Chapter 1.3

'''Chase Away the Shoplifter! '''is the third chapter of Season 1 of ēlDLIVE.

Summary
At ēlDLIVE Headquarters, Laine reports to the higher ups that there was evidence of tampering with the cell bars of Dragline, enabling him to escape. One of them tells Laine that the reason they summoned him here is that the Dracon station caught a spaceship with corpses in it, along with a purple, circular mark.

Back at the Solar System station, Chuuta has finished receiving a checkup from Professor Isaac without gravity. He observes that Dolugh can move anywhere on Chuuta's body, which makes him feel weird. As he grabs his badge, he asks Professor Isaac if it's the only equipment that ēlDLIVE gives out, thinking of Misuzu's combat form that he saw when they were fighting Dragline. Professor Isaac says no and explains to him that the criminals of space fought differently than the criminals of Earth, with the mysteries of much more powerful lifeforms: SPH, short for space pheromone. It is like a kind of body odor, and ēlDLIVE uses it to deal with criminals.

Just then, Misuzu comes in, in order to get her environmental adaptation medicine. Because there is no gravity in the room, everyone is floating, and Chuuta has a glimpse of Misuzu's panties, causing her to kick him across the room. She tells him to quit ēlDLIVE.

At school, Chuuta is at a soccer game. Dolugh notes that Chuuta has been more positive lately because he has been praised. Someone suddenly yells head up to him, and Chuuta looks up in time to see the ball heading towards him. He misses it, so he uses Sympathy with Dolugh, who headbutts it into the net. Chuuta panics, thinking that everybody must have seen him, but instead they all come up to him to congratulate him.

When Chuuta goes home, he's in a good mood. Just then, someone yells "Shoplifter!", and a cloaked figure runs past him. The victim of the crime, Aunt Tome, owns the candy shop, and says that the shoplifter stole gum. Chuuta decides to go catch him with Dolugh's help. He runs after him, telling Dolugh to use Naminui on the cloak, but it rips straight through it and shatters a glass window right in front of Aunt Mimi, injuring her. The cloak slithers away in the confusion.

Later, Chuuta goes to the hospital to visit Aunt Mimi. The doctors tells him that her life isn't in any danger, but that a small operation was required and that she received stitches. Chuuta peeks in through the door of Mimi's hospital room, but couldn't make himself go in. Dolugh asks him why, and Chuuta replies that it's because he's too ashamed, and that he always loses sight of things whenever he gets a little bit happy. Dolugh's form gets more transparent as he tells him that if Chuuta denies himself, then Dolugh's body will disappear. Misuzu appears and tells him that he wasn't supposed to use Dolugh's power on Earth because there's no power like it on Earth, and tells him that if there's a second time, he will be punished.

Back at the shopping area, while Chuuta was going home, Tateyan catches up to him and asks him if he wantes to play soccer with him, but Chuuta, still dejected, turns him down. At home, as Chuuta is cooking, Dolughs asks him what's wrong, and Chuuta says he's considering quitting ēlDLIVE, because there's too much danger involved in it. He thinks that it's the self-confidence that he gained when he joined ēlDLIVE was what caused Aunt Mimi to get hurt.

Chuuta goes back to the hospital to bring food for his aunt, who was happy to see him. As she is eating, she tells him that she's glad he didn't get hurt as well. Chuuta mumbles that he should have been the one hurt instead since he didn't have to work like she does, which angers Mimi, who tells him that she wouldn't be able to make muffins or be happy if he wasn't healthy and happy. She tears up a little, saying that she noticed that Chuuta has been a bit happier lately. She then sends him home. Chuuta leaves and decides to become stronger to protect his aunt.

Chips arrives and tells Chuuta to go to work, but right after he says that two children, thinking he was a toy, starts shaking him around. Misuzu appears and asks for him back. She tells Chuuta that they confirmed that the gum thief was an alien, but to be assigned to the Investigation Division means that they must be much more than that.

However, at the station, Laine, who's in charge of their team because Section Chief Madigan isn't back, tells them that there aren't any cases for their level, and that they should catch up on schoolwork. Chuuta still wants to chase after the shoplifter since his aunt won't be able to rest easy once they've been caught, but Chips tells him that an officer can't involve their personal feelings and Misuzu tells him that he's too inexperienced to take on the case. Chuuta, undeterred, decides to keep going, but does not know where to start. Dolugh reminds him that earthlings and aliens have something different: SPH, which is why ēlDLIVE is able to go after them.

Chuuta goes to the medical bay to ask Professor Isaac about it, and he tells him to go to the SPH investigation room, where records of SPH levels are kept. There, Chuuta meets the officer in charge, who looks like a moon with arms. Chuuta asks the officer there, Melies, for records of SPH levels from around the time the shoplifter was found on Earth. Melies explains that SPH is like the fingerprints of earthlings: no two are alike. This allows him to look up the shoplifter, and reveals that the shoplifter is actually a dangerous criminal who has killed before, and that he had just killed again.

Shocked, Chuuta runs back to the bridge to ask for Laine's permission to investigate the shoplifter, who's a murderer. Laine asks him how he knew that, and tells him not to do whatever he wants. Chuuta insists that he has to go, because innocent people would get hurt, which will be as tragic as curry rice being sloppily cooked. This amuses Laine, who grants him permission and tells him to bring Misuzu and Chips. The other staff on the bridge comment on what just happened.

With the team gathered, Laine tells them that the criminal is from the planet Gamshu, and shows them pictures of the murder victim, who is another Gamshunian. They were part of a group that smuggles resources from Earth. A picture of a yellow truck which they used to smuggle those resources out was found at the scene. The resources they steal, bubble gum, is an energy tonic for Gamshunians because their bodies have the same consistency as gum. It is so rare for them that they would kill everyone else to get their hands on it. He order them to go find the criminal.

In the SPH Investigation Room, Melies is trying to track down the location of the criminal from their SPH. Misuzu and Chuuta are trying to find their location from the picture of the truck, leading to find the location of the criminals: Toumei Highway. Melies finds faint traces of SPH there, and team is transferred down to Earth.

They land in the middle of the highway and cross to the other side. As Chuuta is walking something stung him on the foot, which is revealed to be the smuggling truck--except that it's actually a toy truck with the tiny Gamshunian inside. The Gamshunian yells threats at Chuuta, but he doesn't take them seriously. Chuuta tries to touch the truck but a pink force field around it stings him again. Misuzu and Chips appear and explains that it's SPH, a super-powerful version of the pheromones Earth animals send to each other. It is a special emission that can be used to send signals and attack opponents, but like dark matter, Earth's science can only confirm it, but not use it. Misuzu uses the glowing hoops she used before to cut open the truck, showing that the only way to fight SPH is with SPH. Dolugh notices the nice smell again. Chips says that the Naminui Chuuta and Dolugh uses is also SPH, and that Earthlings can't sense it, which is why Chuuta can't smell anything.

Misuzu notices the Gamshunian has disappeared, and before anyone can do anything it reappears and sticks to Misuzu's face like gum, covering her nose and mouth, using an adhesive SPH. Not able to do anything in fear of hurting her, the team tries to think of a solution to prevent Misuzu from suffocating to death. Chuuta remembers an instance where Mimi couldn't figure out how to get gum off of her blouse, and how he used ice to get it off. Holding the image in his friend, Dolugh uses Sympathy to shoot ice onto the Gamshunian, causing its body to harden and break off. Misuzu grudgingly thanks him, but still doesn't acknowledge him. Laine also appears in a transmission and compliments him.

As Chips is about to put handcuffs on the Gamshunian, it suddenly screams for them to kill it before it starts to glow and explode, creating a lot of smoke. Misuzu covers Chuuta from the explosion with her body and tells him the debt is repaid. Chips shouts for them to see what has been left behind: a purple, circular mark similar to the one Laine saw at ēlDLIVE headquarters. At the station, all of the staff gets freaked out, and Laine says it was the criminal organization, Demille, that did this, because they kill their members who failed. According to him, they caused the destruction of a planet like Earth 20 million years ago. He says that there's information they're targetting Earth. Chuuta is nervous at that, but steels himself.

At the hospital, Chuuta meets Tateyan, who's also visiting because the candy shop owner was talking about it. When they leave, Tateyan asks him what happened to himself three days ago, when Bocha held him hostage, because he felt he had a dream where Chuuta had saved him. Chuuta agrees that it must have been a dream. Tateyan still thanks him anyways. Dolugh notes that Chuuta is feeling acknowledged again. Tateyan tells him that they should do something over the summer, reminding Chuuta of his old friends. Just then, Mimi appears in tears because she's happy that Chuuta finally found a friend. Chuuta thinks she's overreacting, but Dolugh tells him she isn't because until he joined ēlDLIVE, Chuuta didn't have any friends. Chuuta thinks that he didn't know his aunt has been worrying about him this long, and realized that joining ēlDLIVE made him feel like he belongs.

At the station, Chuuta gets dressed in his new ēlDLIVE uniform with Misuzu. Chuuta's welcoming party gets started.

In another part of the galaxy, a red spaceship with the Demille mark on it flies through space. The crew members are about to initiate light speed navigation to Earth and are asking the captain to confirm. The captain grants permission, and remarks that it's going to be fun to see "him" again at Shirobori Middle School.