After a really long wait, the end of summer finally came, and Andrew couldn't be more excited! Once Cedric finally came back home in the afternoon, he smiled down at Andrew.
"Ready?" Cedric asked.
"Yeah!" Andrew said excitedly.
Cedric held his left hand out. Andrew didn't grab it.
"Um," Andrew said while twiddling his finger, "Could I teleport us there for once?"
Cedric, grinning further, nodded. Andrew eagerly grabbed it. His own tail twitched, and he disappeared along w/ his dad. On the other side, Cedric and Andrew appeared near the Freelancer's base. They were only off by a couple of feet.
"Oh hey, you're getting better at this," Cedric said.
Andrew gave a big, gapped, and sharp-toothed smile at that. Last time, he'd missed his mark by about 20 feet. When the father and offspring stepped into the base, no one except for Oliver was there.
"Hey, little buddy," Oliver said when he noticed Andrew.
Andrew waved w/ a smile. Cedric then led Andrew over to the room his half aunt Cherry shared w/ Vicky. When Cedric and Andrew walked in, only Vicky was there in her lab. She was currently doing something on her large computer as Cedric and Andrew walked over.
"Hey, Vicky," Cedric said.
"What do you want?" Vicky said w/o turning around.
"Could you make a simulation mission for Andrew?" Cedric asked.
Instead of answering, Vicky messed around on her computer for a bit. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.
"Step onto one of the metal pads," Vicky instructed.
Andrew did just that.
"Ok," Vicky said, "Get ready. 3... 2... 1, go!"
The pad then lit up, and Andrew was engulfed in light for a couple of seconds before he disappeared. When Andrew reappeared, he was in an area that somewhat reminded him of a blank canvas. Apart from a defined floor, the place didn't look like anything special.
"Um, what's my mission?" Andrew asked.
A few seconds later, a message appeared.
Simply get to the end and defeat the boss. You will also have to take out smaller enemies along the way, the message read.
Andrew nodded and, w/ a grin, rushed forward.
MISSION START!
(Song: Patched Plains from Kirby Planet Robobot)
After going forward a bit, a new message appeared.
Press the LB, RB, or tab* to dash. Press the bottom button of your controller or the space bar on the PC to jump. If you can, double-tap the jump button to perform a double jump. You can also perform jumps during a dash.
Andrew followed the instructions. As it turns out, he could double jump. After a bit of dashing forward, Andrew came across the first enemy. It looked like a blank person w/ no features, and it had a machine gun in its hands. Andrew, upon seeing this, quickly pulled out two gray blasters.
Press y, X, square, or A to attack. You can also shoot in any direction you choose. Holding the attack button will make a reticle appear that you move around. It will lock shots onto enemies.
Andrew quickly shot off a couple of shots towards the enemy. It disappeared as a result.
You can also hold a, B, circle, or T to choose which SOUL trait and weapon you'd like to use.
"DETERMINATION!" Andrew shouted.
His eyes glew red. Andrew's blasters disappeared and were replaced by two red knives. Later, after making some more progress, Andrew came across a high wall.
You can jump up the wall. Hold the dash button to go up faster.
Andrew couldn't help but stare at that message in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, but are you high?" Andrew asked.
Just do it already. Trust me, it works.
Andrew sighed.
This is stupid, he thought.
He then followed the instructions and made it to the top of the wall. Andrew stared back in disbelief.
"Well, crap, I guess she wasn't off her rocker," Andrew said.









...




The rest of the test stage was pretty standard. There were was a surplus of enemies w/ a wide variety of weapons. As for challenges, at different points, Andrew had to switch his SOUL weapon to solve a simple puzzle. Examples would be locking on to multiple moving targets at once and using PATIENCE knives to cut ropes behind small gaps. Eventually, Andrew reached the boss, and he couldn't help but gasp. The boss, no, bosses were still blank enemies except these ones looked like his parents!
"G-dad (Grey)? C-dad (Cedric)?" Andrew asked dazedly.
The copycats each drew their weapons. G-dad (Grey) pulled out a blank cleaver, and C-dad (Cedric) pulled out a blank guitar. Andrew, snapping out of his stupor, quickly drew his blasters.
FIGHT START!
(Song: Slam Down from Megaman ZX Advent)
The fakes quickly dashed around the area. Fake G-dad slashed at Andrew w/ the cleaver. He also used other weapons like Andrew did. As for Fake C-dad, he rushed around, strumming and swinging his guitar hard all the while. Fake C-dad also shot out white lightning and was able to dash right through Andrew and his attacks! While Andrew might've been able to take on one of his parents, he couldn't take on both of them on his own! Andrew also had a hard time getting in. For one, the fake parents worked together very well. Two, Andrew was incredibly reluctant to hit his parents, even if he knew these weren't the real deal. As a result, Andrew's health dropped quickly dropped all the way to 7%! As for the fake parents, Fake G-dad was at 88%, and Fake C-dad was at a paltry 95%! Andrew struggled to stand. He tried to lift his blasters, but he could barely even hold them up.
So it comes down to this. I lose to fakes of my parents, and I won't be to go on missions... Andrew thought w/ a tear.
The fakes then quickly rushed over, blankly determined to finish the job. As they neared, Andrew's expression suddenly became fiercely defiant.
No. It can't end like this. This is my first mission, and I'm already giving up?! Andrew thought.
Suddenly, blazing energy began to surround Andrew. When the fake parents got close enough-
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Andrew cried out angrily.
All of a sudden, the energy exploded out and knocked the fakes back! When the technicolor light finally dissipated, Andrew looked very different. His skin turned white, and the stitches had gone away. Andrew's eyes had become multicolored, and, best of all, big colorful bat wings sprouted from his back! Finally, Andrew's health had replenished, though it was cut in half, so Andrew only had 50%. When Andrew noticed his new form, his eyes widened, and his mouth split into a wide grin.
"Sweet!" Andrew said in an echoey voice.
(Song: Platinum Protocol from Luminous Avenger iX)
Before the fake parents could recover, Andrew quickly rushed them. He used all of his weapons to confound and damage them. As a result, the fakes' health dropped pretty quickly. They couldn't even get a hit back because Andrew refused to give them the opportunity! Eventually, the fakes were destroyed. At that point, Andrew gave a nervous chuckle for a bit before dropping.









...





When Andrew came to, he was in a strange bed. Once he looked around a bit, he realized that he was in the bottom bunk his parents used to share before they'd left the Freelancers' base. Andrew slowly rose out of it and noticed that C-dad was standing in the room w/ a big grin on his face.
"What-?" Andrew began.
"That was amazing," Cedric said, " I didn't even consider that you had a rainbow form like Grey!"
Andrew was taken aback at that.
"Wait, G-dad has a form like that? How come I never saw it?" Andrew asked, somewhat miffed.
"Well, his form has more angelic wings, but yes. As for why you never saw it, he doesn't really enjoy taking that form," Cedric explained.
"Why? It feels great!" Andrew exclaimed.
"He doesn't really like it because of how he got it," Cedric explained.
"How-?" Andrew started.
Cedric held up a hand.
"That's a story I really don't want to talk about."
"But-"
"Andrew," Cedric said w/ a stern glare.
That shut Andrew up quickly, though he still kept thinking of what C-dad meant. Cedric's expression then softened, and he sat down next to his offspring.
"You passed the test mission. Now, once you've found a partner, you can go on proper missions," Cedric said.
Andrew smiled at that, but he couldn't help but worry about the partner thing.
What if I can't find the right one? Andrew worried.
Cedric, as if reading Andrew's mind, put an arm around him and gave Andrew a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone perfect for you," Cedric said.
Andrew looked up at him.
"Are you sure?"
"Of fucking course! Now," Cedric said while getting up, "Let's go. We have some school supplies to get for tomorrow."
Cedric then held his left hand. Andrew grabbed it, both their tails twitched, and the father and teenage child disappeared.