Cyber Wars ch. 8 - Where is the exit!?!?
 

OOC: I'm sorry... I want a new chapter... I want it now!

Monk took notice of the army moving towards him, trying to get to the mansion. "Stop!" He ordered, to his surprise that stopped for a moment. "No one may move farther that where I am standing right now. If you wish to go byond me, you will have do defeat me."

"If that is your wish..."

"Then we will shall accomidate."

The girl didn't say anything, but the three of them started to move again., the army behind them stayed put, and waited for further orders.

"If I have to fight you, I shall win!" How does that saying go...? I'm... fucked, was it?

OOC: Aw! this is what I get for having pc problems, now my plans are all ruined. Well in the immortal words of Wolf...adapt.

BIC: Jade nodded nervously at each of Coyote's children. She wasn't in the mood for a fight, so she would try the more diplomatic way. But before she could say anything her PDAP beeped. A garbled image of J2 appeared on her screen. "Jade...bzzzt...reading....bzzt...large army of Mastermind's...bzzt...outside mansion....bzzt." So, Mastermind has decided to finally attack us when we're at our weakest. "Coyote, are you gonna let them waltz right in and blow the place up? I know that we're kind of in the middle of something here, but maybe we should hold off on this until we've dealt with the more imminent threat outside."

________________________________

"Course of action?"

"Deal with the fugitive, I'll deal with the house and its' inhabitants."
Kaitlin had finally spoken. She was transfixed on the mansion, her eyes a steel grey showing no emotion. She gestured towards the house and the army began to move out.

"If they can then by all means. You were invited they were not." He turned to a blank monitor. "SARGE!" Sarge appeared on the screen. "Release the kindergarten!"

But sir, is that wise? They're hopped up on sugar and Barney."


(Dun Dun DUNNN!!!)

OOC: Apparently our PDAPS are not "in"

BIC: Wolf's PDAP crackled while he waited for Dive's response. Beowulf had finally managed to crack through the interferences, but just barely.

"Wolf there's <bzzt> Mastermind army heading towards <crackle> mansion. Also, two agents and...oh god...Katlin <bzzt>"

"Say again Beowulf, what about Katlin?"

"Katlin is the General in Charge!"

Wolf was aghast. Mastermind...you bastard...you're trying to force me to kill her...well I won't do it! "Beowulf...what's their time to intercept!?"

"The army is less than 2 minutes out...and...hold on. The Agents <crack> breaking off...they're head <bzzt> someone in the middle of the lawn...It's Monk!"

"He's alive!?"

"For the moment"

"Don't say that. Listen, disregard my binary code orders. I need you to get me out of this demented painting...and I've gotta save Katlin from getting killed in the ensuing conflict."

"Actually, your previous orders are similar to what I need to do now. See you in a couple minutes"

Beowulf discommed. Wolf thought about how to get the word out to his comrades aobut Katlin. Well, if Beowulf got through.... Wolf checked the PDAP. It had 1 bar of reception, but it was better than nothing. He got a lock on Jade's singal, said a quick prayer, and started talking.

"Jade, there's an enemy army inbound, if you don't know already. The problem is Katlin is leading that army. I don't need to tell you that her death as a result of the conflict that is about to happen is unacceptable. Somehow we have to kepp her alive until I can reach her. If you can get through to Coyote and eveyone else, you have to let them know not to harm her. If I can get to her, I can maybe get her to call off the attack...or at least disable her and get an IP trace. The agents won't be a probelm...Monk is holding them off."

He stopped. That message is all that can save Katlin now...

***

Beowulf appeared in the cokcpit of the CW version of Daishi, Wolf's OTAV. After disabling the onboard AI, Wolf activated the afterburners and the OTAV took off in jet mode headed at full speed towards Coyote's mansion.

"Just follow the order. And tell them that mastermind's troops have choclate."

"Well that should break Mastermind's formation." He said to Jade "or at the least keep them busy for awhile. Let us get down to business. i'd like to say I'm rather proud of you for making it this far. Most normally either get lost in the escher room or pick the wrong magazine and get ejected back into the lawn."

A black streak shot by a civilian busy trying to sell fruit. The entire road gone blown by the shockwave.

Angel, currently hanging on for dear life to the back of a hijacked afterburner, was almost enjoying himself.

Within about two minutes, the crack-i-fied engine he'd gotten from an old friend ran out of fuel, but was enough to catapault Angel.

Flying as fast as most jets, he'd sped right towards the mansion. Then hit Turbulence, and fallen. Straight into the rosebeds.

"OHDEARGODTHEPAINMAKEITSTOP!"

Monk took one knee as the agents, already doing the same, thought of what to do next. Monk took a moment to collect his thoughts. This was the toughest battle he had fought yet, save that of Myth and his old master, but now he felt like he was fighting both at the same time, but it was imperitive that he at least hold them off long enough for Jade and her team to get their job done. Monk forced himself up and started to charge the downed agents roaring his cry! "Damn you and get the hell away from this place! I will not let you go any farther!!"

Daishi shot through the digital skies in speeds in excess of Mach 3, bearing down on Coyote's Mansion. The threat detector lit up with hundreds of hostile Mastermind contacts, and contacts that the radar identified as neutral for some reason. Beowulf looked through the cockpit, and saw that the neutral contacts were child Coyote clones, moving towards the enemy army at a rapid pace.

Looks like we may have reached a mutual alliance here... the Wolfen AI thought as he bore down on the mansion. He ID'ed a few of the Cyber Force's radar contacts...but a few were untraceable.

Any time he might have had to think about that was taken up by trying to dodge the Mansion's AA defenses. A flak burst took out the left engine, and the OTAV began to fall.

Well, I have a lock on Wolf's signal, time to ground this thing.

Beowulf activated Daishi's mech mode as the altitude dropped, locking on to Wolf's signal, the mech hurtled through the air and smashed into the Escher room like the Kool-Aid guy. The collision obliterated part of the west wall and sent Agent Thompson hurlting through the air and smashed him into a stairway.

OOC: OH YEAH!

OOC: Mech eh? Don't be betting on keeping that too long...

BIC: Jade's PDAP had received pieces of Wolf's message, thankfully she had gotten the part about Kaitlin. "Coyote, the general in charge of the army is a friend of ours. I would really appreciate it if no harm would come to her." She was itching to get out of the mansion and fight. She could be more in control outside than just sitting with Coyote. "Look let's get down to business because there's a fight outside with my name on it. I'll give you your son back if you give me the doomsday device, then we leave each other alone. What do you say?"

____________________

Kaitlin saw the mech and for a second, she almost had control over herself. But only for a second. Legs that weren't controlled by her moved her towards the mech and halted her right in front of it. She leveled a high powered blaster at it.

Jason McKenzie, it's unfortunate that we have to be reunited in these circumstances. I was rather hoping we could catch up over a Coke.
Her finger was on the trigger.
You know what this blaster can do to your mech, so you might as well get out of there and surrender to me. Don't force me to fire.
Her voice was cold and almost metallic. Inside her head she was screaming for Wolf to run, to get away. She knew what she was about to do, but all she could do was watch.

______________________________

The Agents were having a hard time with Monk. He was difficult to put down, and when he was, he didn't stay down for long. However, their neverending egos forced smirks onto their faces. They were going to attck him where he was most vulnerable, his emotions.
You know, we've been ordered to kill you, no rehabilitation for you Monk.
But I think that we'll just beat you senseless first, and keep you alive long enough to see us torture and kill your little girlfriend
Didn't think we knew about you two hm? There are lots of things we know that you wouldn't expect.
Yes, we'll have a fun time with Jade. And don't worry, we'll be sure to go slow with her so you can watch every second of agony.

A screaming figure came out from the rosebushse.

"THEPAINITBURNSMYEYES!"

The delirious Angel got the drop on the Agents, cut all of their heads off, and went back to running around wildly, and screaming. This time, he ran into the mansion.

OOC: Hey, rosebushes HURT.

(orders from BG)

Angel ran through the first door and suddenly relized something. His vision split as did all of his senses he could experience all persepctives at once.

___________

"The jerk went into the Picaso room." Nikola said.

"Have the doors removed" Coyote said.

"He'll be trapped in there."

"Exactly."

The doors to the Picaso room disappeared.

http://amy.music.udel.edu/faculty/pe...ges/picaso.gif
http://portola-assoc.org/imatges/picaso.jpg
http://www.islapoetica.com.mx/artist.../picaso-01.jpg

Wraith runs through yet another doorway, trying to get away from the crazy childlike chibi Coyotes, and finds himself...outside...

He skids to a stop and blinks, staring ahead at the army gathered across from him. To his left is another army of Coyote clones, charging headlong into Mastermind's army in front of him. 'What the...'

He looks around some more and sees Monk battling Agents, then Angel killing the Agents, then Angel running into the mansion, and finally over to see Kaitlin holding a gun up to Wolf and Beowolf in a mech. Thinking quickly, he jumps and assumes ghost form, passing through several hundreds of soldiers before landing next to her and Wolf, drawing his pistol and aiming for her head. "Drop it."

She turns her head to him robotically and stares, her face devoid of anything making her human. "Don't make me shoot," He adds.

The Chibi clones are gathering. They all are dressed in mixed fasions. in unison the childlike virii move up the green hill coming into view of Mastermind's army.

A lone coyote stepped forward he was only about 3 feet tall. He was dirty and his long hair matted. In his right hand he wielded a grey plastic conan sword, and on his left a grey plastic shield he was wearing a dirty brown kilt. Half of his face was blue.

"They may take oul toyth." The child yells at the other children. "But they can nevel take our choclate."

A clarion call on a grope of toy trumpets.

"Chalge!"

The Chibi Virii began to run down the hill all armed with various toys. BAMF! Suddenly with a puff of multicolored smoke the army disappeared. The troop's weapons fire hit harmlessly on the hill.

POIT!

The chibi virii reappeared amongst the army. and the loud battl cry of "CHOCLATE!" echoed louder than the sudden screams of the attacked soldiers.

OOC: Don't you just love the Mexican Standoff Situation? Also, I never entered the mech...and how can a pistol blow up an 8 meter tall mech? And I've also had the mech/jet since the start of this RP on the Webcomic forums. I used it in Chapter 1...then it became useless during stealth missions. I decided to revive it for this purpose.

BIC: Time slowed for Wolf as he considered the situation. Katlin had the gun leveled at Daishi, Wraith had a gun leveled at Katlin, and Wolf didn't have a gun leveled at anyone as of right now.

Time to change that... he thought as he walked through the gaping hole in the wall and out onto the lawn.

"Looking for me?" he said to Katlin. Katlin shifted her aim quickly and now pointed the gun at Wolf.

Wraith reasserted his demand for Katlin to drop it. Wolf almost shouted.

"No! Wraith, stand down...I can handle things from here. Go find the others."

Wraith gave him a quizzical look. Wolf decided to explain a little. "Look, it's a little complicated, I'll explain later...right now all you need to know is that if she dies, then Mastermind wins."

Slowly, Wraith put his gun back and vanished. (OOC: sorry, Zephir but I have to get this part done in one go.)

Wolf relaxed a little. "All right, now it's you, me, and Beowulf." Wolf pointed back towards the still prone Daishi

"Beowulf? Oh...that's right...you stole him from Mastermind."

"More like liberated."

"It does not matter what you think, Major Jason MacKenzie, all that matters now is what Mastermind thinks. Surrender now, or be destroyed."

Wolf decided it was now or never. "Listen Katlin, I know that Mastermind has you in the highest level of his control, reserved for assassins and Generals...but you have to fight it...I can save you if you just fight it long enough for me to find you. All I know is that I will not fire on you with intent to harm."

I hope she heard me...

"You fool." came the metallic voice as Katlin began to pull the trigger...but then she suddenly started jerking her aim around.

I guess so...

***

Katlins mind was at war with herself. No...I will not let you harm him!

SILENCE FOOL! YOU CANNOT STOP MASTERMIND!!! the Mastermind subroutine implanted in her mind shouted.

Katlin's aim shifted from Jason's head, to his leg, then his chest, and then his right arm as Katlin tired to fight the virus.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! JASON MACKENZIE WILL DIE!

Not Today he won't!!! Katlin forced her aim to change just as the virus caused her to open fire.

***

Wolf knew the shot was coming, and he moved to dodge. He didn't move just fast enough though. The .50 caliber round slammed into his right thigh, and he crashed to the ground.

A General would shoot to kill... he thought as he painfully willed himself to stand, the nano-augmentations in his legs working overtime. Katlin aimed again, but this time Wolf was ready. He drew the M9, aimed, and fired. The tranq dart hit Katlin in the neck, and she slowly fell to the ground.

As Wolf moved towards her, she started to break up into alphanumeric characters.

She must be being logged out by Mastermind because I incapacitated her.

Wolf stumbled as fatigue hit him, and he dropped down to one knee. He painfully let out one last message to Katlin before she logged out enitrely.

"Katlin...don't ever lose hope. I will find you."

He heard footsteps behind him. It was Beowulf. "You do realize what's going to happen now."

"Yes...Mastermind is going to be pissed."

"The Coyote forces are holding off Mastermind's troops. It does not look like Mastermind will be winning any battles today."

"He just might...He might kill Katlin for losing this batle." Wolf said.

"Not if we have anything to say about it. I got an IP trace on her...I found where her RW body is being held."

Wolf suddenly smiled. "You did? Thanks...I owe you one."

"I'd say we're about even; you did free me from Mastermind's iron grip. The least I can do is help you gain your life as Jason MacKenzie back."

"You're probably right...anyway. Let's get the OTAV up and running. It's time to kick some more Mastermind ass"

Wolf hobbled back to Daishi and got in the pilot's seat, while Beowulf entered the RIO seat behind him. Wolf waited for the onboard AI to power the mech up, but nothing happened.

"Beowulf, what the hell did you do to the onboard AI?"

"Oh...I finally subverted it and took it over. A subroutine of mine is now the onboard AI for the OTAV. Hold on a second."

Daishi's systems powered up with no major problems except for the earlier engine damage.

"All right, now let's see who we can hit from here."

Wolf locked the Long Range Missiles onto a cluster of Mastermind soldiers near the rear of the battle, no Coyote forces near them. He opened fire and 40 missiles streaked in an arc. at Mastermind's forces.

As Daishi began to walk towards the battle, Wolf stopped for a second. Tapping a few keys on his PDAP, he created a small Super Mario coin in Daishi's open left hand.

Facing a security camera, he flipped to coin into the hole the mech had made in the wall.

"Sorry about the mess." Wolf said as he turned the mech and marched it towards the fight.

ooc: is it alright if Kaitlin comes out to play?

"Mastermind is getting better at programing" Coyote prime said. "But it sets a bad precedent if someone enters my lands and leaves with out my permision." A crown of fire appeared over his head. "I am the lord of these lands and I will not be sleighted so. Guys, track the signal and intercept. Let's find out why this girl is so important to Mastermind."

He turns back to Jade. "I'm sorry for the lack of organiztion right now, but what can you do."

OOC: Well, since I knocked her out with the M9 tranq, Katlin was logged out by Mastermind to keep Wolf from subduing her Cyber Self. Therefore she isn't exactly able to be logged back in unless Mastermind chooses to do so...which he wouldn't because we're hopefully going to smash his confused attack force into pieces. But you can trace the signal and at least figure out the particulars as to why Mastermind seeks to make life hell for Wolf through her. (I'll PM you the deeper details.) However...I think Mastermind wouldn't be too happy with his Agents right about now...

BIC: IMBICILES!" Mastermind roared at the four agents. "You all got your asses handed to you. Smith and Jackson, you got killed by Angel while he was in an insane rage. Thompson and Johnson, you got killed by Mr. MacKenzie. DON'T TRY TO BALME BRITTNEY SPEARS FOR THIS!!! You also failed to kill Jason MacKenzie, and he once again managed to thwart my plans to crush his will...and he forced me to log out Katlin Vong."

"So you're saying we should terminate Katlin then?"

"NO! Her being alive is the only thing keeping MacKenzie from becoming an unstoppable force that not even Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 1 could be. I have a better idea. If there's anything to be learned from this...it's never send a human to do an AI's work. I'm sending you four back in there. Take command...kill everyone.

"It shall be as you wish"

OOC:They're baack!

The agents reappeared. just outside of the Coyote property.

"Kiss the ground." Sarge said to the agents. In his hand he held a ball of pure chaos energy.

next to him a ninja Coyote stood weilding a sword of chaos. The agents had arrived in a trap. The soldier clones had them surronded.

Smith sneered.

OOC: Well see now all my plans are shot. You would have seen what that pistol could have done if you hadn't logged Kaitlin off, and Angel hadn't killed the Agents, I was going to have their heads grow back.

BIC: "Hmm...you're not so bad to have around Coyote. Your clones to a mean job at deleting Mastermind's forces. Now would you please let me out of here so I can go help?"

OOC In response to Wolf's waiting for Dive to say something, I had made a post right before the chapter change. I'd repost it but now I'm completely lost as to what's going on. I want to join in but I keep being left in the dust. :(

"They're not deleting them. just moving them about and subduing them." Coyote said. The crown of flame disappeared.

"We have business to discuss. I'll turn the monitors off if it's a distraction to you. I only have them on for appearances."

Angel was...sitting? Or something. He couldn't really tell. Mostly because his leg seemed to be on the other side of the room, and he had a hand instead of a tongue. But it didn't stop him.

He was busy picking the rose-thorns out of himself.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

He then heard a voice. "Don't wait around there Neil! Your friends need you!"

There was a small angel floating in front of him.

"Okay, 1) How do you know my name, 2) How do you know what's going on, and 3) What is this place."

"1) I am a part of you, 2&3) I'm omnipotent. Mostly your PDA."

"Are....are you my conscience?"

"Possibly..."

"We haven't talk in a while, have we."

"No. Not really. But all you need to know is that you only require focus, and all will be normal, and then you shall escape."

"When I stole that chocolate from those kids....why didn't I feel you?"

"This is going to be....very....very...long isn't it?"

"Hey look, there's two of me!"

"What the hell did Coyote have in those roses?"

OOC: NO! I'm fighting the agents! I'm gonna kick their asses! You leave me and those two alone do you hear me!? You go to hell... you go to hell and you die... One more thing! When did you guys get to the lawn? And to Wolf: "Oh no! You fix that wall!!"

Monk gritted his teeth and clentched his fist, feeling his nails dig into the skin. "You... You leave her out of this! This battle is between us!" He lunged, but found both their heads missing, then their bodies disappearing, a shadow going into the mansion. "Good... I didn't want to have to..."

"Do that youself?"

"You're going to find it a lot harder to just destory us..."

Monk looked around. He saw the war that was being fought. The mini-virii and mastermind's forces, Wolf in his mech helping, but Monk was hearing voices. His eyes opened wide, blood was starting to form tears. "What...? What are you!?" He closed his eyes and grabbed his head, letting out a scream that no one could have missed, not even the people watching everything on their computers.



The operators looked up from their viewscreens and saw Monk screaming in his chair, moving wildly about. The doctor, who had just woken up and was watching over the team, rushed over to see what was going on. This was normal for some. People who first log in will feel pain and not know what to do, but Monk had always gone in before, so this was a new case. "Maybe it was the coma..." He thought aloud to himself. Monk shuddered for another moment, then went limp in his chair.



Back in front of the mansion, Monk was lying on his stomach blood flowing out of his eyes, barely open, but the eyes did not see what was going on around his body.



He took a deep breath, only to inhale wood, instead of dirt. Leaping up into the air, getting into a fighting stance, he found himself once again in his mind, the monestary. Monk shook his head, I thought I spent alot of time in the hospital...

"Not enough time..."

Monk spun and saw the two agents standing side by side. "Surprised to see us?"

Monk didn't move, "Not really."

"You're brain is very inviting. I would hate to wreck it. It is certainly a peaceful and calming place."

"Then get out..."

"That is impossible, for we have some business to attend to."

"How did you get in my mind?"

"That was easy. You are plugged in. We can go into hardware that is connected to the Cyber World."

"My brain is not a computer!"

Agent Johnson tapped his head, "But you do have hardware... don't you remember?"

Monk rubbed the back of his head. The chip that was installed into his brain to keep him in control, the house of Myth. "Get out..."

"Do you have a hearing problem? We have some business to finish."

"Also, we wanted to tell you what we were going to do with Jade."

Monk's eye twitched at the statement. "Leave... her... out of this..."

"She really is a beautiful girl..."

"Shut... up..."

"I'm sure she would be easy to apprehend."

"I said stop talking about her!"

"I just wonder... How long do you think she will last with the two of us?"

"I will not let you!"

"It is inevitable. Step aside, and we will let you live."

"To get to her... you have to get through me."

"A shame really. You know, I used to admire you. I understood why Mastermind kept you for all those years. It was a shame when you left us."

"I was freed..."

"You were kiddnapped..."

"I was saved from you're hell!"

"But I have noticed Mastermind's eyes shift away from you. You are certainly weak... No wonder why he wants her so bad."

"You... can't... have her! I will not let her go through the hell that you have put me through! I will not!!"

"She will be treated differently..."

"As you know... a soldier's life does get lonely..."

Monk's head was now facing the ground, hair had fell from beneath his headband, and sweat started to form. Beside his hips were two fists, just waiting for the chance to fight. Behind him, three candles appeared, the two on the outside were tall, will weak flames on top. The one in the center was about as high, but the flame was bigger than the candle itself. "Damn you!!" As he charged the two agents.

(( I don't mind people taking control of my characters for a bit. ))

Wraith reappears again somewhere to the side of the battlefield and kneels down to rest. 'Damnit Wolf, what do you have planned? You're sure you don't need my help?! God, I hope not...'

He shakes his head and lowers it to the ground. 'He gave me an order...he's my superior, after all... All right, find the others...'

He looks around and sees that Wolf, Monk, Beowulf, and Coyote's army seem to have things pretty well taken care of. Remembering that Angel went into the mansion and hasn't come out yet, and that Jade and Dive are still missing, he spins around and heads into the hole that the mech left when it crashed through the wall. He steps through debris and rubble and enters, never seeing Monk fall to the ground, bleeding, until he screams. He jumps in the air and turns around, startled at the sight of Monk lying injured on the ground. A moment of indecision passes where he can't figure out whether he should follow Wolf's orders or help Monk...seconds tick off in an instant.

(( Leaving it open for you to come in here, V. ))

OOC: And now...a trip down to the 80s...and a dangerous flight into the world of people that don't exist.

"We have a problem here..." Beowulf said.

"What?"

"It's Monk...the Agents are doing something to him...he also seems to be badly wounded."

"Oh...hell! Where are the agents?"

"That's the odd thing...they're in his mind...Apparently there's a sub-dermal chip that Mastermind installed in him...that's probably where Myth was housed...and now they're in there."

"We can't help him then?"

"You can't...but maybe I can. I'm going to try to get in there and give him some support. If not...I'll just monitor his condition outside. I'm turning control back over to KAMO."

"KAMO?" Wolf asked.

"Knight Automated Mech Operator. It's the onboard AI's name. Why didn't you tell me the Knight Foundation gave you Daishi? For that matter, why didn't you tell me you worked for them?"

"I don't exactly work for them, they just gave me my start as a merc. The Foundation is a benefactor of sorts, but they don't really have many full-time employees for their FLAG forces. So they hire mercenaries like me. Due to my turbulent past and skills, Michael Knight paid extra attention to me and let me test out new weapons...such as the OTAV."

"Michael Knight is still around?"

"Yep...although KITT was destroyed a while back in a final confrontation with KARR. Since then other AIs have been created, like KAMO here...and I also belive a new air vehicle AI named KIP is in the works... but I've been out of the fold for a while though. I'll tell you more later, right now see what you can do about Monk."

"Right."

***

Beowulf leapt from Daishi and sprinted to where Monk lay on the ground, bleeding.

He doesn't deserve this... Beowulf thought sadly. He tried to log into Monk's neural chip...but he was consistently blocked out by Smith. He did however, catch the tail end of the conversation, which made him sick.

Damn...those bastards...well...All I can do now is keep him covered and hope he wins. I believe he just might.

He bent down. "Monk...if you can hear me...you give those Tarintino-dressed boggarts a fight they'll never forget."

Beowulf got up, drew his M16, and prepared to fight any enemy that dared come near. He also updated Wolf on the situation.

OOC: I respect your wishes MC, but you'll need someone to cover your comatose form while you fight anyway. Also, to anyone who thinks it was weird that I combined Knight Rider with Cyber Wars...well...it could happen!

ooc: David Hasselhoff *shudders*

OOC: Not to worry. In the year 20XX, Michael Knight is portrayed by...um...let's see...Mel Gibson! (only because of a vague similarity...feel free to suggest someone else)

OOC: So....any suggestions on how to get Angel out of Piccasso land?"

IC: "Okay, this place was cool about five seconds ago. Now it's just pissing me off."

ooc: None. You're stuck there till Bat Girl decides to let you out.

Wolf pused while Daishi's AI came back online. "You have some explaining to do, Wolf." KAMO said.

"Why?"

"Your AI booted me out"

"Oh...yeah...sorry. I was just trying to streamline things...and to be honest you aren't much of a conversationalist either."

"It's not my fault I'm a beta AI"

"Well, if you had told me that, I wouldn't have tried to remove you. I won't try it again."

"Well, as long as we've reached an understanding, let's get down to business."

"Agreed."

Wolf started marching Daishi towards the battle, when he noticed Wraith just standing there...and looking a little confused.

he activated his radio. "Wraith, you can stop standing around now. Let's get out there and give Coyote's...troops, some assistance. Beowulf is covering for Monk...if he needs help I'll send you over there."

Wraith shakes his head and taps his earplug transceiver. "Acknowledged."

He reaches into his coat and removes two submachine guns, cocking them and then pulling on a pair of shades. "You want a war? We'll give you a war."

While the troops slug it out in the middle of the field, a dual stream of steady automatic gunfire comes pouring down on Mastermind's army's flank from outside the battlezone. A few heads turn to look, and see Wraith marching steadily towards them, guns blazing.

(( My apologies for a short and bad post. I'm just really tired right now... ._. ))

OOC: Ahhh! The 80's it burns like the fire of a thousand suns!

BIC: Jade knew that the faster she finished with Coyote, the faster she could go help her friends. "Ok Coyote, no more distractions. Name your terms and we can end this."

Coyote smiled. His carnivore teeth gleamed white. Jade new she was about to make a deal with a devil. In this battle, Coyote was the lesser of two evils.

"I want a contenant. I want it depopulated, and I want it all mine so I can do with it as I please. In return I will not only disarm the 404, I will give you all the aid you need to take out Mastermind." He then addressed Jade's PDA. "Break's over Ptolemy. You need to get back to work."

The Coyote Clone came out of Jade's PDA and toom an empty monitoring station.

"You should know he could have left at any time, he was my eyes and ears amonst your organization. Even Mastermind has his spy that he thinks is a convert. You can take the virus out of the security system, but not the security system out of the Virus."

Monk first aimed his fist towards Agent Smith, the harder of the two. He had pervious fighting expirence with both of them, even if it was only two minutes ago. Monk was now fresh and ready for battle, but so were the agents. However, they didn't seem to tire. It doesn't help that they're programs... Monk thought to himself. Smith just took a quick sidestep, as Johnson shoved his fist into Monk's side. There was no pain, but the damage was still there. Shaking his head, Monk stood up and now went after Johnson. He took a step to the side, as it was not Smith's turn to attack. However, Monk was not to be fooled twoce. Turning quickly, he grabbed Smith's arm and swang him at Johnson, hopeing to use him as a sort of bat, but to no avail. Johnson caught Smith, pulled him away from Monk, and hit him with the same like swing. Letting go of Smith, the two stood next to each other.

"You fight well..."

"But you are in our element."

"No... if anything... I have home court advantage!" Monk sprung at the two agents, but they just caught him and tossed him into the opposite wall. Monk slid down the wall, his head slumped in on itself.

"Just give up... you cannot win..."

"Monk... give up now, and you're life will be spared."

"So what?" His voice somehow came through. "So you can control me again? So you can make me hurt my friends again? So you can put me through hell and back... again!? Never!" Monk's head shot up, with bloodshot eyes, "I will never go back to that! I remember what happened! I refuse to let myself, or anyone else go through the same tourture!"

"You say it as if it was a bad thing..."

"You will be given an emense amout of power. Why do you refuse it?"

"Power?" Power!?" A soft laugh, "I have power. I do not need you're power! You don't know the kind of power I wield!"

"We have not seen it yet..."

"It's not in these!" Monk pointed to his arms. "No! It's this!!" Monk put his fist to his chest. He could feel his heart beat in it's cage. It was weak, but it was still dancing. "This is the greatest power that anyone can have! You take that away from people!"

"If that is the case, than you must show it to us. Show us this... power of the heart..."

Monk slowly got to his feet. He never felt so weak in his life. Not against the battle with Myth, not against the battle with his master, not even a few minutes ago in round one of this fighting. But he wasn't about to lose this bout.

"This power must be weak..."

"You can barely stand."

Monk got into a fighting stance, "Who said I was out?" Monk looked behind the two agents to see the three candles burning. The two on the ouside were no different since the last time he checked. The one in the middle, the flame was smaller, but a lot of the wax was missing. It was still tall, but it was now a lot shorter than the outsides. I'm... I'm screwed...

OOC: I say that if we have to give Coyote a Continent, we should give him Antarctica...It's not like anyone owns that anyway...or lives there.

BIC: Mastermind's soldiers crumpled in numbers as Wolf swept Daishi's rotary autocannon across the battlezone. Some return fire from AK-47s streamed up at the mech, but the shots just bounced off.

"Your firearms are useless against me!!" Wolf laughed as he vaporized two enemy soldiers with his pulse lasers.

"Wolf, I don't think it's wise to taunt them." KAMO said cautiously

"Why not?" Wolf asked "After all, I'm in the most heavily armed vehicle...in fact the only vehicle...on the battlefield."

"That's just the problem. Looks like Mastermind is bringing up some heavier artillery."

As if on cue, 4 shoulder launched stinger missiles impacted on Daishi's torso. The mech stumbled, but KAMO managed to get it upright without Wolf's assistance.

"That attack damaged our torso armor by 25% and damaged one of the pulse lasers. It can still fire, but it can't take any more hits like that" KAMO reported

"Point taken" Wolf said as he returned fire with the LRMs, blasting the rocket soliders into the air.

OOC: The AK-47: Almost 50 years and still a favored firearm amongst insurgent armies everywhere.

OOC: Could Coyote please release me?

IC: "Okay, the fact my own voice is coming from behind me is more than a little disconcerting. And my Brawl-sense is tingling. Which means there's a fight somewhere, and I can't get into it.

OOC: Ya, you can leave the Picasso room SS.

BIC: "You want your own continent? I might be able to arrange that as long as you can assure me that it won't be used to torment or endanger other people if they happen to stumble onto it."

"Well if they break my laws they should be subject to my punishment. Is that not how your government's work?"

Coyote noticed Jade's initial indignation.

"Oh don't give me that line about we broke no rules. I've got full play by play coverage that would make the NFL jealous."

Jade looked away, she knew what Coyote said was true. In her past she and her teammates had done some things that she regrets deeply. "Very well, I'll get you your continent. But only if you assist us in wiping out Mastermind. You can't just leave like you did last time."

"I'll do what i want, when I want, little girl. You just happen to be lucky that as of now my top priority is to kick sourpuss's ass. Bargained well and done. I'll have my children draw up a contract."

A piece of paper began to print loudly from a dot matrix in the ceiling. Coyote ripped the paper off. He handed the paper to jade. The page had a window with a scroll bar built into it and two lines one had coyte's name under it and abouve it had a long string of 0s and 1s the other bar had Jade's name.

Angel was fed up. He grabbed his sword and started swinging wildly around, cutting anything he could.

When he found the room in tatters around him, he bolted out to the fight, and announed his prescence by literally dropping on two of Mastermind's soldiers, and carving another two apart.

"Fuck yeah! Random violence can solve anythign!"

OOC: For once, I'm thankful there wasn't a barrage of posts in my 5 days absence...but I would like to point out something. Granted, the unit has indeed done some regrettable, and most likely illegal, things...but right now Jade is now going to negotiate with (for lack of a better word) a terrorist. Now am I going to let this stand? Maybe...

BIC: Wolf continued blasting his way through Mastermind's soldiers, knocking them down left and right.

His radio crackled. "I've got good news, bad news, and worse news, Wolf."

"What is it, Beowulf?" Wolf asked.

"Bad news, Monk's still comatose...but he hasn't worsened. Good news, I've located Jade. She's in some kind of control center."

"What's the worse news?"

"I think she may be cutting a very bad deal with Coyote."

Wolf froze, his mind racing. Oh, crap...If she cuts a deal...that's negotaiting with terrorists...just one more thing to go wrong for us...but she told us to resolve this peacefully...and yet here we are at war...what the hell am I going to do?!


He sighed. "Beowulf...we need to get out of here soon. I know I'm going to regret this...but let Jade sign whatever deal it is she's making. We'll worry about the backlash later."

I hope I made the right choice...

OOC: Okay...so I will.

OOC: Don't worry about it, I've got it under control.

BIC: Jade knew she was making a deal with one of the most untrustworthy AIs out there, but she needed to deal with the reprocussions later. A feathered quill appeared in front of her, and she signed her name on the dotted line. "There, could I have communications with my team back now?"

An old dial tone fone fell into fer lap. "A pleasure doing business with you." Coyote said. He crossed his legs and pulled out a cigar. he took out a lighter and $100 dollar bill. He lit the bill on fire with the lighter he then used the bill to light the cigar.

Jade sighed. She had seen one of these in a museum once, but it was so...so...primitive. She stood up. "Yes, a pleasure doing business. I'll hold up to my end if you hold up to yours. I'm going to try to find my way out now so I can help my team. Any chances on you telelporting me to them, or at least doign soemthing so that I won't get lost in a sea of lime jello?"

A barrage of Stinger missiles impacted all over Daishi as armor exploded off and internal components took damage. The mech dropped to one knee as Kamo and Wolf filed to keep it standing. The one active pulse laser flashed fried some of the attackers, but the rest of them dove for cover and readied for another salvo.

"I can't take another hit like that" KAMO reported.

"Then log out." Wolf said. "The interference over this place has mostly been lifted. You get out of here, I'm staying back to help keep my friends alive."

"Very well, Wolf. See you in the real world"

Wolf leapt out of the cockpit and landed on the ground as Daishi turned into a bunch of alphanumeric characters and vanished.

Wolf ran at the place where the missile soldiers were hiding and readied his M16. As the Mastermind troopers stood up, he loosed an M203 grenade from the underside of the rifle. The grenade blasted the soldiers apart. Wolf grinned, and then turned and headed towards Beowulf's position.

Angel was far from his namesake. Currently, there was a pair of agents he was trying to deal with. It was going far from well. Muscles in the back of his neck were beginning to bunch, and blood was streaming freely from his nose, and bits of it were dabbled around his mouth.

Going out on a line, he lunge stabbed, trying to take an agent with it, then reserved it into a spinning slash that seemed to part the very air. One agent pulled to the side, but the other stepped forward, and caught Angel's arm. Smirking, his shoulder threw him, slamming him into the ground, and then kicked him in the ribs.

Angel rolled roughly along the ground, and hacked a bit. That had hurt quite a bit. He forced himself up, and tried jump kicking one of them. His foot was caught, and he was slammed back down into the ground. Quite audibly he groaned, and seemed unable to move.

One agent dropped into the indent to check Angel's pulse. Angel seized his wrist, and when the agent jerked back, he used that motion to help himself stand up. Not phased, even at the supposedly dead man standing up, he aimed a punch at Angel's face. He caught, and pulled the Agent towards him, at the same time placing his foot against the chest. Then he pushed with all his might, with an audible crack heard.

Lathargically, the agent stumbled away, and aimed a punch straight at Angel's throat. He grabbed with his left, shifting his sword to his wrist, and spun while pulling, putting himself right behind the agent. Without looking, he drove his sword behind him, and the familiar flurry of code told him he'd hit.

At about that point, the second agent's upper cut hit, driving Angel quite visibly into the air. Sparing a moment, he activated his old comm program, and hoped the team still used it.

"This is Angel...and I could REALLY use some help!"


OOC: This is assuming Mastermind has some more "lesser" agents in the field still.

OOC: Sure...why not? I had planned to create agents Jones and Brown anyway.

BIC: Mastermind looked at the fight between Angel and his two newest agents.

Hmm...those two aren't working out as well as I hoped...Angel should be dead by now. Ah well...at least he seems to be tiring. It looks like Agents Brown and Jones will be a good addition to the other 4...especially since Johnson and Thompson are still going through BSS (OOC: Britney Spears Syndrome)

***

Wolf was running towards Beowulf's position when he heard Angel's frantic call for help. Locking on to his signal, Wolf ran to Angel's location. There he spotted Angel locked in mortal combat with two agents Wolf had never seen before.

Leaping at both agents, he knocked them aside, and put himself between Angel and the Agents.

"Who are you two supposed to be...Brown and Jones?" Wolf asked the agents as they got to their feet

"How did you..." Brown started

"...Know our names?" Jones finished.

"Let's just say that Mastermind has a habit of following too closely to the Matrix." Wolf grinned. Then his expression hardened. "Now...let's see what you've got!" Wolf drew his Katana, and joined the battle.

OOC: ... You're kidding right? We need MORE agents!?

Monk again slid into the wall, for the 7th time this battle. He could feel bones broken, blood coming out from every part of his body. Feet, legs, body, arms, face, it didn't matter, none could contain the blood it once held, however, the agents had their share of damage. They were both on one knee, gasping for air, although they really didn't need it. However, thier bodies were simulated to imitate the actions of humans, so when one was tired, one would breath heavy. The candles against the wall were all not even with each other. Barely any wax to them. The two on the outside had three inches a piece, while the one in the middle only had a little less than an inch. Monk would would have to make a major turn around if he wanted to win this fight.

Monk pulled his head up again, his back against the wall, his neck demanding that he stop now. "You will lose this battle. I will not let you move any further."

"You still insist to fight? This is you're last chance..."

"You really don't know me all that well, do you? I don't give up easily just becasue my back's up on the wall."

"You are indeed strong, but there is nothing left to you. We can see it by the lifebars that have ben set up for us."

"Those candles are not lifebars... they are the symbol of life!"

"If that is true... you do not have much time left."

"You know nothing!!" Monk struggled to get to his feet. "You think you are the greatest thing to happen to this earth!? God did not make you! God made us... WE made you. We made a mistake... everything about this... cyber world... It was all a mistake!"

"No... it was this... God's mistake for creating you before us..."

Monk got to his feet, but soon fell from the strain, he was now on his hands and knees, breathing into the ground, into the pool of blood and sweat now forming. "Mistake... we were not a mistake. God created us in his image..."

"He is flawed then..."

"You are flawed!" His head was up, looking into both agent's glasses. "You are flawed for you have no heart, no soul!"

"That is why we are perfect. WE have no organs to worry about slowing us down. We live forever..."

Monk dropped his head and shook it, "No... not the organs! The idea! The power and the strength that God gave us in encased in that container. The heart and the soul."

"That does not compute. The heart is used to pump blood through the body... the soul is only an idea that..."

He was stopped by Smith. His arm out stretched telling him to stop talking. "We all know what they were put here on this earth for. The physical meanings of it. But that is all, it is you humans that put something that is not true in them..."

Monk's hands balled into fists, "We... humans?" He slowly stood up again, wavering from weakness, but still getting to his feet. "We humans!? As if we are inferior to you!? You... machines!?" Smith nodded. "You do not get it! You would not exist if we were not put on this earth to create you!"

"By your logic, if God was not around, you would not exist either."

"Yes... that is true! But humans are foolish... they have tried to play god too many times, and they have even done it! What have we done!?" He fell to his knees again, but his back was upright. "We are an inferior race. We think we are the dominant, but this is not true."

"Now you see what we were put on this earth. To control you... Mastermind will bring in a wave of power and control what needs to be controlled. If you wish, you can still be a part of that..."

"Humans are foolish... we are ruled by emotions... but that is what makes us humans."

"Emotions?"

"Yes... we have a heart and a soul. We have these so that we may share them with another..."

"You speak of love?" Monk kept his view of the floor his first priority. "That is a weakness! Emotion only gets in the way! We can solve that..."

Monk looked up at Smith, but he wasn't looking AT him. Jade... He stood up and got ready to fight. "You do not understand. We need those emotions to live. I will show you these emotions!"

The candles to the side gave the room a feint glow. The two on the outside didn't move at all, still three inches with an average fire. The one in the center was still only an inch high, but on the top of it there was a roaring flame. It looked to be able to inhale the candle in a matter of seconds, but the wax didn't seem to melt at all.

"Teleport, what do I look like, a trekkie. Just take the door on your right and don't let it hit you on the way out."

OOC: Now see, if there were more people like Monk in the Terminator and Matrix movies...Skynet would be fucked and the Machines wouldn't have stood a chance (respectively). Instead (respectively again) the people of California got John "Da Junkie" Connor and the Governator (I'm Here to save CALIFORNIA!), while the Matrix got Keanu Reeves (no comment). Anyway, that's my two cents.

BIC: Wolf brought his katana up as the agents drew their desert eagles and opened fire. Moving like a blur, he deflected the first few shots, cut one bullet in half, and then leapt into the air, the remaining bullets missing him. He released his grip on the katana and drew his .45s, opening fire on both agents. Brown dodged the bullets, but Jones took a round to the shoulder and the chest, causing him to stagger and drop his Desert Eagle. As Wolf landed, his right leg almost collapsed under him from the previous gunshot wound. Wincing in pain, he rolled to his right, grabbed his katana off the ground and rushed at the wounded Jones. He ran the Agent through with his sword and lifted him into the air.

"Impossible...moving...too...fast" the agent gasped just before Wolf swung his blade sideways and kicked Jones' corpse into Brown, knocking him to the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" Wolf said maliciously. "What a damn shame. I thought Mastermind would be able to create AI capable of combating a mere human."

Brown stood up...and without saying anything rushed at Wolf. He didn't expect the attack, and was knocked backwards, and now forced to fight hand-to-hand.

"Beleive me, Mr. MacKenzie...you will not survive this fight"

The two exchanged blows, almost equally matched, but Wolf knew he couldn't keep this up forever, the nano-augmentations were sapping his strength again.

I'm not giving up, he thought as he caught Brown in the head with a roundhouse kick, I will not let Mastermind ruin anyone else's life the way he did mine. He wearily wiped some blood from his mouth, and took a defensive pose as Brown recovered and prepared to attack again.

The agent was focused on Wolf. Angel forced himself up, and looked across. He'd pulled them away. His wings flared open, and he flew across the distance. Then kicked the agent straight and solidly in the middle of the back, smashing him towards Wolf.

OOC: TAG TEAM!

BIC: Wolf saw Angel smash Brown right at him. He merely sidestepped, unslung his M16, and hit Brown in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. He kicked the agent in the ribs as he tried to stand, causing Brown to writhe in pain.

"So..." Wolf said angrily, "You wanna make threats? Huh? You wanna fuck with me? Okay!" he leveled the M16 at Brown, who was now on one knee and trying to get his Desert Eagle "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!"

Wolf unloaded the entire clip into Brown's wounded form, perforating the agent. Even though he would've died from only a couple shots, the trigger-happy and kill-frenzied Wolf was too pissed off to let up on the trigger. Brown twitched and flew through the air as the bullets tore him up.

As the clip ran out and the gunfire was replaced by rapid clicks, Wolf relaxed a little. He looked over at Angel while he reloaded the rifle. "I guess this makes us even." he said.

OOC: I'll admit I wanted to integrate that line into this somewhere...

Angel grabbed his sword, and managed to get is sheathed. "It does indeed. Thanks for coming and saving my ass."

Jade glared at Coyote before getting up and leaving the trailor. The second she had opened the door, she was flung outside into the middle of the battle field. She saw Wolf and Angel fighting the Agents, and Wraith covering a downed...Monk? She wanted to help him, but she knew that she had to help Wolf. She turned to see Wolf nod towards her and then to Monk. "Go help him! We've got things covered." She nodded back and ran towards Wraith. "Watch my body for me. If the agents can get in to his brain through that chip, so can I...and no funny business with my body!" She typed in a few commands into her PDAP and took and connected her node to Monk's. Instantly, she was transported into some kind of training dojo. The place wa pretty torn up and Jade could make out three candles in the distance. She then saw Monk and the Agents fighting. Monk, to her horror, was covered in blood and had just been thrown into the wall. She ran over to him and knelt down. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come. God, I can't lose you now."

Monk looked weakily at her face, "What the heck is this? Open Mic night? Everyone into Monk's brain!? Get out! I can't take on three people... at... once..." His eyes focused a little bit more, even through the sweat and blood forming, "J... Jade?" He shook his head, "I had to come... I had to help you. I just had to, but don't worry, I trained before I came..."

"Good... now we can take on both at once."

"This love really is a foolish thing."

Monk stood up, even though there was nothing left to his candle. "Love... is what is going to win this battle for me..." He looked at Jade, "For us..." He could feel darkness come over him again, but he fought that off too.

OOC: Hey...Beowulf was there too...just a reminder...

BIC: Beowulf watched as Jade connected into Monk's mind. Godspeed Jade, you may be his only hope. he thought as he realized he now needed to cover two bodies...not just one. As if on cue, a platoon of Mastermind's soldiers charged at his position. Howling in anger, Beowulf unleashed a metal storm of slugs with his M16, cutting them down. Nearby, Wraith provided fire support

I hope they finish up in there soon...I can't hold this area forever.

He activated his radio link to Wolf. "Shit's hitting the fan here...could use your help. Jade's entered Monk's mind in an effort to help him. Mastermind's troops are coming head on."

***

Wolf got the message. He turned to Angel. "Beowulf and Wraith are covering a comatose Monk and Jade. They're fighting two agents inside Monk's mind. We can't get in there...we just have to hold off the threats out here."

Wolf started running towards Monk's position, .45s drawn and ready.

Angel flew up, and started flying above Wolf.

"So, I'll go up close and personal, and try to mix it up. You cover?"

Coyote heaved into a bag. Little green 0s and 1s coming out of his mouth. "If Jade get's any more saccharine I'm going to shoot myself."

Bullets fire forth from multiple gun barrels, rocketing through the air and hissing through a cloud of mist, passing through Wraith harmlessly. He falls back to the ground, spinning on a horizontal axis and landing on his feet, where he falls to one knee and sweeps in a semi-circle, throwing out his right arm in a wide arc. In his arm he holds an Uzi, trigger firmly held as he mows down an easy seven troops with his automatic gunfire. He watches them all fall with a satisfied grin on his face and still smiles even when his magazine runs out.

His attack lasts all of two seconds before he has to reassume ghost form to avoid the next round of gunfire from the platoon he'd just attacked, jumping away and back flipping behind a pile of formless debris. There he ducks and reloads, cocking his gun and glancing around with a wide grin on his face; it's been a long time since he's had this much fun. He watches out ahead of him as Beowulf continues to cover Monk and Jade and takes an offhand pot shot at a soldier coming up behind him. He's about to jump over the debris again and begin attacking, but pauses for a moment and checks himself, then draws out a grenade and tosses it over the wall at the platoon. He counts off two second and then leaps, going ghost again in mid-air just when it explodes, throwing dirt and debris into the air in all directions. The only thing visible against the ball of flame is Wraith's shape as he descends on the platoon.

Scattered and confused, they stumble about firing aimlessly, and Wraith has only to walk through them shooting down a soldier here and another there. He rounds a corner and steps into a trench dug out by mortar fire, where he finds a soldier trying desperately to reload his weapon. The man looks up at him at the sound of his footsteps, startled. He tries to raise his gun to shoot Wraith but is shot in the head before he can do anything.

An empty magazine slides and clatters on the ground, and Wraith pauses to reload his gun once again, but jumps back when a bullet slams into the barrel, knocking it away. He shoots a glance to his right, where he sees a soldier aiming at him with one arm while waving his other arm, signaling his buddies to come near. Wraith turns and runs away, swaying left and right and staying behind debris as bullets ricochet and slam into objects all around him, leaving small pockmarks in the metals and woods and earths.

He leaps over a low wall only to find three more soldiers waiting for him, guns drawn as they fire at one of Coyote's troops nearby. They're every bit as startled as he and try to fire at him, but he descends on them too quickly, landing on top of one and pinning him on the ground. In one smooth motion he reaches into his coat and flings two knives out, killing the other two men by stabbings in their throats, then turns back on the one beneath him. He reaches into his coat as the man tries to raise his gun to him, removing another knife and stabbing him in his chest just before he can pull the trigger... the gun barrel pointed between his eyes.

He snatches the gun from his hands immediately and rises, but he hardly has time to check the chamber and clip when a bullet hits the earth next to him. He spins around to look at the soldiers from earlier crest the low wall and charge, guns blazing. A hailstorm of bullets rains down all around him, and he takes the only option he can think of: he returns to ghost form and sinks through the earth, disappearing into the soil. The soldiers rush over to the spot and search the ground, bewildered. They mull about for a moment, not even noticing the misty figure rising from the earth behind him. He floats back up above ground slowly, staying silent even as he readies his gun, and in one sweep he fires and kills all four of them in an instant.

He grins and nods his head, his shades catching a glimpse of light... then a glimpse of a platoon rising over the hill in front of him. His smile turns into a frown as he watches them walk towards him, part of a counterstrike force that was being held in reserve. The leader looks up at him and raises his hand, signaling a stop. They all stare off for a long moment, watching sweat roll from the brows of the other team... then the leader says two single words in a flat voice. "Kill him."

The men all rush forward, shouting some kind of war cry and blindly charging, some drawing knives and others drawing swords. Wraith considers swearing for a second, but instead tenses his muscles and waits until the first one gets close.

He watches him rush, screaming bloody murder, then ducks and extends a leg, spinning. The man trips easily on the outstretched foot and falls on his back, dropping his katana right into Wraith's waiting hand, who catches it behind his back as he rises to his feet again. He then brings the katana around and makes a few motions with it, then deflects the blows of the man charging at him now, parrying four quick thrusts before stepping forward and past the man, chopping him in the back of his head with his left arm.

The next comes at him with his gun's bayonet, raising it high over his head with a grunt. Wraith simply falls to one knee and impales him on his katana, then rises up again and removes the sword as he pushes the body to the ground, attacking the next man coming at him. They trade a few parries, Wraith falling back as the platoon presses forward. The other man snarls and grins wickedly, feeling confident, while Wraith deflects a lunge and then catches the man's arm, holding their swords in a lock. They stare off for a split second, then Wraith looks beyond him to see the rest of the men getting ever closer and hisses through his teeth.

He glances back at him and kicks him in his stomach, pushing him backwards into the mob pressing forward. They catch him and start to fall themselves, then start screaming and dropping as Wraith takes the submachine gun he'd recently "borrowed" and firing it into the crowd. He unloads the entire magazine in a hurry and listens to it click and slide from the stock, also watching the men start arming their own firearms to fire back at him. He narrows his eyes and throws his gun aside, then charges straight into the crowd and dives right in, assuming his ghost form again and passing through most of the front part.

Confused and angry, they fire blankly into the air, hitting only air and mist, then stand back as he lands in the center of them all. Immediately they jump him, punching and kicking away. He catches the first arm that comes at him and kicks the man in his face, then looks backwards and delivers a high standing kick to the man's face behind him. He stands back up and looks back to his front in time to see a roundhouse aimed at his head coming at him. He ducks and does another leg sweep, knocking the man off his feet and rising up again, tossing another knife from his sleeve at the man now charging at him.

He looks down at the handle sticking from his chest and stumbles backwards, to be caught by one of his comrades and die, and be replaced by yet another man who brandishes a knife at Wraith menacingly. Wraith wastes no time in locking his katana with his knife and then kicking him in his chest, knocking him back into the ring surrounding them. He stands back and cuts a few arcs in the air with his katana, showing off... and that's when a whole six of them rush him at once. He watches them all come out at him, seeing the four in front and hearing the two behind him, and thinks quickly. They move three steps and try to grab him all at once, when he jumps in the air and starts running in a circle, using each of their chests as stepping stones.

He runs around in a small circle like this, swinging his katana around in short cuts and swings, and then jumps off one of the men's chests and back flips away, landing on one knee and watching as they all stagger and fall, bleeding from slit throats. He smiles widely at his accomplishment and watches as another wave of them charges at him, waving guns, knives, and various bladed weapons. He doesn't even blink an eye and reaches into his coat, tossing knife after knife in fast and furious procession, dropping seven of them in seconds.

They all fall to the ground with knives sticking from their chests, making some of the men trip and fall also, but a few of them leap over the bodies and cock their guns' firing hammers. Wraith raises to his feet again just as several handguns fire shots at him, and in defense he swings his katana and assumes ghost form again. The katana catches a few bullets and sends them ricocheting back into the forehead of at least two other men, while the rest pass harmlessly his mist. Deciding to try something different, however, he comes back from his ghost form and spins in a tight circle, slashing the necks of the two men standing behind him and pulling a pistol from his coat at the same time. The other men keep firing, but most shots miss or glance from his katana, and he fires the pistol rapidly, dropping another four men in seconds before leaping at them and going ghost again. They fire their guns in the air at him, trying unsuccessfully to shoot his flying ethereal body. One of them hears and feels a quiet thump against his foot, however, and glances down.

The grenade stops rolling at his feet, its pin gone. He blanches and spins around, starting to shout something to the rest of his men... when the grenade blows, killing all eight of the men left standing. Those who weren't blown to bits by the explosion died from the shrapnel, except for Wraith, who floats to the ground again and becomes solid. He stands for a long moment and examines his handiwork, panting hard and feeling slightly woozy. A drop of blood falls on his boot, and he looks at himself to see bullet holes in both of his shoulders, one in his left bicep, and two in his left thigh. Another streak of blood is on his stomach, but it's just a scrape where a bullet ricocheting from his katana had grazed him.

He falls to one knee and supports his weight with his katana, closing his eyes and breathing hard in front of the flames.

"Giving up?"

He lifts his head to the man who had spoken, first hearing his footsteps before seeing his face. He glances over him, noting his uniform and appearance. "Not quite."

The commander chuckles and stops walking, now standing across from in the body pile. He looks around and nods his head, impressed. "Very good, soldier."

He then looks at Wraith coldly, and cocks his head as he asks, "Now would you like to try that on a real warrior?"

Wraith stares at him for a long moment, then rises to his feet, straining over his aching body. "I thought -- guys like you -- hid behind your troops and told them to do your dirty work?"

The commander smirks. "Sometimes we just have to get the job done ourselves."

And with that, the fight is on. The commander pulls out a katana and charges, his blade meeting Wraith's. They trade parries and lunges, but the commander has the clear advantage, being fresh and undamaged. He starts pushing Wraith back and succeeds in throwing him off balance when he corners him against a wall, where he starts to falter and deflect blows with less strength. He smirks again and draws back for a lunge, but when he leans forward to impale Wraith all he gets is stone as he drives his katana into the wall. Wraith sidesteps out of the way and takes the opportunity to punch him in his face and roundhouse him in his chest.

The commander stumbles back and away from his sword, but when Wraith swings his katana around to slice at his chest, he spins and kicks it away, hearing it clatter on the ground some distance off. Wraith starts to stagger tiredly, and reels from the uppercut the commander gives him. Unable to recover from that blow, he can only stagger back and block his punches feebly, taking a hook or a jab or an uppercut on the chin here and there. He tries to swing back at one point, but the commander ducks and rushes him, grabbing him around his waist and lifting him up in the air.

Wraith can only hold on as the commander starts running towards a statue, then lets Wraith go and watches him fly off and slam into the stone base, crying out weakly and crumpling to the ground. The commander grins and walks over, and with a grunt he lifts him in his arms again and proceeds to ram him into the statue base over and over, five times in all before he lets go and lets him fall down. He watches him roll around pathetically, clutching at his bleeding and bruised torso, and gestures with his arms. "C'mon... get up! Get up!"

Wraith stands on his knees and grasps his shirt feebly, trying to get back on his feet. The commander reaches down and grabs onto his coat, tearing it off and throwing it away, then does the same with his shirt, exposing his battered chest to the chilly air. "How tough are ya without your weapons, huh?"

He then hammers a clenched fist into Wraith's back repeatedly, beating him down to the ground slowly, and mercilessly. Wraith glances over to his clothes and winces as he has another fist driven into his back, then rises to his feet suddenly, growling. He wraps his arms around the commander's waist and lifts, running blindly forward and building his growl up to a full-out yell. The commander continues to beat on his back as he charges, while Wraith just sucks it up and keeps running, building up speed and staring straight at his destination: another statue some ways off, identical to the one just used against him.

He keeps running straight towards it and doesn't let go as he rams the commander's back into it, then steps back and repeats over and over, the commander groaning each time until he finally lets go and falls to the ground. Wraith falls to his knees beside him and punches away at his face, slamming his temples as hard as he can with his right fist while holding his left arm against himself, unable to move it. The commander's face begins to bleed from cuts that Wraith opens up and his eyes start to glaze over, and in a blind rage Wraith just rubs his forearm into his face, pressing down hard and trying just to cause pain. Finally he lets go and punches twice more, then rears his fist back and waits to see if the commander moves, panting very heavily.

He doesn't.

He rises to his feet again slowly, painfully, and stares down at him, nodding. He turns and starts to walk away, heading for his clothes... then falls to his knees and stares off in the distance, eyes hazy. He watches Beowulf look over and give him an odd look, then waves at him through bleary eyes. "What's up?"

Then he flops down on his face and lies motionless, passed out.

Wolf drew his .45s, "I'll cover you, don't worry." he says to Angel as he starts picking off troops with pinpoint accuracy. He reached Beowulf's position, and saw Wraith crumple to the ground out of the corner of his eye.

Shit! "Beowulf! Wraith's down! Get him over here so we can cover him and the others better. Angel and I will hold this position until you get back."

Beowulf hesitated for a second...then nodded. Running and gunning, the wolfen AI ran towards Wraith's fallen body. A grenade went off near him, forcing him to the ground, but Beowulf would not be tamed so easily. After using his .357 to shoot the grenadier, Beowulf got back up to his feet and slung the wounded Wraith over his shoulder. Dodging explosions, he ran back to Wolf's position, and lay Wraith on the ground next to Monk.

"How is he?" Wolf asked over his shoulder as he continued to fire his .45s, only pausing to reload.

"He's pretty weak...looks like his ghosting power didn't save him this time. He's been shot in both shoulders and beaten pretty badly. He's barely holding on." Beowulf said as he drew his M16 and starting firing at the enemy again.

Wolf dropped down to Wraith's side as he continued to fire. "Listen to me soldier! You are not dying on my watch, you hear me?! You are not dying today!"

"The hell I ain't!" Wraith yells back, grabbing onto Wolf's shirt collar with one arm. He yanks himself up to a seated position and pulls his face close to Wolf's. "Now gimme my damn guns back so I can shoot somebody!"

He looks around for his coat and weapons, groaning only once but wincing continually, and still unable to use one arm very well.

Wolf inwardly sighed relief at the fact that Wraith was alive. Hopefully, the rest of this mission won't turn out like China did 5 years ago...hm. Things have almost come full circle in that matter...damn it! I have to focus...we're not in the clear yet. I have to get us out of here alive...then I'll find Katlin.

Wolf handed one of his .45s to Wraith "Use this. I have no clue where your stuff is...and we don't have time to find it."

Wolf turned back to the battle, drew his M16, and returned to work. He took single shots, hitting the enemy soldiers in the head.

We're running out of time...and ammo Wolf thought as he slammed another clip into his rifle...leaving only 1 extra. If those two don't finish off the agents soon...they won't have bodies to return to...and as for us...

Angel slipped neatly to the side, the rifle that had been intended for his face blazing away at the air. Neatly, he beheaded the man, and practically slid along the ground. A bullet slammed into the wall above his head, and he split that gun with a rising slash, then whirled and cleaved the man through from the shoulder to waist.

Painfully, stars exploded before his eyes as someone clubbed him in the back of the head. Muscles bunched in his neck, and with a howl that almost didn't seem human, he turned and slammed his hand INTO the soldier's throat, grinning as the man's eyes showed that he realized he was dead. Letting the body drop, he spun and attacked the next troops.

He grabbed one by the throat, and used him as a human shield before tossing his body at his comrades. They scrambled to escape the corpse, and Angel flew up and cut another throat. An obviously new soldier turned to look at him.

Before the man could respond, Angel stuck him in a nelson, and flew up into the air, then turned, and dived straight at the ground. He let the man go about two meters from the ground. The wet snap echoed.

All alone, the last man of that platoon raised his rifle and sprayed bullets at the already moving Angel. They punched holes through his coat, nothing more. Accompanying an unnatural burst of speed, Angel's coat seemed to stretch, and a flurry of black feathers was left behind.

Foreshadowing was a good thing, because the man spun and fired directly behind him. As his rifle came in life, Angel twisted around behind him, bullets missing him by scant centimeters. A blinding pain erupted in the soldier's chest, and he looked down to see Angel's sword sticking out.

Angel lifted the grisly trophy up, then flung it aside. Wild eyes glanced around, looking for something else to fight. As he slowly calmed down, his size actually seemed to become thinner.

That had been so unlike him, he was almost afraid.

I'll deal with personality problems later.

He took flight, going high, looking for whatever threatened Wolf the most.

Jade unsheathed her sword. "You take a rest, I'll fight for both of us until you get your strength back." Monk was about to speak, but she held her hand up in protest. "That's an order." She then turned to the Agents and charged. Her upgrades did their job, and because she hadn't been expending any energy, she was at full strength. Her movements were like a blur as she slashed at the Agents. They dodged and all three fought like this for a while, each one dodging each other's slashes and punches. Jade's sword was knocked away and they engaged in hand-to-hand for a while. Jade jumped back breathing a bit heavily and charged again. She caught one off guard and hit a right cross on his jaw, but her total attention which was focused on the one Agent gave the other one a chance to hit her in the gut and across the face. She was sent sprawling back and skidded to a stop enar Monk. She got up, blood spurting from her mouth. "Ok, break's over, let's finish these guys of."

On the battlefield, Jade's body convulsed and blood poured from her mouth.

OOC: Yea, damage to you in your mind still happens to your real vody. So if you die in the mind...

OOC: There is a good chance that you may die in the real world... Do'h!

Monk enjoyed the show that was just put on for him, but thought that it was a little too short. He stumbled up to his feet and asumed a fighting position. "Yes... we must end this right now..." He took a few steps, until he was standing next to Jade. "When did you get a sword?"

"It is too bad we are still alive. Even the two of you together have no chance..."

"Come on now... try and defeat us..."

"With... pleasure!" He started to charge the two, first shoving Johnson into a wall opposite the two. That was last bit that he could take, as one of the candles lost its flame and went out, right after Johnson faded away in green symbols.

"Very good, but now you have to defeat me..."

"This should be no trouble at all." Charging at him, and starting up the fight, however, Monk couldn't do it alone. "Jade! Quick! While I have him distracted! Finish him off!"

Wolf fired his last M203 grenade, taking 10 enemy soldiers to their firey doom. He also began to spend the last few bullets of his M16 ammunition. Behind him he heard Jade hack up blood from her battle with the agents. Goddamn...none of us are going to last much longer in this battle...c'mon Monk...Jade...I said I was going to make sure you guys got home safely...I will not lose another squad to Mastermind!

Anger and rage in his eyes, he dropped the empty M16, and drew his last remaing weapons.

Grabbing his remaining Colt .45 and his one frag grenade, he ran at the oncoming soldiers. He threw the grenade...taking down a few soldiers in the blast. As the blast subsided, he charged into battle, Katana in one hand, .45 in the other. Soldiers fell left and right, but even Wolf knew he could not hold out forever. Still, he relished the time he had left.

Every second I live is one more second I have to kill a member of Mastermind's army...another second to defend those who they would kill...another second for venegeance.

He used an enemy trooper's shotgun to fell a couple soldiers, then he scratched a line in the ground with his sword.

"See if you can pass this line...Mastermind punks!" Wolf shouted as he kept firing the .45, pausing only to grab an AK and start using that as well.

Beowulf walked up next to him, M16 firing. "You do know this is crazy, right? he asked Wolf

"Sometimes...crazy works." Wolf replied as he reloaded the AK and readied himself for the next wave.

OOC: Oh, the Agents will of course be back, but we're just banishing them from Monk's mind right now.

BIC: "With pleasure." Jade knew that the Agents couldn't take much more. She jumped over Monk and began fighitng with Smith ((I'm assuming it's Smith)). He still dodged most of her shots, but she would get a hit in every now and then. When they broke off, he was a mess. Pieces of his body were missing and green binary code was flowing out of the holes. "Face it Smith, you're through."

"We shall see, you have won for now."

With that Smith dissappeared in a massive flash of light. Jade, who was breathing heavily from the fight, turned to Monk. "Let's get out of here, I've had enough of your brain to last me a while." She then dissappeared in a similar flash.

Jade's body stirred. It was full of bruises and cuts, but otherwise unharmed. Opening her eyes, she sat up, wiped the blood off of her, and assessed her surroundings while waiting for Monk to wake up.

Monk watched as the two others disappeared. "It's about time my head was clear everyone! It's mine!" He chuckled a bit, but found his wounds to be more severe then he first though. Maybe not feeling bad was a bad thing, for you don't really know how damaged you are. Feeling weak again he fell to his knees and saw everything get dark. Looking at the candle stands on the side, the two on the outside were gone, and the one in the middle barely had any wax left, lucky if it ws half an inch. On the top, an ember took the place of where the flame should have. "Well... I think I'll just nap for a bit... Yes... a nap would be nice right about now..." He fell flat on his face but soon dissappeared from his mind too.

On the outside... (I think) Monk didn't wake up, but he was breathing steady, showing he was alive, just really tired. However, he knew this was no time for sleeping on the battlefield. He forced his eyes open and took a quick look around. "Can... can we go home yet? I still need to recover..."

OOC: I'm guessing Mastermind would up and quit now that we've kicked his agents' asses all over the place, and killed over 200 of his soldiers.

BIC: Wolf continued firing his borrowed AK, even as Mastermind's forces turned and fled the scene of battle.

He heard Monk and Jade slowly awaken. I guess with the Agents defeated a second time, Mastermind decided to cut his losses. Good thing for us. He thought as he dropped the AK, which vanished in a green mosaic of symbols, along with the other weapons that Mastermind's soldiers dropped.

He turned back to where Monk was sitting. "I agree with him. There's been enough weirdness and mindless destruction in the past hour to last a few lifetimes. Besides, I'm guessing the negotiations are complete, and it looks like Mastermind has had enough of trying to stop us."

Next to him, Beowulf nodded. "Indeed. All of Mastermind's forces have been routed. Now let's clear out before Coyote tries to stick us with the bill for knocking that giant hole in the Escher room."

OOC: Batgirl, if you want to implement that idea we talked about earlier (which I meant for Chapter 9, but I lost count on chapters again), feel free to do so.

The last member of Mastermind's platoon ran and looked around, trying to find a way out. He didn't even have a chance to scream as Angel's sword stuck out of his stomach, and cut upwards, ripping apart various arteries and such.

He stumbled over to Jade's group, practically covered in blood.

"You...you guys log out. I'll hold them here on the Cyber End while you get out."

OOC: Remember, he can't safely log out until you guys secure his real body. *puppy dog eyes* Pwease?

OOC: Trust me, it's on our to-do list. Besides which...we don't really know where Angel's RW body is held.

OOC: Then ask him. : D

OOC: Fair enough

BIC: Wolf pondered why Angel was opting to stay behind...then he remembered that Angel was still trapped in the Cyber World while his RW body lay trapped as well.

"Hey...where is your RW body anyway?" Wolf asked.

Hopefully, his body will be near Katlin so we can go save them in one go. he thought.

Angel sighed and said, "Last time I bothered to check, Moscou Russia, in their central intelligence agency's headquarters. Most likely guarded, and probably in a mock-medical wing. Given a guess, I'd say I'm in pretty bad shape. Probably IV lines and such, and probably a physical wreck. I haven't used it in two years."

Wolf checked tha data Beowulf had gained on Katlin's RW location. She was nowhere near Moscow. In fact, she was located somewhere in Boston, MA.

Well...shit! Wolf thought. Maybe Jade will let me go after Katlin alone, while she and the others go to Moscow.

Wolf nodded to Angel. "We'll see what we can do." he said. Then he hit logout on his PDAP and he and Beowulf vanished from the area.

"I can't believe we got out of this alive..." Jade saw that Monk was unconscious, so she logged him out. I'm going to have to have a talk with him later... She then walked up to Angel. "I received the coordinates of your body, I'll see what I can do about retrieving it. Until then, get some rest or something I guess."

OOC: Wolf, this actually works out perfectly with our plans.

Monk could feel his body float up into the air for a moment, and then settle back down on a soft surface. Forcing an eye open, he looked up and saw the doc looking down on him. "Monk!? Are you all right!?"

He coughed, a little blood reaching his neck, "Yeah... I'm still in one piece..."

"That's not possible! Not to mention... where did you go? Where did Jade go!? We lost you for a while, you just... vanished..."

Monk smiled, "We were in my head again... taking care of a few bugs in my brain..."

"Bugs?" The doctor almost cringed.

"Yeah... bugs." He winced in pain. "I... I need to rest..."

"I know you do. You shouldn't even be moving. Not to mention... the commander is not going to be happy... I know I'm not."

"I... I had to help." He could feel darkness come over his eyes again. "I... I needed to make sure she was all right..."

"No you didn't. You know they had it under control..."

Monk shook his head lightly from side to side. "I had to do it... for myself. I needed to see first hand that she was going to see the other end of this."

The doc smiled and placed a hand on his chest. "You need to rest now. You have been through a lot." Taking his hand off, he got a few nurses to move him to a movable bed, so that he could be placed in his room, where he would stay for the rest of the night...

Hopefully.

OOC: Due to unforseen circumstances (forces of evil), my posting to here may become sporadic and rare over the next couple of weeks.

BIC: Wolf blinked as he adjusted to the ops room lighting. His leg still felt sore from the bullet wound, but he shrugged off the pain as he got up. He saw Monk being wheeled away to the field hospital...again.

He's really gotta stop doing that...seeing as how he almost got himself killed for the third time in 24 hours. Man...I told him I would make sure Jade got home safe...he didn't have to go. Wolf thought. He pulled the doc aside for a second.

"You might want to check out something in his brain, by the way. It seems Mastermind left a few surprises in that sub-dermal chip of his."

"Explain." the doctor said.

"Mastermind's system agents managed to hack into Monk's brain through the computer chip Mastermind implanted in him. Monk, backed up by Jade managed to defeat the two agents and banish them from his mind...but there's no guarentee they won't be able to do that again. I don't think he can hold them off forever. So see if that chip can be disabled."

The doctor nodded. "All right. I'll check it out." He turned and headed back towards the hospital. Just as he left, the General got in Wolf's face.

"Goddamn it, you told me Monk was trustworthy when he asked to join this unit! So far he has almost gotten you and the others killed repeatedly!"

Wolf wasn't in the mood for the General's beuraucratic bullshit. "You weren't there at the mansion!" Wolf shouted "You had no idea what went on there. We were lucky to survive, and Monk showing up there made no real difference...except that he bought us time to form a defense."

"Oh...well I'm not so sure I should believe you...seeing as how our monitors went out."

Wolf grabbed two memory cards from a pouch that his PDAP was in. "These two cards contain telemetry from me and Beowulf. As you know, they cannot be edited. This will show you exactly what happened at the mansion."

"Fine...but what about what happened between Jade and Coyote? Did she negotiate with that lunatic!?" the general asked as he took the cards.

Wolf paused. Shit...I can't lie...but then again...

"Sir...there were no negotiations." Wolf turned and left leaving the general to ponder the statement.

Wolf's PDAP beeped once they left the ops room. It was Beowulf.
"You lied to protect her"

"I did not lie. There were no negotiations. I'm positive she was coerced into signing whatever deal it was so that she could help us. After all, it wouldn't look too good if we all wound up dead."

"I guess you're right, but what about that telemetry data? Surely the general will find Jade's as well...and that might not reflect so well."

"It would help if the General wasn't such a politicain and more of a soldier." Wolf said. "But this isn't really our concern right now. Right now...we need to find Katlin. I want you to make a cursory examination of the area where she's being held. Report your findings back to me ASAP."

"Very well" Beowulf disappeared from the PDAP.

Jade felt like she woke up from a bad dream. She saw the general yelling a Wolf in one corner of the room and Monk being wheeled away to the hospital for the umpteenth time. She wasn't injured severly so she waited until the General had finished his bullshit talk and walked up to Wolf. "Thanks for covering for me, but you didn't have to. I signed the deal with Coyote because I knew I could fulfill it. My parents have more pull in the government than you think, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to get Coyote what he wants. I know you want to go and find Kaitlin, but rest up first we've all been through hell." With that she walked out of the ops room and headed to her quarters. She locked the door and turned off all of her communicators. "J2, unless a bomb goes off, no one is to disturb me ok?" "Ok." Jade settled in for some well deserved sleep.

OOC:Sorry to hear you won't be around so much Wolf, but you can most definitely still go ahead with your plan.