Volume 2, Level 4 - FIRST CLIMAX

Veritas Club Room, Wednesday: 17:13

We departed the Ruins and returned to the main Millennium campus at record pace, managing to catch Veritas before the "Computer Security" club left for the day. They rushed us into their Club Room without a minute to spare so they could start working immediately. The quiet clicking, whirring, and beeping of computer hardware filled the room as the Game Development Department, Suzumi, and I patiently waited for the results.

One of the occupied chairs spun around. Its occupant, Hare Omagari, regarded us with a carefully schooled expression broken only by a frown. Tired yellow eyes behind white bangs regarded us carefully as she shifted to adjust her white lab coat and black hoodie. Her halo, consisting of three neon green and black roundels encircled by a three-segment circle, pulsed ominously in the poorly lit room.

"I've finished analyzing the data you delivered." She said with a serious tone reserved for use by surgeons and doctors. It made for a worrying image when combined with her vaguely scientific uniform, tired eyes, and serious expression.

However, nobody else seemed to have clued in. Suzumi smiled slightly as she visibly relaxed against a server tower. "It was close, but this makes up for it."

"I know, it's finally time…" Midori agreed with a smile before sinking into her chair. "I wonder what it might say."

Alice nodded, an excited smile shining through. "My Heart Is Beating in Anticipation."

"I didn't think this would be how I'd meet Nelson-Sensei," Hare remarked casually as she glanced at the tablet in her hand. "But it's nice to meet you. You might not know, but Veritas prides itself on being the best hacker group in all of Kivotos."

'They're really good! They might even be able to get a foot into Schale's systems if I wasn't paying attention.' That was a lot of praise coming from Arona. The daily reports she gave me indicated there was an ongoing war to hack Schale. Unfortunately for the would-be hackers, their attempts thus far had barely caught her notice. To actually need her to shift a modicum of attention towards maintaining Schale's defences was high praise from the cheerful computer girl.

Hare had, of course, continued to speak despite my split attention. "We handle system and data recovery cases on a daily basis. It's almost routine for us, really…

"But I'm going to be frank with you."

All the Students that had been clinging to the white-haired hacker's words gulped at once. There was a palpable nervous energy in the air. It did little to ease the tension when she stood up, crossed the floor, and gave Momoi a conciliatory pat on the shoulder.

"Momoi," Hare said, her voice heavy with regret. "Your save files cannot be recovered."

Momoi fell to her knees, tears at the edge of her eyes, as she shouted to the heavens, "Nooooooooooo!"

Everyone else's reactions were significantly less theatrical. Both Suzumi's and my hands came up to meet our faces. Suzumi cupped her face in embarrassment, mine to rub the bridge of my nose in exhaustion. Yuzu looked at Momoi with confusion, while Alice just stepped up to give the pink-clad girl a rub on the shoulder and an understanding smile.

"Momoi! You were supposed to ask them to decrypt the password to the !" Midori admonished her sister with an annoyed glare and pout.

"Oh, she did. Maki-san's working on it," answered another member as they swung about in their chair to face us. She was almost like an inversion of Hare. She wore a white dress, an orange-lined black jacket, and black gloves. Her waist-long, pale blonde hair was messily styled despite a braid and hair ties trying to keep the hair out of her way.

This must be Veritas's communications expert, Kotama Otose. Her lavender halo consisted of two reticles. The smaller internal reticule consisted of a solid circle with lines in each cardinal direction. A four-segment circle formed the outer reticule with two with a long diamond crossing through and two with a short diamond.

Midori frowned at the mention. "Maki's working on it?"

"Yo! Nice to see you, Mido'! Nice to meet you, Sensei! I'm almost done with my analysis on this file." Maki Konuri, the last member of Veritas present. She was hunching over a computer and typing away at something. Her messy red hair was tied into two spherical buns. Dried paint covered her white skirt and black sweater, while various pins and patches were stuck onto her hooded navy blue jacket.

Her red halo consisted of three circles containing a smaller circle, connected to another by a circle. She had one of those curious physical elements as well, an inverted black pyramid with a red tip.

Momoi was still on the floor, staring at the ground with watery eyes. "My saves…"

Yuzu and Alice busied themselves with consoling Momoi about her life-altering loss. Meanwhile, Midori, Suzumi, and I walked over to Maki's workstation, where the red-headed hacker was busy at work.

"Well, Ms. Konuri, what have you discovered?"

Maki clicked her tongue in response as her eyes flitted from line to line. "Well, I got good news. This is the real . The file creation time, transfer time, format, and author all match the information you provided about the Legendary Game Developer. Finally, the metadata shows this file was copied exactly once. This is the real deal, alright."

"Yes! That's amazing!" Midori cheered with a relieved smile and turned to Suzumi and me excitedly. The excitement slowed when she caught sight of Suzumi's slight frown and my own tense stare. She glanced between us before asking, "What's wrong?"

"You said you had good news, Konuri-san. Did you also have bad news?" Suzumi finally asked.

Maki nodded with an annoyed frown. "We haven't been able to decrypt the password yet."

"You're killing me, Maki!" Momoi shouted from next to us. I turned to see both Yuzu and Alice staring at the spot she was in confusion, with the pink-clad girl apparently having sprung before they could react. "We went through all that and sacrificed so much for us to still have nothing?"

Maki pushed her chair back in surprise from Momoi's stare, putting some distance between the two of them. "Chill, Momo. This is some top-tier stuff we're dealing with. I haven't seen anything like this since we tried to access Schale's -"

Maki and Momoi both paused and slowly turned to look at me. I smiled brightly, giving them a small wave. The two of them turned back, looked at each other, and Maki immediately continued, "Tried to access Schale's website. For completely legitimate reasons."

Arona helpfully piped up, the cheerful computer girl's voice completely unperturbed, 'Technically speaking, what they didn't wasn't illegal! They'd actually need to be able to do damage for it to be a crime.'

"I trust you did," I responded to the girls with a smile. Maki and Momoi both nodded quickly, eyes wide. "But could you perhaps allow me to inspect the console? Perhaps I could find a solution."

"No offence, Sensei… But you aren't exactly a hacker type," Midori pointed out with a curious glint in her eye. Almost everyone in the room but Suzumi and Alice nodded in agreement. Suzumi just seemed mildly concerned and was looking at me strangely. However, Alice shook her head.

"I Believe Mentor Nelson May Have Something Yet!" The Robot girl said with a confident smile. I wasn't quite as sure as her. Still, Maki shrugged and disconnected the console before passing it to me.

"Have at it, Sensei."

"Thank you, Ms. Konuri." I answered before removing the Shittim Chest from its backpack. The device drew the immediate interested looks of Veritas and the Game Devs.

'Arona, did you hear that?' I asked through my connection. A concentrated hum answered me before the familiar voice of the Computer girl answered.

'I did, Sensei!' There was the sound of typing, as well as some other strange whirring noises. 'Just connect the Game Girl to the Shittim Chest's port, and I'll see what I can do!'

Everyone watched with varying ranges of curiosity as I followed her instructions. I could hear her humming in thought alongside the noise of typing and, most strangely, construction equipment. Finally, after a few moments, I got an answer.

'It's blocking me, Sensei.'

"What? How?" I muttered aloud in shock, the answer drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

'The hardware for the port and the wireless disabled itself once I tried to access the console.'

I stared down at the Shittim Chest where it displayed "Connection Failed" on the screen. Suzumi walked over and glanced down at the glowing panel as well, frowning. "Sensei… what does this mean?"

I didn't quite understand what it meant either. I looked up to where Veritas was watching me curiously. "Ms. Konuri, are you certain the console is in working condition?"

"Sure as I can be," Maki answered as she took back the device and plugged it back into her computer. I watched as the monitor displayed the connected Game Girl, as well as its completely full memory. "See, everything's there."

'Arona? What is the meaning of this?'

The computer girl hummed in consternation before sending the signal equivalent of a glare.'It's tricky. The security might be picking up that I'm trying to hack it and shutting itself down. I don't know why their scans and attempts aren't triggering it, but there's not much I can do if I can't connect to it.'

Veritas Club Room, Wednesday: 17:23

"How should we proceed from here?" I asked Veritas as everyone finished the newest box of doughnuts. "The Game Development Department's hopes were riding on their ability to recover the ."

The club in question was currently listening from a corner with sullen expressions. Alice was trying her best to cheer them up, but it was an undeniably major setback.

"Well," Maki answered between bites of her pastry, "I'm not sure how this encryption works, but whoever designed it ensured the hardware will reject non-Millennium systems. It disconnects itself if it even thinks someone external is trying to access it."

The redheaded girl sighed, spinning around in her chair in idle thought. "I'm not sure how it does it. But you guys did pick it up from somewhere pretty sketchy as is."

Arona tried a few different methods to connect to the console, but every one of them resulted in the Game Girl locking itself down. Even with Veritas's aid, it seems it would only work when a Millennium-designed system interfaced with the console. This severely limited my options to provide assistance.

"So that's it?" Momoi said glumly, "We spent all that time, fought all those androids, and risked our lives to end with nothing?"

"Well, it's not like we're out of options..." Maki drawled, a mischievous smile crossing her face.

The Game Development Department all perked up at that, turning to look at Maki with renewed hope. The smile on the redheaded hacker grew as she explained, "While it's basically impossible for us to brute force a password this complicated, we might be able to dupe it without the encryption key. We just need to use the Optimus Mirror System, or the Mirror for short."

"What is so special about this Optimus Mirror System that it will be able to unlock the ?" I asked.

"It's a one-of-a-kind machine, a special computer optimized for cracking encryption," Hare explained. "It was specifically designed and programmed by our President to bypass the most secure files."

"Himari-senpai designed it?" Momoi asked with a low whistle. "Then it must be some good stuff!"

There was a murmur of agreement even as Alice leaned over and whispered, "Mentor Nelson, Who Is Himari?"

"The President of Veritas. I have yet to meet her in person, although I know of her. She is reputed to be quite the eccentric genius." Alice nodded in understanding at my answer before straightening herself.

It was quite interesting. Most Students I've met thus far were all healthy and fit to some degree. They were at least capable of performing to high physical standards. Himari was the rare exception. The elven third-year student was actually the only Student I was aware of who needed aid to travel. She even had medical exemptions for the physical fitness courses. I had to wonder if it was an illness, or a condition.

"So, you just need this Mirror thing to open the ?" Midori's question snapped me out of my musing. "Well, where is it now?"

"Well… we used to have it here at Veritas…" Maki began to explain, only to trail off as she glanced askew with a worried frown.

Suzumi visibly braced herself and asked, "But?"

"Weeeell, Seminar came in and took it away!"

A few things happened as Maki finished her answer. Momoi slipped from her seat, falling flat on her face. Yuzu turned as pale as a sheet and squeaked. Midori's palm met her face. Suzumi sighed as her one wing rubbed the side of her forehead. Alice just stared at the redheaded hacker with a confused look.

That left me to ask the obvious question. "And why did they confiscate your belongings?"

"Well, Yuuka came in and said it was "Disgraceful" that we had "illegal equipment". What a killjoy." Maki griped, annoyance bleeding into her expression as she recounted the events. Then she blinked and slowly turned to look at me. Her eyes met mine, before she slowly trailed down to where my S.C.H.A.L.E badge hung. Then, slowly, she looked to Hare and Kotama. Her fellow club members answered her gaze with very energetic shakes of their heads.

Finally, she slowly turned to look me in the eyes again. After a second, she continued her explanation. "Because she's entirely wrong! The equipment was completely legal, and we definitely weren't doing anything illegal with it! She just took all our stuff because it looks suspicious!"

"Those are reasonable grounds to be upset." I couldn't help but grin as the collective expressions of Veritas relaxed at my answer. "But how exactly does the Mirror's absence from your club help the Game Development Department?"

"If I don't get the Mirror back soon, the President's gonna be real mad at me." Maki answered, expression glum.

Hare nodded in agreement. "So our interests have aligned. We need to get our president's tool back, and you want to unlock the ."

"Ah," Momoi said as she pushed herself off the ground. "I think I know where this is going."

Midori pursed her lips in thought, before frowning, "Wait, you don't mean…"

"That's right, Momo," Maki answered with a smile.

Alice blinked and smiled as well, as she seemed to key into the plan. "Are We Going to Form a Raid Party Then?"

"Please don't tell me you're thinking of what I think you are." Suzumi's hand was now rubbing her brow as her wing shifted uncomfortably.

"That's right!" Momoi answered.

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:31

"Seminar will be attacked."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

The park was quiet in the fading light of the dusk. Two figures sat next to each other. The first is on a chair, the second next to them on a bench. The first pauses as they take a sip from the thermos.

"It is the truth," answered the figure on a chair. "The Game Development Department is desperate and will do what they feel is needed to succeed."

"I know. Someone already told us. They can try, but we have the best protection in all of Millennium." The figure on the bench sounds skeptical but is not entirely dismissing the notion.

"We have the Maids of Cleaning & Cleaning."

Veritas Club Room, Wednesday: 17:25

"We have to fight C & C?! That's impossible!" Momoi shouted, falling flat on the floor once again. "We have no choice but to give up now!"

"Hey, what are you giving up for, Momoi? Don't you need the ?!" Maki shouted back as Midori and Alice pulled the pink-clad girl back up into a kneeling position.

Momoi's eyes were swimming in panic even as she continued, panic underlining her voice. "Yeah, but are you serious?! The Maid Club? We'd be better off standing in front of a train or throwing ourselves into a volcano than trying to fight them!"

"But we have to do somethin'! If we don't, the president's gonna yell at me, and the Game Development Department will get shut down," Maki pointed out.

"I think one of those is your own fault," Suzumi muttered. I nodded in agreement, even as the two of us leaned back out of the conversation.

"Of course I don't want us to get shut down!" Momoi protested. "But this is crazy! C & C has crushed countless extremist groups and armed factions! They completely wiped them out of existence! They're equal to Trinity's Justice Task Force and Gehenna's Prefect Team, all by themselves!"

Midori nodded, a worried frown on her face. "It's too dangerous. We can't risk Arisu and Yuzu like that."

"Well, we'd be doomed if we're planning to fight C & C," Maki answered with a confident grin. "But we don't need to do that. We just need to hit their Confiscated Goods Vault."

"And on top of that, we have one big advantage." Kotama added.

"Oh?" I asked as I leaned back into the conversation. "And what would that be?"

"From what I've… heard," Kotama continued, pausing as she looked at me. "C & C aren't in full force right now?"

"One of them is away?"

"That's right," Hare added. A profile popped up on one of the monitors.

The image was of a short girl with a scowl and glaring red eyes. Short, cropped orange hair with a braid tied with two Millennium tags and a ridiculously long cowlick atop her head. An oversized black delinquent jacket embroidered with rose-coloured Sakura petals and gold fishes worn over a sloppily worn French maid uniform.

The image was unmistakable. She was one of the three great Students, known to be able to take on entire forces alone. The ace of Millennium, who maintained the high-tech campus's peace through raw combat capability.

"The President of the Maid Club, callsign Double 0, Neru?" Midori asked. "She's not here right now?"

"That's right," Hare answered. "It's the perfect time. Right now she's away on business."

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:32

The figure on the bench was quiet before sighing. "Damnit, how did they find out? Look, Neru might be away, but it's for the better. She's good at attacking, but when it comes to defending, she might just destroy the vault."

"True as that may be, it is still a reduction in their power."

"I still don't think they have a chance."

"I believe you are underestimating their willingness to commit to this action."

Veritas Club Room, Wednesday: 17:28

"So it's just a smash and grab, huh…" Momoi muttered, her brow scrunched in thought. It was rather uncharacteristic for the pink-clad twin to be so reserved about taking action. I had known her less than a week, but she had thus far been the instigator of all the plans thus far.

For her to hesitate in this decision was telling. But more telling was the one who did decide.

"Let's do it, Momoi."

Midori's resolute answer cut through the room. Momoi turned to her twin with a shocked stare. "You too, Midori?! Even if Neru's gone, C & C is still uber scary!"

"I know, but I'm not just going to give up here," Midori replied, her face set in grim determination. "Our club room's old and leaky, but it's more than a place for us to get together and play games. It's where we belong. I think we have a chance. It doesn't matter if we can avoid fighting C & C or if we have to fight them.

"I want to keep it safe. For Arisu, for Yuzu, for all of us."

Midori's speech left everyone in stunned silence before I chuckled and gave the girl a pat on the shoulder.

"Well said, Ms. Midori."

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:33

"Maybe I am." The figure on the bench admitted. "But it doesn't change that the odds are stacked against them. It doesn't matter if they have Veritas's support."

The figure on the chair laughed softly before pausing to take a sip from a thermos. They put it back down and spoke in a carefree tone. "They have more than Veritas's support."

"What?"

Engineering Club Hangar, Thursday: 9:13

"Very well. You can count us in."

Utaha frowned as Midori and Momoi stared at her in stunned silence. That wasn't the reaction she expected when she heard their plight. Fortunately, Arisu was more than happy to keep things rolling.

"Panpakapaan!" The Synthetic girl cheered with a smile on her face. "The Engineering Club Has Joined The Raid!"

"Yes, but…" Midori started, confusion bleeding in her voice and clear on her face. "Why would you agree to help us? You already qualify for renewal."

Utaha nodded in response. "We did."

"Then why would you team up with us and Veritas to take on the Maid Club?"

"Well, the answer's simple," Utaha said.

Hibiki peeked out from her workstation, an excited smile on her face. "Because it sounds like fun."

"Plus, it's a chance to hang out with Nelson-Sensei!" Kotori added from the couch.

"Yes, that's right," Utaha echoed as her gaze turned towards where Arisu and Nelson were standing. She could still feel it, the familiar curiosity of having uncovered a puzzle she could not quite solve. She could feel the itch, calling her to use the opportunity to solve this mystery.

"We'll get to see Arisu and Sensei in action."

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:34

The figure on the bench was still before their head turned to the figure in the chair. "… Why would you tell me that?"

"Because they will succeed," answered the figure in the chair. They said it confidently, leaving no room for doubt.

"Then why are you here? Why would you give me all this information if you think they'll win? It just doesn't add up. They'd be better off if you hid this from me."

"Ms. Hayase, why do you think I asked you to meet me here?"

"You said you wanted to negotiate terms."

"That I did. But why do you think I am here alone?"

Veritas Club Room, Thursday: 11:12

Everyone was in Veritas's office ready to discuss the plan. However, my announcement as we were all seated had them staring at me in shock.

"Nelson-sensei, why can't you help us?" The shock was clear in Momoi's face as she spoke, her eyes wide in surprise.

I held back the sigh. I knew they wouldn't like to hear that. However, there was a limit to what I could do. "I do wish to help you. However, I cannot participate in an attack on another school's Student Council in my capacity as an Advisor to Schale. It would lead to problems at best and break the trust that Schale has been building at worst."

I was well aware of the fact that I was gaining a reputation. Intelligence and reports provided by Arona and others were pretty clear about it. My image was someone who would prefer to operate within the rules until somebody else broke them. It had its benefits. It made Schale a more approachable organization where civilians and Students could be confident that laws would only be broken when necessary.

In this instance, I was fairly certain that there was no way for me to justify an official operation against Seminar. Especially since they were legitimately exercising their authority to seize the Mirror. I might be able to find a reason if I had more time, but we were working with a tight timeline.

It would also lead to more headaches and paperwork for Rin. I wanted to avoid that whenever possible by filling out the correct paperwork.

"But this plan is a lot more dangerous without you, Sen-" Hare began to say. However, I cut her off before she could finish with a raised hand.

"I understand," I answered. "But it is better I know as little of anything as possible. This way, I can say that I only thought you were having a discussion and not engaging in conspiracy."

"B-but, theoretically, can we even do anything without Nelson-Sensei?" Yuzu muttered, an anxious expression growing on her face.

Kotori hummed in thought, hand on her chin as her hand tapped on the desk. "Well, I calculated the previous theoretical plan, and we had a 99.99% chance of success if Sensei was with us." She paused her tapping with a frown. "Without her, it drops to 78.45%! That's still more likely than not, but it'll be a bit difficult with our current members and resources."

"See, you're already well set without my aid," I said with a nod. "I understand my inability to help is shocking. But I truly believe in all your abilities. You are among the brightest," I directed a hand at Veritas, and they nodded in agreement. "The most resourceful," the Engineering Club smiled at the praise. "And the most motivated Students," The crestfallen looks of the GDD brightened. "I have had the pleasure of working with. Even though your theoretical plans will need reassignment and redesign, I believe you shall meet the challenge and rise above it."

"Is There Nothing You Can Do, Mentor Nelson?" Alice asked, head tilted in curiosity.

I laughed softly, shaking my head. "I do plan to do something. I intend to speak with Hayase directly and attempt to convince her to release the Mirror to me. I will do so on Saturday, at 6:30 pm. I believe a location close to the Millennium Tower, such as the park across the street, would be most suitable.

"So, of course, I must remind you to not plan any conspiracies, nor should you execute them when I meet with her to negotiate terms. Of course, I will inform you of the outcome of such negotiations. Once you know, we can plan for what to do next."

All the gathered Students blinked in confusion before the wires connected, and they all slowly nodded. I smiled brightly at their understanding. "Excellent, I see you understand that you should not do anything that could potentially inconvenience her. And as it so happens," I stood up and stretched. An index card slid out from my sleeve and landed on the table between them. "I believe I must be going for an examination."

I turned around immediately and started to make my way to the door. As I left, Utaha's voice called out from behind me. "Sensei, do you need this card?"

"Card? What card?" I answered with a put-on confused voice. "I believe I would have noticed if I had dropped something. Morizuki, do you believe I have left something behind?"

Suzumi stared at me with an unamused light in her eyes. Slowly, she turned to look at the table. Then, she turned her head back with an equally slow motion and answered, "No, Nelson-Sensei. I don't think you left anything behind."

"Capital," I declared. "It certainly would not be a card with helpful phone numbers on it. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have somewhere else to be."

Momotalk, Saturday: 15:23

Nelson-Sensei
Hayase, I wish to speak with you today.
I have a message of the utmost importance.
Are you free?

[right]... I'm not, but I think I know what you're going to talk about./right]

Nelson-Sensei
I suspect so as well.
I do not plan to take up too much of your time.
Please meet me at 6:30 pm at the Millennium Tower Park.

[right]OK, Sensei.
I'll see you there./right]

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:35

"You're here to get me to surrender before the plan launches."

"Close. I am here to negotiate a resolution before it becomes unavoidable. But I am not a participant in any plan, nor am I aware of any plan." I answered. Yuuka looked at me with eyes wide open in surprise. "Is that so surprising?"

"Sensei, you've been a part of every plan so far. We even drew our defence plans around that." I chuckled, even if Yuuka didn't seem particularly amused.

"Have I ever given a sign that I would be willing to launch an attack against a legitimate authority, doing their proper duty?"

"No... but you'll do so much to help us," Yuuka said, her gaze landing on my arm. "So, you're here to speak on their behalf, but you don't even know what they're planning?"

"Only what was reported," I answered from my deck chair. "As I said, I did my utmost best to remind them to not engage in criminal conspiracy."

Millennium Tower Lobby, Saturday 10:13

"How much longer will the repair take?" Renai asked. She took a second to adjust her Millennium Security Officer vest as she peered at the open elevator panel.

The Seminar Maintenance worker tilted her head, stared at the open panel, and checked her tablet. "I'm almost done installing it. I just need to solder a few wires, and we're all set to go."

Renai nodded and stepped back, letting Maintenance do her work. Going straight after her period of delinquency had been difficult. However, landing this gig was fantastic. They forgave her for some of her lower grades, and she got a chance to use the only skills she picked up when she went delinquent. So far it had been nothing more than a few rowdy nerds, but today…

"How the heck did this even happen?" Maintenance's question cut through Renai's daydreaming. She blinked and looked to the other student, who was glancing to the side at where a blackened panel laid. "It's not every day that I see an elevator control panel, and only the control panel, this badly fried."

"Eh, some stupid student or the other did it as a prank this morning before breakfast," Renai explained with a shrug. "Hacked one of Seminar's lobby drones and caused it to discharge the security stunner into the panel."

Maintenance giggled at Renai's answer. "I'm guessing Seminar was pretty pissed about that?"

"Ha! They sure weren't," Renai answered with a chuckle. The call she got from her supervisor about the situation had some of Seminar's more heated personalities aboard. It was a situation, to say the least."A bunch of the higher-ups holed themselves up there last night. Imagine how annoyed they were when they found out they couldn't come down here for coffee and breakfast."

"I can picture the call already." Maintenance responded with a nod. "Can't imagine how pissed I'd be if I suddenly got called in to do something and couldn't even get breakfast. They'll probably have to get their food sent up now."

Renai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they already got some of the cafeteria staff waiting with carts."

Maintenance giggled at the thought before she paused as she kneeled down to pick up another piece of solder. "I wonder what they're doing up there."

Renai opened her mouth to respond before catching herself. It wasn't something that should be public. After a second, she sighed and shrugged. "Eh, I shouldn't say."

"Come on, what's a little bit of scuttlebutt between grunts?" Maintenance nudged Renai in the thigh. The particulate mask she had on covered most of her face, but Renai could imagine a smile. "What am I going to do, tell the other maintenance people?"

Renai glanced left and right. There was nobody else nearby. There was nobody around. Nobody would out her as being the one who leaked the info. Besides, the rumours were already spreading throughout the MSF group chats. It wouldn't be long before they became more public.

Slowly, Renai leaned in to whisper to Maintenance, "Word's that Seminar's received a threat. They're locking themselves down to defend themselves."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Maintenance looked back at the panel with a new look of understanding. "I get why they want this repair finished so quickly then."

"Yeah, they'd be losing their minds even more if this was down for any longer."

"Well, maybe they should give me a tip." Maintenance said with a chuckle before closing the panel up. "I'm not even supposed to do this stuff anymore, you know. But then someone called in a favor for me to handle this situation. So, I had to find a usable uniform, source the parts for this repair, and rush over here."

Renai understood. Nobody liked having to cover a surprise shift, whether they were security or delinquents. Still, she had to point out one problem. "It's not going to happen; that Accountant would never OK it."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll get it from somebody. I was hoping for a drama-free day, you know."

Maintenance put down her tools and looked at the panel once again. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself. "That looks about right. The elevator should run fine now once you've cycled the power."

"Awesome, I'm sure the bigwigs up there would love to hear it." Renai answered. She stepped back to send off a message and look over her checklist. As she stepped away, Maintenance began to pack her tools back into her toolbox and started cleaning up.

The other girl had just gotten back behind her cart when Renai walked back up to her. The other girl looked up, catching Renai with a bored, even stare, and asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just need to sign you out," Renai answered before pointing to the badge. "Can you pass me your badge?"

"Sure thing."

The other girl unclipped the badge and passed it to Renai. Renai took the offered badge with a "Thanks" before scanning the barcode. As the system started going through the program, Renai spotted something unique on the badge. "Nice dolphin sticker."

"Thanks, it's a vaquita," Maintenance answered. "They're rare, but cute."

The app pinged a chime as the app confirmed a registration and sign out. As Renai passed the badge back, she spotted a pair of unfamiliar characters on the front of the badge. "Say, your name's kinda weird. Don't think I've ever seen these characters together before."

Maintenance laughed, the even tone echoing through the lobby. "Don't know what they were thinking when they came up with it. It's Keito, written with the character for jade tablet and the character for ten."

Renai stared at Maintenance, her eyes slowly tracking from the other girl's unamused green eyes to her messy dark green hair. "I'm guessing they weren't particularly inspired when they picked that."

"I agree," Maintenance answered, tucking one emerald lock behind her ear. "I don't think they were."

Millennium Tower Park, Saturday: 18:36

"But you're still here for them," Yuuka accused.

I nodded solemnly in agreement. "Of course. You asked me to help them to the best of my ability. But you are also my Student, Hayase. I wish to help you as well."

"It doesn't feel like it," Yuuka muttered with a heated tone. However, it wasn't accusatory. It just held annoyance that it had reached this point at all.

"I do not wish to see Seminar's authority destabilized any more than you do," I explained, voice soft as the fading light of the park. "And no matter how you see it, a successfully coordinated attack by three different clubs will do that. I examined the records of the Seminar meetings that led to my arrival and the ones afterward." Yuuka didn't flinch, but she did break her gaze. "And I know something is afoot. I just do not know what yet."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Surrender the Mirror," I answered bluntly. "As far as I am aware, they only wish to retrieve the Mirror. If you surrender it to me, I can inform them that I have secured it. Then, any plan they may have formed will stop here."

Yuuka seemed to consider it for a second. Then, she shook her head. "I can't do that, confiscated it on suspicion of being an accessory to a crime. We can't give it back until we're sure it's clean."

"And the investigative procedure means it will remain confiscated? Most likely until after the Game Development Department is shut down?" Yuuka didn't answer my question. I didn't need my Crew's Memories to understand the implications. We sat there in silence as the sun began to set and darkness began to creep into the park.

"And what if I ask you to help me stop them?" Yuuka suddenly asked.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "Then you would put me at odds with my oath to help Alice and my goal of helping any Student that requests it.

"But I don't think you will."

Yuuka bristled at my comment but didn't reject it. I continued patiently explaining, "You were the one who requested that I aid them. I know that you are intelligent enough to know that, given their disposition, they would likely come into conflict with Seminar eventually. I believe you only wished me to be present to moderate any potential action so as to prevent them from doing anything that would receive harsh punishment.

"I suspect that you have seen the same pattern I have in the filings, rule amendments, and rejected proposals that your President has passed. You knew what inviting me to Millennium would mean for everyone involved."

"Let's say it's true," Yuuka instantly answered, neither denying nor agreeing with my assessment. "They might still try to steal the Mirror. That's an attack on the Student Council. It's well within my right to ask Schale for help. Why wouldn't I call you to turn on them?"

I smiled, one hand coming to lay over Yuuka's. "Because I know you want to see them succeed. I do not believe you are a cruel or capricious person. I believe you understand there is injustice afoot, even if you do not understand why. You must have realized that they have been put into an impossible position. A position where their choices all lean towards hostile action."

We were silent, my hand over Yuuka's as the daylight fully retreated into evening. My internal chronometer reported it was 18:43. I sighed and asked, once more, "Is there truly no way for you to surrender the Mirror to them?"

"No, Sensei." Yuuka answered, shaking her head slowly. "I can't break the rules to help you stop rules from being broken."

I nodded in understanding and stood up, twisting the deck chair back into my holds. "I understand. It is a shame, but I will have to inform them that negotiations have failed. They were expecting an answer."

Yuuka nodded as I typed my message. Then, she blinked owlishly and frowned. "Why were they expecting an answer?"

"Because I gave them plenty of forewarning of the fact that I intended to speak with you today, at this time, right here."

Yuuka stared at me, confusion clear in her eyes for a moment, before she shot up from the bench. "You mean they know I'd be he—!"

A mortar shell slammed into the ground next to us, cutting off anything else she had to say.

Millennium Tower District, Saturday: 18:38

The crackle of a radio echoed across the Millennium Tower District. "All teams, this is Hare. I have eyes on Demon Queen. She is sitting with Sensei. All teams report final status."

"Kotama here, we have our foot in the door. We just need someone to pull it open." One answered.

The radio crackled, and the sound of wind echoed in the background. "This is Engineering; our members are in position. 02 has been located, providing overwatch for DQ as predicted. We're waiting."

"Maki here! Kotori and I are waiting for the go-ahead!" Her voice was muffled and distant, as if hidden in an enclosed space.

The radio comes to life, and an excited whisper answers. "Hero's Party Here! We See the Elevator and Are Ready!"

"I can't believe that Receptionist-senpai got to do something and I didn't get to see—ah! Iz-Kitsune, in position and ready! Nin!" The speaker's voice echoed, leaving it a tinny noise.

"I can't believe I'm doing this again," added a new member with an equally tinny voice. "Nekomata here, Kitsune and I are already inside and waiting."

"Nn, Cù-sìth ready," answered the final member with an even and steady voice.

"All teams reporting in," Hare concluded. "We just need to know whether we're going or not."

There was a long, tense minute. Then the buzz of a phone cut through the silence.

"We're on," Hare said. "Begin Phase 3!"

The Millennium Tower was a symbol of the school. Sleek, modern, and high-tech, it contained all the hallmarks of Millennium. It contained Seminar's offices, the department offices for various departments, and the club rooms for countless clubs. It hosted the headquarters for the Millennium Security Force and their barracks. It constantly buzzed with activity at all hours of the day. It was, as a result, lit by bright lights at all hours of the day.

The tower stood as a symbol of the ever-forward-looking Millennium Science School. It was the glowing beacon that illuminated the path forward.

So, it was to everyone's surprise when those lights flickered off.

AN: We've hit the tilt. While some may have expected Nelson to lead an attack on Seminar, I like to think that I've dropped hints that she was never going to be directly involved. Afterall, she doesn't really have the legal grounds to do such a thing. But trying to have a talk with Yuuka? And leaving behind some handy contacts? Well, that she can do.

The Millennium misspelling ticket goes up another 1. I've gotten used to it but it seems I still miss it when I write more quickly.

Unfortunately, life has conspired to prevent me from writing as of recently. I'll be taking a bit of a break to refill my buffer. By my estimation, it should only take 3 weeks for me to write the rest of this arc and some of the interlude. So I hope everyone has a relaxing few weeks!

As always, thanks to my friend who beta-reads this!