Definition

Stringent

By the time they got back, it was already evening. Nikolai and Muraku exchanged glances. Hanabi has had her head down since they left. Neither of them knew what to say to relieve the tense atmosphere.

Eventually, Muraku went and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hana, if you want to talk-"

"I don't."

Her eyes were empty and soulless, much like the time before any of this happened. She really didn't want to talk.

"Well, alright." He said softly. "But just know, Nikolai and I are here for you."

"Always have been, and always will be." The Russian nodded.

"Yeah... Thanks..." She hesitated a bir before deciding to ask. "Can I borrow your LBXs for tonight? I just want to keep my head busy."

"Of course." Muraku took out Magna Orthus as well as his Gunther Yzelphar. Nikolai had his Moskau Blastrizer.

"Would you like some company too?" Nikolai offered.

Taking the three LBXs into her hands, she pondered for a bit on the last question. Eventually, she nodded. "If you don't mind."

"Great! Then, take care of her, Muraku."

"Right, I-" He choked. "W-What?!"

"I promised Niara I'll help her out with something tonight." He was lying. They both knew that.

"What happened to 'always have been, and always will be'?!"

"Do you want some alone time with her or not?"

"I do, but-!" He choked. Again. "I don't mean-! I mean, I do mean that, but not...!"

"You're digging your own grave here." He turned his smirk towards Hana. "Well, there you have it. My deed as an older-brother is done for tonight."

"Niko-kun, you're really evil..." Despite saying this, she had a grateful expression. Whether its for getting rid of the depressing awkwardness or for setting up their second date, he didn't mind. He'll take both.

"Well, go on now. Just don't do anything naughty, you two."

"NIKOLAI!"

~~~~~

"You're getting the hang of it really quickly, Asta."

"Yeah, thanks to your Spartan methods of training..." He sighed. "Seriously, your Hissatsu Function is brutal, Fran. It's terrifying to just watch..."

"Well, your only options were us or Saki-san, and I don't think you'd like the latter."

"... Yeah." He knew how that woman gets when they let her touch a CCM. Sighing, he turned to the other boy in the room. "San, what are you doing right now?"

"Adjusting my Red Sols and Blue Nogues."

"Those solid LBX holograms you made? Why bother? Aren't they basically indestructible?"

"They are, but they wouldn't be very useful if they can't move." Laid on the table before him were pieces of his controller. He was tweaking on its handle. "I was kind of planning on using them like a shield if we get attacked before we make it in. They have to be able to keep up with, if not move faster than, the submarine."

"That's true..." His gaze turned to the window before he let out a sigh. "I wonder how many of them we can save..."

~~~~~

At around noon the day after, all the kids had made their decisions. Arata, Hikaru, Haruki, Muraku, Mikhail, Vanessa, Nikolai, Hanabi, Fran, San, and Asta would be joining Kyouji and Charlotte in the front lines. The rest were going to help the adults with whatever they would need on mainland. Most of the Seekers would be going, but the ones who would be infiltrating to find and save Eva are Ban, Ami, Kazuya, Jin, and Niara. The others would remain on standby near the submarine to defend as many children as they possibly can.

"But even so... The sub's not big enough for that many kids..." Takuya sighed. "Prime Minister Zaizen and President Lenneton were able to provide a few more carriers, but..."

The main plan is that the submarine will dock inside their base and they will take out as much of the enemy as possible before bringing in the other underwater vehicles, if not hijacking more of the World Sabers', to get all the children out. But their numbers are many, and even with the large carries the two country leaders were able to provide, it wasn't nearly enough.

That was when Hibiki came, his personality taking a complete turn from his previous calm and polite manner. He had barged in without regards of who they maybe calling or what they could be discussing. His eyes were narrow as he made a beeline for the main computer. That's when they could all see him. In contrast to his clerk-like look in the previous week, he now looked more like a scientist with the lab coat he wore. And he looked pissed.

"I need everyone to back off from the computer. Now."

His commanding tone made it hard for any of them to refuse. Even Kyouji and Charlotte, who were already in the farthest corner, took a couple steps further away.

The white haired man placed a hand on the systems...

"What are you-"

... before needles came out of them. His chest glowed for a brief moment before the needles retracted. Mizel.

On it.

Suddenly, the whole room glowed in green. All the computers ceased functioning, causing just about everyone to go into a state of panic.

But just before anyone of them could do anything against him, all the monitors came back to life, revealing a familiar blonde girl.

"Citizens of the world, my name is Evangeline Hope Avalstone."

~~~~~~~~~~

Stringent: Demanding strict attention to rules and procedures