School of Elementals: World's End

Travel

"How the f*** did they permit us to fly?" John asked, as he got into the cockpit of his own plane.

"They have like really simple controls, but why are they entrusting us with planes? Last time I drove a golf cart I had the urge to commit drifting to no end." Keith said.

"I didn't know you could do that." Sakuya said, as she switched on the engine of her plane.

Each plane actually had only 1 seat, which was the pilot seat. The other seats had been removed from the small plane to accommodate numerous bombs. Keith said, "Based on what I'm seeing here, we have to fly our way to that city... What was the name again?"

"Yokohama, if I'm not mistaken." John said.

"Yeah, Yokohama. The GPS says that we're facing north at the moment, so we gotta make a turn to the right for a while. Actually, let's just do it in the air."

The three of them took off, Keith going first and the other two tailing behind him, and they made a turn to the right the moment they had reached quite a high altitude. "Hard to imagine the sky would still be blue. Sooner or later it'll become black." Sakuya said.

Keith had kept his hands on the steering stick when he found the autopilot button. He pressed it, and the stick moved itself as the plane moved in midair. "Hey guys," he said, "there's the autopilot button bear the altitude gauge."

They pressed it, and John asked, "What now?"

At that moment, the sound of something large approached them. Keith noticed it first, and said, "The f***'s a large battleship coming here for?"

A gate opened in front of it, and it scooped the three of them up before closing. They got out from their planes, and Sakuya said, "It looks lively here, but also kind of dusty. What exactly is this place?"

"A Canadian airship that was originally going to be used for the US. However, we saw you guys flying towards Japan, and you are none other than the 3 kids from Abilitia. So, we're helping you." a girl said.

They looked, and Keith immediately recognized the girl. A casual face like he remembered, long brown hair, wearing a skirt and holding a machine gun made of Dark. "Alexandra." he said.

"It's good to see you again, Keith. I have to say, your Karen Killer stuff really paid off, right?"

"Yup. These two are my friends- I mean, a friend and a cousin."

"Cousin?"

"Yep. I taught him how to throw knives." Sakuya said, walking forward."

"I have to say, she's more of a teacher than a cousin." Alexandra said, raising her machine gun in the air. "Either way, follow me. The boss wanted to see you."

She led the three through a series of orange-lit corridors and rooms until they got to a door that was bigger than the others. She took out a keycard, and swiped it on a nearby card reader. The doors slid to the side, and when they saw who was on the other side of the door, Sakuya frowned.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, kids." the person said. He had short, black hair, and was wearing a black coat that stretched towards his legs.

"Yeah, yeah, good to see you again, dad." she said.

The three of them were shocked by her words, and Keith said, "You're his daughter?"

"The same person who wanted me to become a maid and serve the house for years just like my older siblings? Yeah, he's the one."

"Now, now, relax, I'm not going to ask you to become a maid of this place. I'm here to make a plan, since we're all going to f***ing die sooner or later." her father said. "Alexandra, since you know one of them well, why not join us?"

"Sure." she said, stepping in. The doors closed once they were all inside, and John asked, "How long will it take for us to arrive there?"

"About 2 hours. We'll be ready by then."

"What's your plan, sir?" Keith asked.

"It's simple. The moment we get close to the perimeters of Yokohama, we release the plans and provide backup fire as you kids go straight for the black square, fighting it until it gets destroyed. Based on our research, it can manipulate time, so those who can manipulate time have a chance against it."

Keith took out the pocket watch that was originally Sakuya's, and thought, "How do I get the power to come out from here?"

"That's a good watch, kid, but I'm not sure if it's of use."

"It is, actually, I'm just trying to figure out how to release the power within it. Wait, I think I got it."

He touched John's shoulder as he stopped time, and found that the both of them could move. He then restarted time, and said, "If I touch a person while using this, they will be brought along with me in the realm of altered time."

"Wha?"

"Now, what else could we do with this? The enemy manipulates time, so wouldn't it cancel this thing out?"

"Actually, no." the boss said. He took out a device, and a ball. He waved the device around in a small circle, before bouncing the ball on the floor. The moment it touched the circle, it went perfectly still. "And if you use your watch..."

Keith activated the watch, and as time stopped, the effects of the device wore off, and the ball continued bouncing. He was surprised to learn this, and as he resumed time, the boss said, "Do you understand now, young man?"

"I supposedly do."

Right at that moment, Alexandra seemed to have sensed a little something, because she immediately pressed the side of her headphone and shouted, "Lower the ship!"

The force of the ship going down was felt by everyone as a laser only grazed the top of it. Keith asked, "How far are we from Yokohama?"

The boss hurriedly spoke a bit of Japanese on the radio, and said, "No more than 200 kilometers away. All Japanese units of Abilitia have been sent to the location."

"How the f*** did we travel so far in such a short amount of time?" John exclaimed.

"You should be asking how powerful the Glitching Matrix is, because it pulled us all the way here!" the boss also exclaimed, before shouting in his radio, "Prepare for emergency ejection!"

Turns out, numerous beams had hit the front of the ship, and now it was descending towards the city itself. Alexandra was in a state of panic, and Keith thought, "I can't stop time, that'll only make the beams hit the ship. What other plan do we have?" Suddenly, he had a way.

As the ship fell down, Keith broke the side window of the room they were in, and shouted, "Guys, stick to Sakuya! You remember the move Plunging Knife, right?!?"

She did remember it, and as everyone quickly grabbed her, she used the move and started dashing downwards. Meanwhile, Keith was still by the broken window, now looking at the sight of a shield around the Glitching Matrix, the Calamity of Time. He glanced at a knife in his hand, and said, "Why not?"

He used Plunging Knife, but instead of going downwards, he went in the direction of the enemy. It struck the shield, and as if it weren't the end of his attack, he stabbed the knife in the shield, making it pass through, and dragged it downwards along with his momentum. The impact from his landing should have killed him, but a yellow star-shaped platform was at his feet, and he saw a boy with pistols that had a star camo on them approach.

"Good to see you again, Keith."