"Mankind's greed has no ending... You continue to consume until even your host is laid waste. Is survival that important? ...So important you would trade it for the earth's destruction?" -Adam

"If people as a whole are consuming too much then maybe that's another disease we need to cure... but we can cure it!" -Derek Stiles

"Even if greed does motivate some men, it can never overshadow the compassion of others!" -Naomi Kimishima

MANKIND'S FIFTH GUILT

I woke up the next morning much like how I woke up previously. I was lying on top of the bed next to Shortstop. As I sat up, I could see that I was still wearing my lolita ensemble from the day before. Looking around more, I could tell we were no longer in the house that Madevery had put us in. This was a different room entirely.

The bed creaked as I moved, and I glanced over to see that the blonde had opened his eyes.

I smiled in his direction. "Light sleeper?"

"..Yeah." He said, sitting up.

"So, where are we? Do you know?" I asked, looking around.

"We're in my bedroom. Madevery must have brought us home last night."

We're in my bedroom.

I froze.

"You're joking, right?" But as I looked at his face, I could tell that Shortstop was not, in fact, joking. And as I glanced around, I realized that it did look like a boy's bedroom. I glanced down at the bed.

"I-I'm sorry!" I said quickly, scrambling off of his neatly made bed.

The blonde scoffed a bit. "It was fine, you don't have to make it weird."

"I-I wasn't!" I insisted, smoothing the skirt of my dress. I thought about how much Leslie would love to see me in this dress, then suddenly perked up. "Oh my gosh! Leslie! She must be wondering where I am!"

Shortstop reached over to the nightstand by his bedside. As he turned to me, I could see that my phone was in his hand.

I nodded a thanks to him and leaned over the bed, taking my cell phone from him.

As I examined my phone in my hands, I could see that I had several missed calls and texts from Leslie, my friends, and my sister.

"What's your address?" I asked Shortstop, turning to him as I opened up a text message to Leslie.

"1400 Sandcastle Circle." He answered, rising from the bed and stretching. "Meet me downstairs and I'll get you something to eat." He grabbed his silver hard hat from the nightstand and exited the bedroom.

"Alright, thank you!" I called after him before redirecting my attention back to my phone and crafting a text to Leslie.

"Hey, Leslie. Sorry if I worried you. I don't know how to explain where I went, but I'm at 1400 Sandcastle Circle now. I love you. Hera."

I found my shoes on the floor next to my side of the bed. As I put my shoes on, I felt weird about considering it "my" side of the bed when it wasn't even my bed. I shook my head and headed downstairs after Shortstop.

The house was big and beautifully decorated. Shortstop's bedroom must have been on the third floor, because I had to travel down two flights of stairs to get to the floor with the living room, dining area, and kitchen where I found the blonde.

"Where's your family?" I asked him as I approached the island counter in the kitchen.

The blonde slid his phone out of his back pocket, taking a look at it.

"It's Wednesday." He told me as he put the phone away. "My father's at work and my elder brother is at the high school, assuming he didn't try to skip."

I was curious about his mother, but didn't ask about her. I assumed there must have been a reason why he didn't mention her.

I turned my head to the sound of a key turning in the front door. I stood with bated breath, waiting to see who would walk into the house. Had Shortstop's father or brother come home early? Was it his mother? I was surprised to see that it was actually Sting.

Sting closed the door behind himself, then suddenly gazed up at me and froze. "Woah. I didn't expect to see you here." The raven haired boy had said to me.

"Neither was I." I said, giving him a look before gazing over at the blonde for an explanation on Sting's sudden arrival.

"Sting and Little Monster both have keys to the house." Shortstop said as he pulled some English muffins out of the toaster.

"Dude, did you go missing again?" Sting asked as he walked over to where Shortstop was in the kitchen. "And why's Hera here? You trying to one-up LM?"

Shortstop pointed a clean butterknife at Sting. "You know I prefer boys." He retracted the knife and began to spread butter over the English muffins. "Yes, Madevery took me away again. She brought Hera along this time."

I listened as Shortstop and Sting went back and forth, my earlier suspicions confirmed. This wasn't the first time that Madevery had brought Shortstop to.. Wherever we had been. It did, however, sound like this was the first time that she took someone along with him. I suddenly spoke up.

"Sting, what happened while we were gone?"

Sting turned to look at me. He bit his lip, and then said "The authorities have confirmed that the school was attacked by those Delphi bastards. They're back for another round."

Shortstop groaned irritably, which wasn't quite the response I would have expected for confirmed bioterrorism.

"But that's not all. Caduceus has also reported cases of a new disease showing up alongside GUILT. They're calling it "Akumu". That's all I know." Sting turned to me again. "You work at Caduceus or something, right? Can you find out more?"

My eyes met Shortstop's when Sting mentioned this "new" disease. We quickly broke this connection before he could notice. "I.. My volunteership at Caduceus has been terminated until further notice." I said, lowering my head.

I could tell that Sting felt bad for rubbing salt in fresh wounds without even looking at him.

"Just shut up and eat some breakfast." The blonde said, shoving a box of cereal towards his raven haired friend on his way to the table with the English muffins. He nodded for me to come join him, and I obeyed.

I sat perpendicular to Shortstop at the table, which was just below a window overlooking the front yard. As I sat down next to him, he offered me an English muffin. I accepted it gratefully.

Sting grabbed a ceramic bowl from the cupboard and a jug of milk from the fridge, joining us at the table shortly after grabbing a spoon and the box of cereal. "So. What did you two do at Birchwood?" He asked as he made himself a bowl of cereal right there at the table. Was "Birchwood" the place that Madevery had brought us to?

It must have been, because Shortstop responded with "None of your business." Sting almost choked on his cereal.

"Oh my god." Sting smirked smugly. "Little Monster's going to be so upset that you of all people stole his girlfriend." He threw his head back and laughed.

"I did not steal Hera from Elliot." The blonde insisted sternly, kicking Sting underneath the table.

"Oww!" Sting laughed. "You're so mean!"

"I'm not anyone's girlfriend!" I said quickly. "At least I don't think so." I blushed at the thought, and I felt a fluttering in my chest. Was it true that I was Little Monster's girlfriend? Or were we just friends? Before I could ponder it much more, my cell phone began to vibrate in my hands.

I gave my breakfast host a courteous nod before I picked up the call, holding my phone to my ear. "Hello?"

Leslie's voice filled my ear. "Hera! Sweetie, I've been so worried about you! Where did you go? We were starting to think that maybe you ran away, or worse! That you got kidnapped by Delphi."

"Leslie, I'm fine!" I insisted, smiling on the other end of the phone. "I don't know how to explain to you where I went, but.. Maybe the person that I was with can."

"There's something more, Hera." Leslie said to me, her voice faltering. "I think that you should come by Caduceus. Detective Buckley is here, and he'd like to talk to you."

"A-Alright." I furrowed my brow. "I'll try to be there soon. I love you, Leslie. Bye." As I hung up the phone, I could see that Sting and Shortstop were both staring at me, as if waiting to find out what my phone call entailed.

"I need to get to Caduceus after we finish breakfast." I said to the boys. "That detective wants to talk to me about something."

"We can eat the English muffins on the way. Sting, hurry up with the cereal or we're going to leave you behind."

"Alright, alright!" Sting put his arms up in a surrender. "Just give me like, five minutes."

Five minutes later, we journeyed out of the house and headed to Caduceus together.

"So, what did that detective want to talk to you about, anyways?" Sting asked, his arms behind his head much like what I would expect from Kimmy.

"I don't know." I said as we neared the hospital. "But, with the way Leslie faltered, I'm a little worried."

We entered Caduceus as a group, where the green haired nurse in question was waiting for us in the lobby.

"You brought friends." She smiled sadly. "The detective is waiting for you in conference room B, along with your other friends. You're going to want them around."

"Leslie?" It was clear in my voice that I was fearful. Leslie wasn't acting like herself. "You're coming with us, right?"

"Of course I am." Leslie said without hesitation, leaning down to hug me tight.

My anxiety grew as we approached conference room B, which was on that floor. As Leslie opened the door for me, I could see that Kimmy, Lilac, and Amanda were waiting there with the detective. I shuffled into the room with the boys, Leslie closing the door behind us.

"What's so serious that everyone's gathered here?" I asked Detective Buckley, trying to put on a strong facade that was quickly crumbling away.

"Miss Preston," Detective Buckley began. "When you came to me, you asked for an investigation into the Adrastos family, specifically Anastasia Adrastos. Can you tell us why that was?"

I furrowed my brow. I should be the one asking questions, not him! "Because I believe that Anastasia also has a lung bat that requires medical attention."

"And what lead you to believe that?"

I gave the detective an odd look. "Professor Blackwell's journal flat out stated that Anastasia became a Sinner for an Akumu Core when they implanted her with it."

"Miss Preston, we've reviewed the journal in question, and we've found that what you're saying isn't exactly true."

I was starting to get irritated. "What? But I'm sure it-"

"Nowhere in the journal does it mention multiple Akumu Sinners or multiple Akumu Cores."

My eyes widened a bit. This simple detail that I had overlooked made all of the difference in the world.

"Just.. Just what are you saying?" I demanded to know. But I already knew, and I think everyone else in the room was catching on, too.

"Young lady, there is only one Akumu Sinner, and nine years ago, she was known as Anastasia Adrastos. We're told that nine years ago is when your memories begin."

As I stood there dumbfounded, I felt my balance begin to leave my body.

Shortstop was closest to me, so he's the one that caught me as I stumbled.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia." The detective said to me. Even Kimmy has to understand by now. Everything began to go fuzzy.

All those things that Amanda read from the journal. All those things that happened to Anastasia. All those things happened to me.

"That's all we wanted to tell you. We believe most of the questions you may have can be answered by Professor Blackwell's journal." Detective Buckley nodded to me, stood up, and took his leave.

Shortstop gazed down at the bundle that was I in his arms before glancing to Leslie. "I'm going to move her somewhere where she can relax."

I had been clinging to his shirt weakly as he carried me out of the conference room and into one of the nearby lounges.

He laid me delicately across one of the couches, then sat on the floor with his back against said couch. Before I could ask anything, he began to to recite something to me.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:" He suddenly turned to face me, and grabbed one of my shaking hands.

"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

My rapid heartbeat began to slow down as I listened to him, and I realized that he was reciting Romeo and Juliet to me.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

Sting and Kimmy are ushered into the hallway by Amanda and Lilac. They saw us, then headed in our direction.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers, too?"

Quietly, they circled around us. Kimmy looked confused, Amanda had a romantic look in her eye. They dispersed into the surrounding couches and chairs, listening.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

I gazed around the lounge at our friends. They all seemed to be listening intently.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray: Grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged."

Amanda rose to her feet, coming over to where Shortstop and I were before bending down and reciting the next line for him.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took."

Shortstop reached up with his free hand, cupping Amanda's chin.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."

Shortstop's hand dropped from Amanda's chin, and I could tell that the recitation was over.

"Hera, how do you feel?" Amanda asked me.

"Don't you mean Anastasia?" My attention momentarily went over to Sting before I heard one of the chairs rock from Kimmy's side of the lounge.

There was Kimmy, standing menacingly with her fists at her sides. "We are not gonna start calling Hera by some dumb princess name now. Her name is Hera-" Kimmy brought one of her fists to her chest, splaying the other hand out in Lilac's face. "End of story!"

Sting shrunk back in his chair, eyes wide. "I didn't think you'd be so passionate about this, Kimmy."

"Of course I'm passionate about my friends!" Kimmy went over to Sting, looming over him. "I'd be the same way if someone said that your name isn't Sting, or that Shortstop's name isn't Shortstop!"

..

"Uh, Kimmy. My name isn't Shortstop." The blonde began. "It's just a nickname that Sting gave me."

"Whaaat?" Kimmy stared at the blonde, dumbfounded. "You mean your mom didn't name you Shortstop?"

"No, Kimmy.."

I lifted my hand to my mouth, giggling a bit. I could always count on my friends to make me feel better, especially Kimmy.

"Oh, hey! That reminds me." Kimmy suddenly perked up. "Lilac, do you still have that piece of paper that I asked you to hold onto? Can I have it?"

"Yeah, I still have it." Lilac rose to her feet and came closer to KImmy, reaching into her apron pocket. She handed Kimmy a small, folded up piece of paper.

I raised an eyebrow. "Kimmy, that's not like you to carry a piece of paper around. Is there a drawing on it or something?"

"Nah, some guy gave this piece of paper to me a few days ago and asked me to read it once all of us were together." Kimmy unfolded the piece of paper and held it in front of herself with two hands, smiling big.

" 'Sathanas - Wrath. Small demons grow into the devil ' ." Kimmy's face fell. "I don't get it."

As soon as Kimmy read "Sathanas" off of that piece of paper, a throbbing pain shot through my head. I groaned, wincing.

"Hera, what's wrong?" Amanda asked, leaning over me.

"That word.. I've heard it before.." I opened my eyes to their fullest. I suddenly felt a frantic fluttering in my chest. The bat, no, the Akumu Core, she was frantic. She was trying to tell me something.

I turned my head to the sound of footsteps coming our way. The first thing that I saw was a palatinate blue dress.

"What are all you doing out here?" Angie asked us. As she spoke, I notice that she was holding something under her arm. It looked like her father's journal.

"Hey, Angie! You're smart!" Kimmy began, holding the piece of paper with the strange text up to the nurse. "What's this mean?"

Angie took a moment to scan the text, silently mouthing the words as she read. As she finished, her olive eyes widened.

"Where did you find this?!" Angie demanded, a startled look in her eyes.

Kimmy lowered the paper, confused by Angie's outburst. "Some guy outside of Caduceus gave it to me a few days ago. Why, what's it mean?"

"This is Delphi's style of writing!" Angie proclaimed, suddenly gripping the journal in both hands. "And if Sathanas is what I think it is.." She cracked open the journal and began to rapidly flip through the pages.

"Wait! This is from those Dolphin guys?!" Kimmy cried out. The situation was too serious for anyone to correct her.

"I had a bad feeling about this.." Angie said as she closed the journal. "Sathanas is a strain of Akumu."

"Aww, man!" Kimmy held her head in her hands. "I totally thought that piece of paper was a voucher for a free surgery or something!"

"K-Kimmy, you didn't actually think that, did you?" I asked. Of course she did. This is Kimmy Circuit we're talking about.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. I'm going to tell the director right away." Angie took the piece of paper from Kimmy and hurried off.

"But who's the person who will become infected with Sathanas first?" Amanda wrung her hands together.

"I have a really bad feeling about this.." Shortstop closed his eyes for a moment. "Sting, when was the last time you spoke to Little Monster?" The blonde turned to his raven haired friend.

"A few days ago, why?" Sting responded. "Wait.. You don't think the "small demons" in that note was referring to.."

I immediately got out my phone and dialed for the brunette, just to put everyone's minds at ease. The phone rang for a bit, and when it was finally picked up, I heard a young girl's voice on the other end.

"Hello? Emily van Wieran speaking."

"Emily? You're Little Monster's sister? Uh, I mean, Elliot's sister? My name is Hera Preston. I..I went on a date with your brother a few days ago. Where is he right now? My friend says they haven't heard from him in a few days."

"You mean he isn't with you guys?" Emily sounded worried. "He hasn't been home in awhile, we just thought he was staying with Sting or Jacques."

"No, he's not with us. I just thought he was busy at home or something.." I answered.

"I.. I have to go. Thank you for calling." Emily then suddenly hung up.

I slowly lowered the phone. "His sister. She doesn't know where he is. She thought he was with us."

"So, what? He's missing?" Sting shrugged like he wasn't convinced.

"This doesn't bode well with that note Kimmy received.." Shortstop pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well I think we should go out looking for him!" Kimmy pumped her fist into the air.

"Kimmy, we don't even know where to start looking for him." I pointed out. "Besides, don't you think we should file a missing person's report?"

"No way, we don't want to disturb the police with this!" Kimmy said, and I was impressed that she used a word as big as "disturb". "Besides, they don't know him as well as we do! We have a better chance of finding him!"

"Kimmy, this is crazy." I said, turning away from her on the couch. "I mean, where are we even supposed to start looking? I don't think that-" As I turned back towards Kimmy, I realized that she wasn't there. "..Kimmy!"

"She's gone, Hera." Lilac sighed. "She's gone."

"I guess there's nothing we can do but wait for her to give up." I said. But deep down, I knew that Kimmy wasn't going to give up, because Little Monster was a friend.

"Amanda and I should probably go see what work Leslie has for us." Lilac shot an uncomfortable look in my direction since I wasn't a candy striper anymore.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." I said, my voice drooping a bit from the fact that I wouldn't be joining them. The girls lingered for a moment awkwardly before they vacated the lounge.

The raven and the blonde turned to me. "So, what are we supposed to do now?" Sting asked, putting his arms behind his head.

"You're both welcome to come back to my house and stay there until your parents want you back." Shortstop offered, eyeing me specifically. "Does that work with both of you?"

I smiled sheepishly, glad that the boys were including me in something since I couldn't be doing volunteer work with the girls.

"Yeah, that's fine with me." I grinned. "Thank you for the invitation."

That was how I ended up back at Sandcastle Circle while I waited for Leslie to get off of work.

As soon as we walked in the front door, we were greeted by a silver, long haired cat at our feet.

"Meeow."

"Hello, Reeba." The blonde bent down and picked the cat up, holding her to his chest. "Did you get fed enough while I was gone?"

I giggled. "I didn't think you were a cat person."

"He hates dogs. Poor Typhon gets no love!" Sting pushed past us and began to call out for the rottweiler.

Shortstop rolled his eyes. "I don't hate dogs. I just prefer cats."

"Meeeow." Reeba responded.

"Psssh.. What are cats even good for?" Sting laid out on one of the couches. "You can actually do stuff with dogs."

"Reeba's there when I'm not feeling well. Typhon just excitedly pounces on me and makes it worse." The blonde stated as he set the cat back down on the floor.

"Maybe you deserve to have it made worse." Sting grinned, watching as I suddenly came over to him and grabbed him by his shoes. "Hey, what gives?!"

"What's with you boys and putting your shoes on the furniture?" I scolded, pulling his shoes off and taking them over to the front door where they belonged.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sting leaned back, watching as I did the work for him.

I scoffed and went over towards Shortstop, and as I did, I heard Sting speak up.

"Hey, you guys.."

"NO, we're not going to rub your feet for you." I crossed my arms, my back to the boy.

"No, it's about Kimmy." With that, I turned around to face Sting.

"She sent me a text." Sting held up his phone, though I couldn't read what it said from where I was.

"What's it say?" I asked, coming over along with the blonde.

Sting retracted his phone and held it up to his ear as it began to vibrate in his hand. "Hello?" He asked, rather confused. He yanked the phone away from his ear, and even I could hear Kimmy yelling on the other end.

"Kimmy, Kimmy, calm down! I can't understand what you're saying." Sting clicked a button on the screen, putting the call on speaker.

"-ound this tunnel that smells a lot like Little Monster!" Kimmy squealed excitedly.

"Smells like him? How do you know what he smells like?" Sting inquired.

"Huh? You mean you guys can't smell it? He smells like some sort of coconut candy bar. You smell like burning rubber, Hera smells like rose water, Shortstop smells like blue hand saniti-"

"Hold on, what do you mean I smell like burning rubber?!" Sting shouted in agitation, then sighed. "Kimmy, just tell us where you are!"

"I'm at that place in the woods where we went paintballing! You guys are gonna come check out the tunnel with me, right?" Kimmy asked.

"I mean, I guess?" Sting asked, looking at us to see what we thought. "I still don't understand how you know what everyone smells like, but okay. I guess we'll be there." Sting probably thought we'd just be humoring Kimmy, but I knew better. Kimmy Circuit had the sharpest sense of smell out of anyone I'd ever known.

When we met with Kimmy, she was standing in a creek in front of a grated drainage tunnel. "You guys made it!" She cheered, throwing her hands into the air. "His scent goes into the tunnel." Kimmy smiled at us, putting her hands on the grate.

A shiver went down my spine. This was a drainage tunnel. That water travels through.

"There's a grate on it." Sting said, coming over to Kimmy and pulling on the grate. "I don't think we're getting in there, Kimmy."

"Sure we are!" Just when I thought we weren't going to have to go in the tunnel, Kimmy pulled on the grate and rolled it out of the way.

"..I guess we are going in." Shortstop said, stepping forward to inspect the drainage tunnel.

"I-It looks like it's dark in there, and we don't have any flashlights!" I said quickly, trying to make an excuse to not go in there.

The blonde gave me an odd look. "We have our phone flashlights."

"R-Right." I looked down at the grass.

"Hera? You don't need to be scared!" Kimmy grinned, running up to me. She grabbed my hands and forced me to look at her. "You have us with you."

I looked away, smiling a little bit. "Yeah, okay."

I lingered in the back in between the boys as we traveled the drainage tunnel. Kimmy and her sense of smell were in the lead.

We had been walking in a straight line for maybe ten minutes when we were suddenly presented with a choice: Continue straight or take a right down a path that looked like it had been dug out of the side of the original tunnel.

"His scent goes this way." Kimmy announced, leading us down the makeshift tunnel.

As we proceeded down it, the air seemed to change. It was heavier somehow. It became harder to breathe. For me, at least.

I squeaked as my face suddenly collided with Kimmy's back. "KImmy, why did you stop?" I asked, concerned.

Kimmy took a few steps back towards me, her hands over her nose. "I still smell him, but.. It smells awful this way! Like sickness."

"Sickness?" I asked, concerned. "You don't think he's already sick, do you?"

"I don't know." Kimmy groaned. "It's like, a whole bunch of different sicknesses."

My heart sank and the bat began to flutter in my chest. "You don't think.. That he's with Delphi?"

Kimmy suddenly furrowed her brow and ran forward. "Only one way to find out!"

"Kimmy, wait!" Sting cried out, running after her.

Shortstop turned to me in the near-darkness. "Shall we?"

I nodded, humming a bit, and we followed Kimmy and Sting into the darkness.

"I see light up ahead!" Kimmy called out, her voice muffled. She was right. There was light at the end of the tunnel. I heard heels clacking on the uneven floor as Kimmy ran on ahead.

I was hoping that when we reached the other side, we would be outside again. As I exited the tunnel with Shortstop. I realized that this wasn't the case. Yes, there was light at the end of the tunnel that seemed bright from a distance, but upon exiting said tunnel, I was disappointed to discover that we were in a dimly lit building of sorts.

The building did not smell good. It smelled like chemicals, even I could smell a bit of the sickness that Kimmy mentioned. She maintained the position of her hands over her nose, and even looked a little unwell.

"God, it smells awful in here!" Kimmy gagged. "My nose is getting overwhelmed!"

"Can you still smell Little Monster?" I asked, concerned.

"I don't know! I'm getting mixed signals!"

"But he's here though, right?" I squeaked.

"I don't see where else he could be." The blonde said. "My understanding is that the trail ends here."

"I guess we just start looking around then." I said, gazing around the inside of the building. "This is such a strange place. It looks like some kind of power plant."

I turned my head to the sound of footsteps and saw Sting walking towards a corridor to the right. I gazed at Shortstop and Kimmy before running after the raven haired boy.

"Sting, where are you going?" I asked as I ran up next to him.

"Exploring, looking for my friend." He said casually, shrugging.

"Alright, I guess we're following you, then." I said as Kimmy and Shortstop fell in behind us.

"Do you think there's anyone else here?" Kimmy asked, albeit muffled by her hands over her nose.

Almost immediately after she asked, there was the sound of footsteps and approaching voices. Sting froze.

"Shit! What do we do? Do we hide or-?!"

We had no time to react before two men wearing orange and black get-ups rounded the corner. There was something familiar about their outfits, but at the time, I did not know what it was. One of the men stopped dead, the other one stopping shortly after he followed his companion's gaze.

The two of them exchanged a look, then tried to look tough and size-up Sting and Shortstop. "Look, you kids shouldn't be here." The first one said.

"You shouldn't have an entrance to your organization connected to a drainage tunnel like it is." Shortstop responded, unintimidated.

The men stopped and gazed at each other, then one of them noticed me while the other mumbled "He got us there."

The first one pulled a walkie-talkie out of his pocket. "We got a Code Juno." He pushed down the talk button and spoke into the device. "I repeat, we got a Code Juno in the southwest wing."

"Code Juno.." The blonde repeated, bewildered. My own eyes widened when I suddenly realized what their code meant.

Kimmy removed her hands from her nose and sniffed the air to the best of her ability, suddenly going rigid. "They smell like those guys we fought when paintballing!"

Sting staggered back. "You're joking!" Rapid footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor from behind the two men.

"The pigtailed one is the most dangerous! Subdue her and capture Juno!" One of the men cried out as armored people with large guns ran up behind them.

"Shit, they have more firepower than us." The blonde grimaced.

We backed together into a tightly knit group as we were surrounded by people that I suspected were members of Delphi, which meant..

Kimmy had inadvertently lead us right into their base, or at least one of their bases.

Now, this could be both a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand, we knew their location and could report them to the authorities.

On the other hand, we might not make it out alive.

"So.. What do we do?" Sting asked as the people began to close in on us.

Shortstop gritted his teeth. "Either surrender or try to fight. But I think surrendering might be the best option, since it looks like those guns are-"

"Are you kidding me? We're gonna fight!" Kimmy cried out, rushing towards the front line of people holding guns.

"Kimmy!" I shrieked, for fear that she'd be shot at. I had no idea how Kimmy would fare against a gun.

"She's making a move! Fire!" One of the armored individuals shouted, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard something splice the air. I didn't want to see Kimmy get shot.

"Hey, what gives?!" Kimmy cried out, and I knew that she was okay. If she had a gunshot wound, I would have expected a different reaction. I opened my eyes to see a hypodermic needle sticking out of Kimmy's right shoulder.

"There aren't bullets in those guns, there's tranqs!" Sting called out moments before a tranquilizer pierced his neck. "W-What the.." His crimson eyes gazed widely at the hypodermic needle, and he began to stagger. "Y-You're kidding me.." In a matter of seconds, he went down.

"STING!" Kimmy roared, seething. "You bastards!" She drew her fist back for a punch, running at the armored people despite having been hit with a tranquilizer.

"It didn't work, hit her again!" Someone commanded as Kimmy uppercutted the jaw of an armored man.

Moments after she made her hit, Kimmy was hit with hypodermic needles all over her body. In her legs, in her neck, in her arms. Finally, she got a strong enough dose that even she began to go down.

Kimmy fell to her knees, grunting. "You're the bastards.. That hurt my friends.. And want Hera! I can smell it on you!"

She fell forward, placing some of her weight onto her hands. "I'm not.. Gonna let you bastards take her!"

"Sedate the other two and capture them! Keep Juno alive!" One of the two men we first encountered cried out.

"NO!" Kimmy roared, struggling to drag herself forward as Shortstop and I were hit with needles from the tranquilizer guns.

I felt woozy, much like how I felt when Detective Buckley had broke the news to me that I was Anastasia Adrastos.

I was unconscious before I even hit the ground.

It was my discomfort that caused me to stir later. It was so warm, I expected to wake up in Hawaii again. I moved to reach my hand up to my face, but failed. I immediately opened my eyes and turned to my right, seeing that my wrist was cuffed to the surface that I was leaning against. I checked my left wrist. It was also cuffed.

I gazed up, squinting as a bright light penetrated my vision. It was warm, very warm. By the smell of things, I was still in the building I had entered through the drainage tunnel.

I was restrained and rather hot. I began to panic internally, making my temperature rise.

"I'm surprised. You usually complain about being cold." Came a voice. The bat began to flutter in my chest.

Those words were the very same words she had said to me when I woke up nine years ago. That voice.. It almost sounded like hers, too.

I must be imagining things.

I turned my head to the left, following the sound of heels clacking in the darkness, getting closer. This figure that was approaching me was dressed almost entirely in black. As they approached the outskirts of the light beaming down on me, one thing, no, two things, popped out to me in a painfully agonizing way.

The eyes.

They looked just like her eyes. Somewhere between yellow and gold, an amber sort of color. They were her eyes.

My own eyes widened in horror. My mouth gaped with pathetic squeaks coming out, but no coherent sounds. I felt sick to my stomach. I clenched my hands into fists and tried to kick my legs, only to realize that they were cuffed, too.

"St-stay away from me!" I cried out, my mouth going dry.

This person that was coming towards me.. Their figure, their face, their eyes. Everything but the way they wore their hair and facial expression was identical to my mother.