Shang-Pao...
Eventually Mizel had to stop the record and look back at Lilyan.
Mizel: " hold on, what did you just say?"
Lilyan's eyes were glued to the screen, making sure that she wasn't mistaken it. It was really him, it was her brother. The kind smile, the confident shine of his eyes and his tag necklace.
Elie: " Lilyan-san, is this really... Your brother..."
Lilyan merely nodded her head though her eyes didn't leave the hologram.
Yuuya: " the creator is..."
Ran: " Lilyan's brother!"
Nightmare: " well, that's an unexpected turn of events."
Haruka: " I doubt you didn't know about that?"
She looked down at Mizel who merely gave her a shrug.
Mizel: " this is my first time hearing of it, I didn't know he has a sister."
Lilyan: " to be honest, I've always had that doubt, the creator had the same interests as Onii-sama. But, it seemed really farfetched. But now..."
Her eyes watered and it was hard to hold back tears. She had found him, she had found the one person she was looking for all this time. But even though she found him, he was far away from her reach, and possibly in danger.
Elie marched to her and patted her shoulder gently.
Elie: " I know what you're thinking of. Don't worry, we will be saving your brother as well, Lilyan-san."
Lilyan managed a smile at her and nodded her head.
Mirai nodded with a smile before turning to Mizel.
Mirai: " Go ahead with the record."
Mizel obeyed as the video was played again. When they reached its end. Hakai-O spoke.
Hakai-O : " Chinese Dragon... Dragon Warrior?!..."
Lilyan thought for a second before something in her mind clicked. But as she was about to speak, Otacross beat her to it.
Otacross : " it's obvious. It's in Shang-Pao deyo~."
" Eh!"
Lilyan: " he is actually referring to the Kung Fu Panda series."
Mirai and Hiro were the only ones who made sense of what she said.
Mirai: " oh, so true."
Hiro: " Lilyan-san ! You watched that show too!"
Lilyan: " mostly the movies and some episodes."
Eva shifted her eyes through the three of them.
Evangeline : " who thought Otakus will be in handy one day."
Ami: " true..."
Sakura: " so the next Driver is in Shang-Pao?"
Hiro: " the Dragon tower, exactly within the Panda statue."
Jun'ichirou : " very well, we shall move there now. But we will stand by till your LBXs are in the shape to battle again."
Mizel: " very well, time to upgrade your LBXs more..."...
Dream Future...
Gichii smirked from ear to ear as he witnessed the modification on both the suit and the purple Killer Droid.
Gichii : " as we thought, Gafran will be the most suitable subject for this test."
François stood there, playing with his hair and smirking mischievously.
François : " the final product seems promising. Je ne peut plus attendre pour lui placer en action."
Gichii : " neither do I."...
By the end of the day, te Duck shuttle was already landing on the surface of the water near Shang-Pao. It was already late and everyone were none surprisingly tired of their fights and went to sleep while Jin, Eva, Kirito and Mizel were helping Otacross, Jun'ichirou and Haruka working on the LBXs.
Haruka: " it's already this late."
She checked the time on her laptop.
Jun'ichirou : " fixing the damaged LBXs after every battle is really tiring."
Kirito: " not to mention upgrading them."
He said strapping the armor pieces back to Beargguy before Mizel passed him Hakai-O's pieces.
Evangeline : " they are using our battle data against us. If we don't continue upgrading, we will be easily stomped by them."
Mizel: " and seeing the new type of Killer Droid they had developed, we have to give the LBXs more weight for them to be able to affect it."
Jin finished fixing Odin Mk2 when he stood up.
Jin: " I will grab something to drink."
Kirito: " bring me a Coke."
Evangeline : " a bottle of water is fine."
Jin: " professor?"
Jun'ichirou : " coffee if you please."
Haruka : " same here, and thanks."
And Jin walked out. As he strolled over to the kitchen, Zenon climbed on his shoulder.
Zenon: " only three Drivers left. We're almost there."
Jin: " we still have to take back Ban-kun."
Zenon : " we will do. Surely. It will just need tim-"
When he was about to reach the briefing room, he could hear a familiar voice.
Zenon: " is this... Singing..."
Feeling a little confused, Jin slowly walked in. He saw Lilyan sitting down at the very end of the table so he could only see her back as she was looking down at something, singing softly to herself.
Lilyan: " No where to turn~
No where to hide~
Between a rock and a hard place~
Someone to find~
I know that times are tough, just down and out~
Putting my faith in tomorrow~."
He slowly walked over to her and he could see that she was holding a photographe in her hand.
She noticed him and looked up.
Lilyan: " Jin-san, sorry I didn't notice when you came in."
Jin: " no, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
She shook her head with a gentle smile. Jin's eyes wandered back to the picture.
Jin: " is this your family?"
Lilyan slightly nodded before looking down at it again wistfully.
Lilyan: " sometimes, I wish that time had frozen when we took this picture. It was our last picture as a happy family."
Her face was washed over by an air of sadness.
Lilyan: " right now, I'm all on my own. My parents are gone. Nii-san isn't nice to me anymore and Onii-sama is far away from me. Even after I found a lead to him, I still feel... I still feel like I will never be able to reach him. I just, feel lonely. And without Ban-kun..."
Her hands clenched on the picture.
Lilyan: " there was a time I wished that I had gone with my parents the night we had the accident, that I wasn't the only one to survive. I fell down, but the one who pulled me up was Onii-sama. But then, he just disappeared. I had been looking all over for him and bearing Nii-san's abuse for so long till, Ban-kun appeared in my life. For the first time since, I didn't feel lonely. Yet they had to take Ban-kun away as well. And now, when I had found Onii-sama, I don't know why but I feel... I feel like a stranger to him. Maybe because Onii-sama was putting his life in danger all this time and I couldn't be by his side to help him... Or maybe..."
Jin: " you sometimes think he abandoned you too, isn't it."
Lilyan: "... I know I shouldn't feel that way. I know that he has his own things to take care off. But, sometimes I feel left behind, and I hate it whenever I feel that way."
Jin had a good look at her before finally speaking softly.
Jin: " we may have some similar things, both of us."
He offered a smile and sat next to her.
Jin: " to be honest, I would have loved to have a sibling as well. Maybe things could have been easier if I had one. I think you're so lucky to have a brother who would cheer you up when in time of need."
Lilyan: " yet, I wasn't able to do the same thing for him. I was just a burden to him before that he pushed me away this time."
Jin: " I don't think so."
She looked up at his red eyes and his smile softened.
Jin: " I'm sure your brother cares for you. That's his way of keeping you safe."
Lilyan stared at him.
Jin: " you do know him. You think he would simply ditch you?"
Lilyan: " I'm... not sure..."
She sagged in her seat.
Jin: " then ask him. Find him and get the truth from him."
She thought carefully about his words. It was true. She could stay there and wail till the morning if she wanted. But that would bring her no answers. The only way left for her is to find her brother and ask him.
Lilyan: " you're right. Thinking about it now won't do anything. I will just have to hear it from him directly, why he left me behind. Thanks, Jin-san."
She bowed and left for her room...
Next day...
His eyelids slightly twitched as he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and his eyes snapped open to the sight of Elie's face.
Elie: " what should I do with you, sleeping here of all places."
He just realized he had fallen asleep on the table in the maintenance room after everyone had left.
Elie: " and Even dragging poor Eva with you."
She said gently shaking the said girl awake. She sat up with almost closed eyes, clearly tired from staying up till a late hour.
Evangeline : " has the sun woken up..."
Elie: " Jin! You slave driver!"
Jin merely ran his hand back through his hair as he tried to collect his thoughts.
Jin: " what time is it?"
Elie: " half past 5. You can still get some sleep, go and rest on a real bed."
She was helping the younger woman up. Jin hardly pulled himself up and the back of his neck felt stiff.
Jin: " what will you do on this early hour?"
Elie: " I will be helping Jessica to prepare breakfast. You both better get some rest before we're off."
Jin: " hold-"
Elie: " no can do! Hurry up and go!"
She pushed them all the way back to their rooms and didn't leave before making sure both were sound asleep.
Jessica walked over to her from behind as she headed back to the briefing room to get their meal ready.
Jessica: " as usual, you're the caring sister. More like the caring girlfriend for Jin now~."
Elie flashed red as she turned to face Jessica, one finger threateningly pointed in between her eyes.
Elie: " one more word and no pie for breakfast."...
A private jet was actually flying over Shang-Pao, boarding it were none other than Ban and Gichii.
Gichii : " finally it's time to show them..."
He looked at the Man next to him who was in his black and red suit. His eyes were dull and his face held no sign of emotions.
Gichii: " Leviathan's strongest player."
His smirk widened before he looked back to his tablet, not noticing the man next to him moving his lips as he tried to voice out a word.
Elie...
The Dragon Tower's footages appeared on the huge screen in the briefing room.
Jun'ichirou : " our plan won't be different from the usual. But since the building is huge, we will need more people inside."
Cobra : " Jin, Elie, Lilyan, Ruri, Ken, Eva, Yuuya and Mizel, you will infiltrate."
Haruka: " Hiro, Ran, Mirai and Arata, you have the entrance."
Otacross : " the others will stop their back ups as usual deyo~."
Touko: " they will surely manage to sneak Ban in somehow. This time, even if takes physical force, do not allow him to leave."
Genesis : " and if we find Gichii?"
Runa: " we will just have to capture him I presume."
Jessica: " exactly."
Queen: " then, we can set Gichii as a target for us as well."
Gendou: " that way, we will make sure Ban-san won't be going back to them."
Cobra: " we will instruct you from here. Leviathan will be able to track you down the moment you will appear on the security cameras, so be careful."
They all nodded before rushing out the briefing room...
Soon, Jin, Elie, Lilyan, Ruri, Ken, Eva, Yuuya and Mizel could be seen glancing at the huge building surrounded by the Dragon's statue.
Jin: " Shang-Pao's theme park."
Yuuya: " riding on a chinese dragon with the dragon warrior."
Liu Bei: " our goal is the panda on top of the building."
Hiro looked back at their friends.
Hiro: " Jin-san, leave the entrance to us."
Ran: " be careful inside."
They nodded.
Elie: " let's hurry up then!"
And they all rushed past the gates, climbing the stairs to the main building.
Jin: " we'll be using the same path Ban-kun and the others used before."
Yuuya: " the emergency stairs, right?"
Their group walked through the front door of the huge tower, and when they reached the hall, they could see people moving about, games everywhere and huge screens displaying all kind of things, news, games, competitions...
Yuuya: " hope they won't target those innocent people."
Jin's eyes fell on the elevator.
Jin: " let's go."
He hurried to the elevator and got on. Lilyan pressed on the button and the it moved up.
When it stopped they found themselves in another floor, but it seemed more like a mall with a lot of shops, just like with the previous hall, it had many screens littered around.
Twilight: " this place is really huge."
Ruri: " more like Tokio Sia."
Ken: " Jin-san, where now?"
The man led them to the emergency exit.
Just as they pushed the door open, Baqtos were facing them.
Ruri: " when did they!"
Yuuya: " we won't ever know!"
He said taking out his CCM and Liu Bei dashed forward, slashing at the enemy LBXs and pushing them backward to open a path to his friends.
Yuuya: " they must have found another way up! Hurry and find Ban-kun! I will stop them here!"
Jin: " Yuuya!"
Yuuya: " I know better than anyone, just how terrifying that suit is. That's why, please, save Ban-kun!"
Elie: " Yuuya..."
Lilyan frowned as she rushed to his side.
Lilyan: " I will stay with him!"
Ruri : " Lilyan-san !"
Eva whipped out her CCM and Twilight flew next to Liu Bei.
Evangeline : " I'll help as well."
Yuuya: " Eva-kun."
Lilyan: " everyone, please find Ban-kun and save him."
Jin narrowed his eyes and nodded before looking at the others.
Jin: " let's go."
They all climbed up the stairs except Ruri in a hast.
Ken: " Ruri! Hurry up!"
Ruri: " just give me a second!"
She looked at the three players.
Ruri: " can I trust you with something?"...
Elie: " I see it! The exit!"
They had to jump over the 'No Trespassing ' sign and pushed the door open. They stepped out into some kind of a yard. On their right, they could see the stairs leading up to the Panda Statue. On thier left, was a small bridge linking them to a smaller turret.
Jin and Elie stopped when Ban walked out of the shadow of the turret and over the bridge, heading to them and holding a purple Killer Droid in his hand.
Elie: " Onii-chan..."
Ban: "... Elie..."
Their eyes widened as he recognized his sister, but his face didn't give any sign of emotions.
Odin, Beargguy and Zenon landed in front of their players.
Elie: " we will take care of Onii-chan!"
Jin: " get the Driver!"
Ruri and Ken hesitated, but eventually turned to run up the stairs. However, as they reached the top of the first set of stairs, a bunch of green Killer Droids were waiting for them.
Mizel: " there!"
He pointed at another robot that was trying to open the panda's door.
Ruri: " I will stop it!"
Mizel quickly took the form of O-Legion and he stopped the Baqtos that were trying to chase her as she scurried up the staircase.
Mizel: " they're really tough..."
Ranger was hardly keeping them back using his energy arrows.
Ken: " tsk!"
Down with Ban and the others, they already started clashing.
Jin: " as I thought, Gafran is more suitable with Ban-kun's fighting style!"
Beargguy : " but that doesn't mean we won't be able to defeat him!"
Elie: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Hyper Energy Bomb!"
The sphere of energy hit the robot across the face, forcing it to stagger.
Jin: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Impact Kaiser!"
The shock of energy knocked the robot off balance and Odin dashed forward, thrusting his lance in the robot's torso.
Gafran fell on its knee as sparks flew out of it.
Elie : " this is it! We're not letting you go this time!"
Ban didn't seem the least bit worried.
Ban: " forced overload."
All the screen around him became red in color, and for an instant, Elie thought she saw him twitching in pain.
Ban: " Synchro... Process..."
Jin and Elie's eyes widened in shock as a red glow overflown both him and Gafran.
When it faded, Gafran's armor was strapped to Ban's body.
Elie: " you've gotta be joking me."
Odin: " Synchro... Process..."
Ban dashed forward and summoned a laser blade. Odin flew up and blocked his attack.
Odin: " where did he get such power?!"
He hardly brushed off the laser blade and span around Ban, slashing at his side, which made him put a distance between them.
Zenon: " Jin! Let's attack!"
Jin: " we can't!"
Elie and Zenon looked back at him. Jin pointed at where Odin had slashed and for their surprise, they could see blood covering the black fabric of the now torn suit.
Jin: " this is not like Arata's armor. The armor isn't protecting Ban-kun. If we attack..."
Beargguy : " we... Hurt him..."
Elie: " it can't be..."
She looked at her brother's void eyes in horror.
Elie: " what should we do now..."...
