Front lobby and a weary Martial-artist

Following the link made before, when Musou was posting his operator's inquiry on the Net Police BBS, the martial artist arrives in a flash of light. He is a safe and legal distance away from the HQ entrance and quickly makes his way inside. He pauses for a moment and sighs as he looks around.

But he only hesitates a moment. He and his operator have had a nice long talk before he set out for here and he is ready to see what happens..

Stepping to the front desk in turn, he racks his brain to try and come up with the name of any of the important, and he would like to think, trustworthy navis belonging to the NP, but he can only think of one. Despite the fact that the navi in question doesn't tend to like dealing with guys, Musou still looks up to him and hopes he can be half the fighter he is one day..

"E-excuse me, is Officer MeleeMan in?"

Trying to cover himself as to not appear as too much of a complete green horn, he adds "Or if not, one of the officers in charge of the-" he pauses for an awkward moment before a whisper comes through the line from his operator and he finishes "D-Department of Investigations".

He tries to smile and nod knowingly but he can't shake the doomed feeling that he's either about to get locked up or laughed out of the place.

The navi behind the desk, a young woman in white and black, standard NP armor, replied to him with a professional attitude that was at once welcoming and misunderstanding, fully unaware of the situation Musou had recently found himself in. "One moment please," she responded. "It seems that MeleeMan is one of our new GNA sponsored recruits. As such, he won't have an office in this building. He is a member of the Department of Justice, as you may already be aware. If you need to contact him, you can use his e-mail at 'RFirebrand@electopiamailserv.net.'"

"I'm sorry that he wasn't in to take your call, but I'm sure someone from Investigations will top you. Perhaps-"

"-Officer Cabal would like to speak with you? Yes, she would!" a quiet but enthusiastic voice spoke out from the lobby intercom.

"Officer Cabal has been answering a lot of the incoming questions lately. She will probably be able to help you," the front desk woman continued, not missing a beat. Apparently, she'd gotten pretty used to getting interrupted like that. "Please have a seat in the conference room to your right. You will be connected to the officer through a video link."

--------

The office was a simple enough place, featuring a giant viewscreen through which he would presumably be connected to the NP Investigations officer. Besides that, the only furniture was a long, black leather sofa and two smaller armchairs. The room was very sterile and pale gray in color.

The screen quickly switched on, revealing the navi who had so eagerly accepted Musou's request. After his last experience, Musou might have been looking for someone normal and helpful looking, like the girl at the counter. This navi was no such person. The majority of her body was covered in a white cloak; someone had scrawled all over it with text in black ink, but it didn't look like it had been done as a prank. Looking closer, it looked like she'd been using it to record elaborate notes. Her hair was long and black with bangs so heavy that they covered her eyes. Her smile was the only flesh he could see and it was curved into a wide and unsettling grin.

"Hello, young inquirer! This is the first time someone's come to my office and I haven't really had a clue where to begin speaking. What brings you here today?" she asked, leaning uncomfortably close to the screen. Musou could vaguely make out the neck of her black navisuit, on which more writing had been scribbled (these in white instead of black).

A bit unsure where to begin himself, Musou figures he might as well start from the beginning, so to speak. Kenji said they should try open honesty first. But the martial artist realized in a confined and alien environment such as this he would be at their mercy if they decided to gas him or arrest him..

Choosing not to sit for the time being, the navi cleared his throat and starts awkwardly. "So.. Um.. Hello there. My name is Musou. I've posted on your guys board before, so you might already know about me, but.. My operator is Kenji Kobayashi, a student in ACDC school, class 5A. Well, currently, he passed some tests and should be in high school soon-" He begins to trail off on a tangent but catches himself.

"Anyway. We have been trying to help a store owner named Jack Chessman and his navi Rook, finish a transaction with my operator. You see, Kenji is fascinated with the old group, the 'Officials" and Mr Chessman collects antiques and old documents. Turns out he had something for Ken. But it got intercepted in the delivery" the navi changes his mind and decided to sit, as he began to pace the floor in nervousness.

"S-So, Rook and I went through ACDC Net to find out what happened.. And we found and rescued the deliveryman, he's currently resting in my PET if you'd like to talk to him. But there was some kind of.. I dunno.. Criminal? A criminal navi who ambushed him. Some kind of cold guy with ice knives. He told us the data had been already given to his boss and we would have to talk to her on it. Since the deliveryman was already safe, we agreed".

"Some criminal lady came down to speak with us-" he pauses a moment as his operator opens a viewscreen beside him and displays a screenshot he had taken of the lady, through his PC. Handy connecting from PET to PC, really. So many advanced features enabled without having to own a million-dollar premium PET. Musou wasn't exactly expecting this, but after a pause, reacts well enough by motioning to the image of the lady in question. And actually, on thinking about it, a second screenshot loads, sharing the viewscreen space, showing the ice-knife navi.

"She told us she had already gotten whatever she wanted from the data and would give us the part on Officials, if.. Well.. If we went to a nearby warehouse and retrieved some data for her" he hesitates for a moment but goes on.

"The first time we got to the place it looked pretty run down but otherwise normal. We fought to get inside and realised by the time we made it in how worn out we were. Also, seems Mr Chessman's connection was terrible or something because he would just leave Rook alone for minutes at a time and sometimes Rook didn't even help in the fighting. I made the decision to bail out, given our problems".

"After we got out, I took my part of the earnings from our past excursion, powered up a bit and headed back in alone. And this time is was even harder.."

"The second time around, the warehouse was pretty heavily fortified.. You shoulda seen the place, bionic viruses everywhere, and oh-" he pauses as Kenji loads up a screenshot of the outside of the place and one of the entryway inside, not to mention one of the bionic Fishys trying to rip him apart.

"Anyway, so I got into the center of the warehouse by, you know going in the skylight then, punching a hole through an interior wall. And found this Metool engineer.. I guess it must have been behind everything but, well I'm not big on deleting anything sentient and it obviously was so.. Well, lets just say that getting by it didn't happen" A screenshot of the bionic mecha metool suit, baring it's weapons and guns and the spinning panels smacking Musou loads up. "Very flattering, Sensei", he mumbles.

"Don't worry, I didn't take one of you getting torn up by your own shots reflected off the legs" Kenji's voice calls out from somewhere behind(?) the little floating viewscreen.

Clearing his throat again, he says "And if this wasn't crazy enough... Then she and her goons appeared.. Gas-mask lady who was apparently made of gas. Or full of poison hot air. I don't know really-" a screenshot of the lady, talking to Musou and another of her goons eating the Mecha metool alive pop up.

"Yeah so whoever that was, she said she would give me some data on Officials, strait from Net Police archives, if I would just shut up and do nothing. And forget it happened. I told her what she could do with herself and her threats and tried to defend the Metool engineer.. But well" he stops.

"Anyway, she abducted the metool and got away. According to her, this is your guys property, and we wern't about to take a bribe, so here's that data, never opened, read, copied or anything" he finishes by holding out his hand towards the meeting table and a flow of data and energy seperate from him as the file is moved from Musou's PET. It floats there, almost looking like a little green mystery data, waiting someone to crack it open.

"So.. Uhh.. I'm not really sure where to go from here.. Honestly, after hearing about the whole SoapMan incident.. I didn't want to come to you guys, but.. Well my operator is still a kid who believe in pure hearts and good in the world, so.. Take it for what it's worth" he finished.

Despite Kenji wanting to correct his navi, Kenji chooses to stay silent for now. They can talk about it later. A few hundred clapping push-ups and panel breaks may or may not be involved.

"My, I've heard a lot of exciting stories from across the net lately with so many seeking the aid of Investigations, but nothing so elaborate and well documented as this. I'd ask just how constantly you're running that camera of yours, but that might be something personal," the navi replied after Musou was finished. She'd been busily writing across her cowl as she listened, filling up another good-sized area of the canvas with more black text. "That's quite a mouthful... Two different shady groups of navis, one with access to NP files... Beyond that, modified species of viruses living inside of a fortress! There's no coincidences here; even if at some point you were told you were a cog in the scheme, you were definitely just the right cog for somebody," she chuckled.

"You mention SoapMan; I'm still in the progress of investigating all of the circumstances and planning that culminated in his elaborate but poorly covered scheme surviving as long as it did. During the opening of that investigation, I heard of an invisible NP operative, known by some and not by others, somehow off of the NP's radar entirely despite being a part of it. I personally think it's likely that the woman who confronted you is her: Carbuncle.EXE. As for how she's tied in to your other antagonists, that's more difficult to determine. This is good progress, though... I now know that she has access to NetPolice resources and Mafia technology. At this point she only needs to raise a 'heil Neo-Shogun' and she'll have run the circuit of every faction. The important piece will be to figure out which force she's working for..."

"Speaking of important pieces of information, let's not forget your role in all of this. You did the right thing, bringing us back that data. I personally would love to crack it open and let you have a look, but I'd better not. Ordinarily, the danger would be from 'those that matter,' a cell inside the NetPolice that act in secret and who I am fairly certain are responsible for SoapMan evading detection," she continued, showing no signs of needing to pause for a breath, "But in this case, you'd be more likely to face persecution from the good guys in the Department of Internal Affairs. They'll want to have a look at whatever's in this before it's released to anyone."

"But if it's what you want, I don't mind telling you my own speculation on the Officials. On one hand, I pride myself on being able to connect threads and provide accurate conjecture on past events. On the other, you have no real reason to trust me, and I understand that. Let's also not forget that even I'm not perfect... ke he hehe..." Cabal cackled. The laugh made it hard to put too much faith in her good intentions, but then again, maybe she was just an eccentric. "Let's think about the current situation of the net. The GNA is a corporate entity that overlooks the sort of 'cold net war' that has developed from the previous hot one. Beneath them, you have us, the Mafia, and the NeoShogun's Empire. All across the net, there are other factions. For now, let's just focus on two: the GNA and the NP."

"The officials that your operator is interested in are sort of superheros compared to us, the regular law enforcers. While we bumble around and do things within our abilities, certain members of the officials were known for solving nation-threatening crises acting almost as single operator-and-navi units. Definitely more impressive. I wouldn't blame you for saying so," she whispered, keeping her grin, but sounding a little regretful. "Let's be clear: the NP you see today are not the officials. We police the internet and are recognized as having the official capacity to do so, and yet, certain organizations have now been granted an equal authority to our own. We're more like soldiers than policemen now, honestly. It's really the citizen's choice as to whether they care for our order or not."

"Why am I bothering explaining the GNA and the NP to you? For this important reason: you are correct. You are right not to implicitly trust the NP. We are not the officials," she explained. "Policies created by the officials have been maintained: people are still trained in netbattling, you can still get your licenses to operate, etc. But the officials as an organization faded away... perhaps because their culture had become second nature. Nobody bats an eye at the logic of teaching netbattling skills at an early age in today's society, after all. Their legacy lives on, but in society, not in the NetPolice. The NetPolice are just an organization, striving to enforce order on a net where you're equally encouraged to be a member of the Mafia."

"The GNA, on the other hand, are not enforcers of justice... They're just enforcers! Imagine that the officials split into two concepts: one small, one large. The small concept is the idea of justice and problem-solving, which became the NP. The larger is the Global Network Administration, which ensures order and accessibility. Think about the mission board, for instance; doesn't it seem remarkably similar to the way officials did things? Get people invested in the net part of society, get them invested in net culture, get their children invested in it... Well, that's philosophy for another time. But we can certainly say that there are some similarities. The only difference are that the GNA have a monetary motivation. Imagine them raking in a little money for every mission that they advertise, manhunt for, and coordinate. Starting to see that idea of the GNA as a corporation now?"

"Well, I hope I've sufficiently talked both of your ears off. I'm not saying for sure that the officials defused into culture at large and that the GNA may have been a corporate spin-off, but hey, who knows? It's certainly interesting to think about, isn't it?" she giggled, pressing her hands to her cheeks in genuine pleasure. "As for your situation, I wish I could promise we'd get our hands on all of these shady characters, but even with their appearances and some of their names, we have little to use to track them down. If you're still feeling threatened by any organization, though, you can count on the NP's usual assistance and feel free to seek additional protection from the Public Safety Department. We in Investigations will still be doing what we can to track them, of course. Is there anything else you'd like from me?"

Not even halfway through all of that, both Kenji's and Musou's heads were spinning. "T-the gas lady was Carbuncle.EXE.. Why have I heard that name before? From somewhere?" but he lets her finish as he tries to put two and two together, or in this case more like one and three and two, minus the square root of pi.

The Net Police. The Net Mafia. The Neo Shogunate. And now the GNA. My my, the team of martial artist operator and martial artist navi was seeing their world grow. Kenji seems to have a bunch of his own questions, but asks, before anything else "Can we be sure some other party isn't recording or watching us, right now?"

The part on Officials is definitely inspiring, and having a NP officer call them super heroes reinforces his already childish idolization of them. Musou isn't sure what to say, still trying to wonder what a net police agent who seemed to have her foot in every door would gain by kidnapping the Metool engineer.

Kenji chirped up again "I know we are just speculating and such but.. If the Official's duties were split and they faded away, not really having an individual purpose any more.. Then I think I see a reason for them to come back. The Police and the Mafia are fighting a war, while the GNA sits back and basically maintains the battleground, runs the halftime show, and all the while is passing out weapons to both sides"

Musou blinks and mumbles "I dunno about you Ken, but I don't even know the first thing about the Neo Shogunate, except the whole 'they follow a shogun' thing"

Kenji nods and adds "Right, and our country was the only ones in the world to ever use Shoguns, and we Electopians did away with them a long time ago. It's a crude, medieval system that puts way too much power into one military leader. They are forming an army and out for war. That much is clear"

Musou just shakes his head, still not really sure what to make of it all.

Kenji adds "You know, it doesn't seem very fair. In our networld there are people who are so much better connected and funded then we are. If we tried to oppose them all and bring back some kind of Officials group, we would eventually be against all sides and taken down in moments".

Musou shakes his head "B-But you said it yourself, Ken. We can't give up. We have to have hope. Everyone is split up now. The more sides that squabble, the more they fight, the more the GNA gains from it all. This.. this is heavy" he finishes up.

The navi slumps forward in the sofa, holding his head in his hands. What the hell were they supposed to do? The navi mumbles "Ken, why don't you just ask to join the Net Police? Looks to me like, if you meant to or not, you drove one of their deeper investigations forward. And in the whole net war that's going around us, they are the good guys".

Silence for several moments as Kenji closes his eyes and thinks. Long and hard. Not only was he not one to give his allegiance away lightly, but he also had his doubts now against the whole faction system.

The boy mumbles "I'm not sure there are any good guys in this anymore, Musou. All the factions are pawns in a larger scheme of the GNA to keep the war going. More navis bought, more battlechips sold, more areas of the world needing their repair, protection and expansion. And we have seen some run-down areas right here in ACDC town. I know the net is huge but so is the GNA. I'm thinking they aren't bothering to fix the network because it's good for business to keep the place covered in viruses. Free training grounds for their main consumers, net battlers."

Musou blinked and looked up at Officer Cabal on the viewscreen and bit his lip. He said back to his operator "Ken.. I'm starting to think in the real world there can't be just black and white, right or wrong. In this system that is going now I think you could do the most good from the viewpoint of the police. You would be doing their work but you would also be gaining their resources. And a strong ally. It would help you out a lot".

Kenji said bitterly "Would it? Or would I just be fed a trickle of what they thought I needed to know by one hand while the other hand was constantly holding a knife and waiting to stab me in the back, soon as I asked too many questions or saw the wrong thing?"

Musou looks up to Officer Cabal again. Sure it was the navi who was unsure and a bit jaded a while ago, and even this woman told them they weren't the pure good that some people thought they were but, Kenji loosing faith? That just didn't happen. He was a very glass-half-full type of kid.

The navi asked "Officer Cabal, anything to add to our conversation? I'm sorry if we are wasting your time with this but.. I think-" the navi looks down, trying to quickly and clearly voice his and his operator's feelings. "We are at some kind of crossroad. One that may set our actions for the rest of our lives".

"You can't waste my time, dear! I make a living writing down people's words," the witch-like navi cackled, taking time to jot another note down. It seemed more likely that she was writing down an especially funny joke than any pertinent information. "As for whether anyone's recording this, I'm quite sure they aren't. There's a reason I'm having them direct all information inquirers towards this room... besides my own curiosity and the laziness that leads me not to want to leave my own office."

"At any rate, you can also look at the positives. The Mafia, in some sense, has been tempered and chained by the need to keep up a public appearance. It seems like they're divided on their goals now, so even if they're getting new recruits, the public at large is definitely better off than they were with the Mafia acting as a shadow organization," she ensured Musou and his operator. "The Neo-Shogun, though... who can say what his motives are? I always figured he just likes making ninjas and samurai run around in miniskirts," she shrugged. "You're right, though. He's definitely building an army. The only thing you need to remember, however, is that we're also building an army. The Department of Public Safety and the Department of Justice weren't always separate departments... ke he he..."

"I would certainly agree on the note of helping the NetPolice, though. There are definitely malefactors inside our organization and a lot of shady politics going on. At the same time, the outcome of our success is far less radical than what either the Mafia or the NS are proposing. If you value the ideals of the Officials of the past, we're the only ones looking to preserve the world as it is... The world they created," Cabal offered. "And all you have to do is play it carefully. I'm not stabbed, am I? If they were going to stab anyone, it would be me," she giggled, although the laugh seemed a little different than her previous ones. A little faker. "The Neo-Shogun, though... who can say what his motives are? I always figured he just likes making ninjas and samurai run around in miniskirts," she shrugged. "Regardless, they'd be more likely to bribe you than to stab you."

"Back on the GNA, assuming that they aren't creating viruses themselves, their culture really is probably for the best. This idea of tame viruses of yours is not a new one, but it's not an easy route; there's a reason Mr. Famous and the Officials of the past originally trained society to bust those creatures. Viruses tend to interfere with the regular operation of networks and machinery. In an effort to save their lives, we could skip navis and go up to forfeiting the lives of some of the big dogs: humans. That's a taboo no one, rarely even the mafia, is going to touch. Very few people have anything to gain by making humans afraid of the net... Although there are a tiny few," she mused. "Not that you're looking to do that. You just want to save them, right? But that's an even more complex goal than ending the net war, if you ask me."

She smiled widely, as if thinking of more jokes but deciding that she ought to play it straight for a while. "There are people inside the NP that want to help you, though. People who want to end the net war and return to peace, too. There are genuine policemen here, even at our high ranks. For all of the threads that I've connected with corruption amongst the NP, most net navigators are untouched and clean. Of course, the next step after being a clean officer is being a competent one, which some are falling flat on... But that's another issue," she laughed, as if thinking of one officer in particular. "See? There's another thing to think about: we actually do need good new recruits! Ke he he hehe!"

The boy raised his hands up, pressed together and fingertips brushing against his pursed lips. A million ideas were flowing through his head, some resulting directly from some of the things Cabal had brought up, others from long before.

"Maybe.. The problem is that there are some good, well intentioned programs living in the net, but all of them are labeled viruses. They are hunted for sport, for personal gain and for misguided ideals, all in addition to simply trying to stop the ones who are actually causing problems".

He narrows his eyes and tries to think as he adds "They have every reason to, at best, be prepared to defend themselves on sighting any navi. And they grow up in what is basically a war zone, seeing their friends and family torn to pieces. Every minute of every day. We can't really tell the difference between the good and the bad ones and I don't know a lot of navis who try to find out before shooting. The concept certainly isn't taught in school".

He frowns, a morbid tone creeping into his voice as he says "Even the youngest children seek to emulate their peers and elders and brag about how many viruses they ripped to pieces each night. They ask their parents for permission to play on the net, knowing full well they and their friends will be fighting. They collect and trade chips to do it more efficiently".

Musou cuts in, adding to it all "Don't forget that viruses can and often do damage and hinder real-life networks and devices. I don't want to shoot without asking either, but I think the majority of them are just angry. I can't really blame them. And the GNA may indeed be making some who think it's their only purpose to destroy, if they can think at all".

The boy rubs his temples for a few moments, then just above the bridge of his nose, as a wave of nausea arrives with a headache. He snorts and shakes his head lightly. "My father has always taught me that when you seek something... A toy, a car, anything really, simple as a cookie and as complex as spiritual enlightment.. You should be single-minded in your purpose. Dividing your attention only weakens you. You should work tirelessly and never give up. Never compromise yourself. Get it, earn it. Along the way you will have gained so much through your convictions that whatever you finally get will be so very precious. You will never let it go".

He waves a hand dismissively "Anyway, enough about me and my endless philosophical rants. I have a simple question for you, Ms Cabal. If I join the Net Police and decide some time later that I have had enough.. Or found what I believe to be a better path to ending the wars.. Am I free to turn in my badge? Or will I be branded some kind of traitor and hunted? I'm aware what leaving friends behind means when you have made enemies, but that began the moment we got tangled up with this whole mess".

With a cough, Musou adds "Umm.. Also, I have no idea which department to join. I know they are all needed, more or less, but I'm not going to be inventing bigger guns to hurt people. Won't run around and assassinate others or do any kind of 'ends justify the means' crap. And.. Well... Day-to-day activities have their place and I admire the officers who tend to them but.. I'm afraid with the current situation of affairs it would be endless. There are huge problems that need addressed before I can sit and just help people with small problems".

Kenji shrugs and mumbles "The whole point is to help people though. In the real world and in the net. And if they will accept peace, that even includes the most dangerous viruses. We still offer vile and criminal scum chances at peace, in the name of rights and decency, why shouldn't we do the same for the net denizens.. Navi and virus alike.. And if viruses want protection, training and to post mission requests of their own.. Why not let them?"

He smirks and adds "I'm sorry Ms Cabal, I'm beginning to think I have an impossible dream. I'm sure I could do good anywhere, but I just want to be out and doing it. If holding a badge will let me do more good and help end the fighting then I guess it's for me. If it's just a pointless symbol of pride then it's useless to me. I'm.. Not quite sure that with what I want to do that I could bring the Net Police honor. Trying to befriend and organize viruses would sound like, to the common person I think, a betrayal of trust in their police."

And he snorts lightly, adding "Also my activities would go directly against that-" He really doesn't want to say stupid. Or ignorant. Or any other word like it but the long pause might as well have said it anyway. "That new ideological group. The.. Counter.. Infectual.. Ist..Ists. Whatever that preacher is calling them".

Musou scratches the back of his head and adds "We might wind up bad for your image. Not on purpose, you know, just.. Well.. Just saying".

Following a pause of several long moments, Kenji finally seems to have reached a decision. He adds, to the end of everything "I'd like some time to think it over, Officer Cabal. I just might side with the Net Police but I need time to do my own investigation with what limited resources I have. I want to make the best-informed decision I can for myself and Musou. Besides, I believe the regular course of action is to have a more experienced navi apply for admission and then pass some kind of test, trial or initiation. I wouldn't want to start off my career by breaking tradition and immediately loose respect with the others". Obviously, Cabal hadn't really extended any such offer, but he seemed to be thinking aloud and saying it more or less for himself. He would make a decision to make no decision, in other words.

He does give a shrug and adds, seemingly rationalizing things even further aloud, "Who knows, I might decide the best course of action is to become your eyes and ears within another faction. Officially joining up with the Police first would only make that more difficult and make us loose a possible opportunity".

Musou narrows his eyes as the implications of that one hit him. Working undercover? Living a lie? Or possibly several? There would be no way they could tell any of their friends about that or even Kenji's family. It would be.. Complicated. He had too many people he loved that could get hurt.

The navi sighs and just asks finally "Are we free to go?"

Unfortunately, Cabal was not so good at letting a topic drop and eagerly picked back up the dribble. "Please, sate my curiosity on one matter: your operator is a big admirer of the Officials, isn't he? And yet, let's remember that the GNA only perpetuated the culture of hunting viruses that the Officials started so long ago. The Officials spread the chips and awareness needed by operators to undergo daily busting routines. Besides bringing up that conflicting point, I'm also trying to say that viruses weren't just retaliating after being hunted. If anything, I'd imagine that netbattling and weaponry arose as a response to the unanticipated factor of viruses after the creation of either navigators or cyberspace itself," she countered. "So is there wrong in indiscriminately destroying every virus regardless of intelligence? I can see that. But there's enough to criticize factions like the GNA over without placing the blame of navi-versus-virus culture on them."

She looked at him with an amused grin that soon turned into a cackle as he continued asking questions. "Come now, we're still the police! A policeman's free to retire whenever he's ready. Especially a technically unpaid volunteer policeman," the witch-like navi responded. "And you're worried about ruining our image when that gas navi is attacking civilians offering out bribes made of our archived data? Unless you have some truly naughty hobbies I don't know about, I highly doubt it. Although, if you do join, I'll probably know all of your hobbies soon enough~"

"Are you free to go? You're the one who came to see me!" she laughed again, pressing her hand over her mouth as if to hold back an especially offensive one. "But sure. Dismissed, if you like."

Kenji quietly shakes his head, not biting at the hook. He's got more discipline then that. Well, most of the time anyway.

Musou is more hot-blooded though and as he stands says "Hey, I never said Ken's idea was perfect. Too many people didn't know how to defend themselves back when the Officials started training them right? And they were pretty poorly equipped too. But that changed, over the years with tournaments, competitions and just a rise in popularity and accessibility for combat-ready navis. He's just saying it's swung from 'helpfull navigators who can do everything you need in the net world and are capable of using battle chips if needed', to 'combat-ready virus busters who can also occasionally deliver mail and connect calls'. It's a pretty big change".

"Musou.. That's enough. Drop it. Thank you for your time, Ms Cabal-", the operator says before he is cut off.

"No, it's not alright. I can't imagine how anyone who has seen what we have seen and done what we have done could not feel some kind of empathy for intelligent viruses, let alone laugh at the idea. So that tells me Officer Cabal here hasn't moved from her desk in awhile. What was it? Too lazy to step into this room to talk, was it?" The navi finishes up much more sharply then he intended to.

"Musou!", Kenji calls out.

The navi bites his lip and takes a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry Officer Cabal, I don't know what came over me. I.. Uh.. I can't let people laugh at or pick apart Kenji's dream, even if it sounds impossible".

He gives a deep, apologetic bow "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything by what I said. I still have a lot to learn about patience and tolerance, it seems". He turns and heads out of the room quickly, before he digs himself even deeper.

Kenji sighs as his navi is heading out of the building and says quietly "You know she was just playing devil's advocate, right? If we can't take the criticism of a friendly police officer we have just had a casual conversation with, what are we going to do when we face people calling us insane and convinced we need to be put down?"

The navi blinks and squints an eye as he ponders the idea of them being labeled bad guys and hunted down.. "B-but Sensei, we are just trying to do what's right aren't we?", he asks.

"Do you even need to ask that?"

"N-no. I guess it just helps to hear it anyway though", is all the navi can say.

"We can't be everywhere and help everyone no matter how much we want to. We can only do what we can do and nothing more. But if we sit and complain or get complacent then what we are doing is nothing at all. Does that make any sense?"

The navi scratches the back of his head "Err.. I guess? Basically we just can't give up, right? No point sitting and crying?"

"Pretty much. It's all based on perspective anyway. We have had some nice, eye-opening experiences with a few viruses willing to accept us. We can't be the only ones. But we have fought numerous viruses before that. I'm sure we will fight plenty afterwords too. All we can do is try to make peace. If they don't want it, they don't want it. There's gotta be hate on both sides".

Musou looks around at the outside of the police building and the datascape as he scratches his chin. "Hate? You mean like.. If someone lost their navi to viruses? Or viruses got into some of their appliances and caused them injury or hurt someone close to them? It would be hard to convince those people that there are good viruses, I think.. And the whole 'shoot first, ask questions never' attitude most navis seem to have can't earn us much love, from the viruse's side of things"

Kenji nods silently for several moments, just thinking. Finally he says "Well, we did what we set out to do here Musou. Let's jack out for now and get some rest"

The martial arts navi nods as Kenji issues the jack-out command from the PET. Taking a final look at the police station, he idly wondered what fate had in store for them. He confirmed the jack-out command and in a swirling flash of light, vanished.

[Jack Out]