"Error's here?!" Terumi gasped.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Yuujin groaned. 

"Less complaining, more moving! Let's go!" Akinori snapped to his maroon-haired friend as he rushed off. "Where are you, Ben-nii?!" 

"Near the school- STAY AWAY FROM HER!" 

"I'm guessing you're finally joining the fight?" Sarah's tone was completely sarcastic. 

"Very very funny," he shot back.

"Tch..." They could hear Error snarl from Ben's end. 

Ryder bit his lip, but followed them anyway. He knew that eventually, he would have to face this scar from his past. It was just inevitable.

A hand made its way to his shoulder, making him turn to see Ranto, who had a concerned look on his face, "You okay?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Just stay back with Steven-san. It's better off that way." 

"... Okay then, if you say so," he relented. Maybe next time. 

Ranto chuckled, and said, "See you then." before he ran off, leaving him behind. 

"Please stay safe," he whispered quietly. 

"They will," a hand placed itself onto his shoulder as his boyfriend smiled gently. "You just have to trust in them."

"I know, Steven. It's just that.... He's not to be underestimated. He was Mayor Humdinger, sure, but that was just a mask to hide his true self," he said. 

"They know that, so trust them and stay out of trouble," Steven assured him. 

"Okay then..." he smiled gently, gripping his hands. "Thanks Steven." 

"Hey, it's okay," the hybrid waved it off. He was worried too, but he also trusted the team to deal with it. 

His trust wasn't unfounded, but by the time they got there, Error was nowhere to be seen. 

"Huh?" Keisuke voiced out their thoughts. "What the heck?" 

"You took too long," Sarah scoffed. "And I got help from Class 1A."

Eri waved excitedly, while Rōzu looked away, trying to hide the slight blush over the compliment. Tamashiro just rolled his eyes, yet there was a tint of red on his own face. 

"They're quite strong," Ben chuckled. "Well? What about the bombs?" 

"I think Steven should be done by now," Yuujin hummed. "So it's cool." 

"Well, that's all in a day's work, I suppose," Pori smiled. 

"Point taken, but Sarah's always doing the hard work," Fubuki sweatdropped. 

"Technically she also causes us a lot of trouble at times, so it's balanced," Ben shrugged. 

"But she's also valiant," Rosie smiled. "I like that about her." 

"Same here!" Namhui nodded. 

"It's a nice feeling, alright," Ayame grinned. 

Ben laughed and ruffled Sarah's hair as he said, "That's my daughter for you!" 

The three high school students blinked. 

They looked at Sarah, then at Ben. 

After a while, it clicked for them. 

"EEEEEEEEHHHHH!?! YOU'RE RELATED!?" 

"She's my daughter," Ben shrugged. "Adopted, course." 

"..... Oh. That makes sense."

The others just burst out laughing. It felt nice to be able to joke around after a long battle.