Nishiyama, Mina, and Yuri all walked into a nearby shopping district, and they took in the luxurious sights of the shops and the loud sounds of music and people chatting.
"So, how much money did you guys bring?" Yuri asked, checking her pockets. "I don't have that much."
Mina pulled out a handful of coins. "About a hundred thousand. What about you, Nishi?"
She didn't respond. "Nishi?"
Mina and Yuri looked at her, and she was staring at something, frozen. When they looked toward it, they saw Tomoko, buying pretzels and soda from a fast food shop.
"Here ya go, human," the cashier said.
"Thanks! Here's a tip!" Tomoko replied.
Yuri pointed at him. "Hey, that's the human I demolished earlier! Wonder what he's doing here."
"Yeah, he's a weird case," Mina said, hands on her hips.
Nishiyama was shaking with anger, and before anyone could say anything, she used her magic to paralyze Tomoko, making him drop his items.
"Woah," Yuri stated, wearing a smile on her face.
She looked at Mina, but all Mina did was shrug.
Nishiyama grabbed Tomoko by the collar. "Why are you here? Why are you everywhere I GO?"
Tomoko laughed. "I got hungry! So I bought snacks!"
"Couldn't you buy snacks somewhere else?"
"Nope! Hahaha!"
"Why, you—-!" Nishiyama was about to punch him, but she noticed a girl watching her. A girl with PURPLE hair.
"Leave that poor boy alone," the girl said. "No need to beat at a dead horse."
"Excuse me?" Nishiyama asked as she and the other girls turned to face her, confused.
The purple-haired girl walked up to them, gently taking Tomoko out of Nishiyama's grasp.
"Are you okay? Did this witch hurt you?"
Tomoko laughed, dusting himself off. "No! I'm completely fine!"
Nishiyama was boiling with fury now. "WITCH? Hold on, hold on. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO—-?"
The girl ignored her, pulling coins out of her pocket to give to Tomoko. "Here, for the items she ruined."
Yuri stepped forward. "For one of us, you're acting kind of weird, don't you think—-?"
The girl turned her head to look at them, and her eyes were BLACK, with PURPLE pupils.
"Tsk. Goodbye."
She rubbed her face, and her eyes shifted back to normal. All the girls watched in shock and fear as she casually strolled along.
"Hey! What's your name?" Tomoko asked.
She paused briefly, almost as if she was contemplating her answer.
"Rumi."
Tomoko waved after her. "Okay, bye Rumi! Fight me sometime!"
She turned back, smiling at him. "Oh, don't worry, hun. We can definitely fight soon."
"Okay! Haha!"
She blew him a kiss before leaving. All three girls continued to watch her walk away as they calmed their nerves.
"Who was she?" Mina asked, sweating.
"I don't know, she's crazy!" Yuri exclaimed.
Nishiyama tried to calm down, but she remembered Morino's words on the way to Umego.
"Guys, I think that was...one of them. One of the people who's after Dachii."
Yuri and Mina both gasped.
"You mean a...Zharian?" Mina asked.
"Oh gosh...oh gosh...should we tell General Morino? Or Nakada?" Yuri wondered, unable to stay still.
"Let's...just take a moment to think," Nishiyama said. "How about we go and shop a little, just to clear our heads?"
A noise attracted them, and they saw Tomoko paying the cashier for some more snacks.
"Damn, kid! Where'd you get all these coins?"
"A young lady who walked by!" Tomoko replied. The man handed him more pretzels and soda.
"Well, whatever. Take your stuff."
Nishiyama grabbed Tomoko. "Come on, we can't stay out in the open like this."
She pulled him and the others into a designer shop, closing the door behind them.
Meanwhile, back at the meeting room...
Inside the meeting room, Ichirō smiled at the shocked faces that greeted him.
"What? Was I not invited?"
Everyone stared at him, frozen.
"Why is he here? Would he really attack us right now? With guards all around?" Dachii wondered.
Shōtarō took a deep breath. "You're one of them, aren't you?"
Ichirō threw his hands up in mock surrender. "One of who? Listen, I'm just here to talk! Nothing more."
Shōtarō nodded to Azura, and she secretly pressed a red button under the table.
"What is it you want to discuss?" Azura asked. "As the Director of Security, I can have this room swarmed with guards in mere seconds."
Ichirō took a step forward, and immediately, a bunch of cannons came out of the walls and pointed at him.
"Woah, woah, woah! Call off your guns! Can't a man step inside?"
Kojiro slammed his fist on the table. "State your purpose, damn it, or you'll be dealt with accordingly!"
"He's already trespassing in a confidential area," Akira pointed out. "Why are we being so lenient with him?"
Shōtarō held up a hand. "Speak."
Ichirō began to casually sit down, preparing to explain himself. "So...there's this big purpose me and my people have. It's SUPER important. So, we'd like to take the kid for a little bit, his powers will help us."
Shōtarō narrowed his eyes. "What purpose? And what do you mean by 'your people?'"
"It's secret, my dude. Just between me and my family. Dachii is incredibly valuable, more so than you know."
Akira stepped in front of him. "And what do you know? What plots have you orchestrated on this island, criminal?"
Azura cleared her throat. "Kojiro, how about we make a proposition for him? A mutually beneficial agreement."
She gave him a sign under the table, a thumbs up. He nodded. "Yes, we can work something out. Tell us about your situation."
Behind the door to the room, a line of guards, led by Shu, were waiting. Shu held up a fist and mouthed: "Not yet."
Ichirō, seemingly oblivious, continued speaking. "Well, I'll need Dachii Jones."
He pointed at Dachii, who seemed wary of him. "And I'll need to take him back to my hometown."
Shōtarō began to lean forward in his chair. "And where is this hometown?"
"It's back in Voltiana, in the Sumasara District."
The three officials shared a look. Dachii kept watching Ichirō, who simply shrugged.
"He's definitely up to something. I hope they don't listen to him. Not after Omari," he thought.
Azura looked back at Ichirō. "Mr. Kobayashi, it's clear you are not who you say you are. You are NOT one of us, so for us to negotiate on ANY terms, you'd best tell us the truth."
"Now, if you would," Shōtarō added.
Shu and the other soldiers continued to wait outside the door.
"Hmm..." Ichirō wondered. "They want to make this difficult, I see. Luckily, I know just what to do."
Some time ago, in an unknown castle...
"Umego. That's where they're going."
"Ichirō" and the young man with the yellow hair were both inside a bedroom coated in black and yellow colors. Both of them had cracked black skin, and the yellow-haired man was seated on the yellow bed in the middle.
"That's smart. They must be catching on to the danger they're in," the man replied.
"So, I'm thinking I should take Raylon, Alterna, and Prismar. What do you think, Ionix?" Ichirō asked.
"Sure, Vapron. Do what you gotta do, but we HAVE to acquire Dachii. The Elites won't leave us alone until we manage to prove we're on their level."
Vapron sighed. "Nullus and Ossix were a tough loss. It'll take us a while to recover from it. Those bastards must be getting stronger."
"They've got six Elementals on their side now, and a bunch of talented magic users. It's taken centuries but they've made strides," Ionix remarked.
Vapron looked out of the window, and there was a sight of tall, urban buildings, all in purple, black, and gold colors.
"His name is Dachii Jones, right?" Vapron asked.
"Yes. Nullus was the one who got the info. You know what this means, right?" Ionix said.
"I do. We've got to bring him back alive, at all costs."
"AHEM."
At the door, Alterna standing by, with black skin and eyes and purple hair. "You ready, Vapron?"
"Yes, yes. I'm coming."
They both looked back at Ionix one last time, who looked out at the open sky.
"Freedom..."
Present Day...
Marachii and Luca looked around the Expo for Dachii with Fido's help, but there was no trace.
"Fido, did you pick up his scent?" Marachii asked.
"Woof! Woof! Only smoke!"
Luca sniffed around. "He's right. I just get the faintest whiff of smoke, not burning smoke but...just smoke."
Atomu noticed them and approached. "Is something the matter?"
"Dachii's gone missing, and no sign of Akira either," Luca stated.
Atomu's face grew suspicious. "Missing...? Come. I'll help you look."
He began pushing through the crowd, all of whom gossiped about him as he walked by.
"Is that the PRINCE?"
"Wow, he looks so serious, but he's amazing!"
"He may not be like Fujii or the Princess, but still!"
"Ew, he's with a human!"
Atomu walked up to a door towards the back of the expo, but it was locked. "Crap. Just as I thought, he's in the back."
"Dachii?" Marachii asked.
"Yes, but not just him," Atomu replied, as he tried to force open the door.
Back inside the meeting room, Dachii nervously put a piece of sushi in his mouth as everyone watched Ichirō.
Kojiro slammed his fist on the table again, making some of the food fall. "Didn't you hear them? Explain yourself now, Ichirō!"
Ichirō got up, making everyone defensive. "Yeah. Don't call me that."
His eyes shifted to gray, surprising everyone. "It's Vapron!"
As he lifted his right hand up, Azura hit the red button again. Immediately, plasma nets fired out of the cannons, trapping Vapron where he stood.
"Now, Shu!" Shōtarō yelled.
Shu kicked open the door, and the Protection Force surrounded Vapron, aiming their guns at him.
"Ichirō Kobayashi, or better yet, Vapron," Shu said, with a determined look on his face.
"You're under arrest for the trespassing of our island, the assault of our Tech Director, and the murder of one of our SOLDIERS!"
Akira walked up to his face. "How does it feel now, criminal? You'll be in jail forever!"
"Akira, step away!" Shōtarō ordered.
Dachii watched as Shu and the Protection Force began to close in on Vapron, who closed his eyes.
Dachii got an uneasy feeling. "Oh no..."
"The will of your people will not hold me down. For the actions you've taken, you reap what you SOW!" Vapron exclaimed.
His body began to shift, and CHANGE. Just as if it was passing through gas, all of the nets fell straight through him.
"The alarm!" Shōtarō called out.
Shu hit a button next to the door and a red light began to beep.
"Warning! Warning! Assault on the Tech Expo! Warning! Warning! Assault on the Tech Expo!"
Around the Island, all the speakers and lights began to convey the same message.
"Warning! Warning! Assault on the Tech Expo!"
Nishiyama and the others inside the shopping district heard it.
"Damn it! Guys, we've gotta go!" Nishiyama yelled.
Inside the hotel, the message rang loud and clear, and all the soldiers in their rooms came out.
"What's going on?" Kai asked.
"Didn't you hear the intercom, dumbass?" Obara replied. "Trouble at the Expo!"
Vice-Generals Oyakawa and Mashimo burst out of their rooms. "Come on, kids! The enemy is going after the target!"
Inside Kia's room, Morino was relaxing on the couch watching TV when he heard the sound.
"Warning! Warning! Attack at the Tech Expo!"
He immediately grabbed his chain-axes and opened the balcony door. Kia called after him.
"Father! What are you doing?"
"No time!" Morino answered. "Dachii's in trouble!"
He jumped off the balcony, to Kia's horror.
In a bank, Nakada was handing a check to the bank teller. "Here, give this to Kojiro. It's a little extra, since we've left off on bad terms."
"Will do!" he said. "Do you want me to hand him it now—-?"
They both heard the alert, and Nakada immediately turned and left, drawing her gunblade.
"Miss General, wait!"
The alarm buzzed throughout the Expo, making guests flee and shocking Marachii, Luca, and Atomu.
"We're too late!" Atomu exclaimed.
"Step aside," Luca said. "I'll handle this."
He shifted into his gorilla form and punched the door open, and they wasted no time running inside.
Inside the meeting room, the Protection Force began firing at Vapron.
"Light him up!" Shu commanded. "Increase fire!"
But the shots simply passed through his body, and he slammed his hands on the ground.
"Watch out!" Azura cried.
Before anyone could react, a thick cloud of smoke emerged and destroyed the back wall of the building.
As soon as Dachii could see again, a heavy plume of smoke sent him flying outside, with Vapron jumping after him.
"He's got Dachii!" Akira called out. "Go after them!"
Dachii went flying into a building a few blocks away and fell to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Vapron sizing him up, smiling.
"Hehe. Guys! We got our prize!"
As his skin shifted to black, Raylon, Alterna, and Prismar jumped down, all landing around Dachii.
"Finally, we get to play!" Alterna laughed.
"About time. Being a Voltian is just so hard," Prismar remarked.
Raylon nodded, and Vapron began to form a large hand out of smoke.
"Let's get him."
At once, they all charged at Dachii.
—-