Dlbn: I passed out last night before I could finish writing and post, so here we are a day late. I'll post again either later tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much I've got done of part four.

Nbld: We have five left after this one, so we gotta try to space it out evenly.

Dlbn: Though, to be technical, Day of the Dead is our second favorite holiday, so we could post up until that day, which is November 2 this year, but I really want to end it on Halloween. It's a bit of a tradition.

Nbld: Mostly depends on whether we can post tonight or not. We'll figure out that mess later. For now, Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Candy sugar skulls for you!

Promocat: It really does! Seimei found a Unit that knows how to use their power to their advantage. I'd hate to make an enemy out of them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and random nameless OC guards. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off this. I'm too broke to make money.

000

The school was engulfed in chaos. Guards were running to and fro to find intruders and usher students into their respective dorms or otherwise safe rooms of the school. Teachers were barking orders and directions to their classes to seclude them into a corner away from the doors and windows, or to escape to a larger safe area, such as training rooms and the gymnasium. Sirens blared their obnoxiously loud warnings as lights flashed and made it hard to determine what was reality and what wasn't. Nana's fingers flew across her keyboards, eyes darting between various screens of the security footage to find who was responsible for all this.

"Fires have broken out in sectors five and nine." She spoke into a headset perched over her ear. "Three lobby windows on the west side are blown open. Students are cowering in the hallways in sectors six and seven. Please be advised to approach with caution. They may lash out at anyone that gets too close. Be prepared to protect yourself from spells." She pulled up a facial recognition program on the computer and used it to scan the cowering kids. "They're all students. Get them to a safe spot. Has anyone got a visual on the culprit?"

"Negative. Sectors one, four, and eight have been cleared." A guard chirped into her ear through the headset.

"Sector three clear!" Another guard added in. "Moving onto sector five."

"Affirmative." The other guard responded.

"Is anyone at the old schoolhouse?" Nagisa wondered, pulling up the feeds from there as she spoke.

"I have units four and six on their way there now."

"Courtyards in sector five have been cleared, fires have been taken care of." A guard informed.

"We've arrived at the old schoolhouse." A guard cried out. "We need backup! Several windows are broken in and…"

"The entire west wing is on fire!" Nana's eyes widened as the feed came into focus. "Whoever did this, you find them now! Proceed with caution. They're clearly unafraid to burn."

"Power has been cut in sector six." A guard announced.

"Get all students and faculty into a more secure location." Nana ordered. "We need to be prepared to evacuate if necessary. We don't want the culprits to get away in the chaos. This is hunt and destroy mission. You have permission to use force from the Executioner."

"Yes, ma'am!" Several guards chirped back.

Nana continued flipping rapidly through security feeds. A bright red light lit up on her desk and started blaring louder than the rest of the school's system. She quickly stopped what she was doing and rushed to her feet. There was a tunnel entrance underneath the leftmost console. She dove for it, yanking it open and slipping inside. With seconds to spare, the tightened the latch to the room and rushed down the corridors underneath the school.

"Someone tried to get into my office. I've been compromised." She spoke into the headset. "Secure my office, ASAP!" She pulled a cell phone out and dialed quickly, putting it to her ear. "Ritsu!" She called. "Where is Septimal Moon? My office has been…"

"Kunugi is at the hospital with Nagisa, Mikado is attending one of her father's banquets, and Ritsuka should be at school back in Tokyo." Ritsu prattled off.

"And you?"

"I'm just outside the gates. I was on a trip into town when I got the notification from your alarm system." He stated. "The school won't last much longer if these people aren't found. The fires are dying down, but the chain lock on the front gate is broken clean off."

"I know, I know. I had to leave my office, so I have no idea what's going on. Didn't have time to grab my laptop."

The phone beeped and dropped the call. Nana cursed. This wasn't what she needed. She needed to be able to keep in contact with everyone and do her part in searching as well. She dialed another number instead.

"Seven, where are you?" One of the Zero boys-from the annoyed tone, it was probably Yoji-barked when he picked up the phone. "This place is a disaster zone…"

"I need you two to meet me at the underground entrance. I had to flee my office. You know where the entrance is, don't you?"

"Yeah, leads to the main lobby." Yoji answered. "Any idea who did this?"

"I know nothing without my computers." Nana replied. "I'm going into the rest of this blind. Just meet me in fifteen."

"Yeah."

They hung up and Nana dialed another number.

"Seven…? Why are you calling me?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Aoyagi, I need your assistance."

"Yeah…?"

"Can you get onto Wisdom Resurrection right now? Please, it's an emergency."

"Uh yeah, sure. Where am I going?"

"Enter sector seventeen, our private chat room. I need you to go in there and input a code. I'm running blind without my computers. I need you to access the security feeds and report to me what you see, okay?"

"I don't know if I can help, but I'll try." Ritsuka's end went silent for a good five minutes and, for a moment, Nana was worried the call dropped again. "Okay, I'm in."

"Okay, on your keyboard. Hit A, L, O, 1, 2, down, down, left, 4, 3, 0, 1."

"Okay…" A pause. "Wow, I can see the entire school on here…"

"The school has been compromised. I need you to look for anything suspicious, something that just doesn't seem like it belongs. Every camera field is labeled. I need the sector number and camera number if you find anything." Nana stated.

"Is everyone okay?" Ritsuka sounded panicked. "The school…so many fires…broken glass…everyone looks so scared…"

"How bad is the fire at the old schoolhouse?"

"There are still flames and smoke coming from the west wing."

"That's all? An improvement. Good. Do you see any fights anywhere?"

"No." A pause. "No, I don't see anything weird or out of the ordinary. No battles."

"My office. Sector one, camera 45." Nana spoke. "Is someone trying to break in?"

"Someone is inputting a code, but they have their hood up. I can't see who it is. Every time the door doesn't open, they hit the wall."

"Okay, so we're safe for now. Listen, I need you to click on the menu and switch to office view, okay?" She wondered.

"Okay?"

"I need those computers locked and shut down. You're going to go to menu, sub menu, encode."

"Okay…? I'm there."

"Input a six-digit code that only you would know. All numerical. Can be anything important to you that no one else can easily guess."

"Okay…done."

"Now hit enter and it will give you the option to either shut down or continue. I need you to choose shut down."

"Got it."

"Okay, menu, outside view." Nana directed. "Let me know when you see the same set up as you did earlier."

"I see it."

"Anything suspicious?"

"No…wait…Yoji and Natsuo are in the lobby talking to two people." Ritsuka's breath hitched. "Seven, wherever you're going, stay away. It's my brother and his Fighter."

"Soubi?"

"The other one. Soubi is back in Tokyo. Kio's seen him." Ritsuka responded. "Yoji and Natsuo can't take on Akame on their own. They'll kill them."

Nana pressed a button on her headset. "I need all available guards to report to the school lobby in sector one. We have a breach. Targets are Aoyagi Seimei and Akame Nisei of Beloved. Proceed with extreme caution. They're dangerous."

"Seven…they've started battling." Ritsuka seemed frightened. "They can't fight, they won't win. They won't know how badly they're being hurt until it's too late."

Seven felt a lump in her throat. If anything happened to Nagisa's precious Unit, she'd never forgive herself.

"Be advised that Zero has already engaged. Repeat, he intruders are Beloved and Zero has engaged."

She went back to the phone call and made a quick decision to head elsewhere. "Keep an eye on the fight. I have the guards making their way there now."

"There's no fight, Seven…they're just standing there, unmoving and staring. Oh god, Seimei's going to have Akame lynch them…"

"All available units report to the lobby now! We have a code 375." Nana barked. "Zero is in danger. I repeat, Zero is in danger. Get there and split it up now."

"There's a couple guards. They can't get into the battle zone…"

"Seven! The battle field is too strong. We're throwing all our spells at it, but we're limited." A guard spoke into the headset.

"God damn it, I need a stronger Unit…Loveless! See if you can contact Breathless. They should be able to break the barrier and get out of there."

"Seven…they'll be too late…"

From the typing Nana could hear on the phone, it seemed like Ritsuka was texting the other Unit anyway.

"Seven, this isn't good." One of the guards' voices came through her headset. "There's no battle, but something is happening."

"I recognize that spell. Seven, Zero is going to…my friends are…" The scream that ripped out of Ritsuka's mouth was something Nana never wanted to hear again.

"Loveless, what's happening! Loveless?"

"It's over…they're…" A guard paused. "Seven, its bloody…Zero doesn't stand a chance…"

"No, no, no! Get in there Stop the bleeding, do something!"

She got nothing but static on the headset and deafening silence from Ritsuka's end.

"Ritsuka? Guards? Someone answer me!"

"They're frozen in place…Seimei and Nisei are escaping…they'll kill more people, Seven…Yoji and Natsuo…they can't be saved…oh god…so much…Seven…"

"You listen to me well, Aoyagi! You know Zero as well as I do to know that they're not going to just die so easily, not at your brother's hands."

"I'm…I have to go…mother is calling…" Ritsuka gulped. "Seven…stop my brother…please…"

The phone went dead. Nana cursed and dialed another number.

"Nana-tan!" Nagisa cried out. "I can't get a hold of my baby Zeroes! Are they oaky? What's going on over there?"

"Beloved broke in…Nagisa…I'm so sorry…"

"Sorry…why…? No…no, no, no, no, no! They're…they're okay, right? My babies are…?"

"I'm sorry…you and Asitai need to get there ASAP. I don't think our nurses can…"

The phone went dead to the sound of Nagisa's sobs. Nana cursed and took a turn down another corridor. This was all her fault. If only her security system was better built, stronger. Sure, she went with a cute, simplistic design that was easy on the eyes, but at what cost?

At the end of the tunnel, Nana climbed a ladder to reach a latch at the top. After forcing it open, she emerged from the tunnels under the school into a far corner of the library that nobody visited due to its poor lighting and lack of anything worthwhile to look at or sit in. She quietly closed the hatch behind her and started making her way through the library. She heard footsteps and a creaking door and stopped. She hid behind a bookshelf as it became apparent that she wasn't alone. She stilled her breath, though her heart was beating out of her chest. If fighting the original Septimal Moon taught her anything, it was that patience and a jump on your enemy was the key to an easy victory, a safe escape. The footsteps went in the other direction and she let herself breathe. She continued to make her way through the vast library, cursing Ritsu's father for making it so large when he took over years ago. Her hand was about to grip the door handle when she heard a dark chuckling behind her.

"Ah, Nana. Predictable as always." A familiar voice spoke into her ear. "How good to see you again." A hand grabbed her and spun her around to face her companion in the darkness.

"Seimei." She gasped. "How did you get here so quickly?"

"Your footage is so easy to manipulate." Nisei informed, coming out from behind a bookshelf. "Where did you think we were? The lobby?"

Seimei chuckled. "That's what I wanted you to believe." He stated.

"You…you doctored the footage."

Nisei gave an annoyed wave. "Uh, hello? I'm the brains behind that activity, you know. Seimei can't do a damn thing with computers."

"Silence." Seimei ordered, making his Fighter shut his mouth.

"Then…Zero is…?"

"By the time Nagisa arrives, they'll be so far gone, even Kunugi can't bring them back." A smirk. "We found the brats as soon as we got to the school."

"But…the guards…saw…?"

"Friends of ours." Seimei chuckled. "Voiceless, perhaps you've heard of them?"

A unit whose specialty was faking voices. So, when she called Yoji on the phone, it wasn't really him, but…

"It wasn't Yoji on the phone…or my guards in my head set…"

"And once the performance was over, your real guards were free to stumble upon the ruins of what was left behind." Nisei laughed. "Of course, a nice little selective signal jam helped keep the guards away."

"You speak too much." Seimei complained, and Nana was reminded of what a sadistic prick the teen was. "Your guards can't do anything. It's too late for Nagisa's precious little Zeroes. Ritsu was easy to take down, didn't see it coming." A chuckle at his own dark humor. "And now you're hand delivering Nagisa to me. And, no doubt, Moonless won't be far behind once she finds out I'm here again."

"You…you set this up perfectly from the start…" Her heart was pounding and blood running cold as she clutched at her chest. "You got everyone here and…now…"

"You're the last piece." Seimei snapped his fingers, and Nisei reached out, clenching the air with a fist.

Her airway immediately felt constricted. She grabbed at her throat as if trying to remove whatever was cutting off her air.

"Pointless." Seimei taunted. "End it, Nisei."

"Eternal slumber, lay claim to this feeble mind."

She felt cloudiness taking over, saw darkness pressing into the corners of her vision. Everything she'd ever done to protect the school as all for naught. Zero was gone, Ritsu was gone, Moonless, Nagisa, and even Nana were about to be gone. The school was left unguarded, the faculty, staff, and students vulnerable for whatever the rest of Beloved's plot had to give them. Safe houses and dark corners were as useful as a flat tire. Nowhere was safe, no one was safe. She knew her time was coming as Seimei snapped his fingers and ordered end her.

The last thing she saw before the world went dark was Seimei's dark grin and Nisei's half-cocked smirk.

000

The world snapped back into focus as Nana woke herself gasping for air. She clawed at her throat, only to find it was no longer constricted. There was a slight buzzing in her temples that she associated with a lack of good sleep as she tried to get her breath back. She'd fallen asleep at her computers as usual. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in her own bed, in her own room. Instead, her nights were spent high on sugar and pumped full of caffeine and energy drinks, with glowing screens taking over her vision until exhaustion settled in. she looked around as the sound seemed to get worse, wondering if it was something else. She grabbed her phone, but it was dead, the red power light no longer blinking and the phone not responding to pressing the power button. Nana quickly hooked it to a charger and took a deep breath. When doing that a few times didn't work to stop the buzzing, she groaned. Nana grabbed a candy bar off the desk and tore into it, followed by a swig of an energy drink to top it off. The buzzing didn't go away. In fact, it almost seemed louder still. She stood, gripping the console for support. The buzzing was now more of a light screeching and was seriously inhibiting her ability to function and focus.

The bluenette sighed and popped a couple aspirin from a jar on the counter, hoping it would relieve the pain as she left the room to go to the cafeteria for a hot cup of coffee; her usual morning ritual. The halls were mostly empty, a clock here and there alerting her that it was about eight in the morning. Most students were either just waking up or were already in the cafeteria, which explained the empty hallways.

Eight was a pretty early wakeup, even for her. It wasn't like she slept much with her insomnia and everything, but when she did, it was deep, and it lasted quite a while. The buzzing was starting to grate on her nerves as she grabbed a cup of coffee and threw the money for it onto the counter. The workers would see it and know it was her handy work, since even if she didn't sleep, it was the first thing she did every morning. One of the friendlier workers sometimes met up with her in the morning, but they mostly had the coffee ready long before she emerged from the computer room.

"Ugh, my head…" She complained, one hand massaging her temples as the other held onto her steaming cup of coffee.

"What's wrong with it?" Yoji wondered. "Aside from the usual, that is."

Nana rolled her eyes. "My head just hurts…don't worry about it…do you hear some kind of buzzing?"

"Like a bee?" Natsuo wondered.

"More like an alarm."

"No." Yoji's neko ears twitched. "I don't hear anything but normal school crap."

"Mhm…" Nana took a sip of her coffee and walked past them.

Maybe it was just a severe migraine. If she couldn't cure it with caffeine, sugar, and medication, then she'd go to either Nagisa or the medical ward to get seen. As a last resort, she'd call Kunugi.

"Nana-tan!" Nagisa stalked up to her, looking too perky and too pissed off for the hour. "I'm glad I've found you. Have you seen my baby Zeroes anywhere? I need to speak with them. Little brats messed with my stuff…"

She shrugged. "Down by the cafeteria…" She replied. "Do you hear buzzing? Like an alarm?"

"No, I don't hear anything." Nagisa shook her head. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure." Nana responded. "My head keeps buzzing…"

"Well, go to the infirmary if you don't feel better within the hour!" Nagisa stalked past her towards the cafeteria.

Nana sighed. Oh Nagisa, always too wrapped up in her own head to see the world around her. No wonder Sanae was able to hide her true nature from her elder sister for all those years she was alive. The technician found her way back to the computer room and entered, the dim light inside being quite the contrast from the bright fluorescent lights of the hallways. She sat down and pulled a headset out from a drawer under one of the monitors. Maybe some work would make the buzzing go away.

"This is Seven in security. Status report." She greeted.

"Sector one is clear. The secretary is seated at front desk, and the doors have been unchained from last night's events." A guard answered.

"Sector two clear! Usual volumes of foot traffic. A group of birds is near the fountain, but nothing major beyond that." Another guard added.

The others went through, reporting each sector one by one.

"No unusual activity anywhere? A door left ajar, a window cracked just a bit too much?" Nana asked.

"Negative." A guard spoke. "Everything is fine and well at the school. Nothing odd, no one suspicious. Tis just as it was when we went to bed last night."

"Emphasis on we, since we know you never actually get to bed." Another guard joked.

"Oh ha-ha." Nana rolled her eyes, finding a bit of relief in her headache starting to subside. "Do any of you hear an alarm going off?"

"I'm in sector three near you. I don't hear any alarms, and I have nothing going off on my pager." A guard informed her. "Are you alright, Seven?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine."

It was near dead-silent in the room as the obnoxious buzzing went away. Nana put down her headset and pushed her chair back from her desk a little. She sat there staring at the screens, not sure what to make of the strangeness. She pulled out her phone and dialed a very familiar number.

"I'm in the library with Loveless, Seven." Ritsu's voice answered. "I'll call you back."

"No, Ritsu, this is important." Nana responded.

"…What is it…?"

"I've heard a strange, obnoxious buzzing all morning like an alarm was going off." Nana sighed. "No problems have been reported, and the guards haven't found anything out of the ordinary."

"An auditory hallucination. That's a new one." Ritsu spoke to someone off the phone, probably Ritsuka. "It was visual for me this morning."

"You…had a hallucination this morning?"

"Yeah, he thought I was Seimei." Ritsuka replied. "Sorry, he put you on speaker."

"That's alright." Nana typed on her computer to pull up the library feeds. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "I guess it's just remnants of a dream I had last night, that's all."

"A dream?" Both males repeated.

"Seven, come to the library, would you?" Ritsu wondered. "I think I'm onto something."

"Sure." She stood, going over to the hatch in the floor. "I'm taking the scenic route."

"And bring your laptop. I think I'm onto something."

She nodded, knowing he couldn't see it. "Alright, see you soon."

She hung up and grabbed one of the charged laptops from the dock under the table. Nana rubbed her temples.

"Hallucinations brought on by a bad dream…I wonder if there's something in the air…from the chemistry lab, probably…" Nana disappeared into the catacombs under the school, muttering to herself.

The loud clang of the hatch closing resonated in the dark, blue-lit room as Nana made her way down the path from her dreams.