A few days later, the party was held at the ORION atrium. The lounge was filled with tables pile around the area filled with different food. A stage was set for a program with a huge monitor behind it and a set of computers in the middle for a contest. Balloons flood the floor and some flew up to the ceiling. Holograms of ROA characters were dancing around the area and treats were almost everywhere.
"Thank you all for coming. Help yourself with the food we partake." Reiko greeted the guests and talked around. He said he wouldn't make it grand but he couldn't stop himself. One thing he followed is that the event was not known to many, even to the media.
Charlie was also busy entertaining the guests and following her son if something happens. "Don't get too far, Markus."
"I'm not a child, mom." Markus rolled his eyes. "I can do this myself."
"Just tell me if you feel off. I'm going to drive you home immediately."
"Please don't do that," Markus said.
All of his friends, Cassy, Dave, Ken, and Brent came in from the front door. They were all mesmerized by what they saw inside Orion.
"This place is so great!" Dave's eyes sparkle with joy.
"Hey Ken." Brent poked his friend on his shoulder. "Close your mouth, idiot."
"I can die now, Brent." Ken muttered as tears fell on his eyes.
"Shut up, idiot!" Brent nagged him again.
"I never thought I'll set foot here attending a party." Cassandra walked towards her friend with a smile. "Not to mention, it was that kid who wronged this place and was traumatized by what he'd done, that was holding this birthday party."
"That was all in the past, Cass." Markus turned shy. "Let's not take about those times anymore."
"I know." Cassandra giggled.
"You look beautiful in that dress." Markus looked away. His nose and cheek turned bright red.
"You think so, too?" Cassandra smiled and turned around. "I saw this in a bazaar at the mall and it was on sale. I thought you won't like it."
"Why won't I?" Markus smiled. "Thank you all for coming."
"No, that you for coming back, idiot." Cassandra stepped forward and hugged Markus tightly. "We're so worried, moron."
The others joined their hug and they all went teary-eyed.
"Sorry for dragging you all into that mess." Markus said.
"Say another word about dragging us into trouble and I'll smack this fist inside that mouth of yours." Cassandra raised her fist and the four of them stepped backward.
"Okay." Markus raised his hands in defeat.
"Anyway, these are all we could get for your birthday." Cassandra brought out their presents and handed them to Markus.
"Happy birthday, Markus,"
"Happy birthday,"
"Happy Birthday~"
"Happy birthday."
His eyes were filled with tears. He felt his knees slowly melting to the ground but Dave brought his shoulder on his head.
"We're always here, idiot." Dave whispered. "But that's not all." he grinned and brought something out. A blue cylinder with a removable top was handed to Markus.
"We came to deliver it to you again.." Cassy said, hugging him.
"Ohh, I graduated again, huh?? This is getting weird." Markus replied.
"Well, we're glad we came to talk to the teachers and your parents went with us as well. We just have to take your diploma, and that's it" Dave exclaimed.
"Haha,, thanks to the both of you.." Markus gave them a huge smile.
"Don't make us do crazy things, okay? And to scare us to death like that.. don't ever go dying on us ever again, Marky.." Dave mumbled in tears.
"Ahh, I'm sorry I have made you worry." Markus replied
"It's fine. We're just glad you're alive and well." Cassy added.
The party began and the food was served, entertainment was held, laughter and smiled flood the atrium ad washed their troubles for the mean time. All the employees were invited making it one hell of a grand party.
Markus went out in an open area outside the hall. "I told them not to make it grand.." he complained.
"Your dad planned it all, you can't do a thing about it." Louige said, he's coming towards Hachiro bringing a box of cookies. "Happy Birthday!" he added
"Thanks, Oji-nii." He took the box and smiled. "What are you doing here? Is it okay for you to get out from the party?" Markus added.
"Ahh, it's fine. I was sent by the boss anyway." Louige replied "He said we need to talk"
"Where to?" he asked
"Athena"
"Where was that?"
"You'll know. Come, follow me."
They took an elevator near the café at the Atrium. Hachiro thought they might be heading to one of the floors indicated on the buttons, the ones that go upward.
"Ohh,, I guess it's way up there?" he asked bluntly, still holding the box of cookies.
"No,, it's not up there..." Louige answered.
"Not UP? then, where to?"
"Yeah, coz we're heading down."
Louige opened a compartment near the floor of the elevator and entered a code that lighted the elevator and flashed a number on the screen
B67
"B67?" Markus asked, "Where was that?"
"Down there. Just so you wait." Louige answered with a smirk.
As the elevator went down, the scenery changes from a normal office environment into a modern basement full of LCDs flashing different colors of lights and running different kinds of codes of different languages.
"Whooo..." the kid said in awe; his eyes sparkled like a kid handed a new toy for Christmas. "Is this for real? I didn't know there is something like this below the ORION."
"Of course you wouldn't know. This part of the ORION needs a Platinum access card to get inside. Besides, this part is not accessible to the public, not even to their knowledge. Only a select few can enter here."
"These Cards were given to ORION employees to access the facility in many ways. The cards were given by levels of importance of the job an employee had. The visitors have the Green card where they can use it to venture into the atrium and the cafeteria. It was the one given to us and my classmates when we went on a field trip. Red card is given to the players who played on beta testing or pioneer games like in the ORIOlympics. Gold cards are given to bodyguards giving them access to guard until the walls of Hera. Pass the Hera is off-limits to those who don't have the White cards. These are given to head programmers and other board members of ORION. Silver cards were given to VIP's who want direct access to ORION servers, like the ones given to NASA. And lastly, the Platinum card was given to the upper echelon of ORION consisting only of seven people including Louige Rosenwald and Ginsei Reiko and other members of ORION with great importance on improving and monitoring the system. They can enter any part of the facility including the deep basement where most of the ORION's activity is happening, the Athena." Markus muttered.
"You sure know a lot of things about Orion." Louige tick his tongue.
"I've just read that in one of the files I accessed before."
"Brat."
The elevator stopped and its doors opened. It led them into a steel platform bridging the elevator to the hanging center of the basement with a wide keyboard set.
"This is insane.." Markus whispered as his eyes widen with awe.
"No it is not, it was built for many years by elite people in this industry supervised by none other than Ginsei Reiko-san." Louige said. He stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the hanging center.
their footsteps echoed the whole area as they stepped on a metal platform. Markus followed Louige's lead. He stepped out of the elevator and scanned the whole basement from down below to the ceiling. He saw the vastness of the basement. It was spacious but all of its walls were covered with LCD monitors running different things at a time. It's like a CCTV room airing different camera footage.
Louige stoped near the entrance of the hanging center. There, Markus saw his dad, Reiko, sitting in front of the keyboard set, holding a cup of tea.
"Welcome to my secret base, Ha-chan. Welcome to Athena...." Reiko said.
"This is unbelievable, Reiko-san. But Hachiro is not the one who's speaking right now, it's Shichiro. Glad we meet again."
"Shichiro? Since when?" Reiko asked to his surprise his coffee spilled a little.
"Since I stepped out the elevator."
"So it was not Hachiro who was awed at the scenery, it was you then, huh, Shi-chan," Louige said.
"Ahh,, I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine, I guess he's tired after all that happened tonight," Reiko said.
"So, why am I here? I overheard you have something to say to Ha-chan, but in this case, I will just relay the message." Shichiro asked. "He's deep asleep now."
"I guess that will be the case. Take care of my son." Reiko said.
"No need to remind me, Sir. I'm here because of your son anyway. I'm just doing my job."
"Thanks." Reiko answered.
"So, as I was saying, we need to talk about something," Reiko exclaimed. "The things that happened four months ago were already in progress." He turned to the keyboard and flashed footage on the big screen, like a cinema. "Buildings were reconstructed, infrastructures were remodeled and the ORION system is being updated. Though we still have a hard time cleaning the mess that the Perses had brought, were advancing on the completion of the Aegis project." Reiko added.
"The Aegis project?" Shichiro asked.
"Ahh, it was aimed to build an OS that will decide most of the activities in the city. It's like we're building a huge computer with the Aegis as the operating system and the parts will pass through it in order to be recognized and monitored. Like in a computer, built-in programs will detect viruses and unwanted objects to easily manage the city of Aurum." Louige explained
"So, you'll just improve the current system."
"Ahh, we'll improve it drastically. Thanks to my son we've seen the lapses of the system. The Olympians had created a way as a conclusion to their research to strengthen the ability of the Aegis." Reiko added.
"You have created a wonderful software," Shichiro said.
"Don't flatter me. I have thought of this with Hachiro a few years back." Reiko exclaimed.
"So, why are you needing Ha-chan this time?" Shichiro asked.
"Though we have the resources, we don't have the power to do so." Reiko turned and face Shichiro "We need you, Shichiro to fix the bug. We need the Phantom Algorithm, we need you."
"But I see no need of me in your plan."
"Yet you have something we don't have."
"What was it"
"You know the enemy, right? You know how to find him."
"Yeah, but it's up to Ha-chan whether we pursue him or not."
"Then it's your job to convince him," Reiko said
"Why won't you just tell us and we will find him," Louige exclaimed
"We know how to find him but I don't know where to start. Ha-chan's the only one who can find him because he had something you don't have."
"What is it?" Louige asked
"A bait." Shichiro replied.
"That's why I'm counting on you. Lend us a hand." Reiko asked, "Especially on the clean-up."
"I'll do my best. But, what do you mean by clean-up?" Shichiro asked
"Removing the remnant of Perses in the internet system, in other words, we will act as the anti-virus of the virus that created chaos." Reiko explained.
"Ohh, so that was it. Maybe we can help on that." Shichiro bragged with a grin on his face.
"Stop doing that, you're in Hachiro's body, it looks so awkward seeing my son grinning at me with an unknown intent," Reiko muttered.
"Hah,,I'm sorry. I never knew it doesn't suit him." Shichiro replied with a laugh under his breath.