The secure phone's shrill ring cut through the underwater facility like a blade. In the training bay, the Commander's expression shifted from stern instruction to immediate alertness as he answered the encrypted line.
"Commander here," he said, his voice carrying the crisp authority of someone accustomed to crisis calls.
Anjero and Yoku paused their sparring session, both sensing the change in atmosphere. Even Jeremi, who had been practicing shadow manipulation in the corner, seemed to focus his attention on the conversation.
"Sharin... Huh, Voltage... yeah, yeah, it's me," the Commander continued, using what were obviously code names. His face grew progressively darker as he listened. "Anyways, my youngest son has been kidnapped. It was probably Tenki. I need you to save him. Make him the number one priority."
The words hit Anjero like a physical blow. His mother's voice, distorted by the secure connection but unmistakably desperate, talking about kidnapping and his...
"Commander, who was that?" Yoku asked as the call ended.
The Commander's eyes found Anjero's face, and in that moment, Anjero saw something he'd never expected from the hardened military man: sympathy.
"It was your mother," the Commander said quietly. "It looks like Tenki has kidnapped another one. That's five in the last two weeks."
Anjero felt the world tilt sideways. "Commander... who did he kidnap?"
"Your brother."
The training bay fell completely silent except for the distant hum of the facility's life support systems. Anjero stared at the Commander, his mind refusing to process the words.
"What?!" The word erupted from him with enough force to make the water in the nearby training pools ripple. "But he doesn't have a spirit!"
"Tenki has been kidnapping pre-awakened guardians recently and waiting for them to awaken," the Commander explained, his voice gentle but matter-of-fact. "It's easier to take the spirit that way."
Anjero felt Aalto surge within him, the ancient water spirit responding to his emotional turmoil. "My brother is a guardian also? Oh no..."
The implications crashed over him like a tidal wave. His little brother Shinkei—quiet, studious Shinkei who'd never shown any signs of spirit energy—was not only a potential guardian but was now in the hands of the monster who had tortured Mashù and killed Kotaro Makiba.
"Continue your training," the Commander said firmly. "We'll save the five kids soon."
"No!" Anjero's spirit energy exploded outward, causing water to erupt from every pipe and fixture in the training bay. "I'm going now!"
"Do you want to die?" The Commander's voice cut through Anjero's rage like ice. "You're not ready yet."
"I am ready! I'm so much stronger now!" Anjero could feel Aalto's power coursing through him, more intense than he'd ever experienced. The terror for his brother's safety was amplifying everything.
The Commander studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Then fight me."
"Huh?"
"If you fight me and win, I'll allow you to go and save them."
Anjero couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you serious? OK... don't blame me if you get hurt! VAPOR BULLET!"
His technique had improved dramatically over the past three days of training. Where once he could barely form a single projectile of compressed water, now he fired a barrage of vapor bullets that moved with bullet-like speed and precision.
The Commander moved like liquid lightning, weaving between the projectiles with movements that seemed to defy physics. Not a single shot came close to connecting.
"Is that all you got?" the Commander taunted, not even breathing hard. "You couldn't even hit a grunt with that."
Fury overwhelmed Anjero's tactical thinking. "RAWWWR! GEYSER BEAM!"
He poured everything he had into the attack—all his fear for Shinkei, all his rage at Tenki, all the power Aalto could channel through his human form. A massive column of superheated water erupted from his hands, so intense it turned to steam on contact with the air.
"Anro, what are you doing?" Yoku called out in alarm, but his voice seemed to come from very far away.
"I have to save my brother!" Anjero screamed over the roar of his own attack.
The Commander didn't dodge this time. Instead, he stepped forward and threw a single punch that connected with the center of the beam. The collision of spirit energies created a shockwave that shook the entire facility.
"Not like this," the Commander said as the beam dissipated around his fist. "You couldn't save yourself with this sad display."
The casual dismissal of his most powerful attack broke something inside Anjero. He'd felt so strong, so ready, but the Commander had neutralized his best effort with almost contemptuous ease.
"That one actually hurt a bit," the Commander admitted, flexing his fingers. "But not good enough!"
What followed wasn't a fight—it was a demonstration. The Commander moved with the speed and precision of someone who had faced down threats that would make Tenki look like a playground bully. Each strike was calculated to incapacitate without causing permanent damage, but the accumulation of impacts quickly overwhelmed Anjero's defenses.
Within moments, Anjero found himself on the ground, his vision blurring and his spirit energy completely depleted. The Commander stood over him, not even winded.
"Yokudan, take your friend and go back to trainin—"
"Not yet!" Anjero struggled to his feet, swaying but determined. "I'm not done yet!"
The Commander's expression shifted to something that might have been respect. He placed one hand on Anjero's forehead, and Anjero felt a strange energy—not spirit power, but something older and more fundamental—flowing into him.
"Sleep," the Commander said, making a series of hand signs on Anjero's chest.
Darkness claimed Anjero instantly, but not before he heard Yoku's concerned voice.
"What did you do?"
"I put him to sleep," the Commander replied, and there was something almost fond in his voice. "Hahaha, I like that kid. He doesn't know when to give up. We'll continue to train tomorrow, and you three will be starting your mission at 2100 hours. Got that?"
"Yes, sir!"
**Day 3 - 9:00 PM**
The underwater facility's mission bay hummed with nervous energy as the three-person team made their final preparations. Anjero's sleep had been deep and dreamless, thanks to whatever technique the Commander had used, but he'd awakened with crystal-clear focus and a renewed sense of purpose.
"You three have your assignments?" the Commander asked, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority.
"Yes, sir!" they responded in unison.
Anjero looked over at Jeremi, who was checking his equipment with the methodical precision of someone who'd done this many times before. "You know, Jeremi, we really didn't get to talk during the training at all."
Jeremi didn't even look up from his gear. "Don't care. Focus on the mission at hand."
"Rude much," Anjero muttered, though he had to admit the shadow user had a point.
The submarine waiting for them was unlike anything Anjero had seen before—sleek and black, with surfaces that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. As they boarded, he could feel the vessel's spirit-enhanced systems humming with barely contained power.
"It'll take you two hours to get there," the Commander called out as the hatch sealed. "So don't fail us."
As the submarine began its descent into the ocean depths, none of them realized that their mission was already compromised—not by enemy action, but by the desperate love of a friend who couldn't bear to be left behind.
**Three Hours Earlier - Seishin South High School**
The school's headquarters was supposed to be impenetrable after hours, protected by layers of both technological and spirit-based security. But Mashù had spent three years studying the systems, learning every weakness, preparing for exactly this moment.
"S.E.I.D.," he whispered to the central console, "can you give me the coordinates to Tenki's lab?"
"I'm sorry, Mashù. I cannot," the AI replied with mechanical politeness.
Mashù's hands clenched into fists. "Huh... didn't want to do this, but I have to."
"What are you doing?" S.E.I.D. asked, though there was something almost concerned in its electronic voice.
"Hacking your database," Mashù replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he bypassed security protocols he'd memorized during countless late-night training sessions. "OK, got it. I'm coming, Bradoon, you son of a bitch."
He turned toward the exit, his mind focused entirely on the confrontation he'd been dreaming of for three years. But as he reached for the door handle, it opened before he could touch it.
"Aado told us you would do this," Kamira said, stepping into the room with Romaji close behind. "We can't let you jeopardize this mission."
Mashù felt his heart sink. Of course Hajime had anticipated this. Of course he'd posted guards.
"Romaji and Kamira? Please, let me do this."
Kamira's expression was a mixture of sympathy and steel resolve. "We can't let you jeopardize this mission. You'll die because of your stupid personal vendetta!"
"I don't care!" Mashù's voice cracked with three years of suppressed pain and rage. "I want to see him die and never hurt a kid like that ever again!"
Kamira exchanged a look with Romaji, some wordless communication passing between them. "You know what we have to do."
Mashù squared his shoulders, If his friends were going to stop him, they'd have to fight him for it. "Fine. Come at me then."
But instead of assuming combat stances, Kamira's expression softened into something that might have been a smile.
"We'll go with you."
"Huh?"
Romaji stepped forward, his usually standoffish demeanor replaced by something resembling camaraderie. "Just to keep you alive, idiot."
The emotional whiplash was almost too much for Mashù to process. "Thank you," he whispered, tears beginning to blur his vision.
"We'll take my personal vehicle," Romaji announced, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
Mashù blinked in confusion. "But it's underwater."
"I know."
The three of them made their way to the school's hidden garage, where Romaji kept his personal vehicle. What Mashù saw there defied all his expectations—not the sleek sports car he'd anticipated, but something that looked like a cross between a submarine and a luxury sedan.
"Get in," Romaji said, settling into the driver's seat with the confidence of someone who'd done this before.
As they strapped themselves in, Romaji's spirit energy began to build around the vehicle. His aura took on a distinctly aquatic quality, and Mashù could swear he heard the sound of clicking and whistling that reminded him of...
"BEAST TRANSFORMATION - DOLPHIN!"
The car's exterior began to shift and flow, its metal surfaces taking on the streamlined properties of marine life. Fins emerged from the sides, and what had been wheels became powerful flippers capable of propelling them through water at incredible speeds.
"Dolphin?" Mashù asked, staring at his teammate with new respect and not a little confusion.
Romaji's face flushed red with embarrassment. "Please... don't ask."
As they descended into the ocean depths, heading toward a confrontation that would determine the fate of five kidnapped children and the future of spirit guardian operations, Mashù felt something he hadn't experienced in three years: hope.
But ahead of them lay Tenki's underwater fortress, and neither of the approaching teams—the official mission submarine carrying Anjero, Yoku, and Jeremi, nor the rogue rescue operation in Romaji's transformed vehicle—had any idea what they were about to face.
The spirit thief had been busy during his three years of freedom, and his underwater laboratory held secrets that would test every one of them to their absolute limits.
The final confrontation was about to begin, and for the first time since this all started, all the pieces were moving toward the same deadly destination.