The next morning, Naomi was awoken by the sounds of rustling and a female voice.
"I don't understand, she didn't show up at all last night. She completely disappeared without warning." Nori stated.
"I'm sorry. Asimov, he's, he's making me work for the Sumeragi again." Naomi explained.
Nori gasped.
"I, I have to go back." Naomi notified.
"You'd better eat, shower and change before you go." Nori recommended.
Naomi nodded as she started eating her breakfast of chocolate blueberry muffins and lemonade. After showering, Naomi changed into a red see through shirt she had with the exact same design as her black one, her red pants, boots and choker with red crystal teardrop shaped dangling earrings. She teleported back to Firmament where Nova was waiting for her.
"For a minute there I was worried you'd be a no show." Nova spoke.
"No need to worry, I wouldn't miss this job for the world." Naomi fibbed.
'Only if the world was at stake would I come back again. I would definitely miss it for my family and friends.' Naomi mentally retorted.
"What's most important to you?" Nova questioned.
"Um, what are we talking about exactly? Like, ethics, morals beliefs? Eh, that's kinda complicated." Naomi pondered.
Suddenly, a blaring alarm was heard.
"Doing maintenance are they? Is this some kind of practice drill?" Naomi guessed.
"They would've given a forewarn if so." Nova informed.
Just then, Nova's phone began ringing.
"Hey Nova, there's a few problems heading your way I just wanted to warn you about while my game loads." Merak interrupted.
"Did the alarms go off at the base?" Nova wondered.
"No, but... the sensors did go off when the commands for the orbital elevator were overriden just now." Merak answered.
"Who overrode the commands?" Nova interrogated.
"Gunvolt, he's with Asimov and Zeno." Merak informed.
"He must've used his Azure Striker." Nova noted.
"All the soldiers are ready and in position. Stratos, Jota and Viper want to take part in the fighting as well." Merak elucidated.
Nova ended the call and turned to look at Naomi.
"It seems QUILL still deems you of high priority. Jota told me one of their employees went so far as to place themself between you and the elevator. No matter, when you fight them it'll certainly send them away." Nova muttered.
Naomi winced at the idea of having to fight Gunvolt and Zeno. Then she remembered what happened the last time she went to Firmament with Asimov to fight Nova and she was fighting what felt like an impossible fight to hold back the tears. Meanwhile, the guys were having a bit of trouble with their assault.
"Man, this ain't goin' so hot." Zeno remarked as Stratos went to create more flies.
Unfortunately, Copen wasn't having much luck on his end either.
"Nori, anything on the approach?" Copen asked.
The only response Copen obtained was silence.
"I can sense her boss! Naomi's somewhere close by!" Lola announced.
Copen dashed through the corridor until he ran into the three Elise's.
"Ssso, you're the crimssson killer?" Elise 2 noticed.
"I'm here to purge you and the sins of your kind from the Earth." Copen declared.
"Your facce, it reminds me of someone I know." Elise 2 noticed.
"Who does it remind you of?" Copen queried.
He only went along with what the Adept said in hopes of getting info and seeing if she was talking about Naomi. But the conversation was a two-way street. As Elise 2 could easily not remember her past encounter with the Adept Slayer. Or, she could be talking about his sister who he certainly knew to be stationed at Firmament.
"I'm nooot teeellinggg!" Elise 2 refuted.
The attacks were relentless. The fight carried on for two hours. When it was all over, it was impossible to tell who took more blunt force: Copen or his Megante Leon jacket.
'I'll make the necessary repairs later. But right now I have to find Naomi.' Copen thought.
When he was finished fighting, Gunvolt was exhausted and slept for the rest of the ride. It took half an hour for the elevator to finally reach its destination. Fifteen minutes later, the boys parted ways. Asimov kept watch to guard the elevator while Zeno was on the lookout for low ranking enemies to eradicate. Naomi looked at Nova before approaching and giving him a message.
"If QUILL's here, allow me to deal with it. They are here for me after all. Fighting against them on behalf of you and the Sumeragi should put them in their place." Naomi declared.
"If you feel like you're losing then don't hesitate to request backup." Nova cautioned.
Naomi nodded before transforming. With Xana only needing the supercomputer he wasn't fused with Naomi so her voice returned to normal. Upon reaching the others, Naomi decided to pretend she was utterly convinced that working for the Sumeragi was the right -and only- way to go.
"So, you're the intruders I was informed of? We were expecting you. Where is the third member of your troop? Last I heard he was sleeping in the elevator. No matter, I'll dispose of him later. After I eradicate you that is." Naomi teased.
"Come on man, we've known each other for so long and you're gonna turn on us just like that!?" Zeno pouted.
"Your feeble little mind games won't work on me." Naomi mocked.
"there's no way. The Sumeragi didn't wipe her mind did they?" Zeno worried.
"Naomi, we need you to come back. After you left the work's been piling up, the hacks are harder for Xiao and the missions are taking longer than they should." Asimov requested.
"I can't, not when I'm finally back where I belong. I can finally fulfill my duty, no, my destiny." Naomi boldy protested.