RIBBON MISSION

Grace assembles her team as Mr. Direct hands Simbad the keys to his race car. Rune retrieves his motorcycle from the storage container while a few people, along with Mai, work on fixing the damages on the RV. Grace climbs into her pink car, and her four teammates get into their cars and motorcycles. Mr. Direct presses a few buttons in the main control room, opening the gate to reveal a race track. Grace and her teammates line up at the starting line. Simbad drives a cool-looking car to the starting line, and Rune prays briefly before joining them with his motorcycle. Mai observes and comments that Grace seems very determined about the race. Mr. Direct explains that his sister is dedicated to making the city safe, driving her to invest heavily into racing to hopefully win the Ewan's race one day. Mai smiles and notes that Grace reminds her of her brother, Xai, always striving to be useful. Grace prays for either Simbad or Rune to win the race. Megan stands at the starting line and counts down from three, and the race begins! Everyone zooms forward at a great speed, with Grace taking the lead, Rune in fourth place, and Simbad in fifth. As they approach a sharp turn, Grace and her teammates drift their vehicles skillfully. Rune observes and quickly adapts, managing to drift through the turn as well. Simbad, however, struggles and falls to sixth place, damaging the side of his car against the wall. Rune closes the gap and moves into third place. The track then ascends to the next upper floor, where they continue at high speed, now driving sideways against the wall. Grace swiftly maneuvers along the wall, but Rune catches up and overtakes her, shouting in excitement, reminiscent of his old racing days in Nemura City.

Rune drives onto a ramp and soars high into the air. As he was enjoying the great view he then notices Grace's car above him, moving at a faster pace. Grace takes the lead as they land back onto the track. Rune, more excited, presses the pedal harder, accelerating rapidly. Grace leads the way, drifting continuously up a spiral track to the next upper level. She glances in her rearview mirror, not seeing Rune behind her. Unbeknownst to her, Rune is chilling on top of her car with his motorcycle. As they reach the new track floor, Rune drives off Grace's car, taking the lead. Grace, surprised and excited, uses her turbo to boost her speed and passes Rune. Rune then recalls his old racing days when they used magic. He then uses his magic to boost his speed, quickly catching up to Grace. Grace looks at Rune through her window and jokingly complains that it's unfair since she doesn't have magic. Rune replies that he wishes he had turbo. They both smile and push their speeds to the limit, one using turbo and the other using magic. Both drivers make quick, sharp drift turns on each bend of the track, staying neck and neck. They reach a very steep downward track, speeding into a tunnel where Grace and Rune drive along the walls, then onto the ceiling, and back to the other side of the wall, continuing in a circular formation down the tunnel. They descend several levels before returning to the camp floor. Taking their final turn, they race towards the finish line. The crowd cheers as they see Grace and Rune side by side. They both cross the finish line quickly. Mai checks her camera footage from her drones in slow motion and sees that Grace finishes first, just 0.5 seconds ahead of Rune.

Mr. Direct and his crew celebrate with Grace, but she appears unhappy about her victory. Rune approaches her and asks why she's upset about winning. Grace explains that she was hoping Rune would win, so they could have more hope for Ewan's race. Mr. Direct reassures them, saying that Rune is definitely qualified and an amazing racer. Rune reflects on his youth, mentioning that he rarely lost races and is impressed by Grace's driving skill at such a young age. He then suggests that Grace should race in Ewan's race. The room falls silent until Mr. Direct speaks up, noting that while Grace drove exceptionally well, she can't join Ewan's race because it involves combat, which isn't her strength. Grace acknowledges Rune's talent in both racing and fighting, suggesting he has the best chance to win Ewan's race. Rune proposes that they work together, with Grace driving and Rune handling the combat. This idea gets everyone thinking. Mr. Direct admits he never considered this approach, and Mai chimes in, saying she has a great idea on how they can make this work.

Moments later, Mr. Direct is astonished by Mai's plan. Mai presses a few buttons on her wrist, causing numerous mini robots to emerge from the RV and start tinkering with Grace's car and Rune's motorcycle. One mini robot extends its arm toward Rune, who places his finger on it, transferring his magic to the robot. The mini robot then distributes Rune's magic among the group of robots. Megan, also surprised, comments on Mai's invention, and Ezzy remarks that this must be what Mai has been working on for so long back in Old Berry Town. Mai then gathers everyone and outlines their missions. While her robots work, they still have other tasks to accomplish. She explains that her drones have detected a nearby working radio station, and assigns Nhia, Simbad, and Kiren to that mission to contact Jasee. The race mission will involve Mr. Direct, Grace, Rune, and Adam. Another mission is to restore Michael's magic, as her drone has located a nearby power source; Michael, Ezzy, and Nakao will handle this. Finally, she mentions a special mission for Megan and Jean, which Megan herself will explain. Megan steps forward and apologizes for not using her magic to its full potential during their previous battle. She believed they were going to win anyways because they had Adam. She explains that once they entered Ribbon City, she felt a sudden magical connection with someone beneath the city. She didn't want to exhaust herself before discovering the source of this connection. Adam confirms her statement, saying he also senses a massive amount of magic underground. Megan reveals that this mission might provide answers to her dreams. Kiren steps up, encouraging her to uncover the truth about what's beneath the city and to find out who she really is. Ezzy also steps forward, telling Megan to come back alive. 

The next morning, everyone says their farewells and splits into groups for their respective missions. Mai is in the main room of the camp, surrounded by monitors. She speaks into her mic, reminding everyone to avoid battles with the zombie cars as there are too many of them. Nhia, Simbad, and Ezzy sneak through the city, carefully avoiding the roaming zombie cars. Following Mai's drone, they reach a military building. Mai informs them that the radio station is on the third floor and that there are a dozen soldier zombies inside. She warns them to avoid drawing too much attention, as it might attract the zombie cars. Simbad asks Nhia how long it will take to contact Jasee. Nhia thinks for a moment and says it might take hours to reach Jasee through the radio channels. Kiren urges them to hurry because he doesn't want to miss out on Ewan's race. They enter the building with their weapons, with Kiren and Simbad quietly taking out a few zombies in the lobby as they find the stairs. On the second floor, they spot a locked office door with chains. Simbad wonders what might be inside, but Nhia reminds them to focus on the mission. As they pass the gym area, Kiren notices someone working out intensely. He asks Mai if she scanned the whole building. Mai responds that she only scanned 80% of it and didn't check the gym area, since there wouldn't be a radio station there. Mai sees the person working out through Kiren's body cam and tells him to be careful. Nhia advises ignoring the person and heading to the third floor is more important. Simbad suggests that it could be a survivor. Kiren tells everyone to be quiet, asserting that as a hero, he can't leave any survivors behind and that Simbad and Nhia should continue without him. Nhia and Simbad reenter the gym area, and Nhia whispers that the person might be an A-Star zombie. This makes Simbad signal for Kiren to come back. Kiren takes a deep breath and says they won't know for sure until they check.

Kiren steps into the training room and whispers to the man, asking if he's human. The man doesn't reply and continues his workout. Kiren clears his throat, adjusts his posture, and declares that he's a hero and is there to save him. The man stops doing push-ups, turns to Kiren, and, wearing sunglasses, examines Kiren's muscles before nodding approvingly. He points to the dumbbells and says, "Workout," suggesting that Kiren join him. Kiren proudly flexes his muscles, saying he works out a bit but now isn't the best time for it. Simbad and Nhia enter the room, and Nhia introduces the group, asking for the man's name. The man ignores Nhia and examines his muscles, then looks at Simbad's body with disappointment because of his fat body. He points to the dumbbells again, insisting they work out, now with a more demanding tone. Simbad, embarrassed, admits he was once in shape but has let himself go over the years. The man points to the dumbbells again and continues to says "Workout", which worries Nhia, who suggests they leave. Kiren tries to calm the man, saying they can work out once they're safe. The man ignores Kiren and yells, "Workout now!" At that moment, they notice the man's eyes glowing through his dark sunglasses as he continues to yell. Simbad then uses his katana to cut down the dumbbells on the rack, turns around, and confidently says, "No."

The man removes his sunglasses and crushes them in his hand, his eyes glowing brightly as his chest also begins to shine. He rips off his shirt, revealing pulsing veins and muscles. At this moment they realized the man is a zombie, seconds later Nhia, Simbad, and Kiren are thrown through the windows, sliding across the hallway. Nhia wipes the blood from his face, remarking that he knew it was an A-Star zombie. The muscle zombie lifts a couple of kettlebells and hurls them at the group, who dodge the projectiles. Kiren charges in with his hammer and shield, striking the zombie in the chest, but barely making the zombie slide back. The zombie then charges at Kiren, who hides behind his shield. The zombie grabs the shield and tosses Kiren upwards, crashing through the ceiling. Simbad rushes in and slashes the zombie across the chest with his katana. The zombie flexes his muscles intensely, causing them to pulse even more rapidly, sealing the cut. He then kicks Simbad, sending him crashing through multiple walls and into a locked office room filled with over 30 zombies rushing at him. Nhia is thrown back into the training room, where he rolls onto a kettlebell and begins to lift it. The zombie pauses, looks at Nhia's posture, and says, "Need better form." Nhia, in tears, complies. Kiren jumps back down and strikes the zombie with his hammer powerfully, sending it crashing into the bathroom. Nhia drops the kettlebell and tells Kiren to quickly take out the A-Star zombie in frustration. Kiren, with his chest out, takes a few steps toward the bathroom and declares that an honorable hero like him always tests their strength against strong opponents. Now that he has measured the zombie's strength, he determines that he needs to go all out to defeat it.

Simbad dashes back into the training room and says they have a big problem. Everyone then sees the 30 zombies rushing out of the office room. Kiren tosses Nhia up into the hole in the ceiling, who lands on the third floor. Nhia spots six zombies walking towards him and yells out that there are six L-Star zombies on this floor too. He moves aside as Kiren's shield flies out of the hole and embeds high onto the wall. Kiren shouts that Nhia can use his shield. Nhia jumps but can't reach it. Nhia gives up and takes out his knife with determination and declares there's no way he's dying now. He stabs downwards into a zombie's head, killing it. Nhia takes a deep breath and says the zombies are in his way to see his girlfriend. He stabs the next zombie on the side of the head but struggles to pull the knife out. Another zombie lunges at him, causing him to fall backwards. Nhia pushes the zombie off and kicks it away, crawling backwards and shouting at the zombies to get away. Nhia gets close to the hole in the floor and looks down to see Kiren and Simbad fighting off numerous zombies in the training room. He freezes as a zombie lunges at him, closing his eyes in fear. Suddenly, blood splatters onto him. He opens his eyes to see the shield had fallen off the wall, decapitating the zombie. Nhia grabs the shield, telling himself to stop being a coward, reminding himself that he's faced worse enemies. He charges forward, bashing three zombies ahead of him and sends them crashing through a window to their deaths.

He spots Mai's drone in a nearby room and enters to find the radio station. Blocking the door with the shield, he quickly puts on the headphones and frantically tries to turn on the radio, but it has no power. Frustrated, he hits the radio, demanding it to work. Mai speaks through his earpiece, suggesting they need to find a power source in order to turn on the radio. Nhia, desperate, insists he needs to contact Jasee now. He hits the radio again, unknowingly releasing small magic orbs from his hands that enter the radio. Begging and hoping for it to work, the radio suddenly turns on. Mai is also surprised to see the radio functioning without power. He turns the knobs, searching through each channel, calling out Jasee's name into the radio's microphone. Meanwhile, Kiren and Simbad push a weight rack to block the incoming dozen zombies. The muscle zombie emerges from the bathroom, yelling loudly and creating a sonic boom that causes all the zombies in front of him to explode. Kiren and Simbad cover their ears as they are thrown against the walls. Kiren gets up, one ear bleeding, and declares that the next time he hits the muscle zombie, he's going to make sure it'll kill him for sure. The muscle zombie flexes, his muscles growing even larger. Kiren assumes a stance and charges forward with renewed determination.