Sun went down over Sanjo City. People stared up in the sky; there was a big flying ship. Then the sky crack opened, a colorful tunnel appearing in the hole, and the ship flew in. They were fascinated. This starship, the other one, dinosaurs all over the world, the plants and insects, that dark cloud, all looked like from a sci-fi-fantasy movie. They couldn't find a meaningful answer to all of that.

There were only a few people who knew that answer; they all were standing in front of the D-lab, a strange looking building standing on top a hill above the town.

Two of them, two children, run to the edge of the hill as the ship disappeared, waving and crying.

The adults cried a bit too, except for one.

They watched the children.

One of the kids, Zoe, wiped away her tears.

"No... I won't cry anymore. He wouldn't want to see me like this," she thought.

Her friend, Max, unlikely couldn't stop crying.

They both waved for almost an hour, their arms hurt. Their families then led them home. Before that, they only smiled at each other. They were too weak for any words.

—

It was already dark outside when a young boy, Cole Taylor, came back home.

"Hey! I'm back!" He headed to the living room. He saw his parents. They still had some tears in their eyes; the mood was a bit tense.

"Hey, Cole!" his father greeted him.

"He's gone, right?" Cole asked, waiting for a nod, "he didn't even say goodbye to me. Hey! It's not a great tragedy. He's feeling better now. He has what he's always wanted."

He came over to his parents, hugging them. "I'm glad you're both back and okay," he murmured, "and that the house is back too. Where's Kid anyway?" "He's sleeping in his room," his mother replied, "don't wake him up, he needs to rest." "Okay, mom." Cole walked away backward, but that was a mistake.

He fell into a hole. He wouldn't expect something like that; no one would.

"Cole!" His parents ran to the edge of the hole, looking down at him.

"Holy dino! What the...? I won't even ask why it's here... Can you get me out of here?!"

They helped their son up.

"Sorry, I've forgotten about it," his father apologized.

"Why...? Just why, dad?" Cole sighed. "I go upstairs, and I hope the floor won't break under my feet."

He turned around, waved to his parents and headed up. "Good night."

Upstairs, Cole peeked in his little brother's room.

Max was sleeping and loudly snoring. Cole only grinned.

He then carefully closed the door and went into a different bedroom. It wasn't his own. It now seemed so empty. All the stuff of its previous owner was still there, and they couldn't take any of it with them.

"I'll miss you, dude," Cole whispered before closing the door and heading to his room.

—

The mood wasn't better at the Drakes.

Zoe was sadly looking down.

"I understand you're sad, but that won't change anything," her older sister told her. She as the only one didn't show any sadness, that made Zoe mad.

"No. You can't understand me! Why can't you feel the same?! Why don't you cry? Why are you so emotionless?!" she snapped and ran in her room.

"Zoe!" Reese yelled at her sister.

"Give her some time," her father told her.

"She's acting like a little kid," Resse growled.

"Because she still is," her mother said, "she'll sure feel better tomorrow."

Reese nodded and headed to her room.

The next morning wasn't much better. Zoe didn't show up, making everyone worried. Reese decided to talk to her.

When she came to the door of her sister's room, she heard crying. She knocked on the door.

There was no answer

She knocked again, "Zoe? Are you awake? May I go in?"

There was a long silence before a sobbing voice answered: "Yeah..."

Reese opened the door, coming in. Her younger sister was sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

"I'm okay," Zoe said coldly, "what do you want?" "At first, I want you to be honest with me," Reese told her, "don't lie to me. You've cried."

Zoe glanced away. "Go away..."

"I can't. Tell me, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing... I only want everything to come back; I want him to come back."

"Come back...?" Reese repeated.

Zoe hugged her sister. "Sis, promise me nothing will change," she sobbed. "I can't do that, Zoe. You never know what can happen; that's how life goes. I can't promise you anything, but I can try."

"Thanks..."

Reese wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly.

"You should eat something and sleep; you must be tired. You saved the world just yesterday."

"I'm not sleepy nor hungry," Zoe replied.

"You've always been too stubborn, my little royal trouble."

—

Two years passed and everything went back to normal.

The first weeks were still strange for most people. There was one starship left floating in the water. The government later got rid of it. Since then, no one cared about the events.

Zoe was lying in her bed as the sunlight shined in her room. She got up, rubbing her eyes, yawning.

When she looked at the clock and realized what time is it, she rushed out of her room to the bathroom.

She's going to be late for the meeting!

It took her a quick minute, then she waisted her time on her hair.

Pigtails are too childish for her age, then again she does have pink hair.

"Overslept again?" Reese, who entered the room, asked, her hair completely messed up. Zoe giggled.

"Quit it! I guess you'll need these," she said, giving Zoe two yellow elastic bands.

"Thanks!" Zoe quickly made her hair and headed back in her room where she dressed up. Then she grabbed her bag and ran to the meeting place.

When she saw two brunettes waiting for her, she sped up, tripping. She fell to the ground. "Zoe!" The girls ran to her. The one with dark, short hair, Amy Stone, helped her to stand up, the other one wearing glasses, named Sue Ogata, laughed.

"Reese was right 'bout you being clumsy, girl!"

"Sorry that I'm late..." Zoe apologized.

"It's okay. We're still waiting for Alice anyway," Amy said.

"Since Paris is gone you oversleep every day, girl," Sue commented. "Sorry..." Zoe glanced away sadly.

Amy slightly poked Sue. "The hell?"

"You know how sensitive topic it is for Zoe," Amy whispered.

"Oh, c'mon on! It's been two years."

Zoe remained silent.

"Sorry, girl."

They waited for a few minutes until another brunette girl came over to them. She had black bags under her eyes and wore clothes with stops of paint.

She waved, yawning.

"Hi, Alice," the girls greeted her.

"Finally," Sue murmured, "'bout the hell time." Alice only grinned apologizingly and yawned again.

"You should sleep during the night more often," Amy told her.

"Alice has always been like an owl," Zoe joked, making others laugh.

"Let's go."

—

At that moment, Max fell off his bed, hitting his head. He sat up, rubbing his wound.

He looked at the clock and gasped. It was too late. He had just five minutes to get to school.

He rushed out of the house in a minute.

Cole laughed when he saw him. "You're so easy to prank, Kid!"

—

The girls headed to school.

They met a woman with bloody-red hair. When she noticed the girls, she threw a cigarette to the ground stepping on it.

"Good morning, Mrs. Komatsu."

"Hello, girls."

"Smoking again, teach?" Sue asked her.

"You know I can't confirm that, Susan. You saw nothing."

Alice glared at the teacher.

"Don't look at me like that, Ali," Mrs. Komatsu told her daughter, "I've never said when I'll stop."

"As long as you aren't in trouble because of that, it's okay," Zoe said. "Yeah." The teacher nodded. "I have four teens to feed by myself, and that would be pretty hard without a job, so, please, don't mention it," she asked the girls, turning to Sue, "I especially mean you, Ogata." "Don't you trust your favorite former student, teach?" Sue wondered.

"Oh, hell no," Mrs. Komatsu mocked her, "you've always been a gossip girl."

"Hell no!"

"Don't worry, we'll stop her from talking if necessary," Zoe assured the teacher.

As the conversation was going on, Amy got a strange feeling as if somebody was watching them. She looked around and noticed a movement. Something hid behind a tree.

"You should go, so you aren't late," Mrs. Komatsu said. The girls nodded and walked away.

The teacher waved.

Max rushed passed her. She chuckled.

Then she saw that someone, hiding behind that tree.

She headed to it, but before she could recognize anything from the person's appearance, they disappeared in a strange smoke.

"Huh? No..."

She immediately took her mobile. "They're not gonna like that."

—

Meanwhile, Dr. Taylor got to the D-lab. Sitting down on a chair, when his phone started ringing.

"Hey, Spike, I don't have too good news for you," he heard Mrs. Komatsu's voice as he answered it.

"Lucy? What happened?" he asked.

"A little bit of vanishing in smoke."

"What?"

"Let's just say that the Akuno's spying on my former students."

"Wait, who exactly?"

"Zoe Drake, Susan Ogata, my daughter Alice, and their friend. I'm not sure what's Akuno planning, but this smells fishy. Michael and I will watch over them."

"Okay. Thank you for letting me know. Bye."

"Bye."

As the call ended, Reese entered the room.

"Dr. Taylor, we have a problem," she said.

"Let me guess; Akuno?"

She shook her head. "No. Somebody robbed in the lab; two fossils are missing."

"How? Which ones?"

"Dilophosaurus and Corythosaurus. I'm about to watch security footage, but since the alarm wasn't triggered, they had to have access here."

"And what if they didn't?" he asked, "the Akuno's in action again."

"But what would they need them for?"

"I have no idea."

—

Max rushed into the classroom, panting, thinking he's too late. He looked around, focusing on the clock. He had enough time before the first lesson begins; Cole only pranked him again.

He put his bag down and sat down to his desk.

Three minutes later, the girls entered the classroom. Alice disconnected from them and sat to her desk, laying her head down, falling asleep. Sue rolled her eyes. "Again?"

"You can't change someone's habits," Amy told her. "I hell wanna change girl's habit of oversleeping," she replied, rolling her eyes to Zoe.

"You're no better at waking yourself up," a brunette girl with dark wavy hair chuckled, walking to them, "if it weren't for me, you wouldn't wake up until ten, cousin."

Sue only growled in anger.

The dark-haired girl wore the most expensive jewels and glasses, the latest fashion clothes, and hairstyle; she looked gorgeous.

"Hi, Ema!" the others greeted her.

Sue glanced away, frowning.

"What's up, cousin?" Ema asked her, "lost for words? Strange. You usually don't shut your mouth no matter what."

"Be quiet, cousin... That you are mayor's daughter doesn't mean you can promote above the others."

"Chill out, cousin. I didn't mean it."

Sue frowned more at her cousin.

Then one of their classmates went to them. "I'm surprised how can you two live in the same house when you're about to kill each other just by standing in the same room for two minutes," he told the cousins.

"We can 'cause I'm fighting with her only when 'the great mayor Wada' isn't around," Sue explained. "Because you always have to fight with someone," Ema commented.

Sue heard that, glaring at her cousin. "The hell you said?!"

Zoe and Amy stepped between them.

"Okay, cut it off," the pinknette said, "this is worthless anyway." "Yeah," the brunette agreed.

"Sorry, girls, but I won't let her hell insult me just 'cause she's rich!"

"This isn't about the money, cousin."

This fight would go on and on if a group of boys didn't catch their attention.

They were laughing at something. When everyone in the classroom turned to the group, they saw one of them throwing a laptop on the floor, destroying it.

"Let me go!" a younger boy cried. A guy that seemed like the leader of the bullies hanged the boy by his T-shirt. "Stop it!"

The boy was pretty beat up, even bleeding.

They couldn't leave it like that. Before any of the friends did anything, Alice pushed the leader away from the boy.

He only laughed. "You? Really? No one better?" The leader was about to punch her, but Max hit him instead, stopping him.

"What the..."

"Stop it, Nicolas!"

"Why should I, Taylor?"

"You two losers against all of us?! No chance!" the bullies mocked.

"If you'd just give any chance to Justin!" Max shouted.

"You wanna play hero, Taylor?"

Nicolas punched Max causing him to fall to the floor.

Zoe gasped, ready to help her friend, but Sue held her back.

The rest of the bullies pulled Alice away.

"Nick, stop it already!" a blond girl tried to talk to the bully leader, he didn't care.

Nicolas started to beat Max up, when Michael, the boy who talked to the cousins, joined the fight, helping Max out.

Alice tried that too, but then a female voice yelled at them.

"ALICE ASUKA KOMATSU! MAX TAYLOR! MICHAEL MIHARU! NICOLAS KOMATSU! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Mrs. Komatsu stood in the door, glaring at all of the named. Everyone in the classroom looked at her, absolutely terrified.

The teacher helped Justin down and sent him to the nurse's office. Then she turned her attention to the four again. "You come with me."

They followed her to her office.

First, she talked to Nicolas inside, yelling at him.

"What do you think you're going to accomplish by bullying your little brother?! Haven't I taught you not to pick up on weaker?! Getting confidence by hurting the weak is disgusting!"

After long minutes of this, Nicolas finally walked out of the office, not even looking at the others. The bell already rang.

Then they all walked in, sitting down on the chairs.

Lucy was standing near the window across the table. She sighed.

"Where did I go wrong with him?" she asked quietly. She turned to the children and sat down.

"I can't believe he triggered you three to get beat up."

"Only Max got beat up," Michael said.

"I don't care!"

"What were we supposed to do? Let him continue bullying Justin until he ends up in a hospital?!" Max snapped.

"Look, I disagree with Nicolas' behavior either, but fighting him isn't the way. School Code strictly says that you must not even hit another student, which also applies on purpose pushing. I wouldn't mind you stopping Nicolas by force, but the principal doesn't like that. I'm so sorry he causes you troubles."

"Why can't he just be expelled?" Michael wondered.

"Miharu, talking to him is the most I can do here," Mrs. Komatsu told him, "I can punish him the way he deserves at home, but not here."

"But-"

"Taylor, I know this isn't right, but I can't do more."

"Not even for your son?!" Max asked her.

"I'm sorry. I'll call your parents and warn them that if anything like this ever repeats, we'll have to solve this the complicated way."

"I don't wanna sound rude, but do you realize you'll have to talk to my mom?" Michael demanded. Lucy changed her mind as he said that. She didn't feel comfortable talking to her sister; they haven't spoken to each other for a long time.

"Fine, I won't call, but please don't try to solve things that way again. Taylor, you go to the nurse's office, I'll let your dad know you're hurt. And you'll be released from school for today with Justin," she told Max who was bleeding a little bit. She then looked at Alice and Michael. "If you two aren't hurt, go back to class. I'll inform Michelle about this later."

Alice looked at her as if she was about to ask her something.

"I'll try to make sure your brother and his gang won't do that again, Ali," Lucy assured her.

When the children were gone, she didn't lose her time and called Spike once again.

"I'm keeping him busy today," she murmured.

—

Back in the D-lab, Reese looked the security footage. It wasn't there.

"What do you mean it isn't there?" Dr. Taylor wondered, "how would all of the footage just disappear?"

"All of the footage isn't gone, but the cameras we need were disabled," Reese explained, "they knew what they were doing. Whoever they are, they're dangerous; pieces of information are the strongest weapons in bad hands."

"Do you think it was the Akuno?"

"I don't know. The fossils have no purpose to the Akuno, but a common person would possibly sell them on the black market. I see no other use of them."

Their conversation was interrupted by a ringing mobile.

"Lucy? Today seems to be strange," Dr. Taylor said when he saw who's calling.

"What do you mean?"

"Lucy already called me today; she saw someone stalking Zoe and her friends."

"And you're telling me now? Turn it loud," Reese said.

He nodded and answered the phone.

"Hello again."

"Hey, just to let you know, Max is released from the school for today," Lucy told them.

"Why? What did he do?" Dr. Taylor worried.

"He stood up for Justin; Nicolas beat him up. I've sent both Max and Justin to the nurse's office; Kyra's there today because the nurse couldn't come, so she'll let them go. Max reminds me of you, Spike, you've always played a hero as well."

Dr. Taylor grinned. "Somebody has to be the hero."

"Yeah." Lucy sighed. "But I don't know what to do with Nicolas and Justin. No matter what I do, it won't stop Nicolas. Justin isn't safe at school, or home. Maybe he doesn't have to come to school for this last month before the summer break? I thought that he could spend that time in the D-lab if you and Reese don't mind."

"Letting Justin not go to school is irresponsible! I wouldn't expect that from you," Dr. Taylor chuckled.

"Dang it, Spike. Can you stop being childish for a while? I want to know I can count on you."

"Of course you can!"

"Thank you."

"Lucy, about that stalker," Reese said.

"Reese? Well, I noticed someone watching Alice and her group; Ogata, Drake, and Stone. When I got closer, they disappeared in smoke just like the Akuno members," Lucy explained, "I think the girls have no idea about it."

"As long as they aren't hurt..." Reese sighed.

"I'll make sure they're all okay," Lucy assured them both, "bye for now."

"Bye."

"I don't like this," Reese told Dr. Taylor when the call ended.

"Neither do I, but we can do nothing right now. We can't be sure anything bad is going to happen at this point. I go inform the others."

The scientist nodded.

—

Max entered the nurse's office, seeing the bullied boy; a pretty girl treated him.

She was a year older than Max, having short blond and brown hair with a purple scarf around her head, wearing a very revealing denim jacket and shorts. She was Justin's oldest sister.

"Ow... Kyra! That hurts!" Justin whimpered as the girl disinfected his wounds. "It'll be fine, Ivi. Just hold still for a second," she told him. Max chuckled at that nickname Kyra has for her youngest brother.

That made Kyra turned to the door. "Max! You're hurt too!" she worried.

"That's nothing..." Max grinned at her.

"You're bleeding, Max! It is something!" she snapped, "hold on, I'll get to you in a minute."

Kyra turned her attention back to Justin, patching his wounds.

While Max was waiting, the bell rang, signaling the break. Not a whole minute after, someone walked in the room.

Max looked back, his eyes meeting with Zoe's. They stared at each other until Sue bumped her arm into Zoe's side and whispered: "Girl, you're blushing." And she was right; Zoe's and Max's cheeks were completely red. They looked away when they snapped out.

Sue and Amy giggled.

Alice as the only one of the group stayed in the classroom, sleeping.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked them. The girls showed him the pieces of Justin's laptop.

"No!" Justin squeaked as he saw it. He rushed to them. "It is destroyed!"

He adjusted his glasses and looked closer. "I do not think there is a way to repair it..." he sobbed, putting all the pieces into his bag.

"At least you're okay," Amy told him.

"But what about my laptop?!"

"Bet Little Genius can fix it in hell no time," Sue murmured.

Kyra went to Max, treating his wounds. "You two should go home," she said.

"Yeah, your mom already mentioned," he told her, "but isn't that showing that we're weak? We can't back down. We must stop him."

"Probably, but not in school," Justin said, "I think I will go to the D-lab; I am safe there."

"Oh, C'mon on, Justin! You can't give up!" Max tried to cheer him up, but it didn't work. Before the bell rang again, the girls left.

—

Later the boys were on their way to the D-lab.

"I cannot fight him back," Justin mumbled.

"Huh? Of course, you can! And you should then forgive him."

"Forgive him? For making my life hell?"

"No, not for that. We're humans. We make mistakes. And everyone deserves forgiveness. It can make him a better person, be better than him."

Justin sighed, nothing of what Max said made any sense to him.

Then they saw something moving behind the trees; it was fast. An animal?

It ran into the woods.

Max had a strange feeling, as he knew it.

No, that's impossible.

Nothing like that can be.

He followed the animal.

"Are you crazy?" Justin wondered, watching Max's back as he slowly disappeared.

A feeling of loneliness and unsureness hit him hard. He ran after Max.

The animal led them to a place Max recognized immediately.

The tops of the tree were cut off, and one of them still had a huge hole just like Max remembered it.

The animal stopped, still hidden behind the trees.

Max stopped as well, panting.

"Why are you hiding?" he asked, "I know it's you. Don't you recognize me?"

"I do, but he doesn't allow me to show myself completely. I'm sorry, Max, but we must do this. For the greater good," the animal thought to itself.

Justin caught up with the brunette, catching his breath. "Why...do we...have to...chase...it...? Look, Max, I do not like this...Whatever this is it does not bring anything good..."

"You're quite right," a voice said.

A person walked over to them. They wore a brown hood, covering their face.

They noticed a light blue symbol on his sleeve, two half moons connected.

"Long time, no see, don't you think?"

—

Cole peeked in his little brother's and his friends' classroom, calling: "Your royalty?"

It made some people look at him.

His 'target' didn't respond, so he entered.

Most of the girls, but the one he wanted to talk to, watched him.

"He's handsome!"

"And cute too!"

"It's him! The rockstar Taylor."

"Max's brother?" they whispered.

"Um, royalty?" Cole walked to Zoe and her friends.

She turned to him. "I told you not to call me that."

"Sorry, princess. My dad just called me; somebody stole two skeletons from the lab," he told her.

"What?" Zoe gasped. "Why didn't Reese call me?" she asked herself.

"You know her; she's the happiest when she doesn't have to talk to anyone," Sue commented. Amy unlike her tried to stay out of the private conversation.

"This is none of your business, Ice Queen," Cole snapped, clearly insulting Susan.

"How the hell dare you call me that?!"

Amy held her friend, so, she wouldn't jump at Cole.

He turned back at Zoe.

"I have no idea, princess," he admitted, "I just thought it would be good for you to know."

"Thanks, Cole."

—

Reese was by herself working on her computer in the D-lab, controlling if everything else works as it should be.

Only the clicks of the mouse and keyboard sounded through the room until the door opened.

She usually recognizes people just by their footsteps, since she never turns around when the door open, but this time she wasn't sure.

She turned around, her eyes widened.

There is no way.

"What are you doing here?"

She got no answer.

"Answer me!"

"I'm sorry," they said, "there is no other way."

Suddenly, a bright light appeared.

Reese frowned. When the light died, she saw a strange animal.

She back away from it.

"Do what I say, and you won't get hurt."