Taken...


The rifle that used to be the Killer Droid's tail was now placed on its shoulder as it tried to shoot down the hiding LBXs in the nearby building. Luckily it couldn't reach them, though it caused a rough explosion that shook the building violently.

Hakia-O: " we're not going to hide forever!"

Nightmare: " I know! But Liu Bei's leg is hurt, he can't fight with us anymore!"

He said pointing his stuff at the invalid unit.

Liu Bei: " I can support you with a gun from here! You all should go and fight! Don't bother about me!"

They contemplated on the situation for an instance.

Vampire Cat: " alright, we will try to keep it as far away as possible from you."

Hakai-O: " very well, let's go!"

All three LBXs jumped out. The killer droid shoot the rifle again but they managed to avoid it.

Nightmare cloned to three as he made an attempt to get near the robot. He ducked under the laser beam while his two clones were trying to distract the droid.

He managed to get closer and whack the robot's abdomen using the end of his scythe. The unit was pushed back slightly but it wasn't enough to damage it.

Hakia-O and Vampire Cat tried to take it by surprise from behind but it quickly span around, stretching its two hands and shooting down at them.

Asuka: " tsk, it's tough!"

Vampire Cat flipped back quickly and tried to hide between the debris while Hakai-O used its sword as a shield.

Yuuya: " just hold on! We can take it down. It may have a different form but it's the same as the one we had already defeated!"...


Cracks can be seen all over Achilles Deed, Pandora and Joker.

Kazu: " damn it!"

Ami narrowed her eyes as she thought of a way out of their situation.

Ami: " Yosh! Kazu! Runa! Help me! We will defeat it!"

Both players were taken back by her proclamation.

Runa: " do you have a plan?"

Ami nodded with a glint in her eyes.

Ami: " it became just like an LBX. All we have is to paralyze it."

Runa: " paralyze it... I see!"

Ami's grin widened as she threw a weapon at Pandora which she grasped grateful.

Kazu: " isn't that, Emperor's launcher? Alright! I'm going with Achilles' Lance as well!"

He threw the lance upward and Achilles Deed grabbed it midair.

Achilles: " yosh! Let's put an end to this!"...


Dot Phasor and Odin M managed to knock some of them off balance as they aimed for their legs. Just as they weren't able to stand, all three of them used their Hissatsu Functions to finish them off.

But as their number was too much, both Odin M and Dot Phasor reached their limits as their movement started to slow down, making them a constant target for the Killer Droids.

Dot Blastrizer : " they won't hold for so long!"

Arata narrowed his eyes at that as he realized they were all pushed to a corner.

Arata: " it's not the end yet! We can still turn the table!"

Dot Blastrizer: " ah!"

" Ragnarok Phase !"

As Arata's overload activated, the white and red LBX rushed forward to take down their enemies.

Momona: " senpai is really amazing!"

Wataru: " he is really strong!"

The younger teens marveled over his moves while the older ones watched with concern.

Muraku: " Arata! Don't over use it!"

Hikaru: " it drains your brain!"

Arata clicked his tongue. He knew better than anyone just how dangerous the overload was since he fought against Hiro before, but now...

Arata: " I'm not holding back!"...


Ban: " Elie, Lilyan, can I depend on you in this?"

Elie and Lilyan nodded with determined smiles.

Elie: " our LBXs are almost at their limits, but we will manage it. Let's go Lilyan-san!"

Lilyan nodded as they both dashed out for attack, a beam sword thrusted out of the Killer Droid's hand but Beargguy intercepted it using it own.

The flying small jets of Unicorn shot an onslaught of blasts at the blue and black robot which made it pull back, but still firing around with one hand to prevent its opponents from approaching.

Unicorn zoomed forward, swiping its axe and cleaving one of the LBX killer's legs with a Hissatsu Function.

As it lost balance, Ban aimed for the finishing blow.

Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"

" Attack Function: Gungnir!"

The end of Odin's lance transfixed through the Killer Droid's armor, making it explode. All three of them breathed out in relief...


Eventually everyone figured it out. If they only can knock them off balance, hitting them is easy. And since they took a humanoid form, their weakest point was their legs.

Nightmare's two clones manged to aim at the robot's shins while it was distracted by Liu Bei's shots, causing electricity to come out as they no more were able to hold the Killer Droid's weight.

Nightmare: " now!"

They aimed their Hissatsu Function together, blowing the robot appart.

With Ami and the others, after Pandora and Achilles took it down, they left the finishing blow for Runa as Joker ripped the killer's body apart with Death Scyther Hurricane.

Mizel had a little much troubles with them than he thought, but was eventually able to finish them off.

Ruri and Yuuta were the ones to finish it off in their group after Ranger distracted it...


With Arata's group things weren't going well though. The boy was getting tired quickly but the robots were still holding up.

Arata: " in this case... It's all or nothing!"

Dot Blastrizer : " wait! You're already tired! Who knows what effects it will have on you like this!"

Looking back at his friends who weren't able to fight anymore, Arata didn't have think twice.

Arata: " Full Synchro! Dot Blastrizer, connect!"

His CCM lit up in a bright white light that engulfed him. Dot Blastrizer flew back and was absorbed by the light as well before it faded revealing the arm set on Arata.

Arata: " let's do it! Dual blade!"

Bringing out his weapon, the red head rushed forward between the robots that were firing at him, his armor protecting him from their bullets.

Arata quickly phased through them before they were all destroyed as they were slashed at.

The red head was panting heavily by that time as he kneeled down.

Dot Blastrizer : " that's bad! Arata! We should split!"

The boy's eyes narrowed as he saw a few more droids heading in his friends way.

Arata: " not yet!"

He said and dashed to stop them. Although his body felt heavy and his head was about to split into two, he still continued fighting as he switched his weapons to two guns.

Muraku: " Arata! Stop!"

Muraku's hands tightened around his CCM as he wanted to help, but couldn't.

Arata: " not yet!"

He winced in pain and he was barely able to aim accurately. He shot down three out of five killer droids before he fainted. Wrapped by a white glow, he split up from Dot Blastrizer.

Dot Blastrizer : " Arata!"

Momona: " senpai!"

Hikaru & Muraku: " Arata!"

They all ran to him. As they were distracted, the robots pointed their hands at them and were ready to shoot. Dot Blastrizer spotted them and was about to defend the humans but was late as a slash from behind forced them to stop. Electricity shot out of their backs at the large ripes caused by the cut before they actually exploded.

From behind them, stood Gendou with a CCM in his hand. His look shifted to the red head that was already out.

Gendou: " as reckless as ever..."...


With Hiro's team, they barely managed to take down the last droid when a second showed up. But their LBXs started already slowing at the amount of damaged they got.

The robot summoned a yellow sword beam as it lunged forward, knocking all five LBXs back. But only Achilles D9 was able to make it on his feet again.

Strike: " I can't move..."

Minerva : " sorry Ran..."

Twilight : " I've reached my limit..."

Fenrir: " this is stupid..."

Kirito: " tsk, the only one able to fight now is Hiro."

The blunette narrowed his eyes as he realized the responsibility he was landed with.

Hiro: " let's go, Achilles D9!"

Achilles D9: " Yosh!"

Hiro's finger started typing on the buttons as the LBX rushed forward, swinging his swords around and slashing at the droid.

The more Hiro's input became faster, the more Achilles D9 picked up speed. The other four panicked as they realized what was happening.

Mirai: " Hiro ! Stop!"

But the man didn't answer, even going faster. Achilles D9 was able to get through the robot's defense, like if the player knew exactly what its next move would be.

Evangeline : " strange... How could he..."

The older blond by her side frowned slightly.

Kirito: " this is..."

Finally managing to land blows, Achilles D9 aimed at the Killer Droinds' legs.

Ran: " Hiro! Stop! You're using it again!"

She yelled shaking him. But the man didn't stop.

Hiro: " if I don't use it! I won't be able to save anyone!"

The yellow light surrounding his pupils became more visible to Ran.

Hiro: " Go! Achilles!"

Achilles D9 screamed as he finally severed the droid's legs. He then promptly whirled around and swooped down at it while it was falling.

Hiro: " Hissatsu Function!"

" Attack Function: Cosmo Slash!"

The blue colored slash cut through the metallic body, splitting it into two before it exploded.

Hiro let out a breath of relief as his eyes returned back to normal.

Mirai: " Hiro !"

She ran up to him, checking every inch of his body.

Mirai: " Hiro are you alright?"

Hiro: " eh! Yeah, I'm fine."

Kirito: " wait, you don't have any headache or feeling dizzy?"

He rose an eyebrow as he asked the blunette who merely nodded.

Ran: " for real!?"

Hiro: " I told you, I'm fine."

He said with a sweat drop.

Evangeline: " how? The minimum effect should be a headache, but you're totally fine! How comes?"

Hiro narrowed his eyes in thoughts before something flashed through his memories.

" I did something else with those pulses as well, look forward for the special feature."

Hiro: " Mizel..."

He muttered.

Ran: " eh!"

Evangeline : " Mi?"

Kirito: " right! He said he used the pulses for another purpose. Could it be?"

Everyone shot their eyes back at him. It can't be...

Mirai: " we'll have to ask him later."

She said as she quickly took out her CCM and called Takuya.

Takuya : " well done. We've seen everything. Everyone else had defeated the left Killer Droids. You can head back now."

Everyone had a relieved complexion all over their faces as they heard that.

Muraku and Hikaru exchanged smiles as they carried Arata inside the building while Wataru was trying to calm down a crying Momona.

Ban and the two girls walked out of their hideout to retrieve their LBXs.

Elie: " well done, all of you."

Lilyan: " sorry we had to push you this far."

Odin: " don't worry about th-"

Before he could continue, a smoke grenade was thrown at them.

Lilyan: " what's this!"

Elie: " Onii-chan... I feel dizzy..."

She said falling to the ground.

Ban: " Eli...e..."

The brunette wasn't able to stand on his feet as well. It wasn't long before he hit the ground.

Beargguy : " Elie! Everyone!"

Odin: " what's happening!"

A sinister laugh could be heard as a group of men immerged from the shadow, led by a male in a white LAB coat...


Takuya: " Ban! Answer me! What is happening with you!"

Takuya panicked as the call with Ban's team was cut.

Jun'ichirou : " what could have happened!"

Takuya: " anyone who can head to them!"

Rina: " they can't, the others are far from them and they're already beat up."

Jin clicked his tongue as he quickly sprinted out of the room before anyone could stop him.

Jun'ichirou : " Jin-kun!"...


The LBXs were all thrown on the ground with sparks shooting out of them. Cracks covered their armors and they were missing some parts while a Killer Droid stood by the man with the LAB coat.

" To think you still had some energy left in you, you're as stubborn as your players."

The man said with a smirk as he peered down at the players who were struggling to stay conscious.

Ban: " Gi... Chii..."

Gichii: " who could believe you've finished our Killer Droids. I'm really surprised. It seems you're really worth the concern. Now all I need is to wait for Kaidou's grandson to come and save his friends then we can bring him with us."

Elie: " you..."

Suddenly his CCM vibrated in his coat and he took it out. He was bewildered to find it was Leviathan.

Leviathan : " take Yamano Ban."

Gichii: " eh?"

Leviathan : " he is the most interesting test subject of all of them. I would rather have him."

Gichii: " but, the project was-"

Leviathan : " you can amend it again. Don't tell me you're not impressed by his ability to grow."

Gichii narrowed his eyes. True for Leviathan's words, ever since the Innovator's incident, he wanted to experiment on the said man.

How was he able to stand against their strongest players? How was he able to adapt quickly to any situation? It all was itching him to try multiple things with the boy.

The man finally smirked.

Gichii: " since it's Leviathan's order then I should abide by it. It's not like I'm not interested in you..."

He peered down on Ban who was slowly passing out.

Gichii: " with all the data Yuuya-kun provided us with, I'm sure I can modify everything for you."

He walked off to him.

Gichii: " you have the aptitude. Your haste grow is astonishing. And with that, I will make you the best LBX player. You will wear the real suit, the suit originally designed for non other than Kaidou's kid. Not the prototype Yuuya-kun used, but the real ultimate weapon. Aren't you excited?"

Ban: " you..."

Was all he could voice out before everything went black for good. Gichii's smirk widened as he gestured at the other men to get him.

Elie watched desperately as one of the men hauled her brother on his shoulder and walked away. But what could she do? Keeping her eyes open was taking a toll on her already.

Elie: " no... Don't take... Onii-chan..."

Lilyan: " Ban... Kun..."...


It wasn't long before Jin reached there. All he could see was the half destroyed LBXs and the two knocked out girls.

Jin: " Elie! Lilyan!"

Zenon: " Odin! Unicorn! Beargguy!"

Jin shook the brunette gently trying to wake her up. She seemed to struggle to open her eyes as she could hardly move her body, something that she assumed was because of the gaz she breathed.

Jin pulled her head up a bit as it rested on his arm, trying to keep her awake seeing as she was fighting for consciousness.

Jin: " Elie! Elie are you alright!?"

Elie held her head in her hand as she tried to sit up. Jin breathed out when he saw there was no injuries or wounds.

Jin: " what happened? Where is Ban-kun?"

He asked her calmly, trying not to cause her any more confusing. She rubbed her head, racking her brain to recall what happened through the headache. They were gazed and then a man in a white LAB coat appeared and...

Her eyes widened at she perceived what happened next. Promptly glancing around before clinging to Jin's vest.

Elie: " Onii-chan ! Where is Onii-chan?!"

Jin had his eyes wide at that and then it downed on her. Jin didn't make it in time, her brother was taken. Tears welled up to her eyes at that.

Elie: " Onii-cha... Onii-chan was taken away... Gichii did..."

She said through her gasps, Jin's air turned to befuddlement as he heard that.

Jin: " Gichii took him!? Why? Wasn't he after me?!"

Elie shook her head as she buried her head in Jin's chest crying loudly. She couldn't do anything, her brother was taken in front of her and she didn't do anything.

Jin gently wrapped his arms around her to comfort her, drawing her closer while still wondering why would they take Ban.

Cobra came back with the van a few minutes later along both Eva and Yuuya.

Eva: " Elie! Lilyan!"

She halted in her steps as she saw Jin hugging a crying Elie and he shook his head at her. Eva was able to see a worried look in his eyes as well.

Yuuya: " Lilyan-kun!"

Cobra and Yuuya helped the blond to sit up as she strated to come to. She was rubbing her head as it was hurting.

Cobra: " take it easy kid, slowly..."

Lilyan : " Ban-kun..."

As much as Eva wanted to ask what had happened, she figured they needed to take the two girls and the LBXs to Tiny Orbit first...


Jinn walked up to the grey haired man and looked down at the unconscious brunette with all the wires and machines hooked to his body.

Jinn: " Leviathan changed his mind? Why would he ask for Yamano Ban?"

Gichii smirked.

Gichii: " because he has more potential. He is the one who overcame every obstacle the Innovators placed for him and managed to defeat Kaidou Jin and their other players. He's an interesting subject, truly."

Jinn: " ho! Is that so?"

The L mark appeared on the screen and a whole lot of pictures popped up. All are Ban's recent battles. The armor change, the WX mode... All of them.

Leviathan : " he is evolving so quickly. I'm interested in him. He will be a good test subject."

Gichii: " with that said I just complied to his order."

Jinn: " very well, if you're both interested in him I can't wait to see the final product. Gichii, I have high hopes for you."

Gichii: " I won't disappoint you."...


Momona was crying loudly in the hallway, bowling her eyes out while Wataru was trying to calm her down.

Wataru: " Momona-san, there is no need to cry..."

Momona: " but (sniff) senpai is..."

Muraku let a small chuckle as he walked over to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

Muraku: " don't worry. Arata is reckless so this happens to him a lot when he overuses his overload. All he needs is a rest and he will be fine."

His calm voice and gentle smile managed to get to the girl.

Momona : " really...?"

Muraku : " right, expect him to jump out that door, saying he is hungry."

Hikaru smiled as the girl finally as the girl's weeping stopped before reeling his head at Gendou.

Hikaru: " we owe you."

Gendou: " you don't owe me anything. It's the natural thing to do."

Hikaru sighed.

Hikaru: " we were beat up really bad in this battle and..."

Muraku narrowed his eyes as he walked to them.

Muraku: " Ban-san was taken..."

Wataru: " not to mention our LBXs were heavily damaged."...


Jessica was tapping her foot nervously on the floor as she rubbed her chin.

Jessica: " I don't understand it? Why taking Ban?"

Lilyan: " it seems Leviathan wanted him. Something about him growing so fast..."

Jessica: " it doesn't make sense at all!"

Mirai thought for a second before voicing out.

Mirai: " maybe because he saw something in Ban that he really needed."

Lilyan thought back to their encounter with Gichii.

Lilyan: " aptitude..."

Everyone else in the room looked back at her.

Lilyan: " he said Ban-kun had an aptitude ."

Mirai: " aptitude?"

Strike: " what's that supposed to mean?"

Everyone shook their heads as they had no idea.

Hiro: " anyway, shouldn't we think of a way to save Ban-san?"

Yuuya: " we're all tired. Our LBXs will be out of commission for a while. And we can't move without Jin-kun and Elie-kun."

Their looks softened as they remembered the situation the brunette was in when she was brought back. It was hard to get her checked.

Ran: " Elie... Was really broken down..."

Touko: " of course she would. He's her brother after all."

Evangeline : " her other half according to her."

Kazu: " I wonder how is she now?"

Jessica: " don't worry, Jin took her home and is with her as we speak. As long as he is around, she will calm down eventually."...


The black and white haired man made sure she had swallowed the second pill before taking the glass from her. All that she had been through had a bad effect on her heart. She had an attack as soon as she reached her house's threshold, but it abated after the medicine.

Elie: " I'm... a horrible sister..."

She mumbled without rising her eyes of the ground. Jin's eyes flicked back at that.

Jin: " you're not to blame..."

He looked away.

Jin: " I should have tried harder to stop him."

Elie shook her head.

Elie: " it's not your fault Jin. It's not anyone's. It just..."

She looked even down.

Elie: " whenever I think back at my time in the hospital, I hardly can recall a time Onii-chan wasn't there for me. He had always held my hand when I fell sick and stayed up by my side. Even though he knew I may not make it. He always smiled and cheered me up, giving me hope for a better tomorrow. But now, I'm just unable to do anything for him... He was taken away in front of me and I couldn't do anything..."

Her shoulders shook as she started crying again. Jin walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Jin: " that's not true. There is something you can do, you can save him. We will save him."

Elie looked up at that and managed a weak smile before the medicines' effects started to show up. She laid down on the bed as she felt her eyelids getting heavier and the man pulled the blanket over her sleeping figure...


Dr. Yamano, Rina, Eva and Mizel were working on the damaged LBXs, silence reigned over the LAB, just the clacking of the tools as the focused on their work.

Rina didn't know what to say. Mizel wasn't the type to start a conversation and Eva didn't seem in the mood. Jun'ichirou was diving deep in his own thoughts.

Rina finally mustered the courage to go over to the older professor and her teacher.

Rina: " Professor, you need to rest."

Jun'ichirou: " I'm fine, don't worry about me, Rina-kun."

He managed to pull out a smile but it wasn't going to fool her.

Rina: " I know you're worried about your son, but overworking yourself isn't a solution to get rid of your worries."

Jun'ichirou sighed as he whirled his chair so he was facing her.

Jun'ichirou: " Jin-kun's words from this evening are still lingering in my head. It's true that, to a certain point, I dragged Ban into a dangerous fight. He was laded with a responsibility too enormous at a young age and... He had been through a lot of hardship and losses. What if unconditionally, he felt obliged to fight for this long? I can't help but thinking that I was just hurting my son all along."

Mizel: " not true."

Both of them craned their necks as Mizel finally spoke up.

Mizel: " when Ban fought me, he fought with his own feelings and believes. Else he wouldn't have come that far. He merely believed that was what he has to do."

Evangeline: " what Mi said is true. Else, why do you think Ban kept his feelings for LBXs even after you yourself turned your back on them?"

She didn't rise he head from Twilight while Mizel looked back at the older brunette.

Mizel: " he lives of his own believes, he always had the chance to stop and turn back but he didn't. Not because he thought that was what you expect of him, but because he believed that was the right thing to do."

And the green head went back to working on his share of damaged LBXs...