Akari, Hikari, Aoki, and Saori banged on the metal wall, which didn't budge one bit.
"Hey!" Saori demanded. "Give them back!"
"Banging won't bring them back," Naito stated, matter-of-factly. "Moving will."
"Like hell!" Aoki refused. "Those three won't survive on their own! One's a nerd, one's an idiot, and one's completely lost himself! They need me!"
"Me," Akari clarified.
"Us," Hikari corrected.
"Naito's right," Naoki explained. "As much as you care for your friends, the only way to see them again is to clear this first challenge. Come on, ladies! You've got this!"
They sighed and relented.
"Fine," Aoki muttered. "They better not die."
"If they do, I'll have them punished myself," Akari promised.
An entrance opened in front of them, and they walked through it.
Down below…
"Ugh…what a fall…"
Marachii got up, rubbing his head. Dachii and Luca got up as well, with Yūsuke standing nearby.
"A challenge," Yūsuke mused. "Expected."
Luca stretched. "Don't gotta deal with those loudmouth girls anymore. "Let's crush 'em in this race!"
Marachii shrugged. "It is a super-cool tech race, so I'm in!"
"Then get on," Luca ordered, shifting into his Hydra Form. Dachii, Marachii, and Yūsuke climbed on, and Luca sprinted down the corridor in front of them.
"No signs of traps yet!" Marachii announced. "I wonder what they'll be like? What do you think, Dachii?"
"Probably…like traps."
Luca continued to sprint until he found himself in a room with lava below, and a narrow path ahead. He shifted back to normal.
"Can't fit across this. We'll need some good agility."
Plumes of flames shot out from the walls, and lasers blasted the path step by step. "Maybe a bit more than that."
"So cool!" Marachii admired.
Luca shifted into a wolf and easily cleared the gap. "Your turn."
Dachii grabbed Marachii and Yūsuke, jumping over the gap.
"One done," Yūsuke remarked. "There must be more."
"What will they be?" Marachii wondered. "I can't wait!"
In the next corridor, the room continuously shifted, causing the boys to fall over upside down and all around.
"This won't be easy," Luca noted.
The corridor suddenly began to get smaller. "It's gonna crush us! Move!"
They raced down the corridor as fast as they could, right before it could smash them into paste. In the next room was a wave of lasers, with the door at the opposite side.
"Like the General's training," Yūsuke commented. "Balance."
He easily slipped through the lasers, and Dachii did the same. Luca shapeshifted into an ant and crawled across the ground, leaving Marachii on the other side, who stared at the lasers.
"I wonder if I should just…poke it?"
"That would not be a good idea," Luca warned him.
"Oh! Right!"
Marachii narrowly avoided the lasers, crossing to the other side.
"That's three," Yūsuke said. "We should be somewhat close now."
They found a room that appeared to be a cafeteria, with robotic servants cooking food and cleaning. As soon as the boys arrived, they stopped, and a voice rang out.
"Save Spot detected! Ten-minute break!"
"Save spot?" Luca questioned.
"It must be just like a game!"Marachii realized. "This is gonna be the best game ever!"
Fido barked beside him, and Marachii ruffled his fur. "Yeah, I know you're excited too!"
Yūsuke eyed the bar. "It wouldn't hurt to grab a snack before we proceed."
And soon after, they were seated at a table, eating lunch. Luca stuffed his mouth. "I wonder how those girls are doing. Probably fighting for their lives trying to beat us right now."
Meanwhile, above…
"Are we there yet?"
The girls followed behind Naito and Naoki as they walked down the corridor. Aoki began to grow restless. "We've been walking forever now! There's nothing here!"
Akari looked around. "Is this part of the trap? This place feels a bit too safe."
Naito suddenly stopped, and all the girls prepared to fight, but she merely pointed to a wall in front of her. "The door is locked. It's a cipher puzzle. It needs three objects."
"Our first test!" Naoki beamed. "This should be easy, right, girls?"
They all gave her a less-than-impressed look.
"Fine," Aoki said. "Whatever. What do we need to do?"
Three doors opened around them, and the voice suddenly spoke. "Use these doors to try and find the right object combination! If you can't find it in fifteen minutes, this door will remain locked!"
"I think the right choice would be to explore these rooms in pairs," Naoki suggested. "Naito, come with me, sweetie."
She brought her daughter into the first door. Hikari nudged Saori. "Saori, how about you and I go?"
"No, no, no!" Aoki and Akari both shot down.
Hikari sighed.
"I'll go with Saori," Aoki stated. "Hikari, you go with this one."
"Real funny," Akari scoffed.
Aoki led Saori into the room next to them, leaving Akari and Hikari alone. Akari pointed to the far door. "Okay, bestie. Let's do this."
They walked through the door, only to find what appeared to be a museum, with multiple objects on display.
"Are we supposed to pick one of these?" Hikari asked.
"No clue," Akari admitted. "When they said challenge, I assumed it would be more fighting involved."
"Do you think the boys are safe?" Hikari wondered. "If it's just a bunch of puzzles, they can handle that! They're smart, after all!"
"I really hope they're fine," Akari worried. "Putting those three together is never a good idea."
Down below…
"AHAHAHA!"
Marachii nearly lost his mind as Dachii dragged him and the others through the next corridor, with a large mechanical boulder firing rockets behind them. "How do they even DO that? It's incredible!"
"Rockets plus rocks don't mix," Luca replied. "We need to lose this thing!"
They twisted and turned as rockets fired again and again.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Yūsuke held out his hand, and a white dagger formed from it. "Dagger Magic, go!"
He threw a dagger at the boulder, causing it to jam and explode, shaking the entire corridor. "That takes care of that."
They finally reached a large arena-style room, where a holographic display popped up. "Amazing! Team Level 5!"
"Level?" Luca inquired.
"Like I said, it's just like a game!" Marachii cheered. "We're doing amazing right now!"
The ground beneath them shook and the center of the room opened up. "Now commencing…BOSS BATTLE."
"Ooh! What boss are we going to get?" Marachii thought.
"Boss Battle: King of the First Gate—-Kurokijin!"
A holographic HP bar appeared above the arena, and a large mechanical warrior with a crown and a large double-edged sword appeared from the ground, roaring loudly.
"ROAR!"
Luca summoned his axes, while Marachii could barely contain his excitement.
"This should be fun," Luca smirked. "Finally get to test my steel."
Kurokijin turned toward the group. "Intruders in the Technodome! You must die!"
He leapt in the air and brought his blade down, and Dachii blocked it with his gauntlets. Luca and Yūsuke attacked it from both sides, throwing daggers and axes at it, forcing it to jump back.
"Boss Battle!" Marachii hummed. "Rocket Launcher!"
His arm formed a cannon and fired out rockets rapidly, striking the Gate King and dropping its HP. Dachii delivered a strong punch to its jaw, knocking it off. Luca followed up by slicing off its right arm, and Yūsuke threw a pair of daggers into its eyes. The HP bar dropped to zero.
"Round 1 complete!"
"Round 1?" Marachii repeated.
"Round 2: BEGIN!"
The robot got back up, healing itself with its mechanical parts, grabbing its blade once more, and growing even taller than before. "Die, intruders!"
"We're fighting it again! Yes!"
"Round 2 Multiplier: No Weapons, No Powers!"
A wave shot out, breaking Luca's axes, Marachii's cannon, Yūsuke's daggers, and Dachii's gauntlets.
"So we've gotta throw hands with this guy?" Luca scoffed. "Let's do it."
A horrifying technological streak erupted as the warrior's body constantly shifted, rearranging itself.
"You three have the strength," Yūsuke acknowledged. "Beat that thing up."
The Gate King swung its sword, narrowly missing the boys. Luca jumped onto the sword and punched the Gate King, causing a massive crack in its armor.
"Yeah, let me get some!"
Marachii leapt into the air and punched it in the chest, causing it to stumble back.
Fido barked at the robot. "Bad robot! Bad robot!"
Dachii scaled up the wall and bashed the robot in the face, causing it to shake and crack into pieces.
"Round 2: Cleared! Proceed!"
"That was easy," Luca remarked. "Though we're still on the first stage."
Yūsuke noticed the path to the next room opening. "That's the way. I believe we're nearly there."
They entered, while a mysterious man in a cloak watched them leave, before observing the damage done. "Hmm. Kid's worth the price."
Above…
Aoki and Saori were in a room that appeared to be a grassland. Aoki scanned the room. "What kind of game are we supposed to be playing here?"
"I think we're supposed to find an object for the cipher!" Saori answered.
"But what?"
"No clue! Maybe something secretly hidden?"
Aoki motioned to the grass. "It's nothing but grass here. And a few trees."
"Could it be hidden in the dirt?" Saori suggested.
"Possible. Stand back, Saori. It's time to get dirty."
She drew her katana and started carving up the dirt, sending it flying everywhere while Saori jumped back. "Ew, ew!"
After a while, Aoki stopped. "This is taking too long. Saori, better idea. Can you use your new Magic power to locate it?"
Saori covered her mouth. "How do you know about that, Miss Aoki?"
AokI sighed and put a hand on her hip. "You don't have to hide it. The stronger you are, the better. I won't judge."
"Really?"
Aoki nodded. "Now that you're older, you're a real part of the team. More than Akari, anyway."
Saori's eyes lit up, and she hugged Aoki. "Thanks, Miss Aoki!"
Aoki winced but didn't pull away. "Yeah, yeah. This is cute and all, but we're on a timer."
"Oh! Of course!"
Saori put her hand to the ground, her body glowing violet and rainbow. "Hmm. Found it!"
She heard a soft ping noise in the distance, and she blasted a hole in the dirt. Sure enough, a diamond was sitting under the dirt, and Aoki picked it up. "Wow, nice job. Actually, you should replace the princess?"
"Wait, um… you're kidding, right?"
"Nope."
"Oh!"
They exited the room, meeting up with the others. Akari held a goblet in her hand, while Naito held an amulet.
"Great, I think we've all got our objects!" Naoki announced. "Impressive teamwork, girls!"
Naito tossed the amulet in the air a few times, placing it into the wall. The wall creaked slightly. "The others, place them in."
Akari and Aoki both placed their respective objects into the wall, and the door opened, allowing them to see the rest of the corridor.
"If all of these puzzles are going to be this easy, this should be a piece of cake!" Naoki assured.
They found themselves in a lounge room, and the voice rang out. "Save Spot detected! Ten-minute break!"
"Looks like we get a moment to rest and recuperate!" Naoki said. "You girls should rest your legs!"
"Is that wise?" Akari asked.
"Of course! I'm sure the boys are doing the same as we speak!"
Naito remained still, staring off into the distance, while Aoki, Akari, Hikari, and Saori reluctantly sat down on the couch.
"This is pretty comfortable," Hikari acknowledged. "Makes you forget we're in a deadly fortress!"
Naoki pulled out a teapot. "Now, who wants some tea?"
Meanwhile…
Dachii and his group found themselves in a large metropolitan city, with hundreds of workers in attire cleaning and mingling.
"They don't look like robots," Luca noticed. "Are they part of this?"
"Checkpoint A: Reached! Boys win!"
"Good, we stomped those silly women!" Luca cheered.
"Yes! We did it! We did it!" Marachii cheered.
"Now we must wait for them," Yūsuke said. "We should remain."
While they were occupied, no one noticed the chain wrapped around Dachii's foot, and with one pull, it dragged Dachii into the darkness.
—-