Directress Richards watched as her new lackey continued to stare 
transfixed at his computer monitor.  A smile crept across her lips.

Yes, she thought.  Soon, that otaku shall pay.

Her cybernetic eye glowed a bright red.

                        ****************

                         FAQing Hostile
           SubCultural Mutant Otaku versus the Mundanes
                           Chapter 25

                  Written by Mark "Damn You" Poa
            Series started by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne

                        ****************

"So, how long do you think it's going to take to get us out of this 
ditch?" Vixen finally asked.

B1ff stopped poking at Sherman's tank treads.  "H4rd t0 t3ll, s1s," 
the burly otaku answered.   He wiped the sweat off his brow.  The hot 
sun continued to beat heat down on them.  "1 c0uld pr0b4bly c0m3 up 
w1th s0m3th1ng t0n1t3, but f0r n0w w3'r3 s7uck."

Vixen frowned, yet her own assessment of the situation was not much 
different from her brother's.  Sherman was stuck and stuck good.

"Sherman, anything you can do would be great," the otaku commander 
called to the tank AI.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hiroshima.  The Mach 5 standard auto-jacks are not 
applicable in this current situation.  But with the help of B1ff, I 
might be able to modify them to alleviate our situation," answered 
Sherman's external speakers.

"And how long is this going to take?"

"Processing."  The computer's processors hummed, though it remained 
unheard by the otaku outside.  "Four hours at most," Sherman finally 
responded.

Vixen rubbed her temples.  It was going to be one of those days.  
"Okay, get to work on it.  B1ff, you know what Sherman's talking 
about?" she turned to her brother.

B1ff shrugged.  "N0t quit3 sur3.  Bu7 Sh3rm4n c4n t3ll m3 wh4t h3 
w4nt5 m3 t0 d0."

Vixen nodded before speaking, "Okay, I'll be inside if you need me."  
She climbed up the ladder rungs towards the tank's hatch.

B1ff turned to the treads again.  "0k, Sh3rm4n-d00d, l3t'5 g3t t0 
th1s."

"Hai, Mr. Hiroshima."

****************

The three Restored CIA agents waved at the departing ag4nt.

"Such as a nice citizen," Agent Doe remarked.  "If there were more 
like him, the glory of the old US of A would be restored sooner."

"Agreed, fellow crusader," Agent Hancock said as he nodded his head.  
"The information and supplies he gave us were impeccably beneficial."

Agent Boy slapped the back of Agent Hancock's head.  "You're going 
back to your Lit Tribe conditioning again," Agent Boy warned.

"Apologies. It appears to be a marked regression from my previous 
assig--"

Agent Boy slapped him again.  "You're doing it again, moron," Boy 
noted.

"Sorry," the slapped agent mumbled.

Agent Doe was scanning the email printouts the ag4nt left.  A serious 
look started to appear on his face.

"Something wrong, Agent Doe?" Hancock inquired.

"I don't get it," said Doe, passing the printout to his partners.  
"According to this report, the Cult of the Lord of Wares managed to 
retrieve a copy of the FAQ."

"Lord of Wares?"  Agent Boy's brow creased into a frown.  "Our 
intelligence never said anything like that existed.  Is it something 
new the AOLers cooked up?"

"I dunno," Agent Doe said, shrugging.  "Of course, we couldn't count 
the AOLers out of the picture.  They were in that fiasco in Houston."

"AsianTown," Hancock corrected him.

"Whatever," Doe retorted. "Let's run through what we know again.  We 
know the FAQ contains the secret codes for the GENOM satellite defense 
system of the destroyed Otakuland, right?"

The other two agents nodded.

Doe continued, "We also know that the otaku must have somehow 
triggered it on themselves two months ago, leading to the destruction 
of the entire Otakuland, right?"

The two nodded again.

"So, that means the GENOM satellite system is free for the pickings, 
right?"

Agent Boy nodded.  Agent Hancock sat still with a surprised expression 
on his face.

"What is it, Hancock?" Doe asked.

"It's still operational?" Hancock asked back in a shocked tone of 
voice.  "Does that mean we can get it if we get the codes from the 
FAQ?"

The other two agents stared at their companion.

Agent Boy slapped him on the backside of his head again.  "Why do you 
think we're after that FAQ anyway?" he demanded.

"I thought it was something else.  Like to learn more about the 
culture of the otaku," Hancock admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back 
of his neck.

"Anyway," Doe continued, "now we have this Cult of the Word of the 
Lairs thing going on.  Frankly I never heard of such a thing.  If that 
nice gentleman who lives just around here haven't given us such good 
information in the past, I wouldn't believe something like this 
exists."

The three ponder on this a moment.

"Maybe we should investigate it?" Hancock finally suggested.

"Nah, our assignment is to get the FAQ," Doe replied.  "I'll simply 
send a report to headquarters. They'll take care of it."

"But there's only two more people left at the headquarters.  Who would 
be willing to investigate?"  Boy asked.

"That's their problem," Doe replied as he opened his laptop and 
started to type out an email.

A gust of wind blew through the open window of the black sedan.

"Oh, my sod!  The information papers!" screamed Agent Doe as the 
papers the ag4nt left them were blown out the window.  The three CIA  
agents an out of the sedan to try and catch the errant papers.

After five minutes of running to and fro, they returned to the car.

"I managed to get five, but I only got half of this page," Boy 
reported, holding up the torn page.

"Zilch." Hancock held out his empty hands.

"Hmmm...No matter.  I have a masterful memory anyway.  Part of CIA 
training."  Hancock tapped his finger to his head, smirking.  He 
returned to typing his report.

"That's funny.  I never had any of those memory training," Hancock 
whispered to Boy.

Agent Boy elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.  "Quiet," he hissed.  
"Just start singing a classic."

The sounds of "Frankie's Poodle" traveled behind the moving black 
sedan.

****************

Directress Richards laid a hand on Bill's shoulder.  "How is it 
going?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Bill responded without taking his attention off the screen.  "I'm 
almost in.  This network has the most complex anti-hacking system I 
have ever encountered," he reported, fingers still continuously 
typing.

"Good, good," Jenine replied.  "Once you crack into the system, I 
assure you that the game you're seeking is right inside."

Jenine smirked as she thought of this "alliance". If it was any other 
stranger, she would have disposed of him by now.  But this Bill was 
proving...useful.

Jenine left Bill's side and went to her own workstation.  She scanned 
the information scrolling through her computer and frowned.

She wasn't stupid.  Jenine knew that she was already marked by the 
Cult.  Since she hadn't reported back after her Evanston mission and 
wasted numerous resources in the AsianTown fiasco, the Lord was sure 
to have sent someone after her with termination papers, much like when 
she was sent to take care of Director Toby.

It was unfortunate for the Cult that she managed to kill the Director 
with her termination papers.

Jenine allowed herself a smile when she thought back to the encounter 
between her and Director Storm.  The imbecile actually thought she was 
meek enough to surrender without a fight.  The stupid fool.  

The directress patted her arm.  Director Storm actually let his guard 
down when he saw she wasn't carrying any weapons.  It just didn't 
occur to him that some of her weapons could have been hidden.  Because 
of the incident with the otaku, she was now never unarmed.

But her being terminated did present problems, however.  Most of her 
elite virus guards had already left her when the Director came.  The 
fools paid with their lives.  

Now all she had were a few mutant lackeys and some extras.  Not 
exactly a strike force she was accustomed to commanding.

Jenine typed in a few commands on her terminal to assist the ex-
Macster.  She needed resources.  It was hard enough to track the 
otaku.  She also needed a strike team to get her revenge on them.

Thinking about those wretched otaku caused Jenine's eye to glow red.

The Directress stood up once again and went over to Bill's workplace.  
The gamer's eyes were still glued to the screen.

"Done!" Bill exclaimed.  He threw up his arms in excitement.  "I'm in 
the network!" he reported.

"Really?" Jenine asked.  Yes, it was a stroke of luck that she chose 
to spare the worm's life.  The former Mactriber has proven capable of 
adapting quickly to the PC systems.  Jenine was surprised herself. He 
was a natural with computers.  Already, he had managed to hack into 
the Cult's mainframe, something Jenine couldn't have done.

After all, she was a Directress.  Not just some lowly programmer.

Jenine gazed at the jubilant look on the teenager's face.  So much 
potential in such a young boy.  And all that's needed to harness it 
were...

"Do I get to play the games now, Directress?" Bill asked excitedly.

Jenine nodded.  She leaned close past Bill's shoulder and tapped a few 
more keys.  As she did so, her body brushed against Bill's shoulder. 
The directress noted with satisfaction that it generated some reaction 
in her "assistant", who tensed a bit at the contact.  Disfigurations 
or none, she still got it.

The screen picture changed into something that resembled an old 
fashioned text-based game. Jenine stood up straight.

"The game's called `The Lord of Wares'," Directress Richards 
explained.  "Your purpose is to get past all the defenses and defeat 
the Lord of Wares at the end."

Bill nodded.  He turned his full attention to the screen.

Good boy, Jenine thought as she watched Bill work.  Maybe after he's 
done his part, I won't kill him after all.

****************

"The Lord seems a bit quiet lately," one of the robed figures noted.

"He must be looking through another set of old webpages," the High 
Priest theorized. "Though it is quite strange that the processors are 
working overtime," he added silently to himself.

****************

Hmmm...Sherman's been working overtime.  I must remember not to strain 
his circuits again.  It would be a waste if we were left without an 
AI.

Vixen stopped her routine checking of Sherman's memory boards.  While 
the computer and B1ff continued the repairs outside, Vixen thought it 
would be a waste of time not to do anything.  

She started checking their status.

Vixen stretched and yawned.  She should be ordering Dave to do this.  
But right now, the newbie was probably too stoned to count his 
fingers, let alone take inventory.

Plus, she added, he did manage to take care of those troublesome 
mutants.

What did Dave looked like shooting those three shots that easily found 
their mark, she wondered.  Did he pose like Ryo Saeba, calm and 
collected even while pulling the trigger?  Did he shifted his eyes to 
find the mutants looking at him with fear?  Did he--

Vixen slapped herself to get herself out of daydreaming.  What the 
hell was she doing?  Mooning over the newbie?  Hardly, she assured 
herself.  That must have been traces of Sailor Vixy thinking.  That 
poor excuse for a separate personality was the silly romantic one.  
What did she, Vixen Hiroshima, Strike Team Theta commander, care about 
that tanked up Pop Rocker who couldn't even deal with one death?

Vixen sighed, caught herself, and looked around.  Good, no one was 
there to see that one.  It would have been unlike her to sigh in 
public.  No, not her.  She was tough and she had to keep it that way.  
Where were her thoughts again?

The dead bodies.  Right.

When she inspected the dead bodies, she found out that each of the 
shots were a direct hit to the forehead.  She must admit that she felt 
a little giddy about that sight.  Something about good marksmanship 
always did something for her.

The beep of Sherman's monitor shook her attention back to the business 
at hand.  Vixen stood up from her chair and went towards the 
compartment where they stored the black boxes.

She counted them.  Five in total. In her head, she ticked off New 
York, Boston, Houston, Evanston, and Monterrey.  Five down, more to 
go.

B1ff did a good job of checking them out.  There turned out to be more 
data encoded in the walls of the boxes, aside from the instructions of 
where to find the next boxes were.  Unfortunately, Sherman wasn't able 
to decipher any of the other instructions.  Must be something only the 
tech in Otakuland West could do.  

Luckily, the only two other locations they have to go on now were 
Phoenix and Los Angeles.  Two more and they can finally go directly to 
Otakuland West.  That makes it a total of seven black boxes.

Seven?  Vixen couldn't help but chuckle.  What was it with quests and 
the number seven anyway?

She returned the black boxes to the compartment and locked the 
opening.

If only that bastard hiro would stop playing games with them and just 
tell them what they wanted to know...

Idly, she wondered how hiro and the others were doing.

****************

Kenishi fired two shots at his crazed attacker. Both hit the mutant 
squarely in the chest, but it just kept on coming, knife in hand 
glistening.  Kenishi cursed as he struggled to reload before the 
mutant could reach him.

The mutant jumped, ready to strike at Kenishi.  Kenishi looked up and 
dodged just in time to avoid a potentially fatal head wound. Snapping 
the cartridge of his gun close, he fired another shot at the mutant.  
This time, it hit the creature's head directly.  The creature twitched 
twice and fell down dead.

"I thought you said they were chibified?" Kenishi called to hiro, who 
was busily defending against another similar mutated attacker.

Between sword swings, hiro managed to speak out.  "Apologies, Kenishi-
san.  It appears as if my information was wrong."  He swung again in a 
downward overhead arc and sliced the mutant cleanly and vertically in 
half.  He stopped and breathed a little.  Turning to Kenishi, he 
continued, "These men appear to be possessed.  Their ferocity is 
amazing."  He looked at the mutant he had just killed.  "At least, 
that appears to be the last of them."

Kenishi nodded, then turned to look at his wife.  Arashi was sitting 
atop a high rock outcrop and panting a little.  She flashed him a 
tired smile and dropped to the ground.  As she walked towards them, 
she used a cloth to wipe off the blood from her kodachi.

"So what do now?" she asked.

"The Matanuska Blue was not all you thought it to be, wasn't it, hiro?  
It's not a weapon.  It's that damn plant those mutants were feeding 
off from which mutated them in the first place!"  Kenishi was shouting 
now.  The anger in his voice was apparent.  "Why are we here on this 
wild goose, *old friend*?" he demanded.

hiro's enigmatic smile disappeared from his face as a stern expression 
replaced it.  "I do what I must.  Certain information cannot be 
divulged easily."

Kenishi grabbed the front of hiro's uniform and pulled him to his 
face.  "And just what is your game here?  I thought we were here to 
find those who destroyed Otakuland?"

Arashi tried to separate the two.  "Boys, boys.  Stop this stupid 
argument.  You're not getting us anywhere with that anger, Kenishi," 
Arashi scolded her husband.

Kenishi reluctantly let go.  "Sorry," he mumbled.  "I just hate 
getting frustrated."

"As am I, old friend," hiro answered.  "Perhaps after we avenge 
Otakuland, I shall feel it safe enough to reveal all that I know."

Arashi nodded.  "Look, if you two are done playing, we still have to 
check out that building over there."  She pointed to a dilapited 
building at the top of the hill.  The building was around two stories 
tall, but had a high antenna attached to its roof.

"Yes, it would seem ideal for transmissions," hiro agreed.

"Let's go, then," Kenishi said, leading the way.

As they walked towards the structure, hiro couldn't resist.

"You know you could smoke some of that Matanuska Blue, Kenishi.  It 
could help you lighten up."

"Shut. Up."

****************

Bill rubbed his eyes.  He had been on this game for two hours now.  It 
wasn't the most visually pleasing game he had played.  There weren't 
any fancy graphics or RAM-bursting special effects.  But the challenge 
of the game was higher than those in Command and Conquer and 
Starcraft.  It was like he was playing against another person.  
Whoever designed this game system must have been one who enjoyed 
giving surprises.

He had yet to encounter the Lord of Wares the directress was talking 
about.  But he felt he was getting close.

He was still surprised to have been kept alive by the Directress.  
When he saw the insignia on the chopper, he only had a faint hope that 
he would be taken in.  Now, not only was the Directress allowing him 
access to the Cult's secret games, she promised that he could get more 
gaming time if he beat this one game.

It just went to show that you couldn't judge someone by their 
appearance, Bill mused.

An interceptor rocket was released by the other side.  Bill typed in a 
few more commands to intercept the interceptor.

Soon, he should be finished.  Soon.

Oh, oh.  Bill realized he needed to use the bathroom.

How could he save his game anyway?

"Er, Directress?" he called out behind him.

"Yes?" Jenine said as he walked towards him.  "Any problems?"

"How do I save?  I really need to go," Bill explained, still typing.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?  This game doesn't have a save feature.  You 
have to play it until you finish it.  Otherwise..." Jenine smiled with 
sadistic amusement.  Bill, not having taken his eyes off the screen, 
didn't see it.

"So...Uh, I can't leave?" Bill asked back, feeling quite uncomfortable 
now.

"Don't worry," Jenine assured him.  She placed a bedpan under his 
table.  "You can use this."

"Thanks," Bill mumbled. He fiddled with his pants while keeping one 
hand on the keyboard.  He stopped when he realized something.

"Um, Directress?"

"Yes?" Jenine replied.

"Could you...could you give me some privacy?" Bill requested.

"Why, sure," Directress Richards said.  She fought back the urge to 
chuckle.  Such a cute boy.

Bill looked back for a moment to see that the Directress was really 
gone before heaving a sigh of relief and going about his business.

****************

Dave inhaled a little more.  Ahh, that was the stuff.  He threw the 
butt down on the floor and stomped on it.  

He was starting to run out of weed.  Best take it easy, he thought.

He held up another piece.  Eh, why not?

Lighter, lighter, matches.  Dave patted his jeans.  Where did he put 
those lighters and matches?  Must be around here someplace.  

Dave leaned over his bed and took out his ammo box from under it.  He 
knew he had some matches inside.  Opening it, he rifled through the 
boxes of VCDs and cassette tapes.

A small black candle fell out of the box and onto the floor.  Due to 
Sherman's current incline, it rolled a few inches before it hit the 
side of Dave's shoe.

Dave frowned and picked up the black candle.  He looked at it and 
remembered.  He quickly put the candle inside the box before the tears 
came again.

Kami, he really needed a fix now.

Grabbing a match lodged at the corner of his box, he lighted his joint 
and awaited the purple rhino.  It always knew the best jokes.

****************

B1ff cranked the bolt a little tighter.  "Th4t 0k4y n0w, 5h3rm?"

"More, B1ff. More," the computer ordered.

B1ff blinked.  "U kn0w, Sh3rm, s0me p3opl3 c0uld t4k3 th4t th3 wr0ng 
w4y."

"Processing...I fail to see how that could happen, Mr. Hiroshima," 
Sherman replied back.

"N3v3r m1nd, d00d.  1'll 3xpl4in 1t s0m3t1m3."

****************

Vixen stopped counting the rations.  They still had enough to last 
them until the next trading town.  As long as Dave didn't eat too much 
again.

Wonder what he's doing?  She should probably check on him again.  It 
was pretty quiet in his room.

On the other hand, it was probably just due to him being too stoned to 
bug her.

Still, she rationalized, she didn't have anything else to do anyway.  
Might as well evaluate the status of her crew.  Yeah, that was it.  
Not because she cared or anything.

Kami, now she was starting to rationalize like Racha--

Such as a shame to lose her, really.  Despite her lack of caring, she 
was pretty handy around a fight.  It was also nice to have another 
girl to talk to.

It kind of surprised her.  The most prominent thing she always 
remembered were Rachael's eyes.  Whenever she looked into them, it was 
like Rachael was looking deep inside of her.  She felt as if Rachael 
understood her.

She had lost comrades in battle before. She thought she was already 
immune to the deaths.  What was it about Rachael's death that comes 
back to her during idle times like this?

She was never really that close to the Goth, except for those times 
she got to talk with her. Yet those moments felt awkward to remember. 
Rachael usually hanged out with Dave, of all people.

B1ff's revelation that the two were in love came back to her.  She 
could picture them, in that room, professing their love for one 
another.  She could see Dave's mouth lean over and kiss--

She shook her head to clear that thought.  Why did that bother her so?  
For that matter, why does Rachael's death keep bothering her, too?

It was like she lost someone close to her, even if she knew the Goth 
only a few months.  It felt like such an empty sad waste for the girl 
to die...

Would she feel this way, too, if Dave were the one killed?

Vixen wiped at her eye.  Was that a tear?  Couldn't be.  It must have 
been a minor irritation from some of the dust around the place.  She 
should get Sherman's control room cleaned sometime.

Vixen stood up and started to walk towards Dave's room.  If she didn't 
do something, she'd start going wacko.

****************

"Ahh..."

Dave was feeling fine.  He looked idly at the joint he was smoking.  
He had better get some more from Preakachu.  He was really running 
low.

He looked around in a haze.  Funny, the purple rhino didn't appear 
today.  Must be off playing cards with the pink zebra.

Dave chuckled.  Whatever, he didn't care.

He inhaled once more.

Oh, look.  The headless rabbits came back.

****************

"Dave?"  Vixen asked once as she knocked.  "You in there?"

No reply came.  But Vixen could definitely hear the giggling inside.

He was in there, all right.  And from the sound of it, he's stoned 
again.

Should she or shouldn't she?  She already tried this before and that 
was when he was only slightly stoned.  She doubted if she could talk 
some sense into him now that he sounds totally out of it.

She really couldn't risk someone like Dave acting all happy and giddy 
in an emergency.  At least Phreakachu is more combat-effective when 
tanked.  Unlike...

On the other hand, Dave was able to shoot straight in his stupor.  
Three bullets for three mutants.   That was a hell of a lot better 
than how he usually fights.

Oh, the door was opened.  How did that happen...

Vixen stared at her hand.  Lost in thought, she didn't notice she 
already took a step inside Dave's room.  

She saw Dave sitting in the corner, hands folded in front of him and 
head bowed.  Dave giggled a little bit.

I guess I might as well at least talk to him, Vixen told herself.  Got 
nothing better to do anyway.  She walked over to the corner and sat 
down beside Dave.

Sitting to Dave's left, she scanned the surroundings of the room.  
Some of Dave's CD collection were scattered on the floor.  She picked 
one up.

Ah! Megami-sama collection, huh?  That was a coincidence!  She had one 
just like this one.

Dave's head suddenly lolled from side to side and suddenly plopped on 
Vixen's shoulder.

Vixen looked at the newbie leaning on her shoulder.  "Dave?" she said 
as she nudged the newbie.  Dave's body swayed back before swaying in 
her direction again.  The weight of Dave's body, along with the 
momentum of the sway, caught Vixen by surprise, knocking her sideways. 
Dave then started giggling.

Now what do I do, she asked herself.

****************

So that was the reason, Dave mused.  The headless rabbits had just 
told him that the purple rhino was stuck in traffic and couldn't make 
it.  Afterwards they hopped away.

Funny, he could have sworn there was someone who called him.  He 
rubbed his eye and tried to make out who it was.

A vague outline started to take shape in front of him.

"Rachael?" Dave blurted out, surprised.

****************

Vixen heard Dave say "Rachael" before he stood up and started walking 
towards her.  She stood up to meet Dave.

"Look, Dave, you're hallucinating.  Rachael's not here.  Snap out of 
it!" she said.

"Rachael?" Dave continued to say.  Vixen noted that there was a 
sadness in the way he said it, like he was pleading to her.  She 
hesitated to move away.

Dave surprised her by hugging her tightly.

****************

"Oh, Kami, it's you.  It's really you, isn't it?"  Dave babbled on. "I 
can't believe it, it's really really you."

He looked at the face of the Goth girl.  She smiled back at him with 
that smile he would always remember.  He touched her cheek with his 
left hand tenderly.  Rachael closed her eyes and opened her mouth a 
bit.

Dave leaned over and kissed her.

****************

"Dave, snap out of-mmph!" Vixen's words were cut off as Dave's lips 
pressed themselves tenderly to hers.  

****************

Phreakachu was bored. Maybe he ought to visit his pal Dave and bring 
him some more smokes.  It had been a while since they had a session 
together.

Funny, Phreakachu noted, Dave's door was open.

The pokemon peered inside...

And saw Dave kissing Vixen.

"Pika!" he exclaimed.  A mixture of emotions swirled inside of him.  
He didn't know what to do.

He headed back to his cabinet to get a drink.

****************

The moment passed ever slowly.  Dave released the kiss and held her by 
the shoulders.

Shocked, Vixen still couldn't believe what happened.  Slowly, her 
sense came back to her.

That baka!  How dare he!  How dare he!  Vixen reared her hand back to 
slap Dave--

"Rachael, it's so good to see you.  I'm sorry.  I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Vixen stopped the swing of her hand just as it was about to hit Dave's 
face.  She gazed into those drug-hazed eyes and saw that they were 
full of tears.  

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Dave kept repeating over and over.  "Don't 
leave me."  He brought his hands up to cover his tear-covered eyes.  
He fell on his knees, still sobbing.

Vixen lowered her arm slowly.  He was pathetic.  So pathetic.  He 
couldn't take the Goth's death, still angsting about it all this time.  
He--

Vixen felt water on her cheek.  She quickly raised a hand to touch it.

Tears?  Why was she crying?

Vixen looked at Dave again.  He finally stopped sobbing and was 
looking up at her blankly.

I must get out of here, Vixen thought.  I'm being affected by his 
stupid Pop Rocker sentimentality.

She started to head out of the room.  Dave suddenly stood up and 
grabbed her wrist.

"Rachael!  Don't go, please!" Dave, still in a drug-stupor, pleaded.

That was it!  Yelling "Dave no baka!", Vixen uppercutted him and Dave 
was thrown back to his corner.

Vixen returned to the control room.  Sitting down in front of the 
monitor, she opened up a few more files and attempted to get her mind 
off the incident.

The way Dave looked at her when he thought she was Rachael came back 
to her memory.  She remembered his eyes and gaze, so sad yet so 
tender.

She started to feel her eyes getting itchy.  She rubbed them with her 
left hand.

Why did that bother her so?

"ARGGH!" she shouted in frustration.

****************

B1ff stopped the adjustment and stood up.

Hmm...was that Vixen screaming?

He shrugged and went back to work.

****************

"Found anything?" Arashi asked.

"Just some radio equipment," Kenishi reported.  He wiped his hands to 
get rid of the dirt.

"Here, come here, you two," hiro shouted from behind a crate.  The two 
called walked towards their friend.  They saw hiro standing near a 
computer console.

"What did you find?" Kenishi inquired.

"This," hiro replied, pointing to the mark on the side of the computer 
casing.

Arashi and Kenishi moved closer and studied it.  They stood up and 
looked at each other.

"The Sign of the Windows," Arashi stated coldly.

"I guess that confirms it.  It's them," Kenishi said sternly.

hiro nodded.  He looked around the room.  "Apparently, they used this 
station to divert the signal from their main base of operations.  Or 
maybe this was a waystation designed to infiltrate and coerce enemy 
signals.  Whatever they did, it was effective."  He turned back to his 
companions.  "I myself do not understand why.  They are neither allies 
of the Ears or any of our surrounding enemies.  Maybe our alliance 
with NeoK1bo is the reason?" he hypothesized. 

"Whatever their reason, they were the ones who did it," Kenishi 
stated, a hint of anger in his voice.  "Now, how do we go about 
getting our revenge?"

"I suggest we go directly to Otakuland West and meet up with Strike 
Team Theta.  Then, we can plan more effectively," hiro suggested.  
Under his breath, hiro added, "if the Strike Team made it, that is."

Arashi caught that last comment.  "Don't worry, hiro-san.  They'll be 
fine," she said.  The green-haired kunoichi smiled and added, "I have 
faith in them."

"I hope you're right, Arashi," hiro commented.

"Then, let's go," Kenishi said.

****************

"Email coming from Agent Doe, sir," the nameless Restored CIA 
secretary reported.

"Good, good."  The secretary moved out of the computer terminal to 
allow his boss access.

"Hmmm..." the Restored CIA director intoned, as he read through the 
report.  "Interesting."  

He stood up and walked towards the window.  He looked outside at the 
vast expanse of ruined buildings.  "It appears we have a new problem," 
he finally said.

"Sir?" his secretary piped up.

The Director's face looked grave.  "There is a new menace outside that 
has come into our attention.  Agent Doe confirmed the report through 
our sources."  He paused and turned around. "We shall have to 
investigate this ... Horde of Fares."

****************

Dave woke up.  The effects of the drug were wearing off.

"What am I doing upside down on the floor?" he asked himself.  He 
rolled over and stood up groggily.

"Ouch."  He brought a hand up to his eye and winced as he touched it.  
"Now, how did I get this?" he wondered.

****************

"Are you finished yet?" Directress Richards asked impatiently.

"Not yet," Bill answered.

This was taking too long, Jenine noted.  But so far, her pawn seemed 
to be gaining ground.  It won't be long now.  She will finally gain 
control of the entire Directorate.

And she would have the Lord of Wares as a puppet.  All the resources 
of the Cult would be hers for the using.

The otaku would not be able to evade her then.

She would capture them, torture them, and grind their pathetic 
existence out with her own boots.

Especially that violet-haired gun-toting bitch.

Oh, she had special plans for HER.

She couldn't wait.

Directress Jenine Richards laughed maniacally, almost causing Bill to 
turn around and look behind him.

****************

"H1t 1t, Sh3rm4n!" B1ff called.

The revised auto-jacks kicked.  The tank lurched sideways from its 
position and bounced a little.

"7ry 4n0th3r 0n3!"

"Hai, Mr. Hiroshima," Sherman replied as he initiated the auto-jacks 
again.  The left tank treads were now a few inches dislodged.  Sherman 
suddenly lurched forward, treads kicking up dust as Sherman 
accelerated.  The tank treads managed to grab traction and hauled the 
massive vehicle forward.  Sherman was finally out of the trap.

"W00h00!1! W3 rul3!1!" B1ff cheered, jumping up and down.

"Oh, oh," Sherman suddenly said.

Hearing the usually infallible AI mutter "Oh, oh" was a rare occasion.  
Something akin to Halley's comet passing the earth.  Naturally, this 
caused B1ff to stop his celebration.  "Wh4t 1s 1t, d00d?" he asked. 

"We forgot to take care of something first," Sherman reported.

"L1k3 wh4t?"

B1ff paled when he realized what it was.

****************

"H0n3st, s1s!  W3 d1dn'7 kn0w y0u w3r3 st1ll 1ns1d3," B1ff explained.

"My apologies as well, Miss Hiroshima.  We should have given proper 
attention to your safety before commencing with the operation," 
Sherman piped in.

Vixen scowled and was rewarded with a painful reminder of her 
condition. She groaned. Her brother and Sherman were lucky all their 
negligence gave her were a few bruises on her cheek and legs.  She 
looked over to the two others.

Dave was nursing two bruised arm and a blackeye.  Now sober, he kept 
muttering how confused he was about how he got the black eye.  B1ff 
was applying medicine to them now.

Phreakachu, however, looked pissed off, despite being drunk.  For some 
reason, the pokemon seemed to be avoiding looking at her.  Or was it 
just her imagination?

"Never mind.  At least we're out of there.  I'll take care of the 
punishment some other time." B1ff gulped.  "Sherman, we're off to the 
next black box," she ordered.

"Hai, Miss Hiroshima."

****************

"The otaku in sight yet, Agent Boy?"

"Affirmative, Agent Doe," Agent Boy answered. "They're starting to 
move now."

"Good, keep the required distance between us and them.  We'll get 
that FAQ yet," Agent Doe assured.

And the black sedan continued to follow behind the otaku tank.

****************

[To be continued...]

****************

Author's notes:

Hello!  Surprised to see me on the queue again?  ^_^

I present my fourth chapter for FAQing Hostile.  Thank you for reading 
this far.  I hope it had been a fun read as much as it was fun for me 
to write.  Keep supporting FAQing Hostile. ^_^

I managed to include almost everything I wanted to include here, too.  
The only regret I had was not being able to introduce any new tribes.  
Oh, well...

Thanks go to the FAQing Hostile ML for bearing with me and my 
multitude of posts.  Hope you guys aren't sick of me by now.  ^_^  

I got the idea for the "Damn You" nick from those guys.  Don't ask 
how.  ^_^

Special thanks to Nathan Espino/Tempest for prereading this draft.

To the future writers of FAQing Hostile: Good luck, guys!

Comments and criticisms can be sent to recklessflyer@mechpilot.com.
Yeah, even the flames.  ^_-

Mark Poa
recklessflyer@mechpilot.com
^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^