(Gracemeria, Republic of Emmeria - March 19 2022, 1002 hrs.)

In a café, Shido was having a morning snack which includes a cup of coffee and some croissants. He was just wondering about yesterday's engagement with the Belkans who had a couple of Bandersnatch units with them. He then believed that a former enemy back home supplied them with these units and somehow sold the plans to the Belkans. A waiter then arrived to deliver the blueberry cheesecake for Tohka, who was checking the other stores near the café.

"Is there anything wrong, sir?" The waiter asked.

"Uh, nothing." Shido replied. "Just thinking about yesterday."

"Anyway, here's the blueberry cheesecake." She then put it on the table.

"Thank you." Shido thanked her and the waiter left after bowing as if she was saying 'you're welcome'. Just then an old man with a newspaper got his attention.

"You probably heard about the stories of the achievements of the aces, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Shido responded. "I heard from a colleague about the story of the Demon Lord."

"You know him, right? That guy was both a demon and a hero."

"What do you mean by 'both a demon and a hero'?" The old man began to explain further.

"Back then, many Belkans and a few foreigners feared him due to his actions, yet some also admired his skills. There is also a sense of connection between him and his wingman."

"Huh?" Shido was confused regarding the wingman so the old man began to tell the story between the two pilots.

"They first met in a snowy mountain in the country of Ustio. At that time, it was their first mission. Belkan bombers attempted to destroy Ustio's last safe haven after the Belkans overran almost all of Ustio early in the war. It was a failure for Belka and that starts the two pilots' friendship. For the next few months, they fought together liberating Ustio and dealing heavy losses to Belka, until something bad happened. In the last days of the war, the Demon Lord's wingman left him for dead after Belka detonated seven nuclear weapons that rocked the world."

"Seven nuclear explosions?!" Shido asked in shock. "Where?!"

"In their own soil." The elder answered. "Twelve thousand innocent Belkan voices silenced by the power of their own weapons."

"Hold on here!" Shido continued. "This isn't right! If Belka used their weapons in their own soil, that would mean that they are taking a dangerous gamble to protect themselves!"

"That is not right at all. Shortly after, the coalition fighting Belka suddenly lost the will to keep pushing through the country. Ironically, Belka lost after a peace treaty was signed."

"I see." Shido said with some sadness before moving on to the story of the duo. "Anyway, what happened to the wingman?"

"That's a good question, young aviator. His wingman reappeared on New Year's Eve, this time, to fight his former friend in a heated dogfight. The Demon Lord prevailed and his former wingman was forced to accept defeat. But then, ten years later, reconciliation happened."

"He apologized?"

"Somewhat, but yet again, he wants to see his old friend again. So their rivalry didn't end badly."

"Good to hear from you." Shido replied. "Thank you for sharing me this story."

"You're welcome." Suddenly, a girl began to call Shido.

"Shido!" He recognized the voice as belonging to Tohka.

"Over here, Tohka!" Shido replied.

"We'll continue this sometime when we meet again." The old man assured Shido and the latter nodded. Then, Tohka approached Shido.

"What are you talking about with someone?" She asked.

"Just a war story he told me." Shido replied and the old man winked at him when Shido saw him. "Anyway, what's going on?"

"I found some food shops while I was looking at the clothing stores nearby."

"What?! You wanted more?! I still have your cheesecake right here!"

"Well, I am just fascinated by what they have here."

Shido then calmed himself down.

"Never mind that." Shido said to Tohka and she sat down. "Anyway, just eat the cheesecake."

"Alright." Tohka then took her fork and got a piece of the cake. When she put it in her mouth, she began to like it.

"Is the cheesecake alright?" Shido asked her.

"Alright? I liked it!" Tohka replied while she continued eating the cheesecake.

"Hey, hey! Just slow down a little." Shido reminded her and she slowly began to chew.

"How about like this?"

"That's fine.

Meanwhile, at a nearby newsstand, Origami was reading a newspaper she just purchased. In an article from the World Times newspaper entitled 'Unexpected Attack Hits Gracemeria!', it also reported sightings of strange lights north of the city. To her, she knew that Origami herself and Tohka were the ones who caused the lights to appear in the daytime while saving Victoria from the Belkan Bandersnatch mechs.

"Those light shows don't usually show up in broad daylight these days." The newsstand owner commented.

"What do you mean?" Origami asked.

"Well, during the last twenty-seven years, some countries used very overpowered weaponry to try to take out their attackers." He explained.

"And they failed badly, I presume?"

"Yes they did. Look at them! Much of their hard-earned cash were lost the moment the superweapons were broken. Some countries ended up in shambles after the war. Dictators and fascists were also out of the picture the moment they lost. "

"That's harsh. I wonder if the people will get the aid they needed."

"That's the question. Those countries are still recovering as of now. We hope that they'll be back to normal in a few years time."

"Yeah. They will."

Just then, Victoria, who is wearing a normal dress, came to see Origami.

"Miss Tobiichi, how are you doing?" Victoria asked.

"I'm fine." Origami replied. "You looked cheerful today."

"Yes, I am. Thanks to you, I'm living comfortably." Origami nodded before reading the 'Science' section of the newspaper. When she noticed an article concerning the appearance of a crater in Osea similar to the one typically caused by spacequakes in their world, she began to call Shido.

"Is something wrong, Miss Tobiichi?" Victoria asked.

"Possibly." Origami replied before calling Shido.

Shido and Tohka we're doing their business when the phone rang.

"Shido…"

"Yeah. I'm answering it." He then got the phone and found out that Origami is calling.

"Hey, Origami." Shido answered.

"Shido, listen." Origami told him. "We may have to move now."

"Is it another spacequake?"

"Likely. A newspaper reported it and it is in Osea. We haven't receive any news of our deployment for that. I think they are still checking."

"Alright, we'll be there." Shido accepted.

"Good." Origami concluded. "See you later."

The phone hung up and Shido and Tohka left for Gracemeria Air Force Base to regroup with Captain Tonomachi.

(Spirit Manor)

The former Spirits that Shido sealed years were worried that Shido, Tohka and Origami didn't return home. Among them is Yoshino, the kindest Spirit Shido met that holds the mischievous puppet Yoshinon.

"I hope they return home safely." Yoshino muttered. "I'm getting worried right now."

"Don't worry, Yoshino." Yoshinon assured her. "Maybe they're having something important to do outside. It's normal for them."

"Yeah. You maybe right." Just then, a lady with ash grey hair and a jacket arrived. It was Nia Honjou, the manga artist.

"Do you found them?" Yoshino asked her.

"No, not yet." Nia answered. "I couldn't find them. Not even Rasiel is unable to do the same."

"So what did it found?"

"Well, it says that the three disappeared to some dimension after chasing a runaway Spirit." Nia explained. "That's all it could tell."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." Just then, Yoshino suddenly felt determined.

"No! We can't!"

"Yoshino…"

"We can't give up!" Yoshino declared. "We have to find them, Nia!"

This changed Nia's mood.

"Yeah, I think we should." Nia agreed.

"Yahooo! Another adventure to do right now!" Yoshinon shouts in excitement before arguement was heard outside.

"Careful where you point that thing, Yuzuru!" A girl barked. "The realm of heaven is watching us!"

"Rebuke. Just try to calm down for a while." Another responded in an unusual pattern. Nia opened the door to reveal the Yamai twins.

"Well, well, what's going on you two?" Nia asked them.

"Well, ummmm, you see…" Kaguya tried to explain before Yuzuru interrupted.

"Explanation. I was carrying this sharp scissor to do some trimming with the flowers outside." Yuzuru said her side of the story. "There are no compatible ones to use but this."

(Cape Landers, Osean Federation - March 20, 2022, 1732 hrs.)

The three Spirits and the two fighters continued flying to the targeted area when they saw the coast of the cape ahead of them. Crux was also monitoring their progress.

"Cape Landers at bearing 001, 40 miles." Crux reported. "All units, stay alert and good luck out there."

"Roger that, Crux." Tonomachi answered. "We're maintaining course."

After a short while, the coastline was within visual range.

"There it is people." Tonomachi announced. "Cape Landers."

"The coastline up ahead?" Victoria asked him.

"Yep. That's Cape Landers alright." Tonomachi then began to express his thoughts on bringing Victoria along.

"Itsuka, I think you're idea of tagging Victoria along is paying off."

"Thanks, captain." Shido replied. "Just doing what we have to."

"That's how his personality is whenever he helps someone, captain." Origami told him. "I know what he's doing is less risky. Without a secure location, Victoria would be in trouble."

"By the way, how's the robots?" Tohka asked. "Is it being studied?"

"They'll be sent to Aurelia for examination." Tonomachi replied. "At that point, we will determine the location for the refuge."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

When they entered the coast, they noticed the crater.

"There it is." Origami declared.

"Roger." Tonomachi replied. "Let's investigate."

The Spirits then went down to the crater and began to do the search.

"Seen anything?" Origami asked.

"Nothing unusual here." Tohka answered.

"Same here." Victoria followed.

"Just keep looking."

For a while, the crater was being examined. To relieve herself of boredom, Victoria asked Tohka about her life.

"Excuse me, Miss Yatogami? How do you feel between you and Mister Itsuka?"

"Well, I met him by chance before he gave me my name." Tohka explained. "After that, I was so fixed on him that I got angry whenever he dates with another Spirit. It wasn't until later on that he did that just to save the others and I was warming to him since then."

"So he dates only to save?"

"Yes." Tohka replied while she blushed. "I was expecting him to kiss me for every Spirit he saved. But for here, this has to wait."

Just then, Victoria spotted a small purple glow on the ground.

"Miss Yatogami! Miss Tobiichi!" Victoria shouted. "Over here!"

"What is it?" Origami asked Victoria as she ran to meet her and Tohka. "You found something?"

"Yes, ma'am. It looks like a purple glow."

"Then it has to be evidence of a spacequake." Tohka hoped as the girls then checked again closely.

"This has to be it." Origami agreed.

"You found something?" Tomomachi asked.

"Yes, sir. The crater is indeed from a spacequake."

"I'll contact the command about this." Tonomachi then proceeded to contact Crux.

"Gryphus One to Crux, crater is comfirmed as inflicted by spacequake."

"Roger that, Gryphus One." Crux answered. "We'll send a joint Osean-Aurelian research team over there to collect samples. All units, return to base."

Shido then began to wonder about something.

"Captain, I think the Spirit may have fled the scene but she may still be here." Shido expressed his thoughts.

"You sure of what you're thinking?" Tonomachi asked.

"Likely."

"That is a possibility." Origami agreed. "After all, she may not have run that far due to an injury."

"You too, Tobiichi?"

"Yes. We also found some drag marks and footprints on the ground, which would indicate that she is injured."

"If that's the case, let's find her." Tonomachi then radioed Crux again.

"Gryphus One to Crux, requesting permission for the squadron to loiter here." Tonomachi requested. "The Spirit may still be in our area."

"Aknowledged." Crux accepted. "Locate the Spirit and bring her home."

"Gryphus, roger that." He then began to contact his allies.

"Everyone, we have permission to start the search."

"Gryphus 7, roger." Shido complied.

"Princess, I copy." Tohka followed.

"Angel, roger." Origami then complied.

"I will." Victoria complied last.

The team then split up although the Spirits remained together for security reasons. While the planes searched in the air, the girls then followed the footprints to a nearby abandoned farm.

"Is this the place?" Victoria asked.

"Likely." Tohka answered. "Let's take a look."

"Right." Origami agreed. When they entered the barn, Origami illuminated the area with her light to see. As they searched, they heard some noises.

"Do you hear that?" Victoria asked the others.

"Light breathing." Origami observed. "Yep, there is some noise."

When they reached the last area they didn't explored, they found an unconscious girl wearing clothing that resembled a white kimono with some floral decorations imprinted. They were even surprised to see that she has some bruises.

"Let's get her out of here." Tohka suggested.

"Yeah." Origami agreed. "She shouldn't be out here in this conditon."

Origami then began to call the pilots.

"Angel to Gryphus Squadron, we found a girl. Likely the Spirit we are looking for."

"Copy." Tonomachi replied. "Wait. Hold on."

"What is it captain?"

"We spotted some planes on the radar." Tonomachi reported. "Looks like the sky over there is mixed with Osean and Belkan planes. Those guys sure are having a hard time finding her here."

"We'll bring the girl somewhere safe." Tohka radioed. "Just deal with the planes."

"Thanks for the idea, Princess. Shido?"

"I'm with you." Shido agreed. "Girls, get the Spirit home."

"We'll do." Tohka replied. "Be careful you two."

"We will." Shido and Tonomachi then proceeded to help the embattled Oseans.

A/N: Don't be surprised if this chapter is a little short for you. I might as well give you the battle in the next chapter. Also, Victoria's powers will be there as well.

Aside from this, who do you think the old man Shido met earlier is? Let me know.

See you later.