Everyone in the room looks towards the doorway, and they all know who it is. Jian says “Come in, Raphael. We figured you would be showing up soon.”
The door opens, and Raphael is standing on the other side, dressed in a Unimori School uniform. He walks into the room a moment later.
With a slight chuckle, Boz says “What? Not going to use the window this time?”
Raphael pays him no mind. Once he is in the center of the room, he crosses his arms and says “Well, it seems like Hoshi listened to what I had to say! Now, we have some preparations to do before the actual mission begins! If everyone will follow me to warehouse alley, please?”
Anyone in the room who wasn't standing up already gets to their feet and the entire room agrees to Raphael's suggestion. “Good.” Raphael says again “Let's get moving then, shall we?”
With a movement of his arm, Raphael turns around and begins walking out of the dorm room. They leave out of the dormitories, out the front gate of Unimori, go down the street into the residential district, and eventually arrive at warehouse alley.
Once they are at the center of warehouse alley, Raphael turns around and looks towards the group. With a sigh, he says “Where you are all about to go must be kept top secret, meaning you must not tell anyone about it. The place that we're going to is the bunker that me and the JB call home, and we don't want it getting compromised. Still, if something is to happen with any of you, you may come there if you think that your protection is paramount. We at the JB see you as friends and allies, and we protect our friends. Remember what I have told you though, understood?”
Everyone in the group simultaneously nods their heads, all knowing they have the JB watching over them.
With a smile on his face, Raphael nods his head. “Very good. Now if everyone can give me a second, I'm going to call in a portal back to the bunker.”
Placing two fingers on the end of his glasses on his left ear, Raphael says “Marinth.” a single time before he goes silent.
Suddenly, Raphael is speaking again. “Hey. I need the portal back now. Yes, I'm going to be bringing them back with me. No, it shouldn't be a problem. See you soon. Bye.” he then removes his two fingers from the end of his glasses and looks back at the group “Just give it a few seconds and the portal back to the bunker will be opened.”
The group remains in the middle of the alley for close to a minute before they see the air in front of them suddenly begin to shift. Some of them are caught off-guard by this, but some are not.
A portal in reality suddenly rips open in front of the group from where the disturbance in the air was at. Through the portal is a direct entrance into a metallic room within the bunker. Inside of the room are a few people that are all wearing blue and white uniforms, all of them having a drawn look to their skin.
Seeing the portal open up, Raphael smiles and calmly says “If everyone will please follow me...?” and waves his arm in the air to signal the group to follow him.
Most of the members of the investigation group don't move forward, those being the one's who have never traveled through a portal before. Carie and Lera are about to follow Raphael when they notice that everyone else isn't coming with them. There is a brief conversation in between them and the rest of the investigation group before they are able to convince everyone to keep going, Raphael all the while waiting for them to follow.
Once everyone is through the portal and inside of the metal room, it shuts behind them. One of the men in the room moves away from the console he is at and does a salute “Commander Danteo. I presume that your missions are going well so far?”
Nodding his head, Raphael says “At ease, Marinth. Yes, events are progressing for both of my missions the way I had hoped. The investigation group that has come with me will be staying here for a few hours, but they will still need to go back at some point, so please be ready at your station when that time comes.”
Marinth says back “As you command.” before turning back to his post at the portal generator.
Before Raphael can say anything, he sees someone walking by the portal room. He immediately knows who it is, since he knows that there is only one person in the JB who has light purple hair.
She turns her head to look into the room for a second and then moves her head away, but she looks back again before stopping. Judging from the look on her face, she has a few questions for her commander. She walks into the room and asks “...Why is the investigation group here?” very bluntly.
Raphael provides an answer “I brought them here so that they can get prepared for the battle that I briefed you on. I'm going to be giving the nanobot treatment to those who haven't gotten it yet and be assigning them equipment to use. They'll probably be here for an hour or two after that to see the place and get acquainted, along with training with their equipment. That's all they are here for.”
Quib takes a second to think over what Raphael has said. She then sighs, saying afterward “Well, we do need to get them geared up, don't we? We can't just send them in with what we've already given them, honestly. Do you think you might need me to come along?”
Raphael shrugs his shoulders at Quib's newest question “I might. I am going to need someone to get the equipment for me when I'm assigning it, but I was planning on using a private for that.... Ah, oh well. If you want to help out, then I could have you do that for me. Come on, let's go.”
With a smile on her face, Quib bows, accepting Raphael's request. Raphael then begins speaking once more “Alright, listen everyone. The first thing that we are going to do is get you all the nanobot treatment. After that, we're going to head down to the armory and start getting the equipment rationed out. That clear?”
Although some of the people within the group are a little unsure about the nanobot treatment, they don't let it show. They all agree to Raphael's orders, which is immediately followed by Raphael saying “Good, now let's go!” and walks out of the portal room and down the hallway.
As they are walking, Quib slows down so that she is next to Jian. She notices a minor amount of fear in his eyes, but she isn't sure about what it's from “Ji'? What's the matter?”
Jian doesn't notice Quib talking to him at first, but recognizes that she is looking at him a few seconds later. He looks at her, fear evident in his eyes “W-What?”
“Jian, you seem kind of scared. What's the matter?” Quib asks, concern in her voice.
He looks down for a second, thinking about whether or not he should tell her. He looks back up within a few seconds and says “It's-” but is cut off when Raphael tells the group to stop.
They are now standing in front of the doorway to a room that is two stories tall, but almost completely barren inside. The only two things that are in the room are what looks like a cryogenic pod and a computer console that is right next to it. Both of them are connected to each other by wires and circuitry.
Raphael mutters to himself “Thank goodness I learned how to use this thing....” before turning around and saying “I should have said this earlier, but, welcome to the bunker! The JB's base of operations! We have just about everything that we need here, from a cafeteria to an armory! Now, here is our first stop. The nanobot chamber! I've already given this operation to Lera and Carie, so they are going to skip this process. Jian, Hoshi, Boz and Sin, however, have yet to get the nanobot treatment.”
Walking into the room, Raphael goes over to the computer console and turns it on. While he's waiting for it to boot up, he turns around and addresses the group. “The nanobot treatment is painless and has no side-effects. It's been developed over a great many millennia and from all of the fail-safes that are installed in the bots, it's impossible for it to be used against you in any way.”
Looking back at the screen, Raphael notices the machine is ready. He looks over at the group and calmly states “Okay, the machine is ready to go. You are the leader of the group, Jian, so I believe that you should get the treatment first! What do ya say?”
Sweat dropping from his head, Jian looks at the machine, over to Quib, then to Raphael and says “I... I don't know about this....”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Both Quib and Raphael grow concerned. Raphael says to Quib “Quib, he's your boyfriend. See if you can convince him to get into the damned pod....”
Quib moves in front of Jian and grabs him by his shoulders. She looks him directly in the eyes while she says these words “Jian, trust me when I say that it isn't as scary as it seems. I have the nanobot treatment, and so does everyone in the JB. Hell, even some of your friend's have gotten it already!” She looks down for a second and sighs, looking back up again “Listen, if you need any reason to get the treatment, then do it for me.... Please, just get the treatment....”
Sensing the compassion in her words, Jian slowly exclaims “Well... I... I... I'll do it, alright...!”
A smile forms on her face as Quib moves away from Jian and says “Great!” She then looks over at Raphael “He's ready when you are!”
His eyes glued on the monitor the entire time, he raises a thumbs up towards Quib without even deviating his view from the computer screen.
Jian is about to say something else, but cuts himself off when he sees the lid of the pod opening.
Before anyone can say another word, Raphael says “I believe that I explained the effects of the process to you all earlier, so I trust you all remember?”
The entire group nods their heads. Raphael then says “Good.” and looks back towards the console. “Jian, get in the pod, please.”
Knowing that he will be put to sleep during the process helps ease Jian's mind slightly. He pats Quib's shoulder once before moving to the side of the pod and getting in. Once he is inside, Raphael says “I'm starting the sequence. It won't take very long and you won't feel any different from before you got the procedure. Just try to relax and it will be over before you know it. Are you ready?”
Jian says yes to Raphael in a shaken voice. Nodding his head, Raphael presses a button on the console that causes the lid to slowly shut. As the lid closes, Raphael speaks a few words to Jian. “Don't worry about this, Jian. It's a simple procedure, and it's not that-” Raphael's words are cut off at the end by the lid closing shut.
Exhaling deeply, Jian calms his breathing and closes his eyes. A moment later, he hears the rushing sound of water, and he falls to sleep....
Jian awakens to hearing the pod's lid decompressing. He feels dizzy, but otherwise just as he did before he had gotten the treatment.
He sits up in the pod and looks around. He sees his friends watching him, most with wonder and question in their eyes. Looking over at Raphael, he asks “Is... Is it over...?”
Boz asks before Raphael can say a word “How do you feel, bud? Anything feel any different?”
Jian looks over at Boz and then looks down at his hands. They look the same and feel the same, nothing seems different. He then looks back up at Boz and says “I feel fine.... Like nothing even happened....”
With a slight chuckle, Raphael says “I told you. It's completely harmless.”
Quib goes over to Jian's side and begins to help him up. While she is doing so, Boz says “If Jian didn't get hurt from it, then I suppose it's safe enough.... Alright, I'm going next!”
A smile on his face, Raphael motions for Boz to come to the pod while saying “I was just about to ask you to come up next. Take a seat in the pod and I'll get it ready for you!”
Once Jian has exitted the pod, Boz goes in. The pod shuts a few seconds later, and Boz gets his nanobot treatment as well.
Raphael continues to give out the nanobot treatment to those who haven't gotten it yet. Hoshi goes after Boz, with Sin going last.
Once Sin is out of the pod, Raphael turns off the computer console and says “Alright, next stops the armory. Let's go.” while walking out of the room with his hand in the air, motioning for them to follow him.
It takes a relatively short amount of time for the group to arrive at the armory, since the nanobot room and the armory are pretty close to each other. Once they arrive, Raphael tells the group to remain at the doorway while Quib gathers up the equipment. Before she goes, he gives her a list of everyone's names along with the weapons and armor they will need. He tells her to go from top to bottom and to bring the equipment out in groups for each person, which she agrees to before heading off into the armory.
While Quib is away, Raphael calls Jian to the front of the group. Hearing Raphael, Jian moves forward, to which Raphael says “Just give her a few moments to get your things.”
It takes Quib a minute to retrieve all of Jian's equipment. She comes back to the group and stands right next to Raphael, holding an assortment of different items in her arms.
Raphael grabs a small badge-like object from Quib's arms and presents it to Jian. It is a blue and white object with a dial in the center. “This thing is called an A7 deflection device. When you turn the dial in the center, a kinetic barrier will appear around your body that will stop most attacks against you, as long as they aren't that powerful. Kinetic weapons in particular stand no chance against this armor. Keep in mind that you will need to have it attached to your body for it to work. It works past clothing, so you can wear it on your shirt, or otherwise.”
Once Jian has taken the device, Raphael grabs what looks like two pistols from Quib's arms and shows them to Jian. The metal on the pistols are colored olive, and have a metallic sheen to them as they reflect from the lights above. “These are IVA-27 twin pistols. Yes, they are meant to come in pairs. Based around their balance and understandable iron sights, I figured that they would be the best possible weapon for someone who has never used a firearm before. Also, before I move onto the next person, I would like to tell you that I have a plan for what I want you to do during this operation. That plan, however, doesn't involve you being on the field of battle. These weapons and armor are just for your self-defense in a worst case scenario. Now, if you would please let the next person come forward.”
Jian nods his head and moves backwards into the group after grabbing the two firearms. When Raphael had grabbed the two guns from Quib's arms before, she ran back into the armory, searching for the next group of items. Without waiting for her to return, he calls Boz up to the front of the group.
Right when Boz gets to Raphael, Quib returns to Raphael's side. “Boz. Judging that you are already a trained swordsman, I was thinking that you would be good as a front-linesman. The equipment I'm about to give you is both ahead of your time and something you have never used before, so I'm going to ask you to come with me for a short training period to get you accustomed to them after I finish handing everything out.”
Without skipping a beat, Raphael grabs the first item out of three from Quib's hands. It is a platemail breastplate made out of a light green, almost olive metal. “This, my friend, is a SRBP Mk.02 armor. What that stands for is 'Self-Repairing Breastplate.' As the name suggests, it can reconstruct itself after taking any kind of damage. And if you must know, yes, the armor uses nanobots.”
After placing the armor on a shelf nearby, Raphael grabs the next item. It is what looks like a cybernetic, futuristic katana made out of green and red metal. “This is one of my favorites. It's called a kinetic-cutting sword, but to keep things more simple I call it a 'Force Katana.' It hits with just as much power as a regular katana, well, I personally think it hits with a bit more strength, but it has more durability and it has a special function. If you press down the button on the guard of the blade, it will send out a thin, kinetic slash in the direction and angle that you made the swing. The blast will extend about ten feet, but it's still extremely effective! I'll show you how to use it correctly after this.”
Handing the instrument to Boz, Raphael grabs the last item out of Quib's hands. It is pump-action shotgun with a green holographic sight on the top. In fact, the entire shotgun, save a few odd parts of it, is colored green. “This is a G&Y 1907 pump-action shotgun. It holds about ten twelve-gauge shotgun shells in it's magazine and comes equipped with a holographic sight out of the box. You seem like a guy that would be good up-close and personal, so I figured that the force katana and this shotgun will be good for you.”
With a wave of his hand, he signals for Boz to move back into the group. Quib, like last time, has already taken off into the armory for the next grouping of equipment. Saying his name, Raphael orders Sin to the front. “Sin, you are going to be the last person to get their equipment. The reason for that is because I've already given Carie and Lera their equipment while they were here and Hoshi can use the equipment that he already has.”
Sin nods his head, however Jian realizes something, and then speaks “When is the operation starting?”
In quick, plain words, Raphael says “Tomorrow night. Ten o' clock P.M.” before hearing Quib coming up from behind him.
Raphael grabs the first item out of Quib's hands. It is a modern day bulletproof vest. “This doesn't really need much explanation. It's just a standard bulletproof vest. I'll show you how to put it on later.” Raphael says before putting the vest down on a nearby shelf.
He takes the next item and hands it to Sin. It is a well-polished and master-crafted pair of scissor katars. “If you have studied Roman weapon history, then you will know what these are. It's a punching weapon of sorts that is meant to rip and tear flesh, and combined with your punching power, it will be perfect for you to use.”
He hands the weapon to Sin. The weapon seems slightly foreign to him, but seeing as the Sigil Heads are becoming an ever-increasing threat and the operation is tomorrow, he knows that he needs to adjust to them quickly.
Grabbing the last item from Quib's hands, Raphael hands it to Sin. It is a futuristic looking sub-machine gun with pulsating blue strips going down it's frame all the way down to it's muzzle “This is a UMA-grade Shuki Mk.03. It fires electric rounds that will electrocute anyone hit by them. Basically, if the bullets don't kill them immediately, then the zap will knock them unconscious a second later.”
Noticing the name of the item, Sin asks a question “ 'UMA-grade?' Who the hell is the UMA?”
Thinking over the question, Raphael isn't completely sure what he should say. After giving it some thought, he comes up with an answer. “They are a gun manufacturer off of your world. That's all you need to know.”
He cracks his neck one time after saying those words and starts speaking again. “Welp, that's all of the equipment. All of you, except Boz, are free to do as you wish in the bunker until I return. Tomorrow night, however, around an hour after the school day ends, I'm going to need you all to go to warehouse alley and meet me and my team. I'll send someone to get you all, and I have already found a way to get you all out of the dormitories unnoticed. Without further ado, you are all dismissed.”
The group, knowing that they are free, talks with each other for a few moments before breaking off into three different groups and leaving in opposite directions. Jian and Quib leave in one group, Carie and Hoshi go in another, and Lera and Sin exit further into the bunker.
Before they all left, however, Raphael had grabbed Boz's equipment and left out of the armory towards the portal room, pulling Boz by the arm with him all the way