In the Sub-Levels…
"Congratulations! Team Level 6!"
A holographic level bar popped up as the girls helped Dachii into the next room.
"Level?" Akari questioned. "Are we in some RPG or something?"
"No one said the Technodome would function like a game," Hikari remarked. "But it did start us off with checkpoints."
The room came alive, a gigantic circular chamber with glyphs appearing on the walls and ceilings. There was a crystal heart in the center, which was glowing red.
"Welcome to the Test of Bonds! To pass this test, you must share a strong bond with your companion! If you don't, you will fail! And failure equals…"
The floor retracted to show a large pool of water, which was filled with sharks and other terrifying creatures. "The Shark Pit!"
As the floor returned to normal, the crystal heart suddenly rose into the air, and a sphere of metallic plates orbited it. "Complete the test and secure the crystal heart! Then you can reach Checkpoint Z!"
The scanner scanned the five of them. "Test 1! Maze of Monsters!"
The room shifted into a large, complex maze that shifted back and forth, extending all the way up to the heart.
"A relationship test? Who the hell would need that?" Aoki asked.
"Dachii Jones selected. Scanning Bond Levels…"
Dachii stood there as the computer analyzed him. "Bond Level Scanning: Complete. Relationship Levels have been noted. Akari Asato: Relationship Level 13. Very High. Aoki Amasani: Relationship Level 13. Very High. Hikari Hisatomi: Relationship Level 14. Extremely High. Saori Nakamura: Relationship Level 15. Maximum."
"Did that thing just invade our minds?" Hikari wondered, embarrassed. "How does it know that?"
Akari and Aoki both kept quiet. Saori nervously rubbed her head. "It didn't have to say it like that…"
"Hikari Hisatomi and Saori Nakamura have the strongest bonds! Please step into the maze with Dachii Jones!"
All of a sudden, the trio's clothes began to shift into black futuristic neon outfits with helmets and rifles attached. Dachii's glowed gray, Hikari's glowed pink, and Saori's glowed rainbow.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Saori cheered. "Are we like tech hunters?"
"They're getting more over the top with every room," Aoki scoffed.
"You guys be careful," Akari stated. "I won't be there to help you."
The entrance to the maze opened. "Timer: 5 minutes. Objective: Eliminate 100 monsters and secure the heart. Begin!"
"Okay," Hikari reassured herself. "It's just a maze. It shouldn't be too bad."
The maze shut behind them, and the walls shifted around, rearranging direction. In front of them were a pair of floating platforms, which rose up and down to the next level.
"We need to head up," Hikari suggested. "That heart is near the ceiling, so the monsters will likely be nearby."
Dachii grabbed both the girls and jumped into the air, catching them by surprise.
"Whoa!"
He landed on the platform, setting them down, just as they could hear robotic growling. "Monsters incoming!"
From a corner of the maze, a large army of mechanical beasts ranging from large hounds to giant spiders emerged, heading straight for them.
"Those are some big monsters!" Saori exclaimed.
Dachii pointed his gun at one and shot it, causing it to explode. Both Saori and Hikari stared at their guns.
"These rifles work?" Hikari gawked.
"Yeah! Let's shoot 'em!" Saori declared, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets upon the waves of enemies.
Hikari pointed her rifle at a robotic eagle that soared overhead, dropping it with one shot. "Why don't we have these things back home?"
"3 minutes remaining!" the voice announced. "42 monsters eliminated!"
A giant robotic hand emerged from the wall behind them, and Dachii quickly snatched the two and moved to the next platform.
"We're running out of time!" Hikari realized. "We have to go on a spree here!"
More enemies swarmed them, but Dachii knocked them back with a swipe of his fist before shooting them all.
"2 minutes remaining! Challenge Modifier enabled! Modifier: Binds of Faith!"
Tight bindings wrapped around the three as more monsters began to enter the maze. "To escape your bindings, you must place your faith in one of your companions! 1 minute and a half remaining!"
"Crap, crap!" Hikari worried. "What do we do? Who do we choose?"
"Saori," Dachii replied. "You're the strongest."
"Me?" Saori gasped. "What about you two?"
"You can do it."
Hikari looked between the two for a moment before settling on Saori. "He's right, Saori! You've got this, girl!"
The monsters began closing in.
"Machine," Dachii ordered. "Free Saori."
"Freeing Saori Nakamura! 1 minute left!"
The binds around Saori dropped, and she took a deep breath. "Okay, I promise I won't let you down!"
She jumped onto the second floor, gunning down a barrage of monsters. "79 monsters eliminated! 30 seconds left!"
The floor below her began to rise, bringing her closer and closer to the heart. Monsters began to climb after her, but she took them down one by one.
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!" she thought.
Once she reached the metal platforms surrounding the heart, she maneuvered across them one by one, with each leap getting her closer to the center.
"10 seconds remaining!"
"You're almost there!" Hikari shouted.
A robotic troll grabbed her leg, nearly pulling her down as she clung onto the platform.
"Rainbow Beam!"
She blasted it off, jumping onto the heart and securing it right before a bell sounded. "Challenge over! You win!"
Saori fell to the ground, and Dachii caught her, setting her down gently.
"You did amazing, Saori!" Hikari congratulated, pulling her into a hug. "You've grown so much!"
"Aww, thank you!"
Dachii stood there silently, but Hikari and Saori pulled him into their hug.
"You too, Dachii!" Hikari assured. "You've gotten super cool now!"
"Yep!" Saori agreed. "The coolest!"
As they hugged even tighter, the faintest glimpse of a smile played on Dachii's lips, just for a moment.
"Team Chemistry: Level 9!" the voice announced. "Team Level: 7! Prepare for Part 2!"
"At least the kids are having fun," Akari said.
"Why is there always a part two?" Aoki complained. "Fujii better be in here, or I'll lose my mind!"
The three returned to them, and the computer began scanning again. "Akari Asato, selected. Tracking Relationship Levels!"
"Here we go," Akari sighed.
"Bond Level Scanning: Complete. Relationship Levels have been noted. Hikari Hisatomi: Level 14. Extremely High. Saori Nakamura: Level 13. Very High. Dachi Jones: Level 13. Very High. Aoki Amasani: Level 0. Minimum."
"Wait," Hikari interrupted. "Level 0?"
"I hate her," Akari clarified.
"Don't say it like your opinion matters," Aoki scoffed. "I hate you too, you bitch!"
"Weakest Bond Level detected. Companion will be Aoki Amasani!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Akari groaned.
"How do I break that machine?" Aoki threatened.
The maze shifted into a simple interrogation room complete with a table in the middle. "Please have a seat!"
"What kind of crap is this?" Aoki blurted out. "Where's the fighting?"
"Please, have a seat!"
"Girls, please just sit down," Hikari begged.
They both gave each other a look before heading into the room. Their outfits shifted into ones resembling the others. Aoki's glowed red, while Akari's glowed white.
"There, I'm seated," Aoki declared. "Now what?"
"Test 2!" the voice announced. "The Table Test! Work with each other, and find a way to escape the Wall!"
"Wall?" they both questioned.
Suddenly, tight bindings wrapped around their torsos and arms, anchoring them to the chairs.
"Wait, wait, wait, I did not sign up for this!" Akari protested.
"Free me, you stupid machine!" Aoki ordered.
The walls of the interrogation room began to shift inward, closing in on Akari and Aoki.
"Oh no!" Hikari noticed. "They can't get along! They can't pass this challenge!"
"You have to use teamwork!" Saori shouted to them.
"Please," Akari scoffed. "These bindings can't hold me."
She tried to use her powers, but they failed to respond. "What? Is this stuff canceling my powers?"
"I'm stuck with an idiot," Aoki moaned. "A complete, naive, idiot!"
"I don't see you doing anything to help!"
"If you would shut your royal princess mouth for five seconds, you would see I'm trying to think, damn it!"
"Who are you talking to? Don't think just because you're a Vice-General, doesn't mean that you're anything more than a useless, dirty, ignorant commoner scumbag! My friends and I were much better off without you!"
"Is that so?" Aoki laughed. "A stubborn, self-centered little girl, trying to play as a leader when she's not. The rest of the team are soldiers, you're just a spoiled child. You never were, and you'll never be, a warrior."
Hikari slapped her forehead.
"They're at it again…" Dachii commented.
Akari's eyes began to glow. "You little—-!"
"Do it. Sabotage us," Aoki shrugged. "See if I care."
Akari's power failed to respond.
"Exactly. How does it feel being the most useless member of the team, Princess?"
The walls began to move faster.
"Hint: See your companion for what they truly are! Use your bond to find the key!"
"We don't have a bond!" Akari argued. "I don't like her!"
"It's saying to slow down and process, dumbass. You and I aren't close, and we never will be. All we have to do is see past your stupid ass pride and we can figure this thing out."
"Or, we can see past your ugly attitude and arrogance to try and work out the solution."
"Why did it have to be YOU, damn it? Everyone else, everyone else I can get along with! Why do you exist? To spite me?"
Hikari noticed a button underneath the table, and one on the floor beneath their feet. "They're so focused on arguing, they haven't even noticed the answer's right in front of them!"
She tried to step forward, but a holographic blue wall stopped her. "Girls! It's below you! Look!"
They didn't seem to notice.
"Can they not hear me? Goodness…"
"Team Chemistry: Level 0!" the voice announced.
The walls got even closer, and the floor began to retract, showing the sharks below.
"Okay, whatever," Akari relented. "Either we're going to get crushed or eaten, both of which are bad. What genius plan do you have, o' mighty Vice-General?"
"Look around," Aoki told her. "They must have paired us up for a reason. Where would they put the answer for two women who hate each other's guts?"
"In plain sight?" Akari proposed.
"Exactly. So use your eyes and scan this table."
Akari looked around the table, noticing the button on the floor. "That's it!"
She stepped on it with her foot.
"One button pressed! The second button has not been found! The Walls will now move faster!"
"I didn't say press it, idiot!" Aoki exclaimed.
"Well, you didn't say not to!"
Aoki calmed herself down. "There's obviously two buttons. We need to find the second one and press them both at the same time."
"Okay," Akari said. "Maybe it's nearby."
They both felt along the table, and Aoki came across the second button. "Here. Get ready to press that button when I say so.
Akari kept her foot over the one on the floor.
"3…2…1…now!"
They both hit their buttons just as the walls got close enough to squish them, and the chairs released them. The walls went back to their normal position.
"Test 2 complete! Team Level 8! Advance to Checkpoint Z!"
Hikari and Saori came into the room.
"You girls actually worked together!" Saori acknowledged. "You're starting to become friends!"
Aoki stood up. "Hilarious. I only did it because it's needed for the team."
She looked back at Akari, who stood up and refused to make eye contact.
"Me and her…we'll never be friends."
Aoki brushed past Akari, facing the rest of the group. "We're making progress, good job everyone. Let's keep pace."
"Man," Saori moaned. "What will it take to get them to like each other?"
"I don't know," Hikari admitted. "I really don't know."
While they headed for the next room, Akamon watched from the ceiling, reloading his gun.
"This hunt's gonna be good."
—-