(In a Singing tone) HELLLOOOOO!

(Normal tone) Here we are at the next chapter. So let us continue forth. But before that, I do want to not something about the characters.

As this story takes place in 2051, some of the XBLAZE characters will have aged a year by than, so I'll list the birthdays of the characters in this story, showing who has aged a year by the time this story happens. This will also include characters who will make an appearance later on in the story.

Es: October 5th (Es is biologically 5 and is physically in her early to mid teens when she was an artificial life form during the events of Code: Embryo. In this story, she is biologically 6 and is physically in her mid teens as a normal human after the events of Lost: Memories.)

Touya: July 20th (Similar to Es, as he's a clone of the Original Touya, he's biologically 10 while he is 16 physically. His birthday hasn't occurred yet and is still the same age. So NO, Touya is not a pedophile as Platinum the Trinity would try to address him as.)

Hinata: May 8th (Hinata's Birthday hasn't happened yet, so she is still 16 years old as of this story.)

Mei: February 18th (Mei's Birthday has occurred according to the first two chapters, so Mei is now 16 years old in this story.)

Kuon: September 21st (Kuon's Birthday hasn't happened yet, so she is still 17 years old as of this story.)

Elise: April 1st (Elise's Birthday hasn't happened yet, so she is still 16 years old as of this story.)

Akira: September 21st (Due to sharing the same Birthday as Kuon, his Birthday hasn't occurred yet, so he is still 16 years old in the story.)

Yuki: January 30th (Yuki's Birthday has occurred by this point in the story, with that, Yuki is now 28 years old in the story.)

Avenge: January 15th (Avenge's age is unknown according to official sources.)

Zwei: November 5th (Zwei's age is also unknown according to official sources.)

Kiri: November 8th (Well, personality wise, Kiri was born on that day, sense he's in Ripper's body. So biologically he's a few months old, but his physical age is unknown.)

Es-N/Nu: Unknown (Not really a fair assessment as the surviving 9th Unit is only a few months old, but what can you do.)

I'm aware that some of these characters haven't appeared yet, but I hope you'll look forward to them appearing when they do show up. With that out of the way, NOW we can go forth.

Himezuru Residence [Touya's Room]

It was 9:00 AM when Touya first woke up, as he preferred to sleep in on the Weekend. He figured that Yuki is likely getting up by now while he also figured that Hinata woke up 30 minutes earlier, knowing she's getting some chores done before preparing breakfast. Hinata can be very selfless indeed...

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a nice day today." Touya said as he let a bit of light into his bedroom. However, as he was enjoying the morning light, he thought back to yesterday, specifically when he and the others were trying to get Es' attention.

While he was talking to Akira about how he shouldn't just leave his stuff behind, he saw Es standing in place like a statue with her eyes closed. At first, they just greeted Es, but grew more concerned when she didn't reply back. Touya highly doubt that Es could sleep standing up, let alone in public, but he also remembered Es falling unconscious in the middle of class due to a fever she contracted, which sent him and Hinata into a panic as the three of them shared the same classroom. Fortunately, it wasn't the case as Es said she was just thinking about something.

"I wonder what was on Es' mind?" Touya asked himself, curious about what Es was thinking about if she tuned him and the others out like that.

"Maybe... something from the Embryo Incident..." Touya speculated. Ever since his memories of Es have been restored, Touya has filled in a ton of empty blanks in his memory. He theorized the reason he and everyone regained their memories of Es was either due to him and the others being around Es long enough, or maybe it was because of the residue energy of Es' Phantom Memory Grimoire, which she no longer had after using it against Freaks. Touya himself remembered both the good times and bad times involving Es. He even remembered the day when they parted at the end of the Embryo Incident.

'Es, why did you erase our memories like you did?' Touya questioned his dear friend mentally. He believed that Es did what she did so that he and the others wouldn't be saddened by her disappearance from this world. But now she was back home, this time as a regular human, not that it changed Touya's view and opinion of the Azure Maiden. It just meant Es no longer has to worry about her getting "special" treatment anymore to continue living. As he was remembering that day, he recalled telling Es that he hoped that the two of them can stay together forever and then...

"Ah..." Touya remembered the warm feeling on his lips as he recalled that Es... kissed him. When he regained his memory of that, Touya grew as red as a tomato. Fortunately, no one was there to see that, but to remember his first kiss like that was likely to cause some embarrassment. No wonder Es' face was so red during her Welcome Party during the Freaks Incident, Touya believed that Es must have remembered that moment, all because Hinata mentioned the word, 'love'.

'I never would've thought that I would have fallen in love with anyone around back then. To be honest, that was the least of my worries at the time. Even than, I didn't think any girl would be interested in me.' Touya thought some more. Ever since the day the memories of that day came back, Touya wondered if Es truly felt the same for him. True, they did kiss, but was it just in the moment for her because she believed they would never see each other again? Touya remembered savoring that moment with her, but now he can't find himself to ask her about it. Whenever he and Es are alone together when they're not on a mission, whether it's dealing with a Union or otherwise, he just can't get a word out. It didn't help that Es was so darn cute for one thing. But Touya knew that it wasn't her looks that won him over as he knew that Hinata, Mei, Kuon and Elise are all cute in their own way too.

When Es started to show that she's not only a soldier who blindly followed orders and became more than what was expected of her, it earned great admiration from Touya. She was even willing to admit she was wrong and try her best to make things right if she can. Perhaps it was around when they reconciled, after saving Akira from his Drive Crystal, that Touya realized that their relationship has begun to become... much more. But it wasn't until when Es was going to dissappear from this world, that only then he understood the love he felt for her.

It made sense looking back now, that even though he couldn't remember Es, the feelings he had for her were still there, hence why he was suddenly crying when he and Hinata were visiting Akira at the hospital. It also made the fact he remembered her name upon finding her in the Restricted Ward make sense too. Es couldn't erase those feelings from his heart, even if his mind couldn't recall. Another reason Touya can't find the strength to ask Es about her feelings is because of the other girls, with the exception of Elise, who is OBVIOUSLY in love with Kuon. He only viewed Hinata as a sister, while he viewed Mei and Kuon as good friends, but what if they...

"Maybe I'm just overthinking it." Touya said to himself, cutting out what he was going to think. He felt that in another timeline, in a different version of events, he might have fallen in love with Mei or Kuon. Touya wasn't sure how it would go if he fell in love with Hinata. For one, he wasn't sure that Yuki and Akira would be too thrilled about that idea. However, he knows that he can't avoid Es on the subject forever, as he had done during the school year. When that time comes, he'll worry about what the others will think then.

"Touya! Yuki! Breakfast!" Hinata called for Touya and Yuki as she just finished making Breakfast.

"Huh?" Touya snapped out of his thoughts as he saw it was now 9:15 AM on his clock.

"Wow, thinking to yourself and reflecting on the past kills time, doesn't it? Well, I better go head on down." Touya said to himself, as he plans to have breakfast with Hinata and Yuki before taking a shower to start his day. He proceeded to leave his room to meet up with Hinata and Yuki.

Amanohokosaka Residence [Sparring Room]

It was around 8:20 AM when Es and Mei both woke up from a good night sleep. Before they eat breakfast and get ready for the day, they went to the Sparring Room to practice. It was once an empty room, but when Es stayed for a while for training after defeating Freaks, Mei requested the caretaking staff to turn it into a Sparring Room. While they found the request strange initially, they didn't question it and agreed to do so. Once the two girls changed into martial art gi's, they proceeded to spar with each other.

Unlike the Training Room at the Mitsurugi Agency HQ, Es doesn't use her sword, the Legacy Weapon, Crystal Sealing Blade: Murukumo, and Mei doesn't use her magic. Instead the two girls just use and rely on their physical strength, mainly through punches, kicks and grappling. This not only allowed them to improve their physical capabilities in the event they can't use their regular method of fighting, whether it's against a Union or something else, it also allowed them to get some exercise in too.

"Hyah!" Es shouted as she grabbed Mei, but before Es can throw and pin her to the floor...

"Hah!" Mei grunted as she managed to turn Es' grab against her, catching the Azure Maiden off guard as the Shrine Maiden threw and pinned Es to the floor, securing the best two out of three round sparring session. If Mei had been slower, Es would have secured the match.

"Whew..." Mei let out as she wiped the sweat off her face with her sleeve before giving Es a hand to get up, which Es greatfullly accepted. Mei's thankful that her time with her friends humbled her to the point of being a fair sport.

"You nearly had me with that one, Es. That was a good move." Mei commented as she grabbed a towel to wipe her face.

"Well, you surprised me by turning my own grapple against me. Like I said before, give someone a lever and they shall move the world." Es complimented Mei while she also grabbed a towel to wipe her face, while also recalling when she told Mei how she managed to throw a Union twice her size one time through the use of leverage.

"So, how much does this make it? I'd say we're about tied I guess." Mei smirked. Compared to fighting Unions, Mei found some enjoyment from friendly competition with her friends, whether it's with Es or Kuon.

"It's not a contest Mei, but I suppose with your recent win, that would be the case." Es said modestly. Same as Mei, Es found enjoyment with friendly sparring with Mei compared to fighting Union threats.

"Good match." Both girls said as they bowed respectfully to each other.

With that said, the two girls went to the Outdoor Bath to clean themselves up, enjoying the peace and tranquility that only an Outdoor Bath can provide. There was no need to talk to each other, compared to a normal shower or an indoor bath. They mearly enjoyed the silence, along with the sounds of nature, something that soothed their minds and souls in the process.

Once they were cleaned up, Es and Mei both sat down to enjoy breakfast that was prepared by one of Mei's former maids who come around to prepare meals for Mei. When the maid heard about how Es comes around on the Weekend to visit, she begun preparing a second meal for her as well. While it's different from Hinata's cooking, it was still delicious and filling.

Amanohokosaka Residence [Mei's Room]

After brushing their teeth, while Es called Yuki to let her, Touya and Hinata that her visit is going well, Mei opened up her laptop to set up the video chat with Kuon and Elise. Today was the two mages day off from studying, so Mei figured now was the best time to talk to them.

During the Embryo Incident, when Sechs, Acht and Drei of the Ten Sages went rogue after killing Lord Stroheim, the previous Leaders of the Magic Guild sent Lord Stroheim's daughter and Sechs' younger sister, Kuon Glamred Stroheim, with the mission of trying to convince the three renegade Sages to come back to Ishana or if they refuse, to seal them away with the Legacy Weapon, The Sealed Spear: Izayoi, which will trap them in enclosed space, sealing their magic, with the cost being the user's eyesight. Fortunately, Kuon never had to use it, with the Spear being placed back into the hands of the new Magic Guild Leaders.

As for Kuon herself, she is known for being for being a fiery young woman with a short temper who specializes using fire magic. Her explosive temper along with her affinity for fire magic has earned her the title, "Fire Empress Stroheim", much to Kuon's chagrin. Possessing a strong sense of justice, Kuon always strives to do the right thing. One such case, before she officially met Touya and the others, is when Akira was being threatened by four thugs, with Kuon arriving and proceeding to throw three thugs over her shoulder and chased the fourth one away. All of that, just to help someone she didn't know at the time. However, this desire to do the right thing can also land her in trouble too as she more often than not charges headfirst into such scenarios as evidenced with her encounters with the rouge Ten Sages.

Despite being from a well regarded family thanks to her mother and father as well as her brother, Sechs, Kuon works hard to earn recognition from her peers and superiors through her own merits without relying on her family's name. Kuon studies really hard as a result, aspiring to one day become a member of the Ten Sages.

However, while Kuon got along with everyone at the start, she and Mei got off on a bad foot. Because of the Guild's actions to bring down the Amanohokosaka Clan, Mei treated Kuon with nothing but contempt and insults, much to Kuon's anger. Even though Kuon emphasized and understood Mei's anger toward the Magic Guild for what they did to the latter's family, Kuon refused to be insulted another moment longer and challenged the Shrine Maiden to a duel, which culminated in a stalemate when Kuon incinerated Mei's charms with a flame tornado and charged through the flames to attack Mei with a kick, proving to the Shrine Maiden that she's earned her right to be a mage through her own merits. After the duel, Kuon and Mei's views on each other started to change for the better, with their dislike of each other developing into a friendly rivalry while also understanding the tragedies their own factions put them through.

Currently, Kuon is training under Zwei to one day lead the Ten Sages, but has learned to take a break from her hard studies and make time to visit her friends every so often.

Elise von Klagen is Kuon's best friend and her dorm roommate in Ishana. While she's very proper and polite with perfect etiquette, Elise has a more childish side to her which mostly comes to the forefront when in Kuon's presence. As a result of their friendship, Elise understands Kuon on a deeper level than anyone else could. However, Elise also harbors a huge, unrequited love for Kuon and wishes to be by her side at all times, much to Kuon's annoyance as she only sees Elise as a friend. A huge Otaku at heart, Elise LOVES Japanese Culture, even wishing she could live in Japan and compared to Mei and Kuon, Elise is not ashamed of her hobbies regarding anime and manga, being more than willing to share them. In fact, it is because of Elise that Kuon is into watching anime in the first place.

Elise specializes in Defense magic, especially regarding wards and barriers. She can even form a high-powered laser beam when combining her ward with Kuon's fire. Unfortunately, Elise is physically weaker compared to Kuon and Mei, leaving Elise to take on a more supportive role in battle. Additionally, Elise is a skilled hacker, to the point of it being another hobby outside of anime, manga and historical dramas. Elise's hacking skills especially came in handy when she assisted Touya in evading Unomaru's force and even gave them critical intel on his plans. She even assisted Mei in covering up the Embryo Incident thanks to altering specific information by hacking into Unomaru's files sometime after his death.

Ironically, Mei got along better with Elise when they first met, despite the latter being from the Guild due to Elise being so polite and proper. It was funny to Mei now that she looked back at it.

While waiting for the two mages to connect, Es wanted to confirm something with Mei.

"Mei, has everyone else been notified about out plans to head to Ishana?" Es questioned, recalling during breakfast that Mei told her about plans to head to Ishana to deal with the Gate of Sheol there.

"I made sure to tell Kagari and Yuki about it yesterday. I haven't told Kamewari and Hinata yet, but knowing Kagari, he'll probably tell them before I can, but I will check in with them about it when I can." Mei replied back to Es as the connection began to link up. As soon as the Video Chat started, they are greeted by a young woman with light blue hair, which happened to be Elise.

"Hello Es, hello Mei. It's been a while." Elise said with a proper greeting.

"Hi Es, hey Mei. Nice to see you two again." Kuon said with a more casual greeting. Kuon is the young woman with back length strawberry blonde hair, which was also tied into two long pigtails. Kuon also once wore a Seithr Regulator to manage her powers, but during the Freaks Incident, Kuon cut her pigtails to the shorter length and she no longer wears her Seithr Regulator, having obtained better management over the amount of seithr she uses. Recently, Kuon grew her hair out a little bit again, not as short as last time, but not as long during the Embryo Incident.

"Hello Kuon, hello Elise." Es greeted back to the two mages.

"Nice to see you and Elise again, Witch." Mei replied back, using the nickname she always addressed Kuon by. When they first met, Mei originally used this nickname as an insult toward her. Now, the nickname is mearly a friendly jab toward Kuon.

The four girls proceeded to catch up with each other, asking how they're doing recently, with Union threats nearly coming to a crawl with only one popping up every so often instead of all the time while Kuon's training under Zwei is going at a steady pace, while also making sure to take a break every now and again.

"By the way, Lady Zwei wanted you to tell Touya she said hi." Kuon said to Es and Mei who could only look at each other, acknowledging what they heard.

Zwei is another member of the Ten Sages, being one of the strongest right up with Sechs, and is a good friend of Kuon's mother. Zwei specializes in fire and lightning spells, even being well known for her strongest spell, Azure Requiem, which generates blue flames that can incinerate any target.

One day, seven years before the Embryo Incident, Kuon's mother made Zwei a plate of curry with a recipe from Japan. Upon tasting it, Zwei fell in love with the dish, crying tears of joy as a result. Sometime afterward, Zwei would abandon Ishana and travel the world to learn how to make the perfect curry recipe. Despite leaving, Zwei was welcomed back when she resumed her position among the Ten Sages upon returning to Ishana. Despite her eccentric nature, she has a serious side and holds the belief that life is about learning things for one's self, hating things that takes the hard work out of it such as the internet.

During her time in Shin Yokosaki City, Zwei, under the alias Ringo Akagi, worked at a curry restaurant called Maja Raja, a popular place known for it's food and ambience. Zwei worked there along with a manager, who's lazy and rarely seen doing work despite making most of the curry recipes, and Touya, who worked part time at the restaurant. Zwei would drive Touya insane due to her less than desirable work ethic and her obsession with curry. Despite this, Touya does regard Zwei as a friend, even after when she challenged Hinata to a Curry Cooking Competition, which the Ten Sage herself lost in. Touya wouldn't know about Zwei's true position until the Freaks Incident, something that surprised him immensely. When Zwei returned to Ishana, the Maha Raja restaurant closed down, with only the empty building left behind.

Once the four girls finished catching up, Mei explained to Kuon and Elise about what is going on and what they plan to do during the Spring Break. Some time ago, Mei sent a representative of the Mitsurugi Agency to look around Ishana after speaking with Kuon about it. They managed to get permission to do so, but only if they had a high ranking mage as a guide. Fortunately, Zwei was able to help out by being the soldier's guide in Ishana.

"Wow, it's hard to believe there's a Gate of Sheol here in Ishana of all places..." Elise replied, apparently not having heard of this. She could have hacked Ishana's database to learn about it, but that wasn't what she was looking for at the time during the Embryo Incident.

"Yeah, but the soldier I sent did confirm it in his report. Even Zwei can confirm it if you and Kuon ask her." Mei said, but before Kuon or Elise can reply, her dorm room opened, with a all too familiar face entering the room.

"There's no need for that, for I can vouch for that right away." Said Zwei herself, having heard part of the conversation upon arriving at the door before opening it.

"L-lady Zwei!? What're you doing here!? And how'd you get into our room?" Kuon asked in surprise, wanting to know what brought her mentor here on a day off and wondering how she got into her dorm room.

"Well, I asked for the spare key to this room. Besides, I took a look at this Gate myself to cover a few things after escorting the soldier to his boat back to Shin Yokosaki City a few days ago." Zwei explained.

"Mind if I explain some things I found out?" Zwei asked the four girls as they got over their initial shock, with them nodding as their answer. After Elise closed the door, Zwei revealed things that she and the Mitsurugi Agency soldier saw at the Ishana Cathedral. There was a Gate of Sheol there, but after Zwei took another close examination along with picture copies of the Wadatsumi Gate the soldier lent her for comparison, she was able to confirm one thing...

"It's an artificial gate!?" Mei exclaimed, shocked that the Magic Guild had built it's own Gate of Sheol.

"Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but after examining the photo your agent had on hand and looking inside the Cathedral, there's no mistaking it. I'm not sure why we even have a Gate to begin with, considering we have a barrier to stop Seithr from getting inside the city itself." Zwei stated as even she didn't know everything about the Gate.

"Wouldn't the higher ups know, Lady Zwei?" Kuon questioned her mentor.

"I would ask the Guild Leaders directly, but I don't know if they're aware of it and the old Guild Leaders are long dead now..." Zwei continued, having recalled the grisly deaths the old leaders suffered at the hands of Freaks. It was because of what happened to the old leaders that Zwei didn't go with Kuon and Elise to Shin Yokosaki City to help them deal with Freaks as Ishana wanted the Ten Sages to protect their city just in case the Serial Killer came back.

"Well, this just got... complicated..." Mei bitterly noted. Sure, it was her goal of destroying every single one of these Gates, but to hear about an artificial Gate that was knowingly made of all things? Even so, she didn't want to do anything that could affect Kuon's home. Mei may hate the Magic Guild, but she doesn't want to put the people there at risk, including her friends. It also doesn't help that Magic requires Seithr to use it. What if this Gate was giving the city what it needed to function?

"Lady Zwei, what should we do?" Elsie questioned Zwei, as she didn't know if destroying this Gate would be good or not as Ishana's culture relies on the use of Magic and Alchemy, both which utilize Seithr, with Gates providing an unlimited supply of it. Sorcery is the only form of magic that doesn't use Seithr, but not everyone can use mana, not even Zwei and Sechs, both of whom are the most powerful mages to have ever lived.

"Well, I think I may need to speak with the new leaders about this Gate of Sheol. I heard about the Wadatsumi Incident and the last thing we need is something like that happening in Ishana." Zwei noted, knowing full well that a tragedy like that must be prevented from occurring at all costs.

"However, we do need to weigh the pros with the cons as well, Mei. While I do want Ishana to avoid something like the Wadatsumi Incident, we need to think about Ishana's well being too." Zwei continued, letting Mei know about this decision.

"Yeah, you're right. I may not like the Guild, but I don't want thousands to be thrown into turmoil over this." Mei said as she now needs to rethink how they're going to handle this particular Gate. Granted, they don't need a LOT of Sethir to use magic to begin with. As long as Seithr remained as it is, there was no fear of Seithr Poisoning. Mei knew that when all of the Gates are destroyed, Seithr and magic won't go away, but this is a city that lives on magic though.

"Don't work yourself up Mei, magic won't dissappear even if we do destroy every Gate of Sheol, including this one, as magic and Seithr has always been a part of this world. Sometimes difficult things like this can happen." Kuon reassured Mei, understanding what she's thinking while acknowledging the tough decisions leaders like Mei have to make with Zwei and Elise nodding in agreement.

"I'll try to negotiate with the leaders to see if we can get you and your friends a trip ready to come over to Ishana and see if we can find a way to discuss things to find a solution that will benefit everyone." Zwei said, as she's ready to help in whatever way she can.

"Once we get permission, the three of us will head to Shin Yokosaki City." Zwei finished, explaining her intent to head over with Kuon and Elise.

"But, the school year doesn't end until the middle of March..." Es noted in response.

"It's okay Es, arriving ahead of time will allow us to be ready for you, Mei and Touya to be prepared. Besides, it was about time for Kuon, Elise and myself to take a brief vacation anyway." Zwei chimed in with a calm smile, reassuring Es of this choice. When she's not obsessed with Curry, Zwei can be a good friend and mentor indeed.

"I guess we'll log out for now. We'll update you when we find anything out." Kuon said Mei, intending to keep her notified.

"Yes, thank you Kuon." Mei thanked her friend for taking the time to speak with her.

"You're welcome. Talk to you soon, Mei." Kuon said as she logged out of the Chat Room.

As soon as Kuon left the chat room, Mei pinched the brow of of head to relieve some stress off herself.

"Mei...?" Es asked Mei out of concern for her friend.

"It's okay Es. I know magic and Sethir won't dissappear, but that's not my main concern. If that artificial Gate is how Ishana got by all this time, it'll make it that much harder to deal with this." Mei said as she told Es what was on her mind.

"Everything will be okay Mei. I don't know why, but I have a feeling it will be." Es said, which restored Mei's spirits somewhat. Despite this, Mei was still down and stressed. It was then an idea came to Es.

"Hey Mei, how about we head out to the mall today? Spening some time there might take your mind off things." Es suggested to the Shrine Maiden, hoping that a little window shopping would brighten Mei's day up.

"Yeah, I would like that Es. Thank you." Mei said with a soft smile as she and Es got ready to head out for a while.

"You're welcome Mei." Es replied, happy to herself that she managed to take some stress off of Mei's shoulders.

Shin Yokosaki City [Downtown]

It was around 12:15 PM when Akira was heading over to the Himezuru Residence to spend time with Touya, Hinata and Yuki, the latter of which has an actual day off today, making it one of the rare times she wasn't working at the hospital today. He finished lunch a while ago before leaving his place. However, while Akira was on his way, he spotted three familiar people he didn't want to come across again. He identified them as the same thugs who threatened him that one time before beating him up later on. Akira calmly walked by the thugs without them noticing him before hiding behind a wall.

'Good, those jerks didn't notice me, now then...' Akira thought to himself, but just as he was about to leave.

"You guys gotta believe me! That metal freak scared the shit out of me!" Said the thug that had a couple of bruises all over him, including a nasty black eye. The "metal freak" thing concerned Akira.

'Metal freak? A new Union maybe?' Akira thought to himself. It's been only a month since Touya, Es and Mei dealt with a Union, but the idea of a Union turning themselves into metal is VERY concerning, so Akira decided to listen in on the conversation and relay this to the three of them later.

"You sure you weren't just imaging things, man? Maybe the guy was covered in biker gear or had armor on?" Said one of the injured thug's buddies, who's trying to calm down his fellow thug, who looked like he saw the most terrifying thing in his life.

"No way man! When I tried punching the freak in the face, it felt like punching a giant metal door!" The injured thug said holding up his battered hand, shocking the other two thugs. Even Akira was shocked when he took a peek to see it.

"Aside from that, it's eyes were glowing this eerie light blue color, as if the dude was a robot or something and what made it weird is that it was looking for these two school kids." The injured thug recalled to his pals. Akira grew more concerned when this 'metal man' mentioned school kids.

"Wait, what? What school kids?" Asked the third thug, who was confused about what their injured friend was saying.

"It wanted to find some guy named Touya Kagari and a girl named Es Mitsurugi. When I told it that I didn't know, it kept attacking me until the sun came up. After it gave up and left, I passed out. It was right around a few minutes ago when you guys showed up." The injured thug finished his story. Chills instantly went down Akira's spine upon hearing that the 'metal man' wass looking for Touya and Es. He did not like the sound of that. What would a Union of all things want with them?

Hearing what he wanted to hear, he then started sprinting away without alerting the three thugs, but he knew even if they did spot or hear him, they wouldn't have chased him anyway on account of their injured companion. Right now, Akira needed to warn Touya and Es about this 'metal man', although he needed a way to contact Es as she's visiting Mei right now.

'Crap! Just when things were starting to calm down! Touya! Es! You two better be safe!" Akira said as he ran to the Himezuru Residence to inform Touya first.

The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]

Around the same time Akira overheard the thugs, the 'Metal Man' in question was hiding inside a closed shipment container by the Wharf, with only the sounds of the wave being his only form of white noise from outside. This particular shipment container hasn't been used in a long time, making it the perfect spot to hide out until the time for attack presented itself. He appeared to be working on something in some sort of makeshift laboratory he somehow made and set up inside the container.

"Yes, in due time, I will look like a proper human being again and I will take back EVERYTHING that was stolen from me!" Said the Metal Man as he's seething with rage. He than stared back at the photo of Es and Touya that he managed to somehow aquire.

"Embryo Storage. Original Grimoire. Hope the two of you are enjoying yourselves, pretending to be human when you're nothing more than a Doll and a Walking Corpse respectively. Oh, and don't think how I didn't noticed how you ruined the Mitsurugi Agency's purpose... Mei Amanohokosaka. Soon you three villains will be gone soon enough!" The Metal Man said in cold bitter rage as he recalled Mei's face.

"Only then, will I be able to bring forth a glorious future to the world, with no wars happening because of something stupid as free will. A perfect utopia will be BORN!" Yelled the Metal Man, proclaiming an insane plan to no one in particular.

"Ahahah... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Metal Man laughed insanely as his grand comeback is just beginning...

To be Continued...

Yeah, the identity of the Metal Man is becoming more apparent, isn't he? (Don't spoil his true identity in the reviews if you guessed it.)

As for the conversation between with the Mages, I apparently forgot or didn't know about the artificial gate/cauldron in Ishana. I know that BlazBlue and XBLAZE are in their own separate Timelines and all, but I didn't want to redo everything all over again and confuse everyone. I am trying to use official knowledge from BlazBlue and XBLAZE to the best of my ability to make a cohesive story that makes sense in the long run. So, I'm sorry if this took a while to get ready.

Anyway, things should become more smoother from here on out hopefully and not be so mentally taxing. See you next time.

Update: Grammer and Spell check.