Hey there, reader!

Have you noticed that there is no OC counterpart for Ken Amada or Koromaru?

Now that I mention it, you might be wondering, "Why don't you have the full cast? How will certain scenes happen without them? What are you planning next?"

I assure you, your curiosity (if it's present) is justified. In fact, I encourage you to be curious! I love having readers who are eager to see what's going to happen next!

By the way, this chapter is the last chapter to mirror its original reference in the official script. It's all original content from here!

Enjoy the chapter!

A brief thank you to RubyMoonz, DdotChou, MoldyJellyBean, ShadowDragoon32, Shiro No Kishidan, Pokepia's Haunt, and kyoto knight.

Chapter 21

Operation Babe Hunt

Asterisk Island, Forest: 10:35 AM

The ladies were all still dressed for summer, but not for the beach. Slade recommended that they go on a hike today for more variety in their stay on Asterisk Island. They all wore their comfortable attire to enter further inland. Everyone was walking up a dirt path leading to a massive tree said to be at the heart of the island: the Asterisk Tree.

Keira took a deep breath of natural air. "The air is so fresh," she said. "I never thought a walk in the woods could be so fun. You can't do this in Colossus."

"Yeah," said Lucy. "Smog, right?"

The party walked further inland. The path they walked on became steeper as they ascended upon a hill. "Oh," Keira piped up, "so. Victor was acting like such a pervert yesterday, and I didn't know how to react. It's probably a good thing we came out here by ourselves."

Lucy remained silent. She was lost in thought.

"We could swing by and greet your father, Keira," said Slade.

Keira shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. He hates surprises. Besides, I think he has bigger things to do than to worry about us barging in."

A faint electronic beeper sounded. Slade reached into her pocket and produced a cell phone. She pressed the call button. "This is Slade speaking," she said.

"Olivia?" It was Pierce. "We have a problem." The sound of ruffling papers sounded on the other end of the line. "Mr. Ikutsuki said he wanted me to check up on something in a building near his mansion. When I got there, a machine that was considered inoperable suddenly left the facility on its own."

Lucy caught the last few words of the call. "A machine?" she asked.

"What kind of machine is it?" asked Keira.

"It's a combat vehicle," said Pierce. "An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon to be precise."

Lucy's eyes widened. "A combat vehicle?" she asked. "You mean like a tank?"

"It might take some time for us all to assemble," said Slade.

"I see," said Pierce. "Well, regardless, I want you to handle this as soon as possible. I'm on my way there now."

"If the target cannot be captured, do we have permission to destroy it?"

Pierce laughed. "I doubt you'll be able to destroy it."

"Really?" asked Keira. "Then how are we supposed to stop it?"

"Just do your best," said Pierce. "I'll call you again."

Lucy whipped out her cell phone and tried speed dialing whoever she could. "Great," she said. "No one's answering."

"Don't worry about it," said Slade. "Let's go back and get our equipment. I'll have Keira's Persona scan the area. Although, this island is quite large…"

"Geez!" Lucy fumed. "Where could they be?"

Asterisk Island, beach: meanwhile

Conan, Victor, and Leon were back on the beach and in their swimwear.

Victor looked around expectantly. "What?" he asked aloud. "Are the girls not up yet? Man, what lazybones! The ocean's not gonna sit around and wait for us!"

"Good point," said Leon. "When the sun sets, the water temperature drops. That makes you tire out faster."

Victor gave a glance at the senior. "Is that what you're worried about?"

"A man's gotta have priorities," said Conan.

"That reminds me." Leon reached behind him and produced a slip of paper. "One of the maids gave me this as we were leaving."

A gleam appeared in Victor's eye. He swiped the letter. "No buts! I ain't letting any love letters from a lovely maid slip through my fingers!"

Leon stared with bewilderment. "How dumb can you get?"

The boys crowded around Victor, who held a handwritten note. "This says, 'We've gone to see the Asterisk Tree.'"

Leon looked closer at the note. "This looks like Keira's handwriting," he said.

"She's got nice handwriting," said Conan.

Victor threw down the note. "Aw man!" he groaned. "We're at an island resort in the middle of summer! Why don't they go to the beach? That's just not right!"

"Well, it is your fault," said Leon.

Victor's eyes widened. "Whaddya mean? I just wanted to lighten up the mood."

"I don't want to hear it," said Leon.

"If I were a girl," said Conan, "I'd rather go for a tree than you."

Victor wiped his disappointed look away. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway," he said. "If you're outta ammo, you pick it up on the battlefield! That's one of the most basic military tactics! We'll call this Operation Babe Hunt!"

"'Babe Hunt?'" Leon inquired. "You mean, like, pick up girls?"

"Yeah! Think of this as another Young Legionary Club exercise! Instead of running to checkpoint B, we're finding targets! With you on the squad, we're guaranteed to succeed!"

Leon looked uncomfortable. He turned to Conan. "What do you think about this?" he asked.

Conan suddenly recalled his upperclassman's ignorance to flirting. He remembered when he told Leon about possible secret admirers. The guy didn't know what a love letter was when he saw one. No wonder he was getting nervous.

"Think we could sit this one out?" asked Conan.

"Yeah," said Leon. "I'm not fond of doing this."

"Then what're we gonna do for the rest of the day?" Victor exclaimed. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

The senior sighed. "Then I'm appointing Conan as our leader," said Leon.

Victor scowled. "What? Why?"

"You said yourself this is an operation. And one more thing. Girls like guys with pretty faces and no emotions, right? In this case, he'd be perfect."

Conan and Victor gave Leon a discerning glance.

"That's total BS man!" said Victor.

"I do not look pretty," Conan added.

The group saw a cluster of girls across the sand. Leon took this moment to walk away and along the beach. Victor turned to Conan. "You better take this seriously," he said gravely. "Smile and act flirty. It's an important mission!"

Conan and Victor followed their senior to the girls. At this time, they saw that there were three of them tanning under a parasol. Victor stopped the group and stepped forward.

"Beep, beep, beep!" he muttered. His voice was low enough so that the girls couldn't hear him. "Target confirmed! Let's move in!"

"You sound like a dirty old man," said Leon.

"He learns from the best," Conan remarked.

Victor shrugged off the jokes. "This is my area of expertise, so listen up. First off, think of something to talk about, something they might be interested in. Ask them an easy question to get the ball rollin'. That's the golden rule. Somethin' like, 'Where're you from?' or 'Havin' fun?'"

"You stole those from every beach movie out there," said Leon. "They're corny as hell."

Victor squinted his eyes. "Says you. Pretty soon, you'll be tossin' questions and answers back and forth like you were playin' catch. I'll start things off, and you can join in later. Here we go."

The group moved closer to the one under the parasol. The girls never saw them coming.

"Hey ladies!" said Victor with a smile. "How y'all doin'?"

Conan and Leon remained silent. They wanted to see what Victor was getting into.

A sunbather in a green swimsuit glanced lazily in their direction. "None of your business," she said with a slur.

"Hey," said Victor, "no need to be shy. We don't bite."

Another sunbather in a yellow swimsuit also turned her attention to them. "Why should we tell you?"

Sweat was clustering on Victor's back."Come on, cut us some slack…We just wanna talk."

"I thought you were an expert," said Leon.

Victor twisted the end of his hair with his index finger. "I'm just getting warmed up," he whispered. He turned to the sunbathers. "So, ladies, are you in college?"

A third sunbather in an orange suit became irritated. "Are you all in high school?" she asked.

"Nope," said Conan. "Not us."

"Seriously?" said the sunbather in green. "You sure look like high school students from here."

Victor coughed. "S-Sorry, that's a lie."

"Oh really? High school kids vacationing here on Asterisk Island? That kind of ticks me off."

The senior stepped forward. "Well, we were invited to our friend's vacation home," said Leon. "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Good for you," said the sunbather in orange. "We, on the other hand, paid our way here with hard-earned money."

"Work hard and play hard," said Conan. "You deserve only the best."

"Don't tell me what to do," the sunbather in orange retorted.

A defeated expression daunted Victor's face. "I guess we're just lucky…" he said.

"Yeah," said the sunbather in yellow, "lucky you. What did you kids want anyway?"

"We came to rub sunscreen on you," said Conan.

Victor glared at Conan from the corner of his eye. Leon maintained a straight gaze while hiding his insecurity. The sunbathers looked at Conan with both surprise and curiosity.

"Where's your bottle?" asked the sunbather in green.

The boys patted down their swimwear. None of them had anything to offer. "Whoops," said Conan. "We thought you had some."

"Nope," said the sunbather in orange. "All out."

"Can't blame them for trying," said the sunbather in yellow. "Still wet behind the ears, though."

"Hey," said the sunbather in orange, "stop giving them pity!"

Victor held up his hand in desperation. "W-wait," he stuttered. "How can you blame us for wanting to talk to such beautiful women?"

The sunbather in yellow sighed. "Kids these days," she muttered.

"Yeah," said the sunbather in green. "Let's get outta here." In one moment, all the sunbathers left. The boys were left standing next an empty parasol.

"Some 'expertise' you had there," said Leon.

Victor became very cross. "Hey, I did my best!" he retorted. "What about you? You think you can do better? Come on, show us what you got."

Leon stepped back. "Why should I?"

"Well, you're supposed to be the mentor for us, right? And isn't it your job to show us how it's done?"

Leon took a sharp breath. "You got a point there. Fine, I'll give it a shot. I'm sure I'll do better than you. Can you give me a hand, Conan? I'll set the pace, of course."

Conan shrugged off the feeling of rejection. "Okay," he said.

The boys walked around the beach and found another group sitting under a parasol. There were two women. Both were reclined on towels laid out on the sand. One wore a black one piece while the other had a white bikini.

Victor rubbed his hands together. "Men, we've located a new target!" he chortled.

Leon remained silent. Victor noticed that his senior looked almost ready to turn tail and run away.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Show us how it's done!"

"Just stay quiet," Leon retorted. He led his friends to the ladies under the parasol. The women noticed him first.

"Hey, Naomi," said the woman in black. "Are they staring at us?"

Naomi, the woman in white, noticed their presence as well. "Yeah," she replied. "I think so. Wow, Yuma, you can see from there?"

The senior gulped loudly. Sweat beaded his neck and shoulders. "Here goes," said Leon. "Hey. Sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask you all something."

The women stared blankly. "Yes?" asked Yuma.

"Um, are you here alone?"

Naomi giggled. "Are you hitting on us?"

Leon made an apologetic gesture with both his hands. "No, not at all. We just thought that if you're bored and wanna talk, we could get to know each other better."

Yuma and Naomi looked at each other. "Um, that's what it means to hit on someone," said Yuma. "Don't you know it's lame to hit on girls at the beach?"

"We were bored anyway," said Naomi, "so why don't we just play along? He's kinda cute."

"Naomi!" said Yuma.

Leon flustered, but stood his ground. He might have been an expert in Shadow slaying, but he was completely vulnerable to being rejected in public. Victor and Conan could see him dangerously close to hiding under a rock for the rest of the day.

"Hey," said Naomi, "how old do you think we are?"

Leon turned to Conan for an answer. Victor looked expectant to hear something good. Conan racked his brain for an answer. Even with his stoic expression, he was feeling almost as nervous as Leon was.

"Around seventeen?" he asked.

Yuma sat up abruptly. "What?" she demanded. "I do not look like jailbait!"

Naomi stopped Yuma. "It's okay," she said. "They were just trying to be nice. It's been a while since we graduated from high school."

Leon became slightly relieved. "Oh really?" he said. "That's too ba—"

"Dude!" Victor interrupted. "Don't you know that older women are better? They're like fine wines!"

"This is coming from the guy who's never had a drop of alcohol in his life," said Conan.

Naomi and Yuma looked very amused with their banter. "You're a pretty smooth talker for someone so young," said Yuma. "How old are you guys anyway?"

"We're in high school," said Victor triumphantly.

"I'll be graduating next year," said Leon.

"And I'll be stuck in another town in a few months," said Conan.

The women looked disappointed. "That's a bummer," said Naomi. "We're not astrologically compatible."

"There's a first time for everything," said Victor. He forced a nervous grin across his face.

"Look," said Yuma, "it isn't gonna happen, so just give it up. You don't even look like you're having fun talking to us."

"Not quite," said Conan. "We're enjoying it."

"You look stiff," said Naomi.

Conan forced a smile. "I like to be formal before getting friendly."

Yuma and Naomi looked at him. "You're a strange kid, you know that?" asked Naomi. "And what's with your hair? It looks like you have too much moose or something."

Conan tapped the top of his head. "It's combed like that," he replied meekly. "I've never used hair gel in my life."

"Really?" asked Yuma. "What kind of product do you use? That looks amazing for a guy. I've been dying to get hair that just stayed slicked back for hours."

Conan's confidence returned. "Well, I lather my head in cold water and apply a shampoo called L'Hospital's Elixir—"

"Dude!" said Victor. "Don't talk about stuff like that!"

"He was talking about a shampoo for men," said Leon.

"Naomi," said Yuma, "let's head back. They're waiting for us."

Victor's enthusiasm dimmed. "'They?' You have boyfriends?"

Naomi gave an apologetic glance. Most of her attention was on Leon. "Did we forget to mention that? We're having a barbeque at the villa. You can come if you want."

"Uh, no thanks," said Leon.

Yuma shrugged. "See you later." She and Naomi picked up their towels and left. Once they were out of earshot, the boys huddled back together.

"Leon!" Victor hissed. "What just happened? We looked like a bunch of idiots!"

Leon said nothing. He was too embarrassed to do so.

Victor turned to the other member of their group. "Conan, you were his wing man! Where was the support? You let them slip through our fingers! Seriously! I want results!"

"I did good, right?" asked Conan.

"Men should never talk about shampoo on a beach!"

"Like you did any better," said Leon.

Victor shook his head. "Just find more targets."

The boys walked further along the coast. Soon, they saw a lone figure sitting under the sun. It was a solitary lady with a revealing black bikini top. Had the boys seen her at a different time, they would have avoided her entirely. Out of the group, Victor seemed the most pumped to see her.

"Hey, guys!" he said. "That lady's all by herself! That means she's waiting for someone to hit on her! We're guaranteed some success with this one!"

"I got a bad feeling about this," said Conan.

The lady saw them coming. She gave a wide grin and lay sideways on the sand. "Hey, cutie pies," she said in an alluring voice. "Can I help you?"

Everyone tensed. Her voice was inviting, but that was what scared them. The way she seemed to beg for attention screamed "suspicious." No one in their right mind would speak like that. Even though Victor was the most daring of the group, his courage drained with the color in his face. This lady was trouble.

"Uh, he-hello," said Victor. "Excuse us. We're looking for the restroom!"

Everyone followed Victor as he quickly paced past their "target." He pulled the others into a little circle. "She's really old up close!" he hissed.

"What are you boys doing?" asked the lady of questionable age with the revealing bikini.

Victor turned and feigned a smile. "Oh, uh…"

The lady pointed a finger at each of them. "You guys are in high school, aren't you?"

The jokester of the group tried his best to not look nervous. He was doing a terrible job of doing so. "Y-yes! Good guess!"

The lady laughed. "You boys wanna have some fun?"

"Oh, uh, that's not right, is it? I mean, our ages…"

"What do you mean?" the lady asked. She pressed her upper arms together against her "assets" to make them seem bigger. Her grin widened.

Victor elbowed his upperclassman. "Leon!" he hissed. "It's your turn! You're the oldest here!"

Leon remained where he stood. "Uh oh," he said.

The lady inspected the senior closely. "Aren't you the stud?" she remarked. "Thin and muscular...Mmmm. Tell you what, you want to take a trip around the world with me?"

Leon scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uh, not reall—"

The lady of questionable age in a revealing bikini giggled to herself. "You're gonna have to keep this a secret!" She began to rise from her place.

Leon stepped back. "I wouldn't! Really!"

The lady continued to approach him. Leon was too scared to move. Conan nudged Victor. "Help him out!" he hissed.

"What?" Victor retorted. "Oh, gr-gr-gr-gr…" he seemed to stutter over his own words.

The lady of questionable age in a revealing bikini turned her attention to Victor. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Gr-grandma!"

Everyone froze. Conan and Leon looked at their friend in horror. Victor's courage was gone. The lady of questionable age in a revealing bikini widened her eyes. No one spoke for an uncomfortable minute.

"Run!" Victor exclaimed.

Conan and Leon followed their jokester and ran as fast as they could away from their "target." They sprinted fifty meters across the sand before stopping at a large boulder near a pier. The lady of questionable age in a revealing bikini never followed them. Victor finally turned around.

"That was close," he gasped.

Leon was also scared out of his skin. "Why'd you try to sacrifice me?" he demanded. "I'm not dating material!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Everyone took a minute to breathe. When they had their breath back, they all sighed out of disappointment. "Dammit. We're zero for three."

Leon sighed again.

"Why are you bummed?" Victor inquired. "You got two turns! I thought you weren't interested in picking up girls!"

"If I'm in a battle," said Leon, "I'm in it to win. I know what our problem is. You can't control yourself."

Victor scowled. "Don't pin this on me!"

Leon folded his arms. "It isn't an insult if it's a fact."

"You haven't scored either!"

The senior cracked his knuckles. "What did you just say?"

Both turned to Conan simultaneously. "Enough already!" said Leon. "Conan, whose fault do you think it is?"

Conan looked between the two. Sweat began to stream along his neck and shoulders again. He raised his hands helplessly. "Neither of you?" he suggested.

"I won't accept a draw!" said Leon. "It's either me or him!"

"Yeah!" Victor agreed. "This is serious! Now tell us—who's—uh…"

He trailed off. Victor was looking at something over Conan's shoulder. Leon stopped being mad and looked where the junior was looking. Both were rendered speechless. Conan turned completely to see what they were staring at.

They were looking at the pier on the beach. A wooden platform extended twenty meters from the edge of the water and over the clear ocean. Standing at the end of a pier was a solitary figure in a white dress that flapped against the gentle sea breeze. A mane of black hair flowed freely behind her head and stopped just at the nape of her neck. The arch of a pair of headphones ran around her head. The figure turned her head and looked to the side. She had a face full of youth that belonged to a porcelain doll. Whoever this person was, she was much prettier than anyone the boys had seen that day.

The mysterious girl never looked in their direction, but the boys felt as though she were looking for them. Conan, Victor, and Leon hid behind the boulder they were near and watched her from afar. All of their hearts skipped beats. They forgot their squabble in an instant.

"Hot damn," said Victor. "Talk about saving the best for last! Man, she's cute."

"Yeah," Leon added.

"Is she taken?" asked Conan.

Victor pulled his friends into another huddle. "This time, we should try one-by-one instead of all together. We'll have a better shot that way."

"Should I go first?" asked Conan.

"Nah," said Leon. "Picking a leader is behind us now."

Victor rubbed his hands together. "Alright, then let's decide the order!" he said. "We'll go clockwise, starting with the winner. Ready? Rock, paper, scissors!"

Conan and Leon threw down their hands with rock and paper signs respectively. Victor threw down a sign that resembled a gun.

"Showoff," said Leon.

"Yeah, I win!" said Victor. "I'll go first, then Leon, and then Conan goes last. Wish me luck!"

As the jokester of the group stepped out from behind the boulder, Leon shook his head. "This won't end well."

Victor slowly made his way to the mysterious girl on the pier. "H-hey," he stuttered. He involuntarily shifted in place with his nervousness. "H-how's it going? You look lonely. Are you feeling good? My name's Vic-Vic-Victor."

The mysterious girl turned around. She gave an expression of curiosity. "'Vic-Vic-Victor?'" she repeated.

Victor gave a meek smile. "Don't worry, I, uh, I just want to talk. I mean, it's more fun than standing here all by yourself, isn't it?"

The mysterious girl looked unimpressed. "I'm looking for someone." She glanced around once more.

Victor's heart rate increased. "Oh yeah?" he muttered.

"You are not the one."

Behind the boulder, Leon and Conan watched. "He got shot down faster than I expected," the senior remarked.

"Like you would do any better," said Conan.

Victor made a solemn march back to the rest of the group. "She's a tough one, guys," he said.

Leon rose. "Don't worry about me," he said. He made his way to the pier. Leon stopped one meter away from the mysterious girl.

"Hey there," he said with a smile. "Say, do you like the ocean?"

The mysterious girl looked at him. "Were you asking me?" she said.

Leon regained some confidence. "Yeah. I like the ocean too. Hey, I heard that folks who go the beach more often live longer and rarely get sick. There's less smog around, and all the oxygen comes from the sea. Makes sense doesn't it?"

The mysterious girl was still unimpressed. "That type of information is irrelevant to me," she said.

A subtle expression of disappointment came on Leon's face. He walked back to the boys' hiding place. Leon donned a mild look of pride when he took his original position.

"In your face," he said. "I talked to her longer than you did."

Victor hid his face in his palms. "It doesn't matter!" he sighed. "This sucks."

"Stop whining!" said Leon. "Now I feel bad."

All eyes turned to Conan. "So that's what's up," said Victor. "If you can't pick her up, then I'll be depressed for life."

"You can do it, Conan," said Leon.

Conan cringed with his friends looking at him, but he had little choice. He stepped up from his hiding spot. Conan slowly made his way the edge of the wooden platform, but stopped before touching it. The mysterious girl on the pier never noticed him.

Sucking in a gulp of air, Conan stepped forward. "What up?" he asked.

The mysterious girl turned around. Only then was her face fully exposed. She had tufts of black hair trailing over her forehead, and only from looking at her at close range were her eyes really brought out. Every individual strand was purely black, but seemed to illuminate a cerulean glow under the sun. Her eyes were the most striking: they were electric blue.

"You are…" she started to say. A look of surprise came on her face.

The others got curious. Victor and Leon emerged from their hiding place and approached the pier.

"Location insecure," said the mysterious girl. "Moving to different area." She darted off with the tail of her dress tailing behind her. The mysterious girl's running speed was astounding to say the least.

Victor and Leon looked at the girl flee into the forest. Once she was gone, they ran to Conan. "Dude," said Victor, "what did you say?"

Conan shrugged. He was just as clueless as the rest of his group.

"Well, don't just stand there! Run after her!"

"Do I have to?" asked Conan.

"What if she rats us out to the cops or something? Tell her you're sorry, or we're all cooked! You can catch her if you hurry!"

Without another question, Conan ran after the mysterious girl.

"There are cops on the island?" asked Leon.

"No clue," said Victor. "But it doesn't hurt to guess they're here, right?"

Asterisk Island, Forest: 11:03 am

Conan found himself in a clearing of vegetation. The area was part of a hiking trail. Trees and underbrush of all sorts were growing around him. An almost perfect circle of dirt was allotted for him to walk in. A massive billboard detailing the area was installed at the head of the path. Behind the billboard was a massive tree that was just as thick as ten hover cars.

Conan looked around. The mysterious girl was nowhere in sight. "Hello?" he asked. "You can come out now. I just want to talk!"

Someone stepped out from behind the billboard. It was none other than the mysterious girl. She had a hand, which seemed to be encased in a white glove, on the post of the billboard. "I was right," she said. "I have found you."

Conan slowly approached her by side-stepping. "You okay?" he asked. "We didn't mean to scare you back there."

"Now I am certain. It is you." The mysterious girl let go of the billboard and stepped closer. There was a smile on her face. "I have waited a long time. My only wish is to be with you!"

Conan cringed. He had the creeping feeling that this encounter was going to end badly. Just as he feared, the mysterious girl extended her arms. In an instant, she had him in a passionate bear hug. For a person of her size, the mysterious girl had a remarkably good grip. Conan dared not move. A shuffle of footsteps came from behind. It was Victor and Leon. They saw the two together.

"What?" Victor demanded. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"What did you say to her?" asked Leon.

Another crowd of footsteps came closer. "There you guys are!" said a familiar voice. It was Lucy. "We've been looking for you three!"

The boys looked in their direction. All the ladies were walking together in their casual clothes. None looked impressed at what they were seeing.

"Uh," said Keira, "what are you all doing up here dressed like that?"

"At least Mr. Walker is more modest in appearance," said Slade.

Lucy became agitated. "You have no idea what we've—what the…?"

Everyone noticed the mysterious girl, who was still hugging Conan. She seemed oblivious to their conversation. Conan gave a desperate face for help.

"Who's she?" asked Lucy.

"If you're quite finished, we have a problem," said Slade. "I need everyone back in Ikutsuki's mansion. We need to prepare for battle."

"That won't be necessary," said a new voice.

Pierce stepped up on the trail. His shirt was open and everyone looked away from his lumberjack hair. Given how the mysterious girl was not letting go, Conan could not turn away. He was left at the mercy of looking in the captain's general direction. Pierce walked closer to the mysterious girl, who noticed his presence.

The captain sighed. "Mr. Ikutsuki and I have been worried. Please don't leave the lab unnoticed, Charlotte."

"Wait," said Lucy. "What about your tank?"

"Oh," said Pierce. He seemed to just notice the girls' presence. "I'd like you all to meet someone. Charlotte, please introduce yourself."

The mysterious girl let go of Conan, who stepped back five paces. She reached behind her for an apparatus that looked like the collar of her shirt. She undid a string to loosen the entire piece of clothing.

A sudden realization occurred to the ladies. "What is she doing?" Lucy spat.

Charlotte let fall the dress she wore. She stood above it completely exposed for everyone to see. To the team's surprise, her torso was enveloped in a leotard that covered her torso and neck. At her shoulders, upper back, and hips, there were gaps between metal sheets with rubber pistons within. With the dress removed, everyone saw that she had strange feet that resembled hooves. Charlotte's headphones, or what resembled the devices, were actually her ears. The mysterious girl was a humanoid machine.

"This is Charlotte," said Pierce. "Ikutsuki filled me in on her specs. She's an 'iron maiden.'"

The mysterious girl gave a friendly smile to everyone. "I am Charlotte," she said. "I exist to destroy Shadows. My mission is to be part of S.E.E.S., effective immediately."

Everyone gawked with awe at her. "No way," said Lucy. "She looks like a real girl. Nobody's done that yet, right?"

"I never thought I'd see this in my life," said Leon.

"She's so cute," said Victor. He sounded disappointed. "But she's a robot…"

"Anti-Shadow weapons were created to combat bigger Shadows," said Pierce. "The Kirijo Group had one last kick before going bankrupt. Charlotte was the last to be made. As far as we know, she's the only one that still remains."

"An Anti-Shadow weapon," Slade muttered. "Does that mean…"

"Yes," said Charlotte. Her hearing was impeccable. "I can summon the Persona Papillion, the harbinger."

Everyone was genuinely impressed. Given how sudden Charlotte's introduction was, S.E.E.S. kept their distance.

"She took a few major hits a few years back and has remained inactive ever since. We're not sure how she reactivated herself this morning. I hope you all cooperate well."

"An Anti-Shadow weapon with a personality," Keira remarked. "That's amazing!"

Lucy looked at Charlotte with caution. "Um," she said, "just so I get this off my chest, earlier, it looked like you knew Conan."

Charlotte stepped closer to Conan, who still looked at her cautiously. "Yes," the mysterious girl said. "I need to be by his side."

Nobody felt comfortable. The boys were estranged, and the ladies were more so. Pierce seemed the least surprised.

"Perhaps her ID system is malfunctioning," the captain remarked. "Or she's still half-asleep. Interesting. I'll consult Mr. Ikutsuki later. We should head back. By the way, I was thinking we should sing karaoke later. Who wants to join me?"

No one answered. If there was anything scarier than a girl that stripped without delay, it was a semi-shirtless man proposing to do karaoke with a crowd of high school students.