We'll Be Protecting You...

William and Mizel copped themselves up in the Seeker Base, watching the records of Leviathan's attack time and time again.

Mizel: " it's no use, I can hardly find any opening."

William pushed up his glasses without taking his eyes from the screen.

William: " even though, we still have to figure out his weakness."

His eyes narrowed when the video reached Leviathan's cannon.

William: " I can't allow them to go fight if we can't find out a way to defeat him. If I ask them to fight against that weapon it's the same as asking them to get themselves killed."

Mizel's green eyes darted sideway at the clenched fists of William. Despite his injury, he had insisted on doing what he could to help the chosen players.

Mizel: " we still have time..."

He said rewinding the video backwards.

Mizel: " we will keep rewatching it until we find his weakness."

William's blue eyes were glimmering in confidence.

William: " ah!"

Asuka sat on the side of the bench, hugging her knees and leaning her head against the glass of the window, peering down at the dark Tokio City.

She didn't snap of her thoughts until she felt a weight on the other side.

Sendou: " it's unlike you to keep quiet this long. Still bothered?"

Asuka heaved a deep sigh and looked down at her own feet.

Asuka: " I know that seeing the whole world fight should be helping me find strength and courage and stuff. But..."

Sendou: " it just feels like a futile struggle for you, I get it."

He said taking out a card but he returned it back without saying a word about it.

Sendou: " do you want to pull back then?"

He asked glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Asuka: " that's not a choice!"

Sendou: " why?"

He asked patiently and Asuka seemed befuddled at that.

Asuka: " why you say... because it feels wrong. After coming this far, I can't just walk away and leave you all to grapple with everything."

Sendou: " I wouldn't mind you walking away on me. Honestly I really only trust myself in the end."

He shrugged.

Asuka: " again with that lie."

She scoffed and Sendou rolled his eyes at her.

Sendou: " what makes you think so?"

Asuka: " because you're standing right here with everyone and risking your own life, that makes it hard to believe it."

Sendou: " you're not wrong."

Asuka took a double take when Sendou said that. He actually admitted he was lying.

Sendou: " true, I'm standing here right now and able to trust everyone with my life, because they entrusted me with theirs. Because I know they depend on me I have to give it my all as well, regardless of my own feelings."

Asuka let out a small chuckle.

Asuka: " that's so unlike you, to say something like that."

Sendou: " because you're in such situation I feel obliged to say so."

He groaned, rubbing his head and wondering since when he became the type to offer advice to someone. The old him wouldn't have cared at all what she would be feeling. But the him right now couldn't stand seeing her looking depressed.

Sendou: " you're an important member to Seekers, so I want you to get back on your feet as soon as possible."

Asuka shifted so she was sitting straight, however, her eyes didn't look up from the ground.

Asuka: " Frankly Sendou, don't you think it's kind of, impossible..."

Sendou's eyes flicked back at her as her head fell even further.

Asuka: " it's just, every time I remember that cannon of his, I just feel there's hardly a chance for us to win."

Well, she had a point. After Seeing that destructive strength up close, he couldn't blame her. Heck, he still shivers every time he recalls the laser shooting over his head. That served to tell them their chances were low. However...

" No it's not."

Their heads shot to the door as a certain black-haired girl stepped in.

Sendou: " Jennifer?"

The red eyes locked on Asuka's before she walked over to them, bearing unwavering confidence.

Jennifer: " you know, I've been wandering. Why the old man brought us back here? It's not like you guys lack strength or courage to fight against Leviathan. But now I realize why."

Asuka shot her eyebrow upwards.

Asuka: " why?"

Jennifer: " do you understand the meaning of me standing right before you right now?"

Asuka's eyebrow quirked even further, unable to get the girl's point. With a sigh, Sendou answered for her.

Sendou: " because we managed to defeat Leviathan in your timeline, isn't it?"

Jennifer nodded her head at him.

Jennifer: " exactly. We've been brought here as proof to all of you."

Sendou: " proof?"

Jennifer: " proof that defeating Leviathan is no impossible feat."

Asuka: " but you said your timeline isn't the same as ours?"

Jennifer: " and I never said the difference lays in this particular fight."

Jennifer took out her LBX and held her up at them.

Jennifer: " this is from our future but, you know what having LBX that far ahead in the future means, right? Thanks to all of you who kept fighting time and time again, we're able to live in a world of peace and enjoy LBX from the bottom of our hearts. It's all because you made it possible."

She stowed away Zeon.

Jennifer: " whether is it my timeline or yours what's the difference? You're still you no matter what. If you can do it in our timeline then what prevents you from doing it here?"

Sendou smirked at those words, with a flick of his wrist he was holding the Wheel of Fortune upright in his hand.

Sendou: " I see now. True, if it's possible to defeat him, then we have to charge ahead. We have no reason to dither."

Asuka seemed to think deeply of her words.

Asuka: " we... did really defeat him there?"

Jennifer smirked at that and took out her phone before skimming through her photos.

Jennifer: " frankly I'm surprised that photo would come to use."

Her eyes met with Asuka.

Jennifer: " it may be a spoiler, but do you want to take a look?"

Asuka cocked her head to the side, nevertheless, she nodded. Jennifer then zoomed on a certain picture and handed the phone over to Asuka. Sendou approached her and peeked down at the white device.

The picture was that of a young girl, maybe a year or two younger than Jennifer, who was holding a golden trophy and looking irritably at the camera with her sharp purple eyes it seemed she was about to drill a hole in it. The girl had long blond hair with purple streaks running down her bang and was wearing a very familiar cap design. Asuka took a moment to study her carefully before she realized it.

Asuka: " this is..."

Jennifer: " Sen-... Asuna, my greatest rival, and your daughter. "

Asuka: " eh?!"

Jennifer's smile softened at her.

Jennifer: " that kid is an amazing LBX player, and she is definitely an airheaded stubborn girl."

Asuka: " stubborn huh, I don't think I dislike that."

She smiled looking back at the picture.

Jennifer: " if it wasn't for you, that girl would never be where she is now. You're her pride and strength."

Asuka's smile softened a bit at that.

Asuka: " it will be bad to take all that from her in this timeline wouldn't it? Yosh!"

With that the woman jumped to her feet and pulled the brim of her cap.

Asuka: " for the sake of my future kid as well, I've gotta pull myself together. Her fate depends on how hard I work."

Asuka turned back to Jennifer and returned the phone.

Asuka: " thank you, Jennifer."

Jennifer received back the device with a smile.

Asuka: " yosh, I better get some work done on Vampire Cat then!"

She said rushing out the door while the younger girl chuckles mirthfully at her.

Jennifer: " glad she got her spirit back?"

Sendou: " ah."

He nodded with a small smile, but it soon dissipated as he looked back at Jennifer with a rather annoyed look. The girl merely blinked at him then.

Sendou: " why of all people..."

He couldn't find the words and merely heaved a tired sigh as he ran a hand over his face. Jennifer giggled at that.

Jennifer: " it's not me you should be asking that."

Sendou: " I truly am going to have one heck of a headaching future am I not?"

Jennifer: " maybe, maybe not. That was enough spoilers for one day."

Ban: " you're not going to sleep?"

He asked sitting next to Lilyan who was fiddling around with her CCM in the hallway. The woman rose her eyes to look at him and shook her head.

Lilyan: " even if I tried, my mind is too busy to properly rest."

Ban: " ... about Unicorn, right?"

Lilyan grabbed tightly into her CCM.

Ban: " Lilyan-"

Lilyan-: " you don't need to say anything."

She said, her eyes fixed on the window.

Lilyan: " Unicorn chose to protect my future over saving himself. It would be rude for me to get stuck in the past now. The code he entrusted me with, I'll see to it that it'll awaken Minerva no matter what."

Ban stared longingly at her eyes before letting a small smile tug at his lips. She definitely didn't need him to get herself back on her feet. His expression however went from relief to curiosity when her eyes widened and he looked out of the window too, only to glimpse an orange glow at the other side of the city.

Lilyan: " what is that?"

Ban frowned as he stood up.

Ban: " I don't know, but let's not alert everyone just yet. Let's go to Takuya-san."

With a nod of approval, she followed close behind him.

Takuya looked up from his screen when Kirino placed a cup of coffee by his side.

Takuya: " sorry for the trouble."

Kirino shook her head and gave him a rather worried look.

Kirino: " Director, you're rather overworking yourself."

Takuya: " I think it seems that way. But the least I can do for all of them is assure their safety."

His eyes flicked back to the screen when an alarm started beeping. As he checked on it, Yuuki's face popped in front of him, informing him of an approaching army of Killer Droids.

Takuya: " where did it come from?"

Yuuki: " according to our calculation, Kamui Island!"

Kirino: " they crossed the whole way from Kamui island?!"

Yuuki: " they're approaching the coasts! They would be here in less than ten minutes!"

Takuya: " we should alert everyone!"

" Not necessary deyo~."

Otacross told them as another tab popped with him peeking down at them. Befuddled by his words, Takuya turned to ask him why only for Yuuki to gasp in surprise at what happened next.

Takuya: " what's the matter now?!"

Yuuki: " the enemy's forces, are reducing..."

True for his words, the red points appearing on the radar were disappearing one by one upon reaching the coast.

Takuya: " what?"

Otacross merely gave a giggle at that.

Otacross: " Ban and the others are not the only ones feeling responsible for the world's fate you know deyo~."

" Takuya-san!"

Takuya looked over at the door just as Ban and Lilyan entered the office.

Ban: " we just spotted explosions over at the direction of the docks! Is Leviathan attacking already?"

Takuya: " I'm just waiting to know the answer as well."

His attention went back to Otacross who cleared his throat and pressed a button on his keyboard. In front of them floated a tab with Ryuu and Mika's faces peeking down at them.

Ryuu: " Here's Ryuu, we're taking care of the enemy's backup!"

Lilyan: " Ryuu-san, Mika-san!"

Ban: " why?"

Ryuu: " you guys have enough on your plate so leave those small fries for us."

He said holding up a thumb at him.

Ban: " but with you alone..."

More of his friends overflowed the office as it was harder not to notice the racket at the other side of the city.

Mika: " who said we're alone."

She gave a smile before turning the camera around for them to see who was standing beside them.

Gouda: " Riko! Ginji! Tetsuo!"

Riko: " Rest assured Leader! This time we will be protecting you!"

Gouda smirked proudly at them.

Gouda: " you guys."

Ran: " ho! The Ota guys are there too!"

Kazu: " Ma and the Hacker Army?!"

Ban's eyes widened when he spotted a certain kid among them.

Ban: " ... Aizawa!"

Lilyan: " the boy from the Gundam Club?!"

Aizawa smiled proudly as he took off his hood.

Aizawa: " it's been a while."

Ban: " how? Why?"

" You don't have to bother yourself with questions. We will deal with the situation here."

The camera turned on to reveal Yagami and his agents.

Takuya: " Yagami too?"

Yagami: " the situation here is under control. You don't have to worry, Takuya."

Takuya: " But..."

Yagami: " your main concern now is Leviathan and the enemies left in Tokio City, that's all."

Mano: " we'll be protecting your backs."

Hosoi: " so do your best too."

With that the call ended.

Ban: " everyone."

Takuya slumped down on his chair with a mixed expression of worry and relief.

Lilyan: " we have to wake Minerva fast, so we could defeat Leviathan."

She said looking down at her CCM.

Ban: " ah, for the sake of all those who are supporting us."

Meanwhile, the fight on the docks was raging on, Ryuu and the rest were holding their grounds firmly against the waves of Killer Droids.

Mika: " no one of you will get near Gouda-san!"

Amazoness hurled her spear and transfixed the chest of a Killer Droid.

Riko: " we won't let leader down!"

Her queen managed to take down an enemy using her Grace Missiles.

Aizawa: " I don't need the protection of my spirits anymore. I will be the one protecting others from here on!"

His Mad Dogs jumped up and slashed down at a Gafran together, blowing it apart.

Mano: " everyone back! A flashy attack is coming!"

She ordered while pulling her Deqoo Ace backward. General then heaved a hefty rifle and aimed at his target.

Yagami: ' Ban, this Guilty Rifle I got from you, I will make sure it will protect everyone of you.'

When his targets were locked ok he shot a concentrated energy beam which pierced through four Killer Droids.

Hosoi: " yosh! If we keep up like this then it's a piece of cake!"

Mano: " don't jinx it!"

Hosoi: " sorry!"

Yagami: " keep pressing on them! We have to protect Ban and the others no matter what!"

" Roger!"

Mizel breathed deeply upon hearing about it from Eva.

Mizel: " they really view Seekers as their last hope and would stop at nothing to protect them."

William: " I have to admit they do have some dependable friends out there."

Mizel: " indeed."

He looked from his statics and looked at the blond.

Mizel: " any luck?"

The blond didn't answer but was rather thinking deeply about something.

William: " listen."

He said when Mizel was about to go over his work again.

William: " why do you think Leviathan pulled back after he attacked us?"

Mizel: " he showed his strength, and wanted to make sure the whole world comprehended how helpless they were in front of him."

William: " and so he gave them time to consider surrendering?"

Mizel: " righ-"

His eyes widened at that.

Mizel: " hold on. That doesn't add up."

He looked back at the blond who nodded calmly.

William: " we know Leviathan better than anyone else, we know he wouldn't miss a chance. For him to give humanity time to even consider."

Mizel: " it's odd. He would have considered it a foolish thing to do. Then why going out of his way?"

William: " what if something else made him fall back?"

William suggested and Mizel lowered his head as he thought about it.

Mizel: " that's the only explanation. But what could it be?"

William tapped his finger on his chin.

William: " the D Manipulator maybe wasn't completed or it had some troubles?"

Mizel shook his head.

Mizel: " the materialization of his body was solid, I hardly doubt that's the cause."

William: " in the first place, how did he manage to finish it early, even with Goliath technology it should have at least another week before he could roll it out?"

Mizel: " and he even managed to mass produce it, I bet you anything those weapons roaming the world right now are D Manipulators."

Mizel crossed his arms and thought hard as well. When William's eyes went up to him, they widened as an idea got into his mind.

William: " that it. I know it..."

Mizel's eyes shot at him immediately and went back to his panel.

William: " if my guess is right. Even those weapons..."

He pulled out the records from the fighting of that morning and the ones occurring around the world.

William: " as I thought..."

Mizel: " mind telling me?"

William's face beamed as he looked back at him.

William: " I figured it, his weakness."

It was past midnight when Mizel and William entered the dining hall where everyone was in a hurry, Takuya and the rest of the adults in tow. William settled down by a table and began typing on his keyboard while Mizel conjured a hologram screen duplicating the blond's. Everyone gathered around them expectingly.

William: " everyone, look."

He played a video of the tank Asuka and the rest fought as it obliterated a whole building with its cannons.

William: " this is the tank you guys fought this morning."

Genesis: " we couldn't by any means forget it."

William then pulled another video from the ones the Hacker Army send them.

William: " this tank was in Egypt."

He stated looking back as the tank shoot its cannons but they didn't do much than break a chunk of a building this time.

William: " can you tell the difference?"

Ruri and Eva noticed immediately.

Ruri&Evangeline : " it's weaker!?"

William smiled at them.

William: " true. The tanks and the mobile armors around the world are nothing but D Manipulators."

He said point at the screen.

Jin: " if they were D Manipulators, then he managed to mass produce them?"

William: " unfortunately yeah, however, they still lack a crucial thing."

Kousuke: " what could these monsters be lacking in any way? Can't you see how they could wipe the ground with the other LBXs."

He pushed up his glasses so they were reflecting the light of his computer, making his eyes invisible through the glass for a moment.

William: " not exactly Kousuke-kun, it may not be visible now but, those monsters are slowly yet steadily losing energy. They don't have enough energy to mobilize them."

" Eh?"

Mizel: " let me explain. Just how much energy you think those cannons need to function?"

Evangeline narrowed her eyes.

Evangeline : " not something you could squeeze in an object the size of a Driver."

Mizel: " nor even an object the size of a motor. You see, the D Manipulators allow Leviathan to build a large army, but in the cost of energy. They had to weaken their weapons, and even more they have a limited time to how long they can keep their forms together if they were fighting. Sooner or later they will all dissipate once the D Manipulator is out of juice."

William: " unlike the time I used the Drivers to get my research done from different computers around the world, it didn't require much energy so I could get by with the batteries of the Drivers."

Evangeline : " then what about Mi?"

She asked pointing at Mizel who smirked widely as though waiting for that very question.

Mizel: " you know what O-Legion runs on don't you?"

Elie: " Eternal Cycler... which means..."

Mizel: " I don't have to worry about energy shortage. However, that can't be said for Leviathan."

Jun'ichirou: " William-kun, you're not possibly implying..."

William: " yes, Leviathan has a limit to his energy as well. He can't afford to squander it around firing his laser beam. He retreated today to replenish his energy."

Sayaka: " I see. He doesn't have unlimited energy, which means he gets weaker the more he uses that laser of his."

Aya: " um, but why? If there is Eternal Cycler, why didn't he use it?"

Takuya: " it's not that he didn't. He couldn't."

" Huh?"

Everyone looked back at him at that.

Takuya: " the construction method of Eternal Cycler is a top secret. And the only blueprints are stored here in Tiny Orbit. One can never recreate it aside from Professor Yamano who developed it and..."

He looked back at Mizel and William. The green head shrugged.

Mizel: " stole it years ago."

Takuya: " ... figured that much."

Ken: " that makes sense as to why Leviathan attacked the Energy Plant before. So he could use Eternal Cycler."

Ami: " but, it was shut down after that, right? Leviathan couldn't by any chance have gone back there."

Takuya: " ah. We stopped it temporarily after Professor Yamano's request."

Jun'ichirou: " it was quite obvious they were after energy back then."

He said balancing his glasses.

Jin: " so now, we know Leviathan's weakness is his stamina. He won't last on the battlefield long if he uses that laser cannons of his repeatedly, which gives us an advantage."

Lillian: " and, hold on a second. Aren't our LBXs the same? I mean, against that thing we know who would be down first."

Mizel: " nope, they're not. Your LBXs are actually running on Eternal Cycler."

" Eh?!EEEEEEHHHHH!"

Mirai: " Mizel, just how much did you tinker with our LBXs while we weren't looking?"

Mizel: " are you sure you want a detailed explanation?"

Mirai: "... Nope... forget that..."

Aya: " you could have said that sooner! If I knew I wouldn't have held back on using my Hissatsus."

Lillia: " or mine!"

Jin cleared his throat and made them all quiet down.

Jin: " alright, so we have the advantage of energy. William, can this really work against Leviathan?"

William nodded his head.

William: " you only need to hold him down until Minerva hacks him, that should be enough advantage against him."

Mizel: " with that said, we still have one more problem."

Monaco: " another?"

Dot Phasor: " and I thought Leviathan was all we needed to worry about."

William: " to wake Minerva up, we need to reach a certain height to send the signal. However, the only building that provided that height was obliterated. Unless we find another substitute..."

Mirai: " hold on!"

She called.

Mirai: " there is another building with the same height. We live in Grace Hills so I know it very well."

" Huh?"

William looked at her patiently but she seemed to hesitate as she looked back at Jin who immediately got it.

Jin: " ... that's right. The mansion is about the same height as Tokio Sia's tower."

William: " Jin-kun, is it possible to send a transmission from there?"

Noticing that he was familiar with the mentioned place, William decided to ask him to which he nodded.

Jin: " ah, definitely."

William attempted to stand up then.

William: " very well then, we shouldn't be wasting any time."

However, he was unable to stand up and slumped back into his seat.

Lilyan: " you can't go anywhere with your leg that way."

William: " it's my responsibility, I have to be the one shutting Leviathan down. As the one who created him, I must be the one who puts an end to him."

Kirito: " you will put an end to yourself if you keep being stubborn."

He walked over to him.

William: " Kirito-kun..."

Kirito: " tell me about the activation code, I will wake Minerva up for you."

William looked into his eyes for a moment before giving up.

William: " alright, you have my thanks."

He then looked over at his sister.

William: " Lily, send him the act-"

Lilyan: " no."

She stated sternly, taking everyone by surprise.

Lilyan: " I'm giving this code to no one."

Kousuke: " what are you talking about now?"

Lilyan: " you need the code, you have to take me there with you."

Everyone's eyes went wide at that.

Runa: " but, Lilyan-san, you don't have an LBX."

Lilyan: " it doesn't matter."

She held into her CCM tightly as though someone was about to robe it.

Lilyan: " I've come this far already, I'm not staying back now. And I want to see it to the very end, this fight, for Unicorn's sake as well."

Kirito rubbed his head with a tsk sound.

Kirito: " do you have a death wish."

William: " stop being stubborn, we don't have time."

Ban: " Lilyan, calm down. You going there will only put your life in danger."

He said placing a hand on her shoulder.

Lilyan: " I said no one is taking it alright!"

She snapped and jerked Ban's hand away.

Lilyan: " if I can't be there, then what's the meaning of everything I've been through so far."

Kirito studied her for a moment and then gave her a nod.

Kirito: " alright, be it as you want."

" Eh!"

Kirito: " she isn't a kid who must be told what to do."

Lilyan heaved a deep breath and regained her composure once more.

Lilyan: " thank you, Kirito-san."

Kirito: " I understand your feelings, however, make sure to not worry those who care for you."

Lilyan: " I won't."...