Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sonic Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Ultimatum 3: Trance Trauma ❯ The Tamer's Will! Takato and the Wildcard ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 10: Infinite Modification! Takato and the Wildcard






(A/N - Still no more Name Game entries. GARRRGHHH!! Well, Shaun's got Charmy figured out, which means it can't be too far out of you guys' reach. Everybody's giving me weird stares about Glenn, I take it, so the idea might not be as swell as I thought. Damn. Regardless, DM-Argetlahm is still in the works, and the next couple floors are turning out as UNglamourously as I was expecting - waaaaaaay too much clipping, though I did get the floors all shiny. ^_^ Well, I'm not going to be keeping you. Onward ho!)

(As for the Trance section (you'll see what I mean later) I'll be using the song Paranoia Rebirth from DDR 3rd mix. Just envision all the weird lettering and the freaky female voice saying "Trance" for the first ten seconds and start the transformation right after that. ...okay, I'll shut up now. ^_^ Boy, I gotta find another smiley emoticon... and for the battle between the Trances (near the end, during the Prospector's part, you'll know it when you see it) have either Duel of the Fates or Liberi Fatali playing.)

(This chapter has been exceptionally slow in production, mostly due to the fact that it was being fabricated during my term exam period. I aced English =) I aced Physics =) I failed Math Pure =(








Locke (VO)


Last time on Trance Trauma, the planning for the attack on the Prospector's hideout was finally underway. However, the unnerving topic of Servant arose, and the mood was kiboshed instantly. A short time later, Raul greeted the next wave of Argetlahm veterans aboard: TK, Patamon, Vegeta, Heero and Serge. They don't seem to be taking the entire situation seriously for "veterans" but I'm guessing they know what they're doing.

Eric, under command of the Argetlahm, decided to have it docked at the Magnopolis shipyard for the time being to upgrade its systems into a ship that could possibly launch its own assault on Gaia's Isle. Set down in the depths of Magnopolis, we've got to keep an eye on ourselves, in case Trance decides to make an early reentrance. Ulty's still lost in dreamland, and his power level is dropping steadily. No one around here is getting any evidence that he even WILL wake up.

You just gotta hope.











********

"Whaddya MEAN you're leaving?!"

"You heard me," Raul growled. "The spells that I'm using aren't satisfactory for the situation. I HAVEN'T had to use any of these skills for the past nine years, so if you knew what was good for the crew, you'd let me head OUT for a good while and reestablish contact with the Spirits. I'll head back to the Temple of the Winds, perhaps the Great Smiths might have some contacts with some deceased master mages... or I might be able to boost my magical aptitude somehow to get on even ground with the Trances."

Takeru's face twitched. "Raul, you know it yourself, Ulty's library is PACKED with those skills."

He winced as Raul pivoted back and stared him in the face. "...Takeru, I have personally RANSACKED that library. If you wish to know, I have every technique that's scribed mastered. But that's not the issue now. You have to understand - this isn't my fight. I myself lack the power, I need more of it. The really bad thing is if even we, the super-ultra-mega powerful demigods that run the great capital ship Argetlahm, then no one else is going to think that they can. I need to boost my fighting skill and deliver the finishing blow against the Prospector, that's when you'll regain your confidence."

Takeru lifted an eyebrow. "Excuse me? Are you supposed to be some sort of role model of mine? I just was the next in line to take your power, you said it yourself. That's not supposed to mean I'm required to look upon you for enlightenment. Apparently, with everyone ditching the Argetlahm, even YOU, we're going to have to be the ones to take care of ourselves."

"...well, to be perfectly honest with you, I am absolutely DISGUSTED with the treatment you're giving your senior Seeker... but at the same time, I realize it's that self-confidence that will push you forward in the absence of our authority. I hate to leave the Argetlahm at a time such as this, but you have to realize... I must."

Takeru's glare slowly turned to a respective glow. "Do what you must. I might be totally disgusted with you too, but as long as you help us at SOME point I really can't hold anything against you."

"Thank you, Takeru. You, Eric and Shaun will be able to guide the Argetlahm in this time of anguish. Now, I must make haste to the Temple of the Winds.. perhaps I can find answers there. Takeru, as I said before, I hate to depart at such moment's notice, but I leave you with the promise that any new spells I find will be transmitted directly to you at moment's notice."

Takeru blinked. ***Heh, does that make me a demigod or what? Viceleader of the Argetlahm, and first shot at new spells!***

"I must waste no more time, I have to get a transport arranged. Sword be with you."

Takeru nodded. "Sword be with you." He watched with authoritive eyes as Raul turned and quickly departed, his cape swaying mystifyingly as he disappeared into the crowded main halls of the shipyard compound.

"I'll bet YOU feel elite."

Takeru quickly turned to see Locke and Serge leaning on nearby walls, totally congruent to one another. "Don't think your little promotion SCARES us now, Takeru," Serge chuckled.

"Say, do you guys know where everybody else is?"

"Last I heard, construction had started on the Argetlahm and everybody was making their way to the lower levels of the shipyard. Whoopee, ANOTHER night in cramped quarters. Man, this NEVER ends." Locke forced himself off the wall, coming to a stop standing straight with his arms folded.


********


"More readings," Rufus blurted. The other scientist was completely caught off guard by his coworker's entrance into the room and spilled a small amount of his coffee before turning and facing his associate. "We've been keeping constant mental conditioning on Ultimanium, and we've been recording the Ki waves being given off by him. What we found was absolutely wacked out."

"You look like I was expecting something reasonable."

"Ultimanium's Ki level has dropped off dramatically since we last checked. He's down to 50,000. FIFTY THOUSAND. He started at six million. Meanwhile, his mental activity has increased thousandfold. I remembered that our Ki/power level detection equipment, and that used all over the planet, even the military models, follow the same schematics - they simply measure the Ki given off by someone in the force of energy waves. These nerve movements show that massive amounts of Ki are being manufactured but the mind itself is deteriorating. I gave him some sedatives and the Ki pulsing stopped, it should return to normal levels for a couple of days. But meanwhile, I had to figure out where that Ki was going. I took tests, and I measured the Ki in his nerve endings and bloodstream instead of on the exterior."

The scientist took another sip of his coffee. "And what did you get?"

"3 billion."

Coffee was profusely spat out onto the bunk floor.

"And mind you, his power level was still rising at a constant level before I gave him the sedatives. Somehow the Trance is gaining more power while Ultimanium is in suspended state than would be normally possible without killing its host. My guess would be that if he were to wake up now he would be able to control that power..."

"That would be absolutely INSANE. Not even Magnus himself possesses that much power, and there have been no recorded events aboard the Argetlahm with power levels anywhere upwards from 50 million."

"But still, it must make you wonder... if so much of a change like this can be warranted with a person as high a power level as Ultimanium, then that makes me wonder exactly HOW powerful the Trances that the Argetlahm crew has been running into so far..."

"Three have already been defeated. It is not impossible."

"But they were easily identifiable as the grunts of the coming forces. There is MUCH worse we can expect in the coming days."

Both workers turned their heads as the heavy bunk door slid open. "Who's there?"

"Just me, just me," Charmy coughed, sliding inside the chamber. "What's going on in here? I just heard that Ulty was here, and people were..."

"Excuse me, miss, but this part of the Argetlahm is off-limits for the time being. Only Argetlahm crew members are allowed in here."

Charmy sighed, and removed a small access card from her pocket. A simple white piece of plastic contained several lines of encryption code, the Argetlahm logo; a shield similar to Ultramagnus' insignia but had several curved spikes jutting out of its sides sideways, upwards and downwards, and a small black-and-white shot of Charmy.

Rufus blinked. "...well, we won't be keeping you, then. What would you like?"

"Just... seing how he's doing, that's all," Charmy moaned, making her way closer to the still body slumped on the bottom bunk with various cords hooked up to it. She began to lower her hand to him...

"Hey, hey, hey. Look, don't touch," Rufus huffed. "We still don't know if the Trance is contagious or not."

"We fought them enough times, got up close and personal.. if it were we would all be statues like Ulty here by now..."

Both scientists tried to stop her as she lowered her hand to nudge Ultimanium's side - but everybody hopped back as a tiny bolt of purple lightning shocked Charmy square on the palm.

"Ultimanium's power level's dropped 5,000!" Rufus shouted. "Excuse me, ma'am, but you're going to have to stay with us, you might have..."

"Hey, don't look at me!" Charmy pouted. "You're not looking at me, I'm no Trance, I'm not powerful, I've got no power, I'm no threat! Now.. just let me go!" Charmy stormed over back to the entrance, shoving back both workers as she reached a finger to press the door control panel...

...and her finger punched right through it.


********


"Modifications are coming along quite smoothly," the worker stated, pausing occaisionally to glance down at the clipboard in his hand. Various probes and manned vehicles streaked by in different directions in the background, weaving around and underneath the great ship Argetlahm, that hovered in an idle about 60 feet off the ground. "I must commend your friend, wherever he got a ship like this. The design is relatively new and the module and station upgrades are perfectly compatable with it. So far, we've tuned up the primary thrusters..."

He gestured to the rear of the ship. "...we were able to install Chronoshifter space-displacement engines, nearly tripling its maximum top speed... we put minor Chronoshifters in strategic places along the ship's hull..." the worker shoved the board into Magnus' face, who stepped back to examine the small computer display that took up the majority of the space of the portable panel. Near the back and front of the ship, smaller engines, signified by large red blips, were slipped onto the ship in four-engine rings.

"...yeah, that's nice. Now, this is a fairly ancient model of ship we're dealing with here..."

"Actually, Magnus, with this sort of design Ultimanium has employed on the outer shell of the Argetlahm... the Chronoshifters will be approximately 20% more manuverable than our current destroyer-class ships."

Magnus glared daggers. "Oh.. that's.. nice."

"We've already got the plans necessary to install 80 new automated pulse-cannon turrets in more vulnerable places on the ship... and large-scale EMP cannons at the top. We've also been able to link the J3 up to the main defense systems, and we've been able to utilize a weakened version of its anti-dimensional field. The massive dimensional turbulence generated by the field isn't exactly enough to make people phase out of existance, but with this kind of force we can stop most heavy munitions."

"...yeah."

"All the bridge consoles have been upgraded... Minonim seemed to be particularly happy with that. Remote control has been provided to the defense system, and primary control of the ship has been generally 'tightened up' and enhanced, and control to every new aspect of the ship has been enabled."

"...sweet." both the worker and Magnus turned to see Heero gaping upwards at the parked cruiser. "Wonder if Ulty would notice all of this crap happening to his ship."

"Ultimanium's just lying on his ass right now. He's not a concern anymore." Magnus spat.

"Oh, and you're doing any different?" Vegeta snarled. Magnus pivoted again, spotting the Saiyan standing a short distance away from the main facilities, simply dressed. "You don't seem to want any sort of part of the Trance situation, ever since we started talking to you in the first place."

"Oh, just CAN IT!!" Magnus roared.

Vegeta rolled his eyes before stepping off. "Go blow it out your ass."

"Um.... Magnus..."

"What do you people want?!"

Shaun gave a weak grin, sweatdropping. "Uh, nothing. We'll go now."


********


Further inside the compound, things were a little more hectic.

"Hand of Fate!!" Angemon thrust his hand forward, searing out with a white-hot beam of energy.

Knightmon bounded out of the way, narrowly dodging the blast. He landed back asides from Takato with a crash. "Now what do we do? We're totally out of options.."

"Use the sword with one hand," Takato commanded. "I'll cover you."

Knightmon nodded, and began his charge back at the angel standing unfazed before him.

"Digi-modify! Wargreymon's Brave Shield... activate!!"

Knightmon held his open fist forth midsprint and held it back into a defensive stance as a pair of beveled plates formed in the air and clicked together into a barrier, solidifying themselves to Knightmon's hand. Angemon raised his staff as Knightmon began to drive his massive blade down.

"Takato, what the hell are you doing?"

Takato blinked, shoving the image out of his mind. He looked down on the board, quickly looking over the Knightmon card in front of him, and the Modify card lying in its respective slot on the game table next to him. His opponent sitting on the other side of the lobby table, one of the local workers on a break, slapped down another Modify card next to his Angemon. "Excuse me, but I think your..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Takato muttered, checking off his Knightmon's health appropriately. He scowled to himself as its life dropped into the negative, and he swept it off the board and placed it back in his plastic card sheet. "Alright, who interrupted me..."

"Ugh," Rika grumbled. "Takato, we're supposed to be on guard."

"Why is it always us, though?" Takato linked the plastic sheet back into the binder before tucking it under his arm. "What's everyone else doing?"

"Trunks and Goten are screwing around like usual, everybody else is ready to return to the main level at a moment's notice. Wherever we go, there's bound to be Trances sniffing us out. We've got to be on our toes.."

Both froze and stared at each other for a second, then glanced at the source of their pause - a robed man was seated at the far edge of the break room, watching the two with heated blue eyes, sheathed under heavy eyebrows. He had a long, flowing grey beard.

"That guy gives me the creeps..."

Rika turned back to the man. "Oh, DON'T tell me..."

"We're giving you one last chance," he said. "Give up your little crusade. Either join us or perish."

"Oh, you little.." Takato reached for his D-Arc, but was stopped by Rika's hand.

"We don't have the room to take him," Rika spat. "we're just going to have to wait him out."

"You really should be thankful I would allow that," the man growled. "you'll be happy to know that I'm the most lenient of the Trances, so I'll let you decide before I do anything too rash. But I'm not sure if my partner will be so willing to give you Argetlahms a chance..."

Takato glared back at Rika, following suit with an affirmative nod. "Looks like we have some announcements to spread. Well, we hate to say it, but if you aren't going to kill us now then you aren't going to get another chance."

The man shook his head. "Ah, Argetlahm alright. Always so confident in your own abilities.. you think you've seen the best Trance has to offer..." he opened his eyes to see both of his audience members had left. "...but you're gravely mistaken."


********


Eric, Gohan, V2 and Trunks were cramped into a small bunk for the night, similar in appearance of that of the Argetlahm's, but slightly expanded to allow for extra accomodations.

Everybody sat and stared at each other.

And stared.

And stared some more.

"This place sucks," Eric grunted.

And they stared.

And they stared some more.

"Penny for your thoughts," V2 mumbled.

"I'm just trying to figure out more about Trance..." Trunks replied. "You know what the medical staff told Charmy... Ultimanium's rising power level is what put him down..."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." V2 sighed.

"No, it's not that... but look at the reports they got... his power level jumped at six tiny intervals, each larger than the other. I don't know why, but I think that the entire dimension structure might have some factor in Trance. It might explain why the Prospector wanted the J so bad in the first place - I mean, it would've been easier just to stockpile a bunch of nukes and hold the world hostage with them."

"Are you insisting that the six jumps represent the six tiers?"

"I don't really know.. it just sounds probable. I mean, every living thing in existance is at its weakest in the first dimenson, because in a sense it's all been already crushed into that line and had its life force squeezed out of it. That remaining life force, I'm guessing, is part of peoples' life force in the higher tiers - like dominos, if you didn't exist in one dimension you can't exist in three."

V2's ears perked up. "What are you saying, that there's alternate versions of us in different dimensions?"

Eric rubbed his head. "Could we just forget about all of this and just fight the Trances? This gibberish is starting to make my head hurt."

"Eh.. Eric... I think Trunks might have a point." Gohan stepped forward. "The Trances might not be so harsh now, but I'm ready to guess that this is just the first wave. We're already having trouble with them now, so I'm guessing the only advantage we might have on our side when the assault on Gaia's Isle starts is knowledge of the Trances and the quickest method of dispatching them. ...Trunks, work at it."

Everybody's eyes turned to a creaking at the far edge of the room, as the interior bunk's heavy iron door swung open. Standing there was Shaun, reading a sticky note that he was carrying. "...guys, I hate to interrupt whatever it is that you guys do, but we got an announcement from up above."

"Is the Argetlahm finished?" Eric asked.

"..well... no. Estimates say that if everybody's still working around the clock, the Argetlahm should be finished by tomorrow morning. However, there's someone that wants to see us. All the secretary got was that the chick that wanted to talk called herself Shiva."

"Is she expecting us to fall for that?" Eric sighed.

"I'm presuming not," Shaun chuckled.

"Fall for what?" V2 said, in a quite-stupid manner.

"SHE'S A TRANCE!!" everybody else screamed.

V2 grinned, rubbing the back of his head as a sweatdrop rolled over his face. "...heh.. my bad."


********


Magnus kicked open the great door leading out into the expansive cavern before him and the rest of the group.

It was glass.

KRRAAASHHH

A worker nearby sighed, and began sweeping up the shards of glass with a broom while everyone else walked over the debris.

"Damn, man," Locke mumbled. "Someone's in a bad mood." As the group slid to a halt a short distance from the gate, in front of the woman standing before them, Locke slid a hand to the dagger on his belt. "This the one?"

Raynor nodded. He had detatched a portion of plating from his marine armor and clipped it over him, creating a small breastplate, allowing for a balance between mobility and defense. In his hand he let his gauss rifle drag along the ground.

As the crew filed into place, the woman let off a smirk. "Greetings, Argetlahm cr.."

Armadillomon rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap, lady, just transform if you have to."

"I see you've gotten waaaaaay too accustomed to fighting Trances. I guess it's no surprise that I'm a Trance, but to tell you the truth, I'm going to refrain from fighting you before I let you make up your mind whether you wish to join the great empire of Servant or wish to get crushed underneath its boots."

Everybody exchanged disgusted stares.

"...tsk, tsk. Well, I shouldn't be blaming you, I should've expected an uneducated comback like that. Now, I shall have to resort to destroying you."

"I've heard this before." Locke droned.

Everybody braced themselves as a larger flash erupted in the background. Out of the mists stepped the mysterious man. "...Shiva, I told you not to provoke them."

Shiva grimaced. "Oh, come ON, Stratos, this'll be over in a heartbeat. These are non-Trances we're talking about here."

"Famous last words," Eric muttered.

"...fool," Stratos spoke. "Do you wish to suffer the same fate as your self-proclaimed 'leader'?"

As Eric attempted to think of some witty comeback, a pair of auras, green and blue, erupted around Stratos and Shiva, painting them a pale hue of each color.

Shiva groaned as the aura warped wildly to fit her, and she threw her arms back as her skin/clothes shattered and the particles orbited her, replacing themselves with an outer casing of light blue skin, her only covering being several strands of grey metallic ribboning that placed itself in the positions necessary to prevent this fic from becoming R-rated. A white spire of skin stretched from her back and pointed upwards as the aura began to fade off.



********
This Trance, the near-end of the main elementals, employs the forces of both water and its cold counterpart to great effect in its attacks. While generally frail, its attacks are still not to be underestimated. Absolute Zero and Diamond Dust can still make most aspiring heroes into popsicles!
********

SHIVA - Blue Trance



Rika kept a constant eye on the Trance, before noticing Eric staring straight at her, eyes wide, not blinking. "...you remember what I said? Will you stop STARING at me?"

"Don't... mind... me," Eric stuttered. "I'm just... trying... to take my mind.. off... THAT." Eric pointed toward the rest of the group, with eyes spread open, watching Shiva. They were all holding back nosebleeds.

"Forfet Charmif," Patamon coughed. "Loof at the ca-casf on THAT onf!"

Right on cue, Stratos hunched himself and let out a low-pitched yell as his aura roared up and consumed him, dissolving his attire as well. The particles impacted against each other on their way back to their disappeared host, and remained in the air as they began to phase back into existance. His robes had turned a pitch white, and suction from the fallout began to pull him apart, piece by piece. Soon, he was standing, his very body phasing apart from time to time into small particles before coming back together.



********
A most unique Trance! Easily the fastest of the elementals, it has mastered the art of phasing to get it where it needs to go quickly and to assist its attacks. Commanding the very force of airborne projectiles and mastering the air itself, this Trance is going to be a handful! His Wind Knife and Reflector skills will put a dent, or at least a cut in any opposing force!
********

STRATOS - Green Trance




"Well, we have nothing holding us back," Renamon began to brace herself for a strike. "Let's give this all we have."

(A/N - Insert stock footage of Digi-modifying here. ^_^)

Rika rammed a random Modify card through the slot on her D-Arc, keeling back as a small shock erupted from the opening. "Digi-modify! Pidmon's Pid Speed... activate!"

Renamon had already started toward Stratos, but felt a boost as her image shaved out of the air for a split second, and reappeared next to the man, swinging a limb out. Stratos caught the fist with ease and shoved it back to her.

"Still not fast enough!" Rika grit her teeth as Renamon and Stratos began exchanging blows again, while V2 darted in front of her. "Hell, that is NOT going to work! Let a Champion handle this!"

Veemon... digivolve to...
VEEDRAMON!!

Veedramon flung himself into the fray faster than Rika could notice. She gasped as he hurtled toward the furball that had devolved from Renamon's fight. Veedramon held himself on the other side of the fight, and with perfect timing, swatted Stratos out of the fray, sending him rolling. A gust of wind rushed along the cavern floor as Stratos rolled onto his feet. "Wind Knife!!"

Renamon eyes slitted as rocks and pebbles began to rise from the floor, a good sixty of them orbiting around Stratos. Several arm gestures rose from the man, and a cloud of dust fell to the floor. It was soon evident - every one of the pebbles had been carved into a razor sharp dart. With an extended whistle, the wall of stalagmites rushed towards the Rookie.

"Air Valm!!"

Renamon sprung back up as the projectiles aimed at her hit the air in front of her and were instantly scattered back in their direction, slamming into and deflecting off of the floor and rock walls with high-pitched pings. Off in the distance, Takeru held his arms together, the energy of the spell dying in his hands as he struggled to catch his breath. "...man, now I know how Raul feels."

"We have to step it up a notch!" Rika reached for another card and ripped it through the device in her hands.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution... activate!!"


********


Raynor, Cody, Crono, Locke, Takato and Guilmon all struggled to push themselves forward against the storm of cold air that was blasting off of Shiva's skin. She held her arms back and behind her head, charging up a blast of blue energy in her hands. The energy only worked to heighten the cold that was slowly beginning to pierce through the group's phalanx.

"Just the cold itself is way too powerful!" Cody grunted. "We're dealing with something far worse than before, guys!"

"Pyrosphere!"

The entire force let up their guard slightly as a small ball of flame roared into view, blasting the dropping temperatures up for a brief second. Shiva grimaced as she saw the attack begin to breach her attack. "Oh, is THAT it... you wanna turn up the heat? Well, we're just going to have to bring it back down to room temperature.." Shiva stretched as she began to bring the ball of frost in front of her. "Diamond Dust!!" Everybody gaped as a flash erupted from her grasp and shot toward them as a speed glacier-esque beam of frost. The very ground it flew over was instantly covered with a thin sheet of ice.

"Shit!..." Raynor instantly flung his rifle in front of him on impulse and fired off several controlled bursts, that pierced through the incoming energy blast and sent several fractures of it off in different directions. Still, a large brunt of the surge was ready to hit Raynor.

"...sheeeeeeeet!!"

"Guilmon!" Locke screeched. "Do something!"

Takato tore a card through his D-Arc, simply on instinct. "Digi-modify! Power Charger... activate!"

"Py..ro...sphere!!" Guilmon struggled to control himself as he shot a larger blast from his mouth, nearly a foot in diameter. The ball of flame impacted against the blast of ice, both attacks disintegrating each other.

Raynor's trembling hands fell from his face, to see the battle continuing as usual around him. He wasn't dead. "..whoa.."

"Oh, THAT'S it.." Locke growled, drawing his azure-shaded dagger from its holster. "We're finishing this before this gets too out of hand! Cody, you ready?" With a quick nod from his partner, both fighters hurled themselves at the female Trance, edges held high. They were both greeted by a pair of blue lasers that slammed against them, throwing their limbs back. The ends of their limbs had been fused together in a slab of ice. Both of them started blaming their problems on one another while they sat on the ground, with everyone else watching.

"Diamond Dust!" everybody quickly noticed Shiva's command. Cody winced as he felt the shockwave of another comet of ice slamming against the ground near them. Within a split second, a small flat of ice had formed around the group's feet, leaving them frozen down to the layer of dirt that lied on the ground.

"Now!" Shiva shouted. "You shall all be eradicated!" She growled as she held up her hands, priming herself for another strike. All the combatants quickly felt the cold searing forth from the gathering of ice fragments forming on her fingertips.

"Heh, sister," Locke sputtered. "You s-seem to forget-t-t that we can do things wi-with our hands!" He quickly reached down back to his dagger, and with a single swift movement slung it at the Trance. Shiva blinked as she watched the projectile spin through the air at her. ***I can't quit while charging! I'm defenseless like this!.... Damn it!*** She squealed as the tip of the blade pierced just into her tough skin. While it wasn't enough to do permanent damage, her concentration shattered and the energy gathering at her hands collapsed. Cody finally yanked his left foot free from the ice and began to pull hard on his other leg.

"This isn't working!" Locke shouted. "We need more power!"

"Magma Burst!"

Shiva glanced down and shrieked as the ground beneath her was beginning to crack into several dozen blazing red fissures. Before anything could be done, the ground exploded into an upheaval of molten rock, the force sending everyone to their feet, and blasting Shiva up into the air. A pair of Ki blasts flew out from the darkness and clipped her elbows, sending her body flipping down into the ash at the surface of the compound.

"Vegeta! Serge!" Gohan called out from across the battlefield. Everybody quickly glanced up to see Vegeta charging up another blast, with Serge on the ground quickly shuffling through Elements.

"Don't think we've gotten rusty, now." Vegeta snickered. "Trance or no Trance, you shall never defeat us!!"

Shiva laid on the ground, several spots on her blue skin melted and dripping to the ground as a clear liquid. "We aren't done yet! Absolute Zero!!" Shiva slammed her arms against the ground, sending a dark blue wave of energy crackling from her, radiating in all directions. Everybody's eyes went wide as the wave swept over them, blasting them directly in the face with paralyzing cold. Everybody dropped, nearly fully contained in ice.

"Dandy." Raynor said flatly. His head was the only part of him not completely frozen solid was his head. Vegeta crumpled to the ground, his entire torso encased.

Takato had some freedom of movement, with the freezing scattered all over him. He ripped Crono's katana from its host's solid hands, and began to hack away some of the ice from his legs.

Shiva was back up on her feet, striding slowly to Takato, pausing every so often to take care of her wounds. "You're all alone, boy. I can sense it, you're no magic fighter or whatever, you're just that - a boy."

"A Tamer!" Takato coughed out. He slashed again at himself, ripping off a large chunk of ice from his arm. He began to haul himself slowly across the ground to where his D-Arc lied. He quickly took a card from the case that was scattered near it and ran it through. "Digi-mo... hell, screw that! Meramon's Red Flames!"

Guilmon laid completely stiffened in the distance, but blinked as his skin erupted in a flash of red light, causing the ice around him to instantly dissolve into a puddle at his feet. The first thing he saw was Shiva beginning to bend down to Takato, a cold charge directed straight at his head.

"Takatoooo!!"


********


"Kyuubimo n!!" Rika screamed. "End this!!"

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyuubimon curled herself up and flung herself several feet forward, her outline continuing on as a ring of white-blue energy. Veedramon shielded his eyes as Stratos kicked up a tropical-storm wind, blasting the energy into different directions and sending it around the Trance.

"Not good... at all." Gohan began to brace himself. "We need more people!"

Eric stumbled in front of the Demi-saiyan. "Allow me!" He stanced himself and began charging his ball of red energy in his hands, and still continued after it had reached full size as he saw Stratos beginning to approach them. "Neu..tron... FLARE!!" the attack was nearly 3 feet in diameter when he launched it. The attack hit the ground directly in front of Stratos' next step, kicking up a giant explosion. Veedramon grunted as he struggled to keep himself from falling back.

"What's going on?!" Gohan yelled as the flames roared back at the group, apparently having been blown offcourse by Stratos' counter.

"He's repelling every thing we throw at him..." Veedramon drew himself back, a blast forming at his lips. He thrust himself forward accordingly. "V-Breath Arrow!" Veedramon watched in disgust as that attack, like the others, was blown away by Stratos' influence.

"Huragh!!" Stratos sent his hands high, whipping up another torrential breeze around himself. "I was really expecting more of a fight then target practice, but I see this will never get beyond that! Wind Knife!!"

Rika froze. "Um.. guys.."

Eric glanced over. "What's the deal?"

CRACK

Everybody quickly looked up on the celing. Several large stalagmites had been carved clean off the celing - and were falling. Towards them. Gohan ripped Veedramon from the fray. Rika gasped as Eric quickly dug his fingers into her shoulders, and gave off a yell as he channeled a short burst of Ki through her, creating a forcefield around the two. Kybuuimon was quick enough to dive out of the way as debris started to rain. Gohan winced as the largest stalagmite drove itself into the ground, inches away from where Eric and Rika stood.

Eric grinned. "Whew."

Several more large spikes fell around the group, caging them in.

Eric frowned. "Crap."

"What's the big deal?" Rika scowled. "You CAN use your super-duper-mystical-key-crap-stuff and get us out of here?"

"Yeah, but the backlash at this proximity would implode you."

Rika rolled her eyes up. "Useless, JUST useless. And you DON'T have to slide your hands down any further."

Eric sweatdropped. "Er.. yeah." A contained snicker made them both look up. Stratos had taken to the air and had another spike of rock in the grasp of his wind, ready to drop perfectly into the cage of stone juts.

"Perfect," Stratos chuckled. "This will be far easier than I'd hoped. Say goodbye to your friends... er... um... crew."

Gohan turned to Veedramon, shrugging. "I don't get it."

"Normally we start screaming in despair for our friends' safety."

Gohan blinked. "Oh. Oh, yeah! Okay, then. Shall we?"

Veedramon nodded. "Let's."

"AUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Stratos lunged out of the air, dropping the stalagmite into the ground a fair distance away from Eric and Rika. "What the hell!!.." everybody stared up at Stratos, reeling back as a streak of smoke sped by him. The group watched as it flew into a nearby wall with a crashing explosion. "Who was that?! Show yourself!"

Veedramon smirked. "Well, my lungs were getting tired anyways."

Another figure hovered up from the ground, finally exposing itself in the air. Glenn bobbed in the air, supported by his back jetpack, a large missile pack still smoking suspended on his shoulder. In his other hand he held an oversized revolver, linked up to an energy pack on his back. The klaxons on both of his shoulderpads were pulsing a steady, dull red. "Oh, master of the air my ass! I want to take YOU.." Glenn made an expletitive gesture over to Stratos. "..to take ME on instead. I'm a lively fight, I'm sure, given we share the same element."

"Glenn!!" Gohan shouted. "Don't underestimate him! He's more powerful than he looks!!" He checked over his shoulder, to see Eric lowering Rika down on the ground outside of the wall of stalagmites. "Be careful!!"

"Master of your element?" Stratos bellowed. "We'll just have to see about that!!" Both Glenn and Stratos let out warcries as they rocketed toward each other in the mock skies of the expansive underearth.


********


"Pyrosphere!"

"Oh , don't get me started!" Shiva spat, slapping the fireball out of the way. Takato shoved himself from the ground, driving a fist into Shiva's gut. "Oh, looks like YOU still have some left in you.." Shiva kicked Takato back down, moaning as his head landed less than an inch away from his D-Arc.

Shiva groaned as a burst of electricity pierced her in the back, sending a pulse of agony through her. She lowered herself down onto one knee, feeling her back to find most of the surface of it disintegrated by the blast. A fair amount of blue blood was scattered around her on the ground. She turned a ferocious face back onto Crono, barely standing with his hands clasped together to cast the lightning spell. His hair was standing on end more than ever from the shock run through him.

"Rock Cracking!" Shiva stepped to the side as a fissure rushed through the ground beneath her. Digmon stood on the opposite side of her, looking up with a smirk as his drill arms laid dug in the ground. Cody shoved himself slowly to the ground, having shaved most of the paralyzing ice off his limbs with the Murasame.

Shiva felt herself tear apart in her back again, emitting a shrill scream. Raynor stood, hunched against a small outgrowth of granite, his rifle held up. Several more bursts tore from the barrel of the gun, punching through Shiva's already tattered body. Vegeta nearby let another large beam of Ki roar from his hands, roaring over Shiva.

A red aura surged around Serge as he held up an Element, charging several small red beams. "Well, I'd say we're almost at room temperature! We just gotta push up the heat a little more! Inferno!!"

The entire group immediately scattered from the impact site of Serge's attack as the air itself's temperature suddenly leapt. Shiva let out another pained growl as the very ground within her radius erupted in the flames of burning air. The attack quickly subsided, dumping the area back into its cool breeze, but leaving a Shiva sheeted in third degree burns to crumple to the ground.


********


Glenn flipped around the gun in his hands, rapidly changing his aim and his backwards trajectory as he soared around deep within the caverns, while Stratos spun through the six axes with him. By now the two had sped far off from the main compound and were now approaching the abandoned section of the facility, their altitude lowering as they began to fight their way into the recesses of the cavern. The light around Glenn was beginning to fade as his depth in the caverns of him and Stratos increased.

"Damn it!.." Glenn jeered out of the way as Stratos attempted to drill him with a kick, and let off several short bursts from his revolver. All went silent after his shots had clipped several small rocks from their perches on the walls, sending them tumbling into the pit below him. "Alright... you heard what he said, Glenn... elemental of the wind... what can you do to stop wind..? Actually, come to think of it, how is wind getting this far underground in the first place?"

"Give it up!"

Glenn squeaked as Stratos launched himself at the soldier again, assaulting him with a flying kick. The attack connected with Glenn square in the chest, sending him back into the rock wall behind him, and flipping downwards into the abyss. A quick thrust of his aux boosters righted him and sent him forward, narrowly missing Stratos' fist as it drilled into the wall.

"Gah! There's got to be some sort of disadvanatge he has underground.. if I could find where he would be getting fresh wind from.." his eye caught on a small fan suspended on the cavern celing, lazily turning. It was undoubtedly connected to.. "..a escape shaft! Magnus' workers probably have these things all over the caverns! Can't blame 'em, the place STILL is pretty stagnant with all the fresh air running through.. if I can cut off the intake, then there's probably not going to be another one running close enough by to keep Stratos afloat..." Glenn grimaced as he spotted Stratos close underneath him, rearing for another strike. "Uh, nice seeing you, old man, but I have better things to do.."

"Quit stalling!" Stratos roared. "You wished to combat the great Trance so badly, now come and be finished!"

"Would it matter too terribly.." Glenn pivoted the missile rack up so it pointed at the fan. "..if I did this?"

Stratos appeared dumbstruck for a brief second, before resuming his charge.

"I guess not." Glenn bit his lip as the kickback from the rocket launcher tossed him back a good couple feet in the air, but watched with grim satisfaction as the missile slid up the shaft inbetween the fanblades. A rippling explosion roared out of the opening, followed by a rush of dirt. The draft from the caved-in access shaft quickly halted, as Glenn felt his hair recover from its blown-back position. Meanwhile, Stratos started to sink out of the air.

"W-what is happening?!" Stratos bellowed. "I.. am not quick..." Stratos hurled himself forward through the air, though much slower than before. Glenn fired an aux booster and spun, delivering a perfectly timed roundhouse to Stratos' jaw as he approached. He lifted both his fists and slammed them against the Trance's back, sending him down. He recovered slowly, but found himself face to face with Glenn, who rocketed several quick hooks into Stratos' face, sending him back against the wall of the chasm. Glenn swung his pistol around his hand and pumped several heavy shots into the stunned man, each impact rocking his head back into the wall of earth. He began to slide down the sheer drop, clutching his wounds as he began to pick up speed. "This.. is not possible!! Just the simplest of warriors.. routing a Trance?! How?! I demand to know ho...how, Servant?!? HOOOOW!!" Glenn shielded his eyes as further down the gap, Stratos' skin exploded into the customary shards of white, soon replaced with its host's body as it plummeted down the shaft.

Glenn peered down into the bottomless pit before him. He was convinced that there could easily be lava down there, but he wouldn't be the one to check. "Well, I guess I AM the master of air... Dude, I should get that copyrighted."


********


"I am sick of this meddling!" Shiva choked out. Somehow, through the injury, she had managed to lift herself to her feet for one last stand. With Stratos being taken care of, everybody was able to turn their attention to the last remaining Trance.

"Last I recall, you DON'T have the upper hand," Shaun sighed.

"Oh, that is a bunch of bull," Shiva chuckled hoarsely. "Haven't any of you figured it out yet? Trance... is immortal! Power in the Seventh Dimension goes unregulated.. if a Trance is defeated, that power will be spread throughout its immediate surrounding! You Argetlahms are no exception."

"Seventh Dimension?" Vegeta grunted. "Quit with the gibberish and just die already."

Shaun quickly glanced around. Next to him was a bench, with a small fighter craft nearby. Near him was a toolbox, and a small crate. "..hmm... 'custom 30 hammer set, a hammer for every sort of nail'." Shaun ripped a smaller rubber mallet from the chest and held its handle firmly with both hands. "Alright, then... use what skills you earned..." Shaun growled as he channeled his inner energies through the weapon in his hand, it slowly beginning to glow with yellow energy before the end burst into bright yellow flame. "...whoa!"

Gohan, Eric and Magnus all crumpled down to the ground, rubbing their foreheads. "Um..." Cody glared back at the group, falling to the back lines. "What's going on with them?"

"Negative Ki," Shaun muttered. "It's what makes these hammer techs so powerful... it negates high power levels! Which should make this real handy against Trances!" Shaun yelled as he began to charge forward, placing himself in a better place to throw the mallet. "Pow Hammer!!" The weapon sailed from his hands, hurtling forward through the air to Shiva.

"You think I'm... affected by your little mental distraction? You think I'm done yet?! Alright, buddy, you seem pretty powerful next to Ultimanium.. so it's time you joined him!! Dark Switch!!" Shiva reeled back, blasting a black/blue aura from her fingertips, which tunneled through the air with a deafening shriek. The blast swept around Shaun's Pow Hammer, sending it down and spinning across the ground, and slid to a stop as it lost its glow.

Shaun gaped at the blast headed for him. ***Okay, think of a possible response.. okay, that should work. 1, 2, 3..***

"FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!"

Shaun threw up his arms to shield himself as the blast began to surge over him. His power level jumped slightly...

...and fell again.

SCRAKK

"Wha?!"
"Shit!"
"No! No way!"
"Get out of there!!"

"What's... going on?!" Shaun continued holding back the blast - which had somehow been diluted. Several small rays of the Dark Switch were hitting him... but most of the rays were being absorbed by...

"I'm.. not.. letting you... get him!!"

Shiva blinked. "Damn! Not YOU again!"

..Takato.

Takato Matsuda stood in front of Shaun, braced in the exact same stance as him, writhing in pain as his front took the blunt side of the meter-wide laser. Shiva gave off a sly grin as she let the attack go, the encroaching darkness backing off as the beam died out. She slowly pushed herself back up from her fatal state and stood semi-proud as Takato crumbled to his knees.

"Takato!!" Takeru cried.

"Crap... well, maybe Shaun here isn't Tranced, but, regardless, your little friend here is ready to suffer the full brunt of Trance's effects. He isn't particularly desensitized to the power level, so his head'll probably explode in about a minute if he can't discharge that power."

"That's insane!" Vegeta bellowed. "It takes eons for a power level like that to wear off!"

Takato slumped his hand against the ground, struggling to keep himself up. His hands padded the ground, searching for something. "...I... d-d-d-d-d-don'tttt.. neeeed the power-r-r-r-r-r-r... I know exac-c-c-c-ctly what I wanna... ugh..." Takato plunged facefirst into the deep dirt ahead of him, his hand movements slowing to a crawl. "...c-c-c-c'mon... buddy... maybe you can take the power-r-r-r-r.."

Shiva was expressing some concern. "...what the... what is the boy doing?"

"He's fighting the Trance... until he..." Eric dropped off.

Shiva glared back at Eric. "Oh, are you expecting me to believe that he would pass it off to one of you? If he did, then YOU would be the one on your face. The effects are universal."

"C-c-c-c-c..."

Crono quickly rushed over, and bent down to Takato, giving an acknowledging nod.

"G-g-g-get the whit-t-t-te caaaard.."

Crono quickly glanced to the side. Near Takato's overturned card box, many of his cards, including the Imperialdramon card, were scattered along the ground. Crono dashed over and picked up a blank card, which Crono quickly recognized as the custom type of card, its surface blank for custom artwork purposes. Crono quickly rushed back over to Takato and passed him the slip, all under Shiva's watchful eye.

Takato convulsed as he lightly plucked the D-Arc from his pocket. "A-alright, Shiva, you win. I might not be able to handle the Trance... but maybe a card can!!" using the last of his strength, he tore the card through the slot, making everyone jump back as the crackle of electricity echoed a thousandfold off the hollow cavern walls. A short shower of sparks rained from the D-Arc's opening, before its screen blanked out. Takato let out a pained scream as he launched himself to a stand, performing a complete double flip before landing back on his feet.

"The leader-Tamer-dude whatever is scaring me," Patamon squeaked.

"What in the world.." Magnus sat, jaw dropped. Everyone else followed suit.

"This is your Trance, Shiva!" Takato screamed, whipping out the card for all to see. The scanning surface on the side maintained a perfect silver sheen, while the rest of the card glowed a perfect neon purple. On its surface was the familiar blue card emblem. "This.. is... the Wildcard!!"

Shiva stumbled back. "I-impossible! How did he learn to transfer the Trance... and how.. did he get it into a THING?!"

"I think we'd better be ready for the Digi-Modification to end all Digi-Modifications." Veedramon said shakily.

"Guilmon!" Takato commanded. "Get ready for a power trip!!"

Guilmon never saw it coming.



********
TRANCE...
********



Takato cackled evilly to himself, which managed to freak out his fellow crewmates. The card hovered in midair and spun before Takato caught it again, a shock of purple lightning drifting off the card. Takato immediately brought it through the scanner as he held it above his head, multiple times right after another.


"Digi-modify! Hyperspeed Activate!"
"Digi-modify! Power Charger Activate!"
"Digi-modify! Devil Chip Activate!"
"Digi-modify! Ground Seventh Activate!"
"Digi-modify! King Device Activate!"


"Takato, you dumbass!" Rika shouted out. "You don't even HAVE half those cards, and most of them won't even work on a Rookie!"

Takeru's eyes went wide as he backed up to Rika's position. "Um, then I think you'd better take a look at Guilmon then."

Rika turned to face the Rookie, sprung up from his position also. What was really disconcerting about the situation was the fact that he had a somewhat extremely-gargantuan-bigass aura of perfect black orbiting him, and the Pyrosphere he had hovering in front of his lips was three times larger than him.

"Oh.. no."

"Pyrosphere!!" Guilmon reared his head back and flung the massive meteor of flame striaght at Shiva, who let out a scream before she was clobbered by the missile. The explosion sent everyone in the vincinity flying back several dozen feet onto their backs, and somewhere in the base the Argetlahm shook slightly.


Takato grinned in a way that made everyone sort of get the creeps. "MOOOOOOORE!!"


"Digi-modify! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode's Positron Laser... activate!!"

Guilmon clapped his arms together, which burned a bright light as they fused into a huge energy cannon. Guilmon hopped and dove straight into the ground, punching straight through it and developing a tunnel.

"TAKATO!!" Rika shrieked. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Shiva frowned. Somewhere, under all that dirt, she'd swore she'd heard someone shout "Positron Laser". Well, when Guilmon tore up the ground and blasted Shiva somewhere into the next dimension with the giant Positron Laser, everybody who was left on the battlefield was sent flying straight through the walls of the main facility, and slid down the hall to the far end of the building. Meanwhile, Magnopolis experienced a 4.8 earthquake.





********




< br> "No trace of Shiva was found afterwards," Magnus slapped the papers down on the table. "I don't have much to worry about as far as anyone attacking the facility, I think they've all learned their lesson.. as for damages on Magnopolis, several buildings were completely uprooted. I demand compensation."

Raynor smirked as he stretched back in his chair. "Well, NOW you want compensation, because that was OUR fault. It's not THAT serious."

Magnus quickly glanced around the room from his desk. Everyone was giving him disgusted looks. "...well, geez, I DO care about my people.."

Everybody leant forward.

"God, get out of here."



********



Takeru rounded the corner, checking again to make sure Patamon wasn't following him. He counted down the doors as he marched down the hall, then turned and pushed the adjacent button causing the gate to slide open. Inside, Rufus and his superior were still staring at Ultimanium, but Rufus hopped up and attempted to shove Takeru out of the way as he made his way out of the cluttered chamber.

"Hey, what's the deal? Isn't Takato supposed to be here?"

Rufus never turned his head. "No, he's still going through preliminary testing upstairs."

Takeru and Rufus departed from the room, kicking up small talk until they had worked their way around the entire ship and found themselves in the training chambers. Rufus gestured both of them over to the weight room. Takeru blinked as the door in front of him opened.

All the workout machinery in the room had been shoved off to the far edge of the corridor, and the dumbbells stacked in a pyramind alongside them. In the center of the room were Takato, shirtless, jogging casually on a treadmill, and Guilmon alongside him doing the same. Both had various patches planted all over them, wires stretching off the implants and linked to a small computer on the far edge of the room.

Rufus nodded. "Takato. Guilmon. That will be enough for now. Takeru wishes to see the nature of the Trance."

Takato grinned. "Woohoo! Guilmon, water break!" Guilmon and his partner hopped off the backs of the conveyors as the slid to a halt, and immediately darted off to a small water cooler in the corner.

"The condition of Trance in Takato is quite perculiar," Rufus grunted. "He's displaying none of the symptoms that Ultimanium showed during his Trancing, though his power level has come quite close to his during several incidences."

"Could you explain a little further?"

"Takato," Rufus called. "Slash your Wildcard through again when we tell you."

Takato shrugged. "Can do." He reached over to a coffee table next to him and picked up his two artifacts as Takeru and Rufus seated themselves in front of the computer.

"Watch carefully," Rufus murmured. "The readings here read Takato's current power level at 3. Now... Takato, slash the card."

Takato sighed, and whipped the card through the slot. Takeru nearly fell out of his chair as the rippling shock through the air assaulted his ears. He quickly fought to sit upright, and glanced at the screen. "...3. So?"

Rufus shook his head. "You had to see it all the way through, not fly out of your seat at the slightest high sound. Takato and Guilmon's power level jumped briefly... BRIEFLY... 1, 2, 8000, 1 million, 10 million, and 50 million."

"WHA?!"

"The key word is briefly. The addition of the six powers occured even quicker than Ultimanium's, but he returned to his normal level seconds after the card went through. I think the reason Takato was able to survive the Trance and Ultimanium didn't was the fact that he only accessed it for a brief moment and didn't give it any time to root itself in his mind. Something in him made him transfer the power of the Trance to that card he holds... so the Trance is only activated when the card is linked directly to him, presumably making Takato's lifeforce itself a catalyst for the card's Trance..."

"But those people we fought were able to sustain their Trance all the time we fought them," Takato mumbled. "How?"

"It's beyond me," Rufus sighed. "The Prospector must have some manner of accomplishing this... anyways, we might have found a possible method of Trancing ourselves without our heads exploding, but we would only be able to do so for about 6 seconds before side-effects begin to kick in.."

"..but we have nothing to start the Trance."

"...well, that's the problem."

Takeru drummed his fingers on the desk. "The Trances never made any reference to the Prospector during the fight, only to Servant. Do you know anything about that?"

"Hey, I just solve equations and read monitors all day. If you want intelligence reports, I'm not the person to come to." Rufus chuckled.

"...anyways, about Takato's Wildcard... Rika said that Takato didn't even have half of the cards he yelled out, and many of them wouldn't work on a Rookie."

"Then that is probably what his Trance is capable of... bypassing standard Digimon card game rules, and summoning the powers of Digimon cards out of his memory... all accessible through the Wildcard. From what I've seen, each person's Trance has a different 'identity' if you know what I mean. Luxator was a white-elemented Trance, you know what I mean, each Trance so far has had its own unique attacks, appearances... the list goes on."

Takeru stared at the monitor for a short while, before the lights above the group began to dim. Eric's voice came over the Argetlahm intercom, with various crackles in the background. "..uh... hey, guys, if anyone's left aboard the ship other than the worker-scientist-researcher dudes, then could you please head for your bunks in the facility? People are going to start coming aboard for the interior renovations... and... um... well, you know. *CLI-CLICK*"

Takeru sweatdropped. "Something about this leadership doesn't sound too reassuring."


********


Night came, basking Magnopolis and its region in the cover of darkness. Elsewhere, darkness was in full swing... and claiming victims...


********


The Prospector darted out of the building, sloshing his heavy boots in the rain-soaked mud beneath his feet. The storm was continuing on, the falling monsoon giving no respect to him. He fondled the floodlight in his hand with delicate fingers, and tugged on his cloaking overcoat with the other. In the giant parade square and around the facilities near him, soldiers, workers, everybody was outside, dashing between buildings in the search for the elusive Servant.

"What the hell is going on here?!" the Prospector bellowed at a lower-ranked trooper as he attempted to slip by unnoticed. Shivering, he twisted back to his leader.

"Servant... has yet to be found."

"Why the fuck?! For Christ sakes, this place isn't THAT damn big! Have all the Trance research centers been cleared?!"

"Everything up to and including floor 70, sir."

"Then shut up and keep going!"

As he darted off, searchlights swept by him. A loud buzzing ripped apart his thoughts. The Prospector tore the walkie-talkie from his belt and held it to his face. "What's going on?"

"Sir! Brigade 14 has encountered resistance on floor 61... GOD!! DAMN IT!!" the Prospector quickly started hammering buttons as the signal began to fade out.

Letting out a deep-pitched growl, the Prospector flung himself back into the building, treading muddy footprints on the normally polished floor. Hurling himself inside an elevator, he hammered the up button until the display read 61, and grunted as a small knife of energy poked out of his wrist. The display blinked out, and slowly began to count up to 61. His concentration was suddenly wrecked again as the doors slid open with a ding, the entrance leading out into an expansive cubicled office. Many barriers were blown down, computer parts lying scattered in the walkways. Many of the windows were completely blown out, and an ominous dark blue light flooded the open area, shattered only by the occaisional flash of lightning.

He bent down, lifting a soldier's lifeless head from the ground before slamming it back down into the moist carpeting, dampened from the extreme amounts of water vapour drifting down from the storm. "This is insane! How could the troops have been downed so easily...?"

The Prospector held a blade to his face, ready to strike, as a ruffle from across the room drew his attention.

"I see I've gotten your great glare," Servant smirked, stepping out of the shadows. "I really hate to make the announcement, but now that the Trances are in full operation and I have the information I need, I now have the means to my power. You have no reason."

"No way in hell are you getting the Van Eltia!" the Prospector scoffed.

"Do you think I want the Van Eltia itself? Come on, old man, you talk like the thing like it's the Golgotha of your retarded little cult you have going here. That will simply be the epicentre of the Master Trance, from which all other lifeforms in the universe shall become a part of. Seeing you're going to be dead in a couple of minutes, maybe it would be nice to see that you get the point of my plan."

"I'm kind of lost already. Just surrender yourself and no harm will come to you."

Servant turned, a deepening face glaring out to the hurricane. "These weaklings.. plaguing this world... they cannot even remain in Trance without crumpling at the power. When the Trances are defeated, they expend their remaining energy using the Dark Switch and pass their Trance energies onto the next closest lifeform. When every single living thing in this galaxy has been corrupted and destroyed with their own Trance, soon this energy will have nowhere else to go... which gives me quite fine clearance to scoop it up for myself."

"Oh, come now, that is absolutely insane. Even if you were able to gain that sort of power, you would have nothing to do with it! You are a simple android!"

Servant began to pivot back slowly to the Prospector. That's when the Prospector knew something was wrong. "An android? Oh, that's a little off the mark... I'd say... a cyborg. I'm not TOTALLY machine, you know. Otherwise I wouldn'tve come up with such a wonderful plan such as this."

"Dare I ask who you were?"

"An outsider, as you third dimensioners might call it. I don't think I need to go into any more detail than that."

The Prospector's eyes narrowed. "You come from a higher dimension. I don't know what you want here... but I can tell already it isn't good."

"Let's put this bluntly, Mr. Prospector... or, should I say, Balkan Kovosochek."

The Prospector stumbled back in shock. "Y-you know me?!"

"Oh, DO I! Balkan, you're a dimensional split just like the rest of us, you're doing your disasterous experiments with the J in other dimensions! Accidents and injuries kept you from actually getting on the verge of doing anything drastically damaging with the technology... except for..." Servant spread his hands. "..this wonderful little corner of space-time. That's when I knew I would have a faithful pawn that I could use to finally gain access to the J probes and take control of the situation where my lower deriative could not."

Balkan's eyes went wide, as he fumbled for something to back himself on. "You're not insisting that..!"

"You should tell Ultimanium, when he comes for you, that even his patented super-safe J3 has its own problems. The damage, when looked at the right angle, is actually JUST AS severe as the original J when it was used. It won't rip apart dimensions, sure, but it only stops the damage at a safe level, 'thinning' the dimensional structure. Which leaves certain people, like the six-Ds, who have the astronomical power levels necessary to obtain minor influence on the dimensional structure, able to make the break. I am the most powerful entity of the sixth dimension, Balkan. I was the only one with enough power to get through. Now, I shall succeed where my former persona has lost!

I entered the third dimension years ago, Balkan, during the days of Ultramagnus. I altered my cyborg systems and appearance to match those of Ultramagnus' official models. When Ultramagnus was looking for a replacement for Minonim, his lower officals started a little competition among the lower level statistics androids for the title. That's when I kicked into gear, and began to think things thousands of times faster than every other machine Ultra had, defeated 100 of his elite droids in under three minutes, and appeared to be the first android capable of moving fast enough to phase. Thus, I got the title, and waited for a chance to see Ultramagnus fall so I could take the reins of the universe-conquest game."




Balkan crossed his blades, firmly caging his face with provoked power. "You... are... the sixth dimensional Magnus."

"I am Servan... hell, that name's starting to suck. Magnus? Bah, don't get me started on that fool. Hey, how about this, call me 'Anti-Magnus'. I will defeat Magnus, and I will defeat everybody, until I have control of every Trance in existance!!" He paused as he noticed Balkan edging forward. "Oh, what's this? Is Balkan playing good guy all of a sudden?"

"You.. are a madman!!" Balkan roared.

"And you weren't? You were practically holding the world by its nads with the entire J thing, I mean, you got ULTIMANIUM of all people after your hide."

"I never intended to take it this far!! I would never have activated the J, I simply desired the fast funds to complete the Trance project. After that I was going to immediately shut it down.. I never even intended to use it for attack purposes in the first place, either!! It was a goal of our religion, to finally ascend to Trance and head for the stars!! And you've turned it into some sort of mockery for your own personal gain!! I DETEST you!!"

Antimagnus sighed. "Oh, and tell me, what are you going to do about it?"



Balkan and Antimagnus stared each other down, through the chaos that lied between them. Off in the distance, the lightning crackled through the night sky.


"The same thing you would've done to the Argetlahm!!"


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TRANCE...
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"Trance... it... UP!!" Balkan screamed as he planted the blades into the ground on both sides of him, the carpeting blasting out of the floor, and pens, mugs and computer parts hurling in the cyclone orbiting him. He bellowed again as a dark twisting aura flared up around him, as his skin shattered and swirled around him in a tight ring, before sheeting him in a suit of gigantic, grey metal plates. His shoulder pads stretched out nearly four feet, both linked to extremely bulky arms with three-inch thick magneta blades, sticking nearly another six feet out of the center of his palms. He stood at an height of Luxator's, nearly taking up all of his available vertical space.



********
This super-powerful Trance is lightyears beyond the elementals! Granted full access to the Trance's capabilities is a big plus in Balkan's offensive, and even the most basic of unholy arts can destroy foes in seconds! His Argon Blade and Zanetsuken attacks cleave the opposition straight!
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XAEROS - Dark Trance




Antimagnus still held a straight face, though the edge of it could be seen cracking. "This must be your 'Trance' as you people call it. Well, tell me, will you crumble like the rest of your little soldiers? You might be interested to know that I'm more than educated in your methods of power - I AM running your show, you know. Come, let me show you how it's done."


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TRANCE...
********



"HUUURAGGH!!" Antimagnus threw his arms back as he was surrounded in a barrier of light, blinding Xaeros. A seemingly inverted version of Balkan's transformation was occuring, with the same objects he had hurled out earlier flying in through the shattered windows and landing in his vincinity. A bright beam of light tore through the celing and floor, encasing Antimagnus in a sheet of white. Feeling the supports above him beginning to fail, Xaeros hopped out a nearby opening with assistance from the rocket booster on his back and hovered away backwards while he watched the beam of light tear through the roof of his facility. Xaeros watched painfully as a giant shape tore through the side of the building, from his floor. It was a giant dragon, ablaze in gold flames as it began to lower itself to Xaeros, taking up the entire sky above him. Massive sheets of rainbow-shining armor began to funnel out from underneath him, clanking into place all over his gargantuan body. His mouth opened, it sticking open as a massive laser cannon forced its way out. Though he wasn't sure how the hell he talked, Xaeros could notice the dragon's eyes pulse with blue light as he spoke.


"Chew on this."



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?????????
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MILLENIAL - Ultimate Trance






"How.. can you Trance?! Magnus' fourth dimensional form is dead! Ultimanium killed him... and you told me 3D Magnus was currently with Ultimanium!"

"So maybe I had a couple fewer sources of power throughout the dimensions. But every single one of them is a maximum-level Super Saiyan, unlike Ultimanium who is a human and who's lower forms are less powerful than his current. As for Magnus, let's just say he's not in full health as we speak. Alright then... you started this, let's finish it. You, weak-ass mortal, versus the almighty 6D Ultimate Trance Antimagnus."



The lightning rippled through the air again as rain beat down on both combatants. This fight was certainly going to be noticed.

All over the freaking planet.













HOLY TOLEDO!!! Okay, forget it, I'm just going to announce. With Xaeros and Millenial fighting for supremacy, is no one NOT going to notice? And what purpose would the Argetlahm have in a confrontation like this? Find out next time, on Trance Trauma! (Oh, and don't worry, this series is FAR from over ^_^')