"Saori! Hey, Saori? Wake up!"
Saori quickly got up, her mind foggy and dazed. She noticed she was lying on a sandy beach, and Marachii was next to her, rubbing her forehead. "Mister Marachii?"
"Thank goodness you're alive," he said, relieved.
She saw Dachii standing near the water, his face unreadable. "Where are we?"
"A nearby island," Marachii explained. "Dachii got us here, but I don't know where the enemies are."
Saori got up, dusting the sand off her body. "We won't let them take the armor, right?"
"No," Dachii replied, his voice cold.
"We need to be careful," Marachii suggested. "If they're both Elites, we won't stand a chance on our own."
Marachii gestured to a path between the palm trees. "Maybe we could head further inside? See if there's anything or anyone who could help us?"
"I guess…" Dachii remarked.
The three abandoned the beach and headed inward, walking through the tropical pathway and past the trees. Not long after, they came across what appeared to be a massive island resort, complete with villas, bars, lounges, shops, water parks, and pools. There was also a group of large white buildings in the back.
"Huh," Dachii noted. "This is odd."
People were wearing island outfits, swaying and dancing to the music while drinking out of coconuts.
"Is this a party?" Saori questioned. "Can we join?"
The inhabitants began to salsa dance, and Marachii had to grab Saori before she tried to join them. "Saori! Remember, we're being hunted right now! We can't get distracted!"
He slapped himself. "Man, I sound like Akari…"
"Aww…" she groaned.
A shirtless man walked over to them, holding a tray of beverages. "Hello, hello! Are you three new guests?"
"Uh…" Marachii stammered.
He bent down to look at Saori, pinching her face. "Aren't you cute? How did you get your skin to look like that?"
"Magic…?" she stated.
"Haha! Kids! They're so funny! Are you two her guardians?"
"You could say that," Marachii said.
"Those outfits are a piece of work!" he admired, pulling the fabric on Marachii's sleeve. "High-quality fabric, symmetrical patterns, and even a gold label on them! S-1? What is that?"
Marachii looked at Dachii.
"Our organization," Dachii said, matter-of-factly. "The place we work."
"Ha! Humor! Anyway, come on down, folks! I'll introduce ya! I'm Yasushi Ogasawara, and welcome to Estrium Tropical Resort!"
"How did we manage to get ourselves here…?" Marachii wondered.
"This would be a nice place for a vacation!"
Saori cheered. "We should get the rest of our friends!"
"That's the spirit!" Yasushi laughed. "Bring 'em all for a week of fun and festivities!"
"Listen, sir," Marachii interrupted. "We aren't here for fun, we need help—!"
"Don't tell me you ain't got the money to pay?" Yasushi gasped. "Well, that's fine. We can always just have you stay in a cabin for now. But you won't be able to stay that long."
"No, no, no!"
"What? You just wanna wander the island during your time here? I wouldn't recommend it, it gets cold at night!"
"No, there are attackers coming! Attackers ready to KILL us!"
Yasushi paused. "Come again?"
"There's this duo, a guy and a girl," Marachii explained. "They want something very important from us, and they won't stop until they get it. So we need help hiding this object somewhere they won't find it."
"Let me get this straight," Yasushi clarified. "You three didn't come here for vacation, you came here because you have something that some people want, and these said people are dangerous and plan to attack you?"
"Yep," Dachii confirmed.
"THEN WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU BRING THEM HERE?"
BOOM.
A large watery octopus could be seen in the distance over the palm trees, with Melodar and Vortessia standing on its head. Vortessia cleared her throat, her voice sharp and commanding.
"I advise every human in the area to run."
The people all backed away as the octopus formed a large spear of water in its hands, and Yasushi began running through the resort. "Run! Everyone run!"
The octopus stabbed the ground, causing a massive tsunami of water that knocked Dachii, Marachii, and Saori off course. Vortessia looked down at them, her eyes glowing. "There you are."
Dachii put his fists up, and Vortessia laughed.
"So, we've dropped the pretenses?"
"Leave," Dachii ordered.
"On the contrary," she replied. "Now that we've got the Holder and the last piece of the Armor in one spot, this is too good an opportunity to pass on! I think I'll take you both. What do you say, Melodar?"
"That's a great idea!" he agreed. "You truly have the mind of an artist!"
"I said, leave," Dachii repeated. "Now."
Vortessia and Melodar held up their arms, lines forming the numbers 4 and 9, respectively.
"He's stronger than Runea!" Marachii realized. "And she's five ranks stronger than him! There's no way we're winning this!"
Vortessia put a hand on her hip. "Your brother gets it. Now come quietly—-!"
"DENSITY PUNCH!"
With a powerful strike from his gauntlets, Dachii punched the top of the octopus's head off, forcing Vortessia and Melodar to land on the ground. Before they had time to react, he charged into Vortessia, leaving Marachii and Saori behind to face Melodar.
"What did Mister Dachii just do?" Saori asked.
"Something very reckless!" Marachii answered.
Melodar summoned his guitar. "Come on, Saori. Make this easy for little old me, would you?"
"How are you here?" Saori questioned. "You were back on stage!"
"That? That was just a clone," Melodar admitted. "It's always handy to keep a bunch on me! Unfortunately, it's using up most of my strength right now, so I brought my good pal Vortessia to help!"
"Rank 4, isn't that overkill?
"It is. I could handle you all myself. But a true artist knows when to bring a feature!"
He began to play a tune on his guitar. "Now get ready, this won't be an easy fight."
On the beach, Dachii and Vortessia rolled around a few times before she blasted him off with a large blast of water. She got up, washing the sand off her clothes. "How aggressive. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to attack a woman?"
"When you maniacs killed my grandfather, all my rules died," he responded.
"Still not over that?" Vortessia scoffed. "Be glad! He was old! He died a hero's death! After all, working with those…scum must have been incredibly damaging to his mental health! He would have gone senile any time now."
Dachii's eyes turned blood red. "Really? I see."
Without another word, he closed the distance between him and Vortessia, and she grinned. "You don't want this rematch, child."
With ease, she batted him back, causing him to tumble into the sand. He kicked himself up, slamming the ground, but she formed a large wave, carrying her into the air.
"If it's a duel you want, I suppose I can entertain you," she sighed.
She formed a spear of water from her hand. "Come now. Don't be shy."
Dachii raised his fists. "Believe me, I'm not. BULLET MODE!"
He darted at her faster than a speeding bullet, but water under her feet carried her to the side without her having to even move. He tried to jump and kick her, but she did the same move, dodging his attack.
"Is it my turn?" she asked, stabbing her spear into the ground.
Four massive hurricanes formed from the spear, ripping through the island like a knife. Dachii had to jump into the air and hover to dodge them, while Vortessia remained still.
"The hell did she just fire? She's tearing this place apart!" he thought.
"Careful now," she warned. "I don't want to damage that delicate face."
Dachii attempted to use a slam attack on her, but she used the water to carry herself backward. "I'm ashamed you were able to beat my colleague. She should have been better than that."
She hit him with the butt of her spear before kicking him so hard he flew into the ocean. She stabbed her spear into the ground once more, and the ocean itself began to shake. "Water Cage."
Water from the ocean began to rise around Dachii, soon trapping him inside a large cage made from pure water. Dachii tried to punch out of it, but the water wouldn't budge.
"Look at that," Vortessia smirked. "Trapped, just like a rat."
Dachii punched the cage again and again, his anger rising. Vortessia lifted an eyebrow. "Hmm? What's happening to you?"
His body began to glow, and he punched the cage again, and again, and again, until it finally broke. "UNLEASH!"
BOOM.
The impact was strong enough to shake the island, but Vortessia stood there, unmoved. "Hmm, stronger than I thought."
She stabbed her spear into the ground, motioning for him to come with her fingers.
Meanwhile…
Marachii used his car to avoid and drive past Melodar's sound attacks, while Saori sat in the passenger seat, firing rainbow beams at Melodar.
"Take this! And this! And this!"
Melodar laughed as he strummed his tune, deflecting her attacks one by one. "Come on, Saori! That's no harmony!"
He formed a drum and began to beat it, knocking Saori and Marachii right out of his car form. As they tried to get up, he beat his drum even faster, sending both of them crashing into the villas.
"Man, we're limited here!" Marachii exclaimed. "Where are the others when you need them? We need help!"
Melodar was prepared to attack again, but he suddenly fell out of breath. "Damn. That clone is having a bit too much fun, isn't he? I might need to recall it, it's draining me dry."
An idea suddenly popped into Saori's head. "He's getting tired! Let's keep hitting him!"
"You're right! He is getting exhausted!"
They both got up, and Marachii formed his plasma cannon, firing attacks at Melodar over and over again, who used his guitar's music to deflect them. "Musical Harmony!"
He played an advanced tune on his guitar, and it rose both Marachii and Saori into the air before slamming them both to the ground.
"Ugh…how many techniques do you have…?" Marachii groaned.
Saori got up, firing her beams repeatedly. "You lied to me! I hate liars! You promised me I'd be a star! Now you're trying to kill me and my friends!"
"Come on, Saori!" he said, holding his hands up. "It was all in good fun, wasn't it?"
"NO! Rainbow Beam!"
She fired an intense beam of Rainbow Magic at Melodar, but he countered by strumming another tune. He turned at beat his drum at the same time, sending both Marachii and Saori flying back. In mid-air, the armor fell off Marachii, dropping to the ground.
"Yes, exactly what I need!" Melodar clapped. "Come to me, my treasure!"
He used a sound wave to push the armor toward him, but before it could reach his hands, Saori grabbed onto it, clutching it like a rope. "No!"
"Saori, foolish girl! Let the Armor go! Your body can't handle being in close proximity to it for too long!"
"No! I refuse! You're not taking this armor! Not after what you and your people have done to me!"
"I said let go!"
He grabbed the armor and yanked it, but she didn't release her grip. As they both tugged and pulled, the armor began to glow green, and both of their bodies began to shake. "Oh no, you've activated it! This isn't good! Look what you've done—-!"
BOOM.
And then, all of a sudden, both of them were gone, and Marachii was left to stare at the large crater they left behind.
"…Saori?"
Somewhere…
Saori opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark, shadowy realm. She hurried to her feet, frantically looking around. "Dachii? Marachii?"
The only person in view was Melodar, who was studying his surroundings with a careful look. "The Shadow Realm. I didn't think the armor could contain such power, but then again, I don't know much about the Master either."
The landscape of the area started to shift, until Saori and Melodar were standing inside a large samurai mansion, where there was a bunch of well-dressed folk gathered.
"What is this?" Saori asked.
"My past," Melodar answered. "We've gone back in time."
—-