Tokio City...


Everyone blinked in confusion.

Asuka: " play the search game?"

Mizel: " the only way to help both Minerva and the Creator is for us to find them. So they left leads to their whereabout. If we follow the leads, we will finally reach them."

Ken squinted his eyes.

Ken: " are we going back to Tokio City because the first lead is there?"

Mizel: " right and wrong. The second lead is really in Tokio City. The first lead is right in front of you."

Most of them had their jaws dropped in shock, others were unfazed, probably figured that much or still processing it.

Mirai : " you!"

Mizel: " I was entrusted with the mission to assure that you reach the Creator and Minerva safely."

Cobra: " it's far-fetched to be believed."

He snorted.

Mizel: " you can believe what you want. I told you everything I know so far."

Silence lingered over the cockpit as they were all pondering on whether to believe the boy standing in front of them. As they were like that, Metamo R's voice ringed through the room.

Metamo R: " we've reached Tokio City mo~!"

True for them, they could see the city from their seats as they flew above it. It was almost sunset by the time the city appeared to their sight.

Mizel: " very well then."

A flash of green light shifted everyone's attention to the boy. When it faded, their eyes widened as his figure had slightly changed. He was shorter than usual with short green hair, his plain white shirt turned to a black oversized hoodie and his grey pants shifted to dark blue jeans. He merely retained his black shoes and his narrow green eyes.

Mizel: " I can't let them know who I'm, right."...


As they got off the ship, they found Takuya and Rina waiting for them in the airport. The blond man gave them a small smile as they managed to reach there safely with no distractions.

Takuya: " I've heard everything from the secretary and..."

He turned his look around as he suddenly realized it.

Takuya: " where is he?"

Mizel: " glad to hear that this worked."

Takuya blinked as he looked at the kid who spoke.

Rina: " it can't be... Is this him?"

Everyone nodded in confirmation and Takuya somehow managed to hid his astonishment.

Takuya : " alright then, we better take the conversation to Tiny Orbit."...


N City...

" Where do you think you're going?"

Ash asked the boy who was walking out of the building.

Itan: " that's none of your business, Ash."

The blond folded his arms as he shook his head.

Ash: " you shouldn't talk to the head of the company like that, what would other employees think?"

Itan: " then you better not get your nose into other people's matters."

Ash narrowed his eyes at the boy's red ones.

Ash: " we were ordered to stay put, do you intend to deflect Leviathan's word."

Itan: " I don't care if that will make me stronger. I worked under Leviathan solely for that reason. If he is gonna stand in my way I won't even hesitate to rip him appart."

He said as he walked out the glass door. Ash shook his head with a defeated sigh.

Ash: " I just hope you won't ruin our plans."...

***
NICS HQ...

Kaios and Mangoose scrolled through the files Mizel send them just a few minutes after they all left.

Mangoose : " he even went as far as to make a background search about them."

Kaios had his eyes squinted at that. Those people whom they suspect to be spies were there in the HQ for so long. If anything, he was sure they could have sneaked top secret information out to their higher ups during their time there.

Kaios: " I hope just that they didn't get their hands on anything important."

Mangoose: " what will you do with them?"

He thought for a second. Just firing them immediately may cause some troubles.

Kaios: " I will get rid of them slowly, I don't want to get attention by firing them all at the same time."

Mangoose: " good thinking."...


Tokio City...

Mizel: " you know there is very little to what humans can do to stop me."

Mizel voiced out in annoyance as Takuya had four of his employees encircling him and following him wherever he went.

Takuya: " still it will put my mind at ease rather than having you wandering around on your own."

He retorted.

All of them had gathered in his office as the Seekers' base wasn't that big for them to fit all in. Takuya then shifted to Jun'ichirou as to hear the rest of his explanation.

Jun'ichirou : " it seems we have to find both Minerva and her Creator to get more information on Leviathan. Or so what Mizel said."

Takuya: " although I have a hard time believing this. But seems we have to go with it for now. So, where is this lead he said is in Tokio City?"

The older members of Seekers' exchanged uneasy looks.

Cobra: " Innovators LAB..."

Takuya had wide eyes at that.

Takuya: " eh! But how!?"

Mizel let out a smirk.

Mizel: " don't underestimate the Creator and Minerva, they have their ways around."

Takuya seemed reluctant. It couldn't help to ease his worries that Mizel had once took over the Innovators' LAB before, and that it may be a trap for all he can know. But if he was to tell the truth, then it's needed for them to retrieve the first lead to Minerva and her Creator.

Takuya: " then you will need Yagami with you. Ban, Ami, Kazu and Jin will be going. You have to be careful and never let your guard down. I will contact Yagami for you."

Jun'ichirou : " you have my thanks."

Elie: " hold on!"

She rose her hand.

Elie: " I'm going as well."

Ban: " Elie?"

Eva stepped next to her.

Evangeline : " then don't mind me too."

Elie: " Eva?"

Takuya looked down at them, but upon seeing their determined faces, he gave them his permission to which they slightly rejoiced.

Takuya then stood up.

Takuya: " since it came to this I think I have to introduce you to two of our newly added members."

He said as he pressed on a button and told Kirino who was over the other end of the line to bring them.

The doors opened as Kirino walked in with two boys.

" Muraku-senpai!"

Before anyone could even open their mouths as they saw the new comers, the brunette boy ran to Muraku with a wide grin. Muraku managed a smile at him for he didn't see him for so long. Even with a lot of people returning after the World Savers' incident, Wataru never showed up on the ports much to everyone's disappointment.

Muraku : " it's been a while, Watatru."

Wataru: " I can't believe I'm fighting along side Muraku-senpai again!"

A white and grey LBX flew next to Wataru, startling both Ban and Elie for a second.

Elie: " Odin !?"

" Yes and no. I'm Odin Militias, Odin M for short and I'm Kenbishi Wataru's partner, pleased to meet you."

He turned to Muraku.

Odin M: " Wataru didn't stop talking about you. I'm glad to meet you."

Muraku : " same here."

While Muraku was chatting with his junior, Arata had ran off to the other blond boy.

Arata: " Hikaru! When did you come!? How is everyone on the island?!"

Hikaru held up his hands between their faces as Arata was narrowing the gap.

Hikaru: " so close... Don't worry everyone is fine. And I just recently activated the program."

Arata let a sigh of relief at that.

Takuya: " we've confirmed another vaccine program user but he refused to join us for he didn't have proofs about our intentions. I was hoping that all those from Kamui Daimon academy can persuade him to join."

They all blinked.

Muraku : " does that mean he was a student in Kamui Daimon?"

Takuya nodded before adding.

Takuya: " also, there is something that I find it important for all of you to know."

Everyone narrowed their eyes as they looked at Takuya's serious air.

Takuya: " Seredy Kreisler passed away just yesterday."

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Arata: " how?!"

Mirai: " it's not another murder like with Gardyne?"

Takuya shook his head.

Takuya: " Seredy's aged body couldn't hold so long. Without the optima, his health was deteriorating fastly and that's how it ended."

Jin's eyes narrowed as he recalled his visit to him. True for that, his situation wasn't that of someone who would struggle longer than a few hours.

Mirai bit her lip in frustration. She understood exactly what Seredy's death meant. She knew very well of what information he was keeping silence about. And she knew too that his death was meant for as the higher ups never thought of replacing his broken optima.

Evangeline on the other hand seemed to pity him. She understood what he really wanted, though his ways were wrong, but she believed his intentions were good.

Kamui Daimon's students had unreadable faces. For once, he almost, almost, killed all of their friends and even them. But also, it was a human that passed away.

The gloomy silence was shattered as Mirai voiced out.

Mirai: " what a waste."

Only a few of the ones there understood what she meant. Takuya merely gave a defeated sigh.

Takuya: " nothing can be done. We're back to square one. So now, all we have is to believe Mizel of all people and head to the LAB."...


Meanwhile in Dream Future, Kazama Jinn was scrolling down through the data the man in the white LAB coat gave him. His lips quivered back into a satisfied smile.

Jinn: " it seems promising."

The man with grey hair pushed up his glasses with a wide smirk.

" All is left now is to get the suitable player."

Jinn: " any suggestions?"

The man's smirk widened even more.

" You will find the data there. The most suitable player, the one this whole test was made for. He is the only one who can use this technology to its fullest for it was created for him especially to use it from the very beginning."

Jinn clicked on a doc and his grin widened as he saw the identity of the person.

Jinn: " to think Sir Kaidou was already planing such thing to his grandson. I wonder should I feel sorry or should I applaud him for such magnificent technology?"

He looked up at the L mark hologramme on the window's glass as if asking for permission. The word ' approved ' appeared then.

Jinn shifted his look to the man in the LAB coat.

Jinn: " this better pay off well. Remember that we're the ones who took you in and supported the research that you almost abandoned after Innovators and Kaidou were gone, Kanou Gichii."

The grey haired man bowed with a smirk.

Gichii: " I won't. I promise you this will create the strongest player that Leviathan had always searched for."

Jinn: " very well."

On the screen, was no other than Jin's picture with all of his information scribed right next to it...


They were all separated as the day almost came to an end. Some of them headed to their homes, others stayed back in Tiny Orbit as they had no other place to go to and some decided to wander around.

Ran, Arata, Ken and Ruri were walking together on their way back home. The red head boy sighed as he looked at his calls' history. There was a certain number that had called him for so many times but Arata had ignored everyone of them.

He pocketed his CCM and looked at his cousin who seemed worried. Following her gaze he had a worried look as well.

Ken and Ruri were shuffling behind them, though they were disguised as usual, still a sad air was hovering around them.

Ran finally stopped as she looked back at them.

Ran: " Ken, Ruri... I... Know it is hard to accept, believe me I understand how you feel. We once saw death because of him..."

She couldn't voice out his name, for that may cause troubles.

Ran: " ... But the situation now is what obliges us to accept this."

Ruri opened her mouth as to protest but stopped as her brother's hand landed on her shoulder.

Ken: " we understand that, Ran-san. We shouldn't lose sight of the bigger picture here. Thanks for worrying about us, but we're fine."

A weak nod came from Ruri as a confirmation. Though Ran couldn't really believe, she was at least glad they tried to convince her that everything was fine.

Arata: " so, we're going on our own now. You have to go visit your father, right?"

Ken nodded with a small nod.

Ken: " be careful. We don't know if they may target us when we're separated."

They both nodded as they walked away. When they were far away, Ran turned her attention to Arata.

Ran: " now we can talk about you ignoring your father's calls this whole time."...


Elie blinked twice as she read her brother's message.

Lilyan: " what's it?"

Elie: " Onii-chan said he will be late, telling us to go back home without him."

Beargguy: " if he says so."

Elie and Lilyan resumed strolling down the street back to the brunette's house.

Lilyan: " are you sure it's a good idea though... I don't want-"

Elie: " it's totally fine, and mom is looking forward to meeting you with all what I've been telling her about you."

Lilyan blushed at that.

Lilyan: " what were you telling her?"

Elie: " sa~, that's for you to discover."

She giggled at her and Lilyan tried her best to calm her heart down, now she was getting nervous.

Unicorn: " by the way, I was surprised when you offered to go today."

The blonde was thankful for her LBX to change the subject.

Elie: " I'm more surprised Lilyan-san didn't beat me to that."

Lilyan: " is there a reason why you wanted to go? Because of Jin-san..."

Elie look down and Lilyan figured it almost immediately.

Lilyan: " I took it that my guess hit. So you're no more angry with him?"

Elie cocked back her head.

Elie: " I... Don't know... But I certainly know I'm pissed off! Especially with our last fight against the Killer Droids! I just want to be there... Just in case... I want to keep him at arm length..."

She trailed and Lilyan inclined her head as she inspected the woman.

Lilyan: " I see..."

Elie blinked.

Elie: " what?"

Lilyan: " sa~, it's for you to figure out."

She said walking ahead of her.

Elie: " wait!"

She smiled softly. She could tell, despite what she says, just how much the brunette cares for the said man...


Evangeline : " why using the bond again? Why not face to face?"

Mizel: " don't complain, this is for your best."

Evangeline : " eh?!"

Mizel heaved a sigh at that.

Mizel: " so, what was that you wanted to ask?"

She seemed to take a while before talking into his head again.

Evangeline : " you were around for a while now. I found your traces on an LBX in Kamui island. And from the circumstances, you've been there around the time Seredy was there if not before."

Mizel: " hold on! What? I made sure to dispose of that LBX? How did-"

Evangeline : " I'll feed you on the details later. But now I need you to answer me, what were you doing in there?"

Mizel rolled his eyes.

Mizel: " I send that LBX to investigate on that school in hope that Minerva can find some good players in there, which she did. And before you ask, that LBX didn't belong to any player. But to think it was retrieved. It doesn't only have my traces but Minerva's as well..."

He resisted the urge to face palm himself at the idea of how much trouble that LBX could have caused.

Evangeline : " I see. Then... Why didn't you contact me?

Mizel blinked.

Evangeline : " why didn't you bother telling me you were alive? Didn't you once say we are siblings? Then why..."

Mizel took a deep breath as he tried to order his words.

Mizel: " I thought about that. And when it was time I adjust Twilight, I really thought of talking to you but..."

He inhaled again.

Mizel: " Eva, I once though that taking your humanity away and completing your AI was the best thing for you. What I'm related to is your AI. But when I saw how much you've grown, how far you've come. And more importantly, how happy your life with your friends is, I just... Couldn't bear stepping into your life once again."

Evangeline : " Mizel..."

Mizel: " you've made your choice. You decided who you were 5 years ago. You chose being a human over being a perfect AI, and you're now walking down you own path. I couldn't disturb you by appearing in your life again. I'll be a mere bug in your process."

Evangeline : " what the heck are you talking about? You're not! Plus, weren't you going to appear in my life again sooner or later if you were join us."

Mizel: " good point, but that will be more like a business interaction."

Eva sighed.

Evangeline : " you know, you never change. Always trying to decide what's good and what's bad for others."

He quirked his brow at that.

Evangeline : " let me choose how to interact with you!"

Mizel seemed perplexed at her yell.

Evangeline : " I'll continue considering you my sibling, alright Mi."

Mizel: " Mi?!"

Evangeline : " sounds cute don't you think so?"

He could almost see her laugh childishly.

Mizel: " for god's sake, sis."...


Jin was initially planing on going straight home before that a message came to him later, making him change his direction. The sender told him to meet at the river's side. No specific reason. However, he could somehow guess it from the place alone.

When he reached there, it was almost sunset. The sky was colored by a beautiful orange shade that was reflected on the water's surface, creating a beautiful sight.

The brunette was enjoying the scenery until his friend came next to him.

Jin: " why the call, Ban-kun?"

Ban: " I just wanted to show you this beautiful scene. Don't you think it's better to enjoy this than to stay alone with your worries at home."

Jin rose an eyebrow. Though he won't ignore that scenery was really beautiful, but he didn't believe Ban would call him all the way there just for that reason. He decided to keep silent until the brunette speaks.

Ban: " this place brings back memory..."

Jin snapped his head back to him.

Ban: " we had our first battle as friends here. A battle just between you and me, it had nothing to do with neither Seekers or Innovators, it had nothing to do with the world's fate. It was just you and me, having a battle just for fun. It was the same before you left for country A too."

Jin merely narrowed his eyes as the memories went through his mind. Ban then turned around with his CCM in hand.

Ban: " let's do it again."

Jin had his eyes wide open at that. Ban's expression was more than serious.

Ban: " we've been so worried about you for the whole time. So if you don't speak for yourself, all I have is to drag you to a battle to make you do so."

Jin was reluctant, but Ban wasn't. Odin Mk2 flew towards the man and Zenon didn't wait for orders to jump and block him.

Zenon: " what do you think you're doing!"

Odin: " clearing his doubts. If he no longer can hold his CCM and fight, then we shouldn't bring him with us tomorrow. I'm just making sure of his resolve."

Zenon had to agree. He was actually thinking to stop Jin from going since he can assume he no longer have the resolve to fight.

Jin: " you're serious about this?"

The brunette against him merely had a serious look as he held his CCM tightly.

Jin sighed as he took out his CCM. Both LBXs charged forward, their weapons clashed as each tried to push his weight against the other.

They kept pulling back and coming at each other while trying to find an opening in each other's defense.

Jin: " why are we doing this?"

Ban: " because if I can't talk to you with words, then I can do with LBX."

Odin kicked Zenon back and dashed forward, trying to thrust his lance into him. Zenon's visors brightened as he deflected Odin's lance with his hammer.

Ban: " what Elie was trying to tell you all this time, we're all worried about you, keeping quite about the things bothering you won't help you. Everyone of us has to let out all his feelings one day. But you never did. Ever since the Innovators' incident, you never spoke about anything to us."

Odin had to hold up his shield to block Zenon's attack but he was thrown away by it.

Jin: " there is no need to do so. There is no need to bother anyone."

Ban: " it's not bothering. Plus..."

Odin pushed Zenon away as he flew up, his armor shining in an orange color that matches that of the sunset.

Ban: " ... You won't find answer if you don't ask those questions you have out loud. Armor Change! Ikaros Zero!"

The LBX grabbed tightly on his weapon as he flew down with a high speed and slashed at Zenon. Startled by the sudden change in pattern, Zenon's hits weren't accurate anymore, plus, Ikaros' flexibility allowed him to easily dodge the other LBX's attacks.

Jin gritted his teeth as his LBX was pushed back.

Jin: " just what's the meaning of it?"

Ban snapped his eyes wide open at Jin's comment.

Ikaros thrusted Zenon again, throwing him into the river.

Jin: " it all has no meaning, everything that I've ever done, it was all for nothing. We were never able to save or protect the world, so why did we have to go through all those hardships and lose so much, namely our peaceful lives?"

Ikaros flew up as he was preparing to launch his finally attack.

Jin: " to think about it, here I've told you why I got into LBX for the first time. Looking back at it now it was a plain reason. From the start, I was just lying to myself, I had no reason to continue forward, so why did I do all of this?"

His hand tightened around his CCM that emitted a bright blue light.

Ikaros Zero dashed down, aiming to phase through the water and finish off Zenon. The white visors of the other LBX glistened.

Zenon: " Armor Change!"

A blue light flew out from underneath the water surrounded by a whirlpool that knocked Ikaros backwards. The water cleared as the form of the blue light appeared.

" Triton !"

Ban's mouth dropped open at that.

Ikaros, who had crashed on the ground and created a hole, snapped in surprise.

Ikaros: " an armor change!?"

Triton landed on top of the falling Ikaros as he pointed his hammer down at him. Neither of them moved, Ikaros for he knew he can't actually do anything and Triton for he knew the match ended with his victory.

Jin lowered his CCM and looked at Ban who was staring at his with a surprised look, making sure it was really Triton that was in front of him.

Jin: " in the end, I didn't have a reason to keep on fighting for this long, I didn't even have a reason to continue playing LBX."

Ban recovered from his shock and turned back to his friend with a small smile. Both LBXs pulled back from each other and headed back to their players.

Ban: " you're wrong."

Jin blinked at that.

Ban: " if so, then how came you've defeated me, and on top of that you've activated the armor change? Why do you want to join us that much tomorrow?"

Jin looked away.

Jin: " I..."

Ban merely placed his CCM back as Ikaros landed on his shoulder.

Ban: " you have it. It may seem plain. But it's enough, for you, to go as far as to do anything. You just need to accept it."

He turned on his heels as he was about to leave, but he stopped and looked back to Jin.

Ban: " by the way, I don't think your reason for starting LBXs is plain."

His eyes snapped wide open as he looked at his friend whose expression softened.

Ban: " you've actually used LBX for what it was exactly meant for."

And he walked away. Jin merely stared at his back as he left. For what it was exactly meant for? All he could remember was him trying to please his grandfather. Just because he was satisfied with his control, he kept going. He couldn't see what part of that was what LBX were ' meant for'.

If it was any other time, Jin would have felt annoyed at that reminder of the times he blindly followed his grandfather to satisfy him, of the times he was merely a puppet. But that felt different, for some reason he didn't understand, it didn't annoy him, rather, it made him feel nostalgic...