Chasing Stars

Retreat and Regroup

Alius' teleportation device was still a work in progress. It did work, mind, but it sure had some annoying technical limitations - which meant that, at least for now, his team had to work with what they got and try to sell it to the best of their ability.

Luckily for them, nobody took notice of the Gemini Storm team appearing behind Umbrella's main building just seconds after they left, as the Umbrella students were too busy attending to the injuries they had caused.

A heavy felling settled inside Jordan's ribcage at the thought. He quickly resolved to ignore it.

With practiced ease, the group exchanged their eye-catching alien get-ups for more casual attire. Greggory took off his helmet, tugging it under his arm. Connor, who was easily the most dedicated to the costume, removed the blue make-up off his face. Once they stepped out of the shadow of the building, any onlooker would have seen a group of mostly normal, if a bit odd, teenagers strolling through Tokyo, rather than the fearsome group of aliens sowing terror across the country.

Once they put a good distance between them and Umbrella - far enough that he couldn't hear the sirens anymore -Jordan turned around to the group, only to be met with a collection of icy stares. While nobody here was willing to start a fight in public, his team also didn't shy away from showing him their disapproval.

Dylan and Rhona looked especially mad - there was little doubt that they'd pounce on him the moment the opportunity would arise. He dreaded it already; For all their bickering, they were a force to be reckoned with when they were on the same page.

He was suddenly grateful that the journey back to Osaka would take a few hours.

On the way to the station, the atmosphere gradually lightened, and Jordan caught himself letting out a sigh of relief. Soon, his friends started chattering about anything and everything, the topics ranging from Pat's favorite Okonomiyaki place back in Osaka ("I keep telling you, Miss Hartland just has a special way of making them- No, it's way better than those octopus bites!") to the new project Izzy had been tinkering with ("Just imagine what we could do if I get this to work!").

It was... nice. They didn't get the chance to kick back and relax like this very often anymore, what with Alius constantly breathing down their necks. It just made these moments all the more special.

As usual, catching the train was no issue. One would think eleven children taking the train this late without supervision would attract some scrutiny, but it never seemed to. The most they ever got were annoyed stares from stressed adults, silently willing them to shut up and be quiet, and little more.

"Are we there soon?" Greggory questioned about an hour into the journey, followed by a loud yawn.

The sun had mostly set at this point, and their youngest member wasn't the only one showing signs of exhaustion. Mentally, Jordan made a note not to plan any late afternoon excursions anymore, quotas be damned - he didn't want to drain the people under his care too much.

In response to the question, he said, "It'll be a while still." When that answer proved unsatisfactory, Greggory made a particularly displeased face, though the effect was somewhat undercut by yet another yawn. Jordan giggled. "Don't worry, we'll wake you up before we get there."

Not soon after, Grant silently offered his shoulder to Greggory. The smaller boy wasted no time to settle against his friend and promptly fell asleep. The rest of their group took notice soon, and adjusted their volume accordingly, reducing the loud chatter to a faint whisper.

Jordan leaned back into his seat. The voices soon became background noise, and in turn, his thoughts became louder. There was no shortage of things to reflect on, either - Raimon, the Match, Umbrella. A lot had happened today, but there was one person who stood out above the rest, at least for him.