Noticing their presence, the Killer Droid expanded its field and trapped them all in its cage. Now, with Hiro and Ran in the battle, Ban tried to fuse with them, but the Killer Droid kept them separated. They could only assume that its AI learnt from their previous battle in Brinton.

Jessica and Jin made a point to cover them. Kazu informed them about the droid's weakness, the cords on its feet. "If you attack those, its movements get dull!"

"Roger!"

After Vampire Cat's attack, Jeanne D, Pandora, and Achilles Deed used their guns to keep the enemy occupied. Jin ordered for a focused attack, Triton, Liu Bei, and Twilight aiming for the legs with their short ranged weapons. The Killer droid used the blade on its tail to block the assault, but it was clear it was taking damage. It couldn't keep up for long and was soon on its knees.

"Now! Sigma Orbis!" Elysion was first to get into position, Perseus and Minerva following shortly after.

The three LBXs fused, and with Sigma Drive Sword, they were able to destroy the creature a second time. The field around them disappeared and they stepped forward, close enough to surround the bandaged man, but far enough to avoid any other traps.

"Lex, it's your loss." Ban stated.

The man scoffed. "We will meet again." He pulled on a lever on his wheelchair and it drove back, going down a hidden passage.

"Lex!"

"Ban!" Before the brunette could go after him, his father reminded him why they were there. "Right now, stopping Paradise is more important."

"Okay." He headed to the top of the bridge, but just as he was about to use Elysion to hack into the data, another voice interrupted him.

"Wait." A familiar blue haired woman appeared. "If a foreign influence attempts to modify Future Hope's controls, the system will go into lockdown mode."

"Mom!" Hiro had a wide smile as she approached.

Her head turned to the other scientist. "I am Oozora Haruka. I was requested by Omega Dain to develop Adam and Eve, AI programs that were equipped in Paradise."

"So you're Professor Oozora, the creator of the world famous artificial intelligences?"

Oozora Haruka? Eva blinked as she stared at the woman. She was sure she's heard that name before. It was even more confusing to her when she caught her returning her surprised gaze.

She immediately turned away and returned her attention to the man that addressed her. "Professor Yamano, not too long ago, I shut Adam and Eve's functions down. If we take Paradise' controls here, we should be able to cease all its military functions."

"Why did you throw away the fruits of your precious production?"

"Hiro helped me realize the error of my ways. I was a fool for letting that man use me, thinking I could research as much as I wanted."

"That man?"

~~~~~

This is so I can complete Cylops AI as soon as possible...!

The blonde repeated that thought over and over, determined beyond all else. The Russian was behind him, eyes still blank as she stared at his back.

How long had he known? How much does he know? And most importantly, "Why did you show me that?" When he didn't respond, she clicked her tongue. "You could at least tell me what good you hoped would come out of showing me. What were you expecting me to do?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" He finally responded.

"Obviously. If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking."

He turned to face her, immediately making eye contact. Once he confirmed she was being serious, he turned away again, grunting. "You would've figured it out even without my help." He walked a bit further away before continuing. "You knew from the start that they were dead. That whole business you have with Worthen is a farce you're letting him take advantage of. You don't have anywhere to go, so you never tried to leave."

She nearly froze at that. "You're... Just how much do you know about me?"

"More than enough." He sighed. "You're not stupid, Levanov. You know full well Worthen isn't a good of a man as you think."

"If you're so sure of that, then why take up his offer?"

"It's a business deal. It's a different connection than what you have." He sent her a smirk before turning to the door in front of him. "I'm coming in." He headed into the room and looked around. He clicked his tongue. "Not here, huh?"

When he turned around to leave, he went face to face with the Russian again, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were wide in shock as she stared at something behind him. Following her gaze, his expression matched hers at the sight of the body sprawled behind the desk.

~~~~~

Professor Oozora explained everything to them. About the part of the plans she knew, and who was involved. That includes the one in charge, Alfred Gardyne. They informed Director Kaios, who was already at the President's office, so that NICS could capture him and put him to justice. All that's left, was to cut off the controls for Paradise from Future Hope, which the blue haired woman was able to do.

"So that means Paradise can't shoot out lasers anymore." Kazu stated.

Ban nodded. "Thank goodness."

"Mom-" Hiro stopped and his shoulders became stiff.

The brunette sensed that something was wrong. "What's wrong, Hiro?"

A hand went to his head. "I... saw one again."

Ran went up to him in worry. "Like what happened back at Cairu?"

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

"I saw the president and director."

Jessica was immediately on edge. "Papa?"

"They were trapped inside some building, and then there was an explosion..."

"So papa and the president got wrapped up in the explosion?"

"That's all I know. All I saw were a parabolic antenna and a dome-like building below it. There was a pillar to support the antenna..."

The rest stared at him in wonder, Kazu being first to speak up. "Ban, what's he talking about?"

"Hiro has some sort of power that lets him predict the future."

"Eh?!"

The adults turned to each other. "He had that kind of ability?"

"Maybe... I had no idea."

"A parabolic antenna and a dome..." Jessica's eyes widened in realization and she took Cobra's tablet, searching up a specific image. "Hiro, is this it?"

He ran over and gave a nod. "Yes, It was that dome!"

"I knew it..."

"Um, where is this?"

"Country A's National Defense HQ." The blonde pulled out her CCM to make a call.

"The National Defense HQ?!"

"Why were the president and director in there?" Ban asked.

"That's strange..." Cobra added. "They should be in the president's office."

Jessica's eyes held even more worry as she lowered her device. "It's not going through. I can't reach papa. Something must've happened! Maybe they couldn't capture Gardyne. But the National Defense HQ... Why are they there?"

"The National Defense HQ has a satellite management center." Professor Oozora spoke up, surprising them. "From there you can control any satellite that was manufactured by Country A. Only a handful of people know of it. It's highly classified information."

"Since when did they implant that sort of thing...?" Professor Yamano's eyes were wide. Apparently, even he wasn't fully aware of the situation, despite finding so much information while being Detector.

"By 'any satellite', that includes Paradise." Jin stated, making the mood worse if possible.

"Future Hope's control center was simply made by Omega Dain, specifically for Paradise." Professor Oozora continued to explain. "You could rather say that the main controls are in the satellite management center."

Ban's eyes narrowed. "So we can't just stop it from here...?"

"Wait, so this is what happened: ..." Cobra began to list them out one at a time. "The director ended up being captured instead of Gardyne, and is being held hostage along with the president. And now Gardyne is going to bring them to and take over the satellite management center, and reactivate Paradise."

"But why did he need to hold them hostage?" Jessica asked, the worry never once leaving her.

"In order to use the satellite management center, he needs the president's verified identification code. That's probably why." Professor Oozora informed.

"So Gardyne hasn't given up on controlling Paradise yet." Jin muttered. From beside him, Eva was getting a strange feeling of déjà vu.

Professor Yamano turned back to the woman. "How can we stop him?"

"If he restarts Paradise from the satellite management center, we won't be able to stop it from here anymore."

"Let's go to the National Defense HQ!" Ban immediately suggested. "We have to save the president and the director! And we'll make sure Paradise doesn't activate again!"

~~~~~

"Mom..! Dad...?" The eight year old girl was trudging through knee-deep snow. "Where are you?!" She had to be strong, she had to be. She reminded herself over and over to never give in. That's what she had been taught about hunting and tracking. She had to find her way back home.

Despite that, she knew her body had reached its limit. The cold was seeping in through her clothes and she could feel a bit of a frostbite coming in. And with one last look at the white path in front of her, she collapsed.

Truth be told, she wasn't expecting to ever wake up again after all that, but she did. All because that man saved her. She was grateful, she really was. Which was why it hurt so much when she read that report. He knew her parents were dead all along and yet, he continued to lie. Whether it was for her own good or for his, she'll never know. Because that man was now dead, just like her parents.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. What I have to do know is find the truth. Then I'll fix this mess. But what then? Dread churned in her stomach when that question came.

Her gaze went to the blonde who she had followed. She was now sitting in a corner, watching him as he continued his research on his monitor. He hadn't tried to push her away or kicked her out since she came. Why he was being nice was a mystery to her, but she didn't dare question it. If he's willing to keep her around, then she's not taking chances at losing a third home.

"I've finally found you, Gardyne." He muttered, a devious smirk forming. "So he brought the president and the NICS' director with him, huh? Someone's starting to get desperate. But what's he going to do in the National Defense Headquarters?"

Niara had to refrain from commenting on the previous part. After all, Kirito himself was desperate about his own project too. She tried not to stare as he went to the android and knelt before it.

He gave a small smile. "I'm leaving now."

The android looked up at him. "See you... later... Kirito."

He got up and turned to the door. "I have to get the perfect brain soon...!"

He didn't bother to address the Russian as he walked past her, but she got up and followed him out anyway. They never liked each other, but they both have similar targets. And if they had to work together to take them down, then so be it.