A tall factory like building can be seen standing proudly in the distance. It was vibrantly clean and futuristic with all of the glass windows visible as far as the eyes can see. Lala and I was amazed by such structure.
"We should find a way in." suggested Lala.
I agreed.
Recordia then told us, "Recordia will fly above to see if there is anything weird."
First things first, the building was not guarded at all. It felt like the place was either closed down or abandoned.
"Do you think, Liquid could be lying to us?" Lala wondered.
Then I told her, "We don't have any other choice but to believe him for now. I mean he seems trustworthy."
Lala then pointed out, "He did tried to kidnap your boyfriend."
I flustered, "Well he did made it out just fine, right?" I stuttered with my sentences.
"Well in any case..." Lala brushes it off and continued searching, "There's the obvious front door."
"There should be another way in, right?"
Then suddenly, we heard a manly voice not far from us.
"It's the only way in, my fair ladies."
Lala then quickly readies herself, "Who's there?!"
"Oh sorry about that. Did I surprised you guys? I am truly, truly sorry about that, ladies."
The were not able to tell where the voice came from somehow. It felt like he was all over the place.
"Show yourself, or are you a coward!" Lala trash talked the unknown person.
"Woah there, ladies. I'm no foe."
"Are you another member of The Order of Stardust? Or are you apart of The Lemniscate Society?" I asked.
"Tsk, tsk, ladies. Tsk, tsk. I am neither. I am however, a friendly ally."
Then suddenly a flash of light blinded us for a moment. Once the flash of light faded away, a person probably around the same age as us was standing not too far from us. He was wearing a smart looking vest along with a blazer on his shoulder. Kinda like those lazy detective you see in those TV shows. He also has a hat. I think it was a fedora or something? There's also a pair of sunglasses hanging on his collar. He definitely looked sharply dressed for the occasion.
"A friendly ally...who are you exactly?" Lala was still unsure. That goes the same way for me as well of course.
The guy then introduced himself as he tips his fedora, "M'lady. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Ace Detective, Sonozaki Wakana." He strikes a pose as he said that.
"We're we supposed to be impressed or something?" I told him, curiously.
He then dropped his act and sighed, "If you still don't know who am I then perhaps I can tell you who am I related to."
Lala then replied, "Then tell us, we don't have time to dawdle around."
He then responded, "Very well, believe it or not, I'm Cyclone White's best friend."
"Best friend? You mean like...Team Stardust?" I wondered.
"Well...actually. I used to be his best friend after he decided to create Team Stardust."
"Likely story." Lala was still not satisfied. "I'll be the judge of that."
Lala took on a fighting stance as she readies herself for action. Sonozaki calmly stretches his shoulder until a bright blurring flash passed through us. Before we realized it, Sonozaki was already behind us.
"Look what we have here...This is a fine looking necklace, Zenith Feathers. You've probably also made another one for White, right?"
"Give that back!" I yelled.
Lala then summoned her guardian as it tried to punch Sonozaki, but once again the bright blurring flash pass through us once again and Sonozaki was further away from us in a blink of an eye.
"This guy is fast..." Lala murmured to herself.
I shouted at him, "Give the necklace back!"
Sonozaki then tried to communicate with us, "I'll give you back, if you stop your angry friend over there. I came here peacefully and I'm trying to help you guys."
"Hear that, Lala?" I told her.
Lala then replied, "Like it or not, Zen. This guy is dangerous. He's ability is beyond my comprehension. Kinda remind me a lot of White's Blink."
"Blink and Pause." Sonozaki proudly said it. "White's unique magic that was obtained way back during the beginning of The Magic Duel in our high school."
"The Magic Duel..." I wondered about that.
"Oh come on, miss Lala Magnetite. We can stop fooling around now and we can finally get inside that facility, you know."
"How do you know so much about us?" Lala continues to be cautious.
Sonozaki sighed, "I told you I'm a detective, miss Lala. Now then, can't we just stop messing around with dangerous things? We don't want to waste our Infinitum Energy here now do we?"
Lala got confused, "What are you talking about?"
He answered, "It may be empty from the outside. But there's a lot of security inside that building. It's way better if you put your magic to good use on whatever is inside instead of wasting it on one of the top seven elite students in my school."
"Top seven elite students..." I tried to remember, "Wait. I know you. So you are that one friend that White mentioned to me before. He said you helped him a lot during his stressful times."
He smiles, "Those were the days, yes. And as fate would have it, we finally get to see each other again. Although under this...weird circumstances."
Lala then sighed and finally gave up, "Fine..." she rescinded her guardian as it hides back into the spirit realm.
"Excellent. Now allow me to unlock that door for you."
In a matter of seconds a flash of light went pass by us and we immediately heard a clicking sound. Sonozaki was already standing in front of the entrance.
"Come on in, ladies first." He tips his fedora.
The two of us shrugs as we made our way into the facility.
"You too as well, little fairy. Come on in." Sonozaki invited Recordia as well.
As soon as we all got in, an alarm sound was blaring.
"Huh, that was quick." laughed Sonozaki.
"This is a brilliant plan, detective." Lala was being sarcastic.
"Ah, don't you worry." he shakes his head.
Once again, a bright flash dashes all over our visions and blinded us momentarily. Once the light fades away, Sonozaki was already clasping both of his hand as if he has done his job.
"Was that you?" asked Lala.
Sonozaki answered, "Why yes, ladies. I've silenced the alarm noise as well as destroyed all of the cameras on this block."
"Good." I nodded, "They won't be able to know our exact location."
"You got a layout of the facility, detective?" Lala asked again.
He shakes his head. To which then I moved toward a console nearby. I touched it and activated my Infinite Tune ability.
"I think I can help with that." I told them.
Sonozaki was impressed, "A hacker of sorts, huh. Kinda remind me a lot of a girl that White used to have a crush with."
"E-excuse me?" I fumbled and slightly loses my focus.
Sonozaki chuckled and said, "If you really are curious about White's high school life. I'm open for questions. But not now of course, Miss Zenith."
"...Fine." I pouted as I continued to look for the facility's layout.
In a few moments later, I finally found it.
"Alright, I think I got it all." I told them.
Lala then approaced me, "Do you know where could White and the others are hidden?"
"I can't tell...there's too many research and development lab in this facility."
Sonozaki then suggested, "Maybe we can find more information on a different floor."
"Possibly." I agreed.
Lala then moved, "Then let's go."
"Hold up, guys." Sonozaki stops us. "Enemies are approaching. We should hide somewhere first."
I looked at the map I got and told them, "Follow me."
We successfully secured a hiding spot where nobody would check on. It was a storage room. It was honestly large for just a storage room. But in any case...
"Let's wait until it's safe." suggested the detective.
We all agreed and decided to take a break. Then, out of the blue, my smartphone started to vibrate.
"Maybe you should get that call, Miss Zenith. Could be important..." He looked me with a gentle smirk.
I looked at my phone display and it says it was 'Blax Tank'. Isn't that one of White's team member from Team Stardust?
TO BE CONTINUED