(A/N: Sorry this is so short! Admittedly I had to make it a filler chapter to lead up to mare action next time, so enjoy and look forward to it! And also thanks to .3950 for the reviews and inspiration! Its always appreciated!)

Chapter 13: Speaking and Serpents

"You done yet?" Rio tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he watched Ichiro and Gerry put the finishing touches on the suits for the twins.

"Give us fifteen more minutes and we can do a test drive," His friend replied as he pushed his glasses up from their low resting point on his nose.

"More like a half hour Rio," Ichiro corrected, limping over to the tool box and picking up a miniscule screwdriver. It had been six weeks since he injured his ankle, but the blonde still had a bit of a limp, not able to put his full weight on it yet.

"I bet you're as antsy as I am, huh Rio?" Gina commented as she stoked the fire that was cooking their dinner in the corner of the room.

"Yeah I am! Defeating all these Mavericks is going to be a lot easier with four people instead of two."

"Have you ever considered the possibility that we won't have to fight some of them?" Ichiro posed the question.

"That would be nice, the less conflict the better," Gerry chimed in.

"But what are the chances of six other suits with the same energy signatures as Naga and Shryke are friendlies?" Gina pointed out.

"It does seem unlikely..." Gerry admitted.

"What I don't understand is what they're after. I mean, they could just as easily done a stealth mission and stolen Zero's DNA chip from us. Why did they engage us like that?" Ichiro wondered aloud.

"Because they're the bad guys. Over estimating is what they do best!" Rio laughed at his own joke. "But seriously, maybe they didn't think we'd be as prepared as we were."

"Well the only reason anyone would want Zero's chip is to release the Zero Virus, right? They want to the Virus to threaten the world like Sigma did back then," Gina made it sound obvious.

"It doesn't seem like it's that simple to me, Gina," Gerry shook his head.

"Well whatever they're up to we have to find out quick. If we cause some inter-continental incident, I'm blaming you guys," Ichiro's tone conveyed complete seriousness, but the other three knew he was joking. As the conversation drew to a close, the two scientists git back to work. The minutes dragged on for Rio, there wasn't enough for him to do around here. After a silence that seemed like forever, a gasp came from Gina's lips.

"What is it?" He inquired. The girl turned to the red head, he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Naga is on the move."