Hi everyone! I'm presenting to you a new story! I hope everyone will enjoy this new story! Without further ado... Let's start!

Normal POV

It was late into the night as Aichi stretched and yawned after typing a few more data into his computer. Deciding to take a quick nap, he laid his head down on the table and rested. A few minutes later, Ibuki entered with two cups of coffee and sighed after seeing Aichi sleeping. He then took a blanket and covered him with it before turning over to the computer to see a video chat trying to connect. Ibuki then connected the call and took the computer aside.

" Sendou's sleeping. What is it?" Ibuki ask

" He's pulling all-nighters again? I told him not to exhaust himself already." Kai said

" He does want to put a stop to this chaos soon, after all. With our experiences, we know how much we want this to end too." Ibuki said

" ... Yeah. Well, we found the Relics generator at our end. We'll head in once we're ready." Kai said

" Be patient. I'll give you guys the signal once this side is ready too." Ibuki said

" I know."

A pained groan was then heard as Ibuki turned to Aichi to see him shivering while groaning in his sleep.

" Ibuki?"

" Sendou?" Ibuki wondered

He then walked over to Aichi as he set the computer down and tried to shake him awake.

" Wake up, Sendou." Ibuki called

" What's going on, Ibuki?" Kai ask

" Must be a nightmare. Sendou. Hurry up and wake up." Ibuki called

Aichi's eyes then snapped open as he gasped and shot up. He looked around and took in his surroundings before calming down and sighing in relief.

" Did something happen?" Ibuki ask

" ... Oh, Ibuki-san..." Aichi muttered as he looked down to see his hands shaking, " ... No, it's nothing..."

" Hold on, I'll get you some water." Ibuki said as he left the room

" Aichi."

Aichi jumped a little as soon as he heard Kai's voice.

" K-Kai-kun..."

" You know I hate it when you always hide something from us. What did you see?" Kai ask

" ... It's nothing related to this war... It was just a nightmare, a bad dream..." Aichi replied

" Is that really the truth?" Kai ask

" ... I have to get back to work... I'm sorry, Kai-kun... We'll have a better chat next time..." Aichi said

Aichi then reached his hand out to turn the computer off when he suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

" Aichi!"

Ibuki entered the room again when it happened as he rushed over to Aichi and tried to shake him awake.

" Sendou! Hey, Sendou!" Ibuki exclaimed

Meanwhile, the Apostles were in a mansion sitting together in the living room as Gastille sipped his coffee.

" Have you heard of a project that some certain humans are undertaking right now?" Gastille ask

" A project?" Valeos ask

" From this vessel's memory, he somehow came across this project called 'Project Alicization'. It uses a device to copy a human's soul into data and then they would try to turn those artificial souls into devices for war." Gastille said

" Is that even possible?" Dumjid ask

" It's an undergoing test. We don't know for sure yet. But one of their program called 'A.L.I.C.E' seems to be a success inside their artificial world. I'm sure this 'A.L.I.C.E' would be useful to us. Just before he had quit doing this, he overheard that 'A.L.I.C.E' seems to have made a connection to someone in this world somehow. That was around the time I would diffride him. If we find that person related to 'A.L.I.C.E'... we might be able to try to copy that program and add its power to our army." Gastille explained

" But we don't have the data for that." Darkface said

" ... Look for the Ocean Turtle and hack into their system. Find out how it is used and what the data for 'A.L.I.C.E' is like. We should be able to find the person she made a connection with." Gastille said

" Yes!"

The next day, their operation to invade the Relics was about to start as they got themselves ready.

" Everyone, head for the generators and destroy them. If you do that, Relics will be destroyed and we can rescue those children trapped inside." Ren said

" Yeah!"

" Ren. How's Aichi doing?" Kai ask

" ... Sleeping like a baby. Nothing is waking him up. Don't worry, he's in good hands. Just focus on the current situation." Ren said

" ... I see."

Kai then hung the call up as Ibuki sighed after reaching his destination.

" Kai will be mad at you for lying." Ibuki said

" You just concentrate on your situation too. Let's leave this up to Chris-kun." Ren said

" Yeah."

Ibuki then hung his call up as Ren looked over to Chris's hologram.

" How is it going?" Ren ask

" I found the source of where that thing came from. I'm hacking into its system right now to talk to the admin about it. Give me some time." Chris said

" Okay!"

In the Ocean Turtle, Higa received an alert about a mysterious call as he turned to Kikuoka.

" Kiku-san. It seems like an urgent call from someone outside our forces. What should we do?" Higa ask

" ... Answer it." Kikuoka said

Higa nodded and answered the call as Chris showed up on screen.

" I know this is sudden and I'm not trying to be rude, but are you guys the ones in charge of something called 'A.L.I.C.E'?" Chris ask

" How do you know that name?" Kikuoka ask

" A friend of mine seems to be reacting to it. That name appeared on the side on his neck. From my research, it's a data but that doesn't make any sense. How can data be connected to a human when we don't even know each other?" Chris ask

" Oh... So your friend is holding a part of Alice's Fluctlight... Now we know who it was. Alice is an artificial soul living in our virtual reality world as a human. By now, she should've been taken to the Cathedral for her crime in that world. Your friend would frequently see her world from her eyes. Their souls resonated the most with each other, even though they are two different beings. Goes to show how strong souls are, artificial or not." Higa said

" Artificial souls?" Chris ask

" We copied souls and put them into our virtual reality world to see how they would live and thrive. Well, I shouldn't say too much for now. Take good care of your friend. Their souls are greatly resonated, so we wouldn't want anyone to find out about this project. We'll keep in contact if anything happens." Higa explained

" ... Can I trust you?" Chris ask

" Of course."

" I understand, but the situation at our side isn't that good either. You should look outside for once to see what's going on. Our friend is trying to save this world, so we hope that you don't wrap him up into your mess or project." Chris said as he hung the call up

" ... Is this world in trouble?" Higa ask

" I wouldn't know. What's most important right now is the project. Let's hope that no other people find out about this." Higa said

" Yeah..."

A few hours later, Relics was finally destroyed as the others cheered. Ren walked out of the room and entered another room where Aichi was resting in.

" Hey there, Aichi-kun. Chrono-kun and the others have been successfully rescued. You don't have to worry anymore." Ren said

" I'm sorry... I couldn't help at all..." Aichi said

" You had a reason. Everyone understands. Are you still having those nightmares?" Ren ask

" No... Not yet... But everything about those nightmares feel so real... Did Chris-kun find out anything about this 'Alice'?" Aichi ask

" Not much, but she's an important program, that's all. It's also probably because Alice herself is an artificial soul." Ren said

" Artificial soul...?" Aichi muttered

" She's a living being. But her soul, or what those guys called a Fluctlight, is part of a virtual reality. She's living in a completely different world than ours. Those must be the nightmares you've been seeing. You and Alice are connected, maybe because your souls are very similar to each other. Kind and gentle would be what I assume she is like." Ren said

" Oh... No wonder my nightmares felt so real... I'm seeing what she's seeing... I wonder if she sees what I see too..." Aichi said

" I'm sure she could be, wherever she could be existing in. I find this amazing. An artificial soul that can connect with a real human soul, I mean." Ren said

" ... Yeah..."

Aichi then moved a hand up to his neck to brush on the mark that had appeared on it not to long ago that wrote 'A.L.I.C.E'.

" I wonder if she's alright though... My last nightmare was her accidentally letting her fingers cross over to something they called the 'Dark Territory'... And then she was taken away by a crimson knight on a dragon..." Aichi said

" Just crossing a border with her fingers is a taboo? That must be a rough world she's living in." Ren said

" The time there is way faster than ours... While we're talking here, I'm guessing her world has accelerated by a few years at least..." Aichi said

" What a surprise." Ren said

" Yeah..."

" ... She's going to be just fine. You two are still connected if that mark is still there. You should rest up for now. Our real battle with the Apostles is just beginning. You do want to help too, right?" Ren ask

" Yeah, you're right..." Aichi said

Aichi laid his head down on the pillow and smiled a little.

" If I go back to sleep, I can see what Alice sees again... Her world was so beautiful..." Aichi muttered

" Yeah, I'm sure it was." Ren said

Aichi nodded as he soon drifted off to sleep and Ren exited the room to see Ibuki, having returned from his mission.

" You've done well today!" Ren said

" How's Sendou doing?" Ibuki ask

" He went back to sleep after telling me about his nightmares. It seems it isn't as bad as we think it is. It was just an artificial soul resonating with Aichi-kun's soul." Ren said

" Is that even possible? And what's an artificial soul?" Ibuki ask

" The company Chris contacted said that it's a copied soul that is put into a virtual reality world. The nightmares Aichi-kun kept seeing is through that artificial soul's eyes. He talked about how that world's time is much faster than ours and how it was so beautiful too." Ren said

" I see. Kai called me just now to ask again but I was still on the way back." Ibuki said

" He's such a worrywart. Well, we are talking about Aichi-kun after all." Ren said

" Yeah. Let's get some rest too. We'll lock this place up for the night and let Sendou stay over." Ibuki said

" Yeah!"

Ibuki and Ren exited the place as Ibuki locked the gates and they left the premises. Just a few minutes later, a car pulled over as Darkface, Valeos, Gredora and Chaos Breaker came out of it.

" Why am I following you guys too?" Chaos Breaker ask

" To keep a lookout. We have to get 'A.L.I.C.E' as quickly and quietly as possible." Valeos said

" Still, what a place to be at. Those humans won't know what is coming for them. To think that the human 'A.L.I.C.E' is connected to would be related to them." Gredora said

" Let's make this quick." Valeos said

Darkface hacked into the surveillance cameras nearby the entrance as Valeos forced the door open and they ran into the building. Meanwhile, inside his room, Aichi woke up to someone calling his name as he got up.

" Who's there?" Aichi ask

" Hurry and hide! They're coming!" The small voice exclaimed

" ... Alice...? Is that you...?" Aichi ask as he stood up from the bed

However, the room was dark as Aichi accidentally hit the bedside table and fell to the floor, shrieking in surprised as he fell.

" Hey, I heard something coming from there." A voice said

Aichi gasped silently as soon as he heard the voice, recognizing immediately that it was Noa's but with Chaos Breaker speaking through it.

" Why are they here...?!" Aichi exclaimed softly as he tried to stand up again

Aichi then winced as he felt a jolt of pain from his foot, where he had hit the table, as the footsteps came closer to the room.

" Hide!" The small voice exclaimed again

Aichi hurriedly hid under the bed as he held his breath while the door slowly opened and the footsteps entered the room and started looking around. That was when he heard hurried footsteps running into the room and familiar voices.

" Hey! What are you doing here?!" The voice exclaimed

" Crap, this wasn't part of the plan." Chaos Breaker said

" Get out of here before we make you!" Another voice exclaimed

" ... Let's go. We'll come back another time. It's not time for us to fight them yet." Valeos said

The footsteps cleared out of the room as some came back a few minutes later.

" Aichi!"

" Brother Aichi!"

" Are you okay, Sendou?!" Another voice shouted

" Everyone...!" Aichi exclaimed

Aichi crawled out of his hiding spot just as the lights flickered on as Kamui screamed in surprise before quickly realizing that it was Aichi.

" Brother! You're safe!" Kamui exclaimed

" Yeah...!"

" We came back as fast as we could once we finished up what we needed to do, but we'll have to return for Arata and Makoto since Kai will drop them off at Hong Kong with us." Misaki said

" And when we came here to visit you with Ibuki, we saw the door had been forced open and ran in immediately! Thank god you're okay!" Kamui exclaimed

" I was surprised... But Alice woke me up and asked me hide..." Aichi said

" Alice...? Who's that?" Kamui ask

" Sendou, sit down first." Ibuki said as they pulled Aichi up and sat him on the bed while he winced, " Your foot is injured."

" Y-Yeah... I panicked and hit it on the table..." Aichi said

" Hold on. I'll go get the first aid kit." Ibuki said as he got up and exited the room

" Why were they here though?" Misaki ask

" I don't know... All I know was that they sounded like they were searching for something..." Aichi replied

" Searching for something? Do we have something that they need in here?" Kamui wondered

" Sendou. Could it be that?" Ibuki ask as he entered with the first aid kit

" 'That'?"

Ibuki signaled to his neck as Aichi covered his neck and brushed a finger along the mark.

" It couldn't be... I mean, they wouldn't know about this..." Aichi said

" We can't be sure what their hosts were doing before the Diffride. Just be careful." Ibuki said as he applied some ointment on Aichi's foot

Misaki then moved Aichi's hand away from his neck and pulled his collar down a little to see the mark and her eyes widened.

" What's going on?" Misaki ask

" It's a long story. Let's have Sendou rest first before we head outside to talk." Ibuki said

As soon as he finished bandaging Aichi's foot, he laid him back down on the bed and turned the lights off. The three then exited the room as Ibuki closed the door behind him and they made their way to the meeting room.

" Ibuki! Give us an explanation before we head off!" Kamui exclaimed

" It's a complicated situation. Between me, Chris, Suzugamori and Sendou, we were told to not mention this to anyone." Ibuki said

" But this is about Brother's safety! If the Apostles are really after him, why?!" Kamui ask

" That's the problem. We don't know the truth about that thing on his neck! Those people we contacted and who knows that thing, they won't tell us a single thing!" Ibuki exclaimed

" What do you mean?!" Kamui exclaimed

" Sendou's soul is resonating with an artificial Fluctlight." Ibuki said

" Fluctlight?" Misaki ask

" In simpler terms, it's an artificial human soul copied into a virtual reality. That soul and Sendou's soul are resonating with each other. Both of them are connected." Ibuki replied

" Human soul copied into virtual reality?! What purpose do they have with that?!" Kamui exclaimed

" I don't know and I don't want to think about it either. All I know is that that mark on Sendou's neck is an important program to that company. And if it's that important, I'm sure that might be why the Apostles are here. One of their vessels know about this project, they know about someone having a connection to that Fluctlight, but they didn't know it was Sendou. They must have data that brought them here." Ibuki said

" Then Brother..." Kamui exclaimed

" You guys have to go back to Hong Kong soon to settle matters on your side. I'll inform Kai about it. I understand your concerns, but this is also why we have to put a stop to the Apostles as fast as possible." Ibuki said

" ... I understand. We'll leave Aichi to you guys here. The same goes for those children who were saved from the Relics." Misaki said

" Yeah."

Ibuki sent Kamui and Misaki off before returning to the base as he slept in a room beside Aichi's.

And that's the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading anf I'll see everyone in the next chapter!