"Ladies and Gentlemen prepare for landing," said a male voice in the background.
"Finally," said Kazuya playfully, "Arisa will have a break from her fear."
"I-I'm not scared," said Arisa, her hands trembling. "It's just that I can't help but wonder how this metal thing is able to fly; I'm not sure if it's safe."
Arisa heard Dan chuckle before she placed her hands on the soft blue seat, searching for her seatbelt. She then realized that she never removed it, ever since entering this machine.
"You don't have to worry." Dan tried to calm down. "Airplanes are considered Earth's safest transport."
Arisa gasped. "T-this thing? S-safest transportation?"
Arisa couldn't believe what she was hearing; there was no way that a heavy, metallic machine like this was safe. She tightened her grip on the armchair as she felt uneasy. She couldn't wait to reach the ground.
"And how is this thing capable of flying?" Arisa gazed at Dan, who was sitting by her left side. "Its wings are not flapping. Birds flaps their wings to fly; Celestians too."
Dan laughed again and Arisa glanced at the chubby man in glasses, wondering if she asked something stupid.
"Ah, this is why it's great to explore other worlds," said Dan, patting her shoulder. "We are always stunned when we see so many different things. I was like you when I first visited Earth; it has so many wonders that you won't stop asking questions."
Arisa smiled at him, wondering what other surprises this world had in store for her.
"Just relax," continued Dan, "we're almost there."
Arisa took a deep breath. She tapped her finger on the armchair, hoping to land as soon as possible.
"Calm down," said Kazuya. "If anything happens, we'll be sure to catch you. After all, we're Celestians."
As Arisa gazed by her right side and met Kazuya, he winked at her. She smiled. Throughout the trip, he had been trying to comfort her and she was glad to have him by her side.
"I'm surprised that you didn't take a little nap throughout the whole journey," continued Kazuya. "When we reach the place to spend the night, I'm sure the first thing you'll do is sleep."
"Maybe," said Arisa, sighing. "I couldn't sleep with the plane shaking as if it would shatter."
Arisa remembered the several minutes the plane shook; her heart couldn't stop hammering until things calmed down.
"Turbulences are normal," said Dan, his tone quiet. "There was nothing to worry about."
"But still," said Arisa, gazing at him, "it was scary."
The interior lights switched off as the plane started to descend. Arisa could feel heaviness pulling her down. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nervousness.
As the plane slowly landed, her heart sped, pumping excitement. She would finally see Thelma, one of her dear companions. Arisa wondered how she had been dealing with her powers and if Forty-seven, her mechanical assistant was still there with her.
As she tightened her grip on her seat, she remembered the journey to reach London. After taking the train in Celestia, their final stop was Hong Kong, one of Earth's many countries and the only passage that connected Earth with Celestia.
She remembered feeling dizzy after reaching that world. Knowing that she was at her limit with the rune of disguise, she was told to deactivate the spell as they didn't see any wanted posters in that country. It seemed as though King Reiji hadn't requested the Earthlings' help to find her yet.
After spending several hours at the Hong Kong International Airport, seeing different machines walking around, they finally had their flight to England.
When the plane's wheels touched the ground, Arisa released a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. The lights switched on, illuminating the white interior.
"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to London," said a soothing voice in the background as the plane moved around the area. "Capital of England and Earth's most visited city from fellow Earthlings to beings from other worlds."
Arisa raised a brow upon hearing that information, thinking that this place must be special to receive so many different visitors.
"London has approximately twelve portals spread around the land," continued the voice. "Although a small number of them connect it to peaceful worlds, most of them bring unfriendly creatures."
As the plane finally parked itself, Arisa noticed several passengers removing their seatbelts and standing up to grab their luggage.
"But those unfriendly creatures are nothing to worry about," said the voice, "as the U.K. is one of the countries that has the best security on Earth. We hope you will have a peaceful and enjoyable stay in this country."
As more and more passengers stood up to grab their belongings, Arisa removed her seatbelt. Before she could stand up, a hand patted her shoulder.
"There's no need to rush," said Dan. "We can wait until others leave so we don't get lost in the crowd."
Arisa nodded and sank herself on the seat as a relaxing tune filled her ears.
--♐♑♓--
After disembarking from the plane and passing through security screenings, the trio walked around the airport known as Heathrow International Airport.
Walking through the crowd, Arisa felt as if she was under a dome with the way the steel ceiling arched above them, displaying white lights that brightened the cream colored walls. Examining her surroundings, she saw different creatures besides the Earthlings themselves. Various robots and androids wandered around the area, with some helping fellow passengers.
Various colorful shops and restaurants met her gaze as they kept wandering around the area. Her heart sped; those stores really looked different and modern compared to the ones she usually saw in her world.
"Welcome to London," said a robotic voice as they stopped walking. "May I help you?"
When Arisa caught the owner of that mechanical voice, her brows arched. The machine had a humanoid design with a spherical head. The trolley that was floating along with it seemed to be part of it.
"Yes." Dan placed his luggage in the trolley. "We're heading to the City of London and we want to reach there as fast as possible to rest from this exhausting trip. Are there any flying pods available?"
"Yes." The robot's blue eyes glowed as it spoke. "But flying pods are reserved for Researchers and businessmen, are you one of them?"
Dan quickly shoved his hand in his bag. Once he found what he was looking for, he approached a card to the robot. A blue light came out from the machine's right eye, scanning the item.
When it finished its scanning, several seconds passed before it spoke again. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Freire. Please follow me to find your transportation."
"Wow," said Arisa as they followed the white robot. "This world is really a wonder."
"Yeah," Kazuya agreed. "For beings considered one of the weakest of the worlds, they sure have a lot of resources."
Our species may be one of the weakest amongst the worlds, but our fighting spirit is strong. Arisa remembered Thelma's cheerful words.
Her lips curved up; she couldn't wait to see her again.
"I wonder if this is how they survived the threats of other worlds." Arisa looked around, her gaze meeting robots and several people in colorful fighting suits.
She had read that her people were the ones that protected the Earthlings before the Guardians were created. But sometimes she couldn't help but wonder how the Earthlings protected themselves; she was sure her people weren't always there for them.
"You'll find out soon how they survived their fate throughout the centuries," said Dan, glancing over his shoulder.
Arisa smiled at him.
They walked around the busy airport for a few minutes, passing several machines and people. After taking an elevator to the second floor and walking for another minute, Arisa's heart sped when they reached a gate. A silver oval machine floated on the other side of the entrance.
"Here we are," said the robot. "This pod will take you to the city."
"Thank you." Dan placed his card on the dark brickmould of the gate. He then typed something on the pad set on it.
A few seconds later, the pod made a light mechanical sound, lowering its door and approaching it to the building to form a mini-bridge. Arisa blinked twice at the phenomenon and Kazuya laughed at her reaction.
Kazuya grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go."
As they walked on the mini-bridge, Arisa gulped. She could see Earthlings and various robots below them; they looked quite small from this view.
Kazuya tightened his grip on her hand as she trembled. "Don't look below."
Arisa gazed at him and saw his smile. She took a deep breath and quickly walked in their transportation. As they made themselves comfortable on the light brown seat, they saw that Dan was busy typing something on the pod's bright surface.
"Welcome to Heathrow Taxi Pod," said a female voice in the background. "What is your destination?"
Dan typed something again.
The pod's door slowly rose, closing the entrance. "Destination Silver Tulip Hotel, City of London."
Arisa could hear mechanical sounds as the transportation vibrated lightly.
"Total time of the trip, twenty minutes," continued the voice. "Please fasten your seatbelts throughout the whole journey and enjoy your trip."
As Arisa fastened her seatbelt, another surprise caught her gaze. The bright surface of the pod disappeared as it started its journey.
Her eyes widened; she could even see the environment under her feet. "What's going on?"
"Don't worry," said Dan. "This is some kind of window for you to experience your surroundings."
"Really?" asked Arisa, glancing around. She felt as if she was in an invisible transportation and floating through the thin air.
"This is interesting." Kazuya touched the invisible surface. "Can the others see us since we can see them?"
Dan shook his head. "No. Only the passengers can see the environment outside this pod."
As Kazuya and Dan engaged in a conversation about this world and Kazuya's father, Arisa lost herself with the view outside their transportation.
For the first ten minutes, her gaze met several brownish buildings with simple designs. Although she would see several pods flying to the opposite direction, Arisa thought that this area resembled a few towns of Celestia. The only difference was that they had robots and various machines moving around the streets.
As they slowly approached a new zone, she felt as if she was entering a different world. The buildings in this area were so tall it looked as though they touched the sky. The edifices had different shapes and most of them had bright colors.
Arisa's chin dropped when she saw a few fancy buildings hovering above the ground.
"Is magic being used to make those buildings float?"
Kazuya looked by Arisa's side. "I don't think so. After all, Earthlings are powerless unless they hired a magical being to do that."
"No." Dan shook his head. "The Earthlings did that by themselves."
Arisa gazed at Dan, her mouth agape. Dan and Kazuya laughed at her reaction. Not minding them, Arisa returned her view to her side, amazed by the Earthling's abilities and creativity.
As their transportation immersed itself in the city, Arisa caught a simple building in between the fancy ones. The edifice had a light brown surface and had a tower with a giant clock on its exterior.
"That's the Big Ben," said Dan, noticing that her gaze was focusing on the building. "It's a British cultural icon recognized all over Earth. It is one of the small numbers of monuments that were left untouched by Earth's advancement in technology."
"I see," said Arisa, her gaze stuck on the area. She saw a river and a bridge before the pod floated forward.
For a few minutes, her eyes met more buildings and several colorful pods floating around. Her heart jumped when a large robot flew by their side.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, trying to regain her calm. "There are robots of that size?"
Arisa watched as the red robot flew forward, leaving their area.
"There are robots of different sizes," said Dan. "There are larger robots than the one that just passed by us."
Arisa shifted her gaze to Dan with widened eyes.
Dan chuckled. "Those robots are piloted by the Earthlings themselves. They are the machines used to fight large monsters or to help citizens from natural disasters."
"Ah," Kazuya realized, "so that's how they protected themselves throughout the years."
Dan replied with a nod. "Besides these robots, they have weapons that are far more advanced than our own."
Kazuya raised a brow. "After everything we saw, I think the Earthlings shouldn't be considered as one of the weakest beings of the worlds."
"I agree." Arisa nodded. "With these weapons, they should be considered as one of the strongest."
Dan smiled at them as their transportation continued with their journey. It took them another couple of minutes before the pod stopped by a building that seemed as if it was built of glass.
"You have reached your destination," said the female voice in the background as the pod's door opened and formed a mini bridge.
Dan stood up. "Alright, we can finally eat and have a proper rest."
Arisa didn't look below as she crossed the mini-bridge and followed Dan.
"Welcome to Silver Tulip Hotel," greeted a male voice as soon as they entered the area. "Oh, Mr. Freire we were expecting you."
Arisa gazed at the short man in a bright green uniform. Her brows arched when she spotted a small machine floating by his side.
Forty-seven?
Arisa shook her head. Compared to Thelma's mini robot, the one she was seeing had an advanced design.
"With the conference taking place in London, I can only trust one place to stay," said Dan.
The short man smiled and then gazed over Dan's shoulder. "I see that you brought visitors this time."
"Oh." Dan moved away. "Yes, these guests are with me and I would like to rent rooms for them. One of them is Shin Haruki's son. I don't know if you ever heard of him."
"I did." The man nodded. "I was told he used to stay here whenever there would be an event around the country."
Arisa saw a smile forming across Kazuya's face.
"Well then," said Dan, "the journey was long and we would like to eat before we hit our rooms."
"Sure," said the man. "ST-Eleven, you already know where to take Mr. Dan Freire's luggage."
The floating mini robot made mechanical sounds before it landed on Dan's luggage and immediately moved away with it.
"As for you two," said the man, gazing at them with a smile, "you will get your rooms after dinner."
Arisa and Kazuya replied with a nod and followed Dan, who was already walking away from the area.
Walking through the area with a floor covered by a carpet, the trio grabbed an elevator that took them to the last floor where the restaurant was located.
Arisa was fascinated with the many luxurious items of furniture and different people crowding the area. As they found a table close to the window, Arisa couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful view. The giant wheel glowed as the night fell. Several buildings had also illuminated themselves to brighten the city.
When Kazuya called Arisa to pay attention to Dan, she saw that he was browsing something on the table. Various images of meals filled her gaze as Dan swiped on the table. When he found what he was looking for, he tapped on the picture and pressed a button.
"And this is how you order your meal," he said. "See what catches your eye."
It took Arisa several seconds to find the button that would switch the screen on her side of the table. After spending minutes looking for the perfect meal, Arisa finally decided on a simple menu.
Several minutes passed before an android brought their meals.
"Wow," said Arisa as the sweet aroma filled her smelling sense. "So the waiter is a robot."
"It's incredible." Kazuya grabbed his utensil. "With these many robots doing different things, I hope that most of the Earthlings didn't lose their jobs."
Dan chuckled. "I'm sure there are still jobs for the Earthlings, leaving the robots to do simple things like this."
As they had their dinner, time seemed to pass in a flash and thanks to their long trip Arisa's body felt heavy. They didn't take long to leave the area and walk straight to their rooms to rest.
After leaving the restaurant, Arisa and Kazuya met a lady, who showed them their rooms and gave them their cards which they would use as keys. The lady was kind enough to place their rooms close by.
Before she left the duo, she told them that each room had an A.I that would act as their butler for anything they needed. But if they didn't feel comfortable with it, they were free to deactivate it.
"Well then," said Kazuya as the woman left. "I guess we'll see each other tomorrow."
Arisa smiled. "Yeah, sleep well; a long day is awaiting us."
"True." Kazuya sighed. "We've traveled a lot to reach this place. I hope we'll be lucky and find your friend first thing in the morning."
Arisa giggled. "That would be great."
Kazuya grinned and stared at her for several seconds. Arisa gazed back at him, wondering if there was something on her face.
"Good night," he finally said, entering his room.
When he closed the door, Arisa couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with him.
She entered her room and closed the door. As she only saw shadows of different kinds of furniture, Arisa placed her hand on the wall, looking for a switch.
"Welcome to room three-hundred and eighteen," said a female voice in the background.
Arisa's heart jumped upon hearing that voice. The lights slowly switched on, displaying a medium sized room.
"I'm Lorain, your butler during your stay at Silver Tulip Hotel," continued the voice. "How can I help you, Miss Nadia Azurea?"
"You know my name?" said Arisa, glancing around. She spotted a small black device stuck on the bright walls. A small circle glowed weakly on it.
"Of course," said Lorain, "your name has been registered in my system when you booked for a room."
"Oh," said Arisa, gazing at the device curiously. She wondered how it worked.
"Do you need anything, Miss Azurea?"
"Um," Arisa replied, "I wanted to bathe before sleeping."
The lights on the other side of the room switched on; Arisa could hear the sound of running water.
"Alright," said Lorain. "I'm currently filling the bathtub. You can have a seat while you wait. I'll tell you when everything is ready."
Arisa blinked twice before she slowly moved away and approached her bed.
Is there anything that won't surprise me in this world?
Suddenly, voices filled the room as Arisa sank on the mattress.
"What's going on?" she asked, glancing around, alarmed.
"Nothing," said Lorain. "You accidentally switched on the T.V. The remote control was placed on top of your bed."
"T.V?" Arisa's brows arched as the wall in front of her displayed images of people.
Her forehead wrinkled as she didn't understand what the people on the device were saying.
"This channel is broadcasting news in English," said Lorain, "would you like to hear the news translated into the Universal language?"
Arisa nodded. "Yes."
"Translating..." said Lorain.
For several seconds, Arisa heard a mix of words and voices before the speeches cleared up.
"I can't stand Guardians," said a young man. "We all know that all Guardians are the same and have a selfish attitude. Honestly, they are trash who don't deserve those powers."
Arisa's heart sank like a stone upon hearing those words. Those words pierced her heart as she was now a Guardian.
"I don't understand why the government isn't doing anything regarding that Guardian," said an annoyed woman with a child in her arms. "The U.K. has survived many years without a Guardian by their side. That Guardian is only bringing more trouble with her powers."
The image on the television switched to different environments as a male voice in the background narrated, "It is unknown if this Guardian is British or if she's from another country and doesn't know the history between the U.K. and the Guardians.
"Despite showing clumsiness with her abilities, this new Guardian has shown compassion to the citizens. Yet the citizens don't trust that rare kindness. The Elite Force is investigating her identity."
The television showed more images and stopped on a battle between a tall monstrous creature and a yellow armored figure readying an arrow of light while she dodged the threat's attacks.
Arisa gasped and she stood up. "Thelma."