"WHY!? YOU JUST SAID THAT WE NEED TO SAVE THE PEOPLE IN THE SDC!!"
"Maia don't shout, I know we did say that but…"
"THEN WHY AREN'T YOU LETTING ME GO?"
Helios let out a sigh of resignation as he calmed Maia down. He sent a stare as he sought for help from Damian who was now preparing to go out. Luckily, Damian looked their way and went beside Maia.
"Maia listen to me"
Damian held Maia's shoulders as he maneuvered her to sit on the bench. They were on the training grounds of the pentagon. Aside from Helios and Damian, a couple of soldiers, not more than a hundred, were preparing to go out.
"We can't let you and Maki roam around. We made a mistake earlier, the government had also tapped in the communicator that you had. They now know that the two of you are somewhat akin to super soldiers or mutants. We cannot risk them getting both you and Maki."
"So you'll just go without me, is that it?"
Damian couldn't help but smile, even though Maia was being stubborn, he got the feeling that it was something that would make him happy.
"Are you worried that I might not come back?"
"Does it look like I don't? We just reunited, I can't take the risk of being apart anymore."
And his hunch was right on the spot. He cupped Maia's face and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Maia's clothes were still torn and the stain of blood was still there, but apart from those, all Damian could see was the small girl who had asked him to marry her.
"Do you remember what we promised back in the arena?"
"Ahhh about staying alive?"
Damian smiled before he leaned in to put his forehead on Maia's.
"I'm sharing the same nin as yours, so I'll make sure to return to you, alive and well. I'm keeping that promise right now."
Maia felt more tears threatening their way to her eyes.
"You idiot, I was the one who broke that promise, remember…"
Damian only shook his head.
"No you didn't. You came back to me alive, well, more like I found you then you came back but the end result was still the same. So this time, I'm keeping my promise"
"You really wouldn't let me say anything about it won't you?"
Damian let out a small chuckle before shaking his head.
"Ate, Kuya Damian, you need to see this."
Maki who had locked himself up in the server room had a stern look on his face and the two instantly knew that this meant more problems.
They followed Maki to the server room and saw that each monitor had a different location on the screens.
"What is it?"
"Those soldiers had a detonating device wrapped in their uniforms."
"Excuse me?"
"It was Uncle Helios who found about it"
Maki zoomed in on one of the soldiers and they saw that there was a blinking red light on their uniform's chest pockets.
"Are you sure that's a bomb?"
Maki answered Damian's inquiry with a nod.
"Uncle and the other soldiers already confirmed it. It also had a timer inside that would set off after 12 hours. It seemed like a timer to dispose of the corpses"
"What do you mean?"
"The timer started its countdown the moment they died. We saw that it wasn't connected to their uniform really but rather to the skin in their chest."
"I never heard anything about that"
Maia pondered on the thought and racked her brains to remember if there was something like that when Leticia took her.
"It's alright ate, we'll figure it out later. I just wanted for you to see because the pentagon would be shutting off this entrance.
"Ahhh, because the government already knows this entrance?"
Maki nodded before standing up and laying a map on the table. He marked four locations and the two instantly knew what they were for.
"It really did look like a pentagon"
"Right, well grandma said they'll destroy and seal off this entrance and block it with the debris and ruins so it wouldn't be accessible anymore before proceeding to use the other entrances."
"This one…"
Damian pointed at a space right next to the school they attended.
"I remember there was a tunnel near here that led to the outskirts of the SDC. My dad used it all the time so I kind of remembered about it"
"I remembered using it too when I decided to join the mutiny"
Maia and Damian looked at each other before staring at Maki.
"I'll let Uncle, grandma and the other elders know. It might be a much safer and easier passage for us."
"Maki"
Maia who had caught Maki's arm pulled him in for a hug. She didn't know what it was for, only that she knew he needed it. And as a matter of fact, he did. He reciprocated Maia's hug before letting out a sigh.
He was feeling restless, he wanted to join Damian and Helios too but he knew the risk. And he was sure that if he had gone with them then Maia would definitely follow them.
"Let's talk it out with Dad when he gets here"
Maki gave her sister a nod before tapping her on the back signaling her that he needs to go.
He knew what it was all about. It was just moments ago when their mother had died. No one could move on that easily from the death of a loved one but right now they had other things to focus on.
As soon as Maki left the room, Maia stood next to Damian who was staring at the monitors.
"What's wrong?"
Damian glanced at Maia before putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Just reminiscing about those days at school. So many things happened and yet, we have so many unanswered questions."
"Like if our nin was predetermined or what was it really that mom wanted me and my siblings to do"
Damian stared at Maia who was now staring at the monitors too. He hated the part of himself that was useless. He hated it that the girl he should be protecting was always the one sacrificing her life for others.
"Maia… earlier, did you really die?"
Maia returned Damian's gaze and nodded. Damian's eyes widened but before he could even say something, Maia cut him off.
"I did for a brief moment, but Machai saved me"
"Machai?"
"My twin sister that mom wanted as a soldier"
"You mean the other persona? the one who couldn't recognize and speak?"
Maia nodded
"Then she really does exist"
"She does, and right now she's a part of me. Now, she's also someone I need to protect."
"Guess that'll be an addition to my list too"
"List?"
Damian smiled before leaning in and leaving a small kiss in Maia's lips. It was brief but it was enough to catch Maia off guard.
"List of people that are important to you thus, making them important to me too"
Even though she was surprised by the sudden kiss, Maia couldn't help but smile. She really does hope that after all of this she would be able to achieve her happy ending. Because, she swore that she'll burn down the whole world if she doesn't.
A light knock on the server room's door broke the reverie between the two of them. Both of them looked back and saw Helios and Maki standing on the doorway.
"It's time Damian"
"Uncle"
"Maia I know you want to help, but we're not there to go into battle just yet. We'll prioritize saving them, then we'll return so the two of you just sit tight."
Maia let out a sigh before giving Helios a nod.
"I'll be back"
Damian kissed Maia's head before waving her goodbye.
"Kuya you need to save them"
"I will"
Maki and Maia watch as the two men disappear along the end of the corridor. Their gazes shifted to the monitors in front of them. They could see the rescue teams going out, they were riding the heavy armored cars that the pentagon had created and designed through the years.
When all the cars had gone, the bombing of that entrance started. Maia and Maki could see how the debris started to pile up blocking the only passageway they had on that location. They could even see how the car that Old Man Shizu had lent them got crushed in the process.
"You don't need to worry ate, they'll be alright"
Maia glanced at Maki who was now fidgeting.
"Something you wanted to tell m—--"
"I dreamt about it"
This caught Maia off guard.
"Dreamed of what Maki?"
Maki gave her a knowing glance before returning his gaze to the screen.
"Back when we were at old man Shizu's, I had these vague dreams. Mom, you, me, dad, and four other people and Magnus, I didn't know why I had those dreams and thought nothing of it. But, now I have a vague feeling that it's somehow like a premonition"
"Like what exactly?"
"When we were at old man Shizu's I dreamed of you getting killed, then an aura of golden yellow color enveloped you, and you rose from the dead"
"Exactly like what happened earlier?"
"Exactly like that"
Maia felt shivers run through her spine then something from the back of her mind resurfaced. Or maybe it was Machai, she wasn't sure but she needed to talk it out with Maki.
"What else did you dream of?"
Maki looked at her sister before looking down at his own hands.
"Dad, Ate Iavan, Miisa and everyone else coming to the pentagon. And Magnus, you, and four other people embracing me"
"So it might be a premonition or a creation of some sort"
"Creation? Ate what are you—--"
"Have you forgotten? If we truly are vassals of the Seven Lucky Gods then the Seven City calling me Jurojin wasn't a fluke."
"Ahhh now that you mention it."
"It really wasn't a fluke, it was said that Fukurokuju and Jurojin were once believed to have different souls that inhabited a single body, remember?"
Maki nodded, he knew exactly what Maia meant, it was clear now. The reason behind her longevity lies in the two souls inside her body. Maia's and her twin sister, Machai's souls were inhabiting a single body.
"Then you being a vassal for Ebisu wasn't meant to be a fluke either. Your aura means creation and spring, which roughly translates to hope."
"But I didn't create anything Ate"
"What if your dream was already your creation?"
Maki felt nervous all of a sudden. If the power of creation lies in his dreams then wouldn't that be a bad thing? Dreams are fantasies, make-believes that the unconscious mind creates. If so, then it would be totally uncontrollable since no one can really tap onto the unconscious mind.
"I don't know Ate, I really don't. But, if my dreams really did mean something or if it could somehow work as a premonition then it would help us greatly"
Maia decided that it would be useless to push even further. It would only hurt both of them because none of them know what's really happening to both of them.
Because they had no idea what the Zareal Project created. What their mother created and did for her children to become vassals for the Seven Lucky Gods.
But, the answers that they seek weren't a complete mystery. As five other individuals who are scattered all across the country felt a foreboding sense of danger.
The invisible strings that had always linked them up were now becoming visible and they knew that it would only be a matter of time before they could see each other again.
Before the Lucky Seven reunites.