Definition

Cipher

"Okay, I give up. What is it?" Kazu asked.

"That's what we've been trying to figure out." Kirito clicked his tongue. "It's clearly not binary like that message."

"Maybe it's coordinates?"

"The distance from a certain point at a specific angle?"

"Vector lines?"

"Phone number?" They all turned to Asuka. "Ahaha... I thought we were just throwing out random ideas relating to numbers..."

Jin moved closer to the screen, getting a better look.

4522912'19 1951

"Is that apostrophe supposed to be there?" He asked.

"Apparently." Kirito shrugged. "When I asked, he just stared at me."

4-5-2-2-9-1-2'1-9, space, and then 1-9-5-1? That apostrophe could be... His brain began to shift its gears. D-E-B-B-I-A-B apostrophe A-I... No! That's 19! S! "Kirito, can I have that chair for a while?"

The blonde pushed himself out of the seat. "All yours."

"Thanks." He typed his thoughts out under the numbers. 1-9-5-1... A-I-E-A? No, it's another 19. S. Sea!

What he had was 'DEBBIAB'S SEA'.

"Yeah, no, I think I'd remember if there was a sea called something as dumb as that." Niara muttered.

Jin's eyes narrowed further at the screen. "The 4 and 5 can't be combined. There's only 26 letters in the Latin alphabet. Maybe 22?"

'DEVIAB'S SEA'

"It's... A little better?" Kazu himself was unsure of what they were looking for.

The 9 afterwards can't be combined either which means... It's 4-5-22-9-12'19 19-5-1!

'DEVIL'S SEA'

"Oh..." Kousuke felt a pit forming in his stomach. "Oh, that's bad."

~~~~~

"The Devil's Sea? As in, The Dragon's Triangle? The Pacific Bermuda Triangle? The place where a bunch of Mongolian ships disappeared twice and thus failed to invade Japan after invading China?"

"The Mongols died in a tornado, Arata..." Hikaru muttered. "Though, I'm surprised you know about that in the first place, seeing how often you sleep in class."

"But that's all made up, right?" Kageto raised an eyebrow at the adults. "Late last century, and early this century, they basically discovered how none of that stuff is paranormal."

Reina nodded. "The ships that went missing just didn't have any means of communication when they were wrecked in a storm."

"So all those stories are fake?!"

"Arata..."

"Still, it leaves a rather large problem." Muraku had his arms crossed as he thought. "Assuming it's at the seabed, with all the old wrecked ships around, it'll be hard to identify which is their actual base."

"There's also the underwater volcanoes to worry about." Hana pointed out. "Along with flash storms."

"Yeah, how about we start at the more immediate problem of 'how do we get there'?" Vanessa stated. "We don't exactly have a submarine. And even if we do, I doubt they'll just open the front door for us."

Mikhail had his fingers to his chin. "If we have to bust through, then it'll certainly be dangerous for us and for the people inside. With how deep the sea is, the pressure would result to immediate death."

"That explains why Eva-san hadn't tried to get out on her own." Yuno stated.

"Why not just use the submarine you took from them?" Charlotte suggested. "It's still under custody, isn't it?"

"Only if they haven't infiltrated that office." Kyouji muttered mockingly.

"Could they really do that?"

"Geez, they're everywhere."

"Nowhere's ever really safe, huh?"

"How exactly do we know that you two aren't still working for the World Sabers?" Hana decided to ask. "Sure, Eva-san got you both here, but..."

She's messed up before.

That was something she absolutely refused to say, but the message in and of itself was relayed to all those who were listening.

"You don't." He said simply. "We're playing the 'trust' game."

"As if we could ever-"

"Listen, Sena. I couldn't give any less of a damn to what you think of me. The hatred you're feeling is mutual. However," His eyes narrowed at the red head. "What I hate even more is that blasted terrorist group that took everything from me. I want my revenge and I'm going to get it no matter what I have to do or who I have to go through. That includes every last person here." Charlotte gave a nod, indicating she was the same way.

They couldn't argue. They all knew about how Seredy Kreisler betrayed him near the end. He was one of the gassed students too.

"But that is an option." Takuya spoke up, returning to the original topic. "If we can get the permission to use the submarine then we can use it to get to the base."

"Alright, but this leads to my next question." Vanessa cut in. "Does anyone here know how to control one?" All the kids turned to the adults expectantly.

Silence.

"Well then-"

"Mizel." Her comment was cut off by the black and white haired man. "The systems in that submarine were under Seredy's direct control. His enhanced optima allowed him to have abilities not unlike Eva's. Mizel is essentially a virus program, so we can use him to hijack the submarine."

And to think, all this time, you've all been preventing me from doing these kinds of things...

Your sarcasm is noted.

"Mizel, do you think you can do it?" Ban asked.

The silver pendant glowed green and a doll took form in front of him, floating in midair. He was smiling. "There is nothing in this world that I can't bypass. Let me have a look at the machine itself and I'll have it prepped for leave."

"Then, I'll get in contact with Zaizen-san." Yagami turned to the door, gesturing for the disembodied boy to come with him. After he shrunk and attached himself to his belt like a keychain, the auburn haired man left.

Arata blinked. "Okay, forget Itan and Rain. Anyone gonna ask questions about Mizel?!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Cipher: A message writen in a secret code