"The dormitories are located in the east wing; down the hall. The cafeteria is located in the south wing and the hours are from 6 to 9 every day…" Alya tuned out her friend slightly- still following her every movement, as she was leading them down the hall- her eyes never straying from her clipboard or from in front of her. Why won't you look at us? Alya knew that Adrien and Nino were having the same thoughts as her- but didn't know how to approach this.

"This shatterdome isn't as large as the ones in Hong Kong for example; but this was created for emergencies. If you keep walking down the corridor, the LOCCENT mission control is located there." Marinette had informed, her voice slightly quieter, leaving the sound of their luggage clicking behind them obnoxiously to fill in the silence.

"Marinette" Adrien called out after a second, Alya turning to her partner with furrowed brows.

"Yes Adrien? Do you have a question?" Marinette smiled, startling the boy slightly as it was a while since he had talked to the girl- and the last time he had said something to her; she was still in a stuttering and blushing mess.

"Uh…are you…okay?" Alya could've slapped him for the terrible timing. Shouldn't they ask in a private room and not in the middle of a corridor where they were once again, attracting attention. Alya truly wondered just how did this boy manage to snag the top marks in the Jaegar Academy when he was this oblivious.

"I am perfectly fine thank you for asking. You three must be tired though; you may rest now, but please gather in the conference room at 1800 sharp and you will meet your supervisor there" she had simply replied- her tone a bit rushed. "Well that is all… if you have any questions, please feel free to find me. I'm usually at the Mission Control room…" A long pause followed after, as they didn't know whether to speak up or not. "It is…" she spoke after seemingly contemplating slightly, a small genuine smile on her face "…really great to see you guys again" she ended. With a bow and a twist on her heel; she made her way down the corridor and away from her 3 friends who were left staring at her retreating figure.

"What was that?" Nino was the one who spoke up first- utterly flabbergasted. "Was that even Marinette? She didn't say anything to you other than about this shatterdome Alya!" he turned to the girl who was staring at the spot where her friend was just standing.

"I know- I was here the entire time" Alya couldn't help but snap back at him; startling the poor boy. Nino turned to his friend who simply shook his head slightly at him in warning.

"Let's head to the dormitories first" he said quietly, but also perturbed by the events that had just happened.

"What happened to her?" Alya whispered as Adrien gently pushed her so she would start walking.

"She didn't seem comfortable talking in public. If we want to know what happened in these 4 years, we would need to find her and take her to a quieter place" Adrien suggested, Nino nodding in agreement.

"Let's just find her now" Alya made a move to turn around, but was stopped by Adrien's hand that had grasped her wrist.

"And what? Just directly ask her what happened? Do you even know what you want to ask?" Adrien raised a brow. Alya frowned deeply- she hated it when he was right- you just hate being corrected.

"Yeah- she's my friend Adrien. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I just asked her" she replied.

"Really? From what I saw, she was uncomfortable just standing in front of us while we were silently judging her" he softly stated.

"She's my best friend Adrien, she would understand-" her voice died off as she stared at him.

"I know… you have more of a right than us to confront her- but Alya; she really seemed conflicted. I just…" he sighed, dropping his hand. "I don't want to scare her away," he quietly muttered, Nino patting his shoulder slightly. Out of all people, Alya probably knew Adrien the best and she knew that she wasn't the only one immensely worried for their friend. With a defeated sigh, Alya glanced to the floor, and to her surroundings.

"Let's go" she relented, Adrien nodding as the three made their way down the corridor.

"Are we still living in the same room?" Nino asked- likewise in Russia, he had also bunked with Adrien and Alya- albeit nervous about sleeping in such close quarters with the latter- but she had cared less. Of course there were boundaries still as the boys weren't allowed within a few feet of her bed and workspace; but other than that- the three were pretty good roommates (other than the occasional arguments about Nino leaving his dirty socks everywhere and stinking up the place)

"Apparently we are?" Adrien replied, an eyebrow raised, as he flipped through the papers in his hand, handed by Marinette that told them about their schedules specifically.

"That's a surprise? I didn't think they would let us bunk together" Alya thought aloud, did Marinette do this? But why?

"Perhaps they are aware of our sleeping arrangements in Russia and in order to make us feel more comfortable; they left it the same" Adrien suggested.

"That, or they don't have enough space" Nino piped up.

"Although this shatterdome is quite significantly smaller than the one in Russia, it's still pretty big. I'm pretty sure that's not a probable reason" Alya rolled her eyes at him who shrugged.

"It's a possibility" he had simply replied.

"A pretty bad possibility. Honestly, I'm still wondering how you became one of the best technicians and LOCCENT mission control guys" Alya shook her head as Adrien simply laughed.

"Woah, that's awesome!" a new voice popped up; scaring the three as Alya and Adrien whipped around, arms up in defense as their fight-reflex took over subconsciously. "Woah- calm down, it's just me" the sight of the familiar red hair and teal eyes, the three gaped.

"N-Nathanaël?" Alya stuttered, barely recognizing him.

"Hey guys! It's great to see you again!" he grinned, his shy and timid personality gone, as he seemed more comfortable.

"Hey, how's it going?" Nino was the first to recover giving him a pat on the back as the boys bumped shoulders.

"Not bad! Oh careful, I'm slightly covered in grease. Don't want to ruin your own clothes" he stepped back cautiously. He was wearing a blue overall denim suit, the PPCD logo stitched on his left shoulder. He had his hair tied back in a small ponytail, revealing his teal eyes more.

"I didn't know you were still here- and working with the PPCD" Adrien blinked in surprise, but shook his hand nevertheless.

"Yeah- decided to stay in Paris, been here my whole life- not that I'm complaining" he shrugged lightly. "Since I was here anyways, I was recruited to be the Jaegar technician" he explained.

"Oh wow, so you're putting your designing abilities into good use" Nino raised a brow as he nodded.

"It's not like I'm the head designer for the Jaegar's but I do get a say as to where parts should go and how more efficient the Jaegars could be if they changed things up in the designs" Nathanaël smirked lightly, albeit proud.

"I wouldn't have thought you were going to work here though" Alya commented as he turned to her.

"Yeah- well none of us thought you three would leave for Russia right after grad either" he gave a wry smile. "Unfortunately not all of us are talented in that Jaegar area, but there are jobs that suit us" he shrugged. It wasn't meant to be a jab at them, but Alya could feel the hurt. "Not that being a Jaegar pilot isn't bad!" he quickly added seeing her features contorting slightly.

"Speaking of how some jobs suit you, is there a reason why Marinette is here?" Nino quickly asked, taking the opportunity to mention the one person the three were indefinitely curious (and worried) about.

"Mari?" (Adrien and Alya refused to ask about his nickname for the girl, the latter curious but hesitant to ask, but definitely, definitely interested while the former just refusing to think about their relationship)

"…Oh, yeah- after coming back to Paris, she helped out with her parent's and their growing franchise; but I'm not even sure how she was recruited here. Before we knew it; she was promoted to being a Strike Trooper" he gave a slight laugh as Adrien and Alya paled. Strike Troopers were one of the most dangerous jobs within the PPCD. Their main job was to support the Jaegars but evacuating civilians and sometimes laying down ground fire when dealing with the Kaiju. "She could even pilot a V-50 Jumphawk which is rare!" he grinned as if this was an exceptional skill why would you get involved in this Marinette? We are the ones fighting for you so you didn't need to

"Is she okay?" Alya asked.

"Hmm, she changed since the Kaiju's appearance- but if I had to say, she's doing quite well" he smiled widely. "But all of us changed. We had to if we wanted to stay alive" he added more grimly.

Beep, beep! "Oh, that's my signal, gotta go. It's really cool to see all of you guys again! We can have lunch together like the old days. I'll call the others too!" he waved as he jogged backwards before turning and jogging away at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Others?" Nino repeated, choosing to focus on something else other than the fact that probably everyone they knew was different by now.

"Well I guess now we know what our old classmates were doing after high school" Adrien commented ironically as the three did wonder about them at times during their stay in Russia.

Alya shook her head. If anything, it wasn't as reassuring as what she would've wanted.

"At least our room is larger" Nino grinned, hands on his hip as Alya sat down on her own bed on the far corner, while the boys shared a bunk bed.

"Well since they were aware of our sleeping accommodations, perhaps they gave us one of the larger rooms" Adrien stretched, cracking his bones, and relieving the tension in his shoulders. They had arrived to their dormitory and Alya took the chance to freshen up while the boys unpacked and now they were just chilling on the lower bunk which Adrien had taken

"Want to get something to eat before arriving at the mission control? We have around 40 minutes." Nino suggested as they nodded.

"I wonder who our supervisor is" Adrien hummed as they left their room and began walking down the corridor and towards the cafeteria. Adrien had taken the time to go over the base map of the shatterdome and Alya wouldn't be surprised if he memorized where everything was now- hell, give him a few more hours and he'll be able to find shortcuts and get to places faster than a cadet that probably was here weeks before they had arrived.

"Whoever it is, they couldn't be as bad as Marshal Floyd Alexandrov" Alya sarcastically replied as Nino shuddered at the name. Marshal Floyd Alexandrov was one of the most eccentric and strict supervisors they had. His tendency to collect Kaiju's body parts for the sole reason as to feel them up was creepy enough- but he was also strict, often handing out punishments when he determines your efforts weren't up to standards.

"Yeah, he was a bit different" Adrien smiled.

"Yeah, you usually weren't in his punishment list since you had the looks and skills" Nino rolled his eyes. Due to Adrien's popularity and exceptional athletic skills, Marshal Alexandrov didn't dare touch a single head on his body or face the wrath of all females in the shatterdome along with some males.

"Oh my god, is that you Alya? Nino? Adrien?" a tomboyish yet feminine voice shouted over the noise of the cafeteria. The three had arrived to their destination and had grabbed their food; and was looking for a table now.

"Alix?" Alya gaped but nevertheless heading towards the pink haired girl. She was probably the first one who actually looked the same as her 15 year old self (other than Alya herself- and in all honesty, she probably pass off as a 17 year old if she tried). She still had the signature ponytail look, and she wore a LOCCENT Mission Control uniform; but had styled it up to her own tastes.

"Holy shit, it is you three!" Alix grinned widely as she hugged the girl. "Man, how long has it been?" she gaped giving the guys a shoulder bump.

"Way too long! I wouldn't have thought you would stay in Paris. We thought for sure that you left Paris to travel around the world" Nino grinned as Adrien nodded, starting to eat.

"Nah, decided to stay here- Paris is nice although there's not much to do now-a-days. Keeps me happy here though" she shrugged, Adrien nodding understandingly as he took a sip of water. "It's good to see you too Adrien" she added.

"You seem the same as always. It's also great to see you again Alix" Adrien politely smiled, taking another sip.

"And you're still polite as ever Adrien. Tell me, how many girls have you gone out with?" at the sight of him sputtering and accidently spitting out some of his water, she raised a brow. "Or rejected in this case? Still a cherry boy?" at his heavy blush and gaping look, Nino's full out laugher- and even Alya was gaping in shock, Alix laughed. "I'm joking" she waved her hand.

"Wow, you changed" Alya could only comment, bewildered at her open attitude- well it wasn't as if Alya thought that this girl wasn't able to make jokes like that- but it had been 4 years, and the sudden change of personality took a bit of time for her to adapt to.

"I hope it's a good thing" she winked as she stuffed mashed potatoes in her mouth.

"It is! It's good to see familiar faces" Nino agreed.

"Yeah! Have you seen Nathanaël? Now he's the changed one! Didn't think a cute guy was behind that long fringe of his" she smirked. "I saw him briefly and he told me about you three! Man, I was so excited to see you guys again" she laughed gaily as Alya couldn't help but smile widely at her. Her happy and casual attitude was rubbing off onto her.

"Speaking about people who've changed, Marinette seems a bit different" Adrien was the first to approach the topic, Alix nodding, swirling the peas on her plate around.

"Lot's of things happened with you three gone, it would be even more surprising if she hadn't changed after the things she went through"

"What things?" Alya immediately asked as Alix blinked at her confusingly.

"She hadn't kept in touch with you guys?" she also seemed confused as Nino shook his head.

"That's a surprise? She told me that she kept in touch with you guys" Alix furrowed her brows. "She lied I suppose- that's a surprise" Alya was floored- Marinette had lied? "Well I don't blame her. You guys were in the elite, front-line. You guys already had a lot on your shoulders, no point burdening you more" Alix nodded as she pushed her tray away- finished with her food.

"What happened to her though? For her to change that much" Adrien asked.

"Even I haven't gotten the full details since it was covered up quite a lot. No one knows the full truth so you got to ask her yourself" Alix replied wryly. "Well, we better get a move on- we have 15 minutes before we're supposed to meet in the control room." She changed the topic.

"You work there?" Alya asked surprised, as she nodded.

"I'm pretty good with computer and stuff so I was moved there. Used to be a technician along with Nathanaël" she grinned. They just nodded as they quickly finished off their food.

"Who's our supervisor?" Nino asked through his mouthful of food. Alya crinkled her nose in disgust at her friend's behavior- but was used to it by now.

"Oh, you haven't met her yet?" Alix's eyes sparkled with mischief, putting them on edge. "Oh you're going to love this" she cackled.

"So you're not going to tell us" Alya asked, eyebrow raised, as she nodded affirming.

"It's more fun this way" she laughed as they got up, putting away their trays.

"Any hints Alix?" Adrien asked.

"Hmm, well you know her" Alix shrugged as they made their way to the control room.

"We do? Is it one of our old classmates?" Adrien asked surprised as she shrugged, keeping her mouth shut.

"Wow, look at that. Seems like some of us are really well off- promoted to being a supervisor?" Nino whistled in awe.

"It's not much of a compliment if you compare it with your achievements" Alix smirked. "Jaegar pilots? And confirmed of 5 kills in 4 years with 1 category 1 kill, 2 Category II kill and 2 Category III kills? That's an accomplishment" Alix retorted back. "Jaegar pilots are rare now-a-days, other than you guys- there is just one more Jaegar pilot pair here"

"There's only one more pair?" Alya repeated, albeit worried. Having only two Jaegar pilot pairs was a bit dangerous as 3 were always the minimum amount of Jaegars that should be deployed. Alix nodded,

"Don't tell me you don't know them either?"

"We just transferred to this base suddenly- we are lacking quite a lot of information" Nino explained.

"Well, you'll find out then" she nodded as they arrived at a pair of steel doors. She punched in a code as they slid open, reveling the bustling of the workers who worked in the room.

"You guys sure took your time!" a feminine voice stated- her laugh and gentle smile contradicting her harsh words as they turned around- jaw dropping at the sight of a petite woman with blonde hair, a bandana tied to her head, pushing her hair to the back, bright colours decorating her hair and uniform as they stared at their old classmate.

"Myléne Hapréle?!" the three in unison gaped, eliciting more laughter. "I can't believe this- look at you!" Alya squealed as Myléne gave her a quick hug. She was still a petite woman, standing at least a head shorter than Alya- but she did slim down slightly.

"You're a Jaegar Pilot?" Nino couldn't help but ask, shock-ridden. Myléne; the girl who was scared of fake monster costumes was actually fighting real monsters?

"I know right?" she asked with a small smirk, understanding why he was shocked.

"Wait, who's your partner then?" Adrien asked.

"Me." A voice spoke from behind them as they turned, spotting a tall buff man with the familiar black hair and blonde streak.

"Ivan?! You two are still together? Wow" Nino gaped.

"Don't be rude" Alya quickly jabbed him.

"No worries Alya. It's great to see all you doing great" Ivan smiled gently as he stood by the petite woman's side.

"Well I hope they'll stay together- or else that marriage was for nothing" Alix commented, as the three whipped their heads at her then back to the pair again- once again rendered shocked.

"No way!" Alya squeaked- happiness filling her as she felt like she was a teen again, squealing over the prospect of marriage. Myléne nodded with a large smile as she showed off her ring. It wasn't a huge diamond (it would get in the way of her armor, plus it wasn't Myléne's style anyways) but it was a decent size and it was absolutely gorgeous.

"Congrats man!" Adrien and Nino congratulated Ivan while Alya went to Myléne to gush.

"Well I'm surprised you two married at this age" Adrien commented, but smiled at his friends.

"Well you know- with our profession, we didn't know whether we would have a tomorrow so we decided that it was better to do it now and be with each other longer" Myléne explained smiling in contradiction to her ominous words.

"Well, congrats to you both anyways. We're really happy for you guys" Adrien spoke for them as Alya and Nino nodded in agreement.

"Ah, you guys are here" Marinette appeared, another clipboard in her hands as the three went quiet, observing her.

"Ah, Marinette! I have a quick question regarding the test run" Myléne went to the girl as the two discussed the latest change in her program, leaving everyone to watch them.

"How's Russia?" Ivan asked, as he glanced at the rest of them. He towered over even Adrien who was surprised as he was quite tall already.

"Ah, it's great- cold but that's expected" he replied, his attention still on the dark haired girl.

"Is she here yet?" Marinette turned, scanning the room for a person as Myléne, Ivan and Alix shook their heads.

"Who's she?" Nino questioned.

"Finally you guys are here. Took you guys a damn long time, keeping me waiting" an obnoxious voice spoke up- as the three were once again frozen on the spot, stunned. At this rate, they would all probably have an increase risk of heart attacks with the amount of shocks they were having in a day.

Click, click. The sound of heels clacking against the floor and stopping in front of them as they slowly turned around, horror filling their faces, as the sight of a blonde woman greeted their sights.

"Arms up people, I'm your boss now" Chloé Bourgeois smirked, a hand on her hip.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me" the curse slipping out of her lips before Alya knew it, hell she haven't even adjusted to the fact that she was talking rudely to her superior as she could've lost a few limbs and that would be a lesser of a shock than having Chloé as her supervisor. Chloé simply rolled her eyes, not fazed by the lack of respect she was receiving.

"Chloé?" Adrien's eyes were bugged out- it almost looked comical if not for the fact that they were in front of spectators who were also flabbergasted at the tone the new recruits were having with their supervisor.

"Marinette! Why didn't you tell us?" Nino gaped at the girl who had simply smiled secretively (Alya feeling better seeing her friend slightly acting like her old self)

"It's more fun like this" she replied lightly giving a small laugh.

"I can't believe this, Chloé; as in the bully from middle and high school being our supervisor?" Nino repeated.

"Careful with your attitude, remember I am your supervisor now" Chloé once again rolled her eyes as Nino blanched.

"So… uh Ms. Bourgeois…" Alya started- confused to how she should address her former classmate.

"It's Marshal to you" she smirked back, flooring them once again.

"Marshal?!" Nino yelped.

"Volume Nino" Marinette scolded lightly.

"That's right. I'm a Marshal now" Chloé folded her arms as if daring him to say anymore of her rank.

"I thought Chloé was uh… you know" Alya stepped back, whispering to her friend- forgetting that she wasn't as close as to you as before.

"She never passed away- she was just ill, very ill in the hospital. She got better a few months after your…. Departure" Marinette whispered back hesitantly.

"Surprisingly she makes a good Marshal despite what you think" Alix walked closer whispering as well, Alya turning to her. If someone told her that Chloé was going to handle and be responsible for thousands of lives, and was good at it, Alya would've sent them to the psych ward. It didn't make any sense.

"You see, Chloé is quite protective of her own property, therefore by allowing her to take charge, essentially Paris and everyone who works for her is ideally 'her property', therefore she actually cares more about everyone." Alix explained. "She's actually one of the best strategist we have, since she actually constructs a sound plan that involves with the least injuries and consequences sine she doesn't want her 'property' damaged." Alix smirked, giving a small laugh.

Alya could see that- she remembered the bracelet incident in school years ago, Chloé taking good care of the fancy bracelet (even though she lost it and there was a huge argument about it but Alya had a feeling that it wasn't her fault).

Alya could understand- knowing Chloé and her impatience, she would find the quickest way to solve a problem with the least damages. "Although it does pain me to be under her, she's not as bad as other supervisors" Alix added rolling her eyes, Alya and Marinette nodding in agreement.

"Oh wow" Alya gaped in awe, Adrian whistling behind her in appreciation as they stared at their Jaeger- it was pitch black with spots of red and stood at a towering 36 feet.

"It's around the same size of an average as a regular Jaeger, but slightly shorter by a few feet" Marinette explained.

"And the name?" Adrian asked quietly.

"Her name is Crimson Hawk- a Mark IV Jaeger. It's not as advanced as the Mark V Jaegar Strike Eureka- but our Shatterdome is quite small so we couldn't afford to build that" she replied.

"It's better than Mark III at least" Adrian stated optimistically, thankful that they didn't need to use the Jaeger with nuclear cores.

It's peaceful Alya thought as she leaned on the railings, overlooking the iconic Eiffel Tower quietly, the noise of people bustling around calming her. "What are you doing here?" Alya's eyebrow twitched- remaining calm as she sighed.

"Trying to enjoy the peace and silence until you arrived" she sarcastically replied- Nino smirking at her. "Shouldn't you be in the Control Room?"

"I went to take a break- if I had to listen to Chloé's demand one more time, I'm going to break something" he rolled his eyes as she snorted, but nevertheless moving to the side to make room for him as he leaned on the railing with his elbows, his head facing the sky.

"Too bad, thank goodness I'm a Jaeger Pilot. I don't need to see her upfront" she snickered.

"But you do still need to follow her orders" he grinned as she scowled as they lapsed into a comfortable silence

"I wish we can stay like this" Alya softly sighed as Nino repressed the blush from appearing on his face as he knew that she wasn't talking about him and her- but rather just in general.

"Yeah" he agreed, watching her silently and marveling how pretty she looked. She always was pretty- but with the small smile playing on her lips, the soft expression on her face while she watched the rest of Paris with the wind blowing her hair- she was outstanding.

"The wind is picking up… I hope there's not a storm" she said out loud watching the oncoming dark clouds.

"I didn't see any storm on the weather forecast, and I just checked this morning" Nino furrowed his brows- his voice and words an ill omen.

"…No" Alya whispered- fear lacing her words as they watched the dark grey clouds swirl closer to Paris-

WEEE-WOOO-WEEEE-WOOOOO The warning siren went off loudly, deafening them as Alya paled. With a curse, the two ran into the building and down the corridor, shouting at people to move out of their way as they raced to the LOCCENT.

"Nino! Where did you go?! Dammit" Chloé swore loudly as they barged into the control room, people bustling around faster than Alya had seen.

"What is going on?" Adrien burst into the room.

"This is bad Chloé!" Marinette appeared as she avoided bumping into people who were racing around in the room.

"What now Marinette?" she snapped. "We know what you're about to say-"

"No you don't" What made Chloé's mouth snap shut and everyone's attention turned to her was the fact that Marinette's voice was small and had fear in it. "It's a Category IV Kaiju" although the noise in the control room was deafening, Alya felt like she could only hear white noise as she processed her words.

"It's a Category IV Kaiju" she repeated- Alya felt the floor getting pulled from under her as she swayed slightly, Nino quickly steadying her.

"It's a Category IV Kaiju, and it's heading straight to Paris"

A/N: Well dear me- I had this chapter written for quite a while but I never had the heart to publish this since I didn't feel like it was deserving of it since it just felt...boring. I most likely will go back to this story when I'm done to revamp everything.

The next chapter will be the last so it's going to wrap up everything that happened! Thank you for all the encouragement and support!