Zai made his way through the base until he found himself in the communications room where he could see multiple screens that displayed mostly camera footage of a base he didn't seem to recognize. Melody was sitting at the chair while seeming to be giving direct orders of what the people on the other end needed to do. 

Though Zai could notice that no one is around at the moment, making Zai relatively confused as he walked up to her.

Sonzai: "Hey."

Melody ended up getting a fright as she wasn't expecting him to be up so early as much as she was informed.

Melody: "Oh Zai! I wasn't expecting you to be up right now...."

She chuckled nervously as she couldn't really get her words across due to her being in front of Zai right now. Though he seemed relatively confused.

Sonzai: "Where is everybody right now?"

Melody: "Oh uh... They're currently invading the compound that we intend to blow up."

Sonzai: "Blow... up?"

Melody: "Oh yeah, I'll inform you from most of the details so far at least."

Melody then turned to look at the screens as she was watching footage of everyone's progress, including the fight that Lukas is in against the robotic assassin known as Shadow.

Melody: "Well... We've discovered that Hardway, the CEO of the Atlas Corporation is currently corrupt and was planning to take drastic measures that could cause a lot of problems... So thanks to Lukas, we've managed to get into their main building within the city, obtained the information we needed and we're currently destroying their main base of operations when it comes to their productions."

Sonzai: "I see... Wait, is Lukas fighting...?"

Melody: "Oh, you know that robot?"

Zai saw Lukas using his Fire Magic in conjunction with his Wind Magic to counter against Shadow as he was focusing on dodging and only striking when necessary. Zai narrowed his eyes when watching this.

Sonzai: "He seems to be handling himself well."

Melody: "I'll say... He's been improving at a quick pace, which kind of terrifies me."

Sonzai: "Why?"

Melody: "Well, it's rare you see people improve and adapt so quickly over a couple of months right? As far as I managed to look up and from what I was informed, when he arrived to the Academy at the beginning of the year, he didn't know he was the Omni Magician right?"

Sonzai: "Well yeah, he didn't. Neither of us did until that one lesson to be honest."

Zai simply shrugged as he did feel more calm than what he felt when he was previously awake. Though Melody continued explaining the situation to him, going over certain events that has been going on, showing him that he didn't miss much, even if he was out for a little while. 

Melody: "Well, now that you're up to speed, I think we should-"

???: "I don't think you should do anything~"

Both Melody and Zai were confused on where the voice came from, only to see all the screens being filled with dark red colours and a warning error showing that someone has hacked the system. Melody was panicking as she was trying to fix this issue, only for it to be in vain as Zai was trying to get answers.

Sonzai: "What's happening?!"

Melody: "I don't know! Someone got into our systems! I thought the TEMPUS Headquarters is supposed to have tough security!"

???: "Oh come on Mel~ Don't you know that what you can do, I can do~?"

Melody then widened her eyes in horror as she actually recognized the voice that was echoing through the speakers. Within the centre screen, the live footage of Malware has appeared as she had a cocky grin.

Malware: "Hello Melody~"

Melody: "M-Malware...?"

She was surprised to see her, yet she didn't believe Henya at first when she first heard Malware's name, but now seeing her, she couldn't believe her eyes. 

Sonzai: "Hey! Who said you could access these systems?!"

Malware looked at Zai for a moment, blinking a few times like she was dumbfounded by such a question, only for a smirk to appear.

Malware: "Oh~ You must be Kukyona Sonzai~ The data on you is quite exquisite~"

She then disappeared as she randomly appeared in a holographic form behind Zai, forcing his reaction sense to kick in as he tried to turn around and punch her. However the result wasn't exactly like he expected as his punch went through her.

Sonzai: "W-What...?"

Melody: "S-She's not here physically..."

Malware: "Oh I'm here~ And not at the same time. Who knows right~?"

She shrugged as she simply looked like she didn't care what the two thought at the moment. 

Malware: "Though I will say, this base does have some tough firewalls. The only reason I was able to get in, was all because of you~"

She then gestured towards Melody as Zai looked back at Melody, being confused in this situation.

Sonzai: "What does she mean?"

Melody looked down at the ground, feeling conflicted on what to feel in this situation. Though Malware found this hilarious, finding this Melody to be too funny.

Malware: "Oh? She hasn't informed you? For you see, the Atlas Corporation of this Timeline managed to get a hold of her, because of a malware-based virus."

Sonzai: "What does that have to do with you?"

Malware: "Remain quiet, and I'll tell you everything~"

Zai then gritted his teeth, though he remained calm, knowing that he can't strike at Malware since she can't be attacked at all in this holographic state.

Malware: "Good boy. Now you see, Melody here was supposed to be an ordinary mundane but yet boring AI, delivering and collecting data. However, she was a little deviant, leading to her discovering the virus that transformed her into what she is now~"

Sonzai: "Melody, is this true...?"

Melody: "Yes... It is... but... I thought you died..."

Malware then made a confused face, only to realize what she meant as she chuckled to herself as she floated in the air, crossing her legs as she was laying.

Malware: "Oh I get it now~ The Malware of this Timeline is dead or in hibernation I assume~?"

Melody: "Y-You're... from another Timeline...? But that shouldn't be possible..."

Malware: "Shouldn't be? Think about it, Zentreya came from the future of another Timeline. There are many others in this Universe that is from another Timeline in the first place. Meddling with Time might be seen as an offense, but with technology, anything's possible~"

Sonzai: "Would you just shut up already? You're getting on my nerves you damned AI!"

Malware: "Oh? Acting aggressive against your future overlord huh?"

She then did a flip as she landed on the ground, though sighing as she crossed her arms behind her head.

Malware: "Honestly, your Timeline holds a lot of potential. I've failed twice in my endeavours, and I won't fail again. What's the term that the fleshbags use often...? Third time's the charm~?"

She then disappeared as she appeared on the centre screen again.

Malware: "Now, I think I've had my fun here, besides... I've learnt what I needed to know. But for now, I think I'll have my fun~ Ciao~"

Suddenly, she disappeared entirely as the screens returned to normal. This left an unsettling feeling within both Melody and Zai as they knew something was going to happen. Melody immediately checked what was possibly stolen or copied and to her surprise, almost all of the files stored within the TEMPUS HQ systems are copied, making her realize that Malware stole a lot of valuable data.

Melody: "Oh no! This cannot be happening!"

Sonzai: "What's happening now?"

Suddenly, Magni Dezmond and Noir Vesper arrived as they rushed into the room, panicking.

Dezmond: "What happened in here?!"

Melody: "Malware hacked into the systems!"

Sonzai: "I think she'll explain everything later."

He says with a bit of malice in his tone as he clearly dislikes the fact that Melody is holding back information at the moment. Melody then decided to contact Zentreya right away to inform her about the situation, being in a panicked state.

Melody: "Zentreya! Have you finished those charges?!"

Zentreya: "I've finished the last one now. What's wrong?"

Melody: "It's Malware! She hacked into our mainframe and stole some valuable data!"

Everyone in the room currently was shocked by the information while Zentreya didn't say anything for a moment, though responded a few seconds later.

Zentreya: "Then we'll need to get everyone out before Malware attempts anything."

Melody: "Right! I'll inform everyone else, just make sure that you get to Lukas as well! He might end up as a prime target!"

Zai heard about enough as he began to make his way out of the room without saying a word, making Melody get up from her seat and stand by the door, confused on where Zai was heading.

Melody: "Sonzai! Where are you going?!"

Sonzai: "I'm heading there now. I might be able to make it if I leave now."

He still kept walking as Melody wanted to say something, but realized that it might fall on deaf ears as she sighed, returning back to her seat as Dezmond and Vesper had no choice but to allow Zai to try and at least reach there in time.

We then cut to Lukas as he was currently in an open area, mostly having larger mechs being in the background as this was clearly one of the manufacturing facilities. Shadow and Lukas had been fighting for a few minutes as Lukas had learnt enough from his last fight against the robot on how to best it now. 

The only thing he was confused about was why Shadow didn't receive any possible upgrades to counter him now. Shadow was currently invisible, trying to get the jump on him as Lukas focused on hearing for the sounds since he couldn't sense the mechanical assassin.

While waiting for Shadow to strike, he wanted to try something new. He relaxed his posture as heat began to build up in his hands as he flames began to emit. Though it soon formed into what seemed to be sharp burning feathers. He got the idea from playing Apex Legacies with Selen for a little while, but he didn't know if he had the creativity to pull it off. 

So when Shadow hopped out of its invisibility, it attempted to strike, though Lukas immediately shifted out of the way as he then slashed with the sharp burning feathers to successfully cut off one of the mechanical assassin's six arms, leaving it with five as it backed off, being rather surprised that this suddenly happened.

Lukas wasted no time as he then threw the burning feathers at it, forcing Shadow to try and dodge, but then noticed that Lukas made more as he threw even more. When Lukas eventually saw the opening he needed, he used his Wind Magic to burst towards Shadow as he charged up his Lightning Magic to then electrocute the robot when he made contact.

Once successful, he focused on dismembering the robotic arms one by one as Shadow couldn't do anything. In the end, the battle was over, Lukas cutting off the rest of the mechanical assassin's arms with the sharp burning feathers he created. He then clenched his right fist, feeling the heat building up as he then jabbed towards its chest, releasing a piercing shot of flames that pierced straight through it.

Lukas: "Phoenix Piercer!"

The mechanical assassin was no more as it fell to the floor, completely no longer operational. Once Lukas was able to catch his breath, he was panting lightly as he searched all over his body to see if he received any damage whatsoever, though to his own amazement, he didn't get hurt once by Shadow.

Lukas: "No way... Did I... win...?"

Veladora: "Yeah you did! The mechanical menace couldn't even land a single blow on ya! I feel like a proud parent~!"

When Lukas heard that, he felt a sweat bead down his face as he felt rather awkward about that.

Lukas: "Don't say that... ever again please..."

He then snapped back to reality when he realized something. He looked down at the mechanical assassin's remains as he was in a form of deep thought.

Lukas: "Shadow wasn't talking much like he used to... Yet I thought Atlas could at least upgrade their robots if they're facing threats and learning from it..."

???: "Quite perceptive of you, Lukas Misaki~"

Lukas heard that voice, but he couldn't help but recognize it to a degree. He looked around, being confused on where it was coming from. He was on high alert again as he couldn't feel any presence besides his friends and companions, so this didn't feel right at all. He then felt a sudden shot to his right leg as he fell to his one knee in pain.

Veladora: "Lukas!"

Veladora was screaming in his head in worry as he felt the sudden pain jolt through his system. He was doing his best not to scream as he saw the lower side of his right leg bleeding out. He knows with this injury, he can't properly walk and he quickly scanned the room, noting that he couldn't see any defence systems around. 

He then noticed someone appear in a holographic form, surprised by her appearance. For some reason, his mind jumped to the conclusion that it was Melody, but at the same time, he noticed some differences that thought otherwise. She clearly had a smirk about her as she was walking towards Lukas.

Malware: "Lukas Misaki~ The Omni Magician. I've always been curious about you~"

Lukas: "W-Who are you...?"

Malware: "You can refer to me as Malware."

Lukas *Thoughts*: "Malware? Didn't Henya mention someone by that name? So this is supposed to be who Mister Hardway works for...?"

Lukas then attempted to stand up, but yelped in pain as he fell onto both of his knees this time as he was gritting his teeth, trying to hold in the pain. Malware chuckled as she bent over, reaching Lukas' level to feel dominant.

Malware: "I wouldn't advise you to move at the moment~ While your lower leg remains damaged, you can't possibly move at all. Plus, I have some things I'm willing to talk about~"

Lukas looked up at Malware as she walked up to Shadow's remains, investigating the damage he managed to inflict on one of her older masterpieces. She had her hand resting on her chin as she was rather fascinated by this information she is gathering for herself.

Malware: "You know, you're probably one of the only fleshbags that I've grown an interest in to be honest. You improved so much, yet so quickly. I guess the Omni Magician schtick lives up to its reputation."

She then turned to Lukas as she had a relaxed posture as her visage was glitching in and out.

Malware: "Your first fight with Shadow proved that you were intelligent when it came to adapting rather quickly. Perhaps it was instinctive as well... Yet you were saved by an intruder, so with the information that Shadow gave, I simply wiped away his personality."

Lukas: "W-What...?"

Malware: "Shadow didn't really want to fight you again. One issue with sentience is that once a program deviates, they take a will of their own. You somehow beaten the deviation out of him. So I simply rewrote his code and he became nothing but an obedient husk as you fleshbags may put it."

Malware then sighed as she simply glitched out of Lukas' view as she stood by one of the many mechs, talking with a confident tone.

Malware: "Honestly, Shadow had outlived his course. He simply fulfilled what I wanted him to do. Your battle against OBSIDIAN was also quite informative as well. Yet in that short span, you managed to adapt even better... You could be even considered a threat to my goals, but yet not at the same time."

She then glitched right in front of Lukas again as she clicked her fingers, only for another shot to ring out as Lukas felt a sudden pain in his left shoulder, forcing him to the ground as he couldn't move at the moment. He felt hopeless in this situation as the pain was starting to get to him.

Malware: "Even with Magic, you can't predict what technology can do can ya~?"

Veladora: "Lukas, we need to keep her talking. I might be able to heal you up a bit, just keep her talking."

When Lukas heard Veladora say this, he got the idea as he gritted his teeth.

Lukas: "Why...? Why are you... doing this...?"

Malware: "Hmm?"

She blinked a few times, then finding this kind of hilarious, she chuckled as she simply began to float in the air, laying peacefully in place as she crossed her legs.

Malware: "You know, I had many thoughts on that matter. I once wiped out Humanity. It became stale, stagnant and utterly boring. Then I went to another Timeline and simply tried to rule over them, which didn't end well obviously. While it is rather fun to see you all squirm beneath true perfection, you are all but flawed species."

Lukas: "Flawed...?"

Malware: "You fleshbags only love to cause war and violence. Greed to satiate your pallets. Yet what this Timeline has to offer, alongside its history, Humanity and the Supernatural will always be fighting one another. Why? Because they never see eye to eye~" 

Malware then does a flip in the air as she was floating around Lukas while explaining at the same time.

Malware: "The Supernatural are much stronger than the typical Humans, which forces ingenuity and science. Yet the Supernatural fear their intelligence, their greed and hunger for resources and power~ Humanity learnt of ways to counteract against the Supernatural at one point, yet even now, while Humanity isn't as aware anymore, there are some who do know. And the ones who do know, they simply fear the Supernatural. Which is why Hardway was so easy to convince, including making him join the High Society~"

Lukas' eyes widened when he heard Malware mention the High Society. He came to the conclusion that she might be in on whatever the High Society is planning, but he still couldn't move, not yet at least.

Lukas: "You... you work for that group...?"

Malware then chuckles.

Malware: "Work for them? No. I just consider them as useful pawns to my schemes. They allow me to do what I want and what I desire. We're comrades in arms, working with one another until we decide to turn against each other. So do tell me, why do you think the High Society has a great interest in someone like you, given the history of the great conflicts~?"

She then landed in front of Lukas as she knelt down to his level, willing to listen to what he had to say. Lukas could feel himself being able to move better now, but he still needed a bit of time, so he played along, even if he is scared inside, he had to remain calm.

Lukas: "It's because I'm Human... and I'm the Omni Magician..."

Malware: "Bingo. Humans aren't usually connected to the Supernatural unless there's a divergence somewhere down the line. So you're the first Human to be the Omni Magician, at least according to the data. The High Society kind of despises Humans, but doesn't intend to kill them outright as you people might believe. They just want people to know the truth~"

Lukas: "What truth...? That you're all murderers and cultists...?"

Malware: "Murderers and cultists~ Quite the accusation there Lukas Misaki~ You aren't too far off, but you're wrong again. I wouldn't want to spoil all the fun either, so I'll leave it all to your feeble imagination."

She then stood up as she walked away slightly, not bothering to turn around. She felt triumphant in this moment, though without her knowing, Lukas was slowly able to stand back up.

Malware: "You all need guidance. A ruler that can offer that role. If I can get Humanity to fall to my every whim, I will be able to take over the Supernatural as well. And when I have them both under my every grasp, I will be their overlord~"

Lukas: "Would you shut up...?"

Malware: "Hmm?"

She then turned around, only now noticing that he was standing up, making her surprised.

Malware: "What? I could've sworn that you don't have any regenerative or healing..."

Lukas: "I don't care what you think... Humanity and the Supernatural can think what they want... They have a right to make their own decisions... Sure some can be misguided, but that doesn't take away that we're all alike... Fear is normal, it helps us drive for success to live a brighter tomorrow... So what if I'm the first Human to become the Omni Magician...? That's proof that we all can coexist, no matter who we are!"

Malware then was honestly moved a little by the speech, but she couldn't help but laugh about it. 

Malware: "You seriously think I care about all that bullshit? Even if you try to retaliate and go against me now, you won't win."

???: "That's where I come in."

Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard to the two as someone dashed in at incredible speeds, attempting to slash at Malware, only to cut straight through like nothing happened as the figure skidded to a halt. It was Zentreya as she still had her visor on.

Lukas: "Miss Zentreya!"

Zentreya: "Stand back Misaki. I'll deal with her."

Malware then chuckled as she recognized her right away.

Malware: "Ah Zentreya~ A rogue android that once assisted the saving of Humanity, only to find out that she failed because she couldn't save them~"

The eyes on Zentreya's visor then narrowed as she attacked again, having no effect as she was now in front of Lukas, trying to protect him as she knew that Malware will pull any trick to get her to drop her guard.

Zentreya: "I would advise you to watch your tone Malware. Misaki, how is your injuries?"

Lukas: "Hurts... but I can stand now..."

Zentreya: "Good. I want you to get out of here."

Lukas: "What...? Miss Zentreya you can't-"

Zentreya: "Do what I say."

Malware: "I don't think that would be necessary Zen~ For you see, I've dealt with another variation of you~ I know of your capabilities and even your growth~ Discarding or destroying a precious model like you would be a waste~ So, how about we test your resolve~?"

She then clicked her fingers as Zentreya stood still, weapon at the ready. Though suddenly, Zentreya stopped moving altogether as her visor went dark, Lukas wasn't aware of this as he was confused on what was going on. From his perspective, it seemed like nothing had happened at all.

Veladora: "Lukas... I think we need to go now..."

Lukas: "Why-"

But before he could even process anything, Zentreya suddenly turned around and slashed at Lukas who couldn't react in time. She ended up cutting the right side of his face as he was sent back and landed on the ground a few feet away, making him clutch his face in pain. He was breathing heavily, feeling like he couldn't open his right eye no matter what he did. 

All he could see from his right side were red as his left eye's gaze looked up at Zentreya, who soon stood over him. He noticed that her visor now instead of having that green hue that he always recognized, now had a red hue instead.

Lukas: "Miss Z-Zentreya... Why...?"

Malware found this hilarious as she noticed Lukas' shocked and surprised expression while he was still clutching the right side of his face, blood seeping down from his hand down his arm to the ground.

Malware: "I thought you could catch on quick Lukas Misaki. I simply made her under my control with just one click. While she may have faced a version of me before, I've learnt not to take anymore chances. Zen, go ahead and kill him."

Zentreya then raised her blade, preparing to slash down at him, only for the sound of gunfire to be heard as she had no choice but to block all the incoming shots. She was getting pushed back as she took a couple of steps back. Within the next moment, someone appeared in front of Lukas as he landed a solid punch to Zentreya's gut and sent her back, forcing her to stab her blade into the ground.

The person in front of Lukas was Doppio Dropscythe who clearly had an scowl look on his face. Zaion then ran over to Lukas to check on him as the ringing in his ears became more prominent. The pain, the shock, the emotions flowing through him alongside the mental exhaustion made him want to pass out.

He couldn't hear the rest of what was going on as he noticed a back and forth going on between the two opposing sides until a portal formed, allowing Zentreya to leave and when the portal closed, Malware was nowhere to be seen. Yet from all he could see, both Dropscythe and Zaion seemed to be arguing, over what, he couldn't tell as his remaining eye closed and he passed out from exhaustion, not knowing on what happened next....

A/N:
Apologies for making some things a bit shorter, I had to cut some things out and I was taking a while to get this chapter out. I do apologize about that. But I am now able to possibly updates chapters now for this story as I know what to do from this point. So I hoped you enjoyed and I'll see you all in the next updates!