Quib, already having the layout of the bunker in her head, leads Jian towards the cafeteria. Partway there, Jian asks “Where are we going, exactly...?”
Looking back over her shoulder, Quib says “We're headed to the cafeteria! They have some spicy enchiladas today that I know you will love!”
“... I never told you that I like spicy food.... How do you know that...?” Jian asks, a little confused.
“I read it in your bio. I know who most of your friends are, your history, and what kind of food you like, among other things.” Quib says right as they enter the cafeteria.
Still a little stunned that everyone at the JB knows close to everything about him, Jian follows Quib into the cafeteria line.
Going down the line and going right to the chef, Quib says to him “One spicy enchilada and...” but she stops herself short when she realizes something. Turning around, she asks Jian “What do you want to drink, Ji'?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Jian says “Anything is fine, really. But if I need to choose something, I'll just have water.”
Quib gives a grunt of understanding and then turns back to the chef, saying “and some water too.” when she is facing him again.
“As you ask, general Quib.” the chef says before getting the food on a plate.
When the chef called her a general, Jian got slightly confused by the title his girlfriend apparently has. As they walk to a table, Jian, holding his own food and water in his hands, asks her about it “Hey Quib. Why did he call you a general?”
Once they arrive at the table, Quib answers “It doesn't really mean much here, it just means that I'm a member of the JB. The soldiers use that term to differentiate us from them.”
Thinking over the information Quib had just given him for a second, Jian contemplates a few things. In a few seconds, he looks back up at Quib and asks “If regular members are generals in the JB, then how many of you are there?”
Tilting back in her chair, Quib puts her hands on the back of her head in a comfortable fashion before saying “There's a couple of us. Raphael and June are the highest rank when compared to the rest of us, but me and Miyra are generals. The JB is pretty small right now and the soldiers are just here on loan from a bigger organization that funds us. Only the generals and leaders of the group are real JB members. And yes, I will tell you who all of us are.”
Quib, while Jian eats, goes down the list of every member of the JB, everyone from Raphael down to Chiot. Jian nods his head in understanding, listening to every name and detail of who they are and what they do.
With a shrug, Jian says “Wouldn't mind meeting them all someday.” before leaning over his food and sniffing it. The smell of the food is foreign to his senses, but he can sense a great degree of spice coming from it, that and it smells appetizing as well “Huh... this doesn't smell half bad!”
Rubbing her forehead, Quib mutters to Jian “Why don't you give it a try, then?”
Taking his fork in his hand, Jian cuts off a piece of the enchilada, sticks it with the fork and begins to eat. Within a few seconds, Jian starts to break out in a slight sweat, but he doesn't seem to be in any severe pain. Another few seconds of chewing and he swallows it. After he has swallowed, he leans over top of the table with his hands placed against it, breathing heavily and coughing “Hot damn... what the hell is in that!?”
“Not sure....” Quib mutters again, this time a little more loudly. “I'm not that good a cook, and I don't want to bother the chef with the question either. Anyway, what do you think about our alien cuisine?”
“Despite the heat, it's actually pretty good!” Jian admits “I wouldn't mind trying other food options, if it's all like this!”
After taking a few more bites, Jian decides to ask something that has been on his mind since Quib had told him about the briefing she had been given about him “Ya know, you never really told me about yourself, Quib. Mind sharing some details?”
Seeing his point, Quib nods her head “Yeah, I guess you are right about that. I know a lot about you, but you know almost nothing about me, so it would be in the best interest of our relationship together for me to tell you about myself.”
Clearing her throat, Quib continues “I was born on a planet called 'Yuril Tren' about sixteen years ago. It is a recently urbanized planet that had just went through a technological revolution about a hundred years ago. That planet, however, hadn't developed gunpowder yet, so the world's military was still using bows and swords. My father was an acclaimed sharpshooter with a bow and had served in my nation's military for centuries before retiring. My mother was a general in my nation's army, and as such knew how to use a sword. When I turned seven they began teaching me how to use a sword and a bow, showing me all of their secrets. I absorbed all of my lessons, and I was believed to be an even better shot with a bow then my father was. But... one day....” suddenly Quib breaks off, a tinge of sadness gleaming in her eyes.
Jian, putting his food aside, asks her “What happened, Quib?”
She grabs her arm and begins rubbing it while looking down at the ground. She wants to tell him, but still.... “It... It's something that I can't tell you about.... At least not right now... but maybe later in the future, I could.”
Noticing that she is getting sadder by the second, Jian leans over the table and puts his hand on Quib's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. “Quib... you can tell me when you're ready. I don't mind.”
She can feel Jian's general warmth towards her, which does comfort her quite a bit. Looking up at him, she says “Jian... thank you.”
Jian and Quib stay in the cafeteria for the remainder of the day, talking and eating.
Carie and Hoshi, after breaking off from the rest of the group, begin walking down one of the hallways. As they walk down the corridor, Carie speaks “So, Hoshi, why did you decide to become the Dusk Avenger anyway?”
Putting his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed gesture as he walks, he answers Carie's question “I became the Dusk Avenger because of the Sigil Heads. They were killing people in the streets, and one day I just got tired of it and decided to fight back. I used the quarterstaff skills that I developed when I was a kid and took to the streets as a crime fighter. Albeit, I was only fighting the Sigil Heads and I was planning on stopping when they were taken care of anyway.”
Once Hoshi finishes speaking, he notices a few things about the corridor. Judging from the length of the hallway they are in, the bunker seems to be quite large. Along with that, the materials that make up the floors and walls look like they are made out of military grade metals. “Hmm, I wonder what kind of organization the JB is....”
Letting a flame dance around her fingertips, Carie just barely notices Hoshi speaking. She does, however, recognize what he is saying. She says back to him “I know that they are a military organization, and they are aliens on top of that. Further from that, what troubles me even more is why did they choose us. Us, of all people... why...?”
Sighing, Hoshi responds to Carie's question “I'm not completely sure who they are, but I think that they are some kind of freelance military organization. They might have ties to the UMA or UHG, but I'm not completely sure about that.... As for why they chose to help us, I have no idea....”
As soon as Hoshi says something about the UMA, Carie stops in her tracks. She has never heard of either of the two organizations that Hoshi has just brought up, aside from the UMA being mentioned earlier. With a determination in her eyes to find the truth, she asks him “What is the UMA, Hoshi...?”
Realizing what he had just said, Hoshi also stops himself. He turns around, his mind still reaching for an answer to Carie's question. In a few seconds, he has an idea of what to say. “It stands for the United Military Academy. It's a military academy in the USA that I heard about a year or two back. It's a school that you need to pay top dollar to get into, but it trains a person in using and preparing for just about any kind of military exercise that is being used right now. That's all I know.”
Stuck in thought for a few seconds, Carie accepts Hoshi's words and decides that she'll figure out about the UHG later. Right now she just wants to see more of this bunker. With a shrug of her shoulders, she says “Fine then. Well, shall we explore this place a bit more while we dwindle away our day?”
A smile on his face, Hoshi happily says “Alright! I wonder what this place has to show us? It seems pretty big, so who knows what's in here!”
Also with a smile on her face, Carie nods her head and the two of them begin walking again.
Within about three minutes, they arrive at a set of double doors at the middle of one of the hallways. With wonder painted across his face, Hoshi asks “Huh, I wonder what's behind here...?”
Carie grabs a hold of the door's handles while Hoshi is speaking, saying when he has stopped “Why don't we find out then?”
Before Hoshi can say anything, Carie opens the double doors. Once the door's are open, a bright light emanates through the doorway, much brighter than the hallway they are in, forcing the two of them to shield their eyes.
After a few seconds have passed, their eye's begin to adjust to the light. They step through the doorway into the room, both of them squinting from the intense illumination. From what they can see, they are in a large three-story room that has vibrant white fluorescent lights in the room's ceiling, with their being multiple drawn individuals walking around in the room. The room is filled with electronics, mainly high-tech computer consoles and wide-range communication displays, with a massive video screen at the far end of the room. On that screen is what looks to be a map of Carie and Hoshi's planet, or at least that's what they believe it is based off of the geography. They are standing on a metal catwalk, with there being two staircases on both sides of them that lead down to the ground floor.
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Shielding her eyes and gazing into the room in front of her, Carie lets out a whistle before saying “They definitely seem like they have an operation going on here...”
Going ahead of Carie, Hoshi begins going down the left staircase while saying “Come on, I want to ask some of these people some more questions! Hurry up, Carie!” waving his arm over his head for her to follow all the while.
With a giggle, Carie agrees and follows Hoshi down the staircase to the ground floor. They look around a bit once they get there, trying to find whoever is in charge of all the staff.
After asking one of the communication officer's who is in charge, the two are directed towards Yen, who is at the the main computer console at the end of the room.
Once they are there, they see a woman in a blue and white military uniform sitting at a much larger computer console than the others with a pair of headphones on. Guessing that this is the person they are supposed to meet, Carie leans in and asks “Hello? Are you the one in charge here?” before the woman's head jolts up from the console.
She gets out of her seat and takes off the headphones. Turning to see them, she gives a salute. “The Commander told me that we would be getting some visitors today. My name is Yen Porint, and I'm the communication director for the JB. Is there anything you need?”
Both of them bowing to her, Carie begins asking a few questions. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Porint. I was wondering, do you know how long the JB have been around?”
Yen nods her head. “The JB was created during the early days of the month of June on the planet that we currently are on. This world's time-span is exactly the same as the one on your world and on the same loop.”
Carie understands what Yen is explaining “Wow, that's pretty incredible!” After saying those words, Carie gets another question in her head. “How about you, Ms. Porint? You're an alien, right? Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?”
Brushing back one of her twin ponytails on the sides of her head, Yen let's out a scoff “I suppose I can tell you a bit about myself. I'm from a civilization known as the Omerit Empire. They are currently the most advanced civilization in the universe, and I used to be a communication officer for one of their space freighters. I was there for four years before I was reassigned by the commander of the ship to work for the JB. Albeit, I jumped at the chance to help protect the Key.”
Carie remembers something from a while ago, back when June was talking to her in that deserted building when they first met. June mentioned something to her about June being called 'The Key', Raphael being called 'The Guardian', and there being some kind of war going on. Still, June only glanced over those details, focusing completely on what Carie needed to know to save her friends and herself. Nonetheless, she decides not to bring it up, figuring that it really isn't her problem.
They remain in the C&I room of the bunker for the remainder of the day, talking with Yen and the other soldiers and communications staff that dot around the room. They figure out while they are there that another mission is being carried out by Raphael, a mission on another world with an entirely different group of JB members.
Lera and Sin walk down one of the corridors, away from all the others. They chat quietly between each other as they walk, Lera asking Sin about what it's like to be in the school council while Sin is asking her about the kind of training that she got from the JB.
After quite a while of walking and going down two flights of stairs, they arrive in a four-way intersection. Once she realizes where she is, Lera scratches her head and says “I... think that we're lost....”
Crossing his arms, Sin calmly says “I suppose we are. I don't know the layout of this place, so I don't have any idea of where we are. You, on the other hand, have been here before, but you don't know where we are either-”
Right as Sin gets to the end of his sentence, he notices someone walking towards them down one of the hallways. He is wearing a pair of brown cargo pants and a white, sleeveless t-shirt and appears to be in his thirties. He has black hair, with the ends of his hair colored a contrasting white, along with him having a thick black mustache. On his head is a pair of black-trimmed, tinted goggles, but he has left them tilted up against his forehead.
Before Sin can say anything, Lera grows a happy smile on her face and screams “Chiot!” before rushing down the hallway towards him.
She leaps on top of him, her speed and momentum nearly knocking him off of his feet. He stands there, completely shocked for a second from her lunge, but soon responds by hugging her back. Chuckling lightly as he pats her back, he exclaims “Nice to see you too, Lera!”
She backs away from him a few moments later, and based on the fact that Sin evidently is stunned by this development, she begins to speak “Meet Chiot. He was one of the first people I met when I came here before. He was basically the guide for me and Carie while we were here, and he's a good friend of mine now. He's awesome! He won't stop calling me a kid though....”
Chiot scratches the back of his head after Lera has spoken, saying“I don't usually hear high words like that. Heh, I should get more friends if they all treat me that way.”
Sin wears the same look of seriousness that he always has while Lera and Chiot speak. He lets out a grunt a few moments later, then saying “Seems like you're all buddy-buddy here. Who else do you know from the bunker?”
Lera thinks for a second, cupping her hand over her chin. “Well... I know Chiot, for one. He's the head pilot here, and the bunker's medic too! I know a few other people besides the one's that we all already know. That would mainly be Henry and Urt. Henry is the information expert for the bunker, and Urt is like one of their heavy weapons fighters, I think. They're nice guys. Well, at least Henry is....”
Shrugging his shoulders, Sin lets out a sigh and asks “And they're all aliens?”
Instead of Lera speaking, Chiot places his hand on her shoulder and says to her “I'll tell him.” before walking up to Sin and speaking to him personally “Listen kid, just because we're all not from your-”
As soon as Chiot says the word 'kid', Sin's eye's flash. He interrupts him a moment later, pointing his finger at him and saying “Don't you dare call me a kid! You can think that you're higher then me because you're an alien , but that doesn't give you the right to talk down to me, you hear me!”
Chiot is taken aback by Sin's yelling and also what almost seems like a threat that he made against him. He puts his hands in the air in what is supposed to be a peaceful gesture, saying a second later “Whoa! Calm down a little! I won't call you a kid if you don't want me to, alright? Can I at least have your name so that I don't have to call you a kid? That's the least you can do!”
Sin huffs while crossing his arms. A few seconds later, he says “Sin Kasigara. Assistant President of the Student Council at Unimori Private High. That's all you need to know....”
Chiot moves forward and extends his hand for a handshake towards Sin. “Right now, Sin, you and your investigation group are an ally of the JB, and because of that, I'm your ally and vice-versa. So, friends?”
Sin stares at Chiot's extended hand for a second, but soon after grabs a hold of it and shakes. “Fine. Friends.”
The overhead lights in the middle of the intersection flicker slightly as their hand's shake, but none of them notice it. Taking his hand back, Chiot soon says “Yeah, we're all alien's here, at least in the eyes of people from your world. We're not really that different, though, to tell you the truth. Your country, Japan, is not all that different from Raphael's world, as an example. The only way that both of those countries are different is the fact that the people from Raphael's Japan use honorifics when they speak to each other. I could give some examples, if you want....”
Shaking his head, Sin says a moment later with his arm's now crossed “That isn't necessary. I'm not really concerned with the internal workings of other worlds. What I do want to know is how everyone from Unimori fits into all of this. Why would Raphael choose us of all people for this....”
Chiot snickers at Sin's curiosity, knowing full-well why he is so concerned. He answers him afterward “The Guardian is a creature of pure good, and he goes where people need him. He heard about what was going to happen to all of you and decided that he needed to help out. He doesn't need much other reason than he just wants to help. And trust me, there are a lot of other things going on in the universe right now that need his attention, it's just that he chose you guy's first.”
One of Sin's eyebrows rises for a second, but lowers just as fast. Clearing his throat, he says “Again, that is fine. This base and the people in it don't interest me, at all. The only thing that interests me right now is stopping the Sigil Heads, thus making Unimori safe again, and the only way I can think of doing that is by working with Raphael and the JB. As for why I asked about Raphael, that's just out of confusion over his involvement. You and Lera can talk all you want, I'm heading back to Unimori. I've had enough of this place.”
Chiot and Lera both are surprised by Sin's coldness, especially Chiot. They remain there for a few seconds before they hear someone walking down one of the hallways. They look in the direction that the footsteps are coming from and see June walking towards them. She is wearing leisure wear, being as Raphael did give her the day off. She has her arm's crossed and is looking down at the ground, her mind delaying her attention as she walks.
Lera screams out June's name in a happy tone. Her head jolts up when she hears Lera's voice and she sees everyone that is in front of her. She says “Huh? Oh! Hey, what's up?” as she comes out of her trance.
Chiot goes over to June and says to her “This Sin guy apparently doesn't want to be here, so do you mind bringing him back home, June?”
June scratches the back of her head, sighing in the process. She looks back up a few seconds later after thinking over what he has asked of her. “Well... can you at least give me some time to get some weapons and armor together? I don't think I should be outside the bunker without any....”
“No, you don't need to leave the bunker,” Chiot says back, crossing his arms. “all you need to do is bring Sin to the portal room and tell Marinth to open a portal back to his world. That's it.”
June's eye's brighten up when she hears this. She smiles and says “No problem! I'd be happy to bring him back home.” She turns to Sin and says “Come on, I'll get you to the portal room. Follow me, please.”
Sin mutters under his voice “At least the alien's know some manners....” before following June back down the hallway that he had come from earlier.
Within the course of a few minutes, Sin and June arrive back at the portal room. June orders Marinth to open a portal for Sin to Warehouse Alley so that he can go home, to which Marinth immediately begins the process. In only a few moments, the portal is open. June does a swooping motion with her arm towards the portal while saying to Sin “Remember Sin, you can come back here whenever you want. This place is our home, and we're happy to open the door to our friends!”
Sin barely looks at June as he walks through the portal, saying as he goes “I'm not concerning myself with your group, so you shouldn't be concerned with me. My only concern is my school and my city, and right now you are an asset towards protecting them both. As far as I am concerned, when the Sigil Heads are dealt with I couldn't care less if I see any of you again in my life. I'll see you and Raphael tomorrow when he's ready to start this little mission of his. Goodbye.”
June and everyone in the room is surprised by Sin's coldness. They knew that he was a serious person, but even this was more than expected.
After a few seconds, June slowly says “... Fine then. We'll see you tomorrow, Sin.” before motioning for Marinth to shut the portal, to which he does immediately.
Scoffing, Sin begins walking towards Unimori. “Tsk. First people going insane, then learning that it's because of mind-control, and now fucking aliens! This town is getting more messed up each and every fucking day, and it's all because of those damned Sigil Heads....”
In about two hours after Sin has returned to Unimori, the rest of the investigation group arrives at the gates of the high school. They all talk with each other when they return, but only briefly. They all go back to their dorm rooms within ten minutes of arriving back at Unimori, with Lera going back home to her father's mansion.
All of them guarantee that they got a good night's sleep, none of them sure what would be in-store for them tomorrow night...