It was a silent walk between Midas and The Origin as they made their way to the Daily Bugle. He wasn't sure why the Origin didn't trust him in the slightest.

"Origin, would you mind if I asked you something?" He says.

The Origin turns to Midas, the visor covering his face making it impossible to tell what his expression was.

"Make it quick. We have a job to do."

"Is there a reason you seem to not think of me as trustworthy?"

The Origin remains silent, turning away from Midas.

"It's best I don't answer. Now quiet. We've arrived."

The sound of gunshots fill the air and whizz past Origin and Midas as they duck and take cover behind a stone. He then pulls out a circular device and presses a button as a holographic figure appears.

"Alright Scientist. We've arrived at the location. What now?"

"Nice job you guys. Now somewhere around the bugle is plans of a battle bus upgrade that SOMEONE misplaced. Me and Jules need it back pronto."

"On it."

The Origin puts the communication device away and turns to Midas.

"Alright. We'll cover more ground if we split up. You go in the left direction, I'll take the right."

Midas nods.

The two of them split up and dash in their respective direction, dodging bullets from both I.O and Seven forces. Midas slides behind another rock and takes a peek over it, ducking his head when any bullets or I.O guards come by.

"Alright. Where are those upgrade plans?"

He takes note of a few nearby I.O guards standing by a table under some shelter with blueprints and files stacked and laid on it. With a quick forward roll he slips behind another rock to get closer and listen to their conversation.

"So you just found these plans for a battle bus upgrade lying around?"

"Yeah man. What idiot would be stupid enough to leave something so important on the ground free for the taking?"

"Probably someone like Jones am I right?"

The guards laugh to themselves before folding the blueprints up, stuffing them under the many files on the table and run off to join the fight. Midas clenches his fists with a scowl on his face.

"He's not an idiot. They have no idea how smart and talented Jones really is."

Once they are gone, Midas leaps over the rock and begins to fish out the blueprints they buried. He eventually pulls it out and quickly skims over it to make sure he has what he and Origin are looking for.

"Okay. This is it."

He folds it up and puts it in his pocket. However his eye falls on a file also buried under the pile. It had the words 'Plans on Project 8R3Z/----'. There's another name after the slash between it and 8R3Z, but it's been crossed out multiple times and isn't readable anymore.

Midas goes to pick it up but stops as he hears something behind him. The sound of a blade being drawn tells him to immediately move and he does just that, a katana sword missing him and slamming into the table.

"Speak of the devil."

He turns around to find 8R3Z staring at him, pulling his katana out of the table and looking for a fight. Midas groans as they throw a punch at him, only for him to quickly block it with his hand and retaliate with a punch to the face plus sweeping them off their feet with a low kick.

"I don't have time to deal with you again!"

Midas grabs the file on said experiment and makes a mad dash to find the Origin. 8R3Z swiftly gets back on to their feet however and gives chase.

----------

The mastermind quickly weaves through the guards and bullets, trying to get away from the cyborg relentlessly pursuing him. 8R3Z puts the katana away and retrieves an assault rifle from their back and begins firing while barging through some of the Seven's guards, distracting them and leaving them vulnerable.

Midas quickly summons his staff and grips it tight, manifesting a shield to deflect the bullets coming from behind him. Then, he tries to tap into the power he trained this morning, focusing intensely. He manages to spawn 3 golden orbs in his hand and, swiveling around, tosses them in the cyborg's direction and lets them explode.

It works in not only damaging them, but throwing off 8R3Z's sense of direction, plus others around them. It gives Midas a chance to escape their sight and quickly dash to The Origin, who was dealing with a huge group of I.O guards.

"Damnit. There's too many for me to take on at once."

The Origin notices Midas charging through, kicking and punching the guards away while spinning around a golden staff which is sending out small yet explosive golden orbs.

"That staff... I recognize it!"

Midas slides next to The Origin, turning to him.

"Are you okay Origin?"

He nods.

"Yeah. Did you happen to find those blueprints?"

Midas points to his pocket where a rolled up blueprint was being stashed. The Origin, while being covered by his visor, hums with a thankful smile.

"Great. Now, think you can figure a way to get out of this mess?"

"Don't worry, I've got this."

Midas quickly spins the golden staff around in his hands, it's glow getting brighter and stronger, before slamming the tip on the concrete and causing a shockwave of light and golden beams to erupt from the staff. Its so strong that it ends up sending the guards flying back, some even being knocked out, and leaves cracks in the ground.

"Hmph. Very impressive Midas."

The mastermind chuckles slightly at the remark. However, they have no time to run as 8R3Z catches sight of them and runs towards them, katana drawn. Midas growls in annoyance, gripping on to his staff.

"God damnit. This guy just won't take a hint and leave me be."

As the cyborg reaches him, Midas clenches his fists and punches them, hard in the face. It's enough to make their nose begin to bleed. Midas then tapes his staff lightly on the ground, making himself and The Origin get teleported away from the Daily Bugle.

8R3Z removes the scarf over their mouth and nose briefly to attend to the nosebleed Midas caused, a low growl coming from their throat as blood drips into their right hand.

It's not long however before something begins to vibrate in their pocket. They fish out the circular device and press a button, answering their boss' call.

"Well? How's the assault going? Have you stopped Midas and Origin?"

They hum, slightly angered. Slone sighs.

"They got away with the battle bus blueprints I see?"

They nod. Slone sighs yet again, readjusting her glasses and looking back at them.

"Alright. Gather the other guards left and leave the Daily Bugle. We have no choice but to surrender this place and flee with our forces to the next one which will be Condo Canyon, got it?"

They nod once more, wiping the blood away from their nose.

"And make sure that scarf stays over your face. We wouldn't want a certain someone to see who you really are, do we?"

8R3Z shakes his head with a hum.

"Good. Now get a move on, my trusty assassin. And when you return I'll have another mission waiting for you."

The cyborg switches off the device and puts it away before pulling the scarf back over their nose and mouth, concealing their identity once more. They glance down at their bloodstained hand, clenching their fist while gritting their teeth, before heading off to find the surviving guards and flee from the Daily Bugle.

-------------

Meanwhile...

Midas and The Origin thankfully landed a few miles away from The Daily Bugle. They take a moment to catch their breath, the mastermind briefly leaning against his staff and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least we got out of there... mostly unscathed." The Origin says. "Good job on finding the blueprints Midas."

Midas simply offers a thumbs up. He notices The Origin staring at the golden staff in his hand, looking somewhat uneasy about it.

"Is something the matter, Origin?"

He folds his arms, turning away for a moment.

"You asked me earlier about why I see you as untrustworthy."

Midas nods.

"It may be because... you remind me of someone I once fought against. A certain god of light and gold, and he has the same staff as you."

The mastermind's eyes widened.

"You knew Oro?"

"In a way. We never saw eye to eye and...well, he almost killed me with a sword. Thankfully for me, the stab wasn't that fatal and I managed to slip out of the situation unnoticed."

Midas could only stand there in stunned silence as he listens to The Origin. This story sounded REALLY familiar to a bunch of flashbacks he experienced a few months ago.

"Anyway, what I'm saying is if it takes me a long time to trust you, that's what's holding me back. I have a few grudges against that god because of what happened in the past."

He turns back to Midas.

"The similarities between you two are uncanny. You're not his son or something, are you?"

Midas shakes his head.

"It's a long story, but to put it simply, I was born with the golden touch when he healed my mother. And he lent me all of his power so he could save my life a year or two ago."

Origin remains silent, turning away again.

"You could say in a way I'm his heir or something. But I'm not his son or anything."

"I see... Is Oro still around nowadays?"

Midas rubs his arm a little.

"No. Not anymore. He died about 2 years ago after he saved me."

The Origin hums before turning his back to him.

"Maybe that's for the best. Nonetheless, we should be heading back now."

With that, The Origin begins walking off in the direction of the Sanctuary, not uttering another word, while Midas stays behind for a moment.

"He knows about Oro... and I think, with the story he told me, I know who he is behind that visor."

Midas stuffs his hands into his pocket as he begins walking back to the Sanctuary himself. That talk he had with Origin, he couldn't help but think about Oro and the past he had with the god. Nowadays he's moved on from Oro's death, seeing as he didn't need his guidance and help anymore.

But it was still nice to think about the god and the good times they shared.

While he walks, his phone begins going off. So he takes his left hand out of his pocket, phone in hand, and answers.

"Yes?"

"Midas!! You're not gonna believe this!!" Jones says through the phone, scaring the shit out of Midas.

"Jesus! Jones, settle down. You're gonna make me go deaf." He tells him. "Now, what's up?"

"Oh sorry Midas, haha! But anyway, we just received news that I.O have surrendered the Daily Bugle and fled the place!"

"Wait, really?" He asks. "But me and Origin just escaped the place."

"Yeah! I'd call that a good hint that we'll win this war eventually, eh?"

Midas chuckles lightly.

"Well, if you say so. But how did they surrender the place that fast? Me and Origin had left just 5 minutes ago."

"Uh, I'm not sure how to put it, but Foundation does! Come back to Sanctuary and the big guy will explain everything!"

"Alright then. I'll be there in a minute."

Midas puts away his phone and summons his staff once again, tapping it lightly on the ground and teleporting away in an instant.

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