Omega Corp. Xino, Santos, Inès, and Leos along with a group of white hat hackers were in the meeting office discussing the situation of the possible groups that might come to take the legendary pieces.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all gathered here to discuss a very important task. As you may know after the Pentagon Of Manipulation was destroyed by Richard Kurosagi we have gathered information from our white hat hackers Viper, Bulldog, Nort Anna, and A.V. Gamma that many groups who are on the alert of trying to find a way to hack through Omega or even look for the owners of the legendary pieces. I as you know hold the legendary Hexagon of Fate so it is no surprise that they will be going after me. However, that doesn't mean that I am the only known target. As you may know, there are 11 more pieces each with different shapes and abilities. Our mission...is to make sure that the owners are safe and sound and that the legendary pieces aren't in the wrong hands. If by any chance the piece is own by a black hat hacker as it happened previously with the Pentagon Of Manipulation, then we must take the legendary piece from the owner and look for a suitable owner that will not use the piece for criminal acts." Leos explained the situation to his group of professional white hat hackers.
"Man, when it comes to making speeches he sure knows how to make them sound serious," Xino said looking at his old friend.
"We are going to wage war against the black hat hackers after all."
"You make it sound like we're going to an actual war, Mr. General."
"Hmm...In any case, Why didn't your wife come?"
"Oh, she decided to stay because she didn't want to leave Richard feeling alone."
"A caring mother to the bitter end," Santos told Xino who chuckles.
"Yep, Is the reason why I married her."
"Funny, because I remember that you said that the main reason you married her was because of her delicious food."
"Oh yeah! That is very high on the list, huh?" Xino goes on deep thought. Hmm, now that his friend mentions it... "Hey, Victor...?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when we met?"
"Who us? We met on the basketball team you were very short....shorter than you are now of course."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I meant to say, the day we met Ayame."
"Oh, Alice's grandmother and your father's assistant? Hmm...I believe it was around 15 years ago." Victor told the brown-haired adult before remembering how they met the most popular Omega player in the world.
()
June 16th, 2021 the streets of France were crowded because of a special event. A married couple was roaming through the crowd of people trying to enter the main entrance of the Omega Arcade Station. It didn't help that the woman was carrying a 2-year-old on her arms. The boy surprisingly wasn't crying despite all the noise, in fact, it seemed very happy and laughing.
"Xino, maybe we should've come later when the Station is less crowded." The blonde wife told her brown-haired husband.
"Is alright and look, Little Richard is enjoying this walk." The brown-haired 22 years old man told his beautiful 20 years old wife while the boy gave what it seems to be an excited giggle.
"He still a baby you know. But, I guess the majority of them would be crying with all this yelling. Oh yes, that reminds me has your dad discovered anything about those pieces?"
"Those, pieces...Oh, you mean the Legendary Pieces! Hmm, not very much information. But I am sure the old man will have something, he is nicknamed "Einstein 2.0" after all." They kept walking through the crowd before they were discovered by a security guard.
"Hmm? Oh, Mister and Mrs. Kurosagi, please come this way." He ushers them up to a barricaded area. This was actually an emergency entrance/exit for the employers of the Station.
"Ah, thanks, Matt!" The two couples were escorted inside the Station.
Inside the Arcade Station, a man dress in a lab coat was commanding other staff members with the construction of the new teleporters. This man was around his late 40's. His hair was brown but streaks of Grey were starting to appear on his hair. His beard was having the same issue but that didn't seem to mind the man as it shows how much of a veteran he was.
"Be careful with the tubes." Instructed the man as six staff members were carefully placing the tube inside one of the teleporters. The clicking sound indicated that the tube was correctly attached so they go to focus on the new one.
"Hey, Old man!" The man turns around to see his son, his daughter in law, and his young small grandson.
"Ah, Xino you're here, Hello Gina how you been?"
"I have been fine thank you for asking Mr. Kurosagi." The man chuckled.
"I told you that we're family now, so you can call me Androcles." The man told the blonde woman with a smile. "Ah, yes boy...about what you said in your greeting." The man told his son and on each word a vein of anger popped out of his forehead. "RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!" He kicked his son for the disrespect he gave to him.
"Androcles."
"Hmm..." The three of them look to see that a red-haired mature woman in her early 40's appeared. Despite being around her 40's she seemed a bit younger. Her hair was long and red while her eyes an emerald color that could glow if the lights were turned off.
"Oh, Ayame how is the research going?"
"It has been...Complicated."
"Hmm, I see...another Black Hat Hacker?" Androcles asked his assistant who nodded.
"Yes." Androcles sighed before putting his right hand on the bridge of his nose and rubbing it with two fingers in frustration.
"This is the 4th one this week. Then again it should be expected as we have two legendary pieces in hand."
"Three if you count Leos Kishima's, Sir." The red-haired assistant corrected him.
"Right, Right, it still doesn't change that we have been invaded by 4 black hat hackers this week."
"Hmm, sorry to bother both of you but...who is she, old man?" The man ignored the old man for now before introducing his assistant.
"This is Ayame Hishikawa, she is the CEO of Hishikawa's enterprise and my assistant."
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, likewise I'm Gina Chedid I'm Xino Kurosagi's wife and this is my son. Richard, say hi to her." Gina greeted her.
"Ugwah." The baby said before it tries to reach for Ayame. The red-haired couldn't help but smile.
"I have a granddaughter just a year younger than him."
"Oh, you mean Ayane's daughter Alice? Yeah, we saw her, she is beautiful."
"Yes, she is kind of quiet tho, your boy is full of energy."
"Oh yeah dad, you said you wanted me to come here for something important, right? Well, what is it?" Xino asked his father who adjusted his glasses.
"Ah, Yes. it's about the legendary pieces that we own. You see it started to act up again. It seems that they're responding to a nearby one."
"How Near?" asked the boy.
"We concluded that it is around the bridge near the Eiffel Tower. The one holding the legendary piece has been roaming around that area for the last four days. We do not know if it is luring other owners or if it's trying to find the legendary pieces that we own." Ayame said while holding a clipboard and writing.
"Hmm, that seems suspicious I mean why would that person want to lure other owners, wouldn't that put him or her in danger of getting captured by one of those black hat hacker groups?" Xino pointed out.
"It is why I ask you as one of our best players and security anti-virus as well as being my son that you try and investigate immediately."
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Huh, well usually I don't like going after others but since is a legendary piece owner we're talking sure."
"Xino."
"Hmm? Oh don't worry Gina, my son is used to missions like this also, He will not be alone he will have Mario with him. Besides, now that you're here I can spend more time with my grandson." The creator of Omega said before he grabs Richard who delightfully giggled. "Well aren't you the energetic one!"
"Good Luck," Ayame told the brown-haired boy as he gets ready to find the owner of the legendary piece.
()
"Did we found out who the owner of the legendary piece we were looking for was?"
"Yes...I do believe it belongs to the Rowan family. She was a bit...stoic."
"Oh yeah...I really couldn't stand her...smartass girl." Xino said bitterly as he remembers the owner of the legendary piece.
()
"We're here." Said Young Xino as he and a young Mario were looking around the crowded tower. Luckily for them, they have invitations to get inside the tower as they have access to them thanks to Xino's father Androcles.
"See anyone new or suspicious?"
"Hmm..." The brown-haired boy looked around. It doesn't seem to be anyone new that he doesn't recognize. Security is there and they are the same employees that he saw last month and aside from the tourist and constant visitors he doesn't see anyone he sees suspicious. "I can't see anything new around. Wait...what's oh, never mind is just Lazarus. Oh, what's this is that a new girl? Heh, go get her bro!"
('You...really aren't taking this seriously, do you?') thought the tall buffed man with a sweat-drop.
"Oh? I haven't seen her before." Xino said. Out of the corner of Mario's eyes, he saw the direction that the brown-haired boy was looking. On a table, there was a woman with long orange hair tied in a ponytail. Her face very stoic and she seemed to be very young, he assumes around her early 20's. She was dressed in a light brown blouse, dark blue jeans, and black heels. She also wore a black french connection faux-leather jacket. The most noticeable thing was the ornament that held her ponytail. It was dark purple and shaped like a square. In the center had the equation E=MC^2.
The woman was drinking coffee while relaxing on a table.
"Xino look at her ornament." The brown-haired looks at it.
"Hey, that's..."
"Yes...just as described in the book. The Square Root Of Puzzles." Just then the woman seemed to have sensed them and the next thing that happened was the ornament glowing.
"What the?!" Xino said as they were both enclosed inside of what it seems a labyrinth maze. Some of the people were screaming in a panic since they were trapped too inside of the maze.
"This...a maze?"
"That's right." They look to see the stoic woman looking at them in what seems like a huge holographic screen. "I must apologize for everyone who got involve in this." She said to the panicked innocent people of France.
"Who are you?"
"...I am...Sylvia Rowan, I am the owner of the Square Root Of Puzzles. Right now, you're all in my maze."
"You...you knew we come after you, didn't you?" Xino asked the stoic girl.
"...You're correct...although, I thought that the son of the creator of Omega would be...bigger." That made the brown-haired man a bit angry.
"Hey..."
"Just what is it that you're after Miss Rowan?" Mario asked ignoring Xino's almost burst of rage.
"...What I am after...is protection."
"Protection? Protection from who?" Xino asked.
"...There has been a lot of black hat hacker attacks occurring in this city. No, more precisely it has been happening all over Europe. A group by the name of X-COM X-10." Explained the orange-haired.
"X-COM X-10, We have heard of them on the news and in Omega Corp. they are famous for hacking through securities in order to gather information from companies then sell them in the black market for ludicrous prices."
"Yes. They have been responsible for trying to steal information on my father's project."
"Project? What kind of Project?"
"...I'm afraid that is classified. However, if you manage to get out of this maze...I might consider telling both of you."
"A challenge, huh? Well, I never back down from anyone's challenge and it seems that this will be pretty fun you're on!"
"Xino!"
"...Hmm...I see...I will be at the end of this maze. There is a number of paths that require answering some questions. Answer them correctly and a new path will open, however, if you do not answer them correctly...then I'm afraid of what would happen to the bystanders that got involved here." That got them a bit stiff. The girl must be serious about the consequences. The legendary pieces are deemed to be very dangerous when they are awakened. Has she awoken them? Is the question that both men were thinking right now.
"Just what were you thinking about accepting her demand?!"
"Did you not hear what she said? She called me a pipsqueak, she barely is taller than me!" Xino complained.
('She never said you were a pipsqueak, just that she was expecting someone very tall.') Mario sweatdropped.
"Ahem, in any case, all we have to do is answer the questions that appeared. How hard can they be?!" Xino said with confidence. However, Mario knew that they will not be as easy as his partner thinks they'll be they could be very tricky. Any math problem that revolves people like Hypatia, Girolamo, Tao, Einstein, even Pythagoras. Those Mathematicians were geniuses in that category. Xino's father Androcles might be even in that category one day considering all the mathematical schemes that he had to encode and script to a game as big as Omega.
()
"Hmm, I think I went a bit too far when I said that they weren't that difficult."
"You think? You reset the maze three times. I am surprised we didn't stay there for more than 2 hours!" Mario reminded him.
"Hey, at least we got out of there."
"Thou...I still am thinking how were you able to solve the final question of the Square Root of Puzzles?" asked the muscular general to his small friend.
"Oh yeah, that's because..."
()
Xino and Mario have finally reached their target who was now surrounded by many monitors and computers. The brown-haired boy and his companion have to admit, the orange-haired woman put their brains to work solving historical mathematical problems to even modern ones. Like the last two were from 4 years ago. The Knot Which is a formula that starts with X-9*A+56/G(A)=? Were X is 2.8 A is 293024 and G is 4.859 And 5*0*7*2.9*34+3-2/1*1-1*100/98*89*89+7*7/7-7=?/B=? also known as Road To Dark Infinity.
"You have done well." The orange-haired girl stated to the two men who had to struggle their way here after 3 resets.
"No more games and puzzles, deactivate your legendary piece!" Xino told her.
"You really don't know how this work do you? It is not up to me to decide whether or not this game is over."
"What do you mean by that?!" Xino asked. Mario was curious about this too.
"We do not control the legendary pieces. On the contrary, we serve them. The only reason why they would listen to our desires is if they see us deemed worth of their powers."
"You say this as if the legendary pieces have a mind of their own."
"Seems farfetched, doesn't it? But, it is the truth. We're all just apprentices to them, they observe our every move, our every decision. Depending on the owner's action that's how they will act, if they see them weak they will reject being awoken completely and permanently stay in a sleep state. The children...they knew about this which is why they were tested to prove their worth by their families. I have to do the same, The Square Root of Puzzles didn't listen to me until I solved the last of the puzzle. If you can solve this puzzle then...you have proven that I can trust you with what I promise to tell you."
"We have been through a lot already, why..."
"Fine."
"Xino!"
"Is okay, Mario I will take the blame if we are here another infinity plus one," Xino said to his partner. His black-haired partner looked him in the eyes, he was determined. He has never seen him this determined unless it involves Omega and his opponents. That look is what makes him a great leader.
"Very well, The final question is...How do you neutralize Dark Infinite? And what formula gets you there...And it has to be the closest one that gets you there no more than 1." No more than one and the closest...That is pretty difficult to say and to neutralize Dark Infinite...The answer is obvious is Infinite but how much closer they can get so the result is the same...infinite.
"I think I know the answer."
"Xino."
"While the road to Dark Infinite is made of that problem, the same cannot go on the opposite side. Infinity can be easily reached by 0.0000000000000000000001/0. Therefore, in order for both sides to become neutral, the formula should be like this: 0.0000000000000000000001/0= Infinity+ -Infinity= 0." Xino answered.
"...Humph." For the first time, the boy saw the owner of the Square Root of Puzzles smile. "You're...correct."
"He is?"
"Yes while Dark Infinite can be difficult to reach the way is formulated, Infinity can be easily reached by any of the 0.1 equations divided by 0. The Furthest is that one as any calculator in the world cannot reach further than 21 zeroes."
"So...we pass right?" Xino asked hoping this is all over.
"Yes...you pass." The Square Root of Puzzles glowed before the maze disappeared and everything returned back to normal.
"Were safe!"
"What just happen?"
"Who was that person? A black hat hacker?"
"Could have been or it could've only been a Grey hat, you know how these internet trolls are these days."
"I guess you're correct."
"Huh? Wait, hold up how can they can't tell that it was you?!" Xino asked not believing that the bystanders couldn't recognize that the culprit was right under their noses!
"Shrimp, I am not as stupid to let them see me. I only allowed you two to see me. They were just seeing a black image with a male voice interacting with you two."
"Hey, care to repeat that again!?" Xino said getting angry by the minute.
"Now, Now, the important thing is that everyone is safe."
"They weren't in any danger, to begin with. However, just as I promised I will tell you information only classified by the military of "The Area"."
"The Area? So they changed the name."
"They were 51, correct?" Mario nodded at Xino's question.
"Yes, but since 2019 the military facility has changed the name to "The Area" as it is a code that everyone who is told can easily identify it."
"The Area has been working on a project for two years now. To be precise just about two months before the name was changed. This project is one of the most dangerous projects that the military has created. While the goal of the project is to create the perfect super-soldiers it comes with a hefty price. Those who take this project will..."
"Those who took it, if they overuse it, will lose their lives by it." Present Xino said, remembering what Rowan told them.
"Yes, that project was shut down a year after she told us about it."
"Yeah, not only that but any evidence of it was completely erased. They really were very crafty with it."
"Yeah, you're right...Project M.I.S.T. What could they possibly have that been?"
"Well, whatever it was...is in the past now." Mario agreed the only trace of evidence is lost in the past and if the project was as dangerous as Rowan explained to them...it's better if it stays that way.
"Now let's defend Omega with all our might. For The Players!" Leos said finishing his epic speech and all his white hat hackers roar with energy.
()
Somewhere in France, a blue mist was flying in the area before it disappeared.
"Humph, this world never change." Said The leader of LeGrace somewhat disappointed.
"Rusher, we must proceed Dione is nearby," said Kula while looking at her many monitors.
"You're right, however, we must keep a low profile. Also, using the mist because we were outnumbered was a waste, If we get in a spot similar to this again..."
"I know. Maybe we should rest then until your limitation expires so you can use The Mist again."
"Agreed." He looks toward the big wall that was created by none other than Kula. "Kula, keep the maze up until we're far away from this place, we do not want...Her to come." Rusher told the orange-haired girl even emphasizing "her" so that the girl understood who he was talking to.
"Yes."
"Once we have both pearls, we can finally have revenge on those who destroyed our lives," Rusher said as they bypass the passages of the maze created by Kula's legendary piece: The Square Root of Puzzles.