...

You and your amazing fanart. D:

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....That's just a couple kinds of Open Win there. O_O

*runs to the front page with it*


*gets lost*

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READING THIS IN SECTIONS AND COMING BACK AND FORTH IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH. BAAAAAD.

But holy CRAAAAAP. That was just awesome! :DDD
The one thing that I really liked: you included Cody and Pearl. Most fanfiction stuff, even superhero comics and books, only include ages from about... well, teens and up. It's fantastic to read this whole different perspective from a kid's point of view. Also there's a cutoff age for how old. Having Oldbag in there was another awesome thing.

...So, now we have a wider-appealing market for the fancrack? XD See, we care about the world's failing economy, too!

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I just read this all in one go. <faints from overload of pure genius> I am one happy sheep.

Seriously, I don't usually enjoy AU stories but you have converted me - I now worship at the church of PK. Mercs and Plode, you are my gods. Keep it up!

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:D Yaaaay! More people!

We always welcome new fans <33

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Okay...I'm in Tenerife (that's in the Canary Islands) on a pay PC with slow internet and a flickery screen. So excuse me for keeping this brief. XD Hi to all the new fans, thanks to everyone who commented, and I'll be back on home turf by Wednesday.

Oh and Kinokiita (I think?), Kallisti's views are now over 13,000. Hard to believe, I know, it's just...wow. XD;;

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Ack! *goes to change* I hadn't been paying attention; I had been in shock from the awesomeness.

Canary Islands, eh? That sounds interesting.

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And I'm not anywhere, but I'm a lazy bastard. As well as exhausted.

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Well, I'm back from Tenerife, and I just realised something. :3 The first post in this thread was November 30th 2007...so Project Kallisti is nearly a year old. First anniversary WOOOOOOOOOOP GUMSHOOOOOOOOE! I don't think I've ever stuck with a project for this long.

I will make delicious cake (no lie) to celebrate the occasion, and share it with you all via internets.

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:D Awesome! *party hat and internet cakes*

I shall celebrate by eating my Blueberry Pocky which I have saved for a very special occasion C:

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I'm really aweful at presents. What does PK want?

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Well, as a lurker-fangirl, I know what my present's going to be-de-lurking for praise and theorizing!

First, the praise. I've actually been a fan of this story for a while now, and... it's awesome. Okay, there's a few minor problems (I'm pretty sure that Edgeworth didn't see that guy in the truck that Engarde bit...) but aside from that, it's perfect. The characters are in character (Well, except for Matty and Engarde, but that's to be expected, considering they're one person in canon.) the powers are fitting, and the writing fits well with the game's. And add one more fan who hates Matt Engarde, but loves Matty. The fact you can take one of the most despicable characters in the series and use him to make someone whos utterly adorable... wow. Good job, Plodey and Mercs! Five stars!

And now... the theories.

Happy Birthday to us and hoorah for new fan! =D It's so great to hear that there are people stalking us still. We work incredibly hard on this project and it's wonderful to hear everyone's praise!

PK wants love and fanworks and theorys if you need present ideas. =D Also for you to tell all your friends. Mercs wants a gold statue of herself.

As for your theories, Acroma, they're very interesting. Obviously, I can't confirm if you're anywhere on the right track or not, but it's always really cool to see what people think will happen. (it's cool we've written something interesting enough for people to care. xD)

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OK, so I've decided to write down all the reasons I love PK so much:
1) Everyone is in character, and reacts to having powers in pretty much the way I thought they would.
2)You've given each character a power that suits them and is just totally groovy.
3)You made Matt Engarde turn into a dinosaur.

I've got loads more reasons, but can't think of any that will top the last one. Anyway, in honour of PK's birthday I will sacrifice a goat to the BBQ and we'll have goat kebabs all round!

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Awesome! We're pulling in people in droves! :D *fistairpunch*

Welcome, everybody! Welcome to the epicness that is PK fandom! We always love you here! <3 We also love fanart...:3

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Yaaay comments! And stuff! Theories/guesses/speculations are always good. Like Mercs says, it's cool to know that people actually care what's going to happen next.

Acroma v2.0 - Edgey might not have seen the guy exactly, but I'm sure Phoenix (who found him, if I remember correctly) might have mentioned it 'off-camera'. I mean, finding a guy in a car accident who's been bitten by some big animal is pretty weird, right? And that's EXACTLY what me and Mercs say about Matty. X3

sheepgirl - Thankyou! :3 Getting some characters in character is hard, especially if you haven't played the games in a while, or if they don't have a canon personality. Good to know we're on the right track!

Hai - *gives badge saying 'PK's Official Greeter'*

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*shines the sun into everyone's eyes*

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oh my god Hai

I just saw your sig and like
understood it for the first time


i love you

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XD Thanks!

I love you too Mercs D: I mean, really, with the epic Mafia and Music and PK and raaaaaaaaaamble <3

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It appears I have not complimented you on this chapter yet. It's wonderful (of course), despite involving a trio of my most hated characters. And I have nothing more to say. Not having enough sleep (and getting sleep madness due to that) will shorten my vocabulary, without fail.

OOH OOH I HAS THEORY. *just thought of this, like, two minutes ago, actually. *

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It's brilliant! Dylan becomes useful!

Ema raep is imminent.

---

Once again, thanks for the comments guys. :3 And hi AA, I was wondering where you were. Anyways, I have writer's block at the moment (and work to do), but Mercs doesn't, so she's continuing her awesome version of 'A Christmas Carol', set in a Victorian AU and starring PW Characters.

Seriously, check it out, it's awesome. Click here! </shameless plug>



QUICK SOMEBODY DRAW THIS. XDDD (Oh god poor Dylan)

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Happy birthday~



Today is PK's birthday, ri?

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...God dammit I can't believe I forgot. XD Thanks mello. And yes, that is rainbow cake, and yes, I did make that myself from scratch. :3

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OH GOD I'M HORRIBLE.


Not as awesome as rainbow cake, but still. It has monkeys! XD

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY KALLISTI!

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HOORAY FOR CAKE SORT OF THINGS

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MERCS WILL NOT BE COHERENT

UNTIL YOU GO READ HER STORY

THANK YOU

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Yay~ Cake~

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Yay, it's my two favorite things: Phoenix Wright and superpowers!!!
I love it! It is well-written and the plot is pure genius. When will the next chapter be up? I want more!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. Hope you got what you wanted! Santa couldn't deliver Project Kallisti: The Movie but at least I got socks and a spice rack amongst other things. GLEE. <3 (Seriously, it's what I wanted)

Also expect the next chapter soon...I'm afraid my darling co-author Mercs is away at the moment, so she hasn't been able to beta it. Right now, I'd put it about 60-70% done, probably.

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Have just read everything all the way through again (yep, all 13 pages)(and yeah,I have no life) and need to say two things:

1) You are all totally crazy(finally, a place where I belong!)
2) I love every single PK thing - even the really crack stuff.

Have a good New Year everybody!

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The Kallisti Project – Samurai Arc – Chapter 7

Her back pressed against a wall, Lotta’s hand moved to re-load her weapon in the fight for truth. She always kept it close to her heart, to remind herself of the important things; to never back down, and never to let go until the end. She kicked an empty casing to one side, her hands gripping the familiar cold surface…and leapt into her next shot.

Click. Click-click.

An agile roll to one side, and a flurry of green laser-balls exploded uselessly into the soil, her unwilling subject’s rage intensifying as the camera flash went off again and again. Gold came in many forms; sometimes in shiny bars, sometimes black and oozing out of the ground, and sometimes in a 24-carat story like this one.

“That all ya got!? Come on!!” she shouted defiantly. The lumbering figure had already turned its back on her, heading with surprising speed in a different direction, maybe looking for more unfortunate victims.

The journalist gave chase; no matter what the cost to her own safety, the people of their fair city needed to know exactly how dangerous these freaks could really be. She’d been so excited about getting that mask-less Blue Phoenix photo, she hadn’t realised what that green bolt to the back of his neck had done...and that mistake had cost innocent people their youth.

She needed to get the word out, and as quickly as possible. Keeping at a safe distance in her pursuit, the journalist looked ahead of her quarry. [Now where's that crazy freak headed in such a hurry..?]

Most people would have frozen, stopped in their tracks momentarily to recoil in horror. But Lotta Hart prided herself on not being like 'most people', and instead gained a sudden burst of speed, shoes tearing into the brown and green patchwork of grass. Even if they looked up to see the crazed mutant bearing down on them, it'd be too late to run and hide. "Darn kids...!"

Her hands found her camera, still hung around her neck, and the world through the viewfinder was a picture waiting to be taken. The pair clung to each other desperately, alone and singled out as the youngest things still in the park. In front of them, one of the many dangerous mutants stalking the streets. Above them leapt their saviour, saving the city in her own way…

“HEY, UGLY!”

Two flashes collided at once, one white and one green. The mutant stumbled backwards, stars flashing across her vision, and Lotta’s camera now sporting a large crack in the lens. All those years, who knew how many, they’d hit her all at once…but, if she survived this…it’d be a front page story come morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pair of dirt-covered boots came to a sudden stop. They were the cheap kind; the kind which cost dollars less than the expensive pair, but you could have them now, and that was what mattered on an instant noodle diet. At the same time, a pair of thick eyebrows knotted confusedly. The owner of the boots knew every street in the city; the soles were so thin that he could feel every last raised paving slab and discarded gum wad against his poor abused feet.

And yet... "...They're gone pal, they just plain disappeared!" Thick fingers scratched through dark hair. The detective could feel all eyes on him; he'd already let Mr. Edgeworth down before. The best he'd done was provide a mostly-empty pocket for The Scientist following her pym particle accident. "...But..."

"But what?" the prosecutor asked impatiently. The two masked figures flanking him either side – Mask*DeMasque and the Steel Samurai – were silent as their expressions.

"But I think I saw something..." Gumshoe tried to make sense of what he'd just picked up. Just when he'd gotten used to being a human radar, something else went and popped up. "...like I was looking through someone's eyes, pal. There were trees and grass, then some lady and-!"

"Park Expose; they couldn't possibly be anywhere else if they continued in this direction-!" The ninja gave a gesture for his troops to follow, firing a lightweight grappling hook run and abseiling up onto a nearby rooftop. Crimson scarf fluttering behind him, he cut his distance in half as he continued on his higher path.

Mask*DeMasque swung overhead clinging tightly to his own rope and grappling hook, and the detective started to run. He could barely keep up with the Steel Samurai, restricted to the ground by his hefty weight. "...What I meant to say, pal..." he took a huge gulp of air "...was...I saw trees...and then...nothing, pal..."

Even with his mask in the way, the Samurai's concern was evident; he immediately increased his speed, leaving the other man in the dust. Coughing and trying to catch his breath, Gumshoe was reminded of the day he'd almost lost Maggey in that purple smog.

She was his reason for trying. Not some dumb paycheck, paid by a department who'd throw him out if they ever caught wind of his 'special talents'. If he could prove that even a schmuck like him could be a hero sometimes, maybe she might believe him when he said her powers could be used for good.

Looking up, the 'Blue Badger' suddenly realised how far behind he was. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted through a narrow alleyway, keeping an eye on the shadowy figures dancing across the rooftops ahead. "Hey, wait for me pal!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ninja's knees bent slightly in anticipation. Thoughts of his strength, speed, trajectory and even the relative softness of the dirt and grass below were like fireworks in his head. His feet found the floor in a perfect landing, and the thoughts fizzled and died as he kept on running, turning instead to strategy.

Another soft thump. That was right; the former phantom thief Mask*DeMasque wasn't far behind him. Though Miles Edgeworth scoffed and rolled his eyes at the 'former' part, Broken Edge was thankful for a team-mate who was still battle-worthy, another piece on the chessboard.

Though his hand instinctively brushed the sword hilt, his palm passed it by to gather a handful of smoke bombs from the small dispenser. He could see her up ahead; Wendy Oldbag. The enemy, the victim of an even greater foe, but a lawbreaker in any sense of the word. If there wasn't a law against ageing innocent people – perhaps even permanently - he'd have to write one as soon as this was over.

But for the moment, his target was reeling from some kind of blow. The perfect timing for a distraction. It happened in a matter of seconds; the smoke bombs burst as they hit the ground, and-[Oh.] His thoughts suddenly slowed to a much more human speed, smoke billowing in the wind as the pair awkwardly sat up. [...I suppose it could be worse.]

Pearl gave a little scream as she saw her companion, quickly pulling on her robes. Luckily, the same nanobot technology that allowed Team Phoenix to change outfits in a flash had let her outfit grow with her when Oldbag's attack bounced off the camera lens. A young woman of about 20 looked up at her saviour with those same teary brown eyes. "Mr. Ed-ji-worth..." she looked down. "...that lady...she tried to save us..."

Cody shook himself out of his stupor, his face still slightly flushed as he struggled to get to his feet, suddenly possessing a lot more height than he was used to. Meanwhile, Broken Edge glanced at the journalist laying prone on the grass; her outrageous hairstyle had turned from orange to snow white. Irritating though she was, and often of questionable moral fiber...this time, Ms Hart had actually prevented things from getting worse.

"WHIPPERSNAPPERS!" The cry of rage suddenly came from inside the thick fog, the madwoman lunging blindly at the 'Edgey-poo' she'd once frothed over. Shock gripped the man, rendering him helpless - how could he be such a sentimental fool to forget what he was here for!?

"PLEEEEEEEEEEE-" The sonic whine went above and beyond even the ninja's range of hearing, dissolving into deafening noise as it knocked Oldbag backwards, even parting the smoke screen with powerful sound waves. Mask*DeMasque remained silent, giving a small yet dramatic bow of 'you're welcome'.

Broken Edge gave an irritated nod back, his hypersensitive ears ringing. He'd been saved, but his strategy was falling apart like a house of cards, layer by carefully laid layer. Oldbag had disappeared back into his own smoke screen, and thanks to that ear-splitting screech he couldn't hear her telltale heavy breathing, not even her footsteps.

One or two green bolts veered off and withered a tree as the Steel Samurai approached. Reflective surfaces like camera lenses seemed to be the only protection against the assault, and though the projectiles left scorch marks on the Samurai's shining chest, the man soldiered on despite whatever pain they might be causing him. Broken Edge threw a few of the Scientist's glue pellets in response, but was sticking Oldbag in one place really making her less dangerous?

Another barrage of green missiles answered his question. Though he couldn't hear them, he felt the air sizzle as he dodged one with a leap. Sword drawn, the polished blade split another clean in two, burning a pair of equal sized holes in the grass. Billions of miniscule nanobots immediately kicked in, repairing the rust and cracks of the aged metal in seconds. But they couldn't do the same for flesh and bone, should any one of them let their guard down.

The ninja glanced behind him – Mask*DeMasque was avoiding attack with skills both acrobatic and dramatic, performing a series of back flips. The Samurai, however, was taking hits like a heavyweight boxer, his chest pockmarked with large black circles. If only he had the Shield of Reflections from Episode 46...the item was purely fictional, Broken Edge mentally corrected himself, but surely he could have borrowed a studio prop.

He felt something else, and turned his gaze downwards...the young woman who he only just recognised as Pearl Fey was tugging on his utility belt. If only he could hear what she was mouthing at him over the damn ringing in his ears-! Suddenly, she pointed.

"WRIGHT!" He was sure that's what he shouted; his hearing was just about starting to come back. But regardless of who heard him, out of the sky like a bedraggled avenging angel came the Blue Phoenix...or rather the Grey Phoenix. "What are you doing here!?" Broken Edge snarled. Having dealt with like likes of Manfred von Karma and Wendy Oldbag he never underestimated his elders, but that bloody fool couldn't even fly under his own strength!

"What, you expected us to just sit back and let you have all the fun?" Mystic M answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as her spirit disc touched down and promptly disappeared. It seemed she still had enough spiritual energy to support not just her, but her two passengers, Wright and the Nickel Samurai.

"I was expecting the Scientist to have found a cure by now..." the ninja muttered. Background noise was starting to return now; the sound of Mask*DeMasque clearing the rest of the lingering smokescreen. The Steel Samurai started a slow trek towards Oldbag. With nowhere to hide, she panicked, throwing more glowing projectiles only to have them bounce off with a 'ding'.

Broken Edge pointed his sword at the two confused now-adults. "...but just take Cody and Pearl and get them away from here! We have full control of the situation!"

"Actually, I'm the one who has...control."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Engarde leapt forward, gripping the jungle gym bars with his long fingers and elegantly clawed toes, surveying the scene of destruction like a gargoyle. Over time, through all the beautiful blood-red pain of his transformation, he was slowly shedding the flaws that being human had forced upon him. Pathetically vulnerable skin was now almost completely armoured with red and white scales. His jaw had lengthened to make room for more flesh-tearing teeth. And the small nubs on the end of his lengthened tail were blossoming into full-fledged spikes...

[...All the better for spreading the word.] he smirked to himself. The word being 'obey'. The crowd shuffling into view to surround his perch were even more stupid than before, if that was even possible. They were mindless, unaware of even the filth they were covered in. "Come here." he beckoned to one in particular.

It straightened its back and stepped towards him obediently, most of its face obscured by that ridiculous helmet. Originally, he'd bitten the old crone out of self-defence; whenever the pain slowly crept up on him, his body was fragile and his hunger insatiable. He'd been enjoying some cow tartare from the local slaughterhouse when she came across him. Blinded by blood and pain, he'd sunk his teeth into her leg.

"Seems I shouldn't have let this one out of my sight." He grinned at Team Phoenix, the ones who now faced the master of the slave they'd so struggled against. If not for the living barricade surrounding him, they would have made some hopelessly futile move against him...and, there was what the latest addition to his ranks had done to them...!

"Heheh...AHAHAHAHAA-!!" He laughed. Oh, how he laughed, until his twisted ribcage ached and tears squeezed out of half-sealed tear ducts. He hadn't laughed like that since his last night in the Detention Centre, the look on that idiot lawyer's face as he realised he'd fallen for the fake.

And speaking of the fake..."YOU!" he spat, barely restraining himself from jumping down there and finishing things off right then. All in due time. "Look at you...old. Washed-up. You're the has-been Matt Engarde would have been." The laughter threatened to come back, starting as a hoarse chuckle in his throat.

"Fitting for the fake, for all the crap that was left over when I was reborn..!" he raised his hand to admire the elongated fingers and lethal claws. The remains of his fingerless leather gloves, the last few shreds of his humanity, barely clinging to them...he was so close!

He returned his steely reptilian glare to said pile of crap, and the laughable dregs of Team Phoenix. "Why don't you just give up, Matty? I'm everything your pathetic human race can only dream of...I'm smarter, faster, stronger..."

It didn't take super-senses to pick up what was suddenly flying at him. Something flared inside Engarde's radically altered brain, and like pulling a string, his puppet Wendy Oldbag raised her hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maya bent over, and immediately regretted it as her spine gave a bony 'crack'. [So much for being as young as you feel...] she winced. But at least it meant she could offer a comforting hand on the shoulder to Matty, who'd collapsed to his knees from the effort. Powers or no powers, he was in bad shape; they all were.

But back at Edgeworth's apartment she'd insisted they try – and it'd been another decision she'd come to regret. The Nickel Samurai was exhausted, the Blue Phoenix's wings were ragged and shedding grey feathers...she could protect some of the team with her Spirit Hands, but she couldn't risk taking down Engardesaurus. Even with help from Broken Edge and the others, they'd have to fight their way through the innocent victims who'd already surrounded them.

One purple energy-hand pushed back some of the crowd. Their clothes were torn and dirty, leaving old bite and scratch wounds from Engardesaurus clearly visible. Maya would have made some kind of superheroic quip, a comparison to a zombie movie, but for a spirit medium especially it was terrifying...

"Got any more miracles, Wright...!?" Broken Edge demanded through gritted teeth, kicking a large, muscular man in the chest as he lurched at the masked hero. He fell to the ground like a felled tree. Nick was standing back-to-back with him; only a weak blue flame separated him and their attackers, not burning them but scaring them away.

They couldn't feel it, but Maya felt surrounded by Engarde's presence. It had been too weak in Oldbag alone, but now each zombie-like figure was carrying a small part of him; candle flames forming an towering inferno. Concerned, she looked to where her bigger little cousin stood – Pearly must be feeling it too. But she was still trying, her white-glowing hands leaving trails in the air, trying to form something useful as the crowd in front blinked confusedly.

Wait. The currently-much-older medium looked around at the legions of bloodshot eyes, staring into nothing. They blinked!

"Pearly, keep doing that!" the medium shouted as a handful of victims ran away, suddenly aware that they were surrounded by what appeared to be legions of undead. Their master paid them no heed. Engardesaurus was too busy giggling insanely from his playground perch as Mask*DeMasque knocked over a row of them like skittles, only to be swarmed by even more of the brainwashed victims. "Everyone, drive them towards Pearl!"

"Are you insane!?" Broken Edge retorted, struggling to escape as some glassy-eyed children wrapped themselves around his ankles. He tried to shake them off, the fear evident in his eyes until the Steel Samurai plucked him out, lifting the ninja out of the fray and onto his ample shoulders.

The Samurai then seemingly confirmed the other man's question as, with Broken Edge riding piggyback, he snowploughed the crowd in front of him towards the direction of the call. Maya decided she'd have time to laugh about it later, her spirit hands creating escape routes for the ones freed from Engarde's control. He'd started to notice his army's numbers were diminishing, and was swearing and screaming at the 'filth' below him.

"Mystic Maya!" Pearl smiled as her white aura spread from her hands and healed everyone it touched. Their eyes became clear, their scratches and bite wounds closed and faded. "My powers grew up too!"

"That's great, Pearly!" Maya answered – it was just unfortunate the only ones not being healed were those who Oldbag had hit. [Speaking of which...] the medium thought as turned her head.

The wrinkles at the edges of her eyes deepened as Mystic M smiled in relief. Wendy Oldbag had gone back to being another crotchety old lady, although one collapsed in exhaustion against the jungle gym; Engarde's presence had disappeared from her along with the bite on her leg. Sure they were still old, but they had Engardesaurus practically running scared. And Pearl was still her 10-year-old self inside – so didn't that prove the old saying "you're only as old as you feel"?

[...I'm on a roll today-!] she thought, grabbing the adult Cody by the arm – up until then, he'd been seemingly hypnotised by Pearl. Knowing Cody, it was probably just her cousin's stronger powers...but Maya still found herself frowning in slight disapproval. "Listen Cody, you think you could try broadcasting a signal without a computer? Your powers probably grew up too!"

The young man stuttered an answer that might have been affirmative, but Maya Fey's mind and soul and maybe even her body were already halfway to elsewhere. Her spirit reached out into a swirling, blinding-white world...even if he couldn't do it, if her hunch was right, she'd at least be able to help Nick and Matty.

Her conciousness faded as she reached out, like she was falling into a deep and dreamless sleep. The ancient scrolls detailing the Kurain Technique described this as taking their hand, leading the departed spirit to where they were needed; to Maya it was more like a tag-team hand slap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Take a moment to remember..."

It was like the whole battle suddenly hit a wall. Every mind within the vicinity of the park was caught up in that voice's mysterious allure. It clouded their thoughts of 'now' like fog, turning them to the past, only to the past, further and further back...

One boy opened his eyes, though he couldn't remember having closed them. He frowned, discarding the ridiculous implement he'd been handed just a few moments ago. Something in the back of his head told him otherwise, some odd suggestion of shining metal and a pitch-black hilt, but he knew it was a just wooden sword. A toy. No matter what he said otherwise.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" a spiky-haired boy asked, tilting his head. They'd been playing superheroes all afternoon, but he felt like so energetic suddenly, like he was just getting started. "The battle's not over yet, is it?"

"I don't know." the first boy folded his arms defiantly – he'd had enough silly games for one day. "But if the bad guy got away, it's your fault, Wright." As he finished, he noticed a much older boy running towards them. He was unkempt, no...scruffy. Familiar, too, though he looked 6 or 7 years too old for fourth grade. The younger boy definitely knew him somehow – in fact he'd been expecting him. "About time you got here!"

"Sorry...I-I don't know what happened, pal..." the teenager answered, scratching his head with a look utter confusion. He looked as if he'd just wandered into a dream. His eyes followed two costumed boys – one was climbing a tree, while his taller friend stood below looking concerned. More children laughed and chased each other across the grass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And it seemed only one mind fought against Goodman's power. His childhood memories were sparse, incomplete, enough for him to maintain a tight grip on reality.

Matty tightly gripped his samurai spear as well, leaping over a fence to escape the parl. Luckily, his memories had been enough to restore his youth along with the others, and Cody would be able to transmit Goodman's powers to the whole city, to whoever still needed their youth restored.

Everything was taken care of, Team Phoenix would be ready and fighting again in no time...but there was still Engarde. He'd seen with his own eyes what that monster did to people, he'd been there when he's used his legions of slaves as a human shield against a figure cloaked in darkness. He'd run away. He'd run and left countless innocent people in his stead; helpless, vulnerable.

And here he was, running again. Rounding a corner. He knew he was a coward. So many times, he could have pursued Engarde. He could have really believed he was the Nickel Samurai, used all the memories he had of being a hero on set and made them his own reality.

Selecting an alleyway, Matty's pace slowed and he stepped inside. He'd tried to be the Nickel Samurai. To be strong, kind and honourable. Everything his 'former self' hadn't been. But though Matt Engarde had died that night on the cold concrete remains of his cell, half-insane from paranoia and months of solitary confinement, some parts of him still persisted...

The trail of blood went from droplets to whole footprints, then to a wretched creature. It writhed and screamed as a series of spike-like scales forced their way through where hair had once been. The same thing had happened to its tail, the twin needles near the tip were bloody from where sudden and violent growth had occurred. Its bloodshot eyes looked right into his.

Dare you, I dare you... unspoken words appealed to the coward inside him, from the confident sociopath inside Engarde. It could have been something else entirely, but he couldn't tell.

You coward, I dare you to take the easy way out. He turned the samurai spear around in his hands. No matter what you do, no matter what choice you make, I will make you pay. The creature before him flailed, clawing at its head...the screams barely registered in his ears. You'll do to me what I did to you. You'll savour the moment YOU get to be in control, the moment YOU'RE not the pathetic fake... He raised his spear wordlessly. Take the moment. Embrace it or see more of the idiot masses perish - perish because YOU EXIST!

"HEY!" - it was enough to snap Matty out of his stupor. And just in time; he held up his samurai spear on its side, the mad lizard's tail spikes grazing it harmlessly. A pair of blood-crazed eyes looked right through the Nickel Samurai to the one standing behind him.

It wasn't Maya; or rather, it wasn't any more. For a split second it had been her – he’d heard her voice, enough to reassure him that she was alright and back to her original age. But she'd channelled another spirit almost immediately…and out of sight, so the mystery of what channelling actually looked like remained a mystery.

In her place was a man, standing on top of a trash can but with a confident pose, like an actor on stage. His back was turned to the pair, and he reached up to take the guitar slung across his back, in a way almost like a sword. He twisted a peg wordlessly, letting them take in the intricate needlework on the back of his shirt; a delicately embroidered pair of wings.

Finally, he turned his head, a grass stalk clutched in his smug grin in lieu of a cigarette. "Well…looks like it’s time for the Jammin' Angel to take his place in the-“

CRUNCH. Though Matty’s memories struggled with snippets of images, seeing Juan Corrida alive and well got an immediate reaction out of the crazed Engarde. But as he uncovered his eyes, he found the crunch had been the last of his reptilian self’s human teeth as the red guitar smashed into the side of his head. Not the snapping of bone by hungry teeth he’d almost expected…

“Dammit Engarde you wouldn’t even let me finish!!” he strummed his guitar angrily, if that was possible. Without any regard for his own safety – unsurprising considering he’d already died once – Juan kicked the downed monster in the side for good measure.

“You always had to have the last word, you always had to cut me off, even in that Contest of Heroes…” The man laughed. “And for what? A part on a kid’s TV show?” he kicked his reptilian nemesis again, thwarting his attempt to get to his feet. Engarde simple growled in response. “You even screwed up that chance! And, well, you weren’t pretty to look at before with that oversized brandy glass and stupid wrist phone, but damn…”

His rival suddenly leapt forward with an audible snarl. Matty pressed himself further into the wall as the Jammin’ Angel stepped back. A grudge against Matt Engarde meant a grudge against him as well, didn’t it..?

“Hey, woah, let’s not be too hasty. I’m not done getting my revenge on you yet, for having someone else kill me while you sat on your ass…” a claw swiped at him but found only thin air – Engarde’s skull and jaw had changed in shape again, messing with his depth perception.

“…just you and your little movie…” another swing and a miss, but closer this time. “…all alone in your little secret room…” Maddened eyes, the whites turned red with the pain and the process of his transformation, focused on the jugular vein in Juan’s neck. “…you’re one sick bastard, you know that!?”

Engarde leapt forward, every one of his body’s many sharp edges poised to draw blood. Matty practically fell out from his hiding place, scrambling to do something. Whether the blood spilled was the Jammin Angel’s or Maya’s, he’d seen what a single scratch could do.

“AAAAAAAAGH!! AAGH!” the attacking mutant suddenly collapsed to the floor, clamping his bloodstained hands over the place his ears once were. He followed up the barely-human scream of pain with a reptillian hiss, claws scrabbling against the concrete, only to be struck down again by the barrage of sound.

Matty didn’t quite understand how it worked; all he could hear was the sound of the guitar and the man’s-Juan’s, the name suddenly surfaced like a cork in water. Juan’s voice, singing the Jammin’ Ninja’s theme song. But now that cork was gone, something in his mind was starting to seep out…

“…He’s the sound of the shadows, he’s the voice of the night…” The other half of what had been Matt Engarde was learning that his superhuman hearing had a downside, picking up a frequency that made his thoughts burn. “With the power of music, he’ll soon set things right-!” Getting to the chorus of his song, the musician gripped the neck of his guitar with both hands to beat the lyrics into his mutated nemesis. Raising it above his head…he made eye contact with a more recognisable face.

Matty stared back. All the things he didn’t want to remember, and he hadn’t even realised it, were flooding back. Juan Corrida, grabbing hold of the rubber suit, mere moments away from beating the pretty out of that pretty-boy face. He’d spit at him, screamed how much he hated Matt Engarde. And when security finally dragged him away to protect their utterly indifferent superstar, he wept, grief overcoming even rage. “Celeste…” Matty’s lips went to form the same word, when he suddenly noticed the guitar aimed squarely at him.

“YOU SON OF A-“ WHUNK. The sound of a kunai inscribed with a distinctive broken shield hitting the back of a red guitar. He turned around, looking more annoyed than afraid; he’d already died once. Broken Edge simply glared back, unmoved.

“Leave him alone, Mr. Corrida. He’s not your enemy.” The Blue Phoenix stepped forward. Though his tone was calm, his wing feathers – now restored to their former glory – gave away the hint of a threat as they stood on end. “Take it from the one who convicted your murderer.”

He wouldn’t hurt Maya, but Juan didn’t know that. The look when he first saw the lawyer-turned-costumed hero seemed to say he’d only just realised he wasn’t in the afterlife anymore. Chewing the stalk clenched in his teeth, the man slowly lowered the guitar and watched for any sudden moves from his target.

The Samurai stared at the floor. Only a trail of blood and a few broken teeth marked where the reptilian Engarde had been. But his mind was still in the distant past, his body physically shaking. It was like he was re-living something he’d never even lived. Celeste Inpax…smiling, laying next to him…Matt Engarde.

Then without warning his arm shot out and grabbed her shoulder. She reacted with confusion, maybe even slight amusement. Then the other hand followed, a powerful grip on her other arm, the fingers twisting and intending to hurt. Matty tried to close his eyes, but the eyes weren’t his. Struggling, Celeste freed her arm from the man’s iron grip, and there was a flash of red as four elegantly maintained fingernails struck.

Juan was looking him right in the eyes when the memory finally cut off. Matty gasped and backed away, not realising he’d sunk to the floor while experiencing Matt Engarde’s past. It felt like mere moments since he’d seen the man crying, but now Juan glared at him as he stood up, his guitar slung across his back. Retired from being a weapon, it was just another musical instrument again. But the samurai still flinched as the Jammin’ Angel spat out his grass stalk.

“I saw that look on your face. You just realised what you-“ he glanced warily at the heroes behind him. “-what Matt Engarde did.”

Matty nodded dumbly in response. Juan sighed, running his hand through his hair and closing his eyes in thought as he muttered. “Not a day went by in the afterlife that I didn’t wish you’d feel everything I did, and yet…” he paused, eyes open but looking at nothing. “…I knew some crazy stuff had gone down, but I wasn’t expecting you.”

“…Shit.” The Jammin’ Angel’s gaze moved, and Matty found himself doing the same. Juan Corrida’s hand was fading, dark skin becoming translucent. Underneath was Maya’s own hand, a skeleton of flesh and blood supporting a ghostly form. It clenched into a fist, still under the spirit’s control. “No time for speeches. Just listen, whoever the hell you are.”

Matty got to his feet. Juan’s form was fading fast; his prematurely aged features were barely an outline on Maya’s real face. Her eyes were shut in a deep trance, but her mouth moved like that of a puppet. It spoke with a voice that wasn’t hers, though with only enough spiritual power left for a whisper. “If you’re not Matt Engarde, then find the bastard that did do that to Celeste, and-“

The spirit vanished, Matty catching Maya before she could flop to the ground. The Blue Phoenix had already run over out of concern; he knew how draining spirit channelling could be on his young assistant. Matty silently passed her from his arms to those of the winged hero…a kind of unspoken understanding passed between the two men as they made brief eye contact, and the Nickel Samurai turned to pick up his mask and spear from the dust.

Gaining some height from a dumpster and a fire escape and thrusting the sturdy, Ema-designed samurai spear into the wall, Matty swung himself up onto the flat roof of the nearby building and ran.

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“Ah-“ Phoenix hesitated, then stopped. Maya was coming round, and she probably didn’t want to hear ‘I guess he’s not just a flake any more’. He carried her towards the mouth of the alleyway, Broken Edge walking silently beside him. It always did take more out of her, channelling someone to fight for them.

“…Ah. ” Phoenix said, finally, as they reached the edge of the park. Maya was smiling sleepily and commenting how pretty the flowers were, which were now everywhere, filling up the craters Oldbag had left like flower beds. Broken Edge took an uncharacteristically clumsy step back, losing his composure momentarily as a sapling suddenly exploded out of the soil to expand within seconds into a full-grown tree.

He glared at his companion’s slight amusement. “You do realise that we have achieved very little, Wright.” The ninja’s expression didn’t change as the Steel Samurai approached, carrying a still-dazed and bound-with-rope Oldbag with a sheepish look. Both he and Mask*DeMasque were clad in garlands of daisy chains…had they really been under Goodman’s spell that entire time?

“…Despite everything.” The prosecutor continued. “That monster is still at large.”

“I know.” Phoenix answered, reluctantly. Maya needed to rest, much of the team had only just been de-aged, but this had gone on for too long already. “Let’s get Cody and Pearl back somewhere safe. We’ll re-group with Road Rash and make plans, starting where we last saw Engarde…”

Hiding behind one of the many re-grown trees, Dylan pulled out his fingers from the soil as he watched the heroes leave. Their root-like projections withered and curled back into ‘normal’ green skin, and he lay back in the dappled sunlight, recharging the strange energy he’d just exhausted. “I guess it is good for something.”

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And somewhere else in the city, a certain journalist looked at the spoils of the war for truth. Practically crown jewels, laying in her hand. Two photographs. Photographs of the Blue Phoenix. Without those goggles of his.

She sighed disgustedly, crumpling and discarding the pictures into an ashtray resting on the bar. With perfect timing, a nearby, heavily-lipsticked patron extinguished her cigarette into the centre of one. Lotta watched it burn, as the flames ate away the hero’s wrinkled visage. He’d be back to normal too, now, wouldn’t he. It wasn’t like the photos would have been any use, but…

She nursed her drink, the same rot-gut her grandpappy had both favoured and told her not to touch. There’d be a next time.

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Badass!

The day is saved~ Our heroes have been cured and the city is once again relatively safe!

I intensely enjoyed Lotta's role, and the Jammin' Angel made my day Keep up the awesome work!

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Aww, thank you! =D Glad to see that people are still around. We're just getting to the good stuff.

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You guys are still AWESOME.

The mental image of older Pearl and her "My powers grew up too " is just too cute! And the shouldn't-be-as-old-as-they-are people being saved by Goodman's age regression powers... how did none of us thing of that? It's so obvious, in retrospect!

And Matty. :( Poor guy, realizing what he/Matt Engarde did... aww. I think he needs a hug.

Meanwhile, Engarde vs. Juan Corrida was awesome. Seriously. I think I'll reiterate the whole you two=awesome thing again.

Still as awesome as ever, I see :3

Another great chapter guys - loved Lotta whacking Oldbag with the camera and the whole Jammin' Angel v Engardosaurus thing.

Don't quite get how Goodman's powers made everyone young again though - someone please explain that to me?

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Awesome chapter. You guys seriously just keep hitting high notes. Keep up the good work!

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Sheepgirl - It basically plays off the concept that you're as young as you feel. Goodman returned everyone with happy childhood memories, which neutralized the feelings of despair that being forced into old age had given everyone.

Thank you for the love, guys! Tell your friends! *shot*

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Another lurker has come out of his den... Brilliant!

*bitten by Engardesaurus*

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