Ultimatum 3 - Trance Trauma, chapters 1-5. Chapters are titled as follows: 



 1. Awakening, Call of the Argetlahm 
 2. Reunite - The Gathering of Heroes 
 3. Briefing - The Situation at Hand 
 4. Aggressions Already? The Secret of the Unity 
 5. Chaos in Magnopolis! The Miacas Surfaces 








 ULTIMATUM 3 - TRANCE TRAUMA 

 By Ultimanium 





 (A/N - This is just something I wanted to try... I'm not sure if I'm ready
 to make a full-blown sequel to the Ultimatum Saga, but I figured I'd give it
 a shot... let the readers decide! Oh, need I remind you, this one has NEW
 members!) 

 For future reference, the Ultimatum 3 occurs after the end of the Ultimatum
 Saga, Argetlahm Adventures... that should be about it. Well, go at it!) 































 CHAPTER 1 - Awakening, the Call of the Argetlahm 



 I go there sometimes in my sleep. 

 To be perfectly honest with you, I have absolutely no clue how the images
 popped into my mind, but then again, I have been practically living on sugar
 and going to bed at midnight for the past little while. Still, I should have
 more common sense than to find myself here. Normally when I would wind up
 somewhere I didn't want to be, I'd just wake up startled. Common reaction,
 huh? Not in this case. I can't quite reason it, but this place intrigues me.
 I come here, and search the several square feet I can of the place before I
 wake up. I've even tried going to bed a bit earlier after that so I could
 extend the dream, and it prolonged the inevitable - for about 3 seconds,
 anyways. 

 I look around a bit - the place I'd woken up in this time was fairly dull.
 The metallic walls had obviously some sort of proud shine, that had since
 been overwhelmed with a thick layer of dust. 

 I'd already lost track of the time, so I fired out an estimate - 6 seconds?
 That was a bit long. Normally I would've accidently flung myself out of bed
 by now. I discarded the thought from my mind and checked my surroundings.
 The expansive hall that I was in didn't seem to house much, so I headed down
 and took a sharp left leading into another corridor. This one was a bit more
 interesting - a short ways down the hall there were a set of double doors
 with a small blackboard suspended over it with a chain. Next to it was some
 kind of senataf, with a glass case on top of it with assorted belongings in
 it. It, too, along with the rest of the enviroment, was sheeted with a musky
 haze of dirt. I cautiously approached the artifact and swept a handful of
 dust off the case. Cupping my hands to the glass, I peered inside. There was
 not much as far as valuables go contained in the glass prison - a couple
 watches, a kevlar helmet, a black belt, a couple of different-colored
 marble-sized orbs, and a small red card. 

 But what struck me the most was the pair of goggles. 

 Goggles, goggles that were a perfect carbon copy of the ones I had intended
 to purchase from a sporting goods store near my place, but never got the
 money in time. They were sold. I just sighed, and used some goggles I had
 managed to dig out of the recesses of my closet. I had them from a young
 age, though their origin exactly remained an enigma. I checked around
 myself, then reached forward and grasped the glass square with both hands
 and attempted to lift it off the platform. It was locked tight. 

 Swish, swish. 

 The sound was a gunshot through my mind. I quickly yanked open the doors
 beside me and threw myself inside, pulling them shut. I waited several
 minutes until the sound had echoed out of earshot then slowly shoved the
 doors back open. Aware of possible interruptions, I bent down and swept
 another load of dust off a small plaque that hung below the case. What I saw
 etched itself into my mind. 



 ARGETLAHM CREW 

 TOUR OF SERVICE 

 THE HEROES AND BRAVE SOLDIERS, FOUGHT AN EPIC BATTLE TO RESTORE PEACE TO THE
 THIRD DIMENSION. GOD BLESS THOSE THAT PUT THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE TO MAKE THE
 DREAM COME TRUE. 

 2001-10-19 



 What was going on? Was I on some sort of starship? Was this the memorial of
 people that had died fighting on it? The silence around me refused any sort
 of salvation, instead beckoning me to read further down the inscription. 

 Names. There were 27 names listed, a bit fewer than I was expecting. I
 didn't know a few of the personnel listed, but many names shocked me for a
 loop. What the hell were these people doing aboard the ship? 

 Now, I'm not a rabid otaku, but I know an all-star lineup when I see one.
 Son Goku. Vegeta Briefs. Heero Yuy. The familiarities went on. 

 "It's a real piece of work, isn't it." 

 The words echoing a short distance from me chilled me to the bone. I was
 busted. Slowly, I pivoted my head to see who my suspect was. A man sat
 leaning against a corner, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and some slacks.
 A short stretch of black hair stuck out in front of his forehead. His
 stubbled face didn't show any sort of disgust, instead focusing on the
 plaque. "I take it you know a couple of those people." 

 The words loosened me slightly. "...well... yeah." 

 He remained silent for a short second, then shrugged. "Well, read on, I'm
 not stopping you." 

 I grit my teeth, giving the stranger a worried stare before returning my
 gaze to the role call set in front of me. 

 "Before I forget," the man laughed, breaking my concentration yet again.
 "You can call me Ulty. Ultimanium." 

 "Am I supposed to be on a nickname basis with you?" I mumbled, starting down
 the list again. 

 "Well, you should be. At some point you're going to be on a list just like
 that." 

 I jumped back, landing in a defensive stance. "Listen, I don't know who you
 are, but one thing's for sure, you're not going to kill me like Goku and
 Vegeta!" 

 The man displayed a mild concern in his eyes as he waved his hands with a
 'who pissed in your cornflakes' gesture. "Geez, geez, I didn't kill Goku and
 Vegeta! Are you nuts? They'd kick my ass! They just helped with the fight,
 and I gave them a plaque along with the remainder of the crew! Geez!" 

 "...fight?" 

 "Are you actually READING the thing?" Ultimanium laughed. "Read with me.
 They helped to save the third dimension. Along with several other
 mentionables - Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takaishi, Iori Hida..." 

 "Hey, hey, I'm not down there ye..." the shock slammed into me right about
 then. "...say what?" 

 "...Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takaishi, Iori Hida." 

 I backed up and leant against a wall. "Are you serious?! The Digidestined
 were here?!" 

 "Well, hey, I wrote the thing. Daisuke Motomiya..." 

 "...D...D-DAISUKE WAS HERE?!" I swung my hands down at the goggles. "Are you
 saying.." 

 "Uh-huh." 

 "THE Daisuke?" 

 Ultimanium was visibally confused. "...yeah." 

 "I NEED THOSE GOGGLES!!!" 

 "...um... whatever." Ultimanium sighed. He dug in his jean pockets for a
 ring of keys, and placed one into a slot on the top of the case and twisted
 it. He reached forward with both hands and lifted the case off carefully
 with both hands, placing it gently on the floor. He reached out and swiped
 up the eyewear, stuffing it in his other pocket. "Come with me. There's
 things you need to know." 

 I expected to wake up, right there and then. Still, however, nothing
 happened. Ultimanium began to make his way down the hall, and I had little
 choice but to follow. 



 ******** 



 "What you see here is the Argetlahm," Ultimanium explained. It had been a
 good 15 minutes and we were still plodding along through the catacombs of
 the ship. "The plaque explained that 27 people were aboard this ship saving
 the third dimension. It was about 9 years ago, when everybody was aboard the
 ship, fighting the dictator of the third dimension, a Super-Saiyan named
 Ultramagnus." 

 This surely was a dream. Was it? 

 "Anyways, Ultramagnus was fighting for control of a dimensionsplitter
 machine - a small probe that could jump between abeforementioned dimensions,
 each representing a progressive plane of reality." 

 I just blinked. "What do you mean?" 

 "You can check the Argetlahm's database after," Ultimanium said, gesturing
 into a sideroom. "It's where we keep all the mission algorithims and
 theorum." 

 (A/N - That means you, too! For a full explanation on dimensionjumping,
 refer to the first chapter of the Argetlahm Adventures!) 

 "O...kay. Remind me after. Anyways, what's the deal with the place? It's
 pretty shoddy..." 

 Ultimanium nodded. "Yeah, it's been that way lately. After the successful
 assault on the third dimension, control of the ship was handed over to one
 of my second men, the previous ruler of the third dimension, the original
 Magnus Power. However, he has since then went on his own adventures and the
 Argetlahm has been out of duty since then. I've only started it up
 recently.. so it reeeeeeeeally needs cleaning. I mean, it's been sitting
 here 9 years accumulating dust. Hopefully we don't get any people here with
 allergies..." 

 "So why am I here?" 

 "Ultimanium's Battalion, my regiment dedicated to the blitzing of the third
 dimension, has all but lost contact with the Argetlahm about 3 years ago. I
 haven't heard from some of them since then. I've taken the oppritunity to
 gather up a new fighting force to take the place of those I couldn't consult
 - Ultimanium's Second Battalion. You are the first of many people to board
 the Argetlahm. I intend to tell everybody what's going on when they get
 here..." 

 "More people are coming? Like who?" 

 "You'll figure out when they get here. A shuttle should be bringing them in
 about a day from now." 

 "So you lost track of everybody, huh," I sighed. I glared at Ultimanium's
 pocket. "So I guess Davis probably ain't comin' back for his goggles." 

 "God, fine, take them," Ultimanium muttered. He took the goggles out and
 tossed them to me, with I took with open hands. "They're less annoying than
 the goggles you have now, anyways. Those were full swimming goggles, you
 know that? With all due respect, you looked stupid as hell wearing them." 

 I nodded, grinning. "I know." 

 Ultimanium paused, checking around him. "Say, did you happen to see a
 janitor around here?" 

 "I think I heard him a while back. Who's the janitor?" 

 "To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure myself," Ultimanium sighed. "I
 was just aboard the Argetlahm the other day, and I heard some guy pushing a
 broom... but no matter where I go following the sound, I never see him." 

 I rubbed my head. "Whoa, freaky." 

 As Ultimanium turned to leave, he turned his head back. "Well, I've been
 boring you for enough now, maybe you should get some sleep." 

 "So this ISN'T a dream." I gasped. 

 "Haven't you figured it out yet? Anyways, you can take the turbolifts at the
 end of the hall down a floor to get to the male bunks. There's a bed and a
 computer down there, so you can get a hold of your friends and tell them
 you're alright. In the morning, two floors up is the mess hall. I'll be up
 there with breakfast." 

 "Sure thing." 

 Ultimanium turned again to leave, but stopped. "...I don't think I caught
 your name." 



 "Just call me Takato. Matsuda." 





 ******** 





 I was finally able to make my way down to the bunks situated near the bottom
 floors of the ship, and was pleasantly surprised by its contents - a
 mattressed double bunk, with an iron drawer in the corner and a small
 computer embedded in the desk next to it. Many of my personal belongings
 were already covering most of the available space on top of the drawer...
 including the D-Arc. 

 "...so he knows..." I took the device into my hands, giving the room another
 lookover. Indeed, several cards laid in a neat stack directly underneath the
 card scanner, ones I soon identified as my own. A small outstretch of card
 caught my eye, wedged between the lower half of the dresser and the wall
 behind it. "Hmm..." I reached down and gave a tug on the card, getting no
 response. I tried to move the dresser but found out in a hurry it was bolted
 directly to the wall. I then noticed scratchy writing etched into the
 section of wall next to it. For emergency use only. A small keyhole was
 right above it. 

 I wasted no more time on the card, instead turning myself to the computer
 and sitting myself down on the accompanying swivel chair, and after dusting
 a great deal of aging residue off the screen, got right to work throwing out
 e-mails to my friends to let them know I was okay. After finishing my
 duties, my eyes rose to the wall clock directly above the machine, as I shut
 it down. Wherever I was, it was already 11:34. Seeing little else to do in
 the situation, I flung myself into the bottom bunk and under the covers. I
 was about to rise again out of bed, having forgotten to shut off the light,
 when the lights instantly blanked out, dumping the room into darkness. I
 didn't have any motive left to think about what conveiniences the Argetlahm
 could possibly use, so I just buried my head in my pillow. 

 The distant, gentle humming of the Argetlahm's thrust boosters started
 putting me to sleep. It was obvious the Argetlahm was headed somewhere, but
 I wasn't even going to bother to guess where exactly. 

 All my exhausted mind ruminated about was exactly WHO I was going to be
 travelling with. All would be answered in the morning. I kept replaying
 Ultimanium's message in my head until I finally fell asleep. Tomorrow was
 going to be a big day. 



 ******** 



 I found myself awake what seemed like a short time later. Okay, I'd fallen
 asleep, this was SURELY not a dream. But the funny thing about it was that I
 was woken up by Metallica blaring over the intercom. Not the way I had
 intended, but it did manage to make me throw myself out of bed and onto the
 floor facefirst. It was already 8:53. In a tired stupor, I made my way over
 to the dressers and found much of my old clothes there. I slid on something
 comfortable, and made my way out to the turbolift, several strides away from
 my bunk door. 

 Swish, swish. 

 I flung myself around, staring down the darkened hallway, darkness that was
 pierced occaisionally by the red lamps fixated in the celing. It was that
 damn janitor... and I wish he would go away. Or, in this case, come out.
 Neither occured. Half shaken, half disgruntled, I stepped into the turbolift
 and hammered the button taking me to the floor below the bridge. I walked
 out into the same hall I'd come from the night before, with the double doors
 shoved open and held in their place by doorstops. The atmosphere itself was
 a bit cleaner than the mess I'd encountered before - the floor was swept,
 and a mop and bucket was leaning against a nearby wall. The smell of cooked
 breakfast was already wafting through the opening, so I entered and seated
 myself down in front of a mountain of hash browns. Ultimanium was sitting a
 distance down the table. Throughout the meal we didn't share words, though
 Ultimanium was apparently thinking about something. 

 I jumped when a klaxon in the corner of the room blared once. On cue,
 Ultimanium rose out of his seat and placed down his fork, and gestured me
 toward the door. 

 "We've got company." 

 "Huzzah?" My question would never be answered, especially in a situation
 like this. Ultimanium was already out of the mess hall, his half-finished
 eggs lying on his plate. I muttered illegibly to myself and slumped out of
 the cafeteria, leaving my hash browns unattended as well. I rounded the
 corner and out of the hall, spotting Ultimanium some distance ahead. "Hey,
 what's the deal?" 

 He didn't even bother turning to me, instead continuing at a quicker pace.
 "We've got company. What more can be said? Dropship Sigma's docking several
 floors down. It should be our reinforcements." 

 "Reinforcements? The Second Battalion?" 

 "Yes. Our new recruits are coming on the dropship, what's available of our
 senior Argetlahm team will be warping aboard later this day." 

 Warping aboard. Again, I confined query to my head and continued down the
 hall. Ultimanium ushered me into the turbolift and tapped the button lowest
 on the control panel, launching the pod down the shaft. It soon lurched to a
 halt at its destination, distant whirring, clanking and screeching of heavy
 machinery acting as testament to the various robotic vehicles fixing landing
 equipment and tidying up the surface of the hangar. The hangar itself was
 made up of a wide open space, with a polished black marble floor except for
 the three main runways, aspault, about 200 feet in length, at various points
 in the bay. The walls were polished white metal, with the occaisional open
 window for observation and supervision of the work being done on the grounds
 below it. The far side of the dock was completely missing, instead sealed
 off with a translucent forcefield that allowed sight into the abyss of space
 beyond it. At the center of the left runway, a small white shuttle with a
 sideways-W painted on it was parked. The back door of the shuttle was
 lowering slowly, until it hit the ground with an echoing clunk. 

 "C'mon out!" Ultimanium laughed. 

 Various muffled grunts and snickers could be heard from within the craft. 

 Several figures emerged. 









 not the end... 



 (A/N - Do you think I'd leave you with less than a cliffhanger? Well...
 BLEH!! Anyways, who are these new people aboard the Argetlahm? You'll have
 to wait for another chapter, or at least until I PLAN a chapter... ugh...
 oh, well, Ulty signing off!) 











 CHAPTER 2 - Reunite - The Gathering of Heroes 


 (A/N - For those two people who requested to board the Argetlahm at some
 point (geez, I'm not giving out names already, there's got to be more than
 THEM reading this), I'll try as hard as I can to stay with the character
 descriptions that were provided - remember, if there's anything you'd like
 changed, go ahead and scream at me. ^_^' I'll fix any problems. Oh, and
 another thing - the DBZ timeline presented in this chapter is an AU, given
 that Gohan WAS pronounced a Digidestined near the end of the Argetlahm
 Adventures, and.... wait, did I give that away? o_o (proceeds to hit self in
 face with brick) Well, anyways, the Omegaveemon produced was pretty damn
 powerful, and able to help modify how things went... what do I mean? Read
 on!) 








 Takato (VO) 

 Last time on Trance Trauma, things got off to a start as I apparently lived
 out one of my most recent dreams - and after some prodding from Ultimanium,
 I knew that I wasn't waking up anytime soon. Seems he wants me to join up
 with Ultimanium's Second Battalion to help out with a new mission of his.
 Rumor has it that many of the universe's greatest heroes were aboard this
 ship at some point - just being in the presence of the legends like
 Ultimanium insists were here is reason enough for me to stick around. We
 were both just hanging out when Ulty got a wake-up call from downstairs - it
 seemed that some of his new comrades were showing up. Who they were, I had
 yet to find out. But it was time. 










 ******** 



 Takato watched cautiously, waiting for anyone to come out of the rusted
 shuttle. "Say, I managed to check the Argetlahm database before I did
 anything else last night... you said the Argetlahm was based in the first
 dimension during the first mission... where are we now?" 

 Ultimanium's view never shifted. "The Argetlahm is parked in the third
 dimension right now. After Ultramagnus' campaign, me, Magnus and Lord Raul
 stuck around for a while to help with the rebuilding, and the Argetlahm was
 left in storage there. We're keeping a constant orbit around Earth right
 now. We really don't have to worry about concealing ourselves, not until we
 launch our first assault." 

 "I meant to ask you that," Takato piped. "Who, or what, are we actually
 attacking, and what fo-" 

 No sooner had footsteps started down the platform when a giant rush of smoke
 burst out from the bottom of the ship. Cries of surprise and disgust rang
 out from the chaos ahead of Takato. He glanced to his side as Ultimanium
 stepped through the mist that had already settled on the floor of the
 hangar. 

 "Sorry!" a light voice chirped. "I was insisting we got that landing gear
 inspected 

 "Damn it! Guys, I just had this polished!" 

 "What kind of idiot polishes a hangar floor?" another voice sneered. 

 "Cut the crap, guys!" Ultimanium shouted. "If you don't know yet, I already
 have some people onboard! Act like an ass and your bonus goes bye-bye!" 

 "Bonus goes bye-bye, I go bye-bye!" the voice was finally nearing Ultimanium
 and was nearly legible. After a long pause, a medium-figured man stumbled
 out of the blindness. He had dark brown hair that was gelled back, and wore
 a heavy navy blue woven sweater and a matching bandana. A short scabbard
 hung from his hip, its size revealing it as a dagger. 



 ******** 
 LOCKE COLE, after several successful treasure raids on islands off the coast
 of South America, had gained much in riches from Incan artifacts that had
 been lost in the waters, rather strange given their former location on the
 Middle-American shoreland. Still, nothing bothered our thie...um, treasure
 hunter Locke here from claiming it for his own and pawning it for a hefty
 price. After building his own riches he sought the partnership of several
 small charity groups with which he split his earnings. 

 After a recent tangle with the near-godly Kefka, bolstered by the powers of
 the Espers, Locke has become more accustomed to self-defense, defense that
 gradually grew into offense, hence his current occupation - mercenary. After
 giving the Red Cross one final payment, he removed himself from society and
 began making deals with lower types all over the universe. Sources indicate
 that it was Locke himself that was behind the undoing of several
 Middle-eastern religious leaders, and after many odd jobs, Ultimanium took
 him in quickly, with a generous payment, of course, to deal with a problem
 that Ultimanium was apparently having with a "technology theft for
 unhumanitarian uses", as he called it. 
 ******** 


 Takato looked up and down the man. "Whoa, we've got some built types
 here..." 

 "Ultimanium," Locke spoke. "I see I've found your little luxury resort
 you've got here." 

 Ultimanium coughed before returning to the conversation. "I hope you're not
 insisting that this job is too easy. We have ways to go before we get to the
 fun stuff." 

 Everybody turned to a rustling that erupted from deeper within the smoke. "I
 got your fun stuff over here." As another figure began to reveal itself, it
 was clear that the man was around the same age as Locke, with some stubble
 developing, though his body through the outline of the smoke was much
 bulkier. As he approached the group, it was clear that he was wearing some
 sort of heavy blue/black survival armor, tattered after years of use, and a
 small flashlight hinged to his right shoulder. 



 ******** 
 JIM RAYNOR, like Locke, turned to more unscrupulous means of income after
 his own normal life went in the crapper. Jim was, as of 2 years ago, a
 commander of a small militia that based itself in a minor Terran colony
 several lightyears away. After an unsuccessful campaign against the ravenous
 Zerg, the assorted Terran forces and their Protoss allies were spread thinly
 across the border worlds. As the Zerg Swarm's assault on their surrounding
 worlds slowed to a crawl, with little to no new species to assimilate, many
 of the Protoss/Terran factions split up into hybrid societies, and Raynor
 left duty for the time being, like Locke, to find odd jobs. With nowhere
 else to stay, Raynor accepted work aboard the Argetlahm for the time being. 
 ******** 


 "I'm starting to feel out of place here..." Takato sighed. "I feel like I
 just walked into a bar or something..." 

 Ultimanium cupped his hands to his eyes. "Well, you're going to get
 company..." he pointed to a pair of silouettes off in the distance,
 wandering around aimlessly in circles. 

 "...Marco!" 

 "....Polo!..." 

 "Marco!" 

 "Polo." Ultimanium muttered. 

 Both figures stopped, and charged toward him. 

 "I gotcha now, Trunks!" 

 "I got you, Goten!" 

 Ultimanium frowned. "Well, you tw..." He was immediately tackled by both
 children, who began beating the crap out of him. "AH!! DAMN IT!! FRICK!!!
 OW!!!! DAMN DAMN DAMN!!! GAH!!! STOP IT!!!" Both children's lightspeed
 assaults had already kicked up a small gust of wind that radiated out from
 their attacks, pushing away a small section of the mist around them, and
 Takato and the rest of the group could get a good look at the two
 assailants. 



 ******** 
 TRUNKS and GOTEN are mostly just stowaways. I'm not even going to GUESS on
 how they would've got permission to head up here. Well, according to our
 sources, they were just brought up to the Argetlahm to have some fun in the
 rec center, brought here by a former Argetlahm crew member... well, as long
 as he brings them home alive we aren't going to stop him... 
 ******** 



 "Goten! Get the hell back here! If mom ever finds out I brought you up here
 with me... you too, Trunks, Vegeta'll probably strangle me... you'd better
 be thankful that he was able to get out of town for the day..." 

 "Yeah, c'mon! Trunks!" 

 Both figures made their way out of the mist. One was a young adult, probably
 starting his twenties. He was in jeans, a black vest and a white undershirt,
 with jet-black hair. Standing alongside him was a 3-foot tall yellow lizard.


 Ultimanium grinned. "Well, I'll be..." 



 ******** 
 GOHAN is serving his second tour of duty aboard the Argetlahm. Upon hearing
 Ultimanium's news of a new threat that was to be dealt with, he quickly
 signed up, hoping that it could be dealt with and he could bring several of
 his friends back aboard the Argetlahm for a long-awaited reunion. Well, at
 the sight of the number of people around him, he quickly figured out that he
 was going to have to fight for a bit longer. It didn't bother him terribly,
 however - it was still planned out in his mind to be a fast fight. 



 VEEMON 2 is the renaming of the once heralded Omegaveemon that was born
 during the latter events of the Argetlahm Adventures, from the digimon
 partners of two Digidestined aboard - the original Veemon and Gatomon. While
 he appears to be of a normal strain of Veemon, genetic information was
 combined from the parents in question, arguably some of the most non-God
 digimon in existance. Just his rookie powers were able to shake up
 Imperialdramon and even Ultramagnus' final form. 

 During the final round against Cell, shortly after his self-destruction and
 the demise of Goku, Gohan made a formal request that Omegaveemon was brought
 to the battlefield. No one dared to question him. Krillin departed and
 headed to the Kame house where Roshi was taking care of the digimon to pick
 him up. Meanwhile, Cell continued to stare down his target, his own mind
 laughing straight at the boy, who was willing to put up this 'digimon' in
 front of him to do the fighting for him, and possibly die in the attempt. 

 "It won't help you a bit, boy! Get out here and show me how fast the son of
 the "great" Goku goes to meet him!" 

 Gohan made the effort of explaning Omegaveemon's power and his success in
 helping to deter Ultramagnus' last form, with an impressive power level of
 10 million, with just his normal beam attack. Cell brushed off the threat,
 and soon Omegaveemon had arrived, ready to do battle. Cell took the liberty
 of attempting to off Omegaveemon in one simple blast, but was shocked when
 even his most powerful attacks failed to push back his own Beam Blaster.
 After a long struggle, Cell began to gain the upper hand on the offensive,
 but that was before Gohan braced Omegaveemon and added his Kamehameha to the
 assault, magnifying the attack hundredfold and surging back against Cell's
 onslaught, overwhelming the villian quickly and frying him to a crisp. 

 As Gohan and his fellow Z fighters stopped to finally examine the
 destruction they helped cause, it was clear that Omegaveemon had been
 completely overloaded by the Ki channeled through him. It was then that he
 digivolved for the first time, to a gold Veedramon. Since then, Veemon 2 had
 fought alongside the rest of the group for the several next times the world
 would be threatened, though his digivolution occured extremely rarely. 
 ******** 


 Ultimanium simply shook his head. "Veemon 2 was actually able to HELP fight
 Cell? I think Veemon and Gatomon might've stumbled onto something with kick,
 if even his rookie form could stand up against Cell..." 

 "We haven't been able to get him to digivolve anywhere outside of a
 life-threatening situation," Gohan sighed. "As soon as I can figure out that
 we'll have what it takes... we'll have some sort of usefulness." 

 Veemon 2 nodded. "We can still stand up for ourselves if we need to." 

 "Well, that's great, stick around with us," Ultimanium mumbled. "Anyways,
 it's still great to see some of our veterans back aboard the Argetlahm." 

 Gohan turned back into the haze. "I think we have some other Digidestined
 here, what's his name... um... he should be coming out soon..." 

 Takato lit up. "...Davis?" 

 A figure began to form itself, a couple inches shorter than several of the
 larger people standing around Ultimanium, and made its way into the light,
 alongside a figure waddling beside him, on its four feet. 


 ******** 
 Iori Hida, most commonly referred to as CODY, was on hand during the first
 tour of duty of the Argetlahm as well, often fighting alongside Gohan when
 situations rose. After finishing many of the main teachings of the art of
 Kendo, he has allowed himself again access to the sword Murasame, also
 provided as mandatory equipment during the Argetlahm Adventures. He is also
 accompanied by his digimon partner ARMADILLOMON, who offers heavy attack
 power and support when necessary. Cody has made his return to the Argetlahm
 in search of a quest, to push his swordmanship skills to the max and justify
 his proficiency in Kendo. 
 ******** 


 Gohan grinned. "Cody. You ready for another runaround?" 

 Cody stepped out of the light, showing the boy in a plain, long white
 t-shirt and track pants. He had the Murasame slung over his shoulder,
 encased in a large wooden sheath. "You never can do anything just once." He
 glanced over to Ultimanium. "I see we've got the posse here... was anyone
 else coming back?" 

 "Beats me," Ultimanium grumbled, shrugging. "Just whoever's in the shuttle."


 Jim squinted as he peered off into the fog. "Well, looks like we have the
 silent-treatment guy on his way." 

 Goten scratched his neck. "Silent treatment?" 

 Everybody paused as another mysterious man made his way out of the shadows,
 decked in a deep-turquoise tunic that was held to his chest with a heavy
 belt, beige pants, and an abnormally long sheath that hung from his hip.
 Everybody backed away from him as he made his way through the group, fearing
 they'd be decapitated by his obscenely spiked, deep crimson hair, that
 jutted out at dangerous angles. He stopped in front of Ultimanium, facing to
 the side. He slowly pivoted his head to him, and gave him an amused smirk. 

 "I'm not even going to ask." Locke growled. 


 ******** 
 CRONO's main motive of matching up with the Argetlahm is the threat that
 Ultimanium seemed to make a big fuss out of. With J technology,
 dimensionjumping is possible, and it has catastrophic effects in the wrong
 hands - Crono, of all people, knows that. After making the time leap to the
 apocalyptic future of his home fifth dimension, through a single battle the
 fate of the entire universe was shifted radically and the world was given
 another while to live. The alien Lavos was already set to have destroyed the
 world several years ago, so Ultimanium knew that his efforts were before
 even his time. 

 A short time after the return to Crono's own time period, the final battles
 against Ultramagnus were taking place. The various dimensional ruptures that
 were open during that short period stretched across the various dimensions
 were disregarded by the Leene populace and messages were quickly thrown
 around the planet to carry on normally until the warps settled themselves
 and disappeared. Hours after the warps had dematerialized, Crono was marked
 as missing. 

 Several years after Crono's disappearance, sources indicated to Ultimanium
 that the man was lost somewhere within the third dimension. Ultimanium
 cooperated with patrols all over the planet and eventually zeroed in on
 Crono's position, and offered to return him to his home dimension using the
 J3, that he would be able to borrow from Conker. (since Crono was "beneath
 time", years had occured in the third dimension yet only hours had passed at
 his home several tiers up.) As Ultimanium got the J3 up and running, he got
 a call of urgency that J technology had been surveyed as used somehow on
 Earth - therefore, Crono's plan was dumped for the time being while
 Ultimanium quickly threw together a squad to investigate the situation -
 hence our gathering. 
 ******** 


 Takato tapped Ultimanium on the shoulder. "I've been meaning to ask you
 that. What exactly ARE we doing here?" 

 "Wait until we have everybody here, Takato, then I'll explain to everybody
 what has happened." 

 Cody frowned. "But the shuttle's empty." 

 "Give it a minute, Cody," Ultimanium snickered. "We should hear her any
 minute now." 

 The room grew silent. The calmness was broken by the hissing of the
 turbolift doors being flung open at the far side of the room. Everybody
 attempted to turn cautiously to the gates, but they all hopped back as a
 voice hit them. 

 "Could someone tell me exactly WHAT the hell I'm doing here?" 

 Takato grinned sheepishly. "Well, maybe you were dreaming." 

 "Well, I... what the... what are YOU doing here? I think the smoke in here
 is going straight to your brain, goggle-head!" 


 ******** 
 Ah, yes - Digimon queen RIKA NONAKA. What exactly IS she doing here,
 anyways? Well, then again, what's TAKATO MATSUDA doing here too? 

 While both tamers might not be aware of it yet, they were flat-out abducted
 from their homes. Both Takato and Rika make up part of the next generation
 of Chosen, soldiers of of a holy army that is brought upon in times of dire
 need. Both people were drugged in their own homes and were taken away last
 night... and shifted aboard the Argetlahm. Why Ultimanium wants these people
 aboard the Argetlahm so bad is anyone's guess... but then again,
 Digidestined have always held some sort of precedence over other members of
 the Argetlahm crew. 
 ******** 


 Takato and Rika both glared at Ultimanium. "You DRUGGED us?!" 

 Ultimanium waved a finger. "Please, I have my reasons. You're children,
 okay? People would kind of get ideas if I just nabbed you in broad daylight.
 You don't have to worry about anyone noticing your departure... time doesn't
 exist here, remember?" 

 Everybody looked at each other. 

 "Well, that should be about it," Ultimanium moaned. "I want everybody to
 report to the war room right away, and we'll get to briefing you on the
 situation at hand. Cody, Go..." he was interrupted midsentence by a loud
 beeping. "...er... hang tight for a second, the Argetlahm's receiving a
 transmission. Cody, lead everybody down to the war room, except for Gohan
 and Veemon 2 - Gohan, follow me." 

 As Cody led everybody off to another turbolift at the other end of the room,
 Gohan and V2 exchanged worried stares. They immediately took off after
 Ultimanium, who set himself inside a turbolift. He took his ring of keys,
 and fit a large plug-type key into a slot above the control panel. The lift
 started rising, and continued so for about 20 seconds, before it clanked to
 a halt and the doors shifted open, leading into the expansive bridge of the
 Argetlahm. The plexiglass domes sealing the area off from space were
 completely spotless and polished, and the previously cold, steel paths that
 lead to the command center of the capship were covered with a thin sheet of
 plastic flooring, suspended about a foot off the original surface.
 Ultimanium made his way up to a computer on the far edge, and dropped
 himself into a swivel chair. Behind him, a small bronze-plated probe hovered
 up to his vincinity. It hovered a couple inches off the ground, and had a
 pair of two-prong grasping arms. Large, pitch white spherical eyes took up
 most of the front upper body of the robot. 

 "I take it you received our transmission..." 

 "Yes, Minonim. The transciever you designed worked perfectly." 

 The probe's eyes turned a gentle green. "Excellent! I'm glad you like my
 handywork, Ultimanium!" 

 Gohan's jaw dropped. "What... are you kidding... that's Minonim?! He was
 destroyed!" 

 Ultimanium groaned. "That's what I thought for a while. But after a while,
 we realized that Minonim's actual program wasn't in the actual probe, but
 was actually linked to a ground database somewhere on the outskirts of
 Ultramagnus' kingdom. The probe was simply a remote device, acting off
 Minonim's stored program on the surface of Earth in the third dimension.
 After the liberation of the third dimension, we discovered the database, and
 we were able to build another probe similar to the last one Ultramagnus had.
 Minonim's been alive all that time, just waiting for another body to
 inhabit." 

 Minonim bobbed in the air. "I would say it was worth the wait." 

 V2 rubbed his palms together. "Well, anyways, what's the announcment?" 

 Ultimanium glanced up at Gohan. "I've received a pair of distress signals a
 short distance away from the Moon, near a starbase that was established
 there about two years ago. A meteor storm rushed the colony a couple of
 minutes ago, and by the time the announcment went through the station, two
 departing ships were damaged and unable to link back to the colony - we're
 going to have to delay the briefing about 20 minutes while we leave Earth's
 orbit and pick up the shuttles. I want you to head back to the war room and
 try to keep our guests entertained... and be careful, the mercenary types
 aren't exactly ones that are very patient..." 

 Gohan nodded. "I'll try." He turned and left, followed shortly by V2. 

 Ultimanium turned his gaze away from the turbolift and reached for a
 joystick on his right. "Well, let's get going then, sha..." the transciever
 started bleeping again, and he reached for it and detatched it from his
 belt. "What's going on here?" 

 Minonim backed away. "I'm... not exactly sure, Ultimanium. We have two ships
 on the starboard that are attempting to dock at our secondary stations...
 they perfectly match the descriptions of the ships provided by the
 starbase." 

 Ultimanium blinked. "...er.. okay... open the secondary hangar. I'll head
 down there right away." 

 "Can do." Minonim watched at Ultimanium reluctantly rose from his seat and
 headed for the turbolift. 


 ******** 


 "I really don't know what's going on here... there wasn't supposed to be
 anybody else docking here until tomorrow..." Ultimanium continued mumbling
 to himself as he came out on the rec room floor, and strided straight by the
 entertainment room in question. The various stickers on its door were
 beginning to peel off, and the spraypainted decals on it were beginning to
 fade as well. He made his way to the end of the hall, opened an access door,
 and quickly hopped down a flight of stairs. He shoved another pair of double
 doors open at the bottom, and found his way into the secondary hangars. The
 room wasn't exactly as spacious or fancy as the primary hangar, but it did
 for emergencies. The walls' polish was beginning to rust, and the entire
 floor of the room was asphult. Just the room itself was a paltry 80 feet by
 80 feet, with a 15 foot clearance. A pair of no-name shuttles were parked at
 the far end. 

 Ultimanium approached the shuttles from the back, and checked around and
 underneath the engines. He stuck his head further underneath and checked a
 small compartment on the bottom of the solid booster. "...funny, there's no
 damage to the engines... they must've piloted their way here!" 

 "Excuse me, are you Ultimanium?" 

 Ultimanium hopped, hitting his head against the booster with an empty clang.
 "OW OW OW OW OW OW OOOOOOOOOOOOWW!!! WILL YOU PEOPLE QUIT SURPRISING ME?!? I
 WAS JUST... God, forget it...urrghh..." Ultimanium slowly slid himself out
 from underneath the booster grasping a bruise that had settled on his head,
 and pushed himself to his feet. It was then he got a good look at the person
 in front of him. 

 Like Ultimanium, he was apparently following the casual-dress code that many
 of the other crewmembers had adopted. He wore a simple maroon shirt and
 jeans, and his brown hair was cut back. He stuck out a hand to Ultimanium.
 "Hey." 

 Ultimanium took the loose hand and gave it a shake, still confused. "...am I
 supposed to know you from somewhere?" 

 He nodded. "Well, I'm pretty sure everyone knows YOU. You're Ultimanium, the
 leader of the Ultimanium's Battalion group that overthrew Ultramagnus from
 despotship a couple of years back. You can call me Eric Cloud." 

 Ultimanium turned to the forcefield that was behind the ship. "Well,
 everybody DOES know me... it's kinda annoying, though... so, what brings you
 to the Argetlahm?" 

 Eric shrugged. "Beats me. I've been wandering around this solar system for a
 while now... I've been bouncing back and forth between starbases at this and
 the far end of the galaxy... my life support and my base docking systems
 were smacked to hell by that meteor storm so I kicked into overdrive and
 blazed straight to the nearest ship that I could dock at... thankfully, you
 still use that archaic runway-docking technique, and I was able to land
 here..." 

 "Oh," Ultimanium growled. "But what's the reason?" 

 Eric turned his side to Ultimanium, now looking out of the barrier. "A
 couple of years ago, I received a message... that somewhere, I had to find
 something called the Power. With little to no clue what was going on, I just
 headed out from Earth trying to look for something, or some sort of hint...
 so far, nothing." 

 "What's the deal with the Power?" 

 Eric bowed his head. "The Power, as explained by my parents, has all the
 answers I seek to my true heritage, and my true belonging in the universe.
 After training with some of the greatest combat masters in the area of my
 home, I was able to boost my power level up to extremely high levels, and
 they themselves belived I was ready for my adventure, and insisted that I
 leave home and try to find my true meaning. When I find the Power, all will
 be answered. That's the only shred of information they left me with." 

 Both paused. 

 Ultimanium glanced over to Eric. "...HOW high a power level?" 

 "6 million, give or take." 

 "...really... can you show me?" 

 Eric nodded. "It takes me a second to power up fully... and it takes a while
 to wear off. And I absolutely HATE blond." 

 Ultimanium thought for a second. And his eyes went wide. "No, no no! I get
 it now, I..." 

 Too late. A golden aura blasted through the small room, kicking up a small
 torrent of wind. Ultimanium threw his arms in front his face to brace
 himself, but he was already being shoved back by the force. He backed up,
 resting himself against the side of Eric's shuttle, and waited for the light
 to die down before removing his barrier. Indeed, standing before him, was
 SSJ4 Eric. 

 "I've seen this behaviour before," Ultimanium shouted. "I know what you
 are!" 

 Eric twitched. "..huh?" 

 "That's a power of a Super Saiyan! I've seen it before..! Super Saiyans are
 a very rare thing... I think between the dimensions there's about 3 or 4 to
 each tier..." 

 "Is THAT what you call this..." Eric stared at his hands. "...I have to
 learn more about the Saiyans... do you know these Saiyans?" 

 "...you said you were looking for a Power? The ruler of the third dimension
 IS Magnus Power, you know! And he is a Super Saiyan too!" 

 Eric glared at Ultimanium. "Magnus... Power... maybe he's got the answers I
 seek... I have to speak with him." 

 Ultimanium sighed. "No can do. He was around the Argetlahm for a bit a
 couple of years ago, but he left the Argetlahm in my care and he's out on an
 adventure somewhere... all I heard was something about Albuquerque..." 

 "Is there a possibility that he might be coming back?" 

 "I'm not sure. Still, we have the technology aboard that we might be able to
 use to get to Albuquerque, if Magnus is where he insists..." 

 Eric grinned. "What are we waiting for?" 

 "We're waiting to use the J3 for other uses. We have a Code Red that only
 the J3 can help with. We've got a baaaaaad situation on our hands and we
 need the ability to warp to counter it... still.... we might pass through
 Albuquerque at some point in time..." 

 "Is it alright if I stay with you then?" 

 Ultimanium grit his teeth. "I'm not sure if you could stand the wait... we
 have no idea how long our mission could last..." 

 "Ultimanium, I'm desperate for answers. If the J3 is my hope of getting to
 Albuquerque in time to find Magnus Power, then I'll help you with your
 mission until then, as long as it takes." 

 "...you sure?" 

 "Sure." 

 Ultimanium remained quiet. He gave one last look out into space. "Go up the
 stairs, and use the turbolift and go to the second floor. Wait for me in
 front of the war room." Eric nodded, and immiediately left, shoving open the
 double doors and stepping out. "..well, that was okay, I guess... more help
 couldn't hurt..." 

 "If you wanted help, you could just ask." 

 Ultimanium's eyes quickly darted around, until he spotted a shadow hanging
 on top of the room's steel rafters. "Will you people quit freaking me out?
 C'mon, get down from there." 

 The figure performed a flip, plunging down from the rafters and landing on
 his feet. He raised his head, and looked Ultimanium in the eyes. He was an
 Asian male, a couple of inches shorter than Ultimanium, with natural black
 hair and chestnut eyes. He wore a simple black bomber jacket. In one hand he
 held a long, tube-type suitcase. In the other he was bobbing a small
 red-yellow patterened yo-yo up and down. Ultimanium watched the sphere climb
 and fall several times, before the man grasped the object in his hands.
 "Normally you're supposed to ask why I'm here." 

 "...uh, yeah. You're the other guy that was stuck in the meteor storm?" 

 "Nah, that was some other person... never caught his name... Anyways, I'm
 taking it this is the Argetlahm? I'd just heard recently about what was
 going on here and I decided to drop by and see what the classifieds were
 about." 

 "I don't vaguely recall this being in the classifieds." 

 Shaun sighed. "Gah, just.. never mind. The name's Shaun Garin. I basically
 just hop around, looking for work, and the little mission you have going on
 here captivates me. I mean, you haven't even insisted what the objective IS
 yet, and there's already people flocking to your little spaceship here. If
 you don't mind, I'll join up here and maybe get the scoop on what's going
 on." 

 Ultimanium shrugged. "...do you fight?" 

 Shaun gave Ultimanium a solemn nod. "I just like to go between melee and
 ranged as it's needed. Most of the time I'll be fighting with..." Shaun
 quickly flicked out the yo-yo so it stopped less than an inch in front of
 Ultimanium's face, making him stumble back and nearly lose his footing.
 "...well, you should get the picture. I decided to bring the Mega Launcher
 with me in case, though..." Shaun bent down and set the suitcase on the
 ground and clicked it open, revealing a hand cannon, with a 4-foot barrel
 sticking out of the main compartment. In the case next to it were a pair of
 120mm shells. "Otherwise, I just work with what I can." 

 "...what's that supposed to mean?" 

 "Remind me to show you sometime. Anyways, do you mind?" 

 Ultimanium gave Shaun one last questioning look. "...I guess. Come with me,
 we're going to be starting the briefing right away." 







 The crew has allied! The stage is set! Now we can actually figure out what
 the DAMN STORY IS ACTUALLY ABOUT!! Yay! And there was much rejoicing!......
 c'mon, you know you want to.... sorry. Anyways... things get off to a
 rolling start, next time on Trance Trauma! 









 CHAPTER 3 - Briefing - The Situation at Hand 


 Gohan (VO) 

 Last time on Trance Trauma, the crew finally made its way aboard the ship,
 warped in using the J3. A lot of new faces joined the remaining Argetlahm
 crew members, mostly mercenaries, but, hey, help is help, right? Me, V2,
 Cody and Armadillomon docked at the Argetlahm to join up with some of the
 new recruits, including Locke Cole, Jim Raynor, Trunks, Goten, Crono,
 Takato, and Rika, for a new mission. Ulty seemed pretty upset at the entire
 situation, so it's got to be big. However, he got even more assistance from
 the tag team of the Super Saiyan Eric Cloud and the crafty Shaun Garin, both
 stopping aboard the Argetlahm and joining in on the group. While Ultimanium
 even has still to brief us, I'm pretty sure that we have sufficient forces
 to finish this quickly. Don't tell anyone, but I heard personally that
 Ultimanium may bring more veteran Argetlahm crew members aboard if he gets
 up enough nerve. 











 ******** 


 Cody tapped a button on the wall, causing the gate in front of them to slide
 open slowly with a loud hiss. Everybody hopped back as a metal growl spat
 out of the machinery, causing the doors to come to a halt halfway through
 opening. Still, it was a sufficient opening to squeeze everybody through. 

 "This place is falling apart," V2 muttered. "Hasn't it been touched ANY
 during the last nine years?" 

 The group halted a short distance away from the opening, and examined the
 room. The war room of the Argetlahm appeared just as it did during its last
 tour, with a large ring of theatre-style chairs around a large, circular
 central platform. Asides from dust, there was little damage to the room
 itself. The hologram projector on the stage had several large wires sticking
 out of it, that ran up the aisle opposite of everybody and through a drilled
 hole in the wall. Several messy heaps of paper lied next to a TV that had
 been placed on the stage next to the projector. 

 "We'll probably sit on the chairs..." Locke started. 

 "...and the armrests'll come off..." Raynor sighed. 

 "...and the backs will fall off..." Takato continued. 

 "Is it seriously that bad?" spat Gohan. "The place is in better shape than I
 was thinking..." 

 As people began filing into their seats, Ultimanium burst through the doors
 on the far side of the room, and darted to the stage in a half-run. "Eh,
 hey, guys, sorry about that, I had to talk to the guys that docked onto the
 Argetlahm, and they're going to be staying with us for a while. Anyways, I'd
 better get this briefing done with... I'm sure more than one person here is
 confused by now... anyways, did any of you happen to look at the Argetlahm
 databases before you came here?" 

 "We don't even have rooms yet." Trunks droned. 

 "Well... anyways... it's important that you know about something first...
 the notice I sent each of you told of something called a "J theft", right?" 

 Everybody nodded. 

 "The J is a series of dimensionsplitter devices that were built by relations
 of mine. I personally constructed the J2 and got assistance from Lord Raul
 to create the J3, but there was in fact an original J out there somewhere.
 It was the J series probe that was used in the First Jump, the very first
 testing of dimensionsplitter technology in both the fourth and fifth
 dimensions. Several researchers from the original J used their new probe to
 make a jump to the sixth dimension. The sixth dimension was, at some point,
 fairly normal. Residents of the sixth dimension are able to edit reality as
 they please. Things took a turn for the worst when the crude J design
 punched straight through the dimensional structure rather than warping
 through it in the journey to the sixth dimension, allowing influence to sift
 through from the fifth dimension, right below it. This in turn, for lack of
 better description, screwed things up." 

 "Wait, wait, wait.." Locke butt in. "What the hell is with this '6D' and
 '5D' crap, anyways?" 

 "I haven't explained THAT to you... I forgot... okay, here goes... Gohan,
 Cody, you guys already got this talk... just sit tight... 

 Ultimanium turned out to his expectant crowd. "The Dimensions. Ultimanium's
 view." 

 "Alright. We all know how alternate dimensions work, right? For every choice
 you make in your life, there is a split right there and two seperate
 dimensions continue on, each with a different resolution to the problem.
 This continues on for any person, any body until the number of possible
 directions numbers virtually infinite." 

 "The Zeal Dimensional Theory states that while all these dimensions do in
 fact exist, they are not easy to traverse, with the amount of space-time
 bending that goes on to make bridging dimensions possible. To this extent,
 only dimensions three tiers up or three tiers down may be reached with Zeal
 machinery, and that is all that is physically possible. While the six
 dimensions accessible to us differ radically, they remain constant for each
 person, an anolomy if you will. These are known as the Six Dimensions." 

 "Dimensions work rather understandably... For each dimension you are in, the
 previous three tiers are accessible for editing, while the current dimension
 runs in the background and cannot be physcially affected. For example, in
 the fourth dimension, you can move physically freely, being a three
 dimensional object. And while time runs in the background and takes its toll
 on you, it can never truly step in and edit time as you please. The fifth
 dimension is similar, as well. Three dimensional movement is possible and
 time travel was acheived through the efforts of the Guru of Time that lived
 in the Zeal kingdom, a man by the name of Belthasar. He was the one that
 designed and implemented the technology of time travel. And the current
 tier, the fifth dimension, the very editing of reality itself, can be
 achieved partially through magic, the art of wielding the earth's elements
 as you please." 


 ******** 


 As Ultimanium continued, Eric and Shaun watched from an observation window a
 short distance above the war room, connected to a small, plain lobby, with
 beige-painted walls. Several chairs were lined up in the far corner, next to
 an ashtray. 

 Shaun just shook his head. "You understanding anything this guy's saying?" 

 "A bit," Eric mused. "He says that we're in the third dimension. Time is one
 dimension up, so it doesn't exist here. Tell me, have you ever seen an old
 person?" 

 "Many of the personnel at the starbase are at least 30, they've been there
 long enough to learn the ropes. A lot of them are pretty young-looking
 though... actually, now that you mention it, I haven't seen any old OLD
 people... tell me, what do you define as old?" 

 "Cripples. Amps. Grey hairs. Walkers. With Ultimanium's theory, none of
 these OLD people are supposed to exist in the third dimension. I used to
 have a lot of science texts and journals at home, speaking of the
 development of the human body. My dad said that they were recovered from the
 same point as a strange portal appeared several weeks before. So I took a
 look at them, and it had facts on the deterioration of the human body over
 time... and I found nothing of the sort around me. Everyone seemed so
 youthful... and I know why now. Time doesn't exist here, or, more
 specifically, time has no negative effect on people. Everybody simply gets
 to their physical and mental apex and stays there forever, at least until
 SOMEONE manages to kill them. Nobody is capable of dying of old age." 

 "So you're saying we and everyone else in third-dimensional existance is
 technically immortal." 

 "Pretty much." 

 Shaun turned back to the pane window. "..freaky.." 


 ******** 


 Raynor threw his hands up. "You know what? This is totally screwed up. Why
 the hell am I listening to this crap? You insisted that I work with you on
 this mercenary mission and all I'm getting is a sci-fi flick. What does all
 of this have to do with the mission? I don't even understand half of
 this..." 

 Rika laid back in her chair, arms folded. "It's weird, yet possibly true.
 Keep going." 





 Ultimanium cleared his throat. "Well, anyways, scanners indicate that the
 first J probe has found itself into the third dimension and Magnopolis
 somehow, and has fallen under the control of one of the members of Magnus
 Power's vice-presidency." Ultimanium flipped on the projector. The green
 light flickered rapidly until it lit up, showing blueprints of some sort.
 "It would be problem enough that anyone got hold of the J2 or J3, but this
 is far worse. The J, as witnessed in its experiment years ago with the First
 Jump, travels dimensions, but this is the very first prototype - a highly
 UNSTABLE one. If it were to be activated, we could have another situation
 like what happened to the sixth dimension on our hands, with the space-time
 fabric between dimensions ripped to shreds. Think of the events within the
 sixth dimension on a much grander scale, and you get my picture. And since
 this is happening on the third dimension, a lower tier than where most of
 you live, those effects would carry through through those higher tiers. This
 would skew the fourth and fifth dimensions to hell, but it gets worse - the
 fabric of the sixth dimension is already extremely damaged from the First
 Jump, and if another event like it were to take place, the entire dimension
 would collapse in on itself, with a flux of energy roughly equal to the Big
 Bang." 


















 Crickets could be heard chirping in the distance. 




 "English, please?" Cody sighed. 

 "If we allow the J to be used again, the sixth dimension will most likely
 fold in on itself, and the outburst of energy will probably eradicate the
 remaining five dimensions." 

 That one got a sweatdrop from everybody. 

 "This guy is freaking me out." Locke whispered to Raynor. 

 Takato leant over to Gohan. "Did you guys have to deal with anything like
 this before?" 

 "Well... um..." Gohan tugged at his collar. "Sure, we had to deal with
 dimensional ruptures, damages, rips, or other damages... but all of creation
 being demolished? I don't think so." 

 Takato sunk in his seat. "...oh." 





 Ultimanium was apparently becoming distressed with the response he was
 getting. "Please.. listen to me. I'm not done yet. This is a routine
 mission! C'mon! We can do... this..." 

 Raynor nearly shot out of his chair. "Listen, Ultimanum-or-whoever-you-are,
 we don't have time to listen to this crap! I don't know WHAT you're smoking,
 but I insist you give me a serious job or I leave! You seriously can't
 convince me that I'm in some sort of alternate dimension as I speak! Do ANY
 of you believe this guy?" 

 "He sounds legitimate." Locke mumbled. 

 "He provided evidence..." Goten groaned. 

 Crono just shrugged. 

 "We've USED the J3." Gohan and Cody said in unison. 

 Raynor stopped there, and eyed the crowd around him. "I still don't think
 that way. I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, you can shut up."
 Scowling to himself, he returned to his seat. 

 Ultimanium sighed. "Where was I? Oh, yeah... 





 "Since the J was taken, the person in question removed himself from Magnus'
 government with little notice, and immediately departed for unknown parts.
 Several days later, witnesses on a cruise liner passing across the Atlantic
 Ocean claim to have seen a massive tower on an island several hundred
 kilometers from Hawaii. Just hours after reports came in, the man hijacked a
 mainland news broadcast and announced his motives. 

 The man revealed himself only as the Prospector. 

 Whoever this guy was, he appeared to have some sort of idea of the effects
 that use of the J would have - the Prospector insisted that he be issued 50
 billion dollars within the next month, otherwise he will activate the J.
 Using the same information provided by the cruiseliner, the government,
 operating in Magnus' absence, launched a missile attack on the island the
 same day, which was mysteriously repelled. A quick scout of the area
 revealed that the island wasn't even THERE when the missiles hit. Since
 then, the entire third dimension has been in a rut, trying to figure out
 exactly where the Prospector is at any given point. The only time the island
 was seen since, two days after, was by a passing passenger jet that took
 notice of the armament of the island - the place is extremely heavily
 fortified, with some sort of private army run by the Prospector watching the
 place. And there's no telling what could be actually inside the tower... one
 thing's for sure, it's too damn tall, and the roof and every window in the
 joint is laser-gated, making airborne delivery of troops or supplies
 impossible. 

 Normally, we would just find the tower and blast it to bits before the
 Prospector disappears on us again, but we need to take special care to get
 the J out of there - there is the possibility that it could be triggered in
 any large assault. Therefore, the powers that be have called the Argetlahm
 and its specially trained troops to take care of the situation. I intend to
 lower the Argetlahm out of orbit, and try to plan the island's movement so
 we can launch an assault on it and get the J out of there safe and sound." 


 Gohan shrugged. "Hell, we've been through worse." 

 Takato scratched his head. "Well, I'm not one to nitpick, but we're
 attacking an ARMY here. And, well, I... can't really fight an army." 

 "We can!" 

 Takato jumped at the voice, turning in his chair to look towards the door.
 Indeed, standing there was Guilmon, basked in the lime-green light radiating
 off the projector. "Hey! Buddy! What's up?" 

 As Guilmon began to approach Takato, he began to slow down. "Takato, what
 happened to your forehead?" 

 Takato blinked. "My forehead? What do you..." he reached up and started
 feeling his forehead, and stopped as his hands started running over the
 goggles. "..oh! Yeah, you mean these. I got them a while ago. They're new!" 

 "Can I get a new forehead, Takato?" 

 Cody looked up and down the monster. "Is he a... digimon?" 

 Takato grinned. "Sure is! Designed 'im myself. His name's Guilmon, his
 attack's Pyrosphere, he's a rookie, he digivolves to Growlmon, HIS attack is
 Pyroblaster, he digivolves further to Wargrowlmon, HIS attack is..." 

 Cody sat with a blank stare on his face as Takato continued blabbing for the
 next several minutes. 

 Ultimanium clicked off the projector. "At the moment, we have exactly 2
 weeks and a day to get to the Prospector and whip some sense into him.
 Everybody, I want you to spend the rest of the day and just hang out around
 the Argetlahm, get to know your bunkmates, get familiar with the Argetlahm
 training facilities, and relax - tomorrow is going to be planetfall. We're
 going to head into Magnopolis and get as much information on the Prospector
 as we can before we go island-hopping. Understood?" 

 Everybody nodded in agreement, except for Raynor, who was kind of staring
 into thin air. 

 "Okay, then. I've already posted your assigned bunks in the halls. Have a
 good day, the next couple probably aren't going to be too luxurious..." 

 As everybody began to file out of the war room, Rika stood and glanced over
 her shoulder. Standing there was Renamon, who gave Rika an acknowledging nod
 before phasing off to her own business. 


 ******** 


 "Hey, Shaun, who's the chick down on the floor?" Eric pointed down into the
 front seating area directly next to the projector, where Rika had already
 slung a backpack of hers over her shoulder and was on her way to leave the
 theatre. 

 "I heard.. Rika Noonka or something? That wasn't it.... wait, Rika Nonaka,
 that was it. Why?" 

 Eric paused. "...oh.. nothing." As the war room doors clicked shut behind
 the Tamer, Eric got up and left the lobby silently. Shaun kept a watchful
 eye as the lobby doors floated shut. 

 "This is most interesting..." Shaun rubbed his chin as he looked down again
 onto the empty war room stage, still covered with a layer of scribbled
 papers. "...this IS the group that utilized the J3...is this really the guy
 that wiped out Ultramagnus? The place still seems a little bit unorganized
 for me to believe... hmm...maybe I'll stick around a little longer... this
 Ultimanium guy has to have some sort of secret..." Shaun looked over the
 theatre once more, before turning and heading out of the observation room. 


 ******** 


 Meanwhile, Gohan, V2, Armadillomon and Cody kept a constant pace on both
 sides of Ultimanium, peppering him with questions. Ultimanium ignored the
 effects of the crossfire and patiently explained everything. 

 "Did we ever figure out how Ultramagnus was able to warp his forces aboard
 the Argetlahm during the endgame? I was always wondering..." Gohan stopped,
 staring at a sheet tacked to a corkboard that hung from the wall. After
 noticing their left-behind comrade, both Ultimanium and Cody came to a halt.


 "It's like I told you before. Minonim's program was linked to a database at
 ground zero in Magnopolis. Somehow, Ultramagnus' forces were able to trace
 the downlink and find the exact celestial coordinates where Minonim was in
 the first dimension - aboard the Argetlahm. The J2 was then able to jump to
 the first dimension in that position, and it wouldn't go through linear
 compression because it was within the J3's anti-dimensional field." (A/N -
 Argetlahm Adventures, chap. 23) 

 "Magnopolis..." V2 froze at the thought. "The capital of the third
 dimension. That was where Veemon had to fight Megakimeramon... he told me
 all about that during the first tour..." 

 Gohan turned back to the group. "Ulty, you sure picked some funny bunking
 partners." 


 MENS BUNKS 

 1. Raynor/Takato/Guilmon 
 2. Gohan/Crono 
 3. Trunks/Locke 
 4. Goten/Eric 
 5. Cody/Shaun 
 6. V2/Armadillomon 

 MISC. BUNKS 

 1. Rika/Renamon 



 "Well, at least I got a legitimate partnering." Armadillomon chirped. 

 Cody looked down the list. "...well, it still IS kind of funny, but that's
 not really what hit me. It's more the fact that the Argetlahm population's
 kind of fallen... and you put Raynor, Takato and Guilmon in the same room." 

 Ultimanium shrugged. "Well, is something wrong?" 

 Cody turned back to Ultimanium. "Raynor... is not particularly on peaceful
 terms with our crew. And he has a gauss rifle." 

 "Guilmon can keep him in line. As for our little lack of labour, I'll call
 some more people back aboard the Argetlahm as we need them. I already had to
 get in touch with Conker to borrow the J3, and I've got a hold of Lord Raul,
 he said that he'll be on his way as soon as he's back from his vacation." 

 "Vacation?" 

 "I don't know exactly what his idea of a vacation is, but he said that he
 was going to spend a couple of years meditating in the Temple of the Winds.
 I think it's somewhere in hell." 

 Gohan nodded. "Ah." 

 "Are you guys headed down to the rec room by any chance? I wanna play Tribes
 2 for some reason." 


 ******** 


 Raynor walked down the halls a short way. Then he stopped. Then he turned
 and walked the other way for a while. Then he stopped and turned around and
 walked that way for a while. He did this for a while. Then he screamed. 

 That was when Locke walked by. "Hey, Raynor, what's up?" 

 "I'll TELL you what's up, this damn capship was designed by chimps, THAT'S
 what! Where the hell is the elevator?" 

 Locke pointed down the hall, to the turbolifts. "That's the turbolift." 

 "Fine, then, but where's the elevator?" 

 "I said, THAT'S the elevator." 

 "No, you said it was a turbolift." 

 "But it's an elevator, too, see..." 

 "How can something be an elevator AND a turbolift?" 

 "They're the same thing, except turbolifts are faster..." 

 "So what is this, and elevator or a turbolift?" 

 "Well, it's a turbolift." 

 "Then it isn't an elevator!" 

 "Yes it is, it's a turbolift!" 

 "DAMN IT, SHADDUP!!" Raynor just yelled a lot, stamped his feet, and
 generally went into a tantrum, before he turned and walked back the other
 way, only to get lost again. Locke just sighed and headed for the turbolift.


 It was going to be a looooooong night. Well, more so for Raynor, but that's
 not the point. 









 So what exactly IS going to happen on our little festival night here? Why is
 Eric giving creepy stares to Rika? Will Takato stop saying 'Guilmon' in
 every sentence? Will Ultimanium suck at Tribes 2? Will Crono be able to keep
 his vow of silence? And what exactly is there to be done about the
 Prospector? Find out next time, on Trance Trauma! 









 CHAPTER 4 - Aggressions Already? The Secret of the Unity 



 Raynor (VO) 

 Last time on Trance Trauma, Ultimanium got everyone together for the main
 briefing, but it was still a bunch of garbage if you ask me. Seems some
 moron calling himself the Prospector abdicated from Magnus' world government
 and has possession of the J, the very first prototype dimensionsplitter, as
 Ulty calls it, which is a highly unstable version of the J probes that he
 uses now in his missions. The Prospector dude locked himself away on some
 island somewhere, surrounded himself with a private army and demanded 50
 billion dollars for the release of the J - otherwise, in two weeks, he would
 activate it and the sixth dimension would collapse, and that somehow is
 supposed to destroy all of creation as we know it. Hey, don't ask me, I'm
 just here for the room and board. 

 What's WORSE, with the little time we have, the guy insists that we HANG OUT
 aboard the Argetlahm and get to know our "bunkmates"! Let me tell you, I
 don't need any assistance to finish this job, let alone sensitivity lessons.
 I say we just barge right in there and kill the bastard, but it seems our
 "leader" has some special plan in mind. Whatever, he's the guy who signs my
 paychecks, so I'd better shut up now... 












 ******** 


 A gentle, seaside breeze swept into the room. The man sat in direct range of
 the gust of wind, and shivered slightly as it hit him head on. With no
 response, he swiveled his chair around slowly, until it faced the desk
 again. He picked up a watch that lied sprawled on the desk surface and
 dangled it in his hand, before clenching his fist. His head pivoted as a
 door opening could be heard from the other side of the office. Standing
 there was a man in a dark-beige flightsuit. He quickly came to attention,
 shattering the morbid silence with his heavy boot crashing against the
 polished floor. 

 "We await further orders." 

 The man dropped the watch down back onto the table, and faced the soldier.
 "When was the last time we changed the island's trajectory?" 

 "I believe 2 hours ago, sir." 

 "I don't want estimates, Trooper. I want the cold hard facts. When you leave
 this room, I want you to head down to Engineering and get the statistics.
 Even if you're confident in what you get, I want you to tell them to change
 everything - velocity, angle, every last piece of information - I want NO
 one finding us." 

 The soldier bowed. "Aye, sir." 

 The chair squeaked as it turned back to the window. "Tell me, how is Project
 Trance doing?" 

 "Relatively quickly, sir. We should be able to go Trance in a week and a
 half from now." 

 "Appleton, did I hear a 'we'? There is no 'we' here. There's a me, an I, but
 no 'we'. Just do as you're told." 

 Appleton nodded. He knew exactly what Project Trance meant to the man he
 only knew as the Prospector, and that was a terrible lot. His office, which
 he occupied now, was only on the sixth floor of the gargantuan tower that
 sat on Gaia's Isle. Every other sector of the tower that wasn't a broom
 closet, bedroom or security office was dotted with mysterious machinery,
 dedicated to finding the secret of going Trance. Every one of the 80 floors
 above him was a progressive level of Trance research. Once a coworker of the
 Prospector had the gall to ask the man directly what 'Trancing' exactly was,
 and if it were related to 'that FFIX game', as he worded it. He was given an
 abrupt "no". Well, he had a shell from a sniper rifle in his head by the end
 of the day. No one even attempted to speak to the Prospector on the matter,
 so at this point Appleton knew that he was in too deep. 

 "Yes, sir." he quickly found the urge to leave the office quickly. 

 The Prospector watched with ravenous eyes as the doors closed with a
 distasteful thud. Slowly, his thoughts drifted away. 



 "Soon, the hybrid will exist...." 







 ******** 


 Many people aboard the Argetlahm were simply walking the halls, though some
 had confined themselves to their rooms to inspect their bunkmate's
 belongings, and just indulge in normal conversation. 

 But Raynor attempted to avoid either situation. 

 He sat at his desk, stabbing between his fingers with a large dagger he had
 dug out of his bag. MP3s were continually playing from the computer next to
 him, ones that had been downloaded during the first tour by Davis. When
 Takato and Raynor first moved into the room, the old bunk listing was still
 taped to the door. The bunk had previously been used by both Davis and
 Conker. Takato was lying on Davis' old top bunk, examining scratches in the
 wall apparently made by the bored Digidestined several years ago. 

 "D.M+K.K... whoa, this is Davis alright." 

 "Who the hell is this Davis kid?" Raynor growled, narrowly missing his pinky
 with the long knife. "All I've been hearing out of you since we got on this
 piece of junk is Davis Davis Davis." 

 "One of the second gen of Digidestined. He left his goggles behind so Ulty
 let me have them." 

 "Digi digi digi. God, this place is so goddamn weird." He turned away for
 his computer for a second, his averagely-po'ed face turning into an
 extremely po'ed face. "I'm letting you be my bunk buddy, for God sakes could
 you get that... THING off my bed?" 

 Takato swung his head down from the top bunk, only to see Guilmon sat down
 on the bed helplessly trying to grasp a book that he had dug out of Takato's
 bag. Next to him sat Raynor's suitcase. Guilmon tore his attention away from
 opening the novel to Raynor's complaint. "What, this thing?" he kicked the
 suitcase, making it land and popping open, spilling its contents all over
 the floor. 

 Takato smiled half-amused, at least until he saw Raynor's expression.
 "...not THAT thing." 

 "One LAST chance!" Raynor snarled to himself, scooping up toiletries and
 pairs of socks from the ground. "After that, Ultimanium gets a word from
 me..." Raynor reached for a pair of underwear he had seen on the ground
 before, but stopped when he realized it wasn't there. Slowly he peered up...
 and saw them on Guilmon's head. 

 "This is a neat hat! Can I have it?" 


 ******** 


 Raynor went stomping into a turbolift. "God damn stupid kid and his fricking
 idiot dinosaur lizard thingy and his..." his ranting was quickly cut out by
 the turbolift doors as they slid shut behind him. Meanwhile, Gohan and V2
 strided into the turbolift next to it, where Eric sat leaning against the
 wall next to the control panel. 

 "Hey," Gohan quiped. "You headed to the rec room?" 

 Eric blinked. "Rec room? This place has a rec room?" 

 V2 nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure if the computers work anymore though. Ulty's
 headed down there right now, he said something about getting Tribes 2 in the
 mail, and he was going to install it right away." 

 "I'm not the biggest computer gamer in the world... but... ah, hell, sure." 

 By the time Gohan and V2 slipped into the turbolift, the other had come down
 already with Raynor already on his way to the bridge. Shaun slipped out of
 the shadows, and, checking around him, into the turbolift. He turned quickly
 and examined the computer panel ahead of him. "...5, bridge, 4, male/misc
 bunks, 3, female bunks, 2, training floor, 1, ship defenses, B1, engine
 room. Leeeeeet's try.... 2." Shaun reached out and tapped the large block 2,
 and immediately felt his heart leap as the turbolift plunged down the shaft.
 Less than two seconds after the elevator started moving, it had already come
 to a halt. Regaining his composure, Shaun stepped out of the turbolift car
 and gazed down the hall in front of him. It was the last part of the ship
 that looked like it hadn't been touched in eons. Apparently no one had even
 looked at training themselves yet. 

 "Well, these people must be pretty confident in themselves." Shaun huffed.
 He began to slide cautiously down the hall, until coming to a pair of double
 doors at the far end of the hall on his left. With some effort he pushed
 open the doors. What he saw startled him somewhat. 

 The gym in front of him certainly hadn't been repaired since it was last
 used. The wood floor had the prerequisite layer of dust, and the polish had
 faded. But more significant was the massive burns and the hundreds of wood
 chips covering the grounds, and the center of the gym, where the wood was
 completely stripped away. It appeared as if something had impacted the floor
 extremely hard to do that sort of damage. In the corner lied the two pieces
 of the Buster Sword. 

 "...The Buster Sword?" Shaun half-jogged across the gym to the corner where
 the two large plates of metal lied, one with the handle still attached. He
 leant down to the wreckage and examined the handiwork. "...this is it,
 alright. Cloud Strife himself was here with the crew, like the reports
 said..." His eyes caught on to a pair of decapitated/dismembered corpses
 against the wall nearby. Shaun went over to inspect them next. "Funny, these
 aren't people at all! They're cyborgs..." he lifted up the remaining arm of
 the left one, exposing a shield logo. "They were Ultramagnus', alright.
 Ulty's not making this up. This must be where they kept some of the ones
 seized onboard for testing." 

 "...seized..." a voice crackled, a short distance away from him. 

 Shaun jumped, one hand on the yo-yo clamped to his belt. He quickly threw
 himself around - and stared straight into the face of a half-functioning
 cyborg, sat down against the far wall. With a loud squeal, it's eyes flared
 a neon green, that flickered a bit before finally settling in. "...we were
 seized...Ultramagnus... forgive us..." 

 "Ultramagnus is long gone," Shaun growled. "but, anyways, I still never
 anticipated to see another cyborg operational as long as I'd live." 

 "I am still op-op-op-operational. I must establish communications with Epoch
 Rock... and tell them I am still alive to defeat the Argetlahm crew." 

 *I've seen this model before,* Shaun ran through his mind. *this is one of
 the grunt cyborgs that were Ultramagnus' shock troops. Some of the weakest
 kind he had, but they came in numbers. If he tries anything, I should be
 able to beat him...* 

 "I said, Ultramagnus has been destroyed. He's been dead for nine years now.
 Now, you're extremely damaged there, I suggest you just put yourself out of
 your misery while you still can." 

 "I must de-de-defeat... all... Davis... Conker... Goku... these are just
 some of my targets..." 

 *That must be the deal, he hasn't been on for nine years so he still thinks
 Ulty's old crew is running the show. The guy's stuck in a time warp.* 

 "Whatever. Anyways, if you really want to get to the Argetlahm you have to
 get through me first." 

 With little warning, the cyborg leapt to his feet. "That can be arranged!"
 Before Shaun had a chance to say anything else, the robot was headed in a
 mad charge toward him, leaving a trail of sparks in his wake. 

 "He's really going for it..." Shaun began to back away, but quickly found
 himself up against the back wall of the gym. "Well, THIS is just nice!"
 Shaun ripped the yo-yo off his belt and flipped it at the rapidly
 approaching menace. The projectile hit the cyborg with a loud clunk, slowing
 it down somewhat, but leaving little damage other than a scrape on the metal
 surface of its chest. "Oh, this is just gr..." Shaun lost some air as the
 cyborg launched a fist into his gut, making him fly back a short distance
 and land sideways on the ground. He quickly rolled out of the way of the
 fist that plowed straight into the ground, and stumbled to his feet. 

 "Damn it, this is going to be a bit harder than I thought. If I had the Mega
 Launcher I could... let's see, what else can I work with?..." as the android
 began lumbering towards Shaun, he quickly glanced around himself. "Man, this
 place is useless!" he picked up the bottom half of the Buster Sword and
 threw it spinning vertically at the cyborg, which impacted with another
 discouraging deflection. As the blade hilt clattered against the ground, the
 android stumbled back, before regaining its ground and beginning its advance
 once again. 

 Shaun began to brace himself. "Oh, so THAT'S how you want to play it..." he
 lunged headon at the android, ready to deliver back the cheap shot that he
 had received. As he brought his hand forward, it was intercepted easily by a
 mechanical elbow. As he quickly brought his left fist up in a backhand aimed
 at the head, it cocked back, narrowly dodging the attack. The android's head
 flung back, striking his opponent's forehead with full force. Shaun shoved
 himself back from the fight, and evaded a pair of clenched fists that
 slammed into the ground where he once stood. As the android quickly regained
 his stance and dove straight at Shaun, he hopped into the air to dodge the
 sack, and brought his fists, interwined, down on the back of the android's
 cranium, sending him facefirst down into the floor with a crash. As the
 droid struggled to get up, Shaun had begun his backpedal again. 

 "DIE or something!" Shaun held his fists to his side and back, as a minor,
 white aura began to surround his hands. Once again, he flung himself at the
 robot. "Sonic...Fist!!" he threw his hand straight at the android's chest,
 barely visible save for the rippling air that surrounded it. 

 THWANG 

 "OW OW OW OW OW!!!" Shaun immediately lurched back, hopping on one foot. He
 stopped a good 8 feet away, before examining his knuckles, which were a
 painful beet red. "Okay, maybe THAT isn't going to work." 

 "YOU are with this accursed Argetlahm! You must die!" 

 "Maaaaaaan..." he glanced over to his side. A door labeled FIRING RANGE was
 within sprint's reach. Shaun whipped the yo-yo again at an arc so it twisted
 around the android's feet, catching it by surprise. Shaun ripped upward with
 the cord with aggravated force, flipping the android up, over and onto his
 back with a thud. He quickly reeled the cord in again and dove in a kneeling
 position on top of the robot, delivering several hard punches to it's
 vulnerable face. When the android was visiablly stunned, Shaun leapt and
 made a run for the range, and threw open the door, diving in. He flicked on
 the lights, showing the ancient shooting range, you guessed it, covered in
 dust. Several old handguns lined a table in the back. Having no time for a
 decision, Shaun grabbed a Desert Eagle and made a run back for the door. It
 flung open in front of him as he reached for the handle, exposing his
 assailant again. He ducked a punch and gradually began backing away as the
 robot launched attack after attack. Shaun finally backpedalled away from the
 android and finished loading the gun. The laser sighting clicked on as the
 attacker began his last rush. 

 "Burning Force!" 

 A marroon aura flashed on the barrel of the pistol for a brief second before
 it fired the ball of fire, with a red-white corkscrew trailing the shot. The
 attack hit with a ripple of flame, sending the android back into the wall,
 its front armor partially shattered from the lash of the blow. As the
 android struggled to push itself forward, Shaun fired several more normal
 rounds into the fracture, blasting a small section of the breastplate apart
 and mortally damaging the electronic instruments inside the casing. The
 green eyes began to pulse again. 

 "Ultramagnus! I have... fai.." the eyes blanked out. 

 Shaun kept the pistol held with both hands for several seconds, keeping a
 constant eye on the robot before placing the gun back on the table.
 "...whoa...these guys sure take a beating! You seriously can't tell me the
 guys hanging around the Argetlahm before could take an ARMY of these
 things... I've SERIOUSLY got to talk to Ultimanium now." He gave one last
 look to the targeting range, and the group of targeting posters lined up at
 the far edge of the room, before turning and leaving. 


 ******** 


 The rec room had been radically changed since its last use. Nearly all the
 devices in the room had been updated - more powerful computers, a larger TV,
 and a different couch. But the FF tapes were still there. (A/N - If that's
 not foreshadowing, then I don't know what is. ^_- Hint: I'm better at it
 now.) Crono, Locke, and Trunks were sitting around the couch watching TV.
 Rika occupied a newly-placed recliner by the door, deep into a book she'd
 dug out of her bag. Gohan was explaining to Goten the intricacies of Windows
 XP. Armadillomon was attempting to be cool and noticable and failing
 miserably. Takato and Guilmon were hiding Raynor's articles of clothing.
 Raynor was trying to find Takato and Guilmon. 

 There were some sections of the ship that were still off limits. 

 See, the Argetlahm was just like any other capship that housed people. There
 were several hundred bunk rooms hidden all over the ship, they were simply
 on the floors above the bridge and behind it. And every single ship had to
 have its observation domes. They were most often referred to as "pleasure
 domes", since their reduced gravity often meant that people just floated
 around and that generally disrupted other people trying to enjoy the silence
 of space. No one actually knew about them save for Ultimanium, but he
 himself had to bridge to use for his brooding purposes. (Think the low-grav
 domes in Supernova and you get the idea.) 

 Renamon simply hovered clean in the air and stared out into the emptyness
 before her. She would've thought, bu... 

 "Hey!" 

 ...well, you get the picture. 

 Renamon sighed to herself as she turned to she who her intruder was. *It's
 that other digimon that was aboard this ship. Hmm... I don't know, but
 something about him makes me feel uneasy.* "Yes, what do you want?" 

 The halls outside of the pleasure dome were completely pitch black, the
 darkness only being broken by the light from the sun pouring in through the
 pleasure dome windowing. V2 stepped out of the shadows. "This part of the
 ship is off limits." 

 "I honestly do not know what harm is to come of simply being here. I wish
 only to be left alone, to think." With that, Renamon turned her back again
 to the other Rookie. 

 "Do I need to force you?" 

 Renamon never moved. "I simply wish to be left here, alone, to my thoughts.
 I do not wish to fight. And besides, though we are both Rookies, I would
 conclude that I have a bit more battle experience than you do." 

 V2 snickered, waving both hands disagreeingly. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rookie?
 Listen here, I've been in more of a society-threatening fight than all yours
 combined. Rookie isn't generally the term for a Veedramon, either." 

 That got Renamon's attention. Turning back, she beared eyes down into the
 hall behind her - with a Veedramon nearly taking up the full height of it.
 "Dare I ask when you digivolved?" 

 "Just a little special ability of mine. I AM the offspring of Veemon and
 Gatomon, you know. Veemon was given special shots to nullify his
 digivolution restraints during the Argetlahm's first tour, and that combined
 with Gatomon's 'features' has made that trait permanent in me. The digivice
 that Gohan has is an absolute hoax. I digivolve, by myself, where I want to,
 when I want to. And getting enough power to go Ultimate is something I, I as
 in V2, have to do." 

 "You seem to want to get me out of here awfully badly." 

 "Ultimanium's rules, you know." 

 "That's Ultimanium's responsibility, you mean." 

 V2 threw his clawed fist into an open hand. "Do I need to make you move, or
 are you going to do it peacefully? I'm going to remind you, this section of
 the ship is OFF LIMITS. Do you understand?!" 

 "Well, aren't YOU pushy. Fine, I'll leave, but only on the account that
 you're threatening me. If worse comes to worse, I won't be afraid to talk
 this up with Ultimanium. Toodles." Rika flickered in the air momentarily
 before teleporting into thin air. 

 V2 muttered to himself. "Gotta keep an eye on these new digimon. Some of
 them apparently have no idea of discipline, and their attitude should be
 going in the crapper any time now." 

 "I'd say yours is pretty low already." 

 V2 flung himself around. "Who's there?" 

 Eric stepped into the sunlight, stopping to pop a coin into a vintage pop
 machine that had been placed in the abandoned hall, seemingly years ago.
 "YOU'RE the one here that needs a little attitude adjustment, Veemon, or
 whatever your name is. I seriously don't know how Renamon's habitation of
 the pleasure dome relates to the downfall of Ulty's leadership here." 

 "Well, well. Looks like one of our OTHER newb friends, here. When'd you show
 up?" 

 "I kind of got 'lost' from Gohan, and I see you did too. If you want to
 stick around here very long, I insist that you stop putting your nose into
 other peoples' business." 

 Eric shuddered slightly as V2 began approaching him. "You seem to forget,
 head-in-the-Clouds, that I am the senior Argetlahm member talking here. I
 know what's best for my comrades." 

 Ultimanium was next to slide into the corridor. "Seniority is none of your
 concern, V2. I saw what you did to Renamon, now I insist that you leave and
 hand this area back over to her." 

 V2 bowed. "I'm sorry, Ultimanium. It's just that.." 

 "You wanted Renamon to follow the rules. Well, listen, I don't really have
 any specific rules. I never stated fully that anyone was NOT to enter here,
 and besides, I want nothing handicapping my fighters' abilities or enjoyment
 of their stay here. Is that understood? I know you're the "senior" member,
 but let's meet end to end, you probably used your attacks about once or
 twice throughout the remaining campaign against Ultramagnus. So just be
 quiet. Well, I have to get going, I have a Tribes 2 deathmatch to attend
 to." 

 Both Eric and V2 watched silently as Ultimanium hid himself back in the
 darkness, his boots clicking as he made his way further down the corridor. 

 Eric leant over to V2. "I'm kind of lost here, maybe we should follow him?" 

 "I'm kind of wondering how I got here in the first place. Anyways, what was
 the guilt trip for? Oh, yeah, I remember, you were trying to get on Rika's
 good side." 

 "What?!" 

 V2 rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I hear NOTHING that goes on
 aboard this ship. Well, see ya round, newb. I gotta head back to my bunks." 

 As V2 lumbered away, Super Saiyan Eric could be heard growling, shortly
 followed by the sound of an empty pop can being crushed into atoms. 


 ******** 


 While people were deep in conversation around them, given that it was
 beginning to get late and many people had chosen to return to their bunks;
 save for Raynor, who was still searching for his undergarments, Takato,
 Guilmon, Locke and Crono were holed up in Takato/Raynor's bunk. Takato
 summoned the random crew members on what was labelled "urgent business",
 which was responded to with surprise by the other two male crewmen. As Locke
 and Crono invited themselves in, Takato slipped the door shut behind them. 

 Locke set himself down on Raynor's bunk, but shuffled himself away against
 the wall when he noticed Guilmon conked out and snoring somewhat LOUDLY next
 to him. "Hey, kid, what's the big deal? What are we down here for?" 

 Crono shot Takato a similarly questioning glance. 

 "I'd just dug up some info that Ultimanium might find useful. I was bored
 and surfing the Web here a little while ago, and when I checked Conker's
 bookmarks, he had a link to globalworld.gov. I took a look at it, and I
 found it to be the World State Government's main page. I heard a while ago
 that Conker was third in command of the Argetlahm next to Ulty and his two
 second men, Magnus and Raul, so Conker had to have some idea of his mission
 objectives and the theories of the third dimension itself, right?" 

 Crono looked over to Locke. Locke turned the stare back to Takato. "Alright,
 but, anyways, what does this have to do with what's going on with the
 Prospector?" 

 "The guy states that the only shred of info we have on the Prospector is
 that he abdicated from the World State Government a couple of days ago. What
 I found on here was a hack that Ultimanium personally installed to bypass
 the general populace main page and get right into the good stuff, which
 Conker needed to know." Takato rolled the chair he was in over to the
 computer and double-clicked on a button on the page. "...profiles of all the
 major leaders. They don't provide actual photos, or even actual names, only
 management titles, because that would probably make assassinations way too
 easy, but they do provide background profiles... the vice-leader of the
 third dimension, right below Magnus, has a pretty screwed up history..." 

 Locke leaned over. "Go on." Crono nodded encouragingly. 

 "The guy nearly lost his election of vice-president due to a rumor that was
 flying around the place that he was once involved with a freaky cult called
 'The Unity'. What exactly this has to do with his motives can be found at
 the Unity's main site, which is just a short Yahoo away..." Takato reached
 down and punched the keys in, and hit enter. "The Unity has three sites
 going. Two are Lord of the Rings fansites, one is for the meetings of the
 organization The Unity. I took a look at this a little while ago, and the
 rest was as weird as I thought it would be. 

 The Unity's only objective isn't worship, self-praise or even happiness -
 no, all these people are trying to do is establish the 'Unity', which is
 described here as a melding of a person's six possible identities that
 pushes them to the threshold of demigodliness, as it says here. This
 situation is called, word for word, Trancelestial Astral-hybrid Power
 Formation, or Trance for short." 

 "So what are you saying?" 

 Takato kicked the chair around so he faced the group. "If the guy we're
 dealing with is this one, than we have a wacko on our hands." 

 Locke shrugged. "But what does this have to do with the J?" 

 "I don't know.. maybe activating the J has some part in doing that... but
 still, I'm not entirely sure what this entire situation means." 

 Locke tilted his head to the side. "So this has basically been one giant
 useless fact?" 

 "Well.. um..." 

 "Well, it was entertaining nonetheless. C'mon, Crono, Ulty's going to bitch
 us out if we get to our bunks after lights out." Crono nodded, and sat up,
 following Locke out of the room. As Takato shut down the computer and
 started climbing onto the top bunk, Raynor burst back through the doors.
 "Where the hell is my underwear? I've been looking for it all damn night!" 

 ____All personnel, return to your bunks. Lights out will be in 5
 minutes.____ 

 "Crono took them. Talk to him after." 

 "Oooh.. swear to god, when I get my hands on that little punk... DAMN IT!!
 Get that damn THING off my bed!" 

 Guilmon groggily opened an eye. "Takato, am I the thing?" 

 "I'm afraid so." 

 "I've always wanted to be an object! What kind of thing am I?" 

 "MOOOOOOOOOVE!!!" Raynor bellowed. He flipped Guilmon onto the floor as he
 buried himself under the covers, leaving Guilmon on the floor. 

 "...eh... here, buddy." Takato lifted up his covers and tossed them onto the
 floor so it sheeted the digimon. 

 "Thanks, Takato." 

 The lights blinked out, and the Argetlahm went into darkness once again.
 Takato rolled over on to his side. The bed was actually pretty comfortable,
 even without blankets. The room temperature was absolutely perfect, which
 aided the inhabitants of the ship in shutting their eyes. 


 ******** 


 Even Ultimanium had opened his chair back and was lying in a generally
 uncomfortable position on it. Minonim stared distastefully at the small
 puddle of slobber that had accumulated on the floor during Ultimanium's
 short sleep. 

 "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Master." Minonim buzzed. "I hope we can
 expect things to stay that way... I really don't know how this mission could
 possibly turn out, but I'm getting a very bad feeling about this... well...
 good night." Minonim's eyes dimmed out as he lowered himself to the floor.
 The soft clunk of Minonim's probe against the catwalk floor was the last
 sound heard aboard the Argetlahm for the rest of the night. 










 What awaits the Argetlahm and its crew during the planetfall? How exactly
 has Magnopolis changed over the last nine years? I'll give you a hint, the
 silence isn't going to last much longer... and what does the Unity have to
 do with all this? Find out next time, on Trance Trauma! 










 CHAPTER 5 - Chaos in Magnopolis! The Miacas Surfaces 


 (A/N - Several minor changes have been made to the previous two chapters
 since posting, mostly concerning Shaun Garin's character. Nothing terribly
 damaging, but the hand cannon being used is less of an actual gunarm than a
 hand cannon - a long-barreled gun that can be used with one or two hands and
 fires 120mm shells. Just thought I'd like to bring that up. And the entire
 fight scene that he had to go through is remixed and extended now (It just
 feels cool saying it like that, don't mind me. ^_^), if you're into that
 kind of thing. Something else, I'm going to be jumping between the Japanese
 and American digimon cards, just picking out ones that work for the
 situation, so... well, it's just a warning...) 






 Ultimanium (VO) 

 Eh, I'm really getting tired of these openers. Let's just keep it simple -
 the crew had a day to get into shape for the coming fight, which none of
 them did, I might add... anyways, Shaun dug up an old android in the
 training room from the Ultramagnus days and had a surprise spar against it
 before putting it away for good. Meanwhile, Takato had made some movement on
 the entire Prospector situation, after looking up the profiles for the World
 State Government on Conker's old computer. While he doesn't have definite
 answers, he's telling everybody that the entire situation at hand has to do
 something with the Unity, a wacko religion that believes in uniting a
 person's six possible identities in a situation called Trance, and that's
 supposed to make them into a supposed invulnerable entity. And, still, we
 have the entire J situation to deal with, so either way we're screwed.
 Still, we've gotten out of worse situations before, and I'm not exactly
 about to call it quits on this one... 


















 ******** 


 The entire crew was shooken awake by Powerman 5000 playing full-blast over
 the intercom. Don't even ask, it just works. It didn't exactly fling them
 out of their beds, it DID, however, get them somewhat prepped for what was
 to come next. 

 "Hey, guys," Ultimanium's voice echoed over the intercom. "Rise and shine.
 And do it fast. In case you don't, we're entering planetfall in
 approximately 1 minute. Ta ta." A loud click ended the transmission. 


 ******** 


 Trunks sat out of bed, trying to grind sleepiness out of his eyes. "Does he
 do this all the time?" 

 Locke also sat up, though hunched over. "I have a feeling by the end of this
 trip I am reeeeeeeeeally going to despise hard rock. Well, if we don't want
 to get thrown out of bed, we should be getting ready." Locke swung himself
 down from his top bunk, and scooped a set of shirt and pants out of the
 dresser. As he got dressed, he picked up his dagger and contemplated, before
 sticking it in his back pocket. Trunks was already set up in his usual gi.
 He gave Locke a nod, before they both turned and headed for the door. They
 weren't even halfway when the ground beneath them shuddered slightly. 

 "45 seconds," Ultimanium spoke. "What you just felt were our secondary
 thrusters cutting out. Whatever you're doing, get ready for a fall." 

 Trunks and Locke stared at eachother. "Fall?" 


 ******** 


 Ultimanium studied the control panel in front of him. "Minonim. Status
 report." 

 The probe bleeped. "Secondary thrusters have been deactivated as commanded,
 Ultimanium. The Argetlahm's orbit is beginning to deteriorate. Are you sure
 you know what you're doing? You haven't brought Argetlahm into a planetfall
 during the last nine years, or any other starship, for that matter. I would
 suggest turning control of the ship over to the main computer." 

 Ultimanium shot a glance back. "These computers keep failing whenever I put
 in the landing coordinates. I never really trusted them fully, anyways...
 we're going to have to use manual control. Deactivate primary boosters on my
 mark. We're heading for the Magnopolis spaceport drydocks." Ultimanium
 turned back to his panels, the only indication of Minonim's instructions
 being a hand gesture over his shoulder. 

 Minonim's eyes shut off and reactivated, as if simulating a confused blink.
 "Okay. Disabling primary thrusters." 


 ******** 


 Crono sat, whistling to himself. He looked at his bare feet for a second
 before he reached for the folded socks next to him on his bed - and found
 out they weren't there. After several quick pouts, he rolled his eyes up,
 and saw them hovering in front of his vision. He swiped out a hand to grab
 them, but missed by a foot. It was then he realized he was floating too -
 and rapidly approaching the celing. 

 Gohan lied on his top bunk, legs crossed and bouncing an open book on his
 chest, also unaware that he was hovering a good foot off his bed. He looked
 over in time to see Crono flung into the celing facefirst with a loud
 thwack. Gohan simply winced, and went back to reading his book, using his
 free hand to push himself away from the roof. 


 ******** 


 "Set up the heat shield." 

 "Aye." 

 Ultimanium turned his chair around to face the glass shield. The space
 outside was slowly being covered with a navy-blue barrier, which quickly
 turned to a searing red as the Argetlahm began to plunge toward the surface
 of Earth. Ultimanium quickly rolled the chair over to another station and
 examined an artificial horizon. "Okay, we're all straight and set... let's
 go! Minonim, reengage all forward thrusters and maintain our downward
 velocity! Adjust the forward boosters as you see fit to set us on a perfect
 diagonal freefall towards Magnopolis." 

 Minonim was immediately at work switching the primary and secondary boosters
 on and off. 


 ******** 


 Just one thing you should know. The Argetlahm was perfectly still when it
 started falling, so a quick adjustments of thrust might not be all that
 great for Crono. 

 *THWUMP* 

 Gohan raised an eyebrow as he lowered his book. Indeed, Crono was plastered
 in a spread-eagle against the far wall, directly above the computer. The
 squeal and combustion burst downstairs was enough to let Gohan know that the
 Argetlahm was changing its trajectory - again. He didn't have time to say
 anything as Crono came in a red blur back at Gohan, flattening him against
 the wall. 

 Loud knocking came from next door. "Will you two keep it down in there?! I'm
 having enough trouble dodging... whoa!!" *THUMP* "Damn it, get off of me!
 Will you quit flinging yourself around?!" 

 "I can't help it! I just.. AAAAHHH!!" *WHUMP* "GAAAH! Guilmon, you hit me in
 the nads!!" 

 "Sorry, Takato, I just feel like I'm... oh no..." *WHUMP POW CRASH* 

 Crono and Gohan were tangled together, trying to pry each other apart from
 the inertia that was tossing them around when the door shoved open, showing
 Eric hovering, and struggling to keep himself steady. "U-Ultimanium's
 s-s-stopping the reentry any m-minute! Hang tight! We can.." he was silenced
 immediately as Rika flew through the air and slammed into him, sending them
 both down the hall. The gust of wind pushed closed the door. 


 ******** 


















 A large airlock on the far side of the bridge opened with a long hiss,
 signifying the end of the Argetlahm's long descent. The various crew members
 sat lined up on the bridge, with various punch and kick bruises forming on
 them. Ultimanium made his way to the front of the group, with a bandage tied
 to his head, along with Minonim, who had a large dent on his forehead as
 well. "Well," Ultimanium sighed. "See? Reentry wasn't that bad, was it?" 

 Everybody growled. 

 "Anyways, we've set down at the Magnopolis spaceport drydocks. Before we
 head out and do what we need to do, you're probably wondering what the
 entire deal is with Magnopolis. Magnopolis is one of the four major cities
 in the third dimension, this one being the largest. I've never actually been
 to the others, since they are pretty much in the southern extremes of the
 world. Magnopolis is situated mid-northeast. This is where the main
 headquarters for where the World State Government lies, everybody except for
 Magnus, who decided to keep his base of operations somewhere else.. I don't
 know, even I haven't heard from him since we last left the Argetlahm." 

 Rika nodded. "Anything else we need to know?" 

 "Everything else is pretty much facts. But one thing... the entire
 northwestern section of the world as we know it in the third dimension is
 barren wasteland... it's listed as the Wastes of Kardis, though I have NO
 idea why it would be called that." 

 "Well, we're wasting every bit of time we have just standing around HERE."
 Takato sighed. "We should head out and try to get every bit of information
 we can on the Prospector." 

 Shaun smirked. "But we don't even know where to start." 

 "Do we need to know? We're just going to head out into Magnopolis and get
 information any good way we know how." Takato used both hands to refit his
 goggles. "I know I have mine." 

 "Whatever," Ultimanium muttered. "But don't get lost on us, everybody. I
 want everybody to return to the Argetlahm tonight at 7 PM, and give me what
 they know. I'll be out on the town too. Then we'll be able to decide whether
 we have the info we need to start tracking the Prospector." 

 Everybody nodded, then immediately darted off through the gate leading out
 of the bridge, and down into the city below. Cody was the last to leave,
 along with Armadillomon. 

 "What's going on, Cody? You look pretty worried." 

 "I haven't seen Magnopolis for so long," Cody murmured. "It's hard to
 envision what sort of change could rebuild Magnopolis to the great state
 that Ultimanium keeps insisting of. Do you remember Magnopolis? During the
 very first mission... we were outside Magnopolis, but we got a good look
 inside from the plateau we were on - I could never get that image out of my
 mind, how this city was so... damaged... and deranged. But maybe it is
 better now. We need to check this out." 

 Armadillomon nodded. "Let's." 

 Cody and Armadillomon both took their first step out of the airlock. What
 they saw amazed them. 






 A massive panel of plate glass windows was directly in front of them. The
 hallway of the spaceport intake was just as a normal airport intake
 corridor, as people from other nearby docked ships crowded the halls -
 businessworkers nattering endlessly into celphones from either benches,
 nearby restraunts or just talking while striding along, families were being
 tugged along by their parents, as well as strollers. Outside, a massive
 plain of green grass started at the end of the concrete pad the hall was
 centered on, that stretched off into the horizon. If they were really in
 Magnopolis, they were probably at the farthest reaches of the outskirts of
 the city. 

 Cody pulled his jacket he had brought with him further over his shoulder.
 "This place is absolutely incredible. Just a couple of years ago the place
 was completely wasted..." 

 Armadillomon was already waddling down the hall, avoiding the feet of
 passerbys. "We'd better hurry, the group's already a good distance ahead!" 

 Cody nodded, waking out of his trance. "Gotcha." 


 ******** 


 Ultimanium sat at the very front of the group. He sat, turned around his bus
 seat, explaining to everyone the operation as the bus quietly rolled its way
 to the center of Magnopolis, where Techno Tower lied. 

 "Techno Tower is a Magnopolitian landmark. If anyone gets lost, just report
 back there - we have several allies there that will keep track of you if you
 lose your way. Just head towards Techno Tower, and they'll be able to assist
 you and get you back on your way. I simply want you to go out, scour the
 town, and bring back as much information you can get your hands on.
 Everybody will report back to Techno Tower at 7 PM, when we'll be catching
 another bus back to the Argetlahm. Then, we should be able to head out to
 the Atlantic and begin searching for the Prospector's hideout." 

 Everybody nodded, as the bus came to a slow halt. The bus was parked at a
 good 300 feet from the base of Techno Tower as people began to file out, the
 group last. They all made their way out onto the street, staring out into
 the courtyard that surrounded the spacescraper, and several sprinklers that
 were spreading water across its surface. 

 Locke tilted his cap, also brought down from the ship. "Are we ready to go,
 then?" 

 Ultimanium turned back, his normal affirmative glare taking shape. "I'm
 assuming." 

 As the youngest crews sprinted off, and the adults slumped off at a relaxed
 pace, Ultimanium also began heading down a nearby street. Eric glanced over
 at Shaun who was also slipping away, a large round bag in his left hand.
 "Hey, Shaun, where you headed?" 

 Shaun paused momentarily, not shifting his view. "...somewhere." Eric
 remained silent as Shaun disappeared into a backstreet, leaving Eric,
 standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk as the bus rumbled away,
 leaving him swamped in the pedestrians that were beginning to clog the
 pathway. 

 "Where do I start?... hmm..." Eric reached into his pocket and plucked out a
 penny, which he flipped onto his hand. 


 ******** 


 Raynor sat leaning against a nearby lamppost, keeping a steady eye on the
 onrush of pedestrian traffic that swarmed by him on the sidewalk. It had
 been nearly half an hour since Ultimanium split the group up and Raynor had
 few questionable encounters with any strange behaviour around him - well,
 except for a mugger, which Raynor managed to kick the crap out of
 single-handedly, after which he threw through a nearby shop window. Many of
 the nearby storeowners were still peering at him through the remaining glass
 with a look of certain fear on their faces. Raynor's own still appeared as
 gruff as it always was. His choice of apparel today was a simple white
 muscle shirt and the customary jeans. He knew coming out into a crowded city
 in his usual tungsten marine armor wouldn't be the most inviting thing in
 the world to the populace. 

 Before Raynor shoved himself up to try to find some other position when his
 eye centered on a single figure that was weakly shoving other people out of
 his way. He wore a blue backwards baseball cap and an obscenely large
 overcoat, both of which managed to hide his face somehow. He carried a large
 briefcase in his hand loosely, the left hinge of the handle wearing apart.
 Raynor kept a pair of squinted eyes on the man as he slipped in and out of
 the crowd. 

 "...something about that guy's vibes is really putting me off... maybe I'd
 better find Ulty and tell him to keep an eye on this guy..." 

 Raynor hopped as he saw Goten rush out of the maelstrom, chased by Trunks.
 Both children were laughing as the sped after each other... and had no idea
 of the collision course they were headed on with the shady figure. "Trunks!
 Goten! Stop that before you..." 

 A startled cry rose from the crowd ahead as the man sunk into the sea of
 heads. "...hurt someone." Raynor muttered to himself as he broke from his
 defense and jogged over to the site of the disaster. The same person was
 down in a kneeling position as his briefcase fell uncerimoniously to the
 ground with a thump. "Excuse me, sir, do you need a hand with that..." 

 "I'm perfectly fine, thank you." The man grunted. "...ah, so it IS you,
 Raynor... Argetlahm... crew member!" 

 Raynor lifted an eyebrow. "Huzzah? How do you know?" 

 "Leave this place now," the man hissed. "you're only prolonging the
 inevitable. Soon, Trance will occur and there is little you can do about it.
 Soon, the J will be the doom of your world and the Prospector will live on
 high as master Trance!" 

 Raynor ripped the man up into the air by his overcoat with surprising
 strength. "You're one of his goons, aren't you? Well, that was kind of a
 stupid thing to ADMIT it." 

 "Oh, but don't you see? His plan is already taking effect. Somewhere, among
 his several agents, there is a single person that is plotting the
 destruction of Magnopolis as we speak - and when he gets to his goal, this
 place'll be nothing more than the rubble that was here nine years ago." 

 Raynor threw the man up against the lamppost, hitting his head with a dull
 clang. "You don't seem to realize that we're ALL here. We'll take care of
 whatever you throw at us!" Raynor gripped the coat with both hands and threw
 the man out into the open street, landing on top of a car and bursting
 through the windshield. Every car behind it screeched to a halt. As Raynor
 advanced on the briefcase still left on the ground, horns were already
 blaring. He checked around himself, and saw a pair of construction workers
 pounding a small fencepost into the ground at a small park about a block
 away, one carrying a large sledgehammer. 

 "Excuse me," Raynor growled. "Can I borrow that for a second." 

 "I guess," the man gaped, handing the angry, built man in front of him the
 mallet. "What for?" 

 Raynor dropped the briefcase, snatched the hammer and brought it as hard as
 he could down on the handle of the suitcase, smashing the lock open. He
 tossed the hammer to the ground and opened the package - inside was a small
 computer that had apparently been built into the carrying device. 

 "A comm device. The guy's henchmen probably use it to relay to each other. I
 gotta scope out every single one o' these guys..." he tapped a button on the
 far edge and a screen flipped up, showing the circular structure of
 Magnopolis. Seven other dots were flying wildly throughout the display,
 signifying the other workers' movements. "I have to get this to Ultimanium.
 There's no telling what these freaks have planned." 


 ******** 


 "You are from the Argetlahm crew, correct?" 

 Rika took another few steps back, also confused at the shrouded man's sudden
 interest. "What's it to you?" 

 "Soon, Magnopolis will be destroyed by the great Prospector - there is
 nothing you can do! Give up your little crusade now!" 

 As if on cue, Renamon phased in behind Rika. "Whoever this Prospector is,
 he's going to see you in pieces if you take another step." 

 "You.. must be destroyed too!" with blinding speed, the man ditched his
 overcoat and hurtled toward Rika, a clenched fist in the air, ready to
 strike. Renamon's eyes widened as she tried to trace the attacker through
 the air - but was unable to. Seeing little other choice, she dashed in front
 of Rika and threw her arms across her face to repel the hard punch that
 landed directly on her limbs. As Renamon unsheathed her face, she saw the
 man flip out of the air and land back where he had started. 

 "This person is NOT normal... I might need a hand here, Rika." 

 Rika nudged Renamon. "Just beat him senseless, I don't want to have to use
 any Modify cards on anyone, that might be a little overkill." 

 The man threw himself back in a frenzy at the digimon, wailing away at
 Renamon's defense with his fists. Renamon blocked several of the first
 blows, but was soon struggling to keep pace with the assaults coming at her.
 With one shot, an attacking hand grazed Renamon's neck, letting her know she
 was in too deep. She ducked one last pummel and flipped back to Rika's
 position. "He's too fast..." 

 "You now know just the small potential of Trance, Argetlahm crew member!" 

 "We have names, you know. Rika, I sense something extremely wrong with this
 situation - I need some cards, we need to get rid of him, and fast." 

 Rika grit her teeth. "..I don't know..." she was already beginning to take
 notice of the large crowd that had gathered in a circle around the agent,
 Rika and her digimon, giving them little leeway, at least as far as
 higher-level digimon were concerned. "Everybody! Leave here, now! This is
 dangerous!" she remained still, as the citizens started giving eachother
 confused glances. "...maybe you need a little danger to get you moving, I
 suppose?" 

 Rika ripped a card from her pocket, and flipped it into the air, catching it
 inbetween her index and middle fingers as it came down. "I'm giving you one
 last chance! Get out of here! And as for you... I suggest you just give up
 before I have to use the bigger guns!" 

 "Do what you must!" 

 Rika yanked the light blue D-Arc off the other side of her belt and held it
 in front of her as she ripped the card through sideways, with an
 accompanying crackle of electricity. 

 "Digi-modify! Power Blast... activate!" 


 ******** 


 Gohan and V2 had already somehow found their ways into the lower recesses of
 the city, the slums that took up a small section of the southwestern corner
 of the city. The dozen-or-so blocks that made up the grittier side of
 Magnopolis was set on a small incline, which was evident through the
 increased speed of the vehicles on the road next to them compared to the
 main center of the city, and the increased momentum that they used to get
 around turns at each block interval. 

 "Sounds like a reasonable hideout for terrorists..." V2 mumbled. "Where do
 you think the guy would keep any of his contacts?" 

 "I'm not too sure, every block around here looks exactly the same." Gohan's
 eyes wavered to a pair of built mohawkeds as they walked up the opposite
 side of the street, carrying a small crate. Gohan concentrated on piercing
 into the escorts' minds, but found nothing of interest. They certainly
 weren't handling anything potentially dangerous. "Well, anyways, we'd better
 keep looking. Say, have you noticed any funny-looking people around?" 

 V2 stared blankly at a group of people sat around a lamppost, all smoking
 joints. "That's kind of an open-ended question." 

 "No, I mean like a weird person in an overcoat and fedora. I swear, he's
 been following us since we've got here. I've seen him every damn place we've
 been. It's freaking me out." 

 As Gohan and V2 walked by a dark alley, Shaun plodded out of it, also
 watching the crate make its way up the street. "...I have a feeling... I can
 sense the energy coming off of whatever they have... It feels so familiar,
 but what is it...?" 

 A lanky teenager with pink dyed hair crept up from being Shaun. "Hey, what's
 goin' on?" 

 "Excuse me, do you know what those people are taking up the street?" 

 "Oh, you mean THAT. I'm part of the Flaminco Flight, the owning gang in
 these parts. Some of our fellow men dug this thing up in the trash, and they
 heard it's been going for a lot of cash. I'm not sure what the boss wants
 done with it other than selling it, but..." 

 "We got the thing you wanted." 

 Both Shaun and the teen stuck their heads out of the alley and peered up the
 hill, where the two men were speaking with a short, fatter member. "That's
 the leader of this part of the turf. Whatever those people are haulin'
 around with them, they're probably gonna have to explain it to him." 

 Shaun shushed the member, as the group began speaking again. 

 "Is this what you've found? Well, open it up and let's take a look, shall
 we?" The bulkier member handed the turfmaster a crowbar, which he planted
 underneath the roof of the crate. With a downward push, the top flew off,
 landing hard on the cement below. "...whoa! This is it, alright! This
 thing'll go for a fortune! But you DO know what we're gonna do with it,
 right?" 

 Both henchmen shook their heads. 

 "Magnopolis security has been busting down on us for our late-night street
 sports. What we'll do here is have ourselves a little competition - 2 hours
 from now, we're gonna do ourselves a downhill street luge, and winner takes
 all. I want you to round up as many people as're willing to take the plunge,
 fastest man takes home the treasure! THAT oughta spark some resistance
 around here!" 

 One of the workers bent down into the crate and struggled to lift its
 contents. What Shaun saw made his jaw drop. In the hands of the man was a
 2-foot tall cat statue, absolutely perfect and undamaged from wherever it
 was. 

 "...a Miacas..." 








 ~------------~ 


 "Shaun, you do understand what I say, correct?" 

 Shaun nodded solemnly. "Yes. I'll do whatever I can. But, still, I'm not
 entirely clear on these techniques you speak of... the texts have no
 indication that these arts exist..." 

 "Remember what I told you before, they are absolutely top-secret. The powers
 that are locked away are the ultimate attacks designed by the Craymel... I
 believe some of them are could very well be on par with those utilized by
 the Van Eltia. If they were to be accessed by the enemy, they could be the
 doom of us all. Fortunately, they lack the qualification necessary to use
 the arts. The Craymel hid the spirits of these lost skills within the hulls
 of ancient cat statues that had been manufactured by the Craymel in the days
 before their civilzation disappeared into the mists of time. The tomes I've
 heard of refer to the artifacts simply as 'Miacas', roughly translating out
 'the courier of good fortune', similar to the good luck statues constructed
 by Earth's Chinese and Japanese cultures. According to your background,
 accessing these skills should be second nature to you - simply mental and/or
 physical contact with the artifacts should be enough to trigger its effects
 and implant the arts directly into your mind. You will need these skills on
 your journey - there's no telling what evils you may run into outside this
 system." 

 Shaun blinked. "I... understand. I'll find the Miacas.. and that will give
 me the power to retake the Van Eltia..." 

 "Don't sound that way. I know you, Shaun, you are extremely well educated in
 the arts, and a born fighter - whatever path you choose, you'll find a way
 through it. Chat is counting on you." 

 "Thank you, Max. I will do whatever I can to get the Van Eltia back in our
 control once again..." 


 -------------- 





 ******** 


 A heap of papers sat in front and around Ultimanium as he flipped through
 them, bored, trying to dig up some remnant of a clue on the Prospector.
 Crono and Locke sat on opposite sides of him, searching through the sheets
 too. The bar was unusually empty for this time of day, but it had provided a
 temporary sanctuary for the group while they scavenged through Magnopolis
 newspapers from up to three weeks back for some sort of information. A
 celing fan above the group rotated lazily, a fitting contrast to the work
 that was going on below. The entire group had been reading for nearly three
 hours already and had no indication of success. 

 "...TRANCE album highest on dance charts..." Locke droned. 

 "...Planetary UNITY Organization renews peace treaties with Middle-eastern
 countries..." Ultimanium sighed. 

 Crono shook his head in disappointment. 

 The group went back to reading as the bartender returned from behind the
 shop. "What's the deal with you guys? You've been sitting here for hours
 already... what EXACTLY are you trying to find out, anyways?" 

 "Stuff about that Prospector dude." Locke grumbled. 

 "Oh, the guy going to destroy creation?" 

 Everybody nodded. 

 "Well, that's nice. Do any of you want anything to drink?" 

 "A Dr. Pepper." Ultimanium said flatly. 
 "Shirley Temple. On the rocks." Locke continued. 
 Crono pointed at the water tap. 

 The servant nodded, and returned a minute later with the three drinks on a
 small tray, which he distributed among the three men. They each took a sip,
 followed by the clap of each of their glasses touching against the counter.
 Before they could look back down at their papers, stifled giggling could be
 heard from the back of the room. 

 Locke never moved his gaze. "Is someone watching us?" 

 Ultimanium pushed his swivel stool around. "'fraid so." 

 Sitting at a back table were a pair of women, both 19 or so. One was blond,
 generally short, a bit pudgy, and wearing rather... large glasses. The other
 was a tall, slim figure, with red shorts, a white t-shirt, and neon green
 dyed hair that was split back behind in two spiky ponytails. Blue eyes, and
 a white visor that pointed up at an angle. 

 "Don't let 'em get to you," the bartender interrupted, polishing a shot
 glass. "They're the Citrus Sisters, they show up here all the time. As far
 as I can tell, they're looking for someone to take home, but they normally
 don't pick out anybody from here... most of the people who stop in here are
 the unkept truckers. The only reason they come HERE is that the next nearest
 pub is nearly 20 blocks down from here. I'd keep a watch out for them, you
 fellows look exactly like the type they'd drag away." 

 "The taller one don't look so bad." Ultimanium said. 

 "Am I hearing that right?" Locke chirped. "According to the vets, you NEVER
 talked about girls during your entire first tour, and we haven't heard
 anything until now. I think Ulty has an-oof!" Locke stopped as Ultimanium's
 elbow flew into Locke's gut, shoving him off his stool. 

 "You never seemed to say anything when Eric's dropping hints for Rika left
 and right." 

 Locke pushed himself off the floor. "Yeah, but you're the LAST person I
 expected to say anything!" 

 "Say NOTHING if they get ideas of hitting on us." 

 With that, everybody returned to looking at their papers. No one noticed the
 visored woman keeping a glistening eye on Ultimanium. 


 ******** 


 Shaun glanced over to his side as the men began packed up the Miacas and
 began carting the crate off. "..crap. There's got to be SOME way I can get
 in that competition..." 

 "Hey, Shaun, find anything?" 

 Shaun sighed as he turned to face Gohan and V2, standing side by side. "Oh,
 it's you guys. I need your help for something." 

 V2 shrugged. "Name it." 

 "I've already tried to get into the street luge that the Flaminco Flight is
 trying to get going... but they said that they won't accept me unless they
 have some indication that I have prior experience in traffic street luging."


 "Don't you?" 

 "Not really.. but I can handle it.... alright, I need you guys to keep a
 secret for me. If this gets out to any third dimension people, the Argetlahm
 crew is good as ruined. Can you?" 

 Gohan scratched the back of his head. "..I guess. What did you need to do?" 

 Shaun set down the bag in his hand and began to unzip it. Out of it he took
 a perfectly polished biker helmet, with navy blue and white stripes
 streaking across it. Large block letters showed the initials AM on the
 top-back of the helm. He began to set it down on top of his head, and
 clicked the visor shut. "Oh, yeah, I forgot, you guys are fourth-D
 inductees, right?" 

 V2 nodded. "Sure are." 

 "Well, whenever I have this helmet on, CALL ME ALEX MANN. I don't want
 ANYONE to know I've Shaun Garin. Understood?" 

 "What's the deal with that?" 

 "When I first entered this solar system from my home galaxy, I found that
 many of the outer-rim colonies wouldn't accept the currency I had on me, so
 I had to find a fast source of money to take me further into the system. I
 passed off the money I had as antique coins to a collector on Pluto, and
 used the paltry sums I got for them to enlist in a extreme sports
 competition on Chiron. I didn't want any sort of celeberty following
 hindering my travels, so I entered under a false identity - Alex Mann. I
 quickly climbed the ladders for the various events and eventually gained
 enough money to continue my travels. This occured at every large base I
 found myself passing, and after a year-long career, I found myself with
 enough prize money to keep myself going for the rest of my travels." 

 Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Exactly HOW much money do you have?" 

 "Oh, I've spent most of it going places... by the time I found the
 Argetlahm, I think I had somewhere close to $250,000 in my account... I
 haven't been able to touch it since." 

 Both Gohan and V2 exchanged stares, and brushed off their sweatdrops. "Well,
 sure, we'll help you, I guess. What do we have to do?" 

 "I've already tried talking to the turfmaster of the Flaminco Flight, and
 requested to join. As far as Shaun Garin's concerned, he's been denied. But
 I wonder how he'll take the great Alex Mann joining in on his little
 competition. I just need you to talk for me. He's already heard Shaun, so
 he'll know who I am if I speak. Just say that Alex Mann has a bad case of
 laryngitis." 

 "Well, sure, then. On one condition..." 

 Both Gohan and V2 grinned. "We want to join the luge too." 

 "...you can't be serious. Do you have ANY idea how to street luge? Through
 open traffic, for that matter?" 

 V2 stared, eyes half open. "Oh, okay. I wonder how everyone will take Shaun
 as being Alex Mann, though..." 

 Shaun sweatdropped. "P-please! Don't tell anyone! Fine, stay in, go luging,
 get yourself killed, whatever, just DON'T tell anyone! C'mon! Be a friend!" 

 V2 smiled slyly. "THAT'S more like it. C'mon, Gohan, we have a race to
 attend to." 


 ******** 


 "Do you think your petty card tricks will defeat me?!" 

 Renamon hurled herself at the man, fists raised. "So maybe we'll just have
 to go barehanded then!" She dove downwards at the figure, rocketing her hand
 down at the target, the boost of the Power Blast pushing her fist forward
 even harder than before. A shriek of wind echoed through the streets as
 Renamon plunged her attack down into the sidewalk where her target was once
 standing. "What the... how is he so fast...?" Renamon barely had time to
 think as a boot whizzed by her face. The agent was assaulting her again,
 this time with various kicks. Renamon let out a pained gasp as she was
 slapped in the side of the chest with a roundhouse. 

 "Digi-modify! Hyperspeed... activate!" Rika's voice shouted from nearby,
 synchronous with the sudden boost of energy Renamon felt surge through her.
 Faster. More agility. 

 Renamon flipped as she came down, and flung herself against a nearby
 building, effortlessly kicking herself off it with blinding speed, granted
 by the card slash. A painful whomp echoed out from the fight as Renamon
 dropkicked the oncoming man on her way down, sending him to the pavement. As
 the man twitched, apparently something being broken, Renamon advanced on the
 disabled fighter and gave a drilling stare down onto him. "What are you
 attempting to do? We demand an explanation for these acts." 

 Rika was met with shock, as, before her, the man began to rise to his feet,
 a white-black aura beginning to enclose him. "You... fool! You know not of
 the true nature of Trance! Trance has been bestowed upon me by the
 Prospector, and now you shall see it in action! You should be thanking me...
 for letting you witness such a display of power... before I destroy you
 all!!" 

 Takato sprinted up from a sidestreet, Guilmon in tow. "Rika! What's going on
 here? I could hear this all the way from the Tim Hortons down the street!" 

 "We were enjoying the Timbits, for your information!" Guilmon huffed. 

 "This isn't a time to eat, you moron!" Renamon growled. "Something's
 seriously wrong with this person... his power level is rising... too high!
 He's undergoing some sort of transformation!" 

 People were breaking off from the spectating crowd, running away screaming,
 crying and tripping over each other. As the aura began to fade, the man's
 overcoat shattered into glass-like shards and broke off, hovering, spinning
 a short distance away. They turned a pitch-white and began to reattach
 themselves to the man's skin, forming a gigantic suit of white,
 black-jointed armor. He was nearly 11 feet tall now, with a heavily plated
 horned helm, accompanying crimson eyes, and a pair of glowing white fists. 

 "Well, that's dandy..." Takato reached for his pocket, and took out a small
 set of cards and began to flip through them. "What to use, what to use..." 

 "Hurry up, goggle-head, he's not giving us preperation time here..." 







 --------- 
 This first form of Trance is a relatively weak one, as far as Trances are
 concerned. This Trance is born of the frail body of one of the Prospector's
 low-ranking agents, and therefore is definately not a sign of the Trance's
 true power, but he is still potent. His Omega White and Blessed Cannon
 attacks send opponents back to Creation! 
 --------- 


 LUXATOR - White Trance 















 Holy mother of Ghandi!!!! Trance is being used already?! Looks like Takato
 was right on one thing, anyways... why is the Prospector applying Trance
 already? Can even the Tamers beat an abomination like Luxator? Will
 Ultimanium ever pick up the hot, tall chick? Will Gohan and V2 get creamed
 by passing traffic? And will Eric ever get a good part in this fic? (yes, he
 will) Find out on the next Trance Trauma!