Awakening...
Elie: " it's a really nice day."
She said pushing her brother's wheelchair through the paths of the hospital garden. The man didn't answer her, merely looking down with dull eyes. Despite that, she kept her smiley face as her gaze dropped down to him.
Elie: " don't worry Onii-chan, just like how you took care of me, I will be taking care of you."
She finally stopped when she saw Jin walking over to her.
Jin: " you took him out?"
Elie: " I had permission. Plus, I thought being outside may help him a bit."
Jin: " I see."
He said taking the handles of the wheelchair.
Jin: " I will be taking over for a while."
They started walking again, trudging under the long trees' shadow.
Jin: " Yuuya is saying the attacks on the city became more frequent."
Hearing that, Elie's face furrowed in worry. The fact that they couldn't do much gnawing at her nerves.
Elie: " I hope they will manage it somehow."
Jin: " they're holding just fine for the meantime. But we don't know when they may target us seriously."
Elie almost gulped at that. Seriously? Does that mean Leviathan wasn't serious with all the attack he launched since they got back? That idea terrified her.
Beargguy : " it's a shame we can't be with them."
Zenon: " we don't know if Leviathan will come after Ban again."
Elie: " even in this situation?"
She flicked her eyes towards the invalid in his wheelchair. Jin bit his lip as he muttered.
Jin: " ... He doesn't care after all."
Elie's eyes dropped down as she began to worry more about their situation. They didn't have the Driver, Leviathan was about to get the data of the D Manipulator and her brother was still half unconscious.
Elie: " everyone, please stay safe."
Unbeknown to her, Ban's hand slightly clenched for a second...
Deep in Dream Future's building, a screen flicked on. It showed footages of Aquarius Lazer and Great Bomber. Finally a photo of a certain purple head appeared above all of them. She was smiling cheerfully at her brother, unaware of the fact that someone was taking pictures of her. Finally a word was written above all pictures.
Interesting...
" Attack Function: Grace Missile!"
Queen's missiles were launched at Baqto, startling it.
Touko: " go! Ken!"
Ken: " alright!"
He said throwing up a certain capsule at the robot. The plates fell down, freeing the many bombs in it that surrounded Baqto as they fell.
Ranger shot his arrow at one of them and it was deflected, hitting all of them and making them explode.
When the smoke cleared, the green robot was in pieces.
Ken: " wow! This thing is amazing, Ruri!"
Ruri: " thanks for the complement."
Val Diver: " it's really good to have such a dependably mechanic with us."
Ruri: " calling me a mechanic all of a sudden..."
She scratched her cheek with a slight blush, all fluttered.
Achilles D9 was looking away from them. Hiro blinked as he noticed that.
Hiro: " Achilles?"
Achilles pointed at the rooftop of a building across the street. There Hiro could spot a black and red LBX.
Hiro: " an LBX..."
Everyone looked at the same direction as him, confused.
Mirai: " an ally? Or an enemy?"
The LBX looked down at them before it jumped up, landing in front of them. Now they were able to see it clearly.
Ran: " what! What's happening there, Hiro?"
Kazu: " huh! That LBX!"
Ami: " Ifreet!"
Takuya: " hold on! It's slightly different from the Ifreet we knew!"
Far away, on the shadow of a nearby building, a boy was observing the situation through his CCM.
" Hm, the legendary players are there as well, and Kamui Daimon students... "
His lips pursed, unsure for a second, still he regained his cool air.
" Finish them off, Ifreet Kai."
The LBX let out a terrifying roar before launching at the other ones like a wild animal.
The humans quickly backed and held their CCMs while the LBXs went on and blocked him.
Strike: " I think that makes him an enemy!"
The LBX's fists were covered in fire as he started punching and pushing them away.
Achilles D9 went to stop his attack, eventually exchanging a few clashes between the sword and the bare fists before he was kicked in the chest, causing his armor to crack.
Ruri: " Achilles D9 can't stand in front of it!"
Ken: " well! Let's try this!"
He quickly pressed on the keys of his CCM and Ranger backed, holding up his bow.
Ken: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Sagita Rain!"
Ranger shot up his energy arrow, that split midair and fell down on Ifreet like a rain of arrows. But much to everyone's shock, Ifreet managed to deflect them with only his fists.
Hikaru: " Fast! Then..."
Val Diver dashed forward to slash at him with his katana, but Ifreet grabbed his arm and threw him away easily.
Hikaru: " tsk!"
Touko: " back off!"
Queen launched her aquarius Lazer and dust rose up all around the robot, but when it faded, they could still see his unscratched body as he formed a power shield in front of him.
Queen: " what!"
The boy hiding in the shadow looked down at his CCM. He typed on his red smartphone type CCM and Ifreet's eyes glowed as he roared again.
Ifreet: " Attack Function! Varzodas!"
Hiro: " what!"
The LBX glowed in a red aura, he charged up energy in his fists and rushed forward using his boosters. He punched each and every LBX hardly, causing a serious damage to them.
They laid on the ground, sparks flying out of them and cracks covering their armors.
Mirai: " a talking LBX..."
A bead of sweat dropped down of her face as she realized the LBX they were fighting wasn't just an infected one.
Touko: " Leviathan's !"
Ken: " anyone who can move?!"
He whirled his head around in worry to check on them. Everyone were typing on their CCMs in a nervous pace, it was enough to tell him that they couldn't.
Ifreet walked over to Strike Freedom and grabbed his head, almost smashing it.
Mirai: " Strike!"
Strike was struggling to free himself. Ifreet pulled back his free fist and started punching him violently time and time again, cracking his armor more.
Mirai's eyes widened in fear as she was seeing her LBX getting hurt.
Mirai: " stop!"
Hiro: " Achilles!"
The LBX's boosters activated as he crushed on the other robot, pushing him away and forcing him to free Strike.
Ifreet dragged his feet on the ground, stopping Achilles from pushing him further and flooring him down, slamming his head on the asphalt.
Hiro: " Achilles !"
Ruri quickly dealt a number on her CCM.
Ruri: " Yuuki-san!..."
Touko clicked her teeth at the LBX insane power.
Touko: " he is a real... Monster..."
Hiro was still struggling to free his LBX from the other's tight grasp. But Ifreet was just too strong.
Hiro: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Sword Bit!"
The small bits of blue energy launched out of Achilles' back and towards Ifreet, who had to back down.
Achilles D9 flew away from him and kept a distance between them.
Hiro: " can you still move?"
Achilles D9: " you don't have to ask. To the very end..."
Hiro's overload activated.
Hiro: " we will keep fighting!"
His CCM bursted in a strong white light while Achilles D9 was glowing blue.
Achilles D9: " Armor Change!"
His armor shape shifted in a split of second.
" Ikaros Force!"
Mirai: " Ikaros Force!?"
Hiro quickly pressed on his CCM, and the light blue robot dashed forward, just as Ifreet directed a punch at him, he managed to duck under his arm like if he predicted his attack and shifted easily so to thrust him on the side of the torso.
Ifreet quickly put a distance between them.
Ruri: " I see. Just like Ikaros Zero, Ikaros Force's agility is higher than Achilles D9. With such flexible joints, coupled with the overload, he will be able to dodge and land attacks to an enemy of a heavy weight easily."
Ifreet charged forward with full speed, bunting Ikaros Force.
Ken: " still, Ifreet's strength is not to be underestimated."
Ruri bit her lip as she washed over Hiro's back while his whole attention was on his CCM.
Ruri: " if only Hiro-san can hold it all together for a while..."...
Hospital...
She gently placed her brother back in his bed, making sure to cover him.
Elie: " here, comfortable right?"
Jin came in the room holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a can of orange juice in the other.
Jin: " you hardly eat anything since the morning."
Elie: " sorry, thanks. But I don't think any thing would go down my throat."
She said taking the can from him and opening it.
" Breaking news!"
They both shifted their attention to the TV screen.
" A mass attack of LBXs is now occuring in the center of Tokio City. The damage is deemed to be so great and some losses and injuries were reported."
The screen showed footages of destroyed building and fume climbing up the sky, covering the attacked areas like clouds.
Elie almost dropped her juice as she saw that. Jin quickly reached to his CCM and called Kirito. When the man answered, he was able to hear gunshots on the other side.
Kirito: " we're busy if you don't mind!"
Jin: " what's happening there?"
Kousuke : " a new Killer Droid model, that's what happened. And they're not beautiful in any way."
Kirito: " we will manage it somehow. Don't worry about us. "
Evangeline : " they seem to target the center, but if the hospital is to be attacked, protect it."
And the call ended. Elie and Jin shifted their attention to the destroyed city again.
Elie: " what should we do?"
Beep! Beep!
The sound of the monitor machine was louder than ever.
Elie: " Onii-chan !"
She turned towards him and her eyes widened at what she saw. Ban was struggling to push himself up, trying to get up from his bed. His hand stretched as if he wanted to reach for his CCM laying on the table by the end of the bed.
Odin flew out of Elie's pocket and looked at his player.
Odin: " Ban..."
Elie: " even in this situation, Onii-chan is..."
Zenon: " half unconscious as he is, he is still wanting to fight..."
Jin's eyes slightly narrowed.
Elie walked over at him and hugged him tight, aiming to hold him back with her weight.
Elie: " I understand what you're feeling. I truly do. But you don't have to fight in your situation, no one will blame you, Onii-chan!"
But Ban's hand didn't go back, still struggling to stand up.
Elie: " Onii-chan!"
It wasn't until Jin grasped both his shoulders and shoved him back that he was obliged to concede and stopped struggling.
Jin looked at the void green eyes in front of him and gave a gentle smile.
Jin: " I see, this is your answer then. The whole time, it was really your own answer."
His air shifted to serious as he spoke in a mild voice.
Jin: " I will take care of it, so don't you worry. Just stay safe."
And he stood up, only to meet Elie's worried eyes.
Elie: " Jin..."
Jin: " they will need more help. You stay here in case the target him again."
He noticed her worried look didn't dissipate, he could tell she wasn't found of the idea of him going on his own.
Jin then placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her.
Jin: " don't worry, I will be fine."
She stepped forward and hugged him.
Elie: " take care then. I won't bear another loss."
He wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug.
Jin: " I will be back."
Elie looked up at him with tearful eyes.
Elie: " promise me that you will come back!"
Jin: " I promise."
And so he let go of her and rushed through the door. Elie looked after him while clenching her hands tightly, although she wanted to go with him, she also didn't want to leave her brother on his own. Behind her, the beeping sound was just getting louder...
Ikaros Force was still standing, cracks covering his armor, but still not giving up yet.
" Ruri!"
Ruri snapped her head back as she was called only to see a white car that parked nearby. A young man in a LAB coat ran out of it, almost tripping on his way to her. She hurried to him immediately.
Ruri: " did you bring it, Yuuki-san?"
Yuuki: " ah!"
He said giving her the case he was holding. She quickly opened it and took out a certain white device before rushing to Hiro's side.
Ruri: " Hiro-san! Please use this!"
Hiro looked down at the white device.
Ruri: " this is Hellfire, a high output Laser launcher! It should be able to defeat him!"
Hiro narrowed his eyes and nodded at the Purple head.
Hiro: " alright! Ikaros Force !"
He threw up the weapon that quickly floated and took its position midair, ready for its rider.
Ikaros Force promptly took his place in its control system and all six launchers pointed at Ifreet before charging their blasts and firing.
Ifreet formed another shield of energy but it couldn't stand in front of the onslaught, actually cracking. He hardly managed to dodge, still he lost an arm. When the dust cleared, it divulged the huge hole made by the attack.
Hikaru: " what a power..."
It was the least he could say after what he had seen of the artifact.
" Tsk. Back off for now, Ifreet."
His player oredered, though the LBX roared. His voice as monstrous as it could ever be.
Ifreet: " 𝔑𝔬! ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔶! 𝔐𝔬𝔬𝔬𝔬𝔯𝔢!"
" Get back! Right now!"
Ifreet roared and begrudgingly backed off. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as the coast was clear. They then hurried over to retrieve their LBXs.
Ruri: " are you alright! Valkyrie!"
Valkyrie: " I can't move..."
Touko: " all of our LBXs had received a huge damage."
She stated sullenly as she inspected their situation.
Hikaru: " and the others need our help."
He gritted his teeth in anger at how injured his LBX was.
Ruri: " Hiro-san, you're the only one who can still fight. Please use the Hellfire and help everyone else."
Hiro's eyes met with Ruri's before he nodded in understanding and heading off to the nearby area, Ikaros Force flying the new aircraft after him...
Jin rushed through the route, intending to catch up with Jessica and the others who weren't stationed far away from the hospital. His CCM suddenly rang and he answered.
Kirito: " I told you to stay in the hospital! Is what I want to say but I will be thankful for this now."
Jin: " how did you-"
Kirito: " you've just ran past where Mizel is and he informed me. Anyway, I need you to head to Tokio bridge."
Zenon: " eh!"
Twilight: " we've spotted more back up, they will be crossing through the bridge. Hold them back, Mizel will come to support you when he is finished there."
Jin: " understood then!"
He closed his CCM and rounded the next corner, heading to the bridge. He didn't encounter any enemies till he finally reached the said place.
Zenon: " where are the enemies?"
Jin squinted at the other end of the bridge and he was able to spot a black robot standing there.
Zenon: " just one unit!"
Jin narrowed his eyes and held up his CCM. He wasn't feeling easy about that the least bit.
Jin: " this is the new model Kirito mentioned. We have to be careful."
Zenon: " Roger!"
He said jumping of Jin's shoulder, brandishing his hammer.
The other robot merely held up a beam handle from which shot out the Laser blade as the killer Droid marched on to Zenon.
Zenon: " how should we move?"
Jin eyed their enemy carefully.
Jin: " it has laser rifles on both sides of its shoulders, so keeping a distance won't work out."
Zenon: " then we attack it from a close range!"
He said running forward and swaying his hammer at his enemy. The killer Droid easily blocked it with its arm solely.
Zenon: " tough!"
The robot started charging its chest Lazer buster.
Jin: " retreat!"
Zenon pulled himself away just in time to dodge the Laser beam shot at him. The Laser cut one of the metallic ropes that were holding the bridge, making it shake slightly. Jin's eyes widened as he saw the metallic cord slanging in the air.
Jin: " with such power, melting an LBX isn't hard."
The monstrous robot sprinted forward while whirling the beam sword, slicing at Zenon and causing a deep scratch on his torso.
Zenon quickly swiped his hammer to hit the black unit but it dodged. Zenon hurriedly jumped back before falling on his knee.
Jin: " it's really fast for its weight."
The Laser rifles shot at Zenon who merely held his hammer in defense.
When the smoke faded, Zenon was pushed back and rolled on the ground.
Zenon: " damn it... Jin!..."
Jin: " Armor Change!"
A blue glow wrapped Zenon as his form shifted.
" Triton!"
Jin: " we have to hold it back no matter what!"
The other unit kept launching its Laser while Triton dodged it deftly. However, the Lazer was cutting through the ropes and bares of the bridge that it actually shook vigorously this time.
Eventually, once or twice the beam passed right near Jin, to which he had to back.
Triton: " Jin!"
Jin: " don't bother about me! We still have to stop it! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Ocean Blast!"
The blue LBX charged his water drill at the enemy but it ducked down and retaliated by shooting its laser back, hitting Triton's leg.
Jin: " Triton!"
Triton struggled up, sparks flying out of his damaged leg and it was slightly sliding to the side, causing him to lose balance.
The Killer Droid headed for the assault and Triton was hardly brushing him off with his injured leg.
Triton: " I still... Can go!"...
Mizel's lance and the Killer Droid's beam sword clashed. They stood still for a while, each pouring his strength in his weapon to push the other back.
Mizel: " tsk, I'm taking longer than expected... At this rate, I won't be able to make it to Jin ..."
The Killer Droid pressed his sword, almost overpowering Mizel.
Mizel: " I won't lose to you!"
He hastily jolted himself back.
Mizel: " Attack Function: Stinger Missile!"
The missiles launched off towards the black unit and hit it head on, creating multiple explosions and overwhelming it with smoke.
Mizel: " now, it's all or nothing! Attack Function-"
" Jet Strike!"
Mizel had already moved forward with the attack when he suddenly heard it. And soon, the enemy's unit was splintered..
The bridge was in a quite bad shape as the fight between the LBX and the Killer Droid continued on.
Jin: " this is bad..."
The bridge shook violently and Jin had to grab onto a nearby pole so not to fall.
Jin: " at this rate..."
Images of the past flashed through his mind at that and he quickly shook his head to get back to the present. It wasn't the time...
As Triton narrowly avoided the Laser buster, it hit the asphalt of the bridge, causing it to shake even more. Jin grabbed tightly on the pole when suddenly he heard a snap.
He looked up and saw the ropes of the bridge were snatching one after the other, flying up high and falling down with an incredulous speed, hitting the ground of the bridge hardly.
Jin's eyes widened as one of the huge ropes was falling down his way. He quickly pushed himself away in the last second, avoiding it.
But the bridge started fracturing as a result of the many banging from the heavy metallic cords. Momentously, the part Jin was standing on slowly started to get loose and bend.
Triton: " Jin!"
Before he could make it back to his player, the Killer Droid grabbed his head and slammed it with all its might on the ground, causing a strong shock wave.
The cracks on the asphalt widened. Jin ran off, trying to grab anything to get to a safe zone, but he was late. Before his mind could process it, he was falling down.
Triton: " JIN!"
As he fell a prey for the gravity, moments of when they had fallen down the bridge came back, and his eyes slightly widened.
He remembered both his parents warping their arms around him, protecting him with their lives. So when they were found under the ruins, only he had survived.
His look slightly softened.
Jin: " I see... I remember it now, the reason why only I survived... because back then, my parents had given their lives to protect mine..."
Everything around him was falling down, cords, rocks and debris of the bridge... They were passing by him as he stared at the blue sky. His eyes slowly closed as he readied himself to the coming impact.
Jin: " is this it... Am I bound to die here after all? Is this the continuation of that night... After everything my parents had been through to save me..."
" Promise me that you will come back!"
His eyes snapped open when that voice cut through his thoughts and his hand stretched up, trying to find anything to hold on in order to survive.
Jin: " I can't die here! I promised! I have to go back to Elie!"
On one of the intact sides of the bridge, fast footsteps could be heard as their owner made for the falling part.
" Mizel!"
Shortly, a hand grabbed his extended arm and his eyes widened as he got a glimpse of its owner. He flew him through the falling rubbles, following a certain LBX's lead and finally reached the safe area. They both fell on the ground as the huge hexagon board the savor was flying on faded.
" Ouch! You could have warned us!..."
Mizel: " sorry, my mistake. I thought you could bear with such a rough landing."
Jin looked at the man who had stood on his feet and was already talking to O-Legion in disbelief.
Jin: " Ban... Kun..."
Ban looked down to his friend.
Ban: " what's the matter Jin? You seem like you've just seen a ghost."
" Jin!"
His eyes reverted from the brunette and to the woman that ran to him. She dropped down and pulled him into a tight hug. His eyes widened at that.
Elie: " thank God... You idiot Jin..."
As his surprise wore off, the man finally hugged her back.
Ban: " I would like it if you don't worry my sister too much."
Jin smirked as his eyes flicked back to the brunette.
Jin: " are you one to talk."
He merely gave a sheepish laugh before his face scowled as he gazed back at the black unit waiting on the other end of the bridge.
Ban: " we need to take that one down, right?"
He took a deep breath before yelling on top of his lungs.
Ban: " Odin!"
Something sparkled in the sky before Odin Mk2 launched down on the black unit, pushing it away from Triton.
Odin: " are you alright? Can you stand?"
Triton: " don't look down on me. I still can fight."
He said leaning on his hammer to stand up.
Mizel: " very well."
He quickly joined them along with the other pink robot.
Beargguy : " shall we finish it off then."
Ban: " alright! Jin and Elie weaken it with Hissatsu Functions! Mizel and I will finish it off with Jet Strike!"
Mizel : " use your strongest attack Functions."
Elie: " yosh. Let's go, Jin!"
He nodded as he held out his CCM.
Jin: " Armor Change!"
In a flash of purple light, Triton shifted to Emperor.
Ban: " eh! Why Emperor all of a sudden?"
Jin merely smirked but his eyes were glimmering confidently.
Jin&Elie: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Kyojin no Tettsui!"
" Attack Function: God Knows!"
Emperor charged energy around him before he floated up, focusing the energy in his Hammer. A huge titan hologram appeared behind him before sweeping down his weapon at his target.
Beargguy's wings enlarged and cloned to three pairs. They wrapped the pink robot before he soared up, they slightly enlarged as they formed a pink energy ball covered in pink lightning.
Beargguy held up his left arm at the ball and shot at it, unleasing with that a massive wave of pink energy and lightning.
The black unit was thrown backwards by the two attacks. Two small jets flew through the dust and hit it directly, destroying it with that...
