Hospital:The Beginning

Steve pulled up a chair and sat down next to Erin. "Here you go." he said, handing over her things.

Steve was quiet for a moment, and then collected his thoughts. "Yes, I've heard of this second layer of the net, as well. In fact, Druidman has recently gained the ability to go there himself." he paused. "I have been meaning to check it out as well. I suppose that there is strength in numbers, so I'll send him along with you." he said as he pulled out his PET and jacked Druidman in.

Steve looked at the diagnostic screen results and sighed. His suspicions were correct, it seemed. He looked up at the door to make sure no one was there, and he spoke again to Erin. "Forgive me. When I saw the draconian viruses in Electown, I knew that they weren't run of the mill types. Then, my Navi ran into what he and Seraphim fought together in Netfrica." he paused, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Erin, are you familiar with the term, 'BeastOUT?'"

"BeastOUT?" Erin shook her head to indicate the negative. She had no idea as to the existence of it, and her PET had registered no sign of this 'ability'. She looked at her PET, and viewed her navi as he took up the book.

"Wait, Seraphim, it-"

Steve, too, was distracted by what was going on on his PET screen. But he managed to continue.

"I won't pretend that I'm an expert, myself. It's mostly hearsay and old articles, but from what I can gather, a few years back, when the four cybeasts were about, a few Navi's actually found ways to take on and imbibe the powers of a Cybeast. They became much more powerful than any other Navi or virus. That is..." he trailed off for a moment to moisten his mouth again, "until the government, as far as I can tell, exterminated them all and banished the Cybeasts from the civilian net. Neither Cybeast nor BeastOUT user has been seen since, that is, until the recent fiasco that we took part of."

"I remember something about that." Erin dredged up her mind's archives as she rubbed her temples. Seraphim was giving her a headache with his antics.

"So why are you asking about that?" She asked guardedly, raising one eyebrow and squinting at him with the other eye. Erin was curious. Why bring this up now? Had his navi acquired the ability or somesuch to 'BeastOUT'? It could be a new level of power, she noted. Erin removed her hands from her temples and lifted her PET.

"Wait, where *are* they?"

Steve steeled himself. He wasn't 100% positive that even Druidman was effected, but to jump to the conclusion he was about to make...

"When Druidman fought Drauchen for the second time, I... lost contact with him. When I got back a hold of him, Drauchen was gone, my PET was giving me a warning about Navi Possession, and Druidman was out cold." he stopped again. "I ran a diagnostic on him, and something about him has definitely changed. I'm not even sure he realizes what it means yet, though I'm sure he suspects..."

Steve let out a deep sigh. "My Navi has obtained BeastOUT, and, from what you told me, I think yours has, too."

Now she was sure she had a migraine.

Steve sat there silently, just watching Druidman explore with Seraphim. That was, after all, a lot to take in...

Erin stared at the chips.

"These are way too powerful." She muttered.

"...I've heard of a chip trader," Erin started off, seemingly changing the subject, "You put three chips again, and they're rewritten, and you get a random chip. A safer version of gambling."

"These two here, have got to be hacked versions of the ordinary chip. Can you take them and slide them in the chip trader for me? I'd like to see them off to an untimely demise, and after what our navis went through... You're pretty much one of the only people I can trust." She took the chips in her fodder folder, all 6 of them, and handed them over to Steve.

"You should probably do the same."

Steve took the stack of chips and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Some of these could lead to some trouble." he said as he did a mental calculation of his own chip inventory. "Is there anything else you need while I'm out? I can run to Suitachi's and be back real quick, Scilabs isn't too far from here, and it's only a minor detour from Soryu's." he asked as he stood up.

"Nnnno, according to my calculations, I can't buy anything I actually need at the moment. Not enough zenny." She replied, giving him a quick smile before ducking her head in thanks.

"Oh, well, okay then." Steve said. "I'll be back in a little bit."

Steve came back into the room, pausing at the doorway to make sure Erin was still alright for a visitor, seeing her still awake looking at her PET. So, he continued in.

"Well, it looks like the trader machine liked you chips a bit more than mine." he said as he pulled up his chair next her bed again. "You got a pretty nice knife chip and a bow and arrow chip. Seems like it's up Seraphim's alley, at least." he held out the two chips palm up to her.

"...Oh, thanks. We should probably come up for a strategy this battle, it looks--- somewhat dangerous, I could say. It appears to be.. something that we should plan very carefully for." Erin commented, taking the chips and using them to replace the old ones in her folder before muttering something about stupid Seraphim.

Druidman safely back in his PET, Steve stood once more. "Well, that was certainly fun. We'll have to do it again sometime."

When he didn't hear a reply, he turned to look at Erin again. She was sleeping soundlessly. At first, Steve felt dread sweep over him, but then he quickly glanced at her monitor and saw that she was simply asleep. He let out his breath.

Steve quickly jotted down a note for her as he left, left his email and contact information at the bottom, and set it on her bedside table on his way out.

Erin,

I just wanted to let you know that it was nice hanging out with you and Seraphim today. I don't usually say corny stuff like that, but I mean it. Take it as you will. At any rate, if you ever need me for anything, just drop me a line. I'll talk to you later.

Steve