“Are you there, yet?” The voice on the phone was strained and coarse with determination.

It was the type of voice that valued perfection over anything.

Above all, it was a voice of a person who had gone through unimaginable pain but had to suppress it for the sake of something bigger. 

"Yes. I am about to go in. So far they haven't been able to -" The receiver of the call was greeted by a woman.

He had to pause and smile so that she wouldn't get suspicious. In fact, he had to carry himself with utmost stealth so, no one in his immediate surrounding would be able to suspect him of anything.

He had come here as a delegate of Alpha 2713. A couple of his other colleagues had also arrived there to attend a meeting held by the Omegans and Betans.

They were here to report the disappearance of the Brahma and to discuss the current situation of the Alpha to find out who was responsible for the Solaray that was set forth so carelessly.

The woman bowed slightly and smiled. She brushed her black suit and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. As she walked past him into the building, the man continued to speak.

"Yeah, sorry, I ran into an Omegan executive," He smiled at a few other people who passed him. His ginger hair flew in the wind.

"Anyway, everything's going according to the plan. Everyone's in their respective places. I will go and put the final piece. Then you can send in the army.”

The man started to walk towards the building, holding a briefcase. His speech started becoming more slurried. 

Upon entering the building, the voice through the phone said his final words to him.

"Make sure you get him, Mischa. We can't let anything happen to him. I can't..." His voice faltered.

"Don't worry. I'll handle this." With that, the man put away his phone and adjusted his glasses. His clean-cut hair gave him an aristocrat-like look. He went past the security check and breathed a sigh of relief after getting through it.

So far so good. They haven't been able to detect it yet, Mischa thought to himself.

And with that, he walked off in another direction to set in motion a plan, which no Omegan or Betan could have expected that day.

———- X———-

"Great, another day of destroying the world," Tae said after a long-drawn-out silence. Esae let out a small laugh.

Anakin gave both of them a look. Then sighed and mentally gave up. 

 Tae shrugged shamelessly. He walked past Anakin and poked him on his neck. 

The sparks that had generated as an after-effect, passed onto Anakin. He shook in surprise as he saw Tae get down the ship nonchalantly followed by Esae who too, followed his example.

Anakin walked down the ship grumbling and examined the engines, which were, again, in smoke.

Reina followed him, down the ship, and stood beside him. She inspected the scene thoroughly and finally said, "I have no idea how you even passed the Organisation test. Are all Omegan agents this bad at driving?”

Anakin looked offended and retaliated back irritatedly, "It still works so you don't need to make a huge fuss about it.”

"Yeah yeah, though some mysterious smoke always comes out wherever we land. I wonder why? I don't even know how this engine is still alive." She sighed and kicked it lightly only for more smoke to come their way.

“Shut up Reina, or I swear-," Anakin coughed, moving his hands around, trying to get away from the smoke.

"Or what? You'll report me?" she said in an egotistical way, "You know I'm your superior, and don't forget I have to hand in the report on this mission.”

Anakin stared at her, not breaking the eye contact.

She maintained her smug expression.

"That's what I thought, pathetic." With that, she started walking towards the Omegan headquarters.

Anakin followed her, irritated as usual. 

Jay and the boys stuck to them like ducklings to a mother duck.

In terms of looks, the Omegan headquarter resembled any other generic company. It wasn't very majestic or out of the place like Jay and the boys had expected.

"Hell, I passed this building every day, on my way to work. Who knew?!" Jay said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, it was made in a way to blend in. To normal people on the streets, it's just a software company. And thanks to the barrier no one can see the aircrafts parked here or on the top of the building.” Reina answered back.

"Nice," Esae said in a defeated tone.

Jay and the boys realised they were in this deep.

Jay’s escape plan, Esae’s mild amusement, and Tae’s mental state, all ended up in the same place- a void of eternity from which neither could escape. There was no room for doubt or suspicion anymore. 

As much as they would have liked to believe that they were just kidnapped by an over-smart kid in cosplay and her irritated parent, they had to face reality.

On top of that, they didn't even know what Solaray was, so it made it hard for them to grasp the gravity of the situation.

As they made their way into the company, the inside also appeared to be pretty normal. It was grand as expected and was neatly decorated like any other company's reception would be.

They made a sharp turn to the right of the reception desk and entered a corridor, among many. A lady rushed over to Reina carrying a clipboard and some papers. She had long brown hair pulled back loosely. Her face had a perturbed expression.

"Nova, status on Solaray?"Reina asked, looking up at Nova. 

"Yes. If one more I.E comes in contact with themselves from another dimension, the Solaray will complete in 1 day. Alpha and Omega are already close enough. You know the rest." Nova straightened up and greeted a superior, whom she met a while ago. Mischa smiled again and walked past her to another location. His smile was almost apologetic.