Party...


" Party!"

" Again!"

They all exclaimed in unison as they were told. Only Ban and the others who had experienced it once added the last word.

Jessica: " of course, it's common to hold a party after each Artemis. This year's Artemis party will be held there."

She pointed up at the highest building that could be seen in the horizon.

Asuka: " that's..."

Aya: " the building of Dream Future."

She said approaching them with a smile on her face.

Asuka: " there won't be any LBXs attacks right?"

She said making sure they were going to be safe this time. Two fights against infected LBXs in the same day wasn't something she was looking for.

Aya: " hardly. The protection is doubled."

Yosra: " note that it was already doubled before the incident of this morning."

Gouda: " are we going to dress up formally again?"

Jessica: " pretty sure it's the case."

Aya sweat dropped while scratching the back of her head.

Aya: " unfortunately yeah, there is a dress code."

Sendou: " oh boy."

Elie's eyes sparkled in enthusiasm as she held on Eva's arm.

Elie: " let's go!"

Evangeline : " hold on! Who said I want to come! Stop dragging me around!"

Elie: " come on, it'll be fun! And that will be an opportunity to study all different types of formal clothes!"

Ban: " that's what you're after."

He had an awkward laugh at that.

Evangeline : " and that's what I'm trying to escape."

Jin: " so when's the party?"

Aya: " around 8 pm. You still have time to pick your clothes."

Jessica: " but where can we find clothes? Last time we had the hotel's dressing to pick from."

Aya: " I see, in this case I think we may need to go shopping."

Lillia: " we'll pass. We already packed our own clothes just in case."

Aya: " same as well, but for the others... Well if you want to attend the party you need to. I know a mall nearby, we can get what you need there for good prices. What do you think?"

Everyone seemed to think about it for a while.

Hiro : " is it alright, Ban-san?"

His first reaction was to make sure of their leader's decision. Ban rubbed his head in thoughts.

Ban: " I'm not sure. I understand that you need a break but... We also need to find the creator soon."

Evangeline : " true. Well said Ban. Leviathan may be on the move right now."

She nodded her head agreeing with him.

Mirai : " even though, we can't move this night."

The blunette said as she approached them after she had left for a call.

Mirai: " Mom just called. There seems to be some technical troubles with the Duck Shuttle. Metamo is fixing it now with mother but it will take some time."

Ran thought of grasping the chance.

Ran: " so since it will take a while, shall we go to the party please~"

She sparkled her eyes at the brunette in a pleading way. Ban sweat dropped and moved his gaze to the blonde next to him.

Lilyan cocked her head to the side slightly.

Lilyan: " well, I've never gone to a party before. So I think it will be fun to try it out."

" Eh!"

Almost all the girls gapped their mouths at that. Elie and Eva, seeing their reaction, tried to hide behind Ban and Jin before they can be targeted.

Jessica: " you've never been to a party before!"

Lilyan shook her head with an indifferent face.

Mirai: " how! We can't allow that! Lilyan! We will make sure your first party will be one that you will never forget!"

Jessica walked behind her and placed her hands on her shoulders with a big smile, startling her.

Jessica: " don't worry about your outfit. I will make sure you're the most beautiful woman in the party."

Lilyan didn't know what she should say.

Lilyan: " um... Well, thanks... I guess..."

Jin looked over at the excited faces of everyone else.

Jin: " I think it can't be helped."

Jessica: " then it's decided, let's go!"

They followed Aya as she lead the way. Eva lingered back, weighing her options.

Evangeline : " you know, I better go help Professor Oozora with the Duck Shuttle."

She half whirled around when Elie hooked her arm around hers and tugged her off.

Elie: " no you won't. Unless you want me to point that this is your first party too to Jessica and the others."

Evangeline : " why always dragging me!"...


Yagami ended the call with Takuya and heaved a sigh of relief.

Yagami: " they did it."

His gaze reverted to the other side of the slightly opened door. Within the white room, there was no one other than the man he had captured a few hours ago, seated on a chair with a table in front of him and another chair across it.

Yagami entered the room and promptly took the other empty seat.

Yagami: " what we got about you is enough to send you straight away to jail, so there is no use denying anything."

Zhao : " I have nothing to say. You have no right to question me here anyway!"

Yagami: " true, we can't. That's why the police of your country will be coming to get you and they will be continuing the questioning there."

Zhao: " you..."

Yagami: " we've taken the responsibility of explaining everything about you to them and that's how we got the order to arrest you either here or over there. Either way you were going to be taken on spot and questioned. So there is no way you could escape this. You better start talking."

Zhao bit on his lip as sweat covered his face...


Tunisia...

Aya, Yosra, Lillia and Yu Zhang stepped out of the changing room, each in their party outfit.

Lillia: " huh? Isn't Mai with you?"

Yosra: " she wanted to come, but she was too tired and fell asleep almost immediately when we got home to grab our clothes. We didn't want to wake her up so we left her, not that she will enjoy the party while feeling tired anyway."

Aya: " true. And by the way, your dress is pretty cute Lillia! And did you switch to lenses instead?"

Lillia: " thanks, I felt like this dress is gathering both traditional and modern aspect of our culture so I like it the most. And also yeah, I switched to lenses. But I see you kept your glasses."

Aya: " well, I've been wearing glasses my whole life it feels strange if I switch them."

Yu Zhang: " your dress is pretty elegant as well."

Aya: " thanks, I had it for a while now but it's my first time using it. Yosra though, are you just satisfied with only a shirt and trousers?"

Yosra: " I feel more relaxed like this. It's not like you're the one wearing them to be bothered."

Aya: " forgive my concern."

Lillia and Yu Zhang exchanged silent giggles at them.

Yosra: " what?"

Yu Zhang: " nothing. It's just... Strange to see you bickering all the time but also have a good team work when it comes to LBX."

Yosra: " we don't. Do you call one of us wiping out the enemy with a single shot a team work."

Judging by Aya's face, it was all she could not to face palm herself.

Lillia: " though, I was quite surprised to find out you had a talking LBX too."

Aya: " same goes here. Kämpfer has been talking for a while now, and it took sometime for family to get used to it. But we never knew the reason, nor did I expected there will be other who had been through the same."

Lillia: " for me she started talking a week ago. And, I didn't have the courage to tell my family yet. Nor the time."

Yu Zhang: " well, you still can come clear about it when we get back."

Lillia seemed to jolt at that.

Lillia: " um, yeah... About that–"

Jessica: " you guys are all set?"

All four of them shifted on their heels as to face the girls when they approached them.

Yu Zhang: " well, we had our clothes already. All we needed to do was to change."

Lillia: " unlike you who had to look up for suitable clothes."

Touko: " true, but we're done here as well."

Ran: " all thanks to Elie and Jessica who had taken care of choosing most of our clothes and matched them for us."

Elie smiled softly while Jessica winked with a wide smirk.

Jessica: " I used to be the Party Queen back in school so I have quite the experience."

Momona: " however..."

She looked up at Elie with a wary expression.

Mirai: " I never thought you could be terrifying when it comes to clothes."

Evangeline : " you better get used to it."

She said inspecting her outfit. She was half satisfied, half hoping for a chance to get back to her usual outfit soon.

Elie: " I don't mind how people dress up usually. But parties are special occasions, they come once in a while so they shouldn't be taken slightly."

She had a hint of anger at that.

Jin: " I have to agree on that part."

The boys now approached them. Wataru and Arata in particular were gulping in worry.

Wataru&Arata: " Jin-san is terrifying..."

Gouda: " man, it sure has been a while since I saw Jin that hyped."

Sendou: " I totally forgot how serious he can be over parties."

Jessica: " but you all look handsome, don't you agree~."

Touko: " sure they look cool!"

Elie: " I'm impressed how far you've managed to go with them Jin. You should teach me some day."

He nodded his head at that and she smiled thankfully.

Gouda: " they do really suit each other."

He whispered to the male next to him with a sweat drop. Sendou took out a card.

Sendou: " the world, upright, harmony. Yeah, I agree."

Ban: " I see Elie had helped with your clothes as well."

He said facing the girls.

Asuka: " yep. Your sister is pretty good but very sever as well."

Ban rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish laugh.

Ban: " no need to tell me. She would snap at me if I ever attempted to leave the house and something was off with my clothes."

Elie: " who would go out with his tie or collar all messed up!?"

Jin on the other hand eyed Eva, which made her a little uncomfortable.

Evangeline : " wh... What?"

Jin: " I'm surprised you came this far."

Yuuya: " we know parties and dresses aren't your cup of tea."

Elie: " regardless. She mustn't miss on the chance to try it."

She said tagging on Eva's arm, to which the blonde thought she was making sure she wasn't going to run off. Elie was right in her worries thought, for she hopped to slip out at the closest opportunity.

Jin: " you know, I should have asked for your help when Eva refused to attend her graduation party back at country A."

Yuuya: " you tried everything but you couldn't persuade her to go."

Elie: " rest assured, I'm making sure she is to have fun in this party."

She said keeping the blonde even closer.

Sendou: " by the way, Asuka..."

He eyed the blonde.

Sendou: " shorts... To a formal party?

Asuka: " it doesn't really matter."

Elie: " I chose it for her. Nowa days there are a lot of formal clothes with shorts. I thought it would appeal to Asuka since she hates dresses and skirts and seems I was right."

Asuka: " yeah, it feels really comfy."

Aya checked her CCM for time.

Aya: " alright guys, let's get going we don't want to miss the party right?"

Elie: " nope!"...


Unlike outside, the place inside Dream Future was warmer, seeing how it was autumn around there. As they walked past the doors to the venue on the top floor, they were greeted by the soft slow music playing in the background and the chattering of the people gathered there, most of whom were adults.

Asuka: " woah! So huge!"

Muraku: " it's crowded here."

He glanced around.

Aya: " not only players are invited, without counting their guests. Those who helped from behind the scenes in holding Artemis were invited as well."

Mirai: " like Unryuji Knight."

She pointed out when her eyes fell on the white haired boy. He was talking with adults who seemed to be important people. For a second, it seemed like he looked back at them and smirked.

Arata: " woah! I can see the whole city from here!"

The red head shifted their attention from the snowy haired boy and Yosra walked over to him with a broad smile.

Yosra: " of course, Dream Future's building is the tallest building around the city."

Asuka: " hey! Look! They have dioramas as well!"

Aya's smile grew wider as if she was waiting for that very cue.

Aya: " It won't be considered Artemis' party if it doesn't have battles! Don't you think?"

The area was already packed with lots of players who were taking turns to have battles among each other.

Momona: " sounds really cool! Wataru! Let's go try out!"

She said grabbing his hand and dragging him there before he had even the time to process what had happened.

Sendou: " she sure seems excited."

Muraku: " well, for those who didn't take part in Artemis it sounds like the best thing ever."

Arata: " Muraku! Don't forget our agreement! You will have to battle me now!"

The red head declared, pointing his LBX at his friend. Muraku blinked twice before nodding his head with a smile then walking after the younger ones.

" Elie-san!"

Elie felt a chill running down her spine as she heard that voice. Whirling around with a dreading face, she glimpsed the Ota Rangers standing right behind her. The men were wearing tuxedos in their respective colors, while Pink was wearing a pink long dress.

How they managed to get past the reception with their helmets still on was a mystery to them.

Ota Black: " Elie-san, I've failed you today. I lost in today's battle. But I still believe in second chances!"

Ran: " oh boy..."

She sweat dropped at what was coming. The male placed his hand on his heart's side, holding his fist up in the air as he was overflown with waves of excitement, the glimmering of his eyes could be seen from behind his helmet.

Ota Black: " Elie-san! Please battle me! I believe it's the best chance for you to know me better and love me! Please give me another chance!"

Elie had a wary smile as she didn't know how to respond to him. Thankfully she was saved by her brother as he stepped in front of her with a sweet intimidating smile.

Ban: " I appreciate that you have such deep feelings for my sister, though it may have been too early to confess them. But I will also be thankful if you stay away from her. She made it clear that she has no feelings for you."

Ota Black shivered at the cold aura the man was giving away, but nevertheless stood still.

Ota Black : " we're both LBX players. We know exactly how to solve it."

Ban: " bring it on."

Before they knew it, they were already by one of the dioramas, battling. Elie heaved a sigh at that.

Elie: " man, well they ever give up?"

Jin took one glance at the woman in the pink dress who was staring back at him, literally surrounded by hearts, before finally answering that.

Jin: " not anytime soon."

Ota Black had lost to the brunette male and kneeled down, frustrated at that.

Evangeline: " seems like they're having a lot of fun."

She shifted her look from the ones battling to those by the table.

Gouda: " it's full of all kinds of food!"

He said filling his plate.

Jessica: " the dessert seems delicious too!"

Asuka: " well, I think it deserves all the trouble to get the clothes to come here!"

Yu Zhang: " aren't you feeling hungry yet?"

Lillia: " not now, maybe later."

She stayed silent for a while as she thought up about something before speaking again.

Lillia: " can we go to the balcony. There is something I need to tell you.".

Yu Zhang had a brow hanging up at that.

Yu Zhang: " sure."

They walked through one of the doors and they were met with the gentle breeze of autumn nights.

Lillia: " it's chilly out here."

She slightly rubbed her upper arm before placing her bag on the railing then leaning on them herself.

Yu Zhang: " so... What did you want to talk about?"

She took a deep breath as the gusts of wind played around with her black hair.

Lillia: " I'm not going back."

There was a few instants of silence.

Yu Zhang: " you're not..."

She span her head around so she was looking into the man's brown eyes.

Lillia: " Jessica and the others asked me to join them out. It took me a while to decide but, I think I'm leaving with them."

Yu Zhang: " is there a particular reason why you accepted?"

Lillia looked down as she gathered her thoughts, trying to convert them to words.

Lillia: " actually, I was betting my whole future on Artemis."

Yu Zhang softened his look at her as he listened carefully to what she had to say.

Lillia: " although I hate to admit it but I felt that I was obliged to cast away a lot of things as I learned I had to support myself and my brother when I grow up. I had to make a lot of choices that I wasn't sure of. But then, I just, wanted to be a little bit selfish, though it was risky as well. Betting on the job I dreamed of, being a writer. Yet, I knew that it was risky. So I decided to join Artemis this year."

Yu Zhang: " why?"

Lillia inhaled.

Lillia: " because I love LBX... As much as I love writing. So I decided, if I work hard and win Artemis, then the same can be applied on my dream job right."

Yu Zhang: " it's not like that you would simply make such a bet, I know you very well and I know you wouldn't do something like that."

Lillia: " true... To be honest, when I was hesitant about that decision after winning Artemis' invitation, I got a small push up."

She rose her look to her bag wedging around as KeQing came out.

Lillia: " ' do you want to be free in your choices?' when that question showed itself on my screen I figured out I no longer can turn away. So I decided to go out of my way and make that bet."

Yu Zhang: " and now..."

The woman looked back at the male who approached her with a concerned air.

Yu Zhang: " ... Unfortunately we lost Artemis, so what are you going to do now?"

Lillia seemed to think about it before rising her head with a wide grin.

Lillia: " I still have time to look about it more."

She looked up at the bright stars in the night sky.

Lillia: " there may be another path that I didn't know of. Just like how I was offered to join Jessica and the others out in their quest. But I'm sure of one thing, by the time I will be back, I will have sorted out what I really should do."

He smiled at her softly.

Yu Zhang: " I see. Then I will be waiting for your safe return patiently. Please inform me of your choice."

Lillia: " sure."

Yu Zhang: " then, I think this will be our goodbye, right."

Lillia: " yeah... I'm really not sure when they will be parting after all... I will be calling my family later to inform them. Please feed them on the details if you feel needed."

Yu Zhang: " don't worry about that. Just stay safe and away from danger."

Lillia: " I can't really promise that, but I'll try my hardest."

Yu Zhang then pulled her closer into a hug before letting go.

Yu Zhang: " very well then, let's enjoy this party the most we can."

She nodded with a bright smile beckoning her head and returning inside.

They were soon met with Hiro and Aya, the former bobbing with excitement.

Hiro: " you've watched it! Aya-san!"

Aya smiled while scratching her jaw.

Aya: " yeah, I've watched it when I was a kid, but it's not my preferred gender. How to say it, rewatching it when you grow up makes you just realize how much details they had left behind and how incomplete it was."

Hiro: " still! It won't change the fact that it was one of your favorite childhood shows right!"

Aya: " yeah... I can agree on that point."

Lillia: " what're you two talking about?"

Hiro: " oh, Lillia-san. Well, we were just talking about an anime called Senshiman."

Her brown eyes sparkled instantly.

Lillia: " did you say Senshiman! It's one of my favorite animes!"

Aya&Hiro: " you too!"

Lillia: " don't get me started there. Have you watched Gundam?"

Aya and Hiro sparkled their eyes and nodded their heads with wide smiles. Before they knew, they started discussing different animes and mangas, occasionally some video games they played as well.

Kazu: " wow, they're going on none stop there."

He pointed towards the three of them.

Mirai: " seems like Hiro found some people with whom he shares the same interests."

" He will fight me! I need to reclaim my name!"

" No! He is battling me!"

At another side, Shou and Ma were arguing on who will be fighting Ban. They didn't notice him slipping away to battle Krutz.

Lilyan: " is that how parties should be?"

Jessica and Touko shook their heads while crossing their arms.

Jessica&Touko: " not at all!"

Elie: " regardless, what matters is that everyone is having fun."

She said smiling sweetly as she finished off Ota Pink's Bibinbird in less than a minute.

Yuuya: " you... Totally thrashed her with no mercy."

Elie: " it's her fault, she was asking for that."

Jessica: " basically because she was trying to get dangerously close to Jin."

She whispered to the black haired boy. Ota pink soon joined Ota Black in a corner where they continued being depressed with a gloomy atmosphere all around them.

Sendou: " what happened that we missed?"

Asuka: " basically Ota Black still flirting with Elie and getting defeated in a tag match by her and Jin."

Gouda: " oh man, you should have seen his face when Jin defeated him. 'Know your limits' he said. Man Black won't dare coming around her again this time."

The green head was hardly holding back his laugh.

Yuuya: " although Ban-kun warned him before."

Kazu: " those guys don't know when to give up."

He said making sure to keep Ami close by and away from Yellow's reach.

Touko: " you guys seems to struggle a lot with them."

Jin: " no joking there."

Ban: " have I missed something."

He said looking back at both Pink and Black.

Elie: " nothing you should be worried about, Onii-chan."

Ban: " okay... If you say so."

Ken: " how did your battle with Krutz-san ended?"

Ban rubbed the back of his head.

Ban: " we couldn't finish during the given time. So we didn't settle for a winner yet."

Yu Zhang: " sounds bad to leave thing hanging like that."

Ban: " true. But it gets me more excited for the next chance to battle him."

Ran: " um, Ken... Where is Ruri?"

She asked when she couldn't spot the girl anywhere near by.

Elie: " on second look, Eva is no where to be seen? Don't tell me she ran away!"

Ken then sweat dropped and pointed and the swarm of people surrounding the dioramas. Ruri and Eva were standing near one of them with their CCMs in hand.

Ken: " they said it's a good chance to get a closer look at other well made LBXs."

Jin wanted to facepalm himself badly.

Jin: " she never change, that girl."

Arata: " basically their mechanic side kicking in."

Elie: " well... As long as she enjoys it."

They chuckled out loud at that. The rest of the night went by peacefully in between exciting battles and laughter, with no clues of what was hidden up for them...


Two braids flattered around along the soft gusts of wind. The blue eyes stared far into the grey sky.

" It's time."

The girl whispered to herself and her partner as the both casted a look at the white blanket covering the whole city.

Unbeknown to her, in another corner of the same city, two other figures were standing in a small alley where shadow was casted upon them, hardly making them visible.

" Are we sure it's... The right place?"

A male voice sounded.

" Don't ask me. Ask him!"

A feminine voice sounded this time, and the silhouette could be seen pointing at two other forms that were walking to them. One was very gaunt and short, the other was taller and round.

" Don't worry, you're in the right time and place."

The smaller silhouette walked into the light of the street as it passed them, revealing a very familiar old man.

Old Man: " I trust that you're aware of the situation at hand. "

A very giant clock like creature walked over to him.

Old Man: " the only reason you exist here is because you're needed. But you should try not to reveal much of what you know."

" Understood."

The female answered with a serious voice. The old man beckoned in satisfaction before looking up the darkened sky.

Old man: " it seems there is a strong storm coming up..."...