Brinton...
Evangeline: "why didn't you bring it up, Mi?"
The green head looked back at her.
Mizel: " bring what up?"
Twilight : " come on, you know about it, I doubt Kirito didn't tell you."
Evangeline : " what Hiro pulled today... It was like... If he could see the enemy's future moves. What was that? It's beyond the overload."
Kirito and Mizel exchanged looks.
Mizel: " sis, listen, this is not confirmed yet, so you have to keep quiet about it."
Evangeline blinked at his serious tone.
Kirito: " you know the basic of the overload, right?"
Evangeline : " a jump in the mind's functionality and all that. Yeah, what about it?"
Mizel: " such jump can be considered dangerous. It can cause a detrimental impacts on the brain if someone can't handle it."
Evangeline : " I know that t-"
Her eyes widened in realization.
Evangeline : " what if they can?"
Kirito took the talking from there.
Kirito: " I'm sure you know about what happened with Arata in Kamui Island. The side effect it had on him was enhancing his hearing."
Evangeline nodded her head, waiting patiently for him to continue.
Kirito: " this is just a theory we have, it's not set in stone yet. But since the overload is some kind of jump in brain functions, it may mean that once getting used to it, the brain may actually unlock some special features we can only dream of."
Twilight : " like seeing the future..."
Kirito nodded.
Kirito: " we've confirmed from Professor Oozora and Mirai that Hiro didn't have such ability when he was a kid. It developed much later."
Mizel: " the overload may enhance the brain's functionality, making humans develop special powers unheard off. If it's true, and if word of it got out..."
Eva gulped at the though that crossed her mind.
Evangeline : " countries will once again resume their studies on the overload regardless of the side effects."
Kirito clicked his tongue.
Kirito: " add to it that only young people can develop overload. So..."
Evangeline : " hundreds of children will be experimented on."
It wasn't something she didn't know. The adult's brain which got used to pressure can't activate overload. It can only be activated at young age. Children were eventually used before to study it but the researches stopped for the dangerous after effects. And if it was known that overload actually could bring fantasy like abilities.
Evangeline : " this should be kept a secret!"
Both men nodded.
Mizel: " not that only it's a mere theory. But if it's true."
Kirito: " the world will change drastically."
Fenrir: " and why you didn't want to tell Hiro about it?"
Evangeline looked at their faces and sighed.
Evangeline : " you wanted to wait and see where things are going with him."
Mizel: " for the meantime, he doesn't need to know of it. But if he confirms our theory..."
Kirito: " some actions will need to be taken to ensure the children of the world won't be used as war weapons more than they were."...
Even after both men went to sleep, Eva wasn't able to do so, not with Mizel and Kirito's words...
Airport...
Once again, they found themselves dragging their things to the airport. With their LBXs tagged safely into their pockets or bags, they proceeded to the main looby where they were to wait until the duck shuttle is given permission to take off.
Kazu: " I don't get why the airport? Back in A nation we were able to land in NICS and take off whenever we wanted, why can't it be the same here?"
Kirito : " because it simply isn't A nation. And plus, NICS have a whole landing for themselves. We may crash Tiny Orbit if we tray to land the Duck shuttle there."
Mizel: " and since the airport is the only possible place to land it, we have to abide by their orders."
Kazu: " I hate this."
Over with Kirino and Takuya.
Mirai: " you're not going with us again, Takuya-san?"
Takuya: " I'm afraid I can't. I'm needed hear."
Touko: " there are a few people Papa trusts to help uncovering the truth behind Dream Future. You're with them I suppose."
Takuya merely nodded.
A bit far away from them, Ryuu, Mika and the others were bidding their friends good-byes as well.
Mika: " I'm sorry we can't be of much help."
Ami: " don't say that, we can leave with nothing to worry about since we know the city is in safe hands."
Riko: " leader! Why leaving us behind!"
Gouda: " if you go, who will take care of the café and the arena?"
Sendou took out a card and smirked.
Sendou: " it will be in vain, they won't be able to do that."
Gouda: " don't say that! You heard him guys! Prove him his damn cards are wrong!"
Riko: " you can depend on us!"
Genji: " just take care, leader."
Tetsou: " the café will be safe."
Jessica: " what's the matter Elie ?"
She asked the girl who was looking around as if she had lost something.
Elie: " Eva, Jin and Yuuya are late. I'm afraid they may miss us."
Lilyan: " strange, they are never usually late."
Elie: " I know."
Gouda: " maybe they've just overslept."
Ran: " did you hear us? It's Jin we're talking about not Gouda."
Gouda: " what's the meaning of that?"
Touko: " there they're."
The three said people finally walked to them, and they didn't seem any better than professor Yamano.
Elie: " what's happened to you? Why are you late and why do you look sleep deprived?"
Yuuya: " we were working till a late hour."
He said fighting back a yawn. Eva was struggling to keep her eyes open and Mizel had to bite back a chuckle.
Evangeline : " don't you dare Mi..."
Ami: " though, for what reason did you stay up?"
Jin: " maintenance."
He said simply. Though it was clear he as well was tired, he seemed to manage better than the other two.
" Eh!"
Jin took out Zenon from his rucksack and showed the LBX to them. Their eyes widened as they crowded around the newly built and polished unit.
Gouda: " hold on, those are top class armor pieces! "
Elie blinked at the small robot.
Elie: " you put back Proto Zenon's wings?"
He nodded.
Jin: " I can't use him to full potential on the riding Saucer."
Zenon: " it limits my agility."
Mirai: " what about the CPU and the inner parts?"
Yuuya: " we used the latest CPU and Motor for him."
Elie was still staring at the red eyes in front of her, which stared back with less words to say and she immediately knew what he was thinking.
Mizel: " the adjustment you added to Zenon, it's mostly so he can stand against Ban's fighting style."
Evangeline : " I knew you would figure it out. Seems Jin expect them to send him after us sooner."
Mizel: " we have to be careful, if they do it will spell troubles for us. Ban's skills are stellar. It will be hard with him on the enemy's side."
Evangeline : " all the more reason to take him back as soon as possible."
Mizel: "... Right."
Finally the call for the duck shuttle was made and the chosen players said their good-byes again and headed to the plane.
Just as he was about to leave, Jin was held back by a hand placed on his shoulder. When he turned back, he faced a very serious auburn male.
Yagami: " you need to know something..."...
While Later...
Duck Shuttle...
" Eh!"
Their voices roared over that of the duck shuttle boosters as it made its way through the blue sky of the day.
Kazu: " this is out of your character but you must be kidding me!"
He told Jin with wide eyes, unable to take in the news.
Elie: " who told you that, Jin?"
She turned to the male sitting next to her with a shocked expression.
Jin: " Yagami-san just told me before we had left. I figured maybe you would like to know."
Muraku: " Seredy Kreisler..."
Hikaru: " is alive..."
Touko: " about time you know."
Arata: " eh! Touko-san you knew of it?"
Touko: " yep, papa told me about it."
Jessica: " I was also aware of it."
Asuka: " Jessica too!"
Evangeline: " surely, the daughter of the prime minister and the daughter of NICS' secretary. Why are we surprised guys? It's obvious they would have access to such information."
Hikaru: " but why?"
Touko closed her eyes as she collected her thoughts.
Touko: " when he was dying, Seredy requested a meeting with Papa, in which he promised to cooperate with us and tell us everything he knew in exchange for saving his life. You know other ministers were against fixing his optima and so he was left to die that why. So Papa decided on risking everything and helped him, while spreading the false news about his death. Only a few trusted people knew of the reality."
Kirito: " which are Kamiya Kousuke, Yagami Eiji and Uzaki Takuya."
He said from his chair, his arms placed back behind his head as he leaned back on them.
Mirai: " Kirito! How do you know about that!?"
Kirito : " think about it, Takuya and Yagami are the most trusted people by the prime minister, and since Kamiya craft are the ones who developed optima, they will be able to fix it, seeing also as like Jin said Seredy's optima is the first Proto types ever so working with it needs someone who understands it very well. To do so they will need Kousuke's help."
Yuuya: " but Takuya-san was the one who told us..."
Touko: " he didn't know himself until recently."
She clarified.
Lilyan: " if you wanted to keep this information a secret from the start, then why sharing it with us now?"
Touko looked over at her.
Touko: " because the situation has changed. Ever since Seredy spoke the truth to Papa, he was aware of the danger roaming around us all. It was why he informed Takuya-san in the first place for he intended for it to be kept between him, Yagami-san and Kamiya."
Mizel: " judging by this, I assume what he had given you is actually that information."
Touko nodded.
Sendou: " I see."
Gouda: " you see what? I can't see anything here!"
Ran: " I don't get it as well."
Elie narrowed her eyes.
Elie: " it's it then. The group of people Onii-chan mentioned."
Touko nodded.
Touko: " I think it doesn't need a genius to understand that Dream Future is actually in touch with those people. Seredy confirmed it himself. But when looking about it, there was no public interaction between them."
Gendou: " they're keeping quite about it."
Evangeline: " they don't want too much eyes turned towards them."
Jessica: " that and of course it will be suspicious if a newly formed corps will have the support of important people in about two months after it actually has started."
Gouda: " but we know them now, right, those people, we can stop them."
Touko: " I doubt so, Gouda. You can't frame them without evidences. And I doubt the word of a terrorist that's supposed to be dead will count as one."
Hiro: " so we know them, but can't do anything for them."
Yuuta: " basically that's the situation now."
Momona: " but isn't the minister trying to uncover secrets of Dream Future?"
Touko: " yeah, in hope of finding evidences. Yagami-san's help is needed in order for that to happen."
Mizel: " I think we better leave those people to the prime minister and the others."
Everyone looked up at him. Mizel didn't care about the doubtful looks they gave him but proceeded to explain.
Mizel: " they're the only people who can handle this case from their positions. For us, we have to focus on what we ought to do, fighting Leviathan is the most important issue at hand."
Yuuta: " you're right."
Everyone looked at him.
Yuuta: " if we think about it, what can we do against those people? We don't have the needed power or means to face them on their ground. But the prime minister and the others do. For now, we were given a specific mission. To find Minerva and the creator."
Sendou brought a card from under his sleeve and flipped it.
Sendou: " Temperance. Pretty logical thing. We will have to go down the path we've taken."
Elie: " so in the end, our objective won't change."
Jessica: " it won't, but we have to be more careful. As Seredy told Jin before, those people don't bother the least by the death of anyone. "...
The L mark appeared on the huge screen of the lab and spoke with its usually electronic voice.
Leviathan : " they're heading to Brinton. Get the experiment ready."...
The shuttle landed safely on the airport and everyone got off it. Once reaching the lobby, they found Mangoose and two members of the Fire Sweet waiting for them.
Ken and Ruri ran ahead as they saw them.
Ruri: " auntie!"
The woman with short and wavy navy blue hair grinned widely and excitedly at them. Her hair had a slightly longer fringe, that was clipped back with an emerald green fan clip attached with amber and orange floral. She also had shorter side tails, sunny, pale skin and amber eyes.
Ken and Ruri skidded into a halt in front of her and she pulled them into a hug.
Woman: " when I heard you were coming I couldn't help but wanting to see you."
Ken: " it's really been a while, auntie."
The woman's brows twitched as she backed from them, wearing a threatening smile.
Woman: " I recall asking you not to call me auntie, I'm still 27."
Ken and Ruri flinched at that.
Ken&Ruri: " sorry Mikoto-nee..."
They answered together with a sweat drop.
The others approached them with a curious look on their faces, to which Ken and Ruri responded with an explanation.
Ken: " this is our aunt, Fujimiya Mikotaba, she is a commander in the Fire Sweet."
Mikotoba: " just Mikoto. And this is one of my teammates, Yujin Sanae."
She pointed at the male by her side.
Yujin: " you can call me Yuji for short."
Mangoose: " they've came with me here to escort you safely to the Royal Billengy Observatory."
Jin: " why would they?"
Mikotoba: " it's the orders from both president Claudia and the secretary of NICS. They have reasons to believe your lives may be in danger. And seeing how they are around, the more security the best."
Jun'ichirou: " since it's the case. Let's not waste time or give Leviathan a chance to act."
Yujin: " very well, please follow us, our vans are waiting."
They marched outside the the airport to find three vans waiting for them.
Mikotoba: " you will be coming with me and Yuji in our car. There is a lot to catch on with you two."
She said offering both the Reizetsu siblings a gentle smile and a pat on their shoulders.
With that, they all headed to the said building. Mikoto catching on Ken and Ruris lives along with their aunt and uncle back at Japan.
Ken: " to think about it, how comes you're here, Mikoto-nee?"
Mikotoba: " as you know, we, the Fire Sweet, has been ordered to help with the situation around the world. We've been given your vaccine program and we've been keeping the L Virus breaks in different countries under control."
Ruri: " I bet it was a hard thing."
Mikotoba: " can't say it is compared to what you've been through. We were lucky enough to not run into one of those new Killer Droids. Though I don't really like it when you're both risking your lives, but being Onee-sama's children, whatever I do to deter you would be in vain."
Ken and Ruri merely gave her an awkward laugh.
Mikotoba: " By the way..."
She looked back at them from the passenger seat.
Mikotoba: " word got to me that you have that terrorist with you."
Ken and Ruri blinked in surprise. How on earth did their aunt know about Mizel seeing that he was supposedly kept as a top secret situation?
Ken: " how did you-"
Mikotoba: " know about it? Come on Ken, I'm a commander in the Fire Sweet, I have access to a lot of top secret intel. How do you think I got the footages of the security cameras of the day Onee-sama lost her life?"
Ruri: " that's... a good point."
Ken: " Mizel actually has pretty important information that will help stop the mess around the world. Seeing that this is the case, cooperating with him is needed."
Mikoto flinched. The idea of joining forces with the one who caused the death of her older sister wasn't really appealing to her.
Ken: " I know what you're thinking, but we can do nothing about it. He has the most valuable information we may need. We won't be able to save the world without his help."
Mikotoba: " I know, I don't need you to tell me that. I know when I have to place my duties before my feelings."
Heaving a sigh, she put on a serious face.
Mikotoba: " until everything is over, that will make us allies."
The car finally parked infront of the Observatory, so did the other vans. They all had come out of the vehicles. Mikoto stood infront of her niece and nephew.
Mikotoba: " we will be staying here to guard you. Don't you worry about an outside attack."
Kazu: " will that be enough?"
He pointed out at the Fire Sweet members out there.
Yujin: " at least, we're sure to be able to hold them back."
He tried to assure them with a smile.
Mikotoba: " don't look down on yourself! Don't worry we will be fine. Focus on your task."
With a nod, Jun'ichirou stroll forward into the building, followed by everyone else.
Yuuta: '' it's huge!"
Jin: " and that's what will make our mission hard."
Jun'ichirou halted and shifted around so he was facing all of them.
Jun'ichirou: " exactly."
Everyone blinked at him. The professor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Jun'ichirou: " truth to be told, it'll be hard to find the driver in the Observatory. It can be anywhere."
Twilight : " isn't there any clues about its whereabout?"
The brunette placed a hand around his chin as he thought deeply about it.
Jun'ichirou: " when the old man Ben rings the bell... It's the perfect time to watch the stars..."
Saurus: " nothing much can be concluded from this but the whereabout of the device."
Elie: " what should we do, Dad?"
Haruka: " we will have to search for it."
Arata: " eh! In this huge building! That will take us ages!"
He complained loudly.
Hikaru: " but we don't have a choice, don't we!"
He pointed out, his eyes closed.
Momona: " alright! Let's race to find the Driver! The faster we go the sooner we'll get it!"
She bumped her fist up in excitement.
Wataru: " seems like a good idea!"
They dashed ahead of the group.
Ran: " why are they very excited?"
Muraku sweat dropped and offered a small smile.
Muraku: " that's their nature. They're over energetic."
Mirai: " since we don't have a choice, we may as well stop wasting our time on complaining and proceed with finding the thing."
Mizel: " finally something logical to be said."
Jun'ichirou: " I will send the whole map of the building to you then, split up and look for the driver. Be careful."
Pandora: " professor, is it possible that Leviathan reached here before us?"
Mizel: " it's hardly possible."
Everyone looked at him.
Mizel: " I think he just figured out the whereabout of the drive when we reached here. But he won't just make a move. He needs to give us time to find the drive."
Sakura: " do you think he hacked the Observatory's Network?"
Mizel: " also a hard possiblity. As I told you the network where the drivers are hidden are well protected by none other than Minerva herself."
Jessica: " then how will Leviathan know when we've found the Driver?"
Mizel: " just be careful of spying LBXs."
Lilyan thought for a second.
Lilyan: " can't you check the cameras to know where the hologram appeared previously?"
Mizel: " I'm sure Minerva deleted records of the hologram appearing suddenly on the security cameras to make it impossible for Leviathan to reach."
Hakai-O: " what a hard situation."
Runa: " we have no choice but to follow with the plan, we have to search this whole Observatory."
Joker: " then let's go..."...
Gichii had a wide smirk at the statics and data speeding across the monitor in front of him.
Gichii: " time to test him in a real battle."
" They will be reaching there soon, sir!"
Gichii: " good. Tell them to stand by and wait for Leviathan's orders."...
Night...
Lilyan: " Jin-san, Elie-san, Eva-san..."
They shook their heads as they met Lilyan, Hiro and Mirai on their way back to the professor's study.
Mirai: " no one said it will be easy."
Elie: " I know, but at least I hopped we could reach somewhere..."
Jin: " we've searched all the labs, all the supervision rooms, but nothing at all."
Hiro: " maybe we should call it a day and take a break."
Lilyan rubbed her chin in thoughts.
Lilyan: " actually, there is one last place that I want to check."
Everyone looked up at her words, trying to understand what she was thinking of.
Evangeline: " do you have something in mind, Lilyan?"
Lilyan: " just follow me."
As she said so everyone followed her lead while she strolled through the hall and to the Observation tower.
Unexpectedly, she found Mizel and Yuuta there as well.
Lilyan: " I bet you had the same idea as me."
Yuuta scratched his cheek.
Yuuta: " well, he said we will be watching the stars didn't he?"
Mirai: " what are you both thinking of?"
Beargguy: " we've searched the Observation tower's control room and found nothing."
Mizel: " right but you didn't go to the real thing."
Zenon: " the real thing?"
Yuuta and Lilyan exchanged nods as they entered the observatory tower. They walked up the rounded stairs until they finally reached the top of it. When Lilyan pushed up the trap door above her head, she glimpsed the huge telescope pointed at the sky. Soon, everyone else followed after her as they climbed up.
Jin: " I see, that's what you meant by the real thing."
Odin Mk2: " but still, where could he place the driver, and why here with no computer?"
Mizel: " you're wrong."
He walked off to the other side of the huge telescope and grabbed something before holding it up and showing it to everyone.
Elie: " is that?"
Genesis: " a tablet?"
The device was linked to the base of the telescope via some wires.
They walked to the boy who had his eyes red in color as he was hacking through the device, carefully not to trip on all the wires in that room linked to the telescope.
Mizel: " there is no mistake. He used this tablet to hack through the control system from here."
Strike: " why didn't he use the control room?"
Elie: " well, it will be obvious that way."
Achilles D9: " then, the driver should be around here."
Evangeline: " watch your steps, we don't want it smashed before seeing the record."
With that, they all kneeled down, looking for the small device.
With all the huge wires, cables and machines around, it was hard to find such tiny object.
Elie: " mo~! It's like searching for a needle in a haystack!"
She made an attempt to move but she tripped on one of the metallic heavy cables and fell down.
Jin: " are you alright?"
He marched to her, offering her a hand to stand up. As she was about to push herself of the ground with a groan, her eyes caught a glimpse of something that sparkled for a second between the wires.
Trying to keep the spot within her sight so not to get it confused, she took Jin's hand and stood up before strolling off to that spot. Her hand extended through the small space and soon, she brought out the small rounded device...
