The atmosphere in the basement of the confinement zone was oppressive.
Aleph and Stelle remained silent, observing the grotesque creature floating near the broken glass tube. Its body was a mass of limbs in the process of splitting apart, riddled with insects emerging from its flesh as if they were a natural extension of its existence.
The sound of its breathing was a low gurgle, as if each inhalation filtered the very corruption of the surroundings.
And its eyes… were fixed on Aleph.
[Master, you have a new challenge.]
Aleph didn't take his eyes off the creature but responded in his mind.
"Accept it. It should be related to facing this thing, right? At least this way, I'll get more rewards for it."
The Swarm King tilted its head, its multiple eyes flashing with a strange light. It was as if it was analyzing its prey, evaluating its next move.
"What the hell is that…?" Stelle muttered, gripping her bat tightly.
Aleph inhaled slowly, his mind processing the situation.
"If I had to guess… this is what Ruan Mei tried to do in the first place. According to Herta Jr.'s information, this is most likely a product of her attempt to create an 'Artificial Emanator.' Apparently, she was trying to make one from the already deceased Aeon of Propagation, Tayzzyronth."
The mention of this made Stelle frown.
"Does that mean it's going to split into more?"
"Probably."
And as if responding to his statement, the creature began to move.
With a wet, unpleasant sound, its skin started to split open, revealing more limbs and fragments of its exoskeleton, which separated from its body and fell to the ground.
Each fragment that touched the floor began to writhe and expand, forming more insects that spread throughout the room.
In a matter of seconds, what had once been a monstrous creature had turned into a living swarm.
Aleph sighed.
"Great. It reproduces faster than rabbits in spring... Don't tell Pom-Pom I said that."
Stelle spun her bat and prepared to attack.
"Then we crush them before they take over this whole damn place."
Aleph grinned at that—it sounded like a great plan.
...
The first insects lunged at them.
Stelle met them with a downward swing, destroying the first one in an explosion of dark fragments. Aleph, meanwhile, summoned his ice bat and swung it in a wide arc, freezing several insects at once before shattering them with a second strike.
However, for every insect that fell, two more took its place.
The sounds of chittering mandibles and claws scraping against the metal floor intensified.
Pudding and Cheesecake stayed close, their small bodies trembling with fear.
"There are too many of them!" Cheesecake transmitted into their minds.
Aleph took a step back, his expression hardening.
"Miserable bastards, they're regenerating faster than we can take them down."
The idea of fighting endlessly until exhaustion wasn't appealing.
They needed to find a way to cut the problem at its root.
Stelle realized the same thing.
"I'm going for the head."
Aleph grinned with a spark of amusement.
"And I'll clear the way."
With a swift motion, Aleph extended a hand and activated Mabufu.
[
A blast of ice covered the floor, freezing a large number of insects. But instead of striking them, Aleph did something different this time.
He clenched his fist.
And the ice crystals exploded into a rain of sharp shards, piercing the remaining insects with a crisp sound, freezing their remains just in case they could spawn more from their corpses.
Meanwhile, Stelle used the momentum of Aleph's attack to charge forward, dodging the few remaining minor enemies.
The Swarm King let out a guttural roar, and more limbs sprouted from its body in an attempt to block her path.
But Stelle had no intention of stopping.
She leaped forward, spinning her bat with overwhelming force, and brought it down with all her weight onto one of the creature's limbs.
CRACK!
The impact shattered the limb and sent shockwaves through the creature's body.
Aleph took advantage of the distraction to move quickly, looking for an opening.
The problem was that even with its limbs destroyed, the Swarm King didn't seem to be in any real danger.
It kept regenerating, its body multiplying and altering its shape every second.
Aleph grit his teeth.
"This is bad."
If they kept this up, they would never truly finish it off.
They needed to find a weak spot.
Burroughs finally spoke.
[Master, the creature's regeneration is linked to an internal structure in its core. There must be something inside that functions as its 'propagation center.' If you destroy it, you'll stop it from multiplying.]
Aleph clicked his tongue.
"Alright, then let's find it."
He activated Bufula, this time channeling the energy into his arm.
The temperature dropped sharply as Aleph struck the ground with his bat, sending a wave of ice directly toward the core body of the Artificial Emanator.
For the first time, the creature reacted with a clear sign of distress.
A high-pitched screech echoed through the room as the ice enveloped its torso, and its regeneration seemed to slow for a moment.
Aleph smirked.
"Gotcha."
But the creature wasn't going to stay still.
With a violent movement, its multiple limbs extended in all directions, attacking both Aleph and Stelle at the same time.
Stelle jumped back just in time to avoid being crushed, while Aleph rolled to the side, barely dodging a sharp claw aimed straight for his neck.
The two quickly regrouped, keeping their eyes on the enemy.
"Got any ideas?" Stelle asked.
Aleph spun his bat, aiming at the creature.
"Yeah. We freeze it completely. If it can't regenerate and multiply, it'll be easier to destroy."
Stelle grinned.
"Then let's do it."
The two charged back into battle, ready to turn the tide of the fight.
....
The Swarm King's roar shook the entire room.
The lights flickered as the creature continued its expansion. More limbs emerged from its body, each one more grotesque than the last. The ground creaked under its weight, and the insects surrounding it snapped their mandibles eagerly.
But Aleph and Stelle had no intention of letting the situation spiral out of control.
Aleph tightened his grip on his bat, ice accumulating around him.
"I'll freeze it for as long as possible. I'll try to take care of the others too so you don't have any trouble on the way."
Stelle nodded.
"Alright. You freeze it, I smash it."
It was a simple but effective plan.
Aleph moved first.
Activating Bufula, he channeled ice into his body and released it onto the ground with a strike of his bat.
An extreme cold spread through the room, forming a dense mist around the creature.
The Swarm King let out a guttural screech as its body began to harden. The spread of its limbs slowed, and the insects around it started collapsing, frozen and shattered on the spot.
But it wasn't going to sit idly by.
With a violent spasm, the core of its body began to glow with a purple radiance.
Aleph recognized the sensation instantly.
"Shit, it's about to do something big."
Without wasting time, he jumped back just in time to avoid the explosion of energy that erupted from the creature.
The shockwave shook the room, instantly melting the ice and making the lights flicker even more intensely.
Aleph landed on one knee, frowning.
"Dammit, looks like it can resist ice now too."
Stelle furrowed her brows slightly.
"Then we'll do this quickly."
She propelled herself forward with impressive speed.
The insect reacted, launching several limbs in her direction.
But Stelle swung her bat with force, deflecting each attack effortlessly before leaping and landing right in front of the creature.
"Time to sleep."
With all her strength, she slammed her bat against the creature's core.
The impact echoed with a deafening CRACK.
The Swarm King shuddered, and a crack formed in its core.
But it still wasn't enough.
Aleph noticed it immediately.
He straightened up and raised his bat.
"Stelle, push it back. I need space."
She didn't ask why—she just obeyed.
She took a step back and channeled her strength into a second strike, this time aimed at one of its limbs to throw it off balance.
The creature screeched as its body tilted to one side.
It was the perfect moment.
Aleph exhaled and activated Bufula once again, but this time, he didn't direct it at the ground. Soon, an electric current flared alongside the ice.
Electricity began to gather around his bat, forming a thick, translucent layer.
Aleph smirked as he watched it—if he ever ran into Flynn again, he'd have to thank him for giving him Zio.
When he felt the ice and electricity had reached their peak, he launched forward in a burst of energy.
"Let's see if you can regenerate from this, you son of a bitch!"
With a fluid motion, Aleph swung his bat with all his strength.
The impact was brutal.
The creature's core didn't just crack further.
It shattered completely.
A BOOM echoed through the room as the temperature plummeted, cold spreading in all directions and covering the creature in a layer of frost so thick that even its body—designed for expansion—was completely sealed.
The accompanying electricity was less potent, but that didn't mean it wasn't doing damage. Instead, it seeped into the wounds created by the ice, wreaking havoc inside its body.
The Swarm King tried to move, but its regeneration had stopped.
The ice had sealed it completely.
Aleph breathed heavily, observing his handiwork with a satisfied smile.
"That's—"
But before he could finish his sentence, Stelle stepped forward and, without hesitation, delivered the final blow.
Her bat struck the frozen body.
And with a final crunch, the creature shattered.
The echo of the strike faded into the room, leaving only a deathly silence.
Aleph exhaled and rested his bat on his shoulder.
"Well… that was fun."
Stelle rolled her eyes.
"You talk like we didn't almost die."
Aleph shrugged, looking away to hide his laugh—the electricity he had released left a rather impressive effect besides the damage it caused.
Stelle's hair… looked like she had hit Super Saiyan Phase 2.
"Details."
Before they could continue their conversation, Burroughs reactivated.
[Challenge Complete: Exterminator]
Aleph felt a surge of energy course through him, and his expression changed instantly when the notification appeared before his eyes.
[Level: 26]
[App Points: 40]
[Stat Points: 15]
[Reward Obtained: 2 Essences]
The essences' light appeared before him, and Aleph narrowed his eyes as he recognized the shape of one of them.
[4-Star Essence Consumed: Dante Sparda (SMT3)]
[Equipment Obtained: Ebony & Ivory]
[5-Star Essence Consumed: Beelzebub]
[Skill Obtained: Lord of the Flies Swarm]
A strange sensation coursed through his body.
And, in a flash of energy, the pistols Ebony & Ivory appeared in his hands.
Aleph stared at them in silence.
And a feeling of disgust and rejection arose.
For some reason… he didn't feel excited.
There was something uncomfortable about holding them.
Stelle noticed his expression.
"What's wrong?"
Aleph didn't respond immediately.
Because at that moment, something surfaced in his mind.
A question he had never asked himself before.
Where was this rejection coming from?
Why did he have a problem with firearms?
The thought hit him hard.
He remained silent, not answering Stelle, as memories slowly slipped into his mind.
A television screen lit up.
Reporters' voices narrating a tragedy.
A school shooting.
His father, sitting on the couch with a tense expression.
The plate he had been holding had fallen long ago, shattering into pieces of glass on the floor.
His sister, clutching a cushion tightly, not fully understanding what was happening.
He himself, shedding tears.
And then...
His mother's name among the victims.
Aleph felt a chill run down his spine.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Stelle frowned.
"Aleph."
He didn't respond.
His hands trembled slightly as he stared at the pistols.
And then, he realized something even more terrifying.
How could he forget something like this?
The question froze him in place.
He raised a hand to his head, feeling a strange weight in his mind.
Did he really have all of his memories in the first place?
*************
The sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the room as Aleph dropped the pistols.
He couldn't hold them.
He didn't want to hold them.
Ebony & Ivory, iconic weapons, legendary in the hands of Dante Sparda. To anyone else, they would have been a blessing—a tool of destruction with unmatched style.
But to him…
To him, they were just a reminder of something he didn't know he had forgotten.
Aleph felt his breathing grow heavy. His mind was somewhere else. In another time.
Stelle watched him, frowning.
"Aleph?"
He didn't respond.
His golden eyes were fixed on the pistols on the floor, but he wasn't really seeing them. His mind was trapped in an incomplete memory, in broken fragments of something he should never have forgotten.
His mother.
A television on.
The reporters' frantic voices.
The images of the scene.
His father, completely silent.
His older sister, not understanding what had just happened.
And his mother's name among the victims.
Aleph felt a chill run down his spine.
"How… how did I forget something like this?"
The thought hit him hard, like a punch straight to the chest.
It didn't make sense.
There was no way he could have forgotten something like this.
Important memories, the ones that defined who you were, didn't just… disappear.
Unless someone erased them.
His heart started pounding.
[Master, please calm down. You are beginning to release elemental magic into the environment.]
But Aleph didn't hear her.
He couldn't hear anything over the deafening noise in his head.
There were gaps in his memory.
His father… What was his name? What did he look like?
His sister—he could remember her name, her personality… but why couldn't he recall anything more than that?
He hadn't noticed before.
As time passed, Aleph's expression darkened. Ice spread across the floor around him, while sparks of electricity crackled over his body.
Stelle took a step closer.
"Aleph. Answer me."
Her tone was more serious now, almost as if she was beginning to worry.
Aleph inhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady his breathing.
He closed his eyes for a moment and pressed his fingers against his temple.
"Calm down. Don't lose your head here."
He exhaled sharply and opened his eyes again.
Stelle was watching him intently.
He took a second before responding.
"I'm fine."
That wasn't true, and it was obvious.
But Stelle didn't push him.
Her gaze shifted to the pistols on the floor. She didn't ask where they came from, nor did she care.
"Are you going to pick them up?"
Aleph looked at them for a moment.
The mere thought of holding them again made something inside him churn.
But he couldn't afford to refuse such a valuable weapon.
With a resigned sigh, he crouched down and carefully picked them up.
He didn't like them.
But he would carry them.
For now.
For a moment, he considered asking Burroughs if she had access to his memories.
If she could tell him whether something was missing.
But then he decided he didn't want the answer.
Not now.
Stelle looked at the frozen and shattered corpse of the insect.
"We should go."
Aleph nodded.
"Yeah."
He turned and saw Cheesecake and Pudding watching them with their small, bright eyes.
They seemed… scared.
Of what they had just seen.
Of what had been in this place.
Aleph felt another pang of discomfort in his chest.
He crouched and extended a hand toward Cheesecake, who, after a few seconds of hesitation, slowly approached and allowed Aleph to pick him up.
Pudding, on the other hand, clung to Stelle, trembling slightly.
"We're leaving," Aleph murmured.
Without another word, the four of them began to leave the ruined room.
But even as they left the place behind, Aleph couldn't shake the persistent feeling that something inside him… wasn't right.
Something in his memory was broken. His name wasn't the only thing he had lost.
And now that he knew, he wouldn't be able to ignore it.
**************************************************************************
To those who read the HI3 fic, its prologue and chapter 1—
What do you think?
By the way, a friend made a drawing of Aleph. I'll post the image in this comment.
****************************
Omake: The Heist of the Century
Act 1 – The Problem: The Untouchable Coffee Maker
Every great story has a beginning. Some start with noble heroes, others with epic betrayals… and others with a furious woman because someone ruined her coffee.
…
The Astral Express was engulfed in an eerie silence. Not the peaceful kind that invites contemplation, but the terrifying kind—the one that comes before a storm… or the wrath of a navigator deprived of her daily caffeine dose.
Himeko, navigator and pillar of sanity aboard the Express, sat in her usual seat at the café. Her expression was neutral—too neutral—which only made the atmosphere feel even more tense. In front of her, her coffee cup emitted a faint wisp of steam… but something was wrong.
She observed it. She smelled it. She took a sip.
And then, slowly, she set the cup down on the table.
Dan Heng, a few meters away, felt a chill run down his spine.
Stelle, biting into an apple, froze mid-chew.
March 7th, who was about to say something, suddenly shut her mouth.
Pom-Pom, just entering the café, felt an instinctual warning of impending doom and decided to leave.
Finally, Himeko closed her eyes and sighed.
"…Welt."
The bespectacled man, who had been pretending to read the newspaper, slowly lowered it and met her gaze with a calm expression.
"Yes?"
"Where is my coffee maker?"
A second of absolute silence.
Dan Heng swallowed hard.
March 7th began to sweat.
Welt simply adjusted his glasses.
"In the vault."
Silence.
Himeko rested her elbows on the table and interlocked her fingers.
"…Explain."
Welt sighed, calmly folding the newspaper.
"After the last incident with your 'Resurrection Coffee,'" he said in a serene voice, "Pom-Pom and I decided it was best for the safety of the Express… and everyone's mental stability."
Himeko smiled, but it wasn't her usual warm smile.
"Oh, really? And since when do you two decide what's best for me?"
The room's temperature rose a few degrees.
Dan Heng, his survival instincts kicking in, slowly began backing away.
"Don't take it the wrong way," Welt said, maintaining his composure. "It was a preventive measure."
"A preventive measure," Himeko repeated.
"Exactly."
Himeko closed her eyes, inhaled… and then simply stood up.
"I see."
Stelle raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
Himeko gave her a smile straight out of a psychological horror movie.
"Of course," she said sweetly. "It's fine."
She turned and left the café with an unsettling calm.
As the door shut behind her, Dan Heng let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
March 7th collapsed onto the table.
"We're going to die, aren't we?"
Welt, still with the same serene expression, took a sip of his tea.
"Probably."
**********
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Astral Express…
"THE COFFEE MAKER IS IN A VAULT?!"
Aleph nearly fell out of his chair in shock. Across from him, Stelle and March 7th nodded solemnly.
"Welt and Pom-Pom locked it away after the 'Resurrection Coffee' incident," March 7th explained.
"…The what?"
"Oh, it was one of Himeko's experiments. Supposedly, a single sip would keep you awake for three days," Stelle chimed in, stealing a piece of bread from the table.
"What it actually did was induce hallucinations and make us see Welt in a mariachi suit… or a princess dress."
Aleph sat in silence for a moment, processing that information.
"Okay. That's terrifying enough to justify the vault," he finally admitted. "But still… you can't just take away Himeko's coffee maker!"
March 7th nodded gravely.
"Exactly."
Stelle swallowed her bread and crossed her arms.
"The balance of the universe depends on it."
Aleph rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"Then… there's only one solution."
The two girls leaned in slightly, expectant.
Aleph grinned.
"We're going to steal the coffee maker."
March 7th blinked.
Stelle tilted her head.
"…Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Silence.
Then, March 7th enthusiastically slammed the table.
"I'm in!"
Stelle nodded.
"Me too."
Aleph smiled.
"Good."
He stood up, placed his hands on the table, and looked at them intensely.
"Let's form an elite team."
*******
Team Formation
Codename: Daredevil (Aleph)
Specialty: Planning impossible schemes and surviving with the tenacity of a cockroach.
Codename: Galactic Bat (Stelle)
Specialty: Destroying things; professional tracker of lost objects in the trash.
Codename: Frost Byte (March 7th)
Specialty: Distractions, manipulation, and causing chaos.
MISSION:
Retrieve the Sacred Coffee Maker without being detected by Welt, Dan Heng, and Pom-Pom.
PLAN:
- We'll figure it out as we go.
*******
The group gathered in front of the Astral Express's security vault.
It was a massive metal gate equipped with cutting-edge technology, retinal scanners, and a self-destruction system in case of unauthorized access attempts.
Standing guard before the vault, like a tiny emperor protecting his kingdom, was Pom-Pom.
The rabbit eyed the three with suspicion.
"…What are you doing here?"
Aleph stepped forward with his best trustworthy-guy smile.
"Just passing through."
"This is a dead-end hallway."
"Such is life."
Pom-Pom narrowed his eyes.
"…You're not planning anything weird, are you?"
Aleph placed a hand over his chest, feigning offense.
"Of course not!"
March 7th nodded vigorously.
"We're upstanding citizens!"
Pom-Pom gave them a long, suspicious look.
Stelle simply cracked her knuckles.
"Hey, Pom-Pom."
The rabbit eyed her warily.
"…Yeah?"
"How much would it cost you to look the other way?"
Silence.
Pom-Pom crossed his arms.
"There's no price high enough."
Aleph grinned.
"Not even unlimited carrot cakes?"
Pom-Pom's eyes sparkled for a moment.
Then he cleared his throat.
"You won't bribe me so easily!"
March 7th sighed.
"Then you leave us no choice."
Pom-Pom tensed.
"What are you going to do?"
Aleph slowly turned to Stelle.
"Break the vault."
The girl's face lit up like a child let loose in a candy store without supervision.
Pom-Pom paled.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!"
****************
Act 2 – Infiltration Mission: Deceive, Steal, and Run
Every great story has a turning point. A moment when the protagonists must decide whether to move forward or turn back…
In this case, the decision was immediate: break into the vault.
...
Pom-Pom was panicking.
Not normal panic. Not reasonable panic.
No.
It was absolute panic—the kind that takes over when you see Stelle, aka Galactic Slugger, stretching her arms and warming up her wrists like she's about to swing at the vault door as if it were a baseball.
With Aleph and March 7th cheering in the background.
"STOP, STOP, STOP!!"
The tiny conductor of the Astral Express jumped in front of the vault, arms spread wide, trying to block the view of the criminals-in-progress.
"I will NOT allow you to destroy the vault just because you want to get Himeko's coffee maker back!"
Aleph crossed his arms and nodded solemnly.
"I understand your concern."
Pom-Pom sighed in relief.
"I'm glad at least you—"
"That's why we're doing this the hard way."
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
"March 7th, I choose you!"
Without a moment's delay, March 7th extended her hand, generating a curtain of snow right in front of Pom-Pom.
"Quick Freeze!"
The little rabbit blinked at the sudden frost, and when he tried to move...
"Why am I stuck to the floor?!"
"It's a little trick I picked up," March 7th said with an innocent smile.
Aleph knelt in front of Pom-Pom and patted him on the head.
"Relax. You'll only be trapped for…"
Pom-Pom looked at him in terror.
"For how long?!"
Aleph smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Let's just say… long enough that you can't stop us."
Pom-Pom struggled, but his furry body remained frozen in place.
"This is illegal! This is unfair! This is a violation of rabbit rights!"
March 7th nodded gravely.
"It is."
Pom-Pom fell silent.
"…THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING IT?!"
Aleph gave him a kind smile as he turned toward the vault.
"Because the coffee needs us… Also, if I pull this off, Himeko might forget my debt."
Pom-Pom felt like crying.
....
The team of thieves now stood before the vault's imposing metal door.
Stelle cracked her knuckles.
"So… should I hit it?"
Aleph raised a hand to stop her.
"Not yet."
March 7th examined the lock.
"How do you plan on opening this?"
Aleph activated his Gauntlet and smirked.
"I have my methods."
He connected the device to the vault's console and began typing.
The security system blinked.
[Password required.]
Aleph grinned smugly.
"Hmph. Alright, let's do this with style."
He entered a series of codes.
[Access denied.]
"…"
He tried again.
[Access denied.]
Stelle yawned.
"This is your 'foolproof method'?"
Aleph frowned and mashed more buttons.
[Access denied.]
March 7th crossed her arms.
"Are you hacking or just guessing?"
"Yes."
[Access locked. Security system activated.]
"…"
Silence.
Aleph turned to Stelle.
"Okay. Now you can break it."
Stelle grinned with satisfaction and grabbed her bat.
"Gladly."
Before she could even swing, a new message appeared on the console.
[Emergency authorization detected. Vault opening in progress.]
The team watched in surprise as the vault door slowly began to open with a metallic groan.
Aleph raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, what?"
March 7th blinked.
"How?"
Pom-Pom, still frozen in place, also stared in horror.
"No… NO! Someone is helping them!"
The three thieves exchanged glances.
Stelle tilted her head.
"Think Himeko planned this?"
Aleph shrugged.
"If she did, I like her even more."
Finally, the vault door fully opened, revealing its contents:
Rows upon rows of boxes containing classified items. Valuable relics. Ancient technology. Research documents.
A photo of Dan Heng in T-Rex pajamas fighting a clown.
But in the center…
On a pedestal, illuminated by a beam of light from above…
There it was…
The Supreme Coffee Maker.
Aleph felt a tear roll down his cheek.
"It's… beautiful."
March 7th slowly stepped forward, as if afraid it was an illusion.
"I've never felt this much excitement for an inanimate object."
Stelle simply walked up and grabbed it unceremoniously.
"Mission accomplished."
The thieves exchanged looks.
They stared at each other for a few more seconds.
And then…
"RUN."
.....
Pom-Pom, who had finally managed to free himself, stood staring at the open vault and the criminals escaping with the coffee maker.
"…Oh, for all the stars."
He quickly activated the Express's emergency system.
"INTRUDERS IN THE VAULT! INTRUDERS IN THE VAULT!"
Alarm lights flared throughout the train.
[ALARM: ACTIVATED.]
[SECURITY PROTOCOL: INITIATED.]
Aleph, Stelle, and March 7th sprinted down the hallways as if their lives depended on it.
And in reality…
They did.
Because a second later, Welt Yang appeared in their path.
The bespectacled man observed them with the expression of a father who had just caught his children making the worst mistake of their lives.
Absolute silence.
The three thieves froze in place.
Welt crossed his arms.
"…May I ask what you're doing?"
March 7th stayed quiet for a moment.
Then she raised a hand.
"We're going home."
Welt closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Hand over the coffee maker."
Aleph smiled.
"Welt… buddy… unofficial older brother…"
"No."
"Listen, Himeko needs her coffee."
"No."
"We don't want to do this the hard way."
"No."
Stelle sighed.
"Plan B, then."
Welt raised an eyebrow.
"Plan B?"
Aleph grinned.
"Yeah. RUN."
And without warning, all three turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
Welt massaged his temples.
"…I don't get paid enough for this."
Finally, he turned and started walking after them.
"Looks like I'll have to stop them myself."
*********
Act 3 – Chase on the Astral Express
In every great epic, there comes a moment when the heroes must escape with their prize while the entire world conspires to stop them. In this case, the 'heroes' were makeshift criminals, and the entire world was the Astral Express.
...
The alarms kept blaring throughout the train as Aleph, Stelle, and March 7th ran down the hallways, with the Supreme Coffee Maker clutched in Stelle's hands.
The Express had turned into a battlefield.
"This is Pom-Pom! Security alert! A disgraceful-level crime has been committed in the vault! The culprits are escaping with an object of high value to the stability of the universe (and Himeko)! Stop them at all costs!"
Welt sighed as he activated his communicator.
"Welt here. I'll handle it."
Himeko responded on the other end, sounding completely unbothered.
"Should I intervene?"
"No."
"Oh, then I'll keep drinking my tea."
"…Tea."
Welt frowned.
"What did you do with the remaining coffee?"
"Oh, I used it all this morning."
Silence.
"Damn it."
...
The three fugitives reached an intersection in the Express.
Three paths.
One led to the second level, a staircase where they could gain height and possibly avoid direct confrontation.
Another led to a hallway full of doors, giving them plenty of hiding spots.
The last one was… a window.
Aleph looked at the options and turned to Stelle.
"Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."
Stelle was already gripping her bat.
"Window option."
March 7th put a hand to her face.
"Why can't we ever do things normally?!"
Aleph sighed but smiled with pride.
"Because that's not our style."
With a single swing, Stelle smashed the window.
The air rushed in violently.
The three exchanged glances.
And then they jumped.
....
The Astral Express was speeding through the cosmos at an incredible velocity, traveling between dimensions and galaxies.
And there they were.
Clinging to the exterior of the train, defying every safety law imaginable.
March 7th, gripping a metal bar, screamed as the cosmic wind whipped through her hair.
"THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!!"
Aleph, holding onto the Supreme Coffee Maker, grinned with manic joy.
"BUT IT LOOKS AMAZING!!"
Stelle just nodded in satisfaction.
"Did you see how perfect that jump angle was?"
March 7th nearly let go just to stop hearing them.
But their peace didn't last long.
A portal opened in front of them.
And from it…
Welt Yang emerged, floating calmly, levitating like the wise punisher he was.
Aleph and Stelle watched him approach slowly, his tired dad expression ready to be used as a psychological weapon.
Welt sighed.
"Hand over the coffee maker."
The three were silent for a moment.
Aleph looked at Stelle.
Stelle looked at March 7th.
March 7th looked at Welt.
Welt looked at all three.
Then, Aleph smirked with confidence.
"NO."
---
If there was one thing Welt hadn't expected, it was for them to try and fight him on the outside of a moving train.
But here he was, dodging Stelle's bat swings, March 7th's ice blasts, and…
"COFFEE MISSILES!!"
Aleph hurled three cups of scalding coffee from who-knows-where.
Welt deflected them with a wave of his hand, his gravitational control sending them right back at Aleph.
Aleph barely dodged the rain of hot coffee.
"Damn it, Welt! Don't you dare waste this sacred resource!"
Welt simply gave him a deadpan stare.
"Give back the coffee maker."
"NO."
March 7th tried to freeze him with her ice, but Welt effortlessly made her levitate, suspending her in midair.
"…Hey. Put me down."
"Only if you promise to behave."
"NEVER."
"Then you're staying up there."
Aleph watched with concern.
Welt was too calm.
And when Welt was calm, that meant they were screwed.
Stelle tried to strike him from behind with her bat, but Welt warped space, redirecting the weapon and making it spin midair.
Finally, he turned to Aleph, who still clung to the coffee maker.
"Aleph."
Aleph narrowed his eyes.
"Welt."
"You know this is stupid."
"Absolutely."
"Then…"
"That doesn't mean I'll stop."
Welt sighed.
"…I figured."
With a simple gesture, Aleph began to float.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!"
The Supreme Coffee Maker slowly drifted toward Welt.
"DON'T TAKE THE ONLY GOOD THING I HAVE LEFT!!"
Welt calmly took it and tucked it into his coat.
"This stays with me."
Aleph dropped to his knees on the train's surface.
"Damn it…"
Stelle sighed.
"Well. We lost."
March 7th, still floating, crossed her arms.
"Put me down first, then we can lose, you idiots."
Welt finally lowered March 7th and looked at the three with irritation.
"Are we done with this nonsense?"
Silence.
Aleph slowly stood up.
He looked at Stelle.
He looked at March 7th.
And then he grinned.
"Yeah."
"...But only for now."
The three makeshift thieves exchanged glances.
And though they had lost the battle…
They knew the war for coffee wasn't over.
************
Extra Act: Himeko Knew Everything
Back on the Astral Express, Himeko sipped her coffee, staring at the Supreme Coffee Maker sitting on her table.
She looked at Welt with a knowing smile.
"I knew they'd try to steal the coffee maker."
Welt sighed.
"Why didn't you stop them sooner?"
"Because it was fun."
Welt rubbed his temples.
"…I'm going to need another coffee."
Himeko smirked and took another sip.
"If you let your guard down, Aleph and Stelle will try to steal it again."
Welt closed his eyes in resignation.
"I know."
Meanwhile, in a corner of the Express…
Aleph and Stelle watched the coffee maker from a distance.
Aleph narrowed his eyes.
"We're taking it back."
Stelle nodded.
"Yeah. But this time… with a better plan."
March 7th stared at them in disbelief.
"You two never learn, do you?"
Aleph grinned.
"No. And that's why you love us."
March 7th sighed.
"…Maybe."
And so, the story of the coffee heist came to an end.
For now.
THE END?