It was early when Tucker woke up this morning. He noticed that the excessive beeping from his helmet was the cause, signalling that someone was trying to contact him. After putting on his helmet, he picks up.

"Hey." Tucker drowsily greets.

"Private Tucker. All that training and you still can't get up at a decent time." Washington's stern voice comes through.

"Ugh. What do you want?" Tucker groans.

"I want you to gather up everyone and bring them to Kaede's school. We've gotten some information on the group that kidnapped her." Washington explains.

"Alright. Be there in a bit." Tucker said, sounding a bit more put together. With that, he gets dressed and proceeds to carry out his orders.

The Institute

"Sir. I believe this would be the best coarse of action." Kurama tries to convince his boss.

"Letting sipilet #7 loose to track down Lucy?" Kakuzawa questions. "Although she is passive towards humans, she still remains a threat."

"That maybe so, but she's still our best option." Kurama says. "Its been made clear that SAT forces alone aren't up to the task."

"Hmph. Very well Kurama." The Director reluctantly agrees. "Anything that happens out there Kurama, is on you."

"Understood, sir." Kurama acknowledges. He leaves the office to find Shirakawa waiting for him. "I want a small SAT team ready. They're to follow #7 at a serviceable distance and be ready to detain the queen. She won't come without a fight this time."

"Understood Chief" Shirakawa states. "... do the standing orders remain the same?"

"That we are to recapture and not kill? Yes." Kurama confirms.

"I see." Shirakawa says with slight disappointment.

"They found some information at the school?" Kaede questions. She, along with all the other current residents sat at the table to have breakfast when Tucker relayed what Wash had told him.

"I thought it was Sunday." Caboose says.

"It is. We just need to go there and get the information." Tucker says.

"Why do we have to go?" Grif questions. "Why couldn't they just bring what they found here?"

"Maybe they can't? Either way, we need to know about them so we don't get jumped by them one day or something." Tucker urges.

"I mean, its certainly worth a look if it'll prevent a kidnapping." Aiko agrees. "Besides, its at the school. Not someplace dangerous."

"We may encounter danger along the way." Sarge brings up.

"I thought you would have thought you wanted to go." Simmons says.

"I do. I just told you I wanted to go." Sarge exclaims.

"In any event, more information is always welcome. Especially now." Simmons agrees.

"Right. So after breakfast, lets all get down there." Tucker says.

"Why?" Yuka brings up.

"Were you not paying attention for the last two minutes?" Tucker asks.

"Yes." Both Caboose and Grif simultaneously say.

"Uh, I mean. I was listening to everything you, uh, said about, uh, that... thing." Caboose tries to save.

"I mean, why do WE have to go?" Yuka gestures to herself, Kouta, Mayu, and Aiko. "They haven't come for us. They only want you. You all look like you can handle it and we don't want to get involved."

"Nice bail." Grif nonchalantly says.

"Yuka!" Kouta chides. "All of them are our friends! We should help them if we can." Mayu and Aiko silently nod at Kouta's statement, while Yuka continues to look cross.

"She's right." Tucker speaks up. Yuka was shocked at how much more mature the teal soldier sounded than he normally did. "We're not going to drag you into this if you don't want to come."

"Thank you." Yuka respectfully responds. With that, all the soldier and Kaede got up to leave.

"Sorry Kaede." Kouta looks down.

"Don't worry about it." She assures him." We're just going to the school and back. Nothing to be concerned about." With that, the larger group leaves.

"What now?" Kouta sighs.

"I have a few ideas." Yuka suggests. Mayu and Aiko share a concerned look as Yuka lays out her plans.

Everyone filed out of the Maple Inn in their casual clothes and smaller weapons in hand (minus Sarge who insisted he keep his shotgun.) and headed out for the school. As the group quickly made their way through town, Kaede began feeling that strange feeling in her head.

"Wait, Wait!" She cries out to the others. "I have that feeling again! Someone's nearby." The whole group stop.

"What?" Sarge says, readying himself for battle.

"Feeling? What feeling?" Tucker questions.

"Whenever someone like me is around!" Kaede frantically explains.

"Oh! Our new friend!" Caboose exclaims.

"New friend?" Doc questions.

"Kaede, Caboose, you two are going to start making sense right now." Tucker demands.

"I found you." A new voice says. Everyone is brought out of their arguing to find Nana standing before them.

"You..." Kaede angrily mutters as she stands in front of the reds and blues as if protecting them.

"Who?" Grif questions.

"You won't fool me like you did last time!" Kaede shouts at her.

Nana looked around at all the others around the Queen. Why were humans following her? Wouldn't she just kill them? She shook her head to dispel those thoughts and get her mind back on the objective papa gave her.

"Your coming back with me!" Nana yells over. "Please don't put up a fight!"

"Like hell!" Kaede yelled. "Why are you with those people?!"

"To stop you from ending humanity." Nana said.

"Bullshit! Who the hell'd ever believe that!" Kaede yelled back before gesturing to the reds and blues. "What do you make of them with me?"

Nana faltered. The Queen has a point. Why would she have humans around her when she wanted to kill them all and replace them. No! They're just their to trick her, right? By then, Nana's backup arrived as she soon found herself flanked by a squadron of soldiers. The lead soldier took a good look at Kaede before muttering.

"It really is you."

"At the ready men!" Sarge orders, pointing his shotgun while the others readied their pistols.

The lead soldier couldn't help but chuckle as he signalled his comrades to also ready their weapons. He was up against quite a mismatch of soldiers without their oh so invincible armour and barely armed. One of them was even pretty fat. The Queen would be the only challenge here.

Nearby, Aiko and Mayu has decided to slip out of the house to assist the others.

"I can't let them do this alone." Aiko states as she and Mayu leave the Inn. "I owe it to Kaede to help her after she pulled me out of my home situation."

"Me too. I don't want to disappoint Grif and Tucker by leaving them to their own problems when they helped me with mine." Mayu agrees. "How long till we reach the school?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. I'd be more concerned with catching up with the others." Aiko says.

"That's not going to be a problem." Mayu states as she and Aiko stop to see the Reds and Blues in a face off against the soldiers they had spoken of.

"The soldiers again!" Aiko exclaims.

Donut looks back to them. "Oh hey, guys! What you doing over here?" He enthusiastically greets them.

"Algo realmente estúpido, parece" Lopez says.

"Capture who you can. Kill who you must." The lead SAT soldier ordered. With that, the soldiers moved to encircle the group.

"Uh oh." Donut mutters.

"Run!" Aiko yells. Kaede shields what she can while everyone but Tucker gets away. The soldiers all follow after them, leaving the squad leader and Nana.

"Take her down, #7." The leader orders. "But leave her alive. I'll deal with this one." He motions to Tucker.

"You should have gone with the others." Kaede stressed to her companion.

"I'm not leaving you alone. The others can take care of themselves." Tucker states as he ignited his sword.

"How much sci-fi bullshit do you have?!" The leader calls over to Tucker.

"Enough to get the job done!" Tucker yells back.

Nana's eyes were meanwhile fixated on Tucker's sword. She had never seen anything like that! It was so pretty!

"Hm,hm, you got eyes on my sword hmm?" Tucker says smugly, taking notice of where Nana's attention lies.

"How... how does it do that?" Nana asks him in awe.

"#7! Stay focused!" The squad leader commanded.

"Well, you're just a real ray of sunshine." Kaede sarcastically remarks to the soldier.

"You act like this is new from me. Only, now I know it's so much more deserved for you people." The soldier replies.

"And you act like you know who I am, not just from what she surely told you, but as of we've met faces to face before." Kaede says. "I don't believe we have met, and if we have, must not have been to great considering I don't remember you."

That seemed to get on the soldiers nerves as he scowled at the Diclonius Queen. He then removed his helmet, followed by his ski-mask that he wore under it.

"Must just have a short memory, than." The unmasked soldier said. Kaede's eyes were wide for a second, recognizing the now older face of the soldier. It immediately went to a scowl as she uttered out her own remark.

"Figures you'd still be doing this shit, Tomoe."