Nico

NICO LANDED WITH A THUD. He was not the type of guy who sleeps in one position, he actually moves around a lot. Sometimes he even finds himself at the foot of the bed whenever he wakes up.

"Ouch!"

He tried to sit up, but fell to the floor. No surprises there.

He looked at the digital clock, 2:10 A.M. He scanned the surroundings and noticed Niche was not on her bed, and when he turned to Nica's bed..

"She's drooling." he muttered.

"Nico! Wake them up! We gotta go! Libero's here!" he heard Niche yell from the door.

Nic got alerted and woke Nica and Nis up. Nica immediately woke up, Nis on the other hand...

"Back off! A beautiful lady is kissing me." Nis said.

A tick mark appeared on Nico's forehead and kicked Nis. Said mechanic jolted awake.

"I'm up! I'm up! Geez! You didn't have to do that." Nis complained.

"Shut up and gather your things. We gotta go."

The Warren siblings headed to Sora's room, and she was already waiting for them.

"Sora, what do you mean Libero's here?" Nica asked Sora who was scampering in the room.

"An idiot betrayed Ground Zero rules and led them here. They're trying to find you guys." Sora answered.

"What are you doing then? And this is Ground Zero, people here are supposed to you know, betray you." Nico voiced out.

"First off, just because most people here are criminals doesn't mean they're traitors. Especially not to me." a chill went down Nico's spine. He shouldn't have asked.

"Don't mind him Sora." Nica said. "What do we have to do?"

"Get away from here. Natsu is here in Ground Zero, I'm sure we can handle it." Sora pushed a button behind a picture, and a portion of her room's wall moved.

"A secret passage. Cool." Nis muttered.

"Follow me."

Sora led them to an underground weapon storage room. It looked a lot like they had back at Long Island, only bigger and had more weapons. More dangerous weapons.

"Take what you need, weapons, ammunitions, etc." Sora said.

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"But what about you Sora?" Nica questioned.

"I told you already. I'll be fine. Natsu will be with me. That girl is training with an oni you know." she tried to suppress a laugh.

"Thank you for everything, Sora." Nico heard Niche say.

"Yeah." Nis even bowed, a Japanese gesture and tradition when thanking someone. "Hounto ni Arigato."

"My. My. You really are a charming man, Megane-kun." Sora smiled.

Nico faced Sora and bowed too. "Thank you very much for everything!"

"Mou, don't be like that you guys. We'll still see each other in the future."

The five of them headed to a sealed door. Sora put her hand on a panel and it suddenly opened. "This tunnel here will lead you out of Ground Zero. Its exit should be somewhere near your destination."

Niche went in first, followed by Nico. Before Nis could get in, Sora pulled him close and kissed him fully on the lips.

The three of them gasped. They even blushed when they noticed Nis responding to her kisses.

"You guys!" Niche groaned.

"You do realize we're being chased by an international terrorist organization who wants our heads right? Literally!" Nico complained.

Nis only replied by raising his index finger, signalling them to stop talking. When the two stopped, they were both out of breath.

"Call me if you do survive. I'll immediately free myself from any commitment."

"I'll keep that in mind, fair maiden."

"You two stop being poetic and let's get a move on." Niche said.

"Coming sis." and Nis went inside the tunnel.

Nico eyed Nica, who was eyeing Sora.

"Pedophile." Nica said, disappointment on her voice.

"What? That's mean Arrow-chan! I'm only eighteen!"

Nico saw Nica shrug. But she hugged her. Nica entered the door and stood next to him.

"Kick their asses, alright?" Sora told them. Nico couldn't help but smile.

"You bet we will." Nico said.

Sora closed the door. They heard shouting, gunshots and explosions.

"We have to go, now." Nica told them.

The four of them ran from the door, through the tunnel, leading them wherever they were going. After about five minutes of running.

"You... guys. Wait... up!" Nico's head turned to Nis who was falling a bit behind.

"Pick up your pace, Nis!" Niche called.

"I'm not...like you guys. I'm not that athletic!" he gasped.

Nico couldn't help but shake his head. The four of them received the same training from their father, but he guessed since the three of them had secret jobs that includes physical wellness, they had better stamina than Nis who was more of a mechanic/inventor.

After ten minutes, with a few complaints here and there, they reached the end of the tunnel.

They were greeted by the bright morning sun, so Nico couldn't help but squint his eyes.

"Our destination should be somewhere around here." Nica said and stepped out of the cave they were in. "But seriously, I never thought this place was an escape route from Ground Zero. I've been hanging out in this cave for a long time you know."

"Enough about that. We can't just storm in the Headquarters." Niche voiced in.

"I agree with Niche. We have to come up with a plan." Nis seconded.

"But first, we have to choose which one of us will lead this operation." Nico said.

All eyes went to Nica. "Who? Me? No way."

"Why not?" the three said together.

"First off, Dr. Collusus knows me too much. He'll know how my mind works. I've been working for him for five years. And he's personally overseen my trainings all those years ago."

"So, what do we do?" Niche questioned.

"We need someone whom they won't suspect to lead us." Nica paused. "I obviously can't. Nis can't either. They would already know he's smart. Niche can't too."

"Why not?"

"They probably know already that you're the eldest. They know you'll most likely lead us."

And now, all eyes were on Nico. "What?"

"You would be perfect for the job."

"Eh? Why me?"

"You're a detective. You're good at deducting stuff. And you're the youngest one among the four of us. They won't be expecting that."

"Seriously?" was all Nico could say.