Alexander and Tr looked at their leader and they knew that he didn't really care much about the supposed fraud, he just wanted to find an excuse to search for the illicit robot parts and he found the opportunity to do so. Patricia also took advantage of the situation, she had found a fat scapegoat that basically served himself up on a silver platter. Regardless of the outcome, Nat would take the fall for her negligence without the need of using one of her decoys for the dirty job.

"We've been authorized to not let anyone in." Sara stated.

"Are you kidding!? We just saw this fat eyesore leave the room that you're supposed to guard!" Tr remarked petulantly.

"Who you calling an eyesore? You skinny puke!" Ruben spat before Tr and Ruben started beating each other again before the security guards and Tr's teammates intervened.

"I can see why." Patricia commented while the guards and the men in jumpsuits separated them.

Stacey curled her fingers into a fist as she put it on her hip. "You can't last one minute without snooping around, can you?"

Zack stood up as his spiky black hair was in view, "I would when there isn't any secrecy around." He whined while she chastised him.

Violet ate her soup while Jacinto picked up the tea. Thomas and María came to catch up to them. "How did it go?" María asked at the Arivex.

"It went well to say the least." Sora said.

Just when Violet consumed down to the last drop of the soup she heard Thomas speak. "Is best that we leave since there is nothing for us here."

Violet looked at Thomas, his blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, light skin and smooth jawline and his red crystal pendant. She received a vision of him wearing a uniform as he entered into the darkness, his pendant illuminating a path. Then she saw a fire that came from a dragon's mouth. A dragon with hardened orange scales, blood red eyes, and a pendant clung to her neck with an icon of a golden bicep as a symbol of strength. Next to the orange dragon, a fluffy grey dragon was attached, only this one had cobalt blue eyes and a pendant shaped as an hourglass. They grey dragon uttered something that couldn't be heard until Violet snapped out of her vision.

"Sora, I heard that there is another round tonight. Are you going or not?" Zack asked her.

"Sure. I'm going to check if it isn't too late to participate." Sora paced eight steps.

"Just don't get duped this time." Stacey remarked while Sora rolled her eyes.

"Good luck." María added.

"Be careful, you don't know who you're up against." Violet warned.

"Don't listen to her, Sora. She is trying to trick you the same way she did when you were fighting her." Stacey warned her.

"Yeah, she's trying to discourage you from fighting in the Redemption Round, don't listen to her." Zack insisted. Sora looked at her teammates and then at Violet.

"I will fight, there's no doubt about it." Sora clarified. Violet withdrew herself from the table.

"It will require strength and patience to defeat them, you were warned." Violet hinted as she strolled out of the food court with the sailor.

"That's enough! We're not going anywhere with this! We are going to solve this now." Logan shouted as he scolded Tr and Ruben.

Haeji picked up Mochi, the cat leaned in to her ear and whispered, "I think now is a good time to leave."

"No, I wanna see how it's gonna turn out." She murmured back.

"Like I said, we're not authorized to let anyone in." Sara reminded them.

"Unless the supervisor is present. Where is Penumbra?" Patricia enquired as she crossed her arms.

"You're awfully persistent for a receptionist." Sajid commented as he walked up to her. "If you're so adamant in wacthing over the halls like a guard dog, you should've taken Penumbra's position instead of settling for the reception." Patricia gritted her teeth as she dug her fingers into the sleeves of her tri-colored jacket while trying to maintain a smile.

"I prefer to multitask." Patricia metioned.

"If you say so, but I've noticed that you've been walking around all over the place. It almost looks like your searching for something." Sara mentioned.

"Quit the chit chat! Are we going in or not!?" Tr started to pester the security guards, then Ruben joined in demanding his refund while this was happening, Logan opened up an application within his watch to file for a search warrant. When he typed the information, the supervisor arrived. Penumbra recognized Ruben II by his red curls and freckled face.

"You again!" Penumbra barked as she glared at the Cinnabarian.

"You know him?" Sara asked her.

"This guy has tried to sneak into the restricted area the first time, then I caught him badgering a woman, and now this!" S Penumbra spat at Ruben.

"I want my refund! This tournament is a scam!" Ruben retorted.

"Then go to the administration to get your refund, you cheapskate!" The supervisor admonished him.

"So you're affirming that the tournament is a cover up." Logan interjected.

"No!" The supervisor pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Just let them pass." Patricia suggested. "We have nothing to hide."

Supervisor Penumbra signalled the security guards to allow them entry. Souls Penumbra allowed Patricia, Logan, Alexander and Tr inside, Ruben was about to enter but S Penumbra signalled them to keep Ruben out, the supervisor entered and warned them to not keep Ruben out of their sight.

Logan, Alexander and Tr searched the room through every nook and cranny while the drone recorded. They spotted the open safe and the switch, only a blank check was there.

"Nothing." Logan uttered.

Tr looked at two medium sized golden trophies with a gem embedded in each one. "This is what they're gonna give to the winner?" Tr scoffed before he held one of the trophies.

"Put it back where you found it." Logan said in a bored tone, not bothering to look at Tr. Instead of doing what his leader told him, he took a selfie with his smartphone, then put the trophy back where he found it.

Logan took out the books, portfolios and pamphlets then ordered his teammates to move the bookshelf.

What are they doing? They won't find anything back there. S Penumbra thought to herself before they saw a crevice neatly lined up at the wall before Logan scanned it as the measurements were registered and archived.

Patricia gave a genuine smile when Logan opened the passageway she was looking for. "Is the drone recording this?" Logan asked as Alexander went to check on it.

"Yes!"

"Do you see anything?" Tr asked loudly. Logan had walked into the passageway as he turned on the flashlight of his mobile device.

"Yeah, looks like small shaft in here." Logan responded as he moved forward as he saw cables and beams in the corners of the passageway. I can finally search for the hotspot.

🏛

Faim ran to the receptionist, fortunately, he found Goung while he returned to the reception. "Goung!" Faim shouted though the other receptionists were busy to pay attention to him. "Goung!" Geoffrey heard Faim shout while Goung had sat down on the desk, looking for any remains of Buid's possessions. "Goung!" Faim shouted the third time. Geoffrey walked up to Goung while the older receptionist put Buid's belongings in a box, "Goung, someone's calling you."

"Let him wait a little longer." Goung said before Faim came into the reception.

"Goung." Faim called as the receptionists heard him.

"Who let him in here?" Vilma asked her.

"Wasn't me." Alma responded as she looked at the petit brunette while she covered her elven ears.

"Patricia and Samoht aren't here, and Buid got fired, then that leaves--" Geoffrey trailed while Goung cleared Buid's desk.

"Akane." Alma interjected.

"Why me!?" Akane let out a whine.

"You could've locked the door." Vilma suggested in an accusatory tone.

"As if that stopped a fighter from coming in here." Akane spoke rapidly, exposing her Japanese accent.

"Have you seen my sister anywhere?" Faim asked him.

"Is it the girl with the headscarf?" Goung asked him.

"Yes, that's her." Faim replied.

"I saw her asking Geoffrey a while ago." Goung responded.

"Yeah, she saw Buid leave the reception and she asked me about the job. She wanted to fill in as a caretaker." Geoffrey mentioned. "I informed her that the position was full. Then I sent her to the manager's office for the manager to interview her."

"Where is the office?" Faim asked.

"It's on the 4th floor. You'll find the manager tag next to the door." Geoffrey informed him while Faim turned to leave.

"Thanks." Faim gave a tap on Geoffrey's shoulder before the smaller blonde winced from the slap just as Faim walked out of the reception.

"Not every Venusian is a predator, Micah." Stella retorted.

"Don't pull the racism card on me!" The Amoebian countered. "You're using that as a smoke screen for me to drop it. Well guess what!? I won't! You're putting your trust in the wrong people and I won't stand for it!"

"Like who? The Raptors?" Stella asked rhetorically.

"Yes!" Micah replied, stating the obvious.

"You are being racist!" Stella gasped then pointed at her.

"You daft nematode! How many times do I have to tell you to keep your distance!" Micah bellowed, then gritted her teeth while she controlled her agitated breath. "I warned you about Carina, I had my suspitions but nooooooooo—I was being judgemental, I was acting paranoid." Micah fumed before Stella saw the Amoebian openly mock her and her southern bell accent. "We can trust her. She's part of our team. Carina can help us complete the encrypted coding for the GenomeCollider and secure it," then Micah snapped, yelling, "AND LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW!" Some of the onlookers were watching them while Stella felt secondhand embarrassment. "This is the nonsense I wanted to avoid in the first place, but you don't listen to me. It's as if you're deliberately testing my patience. What else does it have to happen for you to believe me!?" Micah said with a desperate lilt.

"Don't you think I know that already!? I understand why you're upset, but you don't have to blame me for everything. I know that this case is driving us crazy, but not everyone is an usurper, Micah. We came here to take our minds off Carina and the investigation. I want to find her just as much as you do." Stella reprimanded her.

María, the maid, put the chicken breasts and pigeon peas to boil as he made a phone call to contact Tony. In the pocket dimension where they were held hostage, Simon heard Tony's phone ring. He had tried to remove the collar for over half an hour, he ran his fingers through every inch of the malleable semi-solid band as his fingers prodded for an opening, a wedge, a link, anything to break the acursed collar while his son was in a slumber. He released the contraption to search through Tony's pockets while the phone rang loudly. If it wasn't for that miserable wizard, I wouldn't be trapped here in the first place. I would've teleported out of here without the need to use a phone. Simon had to turn Tony's lower body manually to get the phone on his back pocket since his powers were blocked. As he took the sports car themed phone case from Tony's pocket, he accepted the call to listen to the other line of the phone.

"Tony, I'm making dinner, do you want anything?" María asked over the phone before she heard a snore before Simon turned off the phone, then pocketed it inside the blazer before the portal opened to reveal Warlin's wrinkled face and grey beard. His face looked much larger and magnified as the creases and pores on his face were much more prominent since the captive Venusians were shrunk down by the size of a cockroach.

"I heard a faint ringtone." Warlin spoke in a neutral tone, though his voice was four decibels louder.

"Either your hearing must be failing, or this pocket dimension being soundproof was a complete lie." Simon spoke loudly for the wizard to hear while he crossed his arms, he glaring behind his sunglasses despite the dim lighting.

Simon's voice sounded high-pitched from what the wizard could hear. Warlin widened the opening of the portal to see the captives closely. "You are acting quite complacent for a prisoner."

"I won't waste my energy over an accesory." Simon said, tapping the collar briefly. Tony stirred as he let out a yawn. The wizard found nothing suspitious as of yet, so he sealed the portal.

Faim had looked on the room tags on the doors until he found the manager's office. As he reached for the doorknob, he heard his sister conversing with another woman. He opened the door to see Eimy talking to a thin woman with tawny skin and with round glasses. "Nour could use some extra hands around the infirmary." Mia mentioned before she saw Faim open the door.

"So when will I start?" Eimy asked.

"You can start tonight, that's when Kira will bring the medical supplies.

"Thanks." Eimy stood up and smiled at the manager while she walked out of the door. Eimy gave stern glare at Faim as she exited the office.

"What?" Faim gave a confused reaction as she hastily walked a couple of steps.

At the bottom floor, the Beauchamp brothers were inspecting the vacuum. The vacuum had a logo with two halves of the letter M meshed together to make the center look like a small x. The brand of the vacuum was manifactured by Mehrkens Merchandise. The electrodomestic had other attachments and slots that could be inserted, though each piece was sold separately.

"Cabello could use one of these at his barber shop," Ximo commented as he saw the other pieces that were written on the box, "though I don't see the point of having a soap dispenser."

"This product is mostly aimed for the female demographic that likes to keep their homes clean. I saw one of these things on one of the catalogues that Cate has on the coffee table. If I bought the whole set, she could use it to groom her cat." Uiwo commented before he used his index and middle fingers to move like a pair of scissors.

Sora entered into the office as the host finished writing an invitation, while she folded the vellum paper. "Um, hi." Sora spoke before she took a seat.

"Good afternoon. Do you want anything?" The host asked as she put the letter inside the desk.

"Yes, I would like to participate in the Redemption Round." Sora requested while she saw the host take out a form and a pen.

She read the terms and conditions in partaking the match, one of them being unable to drop out. Sora held the pen and scrawled her initials on the form.

"See you tonight at 8." The host said, despite that Sora already knew when the fight would take place. "Good luck."The participant returned the pen and form to the host before she exited the office.

Natalie surveyed to make sure she didn't have any intdrruptions before opening the drawer to take out the letter and an orange envelope with golden accents. The host wrote the address on the envelope before putting the invitation inside of it and licked the adhesive of the to close the envelope. Now to find a stamp. She rummaged throught the drawers to find the stamps, then she remembered that she put the stamp along with the office supplies in the next room. She unlocked the door that was 3ft away from the bookshelf, the enclosed room was full of miscellaneous printing supplies. A printer, a stack of blank papers, posters, flyers, two agendas, rulers of various shapes and sizes, sketch pads, tracing pads, pens, markers, pencils, note pads. When she found the stamps next to the roll of stickers, and sticky notes. She took out a stamp that had an image of a monument and put it on the envelope, then took out a pen shaped wand as she walked to a metal door to trace a curved n which looked more like a gate that opened the hidden passageway. The host stepped through it to send the letter.

Haeji looked at the her brother's locket, it was a golden locket with swirls around the edges and the letter “F” engraved in the middle.

"What is taking them so long?" Ruben interrogated the guards while they had their arms crossed, Sara glaring straight at him.

"That's classified information." Sajid replied derisively.

"Whatever." Ruben turned his heel and headed to the administration, preferably to get back his refund. Haeji glared at Ruben as he walked away wearing the uniform.

"We already have the locket. Let's get outta here." Mochi meowed, Haeji looked at the corner of her eye to see the guards standing there.

"You're right," Haeji then looked at Mochi, "let's get outta here." She walked out of the restricted hallway and headed to the infirmary. Juuzou entered the infirmary to get his wounded arm checked.

"Hello?" Juuzou asked as he looked around the room, meanwhile Haeji held the locket and entered the room next to it.

"Joon, I got the locket back. Hyeong?" Haeji asked as she brought the locket.

"Haesang." Joon smiled weakly, "C'mere." His little sister put the locket on his chest while she laid next to him. "You know that I love you, right?"

"알아 [al-a]" Haeji hugged him. "I know."