Saturn...
When it was almost time, she turned on the TV, just in time to see them preparing for the battle.
She sighed and let out a small smile at the mess her brother got himself into.
Elie: "first the Legendary Hacker and now the Hacker Corps. You're getting yourself into all kinds of stuffs, Onii-chan."
What surprised her though was that her brother wasn't in the same team as Ami and Kazu as usual. He was rather placed with Gouda and Sendou, a questionable choice.
As the camera showed some photos of the back stage, Elie couldn't help but giggle as she saw her brother struggling with the duo.
On the other hand, she was surprised to see that Jin had joined them and even more that he was with Ami and Kazu. From what she heard about when in Artemis, she couldn't believe they would bring themselves to be in the same team as him.
The battles went on, she watched as her brother defeated Saki and Jin defeated Jason.
She didn't pay any attention to the Ota Rangers' battle, what she was interested in was that of the Hacker Corps. She reached for her laptop and played the record of their first battle.
Elie: "hm ... A Ribbon, nothing else expected from Akihabara, yet ..."
She narrowed her eyes as she reached for her phone ...
... Ban: " both of you, calm down, we have to work together!"
He sweat dropped as he was trying to get the two older boys to get along when suddenly his CCM rang.
Ban: " hai."
He heard a soft giggle from the other side before she spoke.
Elie: " it seems you have troubles there, I can hear them."
True for her, both Gouda and Sendou clashed their heads and were argued while Ban merely sweat drop.
Ban: " I'm really tired..."
Elie: " anyway, Onii-chan, I wanted to tell you about the Hacker Corps..."
Ban narrowed his eyes as he listened carefully.
Elie: " their fighting style is depending on surprising their enemy and they are using the diorama's terrain to its full potential. Also, in order to get their enemy, they keep changing their weapons. They're very tough so be careful."
Ban: " alri-"
Sendou: " you don't even use your brain for once!"
Gouda: " says the one who needs a tarot card to speak!"
Elie sweat dropped as she heard them and Ban was reaching his limit.
Ban: " both of you, stop this already!"
He snapped, and eventually managed to get their attention.
Ban: " we won't get to Master King like this! That's why I decided, in the second battle you will participate together, Gouda, Sendou!"
Gouda: " tag with him!"
He pointed at Sendou with an annoyed look.
Ban: " I got through the first battle, now is your turn."
Gouda: " ... Well. He has a point."
Sendou: " I won't work with him, his fighting style is too crude. He'd be a hindrance to me."
Gouda: " I won't work with you either. But the world is depending on us!"
Ban looked desperately as they continued arguing and eventually coming to the agreement that Sendou won't take part and Gouda would take care of them by himself. Ban had a worried smile at his teammates.
Ban: " will this be okay..."
Elie: " Onii-chan... I think you made the worst choice ever..."...
Elie blinked twice as the next battle came to an end.
Elie: " well, that was unexpected... But I have to admit, they work pretty well together."
A small smile appeared on her face. She was rather excited for the finals.
Jin and Ban's team clashed with the former pressing hard on the later. Eventually both Sendou and Gouda were taken down by Jin, all using a single arm much to their frustration.
Elie couldn't get her eyes away from the screen, glimpsing every aspect of Jin's new LBX.
Elie : " awesome! Proto Zenon is really awesome!"
All that was left was her brother. He seemed to be at disadvantage at first, but soon managed to turn the table around, taking down three LBXs at once, something that made the whole spectators root in excitement.
It was then time to face Master King, and to her surprise, he was a mere kid in kindergarten. But she had to admit, his LBX was strong. She noted that he, as a kid, was lacking for experience.
She sighed in relief as her brother managed to finish off Apollo Kaiser and gain the title of the king before turning off the TV and laying down. Now all she has to do is wait for her brother's call when he is done. But it eventually didn't come...
What she didn't know was that the Director of Tiny Orbit was run over by a track at that time.
Sirens and red lights filled the area around the company as they rushed the man off to the hospital. Policemen were taking notes from eyewitnesses.
Ami: " Yuuske-san is..."
She couldn't bring herself to believe that.
Kazu: " what exactly happened?"
Jin merely looked away as the terrible reality sank in.
Jin: " this is as well... Grandfather's doing..."
Ban: " ah..."
His voice came out shaken and it was then when Jin and the others took notice of his situation. Ban was looking down, eyes wide in fear and shivering. Jin placed a hand on his shoulder, slightly shaking him.
Jin: " Ban-kun?... Oi Ban-kun! Are you alright?!"
Kazu: " Ban! What's gotten into you?!"
The boy didn't answer, he didn't even hear them calling out for him. All he could hear were the sounds of the breaks and the shattering of glass. All he could see was Yuuske's badly injured body. It was to much for him.
Ban: " I... I'm going home..."
Ignoring everyone else there, he turned on his heels, walking back home on his own, his head hanged down. The other three watched after him as he left them.
Ami: " Ban..."
The next day, Elie tried to reach for her brother but he didn't pick up. She stared at her phone's screen with a worried expression.
Elie: " Onii-chan..."
Suddenly her phone rang and she quickly picked up without even checking the caller's ID.
Elie: " Onii-chan!"
Marie: " it's me, Elie..."
Elie: " mom!"
She heard a sigh, a one that expressed worry.
Marie: " Elie... Your brother is traumatized..."
Elie blinked twice at that.
Marie: " ... He saw the Director of Tiny Orbit pass away in front of his eyes... And since he got back he didn't leave his room or even eat..."
The young girl was able to feel how much worried their mother was. But she hardly can blame her brother.
Elie: " I think... We better give him some space..."
She could hear a ' yeah ' from the other side before that the call ended. She lied down on her bed, still her phone in her hand.
Elie: " Onii-chan..."
Thinking of how hard it must have been for her brother, she couldn't help but blaming her own body.
Elie: " stupid weak heart! If it wasn't for you I would have been by his side now!"
She buried her face in her pillow, feeling ever so useless...
It was a few days later that he stepped into her room again.
Elie: " Onii-chan!"
She immediately jumped on him, pulling him into a tight hug.
Ban merely chuckled at her.
Ban: " don't you get very excited now."
Elie: " I'm relived! You don't know how worried I was!"
Ban gave a small apologetic smile.
Ban: " I'm really sorry."
They both sat down on her bed and she took his hands tightly into hers.
Elie: " how are you feeling now?"
Ban gently smiled.
Ban: " much better. Thanks to Jin and mom."
Elie blinked.
Elie: " Jin?"
Ban: " I owe him, he came to help me up."
Elie's smile slowly softened.
Elie: " hee, I see. I'm longing to meet him even more now."
She looked at her brother's eyes and tightened her grasp of his hands.
Elie: " do you want to speak about it though?"
Ban thought about it then faced her.
Ban: " I... I just couldn't bring myself to continue fighting... Knowing that every single one of my friends may day at a certain point... You... Mom... Dad... Even I... To be honest I don't know if I feared my own death or losing everyone else more."
Elie merely listened carefully to him.
Ban: " but what Jin said was true. If we don't stop Innovators, even more people will get hurt. And... I can't let Dad fight on his own anymore. That's what I want to do Elie, this is how I truly feel."
Looking at his glimmering eyes filled with resolution, Elie managed a smile and nodded at him.
Elie: " well said, Onii-chan."
She took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts.
Elie: " if we've lost something during this fight, it would be our precious time as a family... And when dad comes home, I doubt that I will have much time with him."
Ban: " Elie..."
Elie: " but..."
She cut him off with a bright smile.
Elie: " I trust you, I trust mom and I trust dad. That's why, I'm fine. Onii-chan as well, you have so many friends you trust, don't you?"
Ban narrowed his eyes and nodded.
Elie: " then you'll be fine as well."
The boy had a soft smile as he placed his forehead against Elie's.
Ban: " I'm glad I talked to you, sis."
Elie: " anytime, Onii-chan."...
They had less than 20 hours before the missile would launch, so he decided to go pay Yuuya a visit.
The boy was the same always, though he was full awake, he was still looking at nothing with void eyes. He heard there were times he would brake down all of a sudden and the nurses would have to put him to sleep.
When he came out of the other boy's room later on, he snapped when he saw a certain brunette at the other end of the hallway.
" Ban-kun!"
Ban snapped when he heard the familiar voice and turned around to face the black and white haired boy who approached him.
Ban: " Jin, paying Yuuya a visit?"
The other boy merely nodded before that he narrowed his eyes.
Jin: " are you alright?"
Ban blinked twice before that he got it. He rubbed the back of his head uneasily.
Ban: " that's right, Jin you don't know about it."
Jin rose and eyebrow.
Ban: " since it came to this then it's a good chance, she once asked me to introduce her to you when everything would be over. But I think she would like to meet you now."
Jin blinked. She?
Ban merely waved at him and walked ahead till he reached a certain room. Jin glanced at the card hanged on the door before blinking twice, finally his mind catching up.
Jin: " Ban-kun, it's fine, I don't want to intrude."
Ban: " don't say that. She was really excited to meet you."
Ban knocked on the door and opened it by a crack before stepping in. Once the girl saw him she grinned.
Ban: " Elie, I've brought a friend with me today."
He widely opened the door, revealing the other boy.
Ban: " Elie, I will introduce him, Kaidou Jin."
He said pointing at the boy next to him.
Elie didn't know how to react for a second but eventually her cheeks turned red and she bowed.
Elie: " n-n... N-Nice to meet you..."
Ban walked over to her and turned to face his friend.
Ban: " Jin, this is my younger twin sister, Yamano Elie."
Jin: " nice to meet you."
Before Ban could say anything, a hand grabbed his sleeve and he looked down at his sister who gave him a certain look.
Ban: " oh right, Jin, wouldn't you mind giving her your LBX for a while?"
Jin blinked twice but he eventually reached to his pocket and took out Zenon before handing it to her.
Elie: " thanks..."
She said, still a taint of red visible on her cheeks. But it quickly disappeared as she looked closer at the LBX, her eyes widening in awe.
Elie: " he is so strong, it feels completely different from Proto Zenon. He is even stronger and I feel he's full of determination to do the right thing. I can see that you take good care of him too."
A small smile of relief appeared on her face.
Elie: " Zenon is happy to be with you, he wants to move forward and have more fun battles..."
She looked up at Jin and held up the LBX.
Elie: " Zenon wants to grow up with you."
Jin narrowed his eyes as the LBX's eyes glimmered at her words.
Elie: " please take good care of Zenon."
He couldn't resist the small smile that appeared on his lips as he reached for his LBX and took it gently from her.
Jin: " I will."
She grinned widely in satisfaction before looking at both boys again.
Elie: " actually I have another favor. Would you two mind having a battle here in front of me?"
Jin and Ban exchanged looks and Ban smiled.
Ban: " well, it doesn't seem like a bad idea, it can be a warming up."
Jin had to agree. The brunette set the diorama and both boys send their LBXs down.
As the two LBXs clashed, Elie felt herself overwhelmed by joy when she saw both Odin and Zenon were enjoying the battle. She could tell the same about her brother and Jin. Two burning souls pouring everything they had into two smalls machines and clashing against each other.
A few hours later, her brother waved at her.
Ban: " see you tomorrow."
Elie: " okay. Stay safe"
Ban gave her a nod before closing the door behind him. Elie then narrowed her eyes.
Elie: " something was off about Onii-chan."
Both he and Jin walked out the hospital.
Jin casted a look at the boy next to him who seemed worried.
Jin: " Ban-kun..."
Ban: " she seemed paler than usual... I couldn't even tell her about today's mission..."
He spoke up.
Ban: "... The truth is, there is no possibility Elie would make it like this, nothing is able to save her... She has a very short time..."
He stopped and looked back at the building.
Ban: " if the Innovators take down the world, Elie's time will be cut even shorter. As her brother I won't allow that."
He clenched his fists tightly.
Ban: " I will fight the Innovators and save the world, to give her as much time to live as she can."...
One surprise after another, they came finally to know that Lex took over the Innovators since Artemis and after disposing of Kaidou Yoshimitsu. Driven by his lust for revenge, he was trying to send the world into chaos by dropping Saturn on N City, to murder all world leaders who were present at the International Group Summit. Something Jun'ichiru and Yagami had confirmed through unkwon means.
Before they knew it, they were chasing after Saturn to stop it.
Although they managed to infiltrate it and stopped the defense system after Ban and Jin defeated Kousuke, they found themselves infiltrating the aircraft physically following the jam casted on their Control Pods.
Separated each on its own way to retrieve their units, Jin and Ban found their way to the jamming machine, a whole room full of antenna.
Jin proceeded to shut down the system in case it was needed while Ban stood still, diving in his own thoughts.
Jin: " Ban-kun."
He turned to the other boy at that.
Jin: " what do you intend to do when you see Lex?"
The brunette seemed to think it over.
Ban: " I'll convince him, and make sure he knows that what he is doing can't be forgiven."
Jin exhaled as he looked over at his friend. As soft as he could ever been.
Inhaling this time, he spoke.
Jin: " if I see Lex in front of me... I might try to get revenge for my grandfather."
Ban was taken by surprise, he didn't see that coming, and not from Jin of all of people, the only one who seemed to keep a cool head through the whole thing.
Ban: " Jin..."
Jin: " I know... It would only be the same as what Lex is doing."
Ban looked down as he understood his friend's feelings, yet, there was no way he would let another friend walk down the wrong path.
A moment of awkward silence went between them before Jin managed to take the system down.
Just at that moment, a D cube was thrown at them. As they ran to it, Kaidou walked down the stairs to them with his LBX on shoulder.
Kaidou: " this is your end."
Jin: " Ban-kun, go ahead."
Ban was bewildered by his statement.
Jin: " I'll take him down."
Ban: " Jin..."
Seeing his serious look, he obliged.
Ban: " All right, it's yours."
And he ran past the older man to the bridge. Jin and the android started their battle instantly, with the younger sending footages of his opponent to the control room.
Jun'ichiru immediately understood his objective and broadcasted the battle all over Saturn before they were captured.
Kaidou had the upper hand at first, pushing Zenon back and even cutting down its left arm with its hisstasu function.
With the damage Zenon received, Kaidou was sure of his victory.
Kaidou : " seems it's over."
Jin: " not yet."
Before he knew it, he found himself repeating Ban's very line. His hand clenched on his CCM as Zenon struggled on his feet again.
Jin: " I won't give up to the very end. That's what Ban-kun taught me!"
Kaidou: " nothing you do will help!"
Gekkoumaru rushed to the attack, mercilessly aiming at Zenon. Yet, Jin could see the damage was rather inferior to previously. It took him a second to realize it and even less to use it to his advantage and dodge Gekkoumaru's blade.
Jin: " I was lucky to lose that arm. You can't predict Zenon's movements accurately now that its balance has changed!"
Gekkoumaru's attacks could no more reach Zenon. As Kaidou was about to start analyzing it again, Jin activated the Alternative Mode and his LBX glowed blue.
Zenon pressed on Gekkoumaru with its speed and power.
Jin: " Begone!"
With that, Zenon finished off things using its attack function, destroying Gekkoumaru.
The Android malfunctioned, kneeling down with sparks flying off its body, bringing with that the truth to all those watching the battle through their screens.
Soon, every member of Saturn's crew boarded the Eclipse after surrendering.
While the others were evacuating everyone, Jin and Jun'ichiru rushed to the bridge. The latter reaching there when the former was about to blow away the door.
Jun'ichiru : " wait!"
Jin stopped on his track and turned behind him to see the brunette man.
Jin: " Professor Yamano!"
Jun'ichiru : " Ban is in there?"
Jin: " yes. But Zenon can break through this door."
Jun'ichiru : " leave it alone."
Jin: " eh?!"
He was surprised. It was his son on the other side, possibly fighting Lex on his own. And yet, there he was stopping him?
Jun'ichiru merely nodded before taking some kind of a communication device out of his pocket and making a call.
Jun'ichiru : " it's me. Stop Hiyama-kun. You can do it, right, Ban?"
As soon as he confirmed his son's resolve, he turned over to the other boy waiting for him, still not quite understanding why he shouldn't go to the brunette's aid.
Jun'ichiru : " Jin-kun, let's go. There's something else we have to do."
Jin merely looked after his back as he rushed away, not getting what he was thinking. There was no more Innovators, no more LBXs to fight other than Lex's. So why was he needed?
As he was about to follow him, he glanced one more time over his shoulder.
Jin: ' it's in your hands, Ban-kun.'...
The next morning, she was awake, she couldn't sleep, not after seeing her brother's worried face the previous day. He was hiding something, and her mind went wild describing different possibilities, all of which were terrifying.
She looked through her window and prayed, prayed that her brother and his friends are alright.
Suddenly her room's door slid open and she looked up to see her brother.
Elie: " Onii-chan!"
She cheered, but her smile faded out as she saw his look...
Elie: " it... Can't be..."
She was shocked. Her brother merely clenching his fists tightly.
Ban: " I could have saved him... It couldn't have ended like that... I shouldn't have let him..."
His voice was shaking and his eyes became wet.
Elie narrowed her eyes as she stepped off her bed and hugged him.
Elie narrowed her eyes as she stepped off her bed and hugged him
Elie: " you can cry. You can cry all you want now."
Ban returned the hug as his tears streamed down. Elie gently patting his back, letting him know she was there for him.
Elie: " Lex... Had made his choice Onii-chan. He decided he couldn't face the world or even his friends after what he had done, he decided to atone for his mistake. Even if his way was wrong, we can't do anything about it now, can we?"
Ban swallowed his gasps and tried to speak.
Ban: " there is something..."
Elie backed as she let him wipe away his tears, but despite that there were still some in the corners of his eyes.
Ban: " I will build it... The world that Lex wanted... I will build it..."
Elie smiled at him as she reached for his tears and wiped them completely. She nodded at him.
Elie: " if it's you then, you will be able to do so."...
