In country A...
Country A...
Few weeks earlier...
Jessica: " I got you!"
Jeanne D was raining its shots down on the pink LBX that was hiding behind a hill.
Elie: " not easily!"
The boosters on both the LBX's back and legs were activated as it dashed out of its hiding spot, skidding on the ground as it was actually hovering slightly above it.
Jessica: " Jeanne D!"
The other LBX tried to shoot the bear robot down but it couldn't keep up with its speed. And the bullets that hit didn't cause much damage owing to the heavy armor.
Elie smirked as she got closer. A thin beam blade shot out of the hand hole.
Elie: " go! Beargguy!"
The bear like LBX stormed through Jeanne D bullets, getting closer and eventually thrusting the blade in Jeanne D's side.
When it backed Jeanne D kenneled down with an explosion of light.
Jessica: " I lost again!"
" She managed to defeat our commander in an LBX battle."
" No wonder she keeps defeating us."
" Who on earth is that young lady?"
Jessica had a satisfied smile as she looked at Elie.
Jessica: " nothing less expected from Yamano Ban's sister."
" Eh!"
" She is that famous'...!"
Elie merely sighed and shifted her weight from one foot to another.
Elie: " Jessica, if you look for a good opponent for your teammates to train with them, you could have just asked Onii-Chan, he is better than me."
Jessica: " no good. If they lose against the famous LBX player Yamano Ban, those guys will use it as an excuse. Plus, don't look down at yourself, you're no less stronger than Ban. And..."
She looked down at the pink LBX that was still standing in the middle of the Diorama.
Jessica: " you're LBX is impressive no matter how many times I see it. To think it has such heavy armor that block off attacks and can move with such high speed and agility. It's hard to believe you're the one who designed it!"
Her eyes were sparkling as she admired the LBX before Elie lifted it.
Elie: " anyway, are we going to the cafe or not? I came her because you promised to treat me to a Parfait."
Jessica: " right. Just give me a second to change. I can't go out with the Fire Sweet uniform."
Elie placed down her LBX in her bag.
Elie: " alright. I will be waiting for you outside then."...
Ban: " Elie and Jessica are surely late."
Lilyan looked up from her papers.
Lilyan: " I'm sure Jessica dragged her to a battle."
Ban: " I can't understand why won't she ask me to battle?"
Lilyan: " simply because you were Artemis' Champion. It will do her no good if she was sure her teammates will be 100% defeated."
Ban: " even though. I really want to battle..."
She couldn't help but letting out a small chuckle.
Lilyan: " you always want to battle, Ban-kun."
Ban: " it can't be helped."
" Go Buld!"
" Don't lose! Zuul!"
They looked back at the park of the cafe. There was an LBX battle held there.
Lilyan: " Ban-kun, aren't those guys from your research facility?"
The older guys Lilyan pointed at were battling a bunch of kids there.
" Buld!"
One of the kids cried out as his LBX exploded.
" Tsk! Still there is a problem. It should have done more than this."
The other young man was holding a tablet in his hand as he stored the data.
" I think we have to rise the lazer output. That way the other LBX's destruction is sure."
" Alright. I will try it on the other one."
" Wait... Don't destroy my Zu-"
Before the boy could even run, the LBX's chest was pierced by the lazer beam, more or less melting it.
" Ho! It worked!"
" Then we will have to make more modifications to the lazer rifle when we get back."
Ban clenched his fist as the two kids passed by his side, crying while on their way back to their parents.
He stood up and walked to the two men.
Ban: " you two! What do you think you're doing?!"
" You..."
" You're the one from our group, Yamano Ban if I recall it right."
Ban: " why did you go as far as to destroy their LBXs!?"
" Huh? And what's the problem if we did so?"
" It's not the first time an LBX gets destroyed during the battle."
Ban: " if it wasn't on purpose. But you've entered the battle with the intention of destroying their LBXs!"
" And the problem is?"
" For us, LBXs are mere tools. We're merely using them."
Ban: " using them?"
" We're working hard here to create a powerful weapon for our project."
" By doing so, we can guarantee our position in the research facility. Who cares about LBXs, we're only trying to assure our future jobs."
Ban balled his hands into fists at that and looked down, his glasses shadowing his eyes. Lilyan walked next to him.
Lilyan: " Ban-kun..."
Ban: " then I will battle you."
He looked back at the two who were taken aback by his words.
Ban: " if I win, you have to stop using kids as your test subject!"
" Hm. And if we win we will be able to destroy your LBX."
" We will actually be able to gather a lot of data from you."
Lilyan: " Ban-kun... Are you sure..."
Ban looked back at her and nodded before taking out both his LBX and CCM.
Ban: " let's go! Odin!"
" Deqoo Ace!"
" Battle start!"...
Elie: " you took so long. I'm sure Onii-Chan and Lilyan-san will be worried."
Jessica: " sorry about that."
They were walking down the street to the cafe that was across the way from Ban's research facility.
Jessica: " then, how did you find life in A Nation?"
Elie: " well, it's surely different from Japan. But I really enjoy my time here."
Jessica: " you are living with Ban in an apartment near your college, right?"
She nodded.
Jessica: " and the professor is working with NICS on their new project to use LBXs to discover outer space. It seems he doesn't go home usually."
Elie: " right. It's always Onii-Chan and I."
Jessica: " I see. Then..."
She had a wide teasing smirk.
Jessica: " haven't yo-"
Elie: " no, I didn't contact Jin."
Jessica: " oh come on. For whatever reason you're angry at him, I'm sure he learned his lesson."
Elie: " it's not like that."
She stopped on her track.
Elie: " it's not that I'm angry, it's just. Since he doesn't actually bother telling us anything and just wants to struggle with things alone, then be it."
Jessica: " it's not like that."
She looked at her with a soft smile.
Jessica: " he only doesn't want to bother others with his own problems."
Elie: " but I want to be bothered. I care if he is bothered and I do want to help, but if he just wants to push me away, I can't just keep clinging to him. And I wonder how most of you guys are alright with him acting that way."
Jessica: " still-"
Suddenly Elie's CCM rang. She picked up to find it was Lilyan.
Elie: " what's the matter, Lilyan-san?"
Lilyan: " Elie-san, actually..."...
He sat down to the table, his back bending down as he was working on replacing the arm and leg that melt during the battle. His glasses were shadowing his eyes that were focusing on nothing else but the LBX in front of him. And the air on his face was unreadable.
Elie and Jessica peeked from far away at him before turning to Lilyan.
Jessica: " so he lost. And on top of that, Odin was seriously damaged."
She summed the story and Lilyan nodded. She was worried since he put that cold face after he lost the battle and decided upon telling the two.
Elie: " Onii-Chan..."
Jessica: " but to think he managed to defeat Ban, this one should be strong."
Lilyan: " not a bit."
Jessica: " eh!"
Lilyan: " his opponent was someone who hardly knows how to move their LBX. It was thanks to the large Lazer rifle they had that Ban was defeated. And that's what makes it frustrating."
Jessica: " that's what happened?"
She folded her arms in front of her as she took in the situation.
Lilyan: " everything was going to Ban-kun's favour. But in a split of second, the opponent's pattern changed as it was taken over by a strange mode."
Jessica: " strange mode?"
Her eyebrow twisted upward.
Ban: " what are you guys doing here?"
They all snapped and looked back at Ban as he walked over to them.
Elie: " Onii-Chan !"
Lilyan walked up to him with a worried look.
Lilyan: " Ban-kun..."
He eyed her before a soft smile appeared on his face.
Ban: " I'm fine. You don't have to worry."
She blinked.
Ban: " losing is a part of the battle. I can't call myself an LBX player if I get down because of a single loss."
Elie had a smile at him.
Jessica: " that's Ban for you!"
Jessica grinned.
Elie: " and Odin?"
Ban: " I've repaired it."
He said taking out his LBX, totally repaired.
" No! Konoichi!"
They all turned back to the men who were still battling.
" That's not enough yet! More! We have to make it more powerful!"
Lilyan: " it seems not being able to defeat you made them pissed off."
Elie: " and now they're taking their anger out at kids. How cruel!"
She puffed out her cheeks while a tick appeared on her forehead.
Jessica: " yosh! Elie! Let's give it a try as well!"
Elie: " eh!"
Jessica: " don't worry Ban! We will avenge you!"
She said dragging Elie with her.
Elie: " wait! Jessica!"
" Wha! What's happening!"
" I can't control my Deqoo Ace!"
They all snapped at the man's declaration. Soon enough, Deqoo Ace hopped out of the Diorama, pointing its weapon at the people out there. Sensing danger, Ban warned.
Ban: " everyone! Get down!"
Immediately Deqoo launched its lazer beam.
Ban and the other three took refugee under a nearby table. They watched with wide eyes as the lazer cut through everything in its way, causing people to panic and scream in fear.
Elie: " what's happening?"
Ban gritted his teeth as he looked at the two men who happened to hide under the table near theirs.
Ban: " what have you done!"
" It has nothing to do with us! I swear!"
" The LBX is acting on its own!"
Both of the squeaked out.
Lilyan: " how can it act on its own?!"
" All he did was activating the program and-"
The other man hushed his friend.
" Shhhh! We're not supposed to speak about it!"
Jessica narrowed her eyes as she put two and two together.
Jessica: " I see. You're one of those who are using the cheating program. Unfortunately for you I'm well informed about it."
Elie: " cheating program?"
Curious eyes directed towards her, but she had a frown as she faced the brunette male.
Jessica: " Ban, there is no wonder you lost to them. They were cheating."
Ban: " how?"
He was still trying to make sense of all of that was happening.
Jessica: " our Fire Sweet had been lately informed about a program that can power up an LBX to an incredible level, making it undefeatable. I never had the chance to come across a real user though."
Elie: " how rude! Onii-Chan came at you with all he got and you used that thing against him!"
She screamed at them loudly.
" Who does care now?"
He looked at the rampaging LBX.
" We are all done for..."
Ban: " not yet."
He said reaching to his pocket.
Lilyan: " are you using it?!"
Ban nodded much to everyone's surprise as he took Odin Mk2 out.
" Don't be ridiculous! That LBX is undefeatable!"
Ban: " there is nothing as undefeatable in LBX Battle! Go! Odin!"
The white LBX jumped to attack, but was soon followed by its friends.
Ban: " everyone!"
Elie: " I'm going with you!"
Jessica: " a commander in the Fire Sweet can't stand still and watch citizens take care of the situation."
Lilyan: " Ban-kun, I will always follow you."
Ban smiled gratefully at them.
Ban: " yosh! Let's finish it all together!"
" Roger!"
They all dashed forward aiming to finish it off. The LBX's visors glimmered as it held up its lazer rifle again.
Elie: " watch out!"
It shot at them. SD Unicorn and Odin Mk2 managed to dodge easily as they flew up, but Beargguy and Jeanne D were knocked backwards with sparks of electricity flying out of their bodies.
Elie: " I can't move!"
Jessica: " same here!"
" I told you! With that rifle, there is no wa-"
Ban: " shut up!"
He looked up at his Odin.
Ban: " you can do it right. We've overcome a lot of things together. We will overcome this as well."
" Is he crazy!? Talking to his LBX!"
Ban: " I believe in you, Odin. Let's go!"
The LBX dashed forward, dodging under the lazer beam and thrusting at Deqoo, knocking it backwards.
Soon, Deqoo was shot down by two small jets that flew above it.
Ban: " Unicorn's..."
Lilyan: " leave the support to me."
Ban: " alright."
" It's meaningless!"
Ban: " it's not! LBXs had always fought for us!"
Unicorn and Odin switched turns to attack, pushing Deqoo to a corner. The flying jets supporting them.
Ban: " they will never fail us! I believe in them!"
The screen of his CCM bursted in light and an owl mark manifested on the screen.
" Yamano Ban, will you believe in something till the end?"
A 'yes' and 'no' buttons appeared. The dark green eyes narrowed as the artificial voice spoke. Looking back at his Odin, he made his decision. He hit the 'yes' button.
" Chosen one who chose to fight, you shall receive a great power. Please, use it wisely."
Odin's eyes glowed as it flew forward, slashing at the LBX's weapon and backing in time, making it explode.
" Our lazer rifle!"
" How dare you!"
Jessica: " one other word and I will arrest you both!"
She shot them a death glare and they crawled backwards.
Odin: " Ban! I need an attack function!"
Elie: " eh! Odin spoke!"
While his friends were bewildered by that he didn't waste time. Ban typed away on the CCM.
Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Jet Striker!"
The LBX shape shifted to a jet and hit the robot head on, blowing its parts away.
Odin shifted back to its original form and looked back at the fume caused by the robot's explosion.
Ban let out a sigh as everyone got out of their hiding spots. Odin flew back to the brunette and looked at his dark green eyes.
Odin: " thanks for believing in me till the end."
Ban had a soft smile and nodded at Odin.
Ban : " thanks for always fighting for me."
Jessica: " Odin is really talking!"
She closed in to them as if to make sure she wasn't hearing things.
Elie: " awesome!"
Lilyan: " how did this happen?"
People started murmuring around them with shooting them scared stares.
" That LBX, it's acting on its own!"
" Will it attack us! Like all the previous attacks!"
Jessica: " this is bad. They may think it's a ghostjack or a brainjack."
Ban: " let's get out of here."
As they made their way out the destroyed cafe, Elie turned back to the two men who caused the whole mess.
Elie: " you! Don't you ever dare to cause troubles again!"
And she followed the others out. As soon as they reached to the route, a van parked in front of them. The driver was no one other than Cobra.
Ban: " Cobra!"
They were taken aback at his appearance, and the timing as well.
Cobra: " Ban ! We have an emergency! We need to head to NICS immediately!"
All four of them exchanged worried looks. Nevertheless, they nodded at each other as they got on the van and Cobra drove towards NICS' HQ...
NICS HQ...
Kaios: " Ban-kun! Everyone! Thank God you made it here safely!"
Kaios' face relaxed upon seeing them sound and safe, which alerted them.
Cobra: " you should thank me for that."
Ban: " Secretary, what's the matter?"
Ban was more than glad to cut to the chase.
Kaios: " N City is now under attack."
" Eh!"
One of the operators there pulled out a few footages on the main screen. They showed a large number of LBXs rampaging, attacking everything and everyone in their way, destroying buildings and injuring people all around N city.
Elie: " Horrible."
Jessica: " how did this happen?"
Secretary: " it's still unknown to me. The Fire Sweet is now trying to contain the situation."
Ban: " we have to do something."
Elie and Jessica looked down at their own LBXs and scowled.
Elie: " our LBXs are damaged from the fight with that Deqoo Ace."
Jessica: " we can't be of help..."
She bit on her lip.
Kaios: " I will ask professor Yamano to fix them. Ban, we've lost contact with Yuuya because of the rampaging. We believe his is somewhere there fighting off the LBXs. His last location was at the West Park."
Memorizing the place, Ban's head automatically nodded.
Ban: " alright. I will be going there."
Lilyan: " I will come with you."
Ban looked down at her in mild surprise.
Lilyan: " I can't let you go on your own. I will follow you to the battlefield as well."
Seeing her determination, he showed her a soft thankful smile.
Ban: " thank you, Lilyan."
Jessica: " we will catch up with you as soon as our LBXs are fixed."
Elie: " be careful, Onii-Chan."
Ban nodded as he looked at the secretary.
Ban: " we're heading out!"
And he rushed out with Lilyan.
Elie: " let's go to the LAB as well!"
Jessica nodded as she followed her friend...
Meanwhile, Ban and Lilyan were running down the empty streets as everyone there took refugee.
Lilyan: " what's just happening?"
She said twirling her head around, taking in the amount of damage caused to the city.
Ban: " I don't know!"
Odin: " watch out!"
Ban backed and pushed Lilyan with him as soon as shots fell under his feet. Odin Mk2 flew up in front of him while holding his lance and shield at the the LBXs that blocked their way.
Lilyan quickly pulled out her Unicorn to support the brunette, but she was caught by surprise by the Titan that jumped behind it, hitting it with its drill.
Lilyan: " Unicorn!"
Ban: " Lilyan !"
Odin had his hands full with the other LBXs that lunged at him so he couldn't turn to help.
Titan was about to tear the white and blue LBX when suddenly it stopped. All the others LBXs as well.
Odin: " what's happening here?"
Everyone looked around at the strange phenomenon. Everything around them froze and stood still.
" It's no good. You should be more careful with that LBX, miss."
An old man in an odd outfit walked to them along with a giant clock like robot.
Lilyan snapped and she quickly moved her LBX away of Titan.
Ban: " who are you?"
Old man: " there is no time to ask me about that. We've stopped the time in this area but Clockmon can't hold it like this for so long so I have to be brief. Yamano Ban, you've been chosen to fight for the existence of this world..."...
