It was an ordinary day.
Training echoed through the rebuilt headquarters—metal clashing, footsteps pounding, voices arguing and laughing at the same time.
The air smelled of sweat, oil, and electricity. For the first time in months, things almost felt normal.
Poppy sat alone in the common study area, surrounded by open books and scattered notes. Her fingers moved quickly as she scribbled calculations, lips muttering strategies under her breath.
Then she heard it.
A faint sound.
It came from the restroom corridor nearby—a soft metallic scrape, followed by something like gargling.
Poppy paused.
"…Hello?" she called, standing up slowly.
No response.
She hesitated for a second, then walked toward the corridor. The lights flickered once as she reached the restroom door.
She stepped inside.
The door closed quietly behind her.
Hours passed.
Training ended. Conversations died down. People moved to showers, lounges, rooms.
That's when Chitki noticed.
"Where's Poppy?" she asked casually, glancing up from her tablet.
No one answered.
Peppy blinked. "Huh? She was studying, right?"
Bandri crossed her arms. "I haven't seen her since morning."
Mr. Monkey shrugged without looking up from his phone. "Maybe bathroom break turned into a nap."
Chiki grinned. "Or she finally joined the villains."
SMACK.
Tema hit the back of his head without even turning.
"Idiot."
Chitki frowned. She tapped rapidly on her tablet, scanning internal cameras.
No signal.
"…That's strange."
She stood up.
Minutes turned into an hour.
Then two.
Twelve hours later, the atmosphere had changed completely.
Poppy hadn't returned.
Chitki moved through every room, every corridor, every training ground. Her suit scanned heat signatures, heartbeats, electrical patterns.
Nothing.
Her jaw tightened.
"…Restroom."
She walked toward the corridor Poppy had gone to earlier.
The moment she stepped inside—
BAAM!
Something slammed into her at terrifying speed.
Her suit reacted instantly, forming a reinforced shield just in time. The impact sent her crashing backward into the wall, tiles shattering around her.
Chitki's eyes widened.
"INTRUDER—!"
Her warning never finished.
The air warped.
The thing in front of her moved again, faster than before.
Her suit screamed warnings.
SYSTEM DAMAGE. MELTING DETECTED.
"What—!?"
The metal plating along her arm began to deform, glowing red as if exposed to extreme heat.
Chitki gritted her teeth. "Switch—chainsaw mode!"
Blades burst out from her forearm as she lunged forward.
The figure dodged effortlessly.
She barely had time to register it before she was thrown aside like a ragdoll.
Chitki skidded across the floor, coughing. "So fast…"
She forced herself upright, energy surging.
"Then try this."
Her chest core glowed violently.
"AURORA BREAKER."
A massive beam of compressed energy tore through the restroom, obliterating walls and blasting straight ahead—
And missed.
The air behind her rippled.
Something hit her from behind.
WHACK.
The punch cracked through her suit, sending her crashing to her knees.
Footsteps echoed.
She turned.
A tall figure stood amid the destruction, his pressure suit torn slightly, eyes tired.
Before she could speak—
Another punch flew.
But this one never landed.
A fist intercepted it mid-air.
Drayke's eyes flickered.
Bear stood behind him, breathing hard, blood still dried on his knuckles.
"That's not how you should use a bathroom bro," Bear muttered.
Drayke staggered back a step, then smiled softly.
More footsteps arrived—Tema, Bandri, Peppy, others flooding the corridor.
Smoke suddenly filled the room.
Chiki's voice echoed from within. "SMOKE BOMB!"
The fog thickened instantly.
"CHIKI—!" Tema shouted.
Within the smoke, Chiki's fingers reached for another bomb—
And froze.
Something grabbed his wrist.
He looked up.
Blue eyes stared back at him from inches away.
Drayke smiled.
"Found you."
The smoke folded inward.
A portal snapped open.
In a single heartbeat, Drayke pulled Chiki into it—
And vanished.
The smoke cleared.
The portal collapsed.
Silence fell.
Bear stared at the empty space.
Peppy's voice trembled. "…Chiki?"
Tema's fists clenched so hard her nails cut into her palms.
Chitki pushed herself up, eyes wide with disbelief.
"…He took him."
The room felt colder.
Somewhere far away—
The chase had finally begun.