Right outside the warehouse, Atomu, Nishiyama, and Dachii watched as Ray walked away.
"Is this another trick?" Dachii thought to himself.
Once Ray could no longer be seen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Atomu turned towards Dachii and offered him a hand.
"Greetings. We finally meet face-to-face. I'm Prince Atomu Asato."
"Akari's brother?" Dachii asked.
"Yes, that's right."
"Thanks for that," Dachii said. "But why did you guys bother to step in?"
Nishiyama snorted. "Because we were ordered, IDIOT."
"By my grandfather?"
"Duh!"
Just then, the door to the warehouse opened, and Marachii peeked outside.
"Everything okay? We heard some noise out here..."
He noticed Atomu. "Is that the Prince?"
Atomu gave a polite nod. "Greetings."
Nishiyama pushed past everyone. "I'm going inside. I can't take this."
Atomu put a hand on her shoulder. "Let the General know about this. I won't be able to attend his training today."
"Wow, so because you're the Prince, you can do what you want?!"
Atomu straightened. "It's not like that. I just have other things to attend to, that's all."
Before anyone could protest, he quickly left, but before leaving he stated:
"Dachii, you guys meet me at the entrance to the Expo tonight. Don't make any stops."
"Okay?"
Once he was gone, Dachii, Marachii, and Nishiyama went back inside. Luca, Morino, and Kia were waiting for them.
"That was quite a long bathroom break, Dachii. Did everything go smoothly?" Morino asked.
Before Dachiii could reply, Nishiyama led Morino away, whispering in his ear. Marachii tapped Dachii on the shoulder.
"I'm guessing something happened?"
"Yeah," Dachii replied. "A weird Voltian showed up and requested we attend the event early."
"Weird as in...suspicious?" Marachii asked.
"I can't tell, but it's fishy."
Morino immediately rushed over to Nakada, who was busy watching another fight. She immediately stopped once he whispered to her.
"Alright. Training is done. You may return to the hotel now. I'll be right behind you."
Everyone stared in confusion, and Oyakawa approached her, worry on his face.
"Everything alright, Ma'am?"
"Yes. It'd be better for us to resume this later. When we aren't being watched."
"Alright. If you say so."
They wrapped up the training, and everyone prepared to head out of the exits.
"Glad that's done," Kai said, relieved.
Obara, who was walking next to him, laughed.
"I'm sure you are. Your showing today was a failure."
Everyone made their way out of the doors, leaving Kia, Morino, Nakada, Dachii, Marachii, Luca, Tomoko, Nishiyama, and Yuri behind, who was busy listening to music on her watch.
Morino cleared his throat. "The rest of you are also dismissed. And if you plan to attend the expo, make sure you stay together."
Yuri looked around, noticing the lack of people inside the building and she stopped her music. "Where'd everyone go?"
Nakada shook her head. "Head back to the hotel Yuri."
"Tomoko, Nishiyama, you guys head back as well. Let me know if you see anything suspicious," Morino added.
"Okay! Bye!" Tomoko exclaimed.
"Okay, sir..." Nishiyama replied.
They both headed out with Yuri, and Morino and Nakada prepared to leave as well, but turned to face the others.
"Boys, I need you to be very careful from here on out. Don't go anywhere without our permission, don't investigate any risky activity, and if you see bandits, alert one of us immediately." Morino ordered.
They all nodded, and Morino put a hand on Kia's back. "Alright, let's take you and the kids back."
They left the warehouse, heading back to the hotel. While Morino and Nakada left to go attend to other things, Kia and the boys entered their room and found Yuri relaxing on their couch.
"Young lady, get the hell off our couch!" Kia screamed out.
Yuri was playing music, seemingly oblivious to Kia's demands. Dachii and Marachii had to basically hold Kia back as she tried to confront Yuri.
"HELLO? Little girl, I know you heard me!"
Yuri casually got up and locked herself in one of the guest rooms, leaving Kia banging on the door.
"HEY! OPEN THIS DOOR!"
Luca had to suppress a laugh, while Dachii and Marachii both groaned.
"So, do we still attend the Expo tonight?" Luca asked.
"Yeah!" Marachii answered. "I want to see the cool devices and prototypes they have!"
"That Prince will be waiting for us, though." Dachii pointed out.
Luca lifted an eyebrow. "Atomu?"
"Yep. He insisted on joining us."
Marachii put a finger to his chin. "Is he strong, like his sister?"
"Somewhat," Luca said.
Yuri opened the door, still playing music. "Get away, woman!"
"Get out of this room!" Kia shot back.
Yuri slammed the door in her face, leaving Kia fuming. Dachii walked up to her.
"Mom, maybe you should lie down—-"
"I'm fine, son." After trying the lock on the door one more time, she threw her hands up and walked into her room.
"Your mother has a hatred for us that surpasses most other humans," Luca said.
"Yeah...she doesn't exactly sing you guys praises, and she's rarely EVER this mad. Something really bad must have happened..." Marachii remarked.
Dachii knocked on the door. "Mom?"
There was no response. Dachii shrugged. "Okay, I guess we'll have to talk to her later."
They all began to relax on the couch, turning on the TV.
Later that day, in a meeting room...
An older-looking Voltian man with long gray hair and in a silver tuxedo was sitting at a rectangular table, and right across from him sat a young, quieter man with short black hair, who was in a black tuxedo.
The younger man spoke. "Good evening, sir. Preparations for the Expo are going as planned."
The older man, with an almost indifferent look on his face, gave a small nod. "Good. Have the special guests arrived?"
"No. No sign of Dachii Jones or company as of yet."
"Hmph. And what of my son?"
"Busy partying, sir."
The man stood up, knocking his chair over. He slammed his hands on the table.
"Damn it, his focus should entirely be on Dachii Jones and his entourage! Those are assets we can't afford to lose. Especially not to THEM."
The other man got a call on his watch, and he answered it.
"Hello? I'm in a meeting with the Governor as of right now. Can it wait—-?"
A voice yelled at him from the other end of the line. The older man lifted an eyebrow.
"Oh! I'll inform him, right away!"
The call hung up, and the young man turned to face his boss. "Sir, they've found your son. He's been attacked."
"Attacked?!" The older man went stiff. "By who? What? Where?"
Just then, the door to the meeting room burst open, and Akira fell through it, bleeding and bruised all over. Shu was behind him.
"Come back, sir! You shouldn't be on your feet—-!"
"Go away, guard!" Akira ordered. He slowly got to his feet, eyes on the two men in front of him.
"Father."
His father looked at him with a mix of confusion and concern. "What happened? I just got word you've been attacked!"
"Smoke. The smoke! I got attacked by smoke right outside your property! What the hell?"
His father seemed taken aback. "Huh? Did you hit your head or something?"
Akira ripped his shirt, showing the bleeding wounds on his body. "I'm not lying! The people the Generals warned us about, they're here! On this island!"
"Nakada warned me that there were suspicious individuals," Shu stated. "I found a sibling pair that may not be exactly what they seem."
Akira rounded on him. "That girl and her brother? I knew something was wrong with her!"
The old man approached his son. "You won't be able to do the Expo, son. You'll come back home, and you'll be tended to by our physicians."
"Hell no! I refuse! I need this Expo! It's all mine! And I can't let our special guests slip away!"
"Son, I order you to—-"
Akira pulled up a holographic video on his watch. It was a news broadcast of Dachii and Squad S-1's battle with Nullus, and it showed the moment "Dachii" activated his orange power.
"Look how strong it is. And if a powerful being like that will go to great lengths to acquire it, we must go to even GREATER lengths to keep it! Who knows what other strengths lie within it!"
His father sighed. "Shu, if there is no way to talk him out of this, accompany him and his guests when the expo begins. And I want them all here as soon as it ends."
Shu bowed. "As you wish, Governor."
Akira looked at the time on his watch: 7:55 P.M.
"Would you look at that? It's almost time! And what's this?"
He got a notification on his watch. He clicked and it showed Dachii, Marachii, and Luca walking towards the entrance to the expo.
"The guests are here! Come, guard! Let us go greet them!"
"Wait, we still need to tend to your injuries!" Shu called out.
The Governor sat back down. "Bring a doctor on the site. One thing about that child, he doesn't know how to listen."
Meanwhile, at the Tech Expo...
"Hey, there's the Prince!" Marachii pointed out.
Atomu, who was leaning on one of the walls to the entrance, brushed the hair out of his face and gave a brief wave.
"Hello. Right on time."
Dachii scratched his head. "Well, yeah? We've got nothing better to do."
Marachii looked past him and noticed the various inventions on display, much more than last time. He had a huge smile on his face and attempted to run inside.
"Wait! I don't think it's open yet—!" Atomu yelled out.
As Marachii ran through the doors, an alarm tripped. In no time, a group of giant robots were in front of him, guns raised. "Oh...crap."
"Halt! Intruder! Halt! Intruder!"
Dachii and Luca stood next to Marachii, and Atomu jumped in front of him as the robots came closer.
"What do we do?" Dachii asked. "There's more of them than us—-!"
But the pressing of a remote could be heard, and immediately all the robots shut off. Akira, heavily bandaged, walked up with a bright smile on his face.
"Guests! Welcome! So sorry yet again, these damn robots are my father's, so they don't how to act."
He noticed Atomu. "Is that you, Prince?"
Atomu politely bowed, but Akira stopped him. "No need for formalities, Your Majesty! Glad to see you! No sister with you?"
"No. It's just me."
Akira pressed another button, and the robots all walked away. "Come inside. You all get the VIP access!"
Marachii didn't even wait to begin looking at the new inventions on display. There were ray guns, self-hovering disco balls, and...candy. Chocolate bars.
Dachii walked over and picked one up. "You guys eat candy?"
Akira approached, picking one up and peeling it back. It seemed regular enough to Dachii.
"This is no candy bar, my dear boy. This is a powerful stimulant that permanently boosts your physical capacity."
Luca and Atomu came up. Atomu held one in his hands. "It increases physical ability?"
He thought of his sister and the defeat he suffered at her hands during the Tryouts. Akira put a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course they do. And as my guests, including you, I'll let you each take one, free of charge!"
"Woah, really?" Marachii asked, holding a chocolate bar of his own.
"Yes! But since you three have Elemental abilities, it's hard to say how they will take effect. Best not eat them here!"
They all stashed the bars in their pockets. "Of course," Atomu said. "No reason to take them now."
Just then, other guests, all dressed in fancy clothing, entered the building. Akira checked the time, and it was a minute past eight.
"Damn it, you guys keep checking out the other technology! I'll go supervise the other guests and be RIGHT back!"
"Okay," Atomu said.
As everyone began to disperse and check out the inventions, Atomu stopped Dachii.
"Dachii, tell me. What do you think of my sister?"
Dachii turned around, perplexed. "What do you mean by that? Like how she looks, or...?"
"When you fought alongside her in that battle at the Festival, what stood out to you about her?"
Dachii grabbed his chin and tried to trace back the events. "From what I could see, she seemed strong, like REALLY strong, she took charge, and she looked AMAZING while doing it! And somehow, she's a great dancer."
Atomu closed his eyes. "I see."
"Is there...something going on between you two, or...?"
Atomu shook his head. "No. Forgive my asking." He began to head off towards another part of the expo.
"If you need me, I'll be over here."
Dachii watched him leave and then turned back to the inventions. Marachii held up a stick of bubble gum in his face. "Dachii! Look!"
"What's that?" he asked.
Marachii pressed a button on the side, and a mini explosive shot out, detonating in mid-air and getting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Woah!" Dachii yelled.
Atomu, meanwhile, was in the corner, and he made sure no one was looking before pulling the chocolate bar out again.
"I hope you can fulfill my dreams. If not now, then one day."
Then, he consumed the entire thing.
—-