Chu2 was fuming as she stomped through the woods. No one knew what to say to her. She didn't seem very approachable at the moment.
"Lock, did they hurt you?" Pareo asked, "I wouldn't really want to admit that in front of them if it was the case."
Rokka shook her head, "No. They didn't do anything to me."
"What are the red marks on your skin from then?" Chu2 demanded, her voice cutting through the air sharply.
"I... got stuck in vines... I climbed up a tree and then fell trying to jump and... I got really stuck." Rokka explained, "Ako helped me out."
"Which one was that?" Pareo asked.
"The purple-haired girl." Rokka responded, "She was really nice to me."
"How did the others treat you?" Chu2 questioned.
She didn't believe that Roselia hadn't hurt Rokka at all. She had it stuck in her head that something had to happened and she wasn't going to be easily convinced otherwise.
"Yukina was... cold. She didn't seem to really trust me much, but was fine as long as I was in sight. Um... Lisa was also nice to me." Rokka said, "Um... the blue-haired girl was also pretty cold..."
"Where did they put you?" Chu2 asked next.
"Chu2, I don't think they hurt her." Masuki cut in, "Nothing has given off that suspicion at all. Why do you continue?"
"You know why." Rei replied, "She wants a reason to declare war on Roselia."
"Which we have all agreed besides you is a horrible plan." Masuki stated, sending Chu2 a glare that she couldn't see.
"It'll get them out of our way." Chu2 huffed.
"Wouldn't it be better to work together?'" Rokka asked, "The more demons that can fight against the organization, the better. Right?"
"We don't need anyone else to help. Us five will take them down ourselves." Chu2 grumbled.
"What are we going to do after that?" Pareo asked.
Chu2 sighed, "I... haven't exactly figured that out."
"I think that should be your first priority." Masuki grumbled, "Figure out what the plan it before you start fights."
"I want to take control." Chu2 stated, "A new leader will be needed. I just don't know if that will work for us as easily as I'd like."
"I don't think any demon will want someone from the organization still taking over." Rei stated.
Chu2 simple huffed and refused to reply. Pareo moved up so she was walking directly beside Chu2. She was not acknowledged at all.
DIVIDER--
After a few hours of walking, they stopped at an empty hut. They had previously taken shelter in it for a while. They entered back into the hut. Everything was exactly as it had been left.
"Alright. We're going to show Roselia just who we are. There's a camp not too far from here, as long as they haven't moved. We can raid it." Chu2 said.
"Do we have any idea how many demons are there?" Pareo asked.
"There's quite a few, but I don't see it being a problem to us." Chu2 replied confidently.
"When do you want to attack?"
"Tomorrow morning. They'll be caught off guard." Chu2 said.
"What's your strategy for the attack?" Rei questioned.
"Charge in. No use sneaking around. Let's just take them by surprise and force." Chu2 replied.
"What are we doing till then?"
"We'll rest. Someone will need to be on watch for a bit." Chu2 said.
"I'll do it." Pareo volunteered.
"No." Chu2 shook her head, "I want to discuss more with you first. Rei, you take first shift."
"Alright." Rei shrugged and exited the hut.
Chu2 pulled Pareo into a separate room. They were whispering. If you stood near you could easily make out what they were saying.
Rokka quietly moved away and sat down against a wall. She heard a little bit of their conversation and decided she didn't want to continue listening to it.
Masuki walked over to her and sat down as well, "Do those marks hurt?"
Rokka shook her head, "No. They only hurt for a few minutes, thankfully."
"So, what do you think of Roselia after meeting them?"
Rokka thought about her answer. She certainly saw them in a different way now. Everyone was convinced they only cared about their group and that they wouldn't help outsiders. They were talked about as being extremely tough and cold.
"Well... they're nicer than the rumors state." Rokka said.
"How much nicer?" Masuki questioned.
"Well, I wasn't kicked out. Some may have always been glaring at me, but they never were mean."
"Do you think they'd team up with us if they were given the option to? Or, do you think they want to go solo like we are?" Masuki asked.
Rokka shrugged, "I can't tell... but I think they'd be open to it. At least, Ako seemed that way."
They fell into silence. They only sound they could hear was the talking.
"Um... do you believe we can do this alone?" Rokka hesitantly asked.
Masuki sighed at the question, "I don't really know."
"I'm scared... if I'm honest... I don't like how small our group is." Rokka whispered.
"We're the same size as Roselia."
"I don't really trust them either because of that."
"Yeah... knowing how the organization is, I do sometimes worry if we will be enough." Masuki said, "But, unless Chu2 will change her mind, we can't do much about it right now."
"Do you think she'll ever change her mind?" Rokka questioned with doubt.
"I don't know. She's stubborn. I feel something has to happen to show her more help is needed before she'll ever give in."
They silenced at Chu2 and Pareo exited the room. Chu2 walked over and stood in front of them. She didn't seem too happy.
"Masking, I haven't pressed much, but it's time to talk about your past. After discussing things, I feel we need to know more about what exactly they were up to." Chu2 stated, "I'll be asking Layer the same questions after you."
"How far in the past are we talking?" Masuki asked.
"A basic description of your life before they took you and then detailed information about everything they did to you, if you could please." Chu2 replied.
"Alright. I guess." Masuko shrugged, "I lived in a no allied town. We were outsiders with no groups who just lived together peacefully. Rei is from the same place. There wasn't much ever happening there, honestly. It was quite boring."
"You never belonged to a group?" Pareo asked in some shock, "I feel you'd be a prime member, same with Layer."
"I agree. Also, how many times have I told you to use our code names? We need our identity to stay secret." Chu2 sent a glare to both Masuki and Rokka.
"We're alone, Chu2." Rokka defended.
"I don't want to risk it." Chu2 grumbled, "Anyway, back on topic. How did they get you?"
"They held a selection. It was advertised as you were joining the organization. Think they said it was to help with researching something, but they wouldn't answer any questions in detail about it. It was suspicious as hell. Rei- Layer and I were selected along with a third. They ran and got promptly shot dead." Masuki continued. When sge corrected the name, she did it in a sinister tone, mocking Chu2 for it.
"So, they made you aware it was research, but not that you would be the one getting researched on. Not surprised they'd play a dirty trick like that, as unfortunate as that is." Chu2 sighed, "So, when did you find out the truth about the role?"
"We arrived at the lab. They acted like we were staff now, but then they let us go first always into rooms. One room, they shut the door behind and locked it. That was when we were told the truth about our roles." Masuki said, a slight growl in her voice.
"That's really mean..." Rokka commented, "Though... I have a question..."
"What is the question?"
"Why would they not take a prisoner to experiment on? Why a regular demon? It seems like a lot of extra steps..." Rokka explained.
"It does sound like a lot of extra effort, but I think I know why." Chu2 replied, "The prisoners often aren't in the best shape. They may not have had anyone healthy enough to use."
"Oh... that makes some sense." Rokka mumbled.
"So, what else can you tell us about their experiments?" Chu2 continued the questioning.
"Well, they kept us locked in that room for a few days. At some point, we had to rest. They put us in these weird containers once we did. They had different needles attached to us. They used them to insert any drugs they needed."
"Were you conscious throughout that?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what they planned to do?"
"Basically wanted to find a way to genetically modify demons to be way stronger than they should be. I don't know that I heard them discuss how to make sure the demons would be on their side, though."
"I see. I'm going to talk to Layer now." Chu2 exited the hut.
"So, are you stronger?" Pareo asked.
"I'd say yes, but there's setbacks. The extra strength is limited. It doesn't take much to tire out."
"They didn't find a way to fix that before you escaped?"
"No."
Masuki and Rei already had told them all about how they escaped from the lab. Rei had a crack in her tank and managed to use that to bust it open. With the new strength from the experiments, she was able to easily beat the demons and kill them. She opened Masuki's tank and they ran for it.
They were found by Chu2 in the forest outside the lab. She found them an hour after Lisa and Sayo's investigation. Until that point, Rei and Masuki had been just hanging around the lab, unsure what to really do.
DIVIDER--
When the morning came for the attack, they headed out. Chu2 lead them confidently through the forest. She had no doubt in her mind that they could easily win this fight. She had a lot of faith in them.
It wasn't too far of a journey before they found the group of demons. There were two guards at the entrance to the camp. Everyone else seemed to be resting in their makeshift homes. That was a good sign. They had hopefully more time to work with before they woke up.
"Alright. We charge on my count." Chu2 said.
They got into position. Chu2 counted down from five. When one was reached, they ran forward. The two guards were easily overwhelmed by them, but they had alerted the rest of the camp about the presence of the intruders.
Demons started coming out of their tents and launching themselves into the fight. There were a lot of them. A lot more than anticipated. This fight was not looking good. They were started to get overwhelmed.
Rokka skidded across the ground after a demon had attacked her. She wasn't able to get a grip and slammed into a tree. She struggled back to her feet. Thankfully, it seemed the demon had turned their attention to someone else.
Rokka took a moment to get her bearings. They were being swarmed by demons. There was no way they could win. They needed to retreat. So, why wasn't Chu2 calling for it?
Rokka found the answer quickly. She had been taken down. Pareo was trying to defend her, but there were too many for her to hold off alone. Rokka rushed toward them.
"Not so fast." She was cut off and knocked down.
There was a demon over her. Rokka gulped as she stared at them. They were blocking her from standing back up. She was scared. She was afraid this was going to be her end.
The demon struck. Rokka screamed in pain as claws sank deep into her flesh. She coughed up blood. This wasn't good. She needed to get out. If she couldn't get away she was done for. But, she could barely move.
Rokka felt them lining up another strike. This one was for her head. She couldn't move. She was laying in a pathetic heap just waiting for her death. Tears were falling down her face as she resigned to her fate. This was it. This was her end.
But, the strike didn't come. She heard something attack the demon. Rokka managed to push herself up again. She looked. An arrow had found it's way to the demon's head. Rokka looked around toward the direction the arrow should have come from.
There was a cloaked figure in a tree. They had a bow and arrow. The figure nodded to her and then took off. Rokka didn't have the time to think about that. She needed to see where everyone else was.
She looked at where Pareo and Chu2 had been. They were still there. Pareo was still holding her ground. Rokka couldn't run. She could only stumble her way toward them.
"Lock!" Pareo yelped as she saw her.
Rokka saw a demon charging for her. She froze in place. She gathered at much of her strength as she could and struck them. The blow sent them reeling back.
Rokka tried to run toward them again. This time, she made it. She was not in a good condition to fight, but she had to help.
"Lock... this is bad..." Pareo was crying.
"We need to retreat." Rokka replied.
"Don't think that's happening." A demon sneered as they struck.
Pareo blocked the blow, "Lock, take Chu2 and run."
"What about you?" Rokka didn't want to abandon her.
"Please. Go."
Rokka darted down and scooped Chu2 up into her arms. The extra weight sent waves of pain through her body. She ran as fast as she could out of the camp. It didn't seem like any demons followed them.
Rokka tried to navigate back to the hut, but it was hard. She was in pain. She could barely get her legs to move.
She stopped to catch her breath and set Chu2 down on a flat area of ground. Rokka was panting hard. Her wound was still bleeding. She was starting to feel lightheaded. There was no way she was getting back to the hut.
Rokka let out a choked sob. This was horrible. This was the last thing she ever wanted to happen. She was probably going to die. They had no medical supplies. She couldn't treat her wound herself. It was hopeless.
Rokka guessed the others either fled too or... met an unfortunate end. But, there was small part of her that hoped they'd be taken captive and not killed. At least then they had some chance of getting out alive.
Rokka suddenly had her vision blank out on her for a second. Her head started pounding. She collapsed to the ground. The last thing she heard was the sound of something coming toward them. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.