A familiar tuft of blonde hair tucked under a cap could be seen nearby. Lucas ran up to the group of four, huffing and puffing when he skidded to a stop right in front of Angel.

"Lucas?" Angel asked, prompting Nadia to look at them. Lucas was clearly dying, and Angel's just standing there.

"You guys...you guys remember me then..." Lucas huffs, finally regaining some air in his lungs. "Well, that makes me regret my own brain capacity...What're your names again? Other than Angel, of course."

"Oh. I'm Nadia."

"Musa."

"Zinx."

"Got it, they're certainly easier to remember now." Lucas straightens up. "Listen, about what happened on Route 4...I want to apologize on Lucy's behalf."

"Hold up, what?" Nadia asked, surprised.

"It may have been an outburst on her part, but what Angel did only added to the stress Mabel had on her shoulders. You see...they're both a bit rough around the edges...mostly Mabel, though." Lucas explained.

"Oh. Why's that?" Nadia asked.

"Mabel has some family-related issues, but..." Lucas shakes his head. "I'd think Mabel would want to tell you herself when she feels comfortable about it. But anyway. You're here to challenge the Theatre, right? I saw you three on TV, the battles at Heiwa Village. Two medals are pretty impressive already to me." Lucas exclaimed.

"Actually, I'm not challenging the theatre," Zinx corrected, but everyone else ignored him.

"So what about you? What are you doing out here? Where are Mabel and Lucy?" Musa asked, looking around to catch a glimpse of the other two that were usually with the blonde.

"Me? I was out on a snack run for Mabel and Lucy while they grab tickets to watch the challenge live." He held up a bag of Power Bagels. "I just hope they'll be fine with these instead of sushi..."

Just then, Mabel and Lucy exited the doors to the Battle Theatre, Mabel a little frustrated. She spots Lucas talking to Nadia and Angel.

"Hey Lucas! There you are," Mabel runs up to them, Lucy trailing somewhat behind. "Where have you been, and why are you talking to these losers?" She points to Angel specifically, but is really talking about everyone in the group.

"Sorry, Mabel..." Lucas apologized, thumbing the straps of the plastic bag. "I got you and Lucy some Power Bagels before the show."

"Power Bagels?!" Lucy shouted. "We said we wanted sushi!"

"I'm sorry! But the sushi stick didn't look very sanitary, and..."

"No excuses! Seriously, this is just great," Mabel huffed, more indignant than ever. "Not only is the Battle Theatre closed, but you got us the wrong snacks too!"

Lucas looked surprised at the statement. "Oh, it's closed? Why?"

"The ticket dork said the Battle Star is off at POLUT Corp. getting some of her cyber gear tuned." Mabel replies.

"Apparently she goes there the same time every week to make sure her gear always has the latest updates." Lucy added.

"Oh right. She needs to stop doing that..." Zinx muttered. "It's freaking annoying."

"Really? That's why the Theatre's closed?" Nadia pondered aloud. "What's the cyber gear for, anyway?"

Zinx pulled an earpiece from his items. "It's like these," He said, clipping the earpiece on his right ear. "These help enhance a person's normal life, benefiting the body while preventing harm from it. Since then, the people of Sepharite City never went sick again." He stuck visor-like glasses on his nose, similar to the ones Kor had.

"Oh, so because you're a Sepharite resident, you have those things that basically turn you invincible, got it." Nadia deadpanned, and Zinx pulled the cyber tech off his face.

"Yeah, but I don't typically use it outside of Sepharite. I don't plan on doing that anytime soon anyway, considering we're not going to be here long." Zinx placed the items back in his watch.

"That's really cool! And POLUT Corp. sounds really interesting to explore too, right?" Lucas exclaimed, green eyes lighting up at the thought of a futuristic company.

"POLUT Corp does sound like it would be cool to visit," Mabel muses. "I heard that it has very recently been designing and manufacturing new Loomians to take care of the city."

Lucas looks surprised at this. "No way! How does that even work?"

"Who knows?" Zinx replied. "I mean, Mom and Dad never say anything either, anyway. And I don't think you can really find out unless you go tour the place."

Lucas still looks in awe though. "That sounds really cool."

And then he exclaims that he has an idea. "How about we all go take a tour of POLUT Corp. together?"

He turns to Nadia. "Would you want to come with us, guys?"

"Hold on, Lucas!" Mabel interrupts. "I'm okay with going on a tour of POLUT Corp., but why are you inviting them?" She points at Angel again, but is still talking about the group as a whole.

"Oh come on, Mabel!" Lucas protested. "It won't hurt to let some others tag along just this one time, will it? Plus, three of em have two medals already, and they're planning on challenging the Sepharite Battle Theatre. Isn't that cool?"

"Actually, I already did." Zinx corrected again, but people ignore him.

"Two medals, huh?" Mabel turns to Nadia. "Well, let's make a deal then. If Nadia can beat you and Lucy in a battle, then they can come with us."

Lucas sighs. "Seriously, Mabel?"

"Zip it Lucas!" Mabel barks back.

"I'm up for it." Lucy says. "I could use some more practice."

"Alright, fine." Lucas gives in. "I'll go first then." He then turns to Nadia. "As much as I want you to come with us, I hate losing battles even more. May the best trainer win!"

Lucas had gotten somewhat stronger, being able to take on Felver this time with a new addition to his party, Burroach. However, his strategy was still flimsy, and Nadia won the battle.

After defeating Lucas, he says, "Whoa. I forgot how tough you were. I wasn't taking it easy on you so you could come with us, either."

"Not bad." Mabel commented. "Now let's see how you do against Lucy."

"Alright, you're on." Lucy says.

Lucy also got stronger, finally incorporating proper training and strategy and gaining a new Loomian named Whimpor. However, her training had been off, and she was beaten as well.

After defeating Lucy, she apologizes to Mabel for not being strong enough despite trying her hardest.

"Well. I hate to admit it but you're not too bad in battle." Mabel says to Nadia.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Does that mean they can come with us?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, we agreed on it, didn't we?" Mabel replied. "Well, we're not standing around here all day. You know where the entrance to POLUT Corp. is right? We'll wait for you outside their main office building. Don't keep us waiting."

Lucas cheered and bid them farewell as they left. Angel looked at her older cousin.

"Are you sure they changed?" She asked when they were out of earshot.

"Well, I don't know exactly, but Lucas wanted to apologize...so something must've come up." Nadia clarified. "Even Mabel was relenting when she made that deal with Lucas."

"Well, I guess we'll find out on the tour," Musa suggested, already walking back up the ramp. "Let's go! We don't want to keep them waiting."

Nadia nodded and dragged along a reluctant Zinx and a skeptical Angel.

When they went through the front door to POLUT Campus, Nadia spotted Mabel and the siblings in front of them. "Hey!" She shouts, getting Mabel's attention and they turned around.

"Took you long enough." She huffed.

"Yay, you made it!" Lucas smiled. "I called ahead and someone will be waiting for us to give a tour."

Lucy's face lights up. "I want to see how they make those cute little Loomians!"

Zinx just sighs.

"They aren't cute, Lucy." Both he and Mabel deadpan.

"They're mostly there to try keeping the place clean." Zinx continued. "They'd probably mostly be rusted with bits of trash here and there. Not cute, if you ask me."

"I know that, but I still think they're cute." Lucy pouted.

Mabel pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing in exasperation. "Alright, well, if we're all here, then let's go on in."

"Hey, wait a minute, I know you."

A familiar voice interrupts them as they took off towards the building. Everyone turned to see the boy from the cave.

"Long time no see!" He brings up a hand in greeting but still keeps a neutral face on.

"You're Nadia, right? We met in the cave on Route 3."

"Yeah, I remember." Nadia replies.

"Sorry about that whole ordeal by the way. I wasn't quite feeling myself." His mouth curves up in a small smile. "I hope we can put that behind us and try again?"

"Yeah, don't worry bout it, it's all in the past."

"Oh, good." He visibly relaxed some. "Um. Musa, right? I hope we can be friends too."

"Yeah, that's fine!"

"And, um...Zinx." He glances at the other boy. "I haven't really met you or Angel, but..."

"Yeah, I'm fine with that." Zinx interrupted him. "Whatever it was you did before is in the past, don't dwell on it now."

The boy smiles a little wider. "You're certainly different in this world, huh..." He mumbled.

"What?"

Suddenly Mabel pushes past Nadia to stand right in front of the nameless trainer. "Hey Nadia, who's your friend?" She asked, voice wavering for a second.

Oh. Dear god no.

"I haven't introduced myself. Right. Well, nice to meet you all, I'm Jake."

Jake. That name sounds really familiar, but Nadia couldn't place a finger on it. From what she can see though, Zinx was also thinking the same thing, from the pondering look on his face.

"And what about you guys?" He asks the others.

Mabel introduced herself, Lucy, and Lucas for them.

Lucas was really worried now. "Mabel? Are you feeling alright?"

Mabel doesn't hear him, instead talking to Jake. "So you know this loser too, huh? What's a guy like you hanging around Nadia?" She asked, prompting an indignant "Hey!" from said girl.

Jake looks bewildered. "Uh. We haven't ever actually hung out, technically. We only met once and battled. And as much as I hate to admit it, I lost. We went our separate ways after that." He clarified.

"Oh, so you're a trainer too." Mabel commented, light blush on her cheeks. "My friends and I are all trainers."

"YEAH RI—" before Angel could finish, Mabel had kicked her in the leg.

"SO, what brings you out here, Jake?" Mabel asks, not even bothering to check if Angel is alright.

"Well, I came to check out POLUT Corp. HQ. Word has it they are leagues ahead of the rest of the world in technological advancements. I was hoping they would help me with a certain...predicament." He finished cautiously.

"No way! We were about to take a tour of the HQ too!" Mabel exclaimed. "Why don't you come along with us?"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Musa yelled.

Lucas is now even MORE concerned. "Did Mabel seriously just invite a complete stranger on her own?" He muttered.

"Looks just like it." Lucy replied in a monotone voice, also worried for their friend.

"A tour?" Jake inquired. "Yeah, that would work perfectly." He nodded. "It'll allow me to check out the place thoroughly."

Mabel giggled at the statement. "Oh Jake, you're so funny. We're going to be great friends, I can tell. "

Nadia wants to walk away from them as fast as possible. It's so cringey for some reason...

Even Jake looked uncomfortable at that. "Oh, haha, okay..." He managed.

"Well, lets not just stand around out here. Let's go inside and get our tour started." Lucas interrupted, finally ending the suffering.

"Yeah, finally!" Lucy exclaimed. "Cute Loomians, here we come!"

And then everyone entered the building.