Chereads / Nextgen Kids: Legend of the Nine Newborn / Chapter 56 - A Newbie's Sector Quest (RECAP)

Chapter 56 - A Newbie's Sector Quest (RECAP)

NOTE: This is a reposting of Chapters 1, 3, and 6 of "A Newbie's Quest," an arc posted in the previous story "The New Era." It stars Miko Kubota with heavy Glitch Techs crossovers, and they'll be relevant in the next arc, AINCRAD. If you already read these chapters, you don't need to again.

Coruscant; Vinyl City (Play "Vs. Sayu" from No Straight Roads!)

"Hello, everyone! Thank you all for coming to my show! Seeing all my wonderful fans fills me with love, pyun! The concert will begin soon, so stay lovely! Pyun!"

Vinyl City used Symphonian technology to provide energy for its citizens. Their generators were designed to absorb Music Chi provided by the most talented musicians. Sayu (from NSR) was an especially popular icon: she appeared onstage as a giant, pink mermaid with heart-shaped pupils, and platinum-white hair with magenta streaks. The stage was decorated with seaweed, floating fish, and water graphics. The audience primarily consisted of adolescents, kids, or parents of kids.

"She's even cuter in person!" exclaimed Miko. The teenage human was distinguished from the crowds of aliens with her bluish-violet hair, a yellow T-shirt with a winking black cat, purple pants, and a blue hoodie tied around her waist. Her red socks went into large, pale-blue sneakers. "Five, how could you not be in love with her?!"

"Since when are you into concerts, anyway, Meeks?" asked High Five, a thin, half-Mexican human with puffy purple hair and a green shirt with a game controller design. Though he was a year younger than Miko, he was notably taller than his friend, but Miko's brighter hair and more energetic demeanor allowed her to stand out far more.

"Since THIS girl showed up in Guitar Queen Seven!" expressed the violet-haired gamer. "She was added as a DLC last month, and I just fell in love! Her songs are so good! And I still have the muscle memory! Up down right right, String 1 String 2 String 4 String 3…"

Five chuckled at his friend's antics. Between the two of them, he and Miko were diehard gamers. Their initial encounters took place in online fighting games, where the boy would always find himself royally beaten by the skilled girl. It wasn't until they signed up for a gaming tournament that they would meet in person, and from then, their lives couldn't have been more exciting.

The tournament entailed engaging in a virtual reality fighting game designed by Hinobi Tech, one of Coruscant's top gaming companies. While the tournament was meant to only have one victor, Miko and Five used teamwork to win together. But it was then they learned it was more than just a tournament: Hinobi had cut a special deal with the Coruscant Kids Next Door. They were willing to sell the KND new technology and weapons for dealing with rogue robots and Programs, a naturally common occurrence on the high-tech planet. As a bonus, Hinobi promised to find potential new recruits to join the KND and use these gadgets. So by then, Five and Miko became recruits of new Sector Hinobi. But as an added bonus, they were hired as part-time workers for a Hinobi store.

"Ah, I recognize that voice from anywhere!"

Five and Miko looked over as another duo approached them. One was Hiro, a boy with messy dark hair, and Go-Go, a girl with a purple streak in her black hair who was notably taller than her male partner. Both were fellow operatives of Sector Six (from Big Hero 6). "Go-Go, mah girl!" Miko cheered. "Hiro, mah man! You ready to start lovin'?!"

"Not until he's taller." Go-Go said, blowing some gum as it popped.

"Hah hah, I don't think she meant it like that." Hiro said with an awkward laugh.

"So, how's the gaming business? Is Mitch being a good boy?"

"Ah, you know Mitch." Five shrugged. "He's, uh…he's a tough one, alright."

Mitch Williams was the leader of Sector Hinobi and a famous online game streamer. But due to his remarkable arrogance, he wasn't favored too highly by his teammates. So, they were always happy to be away from him.

"So, who is this girl, anyway?" Hiro asked, looking toward the stage. "Is she from Aquaria? Why does that water look fake?"

"Well, she's actually not real." Five answered.

"ZZZT!" Miko swiped her arms. "We can't use the 'R' word around her…"

"Why not?" Hiro replied.

"Sayu is a hologram." Five explained. "I heard there's a group of animators behind the scenes."

"Like one of those solid holograms?"

"Kind of, but I don't think she has a will of her own. One of them is providing the voice, someone else designs her outfits, one plays the music, and the other is constantly guiding her motions."

"Don't talk down about Sayu like that!" Miko defended. "The love that she makes us feel is real, and her soul is real! Just like Ally." She tapped her right wristband as a red ostrich appeared digitally. "Isn't that right, Ally?" She hugged her faithful companion.

"But if there's an actual singer behind the scenes, why does she hide behind a hologram?" Hiro asked. "Is she good?"

"Well, of COURSE she's GOOD!" Miko insisted, returning Ally to her band. "But you can't just go around and show people how good you are! Then too many people'll be hassling her for contracts or something! That's why people use usernames or avatars online! Right, High Five?"

"You said it, Me_K.O.. Hey, it's starting!"

"Yes! Quick, grab your air guitars!" Miko got in position, an eager grin on her face.

"Nnno." Go-Go said.

"Does Sayu even use a guitar?" Five asked.

"Undercurrents pull at your heart, Feeling so powerful, it… LEADS you on! The waves of emotion wash over me, But can you see the ocean… through the reef?"

"Hey, she is kinda good!" Hiro said, the crowds awash in dance by the joyful vocals. "How long's she been around?"

"About a year!" Five answered, his voice barely audible. "She got famous pretty quick! I think she even became a megastar of NSR, the group that runs-"

"Can it with the lecture, Five!" Miko yelled. "It's time for the glow sticks!"

"STRONGER… than hate! Anchored through the tidal waves!" The audience raised sticks of many colors and waved them excitedly. "Go on, take the bait! You can't fight the CURRENTS of lo-…zzzzkkkkttt…"

The waving ceased as gasps filled the masses: Sayu began sizzling and twitching in an erratic manner. "L-L-Lo-Lo, l-l-lo-lo… hahahaha…Hahahahaha!" Sayu's stuttering seemed to change into laughter. "HA HA ha ha ha…" An eerie grin replaced her features, her skin turning green with red eyes. "MWAH HA HA hah!" She cackled like an old mad scientist.

"HUH?!" Miko gawked, the color on her face drained in horror. "That's not Sayu's voice…"

"Behold! I, Technus, master of all things mechanical, have become one with the illusory mermaid that is idolized by these alien adolescents! With her influence, I shall dominate the newest generation of Coruscanti children and become the supreme ruler of Coruscant! And to initiate my new command, I have composed a special song that is bound to earn the loyalty of you young whippersnappers."

"Oh, nerds!" Five panicked. "Did you guys bring your equipment?!"

"Right here!" Hiro used a Compowder to swap his and Go-Go's outfits into blue and yellow hi-tech armor, respectively. "But we shouldn't just charge him. He might be expecting resistance."

"I'm calling our team." Go-Go said, her communicator ready. "You call yours."

"Good idea!" Five beamed. "Miko, you… Miko?" His bright-haired friend was absent.

Technus cleared his throat and began to sing, "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do, I'm the best just so ya know—WAAH!" The ghost suffered laser blasts to the head.

"BOO! YOU STINK!" Miko shouted, having run up onto the aqua-themed stage, armed with a high-tech gauntlet on her right arm. "Bring back Sayu, you party-pooper! Aaah!" The holo-fish became ghost-like and began chewing against Miko's arms and face.

"Miko!" Five shot lasers from his own gauntlet to destroy the fish. "Don't just rush in, we don't know what this thing-" Technus fired digi-fish at both kids.

"Did you think I wouldn't expect Kids Next Door at this concert? My ghostly mini-ons were already in position!"

There were screams throughout the audience as everyone's glow sticks suddenly wrapped around their necks. Monstrous ghosts rose out of the sticks as they choked the aliens. Hiro and Go-Go had already dropped their sticks, but as the ghosts tried to latch onto them, the two quickly stomped and destroyed the sticks, the Possessor Ghosts escaping. "You kiddies better stay put, or my ghosts will strangle the 'love' out of these mortals!"

"I'll knock the love outta YOU, FIRST!" Miko materialized a purple hammer from her gauntlet and leapt to bash Technus in the head.

"MIKO!" Five yelled in panic.

Go-Go, whose hands and shoes were equipped with discs, began throwing said discs around to chop the Ghost Sticks in a manner that didn't hurt the citizens. "I'll take care of the ghosts!"

"I'll help!" Hiro began throwing EMP Bombs around to disable the sticks and thwart the ghosts' hold over the electrical items.

High Five used jetshoes to fly around Technus and shoot the ghost. Technus willed digi-fish to attack him, and he also conjured a trident from Sayu's code to clash with Miko's hammer. Technus suddenly spun and whacked Miko away with his tailfin. Miko dispelled the hammer and summoned Ally from her gauntlet. "Let's go, Ally!" She leapt on the solid hologram as Ally dashed at Technus. The villain jabbed his trident, but Ally jumped and ran up the handle. Technus smacked Ally off, but Miko had already flipped into the air to punch the villain's face. Ally ran behind to bite Technus's tailfin, the ghost yelling as he tried to shake her off.

"Don't think we aren't used to rogue A.I.!" Five declared as he and Miko fired a beam that caused Technus to glitch up. He was flickering between his and Sayu's colors, but the ghost released a burst that pushed the kids away.

"Your technology is quite 'dope,' but it 'ain't' got 'jack' on me!"

"His slang sounds so wrong!" Miko yelled as Ally flipped her back on her back. Both kids dodged digi-fish and lasers, and the Ghost Sticks were forcing the citizens to attack Hiro and Go-Go. Technus grabbed Five and tried to squeeze the boy, but Ally carried Miko up as she rose and smashed her hammer over Technus's arm. Technus spun to whack Five and Ally away, but Miko grabbed onto his tail and fired the Derez Beam at his back. Technus slammed his tail down to stop her, followed by a stab from his trident to force her off. The digital weapon didn't puncture Miko, but the impact left her dizzy. Technus pinned the trident against Miko to keep her bound to the stage.

"Now, as the gamers say, I am going to 'own' you like a personal possession! Zzzzzttt!" The villain began glitching once more. "Aaaaahh! No! The Flashdrive! Someone is wrongfully Ejecting the Flashdrive! You're supposed to click the Eject button before pulling it out of the—ZYAAAAAAHHH!" The giant mermonster poofed into pixels and disappeared off the stage with all the other graphics. (End song.)

As Five ran to help Miko up, Hiro and Go-Go were nearly finished destroying all the Ghost Sticks, with local officers arriving to assist them. "Can't you newbs figure anything out for yourselves?" Five and Miko turned to face a blonde, dark-skinned boy as he marched out from backstage. He wore white and gray tech armor with a pink visor and "H" on the chest. "When dealing with rogue Programs, always go for the source." He tossed the Flashdrive up in his hands. "Luckily, while you guys were distracting it, I managed to rescue the animators and derez this glitch. This flashy mermaid should be back to normal… in about a day."

"Don't worry! We have a backup Sayu ready!" one of the animators said from the doorway, a short human with rectangle glasses. There were three others: a blue alien with a darker-blue uniform and sword on his back, a larger chubby humanoid with swirly glasses and umbrella hat, and a cyan-skinned girl with glasses and red hoodie.

"Holy cow! That's Mitch Williams!" the chubby boy perked up. "I watch his Let's Play videos! Hwow, I can't believe we were saved by him!"

"Hey, we helped, too!" Five argued. "And what're you doing here anyway, Mitch? You got a thing for Sayu?"

"As if I would ever fall in love with a digital fish-puppet."

"Pbblth." Miko blew a raspberry. …She glanced at the animators and particularly noticed the hooded girl. "Wait, are you the singer?"

"!" The girl flinched and retreated into the building.

"Wait! I want your auto-"

"Not so fast, Miko." Mitch grabbed her shirt before she could run off. "The reason I'm here is to bring you exciting news." He released Miko as the girl compliantly turned to face him. The Sector Leader bore a proud smile as he announced, "Hinobi Tech is officially branching out to other galaxies!"

"You came here just to tell us that?" Five questioned.

"As I speak, new stores have already been established on Planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. Employees are signing up to be transferred to Earth and manage the stores. But, considering the vast distance between this world and Earth, you can imagine why they would want to move their whole families. And guess who I signed up~?"

Kubota Household

"WE'RE MOVING?!" Miko screamed at her parents with utter exasperation.

"Well… yes." said her father, Hugh, an average man with blonde hair and a green shirt. "We… thought you already knew?"

"Your friend, Mitch told us weeks ago." her mother, Mayumi followed. She was a half-Japanese woman with a pink shirt. "Well, it actually went like…"

"Wait, Miko hasn't told you, yet?" Mitch asked innocently. "Oh, darn! She must be planning to surprise you, I think I ruined it!"

"Ha ha, it's okay!" Mayumi smiled. "We'll pretend we didn't hear anything."

"NO! NO NO NO, push that Reset button!" Miko yelled, mashing an invisible controller. "I didn't sign up for ANYTHING! Mitch did it behind my back, that cocky little dick!"

"Miko! Language!"

"I just said 'dick'! At least I didn't call him the 'B' word; you know, the one that rhymes with 'Mitch'!"

"Wait, is that why you boxed up all my karate trophies?" asked Lexi, Miko's 11-year-old sister. She wore a standard karate robe and black hair in a ponytail. "Not so they wouldn't get dusty?"

"No, it's 'cause they were all bronze trophies and lame!" remarked Lee, the 5-year-old brother.

"Lee!" Hugh scolded. "Sigh, but we wanted to surprise you, too. And we've kind of already started packing. We're supposed to leave in a week, right?"

"No!" Miko yelled. "We can't leave! What about Kids Next Door? You expect me to just fly back-and-forth between galaxies all the time?"

"Doesn't Earth have a KND?" Mayumi asked.

"But all our friends and family are here! And our jobs!"

"Well, actually, I already talked with my boss about it." Hugh said. "They have toothpaste factories down on Earth, so he promised to put in the good word for me. We'll settle in in no time!"

"But…but why?" Miko grew more downtrodden with each rebuttle. "Don't you like it here?"

"It's not that we don't," Mayumi answered, "but when we looked into it, Earth's homes seem much more affordable than Coruscant's. Plus, there's prettier skies, prettier grass, prettier oceans… it's like all of Galaxia's planets mixed into one!"

"We've been under a lot of stress lately, to be honest." Hugh said. "Not just your mother and I, but your siblings, too. Maybe we just need to escape from the big city and settle down in the small city."

"Still bigger than Kateenia, so it's fine with me." Lexi shrugged. "Ugh, can't believe I lost a match to a dumb Kateenian…" she mumbled under her breath.

"Thiiirrrd plaaaace…" teased Lee, his sister growling in spite.

"But, I…I don't wanna move." Miko moaned, bowing her head and facing away from her parents.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry that you didn't know." Mayumi placed a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. "But I think this will be a fun new experience for you. See some new things, make some new friends… and you can always play with your old friends online. Besides, if Earth's KND has their own spaceships, you can visit them once in a while."

"Yeah, but it's so far awaaaayyy…" Miko slumped against the wall as she brushed her way to the door.

"Well, you probably have some good-byes to make." Hugh said. "Be home soon, kiddo."

"Yeah…" She lazily shoved open the door and left.

Five and Mitch awaited her outside, the latter sporting his cocky smile. "Well, it was nice knowing you, newb." Mitch said. "I could have signed Five away, but I decided, I tolerate him slightly more than you."

Miko shot him a deathly glare. "Get out of here, you little… B-word."

"Pfft. Don't even know what that is…" Mitch walked away on that remark.

Five glared as well, but turned to Miko with sympathy. "I'm sorry this happened, Miko. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. …Wait, why don't you sign up to move, too? Then we can both still work together!" The shorter gamer perked back up.

"Yeah, but… to be honest, I don't really wanna leave either. I wanna stay and look after my dad's store… plus, it'd be harder to schedule visits for him in prison if I'm… in another galaxy."

"Yeah… that's true." Miko's hope faded like her smile. "I… guess this is it for us. Except online."

"I'll visit you, too. Come on, Meeks, it won't be so bad." Five smiled hopefully. "I heard a lot of cool stories about Earth. It has some of the best operatives. They conquered New Galaxia and everything!"

"I know, but… I feel like you were the only friend that's ever understood me. You're the only one that likes to spend time with me, despite my… problems."

"Pfft, problems, what problems?"

"Uh, my focus issues, my hastiness issues, my rudeness issues… all of which people commonly point out. Including you."

"You're forgetting Ridley. She understands you, too."

"She's also a rogue hacker who's always on the run. Not exactly easy to hang out with."

"Okay, but putting the problems aside, you're also a fun person to be around, and a dependable teammate. Whichever team you wind up in, they'll be glad to have you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! But if that ain't enough, maybe you can think of it like… a quest."

"A quest?"

"A quest to join the best of the best! To represent Coruscant in the top Kids Next Door!"

"A quest to join the best? That sounds like the best quest!"

"You ready to take on brand new challenges with brand new friends in this brand new quest??"

"More like a newb quest!" Mitch called.

Miko shot him a glare. "Sign me up! We'll see how Mitch feels when I'm hangin' with the best!"

"Yeah!" High Five dealt her a double high-five!

KND Moonbase; three days later

Miko was brought to Earth's Moonbase personally by the Coruscant KND's Supreme Leader, Sasha Phyronix. Sasha was a Cazar (a brown-furred feline alien) with a lilac and dark-purple suit with golden highlights.

Both operatives met with Earth's leader, Cheren Uno, in his office. As they discussed the circumstances, Cheren was handed a file describing Miko's history. "Hehe, this is a wild one, isn't she?"

"According to Mitch's reports," Sasha said, "Miko has trouble with following orders and tends to act recklessly." The girl in question grinned sheepishly. "But Numbuh High Five and their other sectormates have spoken favorably about her… with slight agreement to the contrary."

"Ah, that's no biggie. We have tons of operatives like that. We'd be happy to have her!"

"GREAT!" Miko jumped, startling Sasha and her sensitive ears. "Put me in the best sector ya got!"

"Uhh, Sector V has enough members."

"Then the second best!"

"Sector W7 also has their max."

"The third!"

"Well, Sector W technically has a spot open, but adding a 16-year-old would ruin their 'youngest members' theme. Heh…"

"Uuuugh! Just drop me in whatever sector's good! Ya know, as long as it's a good one!"

"As Supreme Leader, I think all my sectors are good."

"You know what I mean! Just… I dunno, put me in a sector that would like someone like me."

"I mean, that's all a matter of opinion at that point. Hmmm…" Cheren looked at the file. "But considering where your shop is gonna be stationed, I have an idea where to place you."

"Okay! Who ya got for me?"

August 12…

Miko's family had gathered all their things and began to unpack in their new home on Earth. During this time, Miko set foot in the treehouse that would be her new sector. A new home and new friends were about to be made here at Quahog, Rhode Island.

Confetti was fired around the living room, a banner welcoming Miko unraveled, and four of her five new teammates popped open soda bottles and flung them upward as the fizz erupted. "HAPPY NEW TEAMMATE DAAAAAY!" The kids of Sector Q raved! Drake Puncture, the handsome leader with sunglasses and a hook hand; Quill Ramsey, a short boy with a black sweater, white shorts, and brown shoes; E. Carmine, the only girl with no soda to drink as she wore a brown gas mask and brown contamination suit; Eddy Flores, a scrawny nerd with hi-tech glasses and brown hair; and Jenny Strongarm, a girl with a dark-yellow shirt, pink biker helmet over her messy brown hair, and dark-yellow roller-blades.

"We finally hit our sixth member!" Drake cheered.

"And an alien to boot!" Carmine cheered.

"I expected her to look less human." Eddy said.

"Who cares? An alien's still an alien!" Jenny declared.

"Welcome to Sector Q, Numbuh K.O.!" Quill greeted.

Miko let out a chuckle. She had never gotten such an ecstatic reception before, not even when she won the highest scores in Sock 'Em Rockers. She almost felt like their enthusiasm was a little forced; either that, or they were just that crazy. If that were the case, Miko thought she could really warm up to them. "And actually, it's Me_K.O.!" And she socked Quill in the gut.

"OOF! My mistake…cough."

"Nice, another tough girl!" Jenny said. "Now we're perfect!"

"Perfection is my middle name!" Miko boasted. Thus, the beginning of her new Sector Quest commenced!

Chapter 3: Eternal Scars

Bomb Factory; four years ago

Sector Q had learned of a factory that was manufacturing bombs made of a toxic waste. The poisons came from an unknown source, but the factory was run by Professor Chang, a Russian Brotherhood scientist in a white suit.

Eddy Flores was the first to infiltrate the factory, stealthing past the guards to reach the Security Stations. He used his hacking skills to disable the alarms and communications, as well as open doors for his teammates to enter. The guards swarmed the operatives and fired red laser guns, but the four were quick dodgers as Drake shot his harpoon to disarm them and Quill shot ice to freeze them. Jenny was the trickiest target, fast on her skates as her feet flew up to bash the minions in the heads.

E. Carmine broke away from the others to regroup with Eddy. Carmine had puffy brown hair in a small ponytail, her eyes wide and pink. She wore a white frilly dress with bombs attached all around it, with white strap-on shoes. Carmine threw bombs to guards up ahead, exerting enough explosive force to KO them without serious injury. "We'll find the Toxic Core in just a few turns!" Eddy indicated the map.

"I'll blow it to smithereens!" Carmine declared, her smirk radiating with confidence.

The core appeared to be a large pumping mechanism with several pipes of toxic gas attached. "Just attach your timed bombs near the pressure points so we can get outta here. I'll reseal the barrier, too."

"Let's get to it!" Carmine raced to the core and began to attach bombs around various points. Once she was finished, Carmine pushed a remote to start a ten-minute timer, and Eddy inputted a code to seal the core under a large gate. The duo began to race out of the chamber, but just as Eddy left first, a door suddenly separated the two. "Ahh! Eddy!" Carmine banged on the door in panic.

"Carmine!" Eddy yelled.

"Just where do you urchins think you're going?" Professor Chang yelled from a windowed control center above the room. "If you're planning to destroy my factory, it's only fair you go with it!"

Carmine gasped and tried to use the remote to disable the timers. However, the core's barrier was too thick for the signal to reach. "No! Eddy, I can't shut off the bombs!"

"I'll try to get you out of there!" Eddy said, quickly tapping his keyboard. "Crap! Chang already changed the codes! AAH!" Lasers shot at him.

"Stop what you're doing, kid!" the guards yelled, shooting lasers at Eddy. The boy scrambled to dodge in the tight space, and his computer was shot and destroyed. With no other option, he hastily dodged past the guards in search of a control room.

"Eddy!" Carmine cried in worry. She looked up at the control room and yelled, "Please, open the barrier! I'll disable the bombs!"

"It's too late for that, dearie!" Chang stated. "You kids have done too much damage, and I'm certain more of you will come eventually. I'll have to abandon this factory, anyway! At least I can take a few of you with it!"

"The hell you will!" Quill broke into the room and shot plasma bullets at the scientist. Chang whipped out his own gun and countered him, but Quill's shortness allowed him to evade, the boy dashing to shove into Chang. Quill then jumped to shove the shotgun out of his hands, followed by a quick kick to Chang's face. "You better let Carmine out of there now!"

"You children doomed yourself by coming here!"

"And I'll make sure you're doomed, too!"

"Grrr! Fine, you insolent brat!" Chang pushed himself up and turned to the terminal. "Just give me a second to input the 20-digit code, then we should be…"

And in the next second, the windows were blocked by strong shutters, along with the room's exit. "There! Now we should be perfectly safe from any nasty explosions!"

Quill leapt to strangle the scientist and haul him to the floor, bashing his head mercilessly until Chang was knocked out. "Dammit! Eddy, I'm trapped in the control room with Chang!" he yelled into his communicator.

Eddy had made it into another security room. Jenny was working to take down the guards trying to catch him. "Okay, I'll have you out in a sec, too!"

"No, just focus on getting Carmine out of there! Chang set it up so we'll be safe from the explosion!"

"Hurry, guys!" Carmine called into her com. "There's not much time left!"

"Damn, 10 minutes flies way too quickly!" Drake yelled. "Guys, check the nearby closets for spare contamination suits! I don't know if we'll make it out on time!"

Eddy spent the next few minutes trying to hurriedly hack the system using the security room's computer. Jenny skated in with two suits in hand. "I got some for us!"

"And I almost have the door opened!" Eddy said. "Carmine, are there any suits in there?!"

"No, I can't find any!" Carmine called back. "There's only a couple minutes left!"

"Couldn't you have opened the core's barrier so she can turn the bombs off?!" Jenny asked.

"That would've taken longer to hack! Okay, I think I got it! Hurry, Carmine!"

As the door opened, Carmine quickly crawled under it, but some guards were still around and trying to shoot the girl. Carmine tried to run past, but they grabbed hold in attempt to restrain her. Sadly, before she could even attempt to escape, her bombs went off.

The core exploded, breaching the barrier as the gas spread throughout the entire base. "AAAAAHHH!" Carmine cried as she became enveloped in the fumes, the force of the explosion blowing herself and the guards away.

"CARMIIIIIINE…"

Sometime later…

Carmine had no idea what happened next. She was probably in Limbo, lost in the realm between lives… but eventually, her vision was filled with the somber expressions of her four friends. Even Drake had taken off his sunglasses, exposing his despair to the waking girl. "Carmine… thank goodness you woke up." Jenny sighed.

"Nnnnmmm…" Carmine could make out a tube around her mouth, muffling her voice. "Gys… wht hppned?"

"You were out for a month and a half." Quill said. "It's October 15."

"Uh mnth? …Is evryne… uky?"

"Is everyone okay?" Drake repeated. "Well, the rest of us got the suits on in time, but we had to search through the gas to find you. Honestly… we barely recognized you."

"After we pulled you out," Eddy continued, "we called other operatives to help clear away the poison. Then we managed to save Quill and arrest Chang."

"Uuu…tht's good…"

"Yeah… anyway, you're in pretty bad shape. Do you wanna see yourself? You're not gonna like it."

"…Uhuh…"

"I guess she said 'uh-huh.'" Drake figured. With that, Jenny held a mirror up to Carmine.

Her wide pink eyes had become more pink and dry. Her lush and puffy hair was gone, and her skin had decayed to a wrinkly, pinkish, and round alien-like form. She could vaguely make out her mouth through the tube: her lips were gone, and only a few scrawny teeth remained. "Uuuuuuu…" She almost wanted to cry and scream, but couldn't find the strength for it.

"Yeah… your whole body looks like that." Quill explained. "Haruka helped pump the poison out of you, and we had Melody and other healers try to fix you. But nothing worked, and you were even squirming in your sleep. Apparently, you're extremely sensitive to… well, everything. But it at least told us you were still alive. We fed you safe amounts of warm water."

"Nnnn…uuuu…"

They assumed by her moans that she was incredibly upset. They heard the door open as Haruka walked in. "I'm back with the anxiety pills. …Did you break the news to her?"

"Yeah." Drake said. "So, uh… when'll she be fit to battle again?"

"What?!" Haruka gasped. "What are you saying?!"

"I mean… you said you were getting a suit ready for her."

"That was so she wouldn't have to stay cooped in here! It was so she could return to a relatively normal life, not go out and get hurt some more!"

"Yeah, Drake, why would Carmine wanna get back on the field after this?!" Jenny shouted.

"But, I mean…" Drake hesitated, as if he really hadn't considered that. "Well… okay. Is that what… you want, Carmine?"

"…" Carmine only stared at them, not even sparing a moan.

"Maybe we should step out for a minute." Jenny suggested, slowly rolling out of there.

"Hmm…" Drake grunted in guilt as he awkwardly stepped out. Quill and Eddy shared a look before following.

Haruka sat at Carmine's bedside, putting a gentle hand over Carmine's blanketed one and smiling. "But yeah… we made a specially designed suit with a gentle plastic interior. You can walk around or touch things without feeling a strain on your body. But you might have to get readjusted to walking again. As for your diet, I recommend mostly water and soft foods."

"Nnnmm…cn I rlly… cme bck… lke ths?"

"Can you really… come back? What do you mean?"

"Drke wnts mm… t'cme bck."

"Drake wants you… Carmine, why would you want that?"

As Carmine answered, Haruka tried to make out her words more concisely: "People are gonna think I'm a freak. None of my classmates will wanna play with me. My friends will keep having to defend me, but they'll always be away on missions, without me. Or maybe…maybe they'll just quit, just to be with me."

"You shouldn't feel compelled to stay just for that."

"But…but I don't wanna leave. I wanna come back… for my friends. I wanna try… and be useful. When I'm a KND, I can help people. I don't wanna stay helpless… and useless…"

"Well, even if you come back, I can't say you won't be picked on. …Maddy's seen you a couple times, and… she didn't make the most polite comments."

"That's okay… even if people pick on me… I don't wanna feel useless… If I wear that suit, can I still go on missions with them?"

"In theory… yes. You couldn't really run as fast as you used to, but wielding weapons or your bombs should still be fine."

"Then I…I wanna come back. I don't care… if I'm weak or sensitive… I just wanna try."

"Okay then…" Haruka smiled understandingly. "Sorry for making you talk this much."

A moment later, Sector Q reentered the room as Drake approached. "Soooo… I'm sorry if I made you feel pressured… Carmine. You don't have to come back if you-"

"Don't worry." Haruka interrupted. "Carmine says… she wants to return."

"Y…You do?"

"No, you don't have to." Jenny said. "Drake was just being inconsiderate, you should worry about getting better."

"U…U wnt t…t'rtrn."

"Carmine's already decided that she wants to return." Haruka explained. "She wants to keep being useful. Even if it's dangerous, she wants to take the chance."

"Are…are you sure?" Quill asked.

"Uhuh…wll you gys… lt m' cme bck?"

"I…I don't really know if we should." Jenny said. "Should we let her?"

"She'll need to get used to moving around again first." Haruka answered. "After that… we'll see how she does."

"Then what're we waiting for, let's get her in that suit!" Drake cheered.

"You're really inconsiderate." Eddy said.

"Hu hu hu…" Carmine let out some laughs.

"The boys are gonna have to leave first." Haruka said. "She's kind of indecent."

"Ah, good point!" Drake rushed out.

Carmine was carefully helped out of bed, trembling as she did so. She was steadily fixed into a brown suit with a gas mask. Within half an hour, she limped her way out of the medical wing, her friends supporting her. She had little vision through the dark lenses of the mask. "I can barely see… I feel so pathetic…" she spoke with a meek, muffled tone.

"Are you sure you don't wanna change your mind?" Quill asked.

"No… I promise I'll get better at moving. I won't be a burden… I promise."

"Well, we ain't goin' on any missions until you're used to it." Drake said. "But we'll help you work on it!"

"Heh…thanks, Drake. So, what did I miss?"

"Like, A LOT!" Jenny exclaimed. "A bunch of sectors fought with Cheren's evil opposite from the Negaverse, then we wound up in a war with some Nature Goddess! It's still going on! She's been dropping Reset Bomb things around the world; Sector W took out one, but we took out another, and…"

"Wow… that sounds really exciting."

"Yeah, but… with your bombs, I bet we'd really sock it to them!"

"Y-yeah! I'll try my best to get better!"

Present time

"And that's basically the story…" Carmine wrapped up. By the time night had fallen, the friends were seated on the floor in Eddy's room. They each had a cup with a frosty dessert of their choice, with Miko serving Eddy his mocha slushy.

"Aww, that's so inspiring!" Miko cheered. "It's so cute that Drake wanted you back!" I kinda zoned out during the mission details, but that ending part! The feels!

"Haha, yeah…" Carmine smiled, sipping water through a straw. "And because of the incident, Cheren bumped us up to the Number 6 sector. We were at Number 10 before, so… I guess risking your life does wonders for your score."

"And now we're in 5th place 'cause Sector DR got fired! Woo!" Drake cheered. "Still, some operatives were complaining about it being a 'pity win,' so we did our best to keep our place. Luckily, Carmine got herself ready in time for Halloween. She was the only one who didn't dress up in an actual costume, so she didn't get hit by Dracula's curse. I ended up acting like Captain Hook, Quill became an elf, Eddy turned into a monkey, and Jenny became a real monster truck. Carmine was the only one still normal enough to fight Dracula's vampires."

"Yeah, but Sandman saved the day in the end…" Carmine said modestly.

"Who cares, you were still awesome!"

"Yeah!" Miko agreed, lightly spilling part of the slushy over Eddy. "Whoops, sorry." The boy sighed in dismay. "But seriously, you guys should be bumped higher!"

"No, the Top 4 sectors have been through way more than we have." Carmine said. "So have the lower ones. Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't already dropped. Maybe we do still have our position out of pity…"

"Hey, just because we aren't Chosen Ones, it shouldn't say any less about us." Jenny stated. "We did a lot for the KND and I say we've earned our place."

"Especially now that you got me!" Miko cheered. "I can bump our score even higher!"

"You have a mess to clean up first." Eddy pointed.

"Heheh, I'll be right back."

Miko went to get a washcloth and napkins to clean Eddy's blanket. "But don't you have to work at that Hinobi place tomorrow?" Quill asked.

"Yeah, I do. You guys gonna come to see it?"

"Wouldn't pass it up!" Drake said. "It's not every day that an operative has a part-time job!"

"Knowing what just happened, I feel a little uneasy about this place." Carmine replied. "Wouldn't they try to mind-wipe us if something bad happens?"

"That… might be something I'll have to bring up with the manager." Miko said concernedly.

When time came for bed, the six teammates retired to their rooms. Carmine slipped out of her boots and gloves, leaving on her interior plastic gloves and socks. One of many things she had always missed were the cozy comfort of new socks, or the warmth of gloves on a winter day. Now her disgusting hands and feet could only accept the soulless feel of plastic. She would change them out daily, but it wasn't enough variety. "Huuuu…" She released a sigh. She was thankful for Miko's support, but couldn't help but feel envious at the girl's lush, colorful appearance. Still, Carmine enjoyed being around Miko more than certain others…

Hinobi Stop

The following day, Sector Q followed Miko to the Hinobi store, now established as the central building of a shopping center. "Boy, they really wanna stand out." Eddy commented as they approached the wide, bright-blue, H-shaped entrance.

The inside of the store seemed relatively normal, with shelves full of games, some mini TVs and consoles where people could play demos, and a central desk area where the name 'Hinobi' wrapped around the blue exterior, along with the slogan, The Future Is Fun.

The group approached a chubby man at the desk. "Hey there! Name's Miko, ready to start my new post!"

"Well, that makes one of us." The gray-shirted man turned to them; he had light-brown hair and a beard.

REE! Miko perked up so intensely that the "Alert" sound from Metal Gear could be heard! "PHIL!!" She jumped over the desk and gripped the man in a hug. "You came with me! I knew you were gonna miss me!"

"Eh heh heh…" Phil chuckled sardonically. "Inspector 7 requested me to come and supervise you. I had no say in it. So yeah, thanks for making me leave my favorite donut shop."

"Awwwww, it was my pleasure, Phil! So yeah, hey guys, this is Phil! My manager from Coruscant! Phil, this is Sector Q, they're my new teammates!"

"So, you went from the D-Team to the Q-Team." Phil remarked. "Boy, how they fall."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Quill asked.

"Ah, just a little joke." Miko brushed off. "So anyway, Phil, I kinda wanted to go over some stuff." She jumped topics quickly. "Like, is it okay if-"

Phil's cellphone rang. He checked it and said, "Ugh, I gotta take this. Your uniform's in the back, go get changed." He walked off on that note.

"Well, feel free to check out the store, gang!" Miko said to her team as she left to go change.

Sector Q freely looked around the shop. Eddy was checking out cords and setups designed to accommodate consoles with Earth TVs. Quill was checking out games organized by series, such as Chomp Kitty, Castlestein, Smashozaurs, or Flunky Quest. "Oooo, Skidd McMarx Pro Hoverboarding 3!" Jenny swiped the game case in question as she gracefully rolled by. "There's a game I can get behind."

"Hey, kid!" Phil yelled. "No skates in the store! You're gonna knock something over."

Jenny blew a raspberry at him, skating backwards as she—"WHOA!" she crashed into a shelf and knocked some games over.

"Ugh…Miko, your new friends are makin' a mess!"

"I'll get it!" Miko rushed out to start putting everything back. She was wearing white pants and a light-blue shirt, her bright violet hair in a bun.

"Wow, you look way more mature now." Quill commented. "It's almost kinda weird!"

"I know, uniforms just feel so dorky." Miko said. "But hey, it's nicer than wearing an apron!"

Carmine was looking at a game titled Kill All Humans, which depicted stereotypical, round-headed aliens with bulbous black eyes shooting everywhere. "Wouldn't this game be offensive on Coruscant?"

"Maybe it's some kind of satire." Drake figured.

The bell ringed as another customer walked in, a brown-haired girl with strong arms and red fingerless gloves. Her sleeveless blue top and shorts gave her the image of more of a gymnast than a gamer. "Ahoy! Welcome to Hinobi!" Miko called.

"Well, if it isn't Maddy!" Drake greeted. "What's up?"

"Drake?" As Maddy recognized the Sector Q members… her eyes were drawn to a particular one. Carmine, as well, turned to her. "Um…hey, Carmine."

"…I'm gonna go." Carmine decided, about to walk past Maddy and-

"Where ya goin', you just got here!" Miko held her back cheerily.

"Uhhhh." Drake put a hand to Miko's shoulder. "She and Maddy… aren't on good terms. I think we mentioned her during the story."

"Oh…" Miko thinks she overlooked that part. "So, what happened?"

"Carmine, I said I was sorry." Maddy said. "I always remember to buy stuff for your birthday, when're you gonna stop being mad at me?"

"My pain doesn't go away. Not just the physical pain." Carmine turned elsewhere and walked away.

"Uhhh…" Miko drawled cluelessly. "So, something about a bad birthday? I can relate to that."

"Maddy used to pick on Carmine after the accident." Drake whispered. "Calling her contagious, kicking her away, and she got other classmates in on it… then she stopped coming to school for a couple months."

"And it adds a little insult to injury when you started speaking up for Maddy." Quill commented, the two just noticing their shorter friend behind them.

"Hey, I got dragged into space with her by that Nefarious creep. I could tell she was changing, and after all that crazy business was settled, she started trying to make up with Carmine. I told her Carmine's birthday and her favorite toys, so Maddy always remembered to-"

"Will you guys stop talking about it?!" Carmine shouted, hearing them from across the room.

Miko bit her lip guiltily. Wanting to change the subject, she noticed the monitor Carmine was close to. "Hey, Carmine, check out this game!" She jogged over and directed her friend's attention to it. "It's a demo of Aincrad, a big VR project Hinobi's been working on! It's only on console now, but you get to customize your own avatar with, like, a million different settings! And there's like a hundred full kingdoms to explore! Doesn't that sound cool?!"

"Um…yeah."

Miko frowned. "…You know, one of the cool things about games is imagining yourself as someone else. It's a good way to take your mind off life's stressful moments."

"Fine, I'll give it a try." Carmine clicked on the monitor and brought up the avatar customizations. "Um…" Her gloves were rather thick for the smallish controller.

"How 'bout I help you?" Miko took the device. "Which of these look cool?"

"Um, I guess…"

"Carmine, what else do you want me to do?" Maddy asked. "I already beat up the kids who were still picking on you. Got detention for it, too."

"You still don't know how I feel. You're always obsessed with getting stronger while I just get weaker. I can't get strong like you."

"But you learned Observation Haki and first aid, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but even then… I wasn't even brave enough to go to New Galaxia. I just knew I wouldn't be reliable."

"Well, there was no shame in staying behind."

"So, you agree."

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay, I think I made something!" Miko announced. "What do you think about this one?"

Carmine studied the avatar: it looked like a blue-robed swordswoman with a long, black ponytail, sharp fierce eyes, and a katana. "Well, it's certainly not me."

"Oh, did you… want it to look more like you?"

"I'm not really sure that she wants to play at all." Eddy commented.

"Forget it, I'll play." Carmine took the controller to push the 'A' button and confirm the avatar; however, her bulky finger pushed the 'Back' button at the same time. "Darn it!"

In that instant, the game was confused by her choice, unsure whether she was affirming or backtracking. As a result, the device sparked as a pixelly substance began to cover Carmine's body. "AAAH! What's happening?! Is this part of the game?!"

"Oh, nerds!" Miko cursed, readying her gauntlet.

Hearing the commotion, Phil looked over. His eyes widened as Carmine underwent a familiar transformation. "Uh, I'm gonna have to call you back." He said as he hung up. "Miko, take care of it, I'll lock this place down and start mind-wiping-"

Jenny threw a kick to Phil's belly to knock him down, leaving Drake to bind him with rope. "About that, we need to talk to you." Drake said.

"C-Carmine!" Miko was aghast as their friend morphed into the very swordswoman she had designed. "Is that you in there?"

"I…I feel different." The warrior spoke in a glitchy version of Carmine's voice. "I feel… kind of nimble." She slashed the air a bit. "And it feels kinda good!"

"Hang on, I'll have this thing fixed in-" Miko shot the Derez Ray over the monitor, but reactively jumped away when Carmine slashed her. "Carmine?!"

"My name is Carmurai! And now that I've been reborn, I will seek vengeance on those who wronged me!"

"I didn't think she was into roleplaying!" Jenny said. "And Carmurai's a dumb name!"

"Eh, that was the name I inputted." Miko blushed. "Y'know, it was a samurai, her name's Carmine, so… Ahem, but I think this is a Possessor Glitch! They take control of people and turn them into whatever character they're playing!"

"I dunno what's going on," Maddy said, "but how do we fix—HEY!" She dodged Carmine's slash.

"Maddith of Malefor, you will pay for what you did to me!" Carmine viciously slashed at Maddy, but the fighter was quick to dodge her attacks.

Maddy then grabbed Carmine's sword in her hardened hand. "Fine, if this is how you wanna settle it!" She crushed the digital sword, but Carmine jumped away as it reformed. Maddy swung her iron-hard fists at the samurai, but Carmine moved her legs in evasion. She stabbed down, but Maddy dodged right and went for the hip, but Carmine leapt and stomped Maddy's head. Maddy endured the attack and tried to grab Carmine's ankle in both hands, but Carmine leapt away and did a downward slash, which Maddy avoided. Maddy attempted to use Conqueror's Haki, but the Glitch appeared resistant to the effect. And yet, when Maddy followed this with a kick to the stomach, the samurai made no effort to avoid as she slammed into a shelf of games, knocking them down.

"It's having a hard time derezzing the system." Miko reported, shining the ray over the console. "Maybe you guys can help beat her down a bit?"

"We could, but… I feel like we should just let Maddy handle it." Drake figured.

"So, Carmine is partly in control." Maddy observed. "You were avoiding my attacks before because of her Observation, but when I used Conqueror's, her consciousness couldn't handle it, so I could hit you."

"I…I am Carmurai of Clamland! I will not let my honor be defiled!" She resumed slashing at Maddy, and when Maddy threw punches back, Carmine was dodging again. Maddy assumed she had recovered consciousness.

"Carmine, I've already apologized a bunch for how I treated you. But maybe you should start giving yourself some more credit! You may not be super strong, but you're better than you think you are, so don't let me make you feel ashamed!" With one last solid punch to Carmine's stomach, the samurai fell over, her pixelly body breaking to pieces to reveal the suited girl underneath. Miko was then able to fully derez the rogue Program.

"Phew… that wasn't so bad." Miko smiled. "The last Possessor we dealt with was way tougher."

"Yeah, well Maddy doesn't pull punches herself." Drake said. "It's not surprising…"

"You okay, Carmine?" Maddy asked, bending over her.

"Oooooo…I feel… kinda sick now…"

"I wasn't sure how hard I had to hit you. I didn't want it to be too bad…"

"Well… thanks."

"But, were you… actually trying to hurt me?"

"Not exactly… but I was awake. I dodged whenever you punched me, but the samurai did most of the attacks. But part of me… was also kind of enjoying it."

"She's a hella good dodger though!" Drake cheered. "Maddy had to use Conqueror's to win!"

"I didn't really use Conqueror's at the end." Maddy corrected. "Carmine hesitated on her own."

"Yeah… I appreciated what you said." Carmine replied.

"So, do you forgive me?"

"…No. Now I just feel embarrassed."

"Want me to help you up?"

"I don't want you to help me!"

"Well, I don't wanna leave you on the floor."

"Just move. I can… get up… if I try…" Carmine quivered as she tried to hoist her upper body up. She bent her leg to plant her shoe to the floor, trying to push herself up. "Hnnnn…there." She put the other foot down, but had to lean on a shelf. "I get knocked around a lot on missions, I know how to help myself."

"What a touching development." Phil remarked. "Can you guys untie me now?"

"Eh, sorry!" Drake grinned, retracting his rope.

"Alright then…" The manager helped himself up and brushed off. "I just got a call from someone higher up. Non-Hinobi KND operatives aren't exempt from-"

"Come on, don't wipe their minds, Phil!" Miko pled. "You see how tough they are, they're just as good at fighting glitches as we are!"

"I can see that, but we can't have too many witnesses. I tried talking with corporate about this, but they said if the regular KND handle this problem too much, the customers won't think we're reliable enough. That's why we have to wipe their memories, too."

"But if you wipe their memories now, Maddy and Carmine will forget this touching experience! Besides, we can trust them to help keep the secret! They're not gonna blab to everyone! Right?"

"Hmph…" Eddy huffed.

"I mean, we don't have a reason to at the moment…" Quill replied, "but I still don't know how to feel about the whole thing."

"Phil, if more KND know about the glitch problems, they'll be ready to help deal with it." Miko reasoned. "Can't we at least try to talk with them?"

"I'm not using those memory-wipe gizmos." Eddy stated. "Not just for my eyes, but it's just an awful practice."

"You're not helping my case…"

Phil released a sigh. "You know what… fine. I'll make an exception for you guys."

"You will?! Really?!"

"Just don't go telling too many people, or you'll make trouble for BOTH of us." Phil stated strictly. "And you'd better fix these shelves, kiddo!"

"You got it!" Miko saluted and got to work.

"So, why the sudden change of heart?" Eddy asked.

"Let's just say, I still got my own questions for Hinobi." Phil answered. "So, it's nice to have some leverage around." With that, he left to the back room.

"I'm getting a lot of red flags from this company."

"So, like, these Hinobi guys wipe peoples' memories whenever their games come to life like that?" Maddy asked after hearing Quill's explanation.

"Yeah, they need to 'maintain a good relationship with their customers.'"

"Huh…how pathetic." Maddy cracked a smirk.

"How come you're here, anyway?" Jenny asked.

"I'm looking for a new game for Zach. He was banned from all game stores for replacing all the discs with donuts, while the real discs went to get jobs hunting foxes for robots."

"Everything about that made perfect sense!" Miko perked up.

In his office, Phil was using a small, floating robot named BITT to hack into the building's security network. He began deleting all footage of the incident. "There. If corporate doesn't want anyone to know about Glitches, they don't have to know either."

"But Hinobi Corporate requires daily updates regarding any memory-wiped customers or potential-"

"Yeah yeah, they don't gotta know everything. Not until I figure out why they…"

"Hey, Phil! It's me, Phil! If you don't remember making this video, it's because you probably got memory-wiped by someone at the company again. Y'know… how they do that. Thankfully, BITT has enough memories for the both of us! So, when all else fails, he'll protect the file we recovered from Hinobi's development lab on his cartridge."

"Why can't you just tell me what the password is, BITT?" Phil questioned.

"Your exact orders were to never divulge your secrets to anyone, including you!"

"Sigh, me and my big brain. Well, I'll crack my own code eventually. Just you wait."

Chapter 6: I Wanted to Show my Friends

The Bio Program Project. By implanting Programs into mortal bodies, it will enable them to adapt to the real world without need of a computer source. With this means, perhaps we will be able to help the Core enter reality. However, implanting the Core in its entirety will destroy the host with its overwhelming chi. For that reason, only a small fraction of the Core's chi was taken.

We've selected a candidate for the study, a married woman, but to avoid questions or interference, she will remain unaware of the truth. When she comes for a medical exam, we will implant the codes inside her in secret. She will undergo pregnancy and simply believe it to be hers and her husband's doing. The "code" will be born as a human, but because their chi comes from the Core, there will likely be a surplus in Hinobi Glitches. In time, however, the Core may be able to enter reality, so long as the subject adapts. Until then, we will study them from afar.

"A Bio Program… designed to be born and raised as a human?" Phil mumbled to himself. "I've never seen the Hinobi Core… but what's this talk about bringing it to reality? Why? Plus… who is this 'subject,' anyway? Would I… know them?"

He looked up when the door ringed. The store was otherwise clear of customers during this twilight hour… but Phil gasped, recognizing the woman entering. "Inspector Seven!"

"Please, Phil!" the pudgy woman chortled jovially. "Call me Barbara."

"Heh, Barbara…" Phil smiled anxiously, expecting nothing shy of a bad outcome under these circumstances. "What brings you out to this little galaxy?" he asked, quickly and subtly closing the document he was looking at.

"Why, for a special inspection, of course. I've come as a personal escort to a very special guest. Oh, the coast is clear, sir! There are no other customers!"

"I've already sensed." A thin man walked in. He had a white suit and coat, black pants, metallic eyes, and gray hair. "Still, you can't be too careful. Not all things share their aura freely."

"Puh…" Phil couldn't help but gawk. "President… Kayaba. A-Are you… Sir…"

"Good evening, Mr. Altiere. I wanted to personally see how our shops were fairing on this… special little planet. There haven't been any problems, have there?"

"Uh, no, no, no problems." Phil glanced about nervously.

"But Phil, we've heard that a team of Hinobi agents were sent here with a Memory Drive." Barbara said.

"Okay, there's been a few glitches, but everything's being taken care of. You have nothing to worry about!" He sported a grin, but deep down, he knew he was doing a bad job at hiding it.

"Yes, well… we'll hear a full report from the agents, once they return."

"Eh heh heh…oh boy."

Sector Q

"Voom, voom…voom, voom…" Jenny was crouched down and rolling around the living room, Quill's car in hand as she rolled it with her. "Uh-oh! The Sitting Nerd is blocking the highway!" She stopped the car at Edward's blue shoes. "Once he's on his computer, he's unmovable!"

"I'm glad she didn't put that helmet on me." Eddy said. "That just looks so humiliating, Quill."

"Just lift your feet." Quill demanded. Eddy did so, allowing Jenny to keep vrooming.

Drake and Carmine were watching over the unconscious Quill's real body, tied to a chair. "Now that we told Cheren to pass on the info… you think they'll still help Quill?" Carmine asked.

"They shouldn't really find out until after they fix Quill. But even then, I hope we didn't just sign up for a war with Hinobi."

"Me, too…"

"Guys!" They turned to Miko as she jogged in from the hangar. "I saw a Hinobi Truck coming! I think Five is here!"

"Is it just Five?" Drake inquired.

"I don't know…" Miko's face fell with the consideration. "But we'd better go greet them, anyway."

A smallish truck designed with Hinobi's tech and colors was flying into the hangar. Miko beamed, recognizing a familiar face behind the windshield. That same face seemed to shine upon seeing her. "FIVE!"

"Miko!" Her old friend jumped out of the truck and ran to embrace her in a hug.

"I knew you would bring the Memory Drive! It wasn't too hard, was it?"

"Uh, actually…"

"Oh, Miko, Miko, Miko." None other than Mitch Williams marched out of the truck. "Not even a week and you're crying to us for help."

"M…Mitch?" Miko released the hug.

"Yeah, I couldn't really get the Memory Drive without getting the team involved." Five admitted.

"Hey, Miko!" called a Muslim girl with a hijab and Hinobi armor. "Are these your new teammates?"

"Are these guys gamers, too?" asked a husky, African-American boy. "I wonder how they rank?"

"Have they checked out any of our games?" asked a thin boy with red, curly hair. They were all wearing Hinobi armor.

"Wow, I didn't expect the whole gang to be here!" Miko smiled. "Guys, this is Sector Q! Drake, Quill, Eddy, Carmine, and Jenny. Sector Q, that's High Five, Bergy," the curly-haired boy, "Zahra," the Muslim girl, "Haneesh," the African boy, "and…"

"That's right! Mitch Williams, the one and only~" The blonde, dark-skinned boy boasted. "Aren't you newbs lucky to be alive today?"

"Uh, we're not newbs." Drake inferred. "We've been around for years. Been on lots of missions, suffered some wounds."

"Yes, well experience speaks louder than words," Mitch passively surveyed the team, "and I—GOOD GAME GRUMPS, what is that?!" he panicked at seeing Carmine. "You better not have a disease!"

"No, I lost my skin in an accident. I have to wear this or else everything really hurts. Anyway, could you please fix our friend?" She gestured to Quill's car in Jenny's hands.

Mitch cocked a brow at the tiny boy in the car, then at the same boy tied to a chair. "Hah. I knew I was right not to trust that thing. Mini karts are for newbs."

"I could beat you at racecars any day!" Quill shouted.

"Aww, and he tawks, too!" Mitch cooed. "How cute~"

Drake marched up to envelop Mitch's vision. "You gonna fix him or not?"

"Fine, fine." Mitch withdrew a cord. "All we have to do is insert this end in the car," he tapped the square end, "and this end in the real body's ear." He tapped the plug end.

"This is gonna feel weird." Quill said.

"Well, I doubt you want to stay mini, so let's get this over with." Mitch plugged one end into the car and the other into Quill's ear. Energy began transferring through the car as Quill's holo-body began disappearing. The body was shaking as other energy transferred into the car as well.

"Nnnnnn…yah!" Quill's eyes shot open.

"Quill? Are you back?" Carmine asked.

"I…I think I am!"

"Wait, it could still be the glitch!" Jenny accused. "We gotta test it! Quill, when the Big Mom Pirates invaded Cleveland 3 years ago, which officer did you fight?"

"His name was Cracker. He had the power to conjure these biscuit soldiers. I actually worked with Kodama to beat him!"

"Okay, but which crewmen did WE fight?"

"I don't remember their names! I think Drake fought a firebending dude with long sleeves, Eddy fought some pumpkin-headed dude, Carmine fought a ladybug girl that was mocking her appearance, and Jenny… you fought some guy that looked like Elvis Presley?"

"Yeah, he sorta did!" Jenny laughed.

"Glad to have you back, buddy!" Drake untied him.

"No payment necessary, just praise is fine." Mitch boasted. "Now comes this part." And he readied to flash the memory-wipe-

The friends looked away as Miko jumped to block him, her eyes strict. The ERROR message flashed on Mitch's gauntlet. "Mitch, we need to talk."

"What are you doing, Miko? You know that other operatives can't-"

"Well, here's a news flash for you, buddy." Drake stepped up. "You're on Earth turf now. We play a different kind of game, and it's called, 'No Memory-Wiping.'"

"What the… Miko, you haven't been wiping them?!"

"Mitch, the mind-wiping needs to stop. These glitches are hurting Hinobi's customers and they need to know."

"That's not for you to decide, Miko! Do you know how much trouble you could be in?"

"Ain't you the one that transferred Miko?" Drake inquired. "You wanted to get rid of her, so she shouldn't have to play by your rules, anymore."

"The reason I did so in the first place was because she was trouble. You can't tell me you haven't had any problems with her."

"Not as many as we're having with you, newbie."

"Uck! Newbie?! Well, get this through your thick skull." Mitch jabbed the slightly shorter boy in the chest. "I'm an elite gamer that's battled with the greatest! I traded bullets with Sinon, the FPS Master. I traded fists with the Gamer Queen, Gaz Membrane. Even two of the Pirate Emperors, Kroctus and Mandy, were no match for me in Mario Kart! Because I," jab, "am MITCH," jab, "WILLIAMS-"

BAM! Drake's fist flew like a cannon, smashing Mitch's face into a crater. The boy flew back, headfirst against the truck as his teammates looked on in worry. "My NOOOOOOOSE!" He sprung up and screamed in a high pitch. "You broke my noooose! You bully!"

"Miko ain't a problem. Hinobi's the problem. And we're not having it, anymore." Drake vowed. "It was their choice to set up business on this world, but if we have to clean up their messes, we ain't letting people forget them."

"Yeah." Miko said. "People can't enjoy Hinobi games without knowing about the glitches. If Hinobi wants a good relationship with its customers, they should let their customers know and decide for themselves. Don't you think, Five?"

"Um…it's not that I don't agree, but… I was kinda hoping to visit, not start a rebellion." Five chuckled nervously. "Mitch, why don't we just let them go and-"

"No!" Mitch raised his gauntlet. "Teammates, arrest Miko and wipe their memories!"

"A-Arrest?" Zahra asked.

"You know mind-wiping doesn't work on her. We have to arrest and report her!"

"Er…" Zahra and the others hesitantly raised their gloves, except for Five. The Q operatives assumed battle poses, with Miko folding her arms in confidence. Five could only look between both groups in fear.

The floor seemed to bounce and quake under some heavy footsteps. "HEY, guys!" Sind Diego stomped into the hangar, followed by his teammates. "We heard some yelling! You guys aren't fighting, are you?" the leader asked, smirking down at Mitch's group.

"Hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu…" Mitch nearly wet his pants before the giants, the six stopping directly behind Sector Q and staring down the Hinobi agents with total intimidation. "W-W-What are… these behemoths?!"

"Aw, yeah!" Miko cheered. "You didn't expect me to be friends with the strongest sector in the KND, did ya?! These giants were bred and raised in a lab, designed to squash all resistance!"

"We don't like to talk about the 'lab' part…" Sind said.

"Yeah, that's right! It's scary stuff! You don't mess with Sector GT, or they'll go, DHOMP, DHOMP, DHOMP, DHOMP!" Miko stomped her feet and hunched over like a monster.

"Sector GT?" Bergy asked. "Like… Glitch Techs?"

"Glitch Techs?" Uzu asked.

"Oh, that's their other name." Miko replied. "Wait… Sector GT, Glitch Techs… hah, that's kinda funny!"

"Wait, I know that guy!" Konbu pointed. "It's Mitch Williams!"

"WAAAAH!" Mitch cried as the giant bent down and snatched him off the floor.

"I watch your Let's Play videos! You're so cool!" Konbu said as he swung him about like a doll.

"LET GO! Let go of me, you oversized newb!" Mitch shook desperately until Konbu finally released him. "What the-?! I'm covered in donut goop! Disgusting!"

"We've made our point, Mitch." Miko said. "We appreciate you helping Quill… so, you can go now."

"Grr!" Mitch grit his teeth, staring Miko in the eyes. "…Hmph." With that, the leader returned to the truck. "Guys, let's go. This treehouse is too retro for my tastes."

The others shared concerned glances and boarded the truck. Five first turned to Miko. "Miko, I…I think what you're doing is cool, but… I don't think I could join you. You know my dad went to prison for hacking one of their games, right? I would just make more trouble for him if I…"

"I guess…" Miko rubbed her arm nervously. "Well, do you think you could still visit later?" She cracked a weak smile. "When Mitch isn't around? I promise they don't break everyone's noses."

"I'd like to, but…"

"Hurry up, Five!" Mitch honked the horn.

"Uh…I'll see you later, Meeks." Five regrettably boarded the truck, his friend bowing her head somberly. The 12 operatives watched as the truck took off from the hangar, flying into the fading twilight.

Miko looked over as little Quill held her left hand. "If the moment hasn't passed… I'll take that slushy now."

Miko giggled. "I'll be sure to get it in the morning."

"Do you want us to stick around in case they come back?" Ally asked.

"You can head home if you want." Drake answered. "Even if they do, we'll be fine."

"Yeah, we do take up a lot of room here." Doran figured.

"Hey, Ally, before you go, I just remembered something!" Miko said as she materialized her ostrich. "This is my pet, Ally! You have the same name!"

"Oh, wow! Haha, that's amazing!" Ally beamed, reaching down to pat the bird with her finger. "Hey there, Ally!"

"Hehe!" Sind giggled. "Let's hang out again later! Hopefully, things will be better by then."

After a few minutes, the giants reboarded their ship and left the treehouse as well, leaving far more breathing room for the Q's. "I think I'm gonna sleep in my house tonight." Miko said. "Check in with my family…"

"Yeah, they're probably worried about you." Drake replied. "Heh…I didn't make a bad first impression, did I?"

"Well, Mitch likes fighting games as much as any other." Miko shrugged. "If anything, you were flattering him!"

"I get the greeting next time!" Jenny cheered, raising a foot in a swinging position.

"Hehe, it's a promise!" Miko laughed. "Well… see you tomorrow, guys."

"Later, newbie~" Eddy winked.

Close to Hinobi Stop

"Ugh, that stupid Drake Bell wannabe!" Mitch grumbled, dabbing his nose with a washcloth. "I was going to start a stream tomorrow morning!"

"Hey, Mitch… what do you think about the memory-wiping thing?" Five asked.

"I don't really care about it. But Hinobi sponsors my videos, so I'm not about to stop for Miko's sake."

"I'm just a little worried about her. Because of her immunity, what if Hinobi tries to do something to her? Or her friends?"

"Whatever they do, it won't be our problem."

"Come on, you care about Miko deep down."

"Let's report to Phil that the mission was a success. And since I'm not looking to get in trouble, we'll feign ignorance about the memory thing."

"I guess so…" Bergy said worriedly.

They parked the van in the parking lot and crossed to enter Hinobi. "Phil," Mitch began, "we've successfully fixed the… they, yey, YAH?!" But he lost his train of thought immediately, the operatives gawking at the surprising guest in the store.

"Hello, Sector Hinobi." Kayaba greeted. "Everything's been fixed, has it?"

"President Kayaba! Ih, Ih, it's such an honor!" Mitch smiled and panted ecstatically. "I-I didn't have a chance to put on makeup, I…"

"The living legend!" Haneesh said. "What are you doing here, Sir?"

"A personal inspection." Kayaba answered. "My… that's quite a bruise you have." He acknowledged Mitch. "What happened?"

"Oh, uh…I tripped and hit my nose."

"You're also covered in what smells like donut glaze."

"I stopped by the donut store… where I tripped. Heh, it's not like I was punched by a brute and then grabbed by a giant kid or something!"

"Oh, Mitch." Zahra sighed.

Kayaba raised a Hinobi Gauntlet and aimed it at Mitch's. It displayed a hologram of Miko and the other operatives. "What the… Miko, you haven't been wiping them?!"

"Mitch, the mind-wiping needs to stop. These glitches are hurting Hinobi's customers and they need to know."

"That's not for you to decide, Miko! Do you know how much trouble you could be in?"

"Ain't you the one that transferred Miko? You wanted to get rid of her, so she shouldn't have to play by your rules, anymore."

"Um, not that I don't like my job," Bergy spoke meekly, "but that's kind of an invasion of privacy."

"Miko is not doing her job?" Kayaba inquired. "That's problematic…" He fast-forwarded through the rest of the scene. "And you five didn't detain her?"

"We couldn't just do that." Five said. "Miko is our friend. And, now that she's been transferred, she's technically outside our jurisdiction."

"Hmm…then perhaps letting her be transferred was a mistake. We've heard she could be quite a troublemaker. I guess it's much trickier to manage her in this environment, Phil."

"I mean, she's with her team most of the time, and they're not Hinobi." Phil shrugged.

"And did you know about this, Phil?"

"Ummmm, I…"

"Hmm…I think a meeting is in order."

"A meeting?"

"Yes. I would like to speak with Miss Kubota."

"B-But why?" Five asked worriedly.

"To determine if sending her here was the right decision. Phil, would you call her?"

"It's getting kinda late, she's probably eating dinner-"

"Come now, Phil, we haven't got all night." Barbara said.

"Sigh…okay."

"Ah, and Mitch… let me fix that for you." Kayaba aimed his glove at Mitch. The boy's head turned digitally as his nose seemed to blink back to normal.

"Whoa…thank you, Sir!"

"It won't last for long, but it should make breathing more comfortable for now."

Kubota Household

Miko joined her family in time for dinner. She sat across from her youngest sister, Lexi, still wearing her karate robe. The youngest brother, Lee was secretly giving his brussel sprouts to their large dog, Cloud, and their cat, Aerith. Cloud seemed to like them, but Aerith smacked them away.

Miko looked under the table as Lexi seemed to flick a paper ball over. Miko used her feet to unravel the ball and read the note: How's the glitch business going? Miko began scribbling on her own paper under the table. She balled it up and flicked it over, Lexi unfolding it. Kinda complicated.

"Girls, no passing notes under the table." Hugh said.

"So, are you enjoying your new friends, Miko?" Mayumi asked.

"Yeah! They've been pretty cool. We went to this skatepark, and we beat up some evil carnies, then it turned out the skatepark owner was evil, then we met a team of GIANTS, and…"

"Okay, slow down, kiddo." Hugh laughed. "Heh, Earth is certainly exciting. I heard there was an incident where a bunch of buildings and landmasses suddenly appeared in the sky? And it was right before we came here!"

"For being such a peaceful galaxy, a lot of dangerous things seem to happen here." Mayumi said. "I'm a little worried for you, Miko."

"I'll do fine, Mom! I've been a big help to them so far." Naturally, her parents didn't know anything about the Hinobi problems. They had always scolded her for being too obsessed with her games over school work, but if the truth about the glitches became public, it would certainly create some tension with her family. She didn't want to dump the truth out now.

"Still, ever since you've been in KND, it's been harder to schedule classes for you." Hugh mentioned. "I know that schools agreed to exempt operatives from class during missions, but we'd like you to have some form of education."

"But the KND teaches me a ton! Like… Lincolnville has a big jungle place because… the environment is well taken care of, compared to other, non-jungly places! Oh, and Guatemala's farmlands are so great that people grow to be giants! And, through use of physics, people can cartwheel on a thin rail on roller-blades, and… not fall?"

"Honestly, Dad," began Nica, the eldest sister, "I heard that most people forget 90% of the things they learned in school after graduating. Miko's probably learning way more than the rest of us, and busting villains as a bonus."

"I guess, given her academic difficulties, it's the best we could ask for." Mayumi said.

"You mean that she's stupid?" Lee asked.

"You're grounded, Lee." Hugh said.

Miko glared at her brother, falling silent as she ate her dinner. "Uh, hey, Miko!" Lexi spoke up, wanting to change the subject. "Have you met Maddy Murphy? Some of the playground kids talk about her."

"Yeah, I met her. Why?"

"I heard she's the toughest girl in town! I gotta challenge her to a match!"

"Heh, good luck with that. She uses Haki, which… I think makes her pretty strong."

It was then Miko felt her phone ringing. She pulled it out. "It's… from my boss."

"Oh, dear." Mayumi frowned in worry. "Well, you better answer it."

Miko answered, "Hello, Phil?"

"Hi, Miko. Sorry if we're interrupting something, but… we need you at the store for something important."

Miko clenched her teeth anxiously. "Uh…can I finish dinner first?"

"Yeah, sure. Just get here when you can."

"'kay…" She hung up. "They… need me for something."

"Hm hm, you sound pretty dependable." Mayumi smiled.

"Yeah, I know…" Miko forced a smile. "I hope I can get back soon…"

After finishing her dinner, Miko put her shoes on and walked outside. She gazed up toward the Sector Q treehouse, shadowed by the night. "…" She was about to summon Ally to make the ride to Hinobi Stop, but faced toward the treehouse again. She pulled out her phone and called, "Hey, guys? It's Miko."

"Hey, Miko. You need something?" Drake responded.

"I just got a call from Phil asking me to come to the store. He said that-"

"Alright, we're on our way!"

"No, you guys don't have to come. I was just letting you know-"

"Yeah yeah, we all know this is something suspicious." Quill interrupted. "Just hang tight and we'll back you up."

"It's just another standard operative tradition!" Carmine cheered. "It's standard protocol, Miko!"

"Haha…thanks, guys." Miko hung up. "Alright… let's go."

Hinobi H.Q.

The Mobian prisoner was locked in a cell after his use was exhausted for the day. He had no strength to muster to try and break free or even stand.

The jackal cracked open his mismatched eyes when alarms began blaring. He was curious what was happening, but was ascertained that it didn't concern him. …But a few minutes later, the door to his chamber was burst open. An impish, shadowed figure stepped in, peering at the prisoner with red eyes.

Hinobi Stop

Miko stood a short distance away from the parking lot. The occasional car would pass by, but Miko eventually heard the familiar rumbling of Jenny's rollers. "Hey, Jen! Decided to let the others eat your dust?"

"Nah, I'm just carrying them in my Convenience Box." Jenny reached in her pocket and withdrew the Infi-Cube. The other four teammates jumped out of it.

The kids peeked around the corner to the lot. There were a couple cars parked, particularly the Hinobi Truck. "Want me to sneak in and scout the area?" Eddy asked.

"I can sense a lot of people inside." Carmine said.

"Let's just go in." Miko decided. "We shouldn't have to worry."

The six friends calmly crossed the parking lot and entered the store. "Hello? Phil?" The store was creepily dark, but even creepier was the soft whirring sound heard behind them. When they turned, it seemed the entrance had disappeared. "Well, nerds." Miko cursed simply.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Kubota. I see you haven't come alone."

A gray-haired man in a labcoat walked out of the darkness, his expression glum. "Well, hello, obvious villain." Jenny greeted. "Wanted to get straight to the butt-whooping, huh?"

"No way… President Kayaba?!"

"You know him?"

"He's the president of Hinobi!"

"Well, that's a twist." Eddy remarked. "Usually, the bosses of shady organizations stick to the shadows instead of inviting us directly to their lair."

"Your friends have already filled me in. It seems you haven't been cooperating with our policy, Miss Kubota."

"I…" Miko half-expected that a Hinobi officer would show up and trouble them, but she hadn't expected the actual president to appear. She took a breath and explained the truth. "When we encountered our first glitch, I tried to wipe their memories, but I ended up blinding Eddy. They got mad and told me not to use that on them."

"And why did you hesitate? Was it that hard to catch them off guard?"

"That isn't the point! I couldn't have just kept lying to my own teammates. And every time I tried to show them one of your games, it just kept backfiring. They were angry, and I realized… if not for the mind-wiping, then a lot of customers would feel this way."

"It is exactly for that reason we must make them forget. Miko, you've always been one of our best customers. We have online copies of every receipt for every customer, and yours are quite abundant. Our games that you cherish, that you grew up with, would not exist if these glitches became too public."

"Yeah, but…but that's why I'm so disappointed! Hinobi was my best friend growing up! It was my life! And then I met Five, I started making friends thanks to Hinobi. I wanted to show my new friends all your games and make them see why I love them, but your glitches hurt them."

"Then purge their memories and reignite their experience."

"No! Hinobi shouldn't do this to its customers!"

"You know, Nintendo's glitches don't try to kill people the same way yours do." Eddy inferred. "And I'd wager their technology is just as advanced, if not better. Why don't you try changing your software so we stop having this problem?"

"You fool! It is this software that will put us above the likes of Nintendo, Sony, or any other developer!" Kayaba waved his gloved hand as a mini volcano, snowy mountain, and a clown appeared. "This energy that we use, that I discovered, we call it Miracle Matter. Making Programs feel real, giving them life, and augmenting reality will help our customers feel one with our games. Every glitch that you derez makes our games become more perfect. Every memory you wipe rekindles the friendship between our creations and customers."

"That's not the right way to rekindle friendship." Quill stated. "I know people have flaws that they don't want others to be aware of, but the more time you spend with people, the more likely they are to find out. By then, they'll either accept you or reject you, but even if you try to forget, the same thing will eventually happen again."

"Yeah." Drake said. "But you know something? It's hard to believe you guys were able to cover this up so much that it didn't go public. What are the odds you cracked a deal with some higher-up politicians, or even the media?"

"Some friendships require tradeoffs to overlook flaws."

"Well, you're not trading off with us. Even if you wipe our memories now, it's already too late. By now, the whole KND knows your secret."

"Sigh…I knew Earth would be a troublesome place to establish business. But Miko… your immunity to memory erasure is an unprecedented issue. At this rate, I can't just fire you. I may have to take you into custody. I will separate you from your friends and make them forget you ever existed. But if you wipe their memories now and come back to me… we can work together to fix this whole problem. So…?"

"…" Miko narrowed her eyes and wagged her finger. "Come at me."

"So be it. Glitch Techs… arrest them all." Kayaba sank into a hole as five figures marched out. They were Mitch, Five, Haneesh, Zahra, and Bergy.

"G…Guys?" Miko spoke with hurt in her voice.

"This is what happens when you don't follow protocol, Miko!" Mitch stated, a hint of static in his voice. "Now, to reiterate, teammates, attack!"

The agents ran to confront the operatives, with Mitch tossing holo-shurikens at Drake, Zahra charging at Carmine with a pink laser sword, Haneesh running at Quill with energy scissors, and Bergy shooting lasers at Eddy. Five flew above with jet boots as he shot lasers at Miko, his friend dodging. "Five, why are you doing this?! Are you…?" As Miko tried to look him in the eyes, she noticed that his irises had big white H's. She looked and noticed the same H's in the other's eyes.

Jenny lunged up to KICK Five in the gut, slamming him to the wall. "I'll fight him so you don't have to!"

"Guys, look at their eyes!" Miko said. "I'm not sure if these are the real ones."

"Alright, then we won't hold back!" Drake decided, shooting his harpoon at Mitch.

"AAAH!" the gamer cried with a hasty dodge. "How dare you accuse me of non-realism! I'm the one and only Mitch Williams!"

"In that case, I'm going for the boss!" Miko decided, extracting her hammer. She leapt and slammed it against the spot that Kayaba sank into, bashing it multiple times as the floor cracked. Finally, a hole was broken open, so Miko bravely dove in.

"We'll catch up with ya!" Jenny called. She gracefully maneuvered around the floor to evade Five's aerial shots. Five would elevate if Jenny tried to jump-kick him, so the girl rolled to the wall and tapped on her shoe rockets. She could boost up the wall, then kick off to land a kick to Five's jaw. He flew further from the wall and shot homing missiles at her, but Jenny could easily jump up the projectiles for the next attack—Five switched on a shield to block and bounce her off. He then burned a laser along the floor, chasing a fleeing Jenny, and she was quick to whip around when he changed its position in front of her.

"You'll never reach me up here!" Five taunted.

"Unless I use this!" Jenny grabbed a metal object from the Infi-Cube and threw it down. It grew into a rail and propped itself up like a slope, and she quickly skated up to an unprepared Five as she dealt a kick to the crotch. He lost control on his jetshoes and crashed on the floor, leaving Jenny to deal the finishing kick.

Miko landed in another empty room and spotted Kayaba. "YAAAH!" She unhesitantly leapt to smash her hammer—he effortlessly stepped left. Miko violently tried to swing it side-to-side, but Kayaba's position changed so quickly, it was like his legs weren't even moving.

"What are you trying to do, child? Attacking your boss is rude."

"Uh, you make videogames, dude! The only way to beat the level is to beat the boss! Now, hold still and take it!"

Quill was using his shortness to duck under Haneesh's scissors, the latter tanking Quill's fire blasts. Quill pressed both the wind and fire functions to muster an enhanced blast to banish him away. Haneesh recovered and launched mini scissors at Quill, but even as the boy pursued, Haneesh backed away in evasion. Quill dropped an RC car and steered it toward Haneesh, who was unable to escape from the tiny speedy toy. He tried to step on it, but the car withstood his weight and tripped Haneesh. Quill dashed forward and performed a flip onto Haneesh's chest, freezing ice over Haneesh's face. Haneesh smacked Quill off and got up, using a heating function of his glove to melt the ice. Quill combined Fire and Ice to spray water around the floor, then he blew wind to wash a wave over Haneesh. With that, he quickly swapped back to ice to freeze the water and freeze Haneesh like an iceberg.

Miko leapt to punch Kayaba, the president lazily bringing up an arm to withstand the punch. Miko was knocked back by an invisible force, but she landed on her feet and returned to deal a rapid flurry! "You are strong, but it's not nearly enough. I thought, by now, you would've learned some form of Haki, but it seems your brain is unfit for the task."

"What, you're calling me stupid?! Then why can't you mind-wipe me?!"

Carmine ran from Zahra and threw bombs behind her, the Muslim easily evading them. When Zahra slashed at Carmine directly, the latter evaded with Haki and sneakily dropped M.A.R.B.L.E.s. The tiny bombs exploded around Zahra while Carmine escaped their radius. Zahra recovered, so Carmine threw more grenades. Zahra changed her sword to a bat to hit the bombs back, but still Carmine avoided. "AAAH!" Unfortunately, Zahra landed a bash to the head as Carmine was knocked over, her gas mask slipping off.

"Looks like that armor doesn't protect you after all!" Zahra declared.

Carmine faced up at Zahra, revealing her grotesque, pinkish and shriveled head. "Oh, my…" Zahra hesitated.

"Yeah… this is what I look like. Ow, and that really hurt!" Carmine began squirming. "The air is making the wound sizzle! Ow! Ahh!"

"H-Hang on, let me get your-"

Carmine flicked a M.A.R.B.L.E. at Zahra's face and exploded it, the Glitch Tech keeling over. "But thanks for the offer." Carmine smiled, going to reclaim her headwear.

Eddy was tapping his laptop to shoot lasers at Bergy, who shot lasers in turn, both skinny teammates suffering an equal amount of hits. However, Eddy had secretly dropped a robot bug and lured Bergy's vision away from it. He inputted commands for the bug on his laptop, at the same time coding lasers. The robot skittered up Bergy's leg and along the underside of the arm. Once the bug reached the gauntlet, it sank its "teeth" into the glove to input a computer virus. "Huh?! What's going on?!" Bergy panicked as his controls began fizzing out.

"Here's a bullying classic!" Eddy declared, thrusting punches at himself. Bergy's glove began to punch himself against his will. "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself, stop it!"

Downstairs, Miko began panting with exhaustion, at a loss for ideas as she could neither damage nor touch Kayaba. "But haven't you just met these five? Weren't you moved here against your decision? Why risk so much for them?"

"I…I don't know!" Miko panted. "They were just… mad at me, for the mind-wiping thing, and the car thing… and it was all your games' fault! You and your stupid rules! You know, me, Five, and the others still love your games. We still play them, even at the risk of glitches. So, why can't other people…"

"You are trained to battle the glitches, but most people are not. Only true gamers can accept the glitches and learn to conquer them, in the steady process of achieving perfection. But these new friends clearly do not understand. They are closed-minded to games and turn them away for the smallest flaws. And they will not understand you."

"Pfft, guess again, smarty! They let me stay, even after I hurt Eddy, and they wouldn't let me come here alone. You're the only problem here, you and your janky games! If your games aren't perfect enough, then you, shouldn't, SELL THEM!" Miko began furiously bashing her hammer against the unmovable developer, but the weapon merely fizzled out each time it was at Kayaba.

Drake shot his harpoon at the wall behind Mitch, hauled himself over as he tried to kick the LPer, and repeat the process repeatedly. Mitch formed a barrier to make Drake crash, then he disabled it and trapped the Q Leader inside his own bubble prison. "Try breaking my nose from in there, Captain Hoo-"

Drake imbued Haki to his harpoon and pierced the bubble, stabbing Mitch in the gut. Drake pulled Mitch to him to land a solid nose punch, shot him forward, then retracted for another punch, followed by a third one before letting Mitch go down for good. "They don't call me the 3-Hole Puncher for nothin'!"

"Drake, let's hurry and help Miko!" Carmine ushered.

"Aye-aye!" The five quickly jumped into the hole. They were just in time to see Miko failing to hit Kayaba with the hammer, the gamer reaching her limit once more as she slumped in exhaustion.

"You can't take all of us!" Jenny rolled up for a kick that Kayaba evaded, Carmine threw some bombs that he survived, and Quill ran circles around, shooting flames over the president.

"It doesn't seem like all of us are taking him…" Eddy commented.

"You cannot defeat me in my augmented reality. Why bother wasting your efforts for Miko? You're better off losing your memories and letting her go. She will only bring you more trou-"

"Can it with that bullcrap, buddy." Drake stated, marching up to Kayaba with his harpoon trained on the neck. "If Miko never came to our sector, we might've never known about your shady operation. She's already been a big help. Maybe we just met her, but we're not gonna let you take her. I know my girls, buddy, and this one's got a big heart."

"I'll admit, I'm not entirely used to her," Quill said, "but I'd feel pretty small for letting some creep take her."

Miko blushed lightly. She was used to Five sticking up for her, but it felt far more flattering that her new friends were doing the same.

"Sigh…all I wanted was for people to love my creations." Kayaba said. "But it seems they're just not ready, yet."

"Yeah, well what're you gonna do about it?" Eddy asked.

"More testing is required… nay, a new approach."

"Just spill the beans, Gray Hair." Jenny retorted.

"I'm saying that I admit defeat."

"You…you are?" Carmine asked.

"Even if I try to drag Miko away now… I'll only be denying the truth. My games… just aren't perfect, yet. They were not ready for Earth's homes."

"It's not about being perfect." Eddy argued. "It's about not letting your games come to life and hurt people! Just go the old-fashioned way! As long as games stay in the console, who cares if they glitch?!"

"That is where our ideals part, I'm afraid. But it doesn't matter now. My approach is wrong, either way. Forgive me for my disturbance, Kids Next Door. I will leave… and shut my stores down."

With a wave of his glove, the room derezzed into pixels and changed back into Hinobi Stop, games and consoles neatly stocked on the shelves. And Kayaba had disappeared.

"Geez, what happened?" Phil stepped out from the back room, rubbing his head. "I feel like I went into Doki Doki shutdown."

"Hey, the store's back to normal!" Haneesh said as he and the others stepped out. "Where's President Kayaba?"

"Miko!" Five exclaimed, running up to hug his friend.

"F-Five!" Miko perked up in confusion. "So, just now, those were really… fakes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"We were attacked by Kayaba, and… I guess he's gone now."

"My nose!" Mitch screamed, holding his squished face. "It's broken again! Mr. Kayaba?!"

"Well, Phil, everything checks out." They turned as Barbara exited the back area. "Congratulations on your well-kept store!"

"Uh…thanks?"

"Unfortunately, in light of some recent controversy, we may have to close business on Earth for a while. However, we'll put in a good word for you at GameStop, so no worries."

"Geez, I just can't catch a break around here."

"So… what happens to me?" Miko asked.

"Well, my dear, you may have to find another part-time job yourself. Unless you would rather move back to Coruscant. Our main branch will be happy to have you back."

Miko looked to Sector Q. "Hmm…I think I'm good where I am. I'm starting to like it on Earth. Besides… someone has to stay and make sure you don't try anything."

"That's all well and good then. Make sure you get to bed soon, children!" With that, Barbara left the store.

"I guess… everything's fine, then?" Five asked, confused by the rather sudden resolution.

"I guess. …I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Five."

"No worries! No matter how far apart we are, I'll always have your back!" Five punched her shoulder playfully.

"Haha! And no matter how far the Wi-Fi stretches, I'll always break your virtual back!" She punched his back.

"Ugh, this is so cheesy, I'm becoming lactose!" Mitch complained. "Let's get on the truck and leave already."

"Aw, can't we stay for a little bit?" Haneesh asked, approaching Quill. "I'm digging this kid's blasters! What are those buttons?"

"Nature Crystals from Schnee Dust!" Quill twirled his Elementors. "GKND nicked these for me!"

"Wicked!"

"Hey, sorry about what Mitch said to you." Zahra said to Carmine. "It must be hard to have to wear that."

"It is, and I wish I didn't have to. But you know, there's probably lots of people with worse conditions, so… I like to hope I'm sort of an inspiration."

"Eddy, do you have an online screen name?" Bergy asked.

"On Nintendo, I'm Eddy-Will-Floor-You. 'Cause I'm Eddy William Flores in real life."

"I'm Bergmaster97! Heh, there were 96 others when I decided that one."

"Sorry that I broke your nose, Mitch!" Drake apologized. "I'll pay for your plastic surgery if you want."

"Not necessary. I have a highly skilled editor, so you'll be paying him in my stead."

"Screw off."

"But you just said-!"

"Y'know, maybe more people will respect you for tanking an injury. Just look at me." Drake held up his hook. "When I was in training, Arctic Base got attacked by a sword Nighlok. I got kinda ballsy with him and lost my hand. But now a bunch of girls think I'm cool."

"Yeah, but I sound like a nasally freak thanks to you!"

"Chicks did nasals."

"What the…ugh, why am I bothering with you? I'm Mitch Williams! Good day, sir!" And he began to march out.

"We'll catch you later, Meeks." Five said. "Maybe during a holiday or something."

"It's a deal, baby seal!"

"Haha, that's right!"

Both teams left the store and went their separate ways. Why is Kayaba just letting her go, anyway? Mitch thought suspiciously. Miko was always unusual… and ever since she joined, Barbara's visits have been more frequent, even here. I wonder…

Barbara was already returning to Coruscant on her own ship, Kayaba seated behind her. "So, this was a successful test?"

"Yes." Kayaba affirmed. "Perhaps working with Earth's KND will give Miko far more experience. I was worried since her mental capabilities were reported to be more than faulty. She should be capable in excelling in any physical activity, but anything that requires focusing her chi may be lost on her. But perhaps mental growth is not the most important aspect of a person. Perhaps I have overlooked the heart. Perhaps, through experience and friendship together, her heart will grow stronger. And that may yield the same results."

"And you believe the Earth KND possesses that 'heart'?"

"If Sector Q's words and actions are anything to go by. For now, we must continue with our own end of the project. We may be able to finish Aincrad by next-"

An alarm rang through their ship. Barbara answered. "Is there a problem, Franklin?"

"Inspector Seven! Is President Kayaba there? There's been an emergency! The matterbender was kidnapped! He's gone!"

"What?!" Kayaba gasped. "By who?"

Unknown base

The jackal was rested on a chair in a dark room. An obese, egg-shaped figure stepped out to greet him. "Well, what cruel operations has Hinobi been running?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Dr. Eggman, the universe's greatest scientist. My special sources have informed me of the 'glitches' running rampant in Coruscant, and it reminded me of something I'm looking for. I tried to implant this virus into their network and investigate them." He held up a blue Flashdrive in his fingers, and it had an eye symbol. "But their defenses are quite strong. However, I was able to locate you, so I phoned in an old friend to retrieve you."

"And why be so generous?"

"Because I want to know what Hinobi is hiding. Why were they keeping you prisoner?"

"They were trying to drain me of my Matter Chi. They…oogh!" His body began fizzing like static.

"What's wrong?"

"My body! It feels… unstable! They…they took too much! Please… do something!"

"Hold on, I should have some remedies for this." Eggman pressed a speaker button. "Scratch! Grounder! Get down here with some Matter Stabilizers, now!"

"Yes, Your Maliciousness!" Scratch responded in a scrawky voice.

"I think I used one to clean the toilet yesterday!" Grounder followed.

"What do you want from Hinobi?" the jackal asked.

"Something that could potentially benefit you in your current condition. Perhaps the two of us could work together."

"If you can fix this… I'll do anything you ask…"

"And does our new friend have a name?" Eggman smiled.

"My name… is-"

Kubota Household

Miko dressed in her pajamas as she tucked herself in bed. She wore a minty-yellow sweater and dark-green pants going into socks with pink stripes, and her hair was wrapped in a bun. Lexi was already asleep in the bed across from hers. "So, Miko, what did they call you for?" her mother asked.

"Uh, they wanted me to help fix some computer… thingies?"

"Really? You?"

"Pfft, well, yeah! All ya have to do is just… okay, they just needed someone to help load trucks." Miko replaced her bad lie with a better lie. "There's been some problems, so… Hinobi might be closing their Earth stores for a while."

"Oh…that's unfortunate."

"Yeah, but later I'll try to apply for GameStop! That's just as cool!"

"Hm hm, does it have to be a game store, Miko?"

"Well, games are what I know best." Miko mumbled and shrugged sheepishly. "But, anyway… I'm glad we moved. My new friends have taught me a lot, and they're so understanding."

"That's great, dear. I'm glad that you're… playing a game right now, aren't you?"

Mayumi had faintly heard a beep under Miko's blanket, so she revealed the DS in her hands. "It's Mario! I'm taking a break from Hinobi."

"Hm hm! Just don't stay up too late. Good night, Miko."

"G'night, Mom!" Miko waved as Mayumi exited the room. With that, the gamer grabbed a headset and got under the covers. "So, you geared up, Eddy?"

"Ready when you are!" In his own room, Eddy was under the blanket with his own DS.

The sound of Mario Karts whirring could be faintly heard from the dim-lit bedrooms. They were committed to crushing each other on the track. "Uh, Eddy? Is that supposed to happen?" Miko found herself stuck inside a mushroom graphic and unable to escape.

"Hah! So, Nintendo never patched that glitch after all! I'm glad some things are still the same."

"Haha, and it's not trying to kill us either! …Seriously, how do I get out?"

"When I cross the Finish Line, You_K.O.!"

"Nnnnooooooo!"

Lexi grumbled in frustration at her sister's noise and tried to bury her head under her pillow.

...

"Last week, Coruscanti game developer, Hinobi had established shops in the United States as they localized their games to our fair planet. However, due to sudden reports of extremely faulty hardware, in which game characters physically came to life and attacked their players, all of their products were pulled off the shelves and recalled from buyers, ultimately postponing their operations until this issue is resolved. Officers from KND and G.U.N. are looking to ensure no major harm was done to the buyers."

"Well, Eva, I think it's safe to say who won't be winning Game of the Year!"

"Perhaps not, Kade…"

Cheren smiled, seeing that the news broadcast seemed to go without a hitch. "Everything seems to be okay on this end."

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like Intergalactic News broadcasted anything on Coruscant or anywhere else." Nebula replied through the terminal. "I contacted Sasha about it and she's working to inform all her KND. It's probably gonna cause some problems for the Hinobi operatives."

"As long as it stops people from being hurt by those glitches, it's a necessary cost. On the bright side, it sounds like things are working out for Miko in Sector Q. Things are really shaping up for us this year!"

"Well, since we lived through the biggest crisis that could happen, hopefully things will be smooth sailing until at least next year."

"Yeah, but we still need to keep our eyes open. After those last couple incidents, I think our new struggles have only begun. Luckily, we should have more than enough new operatives to help us."

"I'm on my way to the meeting, Gaz." Tallest Zim said to his wife. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"I'm in the middle of a tournament, Zim!" The purple-haired woman was seated on the floor, locked in a space-shooter game. "I'm not going to some boring council meeting!"

"Ahh, some things never change." Zim smiled. "Well, you have fun, dearie."

Her fingers not deviating from the buttons, Gaz glanced down to an envelope in her purple-striped lap. Its seal resembled a pirate skull with blonde, horn-shaped hair. "…I'll think about it." Gaz said as she shot down 10 more ships.