PLDN Chapter 1

"CHAPTER 1: Return of the King of Crossovers"

Sub-Entry 001: "It's been..."
"Commander.  We're almost to the drop zone."

My eyes snapped open as I checked my com-link. I sighed. "Understood, Major."

Just in case you're new to these research logs or you neglected to read my previous case file, my name is Dr. Volt Alessandro Arcade. I'm a space traveler, time-traveler, and dimension-traveler. All three and more. And I've been called in to work with my old Ultra Crew Institute Action Team once more.

"Have you checked on--"

"I'm on my way there to do so, now."

"Volt-san--"

This was Bunnie Meiru Rabbotou, my former second-in-command. A strong, fast, skilled and very wise warrior. A perfect blend of the ancient ways of the orient and experimental nanomachinery based bionics that let her transform. She had much in common with the person who we were going to be working with.

"I know.  The less said..." I got up and headed down the corridor. "By the way.  Shouldn't you check in on--"

"Indeed.  I'm on my way, as well."

Elsewhere.

Bunnie stowed the T.A.O. link.

"Grand Master Rabbotou."

Bunnie looked up at her company. His eyes were hidden behind the dark sunglasses. That suit made him look like he was in the Secret Service. Except it was that shade of dark green that made it...odd.

"Agent Six." Bunnie acknowledged.

Silence.

"My...condolences about One."

"The sentiment is appreciated.  However--"

"Do not become attached to the Master." A moment to reflect.

"Perhaps at one point you could have become --"  Six offered.

Had Bunnie crossed paths with them? I could just imagine if she had been among their clique, maybe she would have been "Shichi"...the seventh most dangerous person in the world. Well...this world. It would still mean she'd have to defeat six others to get the title they were speaking of.

"No.  It wouldn't suit me.  To have that kind of life.  You know what must be given up for it.  You of all people know.  That is why you're by his side, now.   This is correct, yes?"

Silence.

"We needn't say any more.  The mission comes first."

Another pause.

Still elsewhere...

"...so I know I guy who owes me a favor.  Next thing you know, Rex's underpants are seen on millions of TV's over all the world."

"Dude.  All that just because he showed up up in a competition of who takes out the most E.V.O.'s?  You play hardball when getting even.  I respect that."

"Then how bout' showin' some of that respect, bunny girl and gettin' some quick downtime in Tiajuna?"

Princess Violet Usako Tokugawa. My former third in command. And a real firecracker. Whenever there was trouble, she was either at the root of it or slipping out of it, descretely. It was only fitting she met her match with Bobo Haha.

"Ah, you're trippin, monkey boy!  Vegas is the place!"

"You uh...want to make a wager on that?"

Violet grinned in response.

"One way or another we both win, don't we?"

And finally...

"So.  Hero much?"

"I dabble."

"You're not gonna be anything like the alien kid--"

"Ben?"

"Uh...yeah."

"I'll try not to cramp your style.  But uh...you should know he calls you robot boy."

"...yeah.  I know."

"So.   You're...?"

"You're joking right?  You have to have heard of me.  Providence's number one secret weapon against E.V.O.'s?"

A shrug.

"Rex?  As in Generator Rex?  The big, bad, machine-making, E.V.O. breaking, chance-taking hit with all the ladies?   Don't you recognize the goggles?"

For those who didn't know the name, let me get you up to speed. Rex Salazar. Age 16. An amnesiac with a past greatly tied to the nanite disaster which spread them all around the world and unleashed the age of the Exponentially Variegated Organisms or E.V.O.'s for short. Huh. Sounded similar to something on our own world.

To make it very short, for a massive nanite based biohazard epidemic, Rex was the cure. The most unique of E.V.O.'s--a human with the power to make machines within his body, he shared a lot in common with the Major as I had said earlier.

"Sorry.  It's the first time I've met you."

A  frustrated sigh.

"Well.  You got a name?"

"Yeah.  Asriel.  Asriel Dreemurr-Arcade."

That was him. My best friend. Species: Hybrid Goat. Age: 15. Had it really been almost 5 for 6 years?

He was a goat hybrid. But he wasn't always. Once upon a time he was a Monster. And if you understand what I've known for years, Monsters aren't always something to be feared; in truth...they're a lot like us. Only made of love and magic and a little bit of substance to hold it all together.

But Monsters of the Underground are so much more fragile than us--human, lycan, or hybrid. And Asriel in all other timelines was possibly the most fragile of them all......well, maybe not Sans.

White fur. Like...snow white. Eyes...usually dark copper red but depending on what virtue was burning in his heart and soul at the moment, they could be one of seven other colors.

That recognizable tuft of head fur that stood straight up.

Asriel looked at the Luchador's mask among Rex's personal belongings. Then the newspaper clippings. And the moment form the date with the girl that whose notorious curse of bad luck had landed all her other dates in the hospital. And a peripheral memory storage device that had been used to keep journal entries as a backup for the "blackouts".

He'd grown just a little bit in the last 5 years and his horns were starting to come in. He looked more like his mother, Toriel Dreemurr more than ever before. No sign of blond hair like his father, King Asgore. I just knew once he hit his high school years, he was probably going to have a major growth spurt. But as to whether he turned out more like Toriel or Asgore, that was up to the fates.

Asriel had been through his own 100 years of Hell. He found love, family, friends, and a life that he deserved. But most of all he was able to move on from the death of his previous best friend, the first fallen human--Chara.

"Oh.  You the wolf's kid?  You don't look it."

Rex almost brought up his bad experience with a wolf of a dfferent kind. I knew about Biowulf but I'm sure I'd have to explain the most loyal of Van Kleiss' minions another time.

"Adopted.  It's complicated." Asriel looked at the pseudo...rubik's cube...er...polyhedron...thing in Rex's quarters. He poked it, identifying it as some kind of puzzle. It didn't respond. Guess Rex was the only one who could work it.

It was about that time I walked in.

"Hey.  We're almost there.  Better join us for the mission briefing."

"No problem, Volt!"

"Well.  Duty calls."

Rex and Asriel joined me as I headed to the briefing room. By now Bunnie and Six were already there.

Which meant we'd probably have to wait for Bobo and Violet to show up fashionably late.

I knew what to expect. The head of Providence would get straight to the point. Dr. Rebecca Holiday and our own Nikita Lynx would brief us on the various protections we had against the nanites. For any other world it wouldn't be a problem collaborating with responsible agencies. But this wasn't any other world. The nanite threat was real. And they couldn't very well have us being infected with them and bring them back to Miranda, starting an off world epidemic.

And of course they couldn't very well have us turn into E.V.O.s ourselves. Fortunately that's where Nikita had come in thanks to some unexpected care packages from Kommand. The hard part was keeping my source a secret from Dr. Lynx and explaining that I had my reasons for doing so.

Ironic that she had her own pile of secrets to keep from all of us.

We'd also probably get some info from Rex's older brother, Cesar. I respected the Hell out of his intelligence. But seriously. There was just something off about him. A gnawing feeling like there was a lot more to Rex's backstory than he was forthcoming about. I mean...I knew the story. I know about HIS involvement...yeah, him. Van Kleiss. And his experiments and work at ground zero, now known as Abascis.

But what REALLY happened that day? What were the real circumstances behind the day that nanites were unleashed on a global scale. That now everything save for us in UCIAT and Providence's poster child and director had nanites. Nanites with the potential to turn anyone into E.V.O.'s.

"Nervous about this?" Asriel asked.

I nodded.

"Well don't be.  We've been doing this thing for a while now."

"In five years, you became the relaxed one while I'm still a ball of nerves."

"Well.  I'm still a crybaby and too sensative and naive for my own good.  Don't spread it around."

Asriel tried to be comedic about it but I could tell he was worried about me, too. I'd put a lot of things out of my mind but...they were't completely gone either. To be very blunt...it had been five years since I last went to the Underground.

Ever since that day...since it all went so wrong...

The only question on my mind was... "Why, Frisk?  Why did you Reset?"

They were so close. All they had to do was walk throught he barrier with the souls and get "an ending". Then decide it wasn't good enough and return to the Underground through their save file. They'd head back through Hotland and get the call from Papyrus which would set up the chain of events that would have Frisk delivering Undyne's letter to Alphys and see the True Lab.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of crucial things happened out of order or not quite the same way as a normal Pacifist Run. The meeting between two boss monsters and whatever Alphys was considered, since technically, Mettaton was the Boss Monster of Hotland. Frisk was already "besties" with Undyne by that time. How did that happen and how did Undyne's house get burned down before Frisk even made it to the Capital?

How badly was UTPR-3224 screwed up as a timeline?

Nevertheless...it didn't matter now. Half of my plan failed. As long as Asriel was still alive, learning and growing, I still had a chance. I reached up and touched my cheek where Bunnie had slapped me five years ago before reminding me that despite my friendships with the Underground being reset, I hadn't lost everything. Asriel was still my hopes and dreams.

"Hmm."

Yet, I couldn't help but look myself in the mirror and beat myself up over what a coward I was. In all this time I was too scared to go searching for a new unstable timeline. One that was reconstituted from the data of the reset. I'd have to start all over forging friendships, trying to set things up again for Asriel. And the time the Dreemurr family would have to heal emotionally had been shortened by half a decade.

Well. At least one good thing. They'd all be back. Alive and well and fated to go through the same old events of all the billions of other stable timelines.

I was sure a new pacifist timeline which fit all the complicated chrono-structure parameters and the Asimov-ian "psycho-history" blueprint of the behavior of man (or in this case Monster) masses when related to the passage of events on the whole. Some day a new unstable timeline would appear that would be suitable for Asriel to come home to...and then...make his decision whether he was happy in Miranda or...or.......heh...I think I just got something in my eye...don't mind me.

Sub-Entry 002: "The Briefing":
I'd seen the future of this world. I was glad we were still in an era when Rex was still under the original Providence's employ and answering to White Knight. But that meant I couldn't tell him about the things that had yet to pass. I couldn't tell him about what would become of Breach. I couldn't tell him what would happen to Van Kleiss. I couldn't tell him about Black Knight. And I sure as Hell couldn't tell him about the time-loop.

What I did know was that A.E.O.N. had already charted anomalies in this world's timeline that deviated. Things that could have severe reprocussions. Things that never happened like the plan for the creation of a second O-M-1 nanite. Violet would joke that it would make an excellent plot for a video game adaption on the Big N's successor console to the 'cube...

Anyway. We were about to be briefed on things. Things like why UCIAT was called in. Reminders of our investors and Providence's investors had common ground and why they felt it quintessential to collaborate on this join effort. How we are able to set foot on this world and not have to worry about being infected with nanites, let alone bringing those accursed things back to our own world. Assurence that there would be no issues between their tech support and ours.

But most of all...the mission briefing. Why were were about to head into what I had determined to be a Hispanic town overrun by E.V.O.'s. This seemed all to familiar somehow...if it ended at a Church and with a cured village Preacher or Priest running away in his birthday suit, I was going to consider this one heck of a time loop prank by Madam Fate.

"Howdy!"

Asriel's greeting interrupted my thoughts as he and Rex turned the corner and ran into me at the same time Bunnie and Six came from the other corridor. Seemed weird that we had an odd number out. Bunnie and Six were teamed up. Violet and Bobo were together. Asriel and Rex were a duo. I was on my own, technically.

I don't know...I didn't feel like sitting this one out and I'm pretty sure Rex's friend, Noah wouldn't be comfortable in my company. Yeah. Let's not sugarcoat the elephant in the room. I was still a half-man-half-wolf and not even an E.V.O. Pretty sure despite the nature of this world? Humans would still be pretty leery around me and my crew.

"Hey, best friend." I smiled.

"You know we've been at this for a few years, and it never gets old.  I could go on missions with you like this forever."

He was a stone's throw away from his next birthday and the scary truth that he'd be getting his driver's license...yet at this moment he sounded like his classic cinnamon roll self. He was still such a ckid.

Then he reminded me he wasn't a kid any more.

"I miss the peaceful missions though.  Missions like this where we have to fight....it feels like my hands get heavier with every time I have to...do a violence, pardon my bad grammar."

"My student, your heart remains as kind as ever.  But do not be distracted by sentiment on the battlefield.  There will be time to shed tears in the aftermath for the wounded and the fallen."

"Whoah.  Isn't it a little early to get into the serious talk, amigo?"

"Rex, you're still very green."

"Really?  Cause last I checked this jacket is smoking red hot.  Like muy caliente, muchachos."

"Rex..." Six lowered an eyebrow.

"I'm with the kid.  It's gonna bring down my shooting average if I can't have a little fun on this one cause' I'm listening to you guys brood." Bobo shrugged it off.

"Can we save the banter for after mission?"

"Worried White Knight will get his shorts in a bind if we joke around too much, Commander."

"Good one, bunny girl!"

"Yeah, lighten up.  White Knight's a puppy dog.  You nod your head and say yes sir a few times and he's putty in your hands..."

Minutes later...

"REX!"

The form of White Knight appeared on the very large monitor in the command room. His white hair--a result of the magnetic accident which stripped him of every last nanite in his body--burned as white as his strict temper.

"Putty in your hands?" Violet lowered an eyebrow.

"Muuust be catching him on a bad day--"

"Your undivided attention isn't just a good idea.  It's mandatory."

"...or month."

The room was packed with a detail of Providence agents in uniform.

Standing out from the crown were two familiar faces in lab coats. Dr. Rebecca Holiday and Dr. Nikita Lynx. And both were joined by Cesar Salazar, Rex's genius but kinda-strange older brother. It wasn't that there was anything about the guy that bothered any of us. In fact there wasn't anything about the guy that even suggested he wasn't what he appeared. So why did I have this same vibe when I first met Sans?

"As you are well aware this mission is unique.  At the request of the higher ups, we've brought in outside help from research allies from...shall we say out of town, to be discrete."

Yeah. We didn't feel like elaborating too much on the whole alien thing.

"Recent intell has prompted us to collaborate with the Ultra Crew Institute to properly handle this situation.  The reasons behind this are on a need-to-know basis."

"And we don't need to know." Violet whispered. Bunnie elbowed her in the ribs.

"First let me introduce Dr. Nikita Katherine Lynx.  Welcome aboard, Doctor."

Let me get this out of the way, quick. Nikita was no more a Hybrid than White Knight. In fact it was ironic that a "cybermorph" collective of nanites was touted as our foremost authority on nanotechnology. And yet it was a secret to everyone. No, really. Provididence didn't and we wouldn't know until further down the road.

How she was able to avoid detection and any mishaps espeicially around the things--like the intense super electromagnets used to sterilize any food, drink, or provisions sent to White Knight's sterile, nanite-free chambers--was well beyond any of us. She had planned contingiencies and failsafes years in advance before we ever set foot on Rex's world. Even Holiday was in the dark about it. Though I'm sure if Rex ever tried to "cure" her, the jig would most likely be up.

"I'll get right to the point.  I've been invited aboard to oversee the failsafes of our crew against the nanites.  I'll bring you up to speed on each of our unique cases.

Our commander, Dr. Arcade, has a unique and extremely powerful electromagnetic bio-field that not only shields him from nanites, any nanites that would enter his system would suffer the same effect as an electromagnetic pulse. The effect extends a fairly good diameter around his person.

His second-in-command, Grand Master Bunnie Rabbotou has a pre-existing nanite bio-mechanical structure similar to Rex. All tests have proven that the nanites of our world are not only incompatable but identified as prey by her own nanites; a considerably more evolved and protective predator by comparison. Perhaps further analysis my yield a possible cure or vaccine for your "uncurables" in the...ahem...Petting Zoo.

The rest of his crew including his ward, his third-in-command, and myself have all been outfitted with gear designed to replicate Dr. Arcade's bio-electromagnetic field. It's only a prentative measure, not a cure."

The part about including herself in that was a lie. Truth was Nikita was in the same boat as Bunnie. Her nanites were a much bigger shark compared to the nanite minnows of this world. And far more controllable by comparison. Still. Because their bio-signatures were unique only to Bunnie and to Nikita that meant they couldn't be used as a vaccine or cure for the people of this world. At least not yet.

With further research down the road maybe it would be possible--maybe combining the research on Rex's and Bunnie's nanites side by side a cure that could be mass produced might emerge rather than having to rely on Rex using his powers to cure on a case-by-case basis.

"I've been studying Dr. Lynx's research and it all looks very promising.  It could take months or years before it yields results, but it's the first lead we have that doesn't involve testing with Rex."

"Not that I don't appreciate the chance to be a pin cushion for hypodermic needles, but y'know I'm all for the option that means less poking and prodding.  Of course if you insist on it, maybe we could discuss it another time, Doc?  Say maybe over--"

Wow. Not since my encounters with Frisk had I seen such blatant flirting.

"Focus, Rex.  We have a mission briefing.  This information could save your life.  Or the lives of our allies." Six cut in. Never a better third wheel blocker.

Do I really have to say how obvious it was that there was chemistry between him and Dr. Holiday? And yet the weirdness of the almost-love-triangle just made me want to smirk. I could already see the pink in Asriel's cheeks.

"So--"

"We have confirmed E.V.O. outbreaks all over the world."

"Oh.  Is that why we're flying over Mexico?  I was hoping for a taco run--"  Rex started before White Knight made it clear he wasn't having any jokes on company time.

"This is no joking matter.  The E.V.O.'s are right under your position.  Your orders are to secure the area before it gets out of hand."

Simple. Brief. Concise. Yeah...not like it ever stopped us before; working without a plan that went much further than that. Oh well.

Sub-Entry 003: "Make Way!":
It didn't take long for us to be squirreled to the hanger bay. Which meant no time to deploy aircraft or some manner of safe method to the ground below. Oh no. We were doing this like the opening of the first Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Movie. By skydiving.

Really. Isn't Asriel a little young to be jumping out of billion-dollar hover-carriers?

...okay...so...maybe he was hold enough. I'm just being an overprotective best friend/father figure.

But really. I hated heights. This was the ultimate in vertical drops to doom if anything went wrong.

"...I'm sick of being bossed around." I heard Rex mutter.

"We'll be deploying in teams.  Rex will be going with Dr. Arcade and Asriel."

"Aww man.  Two babysitters?"

"Bunnie Rabbotou will be with me."

Bunnie nodded with a grunt.

"Against my better judgement, Bobo and Violet are together."

"Score."

The hanger door opened as the howling wind currents filled our ears.

"Let's get this party starterd!" Rex turned his back to the huge drop off and spread his arms out.

Oh gods.

"Any time you're ready, goat kid."

I looked at Asriel with worried eyes. "I know you're smarter than what he's about to do so--"

"Don't worry, Volt." He said, unusually relaxed. "I came prepared..."

"Azzy.  We are way too high up here for you to even think about using a hoverboard.  They weren't designed for--"

"I know.  That's why I got an upgrade."

He clicked on the E.N.G.I.N.E. dots on the sides of his belt and released...what the heck...?

"Violet...explain." I looked at the hand grips that deployed into his grasp. They were bigger and metal and sporting a lot of light-pulse filled nano-circuits between the seams...but the were defintely looking like Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons...modified with Nikita's technology.

"You're gonna love this."

"You lie like a mat." I was able to get out before something flat and rectangular unfolded on Asriel's backpack harness and launched out before coming to a  hover in front of him.

With a pair of "SNAP" clicks, he slid the joy cons onto the sides. The whole elongated machine suddenly decompressed into an even larger device in the same manner as the unpacking of the All Spark in that Michael Bay Transformers movie.

And then I heard the thrusters roar to life underneath it as the "screen" lit up with the unmistakable image of the Delta Rune.

"Asriel..." I started before he dropped the machine where its combination of thrusters and static accumulators sent out a blastwave of air. Oh yeah...this thing was a LOT more powerful than a mere hoverboard...and likely even more powerful than a Pit Bull.

I saw Rex's jaw drop.

Asriel kinda cocked his head at the sudden reaction. "You're...not jealous are you?" He asked, not as a taunt but more like he was genuinely concerned that he was showing off.

"No." Rex kinda pouted. "......maybe just a little."

"What are you grumping about?  You can make builds that run circles around that tinker-toy." Bobo mused.

"Tinker toy?" Vi protested.

"If you two are done having a "my tech is better than yours" contest?" Bunnie scolded.

"Save the banter."

"Let's get this party started and tear something up!" Rex lowered his goggles,  spread his arms out again and just dropped off the edge of the platform into the wild blue yonder. "YEEEE-HAAAAA!"

"See you down there!" Asriel snatched his board, took a running jump and backflipped in mid-air, and landed on the "Switch" board as he met the air and sailed down.

"Woo-hooooooo!"

"Oh gods..." I blanched. If I hadn't mentioned it before...the only thing that terrified me as much as stinging insects...was heights. I did not like looking down on the world. In both senses.

"No guts no glory, Commander."

I took a deep breath and ran like Hell and let gravity do the rest. "This suuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks....!"

I manefested my electromagnetic powers, forming the branch structure of giant wings --anchored to me by a mass of bundled electric tentacles. Between each of the "fingers" of the wings, a dense sheet of electromagnetism formed; compressing until they were solid. Lighter than hair fibers but stronger than carbon-nanotube material thanks to how densely I was supercompressing the energy.

This is superconduction at a whole different level. I just hope I could maintain it long enough to make a gentle landing.

I assumed Bunnie and Six had their own route down there. As well as Bobo and Violet. I didn't question it. All I knew was......it was frickin' cold in this wide, open air-filled space and the roar of the wind was kinda overwhelming. Down below...

It wasn't long before--

"Woooooo-hooooooooooooo!"

"Awesome, right?" Azzy stabilized his descent after a few mid-air skydiving tricks. His confidence had really soared in 5 years and he was a little more okay with showing off a little. But not too much...he was still Scott and Callista's humble bundle, after all.

The both of them had a head start on me but I was sure I could catch up to them.

It was about that time that Cesar contacted Rex.

"Rex, it looks like some of those EVO's dropped some nanites.  Try to collect them!"

"Leave this to me, Azz'; this is a job for a professional."

I could make out the hazy, neon cyan aura of a trail of dots...particles...?...trailing upward. They quickly homed in on Rex like iron to a magnet, where they were...absorbed...?....somehow...?

"Careful, Rex.  Scans show hostile EVO's coming up fast."

"Oh yeah!" That was about the time Asriel and I saw Rex's special abilities manefest.

Like a quicker version of Bunnie's own cybermorph but in a form far larger and more exhaggerated. I had to wonder how he managed to lift and balance the weight of giant robotic fists and arms.

From the shoulders on down, segmented, grey gun metal. At least until it ended at the wrists and ballooned out into giant orange metal, rectangular blocks. On the end of each, where the fingers would probably be, was covered with hardened, flat gun metal; each with paired rectangular knuckle studs.

They looked kinda like giant electrical plugs with the prongs filed way down.

Sure enough as Six warned, I saw the approaching EVO's. Looking like bio-matter meteorites with tentacles, I wasn't crazy about finding out what they'd do if they got to close.

From there it became a beatdown.

"These EVO's give of an energy signal before they attack.  Watch closely and punch at the right time."

"Relax, Six!  I got this!"

The closest one flickered briefly before accelerating. But that was about the point when Rex drew back a Smack Hand and belted it with an steel-crushing punch, sending it rocketing to the ground even faster than it had boosted toward us.

"Whoah!  That's cool!"

I was gaining ground...er...sky by that point but still a ways from reaching the same altitude as the teen duo.

Rex was caught up in the moment that he didn't notice the next EVO flicker and then accelerate.

"Oh shoot!" I decompressed the XBTOCLC's and aimed, trying to get an accurate target lock.

CRACK!!!

"Huh?"

The punch didn't come from Rex...

"Que?!"

Where Asriel's arms once were, anchored to the shoulders were a pair of EMF generators emitting long, spring-light coils of glowing, neon-green plant vines leading to giant sized fists that were a mix of giant, fluffy, clawed goat hands and machinery--machinery that resembled the NX JoyCon units on his NX Hoverboard.

The back of each wrist had the iris of the Unitrix, emblazed with the Plumbers' symbol. Baffling how his bracer intermeshed with his NX gear so readilly.

Admittedly when he used those things, it gave me a bit of a...creepy reminder of a little yellow murderflower I had all but forgotten about. No. That wasn't right. I could never forget...him.

"I'm pretty "handy" myself, Rex!" Asriel gave a wink and a smirk.

I think Rex groaned. Chances were Ben Tenneyson already used that one as Four-Arms. Oh well. Asriel was getting better with his puns.

Well. It looked like his NX gear's "ARMS" mode was working. A test out of nowhere like that made me wonder if the other modifications were working, too. I knew Vlad Stokes, Gyro Gearloose, and Violet had mentioned something about the "KART" transformation, the "SHOTOKAN HADOU" options, and the "INKLING" mode.

Entrusting Asrielwith these new "toys" made me think...could he really be the new Captain N? As if he didn't already have enough going for him in the last half decade.

"Stay on task, you two!"

I blasted the next EVO tentacled meteoroid before it got close to the both of them.

The moment of triumph was short-lived. We saw it directly below us. A Providence drop ship. And it was--

"That drop ship is covered in EVO's!  Gotta do something about that!" Rex exclaimed.

Six's voice came over the coms.

"That drop ship is radio-ing for assistance.  Get close and help them out."

"ALL RIGHT!  HOLD ON!" Rex hollered over the gales of wind, cancelling the Smack Hands build.

"Let's give them a hand!" Azzy give an oversized goat thumbs-up before cancelling his own weapon; the bio-mechanical constructions turning bright white and morphing back to his normal hands and arms. The NX JoyCons reappeared on the ends of his hoverboard, the increase in drag, slowing his descent slightly.

As we drew closer it didn't occur to us that anything could be amiss until Bunnie's voice came over the coms.

"Sixth Sense!  Danger!  Everyone, get out of the way!"

"Out of the way from what--"

I was cut off as a white hot shaft of light pierced through the drop ship and blazed upward, disappearing into the sky above.

"WHOAH!  What was that?!" Rex gasped.

Asriel went to evasive action while I flailed, trying to guide my electromagnetic wings to steer me away from the death beam.

"Something hit that ship!" Six's voice didn't waver. "Don't worry about them anymore, Rex.  Just focus on avoiding the debris from that ship!"

"Those poor people!" Asriel, if he wasn't already white-furred, probably would have blanched a shade whiter if it were possible.

Sure enough the pieces of the ship were coming up face, many of the chunks of shrapnel and machnery tumbling end over end. The surface area was creating drag, making them fall slower than us. At the difference in our falling velocities, impact with even one of those pieces would hurt like the dickens.

While Asriel went to evasive manuevers, Rex pulled his arms in and weaved through the graveyard of falling parts like a guided missile. I wasn't far behind.

"Scans show that a giant EVO is rampaging on the ground.  The laser heat source came from the giant EVO." Agent Six quickly informed us.

"A giant one with MASSIVE LASERS?!  Great..." Rex's sarcasm certainly told it like it was.

"Eheh..." Asriel sweatdropped.

I just clammed up and rolled with it. Sure. Why not? I was sure doing a bang-up job at gradually easing Asriel into higher level missions. Suuuuuure I was...

"Rex!  Those red EVO's are unstable!  Avoid them at all costs!"

"Asriel, do not take chances with them.  I sense something sinister lurking beneath the surface of these enemies."

It didn't take long to find out what was odd about these ones.

"Look out!" Asriel put on a burst of speed and yanked Rex aboard, hauling tail before--

BOOOOM!!!!

"The red ones EXPLODE?!  COOL!!!" Rex ignored the fact that he had just been saved from a massive explosive blast of bio-matter, fire, and fried nanomachinery.

"That was too close..." Asriel swallowed hard.

"Good grief..." I rubbed my forehead.

For the next few moments, it became a frenzy of weaving through a maze of red EVO's while punching and blasting the daylights out of regular EVO's.

"Laser fire incoming!  MOVE!" I noticed Six raised his voice a little on that one, which gave me a clue how much closer we were going to cut this one--

FSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHT!!!!

The second laser blast came even closer. I felt it ionize my fur and cause fluxuations in my EMF Wings.

"I got weird energy spikes in my NX Board!"

"Don't get too close!"

If our danger level was high, it was about to get compounded.

"More EVOS." Six warned.

"More laser fire on the way, Rex!  Watch it!" I didn't expect to hear Dr. Holiday chime in. Chances are neither did Rex nor Azzy. It was enough to get the message across though. Our troubles were indeed compounding.

The third blast was expected this time. We were getting a grip on things.

"Laser fire incoming!  MOVE!" Six warned again.

By this time we were ready for the fourth laser.

And then just as the action had completely climaxed, the barrage of insanity died down near instantly.

I was panting pretty hard. The wind was drying my tongue out fast. This was a time I kinda wished I had gone out in human form. Yeah. Right. As if I was going to jump out of a drop ship without my powers to protect me.

"That was fun.  Now for the main event..." Rex continued his descent and Azzy followed. By that time I had finally caught up to them both and we continued the sky dive together...

Sub-Entry 004: "Dividing Forces":
I don't know how we managed it, but we touched down to the ground at the exact same time. I'm not one to put stock in coincidences, but this was assuredly one of the Goddesses amusing herself.

Bunnie and Six touched down on the other side of the city to provide support.

Violet and Bobo did the same.

From the looks of it, though...Rex, Asriel, and I were probably on our own.

"Rex?  Everything all right?  You missed the target." Six requested a status update.

"Didn't miss.   Landed right where I wanted to.  Tall-dark-and-ugly saw me coming and took off running.  I'm gonna sneak up on him, instead."

Rex had that tone in his voice I recognized Violet and Skeeter use before. The cockiness of someone who was giving into the temptation to show off to impress his bosses.

"Don't be reckless.  Stick to the plan." Six reminded. Thank you, for saying what was on my mind, Agent Six. When this is over, I had to remind myself to ask where he gets his green Secret Service suits. ...heh. Now who needed to remind himself to stay on task?

"I am.  MY plan.  Pursuing on foot.  Don't worry, Six.  I know what I'm doing."

Well that was expected. Ah, to be young again. Young, vibrant...and foolishly overconfident.

I looked at Asriel who just shrugged, having hopped off his NX Hoverboard. He collapsed it back down to its backpack harness mode and took a moment to release his NX Pro Power Pad and afix it to his belt buckle. Oh yeah. He was totally nailing the Captain N the Game Master image. Even the letterman jacket--while a bit more reminiscent of Toriel's ceremonial robes, color and all--seemed to sell it.

I finally got a look at his attire. He was still rocking the purple sandals with the Delta Rune buckles; a couple sizes larger now that he was finally growing. The jeans were the spitting image of Kevin Keene's. The Rabbotou Dojo, long-sleeved pullover had replaced his old tee's but still sported the Rabbotou insignea. What once had read "Hope Never Walks Alone" now read something new: "Dreams are Forever".

And yes, the letterman jacket. Someone was proud to be entering high school.

"Looks like he spotted us!  Hello, UGLY!" Rex taunted.

"Uh...?" Asriel didn't look very sure that insulting the EVO--even from that far away--was a good idea. Sure it was in the distance, in the center of the town...but as high as the thing towered and as loud as its bellows where, even I wasn't that confident about ticking it off.

"Come on, don't be lagging behind.  Andele!"

Why was it that when Rex spoke in Spanish I immediately thought of Lupe? Maybe it was because her ACM-001 counterpart was their world's version of Mexican Wolf.

Yet,  our Lupe was closer to Native American. Cherokee? Navajo? Honestly, I had to brush up on the tribes of Natives Americans some day.

Asriel interlocked his fingers and rested the back of his head in his palms, elbows out and walked along the path a bit.

It was then we got to take in our surroundings. The caw of the nearbye buzzard didn't reassure me. There was definitely something to speak of when you saw the Mexican desert in person. The dusty, sandy unpaved path dotted with sparce plant growth, sagebrush, and lined with rocks and cacti. Reddish mountains to the right. Towering cactus patches to the left. Dead trees here and there. Wooden, barbwire fence along both sides of the path. A lone wood shelther--like the kind I'd seen lone peddlers sell pottery and trinkets take refuge in in the Western part of the USA I'd seen on other AU's-- from directly to our left. Up on the hill ahead was the tightly clustered buildings of the Mexican town.

Directly ahead was said EVO. While it was still pretty far away I could make out some detail to it. Pale grey...like bleached modeling clay. Ugly faces sticking out of its chest. I couldn't see clearly but it looked like its lower have was spider-like. It had already picked up a giant boulder and I could tell it was waiting for us to make a move.

Everything was airid and dry. The temperature was easily in the 100's or 110's. Maybe even 120's...but it was a dry heat. My kind of heat. Granted it wasn't exactly Hotland but I could get used to this environment.

The howl of a constant wind, the caw of crows and buzzards, the chirps of birds and insects. Save for the occasional scream of the giant EVO and said sounds, it was actually pretty quiet.

As soon as we got closer...

The roar. And then I saw it heading toward us.

CRASH!

The boulder came down hard, landing short of our position.

"Watch out!" Six warned.

"Rex, whenever you get into trouble, you need to find some green health nanites.  Look around the area.  There should be some." Dr. Holiday's voice came over the com system.

Rex had already taken the lead as we picked our way through the rock formations and dirt path. A series of rock formations lined the left side of a mountainy hill...almost like steps. And sure enough, clusters of green...dots hover in a formation on the uppermost one. It didn't look like Rex actually needed them, yet...but better safe than sorry. He jumped up the platforms and absorbed them, while Azzy and I stuck to the ground. He leaped off the last platform and landed, catching up with us. By that point we had come to a clearing. A wall with wooden gates blocked us off from the Mexican city-town ahead.

"Volt...I got a bad feeling."

"Me too, Azzy.  This reeks of a trap."

We approached the gates and thats when the attack began.

"INCOMING EVOS HEADED IN YOUR DIRECTION!" Six's voice blared over the com system.

Yup. There was the ugly goon squad there to greet us. Barely humanoid, barely anthropomorphic, these mounds of walking slate grey biomatter were disgusting to look at. Their heads just sort of blended into their shoulders; no semblance of a neck or normal head-like features. They walked hunched, hanging their drooping head, while on their haunches. But they were surprisingly quick and surprisingly fast to charge and slash with nasty claws.

In the EVO database they were nicknamed "Skluggs". Ugh. Fitting. I'm sure they had a propper scientific designation, but sklugg would suffice as how to address these masses of biomatter and nanites. While there were life-signs, what I had read in Dr. Holiday's database didn't give any indication that they were once human. Likely just nanites that infected organic matter and clumped it together to give it semblance of sentient organisms and proto-intelligence.

Rex immediately went for the Smack Hands. Azzy reforged the ARMS units. I fished out an old favorite from the X-Vault...a Power Fist. Where I got it...was a story for another day. At the moment I was just glad Violet wasn't around to make "Doom Fist" jokes.

"Let's get this party started!" Rex got the ball rolling with bravado...and breaking bad guy's skulls.

"In combat, you get in fast with a light attack." Six coached.

"Remember your training." Bunnie reminded.

"He's got this, Major."

"I was talking to both of you." Bunnie followed up.

Oi. I walked into that one.

Sub-Entry 005: "Just Like Old Times":
The slugfest began and the three of us got to wailing away.

I drew back and smashed the one closest to me...sending it into the far wall with a CRUNCH.

"That's a LIGHT attack?" Rex question.

"Eheh...Power Fist.  Don't know your own strength when you use one.  I'll try to make it more of a love tap next time."

"...or you could hit the EVO's hard with a heavy attack." Six followed up. "Remember.  Your Heavy Attack hits hard but leaves you vulnerable to retaliation."

That was when I saw Rex draw back and thrust both Smack Hands forth into his target. The rectangular bulk of the metal fists spun like drills as the bored into the target. Rex pressed into the Sklugg with raw strength and a battle cry.

"Now THAT is a heavy attack." Azzy admired.

I charged up the Power Fist and rammed it into another Sklugg...hard. For a brief moment it was frozen in its tracks as a blastwave ring erupted from the ground and spread out, kicking up a dust cloud and pushing it outward in a circle. Then my target went airborne...very airborne. Flying in an arc, it landed somewhere within the town, out of view.

"Okay, NOW I'm having an easier time believing that was a light attack.  What happened to the love tap?"

I shrugged.

It was weird. You'd think that Asriel would be the one that we'd have to worry about showing off. I think I'd been off STC's leash for too long and was letting my wild side run a little wild.

"Rex, never underestimate a good defense.  Blocking and EVO's attack is key to your survival."

What was this feeling? This feeling I had missed so much. It was...nostalgia. I had gone into this mission nervous and worried like always...but this feeling. I was remembering. It was just like old times. Back when I had first started my tour of duty as UCIAT's commander, decades ago on the Fontraile timeline; a point directly after the aftermath of the Ekris War.

We had just come to Miranda and forged our alliance with Queen Brooke and her kingdom, promising to rebuild their city. Rebuild we did. While the peacetime was good, it didn't last. That began the countless adventures my crew and I would embark on.

While Rex and I had attracted most of the EVO's attention, Asriel found a perfect opportunity to get the drop on a cluster of them, unnoticed.

"Excuse me but..." He tapped one on the shoulder. "Aunt Violet now owes me money." He grinned as he waved with his ARMS cyborg hand."

"AT-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA...!" Asriel's barrage of long-range, 1-2 punches hit repeatedly like a machine gun before he retracted his weapons, guarding himself with the oversize cyberized-goat hands.

"Sorry to have to tell you this, but you're already d--"

The Sklugg collapsed and disintegrated.

"Awww.  You didn't let me finish."

I owed Violet a thwapping, now. Especially daring Asriel to drop an anime reference like that.

"Azzy.  Really?"

"Sorry!  I guess I got a little carried away!"

"Huh.  Showoff." Rex yanked a Smack Hand back over his shoulder, knocking down an EVO behind him.

"You're one to talk." I smirked.

"Says the guy with the generic brand Infinity Gauntlet." Rex jabbed back.

"Okay, okay!  I might have started this, but let's not keep making it a competition!" Asriel sheepishly waved his oversized hands.

Once a cinnamon roll, always a cinnamon roll.

"This build will target a single enemy at a time and it delivers maximum damage." Six advised as Rex continued with the Smack Hands as his default.

When the last of the Skluggs fell, Six contacted us one more time.

"Rex.  Collect nanites from fallen EVOs.  When you get to Providence, talk to Cesar on how to use them."

I'd noticed the clusters of blue and green nanites...as well as a single hovering item that looked like...a DNA strand...but made of nanite rungs and monomers. Weird. Rex collected them and we were on our way.

"Did you see how I mopped the floor with those creeps?"

Now Azzy could have taken the opportunity to toot his own horn or protest Rex's bragging...but...

"You were awesome!"

That wasn't him. He'd  learn that there was a time and place for competition.

"He is something isn't he, goat son?"

I looked at the wooden gates.

"Well, I guess we should be subtle and--"

CRACK!

One Smack Hands punch later and the doors blew off the hinges. "Door's open."

"...property damage it is." I rolled my eyes.

But I had to admit. The feeling was back. I was enjoying my time mentoring Asriel and introducing him to new friends off world.

The King of Crossovers was back. Why couldn't more days, five years ago, be like this?

Probably...because they were. I just took them for granted.

We stepped through the doorway of the stone and brick wall and into the next area. The fenced path continued with more wooden shacks and adobe cottages on the outskirts of the larger town.

"Rex!  That EVO is destroying the village!  Get moving!" White Knight's stern command was a quick wake-up from our moment of victory. Sure enought the beast's screams were even louder and we could see he was tearing up the town. Literally.

Well. No time to sight see. We'd have to take everything with passing glances at best.

Duty calls.

The path wound around to the right before the semblance of outskirts transitioned into urban development. Power lines, buildings grouped togethe with air conditioners and mini water towers on top. While not quite big city, it was more developed than suburbia. The streets were still very much unpaved.

We continued down the village streets for a short walk before we got rude company.

"Watch it, Rex.  These EVO's move fast.  You'll have to use a different build."

"I got just the build for the job." Rex mused as he disengaged the Smack Hands and converted his right arm into a new weapon build Asriel and I hadn't seen yet.

Sub-Entry 006: "Way of the Sword":
This new build was a giant sword. I'd begun to notice a common trait among Rex's builds. THe were mixes of orange and gun metal, and sported giant flat-head screws on large parts of them.

"Neat." Azzy admired.

He'd come a long way from his fear of blades. Chara's True Knife had been a deep-down fear he had hid from us. At least until Chara-Wraith found her way to Miranda and it became a lot harder for him to hide that. Asriel was a bit skiddish around cutting objects. It slowed his progress a little when he had to start weapon training with Bunnie. But, like the buttercups, it was just another fear to be overcome. Azzy learned to appreciate the beauty in all things...even weapons; they were just tools. What made them dangerous was how they were used, right?

"Bet you don't have anything as cool as that--"  Rex started as Asriel had deployed the NX Hoverboard and size-compressed it down to a large tablet size. He unlatched the NX JoyCons and fired up their twin NX Plasma Saber modes before interlocking them together and forging the NX Blade--a weapon as big as a claymore. I'd seen him use other sword variations in this mode such as falchions, scimitars, a halberd, and of course the spitting image of Hyperdeath's Chaos Sabers.

"Oh COME ON!  You have an answer for everything."

"It's not a contest, Rex." I said as I drew a weapon of my own. "Discharge, Kaminariou no Danganken."

ZARRRK!

"Sure feels like it..." Rex pouted, scoffing at my new weapon, now.

"Uh, guys?  EVOs, in bound?" Azzy reminded.

These EVO's were quadruped. They resembled giant sewer rats that had been beaten with an ugly stick...then beaten again with an uglier stick.

According to Holiday's database? These things went by the designation "Gnasht". The certainly looked like a "gnash-up" of gnats, rats, and who knows what else. Ugh...I really should leave the puns to Asriel.

Asriel looked a little more hesitant to fight these. Something just told us both these weren't randomly cobbled together. These were probably mice or rats whose nanites went out of control. As much as I hated to admit it...the time to consider animal cruelty an obstacle was not now.

We proceeded to slice and dice. It was messy and we weren't proud of it.

"Yeah!" Rex finished off his opponent before we finished ours.

...most of us.

Rex brandished the "B.F.S." build. I had a sneaking suspicion what the acronym stood for, but I wasn't going to assume anything and risk having to pay into Asriel's old swear jar. Not that he still used that thing anymore. He was a big boy now. He'd heard worse by this point.

As we cleared the way, up ahead the unpaved road segued into cobblestone roads. Street lights and fire plugs, plus a row of potted bushes and flowers. Not exactly asphault and street markings, but the olde-timey look to it definite made it look less like a village and more like a city. There was a wrecked car on the left. Yup. Civilization, albeit abandoned.

As soon as we turned the intersection, the path ahead was suddenly blocked off by an energy grid...like a laser barricade or a nano-electronic field. We had been corraled into a trap. Which meant more EVO's.

"This is your fastest build for attacking.  You might also be able to cut through objects with it.  Your B.F.S. covers a wide area but delivers less damage.  Try using it when you're surrounded." Agent Six coached over the com link.

Multiple Gnast and Skluggs inbound. The slaughter began and it was nothing to speak of. Once the last of them was felled...

"Get moving, Rex.   Lives are at stake.

Once we were off.

"You know, Six is doing a lot of back-seat driving.  We're knee-deep in EVO's while' the others are yucking it up on the sidelines."

"You shouldn't assume anything, Rex." I cautioned. "This is a team effort.  Everyone's doing their part."

"Right.  I'm sure they have it so bad." Rex wiped off his goggles and pulled them up.

"I'm more worried about them.  Aunt Vi...Sensei Bunnie..." Asriel extinguished the blade but kept his NX Weapon combined in giant sword mode.

"How much trouble could they really be in?" Rex shrugged it off. "Six and Bobo are with them.  I'm sure everything's under control..."

Elsewhere.

* SHING SHING  SHING*

Six's Magnus Swords continued to flash. They were designed specifically to cut EVO's and disrupt their Nanites.

Bunnie on the other hand relied on her twin Shinobi Katanas--a gift from one of her previous senseis.

"The odds aren't in our favor." Six observed; not complaing, but merely stating the facts as unbiased as possible.

"It matters not.  We will perservere." Bunnie continued attacking. As another wave of Skluggs headed their way, Bunnie joined her katanas together, unlatching and folding parts of it, the hidden grooves fitting together to form a daizantou--the so-called horse-and-rider killer blade. This was a sword that rivaled Inuyasha's own Tetsusaiga.

Six lifted and eyebrow but kept silent. Words were not needed in this battle. Least of all snappy banter.

When there was a momentary decline in the action...

"Your ward, Rex.  Will he be able to stay on task?"

"He does get distracted.  But no doubt he will pull through.  What about your allies?"

"Asriel is a good young man.  He will will not be deterred easily.  The Commander is with him should he or Rex need any assistance."

"Hmm."

"If anything the one we should probably question is Violet."

"I have a feeling I know what type she is.  If she's anything like Bobo, I can imaging it's hard to reign in the bad influence."

"True friendships do not let those that are ill-mannered and make questionable decisions be an obstacle to comradery."

A brief smirk.

At that moment Bunnie and Six lashed out with their blades, not even having to look where they aimed. Both attacking EVO's collapsed at the same time.

"Good technique."

"We both had good teachers.  But let's save the back-patting for later."

"Agreed."

Speaking of Violet and Bobo Haha...

Sub-Entry 007: "Banterous Backup":
"...that makes another 3 for me."

"Nice...but this makes another 4 for me."

Bobo wrinkled his nose as Violet spun her twin ARC systems Enforcer machine pistols. She had modded them to her specs and outfitted them with EVO-effective ammo similar to the metal of Six's Magnus Swords.

"Not to get salty or anything but a friendly warning of advice.  Outdo my number of takedowns at your own risk.   You wouldn't like what happens if you show me up."

"Oh, you're talking about the underpants thing, right?" Vi said nonchallantly.

Bobo frowned as he gripped his Bubble Guns a little tighter.

"Don't look so glum.  I gotta congratulate you.  You got even with him by putting his boxer shorts on national TV."

Bobo crossed his arms and pouted for a bit before glancing back. "It was a pretty good prank, wasn't it?"

Violet made a gesture like she was gripping handlebars.

"Vroom, vroom." She gave a motorcycle impression.

That got a chuckle out of Bobo.

"Hey.  Let's raise the stakes.  The first one to tag a hundred on this mission buys the mai-tais at the next vacation in the tropics?"

"Ooooh, you are in for one steep bill, bunny girl."

"Yeah, but I'll make sure your name's on the receipt, monkey boy."

"We thinnin' the herd or what?"

Vi grinned.

"That is how you light a fire under an agent of Providence." the rabbit mused. "Soooo.  Tell me what the story is between Rexy and Becky?"

"You live dangerous, giving the doc a nickname like that.  I'm sure she'd hate it."

"I get practice with annoying Nicky back home."

"Yeah, I can tell whisker ears is a real hootnanny a minute.  Who put grump in her cornflakes?"

"Eh.  It's just her natural Vorostovian sunny disposition at work.  Wouldn't know a good joke if it was ground up and injected into her veins."

"That I'd pay good money to see.  Wanna trade docs sometime and see who drives whose bananas quicker?"

"Tempting.  But I'm pretty sure Rex doesn't want you putting off a date with the science tech he's crushing on."

"Hah!  It'll be a paradise in Abysis before she ever agrees to go out on a date with him." Bobo resumed fire on the advancing EVO's.

"Probably as likely as Nikita Lynx finding a social life.  It'd be the closet contest ever to see who's tighter; her or Al Dente.  And I gotta say...Al's so tight that when he walks he squeaks."

"Heheheh.  Pretty tight."

"He's so tight if you stuck a lump of coal up what his mamma gave him, in two weeks you'd have a diamond." Violet opened fire again.

With that Bobo let out a boisterous laugh. "Now that's tight."

"Hey.  Trick shot competition?" Vi offered.

"You're on." Bobo pointed a Bubble Gun over his shoulder and fired, nailing an EVO. "And now I'm ahead."

Violet grinned before tossing both of her weapons up  into the air.

"Wha...!"

She chuckled before letting remote triggers drop out of her sleeves and into her grasp. As she pressed the thumb buttons, both guns opened fire on their own in mid-air, nailing some Skluggs that had just jumped off buildings on opposite sides of the street.

Vi stowed the triggers and did a Michael Jackson heel spin with a "HOO!" before reaching behind herself and grabbing both guns as they dropped into her grasp.

Bobo paused but a moment then grinned deviously. "Ohhhhhh it's on." He challenged.

"Make it interesting and keep me entertained with more annecdotes about Rex, Six, and Doc and I'll give you a run for your mushu."

"Is that an offer for chinese takeout?"

"Why bother with takeout when we can drop in actual China and get the real deal?"

"You're something else, long-ears."

"Keep your fez on and I'll show you the world."

"You flirtin' with me?  I'm flattered, but Bobo Haha don't date outside his species."

Vi wrinkled her nose.

"Don't flatter yourself." Then she grinned. "Unless you're afraid you might grow to like me."

"I'm tellin' ya, cotton-tail.  I ain't that kind of simian.  B.B. don't swing that way.

"Adorable.  Suit yourself." Vi teased. She enjoyed toying with people she considered her witty equal too much.

As our three groups pressed onward the EVO's got more dangerous and we got a closer look at the giant boss at the center in the town. I think this was the kind of enemy that would make Mitzi very nauseuos. She was a brave, and scrappy mouse hybrid and spry for her age. But there was a reason she didn't go to Medical School with Nermal; a weak stomach for blood and gore...and horror shows like this wasn't exactly easy on the eyes or the appetite. I was kinda glad I hadn't eaten in a while.

Sub-Entry 008: "Together Again":
As we turned right at the intersection and headed down the road, we passed a pair of rainbow umbrellas over tables at an empty cafe. More wrecked and burning cars. And that led us to yet another open area  walled off and separated from the rest of the town with a wooden gate. The buildings were all two stories high by this pont. Which made me feel a little boxed in. No alleys to the left or right.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Azzy?"

"Like we're about to get into a shootout?"

"High vantage points.  Perfect terrain for our enemies to have the high ground."

Right on cue, a pair of EVO's took positions high on the rooftops at the far end. These suckers were far more bloated.

Like disproportionate versions of Clayface from Batman's rogues gallery of supervillains. But that wasn't what got my attention.

I sniffed. And then I was sure. I could smell the electron buildup. Just their auras alone was ionizing the air.

There was a reason these EVO's were know by the designation, "Amp" in Rebecca Holiday's database.

"Incoming!"

That was when Rex turned to his third build. Or as he liked to call it, the Slam Cannon.

Like a rectangular set of barbell weights...or a giant square set of nuts-and-bolt combo, it was in three main sections, linked by a common rectangular rail running through all three. It was like the mother of all bazookas, but at least twice if not twice-and-a-half as big. The barrel was orange and the rest of it was mixes of white and dull grey gun metal.

Rex tilted the cannon back behind himself, the back of it splitting open, to reveal it was more like a shovel clamp. It dug into the pavement, ripped a large mass of of the ground, clampled back shut and pulled the whole payload into the main body and processed it into a nanite-enfused cannon ball.

He turned to Azzy and me.

"I suppose you have something to top this?"

I looked at Asriel who looked back.

"Well..." I decompressed the Corona Buster--my trusty super-high density electric plasma arc cannon. Powered by hydrogen ion fusion and using an array of vacuum tubes.

"Okay...that's slightly less impressive."

Okay...so it did look like it came from a junkyard. Which it DID. Don't judge me! I've done more with less.

"Heroes shouldn't gloat, Rex." Asriel pointed out. He had certainly been taking lessons from Pit.

"Well let's see what you got--"

Asriel unlatched the JoyCons, merged them together and unfolded them  as it wrapped around his arm and continued to unpack until it reshaped into what I recognized as a massive weapon that resembled an NX version of Hyperdeath's Chaos Buster.

I was going to have words with Vi over her choice in designs for Asriel's weapons. Especially when they were call-backs to things I didn't want to remember from other timelines NOR did I want him to know about at this point in his life. But what sent shivers down my spine was the day he first tested it it and told Violet that "Somehow, this just feels right.".

Rex's jaw dropped.

"You're going to be upset about this, aren't you?"

"Rex.  What's the holdup?" Six asked.

"No hold up." Rex muttered, sounding a little deflated. He took aim with the Slam Cannon."

"Those EVOs are shooting at you.  Don't just stand there.  Fire back at them.  This is your best weapon against EVOs you can't reach.  Shoot them down."

Upon contact, the Amp exploded witha  violent electrical explosion, releasing a large ball of crackling electrostatic. I was sure that something like this would be bad for Rex's and Asriel's health.

"Whoah!  Did you see that EVO explode?  I'd better be careful."

"When you're surrounded you can use your Slam Cannon to hit enemies aroudn you." Six reminded.

"In a pinch, a quick dodge can save your life.  But it will leave you defenseless for a moment after."

Asriel was already unleashing an all too familiar rainbow blast from his weapon. Okay. I knew it wasn't really a Chaos Buster, but the hairs on my furry neck were standing straight up. Why did I still have so many fears?

"Volt!"

"Head out of the clouds, lobo!"

Lobo. Spanish for wolf. Wait, I shouldn't be thinking about that, now!

I squeezed the trigger, quick,charged a ball of crackling electirc plasma and drove it home into my target with the force of Kanden's Volt Driver.

It was a quicker mopup than I was expecting. Were the forces here that weak or was our learning curve that great?

"Those gates look pretty sturdy.  Even made out of wood.  The town probably locked them during the evacuation." Asriel noted.

"Maybe I can use the explosion to my advantage." Rex nailed an Amp straight into the door where its blast erupted, splintering the gates but but breaking them.

"Well...that should make it easier to smash through." He said as he drew back, and belted the doors with the bulky mass of his slam cannon. Property damage yet again.

"I'm glad you're setting a better example, Azzy." I muttered as Rex had already gone in.

"This isn't my world.  I'm trying not to break anything that isn't trying to kill us." He said with a shrug.

"Good man." I patted his shoulder. Kind of a petty detail to be concerned with then a city was being destroyed. I really had to get my priorities in order. We followed Rex in.

"Where the heck are the others.  We're getting close to the target." I frowned.

"Rex, quit wasting time!  You need to get moving to catch up with that giant EVO!" White Knight gave a "gentle" reminder.

Down more streets. We were descending. This part of the village was built on an incline and we were going downhill.

"What are the odds that's going to work a second time?" Rex shook his head as more boulders came down. Another interesection. I kinda wish I hadn't tempted fate with my thought of how easily we took down the last wave or how good our learning curve was.

"We just walked into another trap." Azzy was quick on the uptake.

The lesson to be learned was even if you keep your big mouth shut you should learn to keep your MENTAL mouth shut. Goddamn you, Madam Fate.

The army of EVOs this time was much larger.

"I don't think we have enough firepower to take them all out." Azzy backed  into me.

"I don't think so either.  Even with me usings my electric powers to extend our gear's power supply.

"OKay.  It's time to get serious." Rex stepped forward.

"What are you--"  I started before I sensed a massive energy buildup in his nanites. Wait...was this...?

With that Rex unleashed a new build that put the other three to shame. This had to be one of them. One of his Omega Builds. This was the power of the OM-1 Nanite.

"HOLY--!" I started.

"--SCHNIKEES!" Asriel finished.

Looking like a pair of MASSIVE iron weights...no cylindrical framwork around glowing neon cyan capsules, attached by chains...these were the so-called "Funchuks". Rex spun them both like propellers as he seemingly glided around like he had hoverskates on.

"Okay, now I'm really impressed." Asriel said to me.

"Don't let him here that.  We don't need to feed his ego and more than it's already been fed." I wrinkled my nose and crossed my arms. Okay, so maybe I had ego issues of my own. So what if mine was a little...fragile. That's why I had Asriel to keep me humble but confident. Right?

"Build your Omega Energy with combos then unleash the power of your Omega Nanite.  Those EVOs won't last a second."

"Will you guys stop babysitting me?  I know what I'm doing!" Rex protested.

As Rex thinned the numbers we went back to using our own various weapons and attacks. My electric powers. Asriel's Solar Fusion hybrid ability. And our combined gear. And soon...

"Rex.  You need to catch up to the giant EVO A.S.A.P.  Try the private yard down the road.  You should be able to intercept it there." Six reported in.

We hurried down the road, passing abandoned merchant stand and delivery trucks. A third case of property damage to a gate and we found ourselves in the courtyard of the largest villa in town. Fountains and boxed in garden. Yeah. This was upscale. We hurried up the steps onto the terrace and into the next courtyard across.

"The target is approaching the church.  Get there.  NOW." I think we were testing White Knight's patience.

And with that Rex added a fourth breaking and entering case of property damage to a set of gates. I noticed that Six's com signal had been getting stronger with each transmission. If my calculations were correct...

And there it was. The central courtyard in front of the MASSIVE church temple. And the largest gathering of EVO's were waiting for us.

"Oh boy.  You got Omega Energy left?"

"Uhhh...okay....hypothetically speaking...supposing I didn't have enough to Omega Build...?"

"You have got to be kidding me..." I muttered.

"Volt?  I think my gear is a little low.  I'm getting battery warnings." Azzy gulped as he separated the NX weapon into its lone NX JoyCons and switched to their NX Buster pistol modes.

"Just our luck..." I folded my ears back.

As they closed in...

I heard something land to our right that didn't sound EVO-like.

"Commander.  Reenforcements are here." Bunnie wielded one of her Moji weapons, the Rekka Daizantou. Or as I called it "Fire Smasher".

Six landed beside her with Magnus Blades drawn.

"Hey!  I know you're not starting the party without us!" That could only be Bobo Haha.

"Leaving us off the invite list?  I'm mortified!" Violet mused with a grin.

"The calvary's here!" Azzy's expression brightened. And then it became an all out bruhaha to quell the uprising. In otherwords...we were about to tear stuff up!

Sub-Entry 009: "Boss Battle":
And what a battle it was.

Bunnie landed back to back with Rex.

"So.  I heard you got powers like me."

"My abilities aren't as impressive...but..."

Bunnie cybermorphed both arms and selected her weapons.

"I might have a slightly larger arsenal." She selected Magma Viper in one arm cannon and Glacier Rush int he other.

The Magma Viper transformed her cannon into a sleek, silvery metal robotic dragon's head with a heavily insulted cannon barrel within its mouth and flexible hoses coming leading into its jaws.

As it opened its maw and the cannon popped out, Bunnie shot out a blazing, plasma-hot serpent of magma! It bounced in a sinewave, toward its target, drowning it with a torrental, high-pressure, rushing tube of searing liquid lava! In no time the EVO's it engulphed were immoliated, not even leaving skeletal remains but pools of quickly cooling magma.

The Glacier Rush formed a superspeed miniature glacier which rolled forth and encased targets into a mass of solid ice! The charge eventually lost momentum and stopped forming after several enemies are neutralized.

"Okay.  You're like Six and me put together." Rex's pride deflated again.

"Hey, get with the program, Kid.  We're not gonna mop up this mess ourselves."

"Focus, Rex." Six scolded.

"Hey ya, Cin-Bun.  You staying out of trouble?"

"I did the dare.  Rex and Volt will verify!"

"Jeeze, kid.  Don't you get a big enough allowance?"

"Pony up later, Vi." I unleashed Spark Palm and Neon Light in succession. "Them's the rules." I added just to rub it in.

The last one fell and Rex, Azzy and I went ahead while the others secured the area. We got to the top of the staircase and reached a dead end. The balcony ahead gave us a clear shot at the Giant EVO.

"Quit fooling around and bring that EVO down!" White Knight growled over the coms.

"Pleeeease.  He doesn't stange a chance." Rex mused as he took down a couple final waves at the top of the staircase in the open area.

Its wails were unbearable now.

"It sounds...in pain..." Asriel looked somber.

"It kinda is.  Don't worry.  We'll bring it down."

"And either capture, contain, or cure according to protocol."

"I'm sure I can cure it." Rex pushed on before he engaged his Hoverjet Pack build and took off flying to the balcony.

"Well.  Let's follow." I ran, jumped and bore my werewolf claws--a rarity for me--and climbed up.

Asriel clicked up on the directional buttons on the left section of his NX Pro Controller and executed a power jump. We all reached the top at the same time.

"Alright, big guy.  Time for a lesson in humiliation." Rex taunted.

"Keep attacking it until it gets stunned." Six commanded over the com link. It's signal had diminished which meant he and the others must've been diverted. Looks like we didn't have backup from this point. White Knight must've recalled them back to Providence.

"Piece o' cake." Rex bragged.

It spewed more of the giant heat lasers that it attacked the Providence drop ship with while trying to pound us with its fists. A predictable but hard to evade pattern. Direct hits from this would sting waaay too much.

"It's too powerful.  You can't block the attacks."

We all unloaded with our best stuff. My XBTOCLC's. Azzy's Solar Fusion "Taiyoudamas". All of Rex's builds. Hopefully we'd find a weak spot. It wasn't until Asriel's NX Plasma Busters struck it in one of the faces on its chest did it wince.

"It's stunned now.  Get up close and attack."

"Whoah.  Where'd you get your looks?  I bet you get all the girls." Rex slyly trolled the creature.

"Rex, do you really have to make it even madder?" Asriel cautioned.

We all unleashed heck on the creature's main body, smashing it with anything we could throw until it regained its senses and resumed its attack.

Another cycle of attacks, followed by me stunning the beast, and Asriel following up with a Taiyoudama solar fireball.

It was slowly running out of steam and before long it lurched forward, threatening to completely collapse against the building. A final blast to its main head and Rex began our final assault.

Suddenly the beast brought its immense hand down upon Rex, threatening to flatten him. With Smack Hands loaded, Rex pushed back with everything until he managed to actually throw the creature backward.

Rex took to the air as Asriel launched onto the NX Hoverboard and took flight as well, both narrowly dodging a Heat Laser. Another pair of midair dodges. With one last play in his book, Rex used one more Omega Build to use the Funchuks as a finisher. As he smashed both chukus into the sides of its head Asriel unleashed his own final attack with a Super Taiyoudama, cross-fused with a pair of NX Plasma Buster charge shots. The last assault caused the creature to collapse as Rex and Asriel landed.

"I'll take over from here." Rex deconstructed his builds.

"Stand still will you?  I'm trying to help you."

None of us noticed that as it fell, it tore the bell tower off the church. As the bell clattered to the ground, something shiny, metallic, and glowing fell out of it.

Rex pressed his hands to its form and his nanocircuits lit up. As his nanites shut down the creature's, it began shrinking fast until...

A human man in just his underwear was left. He quickly covered himself and ran off, completely scared out of his wits.

"You're welcome!" Rex waved, not letting the underappreciation get to him.

Rex then noticed it on the ground as did Asriel.

"What's this old thing--"

"Rex, maybe you shouldn't--!" Asriel didn't get a chance to finish. Rex was jolted by some kind of energy release, forcing him to drop the...whatever it was. I sensed a massive energy spike in his own nanites, followed by a sudden drop into a flatline before restabilizing to normal.

Rex fell flat on his rump and grabbed his forhead from the dizzy spell.

"Rex!" We were both so taken aback that we didn't notice the sudden portal open up and a deformed, oversized hand reach out and grab the device and pull it in before the tear shut behind.

"Rex, your biometric readings just went off the scale!  What happened, are you alright?" Dr. Holiday's voice came over the coms.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Doc.  I think.  I just found...!" Rex stopped short when he saw the chunk of metal was gone. "Huh?  Where'd it go?  Must've...self-destructed."

With that he hurried off, not waiting up for us and took the sky with his Hoverjet Pack.

"Hey!  Not cool!  We don't exactly have a ride back--"

I didn't get to finish my protest because at that moment, Rex's build suddenly and without warning...just fell apart and dropped him to the ground.

By this point Six and the others were already returned to base.

"Uhhh, Six?  I need a pickup."

"Stop fooling around, Rex."

"Seriously, I need a ride.  Don't make me have to beg.  I'll explain later."

I couldn't help but withhold a chortle. It was cruel of me. But it was hard not to feel a little satisfaction when someone being a little full of himself got taken down a peg. I guess that was a personality weakness of mine.

"Understood.  Jump jet on its way.  "Hurry on back. Something big is about to go down."

I crossed my arms as Rex ended the transmission.

"What are you smug about?" Rex protested.

"Oh.  Nothing.  Thanks for offering us a ride." I grinned.

Rex just sighed and muttered something in Spanish. It was a short wait for the ride.

Sub-Entry 010: "A Job Well Done/Return Home":
Back at Providence HQ...

"Nice work out there.  It seems we made the right call, bring you in." White Knight congratulated.

"Where's Rex?  I thought he'd be celebrating with you?" Dr. Holiday asked.

"He's sulking a bit." I mused before Asriel elbowed me.

"If it's about his build falling apart--"

"No.  I think he's just got something else on his mind.  I wouldn't worry." Bunnie crossed her arms.

"Don't worry about it.  I'll talk to my moody hermano." Cesar volunteered.

"If you say so.  But I still need to see him about it.  Plus I need to talk to him about the EVO samples he picked up.  I believe studying them will lead to further breakthroughs in my research." Holiday explained.

"Have you made any progress with Dr. Lynx?"

"Minimal I'm afraid.  But still progress.  Any glimmer of hope is a good start."

"I'm afraid the celebration won't be able to last long.  Intel suggests larger things on the horizon."

"I thought as much." I rubbed my chin.

"You've done fine work.  We can take it from here."

"Ohh.  The mission's over already?  We didn't even get to swing by for a Mexican buffet with a  mariachi band." Bobo complained.

"Your disdain is noted.  Take care of it on your own time.  Right now you're still on the clock."

"Bahh.  This job has its ups and downs."

"You sure you're okay if we head home?  I mean there's a lot more we can do to help." Asriel offered.

"That's generous of you to offer, Prince Dreemurr-Arcade but you've done more than your fair share.  Go home and rest.  You've earned it."

"Well if you're sure.  And please.  I haven't been among my royal family in a long time.  It isn't fair to be addressed as prince so callously.  I'm okay with just being an everyday man...er...goat."

"If that is what you prefer."

"White Knight being chummy with a kid?  Maybe I should've been born a prince.  I might get a little more respect around here."

"Don't count on it." White Knight narrowed his eyes.

Meanwhile...

While Cesar had said he'd check on Rex. Someone else already had.

* knock knock knock*

"Go away, Bobo.  I don't feel like--"

"Yeah, I ain't your monkey."

"Princess Violet?"

"I usually prefer Vi or Sexy Sandals or my internet aliases like Acid Burn and D.N.Alice.  But Princess will do."

The door opened.

"Want to talk about it?  It's not a party without the hero of the hour."

"You drive a hard bargain.  Excuse me if I'm on edge, though.  I don't have a good history with...rabbits."

"Ticked one off and almost lost a finger?" Vi mused.

"Not...exactly..." Rex looked to the side. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But I bet you do want to talk about something else.  Like what you found in the bell?"

"You know about that?"

"My laptop has a few mods.  I had some downtime with it while you were fighting "Man-E-Faces".

"Oooh.  Clever nickname.  I gotta remember that."

"Old 80's reference.  You probably wouldn't get it.  But seriously.  My laptop's modifications picked up the energy surge and partially decompied it.  I think I know what we're working with.  Knowing your brother, he'll probably give you the full scoop.  If what these decompiled scraps of code are what I think they are, then you were holding a piece of what appears to be blueprints to something you're very familiar with.  Wanna guess what?"

"I don't really do well with 20 questions."

"Not very patient, are you?  C'mon, guess."

"Viiiii..." He whined.

"Okay, okay.  I'll spell it out for you in two letters and a number."

"Huh?"

"O.  M.  One."

Rex's eyes doubled. "You saying that it's the plans for my Omega-1 Nanite?"

"That's right."

"This is big."

"Yeah.  Wish I could stay around to give you guys more intel but we'll be headed back to Miranda City very soon.  Now come on.  Join us for at least a brief celebration.  I'll get the tacos."

"Okay, okay."

"Trust me.  You'll love it.  And hey, next time will invite Noah.  Or one of those other friends of yours.  Maybe the one with a glass-shattering voice?"

"I...wouldn't count on Circe." Rex had that look of someone who wanted to say "Don't go there."

And so we did have our quick celebration before gathering at the Cybergate that had opened.

"We'll be in touch.  You know how to get a hold of us."

"Adios, Rex!" Asriel had quickly picked up on a few bits of Spanish.

"Right back at you, amigo.  So.  Am I cooler than Ben?"

"It's...not a contest." Azzy sweatdropped.

"Aww come on.  Don't leave me hanging."

Bunnie exchanged a bow with Six. "Until we meet again.  Hopefully it will not be on the battlefield.

"We go where we are needed." For a brief moment I thought I saw Six pull off his shades. But maybe I was mistaken.

"I'm holding you to that promise, miss lop-lop."

"Ah don't get your tail in a bunch, Diddy Kong."

"I don't know who that is.  Should I be insulted?"

"Maybe just a little." Vi mused.

"You want to end up with your underwear on TV?"

"Excuse me?" Bunnie turned to Bobo with a look of disdain.

"What?"

"Bobo..." Rex whined.

"You're only encouraging her." Bunnie frowned.

Violet grinned and raised her eyebrows, Dr. Wily style.

"Man.  You are one weird bunny rabbit."

"I was expecting to you to say I was a bit on the kinky side, but I'll take weird."

I facepalmed. Bunnie thwapped Violet.

"Aunt Vi!  You're being weird and gross again." Asriel protested.

I shook my head. "Come on team.  We're going home."

And with a final round of waves and goodbyes we were on our way through the portal.

Chapter 2

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