"There's one of these here too," Aiden said, pointing to the device in front of them.
"Yes, boy," Yu replied calmly. "With your power, you'll be able to activate it… well, that's what I believe. Why don't you give it a try?"
"I can't," Aiden quickly retorted, shaking his head. "I was ordered not to use my abilities, and besides, they're monitoring me. They've probably already sent a team to look for me."
Aiden lifted his leg to show Yu the electronic ankle bracelet, its blinking light seemingly mocking him.
"Don't worry about that," Yu interjected with a confident smile. "That's precisely why I brought Dustin to help."
"What? Me? You can't be serious!" Dustin protested, looking at Yu in disbelief.
"Yes, exactly," Yu confirmed without hesitation.
"That's the point! You've gone mad!" Dustin exclaimed, visibly agitated. "If I deactivate that device, the world could burn because of that decision, and we'd be risking our necks."
"Relax, it'll only be for a brief moment. I have a plan," Yu responded with a relaxed demeanor, though his eyes showed determination.
"Forget it!" Dustin insisted, crossing his arms. "What would Leader Eduard say about this?"
Yu leaned closer to Dustin, close enough so no one else could hear. With a sly smile, he whispered something in his ear:
"Come on, boy, do it for me, will you? Besides… I know your 'little secret.'"
His tone was calm but loaded with intention, making it clear he wasn't asking—it was more like an order disguised as a favor. Yu's gaze remained fixed on Dustin, assessing his reaction as the words lingered in the air like an implicit warning.
Dustin visibly tensed, his eyes widening slightly, and his jaw tightening. For a brief moment, he seemed torn between protesting or giving in. He thought about it for a few seconds, but there was no time to waste. Every second counted. Finally, he let out a resigned sigh, lowering his gaze as he gave an almost imperceptible nod. They didn't know what might happen to Leonard if they discovered he wasn't the right person—and they might even kill him.
"Fine, I'll ask Jake," Dustin said finally, turning toward Aiden's shadow. He called someone in a low voice for a while, but got no response.
"Damn it! Where is that fool when I need him?" Dustin muttered, frustrated.
"Are you really going to take that off me?" Aiden asked nervously, pointing at the ankle bracelet.
"Yes, relax, kid," Yu replied with a reassuring smile. "Besides, I've already read a couple chapters of your story, so calm down. There are at least two more arcs coming your way."
"Huh?!" Aiden exclaimed, confused.
"Forget it!" Dustin interrupted before Aiden could inquire further. "I'll do it myself. After all, I'm your teacher."
Yu pulled out a feather and a mysterious notebook, preparing to intervene.
"Alright, let's see," Dustin said as he placed his hands on Aiden's ankle bracelet. With a precise motion, the device began to shift outward, as if made of transparent material—something similar to Todd's power, but at a molecular level.
Suddenly, a kind of sphere appeared magically beside Aiden.
"Quick, Dustin! Put that thing in the container!" Yu ordered urgently.
The precision and timing had to be surgical, as if they were operating on something extremely delicate. Dustin was visibly nervous, but Piti, always as fast as lightning, intervened without hesitation. With a swift movement, she placed the device inside the sphere just in time.
"Thanks, speedy boy. I didn't think you could move that fast… not with your build," Yu said with a teasing smile, noticing that Piti was a bit stocky.
Piti scratched the back of his neck, visibly uncomfortable but still keeping his good humor:
"No problem, I guess…"
Despite Yu's playful comment, Piti didn't seem offended. On the contrary, his expression reflected a kind of amused resignation, as if he were used to such jokes.
"I could've done that too," Todd remarked as he watched Dustin extract the device from Aiden's leg with surgical precision.
"Sure, yeah, right," Lita responded with a sarcastic smile, crossing her arms as she observed Dustin wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Dustin shot a glance at Yu, who closed his mysterious notebook with a satisfied gesture.
"Thanks, Yu," Dustin murmured, still catching his breath.
"And now what?" Billy asked, breaking the brief silence that followed.
Yu turned to Aiden with a serious expression:
"Now, Aiden, you need to use your power and activate that thing."
"But how?" Aiden replied, confused, having no idea how to proceed.
"Do your thing and touch it," Yu urged. "There's not much time. You have only 24 hours to figure it out, or that artifact might alert the others."
Yu pointed to the electronic shackle now resting inside the sphere.
"Only that much time? And what happens if we can't activate this thing and don't find Leonard?"
Before anyone could respond, Claude interjected:
"Maybe I can help with that."
With a quick motion, he created a copy of Aiden. However, the result was disappointing: the clone had a wide-eyed, vacant stare and didn't even move.
"No one's going to believe that's you, Aiden," Lania commented with a mocking giggle.
"Well, if you want, I'll do it," Benny said, raising his hand decisively. "I can buy you some time, though I'm afraid I won't be able to join you if I do."
"Alright, we're counting on you," Abel and Cain responded in unison.
Cain added with a sarcastic tone:
"At least you'll be good for something."
Benny frowned, visibly annoyed, but then blushed when Abel winked at him conspiratorially. Without further ado, Benny reshaped his body to look exactly like Aiden, even mimicking his voice.
"By taking your form, I can last up to two days, thanks to our training," Benny explained proudly.
"Well, that's settled," Akira said, nodding in satisfaction.
"But… shouldn't we wait for the senior agents? They should be here by now," Lumi suggested nervously, looking around at the others for a response.
"If they were here, they wouldn't let us go, don't you think?" Akira replied calmly, though his voice carried a hint of resignation. He knew the agents' rules always prioritized safety above all else, even if it meant delaying the mission.
"He's right," Marin added, crossing her arms as she nodded thoughtfully. "We can't risk losing this opportunity. If we wait, we might run out of time… or worse, Leonard could be in even greater danger."
The group fell silent for a moment, processing the words. It was clear that everyone shared the same concern, but they also knew there was no other choice.
"And as for the rest, it's all up to you, Aiden," Maria interrupted, looking at the boy seriously.
Aiden approached the device and touched it cautiously. In that instant, something surprising happened: the device began to float, forming a large door similar to the portals he used to create.
"What is this thing?" Aiden wondered aloud. "And why does it react to me?"
Yu responded calmly:
"It must be because you're half Lux… In other words, you're a Luxterian."
"Well, it's time to go after Leonard," Yu announced with determination. "Who's coming?"
"I think all of us, of course," Gat said enthusiastically.
"All except Benny," Josh corrected, pointing to the boy who had transformed into Aiden.
"Well, as much as I'd like to go, guys, I have to stay for everyone's sake," Benny said with a forced smile. "Bring me back a souvenir, will you?"
Yu pulled out some bags and distributed them among everyone, except Aiden and Podbe. This struck the boy as odd.
"Don't worry, you'll soon know why," Yu said with an enigmatic smile.
"What do you say, everyone?" Aiden asked, gradually growing more excited. "A new adventure awaits us!"
"A new adventure on another planet! How cool!" Timmy and Floud exclaimed in unison, overflowing with excitement.
Yu smiled and added:
"Well, I need to stay behind. After all, it won't take long for them to realize Aiden is here, far from home. I'll need to come up with an alibi or send him off to school. Though I don't know the place well… What a shame. Maybe I'll ask the author for help. I hope he's cooperative."
"How dare this guy!" I, the author, muttered, hearing everything from my desk.
"I'm going too," Dustin interjected, toning down his arrogant and serious demeanor slightly. "After all, you're my responsibility, and they need an adult nearby. Although that slacker Jake isn't here…"
Suddenly, Yu pulled something else out:
"You're right, you'll need these."
He handed out additional items to the group, ensuring everyone was ready for the mission.
"Forward, team!" Aiden exclaimed with determination. "Let's go get Leonard!"
"You can count on us," María said, grabbing Billy's arm to encourage him.
"Sounds fun… an adventure," Billy replied sarcastically, clearly uncomfortable, tugging at his shirt collar as if he were short of breath.
"Well, fine… I'll go too," Elena announced with a resigned sigh.
"Ugh! I didn't want to be here, but oh well, no choice. I have to go with you," Abigail said, crossing her arms as she thought about how far away she was from home.
"We're all going!" several voices chorused together, showing their collective determination.
"What terrifying things we'll find… It'll be great," Cain commented with a twisted smile, exchanging a knowing glance with Lania and Hela, who joined the group with equally sinister expressions.
"Those three are scary!" Abel muttered, shaking his head with a mix of amusement and concern. Lumi nodded silently, visibly uncomfortable with their attitude.
Without further ado, everyone held hands to step through the portal. Abigail was about to take Riota's hand but switched places at the last second, giving her hand to Timmy instead. The portal grew slightly larger, as if responding to their presence.
"We're coming for you, Leonard," Aiden thought silently as he lifted Podbe into his arms, making sure he was ready for the journey.
"We'll bring you a little souvenir too, Benny, for your sacrifice," Cain teased with a mocking smile before stepping toward the portal.
"Hey! I'm not dead, I'm just doing you all a favor!" Benny protested, though no one seemed to fully hear him.
"Well, see you later," Abel said with a carefree smile as he prepared to enter the portal. "Oh, right! I just remembered: your agent code, Benny, is B-9, right?"
"Yes, that's right," Benny replied with a nod, just as Claude abruptly interrupted.
Claude whipped his head around so fast it was as if something had exploded in his mind.
"Hey! That's my code!" he exclaimed, pointing at Benny in disbelief. "So you're the impostor!"
Benny stared at him, his expression growing increasingly indignant.
"What? No, wait! You're the impostor! I had this code first!" he protested, crossing his arms as if that settled the argument.
But it was already too late. Before they could resolve the misunderstanding, everyone stepped into the portal, vanishing in a flash of light. The machine on the wall self-destructed after their entry, leaving only a trace of residual energy.
Yu watched as the group disappeared through the portal, accompanied by Benny, who now bore Aiden's appearance. However, it was clear that something was bothering him: the revelation that Claude shared the same agent code.
With his arms crossed and an expression of barely contained irritation, Benny muttered to himself:
"It's obvious I'll have to confront Ezekiel about this mistake… How could he assign the same agent code to two people? This is an administrative disaster."
Yu observed the boy, noticing his discomfort over Ezekiel's error. With a reassuring smile, he tried to calm him down:
"Relax, you know how Ezekiel is… He can be a bit careless sometimes. Maybe if you talk to him, you can sort it out."
Benny glanced at him sideways, still annoyed but said nothing. He knew Yu was right, though that didn't ease his frustration.
However, Yu slightly furrowed his brow, as if something more pressing occupied his thoughts. His tone grew more serious as he added:
"What worries me… is something else."
The change in his voice made Benny momentarily set aside his irritation. He looked at Yu curiously, waiting for him to continue, but the man fell silent, leaving the phrase hanging in the air like an implicit warning.
"Alright, kid… Let's see what we do with you. Do you have any pictures of the school?" Yu asked, adjusting his glasses as he attempted to improvise a plan.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching helicopters echoed in the distance. A voice boomed from the speakers, powerful and unmistakable:
"Yu, I know you're there! You've got someone unwanted—I detected an energy anomaly that just activated!"
Yu let out a nervous chuckle.
"Oops! I guess they caught us red-handed, kid. I thought we had more time, but it seems the agency is quicker than I expected."
"It must be because of Aiden's tracker… Well, the one I have now," Benny said, gesturing worriedly at the shackle on his ankle.
"Well, no choice," Yu responded, calmly stowing away his book and pen, though his forced composure betrayed his tension. "I hope you're a good actor and can convince General Bronjort with your performance."