The red cloud was starting to go away. At first, Alex considered simply going outside and slaughtering every living thing that had made any form of contact with the virus to stop it from spreading. He was about to go with that idea when his thoughts drifted to the warm evening about a week ago. He saw the little blonde girl staring up at him, crying and consumed by the fear that he was going to kill her. The insanely small spark of humanity inside of him ignited into a roaring fire. He ran over to the trick wall which was still open, and tossed his jewel into the arms of the almost catatonic red-haired Sekirei.

"Hold that," he said before running off. He sprinted all over the house, slamming shut any door or window that wasn't completely closed. He was determined to keep the Blacklight out of the huge house. After making a few rounds through the house to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he wound up in the front room. As he stood there, wondering what to do next, the front door opened and Miya walked into the house. She stopped as soon as her vision fell on Mercer, who also stared at her. The two deadliest beings in existence stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Alex broke off the electrical gaze when he quickly walked around Miya, and slammed the door shut.

"What are YOU doing here?" the landlady asked with a small disturbing smile. A demonic mask materialized behind her. Despite its horrific appearance, Alex felt no hint of fear as he turned his gaze to it.

The two of them were too busy being wary of one another to realize that the majority of the Inn's residents had been awakened by Mercer's ruckus, and were now standing across the room in a tight group looking at the two almost omnipotent warriors have a silent stand off. None of them wanted to get any closer, partly because of Miya's horrifying mask, and and also because of their immense fear of Mercer in general. The only residents who weren't standing in the room were Kusano, who was still peacefully slumbering in Miya's room, and Uzume who was still visiting Chiho in the hospital.

Before Alex could answer Miya's question, he felt the phone he had taken from Mikogami vibrating inside of him. He made it seep out of him in his left hand. He made sure to not be inturrupted by making his right arm into his viscous Blade. He answered the call.

"Alex, we have a huge problem," a now familiar voice said.

"You don't say, Takami," he responded in a voice that had a mixture of sarcasm, irritation and anger in it. He heard a gasp and looked over to see the Ashikabi of the North looking at him in awe. "Does MBI always release an unstoppable infectious disease that has no cure or a single method of treatment onto this place?" He didn't care at all that the group was listening to everything he said. They were going to find out sooner or later.

"No," Takami said in a defensive tone. "I didn't want this to happen at all. But Minaka and his crazy fantasies always makes everything take a turn for the worst."

Alex instantly grew an intense hatred for the Director. Minaka had just killed thousands of people, and ruined the lives of countless others, just to put on a show. "Where did he even GET Blacklight?"

"When you first arrived in the city, you left a small piece of yourself on that helicopter pilot."

Alex roughly face-palmed himself. "Fuck." He had forgotten that his Blade currently replaced his hand.

"Where are you?" Takami asked.

Alex stood in a confused silence for a moment, surprised to be asked such a random question. "I'm looking at your son if that helps."

"It does. Could you please leave where you are?"

"With pleasure." He hung up and put the phone into one of his pants pockets since he didn't like the feeling he got when it vibrated inside of him. He then made his Blade arm returm to normal. He turned his attention to the people in the room. Miya was gazing at him in total seriousness. Minato was still staring at him in shock, while all his Sekirei looked at their Ashikabi with concern in their eyes.

"Take this advice to heart," he said to them. "Unless you want to end up becoming a mindless living corpse or a hideously deformed monster, I suggest staying inside for a while." He put two fingers on his forehead and gave them all a casual salute. Turning on his heels, he opened the door, and quickly stepped outside and slammed it shut behind him.

"What's wrong Minato?" Musubi asked her Ashikabi, who was still in a daze.

"How on earth does he know my mom?" he asked both himself and everyone else.

Homura's eyes narrowed with anger and hatred. "This clinches it. Minaka HAS to die," he said in a strangely level-headed tone.

Miya stared at the door, considering running after Mercer. She initially thought that his so-called advice was just a way to scare them into leaving him alone so he could continue with his own devices without interruptions. But then she thought about the way he had said it. His voice had a very small hint of genuine concern in it.

"Why would HE want to help US?" she asked herself in a whisper she herself could barely hear.

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of Miya's room's door opening. Kusano walked into the room yawning and sleepily rubbing her eyes. She had a warm smile on her face, but when she saw the faces on her family members, she dropped it for a more worried look.

"What happened?" she asked. Even though she was a young child, she could easily tell by the cold atmosphere around her family, and the dark aura each of them was giving off, that something nearly traumatizing had just occurred.

"I don't really know," Miya answered without breaking her gaze on the door.

XXXXXX

"CURSE YOU MINAKAAAAAAAAA! I AM GONNA RIP YOUR FUCKING HEART RIGHT OUT OF YOUR CHEST AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR GODDAMN THROAT! THEN I'M GONNA SLICE YOU TO TINY BITS AND FORCE FEED YOU TO YOUR FUCKING DISCIPLINE SQUAD!" Alex shouted as loud as he could to the heavens with his arms raised above his tilted head. He was standing a far distance from his hospital safe house, but could easily tell that it had been turned into a Hive. Now it could only either produce more Blacklight, or be burned to the ground. He angrily pulled out his phone and dialed the number to reach Takami. His grip on the phone was so tight, he would shatter it to pieces with a minimal amount of more pressure. He heard her answer, but he said what was on his mind before she could speak.

"I am going to KILL him!"

"Who?" Takami asked with blatant concern. She feared he was referring to her son.

"Minaka! Who the fuck else?!"

She let out a relieved sigh. "That's fine by me. He NEEDS to die. When you make your move, you'll get zero resistance from me." Mercer was surprised that she was indifferent to, and even a little supportive of his death threats. His fiery anger died down. "I'm sorry you lost your makeshift home, but I think I can make it up to you."

"Oh really," Alex responded with an amused tone. "This outbreak is already moving and spreading faster than the first. This city is probably going to go straight to Hell. How you possibly make me feel better? And how the Hell did Minaka make so much of it so quickly?"

"There are things about this whole mess even I don't know about. But Minaka does. Even thought I've never looked through it, I know he periodically writes in a journal. And I'll bet that all sick and twisted thoughts he has are written down in it. I'm positive that if you can stomach reading it, you'll know absolutely everything."

Alex liked the sound of that. It was too good to be true, and he knew it. "And you're just going to hand it over to me out of the kindness of your heart?" She failed to answer. "That's what I thought. What do you want in return?"

She took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I only want you to... boost up a part of the promise you made."

"That sounds fair," he admitted. "What do you want me to do?"

She took in another deep breath. "I want you to watch over Minato."

Mercer's eyes grew as big as they could. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I want you to actively and openly protect my son. I want you to move into the Inn, and always keep an eye on him and insure his life isn't at risk."

"That last part is literally impossible with Blacklight involved. And as for the whole thing, do I look like a goddamn bodyguard or guardian angel?" He knew her request was completely fair, but still... Alex "Zeus" Mercer PROTECTING a human? He normally killed and consumed humans whenever he wanted to burn off some steam or was bored. He never made any second thoughts about his victims. After all, there were PLENTY of others waiting to take their places. The astronomical human population was an all-you-can-eat buffet to him.

"Alex, please. I'm asking... No. I am BEGGING you to help me. You're the only living thing in the world who survived this virus. You know how to fight and defeat the monsters it creates. I'm ready and willing to give you the exact thing you want, no questions asked and no catches."

Alex could hear her obvious concern for her son's safety. He thought back to the last time he was genuinely afraid for someone. He quickly shook his head to get back to the matter at hand, and thought deeply about her plea. The people living in the Inn she wanted him to call home was filled with Sekirei who hated him. He had come extremely close to killing three of them. He would have to constantly watch his back. He would also have to make sure Takami's insecure and indecisive son didn't get killed. At least until he got the journal. On the other hand, he would have a place to go to when he needed a break and didn't feel like aimlessly roaming the city. A possible home. He could also watch the Sekirei living there and compare their strength to his own. Then there was the journal. If Takami was telling the truth, which he believed she was since she wasn't stupid enough to try and trick him, he would know every single detail and secret surrounding the Sekirei. And the only thing they would know about him was his name and that he could end their lives effortlessly. None of them would be a threat at all.

His thoughts then drifted again, and a realization hit him.

"What about the girl?"

"You don't need to worry about Yukari. She's tougher than nails and exceedingly smart. I'll tell her about the virus, and she'll be more than able to take care of herself."

Alex silently agreed with her as he remembered the night he and Yukari first met. She had a Sekirei with her, and when he got close, Mercer felt like a septic tank inside. He again brought himself back to the issue at hand.

XXXXXX

Uzume was walking home with a skip in her step. She had just left the hospital, and the experts 'Higa' had hired to care for Chiho were already making her feel better. By the time Uzume was about to leave, Chiho was able to say good bye without a painful strain.

Knowing that her Ashikabi was feeling better and was getting the absolute best treatment there was put Uzume on Cloud Ten. As she rounded the wall surrounding the Inn, she stopped on a dime. There was Alex standing at the door. He looked like he wanted to knock, but his arms wouldn't obey him.

"Alex!" she happily called out and ran up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his upper stomach before he could even turn around.

At first, his entire body tensed up, but once he realized he wasn't being attacked he let himself relax, even though he felt uncomfortable and awkward with Uzume hugging him. He was used to people screaming and running away at the very mention of him.

"What are you doing here?" Uzume asked in a very cheerful voice.

Mercer let out a long sigh of defeat. "Are there any rooms available?"