Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond: The Trilogy

by mariodeleon59

Behold a thrilling trio of tales from the world of Blood Blockade Battlefront! Along with returning characters you all know and love, the spotlight shines on a group of newcomers as they tackle reality-bending theaters, short-fused Blood Breeds, lunatics, gods, and family issues. Brace yourselves for the insane! Set two years after the start of the anime series.

1. Chapter 1

Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond: The Trilogy-Equinox Part 1: New Agents

HellSalem's Lot, the sprawling intersection between the human world and the Alterworld, or more commonly referred to as the Beyond. Formally known as New York City, of the United States of America, this bustling metropolis engulfed in a massive mushroom-shaped fog bank serves as a maddening haven for humans and otherworldly creatures alike. Here they live side by side, indulge in each other's fascinating cultures, make new memories, and so much more all while random acts of danger and insanity occur on a daily basis mixed with the remarkably impossible that happens anyway, in short, this is the city where madness and miracles can both be found. Five years ago, a catastrophic event simply known as The Great Collapse occurred and thus, the city of insanity and wonder was born, and the entire world completely changed. Within the depths of this crazy yet wonderful cesspool exists one of the most powerful yet mysterious organizations in the world: Libra. A secret society of super-humans operating from the shadows, they serve one purpose only, to preserve the fractured balance between worlds. Despite being mainly based in HellSalem's Lot, many operatives of Libra are scattered all over the globe, yet the full scope of the organization is unknown. No one outside Libra, even many well-equipped and knowledgeable societies that serve magic and science, big or small, can seem to come close to acquiring even a fraction of what this society has to hide or offer, thus Libra is considered by many to be just an urban legend surrounded by rumors and speculation, some true, some not so true. Yet this doesn't stop some curious minds from seeking them out, for personal benefit like thrill seeking, or some lofty ideals such as the typical being a hero for the people and stuff like that.

This is what leads to six unique individuals being called out by Libra itself after their own relentless search for this shadowy group catches their attention, and join their ranks. These six aren't true master hunters or fighters, but they aren't a bunch of helpless rookies either, their amount of experience vary, but they've all been in this line of work/adventuring after The Great Collapse five years prior. Just outside of the city, sits the HL Airport, beyond that lies the massive bridge leading straight into the city, the only physical means of entering since the massive fogbank that's engulfed the city keeps any conventional means of firepower and transport from reaching it. Only one jet lands in the airport at this time, pretty fancy as well, Libra spared no expense here, and once it makes contact with the runway, a stairway is put in place with the door, and upon the opening of the door, six people start coming out, only two of them are basically adults, observing their surroundings in awe or interest. The first is an American boy hailing from South Dakota named Rhys Jordan, age fifteen, been into the paranormal for two years now. The boy has short, deep blue hair with some weird thin white band in the shape of an X on the lock on his left, light brown eyes, a deep orange short sleeve shirt with two thin red lines going down from the left side of the collar to the bottom of the shirt on the right, and wearing a hard gray long sleeve shirt underneath with the sleeves rolled up below the elbows. He's also wearing red sweatpants with a white stripe going down both sides, and wearing gray lace-less sneakers. This young man can alter his size to that of an ordinary little eraser with blinding speeds, this is especially handy when he mixes it with the superhuman strength and agility that come with it. This guy learned of the good Libra can do for both worlds, and has always aspired to be a part of something bigger than himself, and help people while he's at it, basically the kid's a regular aspiring hero, but he's the likeable type, and with a good heart to add in.

Behind him is a little girl from Dublin, Ireland named Nora Ni Chorrain, age eleven, doing paranormal stuff for two years as well. She's got short purple hair with the ends cut straight and neat, deep orange eyes, wearing a, ice blue hoodie, underneath it, she's wearing an orchid colored short sleeve shirt with a fist-sized four-leaf light green clover on the chest and the words "Lucky Me" highlighted in the same color as the clover. She happens to be wearing some kind of sweat pants, same color as the hoodie, with the bottoms of the pant legs curled in a bit and ending just above the ankles, and wearing simple black strap-on sandals without socks. The little one is able to turn herself invisible, even whatever she's wearing disappears as well, and can do the same to about three others, whether or not they can make contact with her, she can also project a powerful force field and can wield it in some different ways, such as form it into orbs and toss them like projectiles, put up a barrier around her and anything or anyone within ten feet of her, even engulf herself in it, like she's wearing some invisible and mighty suit of armor, very handy in close-combat. The girl came to join Libra to be of help to others, but also because she wanted to see what creatures this city has to offer, being from Ireland, she was always interested by the creatures that she encountered, friendly or not, and always carries a scrapbook categorizing all the big and little beasts she met, and wanted to meet some more and expand her horizon, despite that, she's a nice kid like the boy.

After her, we have a youngster all the way from the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Jyoji Nishi, age fourteen, two years of the supernatural for him as well. The lad is sporting deep green spiky hair and eyes of the same color, even the hoodless coat he's wearing is the same color, but the short sleeve shirt he's wearing is of a lighter green though. He's also wearing blue pants that would end just above the ankle but he's had them rolled up to end just below the knees, and even wearing short, light brown boots, no sign of him wearing socks. His power is water manipulation, you get the gist of it, but not only can he turn himself into water and produce a lot of it, his power is quadrupled when he comes into contact with large enough bodies of water, even a small stream will suffice. This boy is great as well, but at his core, he really loves thrills, all the monster fighting and hunting he was doing, it made him feel like being in a video game, a feeling nothing else can give him, and upon hearing rumors of Libra, he knew he'd hit the jackpot joining them, he'd find the ultimate thrills and adventures working for them, and had to go for it.

Next is a young lady hailing from Germany, but is actually half-Japanese herself, the girl's name is Aiko Schmadel, age fourteen, three years of fighting paranormal forces. She has short red hair, a condition leaving her left eye light blue, the other one gray, wearing a skin tight black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves ending halfway down the forearms, and wearing a plain white tank top over it, even wearing a thin wristband with a small red jewel on both wrists. She's also got a black mini skirt on, with indigo-blue pants underneath, with the pant legs ending just below the knees, and wearing red and white sneakers, no sign of socks as well as Jyoji though. She possesses a very strange and potent power, she's a blood user, though they're not abundant, there are many who've trained in the ways of using the very essence of their own being as a means of combat and defense, some require specific equipment specially made for some certain forms in order to draw out that power, and this girl is no different. The girl has trained in one of the best forms of blood combat, known as the Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique. A brawling type of blood combat, her common means of fighting involve having her blood pour out those wristbands of hers before it hardens like crystal, and takes the shape of two large and scary looking swords in the form of demon-made crosses, both the size of her whole body, and that's just one way of fighting for this kid. As one would figure on their own, she's pretty energetic, extremely positive, and always looking to make a new friend, even if they happen to be absolute jerks, aside from wanting to come for some fun, there's another reason for her wanting to join Libra, but that's for later.

Then there's Jennifer Amy Ford, age 25, originally from humble Ontario, Canada, been fighting paranormal beasts and such for about five years, specifically she got her start a few months after this city was formed. She's got lovely medium length silver hair tied in a ponytail going straight down, purple eyes, wearing a teal-colored jacket-like shirt, skin tight, the sleeves being a bit puffy and ending just above the wrists, and the shirt is just tied up at the bottom, which would be too revealing, were it not for the red tube top she's wearing underneath. She's also wearing light brown jeans along with short high-heeled strap-on boots of the same color. She's also a blood user, but was able to study the basics, and pushed herself to create her own form, called the Righteous Blood Scourge Style, in which she forms a three tailed whip from her blood, which can stretch up to a mile away, and inflict massive damage even on structures. This one is cheerful herself, and quite polite, but not just that, if there's a commotion, she can be trusted to be the voice of reason and try to resolve things with minimum trouble, but won't hesitate to fight if all options are exhausted, she's pretty trustworthy to sum up. She joins Libra because she's always loved the idea of traveling, and see this job as a way to explore a world she's never truly explored before.

Lastly, we have Gandolfo Montini, all the way from Venice, Italy, age 25 like Jennifer, and started getting involved with paranormal craziness around the same time as her, about five years now. The guy's nearly skin and bones, yet pretty well, short black hair that looks slicked back with gel maybe, bright yellow eyes, a plain short sleeve white shirt with an open black vest over it. He's also wearing black jeans with black laced shoes. A blood user like the other two, did the same thing Jennifer did, but being a baseball fan, he chose to have his blood fighting form pay tribute to the sport, as such he dubbed it the Power Hitter Blood Art, he can form a crystalized blood baseball bat and use it for close combat, and given this is baseball we're talking about, makes sense he'd use it for long-range attacks as well, he can summon up to a dozen-at-a-time baseballs from his blood, and have them float in front of him so he can send them flying fast and hard enough to break through pure stone, talk about a home run, sorry about that, silly I know. This dude, helps others but isn't crazy about being all close and friendly with everyone, he can be a hard-ass at times, makes one wonder how he's been able to survive this whole time, besides his skills, and the fact that he's always looking to blow off some steam doesn't help much, and because he's heard of Libra causing all kinds of havoc in that city, he decided joining them means he'll always have something to use for batting practice, and make it very painful.

As the six get off the plane and pick up their luggage, fortunate they each brought either a backpack or a standard traveling case meaning less to carry, they all take a look in the distance to take in the lovely view of the city of madness and miracles.

"Can't deny that trip was well worth it you guys. Look at that, it's amazing, and this is just a peek from the far side", said Rhys as he looked in awe.

"Then let's quit standing around and throw ourselves into a taxi already", said Gandolfo rudely, which Rhys responds in a nervous chuckle of embarrassment.

"I'm gonna need another scrapbook, I'll meet so many creatures I'd wanna add, even some citizens", said Nora as she adjusted her backpack, referring to her scrapbook, which was nearly full by now no doubt.

"While you do that, I'll be looking for something to shake things up and get me pumped", said Jyoji with determination.

"So excited, been waiting for this for a really long time, you guys have got to be as excited as I am no doubt", said Akio like she's bouncing with joy and anticipation.

"Pretty sure we're all looking forward to our new lives here. Oh look, there's a taxi already, let's go everyone", said Jennifer as they all hopped in, and started making their way across that huge bridge, and straight for HellSalem's Lot. Upon entering the city, the group arrives in Town Square, either baffled, interested, or stunned with their surroundings, a literal melting pot of many cultures from our world, and beyond. We have otherworldly beings of different varieties normal sized, tiny, and some pretty big walking alongside humans like it's just that normal and likeable, like one little street band performing for spare change and their drummer is this gray-colored fella with tentacle arms playing the drums and playing up a real storm with the others, one Beyondian with small beady eyes and a fish-like mouth taking a smoke from a cigarette, breathing it out and tiny fireworks were crackling in the air, even this guy and a few Beyondians stepping out a bar pretty drunk and singing dumb stuff about driving into cliffs and pranking the police. As if the people themselves weren't interesting enough, there's also the architecture of this city, many buildings are reminiscent of the old New York City, but most either around the very top, or from top to bottom, inside and out, are merged with otherworldly décor from what one would expect creatures like these to add in to this place, even signs of plenty of shops and restaurants either owned and operated by a Beyondian, or even a joint operation between them and humans, even some of the vehicles driving by are merged with weird supernatural designs, some like literal monster trucks. The group wanted to really explore and take in so much of what HellSalem's Lot had to offer, but they not only needed to try to familiarize themselves with the cityscape, they first had other priorities to attend to first.

"Incredible, this place is really lively, not to mention bustling, wish we could take the time to get to know this city right now", said Rhys as he turned to his new friends after taking in the sights a little more with awe.

"Yeah, can't forget the reason we came here in the first place, if I remember from the slip we were handed, our contact is supposed to meet us at Agony 54th Street at 8:30 AM, and it's already twenty past", said Jennifer as she briefly looked to the slip she referred to before looking at a street clock close by.

"The map says it's about seven blocks just west of here. Hope our guide isn't too upset over waiting for us, well guys, onward and upward", said Rhys with some positivity after looking at and stowing the map of the city back in his case and led the charge and everyone agreed as they marched on. The group spent just about a few minutes walking through the streets of this fine city, still taking in the sights while en-route to their destination and their guide, fortunately for them the sidewalks weren't really crowded at this time, plenty of elbow room for them all, but this peaceful walk would take a turn for the strange, starting with Gandolfo briefly glancing back to the case he's dragging behind him and notices something off, the zipper to the second area of the case was opened just enough to stick a fist in there. Gandolfo stops for a bit to inspect the case as he kneels down to look closer.

"Hey Dolf, what's the deal? Can't it wait until we meet our dude first?", asked Jyoji as he and the others stopped to look back at Gandolfo before gathering around to see what stopped him.

"No it can't Nishi, this zipper, it wasn't open a few minutes ago", said Gandolfo as he continued inspecting the case without taking his eyes off of it.

"Aw, looks like Dolfo has a tiny memory problem (laughs briefly)", said Aiko jokingly, but Gandolfo wasn't really having it.

"Can it Weird-Eyes, I know this was closed before we got off the jet, and I would've noticed someone try to mess with it", said Gandolfo in a snap.

"Alright easy there tiger, just take your time to think back to when it could've possibly been opened", said Jennifer reasonably, but then…

"Guys? There's a tiny, bug-eyed monkey staring at us and sitting on the ground a couple feet from us, and it's holding some old watch", said Jyoji as he got the group's attention to what he was looking at, and he clearly wasn't exaggerating about what he saw when the others saw for themselves. Sitting on the ground just two to three feet away from them, is a white and gray puny monkey with big deep yellow eyes the size of golf balls, staring right at them. And As Jyoji pointed out, it is holding a very old watch, looks to be from the early 1900s, and then suddenly Gandolfo pops right up and points his finger right at the little guy, looking pretty steamed.

"WHAT THE HELL?! That's my watch you got there!", shouted Gandolfo seething with rage, then Nora steps in just a foot away from the little guy and kneels down for a closer look.

"So cool! I've seen some Beyondian hybrid animals before, but this is the first hybrid monkey I've seen! This is definitely going in my scrapbook, hey there little guy, don't worry, I won't hurt you, it's okay", said Nora as she calmly tried to earn the monkey's trust, while it looked curious and did a sound to add in.

"Is anyone else, super creeped out by this? No, just checking", said Jyoji responding to all this.

"He's such a cutie pie, he's a boy by the way, I'm calling it guys!", shouted Aiko in joy, but someone wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! That freaky little flea-picker swiped my friggin' watch! Now hand it here ya little snow-colored turd!", shouted Gandolfo as he approached the monkey furiously, then the little guy exits his staring trance and panics, jumps around a bit before taking off in the direction they were already going.

"Why'd you do that?! You scared him off!", shouted Nora upset at Gandolfo's actions.

"Dolfo calm down, I'm sorry for your watch but I'm sure you can always replace it", said Rhys trying to help ease things a bit, but Gandolfo wasn't going for it, and surprisingly for a decent reason.

"The hell I will! My old man's old man got that from his wife and we've had it since! No way am I giving it up! ESPECIALLY to some freakish primate!", shouted Gandolfo to Rhys before he ran straight after the little guy, "Get back here monkey!"

"Ack! I didn't realize it was a family heirloom, I'm so sorry! Hang on Dolfo, I'm gonna take care of this!", shouted Rhys as he followed after him.

"I'm right behind you Rhys! And don't you dare hurt that monkey Dolfo! I still need its picture for my scrapbook!", shouted Nora as she followed suit.

"Soooo….do we follow them or not?", asked Jyoji before Jennifer gave him a harmless yet stinging flick to the forehead in response, "Right, stupid question".

"Everyone! We're supposed to stick together! Just hang on a second!", shouted Jennifer as she, Jyoji and Aiko went after the other three. The chase was going on for a full minute and thirty seconds already, and not only is that little monkey fast, but despite not being filled to the brim, the pedestrians on the sidewalk weren't helping much. Seeing that they're not making much progress, Rhys decides to mix things up.

"Rhys, the hell are you doing?! Pick up the pace or we're gonna lose him! And you'll lose your legs if that happens!", shouted Gandolfo as it seemed like he was starting to lose track of the monkey.

"Don't worry! I got this, he's not gonna see this coming!", shouted Rhys as he made a small leap and shrunk in the blink of an eye, though the others could still see him, despite him being the size of a small eraser. Upon landing on the ground, Rhys leaps pretty high enough to land on top of a lamp post before getting the monkey back in his sights, the watch strapped around its tiny body. Rhys leaves a small dent in the post before leaping off and starts running and jumping on the side of the buildings to their left, once he finds himself just above the monkey, Rhys makes a strong dive straight at the little guy, and grabs ahold of the monkey just as he grows back to normal size, while bumping into a newspaper machine and keeps running, he'd stop but he's just too caught up in the heat of the moment.

"Yes! I got him now!", shouted Rhys in joy as he held the monkey high up in the air like a trophy, but that moment's gonna fade real fast as two missiles fly by behind him and blow up, sending him and the monkey flying and landing about a few feet away and into the street, both a bit dazed before Rhys turns to see what happened. Another missile was about to hit him, but once the others catch up, Nora extends her left hand, and suddenly the missile is wrapped in an invisible force before she sends it upwards as it flies high in the sky and detonates safely.

"Rhys, are you okay?!", shouted Nora as she ran up and hugged Rhys nice and tight for a couple seconds, with Rhys returning the favor, no doubt she sees him as a big brother despite only knowing each other for a very short while.

"I'm fine, thanks for that", said Rhys as he, Nora, and the other four, still several feet away, try to get a grasp of the situation.

"Holy moly!", shouted Aiko in surprise.

"The shit just happened?", asked Gandolfo as the smoke cleared from what appears to be a bank just across the street from them, and standing in there with the window shattered, is a hulking Beyondian with small white eyes, his mouth looked to be mostly covered by his own flesh, and his right forearm in the shape of a six-shot missile launcher. Before they knew it, the brute picks up a couple busted ATM machines and hurls them right at the group.

"Righteous Blood Scourge Style!", shouted Jennifer as she summoned a three-tailed whip out of her blood, swung it upward and knocked one machine out of the way.

"Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique! Form 06: Doppelquerlamellen!", shouted Aiko, with the last part meaning Dual Cross Blades in German, as blood quickly poured from her special wristbands and took the shape of her two demon-cross looking swords, leapt at the second machine and sliced it to pieces with little effort.

"We've only been here like ten minutes and this city's already trying to kill us?!", shouted Jyoji as the bank robber steps out onto the streets, and readies his missile arm launcher, locked onto the group.

"Finally, something to hurt", said Gandolfo cracking his neck a bit, ready for action.

"Heads up guys!", shouted Jennifer as the robber fired all six shots at them, but none hit their mark as Jyoji lets out a big bust of water from his arms and erects a wall and entrapping them all and lets them go after the water clogs up their insides, making them stop, and the drop to the ground completely harmless. The robber, frustrated with this interference, opens up the center of his missile launcher, and readies a seventh missile, a bit bigger than the others.

"So you wanna play paly? Well get ready to hit the bench because you're so out of here. Power Hitter Blood Art!", shouted Gandolfo as he forms his baseball bat out of his blood, and positions himself much like he's in a real baseball game, and not a moment too soon because the robber finally uses his trump card and fires that big missile. Gandolfo, with a grin on his face and determination in his eyes, waits a second, and at the right moment, swings a solid home run, and the missile is sent flying back right into the robber, who ends up engulfed in a small explosion from his own weapon, and Gandolfo briefly rest his bat on his shoulder before he has the weapon dissipate, same with Jyoji and his water, and Aiko and Jennifer with their swords and whip. Once the smoke clears up, the robber is lying on the ground in agony, but still intact, and the group was pretty pleased with themselves.

"Now that's some serious baseball dude", said Jyoji in awe as he and the others enjoy the moment, but it's ruined yet again when Rhys and Nora, still in the street, hear footsteps behind them, they turn to see who it is, only for Rhys, still on the ground obviously, to find a white shoe planted against his face, leaving his left eye and part of his mouth uncovered. That's when the others notice, and what they looked at was a tall slim guy like Gandolfo, with light brown skin, snow-white hair, white skin-tight pants with a skull for a belt-buckle, while shoes, a black shirt with a while jacket on top of that and stops halfway down the torso. He had a cigar in his mouth, one hand in his pocket, a set of pictures of the group in the other and a ticked off look on his face.

"Thanks for blowing me off, ya friggin' bunch of noobs! The name's Zapp Renfro, you know, the guy you were supposed to rendezvous with almost half an hour ago? But I guess you idiots were too busy screwing around like mindless tourists and almost getting yourselves killed to even bother meeting me at the checkpoint like you were supposed to", said the guy called Zapp as he took the cigar from his mouth, blew out the smoke, and looked down at Rhys, looking back at Zapp with some confusion and the others were still a bit stunned to say anything yet.

"The next time you want someone to pick you up, you just call your mommy instead, okay Jordan?", asked Zapp as he lifted his foot off from Rhys, who's still staring in confusion for a few more seconds before barely speaking.

"Uh….come again?", asked Rhys.

"WHAT'S THAT?!", demanded Zapp quickly.

"Gah sorry about that! We didn't mean to be so late!", shouted Rhys in a small panic as he briefly bowed to Zapp in an apologetic manner, Zapp himself is a bit confused at first but laughs it off a little.

"(chuckles) You're kind of a pansy aren't ya Jordan? You and your pals here sure you got the balls to work for Libra?", asked Zapp as he took another smoke from his cigar and stuffed the photos back in his pocket before Rhys lifted himself back up, and before he could really respond to that, he notices the little monkey they were trying to catch, just recovered from its spill, and the watch he stole still intact.

"Oh that's right, almost forgot about you little guy, sorry but that watch isn't yours, could we please have it back?", asked Rhys kindly in which the monkey stares for six seconds before he complies and hands the watch over to Rhys, then it jumps on his shoulder before he gets back on his feet.

"Hey there little fella, glad to see you're doing fine", said Nora as Rhys leans down briefly for her to be able to rub the monkey's head a bit before jumping onto her shoulder and Rhys stands straight again, followed by the little guy getting closer to Nora's face and rubbing his head against it, basically cuddling with her, and she's happy with it, "(laughs) He really likes me".

"Oh, so you ran into Sonic and he stole from you, that it?", asked Zapp.

"That's his name huh? But why Sonic? And do you know him by any chance?", asked Rhys.

"Yeah he's with one of my teammates, that there's a Sonic Speed Monkey, don't know all the details, don't really care enough to know, all I know is that those things are crazy fast most of the time, the human eye can't keep track of them, hence the name they got", explained Zapp while he took another smoke.

"So you're called Sonic then? Nice to meet you Sonic, my name's Nora, can't wait to get to know you. I hope you're owner doesn't mind me spending some more time with you though", said Nora as she scratches Sonic behind his ear, who's giddy with joy.

"You'll have to take it up with him, my partner's no jackass but not like he'll let just anyone take care of that mangy primate", said Zapp rudely, just when the others join up with them.

"I don't give a damn if his name's Donkey Kong! Little bastard stole my watch and has some nerve acting like nothing happened", said Gandolfo angrily as he reclaimed his watch from Rhys.

"The monkey has a nasty habit of stealing from other people from time to time, get used to it", said Zapp.

"Fucking perfect", said Gandolfo upset before Sonic disappeared from Nora's shoulder, and pops up suddenly on top of Gandolfo's head smoking Zapp's cigar, surprising everyone a bit.

"You really are that fast Sonic, amazing", said Rhys in awe, but obviously not everyone's so impressed.

"Hey get off me you fleabag!", shouted Gandolfo as he tried to shake Sonic off of him, but then the little monkey finds himself in a bind, and a blade in his face. That blade, looking pretty slim yet fierce, and made of crystalized blood, came from Zapp himself, which amazed yet shocked the others and Gandolfo held still so he doesn't risk inadvertently splitting his own head open like a watermelon.

"Quit messing around ya turd wallet, now hand it back, you forget I don't let anyone mess with my Cuban cigars", said Zapp pretty fiercely as Sonic nervously shook his head in agreement as he popped out a half second and back, then Zapp finds his cigar back in his right hand and takes a smoke before the blade dissipates and Sonic breathes a sigh of relief before returning to Nora, who hugs him a bit to comfort him.

"You didn't have to threaten him like that, poor little guy's frightened stiff", said Nora as he rested Sonic back on her shoulder.

"I didn't have to play nice either", said Zapp simply, not caring much.

"That was a blood technique right? Like what Aiko, Dolfo, and Jenny can do?", asked Rhys.

"Exactly, it's called the Big Dipper Style Blood Technique, some attacks let me even control and make fire, pretty nasty moves you don't wanna be on the receiving end of", said Zapp in a joking manner that seemed like he was threatening Rhys, who didn't get the joke at first yet was a bit taken back.

"I'll keep that in mind", said Rhys nervously.

"So I take it you're our contact?", asked Jennifer kindly.

"Like I said not three minutes ago after that little show you guys put on, yeah, I'm your guy, and your little pussy ringleader here already apologized, but you still took way too long to get your asses here, and that's not counting your playtime with Sonic The Pickpocket, and that bank robbery you stopped just now", explained Zapp while Nora and Aiko were both messing with Sonic.

"I really am sorry we were late, but we're here now, so no problems then? We don't mean to be an annoyance for you guys", said Rhys while he briefly bowed to Zapp for forgiveness and readjusted himself, while Zapp looked unimpressed.

"Yeah sure, you guys are alright with our chief so I couldn't send you packing even if I wanted to, but I totally would if I could, based on the shitty first impressions I got from you posers", said Zapp that seemed to be a compliment at first, but then quickly turned into an insult.

"If somebody's gonna try to stop me from killing this jerkoff when the time comes, I'd like it if you didn't", declared Gandolfo with a hint of irritation in his voice. At that moment, the whole area was swarmed by the HLPD, HellSalem's Lot Police Department, and as the robber was trying to get back up and escape, he finds himself pinned down and handcuffed by four officers clad in big and bulky yet easily mobile mech-suits, overkill sure but come on, a city like this, overkill is the new casual. Overseeing the arrest, is Lieutenant Daniel Law, with short brown slight wavy hair that covers his left eye, clad in a light brown trench-coat. A high ranking officer of the HLPD, and he also happens to be the liaison of Libra for the rest of the HLPD, not a member himself of course, sometime after Libra was formed, the HLPD didn't really tolerate them, seeing them as vigilantes causing as much trouble as the crooks of this city. These days though, the HLPD find themselves working alongside Libra more and more often, eventually calling each other allies. As the officers were dragging the robber into an armored truck, Daniel takes notice of Zapp and the recruits and walks over to greet them.

"Well Renfro, didn't expect to see you around here", said Daniel smoking a cigarette.

"Same to you Law, then again it's no surprise, before you ask, this wasn't my work", said Zapp as he took a smoke.

"I figured, it's you bunch, newcomers huh? Nice to meet you, Daniel Law, Lieutenant of the HellSalem's Lot Police Department", said Daniel as the group, minus Zapp of course, shook hands with him and introduced themselves one by one.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Law", said Rhys.

"Pleasure's all mine kiddo, welcome to our freaky and cozy cesspool of a city", said Daniel with a chuckle.

"(laughs nervously) Weird choice of words", said Rhys a bit weirded out.

"Oh yeah, this guy's also a liaison between Libra and the rest of his department, us and the police are basically partners", said Zapp.

"Oh nice, must be interesting with you and the police working with Libra isn't it?", asked Jennifer.

"Eh more or less, not like we braid each other's hair or stuff like that, but we don't wanna tear each other apart, so take the good with the bad and stuff like that", said Daniel.

"Fair enough", said Jennifer in response as Daniel took a smoke.

"By the way, just to be clear, you guys aren't with Libra yet right?", asked Daniel.

"Actually we're not yet, but we're gonna be for sure", said Jyoji with confidence before Daniel spoke something that briefly sent chills down the spines of the group, again excluding Zapp.

"Well just checking, because we're fine with Libra since they and the force are working together, but if you guys were operating on your own, not only would you be way too reckless for your own good, as newbies of course, but newbies or not, we'd go and arrest you guys", said Daniel with a menacing smirk and the group were a bit frightened over this.

"That's uh….good to know, w-we appreciate the warning Mr. Law, thank you very much", said Rhys nervously on behalf of the group, and not even Gandolfo wanted to get one in.

"Just wanted to fill you in on how some things work here, nothing personal", said Daniel taking a smoke.

"Felt pretty darn personal to me", said Jyoji.

"Anyways, we done here Law? I gotta take these guys to see the chief se he can initiate them already", said Zapp.

"Yeah yeah I got it, hate to keep the big guy waiting right? Well newcomers, see you around, look forward to working with you later" said Daniel.

"Right, well thanks again Mr. Law, catch you later, and have a nice day", said Rhys as he and the others waved Daniel off with Zapp leading the charge, but not before they realize their stupidity when they remember they left their luggage behind before they ran back to grab it all, and then let Zapp lead the way.

"You newbies better pray to your personal gods you'll survive in this crazy city", said Daniel with a smirk. About fifteen minutes pass since that moment, and while admiring the sights, the group were mindful to keep a pretty fair distance from Zapp thanks to his cigar smoke, but not so much that they won't be able to hear any extra information needed for the job.

"So as you newbies might've guessed already, this city's infested with loads upon loads of scum-suckers, some who go and blow up a whole city block or two for some cash, or those who wanna go and take over the city or even the world with whatever's around that can do just the trick, and it's our job to take care of those dickheads, keep the peace and shit like that. Just so we're clear, we don't need anyone slowing us down rookies", said Zapp walking slowly while slouching a bit, and the group understanding the position they're in and what to do here, while being just a bit offended with that last remark.

"Of course, that's what we're here to do, in a natural sense that is. We know better than to be a nuisance to you guys, whatever we have to do, we'll get it done right", said Rhys with confidence and no regret.

"Nice one Rhys", said Nora, with Rhys briefly patting her on the head in response.

"Don't go answering him like that, looks to anyone as if you're trying to suck up to the guy, he's a total douche, and way worse than me", said Gandolfo with his voice lowered a bit so Zapp couldn't hear.

"Calm down Dolfo, we haven't even been initiated as real agents yet, we can't go giving Zapp more of a reason to try to convince his boss not to bring us in", said Jennifer in the same way, but this wasn't enough.

"Well, good to know SOME of you newbies know better to respect your superiors", said Zapp in a jerk manner while briefly looking back to the group with some irritation in his eyes before facing forward again.

"I seriously hate this guy", said Gandolfo upset.

"Yeah same here", said Jyoji as another couple minutes passed before they go down this alleyway and are facing a lovely golden door with some otherworldly looking version of the scale, something that definitely shouldn't belong in an alleyway, especially like this.

"So this is the door that leads to it all huh? Well what are we waiting for? Let's head inside", said Rhys eager to go inside until.

"Huh? That's weird, like it's stuck", said Rhys as he jiggled the doorknob a bit more.

"Oh you are kidding me", said Gandolfo in frustration.

"If he is, I'm totally into it!", shouted Aiko with joy, while Jyoji steps in.

"Step aside Rhys, I'm all over this…(huh)?", said Jyoji as he really tried to twist that knob.

"Need some olive oil to help with that Keiki?", asked Nora jokingly, but Jyoji definitely wasn't really up for this.

"Yeah thanks you're solid now", said Jyoji as he continued with the knob before Zapp pushes him to the side and grabbed it himself, suddenly, a scanning sound was heard, and the door opens, revealing an elevator inside,, which surprises the group.

"Libra members only geniuses, you ain't in just yet, once you are, you'll have access, let's go. Oh and I swear to Christ Almighty any of you dipshits fart in there, I'll gut you before the elevator even reaches the top", threatened Zapp, and everyone automatically adjusts their gaze at Jyoji, who looks surprised and tries to feign ignorance.

"I'm honestly feeling fine you guys, not like we're walking straight into Chernobyl or anything-(quick fart sound). You can't prove anything at all", said Jyoji with slight blush, still trying to act innocent even though he's well aware that won't work, while everyone stares at him for a few more seconds in awkward silence.

"Let's just go already", said Zapp in minor annoyance as everyone stepped inside the elevator, looking pretty nice with red felt on the walls, lined with some gold, like something ripped from the Victorian-era, and then once the doors close, the elevator heads straight up fast without putting them all through some kind of roller-coaster. Upon reaching the top floor after a full minute, the doors open, and Zapp leads the group through this small waiting room of sorts, then opens the doors at the other side, which reveals a huge and impressive office.

"Nice digs, more like a lounge than an office", said Gandolfo pretty impressed like the others, and he wasn't wrong at all, this office might as well take up the entire top floor, standard colors of brown, two big X shaped ceiling lights hanging from up there, far across from them is a small library with a seating area there and some lovely plants, along with two big doors separate from each other to other places, a set of doors leading to somewhere else to their right with a heavy-looking brown desk five to six feet in front, and not far in front of them is another seating area, one large gray couch, a mahogany table, and two big chairs of the same color with a small red carpet underneath. Light is coming in through four really big windows on the left that tower everything in there and the floor is checkered color from the windows to the brown desk, the two window furthest from them is right behind a smaller yet plenty spacious office closed up by a glass and wooden cubicle-like box for privacy and a big television attached up high on the side of that office, with someone in there working, they couldn't see him well though since his back was facing them. Then there's a big thick gray desk between the window closest to them and the bigger seating area, nothing on it except a 1990s type computer, with someone sitting there working on something but they couldn't see him well due to the bright morning light from the window covering that whole area.

"This really is something else, amazing architecture", said Jennifer in awe of the office's design.

"We're gonna be a part of Libra and you're obsessed with some office? Damn you're weird Jenny", said Jyoji jokingly.

"Hey Chief, picked up those rookies already, see them for yourself", said Zapp as he waved off his boss while he walked away from the group and reached the smaller seating area near that library and kicked back before dumping his finished cigar in the trash. Not wanting to bother the boss while he's on the computer, the group simply takes some steps forward, and close to that bigger seating area, ready to present themselves to the head of Libra himself.

"Um, excuse me sir? I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but as you already know I'm sure, we're the ones who've been trying to reach out to you and then you invited us to join your ranks. Again, my bad for bothering you while you work", said Rhys as he tried to introduce himself and speak on behalf of his friends, but no immediate answer from the boss as he's still typing away. Ten more seconds of silence go by before he finishes typing at last and speaks.

"No need to apologize Mr. Jordan, I was finishing things up myself, shame I wasn't able to wrap things up before you and your friends' arrival, one moment please", said the boss as he turned off his computer and got out of his seat, walked around the desk and stood just barely in front of it, and stood there for the group to see, but the light was leaving them to look at nothing but a silhouette, until the light from outside is briefly blocked out by a cloud and they could see their new boss as clear as day and are stunned to find what they're looking at: a large and buff red-haired man, possibly in his early thirties, with green eyes, pointed sideburns, small glasses, wearing a white dress shirt with a red tie under a black waistcoat that's red on the back, black dress pants with brown dress shoes that have a small cross design on the top of both. But outfit aside, what surprises the group isn't just his size, but also the seemingly angry gaze his eyes are giving off despite the gentlemanly manner he was speaking in a moment ago, add in the sideburns, and even the distinctive under-bite he's got, and you got one intimidating fellow, but in the case for Jyoji, scary is more like it.

"Holy shit!", shouted Jyoji as he unleashed a cyclone of water from his right hand right at the brute, and the others briefly panicked to move aside so they don't get hit as well.

"You moron! Warn us next time!", shouted Gandolfo angrily as Jyoji's attack calmed down, and he had good reason to be so.

"You dudes saw that right? The face he had, looked like some freaky reverse vampire that was gonna drain us dry and tear the rest apart!", shouted Jyoji.

"That was nuts! Keiki, you just attacked the guy who's supposed to be our boss!", shouted Nora.

"Damn right! Now we're never getting into Libra because YOU acted like such a little pussy!", shouted Gandolfo as he and Jyoji quickly butt heads before Rhys got them to stop and look at something.

"Guys, you might wanna take a look at this", said Rhys in awe as the others turned and saw what he meant, and are surprised to see for themselves. The boss was unharmed by the attack, more so, because he had blocked it off with little to no effort, as the group sees him in a defensive pose with his left arm extended, and in front of it is what really stunned the group, it was a garbage can-sized demon cross made of crystalized blood.

"That's…the same blood technique as Aiko, but different", said Jennifer in awe as well, then the demon cross turns into liquid blood and is sucked back into this red and silver cross-shaped knuckle guard that looks to be concealed in the sleeve, easy weapon to carry around.

"Exactly what I thought", said Rhys still in awe.

"An impressive and well-formed attack there Mr. Nishi, however your execution was off by 0.023 seconds, allowing me to easily counter it on the first try. I'd recommend some much needed practice should you encounter an opponent who may be much quicker than even I am", said the boss as he had the knuckle guard stow itself back into his sleeve before he regains his composure and repositions himself to before, while Jyoji looking a bit dumfounded.

"Y-yeah sure, I'll do that, and uh, my mistake by the way", said Jyoji while looking a bit embarrassed.

"Nothing to get upset over mind you. And Ms. Chorrain, thank you for your concern, but I'm not the leader of this organization for nothing, you understand", said the boss.

"Oh sure, you're welcome sir", said Nora looking a bit embarrassed herself while Sonic, still on her shoulder, pats her on the cheek to make sure she wasn't sad or anything.

"Now that we have that cleared up and am pleased to make your acquaintance, I believe proper introductions are in order. I am known as Klaus Von Reinherz, the leader of Libra, the youngest of four, young head of the Reinherz Family, and just so happens, to be a close friend, of the royal Schmadel Family. It truly has been a long time, Princess Aiko, it's good to see you once again", said the boss addressing himself as Klaus while putting his hand against his chest and bowing properly, but upon hearing that last part, everyone in the group turns to Aiko in surprise, and she's looking pretty giddy about this whole thing.

"Heh, guess the surprise is out. Anywhoo…Klaus!", shouted Aiko as she darted right past the others and gave Klaus a big hug, and not nearly enough to engulf him in her love, though he returns the favor, while the others were still dumfounded before coming to their senses.

"PRINCESS?!", yelled everyone in unison as Aiko jumps down from Klaus.

"Allow us to explain please, the Reinherz and Schmadel families have been trusted friends and allies for generations, spanning back since medieval times, over a thousand years ago", explained Klaus before Aiko chimed in.

"Though Klaus's family got into simple aristocratic stuff, my family decided to build our own kingdom, hidden deep in Germany", explained Aiko gladly.

"As for the Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique, neither families invented the technique, but we've worked diligently to perfect it, making it quite remarkable and above the highest grade in the world. Though in fairness, Aiko has yet to perfect the technique herself for the time being", continued Klaus.

"Yeah, ha, I mean I haven't been doing this long like you guys, so it's pretty tough on me to say the least", said Aiko.

"Wait so, you're half Japanese, and yet you're family's been German for over a thousand years? I'm guessing it's the case of different cultures crossing, right?", asked Rhys as he and the others were getting out of their shocked state while still a bit stunned.

"My grandmother was Japanese actually, so the mixed nationality stuff hasn't been going on for too long, she came to Germany and had a crazy chance encounter with my grandpa when he was still in his late teens' like her, and it was love at first sight. Our family's had some Japanese in us ever since, and as for Klaus here, I met him back when I was six, he showed off to me some of the special moves of the Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique that I doubt even I would've been able to figure out on my own for a long time. It wasn't just lessons though, he showed me a really good time, super nice and I was blown away with how strong he is, like the time he helped put in our new huge bird fountain all by himself. Eight years later, my friend is the same super tough gentleman I met when I was a cute toddler", explained Aiko with giddy as she playfully bumped her fist against Klaus in the gut with no effect.

"Yes, I greatly enjoyed my brief stay at the Schmadel Castle back then, and teaching you some of the necessary skillsets that would greatly benefit you later in life. In addition, I am deeply sorry I couldn't visit you more often since then Your Majesty", said Klaus as he bowed to Aiko for a bit, such genuine passion this man possessed.

"I knew it, you'll never change, that what I love about you so much big guy! And though I did miss seeing you, I heard all about what you've been doing, even I never would've guessed you'd be the leader of something like Libra of all things", said Aiko.

"Indeed, much has transpired in the past eight years since our last encounter, pardon me for a moment, I need to tend to my plants", said Klaus as he stepped away from Aiko to grab a watering can from underneath his desk, then walks over to the set of plants just close to that smaller glass office, but as he waters one of the plants, Zapp springs right out of his seat at the library and comes dashing right at Klaus.

"I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO MEET YOUR MAKER, CHIEF!", yelled Zapp as he jumps high into the air with a crazed look in his eyes, spins and tries to land a downward kick onto Klaus, but instead, the gentleman brute blocks the attack with ease with his left arm, while still holding the watering can in his right hand, and in a flash, he looks as though he quickly snaps Zapp's back with use of his elbow and left knee, rendering him unconscious, then resting him on the floor. Klaus then resumes to watering the rest of the plants while the group was staring in utter shock with what had occurred.

"What the fuck just happened?", asked Gandolfo in shock.

"Same here dude", said Jyoji as Klaus straightened his waistcoat from the collar after he was done with the plants and notices everyone's shock, confused at first, then realizes why and explains.

"Oh this? Nothing to be concerned about, Zapp is always trying to land an attack on me whenever he believes I've left an opening for him to exploit. It's no act, he's sincerely trying to pummel me into submission in order to prove he's much more stronger than I am, it can get hectic at times", explained Klaus as the group was still reeling from this moment while Zapp regains consciousness.

"That's good to know", said Rhys.

"Yeah, very….enlightening", said Jennifer as Zapp get on his knees and smacks at the floor in frustration.

"Fucking hell! Every. Single. God. Damn. Time. He always get me!", shouted Zapp right before the group is shocked by the sudden appearance of a young woman, literally popped out of nowhere, and she just casually lands on top of Zapp's head, making him hit the floor and stays there a bit. The young woman looks to be about the same age as Zapp, who happens to be twenty-six, with short black hair in a somewhat bob-cut manner, deep purple eyes, dressed in a black suit with similar colored dress shoes, a white shirt underneath, but no necktie.

"This woman here, happens to be Chain Sumeragi, an invisible werewolf of the Lycanthrope Agency, one of Libra's partners, her ability to disappear, add in her light-as-air agility, and it all serves to help her work as our reconnaissance agent", said Klaus as Chain finally looks at the group, with a bored, stoic expression on her face, and waves at them before she speaks.

"Hey, nice to meet you, new guys. Hope you don't mind me dropping in, even if I had to step in a giant piece of trash to do so", said Chain while the group was reeling in again, and finally got their composure together again, in a way.

"Well, it was pretty unexpected, but this is your office as well so not like we have any objections in your arrival", said Rhys.

"Though we definitely don't mind the trash you were stepping in, sucks you gotta deal with THAT worthless thing every day here", said Gandolfo while slightly joking, and Chain seems to look as though someone truly gets her.

"Believe me, I'm aware of that sad fact all the time", said Chain as Zapp had reached his boiling point and leapt back on his feet while Chain effortlessly leaps, flips and lands across from Zapp, who's definitely pissed off now.

"HEY! You don't get to make me look bad in front of the newbies just when I was reigning them in on our way back here ya slut-wolf!", shouted Zapp while pointing at Chain, looking unimpressed.

"Right yeah, you were 'reigning' us in alright", said Jyoji sarcastically.

"Pretty sure you don't need anyone's help for that you turd-monkey, you've already got that in spades", said Chain simply with a hand on her hip.

"You know what I DO got in spades dog-lady? Tearing shits like YOU limb from motherfucking limb", threatened Zapp as he quickly summoned his blood sword, and in response, Chain pulls out a handgun and cocks it.

"We'll see about that, pretty-boy", said Chain with a small smile as Zapp readied himself, and Rhys, seeing Klaus not stepping in to deal with this himself since he's the boss, and most likely this has been going on for a long time and is easily used to it by now, speaks to the group about this.

"We should probably stop them before they kill each other", said Rhys a bit worried for them.

"Hey, 'bout time someone puts that prick in his place, I ain't gonna step in and stop him from getting what's coming", said Gandolfo as the group braced themselves for an inevitable clash, and then suddenly.

"That's enough you two, try to contain yourselves for a few minutes or so, we did bring these guys here to welcome them into the fold after all. No need to make them witness a silly feud between soon-to-be fellow agents now", said the man who was working in that small glass office with his back facing them. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, short black hair, same eye color as Chain, small thin scar going over his left eye, small red markings on the left side of his neck, indicating a hidden tattoo, wears a deep gray suit and pants, with a yellow necktie, blue dress shirt underneath the suit, and light brown dress shoes. He's leaning against the door with a coffee mug in his left hand, and a small smile giving off a laid back vibe about him.

"Aaaannnddd….who the heck are you again?", asked Jyoji stupidly as the man took a sip from his mug before answering.

"First, how about you two do what I ask? Stand down already, no need for this right now", said the man as Zapp and Chain glared at each other before reluctantly disarming themselves.

"Thanks, and to answer you Mr. Nishi, the name's Steven Alan Starphase, I'm one of Klaus's oldest friends, and I serve as his second-in-command of Libra, I usually handle a bunch of stuff he doesn't need to worry about at first. Pleasure to meet the lot of you", said the man calling himself Starphase as he waved his mug at the group as a means of hello, and they all replied quickly.

"So you're the big guy's right-hand man huh? I'd say you don't look the part, but I'm pretty convinced already", said Gandolfo complementing Starphase's suit.

"I'll drink to that, thanks Mr. Montini, and to save on formality, call us by just our first names please", said Starphase as he took a sip again.

"Sure thing Mr. Sta-I mean, Steven, hope you don't mind me asking, but where is everyone else, no offense, but it can't just be the four of you right?", asked Rhys.

"Of course not, I already gave the go-ahead to the others, they should be dropping in any moment now", said Starphase right on cue, as one of the doors close to the library opens up, and stepping in the room, is a butler in his late seventies, no ordinary butler clearly. Sure he's dressed in a typical butler outfit, the black suit, the bow-tie, the white gloves and all that, but the man has he whole face wrapped in bandages, save for his hair, mouth, and light green eyes, which looks as though a demon cat clawed away to its heart's content.

"Cool butler, bandaged face is pretty strange though", said Nora.

"Thank you kindly Ms. Chorrain, my name is Gilbert Franke Altstein, professional combat butler sent from the Reinherz Family to assist the young master in his duties as leader of Libra. I am one of few to directly deal with our organization's intelligence network", said the butler calling himself Gilbert while bowing to the group.

"Wait, so you're some crazy ninja butler or something? Like what kinds of combat stuff you normally do?", asked Jyoji.

"You'll see for yourselves all in due time Mr. Nishi, be patient", said Gilbert as a woman pops up from behind and walks past him towards the group. The woman appeared to be in her late thirties, yet pretty gorgeous, very tall and slim, chin-length blonde hair, blue eye, I say eye because her right eye has a patch covering it, clad in a red trench-coat over a black crop-top, shorts and thigh-high high-heeled boots. She walks over to them and greets them one at a time with joy.

"Hello there! So you're the newbies I've been told about! Nice to meet the lot of you, I'm called K.K., my full name isn't of any concern right now, glad to have you all here", said the woman called K.K. before she spots Nora and kneels down to her level.

"Oh, aren't you just the one of the cutest little things I've ever laid eyes on? Yes you really are", said K.K. as she pinched Nora by the cheek before embracing her with a brief yet strong hug, followed by the same thing with Rhys, Aiko and Jyoji, and the kids were pretty embarrassed while the two adults with them were as confused as they were.

"Uh hello, K.K., sorry but did we do something to make you happy?", asked Rhys as he briefly scratched his head in confusion.

"No no, I'm the one who should be sorry, it's just that I have two of my own you see, one is about ten, and the other one is twelve, I just love kids so much because of them. And because you're such nice kids and new as well, let me give you some advice: don't ever completely trust that lousy black-hearted schemer over there", said K.K. as she gave Starphase a brief glare, and he feigns ignorance and acts a bit embarrassed to boot.

"Come on now K.K., it's not at all necessary to tell the newbies stuff like that about me", said Starphase as he casually takes a sip from his mug, while K.K. looks unconvinced.

"On some level, I think we both know it absolutely is, Scarface", said K.K, and Starphase looks ashamed for a bit.

"Is that everyone I assume?", asked Jennifer, then suddenly the other door close to the library is kicked wide open, stepping into the office, is a very muscular man, he has dark skin with messy, shoulder-length black hair. He's also wearing a dark winter coat over a white sweater, black pants and shoes, and dark sunglasses. Alongside him, is a thirteen-year-old girl, green eyes brown hair tied into a pony tail with an aqua-colored ribbon, dressed in a light gray baggy painter's suit with a yellow shirt underneath and brown thick shoes.

"What's up bitches?! Glad to be here to check out the rookies! Name's Patrick, I'm Libra's top go-to weapons guy, my handle is The Armory, pretty self-explanatory and junk. The little gal right here is my partner Neyka, don't let her looks fool ya, she'll fill you with holes before you'd even get 'adorable' out of your mouth", said the man called Patrick as he walked up to the group and gave Rhys a hug that could've snapped his back in half.

"(groans) Nice to meet you two, really, just take it easy on my back next time please", said Rhys as he was readjusting himself to make sure nothing was sticking out.

"Hey, hope you guys don't die on us", said Neyka simply.

"Some greeting, I've met fish that can do a hell-of-a-lot better than this girl", said Gandolfo.

"Yeah, bite me stick-man", said Neyka, which ticked off Gandolfo a bit.

"Why you-!", but Gandolfo was quickly cut off from Jennifer.

"Not the time Dolfo, relax", said Jennifer.

"(deep breath) Fine, whatever, just forget it", said Gandolfo trying to look "chill", then suddenly.

"Don't try to fool me mister, I know a grudge when I see one", said a man who stepped out the same set of doors Patrick and Neyka barged through. The man was tall, in his mid to late fifties maybe, short black hair, silver blue eyes, with a mustache and goatee combo, wearing a light brown overcoat with a suit and tie underneath, with light gray pants and deep brown shoes, and carrying a silver suitcase with three big holes on the side.

"And who the hell are you?", asked Gandolfo with attitude just when he was calming down.

"Call me Blitz Terrence Abrams, the world's best to turn to when it comes to all sorts of the arcane, vampires especially, though for some reason many seem to refer to me as 'Lucky', though even now I still don't have the damnedest clue as to why a nickname like that", said the man called Blitz as Rhys notices everyone but Klaus and Gilbert with this uneasy look on their faces, like they're waiting for something bad to pass.

"Wouldn't a name like Lucky mean you're just that good at what you do Mr. Abrams?", asked Rhys.

"Luck has nothing to do with my profession son, I'm just that passionate about my work. Besides, even if I were lucky, I honestly don't see why, seems like no matter where I go, I just can't catch a break anywhere, and this city is sadly no exception, I'll tell you that twice", said Blitz as he feels something on his head, checks and finds it to be dried bits of paint, then he looks up to the ceiling and notices a piece of ceiling the size of his case ready to come falling down. Rhys notices as well and takes action.

"Mr. Abrams watch out!", shouted Rhys as he rushed to push Blitz out of the way, who falls to the ground on his rear end, and very hard in fact.

"What the hell Jordan? The damn thing's clearly still there", said Blitz in an upset manner, while Rhys looked in confusion to the ceiling piece still there, he was thinking that the piece was gonna fall for sure, until the piece does come falling, but bounces off of part of the ceiling lamp where it was, and rather than falling to where Blitz was a moment ago, it's coming down on Rhys, who panics and quickly leaps out of the way, and the ceiling piece hits hard and breaks into a bunch of pieces. A moment of silence came in before Rhys and the group regained themselves regarding that strange turn of events.

"Wha-but, i-it was gonna fall on Mr. Abrams, why fall on me?", asked Rhys dumfounded, while Blitz gets back up and shakes some dust off his coat and picks up his case.

"Good God, you were smart to move when you did son" said Blitz.

"Ditto man, you'd probably get your skull cracked like an egg if it'd hit your head", said Jyoji simply while stunned.

"Seriously, what just happened? No way that would switch from Blitz to Rhys just like that", said Gandolfo.

"That's not important right now, I'm assuming three of us are missing right?", asked Blitz after rudely forgetting about Gandolfo.

"Yeah, Hummer, Luciana, and Zed aren't here right now, guess we'll get started right now then", said Starphase.

"Hummer, Luciana, and Zed, are they three other agents of yours?", asked Jennifer.

"Indeed they are, they must be preoccupied to join us this morning. We'll inform them and you'll meet them soon enough, I assure you, please have a seat, I'm sure you all are quite exhausted from your travels", said Klaus as he briefly pointed at the seating area in front of his desk and the group agrees to this, while still a bit stunned and mostly curious about what happened with that near-accident of Blitz. About ten minutes had gone by, and while Gilbert was cleaning up the mess from the ceiling piece incident, everyone else were gathered around Klaus's desk. Gandolfo and Jennifer took the two thick chairs of the seating area, Rhys, Jyoji, Nora, and Aiko all took the big couch, K.K. leans against the big desk from earlier, Chain and Zapp deal with sitting on the floor just leaning against the glass office of Starphase, Patrick and Neyka are leaning against this bookshelf behind Gandolfo and Jennifer, Starphase is sitting on Klaus's desk, Blitz pulls up a spare chair and sits the opposite side, Klaus takes the seat at his own desk obviously. During that whole ten minutes, Blitz and Starphase were going over the info on the group sitting before them, they already went over it before their arrival in HellSalem's Lot, mind you, but they wanted to run through it all again to let the group know what they thought of them in person, Klaus and the others were given the same info of course, so no confusion on their part.

"Going over your files, I have to say, for being still pretty much new to this whole monster-hunting work, you six aren't terrible. In fact, you've all done some good stuff quite honestly, much better than most in your positions, adding in the powers you've all developed and mastered", explained Starphase looking at some files on the group, while Gilbert comes and joins K.K., who looked pretty pleased with themselves.

"Well, I'm not one to brag, I've always had a mean swing, but now my power definitely makes me a real hit", said Gandolfo as he leaned back in his chair getting comfortable.

"Pun intended I assume?", chuckled Jennifer.

"Zip it", said Gandolfo in response.

"Even that scuffle with the bank robber from earlier this morning was an adequate example of you lot making great use of your powers, and despite only knowing each other for a short time, proved that you'll have little to no trouble working as a team", said Starphase which surprised the group a bit.

"Sorry but how did you know about it already? Did you see it on the news maybe?", asked Nora.

"It was actually Chain who saw the whole thing and reported the whole thing to us over her phone. As I recall Klaus already told you that Chain here does a lot of our reconnaissance here in the city, that's why she wasn't already here waiting for you when you showed up", said Starphase.

"No big deal at all", said Chain.

"Yeah right", mumbled Zapp to himself, but Chain could hear that and they briefly glared before regaining their composure.

"Not to mention your brief run-in with Lieutenant Law, heard he really gave you lot quite the fright", said Blitz.

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly a completely warm welcome he gave us", said Jennifer.

"Believe us, we know", said K.K.

"Well, we're honored that you're really impressed with our skills and traits, not that we're gonna gloat about or anything", said Rhys.

"Aw damn it", said Jyoji in response.

"However, one thing about you lot that honestly concerns me, like Steven said, your powers are formidable a force to be reckoned with, alone or together. But, even so, had any of you tried to put more time, patience and effort into your powers, whether the ones of shrinking/super strength and agility, water control, or force-fields/invisibility that Mr. Jordan, Mr. Nishi, and Ms. Chorrain picked up respectively, or the blood techniques Mr. Montini and Ms. Ford were able to create specifically for themselves, or even the very same blood technique Klaus has utilized that Ms. Schmadel now possesses. Point is, you all might've mastered your powers very well, but not to a razor's edge, in other words: you lot have yet to perfect your abilities to the point where your imagination is your only limit, simple as that", explained Blitz as the group looked a bit worried.

"What, dude no one's perfect, except me of course", said Jyoji in a gloating manner.

"Someone's feeling down in the dumps", said Aiko jokingly.

"Not helping", said Jyoji in response.

"It's not like we don't want to get so good that we're perfect, we've been trying our best and haven't had any luck", said Nora.

"Please calm yourselves, some who we've recruited in the past were in the same position as you were, yet as they progressed through their work and through the ranks, they began to find themselves changing into something else, something better. You all would be no different, you'll struggle, but if you can remain defiant of whatever obstacles are in your path and persevere, then in time, the six of you would undoubtedly find yourselves to be reborn as well-grown individuals with unyielding spirits, that I assure you", explained Klaus in what was like some improvised motivational speech, yet one that proves quite effective given how moved the group appears.

"That, was very moving Klaus, it really was", said Rhys as he looked to be choking up a bit, making sure he doesn't cry.

"Not gonna lie that was actually damn well amazing", said Gandolfo stunned.

"I actually agree with you for once", said Jennifer in response.

"So, now that we got that drama cleared up, when do we get started?", asked Jyoji in anticipation before Nora jabs his gut with her elbow, "Ow, just saying what we're all thinking".

"Power alone isn't the concern we have regarding your initiation into our fold, nor is it your methods and personalities. As Steven stated, you've all proven to be quite capable with your abilities and working with others, the exceptional display of teamwork this morning in regards to that bank robbery is an example of that determination. And as Blitz stated, you all still have much to learn and experience to fully better yourselves as agents, all in due time of course. Understand that inside or outside of HellSalem's Lot, even in the Beyond, there are those who know of Libra and seek to either profit or destroy us, which is why we rely heavily on secrecy to intimidate our enemies. The criminal underworld values even the smallest piece of legitimate information regarding us in the billions, sadly to say", explained Klaus as the group grew a bit concerned, then Patrick steps in.

"Bottom line is, that if any agent fucks up and spills even one clue at the wrong place or time, or both, any scumbags human or Beyondian will hunt your ass down and take that info and make a mint off it, doesn't matter if you're still breathing or not", said Patrick and the newbies really got nervous as they figured what they were telling them.

"One false step, and if you're not careful or quick, that the end of the line, sorry", said K.K., clearly not happy with telling this to new guys, especially since most of them are kids, capable and tough, but still young and lacking enough experience regardless.

"Well, good to know we'll be put on the chopping block if we open our mouths too much", said Jyoji followed by a nervous chuckle, and maybe a little sweat.

"I figured being a member of Libra would have its own set of consequences as there are benefits, but I had no idea they would that severe", said Jennifer.

"I apologize for this reveal, we didn't wish to frighten any of you. This needed to be explained to you all, our reasons for secrecy and the price to pay for failing to do so, and how that would eventually effect the entire organization. In other words, it was necessary to inform you of our secrecy and the consequences so we could confirm as to whether or not you still wish to join us", said Klaus.

"Wait, so we're not getting drafted in just like that?", asked Rhys.

"I'm afraid not, the six of you have been given very little to nothing on our operation, I'd hate to send you away after traveling a long way, but this is what's needed for your sake, as well all of Libra itself quite possibly. You are not obligated to join us Mr. Jordan, you or your friends here, there is time to leave before the final decision is made, and the choice is yours: either stay and work for us, or leave now, and you'll not be at risk. As I said, once you join, any slight misstep on your part, could prove to be fatal, I'm not suggesting to remain fearful of everyday life, simply remain on guard, rather than let any or all sinister forces prevent you from living your lives to the fullest and go towards the light. It's your choice, what will you decide?", asked Klaus after giving yet another seemingly improvised speech, which moved the group again, so much that Jyoji nearly cried and Aiko played with him on that. Once that was out of the way, the group sat there for a few minutes, with these thoughts rattling around in their heads about what to do next: stay or leave, they were thinking as hard as they could.

"So we stay and maybe die, or leave and maybe wind up dying of regret?! Man, talk about a shitty choice!", thought Jyoji.

"For fuck's sake, after coming all this way, that's what they tell us? I've seen some lousy deals before, but this one takes the top", thought Gandolfo.

"I honestly didn't see this coming, though it shouldn't be a surprise given how shadowy Libra is", thought Jennifer.

"(groans) I can here to be with Klaus again, now he tells me that it's be too dangerous here? It's not fair!", thought Aiko.

"My biggest chance to fill my scrapbook with beings I'd probably never find outside this city, and I might have to let it go", thought Nora.

"All our biggest dreams are gathered right here, in quite possibly the greatest city on Earth: HellSalem's Lot. But now, chances are we'll die if we mess up at our jobs here? That's a hard choice anyone would wanna question…I don't know, yet", thought Rhys.

The group thought hard about it for another minute or two, but then, something clicked.

"I came to this city for a fricking great time! I'm sure as hell I won't let some gross-looking losers get in my way!", thought Jyoji.

"This city's not only crazy great, but it's filled to the damn brim with scum I can pummel on to blow off plenty of steam! Am I really gonna pass THAT up?! No way!", thought Gandolfo.

"HellSalem's Lot is riddled with various and marvelous sights to behold, and what I got was just a taste, I'd love to try the entire course", thought Jennifer.

"I said I wanna be with Klaus again, and dog-gone-it, I'm not giving it up now", thought Aiko.

"So many amazing creatures here and what I saw was just the beginning! I can't pass this up!", thought Nora.

"I saw this place as the best chance to really make a difference between our world, and the Beyond, I know plenty would call me silly and thinking small and childish, and maybe they're right, maybe not. But either way, I've come too far to let this slide, whatever the risk, I'll do it", thought Rhys.

At that exact moment, the group looks to each other in synch, a bit surprised but the look on each other's faces clearly indicated that they came to a consensus, and Rhys stood up to speak for himself and his friends.

"Klaus, I'm sure we've all made our choice, and after thinking long and hard about it: we decided we'll stay and work for you, if you'll still have us that is", said Rhys with a confident look on his face, same with the others, while Klaus sat there, hands clasped and on his desk, with the same blank expression he's had this whole time, while the other Libra members glanced at each other and smiled in response, excluding Blitz and Zapp for obvious reasons, and after another fifteen seconds of silence, and a bit of sweat on Rhys's brow, waiting for an answer, Klaus closes his eyes for a second and leans forward in his seat, ready to speak.

"Very well then Mr. Jordan, Gilbert, please hand them the folder", said Klaus as Gilbert walks over to the table and leaves a typical light brown folder in the middle.

"Here you are young masters and madams", said Gilbert before returning to K.K.'s side. Rhys is the one to open the folder, and inside the group lays their eyes upon what appeared to be six small special I.D. card, nothing on them except a small picture of them, their names, and the organization's logo: their version of the scale of justice, and in the center of it, lies a man, arms crossed, the left wing is that of a demon, the one on the right, is for an angel. The group each picked up their individually marked cards and studied them a bit, a bit stunned.

"So, these cards…does this really mean?", asked Rhys in anticipation.

"Indeed my friends, welcome to Libra. I look forward to working with you all", said Klaus simply as the group was jumping up and down with joy in their own ways, finally now recognized as official agents of Libra itself.

"AW YEAH! WE'RE IN! WE'RE IN THE BIG LEAGUES NOW BABY!", yelled Jyoji as he jumped up and down on the couch and Aiko joined him.

"This is so awesome! I can't wait to get started", said Nora as she hugged Sonic who rubbed his head against her cheek.

"Thank you very much Klaus, I promise we won't let you down", said Rhys proudly.

"I know you won't, Rhys, glad to have you with us", said Klaus.

"Alright that's enough excitement for the time being, I'm sure you rookies are eager to get out into the field already, but sadly that's not the case today", said Starphase as the excitement from the group quickly faded away.

"What? That's dumb, this is HellSalem's Lot after all, last I checked loads of crazy shit happens here all the time", said Gandolfo.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that, as a whole, we go after every lowlife hanging around. We tend to go after mostly big deals, sometimes we'll be called in to help with said matters, but not right now. That bank robbery you six stopped earlier was about as high level as things were going to get today from what I can tell, and you weren't even agents at the time", explained Starphase as he drank the last of his coffee.

"So, we don't have any assignments today?", asked Rhys.

"Afraid not, regardless, anything could come up, so the sooner you get settled in for the day the better. Now, about your supervisor-", said Blitz but was rudely cut off from Gandolfo.

"Whoa whoa whoa Blitz, we're not a bunch of toddlers, we don't need someone looking over us", said Gandolfo arrogantly.

"I beg to differ Gandolfo, you bunch are new after all, and the rest of us won't be able to look out for you and teach you what you need to know. That's why you need to be partnered and monitored by a senior agent", said Blitz.

"But if none of you are going to our supervisors, who did you have in mind?", asked Rhys.

"Someone you can almost certainly relate with. You can come in now", said Klaus as a door to a smaller room to his right opened up, and walking out of there and into the office is a young adult, possibly twenty-one or twenty-two, scruffy-brown hair, slightly loose clothes colored blue and white, the shirt is white for the whole torso leading up to around the chest area, while the sleeves and big collar are blue, the pants themselves are entirely blue, with blue and white sneakers with an oval-shaped bump on the tops of both. He's also wearing this pair of orange goggles around his neck, but the strangest thing for them, is that the guy doesn't have his eyes open, completely closed, yet he's clearly not blind, maybe trained himself to do that.

"This young man here is Leonardo Watch, he may not look like it, he happens to be one of our best operatives, as you'll soon discover for yourselves. For the foreseeable future, Leonardo will be your acting supervisor, you'll get along very well with one another", said Klaus as the young man called Leo, for short, walks over to the group, and Rhys specifically, and smiled a bit.

"Hey there, you can just call me Leo for short", said Leo simply.

"Uh, I-I mean…nice to meet you Leo, it's a pleasure", said Rhys before Leo extends his hand before he could.

"The pleasure's mine actually Rhys, looking forward to knowing you all", said Leo as Rhys gladly reaches out and shakes his hand, and the others seem to be taking a liking to him already. When they finished, Leo quickly notices Sonic on Nora's lap.

"Oh hey, you found Sonic, I figured he was out messing around per usual", said Leo as Nora took notice as well.

"Wait, so you're Sonic's owner? Uh, I'm sorry for keeping him with me, I should've let him find his way back to you", said Nora as she looked down on Sonic, who quickly popped out and suddenly on Leo's shoulder. At first Nora seemed a bit upset, but then she spots Sonic making gestures between Leo and her, and Leo seemed to get what he was trying to say.

"Hey Nora, seems Sonic wants to stick with you for a while, I got no intention of stopping him, but if it's alright with you, he'll be more than happy", said Leo as Nora's eyes brightened with joy and shook her head in agreement before Leo tilted his head a bit to let Sonic go off, who happily pops out and back in Nora's lap, and she smiled bright and wide for a moment as she and Sonic cuddled a bit.

"Thank you so much! I promise to be careful with him", said Nora happily.

"No worries, besides I'm partnered up with you guys for a while, not like I won't see him a lot", said Leo.

"Yo Leo, no offense to the pro, but since you're watching over us for a while, got any idea where we can crash for the day?", asked Gandolfo.

"Well as a matter of fact, I already thought of a place. You guys are gonna stay at my place for about a week or two depending, at least until you find the right place that fits", said Leo as the group was a bit stunned for a second.

"I'm not so sure, we can't just move in with a senior agent just like that", said Jennifer.

"Sleepover? I'm in!", shouted Aiko as she raised her hand jokingly.

"Well, the thing is Leo, we appreciate the hospitality, but it's true, we don't wanna impose on you", said Rhys trying to be gracious.

"It's no trouble really, my place has more than enough space for you guys, so you'll be fine", said Leo as the others were a bit stuck here.

"Thanks but, I don't know-", then Rhys was quickly cut off by Jyoji.

"Dude let's take it! Our supervisor's nice enough to let us crash at his place for a bit, we should take this while we can!", shouted Jyoji with joy and confidence.

"Plus, the day's probably gonna go by fast, so we'll need a place to stay anyway", said Nora holding on to Sonic, and Rhys sees Aiko, Jennifer, and Gandolfo were in agreement with Nora and Jyoji, so Rhys is stuck with Leo and his offer.

"(sighs) Thanks Leo, we'll take you up on the offer", said Rhys with confidence afterward.

"Good to hear. Hey Klaus, hope you don't mind us heading out now, it's about ten in the morning but I don't wanna lose a lot of daylight", said Leo with a light smile while Klaus nods his head.

"I'll agree with that assessment Leonardo, have a safe trip back home, and as for you and your friends Rhys, we're once again glad to have you amongst us", said Klaus soundly, and Rhys agrees to that.

To be continued…

Story Voice Cast Part 1:

Aaron Dismuke: Leonardo Watch

Ian Sinclair: Zapp Renfro

Monica Rial: Sonic

Robbie Daymond: Rhys Jordan

Apphia Yu: Nora Ni Chorrain

Dallas Reid: Jyoji Nishi

Todd Haberkorn: Gandolfo Montini

Cristina Vee: Jennifer Amy Ford

Christine Marie Cabanos: Aiko Schmadel

Phil Parsons: Klaus Von Reinherz

J. Michael Tatum: Steven Alan Starphase

Stephanie Young: K.K.

Trina Nishimura: Chain Sumeragi

Francis Henry: Gilbert Frank Altstein

Mike McFarland: Deldro Brody

Orion Pitts: Dog Hummer

Ray Hurd: Patrick

Alexis Tipton: Neyka

Mark Stoddard: Blitz T. "Lucky" Abrams

Chris Wekhamp: Zed O'Brien

Jusin Cook: Daniel Law