The lights along N00b's dashboard flashed into life at the turn of the key while the engine purred away, sending small vibrations through the little car. A grin split the lillipup's face, widening until he threw his paws into the air with a cheer.

Gadget clapped his heavy paws together and nodded, almost sending the sun hat tumbling from his head.

"Well done!" he said. "Glad t'see ye got it runnin', 'ey?"

N00b gave him a thumb's up and leapt from the car to the open bonnet, peering in at the engine. The smell of warm oil reached his nostrils instantly. Not a surprise since he'd had to refill it. The engine was bigger with the new parts attached to it. Surprisingly he'd even been able to find space for the battery charger bed he'd installed after Vector's suggestion. It had been a challenge, certainly, but it looked every bit as sturdy as he hoped it would. With the added power from the tractor, it should cope better under the strain of the new modifications, allowing him to reach the same speed he could on land in the sky.

On paper, anyway.

He hopped back into the driver's seat with some apprehension and gave Gadget's look of concern a reassuring smile.

"Now to test it out!"

"Ye don't want any cake first?"

N00b shook his head. "No, thank you. If this works, I really need to get going. I've lost valuable time as it is."

"Well, it's been lovely t'have ye! I'm sure the missus will agree."

"Of course!" came Mrs Gadget's voice from the shack. "Be sure you visit us, 'ey?!"

N00b chuckled into his paw. "Of course, Mrs G! Thanks for everything!"

Gadget leant over the door of the car and took N00b's oily paw in his, giving it a firm shake. "Fly safely, little guy!"

"I will. Thanks again."

Gadget stood back as the car turned around, facing towards the far end of the field. N00b pressed down on the accelerator, picking up speed as it lurched forwards. A pull of the joystick leant the vehicle backwards as the wings popped out, pushing the car into the air as the current caught beneath the hollow wings. He took a u-turn back over the farm and waved down to Gadget below. Both of the drilbur were standing in the field, waving merrily at him.

"Now comes the tricky part," he muttered to himself. He flexed a paw over the gear stick and pushed it slowly forwards. The engine roared as the car shot forwards, a streak in the sky to anyone who would be watching below.

Then it settled into a purring drone. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he gave a silent cheer as he relaxed in his seat. He'd be at Cyan Island in no time.

And hopefully not too late.

...

Luma Island's lush green grass and miniature mountain was a sight to behold under any other circumstances. At that present time, Pixel's mind was fixated on the unconscious meowstic in Switch's talons. It had been the closest place to them that would provide a safe place to land. Cyan Island was drifting along a good ninety or so miles away. Luma Island had only been a three hour flight with very few cracks to dodge along the way thanks to the path Vector had cleared for them.

A winged form streaked in front of them, beating a large pair of black and white wings. A staraptor. He fixed his aged eyes on Switch, reflecting a glimmer of recognition, then eyed Pixel astride his back and the meowstic in his claws. His face fell then and his beak dropped open to speak before Switch cut him off.

"I'm sorry, Boost," he said. "He's not infected. I wouldn't bring an infected pokemon up here, you should know that."

"I'm afraid I don't," the staraptor said bluntly. "But I suppose you're right. I should have more faith in you. Come on board."

Switch dropped like an arrow after the other bird pokemon, levelling out over the beautiful meadow and releasing Vector gently onto the ground. He allowed Pixel to dismount before he returned to his human form. Boost didn't look remotely phased by the change. He was more interested in Vector, keeping a safe distance and one eye on the fallen pokemon while assaulting Switch with questions.

"So what's happened to him? Is he sick? Wounded?"

"Fainted," said Switch. "I'd love to explain everything, but this isn't the first time it's happened. I think he needs help."

Pixel pressed her paws to her chest. Those words again. He'd said them just before they left the mountain. Just before he refused to fly back to Cyan Island. The distance was too much. There was too much risk they'd be found. He wanted to take him to some friends. Pokemon he had faith would be able to help.

They were words that made her anxious that this was much more dire than she'd first thought.

"What makes you think it's anything serious?" Boost hopped towards Vector and lifted one of his paws in his talons. "He's alive at least. I've never seen a meowstic this colour before."

"That's why we think he needs help," said Switch. "I think he's keeping something from us."

"Keeping something from us?" she gasped. "Like what?"

Switch just gave her a sideways glance then scooped Vector up in his arms. "Is Circuit still about?"

"She is," said Boost. "In the control room as normal. Although she's sure to have seen you land. She might be here in a- eep!"

The staraptop leapt back as a jolt of electricity danced across the grass. It fizzled away to reveal a jolteon, her eyes narrowed into black slits and every quill stiffened into a dangerous, sparking point. She took a step towards Switch and flashed her canines.

"You!" she hissed. "You have some nerve!"

He shifted Vector onto one arm and raised his free hand. "Really, Circuit, I-"

"Ten years ago," she said slowly, "what did you say? What did you tell me?"

Switch's face creased with confusion and he took a wary step back. Pixel moved with him, bracing herself for an electrical assault.

"You said you'd come and visit!" The jolteon's fur relaxed and she sat down heavily, her snarl turning into a warm smile. "After this long, if you'd given me a heads up, I would have thrown a welcome party!"

Pixel couldn't believe it. Her jaw almost hit the floor.

Switch's body slumped with a sigh of relief. "Come on, Circuit. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

She chuckled and turned her eyes on Pixel. "What have we here? You've brought friends?" Her eyes widened when they trailed up to Vector but her reaction surprised both Pixel and Switch as she stood up to move over to him. "What's happened to him? He looks lifeless! And he's white!"

"I can explain everything, just-"

"You certainly can! Come with me." The jolteon turned and power-walked away from them at such a speed they had to trot to keep up. She looked back at them over her shoulder as she waded through the long grass. "I trust he's clean? I wouldn't for one minute think you'd bring the virus up here."

"Oh, he's clean," said Switch. "If he wasn't, Pixel would be a walking cactus."

Pixel looked up at him with a frown and received a wink in return. Well... during a time like this she guessed you needed to add a little humour.

...

Pixel stepped out of the small room after being interrogated by every question the linoone could possibly ask her. She hadn't quite grabbed his name he'd spoken so quickly. He'd wanted to know everything about Vector that she had to offer, from his time at the hospital, the incidents that had resulted in his colouration, the events leading up to his fainting on both occasions. He'd even asked for the contact details for anyone who would be able to provide any information. He appeared to be cross referencing their stories, and when she'd explained she couldn't contact Leaf because her head set had broken, he took it from her and said they'd get it fixed.

So at least this island wasn't an enemy.

When she entered the sitting room, Switch looked up at her from his spot by the window. "How did it go?"

She sighed and flopped down into the sofa. "I think Leaf is going to be rather bitter about me giving out his contact details to another drifting continent."

"It's for the best, though. I had to give them N00b's number."

"I hardly think he'd mind."

He let out a dry chuckle.

"Do they know how Vector is?" she asked.

"Not really. They think it might be low blood pressure, probably brought on by not eating properly and refusing to sleep."

"What do you think?"

"I think he ate a lot of oran berries, which blows the first theory out of the water."

"Then maybe it's just exhaustion. He didn't sleep at all last night."

"Maybe." Switch pulled his computer out of his pocket and toyed with it. Pixel doubted he was even paying it much attention. It wasn't making any noise, so it was clearly still broken. "Say, Pixel... I have a question."

"Go on?"

"Has Vector at any point even confirmed he's actually a meowstic?"

She raised an eyebrow slowly as she tried to work out the meaning behind his question. "What are you getting at?"

"Well he might look like a meowstic, minus the colouration. But Connor looks exactly like a pikachu."

"Are you saying you think he's human?"

"I really don't know. I'm just trying to work out the reason behind his fainting spells. It's the second one he's had and it's certainly not minor, and across System hundreds of humans are lying in comas. I'm one of two who can switch forms. What if he's... sort of in between being in a coma and being up and about?"

Pixel rubbed her paws together and looked back at the closed door she'd just come out of. "I don't know..."

"Let's face it. He didn't have a chip on him when the doctor's found him. They gave him their own. He got struck by the explosion at the Fracture and is clean of the virus."

"But it did something to him! He said it changed his appearance!"

"Come on, Pixel. I'm clutching at straws here!"

She eyed him for a moment, looking for any hint he believed a word he was saying, but he wouldn't meet her eye, instead jabbing at the silent computer on his knee.

"You're worried about him," she said.

"Of course I'm worried about him. He might be stubborn and short tempered, but he's a friend. A friend who's lying unconscious, appears to be very unhappy and has coughed up blood on more than one occasion!"

She could have put the unhappiness down to his situation, but she'd assumed the coughing had been a result of attacks or allergies. Add that to him turning himself in at the hospital, his frantic need to find a cure. Maybe things were much worse than they'd thought. Switch couldn't be right, could he?

She grit her teeth together and looked down at her paws. "Well I for one don't think he's human. He's had the virus for one thing."

"And allegedly recovered from it when no one else has. He might be living proof it effects humans. He might be proof of how it effects humans."

"No! I don't buy it! He's not human!"

At some point she'd leapt from her seat, and stood breathing heavily with her paws balled into fists. Switch stared at her, eyes wide with his mouth agape.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"What's wrong with me? I've lost friends and family over the past month! If you're right, then when they find a way to send you back home you'll both leave!"

She screwed her eyes shut to hold back tears and bolted from the room. The second she sprinted outside, embarrassment hit her harder than the cold wind whipped up from the sea.

...

Retro floated along inside a bubble of pink light. Amp and X floated after her, each inside their own bubble, the pair of them oddly silent as though they feared their voices would draw attention. That wasn't something Retro wanted.

The bubbles served as good protection not only from the hot and humid air of the jungle but also from the virus. One thing she'd noticed was that the bubbles couldn't be penetrated, not even by the black cracks. They seemed solid when the pink light came into contact with them, but a toss of a stone showed her they were not. The stones either went through the cracks, or were consumed entirely. One thing she hadn't noticed before, however, was that anything that the cracks touched seemed to steam. The steam, she noted, was some kind of binary code.

On her computer screen it had appeared to be just that. But on closer inspection, the zeros and ones were interspersed with other symbols. @ signs. Exclamation points. Asterix and question marks. Capital letters. Ampersands. Percentage symbols. Hash tags. Changing as it rose up from the ground to vanish a foot or so away from the object it was leaking from. Whatever it was, she didn't recognise it. All she could say was it wasn't normal.

The Binary Jungle had got its name because during a hot spell, the steam resembled binary code. Clean. Just zeros and ones rising into the sky to vanish long before they reached the clouds. This... corrupted code – corrupted was the best word she could thing of – it behaved differently. It didn't wave like the steam did. And it lead a trail along everywhere the black cracks had formally laid.

She looked down at her map again. A map she'd been detailing for those strange cracks. They'd increased in number over time, and now a large path of them had gone, ending in that odd patch she'd seen on her computer monitor.

Long, berry-laden vines parted as her bubble pushed through them and she looked up from her map. It fell from her paws as they went slack, resting across her lap like a blanket. Viewing the scene through a security camera hadn't prepared her for this. Lying before them was a sight like she had never seen before.

Eggs. Hundreds and hundreds of eggs, their patterns showing their species clearly. Each one was different, and each one was without a parent – all grouped together as though they'd been dumped, abandoned to die on their own long before they hatched.

The corrupted code flowed from those eggs so thickly she wondered if she could touch it. But of course, she knew that was impossible. She'd floated through enough of it on their journey. It was like a mist. But this above those eggs was like a dense fog. A dense fog of chaos. Symbols changing, babbling silent nonsense.

"Well, they certainly look different close up than on a computer screen!" said X.

"We were right! They are eggs!" Amp exclaimed.

"That's x-actly what they are. But the real question is – what are they doing out here? It's egg-streamly ... "

"Don't!" said Amp. "Now is not the time for your puns!"

"He's right," said Retro. "I don't know what to do about this. They're babies... yet... I don't know whether or not we should leave them."

"We leave them!" said Amp. "We leave them well alone! You saw what happened to G and K!"

"They didn't touch eggs, Amp. They touched the cracks."

"Yes, and now they're sick," said X. "Those eggs might cause the eggs-act same thing!"

Despite the unown's ill-timed humour, she couldn't help but think he was right. Something was definitely amiss. Those eggs shouldn't be there. Not in the centre of the jungle. There wasn't so much as a village in sight. No parent would just abandon their eggs in the jungle, especially not en-mass.

She picked up her map again and scrawled down its location. A lumpy drawing amongst the clearing.

"Let's head back," she said. "Then we can-"

"Look out!" Amp's bubble crashed into hers, sending them both through the vines.

She opened her mouth to berate him just as an explosion shook the trees. Shards of thick shell snipped the vines free of their branches, sending them down on top of them like streamers. Her ears were ringing, but she thought she could hear a shrill scream just before another explosion shook the jungle.

An explosion quite different to the first. This one splattered the trees with red.