Garshlied's Layout...
The cars were left parked by the side of the highway while the SP Fixers, lead by Touko, and the LBXs players proceeded on foot through the rough mountain roads.
Ran: " are we sure he is here?"
She extended her hand, helping a struggling Hiro up.
Ran: " I mean, we all know he is the kind of person to not want dirt on his brand new shoes."
Touko took a pair of binoculars and searched the vicinity.
Ryan: " nothing is there."
He stated once he was met with the site of extended mountains and sky. There was nothing peculiar about the scene in front of him. However...
Touko: " take a second look."
She said passing the binoculars to him with a serious tone. Ryan rose an eyebrow but he did look through them and his mouth fell almost immediately.
Ryan: " this is..."
Jin: " what's the matter?"
He passed on the binoculars again.
Jennifer: " based on your reaction, it should be hidden by a hologram or something."
Ryan: " well, not actually a hologram."
Jin: " it's built within a mountain."
He said pointing at one of the mountain not far from where they stood.
Ban: " how do we get in? I see no doors."
He took his turn to peer through the binoculars.
Touko turned to one of her men who had passed her a tablet which she swiped through.
Touko: " we scanned the mountain, it seems there's a hidden way."
She handed back that tablet and took the vunguard.
Touko: " we have first to get closer. I'll be leading you in case of any traps. Follow after me and execute caution. No tell what traps they had set."
Everybody nodded as they formed a line behind her. Two men of the SP Fixers stood at the very back for extra protection upon her order before they trudged their way towards the base...
Jessica walked over to the older man with an unnerved pout.
Jessica: " they can't find anything so far. I can't believe they had just escaped from under our noses."
Jack inhaled deeply, he too wasn't glad at all with the upturn of the events.
Jack: " let's continue searching. The more information we find about them the more we can help Seekers back in Japan."
Unbeknown to them a certain white haired young man was laughing out loud while hearing their conversation.
Knight: " you're credulous if you think we would leave any of our important data for you."
He typed on the screen of the tablet and a count down of 5 minutes started.
Simultaneously at Omegadain, the soldiers checking the server room were taking by surprise when all the screens in there have showed the same countdown.
Jack: " a countdown!"
He shouted through his comn upon hearing that. Jessica's face contorted even more.
Jessica: " you don't think it's..."
Jack: " they got us, they want to take the whole building down to burry any secrets they have... Along with us..."
Jessica immediately reached for her comn.
Jessica: " everyone! Exit the building immediately and get as far as you could from here!"
Jack: " you leave too!"
Jessica: " I'm not leaving before assuring the safety of my team!"
She stubbornly argued back, standing still waiting for her teammates to make it out. Seconds turned into hours as everyone tried to get out as quick as possible. It was when Jessica's team finally came running back to her at the last minute.
Jessica: " quick! Hurry up!"
They rushed out past the door while the count down was reduced to 10 seconds. Jessica and Jack were running behind them, they had just passed the threshold when the bomb went on, shredding the building to pieces.
From underneath the smoke and dust, Jessica rose her body up with great effort. She had been floored by the impact. As she straightened up, a weight fell off her back.
One look to her side made her blood freeze in her veins. In her rush out, she didn't realize that Jack stack close to her back, and when the bomb detonated, he had protected her, which led to him now being thrown on the ground with a burned back. The special suit could not take the searing air of the explosion.
Jessica: " Jack! Jack!"
She called out to him multiple times, but he was long unconscious...
The pinkette halted in front of a rock wall and placed her hand against it, inspecting it for a moment.
Touko: " here we're."
She informed them as she took a step back, CCM in hand and Queen floating by her side with a launcher this time. The rest of the SP Fixers followed her suit and took out their LBXs and CCMs.
Touko: " stay back, all of you! This is a pretty heavy door so we need to blow it if we want to press forward!"
She also took a few steps backwards. Queen stood in front of the battalion of LBXs ready to unleash all of their missiles at the dead end. At Queen's cue, all of their launchers roared as they discharged their ammos. Smoke and dust swirled up the sky while the LBXs were still bombarding the wall of rocks and didn't stop until they had no more to unleash.
The result was satisfying though. After the layer of rock crumbled down due to the heavy blows it had taken, the metallic hidden door was brought up to sight.
Elie: " I think we have to hack it right?"
She stated once her eyes fell on the panel by the door. It was truly the only way in they've got.
Jin: " wouldn't that draw attention?"
Zenon: " they will know we're here."
Odin: " I doubt they didn't after the huge mess we've caused."
He shrugged.
Touko: " our duty is to find the head of CIS and secure him before Leviathan. It won't make a difference if they found out we're here or not. Though I'm still hoping he would be rational and accept coming with us."
One of the SP fixers approached the door, tablet in hand, he plugged some wires to the panel right by its side and started hacking through.
Touko was patting the ground impatiently while waiting for him to open the door, something that got the attention of the other players by her side.
Elie: " are you alright?"
She snapped as Elie put a hand on her shoulder, meaning that she was deep in thought.
Touko: " I'm... I'm fine, yeah."
The clenching of her fists said otherwise. Elie's frown deepened as she tried to take a wield guess.
Elie: " you're... Worried, aren't you?"
Touko's blue eyes narrowed as she directed them at the ground.
Ruri: " Touko-san..."
Touko hugged herself as she tried her best to keep her eyes away from them.
Touko: " I don't want to see it again... To feel it again... Being so close but eventually... They would get killed right in front of you..."
Her shoulders were visibly shaking. Yet, before any of them can step to comfort her, she inhaled deeply and composed herself. When she turned back to them, she was once more the SP Fixers' stern leader.
Touko: " I'll make sure nothing wrong happens this time."
They heard a swoosh and the doors were finally open, revealing a long path to another door.
Touko bend down and picked a few rocks before throwing them ahead. Just after crossing a small distance, they were shot and splintered to a thousand small pieces.
Everyone had their eyes wide open at that while Touko glared ahead at the door on the other end. Just above them, on each side, were two laser guns.
Touko: " we won't be able to get past those easily isn't it?"
She blinked when both Jennifer and Ryan walked past her, each putting on their goggles.
Jennifer: " Ryan, you should tell by what we just saw."
The blond nodded as their goggles activated.
Ryan: " they detect movements. The time lapse between the shots decrease when the target gets closer."
Sayaka: " they... They were able to tell that much from those few seconds."
Her frown deepened slightly as she glanced at their backs.
Ken: " what sharp eyes they have!"
Both Astray and Zeon flew next to their players.
Jennifer: " it shouldn't be much a challenge."
Zeon: " don't worry, we've seen harder things."
Ryan: " then, let's go!"
The LBXs thrusters kicked off at full power and the small guns embedded into the wall repositioned themselves to aim at them. A rain of Laser shots launched towards both units but they managed to swiftly elude as they closed on to the doors. As the speed of the beam bullets increased, so did that of the robots.
Jennifer and Ryan's concentration couldn't be broken by the many eyes on them as they led their LBXs safely through the rain of shots and ordered them to attack.
Zeon blown the right gun by her Laser while Astray slashed at the left one, breaking them.
Elie: " well done you two!"
Jennifer: " that was a piece of cake."
They stepped into the hall and made it safely to the other end where the SP Fixers embarked with the other door to open it.
Ruri: " you were awesome! Your specs are very high! Not just any LBX can get through that tough defense!"
She marveled her eyes at the two floating units. Ken was trying hard to keep her from them for he knew if she gets any closer, she will be breaking them apart and studying them right then right there.
Ban: " true, they're on a whole other level."
Ran: " hm... Zeon and Astray, some LBXs I've never seen before and they're really amazing. Hey, which maker produced them?"
Ryan and Jennifer looked at each other worriedly at that question, something that made a few of them sceptical for a moment.
Ryan: " they're... Original designs! Yeah!"
Elie: " original designs? Means you made them yourselves?"
She said eyeing the LBXs carefully to which they tried to hide away behind their players.
Jennifer: " yeah..."
Ruri: " awesome, you must be capable mechanics as well."
Ryan: "Uuum... Sure... We're..."
Jin's eyes never left them as they spoke. The two kids seems to notice that and they sweated even more.
The door opened at last and everyone backed from the duo, following Touko in.
Ryan: " we're in trouble..."
He whispered to his cousin from the back while his eyes flicked back to the black and white haired man.
Jennifer: " he didn't buy it at all. Get ready for a long session of questioning when we get back."
Ryan: " oh my... Never had I imagined I will get on his bad side one day."
A bead of sweat dropped at the back of his head at the possible fate waiting for them. However, it all faded away as someone spoke.
" Why are you following me! I've done nothing to you!"
From the voice, they could tell the man was panicking.
Touko: " this is him, the head of CIS, Garshield!"
Ban: " he is talking to us through a speaker?"
Odin: " too afraid to show himself I take it."
" What do you want? Money? I will give you all of my fortune so just leave me alone!"
Ruri's eyebrow twitched as she heard him squeak through the speaker.
Ruri: " he is totally different from what I've imagined."
Sayaka: " so he is that kind of person, act all brave when he has his lackeys around. But when he is alone he is nothing but a scaredy cat."
The blonde stated out bluntly, not even caring if the man was even listening on to them, which, apparently, by the sudden change of his ton, he was.
" Hold on! Who are you!?"
At another part of the hide out, a man was looking at a screen which was showing footages of the alleys. Touko and the others were turning their heads around as they anticipated a camera to be placed around there.
Touko finally spoke out clearly so the man could hear her.
Touko: " we're not the World Savers, I assure you! We came here to accompany you to safety before they can reach you!"
The old man's plump face contorted at her words.
He was a tall large man, the chair had hardly any space for him you could have sworn he squeezed himself in. He had dark purple hair and trice its volume as beard that almost covers his mouth along with his long pointy nose. He had pointed ears and very small beady green eyes.
He was clad in a tight crimson tux over a green shirt. A monocle secured in front of his right eye and he wore multiple rings in both hands.
After eyeing them carefully, and seeing that they were mostly kids, some of his spunk returned to him.
Garshield: " you, kid, accompany me to safety?!"
A vein twitched on Touko's forehead at being called a kid.
Touko: " listen up! We're trying to save you here!"
Garshield: " how can I trust you! For all I know you could be World Savers! They have a history with recruiting children!"
Ruri shrugged despite herself.
Ruri: " he's got a point there."
Touko shook her head with a sigh and shouted once more before taking out her budge, holding it up high in hope he would be able to see it.
Touko: " it's either you come with us or be targeted by the World Savers!"
Upon seeing her budge, he froze and all colors have drained from his face. He didn't want to go with her either.
He cleared his throat before speaking out again.
Garshield: " an SP Fixer, huh? Should have seen that too. However, I've done nothing that would make you seek me."
Touko: " that's another matter. We can discuss you endangering world peace another day. Right now we need you to come with us!"
He could see she was growing impatient, however, he wasn't keen on the idea. Yet the circumstances were pushing.
Touko was impatiently waiting for his answer. Each minute ticking is also a possibility of the World Savers approaching. And for all they know, they could have infiltrated long before they came.
Garshield: " very well, you want to protect me you say. Then let's make a deal. You reach me, you get me. However, I doubt you can get past my security, it's an undefeatable fortress I've built to myself. Even we don't have another way out except the one you're coming through. However, I can't guarantee your life. This whole place is made to stop invaders at any costs."
Touko: " you..."
Garshield: " then, do as you wish."
Then his voice faded away. Everyone swapped wary looks at that.
Ken: " he's challenging us? We came her to save him, shouldn't he be coming our way all thankful!?"
One of Touko's men decided to interject.
" He didn't want to come with us, not since knowing that we're SP Fixers. He would rather stay here than being trapped in jail."
Jennifer: " trapped here, trapped in jail, no much difference if you ask me."
Most of them nodded, agreeing with her.
Odin: " even though, we can't leave him in here."
Queen: " not since we blasted the front door."
She thrusted her thumb back at the entrance.
Zenon: " I doubt it was a bluff about the security though."
Touko bobbed her head at the purple unit.
Hiro : " we've got to reach him then. That's the only choice we have left."
Minerva: " at least, we can secure him before the World Savers reach him."
Jin, who kept silent on the back, finally decided to speak.
Jin: " he said ' we ', didn't he..."...
The room was dimly lit as Garshield watched intently the group of players discussing.
Garshield: " what do you think they will do, Ryuuichi?"
The light of the screens was casted on a slim tall man by Garshiled's side, his bluish green hair brushed neatly back, his sharp black eyes with pale purple eyelids and his pale skin.
He was clad in a Wenger suit and a puce necktie. A leer could be seen drawn on hid face.
Ryuuichi: " they seem naive enough to try their hands on getting through your traps."
True for that, they were advancing up the corridor, which made Garshield sneer at the screen.
Garshield: " well, they can die for all I care. But if they truly manage to get here, I can always use them to protect myself."
Ryuuichi: " true, we just have to... Wait."
So far, the security they had encountered wasn't much of a challenge, Laser rays, guns as the ones at the front door. It almost made them wonder if Garshield was just trying to scare them away nothing more.
However, they were soon proven to be wrong once the came face to face with Killer Droids.
Ban: " they've got ones here too!"
He said whipping out his CCM and so did the others. In front of them where three Killer Droids. Two of them were the very black ones they had been fighting against recently. In the middle stood a red one slightly different. It didn't have shoulder cannons, its armor pieces were cut a tad sharper than the black ones.
Hiro: " how did they build it?"
Achilles D9: " to think about it, Dream Future build their Killer Droids from the materials they imported so far from CIS."
Ranger: " it's no biggie for them to build their owns as well."
A few moments went by, each side eyeing the other carefully before it happened. They couldn't see it, the red Killer Droid zoomed past the LBXs who were too late to react. It made for the humans, claws held up high ready to attack.
Ryan: " not so fast!"
Astray and Zeon managed to block the bigger unit, protecting both Ken and Touko who were just an inch away from it.
Astray: " hurry up and get back!"
The humans rushed as back as possible while Zeon and Astray were struggling underneath the weight of the Killer Droid.
Odin flew at it from the back, but it grabbed both Astray and Zeon by the head and span around, hurling them at Odin who got knocked on the ground.
The other LBXs rushed back at the red robot, only to be shot from behind by the black ones.
Jeanne d'Arc and Zenon hurried to the very back to provide protection and cover for the rest of the group.
Jin: " go!"
Sayaka: " we will deal with these ones!"
Beargguy was the first to zoom towards the red Killer Droid.
Elie: " now!"
Beargguy: " bear punch!"
However his boosted punch didn't reach as the Killer Droid skidded away at a high speed.
Ban: " hovering system!"
Touko: " crap!"
Queen tried shooting at it as it approached her but the thick layer of armor wasn't affected the least by the blasts.
Minerva: " get away!"
She managed to pull Queen out of the path of the beast robot just at the last moment. The Killer Droid however didn't slow down, it slashed at the first LBX in its way, which was Achilles D9 which had his wing damaged.
Hiro: " this speed, it's greater than the last one we've fought!"
Touko grinned her teeth in frustration as she saw the red robot thrashing their LBXs, slamming them on the walls and the ground ruthlessly. Despite their efforts, they could hardly affect it with their weapons only.
Jeanne d'Arc and Zenon weren't any better. So far, their moves were restricted. The Killer Droids guns were so accurate and fast they could hardly evade and dodge.
Sayaka: " we should find a way! Else our LBXs won't hold for so long!"
She was getting ready to plug in her device when Jin stopped her.
Jin: " hold on, leave it for later."
Sayaka was taken aback by his stern tone, that was possibly their only way out. However, Jin's narrowed eyes were gleaming with confidence, so she decided to follow him.
Sayaka: "alright, tell me what we should do!"
Odin Mk2 and Achilles D9 grabbed the Killer Droid tightly each by an arm. Using their boosters, they hopped to push it against the wall and restrict it. However, it was stronger, sending both of them flying away with a jolt.
Ran: " yosh! Here I come!"
Minerva tried to finish what both of them started, yet as she flange her arms around the waist of the Droid and tried to push it back, she was surprised by the glow of its chest's gem.
Ruri: " get away!"
Thankfully Ran's quick reflexes managed to save Minerva before she was melted down by the Laser beam.
The other LBXs ducked down as the Killer Droid directed it in a demi cercle around it.
On Jin and Sayaka's side, Sayaka followed Jin's orders of just dodging and leading them as far as possible from the rest of the LBXs.
Sayaka: " what do you have in mind?"
It wasn't that she was having any problem, Jeanne d'Arc's speed was one thing Sayaka has been so proud of. She knew she could handle the Laser beams as long as they could keep distance. However, she didn't think that dodging alone was a solution.
Jin: " Eva, I'll trust your judgement."
Zenon made for one of the Killer Droids, approaching it at a high speed it made Sayaka's eyes go wide.
Sayaka: " are you crazy!?"
Zenon was dodging under the beams as he paved his way to the robot. Finally approaching it enough, the Killer Droid switched to close combat mode. It thrusted its long claws at Zenon but he blocked them with his new shoulder blades.
Jin's lips pulled into a smirk. Eva's handwork was tough enough to hold on in front of the Killer Droid's strength as predicted.
Jin: " then, if we switch it to the offense mode... Sayaka! Keep the other at bay for a few seconds!"
Sayaka almost sweat dropped at that. Few seconds?
Zenon's visors shimmered as he jumped, kicking the Killer Droid around the chest to earn himself some space.
Jin: " now Zenon!"
Zenon's shoulder blades detached themselves and gripped onto Titania, giving it more volume and weight.
Zenon: " Jin! Give it to me!"
Jin: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function! Majin No Ichigaki!"
Zenon gathered his energy within his hammer as he levitated up, a large shadow manifested right behind him before they both swung down their hammers at the black unit. With the new weight and strength of Titania, the Killer Droid's armor cracked and its chest crystal broke.
The Killer Droid stood still as Zenon landed past him, slightly hunching over with it visors shining brightly as the Droid exploded.
Sayaka blinked twice at that.
Sayaka: " he really..."
Jeanne d'Arc : " finished him in a matter of seconds."
Jeanne d'Arc snapped back to reality as she quickly dodged another onslaught.
Zenon: " here I come!"
Zenon hoped down on the other Killer Droid, ramming his hammer down its back.
The Killer Droid lost balance for a second and that was all that Sayaka needed.
Sayaka: " now, Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function! Victory Sword!"
The gem of Jeanne d'Arc's blade shined bright blue as she cleaved at the Droid's abdomen. She skidded to a stop, still holding up her sword as a burst of blue energy from beneath the Killer Droid made it explode.
Jin: " well done."
Sayaka nodded at him with a smile before they focused back on the red Killer Droid.
By the time they joined the others, they all had received an amount of damage. Odin and Achilles D9 were having a hard time flying. Zeon and Astray hardly could move for getting hit badly around the torso. The rest were having either their arms or legs malfunctioning.
However, the Killer Droid was still rampaging and roaring as it was hardly affected by all their tries.
Touko: " what's this monster!"
Ken: " how can we stop it?"
Ruri: " I hardly can spot any weak spot."
Ban: " spead, power, resistance... It's well balanced."
Elie: " however! There should be a way!"
Beargguy kicked forward again, trying to thrust his beam swords, but got blocked and knocked easily by the red unit.
Elie: " we've always found a way! Even now!"
Hiro: " if we just can stop it for a second!"
He clicked his tongue when the red Droid demonstrated its speed again by slamming Beargguy on the wall before any of them could even move to help.
Elie: " Beargguy ! Armor change!"
In a flash of bright pink, a lance was thrusted at the Droid's chest crystal. It was taken by surprise and backed away before it was damaged. However, there was a visible scratch on its chest.
Ran: " Elie is right. It's nothing different from what we've faced before. It's just another Killer Droid that we have to find a way to restrict. We can do this."
Her words, and the fact that Achilles Kai managed to make a scratch, lifted the other's spirits.
Sayaka, quickly plugged in her device as her eyes became void and dull. Jeanne d'Arc's speed increased as she headed for the attack. She swung her sword, determined to land a slash this time. Though the red Droid manged to knock her back multiple times, she came back to attack.
Queen and Minerva tried to cover her by shooting at the red Droid to get its attention. It paid no attention to the beam bullets as they had no effect, yet, the excessive amount of shots it received started to pay off as its joints started sending small sparks of electricity.
Ran: " it's actually working!"
The red robot seemed to notice as well for it roared before turning back on Minerva and Queen. Still, the rest weren't going to let it pass through that easily.
Ranger shot the damaged joint, making it snap back towards it. As it did so, Ban and Hiro dove for the attack, slicing at its chest, just where Achilles Kai hit, the small scratch widened to a crack.
Hiro: " let's focus all of our attacks on the chest and the joints!"
" Roger!"
The red Droid felt endangered as the LBXs overwhelmed it. It tried to open a way through brute force and aim once again at the humans. But the LBXs who kept falling back and stand up again wouldn't let it.
Ban: " Hiro! Ran!"
The blue and red head snapped as they were called.
Ban: " Sigma Orbis! Now!"
Hiro&Ran: " eh!"
They were taken aback by the sudden order.
Ran: " but I... I still can't perform the armor change!"
Ban: " Ran! We need you now! Sigma Orbis is the only thing that can keep that beast at bay! And we can't bring him without your help!"
Ran: " even if you say that...!"
She wasn't sure that she could pull it off. What if she actually failed them. Sensing her worries, Hiro placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Hiro: " you can do it Ran-san! Remember, it's the three of us! We'll do it together!"
Ban: " you're not alone Ran! You can pull it off!"
Hiro: " we know you can! You've always protected us, you can do the same now!"
Ran's eyes flicked in between the green and brown ones before she smiled widely.
Ran: " right, I can't leave the defense to you guys! You need me! It has been always the three of us after all!"
Both Ban and Hiro nodded before they held out their CCMs.
Hiro&Ban&Ran: " Armor Change! Sigma Orbis!"
In a flash of bright light, all three LBXs shape shifted before their parts disengaged and rearranged themselves back to the form of the larger robot. Sigma Orbis stepped out of the light, its armor shimmering brightly.
Ban swapped nods with his partners before they headed out.
Ban&Hiro&Ran: " go!"
Sigma Orbis held out his blade and dashed forward, slicing at the growing crack on the Killer Droid's chest and destroying the Lazer crystal as it was charging its beam.
Hiro's eyes flashed in yellow, his overload activated.
Hiro: " Ban-san! Ran-san! Back now!"
Ban didn't question him as he quickly pulled Sigma Orbis back. It was just before the crystal exploded. The Killer Droid was sent flying until it rammed into the wall, however it didn't stop as it came back on its feet.
Hiro: " duck!"
Ban did just as the Killer Droid appeared in front of them and tried slashing at Sigma Orbis.
Hiro: " Ran-san!"
Two small rockets flew from Sigma Orbis's back and shot beam fists at the robot, pushing it backwards.
Hiro used the chance to attack it again, making it lose balance.
Everyone stood slightly stupefied as Sigma Orbis managed to fight on par with the Killer Droid.
Elie: " they're following what Hiro says without questioning."
Valkyrie: " this is mutual trust!"
Jin: " with Hiro's ability!"
Touko's face beamed at the path paved in front of them.
Touko: " we can take it down!"
Finally Sigma Orbis managed to grasp the Killer Droid tightly around the waist, restricting it from moving. Though it was still wrestling against the cracked Sigma Orbis, he wasn't letting go.
Hiro: " Everyone!"
All of them frowned as they were called on to the action.
Sigma Orbis: " Finish it off!"
" Hissatsu Function!"
All of them dashed at the Killer Droid with all that they have, focusing their attacks at the crack on its chest.
It wasn't sooner than Sigma Orbis let go of it that the Killer Droid exploded...
