April 15th, 2224
Mega City
1:15 A.M.

Looking up at him, she wiped at her eyes. "I-I can't believe we left him behind like that..." she managed to stay between breaths. "We left him to die!"

"We don't know that, Katrina. Pope could have made it," Cole suggested as he walked back over to her. "But we have to keep moving on before they find us."

"We need to go back!" Katrina said, turning to head back the way they went. Cole reached out and grabbed her arm, jerking her back toward him. Angry, she reeled back to face him. "Let me go!"

"If you go back, you'll just get yourself killed!" Cole shouted at her.

"I don't care! We should help him!" Katrina said, shaking his grip off and pointing at him. "And I'm going to do it!" She turned to go again.

This time Cole grabbed her arm and jerked her back to him so that they were only a few inches apart. "You're not going back. I'm not going to let you die," he told her calmly. The two stared at each other, then Kat dropped her head and her resistance faded. Cole let her go, stepping back so there was more distance between them. "We need to keep moving."

Katrina nodded mutely and the two of them began to move down the alley again. When they reached the next street, Cole glanced back at her questioningly. "We need to take a right for three blocks," she told him quietly, almost withdrawn.

Cole waited until a car passed, then led them onward.

"But the sewage provides such excellent working conditions," Slasher responded, gesturing at a floating dead rat. "And specimens."

"Slasher ... you're gross. Now hurry up," Ariel snapped.

"Thank you, Ariel," Slasher said with a charming smile, then moved back to feeling along the wall. "I know the switch is here somewhere." He continued to move his hands along as if they might find it merely by covering every inch of space.

"If you don't hurry up, I'll make an entrance for you," Wiendigo told Slasher.

Slasher glanced at him as his hand pushed in a brick, causing a hidden panel to open up. "Right this way, everyone."

Ariel wheeled Wind into the dark room behind the panel. As they entered, lights began to flicker to life and everything began to boot up. Inside was dozens of computers and various equipment. It seemed as if a small army could hide out in the lab as there was expensive space and even more rooms in the back - probably living quarters for Slasher's people when they worked down here.

"Impressive, Slasher," Wind told him as Slasher walked into the room. "And this place can handle everything we're going to need?" he asked.

"Everything you can think of - this place can do it," Slasher said proudly. "I had to take it offline after the computers under Chip went crazy, but now it's entirely functional again. Nothing here can be traced to any other computers and we're safe from any sort of computer attacks."

"If anyone discovers this place, it will be hard to protect," Wiendigo commented to Wind as he walked into the room, the hidden panel closing shut behind him.

"I have some defenses set up in the sewers, but he's right - this won't be a good place to defend if we're found," Slasher agreed.

"Then we should take care not to be found out. I'm going to give this location to X1 so that he can come here to meet us. Then we can begin the experiments that we need," Wind said. He turned to look at Wiendigo. "Now that you know how to get here, can you get the rest of your people here?"

"Easily," Wiendigo said.

"Good. Get them. However, I need you to select two of them for a little job," Wind told him.

"What sort of job?" Wiendigo asked, leaning against the wall.

"I need two reploids to inflitrate and join Death Star's organization. We know he has to have some people here in Mega City if what you tell me is right - that he's moving to make this his last place of battle. And, if what you say is true and he has hundreds of reploids on his side, they should be able to join his group effortlessly. But it has to be two people that wouldn't be easily recognized," Wind said.

"Leaving out me and Gravedigger," Wiendigo said. "Alright. I have two ... recruits in mind."

"Good. Once they inflitrate, they need to find President McCabe right away - if he's alive," Wind told him.

"Why find McCabe?" Ariel asked.

"Despite being the leader of the human forces, McCabe might be the only person who can help us bring this conflict to a peaceful conclusion. I felt he was reluctant to go into this war in the first place," Wind answered.

"I agree," Slasher said. "He only did it because he had no other choice."

"Okay. So they find this President McCabe. Then what? The two of them try to break him out?" Wiendigo asked dubiously.

"No. Have them get in touch with you with the location of the base. Once we get the info, we'll send a strike team in to retrieve McCabe," Wind said.

"We should also look for the Ragnorak if it's at the base," Slasher added.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. For once," Wiendigo noted, turning to the wall. He reached out and opened the panel, then stepped out into the sewers as it closed behind him.

As soon as Wiendigo was gone, Wind turned back to Slasher. "While we wait for everyone to arrive, why don't we get the equipment started."

Slasher nodded. "Alright. Ariel, mind giving me a hand?" he asked her. The two of them began to move around the room, powering up the various computers and bringing all the systems online.

As the various monitors came online, one of them flashed the message, "Good morning, Lord Slasher." Ariel stopped to look at Slasher.

Slasher gave an innocent look. "Sometimes I feel depressed and like to have a boost of confidence."

"Uh huh," Ariel said, rolling her eyes. "You need help."

"I really do," Slasher responded sorrowful. He looked down. "Care to give it?" Ariel whacked him upside the head. "I'll take that as a 'no'. At least Cheryl knows how to help a man. This one..."

"I do not want to hear about that," Ariel said warningly.

"But she can..." Slasher began.

"I'm not listening," Ariel told him, working on the computer reboots.

"And this one position she does..." Slasher continued.

"Slasher, would you leave my wife alone?" Wind asked from the other side of the room. He was sitting there in his wheelchair while he watched the two of them worked.

"You know, since they're twins, she could do the same things Cheryl does," Slasher said suggestively. "To you."

"I'll keep that in mind later," Wind said dryly.

Slasher stepped back from the computers. "Well, everything is operational. We can begin anytime."

Wind wheeled his chair over to one of the tables, then grabbed the edge and used his arm muscles to lift himself up onto the table. "Then lets get started on me."

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Slasher asked as he walked over.

"No. There's a two part reason for my being in this test," Wind said as Ariel walked over, helping him lay down on the table. "One being to see how I have a soul and the link it has with reploids having them."

Slasher nodded. "And the second being if you're really the real Death Star."

"I have to know what I am, Slasher. I'm no longer a reploid, not since I fell into hyperspace. I'm some organic being. And I want to know what I am - and who I am," Wind said. "If that means I'm the real Death Star or not ... well, so be it."

Ariel squeezes his hand. "I'll love you no matter who you are."

"I know," Wind said with a lopsided grin.

Slasher looked at the two, then walked over to the equipment. "Alright, lets get this experiment started. Just try to relax - this will take a few hours."

Outside Mega City

Walking back out, he bumped into Em. "Our sheets are back that Lunar Girl stole," he said, looking confused.

"Well, that's a good thing, John," Em said, patting him on the head. "Why don't you get some sleep already. The baby's asleep right now."

"Okay. I'm just going to get a glass of water first," Snipe responed wearily, walking down the hallway. He paused, pushing open his daughter's door to look in at her sleeping form on the bed. Michiru seemed to be peacefully sleeping. Smiling, he walked on down the hallway leaving her alone.

At least she hadn't gotten into any trouble that day.

Mega City
2:20 P.M.

"Ow! OW! STOP THAT!" shouted Cole as he recoiled backwards. Holding his red face, Cole looked at the group of people standing there. Terra was holding the bat, looking at him in surprise, while Ratshoot waved his tail angerily at him.

"Cole?" Terra asked.

"Terra? What are you doing here? I thought you left," Cole said as he held his cheek in pain.

"I came back to help you guys out," Terra said, lowering the bat to the ground. Behind her Cheryl walked up.

"So this is our intruder?" Cheryl asked, looking at Cole, then over his shoulder as Katrina came into view. "Hello, Kat," she said sweetly.

"Hi, Aunt Cheryl," Katrina responded, moving past Cole to give the woman a hug. "How have you been?"

"As good as you can expect with everyone hunting you down," Cheryl said, giving the younger girl a hug. "I see you guys managed to make it over here."

"Yeah. They found out where we were hiding," Cole said as he stepped into the building. He slid the door behind him, closing it.

"Well, it's a good thing you made it here in one piece," Terra said brightly. Katrina and Cole both looked at her with downcast expressions, then glanced away. "What? What happened?" she asked.

"A man named Pope helped us escape the humans. He died," Cole told her.

"Pope died?" Terra repeated in surprise. "I'm ... sorry to hear that," she added slowly.

As everyone stood there in uncomfortable silence, Cheryl cleared her throat as she lead Katrina over to some boxes to sit on. "Have a seat, Kat. Your parents and Slasher stepped out a few hours ago to get one of Slasher's labs going. We'll be joining them shortly," she informed her.

"Dad's awake?" Katrina asked.

"Yes. He's doing fine. There was a little complications, though..." Cheryl said. "He can't walk." Katrina opened her mouth in surprise and stared. "But it's Death Star we're talking about here. He'll be walking across water in no time."

"Yeah, Kat, I'm sure he'll be fine," Cole added.

Katrina nodded. "You're right."

Before anyone else could say anything, Roadkill was bonked on the top of the head and fell over. Everyone turned around in surprise to see who their attacker was when Wiendigo stepped out of the shadows. "I'm rather disappointed with the security," he said. "Where's Gravedigger?"

"Behind you," said Gravedigger, poking his sai into Wiendigo's back. "Looks like I go--" he began when Wiendigo reached behind him and gripped his arm. He swung Gravedigger over his head and onto the ground in front of him. "Ow..." he said with a wince as he laid there. "I really hate you."

"You breathe too loud," Wiendigo told him.

"I don't breathe," Gravedigger countered.

"That speaks volumes of you, then," Wiendigo said as he walked past him and over to the others. He glanced at Katrina briefly, then at Cheryl, then at Cole. "Death Star says to head out to the lab now. So get your things."

As everyone began to move around the building, collecting whatever small belongings they had managed to secure over the past month, Wiendigo pointed at Ratshoot and Roadkill. "You two stay right here. We need to talk."

Roadkill shifted uncomfortable. "Uh...I didn't do it..." he said lamely.

Ratshoot swung his tail in aggitated manner. "Of course you did, you moron. You're always doing something."

Roadkill looked down at him. "Did not!" Ratshoot bit his foot, causing the other reploid to hop around in pain.

"If you two are finished," Wiendigo said irritably, "then I have an assignment for you."

"What is it, boss?" Ratshoot asked.

"You two are going to search the city for one of this crazy Death Star's reploids and get yourself included in their ranks," Wiendigo told him.

"Duh...we can do that," Roadkill said.

"Then you will find their base and locate the President. Once you do, you'll contact me directly," Wiendigo ordered.

"Duh...now that sounds hard," Roadkill said sulkily.

"Oh suck it up," Ratshoot snapped back.

"Get going you two," Wiendigo said with a dismissive hand. The two reploids quickly exited the room.

By that time, the others had finished getting their stuff together. Gravedigger walked over to him. "We're ready."

"Then lets go," Wiendigo said.

His partner shook his head. "I can't believe how many people this asshole shot up before they killed him."

"I hear he was British. Nothing like a dead Brit on your hands," the first officer said gleefully. Just then all three of them turned their heads as they heard a door close in the room. Standing there was Silouette - also known as Setsuna Asahi. And though her expression was blank, it seemed as if vibes of anger were coming off of her.

"Where's the body?" Siloutte said in a whisper of a voice.

The officer paused, then pointed behind him. "I-In there.." he muttered. Him and his partner stood there as Silouette passed them into the next room, closing the door behind her. "Lets go..." he said uneasily, then the two of them took off.

Standing in the dark room, Silouette walked over to the nearest table with a body on it. A white sheet was over it with blood stains - not even a proper caring for the body was being exhibited. She reached down and pulled the sheet away just enough to see the face.

Looking down at Pope's face, Silouette stood there in silence. No one came in to disturb her, so she was left alone for minutes in this silent viewing. Then she closed her eyes and tilted her head downward in respect, her lips moving in a silent prayer for the deceased.

Then she pulled away and pulled the sheet back over Pope's face. Turning around, Silouette walked out of the morgue and turned to look at the man behind the counter. "You will show respect for the body," she ordered in her rasp. Then she walked out, leaving the place behind.

Slasher's Secret Sewer Lab.
Mega City
3:00 A.M.

A knock on the wall brought him out of his staring, so Slasher walked over to the door. He glanced at a screen that showed the sewer outside the entrance, but there was no one on the screen. He paused, feeling uneasy now as he should see someone. Quickly hitting a button to rotate the screen to other outside cameras he quickly saw there was no sign of anyone in the sewers.

Finally, he reached over to a speaker. "Who's there?" Slasher asked into it.

There was a pause, then a cheerful reply came out. "Hunt."

Slasher paused. "Hunt?" he asked.

"Yes. Mike Hunt."

"Mike....Hunt?" Slasher repeated.

"No no. Say it fast. Like MikeHunt."

Slasher reached over and hit the open button to the wall panel. He looked out at the reploid in white armor standing there before him. "I have no interest in that sort of thing from you, X1."

"I bet you say that to all of the ladies!" X1 said, then walked past him into the lab.

Slasher closed the door back up and walked along behind X1. "You're not a lady, X1. Not in a million years."

X1 walked over to Wind, who could not move to look at him. He waved at Ariel, then bent down to look at Wind. "Can you hear me, chief?"

"He can't respond to you," Slasher said. "He can't move at all."

"Really?!" X1 said in excitement. "Then, let me tell you something that's been on my chest for decades. You remember way back in 2180 - that time your sandwich went missing? Well, I ate it."

Wind didn't shift.

"And that time you wondered who put jelly in your shoes? That was me again," X1 said.

Wind still didn't shift.

"Oh and that one time way back when..." X1 began when Ariel stood up.

"Stop it, X1. He's going to twitch," Ariel ordered him.

"I'll just mention the time I accidently broke the breaks on his shuttle another time then," X1 said offhandedly, then turned to look at some equipment. "Oh, look!" He hurried off.

Ariel sighed as she sat back down. "I don't see how scanning him is going to be very helpful," she told Slasher.

"Well, he certainly puts things into perspective. I always thought DS here crashed shuttles because of bad flying. Who would have thought it was the breaks," Slasher said in reflection.

"I'm surprised he didn't kill us all back then," Ariel said in agreement. "Looking back, we could probably chalk up most of the malfunctions to X1."

"I heard that!" X1 shouted from across the room, where he was pushing some buttons. Suddenly, one of the computers began to spark and then blew up.

Slasher sighed. "That was my pizza maker," he said gloomily. There was another knock on the wall, so he walked over to it. "Who is it?" he asked.

"Open the damn door and I'll show you," came the reply.

Slasher reached over and opened the door. "You can be more polite than that, Wiendigo," he told him chidingly.

As Wiendigo walked into the room, he glared at Slasher. "It smells out there. It smells worse than Hell Prison did," he said. He moved onward as reploids began to pile into the room behind them, trying to space themselves out. After a dozen of them had entered, Terra and Strife came in next, followed by Katrina and Cole, and then Cheryl and Grave.

"Kat! What a surprise," Slasher said, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "I thought you guys were going to stay put until it was safe." He paused, looking at Cole. "Did he do something stupid again?"

Cole started to protest, then sighed. He walked off to the other side of the room and sat down. Katrina watched him go, then turned back to Slasher. "Some people found out where we were hiding, so we had to flee. A man named Pope helped us ... but he was killed by a mob," she told him.

Slasher nodded his head and sighed. "This war is getting out of hand. I knew Pope - worked for Ire when he ran the Alternate Unit. A good man. After this is over, I'll be sure to do something in his memory," he assured her.

"Thank you. I'm going to go speak with mom right now," Katrina said, moving over to where Ariel was sitting.

Slasher turned to look at Cheryl. "Well, hello," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I've missed looking at your beautiful face."

"Ariel has the same face as I do," Cheryl told him.

"But it's only your's that I wish to gaze upon," Slasher told her dramatically.

A hand came down on his shoulder. "That's good to hear, Slasher," Wiendigo said as he turned Slasher around to face him. "I see you began with DS over there." He thumbed at Wind over his shoulder.

"Yes. He's almost finished," Slasher said, glancing over at Wind.

"When will his results be finished?" Wiendigo asked.

"That will take longer. I have to analyze them until I find something. It'll save time if you go ahead and go next after him," Slasher told him as he walked over to the computer. "It seems it'll take Wind another ten minutes. Then you're up."

Katrina sat down next to Ariel, leaning against her. Putting an arm around Katrina, Ariel pulled her closer. "It's good to see you again, Kat," Ariel whispered to her, keeping part of her attention on Wind.

"You too, Mom," Katrina said, closing her eyes. Despite the fact the two women were almost the same age visually speaking, Ariel was much older than her. Ariel was of another race called Lunarian, which meant she aged a lot slower, while Katrina was her adopted daughter and human.

"Is everything alright?" Ariel asked her.

Katrina glanced at Cole sitting in the corner, talking to Terra and Strife, then looked back at Wind. "No, it's not. But I hope it'll get better," she whispered.

"I do, too," Ariel assured her, rubbing the back of her hair. "We just have to hold on a little longer."

Katrina squeezed her hand. "Just a little longer," she repeated.

Colephantus sat there, looking at his hands as he listened to Terra and Strife talking beside him. "I just hope there's something we can do," Terra told Strife.

"I'm sure they'll find something for us to do," Strife said.

Cole nodded his head. "He's right. We need all the help we can get. I'm glad you came back."

"Thanks. We just needed some time to clear our heads," Terra said, looking at Cole. "I'm just glad someone is working on ending this war without killing one side."

"Yeah, you'd think someone would figure out that genocide isn't a good plan," Strife joked.

"Maybe one day humans will learn," Cole said.

"I hope everyone learns it - because everyone is capable of it," Strife responded seriously.

"Strife's right. It's something we all have to watch out for," Terra said in agreement.

Cole tilted his head back. "Yeah, you're right."

Slasher hit a few buttons as the scanning machine finally shut off. Wind shifted on the table as Gravedigger came over, helping lift him back into his chair. "Thank you, Grave," Wind told him.

"No problem," Gravedigger said, turning to look at Wiendigo who was walking back over.

Wind looked up at Wiendigo. "I suppose you're ready to go now," he commented. He glanced over Wiendigo's shoulder at X1, who was hurrying over to the table.

"Yes. Before he goes," Wiendigo said, indicating X1. He slid up onto the table. "Start the machine, Slasher."

Slasher nodded, flipping a switch. The device began to activate and the scanning process started up. X1 slid to a stop and looked sad. "But I wanted to go," he said, pouting.

"You can go next," Wind promised X1, patting him on the back. He wheeled himself over to where Ariel and Katrina were sitting. "How's my girl?" he asked, leaning forward to give Katrina a hug.

"I've been better. It's good to see you doing better," Katrina said, holding him tight. "You'll be back to full speed in no time."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Wind told her, leaning back in his seat. "Why don't you update me on everything that's happened to you so far." He glanced at everyone. "All of you. I need everything I can get before we plan our next move."

Residental Area, Mega City
2:30 P.M.

The officer stopped, turning back to walk to the table to grab his gun. The reploids outside continued to wait, tensing as the officer now returned to the front door and began to open it. As he stepped out, the three reploids stepped out from the side of the building and shot him in the head - execution style.

As the cop hit the ground, his body leaving a puddle of blood, the three reploids approached. Already across the street they could hear screams as someone spotted them. Ignoring the human civilian, two of the reploids ran inside while the other grabbed a paint brush, rubbing it in the freshly spilled blood.

Inside, the two reploids quickly began to toss around gasoline the house. One of the reploids knocked a picture of the officer, his wife, and two kids to the ground as they stomped on it. Then they tossed some more gasoline onto the bed and floor. As the two of them ran back out, one of them tossed a lit match into the house, catching the gasoline on fire and letting the building burn down.

The third reploid finished writing his message in the blood and the three of them took off around the house, vanishing into the back yard even as the sirens in the distance could be heard.

2:50 P.M.

As the leader of the investigation stood over the body, he shook his head. "Damn reploids..." he said in disgust. "Came back to finish the job."

"A job he started..." came a soft voice from behind him. The investigator turned to see Silouette standing behind him. "Miss. Asahi. You are not part of this investigation team."

Silouette ignored him as she walked over to look down at the body and the bloody words: Another reploid killer put down. "This man ... allowed a mob to kill two innocent reploid women."

"I heard about that and witnesses say the reploids were attacked by their own. Don't go around ruining a good cop's name," the lead officer said in anger, stepping toward the calm and apparantly unphased Silouette. "I also know your unit, before it fell apart, beat this man."

"Some uneven heads in the unit at the time," Silouette said calmly.

"Get out of here," the lead officer shouted, pointing at the road. Silouette said nothing, stepping forward. She stared at him silently. "I said ... get out of here. This man was my friend!"

"Choose better friends," Silouette told him. The officer stepped back in surprise, then swung a fist at her face. She nimbly ducked down and grabbed his over extended arm and then flipped his body into the air and onto the ground. And with that, Silouette began to walk away.

The officer stood up, pointing in her direction. "I'll get you for this, Asahi!" he shouted in anger.

In the distance, Roadkill and Ratshoot stood there staring at the scene. "Uh..why are we here again?" Roadkill asked.

"Because DS' reploids were here, you nimrod!" Ratshoot said.

"Oh. Right. ... how do you know?" he asked.

"... come on, you dumbass, roadkilled deer," Ratshoot told him, hopping along.

3:15 P.M.

The reploid whipped around and aimed his blaster at the bushes. "Show yourself!" he shouted. A few moments passed, then an ugly, roadkilled looking reploid deer came out with a reploid rat on his shoulder. "... who the hell are you?" he asked.

Ratshoot swished his tail. "We saw your pyroshow back there. We're interested in joining you guys in bashing some human skulls."

The reploid smirked, lowering his blaster. "Oh really?" he asked, glancing back at his friends, then at the two. "And how do I know you're sincere?"

"Tu reploid, yo reploid. Sorta like mi casa, su casa," Ratshoot told him. The three reploids and Roadkill glanced at him. "Dumb fucks. We want to join you because we're tired of the humans and we're reploids, too!"

"We'll see," the reploid said, glancing them over. "We're just about to head to base. Then we'll see if you have what it takes to join us."

Outside Mega City
4:00 P.M.

He looked at her picture. "How can you love that fake? He's dangerous. Why can no one see it but me?" he asked outloud. Then he paused, glancing at his own hand, clenching it into a fist. "But then I'm dangerous, too. With this thing inside me."

Standing up, he rubbed his face when Blue came in unannounced. "We found some intruders. Two of them," she told him.

Glancing at Blue with a look of irritation, he quickly shrugged it off. "Alright, let me see then." He reached over and grabbed the picture of Ariel, shoving it into his coat pocket.

"You should give up on her. I did with Cole," Blue said to him.

"Maybe in 10,000 years," Death Star said cryptically, walking out of the room. Blue quickly hurried out of the room after him, taking the lead. She led them both to the hanger of the old, buried Hunter Base.

Death Star glanced over at a unit of his reploids entering - three of them, plus two newcomers. He squinted his eyes, trying to remember where he had seen them. Blue caught his eye with a wave of her hand. "There they are over there," she said, pointing at two human boys in the corner, being held by some reploids.

"What are they doing there?" Death Star asked, glancing back at Blue.

"They were outside playing. Apparantly they found the ruins around here to be fun. Our patrols caught them," Blue told him. "I figured you'd be the one to who wanted to order their execution."

Walking up to the two boys, Death Star judged their ages to be eight and eleven. They were both quaking in fear, one of them looking like he pissed in his pants. He stared at each boy. "You picked a bad place to be playing at," he told them in a dark tone.

"Pl-Please mister....we won't...tell anyone we saw you here...we pro-promise...just .. let us go... please..." the eleven year old begged, getting on his hands and knees before Death Star. Blue shook her head behind him.

"We planned on having the two new recruits kill them - to prove their loyality," Blue said, glancing at the reploid rat and deer.

"You have this all planned out very well," Death Star told her calmly. He glanced at her, his one blue eye studying her. "Very well."

"I learn quickly," Blue said with a smile. "Besides, you said we were going to kill all the humans on this planet with the Ragnorak. We can't let these kids tell anyone we're here."

"You're right, I suppose," Death Star agreed, turning back to look at the two quivering kids. He kneeled down in front of the eleven year old, reaching out to tilt his head up. "You know I can't possibly believe you when you say you won't tell anyone I was here. Then again, no one in your position has ever been giving a chance. I mean, how many times has someone said, 'I won't tell anyone', but they end up killed anyway?" The boy shaked, tears streaming down his face as he looked at Death Star. "I suppose you think I should let you prove it, though?" The boy nodded his head.

Tilting his hand against the other boy, the eight year old, Death Star continued to look at the eleven-year-old. "What if I kill him and let you go? What do you say? That sound good?"

The eleven year old reeled, crying harder now. "N-No...don't...I can't..." the boy cried out.

"Of course.... if I killed you and let him go, would you accept that?" Death Star, tilting his head the other way to look into the boy's eyes. The boy kept crying, but nodded his head in silence.

Standing up, Death Star looked down at the two, his hand sliding into his pocket where he rubbed the picture. "Let them go," he told Blue.

"What? But, sir, if they tell where we are, we're finished," Blue said to him.

Death Star waved his hand in dismal. "We'll be fine. We have the second location in the event of something happening here."

"I still must protest..." Blue repeated.

"Noted," Death Star told her, snapping his fingers at the guards. "Let the kids go now." The reploids holding the kids let them go reluctantly. He looked down at the two. "Now go, before I change my mind." The two kids left the hanger in a hury.

Turning, Death Star walked over to the rat and deer. "So, these two wish to join?" He paused, then waved his hand. "Let them in." And with that, he walked out of the hanger with everyone staring at him.

Walking back to his room, Death Star went into the bathroom, staring at the mirror. His one eye looked back at itself - the blue like an endless ocean. He stood there, sighing. All this time...I told you I would be here for 10,000 years if you waited for me .... but then he came and stole your heart away from me.

Rearing back and punching the window, the glass shattered under his hand. "10,000 years Ariel might not be a reality before this is over..." he said outloud.

Slasher's Secret Sewer Lab
7:30 P.M.

Cheryl was the only one sitting next to him and she was listening to music. However, the fact she was there meant more than anyone could realize. The two of them had been there all day working on the problem of how did reploids have a soul. The most puzzling of all the scans was Wind's. The more he ran the tests, the more the tests became confusing. Wind was literally teeming with hyperspace energy and the deeper Slasher dug, the more hyperspace energy seemed present. It was almost as if it were in every cell...

Slasher turned his head as Wiendigo stepped up. "I received the signal from my people. They have found the location of the base," he told Slasher, tossing him the device. "See if you can actually get a map up of this place."

As Slasher began to match the coordinates, Wiendigo rounded up the others. Soon everyone was gathered as soon as Slasher had finished bringing up a holographic map of the location of the base.

Gravedigger leaned forward on his shovel. "That's in the middle of nowhere outside of Mega City."

"Not exactly," Wind said, leaning back in his seat. "If I'm right, that's the spot of an old Maverick Hunter base back during the days of the Maverick Wars."

Ariel frowned. "He sure picked an ironic spot to be hiding out," she said.

"It makes sense," Slasher piped up, looking at the map.

"He sees himself as a Hunter," Wiendigo said slowly. "We'll make him the hunted."

"But what's the plan?" Terra asked. "Do we just attack?"

Wind leaned forward in his seat. "If McCabe IS in there, we'll need a small group to get inside undetected - if at all possible - and retrieve the President, then get out. He's our top priority."

"Taking the President might make Death Star use the Ragnorak," Cheryl warned.

"I doubt it. That base isn't big enough to house the Ragnorak - unless he's found something in there that I don't remember," Wind stated.

"So it's basically a retrieval mission," Katrian said. "Get in and get out - avoid fights if possible."

"Yes. It'll be the best form of fighting right now. He has the superior number, so we need to take what we can and go," Wind told her. "If we can get McCabe, then we might be able to do something to end the conflict between humans and reploids. And cut out Death Star's fanbase for fighting."

"I'll lead the attack," Wiendigo said.

"I agree. Wiendigo should definitely go in," Death Star told everyone.

"I'm going, too," Cole said. "I have some unfinished business there."

"I'll go, too," Katrina announced.

Ariel looked at her. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Glancing at Cole, Katrina turned back to her. "Positive."

"Alright, then I think it should just be those three. With Wiendigo's two inside men, that'll make five in total," Wind said.

"Only five? I want to go, too," Terra told him.

"I have another role for you, Terra," Wind told her. "You and Strife. But right now you need to stay here."

"And I'll continue to work on the reploid problem," Slasher said.

"Right. Well, everyone has their marching orders. Lets do it," Wind told them. As Wiendigo and Katrina walked off to get supples, he moved over to Cole. "I want to talk a moment."

"About what?" Cole asked him.

Wind focused his two blue eyes on him. "Blue joined Death Star, right?" he asked him.

"Yes," Cole said quietly.

"You're about to walk down dangerous territory, Cole. Blue is the enemy now and she will do everything she can to help aid Death Star. Even killing us," Wind said slowly.

"I won't fight her," Cole responded.

"Then you're doomed to fail already. She remind me of someone I once knew a long time ago. Her name was Iceheart. She became a Maverick and my enemy, despite the fact we were lovers. I had to face her for the lives of my friends," Wind told him.

"What happened?" Cole asked.

Rubbing the icicle, he looked back on everything that he was. His friends. His love. Together once, now separated by war. Just to be there for her - for her, it was all that he wanted. He had killed once for her, would he do it again? He then thought of X1...his friend, always there with some stupid ass remark...making life just a little bit sillier for all. Then the betrayal by him...or was it really? Did X1 do it for his own good. ...Perhaps, but he would never know. Raising his arm, he looked back on everything he had thought of then, there, now, and with a roar he threw the icicle with everything he had. He threw his past on that icicle and his future began again.

"I killed her," Wind said. "I killed her to save my friends. Remember what is important to you, Cole. And think about it as hard as you can. Because once you go there, you'll have to make a decision - and it'll change your life forever."

"I'll remember that - but I won't kill her," Cole said to him, then turned and joined Katrina and Wiendigo. Wind sat there in his chair as the three of them left and bowed his head.