The six rode a helicopter to approach the enemies' headquarters in silence. They have given their 'final' farewells an hour ago and now sat with wobbly kneecaps. The pressure was too much for Lewis and he ended up hurling as they landed on an abandoned building. Fleur frowned, uncertain if it was a good idea for the youngsters to be on such a tough mission. But Lewis caught her look and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine, Fleur. We have to do this." He looked at the shining moon of midnight before grinning, "For IKEA's main building!"
That sent a wave of laughter for them and for once they felt like normal teens, meeting just out of coincidence on a building as the night wind accompanied them. But they knew the truth was harsher. They had to defeat Henry and his NothingBeasts to avoid the world's end.
Zuriana let them have a few minutes to prep themselves before they headed off for the mission location. She leaned back on the wall, staring off at the stars, and tried identifying the constellations.
"Will you be keeping me like a dog, Miss Razak?" questioned an intruded voice.
She turned her head to the side with her lips pulled into a thin line. She wasn't ready to face the elder Asian but she knew she had to get things over before the mission began. She took a deep breath and exhaled at the cold air before asking, "Is that really what you want to ask, Tachibana-san?"
"Formal till the end? Nice," he chuckled while leaning beside her. "Yeah… I should really be asking about this mission. Fleur will use her nature imagination to get the plants on her side and distract the main gate before we get in. With Lewis' TMS, we can create our own path to the main room based on his mind and leave him guarding the door with Petra. You, Hong Gil, and I will be in charge of the main room where we face the main forces, and Henry is connected to his TMS machines. That's when Hong Gil and I will work together to hold them back while you cut off the connections. Is there anything else I'm missing?"
Zuriana eventually blurted out of the blue, "And when this is all over, I want to bring you guys to Mekah. You'll love the Ka'bah. It's very pretty."
Kousuke wasn't prepared to hear such a suggestion and turned his eyes to her, searching for any signs of joking but she didn't have a single clue. This made the corner of his lips curl into a smile and he let out a heartily laugh. The others moved their gazes to him and they were surprised to see the tears in his eyes. When he realized the tears, he hastily rubbed them away while asking, "W-Why… Why do you trust me, Zuriana? I don't deserve your kindness…"
He opened his eyes and saw a hand outstretched with a handkerchief. He raised his eyes to the owner and gasped at the sight of Fleur's caring smile. With a small nod, he accepted it and wiped his nose before the French girl spoke, "I believe everyone deserves a second chance, Kousuke. So why don't you leave the tears for later on?"
The others couldn't help but agree with her words. They began to realize their selfishness. They had branded Kousuke for something he claimed without any consideration. It made them feel awful and they decided to truly trust him for the mission. Right now, they were comrades, arm-to-arm in this battle. They will need each other until the end.
Hong Gil looked at his watch and noticed the designated time closing in. He cleared his throat to tell them but he was caught off guard by a hug from Lewis. The young Swedish kid dug his face into his chest and Hong Gil could feel him trembling. 'He's scared…' Very slowly and gently, he wrapped his arms around him in a comforting manner and patted his back.
Fleur was sharing a look of understanding with Petra. It was soon to be their final battle that determined the fate of the world and their futures.
Zuriana gave Kousuke a glance as the Japanese wiped the last drops of tears. She returned her gaze to the sky and muttered a short prayer. 'Ya Allah, if you can help me just this one time, please let us all leave this place safely…'
Their watches beeped in unison, alerting them of the time. They all pressed the 'off button and sighed. 'This is going to be a long night.'
---
Kousuke stood with Hong Gil and Lewis behind the trees. The girls were waiting in the nearby bushes. For now, it would be Fleur's part. The florist's daughter was shaking slightly, but with a gentle grip on his shoulder by Petra, the girl took a deep breath before activating her powers. She imagined vines tightening around the NothingBeasts like in her test. The vines slithered at an alarming speed, responding suddenly to her command, and grabbed them. She wrenched the door handles open and waved at the others.
"Good luck you guys," she whispered while giving Petra a friendly kiss on her cheek. "Give Henry a nice punch for me, Ana?"
"Sure thing, ma'am," the Muslim agreed before hurrying forward with the others.
As they disappeared from her line of sight, she realized the NothingBeasts didn't seem to be struggling with her plants. Only after they ripped it off, she realized something was terribly wrong. 'They're stronger than the rest. I need to get my game face on!' She steadied herself in a defending position and lifted her arms in a karate pose she's seen on TV.
Her imagination ran wild as she thought of the nature surrounding her. 'Right now, I can't let them get past me.' She took one step and the ground began cracking around her before forming a barrier around the entrance and the two NothingBeasts that were guarding the door just previously. 'I can't let these two leave and inform the rest. I need to finish them off quickly!'
"Come on then," she determinedly said while wild plants began growing in her shadow. "Don't go easy just because I'm a girl!"
---
In the corridor, Lewis was the first in line as he slowly thought of the room Henry was discovered through a camera. 'The door is made of dark oak. It's approximately twenty-forty inches and weighs around eighty kilograms. The wooden carving is usually found in Christian churches. Its doorknob is polished steel and the lock is silver…'
The image appeared in his mind almost identical to his description and he pointed at a wall while thinking of the rooms' interior. 'I can only move it for a while… Once they get in, I have got to protect the door with Petra.' The image slowly began forming onto the wall before they all stood in front of a magnificent gleaming door.
Petra's ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps and whipped her head to the others. "Well, here comes the cavalry. You guys should go first. We'll protect this place, okay?"
Zuriana gave her a thankful smile before saying, "Don't die on me, Ra-ra!"
"Screw you, Razak," laughed the Greek while they hurried in.
When the door closed behind them, NothingBeasts surrounded the duo. Lewis had built chains to bolt the door and he stood side-by-side with Petra whose gaze was on the ceiling.
"So; hurricane, tornado or storm?" questioned the girl with a ridiculous smile.
"Just don't get me pulled into it, Petra," smiled the Swedish boy while sitting in front of the door his legs tucked behind him.
"'Kay," scoffed the girl with a huff before lifting her arms towards the sky. "Then lets' have fun!"
Thunder and lightning filled the ceiling, casting a wave of fear to the NothingBeasts that took a step back. Petra smirked in amusement while Lewis gave a weak laugh. 'She just won't hold back, will she?'