Otori.

Tsubasa. Otori.

In the flesh.

Everyone knew him—he was the ultimate battle strategist, able to devise a plan full of tact and power for inevitable victory. The wielder of the majestic Eagle, the blader who had overcome the poisonous dark power of soul corruption in the heat of battle. The honorary Legend blader whose grand wings blazed a trail of light across the sky. The president of the WBBA, succeeding the late Ryo Hagane, working alongside the chairman Kenta Yumiya to develop new systems of Beybattles all the way down to the most recent Quad-Dynamite Burst system.

Joshua had no idea how long he'd been standing there, dumbly staring, not hearing a single word that came from the Director's mouth. The only thing he remotely comprehended was being ushered into another, smaller conference room, away from the clicks and clamor of the outside workers. Suddenly he was also seated in one of the chairs at the conference table.

Hikaru sat in a seat behind Tsubasa with her tablet open. In lieu of meeting such a renowned blader, Joshua had forgotten why he was even there. He flicked a glance over to Karina and saw that she was just as awestruck.

"Would you like a drink?" Tsubasa was asking. "We have some coffee and tea in here."

Joshua opened his mouth to answer.

What came out, instead of "no thanks," was, "Are you—like, um—uh—actually in charge of this place?"

And then he could've slapped himself, because of course Tsubasa, the WBBA's best secret agent, would be in charge of the secret security scouting research team that worked for the WBBA. His comment had snapped Karina out of her reverie, and she groaned. In the back, Mrs. Hasama put her hand over her mouth to hide her chuckles.

Tsubasa, surprisingly, laughed as well. "Well, I have to be," he said. "I've been in the Net for a while, you know. I was around sixteen when I joined to infiltrate Dark Nebula for Mr. Hagane, and look where I am now."

Oh. Well then. That makes sense, Joshua thought to himself.

His filterless mouth spoke again. "Sounds like a typical secret agent boss move."

Tsubasa laughed again. Joshua, however, was too caught up in his thoughts to feel embarrassed this time, and his hair puffed out as he was hit with a cannonball of realization.

"W-wait, hold on," Joshua stuttered. "If you're around here, does that mean that, like, Mr. Chairman Yumiya's also here?"

"Ooh, that'd be so cool," Karina whispered under her breath.

Tsubasa paused, then shook his head as if in apology. "Ah, no," he said. "Kenta's on his annual vacation trip to Hokkaido right now, where he stays for about a month every summer. He won't be back until the tournament finals in the next three or four weeks."

"Aww," the Burns siblings mumbled in disappointed unison.

"I thought we'd get to meet all the cool people today!" Joshua groaned, throwing his head back. "It's the WBBA! We have all the Legends and they should all be together like a group photo, and I would be one of the cool people too! Man, at least we got you and Mrs. Hasama and stuff. Also, you guys have a dog?"

Karina nodded at him. "It was a cute dog," she said.

"It seems like our perpetrator chose the most optimal time on purpose, actually," Mrs. Hasama said, ignoring Joshua's spiel. "With Kenta and most of the managing staff on leave, they have free rein to try and break into our archives for the next three weeks."

"What, Ed?" Joshua scoffed. "Psh, nah, that loser didn't know what a real Bey was until he started filming with me." Of course, that was a huge exaggeration, but that Ed sure was a good actor when it came to playing dumb.

"Not Mr. Vergo," Mrs. Hasama said. "I'm talking about—"

"Oh, lemme guess," Joshua interrupted. He dramatically began ticking off his fingers. "It can't possibly be those weird alien prince twins, because they're basically pop stars and couldn't plan an invasion if their lives depended on it. It couldn't possibly be that ugly hedgehog kid who broke my old Jinnius. Not any of my directors, of course, because they're too busy filming, and none of the nerd bladers, they're too busy. So obviously it's gotta be the old Raging Bulls coach Theodore Glass, because who else would it be except that senile old creep?"

Joshua made sparkly hand motions. "See? That was easy. Ma-ra-vi-llo-so," he concluded, emphasizing each syllable of maravilloso with a clap.

Tsubasa burst out laughing for yet a third time. "Well, it really is that obvious," he said through chuckles.

Joshua froze. "Wait, I was right?" he said.

Karina's jaw fell. "Wait, he was right?" she said.

"As cliche as it might seem," piped up a familiar tired voice, "yes."

Tsubasa's expression brightened. "Agents! How did the police interviews go?"

There she was, Agent Ivy Jones, in all her grumpy glory, with tired purple eyes and a messy red bun that was falling out of shape. Next to Ivy stood an equally somber, equally exhausted man in a dapper navy trench coat and dark eyebags that screamed the presence of Norman Tarver. He sent a nod in the general direction of the Burns siblings. "They're more demanding than ever, Director," Norman said.

Ivy strolled into the conference room with all the force of a dying dandelion. "What he means to say is that were up all night last night trying to figure it out and we got nowhere," she grumbled.

"Sit down, you two," Mrs. Hasama said. "You look like you haven't slept."

"Well, ma'am, that's because we haven't," Norman said matter-of-factly. Ivy wordlessly plopped into a chair, holding her head as if she had a massive headache.

Joshua lamely repeated Tsubasa's prior offer to him. "You guys need a drink?"

Ivy's eyebrows raised. "What, you gonna make some for us?" she muttered.

Joshua shrugged. "No," he said lamely.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't give you two any time to take a break right now," Tsubasa said. "Feel free to nap if necessary, but otherwise, you're just in time. We need to talk about how to address Theodore's rebuilding the Snake Pit and how to keep Jinnius away from his war plans."

Joshau frowned. "What's the deal with Jinnius anyway?" he asked.

Ivy sighed and fixed a tired glare on Joshua. "Well, if you haven't figured it out, Burns," she said dryly, "the old bastard wants your Bey."

The cogs in Joshua's brain screeched to a halt. "Whoa, hold it, hold up, we gotta slow down here," he said. "First of all, fancy meeting you again, redhead spy. Second of all, I personally feel very honored to star in this real-life action movie, but also, like, isn't this a little excessive? Just a little? And weren't you the one who dragged me into this? I just found out that people were trying to kill me a week ago."

"Better buckle up and stop talking so much if you wanna find out," Ivy said.

"Alright, focus," Hikaru called. "Tsu, I think we can start here."

"Oooh, yes, tell me more," Joshua said eagerly. "What's the deal with Ed and Glass and all that?"

"Well, so far, we know that Ed Vergo is one of Theodore's higher-ups, and he corresponds to a suspect we codenamed Deadly Nightshade. He's been our main culprit when it comes to stolen Beys," Tsubasa said. "Theodore was part of the engineering department when he worked here, and he worked on this specific campus, so he knows how the WBBA operates very well. Most of those Beys were stolen directly from various WBBA facilities, so we know that he has connections to bypass our security. We just haven't figured out the identities of his workers yet."

"Actually, I was going to ask you about that," Hikaru said. "Don't you think that these two should find a better place to stay than in our dorms, considering that anyone could leak information?"

"Honestly, I'm still struggling to find a good hiding place," Tsubasa said. "Let's save that discussion for another time."

"As long as I don't have to keep wearing this, I'm good," Joshua butted in, "because it's mad itchy and I want my favorite suits back."

"Oi, can you not act like a spoiled princess every time you talk?" Ivy retorted.

"Aw, get off my back. It's hard to feel grateful when you're wearing a cheese grater!" Joshua huffed.

"Your incessant talking is what's grating," Ivy grumbled.

"Oh, hmmm, I think you're mistaken. I don't talk that much," Joshua said.

"Yes you do," Karina piped up.

"You live with me, that doesn't count," Joshua fired back. "Also my questions are valid, okay? Why does Theodore have such a hyperfixation on stealing Beys?"

"Okay, okay, hold on," Tsubasa said. "Let's pause the conversation for now. Why don't we provide some context from the beginning. Hikaru?"

"On it," Hikaru said affirmatively. Within a few seconds the projector in the middle of the conference table lit up with a blue hologram of a Bey's stats.

"Hey, look, it's Jinnius," Joshua whispered to Karina.

"Burns siblings, have you ever heard of War-Blades?" Hikaru asked.

Hesitantly, the siblings looked at each other. "You mean, like... the old-fashioned Beys which were physically used in battle?" Karina asked.

"Exactly," Hikaru said. She switched to a new hologram slide. "War-Blades are special in this way because instead of manifesting an image of the spirit in the top, the top itself can turn into a physical Bit-Beast. You could take the Legendary Bladers' Beys as modified examples of this, especially the infamous L-Drago."

"Ohhhhhh," said the Burns siblings in unison.

"That being said," Hikaru continued, "I call them 'modified' because they were also applicable as tournament beys, whereas a pure-form War-Blade is exclusively used as a weapon. You've surely encountered Icarus already, haven't you? He was our first created War-Blade based on the prototypes left behind from ancient documents, some of which seem to be the first Beysmith's very own manuscripts."

It was as if someone had lit a lightbulb.

"Ohhhhhhhh," said the Burns siblings in unison again, both of their eyes bugging out of their heads. "She has a War-Blade?" Joshua breathed, pointing at Ivy.

The small translucent vermilion form of a boy with wings for arms appeared next to Ivy. "Hi," he chirped. Karina waved back at him.

"Icarus, go back," Ivy sighed.

"But I wanna be in the conversation too!" said Icarus. "Please?"

"Feel free," Hikaru said. "Always helps to have a demonstration." At that, the tiny glowing boy eagerly sat on the table in front of his facepalming blader.

Hikaru switched to another slide. "We've also modified Norman's Nemesis, which was already a War-Blade before, so he can't complete in tournaments anymore because he—well, he wields a weapon."

Joshua sent a startled look to a very sheepish Norman. "Wait. That's why you suddenly dipped out of the team four years ago?!"

Norman refused to answer and opted for a shrug instead.

Hikaru chuckled and continued changing the hologram slides. "Many of our senior active scouts have War-Blades as well. But I'm sure you can understand better now: the point is that Theodore Glass is trying to raise an army of his own War-Blades, and he especially wants Jinnius in that collection. So our main goal is trying to stop that from happening just as it happened with the former Dark Nebula organization."

Tsubasa shuddered. "Ah, Doji and his orange juice," he sighed.

Joshua threw his hands up. "But... why Jinnius?" he exclaimed.

"Because your Jinnius, like Icarus, was actually one of our top classified War-Blade models, which was then stolen and reconfigured into a Burst System Bey," Hikaru said simply.

Well, screw me or Hail Hydra, we've encountered the walking dead, Joshua thought in a daze.

Hikaru allowed Joshua a few minutes to digest the information, complete with screaming and crying that made several workers peek into the conference room out of concern. Icarus giggled unceasingly as he watched the chaos.

After everyone had finally collected themselves, Karina ventured to ask a timid question. "Who stole it?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Culprit was a peddler who worked in the illegal Bey market," she said. "We found no relation to any evil overlords. Although it seems he wasn't careful, so the evil overlord got wind of it and is now chasing down the Bey."

"Wait, no, no, no," Joshua said, putting his hand up. "HOW was it stolen if it was classified? How do you reconfigure an entire weapon destroyer of worlds, and turn it into a tournament top?"

"Well, War-Blade parts are welded together into a single piece to accommodate the strength of the Bit-Beasts they host," Hikaru said. "I'm sure you know that different spirits have different levels of power as well as different base levels for their power, and as such, their tops must be designed accordingly so that they can channel that strength properly. Eventually, when dueling as a sport became popular with them, they began producing tops that hosted more adaptable beasts that didn't need the same structure. When modifying them for the Burst System, you cut the pieces apart and reshape them so that they can lock together, which reduces the original power of the Bit-Beast so that just enough can be used in the stadium. Reconstructing one is a more complicated process, but similar. Additionally, you can't piece together any original Burst System Beys to construct a War-Blade because those Bit-Beasts don't have the necessary background store of power."

The Burns siblings blinked in unison.

"I did not expect to learn so much information today," Joshua said. "You're telling me I have a weapon in my pocket right now, is that it?"

"Yes, and he's currently dormant," Hikaru said. "All our classified models are exclusively War-Blades and are incompatible with other systems. It seems that Jinnius has been forced into hibernation by the modifications, so you can neither access his power nor call him out."

Joshua slammed his hands on the table. "So that's why I've never been able to conjure him?!" he exclaimed. "See, I told you, Valt, it was never a skill issue!"

"Man, I was gonna roast you about that," Icarus huffed.

"Unfortunately, the only way you'd ever be able to see him is to completely retrain yourself to wield him as a proper weapon," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, so?" Joshua shrugged. "I can easily guess you're gonna ask me to turn him back and then learn to street fight with a top, I don't really care. My life is already in danger, I might as well learn to defend myself. Sucks that I wouldn't be able to battle anymore but I guess it's worth seeing my Bey's actual potential."

Tsubasa laughed raucously. "I can't believe didn't even have to ask," he said. "Your situational awareness is phenomenal."

Joshua shrugged. After this entire week, he couldn't really stay out of the situation after all, so why not fix it from the inside out? If that meant he got dibs on the inside workings of the Network, that was even better.

Of course, he would be lying if he said he wasn't absolutely terrified of the prospects.

"You know this isn't a joke, right?" Ivy muttered.

"Hey, if I thought it was a joke, I would have said sike already," Joshua said. "Buuuuut it turns out that you guys are filming a real life action movie right here, so how do you expect me to resist?"

"I wish we didn't have to live in an action plot, to be honest," Tsubasa sighed. All of a sudden, his face looked terribly hollow and haggard. Joshua hadn't realized just how old the Eagle blader was until now.

"I just hope we can get the situation resolved quickly," Tsubasa said. He leaned back and wove his fingers together. "At least you know the main idea of the conflict now, with Theodore wanting to use War-Blades to revive a new army and take over the blading world. We're running short on time before my next meeting so I'll let Hikaru take over with the logistics of your schedule as soon as we get the contracts ready, and my secretary will be here tomorrow for further analysis of your case so we can discuss a little more.

"Now as for Karina," Tsubasa continued, turning to a startled Karina. "I know you're not a blader, but I'd like to know if you're also willing to help the Network in this case. Do you happen to be good with technology?"

"Um, I think so...?" Karina said hesitantly.

"Can you control cameras, have an eye for detail, strong spatial awareness, easily memorize things?"

"Oh, yeah, that's fine," Karina said, frowning. "I thought you meant stuff like hacking into firewalls."

Tsubasa chuckled. "We've got people to teach you that, don't worry," he said. Then he clapped his hands together. "Alright, then we can use these last five minutes to go over a few more details before tomorrow—"

There was a frantic knock at the door, accompanied by the muffled sound of a barking dog. "Sir! Director, emergency!"

He paused and looked up. "Come in?"

A brunette with hair tied in poufy sections (like a scorpion tail, thought Joshua) burst into the room, and a stack of papers fell out of her hands and scattered across the floor. She looked positively disheveled. Outside Joshua could hear a faint alert siren and the rustling sounds of running workers.

"Sir? Sir, there's an emergency," the woman said through gasping breaths. "Free de la Hoya's Bey has been stolen."

I apologize the only thing that happened in this chapter was a really long conversation