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*At the VI mansion...* (prose break!)¹

The baseball spun lazily in the air. It hung there for what seemed like forever before it finally dropped back down. Cam caught it easily. Lying on his back on the couch, he pulled back his arm as best he could and threw it again. Damn, was it boring. Nearly the entire team had suddenly up and left the lab that morning, leaving Chameos to fend for himself for the next few hours.

Although he had begun to trust them more, something unusual still screamed against the bars of its cell in the back of his head.

"Chameos?"

Startled by the voice, he turned his head to the side to gaze at the computer screen where Pharaoh had appeared. Not paying attention to the ball, it fell back to his crotch with an audible "Smack."

"OW! What?"

"I'm bored."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, it's nothing. [Sigh.] Me too. Say, do you have any idea where the guys went?"

Even in his digital form, Pharaoh seemed uneasy at the sudden question. Sure, he knew where they went, and basically what they did for a living. But the Prince didn't. And that's where the problem was.

"Er, not really. I mean, I know of hundreds of places they could possibly be at right now. I'm just...not sure which one."

Intrigued, Cam began to throw the ball again, carefully making sure to catch it each time. Finally locking yet another thought in the prison in the back of his mind, he lay back onto his back resignedly.

"Well, if you say so."

The lab fell silent once more. The ball continued on its monotonous path up, then down, then back up again, then back down again. Pharaoh simply hovered in space, watching Cam, hoping to find amusement in the ball's movements.

[BeepBeep]

Cam caught the ball, then turned and looked questioningly to Pharaoh.

"Yessss! A message!"

Cam sat up on the couch, lazily spinning the ball back and forth between his hands while Pharaoh checked the e-mail.

"Hmm...That's strange. It doesn't have a sender's address. It just says that the Viral Infection team is in trouble. Chameos?"

Thinking for a moment, he stood.

"Well, I think we should check it out, no matter what."

"If you believe it's best."

"I do."

"Well then, let's go. I have their location stored in my memory."

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, REALLY?"

If he could, Pharaoh would have blushed.

"Um....do you really think you should bring that baseball?"

Cam glanced down to his hands.

"Oh. I guess not."

He threw it. It bounced off the wall and came back, hitting him squarely in the temple and throwing him to the floor.

"Ouch."

Cam stared up at the spinning baseball wearily, not fully comprehending, within the half second before it fell. Right onto his crotch.

[Smack!]

"OUCHIES!"

*Back in the Net*

Fire: Looks like were traveling buddies once again.

Elec: Again?

Fire: Yeah, we were together in the Genjibo infiltration. Remember?

Elec: Uhhhh. *shrugs* I can't say that I remember... eh. So I wonder what this WWW lock is gonna look like.

Fire: Beats me. But I'm more interested in what Shan looks like. *begins to drool... even though he dosn't have a visible mouth*

Elec: How are you drooling?!

Fire: It matters not. What's that up ahead?

????: So you're Viral Infection.

Elec: Yeah, what of it?

Fire: I can sense a fight comin'! Lets ROCK!

Elec: Calm down. He just might be of some help to us.

????: Yeah, I may be of some help to you navis. My name is Novaman.EXE.

Fire: ....What kind of silly name is that?

Elec: Quiet you dolt! Now, Novaman... that sounds vaguely familiar. Have we been in contact in the past? Nova: Yes, I was there during the Genjibo incident. I was trying to offer you guys a way out. But my connection was reset by peer.

Elec: Well, we are trying to find a WWW lock, I think if we had you along it would help us greatly.

Fire: Awwww... why couldn't we have found Shan, or some other sexy female navi to invite into our group?

Nova: Ummm Shan?

Sky: Oh, don't mind him. He's just a bit strange.

Nova: Oh, alright.

*Elsewhere, Bomb is prowling the WWW net like a bloodhound, seemingly sniffing for any trace of Shan. Skull and Number catch up with him.*

Number: Will you give it a rest? She'll probably find you on her own.

Bomb: I'm not gonna take that chance! What if Fire got to her and scored with her first?

Skull: I hate to break it to you, but nobody's going to be doing any "scoring" today. Shan's going to kill all of us, and the only release you're going to feel is your data spreading all over the network in deletion.

Bomb: Close enough! At least I'll be touching her when I die, she doesn't have any guns, so she'll have to kill me in a more interesting way, like snapping my neck with her thighs! *goes into trance*

Number: Oy, snap out of it! Joke's over, and...uh oh...looks like your dream's coming true...

*all three navis pick up an incoming teleport on their connection scanners*

Bomb: YES! She's here!

*There's a blast of purple smoke, Bomb doesn't wait for it to clear, he leaps into its center and a girlish, startled shout is heard. When the smoke finally clears, Bomb can be seen squeezing a rather shocked and bewildered Bass.*

Bass: What the bloody hell are you doing?!

Bomb: AHHHHHHHHH!!!! You're not Shan! *dislodges himself and begins brushing himself off. Skull collapses on the floor laughing as ribs literally pop out of his torso piece and shoot in random directions.*

Bass: Of course not you dolt! I came to help!

Bomb: Why the hell did you enter in a puff of purple smoke like Shan does?

Bass: 'Cause I felt like being dramatic for once! What's wrong with that? And purple's my colour!

Bomb: Well why did your scream sound so feminine?

Bass:*uncomfortable silence*...er...*cough*...I'm sure your attack just damaged my voice synth slightly.

Skull:*recovering from laughter and gathering all the loose body parts he lost.* Sure, sure. So Bomb, still excited? The next dramatic entrance you pounce could be Jet, at least he looks like a girl, which is close enough, right? Hah!

Bomb: Grrrr, I'm gonna shove a Hyper Bomb where the sun don't shine when you least expect it.

Bass: I just gotta clean my poncho...

Number: Er...right...well, enough fooling around, I guess we should get going, come on.

*As the full moon hangs far above and beyond the world in the desolate night sky, Nijubu continues to walk down the abandoned street. Wait...make that nearly abandoned.*

Nij: Good evening sir! How are you doing this fine and beautiful night?

Mime: +_+

Nij: .....Yes, that's nice. You're...stuck in a box or something?

Mime: *Makes some box-like motions and turns to stare at Nijubu.*

Nij: Wait a minute. Is it an invisible force field? Oh dear Aeos! Not to worry, I'll free you!

*Nij attempts to break the invisible force field with his fist. He succeds in knocking several teeth from the Mime. The poor guy slumps to the ground, unconscious. Nij smiles contentedly.*

Nij: [Sigh.] It feels so good to do my bit for society. Well, I enjoyed making your acquaintance, dear sir, but I really must be going now. Au revoir!

*Nij starts to walk away, but stops mid-stride and walks backward to the Mime's body.*

Nij: One more thing, if I may ask. Is there an Inn of some sort nearby where I may spend the night?

Mime: X_X

Nij: .......

Mime: X_X

Nij: .......Yyyyyes, I...see. Oh well. Good evening, sir!

*The Silver Guardian turns and walks through the mists of the night and into oblivion.*

*Back with the first group...*

Fire: Damn, we're running into a lot of viruses around here, but no assassains.

Elec: Will you stop drooling over her for a minute? Don't forget why we were originally here.

Fire: Too late...why were we here again?

Nova: Probably has something to do with the WWW.

Fire: Ah yes! Of course. Hey, what do you suppose the WWW are up to now?

Elec: *sigh* I asked you that same question half an hour ago and you said all you were interested in was Shan.

Fire: Well, I'm begining to lose faith in her. Besides, now that I'm back in the frame of mind for our original mission, I'm thinking about getting to score with that WWW chick.

Elec: What are you talking about? There's no female WWW navis...

Fire: Sure there is! She's got these swords, and that long blue hair...

Elec: Jet!?

Fire: Yeah, now that's my idea of HOT!

Elec: Jet is a guy!

Fire:...oh...huh?...no way!

Nova: I'd hate to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but I think we've found what we're looking for.

*The other two look up to notice a huge door with a big W on it right in front of them.*

Elec: That's odd, you'd think there'd be a guard or something.

Nova: You mean him?

*he points toward a slumbering Stoneman off to the side, the massive navi acting as an ineffective sentry.*

Fire: Sweet, this room could be completely unguarded. Let's sneak in.

*The three open the door slowly and peak inside...*

*Back with the second group*

*Skull and Number trudge ahead while Bass and Bomb keep a steady distance between them, giving each other cold looks constantly*

Skull: I think we're headed in the wrong direction, the concentration of virals has gotten steadily lower since we left the spot where Bass had to waste all those Bubbler chips to wash his poncho off.

Bass: That was NO waste.

Bomb: YOU'RE a waste.

Bass: Why I oughta...

Number: Simmer down boys, save it for when we're off duty.

Bomb: Bah, I think we've already left the WWW network, the datastreams don't look nearly as corrupted now, and the nearest skull and bones wallpaper looms in the distance.

Skull: Well, I thought I tracked Shan's teleportation signature accurately, I guess she moved again since then, damn she's fast.

Bomb: I think we should turn back, she'll want to attack in the more dangerous territory.

Skull: I think she led us out here for a reason, she'd more want to strike while our guard was down.

Bomb: Oh, that's it! We'll let our guard down! *begins talking extra loud* Oh, dear me! These bombs I'm carrying sure are heavy! I think I'll just lay them down for a moment and rest! *begins emptying his pockets; tons of Hyper Bombs, Mines, Dynamyt, dynamite sticks, Howitzer charges, grenades, cherry bombs, plastic explosive, nitroglycerine packs, fireworks and one atomic bomb all roll out onto the ground, creating a pile many times larger than Bombman himself. Bomb takes a few steps away from the pile and lays down on the ground and closes his eyes.*

Bomb: I think I'll take a little nap now! *begins immitation snoring.*

*The other companions just stare at him with a look of, "this is by far the most insane idea you've come up with since your last insane idea."*

Bomb: *whispering*Come on guys, play along.

Skull: *sigh* It's not like we had much hope of survival anyway...*loud voice* I too, shall take a nap, I will now disconnect all my bones and lay them out harmlessly along the ground! *does so*

Bass: I as well, will power down my Life Aura and Buster, and take a nap! *does so*

Skull: To get comfortable, perhaps Bass should also remove his stuffy poncho!

Bass: Nope!

Skull: Damnit!

Number: And I'll just do nothing like I've been doing since I got here.

*somewhere in nearby shadows*

Shan: How stupid do they think I am? *goes off to find the others*

*somewhere else in the shadows*

Jet: Mwah hah hah! They're defenseless! Now I strike!!

*Meanwhile, just outside the warehouse.*

Ryan: You don't suppose they'll need any battlechips any time soon, do you?

Dominic: *yawn* They've been going for hours without any help from us.

Sky: I'm hungry.

Fandango: Me too.

Dominic: Let's abandon our navis and go to that pizza place we saw on the way here.

Fandango: I concur.

Sky: We don't have to abandon them, if we take out the link cables here we just won't be able to send battlechips, we can still monitor their progress.

Dominic: Yeah, but staring at that screen is starting to hurt my eyes.

Ryan: Yeah, we'll just warn the guys to beep the PET if they get in trouble. *to the PET* Hey Skull! We're going to get some grub! Beep if you need anything!

PET: *snore*

Ryan: Eh, he heard me.

*The three disconnect and walk down the street*

*Meanwhile, across the city, at the door to the VI mansion.*

Cam: How do you set this damn alarm again?

Pharaoh: Forget the alarm, Gauntlet will watch the place.

Cam: Gauntlet's here!?

Pharaoh: He tries to keep his presence a secret, open the shoe closet.

*Cam does so, Gauntlet is inside standing behind a few jackets.*

Gauntlet: Uhhh...hi.

Cam: What are you doing in there?

Gauntlet: Um...well, you see it's like this...*tosses a smoke bomb at their feet and disappears, seconds later, the door to Gauntlet's bedroom is heard slamming.*

Cam: Ugh, I'm feeling really secure now. Okay, might as well get going...

*Cam leaves, shutting the door behind him. A few minutes later, Gary bursts in panting.*

Gary: Cam! Where are you?! I don't want to alarm you but your life could very well end tonight in the most painful, horrific fashion imaginable!! Now granted, that's a very slim chance, but still, it COULD happen! Now where are you?

Gauntlet: Cam left to go help you guys over at the docks.

Gery: Gauntlet? Where are you?

Gauntlet: ....

Gary: Uh...whatever.²

*Back in the Net, Jet jumped out of the shadows gripping his double bladed saber.*

Jet: Ha! I got you now suckas!

*Jet looks at the group on the ground and at their dismantled weapons.*

Jet: You are all completely defenseless! you have no chance to survive, make your time!

Skull, Bomb, Bass, Number: *snore*

Jet: Well come on, let's go...

*Jet waits and gets no response.*

Jet: What, you think this is funny?

*No one answers.*

Jet: Oh come on guys, get up!

*Jet goes over to Bombman.EXE's pile of explosives and picks out a tallboy grenade, tossing it up and down he sneers.*

Jet: It would really be a shame if I accidently dropped this grenade on one of you gu... oops.

*Jet lets the grenade slip and it sends him blasting back into the wall, he is dazed and doesn't even see Bomb grab him from behind.*

Jet: What the!? This was a set up?

Skull: Okay Jet.

*Skull's disconnected head hops towards him.*

Skull: You've been following Shan, now tell us where she's at.

Jet: Why would I tell you losers where Shan is... hey wait, BOMB ARE YOU GROPING ME???

Bomb: Um... no.

Jet: Yes you are! Quit it!

Bomb: You know Jet you're pretty flat chested...

Jet: Because I'm a guy you moron.

Bomb: Eww.

*Bomb lets Jet go in disgust, and Jet brushes himself off.*

Bass: Well so much for that plan, now what?

Skull: Hey I know, Jet should know the area. We can get him to help us.

Jet: Yeah right, remember what happened the last time I tried to help you guys?

*Flashback to the great Magicman Jet.EXE race.*

Bomb: Oh yeah, good times.

Skull: We all had a good laugh in the end.

Jet: Yeah we did, didn't we? Okay I'll help.

*Cam walks down the sidewalk towards the city, Pharaoh giving him directions every so often.*

Cam: I'm hungry.

Pharaoh: Lovely. I thought we were supposed to be meeting up with the team "as soon as possible?"

Cam: Oh. Well, I can't very well meet anyone on an empty stomach, now can I?

Pharaoh: .....Hmm. So, was that huge bowl of chili you stole from the kitchen just a snack, then?

Cam: BRRRRRRP. Yep.

[Badeep.]

Pharaoh: Take a left at the intersection. I still don't think I've ever seen a human being eat so much in one sitting. Amazing how skinny you are, and all.

Cam: Excuse me?

Pharaoh: Well, I mean, that's just to say...

Cam: Nevermind. Look, could we go somewhere to get some grub first? I'm starving!

Pharaoh: *Sigh.* Might as well.

*Pharaoh's visage pops back up on the tiny screen of his PET.*

Pharaoh: There's a pizza parlor two blocks straight ahead.

Cam: Peet--sah?

Pharaoh: You've never had any? I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Something like liquid cheese on flat bread and stuff.

Cam: Hmm. Dairy products. Yum....Ooh, look!

*Cam approaches a newspaper stand.*

Cam: "World Three strikes again." Wonder who THAT is.

*He sticks several coins he had "found" in Ryan's room into one of the machines and a fresh newspaper pops out. Reading the front page, he turns and bumps into someone.*

Cam: Sorry.

Nij: Excuse me.

*Not looking up, Chameos continues walking towards the pizza parlor. Nijubu looks at his own newspaper as he walks in the opposite direction.*

Nij: World Three. Sounds...dangerous. I sure hope I find the Prince soon.

1 - Nijubu simply said he couldn't write that scene in script style. Oh well, I can live with a little inconsistency in style. I hope you can.
2 - I added the part where Gary enters, finally bringing his journey to an end.
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