In the Upper Levels…
Luca and Marachii were sitting atop piles of gold inside the treasure room, while Naoki, Yūsuke, and Naito surveyed the area.
"Aren't you guys gonna join us?" Luca asked. "We're basically bathing in cash right now."
"Dear, I don't think that cash is legit," Naoki replied. "This room has very…eerie vibes."
Marachii picked up a treasure chest. "More like loaded! Check it out! This thing's full!"
Naoki gave him an awkward laugh.
"There doesn't appear to be a door," Naito pointed out. "It must be hidden."
"Astute observation, dear," Naoki complimented. "As with most puzzles, the key should be hidden in this room."
She turned to Luca and Marachii. "Up, up, boys! Let's work together and search!"
The two boys reluctantly got up, while Fido jumped behind them. "Woof! Woof!"
Naito and Yūsuke used their watches to scan for any suspicious objects within the treasure room, while Luca and Marachii used their powers to turn stacks of gold upside down.
"I've been meaning to ask you," Naoki said. "How is Squad S-1? Naito always wanted to join it when she was little! Oh, was she cute back then!"
"Chaotic," Luca answered. "Wild, disorganized, and very dysfunctional."
"Really? But you guys are the strongest squad, aren't you?"
Luca tossed a large chest aside. "Power-wise, maybe. But our chemistry isn't really the best. It's gotten worse ever since the Vice-General came into the picture. She and the Princess do not get along."
"I saw," Naoki recalled. "Two strong young women like that shouldn't be fighting, especially when you're part of the same team!"
Luca shrugged. "One is cold. The other one is hot. It'll never work. We've tried. With Dachii losing his mind with every passing day, Hikari struggling with her own insecurities, and Saori becoming more assertive, it's a lot on the S-1 plate."
"You two seem more laid back," Naoki commented. "What are your stories?"
"Well, I'm a wolf, and he's a nerd."
Naoki laughed. "You're a funny one! Our squad could use more of you. A lot more."
"Meh. I just keep it real."
Marachii looked at another chest. "Hmm? This thing looks a bit odd. Maybe it's a key!"
Yūsuke bent down to examine the chest. "Wait a second. That's no chest—-!"
Suddenly, the chest formed a mouth filled with sharp teeth and lunged at the pair. Quickly, Naito grabbed them both and pulled them out of the way.
"A mimic," she realized. "What a rare monster."
More chests began to sprout teeth, surrounding the group.
"Even the chests are fake?" Luca scoffed. "They must have put hella overtime into this scrap heap."
Naito pulled out her fans. "The solution is simple. Destroy them."
She threw them in an arc, and they severed an entire row of mimics clean in half. Yūsuke formed daggers and flung them outward, striking through the chests she missed.
"They work well," Luca noted. "Do we even need to do anything?"
Naito grabbed her fans and cut through another wave of mimics. As she stood up, one tried to sneak her from behind, but Yūsuke threw his dagger at it.
"That's the last of them," he announced.
Naito approached one of the fallen mimics, digging through its remains before holding up a golden key. "The key to the exit. Found."
The room suddenly began to shake, and a door rose from the ground. "Congratulations! Team Level 9!"
"Leveling up again!" Marachii cheered. "Nice!"
Naito put the key into the door, and it opened. There was a bright light coming from behind it.
"Excellent work, everyone!" Naoki congratulated. "Let's see what awaits us in the next room!"
While they exited, Fido noticed a camera keeping tabs on them before trekking after the group.
In Umego…
The Directors watched the large screen before them, which showed the two separate groups advancing through the Technodome.
"Something isn't right," Shōtarō realized. "Some of these tasks are way too hard! And son, did you add that bounty hunter as part of the challenge?"
Akira shook his head. "I didn't hire a bounty hunter! Who the hell hires a bounty hunter for a fortress?"
"They were never supposed to reach the Sub-Levels," Azura pointed out. "They're untested, and dangerous."
"We should pull them out," Kojiro proposed. "Even if General Fujii happens to be in there, we can't risk the safety of Squad S-1."
The crowd behind them watched as the two respective groups entered their next rooms.
"Do you think…she could be behind this?" Azura asked Shōtarō.
"Very possible. But we cannot act against her. She is what makes our island Umego. Without her, we wouldn't have nearly the same technological power we boast now!"
"But what if she harms those soldiers! We can't be responsible for their deaths!"
Shōtarō took a deep breath. "Lady Sirena is benevolent. She's only hostile when pushed. As long as they don't push her, all will be fine. These challenges are manageable for a squad of their caliber. We already saw what Luca, Marachii, and Dachii can do."
"I hope you're right."
Shōtarō held up a remote. "If anything goes horribly wrong, we will shut it down immediately. No question."
They watched as the dome flickered light blue, only for a moment. "No questions at all."
Meanwhile…
"Techno-Race!"
Marachii and the others found themselves in a large cyberpunk city, with high-speed racing tracks as cars zipped across them, bashing each other.
"Oh. My. Stars."
Marachii nearly had a heart attack.
A racecar drove through a holographic box, suddenly forming a cannon that blew another car to bits.
"AWESOME!"
A speaker turned on. "New racers entered! Teleporting to Garage!"
Before they knew it, Marachii and the others were in a large car garage, where hundreds of other racers were outfitting their cars.
"A race, wow," Luca remarked. "Not every day you get to zip around in high-tech cars. Except for Marachii, of course."
He turned around, but Marachii was admiring the biggest and most luxurious race car in the garage, which was painted gold and bronze.
"Luca, look at this baby!" Marachii exclaimed. "It's radical!"
A young man in a black suit with glowing golden highlights jumped onto the car. "Hey, step away from my whip, runt!"
Marachii jumped back. "Whoa!"
The man patted his car on the head before sliding to the ground. "Only I get to gawk at my car. You little gremlins must be the new challengers sent by the Directors, eh?"
"Excuse me!" Naoki interrupted. "That is not nice!"
The man looked her up and down. "You're more of an old bat. Whatever. This ride doesn't discriminate."
"Old bat? Young man, you need to learn some manners!"
"The name's Jirou Kaminari," he corrected. "The best racer Voltiana has ever seen."
He walked around the group, scanning them. "Huh. I was expecting a decent crew. I got word Squad S-1 was coming, but all I see is a messy little brat, some nerd, a failed reject of a dog, and whatever these guys are?"
He motioned to Naito, Naoki, and Yūsuke. "Not cool at all."
"Listen," Yūsuke ordered. "We are looking for Checkpoint B. How do we reach it?"
Jirou laughed. "Reach it? To get there, you've gotta beat me in a race! You don't just 'get there.'"
"That was obvious," Luca shrugged. "Where's our car, then?"
Jirou pointed to a run-down five-seater in the back, which was covered with rust. "First-come first-served. Sorry."
"Are you serious?" Marachii blurted out. "That trash looks like it was put together with a toothpick and some gum!"
"Take it or leave it, dweebs."
"We have no choice," Naoki admitted.
They gathered around the scrap, while the other racers began to enter their cars. Luca tapped the side of the vehicle, and one of the wheels fell off.
"No way they expect us to zoom around in this garbage."
Naito got into the middle seat, which fell apart. "The vehicle is unstable. A child could engineer a more efficient transport."
"Race 1 over!" the computer announced. "Racers, please line up at the starting line for Race 2! Anyone not lined up in 3 minutes will be disqualified!"
"You hear that, losers?" Jirou called out. "Better line up, or get lined out!"
He drove off.
Naoki poked the car. "We can make this work, right?"
"No," Yūsuke clarified. "We cannot."
"I can," Marachii declared. "Watch this."
He pressed his hand to the car, and tendrils began to emerge from his back. "Elara! Fix this baby up with the best technology you can muster!"
"I will have to use your body to power the vehicle, Marachii."
"Then DO it."
"Initiating process."
Marachii's body began to shift, piecing the car together and covering it with a thick metal hide. Once the process was complete, the vehicle now looked completely different, with new wheels, a grey paint job, thrusters, and a fresh chassis. It even had a roof to cover the seats. Marachii was in the driver's seat, his body hooked up to the car.
"Wow, Marachii!" Naoki gasped. "You fixed this hunk of junk up in less than a minute? Your power is incredible!"
"I love tech, and the tech loves me!" Marachii boasted. "Now get in."
Luca got in the passenger seat, while Naito, Naoki, and Yūsuke got into the back seats. Luca patted the side of the car.
"Pull off, partner."
Marachii drove out of the garage and up to the starting flag, where Jirou was waiting, a shocked expression on his face.
"Where'd you get that thing?"
"Don't worry about it," Marachii replied. "Be ready to lose!"
Jirou scoffed. "Please. As if some amateur racers could wash me in my own game."
The computer rang out. "All racers lined up. Equipping Techno-Suits."
Marachii and Luca's bodies began to glow with a holographic light, and when they looked down they saw a black neon suit just like Jirou's on their bodies. Marachii's was glowing blue, while Luca's glowed green. Behind them, Naito and the others had the same outfits on, in various colors.
"Are these part of the race?" Naoki asked.
"They appeared out of nowhere," Naito said. "They must be."
"Suits equipped! Race will begin in 3…"
Marachii pressed his foot on the gas.
"2…"
Jirou got behind his wheel.
"1…"
"Prepare to eat dirt," he taunted.
"Race!"
All the racers pulled off at once, and Jirou blew a large plume of smoke from his thruster at Marachii.
"Playing dirty already? A sick move, you jerk! Punch it, Elara!"
Marachii bounced between cars as he navigated the narrow roads and buildings. As he passed a couple of cars, he noticed Jirou driving along the side of the buildings, creating a massive gap between himself and Marachii. "Catch up, slowpoke!"
"Hey!"
He boosted away, and a display popped up in front of Marachii. "Now in 177th place!"
"And I thought we were doing so well," Luca remarked.
They watched as a car with a winch dragged a group of cars behind it, pulling them ahead. Naoki pointed them out. "I believe that's cheating!"
A girl with emo hair bumped into Marachii's car, nearly knocking him off course. "Outta my way, shorty!"
Marachii hit a holographic box, and a screen popped up in front of him, spinning a wheel. "Modifier: Flight!"
Wings formed on Marachii's car, and he smiled. "Perfect."
BOOM.
Other racers watched as he took off into the air, chasing after Jirou, who was well ahead into the next area, a subway.
"Found him!"
Marachii's wings disappeared as he landed at the entrance to the subway, driving into it. Jirou swerved around poles and benches, turning around to spot Marachii. "You again? You're pushing that car kinda hard, cut it some slack!"
He pressed a button on his car, causing ink to squirt out. Marachii's car slid on the ink, spinning out before crashing into a wall.
"Hahaha!"
Naito calmly got up, watching as the screen before them kept updating their position.
"Now in 233rd place! Now in 345th place! Now in 472nd place! Now in 500th place! Currently in last place!"
"The car is totaled," she stated, pointing to the wreck.
The others, except Marachii, got up.
"What rudeness!" Naoki yelled. "That boy needs to be punished harshly!"
"There goes our ride," Luca acknowledged.
Meanwhile, Marachii was lying on the ground, unconscious, right before a voice played in his head.
"System: Awakened. What would you like to do?"
A wave of thoughts played in Marachii's head, but only one was on his mind.
"I want to win."
"Acknowledged."
And then, he opened his eyes, which were glowing red.
BOOM.
—-