Inside a truck…
Naoki drove an armored truck through the fields of Asmana, with her daughter in the front seat, and Yūsuke sitting in the back with Squad S-1.
"I hope Fujii is okay," Aoki worried. "If anyone so much as lay a finger on his head, I swear—-!"
"He'll be alright," Akari assured. "Our General is an amazing warrior, and I'd bet whoever took him knows that."
"Yeah, if Mister Fujii is missing, we'll find him!" Saori declared.
"We have to," Hikari stated. "We all need our leader."
Dachii fell over, struggling to get up. His teammates all rushed to help him.
"We shouldn't have brought Dachii along on this mission," Akari said. "He needs rest."
"If he wants to go, he can go," Aoki shot back.
"He never ASKED to go."
Aoki picked him up and supported him. "I'll watch over him. He's my responsibility."
Akari shifted over and gently pulled Dachii to her. "No. You're too wild. I will."
"I'm not doing this with you, girl."
Hikari stepped between them, using her powers on Dachii. "This is not what he needs right now! My powers have healed his burns but the backlash remains. All this arguing is just going to make this worse!"
The girls both scoffed, and Aoki took Dachii back. "Like I said. I'll worry about him."
She gave Dachii a bottle of water. "Here, Dachii. Please drink this."
"Not thirsty…"
"Child, drink it!"
She softly pressed the bottle to his lips, allowing him to drink slowly, and once he was done, she let him rest with a satisfied smile.
"There you go! Great job!
Luca and Marachii were talking to each other.
"I can't wait to go back to that place!" Marachii cheered. "So much tech! So many possibilities!"
"I wonder if they'll have a robot wolf, that'll be sweet."
From beside Marachii, Fido barked. "Woof!"
"That thing better bring us to Fujii, Marachii," Aoki ordered. "I don't like animals."
She looked at Luca, who gave her a face of mock amusement. "Don't give me that look."
"Fido is not an it, he is a boy," Marachii clarified. "And if he witnessed the act, he could have tons of info!"
"He'd damn sure better."
"What's that place even like?" Hikari asked. "I've always heard stories about it."
"They threaten to kill you if you speak about it," Luca explained. "You'll have to see for yourself."
Many thoughts raced through Marachii's mind, and Luca noticed his face. "Dude, you're drooling."
"Whoops, my bad."
Naoki whistled in the front seat, pulling up to a silver platform in front of a large sea.
"More ocean," Aoki grumbled. "I hate it."
Robot scanners scanned the truck. "Voltian and humanoid presence detected. Sending details to Umego for confirmation."
"They changed their wording…" Dachii noticed. "What even am I…?"
"Access allowed. Now preparing bridge," the robots announced.
Just like the first time, a large bridge formed, and Naoki drove along it, spotting the island of Umego.
"There it is, children!" she shouted. "Hold your horses!"
As they got closer, they stopped at the entrance of the forcefield, but this time, a pair of familiar faces were waiting for them.
"Shu and Akira?" Marachii recognized. "How'd they know we were coming?"
"The ways of nerds will never be understood," Luca yawned.
Naoki parked the truck in front of the entrance. "Seems we have a welcoming committee! Okay, this should be far enough!"
The doors to the truck opened, and the squad piled out. The moment Akira saw them, his eyes lit up. "If it isn't my special guests! Dachii, Marachii, and…Luca, no?"
Luca dug in his ear. "Yep."
"It's been ages! When I caught word of your return, I just had to come welcome you in myself! Hey, you even brought my old dog!
Fido barked happily, while Akira stroked his fur.
"I assume you came for our brilliant new invention?" Akira asked.
"Heck yes we did!" Marachii exclaimed.
"Then why waste time? Come on in!"
Shu shook the three's hands. "It's good to see you all again! It even appears you've brought a new General with you this time. Naito and Naoki, it's a pleasure!"
Naito casually gave a curt nod. Naoki spoke up. "We are very thrilled to be back! It's not every day you can enter Umego!"
Shu noticed the rest of Squad S-1 standing behind. "Ahh, new faces. You appear to be the princess."
Akari waved. "Yes. Hello."
"And as for the rest of you…new recruits?"
Hikari and Saori both nodded.
"Excuse me?" Aoki interrupted. "New? I'm older than everyone here!"
"Hmm. You look pretty young," Shu commented. "Are you sure you're not a teenager?"
Aoki's eyes began to turn red.
"Ahh, well," Shu said. "Let me lead you all in. Dachii, the Directors will be thrilled to see you."
The forcefield dropped and the gate opened. Inside, the island looked much more technologically advanced than before. Buildings were self-expanding, and even the shops and restaurants of the island were now moving around.
"Awesome…!" Marachii drooled.
"They never stop upgrading, do they?" Luca remarked.
"Ha! You're damn right!" Akira boasted. "We're not the most advanced region on the planet for nothing!"
He pointed downtown. "We should be unveiling the Technodome in a few moments. The other directors will already be at the scene."
As he walked even faster, Aoki pulled Luca aside. "Is he always so…hyperactive?"
Luca shrugged. "More or less."
"And who are these directors? Will they know where General Fujii is?"
"They run this place, so if Fujii is here, they would know."
Saori admired the buildings. "So cool! This place is amazing!"
Marachii shook her. "I know, right?"
"At least the children are satisfied," Akari said. "What about you, Aoki?"
"Do I look satisfied to you?"
Naito calmly walked through the streets along with Yūsuke, neither of them saying a word. Naoki was using her watch to take pictures. "How marvelous!"
The people on the streets turned their heads when they saw the group walking, and they began to gossip.
"Hey, are those the heroes who saved us from the Zharians?"
"Yeah! Look in the middle, it's that new trending topic, Dachii Jones!"
"Wow!"
The crowd gave them a cheer.
"Looks like you guys are still as famous as ever!" Akira laughed. "Isn't that a treat?"
They finally stopped at the back gate. "Now then, hold a moment, and you will feast your eyes on the greatest invention known to man! Dachii, I promise you won't regret coming back!"
"I regret everything…" Dachii murmured."
While they waited for the gate to open, a mysterious man reading a newspaper watched them. "Hmm."
The gate finally opened, revealing a large platform at the back of the island, where Directors Shōtaro, Kojiro, and Azura were standing, overlooking a massive dome sitting at the bottom of the ocean, easily bigger than the island itself.
"Father! Look! Dachii and his friends have returned!"
Shōtaro turned around. "Ahh! Good to see you boys! Thanks again for saving us from those terrible monsters."
He gave all of them a firm pat on the head.
"Yeah, been a while!" Kojiro greeted. "I've heard you've accomplished much since our last meeting!"
"Yes, Dachii has become quite the household name," Azura complimented. "Along with you two as well, of course. How's your Elemental Powers coming along?"
Luca summoned an axe, Marachii summoned a plasma cannon, and Dachii formed a gauntlet.
"Still no news of your Deity Power?"
"It's…complicated…" Dachii replied.
"No need to worry. We're honored to have you here for this demonstration."
"Indeed!" Shōtaro agreed. "What better to showcase our great work than with you three?"
Aoki, Akari, and Hikari tried to hide their jealousy.
"They sure are getting a lot of praise," Hikari murmured.
"Yeah. Even though they ran off here the first time without bothering to bring us," Akari added.
"It doesn't matter," Aoki said. "We're here for answers, that's all."
Saori was busy hovering over the edge, analyzing the giant dome. "It's super cool! What does it do?"
"Well, aren't you a curious young one?" Shōtaro laughed.
Marachii and Saori both stood next to each other, repeating the same thing. "What's it do? What's it do?"
"It's a giant mechanical fortress," Kojiro explained. "There are tales of giant fortresses being used back in the old days, but none as huge or powerful as this. It's loaded with weapons, traps, puzzles, anything one could need when waging war or simply trying to test their skill."
"Awesome!" Marachii and Saori exclaimed.
"Woof! Woof!" Fido barked.
"Seems Fido wants to get a closer look!" Akira realized. "Dad, we should now show this off with them here!"
"Not a bad idea," Shōtaro said. "Gather the people!"
In minutes, the platform was filled with eager citizens who waited for the dome to rise. Aoki approached the Director.
"Sir, excuse me, but have you seen General Fujii anywhere here?"
He turned around. "Fujii? Haven't talked to that guy in a while. No, I haven't heard anything about him coming here. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just…we believe he's been kidnapped and taken here."
The entire crowd and even the directors gasped.
"Impossible…" Azura declared. "Fujii isn't a man who would be taken so easily, and our borders are heavily secured."
Aoki pointed to the dome. "And what of that thing?"
"It's heavily secured and regulated. Not something so easy to infiltrate without permission."
Akari put a hand on Aoki's shoulder. "See? Just because Fido said Fujii was taken by his creator doesn't mean he's here."
Fido barked at her.
"I want to go in," Aoki ordered. "Now."
"A test run of the Dome?" Akira questioned.
"Whatever the hell it is. I want to search it for my captain."
The directors all put their heads together while the crowd anxiously watched.
"If she is telling the truth, we would be fools to refuse them," Shōtaro whispered.
"Are we sure it's fully safe for them to enter?" Kojiro wondered. "Don't wanna kill off the strongest squad we've got!"
"It will be fine," Azura assured. "We've spent years developing it. Besides, they could use a little trial and error. We already know what Dachii is capable of, and General Naito is with them!"
Naito was staring off into the sky.
The three finished whispering and turned around. Shōtaro cleared his throat. "Well, we will allow you to enter the dome, since our esteemed guests are with you. But we will be watching the entire ordeal from the outside, so please don't damage it."
"Deal," Aoki replied. "Now how do we get in?"
Akira pressed a button and the dome began to rise up above the surface of the ground, towering over the crowd.
"So huge…and wickedly awesome!" Marachii gasped.
A hole opened in the bottom, and a bridge shot out, connecting to the platform.
"Remember, be careful inside that dome," Shōtaro warned. "You may explore its various rooms, but the traps and challenges inside are highly autonomous, and may function on their own."
"We will," Akari promised.
Naito jumped over them and began walking on the bridge, and Yūsuke did the same. "Entering. Come on."
Naoki followed them. "Now's your chance, kids!"
Squad S-1 trailed behind them, and they all stepped off the bridge into the dome. Shōtaro waved to them from outside. "Good luck! And have fun!"
"Yes! And make sure you rate my invention when you're done! This is the hallmark of my career!"
After that, the dome closed, leaving the group trapped in darkness. A small red light came on, and a voice greeted them.
"Welcome…to the Technodome!"
"Looks like we're in," Akari noted. "Where do we start?"
The voice rang out again. "Ten participants detected. Activating Challenge Mode!"
"Challenge Mode?" Aoki repeated. "What the hell is—-?"
"First challenge," the voice announced. "Boys versus girls!"
"The hell?"
A translucent metal barrier split Dachii, Yūsuke, Luca, Marachii, and Fido from the girls, and Aoki and Akari rushed to bang on it.
"What's this?" Akari demanded. "No one said it would separate us!"
"Who cares? Break it!"
"Challenge: First Team to reach Checkpoint A wins! Begin!"
And with that, the floor beneath the guys dropped as the girls watched.
—-