Hermione held her AEGIS up to the sensor next to the door, which beeped softly before sliding the plastiglass panels open in front of her. The gym was expansive, and unlike Piccolo's 'Training Room', was full of equipment. A track ran along the perimeter of the room, which sprinters currently tackled with great haste; guide hoops floated lazily near the ceiling for fliers to swoop in and out of. Behind clear plastic several sparring rings were bunched together, and weight machines for every muscle in the body were scattered around the floor. It was a good thing that the Illuminati could not use their combined resources for their own gain, because this was the kind of workout that could turn any bum off the street into a world-class fighter. A group of unhappy-looking young people standing by the track waved her over, and Hermione took off toward them at a light jog.

"We thought you of all people would be early," said Hoka, zipping and unzipping his uniform as he spoke.

"Guess you've proven us wrong again, Curly," sneered Nonon.

"Lighten up, Jakuzure. You could've been productive with this time. Gotten in a few reps or something, like Gamagori."

"TODAY IS ARM DAY," roared Gamagori from underneath a barbell.

"Hey, don't you blokes get angry at me. We're all still waiting for Satsuki," huffed Hermione.

"Lady Satsuki," corrected Nonon. "And she's been here the whole time. She should be back in about ten… nine… eight…"

Hermione turned around and saw a familiar stream of long, black hair racing down the track toward them. It was quite the unusual sight to see the Chief of Regulations not clad in her dress uniform, but a sports bra and athletic shorts. The witch was shocked to see just how muscular her superior was under her normal garb. She skidded to a halt inches from Hermione.

"Time," Satsuki ordered.

"One minute thirty-five seconds," noted Hoka, poking at a laptop he seemed to have drawn from nowhere. "That's a new human record for the mile."

"A one-minute-thirty-five-second mile?!" stammered Hermione, astounded.

"It's not fast enough," frowned Satsuki. Even though she was not in formal attire, her eyebrows were.

"But… how? Is Artemis experimenting on you, too?"

"No, Mrs. Granger. If one simply wears Life Fibers long enough, hidden potential is unlocked. This is most assuredly what Artemis hopes to achieve with his current program for Outfitting."

"Then I assume-"

"I have worn Life Fibers for a very long time," replied the Chief of Regulations gravely.

"So what's the mission, Lady Satsuki?" asked Nonon, twirling an exceptionally-well-balanced baton on her pinky finger.

"You are to pay Mr. Gendo Ikari a visit. Say you're there for a routine inspection. Have a look around, because that man would never tell you anything, not if you asked him nicely, not if you had him at gunpoint. After you're done with that, I'm afraid you're going to need to do some errand-running. Research and Development have borrowed a few weapons, and they need to be returned to Requisition."

Nonon pouted, quite visibly. "Couldn't anybody do that?"

"Artemis trusts you five in particular," Satsuki stated. "And you'll just happen to be nearby."

"Very well then, Miss Kiryuin," nodded Hermione. "We won't let you down." The witch turned and began to walk back to the door, with the Elite Four trailing her as she went. Satsuki smiled softly and followed the track down to the sparring rings, and slipped through the transparent door of the first one, finding a seat against the wall.

"Are you certain that you're ready?" asked the young man from under the bill of his heavily-modified uniform cap.

"Come on, you know I can take another round. Hit me with your best shot," growled the mountain that went by the name Butler. Artemis noticed Satsuki enter and made his move across the ring before fists started flying. He drew a small, flat panel from his pocket and gave it a flick of the wrist, causing it to expand into a collapsible chair. He placed the chair next to the Regulations chief and took a seat.

"What is that?" asked Satsuki dryly.

"It's a pocket chair," replied Artemis. "I wouldn't want to ruin these pants of mine, would I?"

"I need to get myself one of those," she noted.

The man who stood across from Butler was incredibly well-built for his age, his uniform coat seeming out of place across his broad shoulders. He exhaled slowly and deliberately, and a few bits from the rubber-turf flooring were kicked aside.

"Star Platinum," he announced.

"Butler's been insisting that the trains with Jotaro more often," explained Artemis.

Butler brought his arms up in a fighting stance and braced himself. The young man in front of him inhaled and twisted his cap's bill to the left.

Artemis continued. "He says it's the perfect defensive training. And I see his point."

Without warning, Butler threw himself to the right, spun on his heels, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His neatly-tailored suit was riddled with fist-shaped dents. Butler grunted under the force of each impact.

"How clever," mused Satsuki. "Using a Stand to train against. It's an opponent he can neither see, nor hit. It's the ultimate sparring partner."

"Exactly. He's gotten pretty good at blocking it. But watch his counter."

Butler stepped backward against the assault, slowly lowering an arm. Suddenly, his huge hand snapped forward and grabbed something in midair.

Satsuki lifted a heavy eyebrow. "So he's figured out a way to touch the Stand? How is that possible?"

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"A Stand is a being created by the user's spirit. The only things that can interact with Stands are other Stands… or another form of spirit," said Artemis with a sly grin. "We learned from our inside pony that ki attacks can disable Stands, so there had to be some sort of a connection. Now, Butler isn't exactly a ki-channeling master… but if he focuses, he can create a small disk of ki in his palm."

"Enough to make contact with a Stand. Fascinating."

Butler flung whatever he had grabbed over his shoulder and to the ground, causing Jotaro jolt in place. "Nice job," the man winced.

"I try," smiled Butler.

Jotaro shrugged, placing his hands back in his pockets. "That's all I can do for today. I've got business elsewhere. Team-building seminar, or something."

"Make sure you pay attention, Mr. Kujo. We have those seminars for a reason," chuckled Artemis.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jotaro pulled his cap back down and walked out the sparring ring's door with a scowl.

"Typical," grunted Butler.

"Butler, why don't you head back to my quarters? I'll meet you there momentarily."

"But, Artemis-" gasped the huge servant.

"Don't worry about me. I won't be in any danger," he smirked, tapping the AEGIS on his wrist.

The bodyguard's face betrayed his concern is spite of his charge's words. "I-If you insist."

The man left, and only Artemis and Satsuki remained.

"Well, get on with it," he sighed. "I know you have better things to do than watch my butler practice. What do you want?"

Satsuki rose to her feet and placed her hand on the plastic wall, depressing a cleverly-hidden panel. The transparent plastic that surrounded them began to cloud, shifting from clear to black in seconds. The overhead lights in the chamber kept things visible.

"I don't remember designing that feature," said Artemis, startled.

Satsuki's face was sterner than before. "I want answers."

She ran a hand over her athletic shorts and a switchblade appeared in her hand. She tapped a button on the tiny weapon, causing the knife to open with a cruel click.

"Now, Miss Kiryuin, there's no need to brandish-"

He was silenced by a hand around his neck.

"How far are you willing to go, Fowl? Do you have any idea what you've done?" hissed the Chief of Regulations.

"I… Butler…" he strained.

"It's no use. He can't hear you. And even if he could, he won't be able to get here in time. I've got a field disruptor built into my AEGIS that inhibits the function of other AEGISes nearby. It's useful for hunting down suspects… or cornering slime like you." She tightened her grip with the last few words.

"What… do…?"

"I told you already. I want answers, Fowl." She brought the switchblade to the thrashing young man's hazel eye, tapping the flat of the knife against his feverishly-shut lid. "I want to know why you brought her here."

Satsuki relaxed her grip so Artemis could respond.

"We needed her for… the Life Fiber program," he wheezed.

"No, you wanted her for the Life Fiber program. You didn't have to do-"

"It was to maximize efficiency!"

Satsuki's grip tightened again. "How much danger are you willing to put everyone in, in order to maximize efficiency?" She turned the switchblade in her hands, so the tip hung just over his pupil. "We both know what this is all about. You don't care about anyone else on this ship or in the Nexus. You want your little elf back and you don't care who gets hurt in the process. I am here to deliver a warning, Fowl, so listen close."

Artemis made a feeble motion that could be interpreted as nodding. Satsuki smiled, and drove the knife down. The young man cried out. There was a short, sharp tear as the switchblade sliced through the outer layers of his designer suit.

Satsuki released her grip and took a few steps back.

"The next time you make a decision like this, I will cut more than your suit, Fowl."

She tapped a button on the knife which clicked closed. Artemis smiled.

"You must think you are very clever, Miss Kiryuin, but threatening me like that was a bad idea. I've got a contact-lens camera that sends a live feed to a closed-circuit television in my room. Butler has no doubt seen it and is heading this way to apprehend you, along with your Regulations officers."

"No. Butler will not return, because I sabotaged that feed during our last team-building seminar."

"That was a confession, Miss Kiryuin. A confession that my dermal audio patch recorded."

"The one around your neck, Fowl?" said Satsuki, holding up a translucent, bandage-shaped device with a few wires dangling from it. She crumpled it in her hand, tossed it to the floor, and ground it underneath her track shoe's heel. "You will have some difficulty uploading it."

She pressed the transparency button and swung open the door, a smile spreading across her face. She spoke, far louder than she needed to for Artemis to hear.

"Nice try, Fowl. But no matter how dark you make that room, I am not going to kiss you."

Artemis collapsed to his knees, slack-jawed, as the Chief of Regulations teleported away.

Unbelievable. I've been beaten at my own game.