FHIF Project SX Chapter 15

Calm the night was.  The moon at last quarter was shining down on the Foster's rooftop.  Inside the nursery, Mr. Herriman was sitting next to a sleeping Louise, recovering smoothly from her fever.  Herriman was also reading a book that gave him some amuse.  A series of faint snickering had woken her up.  All of her symptoms had disappeared, all except for a slight migraine.
"Ah, Ms. Louise, early morning to you.  I do hope that your devilish fever had gone away."
She opened her eyes, looking towards the bed.  She found Herriman next to her, smiling to him.  "By the look of that smile, there's something on your mind isn't there."
"Y…you could tell?"
"A cup of tea says you were thinking about Master Mac."
A giggle gave away her thought; she didn't know how to explain what she was thinking about, or what she was feeling.  All she could begin with was, "another dream."  Herriman smiled back as she continued.  "It was just for a moment, I was sneaking up behind him, glomping him, the same way Bloo used to do it.  And then, you were right there, giggling while reading a book."

"Aah, was a coincidence.  I happen to be reading a book with me right now, quite laughter in it too."  What Herriman had in his hand was a brown book, whose appearance was dressed in sharp vinyl, surrounding the entire cover.  Louise had touched the hardcover, noting its feel of sandpaper.  "Ancient is what I describe the age of this book, and it surprises me that I was able to find this in our very own library.  But, here's what I find weird.  This book has exactly 300 pages, yet only 8 had been filled with a log so historic, even I never heard of."

"History you say?  Like what?"  Louise was also interested in its background.  Herriman went on.  
"For 8 pages, it speaks about a pack of imaginary monsters, reeking havoc over the reaches of Europe, Eastern Asia, and South America during the period of Alexander, The Great, up until the late 18th Century.  Though, the name "monster" seems miscarried, since they fought on the side of good."
"So, they're not like Extreme-O-Sauruses?"
"See for yourself, but it may be a bit frightening."  Herriman turns the page to a visual description of these imaginary creatures.  A figure of demonic detail, each creature shared the same physical attire, and some gave an appearance of human shape.  Louise was astounded by the visuals, she wasn't even afraid to look at them.  "Now, the reason why I had a chuckle before was because of their motive, and what they were called."

"These creatures actually have a name?"  

"In Japan, they were known as "Satou-Kaiju", also known as, "Sugar Monster."

It struck as a coincidence to the both of them, since the only person they knew who'd share the same appearance and motive was Mac, for who other than him would express the cravings of sweets these demons had.  Louise could definitely agree with laughter.  "So that's why there had been several cases of sugar famine in those three continents.  I heard about this in school just a few days ago."
"Ah, knowledge is power.  Sometimes, I even wonder if you're trying to become as smart as Master Mac."
"OH, oh no!  Hah, I'm not as smart as him, not with what happened weeks before all the strange stuff's been happening.  He was helping out his college friend with an advance math project involving…four…series?  No wait, Fourier Series."
"Wh…WHAT?  Master Mac was able to solve those equations?  My word!"  
"Mr. Herriman", Louise quickly changes the subject, "do you mind if I borrow this book for a while?  I just gotta show Mac this when I see him, at least when he's well again."
"Well, I do not see why not.  Just as long as you don't give it to Master Cheese."  
"Wh…oh c'mon!  You're not still mad about what happened at the library are you?"
"Oooh noooooooooo.  I'm pretty sure the smell from that flatulent bomb had looooong disappeared by now."

As time passed, Louise had read seven pages, all regarding the mischief and thievery of sweets, and their victorious battles against crime.  It was read that they used to be Alexander's personal army, in times of emergencies.  Every battle was proven victorious at 100%; no casualties.  The demons were used for private operations dealing with criminals fighting against the natural balance of the world, battles that no one had ever seen or imagined; another reason why they were considered to participate in "Black-Op missions."  As she viewed the last page, it had left a message stating it was to be read out loud, just to make the person feel satisfied in the end.  Puzzled Louise had found it, but there was nothing stopping from doing so, for she was interested.  She begins to say the following message,

"Dark aura present before my feet, awaken my soul, engulfed in sweet."  

Within half a second, her migraine had disappeared.  "Wow, guess that was, satisfying.  Okay, time t…", before she could finish her sentence, she started noticing faint red flames on the bed.  The sheets remained untouched; the flames kept unleashing out of her fingertips, and her breath inside had fired up like she had eaten a chili pepper.  After that, everything disappeared.  She didn't feel anything else, except for a warm line coming from her head to her left eye.  She had felt the same sensation all over her body.  She saw a bright light on her left cheek, turning dark grey. She had realized that these were the same markings Mac had on his right cheek.  But one question remains, how did she end up with these powers to begin with?  The same markings Mac had, only in reverse?  Did these powers come from reading the last quote from the book?
Suddenly, the book had started to glow; new words had emerged from the blank pages, filling the rest of the 292 pages of the book.  The new text went into detail of the origins of the sugar demons.  She wanted to read the rest of the text, but had a sudden drive to go home.  She finally got out of bed, and rushed her way out of the nursery and towards the exit.  The streets were slick from the past rain; Louise kept running, hydroplaning on the surface like she was skating on ice.  She was embracing the new powers with excitement; a sensation full of bliss she had not felt before.




Elsewhere downtown, The Acoustic had returned to the financial building to where the members of UBP were keeping a low profile.  He went into the Intelligence Room to retrieve some files he'd left back.  His body remained bared, with light green jet wings sticking out of his back.  He found that the room was left in burnt ruins, just as it was when he had left in anger after finding out that Terrence was impersonating him.  He had found The Merciless up against the wall, unable to budge. T covered his mouth, just to hide his laugh, after remembering how Skeiza had crashed into the wall, thanks to the shockwave The Acoustic unleashed by his anger.
"Ooops!  My bad Skeiza.  I didn't know I went too far with my powers."  

"…J…just help me off this wall.  I have an itch to pick at."

After pulling him out, T ran to the other side of the lab to retrieve more files, and to change into attire.  Unlike his previous uniform, the gray jacket with green shoulder pads mounted, his new attire was equipped with the same bulletproof armor, which bears a resemblance to the new armor Terrence was wearing while posing as The Acoustic.  Only difference was, T's new attire was accompanied with a plexi-fiber suit, lightweight in wearing and maneuvering; a state of the art sneaking suit for the new millennium.  The two mercenaries flew out of the building and into the nightly skies.

Twenty minutes passed since their flight.  They were above a mountainous region covered in some packs of snow.  As they lowered their altitude, a gate had opened, unveiling a vertical shaft going deep underground.  Passed the shaft entrance was a hangar filled with an enormous amount of tanks, battle vehicles, warheads, and unspeakable prototype machines.  The two walked into a hallway passing the hangar, while discussing their agendas.  "It has been about two weeks since we've acquired the boy's blood sample.  Who would've thought that he would be the son of the organization's treasured solider?"
T smiled, only to be impressed with his little brother's hidden power.  "His father was indeed the strong one.  His demon gene was passed down to Mac, and not his brother.  Perhaps he was chosen to pass down that legacy."  
"You speak of legacy eh?  This organization wants his legacy to regain their military strength.  Is this the reason why the commander wanted to restart Project Mirror?"
"You see, Project Mirror, a.k.a, Operation Replicator, was originally established by my creator.  The goal was to create a clone of his first-born child, resulting in the creation of me.  Now it shall commence once more, with the help of Mac's blood.  Speaking of which, how is our clone?"
They had arrived at the chamber that was housing the Mac clone.  He was lying in the capsule, sleeping like a newborn child.  His progression of age matched the original.  Skin tone, hair color, mostly a replica.  However, something was different about this clone.  T could already spot it in the open.  "Uh…Skeiza?  What is that?"
"(Cough)…well, you know what that is, after all, he IS a boy",
"N..Nooooo, not down there!  His shoulders man, shoulders."
"O..OOH!  Gotcha; I was thinking, maybe you didn't want the clone to…um..," Skeiza tries to change the subject after seeing T's expression of disgust, with a pout so tight, it was masking a very cuss-ful remark towards Skeiza.  T came to his senses, and continued on topic.  "Anyways, there's something, sticking out of them.  They, look like winged shoulder pads, but…"
"Hmm hmm hmm", The Merciless laughed.  "Those are Blasters.  High quantum energy pearls equipped within his skin, capable of igniting a powerful blast of lightning, accompanied with a particle-disintegrating beam.  This is the power I also possess, but I've never released it full blast.  The only attack that's less powerful, but effective, is the Volt-Raiku which comes out of my hand."

"Then, it's safe to assume that the blaster from the shoulders would be known as, Volt-Tekka, right?"
"Yeeeeesss.  How did you,"
"Your creator had one hell of an imagination in Japan.  He based you on that series, Tekkaman Blade, didn't he?  He passed it down to his ideal friend, fiend to you, and now you're passing your legacy to this clone."
"What you see now is only a shell of his true form, he's still in human form.  An organic transformation is currently taking place within this child.  Soon, he will awaken as the next bringer of chaos!  My DNA fused into the clone; he will be my creation, my son.  He even bears the same markings like Mac."
"Not, necessarily.  His signature may appear to be the same, but the scent is different.  He has a very different marking from within."
"You're able to sense that well.  Is that also why you refuse to have a Mac clone for yourself?  I mean, even YOU, a clone like yourself should have a clone brother.  But I do not see that in you.  I can't really understand that."

T crossed his arms, beginning to explain this to his partner.  "Simple.  It's a family bond.  It shows itself physically, and royally.  We kinda have the same personalities, the same IQ.  I've been watching over him since he was a baby.  I was 9 at the time.  I love him as my little brother.  He doesn't know that yet, but someday.  Oh, and I also say royally because, Mac is supposed to carry the title, "King", just like his father.  Regardless of me being the clone, you would think his other brother, Terrence, would possess royal ties. Unfortunately, he hasn't fully tapped into his powers, which therefore means, I'm the only one who carries the title, "Vice-King."  The clone you see now may have the same markings outside, with his real signature kept in secrecy; he carries royal ties as "Doppelganger", the king's double, I mean every leader needs a double incase of any emergencies, right?  Usually, making a clone is simple regardless of how many times you use someone's blood.  However, Mac's blood is different; it ensures that once a double is created, the king's blood will, um…notify him, giving him the choice to dispose any further copies.  A little research of our origins has helped me see this."

"…The blood…notifies?  So they're like nanomachines. Yeeess, I understand now, your case as well.  But due to the side the real Mac is fighting for, it may be difficult to win his love, and if he ever saw me again, I do not think he would continue down our path."

"Not to worry.  UBP's ambition is justified.  And, you let me worry about forgetting his hatred towards you.  Just as long as you don't hurt his family members again."

"What?  I didn't hurt his mother, or.."
"The friends at Fosters, including Frankie Foster, are ALSO considered family to him.  And I would suggest you NOT facing her again.  The outcome could turn ugly!"

"Oh C'MOON!  Surely she can't be THAT strong, at least not stronger than me.  The last encounter was only a mere fluke."

"I'm just looking out for you man.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head back to Rapid City to have a word with my creator."  As T walks out of the room, he whispers to himself.  "Little does he know that she too, has undergone through some changes as well as Mac.  That black eye he had wasn't because his defenses were weakening.  There had to have been more force into it.  Frankie isn't the same as she was from before.  Even I have to keep my distance.  Mac's demonic powers are rapidly spreading; they've become dormant within the vessels of other inhabitants."  T pauses for a minute with another thought.  "And there's one more person whose powers had awaken, but I can't tell exactly who it is.  But that could only mean one thing.  This person must have the same book as I do, knowing how to disguise their identity, their signature.  The perfect stealth demon.  I think I may have to do a little more digging in my ebook."


The next day at Fosters, Wilt, Ed and Coco locked themselves in their newly furnished computer room.  Accompanied with World, still in his human form, they were running inspections of their security systems, with the intension in preventing another breech.  Bloo however, was still in his bedroom.  He was still in bed; his face glued to the window, body pale white.  He was falling ill out of depression, thanks to the unintentional argument he had with his best friend, Mac.  Frankie was up on the roof; arms crossed, resting on the beam of the balcony.  Right behind her, Terrence happened to appear on the roof.  He did not know how to begin the conversation with her, since it had a very long time since he spoke to her, besides the recent moment in the hospital.  He never had the same feelings his brother had towards her, but her beauty and appearance had given him a sense of comfort; comfort in being looked upon, or sharing a connection, a thought, or anything.  All he could start with was,
"Uuumm…hello?  Umm, Frankie, right?"

Frankie turned her neck to spot the mullet of a long time no see person; the older brother of Mac.  "T..Terrence?"  She ran to him in excitement, and in tears.  "Oh my god, oh my god, Terrence?  Please tell me Mac is okay.  I'm so sorry…I…didn't mean to…"

Terrence had interrupted, "Whoa whoa whoa!!  Slow down Frankie.  Didn't mean to what exactly?"
"Oh Terrence, you didn't see the black eye did you?"

"…Black…eye…OH SNAP!  YOU DID THAT?  YOU PUNCHED HIM?  This, this isn't like you Frankie.  Was there a fight?  Argument?  Why the hell am I not mad about this?  OMG that's RAD, and yet, that's…not cool, or okay; quoting the red tall dude."

"…(Sigh), okay, it wasn't really a punch, just an accidental slap gone too far.  And yes, it was not cool at all, and you were quoting Wilt.  So, you don't hate me for doing that?"

"Wow, that's the same question Mac had asked me."

Terrence had told Frankie about the same story he had explained to Mac.  It concluded with the explanation of his condition in health, the painful crash effects after the consumption of sweets, even without taking'em.
Frankie, more concerned about Mac wanted to ask, "Can, can he be cured?"

"I, I can only cure him for 6 hours, after that, it keeps coming back.  The pain, the coughing, it's a condition I've never seen in my life."

"…Imaginary Diffusion."

"What?"

"It's just as I feared.  You see Terrence, we've noticed something wrong with Mac after he imagined his little brother.  It's like, half of his soul has been transferred to the other vessel.  Usually, it's not supposed to transfer more than 50% of his soul, period."

"Little brother, Little Mac right?  Mac told me about him.  So what exactly is making him sick?"

"The Sugar X inside of him, that part is clear.  It's replicating the same crash effects as any ordinary side effect after the consumption of sweets.  Only difference is, it's making it 10 times worse in Mac's case, thanks to Sugar X.  That's only half the story.  The other thing that's causing him even more pain is the Cellular-Disintegration (C-D) taking place in his body.  That fiend, The Merciless; he was the only who blasted Mac with some kind of beam, potent enough to infect him with those C-D nanomachines.  You see, I know all of this because we were able to get the test results from Mac's doctor, Dr. Tayazaki, based on a live biopsy they ran on his little brother.  I had asked World to hack into their system to retrieve Mac's live biopsy as well.  We're currently studying them."

"H…How are you doing all of this?  Don't chu guys need some, supercomputer to run a test like that?"
"We DO have a supercomputer!  Inside the room where Never Leave Steve used to live in, which is now our Intelligence and Command Center."
"Say WHHAAAAATTT?"  How, when, and…"

Frankie anticipated the shock and excitement Terrence was feeling.  She felt it was safe to let him in on a secret.  "The ICC was World's idea.  I'm sure Mac has told you about our attack we had months ago.  A week later, World wanted to prepare a counter-insurgency operation against the organization that attacked us, hence the creation of this room.  They were after him, and now it seems they're after Mac too.  This is why we're trying to fight back.  No one hurts our friends and gets away with it!"

"So, how the hell did you guys afford all of this?"

"We've collected a lot of money from our past Adoption Convention.  Actually, I have to thank Bloo on this one.  If it weren't for his antics, we wouldn't have been able to raise so much.  And it gets better.  We made a deal with our benefactor."

"Benefactor?"

"Barry Bling; the president of his father's toy franchise, Bling Enterprises.  Over the past months, this company has expanded their reaches in products and projects.  Not only are they making advanced toys, but all kinds of stuff; from medical parts to just about anything!  It's thanks to him that the hospitals all around have been able to save even more lives.  It's also why Mac is still standing today."

"Anything eh.  Even weapons?"

"Ah, funny thing about that part.  There was another person who took on that division, many months before we made the deal.  No one knows who took the lead, not even Barry, but he was able to buyback a tiny portion in the Weapons Division, at least 5%.  But a number that small, is still a HUGE portion of what he owns.  He gave us 2.6% of the shares.  Hmm, I wonder if he did that because of me?  I feel like my charm could get the better of some people.  That may not be a good thing."

"I'm not gonna lie Frankie, but I can see another reason why Mac comes here every day.  Who wouldn't want to protect that beautiful body of yours?"

"Et tu, Terrence?  I make you blush as well?"

"If there's something Mac has told me today, it's that you remind him of our mother.  Always working hard to keep thing together, a need for a break long deserved.  A woman of substance is how he describes you."

"He…he said all that?"

"By the way, he also wanted me to ask you how you were feeling."

"Feeling fine, at least better, now that I know you're taking care of him."
"And the scars?"
"…No severe pains.  They haven't disappeared from my body yet."  She lifts her shirt up, revealing the scar that Skeiza had left in her stomach.  Terrence was left with an unfavorable look.  He'd wish he had seen a better image.  The deep cut was still trying to fade away.  He whispered, "I understand now, Mac.  This is why you want to continue this fight.  You've would've done the same in Louise's case."  He turns to Frankie again.
"Frankie, you said your friend wanted to prepare a counter-insurgency operation right?  And you guys have a supercomputer?"
"That's right.  Why?"

Terrence held both her shoulders as he came up to her.  He had placed them softly, not trying to panic in a manner, keeping calm of the situation.  "Frankie, I only have 5 hours left before I need to take care of Mac.  I'm going to give you guys a hand with this."  He pulls out a small object from his jacket, a jump drive.  "I didn't know when I was gonna put this to use, but it's very important that I entrust this with you.  I would give this to Mac, but, they would come after him instead."

"Terrence.  Is this…"
"That's right.  This contains a record of UBP's operations from the past and now.  It also contains the location of one of their vital bases in this country.  I got this after beating up the doctor who gave these powers."
He gave the jump drive to Frankie; her face was nodding to assure her complete trust.  "Terrence, you know they'll be coming after you now.  With this kind of information missing in their hands, they could…"
"Track me down in a matter of seconds via satellite.  They won't find me until another hour.  I'm currently jamming their signals with my powers."
"N…no way!  How…"
"Heh heh, their signals emits a beacon of sound.  I can hear it from far away, and I'm doing all I can to stall for one more hour."
Without a moment to think, Frankie holds his hand and takes him back inside the mansion.  She smiles at him saying, "I'll fill you in on the details once we get downstairs."  Once they had reached the elevator going down, she approached his face, leaving a soft kiss on his cheek.  Terrence held a blush as he looked at her with a smile.  Last words coming from her were, "Thank you Terrence, this means a lot to us."

Several blocks away from Mac's apartment, Louise paid a visit to Goo's house.  She was in the kitchen, laying her head down on the dining table.  Her right arm was a cushion for her head, her left was still holding on to the brown book.  Goo had arrived in the kitchen, attempting to wake Louise.  She barely placed her hand on her shoulder, then a sudden cry of, "MAC", from Louise had startled Goo.  "Oh my gosh!  Are you okay?  I think you had a bad dream.  You called out Mac as well."

"Y…yes."  Louise was already shaken from her sudden dream.  "It was like, he was calling me, running towards me, but kept on fading away after reaching…"
Goo had finally rested her hand on her shoulder.  "Louise?  Are you sure you're going to be all right?  That time you and Mac had that argu…"
"It's okay Goo.  I'm mostly over it.  I already know he wasn't in the mood, and it wasn't his fault."
"Yeah but, you still don't look too good.  You got bags in your eyes."
"My eyes?  Forget my eyes, I have bigger problems to deal with.  I'm…kinda transforming right now, and I'm trying to find a cure to Mac's illness, hence why I'm reading this book."

"Aw, I see, um what do you mean by, transforming?  Transforming into some kind of mechanized robot, car, whatever?  You're not even a robot, how can you do dat?"

"…Okay, see, last night I ran to my apartment to go to bed.  And then", Louise was hesitating to finish her sentence.  Her cheeks were also red as she went on to say, "Weelll, something happened to my chest.  It…got…",
"Got, got what?" Goo tried to get the answer from Louise.
"Um, you have'em too, right?"
"….Oooh, oooohhh.  I seeeeee."
"One night, I noticed it after waking up in the middle of the morning.  I called Mac's college friend about this since he was somewhat an expert with these things.  He says it was just a part of me growing up, but even he finds it puzzling to occur so, early.  He's currently digging in to it.  Anyways", Louise quickly changes the subject and turns to the book.  "There was something I read in here talking about a remedy or ritual that I need to perform."

"Is it like a magical spell?"
"Not sure.  It didn't give out any chants, maybe on this next page…" as she turned the page, they found a segment full of words and an image that made both their eye brows roll upward.  Mouths open wide, their faces blushed out, it became hard to tell if they were speechless out of surprise, or disgust.  Cheese had entered the room only to have the same look as the two girls.  Louise slammed the book closed after reading vital descriptions of the ritual.

"Um, Louise?  Where did you get this book again?"

"Inside Herriman's Library.  It only had eight pages, and… I somehow unlocked the rest with that chant I told you about."

"W…what did the book say to do again?"

"It says that the two have to join body to body…um…"

"YEAH BUT, these, demons don't have any…cl…o",

"Goo?  Can two demons actually do something like that?  First off, can a boy, and a girl, actually do…that?  I mean, doesn't that happen at an…older…age?"  She bangs her fist to the table as she got up.  "So be it!"

"WWWAAAAATT??  But, but…",
"It's alright, I'll just do it with pants."
"But what if it doesn't work, and you actually have to do…it, th…that way?  Louise?  It's still too…"
"That ritual was then, this is now!  There are, other ways to perform this without being, (clears throat), uhmm…acked.  All we need is upper body strength.  Most of our energy resides from our stomach, right?  That's our chi; I just need to focus that flow of energy to my stomach, chest, and head."

"Louise", Cheese had finally spoken.  His eyes looked directly at hers.  She had never seen a serious look in his eyes, yet he was still smiling, only this time, with a sense of encouragement.  His next words were, "dooooooo iiiiiiiitttttt."  Goo turned her neck to his words.  "Louise, Mac, neighbors, brother-like sister-like, friends-more."

After hearing that from his mouth, she became more determined to do what she needed to do.  A tear began to fall from her eye.  "Brother-like sister-like, friends-more, right?  Thank you Cheese."

Goo nodded her head, finally sharing the same sentiment.  "You are a brave girl Louise."

"You would've done the same thing too Goo.  After all, you too had a crush on Mac, just as he had with Frankie.  What makes him loved by all of us is beyond me.  I may not know why, but I won't keep him sick until the end.  Besides, this ritual only works if he and I share the same markings, and I have his mark."

"Louise", Goo craws on the knees to hug her, wishes her good luck.  "Mac is still a fragile boy.  And I know you're the same too.  Don't fear, okay?"

"I…have no intension to.  I'll do everything to make him better, promise."