Although she was limping, Vinnie continued to run across the grassfields of ART in search of Kevin, who she had seen falling from the sky alongside Itsura just about twenty minutes ago. "Don't tell me he's dead!" she thought, nearly tripping yet again. "If he loses too much blood, he'll most likely die from those wounds he got in battle!" She remembered the slightly distant yet recent moment in her head, confident that Kevin was nearby. With a few more steps, she found Kevin and Itsura's unconscious bodies, lying right beside each other.
She slowly walked over to Kevin's side, picking him up and placing him on her back. She quickly turned around and rushed back towards the laboratory, but was stopped by Sarath, who was tending to Itsura's wounds. "Don't worry, I have no intention of fighting you right now," he said. Vinnie calmed down, lowering her hands without a single word.
"I know I'm not one to say anything about what you do, but I advise you to leave the island within 7 days. Since us generals have been defeated, they're going to keep bringing higher ranks onto the island with the goal of taking you from here."
Vinnie sighed, lightly setting Kevin's unconscious body down. "I've been planning to join Team ENTITY," she informed Sarath. "Even though they're also targets of LUO, I've built a bond with them, a bond I've only had with Natalie for years."
"Mmm," Sarath replied. "I'm not sure what lies ahead for the both of us. All I know is that a war is coming - a war against LUO and the world is going to happen very soon, and it will determine the fate of the world."
Vinnie nodded.
Holding Itsura on his back, Sarath quietly faced the ocean. "Make sure that boy gets stronger, he's going to be the one to save all humanity," he said, pointing at Kevin. "The day we reunite, we will be enemies once again."
Volume 12, Chapter 15 - Dreamalia's Disappearence
About a week following LUO's failed mission and retreat from ART, the weekly newspapers across the world began to know about the Dreamalian Government's sudden withdrawal from the Nahata Pact, which had been announced to other Nahatan leaders with nothing but a small letter, which didn't even have a location sent from the country of Dreamalia. Now that suspicion about LUO has been raised throughout the world (primarily through the country of Nahata,) multiple world leaders have considered raiding their base in Abufan Clouds together to try and find other vital details for their motives. Along with the sudden withdrawal, it was said that Itsura had gone missing after departing from ART, giving another reason for the entire world to surround the same question: what exactly is happening in the world right now?
ART Laboratory, ART
"I'm hungry," Kevin complained to Samantha, following her across the laboratory. "You were asleep for 7 days, of course you're hungry!" she replied, putting her hands over her head as they both walked into the kitchen where Victor, Vinnie, and Gerald were. "Kevin's awake!" Gerald celebrated, leaping out of his seat and running right to Kevin's side. "Did Samantha tell you about what happened?"
Kevin shook his head. "No, all I heard is that it's been a week and we got LUO off of the island completely."
Gerald's smile faded, leading Kevin to the table where Victor and Samantha were sitting. "After you defeated Itsura, not only did Princess Layla and Notch leave the island with them, but they also sent a letter of withdrawal to Death Desert and Crystal City. Then, on the same day, Itsura went missing without any explanation." Kevin sighed, slamming both of his hands on the table. "We're going to go see what LUO is up to!" he suddenly announced to everyone in the room, their reactions unchanged. "If we go after LUO this early on, they're probably just going to manipulate the newspaper to deem you a murderer. Even though it's proven, we're still going to need a lot more proof to actually prove that LUO is trying to destroy the world," Victor stated.
Both Samantha and Vinnie agreed by nodding their heads. "However, we know that Vinnie is no longer able to stay in ART for safety reasons, they may send stronger units after her if we don't get her away from the island." Samantha informed Kevin, causing his entire tone to change. "YOU DECIDED TO JOIN TEAM ENTITY!?" he exclaimed, jumping up and down and shaking Vinnie side to side. "Yeah, because I'm interested in becoming an entity hunter!" she stated, exciting Kevin even more. Then, she glanced at Gerald without anyone in the room noticing. "But that's not the only reason I want to go…" she said, the unidentified gaze in her eyes deepening with each passing second.
Suddenly, two loud voices were heard in the living room of the Laboratory, the look on Vinnie's face changing along with the tone inside the room. Both Michael and Alex then barged into the room. "I told you he was awake!" Michael screamed at Alex, who groaned loudly at him. "Just shut up and tell him what happened, or I'll choke it out of you!"
Their continued bickering perplexed both Kevin and Gerald, who slowly turned their heads towards each other. "It's just been said that LUO now has Pyron, yes, THE Pyron, in their grasp!" Alex dreadfully screamed, falling to the floor in tears. "At this rate, we're NEVER going to win against them!"
Kevin's eyes suddenly dilated at the mention of Pyron and LUO in the same sentence, then looked back at Samantha and Gerald, who both shook their heads no. "We just had an encounter with LUO, and you're NOT going to traumatize Vinnie a second time to just boost our prestige!" she lectured, slowly dragging Kevin out of the room. "Since we've been here an additional week, I think it's time we head back to Crystal CIty just in case anything happens back over in Nahata," she informed Natalie, who was looking at Vinnie with a somber expression. "Oh!" she said, noticing Samantha was talking directly to her. "Sorry… I just don't know how to feel about Vinnie leaving ART for the first time…"
Vinnie turned her head straight to Natalie's, holding both of her hands and lifting them up towards her chest. "Natalie, I promise I'll be perfectly fine, now that I have even more friends who can protect me. I won't die until you become the best scientist in the land and surpass Jorgen, you hear?" She motivated her.
With happy tears now pouring down her eyes, Natalie hugged Vinnie tightly, pouring her entire heart into the warm embrace. "I'll protect this country with my entire being, and I'll make sure you and your new teammates are impressed when you return after LUO disappears into the mist."
Vinnie smiled, causing a chain reaction - Kevin, Samantha, Gerald, Michael, and Alex all smiled in order, watching as Natalie slowly let go of Vinnie. "We'll be friends forever," they both said in unison, grins appearing over their soft, meaningful faces.
Meanwhile in another part of the island, the president of ART looks at the city from the same building he had made the announcement on, glancing and waving at everyone who noticed him while passing by. "With VInnie and Sarath gone from the island," he said, slowly closing his pocket watch and placing it back in his pocket, "it sure is going to get awfully quiet around this country."