Master Command...
Elie and Ban were the first to finish off Inbit and head forward to the center of the large room. Just as anticipated, the black LBX was there with tentacles like wires hooked to one of the huge black boxes in the server room.
Ban and Elie took a step backwards as they both knew the LBX may aim at and Beargguy on the other hand stepped forward to face off the other robot and ensure their players' safety.
Master Command's attention shifted to them. Its wires finally detached from the box and it held up its Gatling rifle. With a glimmer of its visor, the LBX started shooting both Ikaros and Beargguy.
Both LBX backed before the pink one summoned its beam sword, deflecting the shoots with shielded himself with his shield while waiting for a a chance to charge. They both barely held their grounds as the shots sped up more. The red aura overwhelming the black LBX became thicker by the time.
Ban clicked his tongue from his spot behind one of the mainframes there.
Ikaros: " Ban! What should we do!"
The gears in his head were spinning fast as to try and find a way out of that predicament. Meanwhile, Master Command was heading forward with steady steps and brought out a sword with its free hand while still shooting. Beargguy was eventually obliged to shield with Ikaros.
Ban: " everyone! Aren't you done there yet?!"
He asked while hopping that he can get help. Unfortunately, the others had to deal with back ups of Inbits, obliging them to stay put in their places.
Master Command finally engaged with both LBXs into a close range fight. Swinging its sword around in an attempt to slice them. Ikaros and Beargguy were cornered. If they get too close they will be sliced. If they back the other LBX will shoot at them.
Lilyan: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack function: Grand Wall!"
A sphere of energy slammed against the LBX, blowing it of its feet and sending it flying away. Jin and Lilyan quickly ran to where Ban and Elie were hiding, much to their relief.
Elie: " I thought you were cornered by the Inbits?!"
The blonde woman shrugged.
Lilyan: " since I figured you and Ban-kun will be needing help, we decided to leave our share of Inbits to Gouda and the others and head here to help you."
Ban sweat dropped at her way of thinking.
Ban: " so you led the LBXs to them."
Zenon: " it's standing!"
He warned them as the other robot stood to its feet.
Lilyan: " can't they stay down when we hit them!"
She groaned.
Master Command held up the Gatling rifle, raining down bullets on the four LBXs. Unicorn's jets detached themselves and flew in front of them, shielding them.
Jin: " we have to do something about the rifle!"
Ban thought for a second before he exchanged looks with Elie. The brunette then nodded her head at her brother.
Ban: " Jin, Lilyan, I will leave finishing blow to you."
They both blinked in confusion, wondering what was he thinking off. He typed on the CCM, Ikaros acknowledged the order and jumped up.
Master Command's attention shifted to him and rose its rifle to shoot him down. Though he tried to shield himself, still he took a few shots.
While destructed by Ikaros, Elie and Beargguy took the chance to charge forward. Master Command only realized the pink LBX when he was pretty close to it. Beargguy's arm boosters activated and the joint stretched.
Beargguy : " Bear Punch!"
The heavy metallic arm hit the Gatling rifle with an extraordinary speed, which caused it to explode, knocking back both LBXs.
Jin: " Now!"
Zenon and Unicorn charged forward swinging their weapons down onto the other robot. They quickly backed before it exploded.
Meanwhile, the others as well succeeded at taking down the Inbits that were holding them back.
Gouda let a sigh as he and the others stepped from their hiding spots.
Gouda: " I will make sure to lecture those two how to push their work on us!"
Everyone walked off to the center of the vast room, just past the remains of the destroyed LBX.
Kirito: " good job. Now we can get those satellites back to work."
He walked over to the console and started typing away. Multiple tabs opened as he skimmed through their data. Suddenly a new tab opened, and it wasn't something they had anticipated. It showed a count down of 10 minutes.
When Kirito noticed that, they could hear the door slamming shut from the other end of the room.
Hiro: " what happen-"
Before he could continue, the lights flashed red as the sound of an alarm blared through the whole base.
Kirito clicked his tongue and slammed his fist on the console rather vigorously.
Kirito: " they got us! As soon as I was about to activate back the Satellites, the self destruction program was launched!"
Cobra: " and now what! We're all getting doomed!"
At that, Elie flinched and clang to her brother to which Ban responded with a glare to Cobra, daring him to say one other word.
Kirito tried again to hack the system. But all the paths were blocked.
Hiro called Otacross for help, but the old man and Haruka could do much less. They were all trapped in there, waiting for the unavoidable...
Haruka was on the edge of panicking as the numbers in front of her declined.
Haruka: " they will get killed off!"
Otacross and Sakura were trying their best already, but the system wasn't given them access.
Otacross : " it's no use deyo~!"
Sakura: " don't give up! Otacross-san!"
Haruka: " you have to find a way!"
Sakura: " you're the legendary super hacker!"
Haruka: " their lives is in your hands!"
Sakura: " I will cheer for you!"
The old man was squeezing his head at their insisting comments before finally throwing up his hands in exasperation.
Otacross : " Alright, deyo~!"
He grabbed out his scanner from one of the boxes there and plugged it into the computer.
Otacross : " I hate to say that but, Sakura-chan! You will have to go deyo~!"
Sakura: " me!"
She was taken aback by that sudden decision before remembering that she was the only LBX there, which somehow made he gain more confidence.
Sakura: " alright!"
Otacross gave her a gun and placed her on the scanner.
Otacross : " be careful out there deyo~."
He told her before pressing on the button, to which her conscious was soon transfered to the infinity net. She jolted in fear as it was her first time there, taking in the unfamiliar spacious place.
Otacross : " don't be afraid! I will lead you there deyo~! You only have to open a way for us deyo~!"
Sakura hesitantly nodded as she followed Otacross' direction. Stopping in front of a certain bubble, she was surprised to see that it had a red hue in contrary of the usual blue one.
Sakura: " so the whole Base's system was infected."
Hearing that, Twilight was thankful her player took Jin and Kirito's heed and didn't use her power.
Sakura shot at the surface to pry open a way but she couldn't for it was thicker than she thought. And like if things weren't bad already, Virtual LBXs flew out of the bubble towards her. She trembled in fear as they pointed their weapons at her.
From their spot in the server room, Ban and the others were following what was happening with Sakura. Initially placing their lives in the hand of an LBX that never fought before wasn't the brightest idea and wasn't appealing for most of them. Yet, it was their only left choice.
When Sakura was surrounded, they held their breathes, thinking that must be the end. But fate had other plans for them.
A wave of blue energy slashed through the robots that gathered around the poor LBX. When Sakura peeked up, she was surprised to see another robot with a design similar to Joker and Jeanne D had defended her.
Fenrir: " this..."
Elie: " you know that LBX?"
Zenon: " it helped us once."
"Get back."
The mysterious LBX told Sakura curtly before charging forward, her blade finding its was through the enemies' bodies and they exploded as soon as she slipped past them.
Clearing the whole area while making her way to the bubble, she finally thrusted her sword into the surface and pulled it down, prying a way open to the main system.
Kirito and Otacross' screen showed access authorization and they both got to work, using the Vaccine program on the whole system. As the countdown was about to hit zero, the lights went back to normal and the countdown stopped just at 20 seconds. The door across the room opened and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Cobra sank to his feet as he finally felt safe.
Cobra: " when will I retire from this life of danger."
When the hue of the bubble turned back to blue, the mysterious LBX flew away, ignoring Sakura's calls for her.
Kirito narrowed his eyes as the LBX's signal disappear before he was reminded of his job. He quickly reactivated the Satellites with Otacross' help and allowed himself to breath out.
Kirito : " this should do it."
Haruka on the other end let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
Otacross: " well done. Now climb up, we have to go back deyo~. "
Hiro: " wait! What if they come back and take over the base again!"
He had a point.
Jessica: " don't you worry. The Fire Sweet will take care of the rest."
Everyone exchanged looks at that and nodded before making their journey back. Still, a lot of questions in their minds about their enemy, and about the mysterious LBX...
The sound of treading echoed through the corridor, indicating the approaching of someone as it got louder by the second. The man sitting to his desk didn't bother to look up even when the door was opened and the person came into the office.
Ash: " I was told to expect you soon, but you took so long to reach here. Seems you don't pay that much importance to your time."
The man finally rose his head and looked at the boy who had his LBX sitting on his shoulder. The boy narrowed his eyes as he clicked his teeth around his lollypop.
Itan: " I come and go just like I want."
The older man let out a smirk. He can tell why this boy is hard to be dealt with.
Ash: " then, may we get to business. Since you've come all this way here, you don't want it to be for nothing, am I right?"
Itan: " but of course."
The former Bandit had a wide mischievous smirk up his face.
Itan: " bring it on."...
NICS HQ...
Jessica: " ta-da!"
She flourished her hands dramatically towards the table they had set. It was a feast not to say the least, with everyone's favorite dishes lined up in front of them.
The sight of the still fuming food made Arata's eyes widen in awe.
Muraku: " you made all of that?"
Ran, Jessica, Elie and Eva smiled broadly at them.
Sendou: " the occasion being?"
Ran: " it's not everyday you get to save your skin of being blown up."
Gouda: " is it really a reason to celebrate?"
Jessica: " it's!"
She glared back at him, warning him to say against that once again.
Yuuya: " well, with the table all set I doubt we can turn away right."
Mirai: " I will feel sorry to make all of this go to waste."
Asuka: " let's dig in!"
She said taking a chair and filling her plate. Everybody else followed after her. Well, almost everybody.
Dot Blastrizer: " Momona isn't around."
That made both Arata and Muraku whirl their heads around the dining hall for a glimpse of the pinkette.
Muraku: " now thinking about it. I didn't see her since we got back here."
Magna Orthus: " you reckon she is upset about earlier, you know... Her not being to contribute much."
Muraku swapped a worried look with Arata. The red head placed down his plate.
Arata: " maybe I should..."
Muraku: " ... yeah, I think she would listen to you rather than any of us."
With that, Arata left the bustling hall to look for the pinkette...
Momona: " I told you mom, there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine... I'm really doing fine... Mom, you don't need to tell me that... I want to help them. I can't come back. ... I'll be fine... No I'm not bothering any of them, mostly... I'm not heading home just yet."
She cut short the conversation and leaned back on the wall, staring blankly at her CCM.
Momona: " though I said I want to help... What can I really do? I'm all but slips and mistakes..."
She sighed as she lowered her arm, however, her CCM slipped and fell on the ground, skidding towards someone's foot.
Arata hunched over to grab the falling device and checked on it.
Momona: " sorry Senpai!"
Arata: " you might want to be more careful with this. Thankfully it wasn't damaged this time."
He said handing her the white and pink CCM, before he pouted.
Arata: " you were talking to your mother?"
Momona: " you... Heard it..."
She flashed and wished nothing more than being able to hide behind her CCM at that moment.
Arata: " I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to..."
The pinkette sighed.
Momona: " they're... Quite worried about me. I can't blame them for that though. This quite dangerous and... I'm not the most careful of people you know."
She flipped her CCM over and over in her hands nervously.
Momona: " my mom, wants me to come home. She is, a tad angry because I left all of the sudden. I'm still here thanks to my dad who, despite being worried, is convinced that this is a way for me to grow up and be independent. However, he still is telling me to consider mom's feelings. I know what you want to say... They're my parents and I should listen to them."
Arata: " uh, not actually, I'm the last person who has the right to scold you about not listening to your parents."
He scratched the back of his head while averting his eyes from hers.
Momona: " sometimes, I wonder if I should just go home."
That made him look down at her.
Momona: " when I sneaked after you, I thought maybe that's what I need. Beinf with you will help me take matter seriously and make this one thing right. But still, I'm the mess I've always been. Even earlier I just hade Muraku-san damage his LBX to protect me because of a slip I've done. No matter how hard I try, i just keep messing and ruining things, for me and for all of you. Maybe it's impossible for me. Maybe Minerva made a mistake and I should just, give up. There is no way someone as clumsy as me could be chosen to bear the world's fate."
Arata didn't know what he should do, he understood that Momona actually was afraid that she may disappoint them all, so she was working hard with every battle she had been through. Maybe he should have noticed it earlier than that.
Arata: " let's battle."
Momona: " eh!"
Arata: " didn't you want to battle me but you hadn't the chance to? Or do you no longer want to do that?!"
Momona: " what! No! No! I want! I will be pleased!"
She looked up at Arata with sparkly imploring eyes.
Arata: " alright then! Let's do it!"
They walked to the training room and chose the city diorama to battle in.
Arata: " just you know! I won't hold back!"
Momona: " I wouldn't have it any other way! Bring it on!"
Arata: " Dot Blastrizer!"
Momona: " Dot Phasor!"
Both LBXs descended to the arena.
" Battle Start!"
The two machines zoomed forward and their weapons clashed. Sparks flew out due to the brutal contact and they quickly backed.
Arata switched his weapon to guns and was trying to shoot Dot Phasor down.
Arata: " it's really strange. Attacking the same unit that used to be mine one day."
Momona: " I can't believe I'm finally battling senpai!"
Switching her weapon to a lance, Dot Phasor's wheels span around before it charged forward. Dodging Dot Blastrizer's blasts, it closed on to it. The other LBX backed while trying to put a good distance between them.
The girl nevertheless kept charging forward, and eventually Arata had to switch his weapon to two blades.
The fight continued on and neither of them was backing. Each had a wide smile on his face, eventually not noticing the room filling up as the others came to watch their battle.
Arata: " you have a very special style."
Momona blinked.
Dot Blastrizer managed to knock Dot Phasor of balance but the other LBX managed to come around and charge once more. When Dot Blastrizer dodged, Dot Phasor quickly span around and attacked, almost giving him no time to balance his feet.
Arata: " fearlessly charging forward and quickly adjusting to the situation at hand. Your style is very unique."
This time Dot Phasor knocked back Dot Blastrizer, but as it was aiming for a final blow, Dot Blastrizer's wings activated, flying him away.
Momona: " being complimented by senpai, I'm really happy! Senpai acknowledges my strength!"
Arata: " of course I do! And so does everyone here."
It was then when Momona realized how much crowded the room was. Everyone else came to watch their battle.
Arata: " no one here doubts your fighting abilities Momona, you won't disappoint anyone, so be the way you're. You don't have to try that hard to change. Fight in your own style and most of all, enjoy your battle."
As she saw her senpai's smile, Momona's face beamed.
Momona: " you're right. I'm fine the way I'm, as long as I enjoy the battle! Let's go Dot Phasor!"
The two LBXs clashed again with all their forces and the two players didn't have backing down as an option.
Momona: ' I was wrong... I tried hard to live up to them and get everything well done that I lost sight of the most important thing here.'
A memory of her younger self struggling with the control of her first LBX went by, even though her LBX kept falling and doing strange dances, she had a wide smile of joy and excitement.
Momona: ' the most important thing for me was that I loved LBX. That's why it's the only thing I can do right, I never stopped playing LBX because I enjoyed it!"
At that moment, her screen bursted in a white light as the blue owl showed itself on it. A voice spoke to her gently.
" Itsuki Momona, would you like rather have fun doing what you love?"
A confident smile formed itself on Momona's lips.
Arata: " Momona..."
Momona: " of course I do!"
She got her finger on the yes button and the gentle feminine voice spoke once more.
" Chosen one who chose to fight, you shall receive a great power. Please use it wisely."
And both LBXs jumped high for the finishing attack...
