Kirito threw his fourth rock at a puddle near by, splashing Asuka by accident... Also for the fourth time.

"Ugh!! Stop that! I'm bored too, but at least I'm not taking it out on other people!" She said, squeezing water out of her shirt again.

"They've been in there for forever!" Kageto huffed from deeper in the cave. "When do we get to join 'em?!"

"For the last time, we're not here to join them, Kageto." Mikhail sighed.

Vanessa scowled. "If we were, we would've gone in and out of here by now."

Before anyone could move in to stop them from a full arguement, Mikhail's PDA rang. When he answered, Takeru's face appeared.

His serious face turned into a frown. "Seriously? You guys are at it again?" He shook his head. "Nevermind. Anyway, reporting in, I finished checking about the Duck Shuttle. It turns out, the switch for Solar Mode was jammed, but I fixed it already. Should I head back?"

Mikhail turned to Kirito, the blonde man being in charge of the group. Turning to face the younger boy, he shrugged. "You're the second in command for them. It's your call."

"Got it." He nodded to his friend on the screen. "Keep guard on the Duck Shuttle and keep us updated on anything that happens. Stay on this channel so we can contact each other privately."

"Understood. Takeru, out."

The line went off and the cave became silent again.

Splash!

"KI. RI. TO."

Well, almost.

~~~~~

Jin stared at his pendant. It glistened in the light, showing the letters 'J x E' engraved on it. It was an early birthday present, given from her right before he left the first time for the island.

"It's special," she had said. "You have to keep it on you no matter what."

The smile she had on her face dismissed any questions about it. He had assumed it was just a memento, but now it seemed to be something more.

He knows she did something to it. It was right when she kissed him that he felt a chill around his neck. He didn't know what it was and when she let him go, the feeling was gone.

"Boy, we get it, she kissed you and you liked it." Niara said, rolling her eyes playfully.

He felt blood rushing upwards, but he kept his cool. "... That's not what I was thinking about."

"Sure it wasn't. You were all red and smiley just a second ago, so I'm sure it's not her."

Jin resisted the urge to facepalm. He really needed to control himself, now more than ever. This isn't the time, this is NOT the time... He kept telling himself.

Then, the sound of footsteps approached and the soldiers outside their cells switched with other soldiers. This has happened about three times since Bishop's visit. He doubted asking them why would work.

Every few hours or so, they'd switch guards, making all four of them more and more suspicious. If something was going to happen, they knew it would be soon.

~~~~~

Hannah nearly jumped at the knock on their door. She was about to reach for her helmet, before green light travelled from below the door and into the room.

The door made a clicking sound, indicating it was locked and as the light travelled around the walls, the listening device in the corner of their room seemed to be switched off.

Nikolai jolted awake from the desk and Muraku pulled them both away from the door, where the green light began to take shape.

Hannah's mouth was wide open. "... M1T...?"

The soldier stood before them, still as a rock. All of a sudden, his helmet disappeared along wih the rest of his suit. He took the form of his original self.

He didn't bother with their shocked expressions. "My name is Mizel, though I'm quite sure you know that already."

"The android terrorist who turned over a new leaf and lived his new life with Eva-san?" Nikolai recalled the story the Seekers told them about.

"I suppose that's the short version of it." He let out a small smile. "But I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to give you your orders for tomorrow."

"From Detector?" Muraku assumed.

"Not quite. It is from your ally."

"Our ally?" Hannah repeated. "So you're not the one who sent us that message?"

"Oh, I did send it. I wasn't the one who wrote it though." He had a mischievous look in his eyes. "All will be revealed when the time comes. We can't have you distracted while executing everyone's escape plan."

"By 'everyone' I assume you mean this ally, us, and the Seekers in the prison?" Muraku had a few doubts about him, but Hannah said she was sure he was the target, so he has to follow along.

"Along with your friends outside the headquarters." The android added, surprising them again. He held back his sigh and moved on to the orignal topic. "All you need to do is wait here for the signal and hide from anyone who's looking for you. Do not let a single soul know you are here until I say so."

The three exchanged glances before turning back to him. Nikolai spoke up. "So what's the signal? And what do we do afterwards?"

"By the time you get the signal, you'll know exactly what to do. You can have the adults explain what's next." Then, his eyes began to glow. His figure changed back to the soldier M1T form they knew. "That's all I have the time for. Take care, you three."

He unlocked the door with a simple touch, and right as he stepped out, the listening device came back to life. Not that the guards in the security room noticed anything, it's always quiet in their dorm room. And the three mentally thanked themselves for that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eldritch: Suggesting the operation of supernatural influences.