At Checkpoint A…
Luca stood on top of a building with Marachii, gazing at the ground below. "It's been almost two hours. Where are they?"
Marachii was busy playing with the roof. Naito landed next to them. "Key located. Time to go."
"Aoki told us to wait until they got back."
"Two minutes left!" the speaker announced.
"That will not suffice," Naito pointed out. "They will have to find another way."
Luca tapped his chin. "Can't argue with that logic. Alright, Marachii, come on!"
He picked Marachii up and jumped off the roof, following Naito as she met up with Naoki and Yūsuke at the door to the next level.
"Did you find the key, dear?" Naoki asked.
Naito nodded.
"Perfect! The door's this way!"
She scanned the area. "Where are Dachii and the girls? It's been more than enough time!"
"That's what I said," Luca replied. "They probably got lost. Plus with Akari and Aoki in that group, it's bound to be fighting."
Naoki sighed. "We've only got a few minutes. They'll have to find their own way through. They're strong, I'm sure it won't take long."
Naito inserted the key into the door, causing it to open. "Congratulations! Now entering Upper Levels! Reach Checkpoint B!"
They stepped inside the door, and an elevator quickly trapped them inside.
"Awesome!" Marachii gawked.
The elevator shot up, taking the group to the next floor. It was loaded with coins and treasure. Luca picked up a jewel. "This seems pretty tame compared to everything else we've faced."
"Be careful, dear," Naoki warned. "This may be a trap."
Unbeknownst to any of them, a single gold coin moved, forming a camera out of its shell.
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
"Hi! Hello? Excuse me, young lady! May I ask why I'm held hostage here?"
Fujii struggled against his bindings while robotic hands scanned and poked at his body. The mysterious girl in the cloak stepped off her robotic hand. "I'm sorry about the harsh methods. You're just such an interesting specimen, so any information you can provide will be very beneficial to our cause!"
"Your cause?"
She took off her hood, revealing herself to be a Zharian. "My name is Sirena. I'm from Zhari. I'm a professional tinkerer and inventor."
"Where am I? In your invention?"
"Sort of," she explained. "Umego defaults to me a lot with their designs and ideas."
"Wait…what?"
She immediately appeared over his face, smiling at him. "Now how about you? Where do you come from? How long have you lived? Any relatives?"
"Well, I'm from Voltiana, I'm well over 1,500 years old, and nope. I tried family stuff one time, but it didn't work. Now may I please be released—?"
"Tell me more!" Sirena begged.
"About what?"
"How does your Element work? Can you use Magic alongside it? Do you digest food like all other beings? Do you need sleep?"
Fujii winced. "That's…a lot of questions."
A large feed popped up in the distance, showing the various rooms of the Technodome. In one camera, the two saw Squad S-1, traveling with Naito.
"Hey, there's my crew!" Fujii stated.
Sirena had a less-than-impressed look on her face. "Oh. They don't look like they're going to play nice."
"Nah. Nice isn't in their vocabulary. Well, for most of them, anyway. What a crazy bunch! You should probably let me go before they get here."
Sirena sighed. "I really didn't want to hurt anyone, but I can't let them discover this lab!"
"Wait, what are you—-?"
Sirena pressed a button, and a red light appeared. "There! That should double the security! Now they won't find this place!"
She turned back to Fujii, holding a notepad. "Now, continue what you were saying!"
"Oh, just kill me now."
In the Sub-Levels…
"Ugh…where are we?"
Dachii and the girls got up. The area around them was completely dark except for the flashing red lights. Akari held up a glowing hand.
"That metal freak must have dumped us into the secret areas or something," Akari mused. "Who the hell was that guy?"
"No idea!" Saori replied. "He tried to kill me the second he saw me!"
"He didn't seem like a Zharian or a Voltian," Hikari noted. "Human, maybe?"
Aoki sheathed her blade. "It doesn't matter. He's not getting a damn thing."
They all turned toward Dachii, who looked at the chained axes in his hand.
"Are those…?" Hikari questioned.
Dachii attached them to his back. "Nothing. It's nothing."
The speaker rang out. "Welcome to the Sub-Level! To advance back up, please follow the path!"
A door lit up with a blue light, opening. "Checkpoint Z is up ahead!"
"More of this game crap," Aoki muttered. "Well, you heard that thing. Come on."
They all gathered at the entrance to the door, which led them to an empty white room, massive in size. Once they stepped in, the door shut behind them.
"Welcome to the Simulation Room! Defeat your opponent to advance! First challengers…"
A bright blue light scanned the group before settling on Aoki and Hikari. "Aoki Amasani and Hikari Hisatomi!"
"Beautiful," Aoki scoffed. "What bullshit are they going to throw us in now?"
A holographic blue wall separated the two girls from their teammates as the room began to shift.
"Hikari…" Aoki warned. "Be careful."
"Okay," Hikari replied.
The room suddenly turned into an authentic version of the Raijin Arena. "Opponent: Ionix!"
"Ionix?" Aoki laughed. "Please. As if they could—-!"
BOOM.
A blast of lightning hit Aoki in the chest, causing her to crash to the ground.
"Aoki!" Hikari exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she assured, getting up.
In the center of the room was a figure that appeared to resemble Ionix, with two electrically charged whips in his hand. "They really paid attention to detail, didn't they?"
Ionix launched a whip at Hikari, but Aoki sliced it in half. To her shock, it began to regrow.
"Is that nanotechnology?" she wondered. "That stuff is rare!"
In the blink of an eye, Ionix appeared in front of them. "I've been waiting for this rematch! Taste THUNDER!"
Aoki pulled Hikari out of the way as a wave of lightning erupted from Ionix's body. As he flung his whips at them, she deflected one by one.
"Even though he might not be real, he's still strong," Aoki stated. "Hikari, stay behind me."
"But I can fight too!" Hikari protested.
"I know, just stay behind me! I'll shield you!"
"Alright…!"
Ionix spun like a top, forming a vortex of electricity as he spiraled toward the two. Aoki threw a red card at him, which exploded and disrupted his attack.
"Still such a pain, Aoki," he growled. "This time, you won't live. Electric Dance!"
A wave of dancing electricity surged toward them, and Aoki threw down a yellow card. "Pulse!"
A powerful EMP blast stopped the electricity in its tracks, allowing Aoki to slash off one of Ionix's arms, which suddenly began to heal.
"Okay," Aoki realized. "So you'll have to be diced into pieces to lose, won't you?"
Ionix backhanded her, sending her flying, before grabbing Hikari by her neck. "Little Hikari. Still no growth since our last battle?"
"Put me down!"
"Okay."
He slammed the girl on the ground.
"Whoever designed this system must be a master," Akari remarked. "The attention to detail and complexity are beyond what most of us are capable of."
Hikari kicked Ionix in the face, briefly stunning him. Her hands began to glow, and she held them out, but Ionix shocked her.
"Nope!"
Aoki aimed for his head, but he blocked with one hand. "Too slow!"
She quickly threw a blue card down, shrouding the area. Once Hikari could see, Aoki had her blade pressed to Ionix's neck, jumping on his back.
"Now, Hikari!"
"What if I hit you?" she worried.
"You won't! Use your power!"
Hikari charged up a pink wave of energy, and she unleashed it on Ionix right as Aoki jumped out of the way.
BOOM.
The simulated Ionix began to twitch before it exploded into tiny nanobots. The voice returned. "Congratulations! Round 1 out of 2 has been completed! Please exit!"
The wall dropped, allowing Hikari and Aoki to return to their team.
"We did it!" Hikari cheered. "Here, up top!"
She held out her hand, and Aoki stared at it. Hikari grabbed her arm and gave herself a high five.
"Yeah, sure," Aoki said. "Nice job, Hikari."
The computer began to scan again before settling on Akari and Dachii. "Next challengers: Akari Asato and Dachii Jones!"
"About time I get a shot," Akari yawned. "Let's crush it, Dachii."
The wall formed behind them just as the computer voice returned. "Level Change! Upgrading from Normal Mode!"
"That was normal mode?" Hikari gasped.
"New Difficulty: Hard Mode!"
"Whatever," Akari groaned. "Hurry up, computer!"
The room shifted into the landscape of Batango. "Opponent…"
Dachii's eyes widened.
"…General Morino Masato!"
"Oh no," Akari realized. "Dachii, wait, that's not him—-!"
"Grandfather?" Dachii questioned, stepping forward with a batch of tears in his eyes.
"Yes, grandson," Morino replied. "It's me."
Before Dachii could react, Morino snatched the chains off Dachii's back. "Die."
With a powerful strike of his axe, he sent Dachii crashing into a wall, shaking the entire room.
"Dachii!" the girls called out.
Aoki began to feel along the wall. "Shit, no, we have to end this thing!"
"How?" Hikari asked. "It's sealed!"
"Akari!" Saori begged. "You have to help him, please!"
Dachii began to cough. "Grandfather….what's the meaning of this?"
Morino pointed one of his axes at Dachii. "You have failed me. Against Ravos, you got me killed. It's only fair that I kill you in return."
"No…no…!"
Morino threw his axe, and the chain wrapped around Dachii's body.
"FURY!"
A powerful flame traveled up the chain, but Akari pulled it off Dachii before the fire could strike.
"Oh?" Morino commented. "Your sweet friend Akari. How beautiful. You can both die together!"
Akari formed her shield, putting a hand on Dachii's head. "Dachii, he's not real. Listen to me, it's just part of the game, okay?"
Dachii remained silent. Morino wrapped his chains around Akari, spinning her around before slamming her.
"Don't bother trying to get to him, princess," Morino suggested. "Look at him. Worthless and broken. Like a clock you can't seem to fix."
Akari's body glowed with white energy. "The real Sir Morino would never say that about his own grandson. I'll crush you for tarnishing him, you copy."
"Then do it, Voltian scum."
He swung his axe at her, but she blocked with her shield, a burst of white energy pushing him back. "You've gotten stronger since the last time we saw each other. Maybe you'll be a challenge."
She dodged another one of his attacks, her body and hair glowing even brighter than before. "Empowerment!"
"Using your magic?" Morino inquired. "Who would have thought?"
She slammed the ground, causing all of Morino's limbs to fall off. They began to restore themselves, and Morino did a spin kick that knocked Akari down. "But you're still just a child."
With his weapons, he ripped a chunk of a building off and slammed it down onto her. "Now for the boy."
He used his chains to pull Dachii to him. "Too weak to fight? I'll end you quickly, child."
He threw Dachii into a building, collapsing the entire thing on him.
"Dachii!" Aoki yelled. "Listen to my voice! That's not your grandfather! He will kill you if you don't attack!"
"Please, Dachii!" Hikari pleaded. "You have to fight!"
"You've got this, Dachii!" Saori added. "Don't let that bad man take you out!"
Dachii's body lay in the rubble, while Akari fired a barrage of blasts at Morino to keep him at bay, which he deflected with his axes.
"Useless. Both of you."
Akari punched off his head with a powerful strike, but his head reformed. "You missed."
He pushed her back with his axes, before picking Dachii up out of the rubble, slamming his head against it a few times, and holding him up.
"You can't be a part of my bloodline," Morino mocked. "I have slayed dragons, fought in countless wars, and became a General! What have you done, besides beg for help and run from your fights?"
He held a glowing axe to Dachii's chest. "I wish I had killed all three of you when I had the chance. You, your brother, and your worthless mother! I knew I should have never had that cursed woman—-!"
BOOM.
With one punch, Morino went soaring into the air, falling in the middle of the room.
"You're not…Morino…" Dachii said, his voice even flatter than before.
"Now you want to clash? Well then, impress me!"
He and Dachii lunged at each other at the same time, going blow for blow as the room began to flash red.
"High levels of energy detected."
"Your mind is broken!" Morino laughed. "You're nothing!"
Dachii smashed his head with a strike from his gauntlets, tossing him into a building. Morino tore apart the building with his chains, flailing them around as he clashed with Dachii.
"You can never do anything on your own!"
Dachii headbutted Morino, causing him to slide across the ground.
"Good thing he's not on his own."
Morino turned around, only to find Akari charging up a massive blast of energy. "Wait—-!"
She unleashed it at him, and the simulated Morino blew up into pieces.
"Round 2 out of 2 complete! You've passed the Simulation Test!"
Dachii fell forward and Akari caught him in her arms while the other girls surrounded him.
"Is he okay?" Saori asked.
"He will be," Akari replied. "Let's get him out of here."
—-