lab coats, both looking in the mid-40s, streaks of gray already glaring against the fluorescent light. One had a thin, twisted mustache; his head was almost balding, but the hair sprang out wildly to the sides, giving him an insane appearance. His body looked extremely scrawny compared to the person beside him. The other man had an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus, except instead of a Christmas suit; he wore a white lab coat. Wisdom seemed to radiate from his very presence. They were hunched over an operating table that was occupied by a humanoid form.

“The Robot Wars all began when two men were able to successfully create the first robot with near-human artificial intelligence,†Roll narrated. She pointed to the scrawny man. “This was Dr. Albert W. Wily. He specialized in robot design and architectural structure.†Then sotioned to the tall, rotund man. “And this was...â€

“Dr. Thomas Xavier Light,†Rebecca whispered with a stunned look on her face. Rachel looked at her in surprise.

“You know him?†Rebecca nodded slowly, turning to face Rachel.

“I should. That man’s my great-ancestor.â€

OOC: I'll agree with everything except that last paragraph. So far, I've been only stating facts (other than that one bullet I knew you'd pounce on gleefully. I did that on purpose.). EXACTLY how things happened. Plus, when you press for more information, the entire strategy of the whole cross-examination concept is to ask the right questions to the statements. In the first cross-exam, you conveniently asked a question that forced me to not testify about Larxene's actions, such as that kick. That was clever thinking on your part, I'll admit it.

As for the 5th amendment right, I don't really agree with it, but it's not exactly unreasonable. I'm not going to bring in the whole "Mask*DeMasque incident" but the double jeopardy thing should only be for individual members. If we end up using it for the ENTIRE Organization, then we can't exactly prosecute them for their own individual actions.

And I'd like to apologize to you too about a few posts back. But you seem to have a lot of advantages since only you, me and Erkz are the only people that have actually played the Ace Attorney series. The prosecution and *TwilightNight* have never played it so they wouldn't know exactly how things work in this particular courtroom.

EDIT: The 5th amendment is when a defendant cannot be tried for the same crime twice. So if someone were to be found innocent on one charge, they wouldn't be able to be accused of that exact same charge later if we're on another defendant.

Naminé shook her head. She had just realized that she had testified out of turn. The judge never gave her permission which meant...

"Your honor, forgive me," she apologized. "But I forgot that I wasn't supposed to testify until after you gave the okay."

She could almost see the defense's mood do a 180. They had thought that they actually managed to get somewhere. But in reality, since the judge never gave the okay, her entire testimony was completely negated and irrelevant. That meant...

"Your honor, if you would give me permission, I'd like to OFFICIALLY testify." She waited for the judge's ruling.

*gasp* A Kookie Kween eating something that's not a cookie?! This is madness!

No...:sparta:

Equalizer...

OOC: Fine, ICSP. Two can play that game. It's not fair that Repliku's not getting his chance to attack or have Sora testify, since I MUST keep answering Pika_power's questions first. So...

IC:

At first Naminé was confused. What did a video clip of TWTNW where she wasn't even present except in spirit and a link to what seemed to be a cutscene archive have to do with anything?

Naminé was about to say something when suddenly something strange happened. She didn't know where it was coming from, but a silent voice began speaking to her.

"You abilities are great, little one. But, even you should know your own limitations."

She looked around in confusion. As far as she could see, no one else had heard it. Xelax was still taunting her in his arrogant manner, but she could barely hear him. It was as if everything was tuned out except the voice.

"In your heart, you would do anything to protect Sora, correct?"

Naminé silently said, "Yes."

"In this timeline, it is impossible for you to change Sora's Chain of Memories without effecting everyone around him. However, we will allow his memories to return..."

"In exchange for?"

"Your abilities as a memory witch. Until this trial is over, you will no longer have your ability to touch Sora's heart. But in return, all of Sora's memories of Castle Oblivion will become clear once again."

"But what about..."

"Everything else that happened up to this point will remain intact as well."

"So, he'll have both sets of memories?"

"Yes."

Naminé thought it over for a moment. This was her choice and hers alone. Of course, she never wanted this power in the first place and it wasn't like she was going to use it anyways.

"Will you accept the offer?"

"Yes."

"So be it."

As soon as the last syllable rang through her mind, she suddenly felt the earth beneath her feet lurch her off balance before the entire courtroom went dark.

"Naminé!" Kairi jumped from her seat when Naminé collapsed on the bench. The next few minutes were a blur. All she could see and hear was a lot of running and muttering throughout the crowd. She whipped around to see Sora's reaction, but for some odd reason he seemed to be in a daze. His eyes were darting back and forth like he was seeing some invisible movie projector flash before him. After a few moments, she saw him shake his head, his eyes wide open.

Kairi didn't know what to make of his reaction. "Sora? Are you okay?"

At the same time Sora recovered, Naminé was able to get up as well. "I'm fine..." Naminé muttered to all who asked her. But she wasn't telling the whole truth. A part of her seemed to have been numbed and amputated. She felt slightly dizzy and nauseous, but she knew it was her body getting used to her powers being taken away. Xelax looked suspiciously at her as if unsure of what just happened, but he immediately regained his arrogant demeanor.

Naminé glanced over at Sora and was relieved to see him still on his feet. Then she turned back to the defense attorney and reciprocated his cocky smile. What she sacrificed was worth the trouble.

Sora had ALL of his memories returned.

OOC: Okay, Repliku. Sora's finally capable of defending himself. There shouldn't be any problems since Naminé's the one on the stand at the moment and not Sora...yet. Dude, I entrust the rest of this fight to you.