The training was over and everybody had gathered back at Hannah's house. Exchanging the needed pleasantries and taking a full day's rest, came the fateful day where they would leave for the battle. Their mode of transport: a blimp prepared by the Rose.

"It's finally time, huh," Shin said, stepping out of the building.

"Yeah. Let's go," Yukio agreed and the five of them started to head towards the space where the blimp stood ready.

"Where do you think you're going? You're not ready yet," Chipo called out to them.

"What do you mean? Are we supposed to pack something more?" Hannah asked, confused.

"Hey, hey, were you guys gonna just let them leave like that?" Chipo asked her colleagues.

"Not at all. It was just refreshing to look at their confidence." Arnold crossed his arms.

"Tch. You're all jerks." Chipo ignored the bunch and turned towards the youngsters again. "You all think you're strong enough to fight the Generals, right?"

"I mean … isn't that why we trained the whole month?" Shin asked

"Yeah, but we kinda lied. The way you guys are right now, you're not ready. Not even the slightest."

"What? That can't be right!"

"Just think about the fight you had on the island. Remember the sheer power they had. Do you really think you've reached that point?"

Shin gnashed his teeth a little. "Even if we didn't, our techniques will—"

"No they won't. They stole our shards. Back then, probably, they still hadn't gotten used to them. But in this past month, you can't expect yourselves to be the only ones training, right?"

"You… have to be kidding me. Then what was the point?!"

"Calm down. Just because you can't defeat them as you are now, doesn't mean you trained for nothing. You just need final touches."

"Final touches? What do you—"

"Stop stalling and just tell us what to do," Diavolo intervened, starting to get annoyed.

" … What an impatient kid. If you're gonna talk like that then—"

"The Generals are already strong people, but they were given further strength by getting a portion of the shard from Hisao. Are we all clear on this information?" Sheng Hu pitched in, also getting impatient.

"Tch." Chipo turned away, whereas the youngins nodded.

"You all will be fighting them the same way. We never told you but those shards are not all we Guardians have. You have been training not to match them, but to be strong enough to utilize what we are about to give you. And that is… our birth fragment."

"Birth fragment?"

"The shards are part of our very bodies whose role is to provide mastery over the element governed by the shard, to those who can utilize it. So when the shards were stolen from us, it was like chopping off a tree at the base of its trunk. However, the roots of that tree still exist in the soil that is us. The birth fragment is small but can only exist within us and can never be forcibly taken away. That way, when the shards are destroyed, the birth fragment can regrow the shard inside us again. Which is why our mission includes destroying the shards that Hisao took and not retrieving them. Anyway, the size of the birth fragment is the same as the smallest usable piece from the complete shard, that is the same size the Generals were given."

"Wait, how can you be sure they got the smallest piece?"

"Hisao's goal is to form the Blue Moon Gem and not to strengthen the Generals. Are you even following?"

" … Sorry."

"No matter." Sheng Hu adjusted his glasses. "As I was saying, the birth fragments cannot be forcefully taken, but we can give them to you. However, remember that the birth fragments are our roots and they absolutely must not be within other people. In other words, in exchange for the power they grant you, you will be timed. Afterwards they will disintegrate in your body and reform inside us. To maximize the time you get, you need to be as close to us as possible during the whole thing. So you could say we'll be fighting in pairs. That's why… line up."

Understanding the logic behind it, the five of them stood side by side, facing their respective trainers. The only problem was that…

"Wait, if we're going to get the birth fragments from the Guardians, then Diav will…"

Shin, Hannah, Yukio and Marvin looked at Diavolo and Arashi who were looking at each other.

"That's right. He won't be getting a birth fragment," Arashi said.

"You prepared it?" Diavolo asked, seemingly already knowing what he was going to receive.

"You bet." Arashi smirked and pulled out a small container from her cleavage. "You have six chances."

Diavolo looked away for a brief moment and sighed having given up reacting on these mischievous antics. He took the box and opened it, revealing six large, deep red medicinal capsules lined up in groups of three. Diavolo looked in confusion.

"This doesn't look the same as the others."

"They're pomegranate flavor," Arashi nonchalantly said and waved her hand, walking away.

"Hurry up and finish this so we can get outta here!" Chipo brought the others back to their senses and placed her hand on Marvin's chest. "Relax, kid."

Similarly, Randolf placed his own on Shin's chest and Arnold on Yukio's.

Only Sheng Hu was taking his time as his hand occasionally twitched and slowly approached Hannah. It wasn't long until Hannah realized what was about to happen and flushed red with embarrassment. She hesitantly looked up at Sheng Hu's face. To her horror, gone was the stern face she was familiar with and she saw a contorted face muscles like that of a horny monkey, plus his other hand subconsciously following up on his first.

Just as a red liquid finally trickled down his nose, as if breaking all laws of physics, Arashi and Chipo appeared behind him and locked his arms onto his back, while Hannah herself jumped several steps back and hugged herself to hide her chest.

"You… DEVIANT!!" Hannah couldn't help but scream out.

"Eh? Wait, what? Ow, ow, ow!!!" The pain finally caught up to Sheng Hu's senses that showed him that his arms were no longer in front of him.

"And this is why I told you to be careful during training," Arashi told Hannah. "This man may look like a diligent and civilized man, but underneath he's just a huge pervert. You are screaming like that right now, I suppose he didn't do anything to you during training. Or is it that… he was covert enough for you to not notice?"

"Wait… you mean…" Hannah grabbed onto her head and tried to remember all cases where he could've taken advantage of her. "No, no, it can't be!"

"You bastard!" screamed Shin and was about to punch Sheng Hu but was stopped by Randolf.

"No, I didn't do anything during training! I swear to God!"

"Really? If you're lying, I have scissors with me right now, you know?" Arashi gave a threatening smile.

"It's the truth! The truth! I'm not lying!!! Let me go! Th-that's right! We need to hurry and place the birth fragments! How am I supposed to place it on her heart if I don't put my hand there?!"

"You can just as easily access her heart through her back, you dreg." Chipo spat on the ground.

Sheng Hu twitched in pain but eventually gave up. He was strictly monitored while he placed the birth fragment through Hannah's back, after which the other three had their turns simultaneously while Diavolo waited. The whole process took longer than expected, both because of waiting for Sheng Hu to finish for the others to start, and also Sheng Hu himself taking longer than he normally would have due to the pain making him unable to focus.

"You all will get used to the fragments while we're on our way. Don't attempt something crazy and just calmly focus your attention in your heart area. Feel the presence of the fragment and very gently nudge it with your Raze or Natura or whatever you use. It will resonate and amplify your powers. If you don't go gently you have a high chance of going out of control. I'm sure none of you want to explode from the inside, right? If that's all clear, let's go."

It was obvious why they chose an airship. If Hisao themselves used one to get to his hideout, it was definitely somewhere that one needed to cross the waters. Using an airship would be faster and safer. Their pilot was Remcon yet again.

The travel time was almost two days. As they kept drawing closer, their anxiety grew, but so did their 'acting fine' facade. Within the first few hours of travel, the youngsters had well grasped the existence of the fragments inside them. Since they did not have the liberty to practice here, they would have to deal with their own surprise when the time came.

Shin, at one point, asked Diavolo if he had managed to tap into the power voluntarily, to which he replied 'no'. The pills he got from Arashi were made for that. He didn't explain anything since he himself didn't quite understand it, but he simply said that he had this at his hand and another technique he learned. He explained nothing about the technique and tried to change the topic.

Yukio's facade was hard to look at past at some times and quite easy at others. But as time progressed and he spent more time with them, he gradually returned to his former cheerful self.

Hannah seemed more lost than she usually used to be. And that was not like when she used to drift away thinking about her responsibilities in the family or student council. This was more distant and more lost. At one point, Shin tried to cheer her up, which was when he noticed her hands were cold, making him worry about her health. Hannah brushed it aside saying she was okay and felt asleep, only waking up a few hours before touchdown.

Lastly, Marvin was the most enthusiastic and talkative among everyone. To him, Suzume wasn't really an important person. Rather, he was more concerned about his own growth. Throughout the journey he would talk about everything he learned and could do. He even brought some of the test rocks that were used in training to show the bunch a few tricks and techniques. While at it, he noticed that the fragment clearly had a big improvement on his control. Chipo heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that he didn't go berserk. While some may find his constant chattering annoying, ironically, his lively bragging was just the thing that helped alleviate the tension. It was also this that made the journey feel shorter than it actually was.

The island where Hisao's hideout stood finally came into view and it was time to slowly descend. At certain regions on the island one could notice objects that were clearly buildings peeking out of the canopy. There were also wide regions of distinct clearings. And in the center, slightly to the side of a conspicuously large pile of rocks, was the very familiar airship that had descended upon their demise more than a month ago.

"Where do we start?" Shin asked once they all exited their blimp after landing.

"Regardless of where, we need to be very cautious about traps laid here and there," Diavolo said, his questionable detective instincts tingling.

"Or~ we can follow that conveniently placed arrow that points towards the center of the island," Arnold said, pointing to their right.

"That's a clear sign of a trap!" Diavolo exclaimed.

"Ugh, just shut up and keep walking!" Arashi impatiently said and was the first to go ahead.

Roughly an hour passed until a clearing came into view. There were no traps triggered during the walk. Peeking between the tree trunks they could see a strange large boulder at the farther side of the clearing, at least, that's what they thought until they got closer and saw a person they clearly remembered.

"Yay~! They here! They here! I get sweets now! Tanran, beat them, get sweets?" echoed below-30-IQ'd words.

"Yes, yes, if you squash them, you'll get your sweets. Ugh, finally you can shut up."

There were three people in their view. In the middle was the large man they saw who was bound by chains previously, the woman named Tanran to the right and the tall burly old man to the left. Before all of them could properly adjust their eyes to the environment, the round man jumped towards them with an elated look.

Boom! Spark! Ftang! Crash!

All together four different powers joined together and landed explosively onto his stomach, launching him several meters away.

Tanran whistled. "Wew! Looks like you brats really upped your game!"

"Ack! OW! It hurts! Tanran, it hurts!"

"Shut up, ya bird brain! That's what you get for jumping on them without preparation." And as if she realized something, she smacked her own head. "And I'm the dumb one for thinking you'd even know what preparation is."

Diavolo, Shin, Hannah and Marvin relaxed their stances but still remained vigilant. During that attack, Yukio was the only one who didn't participate. He keenly kept his eyes on the old man who was returning his gaze with his own.

"Come along, washboard lass. You have a score to settle with me don't you?" Tanran bewitchingly turned around and started walking into the path behind her; one of three such paths that were each behind the three enemies standing.

Hannah popped a vein but controlled herself and followed behind silently. She would be able to lash out at her to her heart's content soon enough.

"Should I be concerned?" Sheng Hu asked Arashi.

"Just go," Arashi replied, subtly worried about Sheng Hu getting enticed by Tanran's body in a crucial moment.

Similarly, the old man quietly turned around and headed into the path behind him.

"Mr. Arnold." Yukio gestured, to which the subject nodded understandingly and followed behind.

"I guess the rest of us will fight this guy?" Shin asked.

"Nope. You guys have your own fights to handle, and my gut tells me it's through the path behind that fatso," Chipo said standing in front of them. "I thought I'll just be acting as support but that attack just now was more than what I expected. Change of plans." She whipped off her hoodie. "I'll be fighting him too. Go! Leave!" she ordered Diavolo and Shin.

"You… you were a girl?!" Shin exclaimed.

"Hey, stop wasting time and run!" Diavolo yanked at him.

"Tanran, they run back. Let go?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Let them pass. Just focus on the ones in front of you," her voice echoed from a distance.

Ten minutes into the middle path, and the four already started to hear loud crashes behind them. Wishing the child best of luck and prayers, they continued forward with conviction. Soon enough, they arrived at the large pile of rocks that they saw peeking out of the canopy. It was only here that they noticed that the trees had hidden the cave entrance at the bottom.

They entered, and not too deep in, they were met with a spiral staircase that led underground. A very standard yet large door at the bottom. It was kept unlocked. The pin drop silence made the creaking noise of it swinging open crisp and distinct.

They found themselves entering a large open room with literally nothing but chairs lined up at the walls. The room was circular and the ceiling was parabolic for structural support. Surprisingly, electricity was properly running as the base of the ceiling was lined with tube lights, making the room adequately bright for its size.

"Apologies if the place doesn't look the part for a proper hideout, esteemed guests," spoke the only man they saw once entering the room. "This was originally a waiting room for hired men and not meant for fighting. But it would also be a problem if the forest caught fire during our fight, would it not? Do not worry. This room should have adequate ventilation so as to not suffocate."

"Geralt…" Diavolo remembered the man's name clearly.

"Those who are not meant to fight me, please advance through this door. I shall not play any tricks." He pointed behind himself with his cane.

As Shin and Randolf began separating away, "Arashi, you go with them," said Diavolo.

"What are you playing at? We're supposed to fight as in pairs. You couldn't beat him without the shard fragment. What makes you think you'll succeed alone now that he has one?"

Diavolo looked at her meaningfully, as if hinting that she should understand on her own.

"Don't play around. You need that to fight Hisao. Remember, I told you, you have six chances. Don't waste them on him!"

"I don't have a birth fragment and neither are you a Guardian, so you have no need to stay close to me. Go!"

This was in fact, just Diavolo's excuse. The real reason was what Yukio had told him the night before they took off. Something about Arashi not being able to exert herself. The three thought about it and speculated that Arashi might be facing a problem. It was odd because she was Suzume's bodyguard before they came along, so she must've fought. But after they showed up, the power they saw Arashi displayed was quite miniscule apart from her Takeover ability. There were countless ways to work around Takeover, and in such cases she would've had to display her own raw power. This was something the boys had never seen, but believed she could do. And if there was some reason she could not use it, it would be better if they didn't let her fight.

If it was something Arashi hid even during such dire times, it would have to be something important. Moreover, if Arashi hadn't spoken about it till now, it meant she wanted to keep it a secret for a longer time. That would mean she would practically be useless in the big battles they were all about to face. So wouldn't it be better to not take her?

Of course not! She would absolutely blow her top, or at the very least make up a convincing excuse to go. After all, this was a rescue mission for her own sister.

Diavolo sternly stared at Geralt with conviction. This was partly because he actually believed in his strength and also partly because he wanted his confidence to be believable enough for Arashi to buy it. And buy she definitely did.

"Don't you dare waste it." She turned around.

"That's harsh. Don't you mean, 'Don't you dare die'?"

" … You'll know what I mean," she said and left.

Diavolo was slightly confused as she looked at her distancing back figure, but quickly returned to more pressing matters.

"Shall we reintroduce ourselves before we start?"

"No need." Diavolo cracked his knuckles. "We're short on time."

Past the door was another set of spiral stairs, but the following room was similar to the first yet very different. It had metal plated walls, eccentrically placed lights and odd depressions and extrusions in various places. It gave off an overall sci-fi vibe. Too bad the entering trio couldn't spend too long absorbing the scenery since they were rudely interrupted by a certain loudmouth.

"Wait, what the fuck? Why are three of you here? Did you just sacrifice a bunch of your friends outside? But then again, you'll definitely need more people to fight the great me after what you faced back then! Hahahahaha!"

"Shut up, Splinter! Your opponent is me alone!"

"You crack me up! Did you forget what happened last time? Or did learning Raze finally bloat your ego into space?!"

"Arashi, you go on ahead through that door behind him. I'll support Shin," whispered Randolf.

"You're kidding. You too? Just what do you take me for?"

"We only got to know the rough estimate of when Hisao will be ready for the extraction. So we don't know if we're fighting for no reason and that we're too late or we still have a chance. Right now, the only one who can confirm the situation and attempt something is you. Don't be stubborn and go. This is both for you and Suzume's sake."

Arashi grinded her teeth and clicked her tongue in defeat. Ready to face an attack from Splinter, she made a beeline for the door. But to her surprise Splinter did absolutely nothing to stop her and stood arms crossed.

"You're not stopping her?" Shin raised an eyebrow.

"There's no need. She'll find out soon enough. Ah, but I don't mean there's a trap or trick behind there or anything, so go in with your tails held up high. You aren't worth using traps on," he spat out.

Arashi stood holding the knob, waiting for Randolf's approval. He nodded. She gulped and quickly went through, leaving behind the young fighters.

Unsurprisingly, there was another set of spiral stairs. But at the bottom was not a door but a long passageway. Trusting Splinter's dubious words, she sprinted through the dimly lit passage, staying as vigilant as she could. It was pretty long but not enough to cause someone anxiety. And finally, she reached the end.

"What… the hell is this…"