We Are Similar

Change in Venue

"I-Is this really okay, Olivia?" Eva asked nervously as the car parked in front of a rather large house.

"It's fine. If you went back to that fortress, you would get caught." The brunette replied as she hopped off.

"Seriously, thanks though." Niara said, stretching her limbs. "We haven't exactly eaten much since we got here."

"Will your mom be okay with Mizel with us?" Kirito asked, feeling unusually worried.

"What they don't know won't hurt them."

~~~~~

"They're not here...?" Ami asked as she looked around. Light peeked through the dusty curtains of the fortress as dawn settles in.

"No, they were here, but they must've abandoned the place." Kazuya clicked his tounge in annoyance.

"But how did they know we were coming?" Hiro asked as he glanced at each of his friends' faces.

"Mizel probably hacked into surveillance and listened in on our plan." Ran huffed angrily. She was upset that they couldn't find Eva, but even more than that, she felt an immense amount of anxiety about meeting Mizel again. She, Hiro and Ban nearly died the last time they faced each other. Even if Eva's there as a 'limiter', she still couldn't help but worry.

"That's not unlikely." Jin sighed. "But I think it's a lot more simpler than that. Eva and I know each other extremely well after all..."

"I still can't believe they're doing this." Ban muttered. "But if you think about how Eva must've felt then... I couldn't see it not happening either..."

"Let's continue searching." Professor Yamano placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "We might not find them, but we could find something else that would help us. There is no guarantee that Mizel won't turn rogue again, and if he does, we're going to need all we could get."

"We've already checked every floor though." Sendou said with arms crossed.

"Yeah. And all the secret passages Jin told us about too." Gouda grunted leaning against a wall. Or he tried to. When he leaned, he ended up losing his balance and his back fell on the other side.

"G-Gouda!" Ban and the other rushed to his aid.

The green haired boy sat up and his face phased through the wall. "What the hell..."

"Gouda, you just found antoher passage!" Ami said, smiling brightly.

"I didn't know grandfather had this." Jin stated, eyes narrowing. "This wasn't always a hologram... That, I know for sure."

"Or maybe it is but it covered some kind of door." Kazuya said, phasing his arm through it.

"You could be right." Jin nodded. "But if that's the case, the door must've been closed for a really long time. Not once had I ever seen anyone come in or out. Why would it be open now?"

"Maybe Eva and the others found it while they were still here." Hiro suggested.

"In any case, let's check it out." Prof. Yamano took out his phone and made a called. "Yagami, we'll be taking a little while longer. We found another passage."

'Another one?' The red head said from the other side. 'That's strange. The entire time I was there, I only know the ones that Jin had mentioned about.'

"It appears Jin was the same."

'.. Understood. In that case, I'll contact Takuya and tell him about this development. Professor Oozora is currently continuing on her side of the plan while LCW and Kusanagi are keeping watch.'

"I see. Thank you." Putting his phone back in his coat's pocket, he nodded at the rest. "Alright, let's go."

~~~~~

The passage was long and had many branches. They had split up twice now, but always ended up on the same track with nothing in hand. The lights were dim but enough to help them see. It was completely quiet, until they saw light coming from the end of the passage. They started hearing the sounds of gears turning.

"Is it some kind of machine?" Ran asked.

"Could be the power core of the entire building..." Jin said in deep thought. "No, wait, that's in the lower levels... This is... I really don't know what this is..."

"Then let's find out." Hiro led the group towars the light, and soon, they found themselves facing a large computer screen.

It took up nearly half of the entire wall in front of them and it was surrounded by even more screens. They approached the computer and checked for any signs of life.

"It won't turn on." Prof. Yamano sighed.

"A wire..." Jin's eyes trailed from the side to somewhere behind the control desk it was on. He bent down below the large screen and blinked. "There's an LBX here."

"What?" Gouda bent down beside him. "Oh hey, yeah! There is! But I don't think I've seen that model before..."

Glancing at it again, Jin asked, "Should we take it with us-"

'Protocol 472, Activate.'

The LBX's eyes glowed as it spoke and the computer turned on. The smaller screens opened up and shot out mechanic arms, all capturing the Seekers.

"W-wha..?!" Ran struggled to get herself free, as did the others. But the more they struggle, the tighter the grip on them was.

The computer's screen showed many pictures and files. It appeared to be scanning them for what they knew. The LBX was automatically disconnected from the wire and it hopped on to the desk.

'I apologize for the inconvenience. I was ordered to guard this place regardless of who the intruders are.' The LBX spoke again.

"... The LBX was the one talking?" Sendou blinked.

"Someone probably implanted an AI into it." Prof. Yamano stated. He looked at each of the kids, making sure they're alright, before turning back to the LBX. "I know for a fact that I didn't design you. And I know that other companies didn't either or I would've gotten at least a look at the model. Do you have a designation?"

'S-1-R-1-U-S, a.k.a. Sirius.' The robot replied. 'However, I am obliged to not mention my creator's name. You will meet him quite soon anyway.'

Prof. Yamano froze, but then went into thought. "Sirius... That sounds familiar..."

~~~~~~~~~~

My head's actually getting sorted out and now I know how I want this entire thing to go. THANKS A LOT RANDOM DREAM THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE!!