“The… The Duck.” Hiro stared as the vehicle was lowered to the ground.

Maki leaned against its wing. “The Duck! Ain’t she pretty?”

“This is the worst name yet.”

“Ugh!” She jerked back and held her hand over her chest. “Insultin’ my life’s work. You really do have no shame. And after all the effort I made to make sure this thing was in prime condition too.”

“Uh… huh.”

“You’re not drivin’ it, if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”

“I don’t want to. This ‘Duck’ thing looks really hard to drive.”

“Oh, please! Even if I gave you a regular bike, you’d struggle.”

“Hey! Bikes are hard!”

“Ahem.” Golem had wiped all the Duck’s windows clean and tucked the rag inside his back pocket. “It’s all done. Is there anything else you need, Miss Maki?”

She gave him the okay sign. “Peachy perfect! Thanks a bunch, Golem!”

“Of course. It’s always a pleasure to help.” Golem winked, but Hiro thought it was for him specifically. “Oh, and look who it is. Just in time.”

“Ahoooy! Who’s ready to set sail?” Usano sprinted out of the elevator. Haruka followed her at a much slower pace.

“Usa!” Maki spread her arms wide. “Long time no see!”

“Big Sis!” She leaped into Maki’s arms in a tight embrace. “I missed you so much!”

Maki chuckled as she caressed Usano’s hair. “Yeah, I know. It’s been like what, a week? Bein’ outside for that long burns my skin. Anyways, how’d your last mission go?”

Usano hid her face under Maki’s jacket. Her arms shuddered. “She… She wouldn’t stop. We already destroyed the radio tower. We could’ve left way earlier, but she wanted to fight all the guards! It lasted all day!”

“Who, Atsuko? Gosh, I’m glad I never partnered up with her. Crazy that she left for another mission right after. With Yuu too. That’s too much fightin’, even for my taste.”

Haruka had finally arrived. She stretched her arms and yawned. Her nonchalant face showed zero enthusiasm. “Is everything ready?”

Maki clicked on a key fob from her pocket, which opened the Duck’s glass dome. “Pretty much! I labeled everythin’ for you, since I don’t expect your tiny brain to memorize everythin’ I say. There’s just one thing I gotta show first.”

Maki opened the glass casing on top of the gearshift. Inside was a white button. When she pressed it, the wheels retracted inside the Duck and were replaced with mechanical webbed feet.

“This is to dive and swim. I even put it in this fancy container to make sure you know it’s the right button. Gosh, I really am babyin’ all of you. Think you can handle it?”

Haruka nodded.

“Good, good.” Maki pressed the button again, which reverted the webbed feet back to its wheels. She handed each of them an earpiece. “The boss’ll keep in touch with you through those. Don’t lose ‘em!”

“Okay, let’s go.” Haruka sat in the driver’s seat.

“Oh! Oh! I wanna drive!” Usano put her hands together. “Please, Big Sis?”

Maki shook her head. “Absolutely not! Last time you did, I spent an entire month fixin’ the damages. Not goin’ through that again.” She tossed the key fob to Haruka. “Make sure these two stay off the wheel. Especially the hobo.”

“What?!” Hiro threw his arms up. “I didn’t even say anything!”

“Don’t care. Harm my baby Duck, and you die.”

They heard a loud clank behind them. Golem had pulled the lever on the wall, which caused a large hexagonal gate to open up. It led to a steel tunnel—the same one Hiro and the girls had entered in before. Blue lights flashed one by one. At the end was a rocky wall.

“Is everything good to go?” Golem asked.

Maki gave him a thumbs up. “Yep!”

“Okay, you three take care now.”

Usano gave Maki one last hug. “I’m gonna miss you again, Big Sis.”

She patted her head. “Aww, you’re gonna kill it, Usa. You’re the greatest in the world, remember?”

“Mhm.”

“How ‘bout this? When you get back, I got a couple new babies I’ll need to test. Think you’re up to it?”

Her face lit up. “Hell yeah! You’re gonna be so proud! Just you wait!”

“Good girl.” Maki’s gentle smile caught Hiro off guard. He never knew she could smile this way.

Haruka honked the horn. It made a quacking sound. “Get in.”

Usano hopped on the back seat, while Hiro sat up front. They then exited through the tunnel. From the rear view mirror, Hiro saw Maki and Golem waving them goodbye. They soon disappeared into tiny dots as Haruka stepped on the gas full throttle. Just like how they entered the base, the Duck passed through the rocky wall as if it was made of air. The trio traversed through the grassy forest until they reached a dirt road.

The screen at the dashboard’s center displayed a map that showed their current location, as well as their destination, Ruto Port. Estimated time of arrival: two hours and fifty-seven minutes.

Suddenly they heard static noise from their earpieces. “Hello? This is Leo. Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear!” Usano yelled.

“Perfect. You’re on the road now, right?”

“Uh huh!”

“Good. Once again, the cargo ship is set for departure at three o’clock. So long as nothing else happens, you should arrive around two hours before that. When you get there, use that time to feed us as much info as you can. For now, take the time to rest up. I need you all to be on high alert. Haruka, I asked Maki for that particular vehicle because you’ll be traveling by sea later. I’ll give you more instructions as you approach Koyama Town.”

“Understood,” Haruka said.

The call was cut off. Silence reigned for only a few mere seconds.

Usano raised her hand. “Okay! I’m bored! Someone entertain me.”

Haruka didn’t respond. After deliberate consideration, Hiro decided to break the ice. “Sooo, you guys wanna talk about stuff, or…”

Usano rested her chin against his seat. “I couldn’t care less about what she says. I wanna know about you, newbie! How’d you meet Big Sis?”

“You mean Maki? I didn’t know she had a sister.”

“We’re not related, of course. Are you dumb?”

“W-What?”

She shook his shoulders. “Come ooonn! Tell me already! What was she like?”

“Like a brat,” he said with no hesitation.

“How dare you?! She is the nicest person I’ve ever met!”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “You gotta be kidding. She got me into so much trouble, rummaged through my stuff, almost got me killed several times, and threatened to kill me herself. What’s so nice about her?”

Usano’s eyes sparkled. “Wooow. Big Sis is so cool.”

“How in the world did you come to that conclusion?”

“You’re both so loud.” Haruka turned the radio on and scrolled down the list of music. A slow, melodic jazz band began to play. She tapped her nail against the steering wheel to the rhythm.

With a low groan, Usano reached for the knob. She changed the music to death metal. The whole Duck rumbled from the heavy bass. Hiro ducked down and covered his ears. Haruka slapped Usano’s hand away and took back control of the radio. The calming jazz music returned.

Usano rolled her eyes. “Ew, even your music choices are lame. Where’s the passion? Where’s the fun?”

“Listening to garbage isn’t fun,” Haruka said.

“Ugh! You did not just say that!” Her face scrunched up. She shoved Haruka’s hand away, which sparked an intense slapping match between the two. The music changed back and forth and melded into noisy dissonance. Unable to take it anymore, Hiro shut the radio off.

“Stop it! Both of you!” He scratched his head aggressively. “I’m not gonna deal with this for the rest of the trip.”

“She started it.” Usano leaned back and crossed her arms.

Haruka’s eyebrows twitched. Her slight change in expression alerted Hiro that she was incredibly vexed.

Hiro rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Okay, look. Maybe you two are used to this whole risking-your-lives-everyday-in-missions kinda thing, but this is my first time. You two are really stressing me out right now.”

Usano patted his shoulder. “Worry not, my adorable junior! You have me in the team. I make everything failure-proof!”

“I doubt it,” Haruka muttered.

“I heard that! If there’s anyone here who’ll make us fail, it’s you!”

Haruka sighed.

“What? Speechless? Good, you were annoying my ears. How in the world did Big Sis last alone with you for a week?”

“And now I have to deal with you.”

Hiro made a loud clap with his hands. “Alright, we’re switching topics. What can you guys do on the battlefield? Haruka, I know you can make weapons and, uh… turn people to mush. But how does that work? And Usano, I don’t even know what you do.”

“Why, that’s easy!” Usano pinched her index finger and thumb together. When she separated them, a pink spark crackled into the air. “Behold my glorious power! I can zap anyone into oblivion with electricity! And guess what? I’m talented enough to learn magnetism! At least, that’s what Mr. Doctor and Big Sis told me. Still a work in progress.”

“Electricity?” Hiro surveyed her fingers and clothes. “Where does it come from?”

She held her hand proudly over her chest, arching her wrist as she did so. “Why, from me, of course! Where else should all this sheer power come from if not from greatness incarnate herself?”

“Okay, you’ve been goofing around for too long. If we’re gonna work as a team, I need you to answer honestly. Can’t you take me seriously just this once?”

“Wha— But I am!”

“Ugh… Fine, have it your way. Haruka, you can just go next.”

“No! Why?! I’m telling you the truth!” Tears formed in Usano’s eyes.

“Eh? A-Are you okay?”

Haruka shook her head. “She’s an idiot, but she’s not lying.”

“She’s not?! How’s that even possible?”

Usano shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just born with it. Nobody can explain it, not even Big Sis or Mr. Doctor. When I was a kid, I tripped on my foot, and sparks just came out one day! My parents and doctors always told me to keep quiet about it.”

“And where are your parents now?”

“Beats me. I got tired of being told what to do. All this greatness and power, and they dared to contain me?! What fools. So I ran away, bumped into Big Sis, and am now the star of Lionheart!” She pointed her finger upward. Small sparks gathered at its tip. A trail of snot dribbled down her nose, but she sniffed it back inside her nostril.

Hiro clapped his hands in the hopes of calming her down. “Wow! You’re so cool.”

She wiped her tears off. “Why thank you, my junior.”

He turned to Haruka. “What about you? Is there anything I need to know?”

Her gaze remained firmly on the road. “Not really.”

“O-Oh. Um, what about back in Ushiro? You made swords and spears and sticky stuff. What exactly are they?”

Haruka didn’t respond for several seconds. Hiro wondered if this meant she was annoyed at him too. At last, she turned to him. She raised her right hand and flicked her wrist. Red liquid trickled down from her bracelet.

“Haruka, are you okay?!” Hiro leaned closer but hesitated to touch her. “What is this? Blood?”

“Yes.” Before it fell from her arm, the blood levitated into the air. It formed a butterfly that flapped its wings rhythmically. A trail of the liquid connected it to her wrist. “I can control it.”

“That’s… Wow. Where’s it coming from? Your bracelet?”

“No. It’s from inside.” She took her bracelet off, revealing a wound on her wrist. The butterfly reverted to its original bloody form and retracted back inside the wound. It quickly healed itself; only her usual pale skin remained.

“Inside? S-So you were bleeding just now, right? Does the blood always come back after you use it?”

She shook her head. “I have to take blood from others.”

It was all coming back to Hiro—the metallic smell, the heaps of withered corpses, her apathetic gaze whenever she killed. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled to stop himself from gagging.

Haruka took her bracelet off and flicked it. A thin needle popped out from its inner side. “Maki made these. They stab my vein. Blood flows out easily.”

“Mwahaha!” Usano nodded vigorously. “Isn’t Big Sis amazing? What would we ever be without her?”

“Better,” Haruka said.

Usano clicked her tongue. “There you go again. Don’t you know how highly fortunate you are that you got to partner with her for a mission?”

“I wasn’t.”

Hiro slapped his thighs, gaining their attention. “Oooookay. My turn. You weren’t there when I told the others, but… I’m one of the Eyes.  I’ve spent my entire life trying to hide it, so I’m not very good, but I can see a few seconds into the future. If I sit down and focus really hard, I can see up to a minute. The last time I did, though, I almost passed out, so I try to avoid that.”

Usano rubbed her chin. “Hm, that… is really boring! But it’s okay, not everyone can be as exciting and electric as me! Mwahaha! But since you mentioned it, I want to know. If you worked so hard to hide it, why even join us? Got tired of your boring life?”

He chuckled. “If I could, I’d live that life forever. But good things never last, do they? I learned it the hard way. The strong always get what they want, and weaklings like me don’t. If that’s the case, I want to be as strong as I can.”

“Love that for you! So not everything about you’s boring after all. Well, you’re extra lucky then! You just so happen to have me in your team. Feel free to gawk all you want. My strength never disappoints.”

The remainder of the trip was filled with idle conversation and occasional naps. At last, the dirt road gave way to concrete pavement, and in the distance, they could see the wooden buildings of Koyama Town. Horses with carts and townspeople on old motorcycles soon occupied the small road, so Haruka drove the Duck over to the grass. CAMOH technology kept them from being seen.

They heard static noises again. Leo spoke through their earpieces. “Hello, everyone. If our tracker is right, you should be near Koyama Town, right?”

“Yes,” Haruka said.

“Good! All according to schedule.” They heard a long slurping sound, which Hiro assumed to be coffee. It grossed him out. “You won’t be entering the town. It’s too crowded. Haruka, drive off the road eastward. On your map, you should see a big patch of blue. That’s the sea. I assume Maki briefed you on it already. Head straight for the shore and go underwater.”

“Understood.”

They veered off to the right. Shortly after, just as the map stated, they arrived at an empty rocky shore. Haruka uncovered the lid on the gearshift, which unveiled the white button. The label below said “waddle mode”. She pressed it, and the Duck lowered itself to the ground before getting back up. Hiro looked through the window to see what was going on, but the car was invisible outside.

Haruka stepped on the gas. The Duck’s movement had changed. Instead of smoothly driving forward, it hobbled up and down in rhythmic fashion, as though the Duck itself was walking—or waddling, as Hiro surmised. Water surrounded them on all sides until they were completely submerged. Soon after, they floated above the sand.

The Duck was now swimming underwater.