After entering the hotel, Dachii, Marachii, Luca, and Kia tried to find a room to stay in. The clerk gave each of them keys, along with the rest of Squad S-4.
"Do these go to every room?" Marachii asked, examining it.
"Yes," the clerk replied. "Pick a room, and the key will immediately connect to it and unlock it."
Kia held the key in her hands, looking at it as if it were a piece of rotten meat. "More of their stupid technology. Yay."
Squad S-4 crammed into the elevator, leaving no space for Dachii and the others. Kia tried to grab the door before it closed, but she wasn't fast enough.
"Damn animals! UGH, you're all so lucky!" she yelled, as she banged on the door.
She took a moment to calm herself, stepping back. "Alright, boys. We'll have to wait for the next one."
They both shared a look.
"Mom really hates them..." Dachii commented.
"Yeah, it's bad..." Marachii replied.
Luca shrugged. "I understand. Her opinion is right."
They both looked at him.
Eventually, the elevator came back down, allowing them to enter. Kia looked at all the buttons, each of which had strange numbers and symbols.
"Which floor do we go to?"
Luca moved past her and clicked a button that had a circular symbol with a six on it. The elevator closed and greeted them with a charming voice.
"Hello! Now going to floor X-6!"
It quickly raced them to their destination and opened its doors to let them out. As it stopped, a cheerful musical tune started playing.
Kia quickly exited, and the rest followed. She stared down the hallway.
"Lucas! Where do we go?"
"LUCA. And I guess we can go anywhere. Doesn't really matter."
They saw a young Voltian girl with teal hair and eyes, in a Squad S-4 outfit, attempting to open a door with her key.
"Come on! Why won't you work? Why me? Why is it always me?"
Marachii looked over at her. "Should we help her? She seems like she's in need."
Kia grabbed her son's shoulder. "No, dear. She's one of them, she can handle it on her own."
She began to turn away, but she noticed Dachii walking towards the girl.
"Dachii! Marachii, get your brother!"
Dachii stood next to her, leaning on the wall. "Hi, seems you could use a hand—-"
"EEK! Human!" She jumped back in shock. Dachii did as well, equally confused.
"What'd I do? I literally just walked up!"
Marachii patted him on the back. "Brother, it's time to go. Now."
Kia was next to him. "Dachii Jones! You listen here! Don't ever approach these things so casually, understand?"
"All I did was offer help!"
She continued to back away. "More of you? Oh gosh...oh boy...what do I do...?"
Luca walked in between them and inserted his key into the slot. "Access granted."
The door slid into the wall, allowing them inside the room. The girl relaxed and took a moment to speak.
"Oh...thank you."
Dachii walked inside the room, prompting Kia to follow him.
"Dachii! Don't just go in there! What if it explodes?"
"Mom, why would they blow up their own hotel?"
"Because they're VOLTIANS?"
Marachii followed in after them, leaving Luca outside with the girl. Inside the room, it was incredibly spacious, with a giant living room that sported a huge TV in the middle, a large kitchen with a dining room next to it, a balcony outside, and four other doors.
Dachii walked up to one of the rooms and it opened up as soon as he approached. He found a king-sized bed in the middle, a private bathroom, a closet, and a window. It had its own TV on the wall in front of the bed.
"Is this a hotel or is this a CONDO?"
Marachii opened another room, finding a similar setup. "Wow! It's even more stylish than the S-1 Mansion!"
Kia nervously crept around the room, analyzing everything. She lifted the cushions on the living couch, inspecting it, before she reluctantly sat down.
"I'll give them credit, this is one comfy chair."
Luca walked into the room, but the girl tugged his arm. "Are you really just going to walk in there with THREE humans inside? Get rid of them!"
"Don't be shy, they don't bite."
He strolled inside, shocking her. Kia watched as he took an apple from the kitchen table and began nonchalantly munching on it.
The girl peeked her head inside. Kia glared at her, but Luca waved for her to come inside. She hesitated before creeping in.
"Lucas! Why would you invite this ignorant young lady in here?"
The girl clenched her fists. "How dare you talk to me like that, worthless human! I don't care if your sons are part of the military or not, you shouldn't even be here—-!"
Luca stepped in between them just as Kia stood up. He held out his hands.
"What would Akari do? Or General Fujii? Or even Hikari?" he thought to himself, concentrating. An idea rang inside his mind.
"How about we tour the island? It'll kill any bad blood between us!"
Kia shook her head and turned away. "Pass. I might can TOLERATE you, but she's just like the rest."
Kia walked up to one of the closed doors, and it opened for her, revealing a bedroom. She stepped inside and it closed behind her.
"I'm going to sleep, so don't let my kids do anything reckless, stupid, or dangerous, Lucas! OR ELSE!"
"Got it!"
"And kick that girl out of our room!"
The girl's face contorted in anger. "YOUR ROOM? I found it FIRST! You think you can just take MY place? Step outside, coward!"
Dachii walked out of his room, wearing nothing but a towel. "The hot water feels NICE."
He noticed the girl. "Oh! You're our roommate?"
"Hell no! I want my room back! Now!"
Luca sighed. "Introductions should work. What's your name?"
"It's Yuri Kawasaki, if you must know. Now can you leave my room? Or at least get your humans out? And tell that one to put on some clothes!"
"Yuri, I'm Luca, that towel boy is Dachii, that kid fawning over his room door is Marachii, and the angry lady is Kia, their mom."
"I know your names, except for the lady. I DO watch TV."
"I see."
Dachii wrung the water out of his hair. "So we ARE famous?"
Yuri rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the couch. "I don't have the energy for this right now. I just came along to relax and kick my feet up."
Luca sat down as well. "Okay. So we can keep the room?"
"Nope, I'll kick you all out later—-"
She looked in his direction and jumped off the couch.
—AHH!"
Luca was now a tiger, scratching his fur as he began to rest his head. "Get up, fur-ball! Now!"
He shifted back. "Sorry. Just happens sometimes, when I'm too relaxed. Haven't done a tiger before, though."
As she sized him up, Marachii rushed out of his room. "Guys! GUYS! We have to go!"
Luca summoned his axes. "What? Is it a dwarf? An orc? A Zharian?"
"They're doing a TECH preview outside! We've got to check it out! I just saw a gun that can make the user FLY!"
Dachii slapped his head. "That's Marachii for ya."
He began to jump up and down. "Come on? Let's go check it all out!"
Luca got rid of his axes, stretching. "Nothing better to do. Let's go indulge the nerd, why not?"
Dachii's towel began to slip. "Wait, wait, let me put on my clothes."
Luca narrowed his eyes at Yuri. "Want to join?"
"Not really—-!"
"So yes. Alright then."
"ARGHHHH!"
A few minutes later, all four of them were inside the elevator, heading down towards the first floor. Yuri inched away from the others, standing in a corner.
They headed back down to the ground floor, where they found Nakada waiting, humming to herself. She lifted an eyebrow when she saw them.
"Where are you all going?"
Yuri stopped immediately. "Ma'am! Listen, they've held me hostage! Free me, please—-!"
Nakada held up a hand. "Nonsense, Yuri. They won't harm you. I'll allow you to go out and have some fun."
"But General—-"
"Be back before midnight! And one more thing..."
She reached into her pockets and pulled out two watches, just like the ones the Voltians used. She handed them to Dachii and Marachii, who put them on.
"You'll need these, so we can stay in contact if needed."
"Wait, I can call Akari now? YES!"
"Have fun!"
She laughed and went back to humming, and Yuri sighed as she followed Dachii and the others outside. Marachii pointed to the right, where a laser show was taking place inside a building.
"There! That way! Let's go before we miss it!"
He basically took off towards the scene, leaving everyone else to try and catch up with him.
When they were gone, Nakada pulled out her watch and called Shu.
"Shu, go and monitor Dachii. Now. Be subtle about it."
"I can't go directly, but I can send some men that way, where is he?"
"He just left the hotel. Make haste."
Once the group reached Marachii, they saw the giant building, which almost seemed to resemble a warehouse, and it was crowded with people viewing the pieces of technology on display.
"Let's go inside! I want to hold them all!"
They heard retro music playing as they entered. People were holding pens that shot real lasers, balls that teleported once thrown, and giant mechs in the middle of the room, greeting those who walked by.
Before Marachii could go any further, a robot guard stopped him.
"Halt. Human detected. State your purpose or you will be disposed of."
"What? I was invited here! I'm here on a mission!"
"State your purpose, or you will be disposed of immediately."
They had caught the attention of everyone in the building. Dachii stood in front of Marachii.
"He just told you, now back up!"
"Another human detected. Preparing elimination protocols."
Its hand shifted into a railgun and it prepared to shoot the group, but suddenly, it deactivated.
"Sorry about Xalus! He can take his job a BIT too seriously!"
A well-dressed young man with short silver hair and eyes walked up to them, with a carefree smile on his face.
"We'd NEVER kill our guests!"
He extended a hand to each one of them, and they all reluctantly took it.
"I'm Akira! All this tech you see here? Authorized and developed by me! That's right, I'm that important."
He pridefully looked around at the Tech Preview.
"The Tech Director of this island. Enough about me! Look at this here, two humans who manifested elements, and a commoner with one as well!"
Dachii whispered to Luca. "So like, commoners don't usually...?"
"No."
Akira did a little spin. "It's always good to see something new. Robots can get so...repetitive."
He brushed past Yuri, ignoring her, and he walked to the middle of the room, clapping his hands. "Everyone! We've got special guests! It's time I give them the tour!"
His eyes then became more dark and serious. "So don't interrupt me."
He playfully walked back to the others. "Now come, I'll show you my WONDERFUL technology."
Outside the building, a guard was watching, gun at the ready. He pulled up his watch, preparing to call Shu.
"Sir, no updates of note yet, target is safe—-"
But before he could finish, he found a purple crystal blade, which pierced right through his arm and sliced it off.
"Ahhh—-!"
He was pulled away into a dark alley before he could even perceive anything. Two faces were staring up at him, which appeared to be Voltians.
"How does this island work? Any defenses or security we should be worried about?" the pink-haired man asked.
"You...have an Element! But...no...you're not one of us!"
The girl smirked. "We don't want to be, trust me. Now answer the question, or we'll take more than your arm."
"What are you people? You're those threats they've been talking about, aren't you?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
She leaned close to his face. "Prismar, get rid of him, I'm bored."
"Don't be impatient, Alterna. I want some information from him."
She backhanded the man with ease, sending him flying into the wall so hard his neck broke on impact.
"I'll just disguise you and you get it yourself. Or are you too lazy?"
"Hey, I'm ranked higher than you! Don't ever doubt my skill."
She touched his face, and his clothes shifted into the attire of a Protection Force soldier.
"Fine then, let me see it."
"You're coming too. Don't waltz off so fast."
He picked up the gun from the fallen soldier.
"We'll need you to get close to him. Deity is so close..."
He pointed to the building, which continued to display laser shows and play music.
"Don't let it slip away."
She blew him a kiss, doing a twirl. "Don't you worry your little head. I've got this."
She walked up to the building, casually strolling inside.
—-