Samurai SEED

by AJ-Writer

Kira's a lowly ramen bar waiter in wartorn world. Thrust into an age of warriors where legends are made, Kira don a mask and found he's fighting not only against his enemies but also his very own demons. New chapter is up! PLEASE, PLEASE Read and Review!

64. Dance of Shadow and Light Part 4

Kira - Noir & Kage

Lacus - Hikari

Athrun - Rosso

Chapter 64

The Dance of Shadow and Light – Part 4:

The Rule of Anarchy

00000008 years earlier0000000

Too little too late… is the word.

When Lacus and Helena returned home crying, they only told them that Noir will return. But as to why this whole incident happened, they refused say anything, on the account they had promised the Judge. So everyone leave it at that… but everyone had their guesses… whether it ventured close to the truth or not is something they will dscover much later.

Madame Helga Hufflepuff was a kind and independent woman. She too had house elves in her house, yes, but she was among the kindest House Elves owners in the world. Her transfer of that one House Elf to Noir's service was an act kindness, not spite. Not for the poor Elf and most certainly not towards the man she owed her life to. Had she known that it would insult his personal sense of morals, she would never even think of giving him this… gift.

Too little too late.

When he returned to the mansion, Noir was… much calmer, as signified by the fact he returned in Bert form. But everyone was now visibly uneasy in his presence. Noir didn't wait for apology, he immediately opened the conversation with his own statement. "…I don't need to be a Judge or the help of an empathic Bicorn… to know that you mean well." He started as he turned to Helga. "I had… issues… with the idea of suffering a slave to be kept under my name. Let's keep it at that. So… how bout you at least explain… why do you wish to transfer this House Elf to me?"

Helga took a deep breath and start explaining. "I myself have House Elves in our family keep, helping us with our chores, caring for our family manor. And… I'll admit it, I do think them as servants. But… I find the idea of abusing them just because I can as revolting. I know I taught myself and my children this much: to respect them. To treat them well. And most importantly don't ask them do something you yourself won't or can't. I do take pride in this." Hugo nodded in the background in support.

"I know." Helga had shown the Judge that fact enough times.

"When I appropriated this house however… I find… an enormous number of Elves… all of them are in… horrible conditions. It easily reflects Guinevere's… loathsomeness. I do not approve of this. So… well… I tried. Guinevere had beaten this self flagellating habit into them as her idea of amusement apparently, it's not easy to… for the lack of better term, beat it out of them. But not only Guinevere is a terrible mistress, she's also a lazy one. There's a surplus number of Elves here – more elves than required to care for a house even this size. Apparently, Guinevere not only tasked them to do household chores, but also the most mundane of things. And she treated them all just as inhumane. There are so many… they're starting to get in the way. Many of them perceive even the most innocent remark as criticism and you're not the only one who find their self flagellating response on reflex to be disturbing: Children watched them, master Noir. It's getting too overwhelming for me… if I don't let some go, I dread the consequences. But I also realize I can't just let them go en masse. So I thought to myself… what if I gave one to someone I can trust, someone I know will treat them right. Someone who might really need the help." Helga sobbed. "B… But… I… If I had known-"

"You wouldn't." Noir sighed. "Because I've never told you. I'm sorry for my outburst… it was not my place to criticize." Noir took a deep breath. "…but if you really mean well for that Elf… call him. Bring him before me."

Helga clapped his hands, and the House Elf instantly puffed into existence magically right in front of Noir, ready to serve. But Noir didn't say a word… at first. In fact for some time, he engaged in some… staring contest. And he quickly surmised: "Honestly… how can you stand being naked in this weather…"

Godric, Hugo, Rowena, and Helga gulped.

"…can't give you clothes can't I? Don't run!"

The Elf was on the verge of bashing his head again. "Y… Yes, Master…!"

"It's not like we didn't try." Hugo admitted. "A while back, we took pity on our House Elves, so we left behind some socks or some well knitted sweaters in the alleyway for them to find… they left it untouched. At one time they even boycotted us, refusing to clean up our gardens for a week in protest! After that we just… don't know what to do anymore and we let them be."

"The point being… is that they can't be given actual functional clothes…" Noir thought about it. "Okay. Let's try this." Noir pulled out… a sack, a knife, and some rope. "You know what this is?" He asked the Elf.

"…it's… rug sack… knife… and rope, Master." The Elf named the object one by one.

"They're not clothes. Yes?"

"Y… Yes."

"I have no more use of it… so I'll throw it away." And he dropped it right in front of the Elf. "These are not clothes… these are garbage. And you're going to use this… and make yourself something to wear."

"No CLOTHES! NO CLOTHES! PLEASE DON'T SET ME FREE MASTER!"

"I'm NOT giving you clothes. I just gave you garbage. And this is an order: you're going to make yourself something to cover yourself with using these garbage."

"…" The Elf looked at these things before him in horror. The poor thing was conflicted between obeying his master or wearing what to him is essentially a badge of shame…

"I… Master Noir, I don't think it's wise to force him-" Godric was cut off.

"If he refuse, I'll set him free for real." Noir growled, and the Elf's eyes widened. "I never wanted a servant. I'm a servant enough as is, I will not suffer any to be kept. But more importantly, I'm an intelligent and civilized being. If I'm going to be served, let it be by a fellow intelligent and civilized being, NOT an animal." Noir spat darkly.

When it seems that the Elf will not do as he was ordered, Noir made a motion to leave in disgust… until…

Screeeach… snip, snip, slosh…

He turned around… and behold… the Elf had just finished tearing a hole in the sack for his head to pop out, and then he used that rope as a belt to fasten the whole thing.

"There… much… better." Noir nodded. "Do you have a name, Elf?"

"N… No… Master…" The Elf fidgeted.

Noir glared at the mages, and they shrugged. "We… never gave them any names, no. A~and… they never bothered picking one for themselves either."

"…what would you like to be called, Elf?"

"Elf… will do fine… master…"

"Well that's no good. There are probably hundreds of you out there. Need to know who I'm addressing when I give an order."

"…what… do you wish to call me… Master?"

Noir sighed in exasperation. Slowly, one step at a time… "…alright… I'll call you… Dobby."

"Dobby, master?"

"Yes. And one day… if you feel like to change it to a name that you do like, do let me know, then we'll see. But until that time, whenever I call your name, you will answer to that name. Dobby."

"Yes… Master." The newly named Dobby nodded.

"My second order for you… you will never debase or harm yourself ever again in any shape, way, or form. And… you're not allowed to intentionally get hurt by anyone or anything. Not without my express permission! And I forbid you to get hurt in secret! And… just in case, I won't let you make others do it for you as well! Not even your fellow elves!"

Dobby's jaw hung low… his new master really covered all the bases and all the loopholes. Especially that last one. "…I… yes, master."

"Good." Noir nodded. "Now. I'm getting hungry, and it's near midday. I think I'll cook. Consider it my apology. What have you in the larder, Madame?"

Noir's cheerful tone finally allowed everyone to breathe again. Helga also smiled. "I was planning to cook some beef bourguignon encroute and salmon stuffed cabbage. I do know you liked them. But we're out of fish."

"Fish duty. Got it. Dobby, with me."

The poor little creature tittered behind his new master. But before they get any further, Noir paused, and he exchanged awkward look with his new servant. "Dobby… climb on to my shoulder."

Dobby jaw dropped. "M… Master!?"

"What? You're small. Too small for me. I could step on you by mistake."

"Master Noir… umm… that could be problematic…?" Godric flabbergasted.

"Secondly, I need to keep watch on my surroundings. The Fidelius Charm weakened once I step out of the Shack. I need an extra pair of eyes to keep watch from high ground." Noir looked back at Dobby. "And thirdly… I… actually had a pretty poor sense of direction. And I always get lost. I want my fish for lunch not dinner. So… I need someone to guide me. Dobby, this is an order."

That was the final word. Dobby had no choice but to climb and perched himself on Noir's shoulder. Compared to Bert's huge form, he looked like a… an ugly emaciated monkey in a dirty dress.

The mages looked at each other awkwardly. Godric finally raised his hand. "In that case, Master, may I go with you as an escort?" He had a feeling this can cause a problem.

"…do as you will."

"This is going to be interesting…"The Bicorn swished in barely feigned amusement and followed in tow.

Godric was right to be worried. As soon as Bert and his new companion entered the streets, if stares can drill holes, there won't be anything left of them after the first city block. Everyone's watching. Everyone's looking at them in suspended disbelief. A clothed House Elf… perched on the shoulder of this giant Bert, obviously his master, with a Bicorn following behind, in case the former scene isn't jawdropping enough.

As Bert waltzed through the street, not a damn given to the attention, he can also feel new attention rising from the shadows. Familiar beady terrified eyes, previously unseen, unfelt… suddenly… they all pop out en masse to witness this… this thing unheard and unseen in the annals of all recorded history.

When Bert headed towards Lasbard's Fishmonger, the crowd dispersed in one instant. The fact Adray Lasbard was familiar with the source of the commotion is the only reason he did not join the rest of the crowd dropping their jaws. But his eyes still looked on in disbelief nonetheless.

"U… Umm… Master Bert… it's been a while! You… look well."

"Yes. Thank you. I'd like to buy some fish. You have any fresh salmon?"

"S… Sure."

As this happen, Godric also noticed time is running out. Several audiences had finally recovered from their shock and run. And he knew well enough who they'll call.

When Noir departed with several fishes in hand, trouble comes. A pair of Wardens had arrived to confirm that the garbled panicked reports were true: some half sane lunatic is walking in the street looking for trouble.

And of all the half sane lunatic in this land, it had to be this one.

They all shot a deathglare at the warden already present in the scene and yet did nothing. Godric, in return, shot them back a look that says: do something about it yourself… if you can.

"Uummm…" The Warden cleared his throat. "Umm… Okay… Sir, all due respect, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm buying fish. For lunch." Bert shoved the salmons in his hand while Dobby hid behind his bulbous head.

"You're creating a commotion!" the Wardens gestured at this crowd watching this scene with balking interest.

"Commotion. How so?" And the only one who didn't give a damn about all this showed he had no remorse either.

"How…? Do you even know what's on your shoulder?"

"A House Elf. My House Elf… apparently."

"'Apparently…?' He's your servant… even though he's already clothed?"

Dobby squirmed behind Bert's head. "I didn't give him clothes. I gave him some garbage then he made his own clothes out of it. And he wears them. Under my orders."

"Y… You ordered your Elf to shame himself!?"

"I ordered my elf to prove himself to me that he's a well mannered, civilized, and an intelligent life form fit to serve a fellow civilized and intelligent life form. And you call that shame!? He would bring me an even greater shame if I'm caught dead with a half naked Elf loitering behind me like a malnourished pet animal!" Noir spared no effort to make sure his blatant contempt for the concept is heard loud and clear… to as many ears as possible.

"…sir… I'm gonna have to bring you in-"

"For what? Show me the law that says I can't order my House Elf to do what I asked him to: I'm buying some fishes for lunch, I'm on my way home, and I asked my House Elf to climb over my shoulder so that he can direct me home, on account that he's pretty small and I have a pretty poor sense of direction. Now tell me what part of that is breaking which law, then you can arrest me."

The Wardens were speechless. They looked at each other and finally part way to let the giant center of attention pass… and continue draw as much attention as he went.

"You guys are just Un-fucking-believable." Noir shook his head and walked away.

One of the wardens finally had it. "What is wrong with you!?"

"Excuse me?" Noir turned around. "What is wrong with me?"

The Warden flinched. As soon as the Judge turned towards him, He almost regrets raising his voice… but then: "Look… maybe in Aprillus you think you're some kind of hotshot! But this is Februarius! Things are different here!"

"So I noticed."

"…maybe for you Aprillians we Februarians are like Country Bumpkins! But that doesn't mean you can… trounce around acting like you own the place just because you used to live in the Capital!"

"Okay? And?"

"And…!? And… and you keep treating us like… we're beneath you! Just because you have the favor of the Elf Queen and… and… some… some!" The Bicorn sensed his Queen was about to be slighted and his glare made sure the impudent wardens watched their very next words, very carefully.

"…I had the favor of the Elf Queen because she's smart, and she actually pays attention. The Alicorn Queen gave me the honor of her favor even though I've only been working for her for… less than a month… because I gave her results. You Februarians had known her and worked with her kind for 200 years… what do you guys have to show for it? She still kept secrets from you. Even felt reluctant to ask for your help, even when her people are being butchered. I really wonder why." Noir shook his head. "And treating you all to be beneath me…? I'm sorry… but you boys are making it… SO~o easy. I didn't even have to try."

"What!?"

"You're boys playing dress up as Wardens. Beneath me? you guys can't even remember the basic 101 of Law Enforcements Field Duty." Noir suddenly transformed to his armored form and in a blink of an eye, he materialized right in front of one of the wardens. And he grabbed their black robe and batted them up, revealing their waist… which is carrying… nothing. Not even a wand. And then there's that belly bursting past their belts. "Look at you. You're not even armed. Were you expecting to arrest me with words? And that ass bursting past your donut stuffed belly. How often have you skipped training!? Even comparing you with the most inept Warden in Aprillus is… being too kind. This place is different than Aprillus? Damn right. None of you will last three days in Aprillus."

At this point, with this much verbal beatdown, the Wardens' faces were red with fury, and for a moment, it seems like Noir was daring them to punch him… but they merely scoffed and walked away, fuming but defeated.

Noir shook his head in disappointment. "This is pathetic… and disconcerting."

"…don't you think you're a bit too harsh, Master Noir?"

"Don't pat yourself in the back yet, Godric. The fact you're more well armed and equipped than those two jokers doesn't make you any better." Noir looked at Godric. "My criticism applies to you too, I'm afraid. And I had to be harsh. 24 of Aprillus most wanted that I've hunted for years all came to this place to hide. Your three laws were uselessly outdated and you people are still clinging on to it. This country is weak, and in your ignorance, the criminal scum are… milking your incompetence for all their worth."

To his credit, Godric was able to accept the harsh words with an open mind ready and eager to improve oneself, recognizing it as the Judge's earnest advice. "Master… do you think… we can be better? Like… I don't know… become more like… you… like a Judge?"

Noir turned to Godric… "…I believe that Judges and Wardens are two very different apparatus of the Law. Wardens deal with the usual and the day to day cases. We Judges were trained to deal with the… weird ones. The more extreme ones that demanded our full attention…to the exclusion of day to day cases. Judges needs Wardens to deal with these day to day cases that kept the society running so that we can focus on those extremes. For a city in our society to function properly, these two elements had to work together."

"So you're saying if we had the same training, same experience… we could do what you do?"

"…no." Noir shook his head. "Training can only help you so far… It takes a certain kind of… quality to be a Judge. I don't see that in you. In any of you."

"What kind of quality? Intelligence-"

"Intelligence you can get anywhere. We're Advanced. It's a given. No. You need… a certain level of Insanity." Noir answered short. "To be insane… but stay sane enough… to understand just how insane you are. Not an easy quality to find in a decent person, I assure you."

"Is Aprillus really that bad?"

"…the problem with Aprillus… is that sometimes, more often than not really, Judges had to work far beyond our station because we can't even trust the Wardens. In here… is not that I can't trust the Wardens… I mean… I trust you." Godric smiled shyly. "But your problem is… the problem with Februarian Wardens in general… You've been molly coddled in a false sense of security by those so called infallible three laws for far too long. You've… lost something. The… constant vigilance. The compulsory wariness that should've come as a prerequisite for your post. You're supposed to be alert of any possible crisis that may arise in a moments' notice… and I don't sense that in any of you."

"…you think we can fix this?"

"Better late than never, I guess?"

Godric smiled lightly and Noir merely shrugged.

The next thing they know: a loud noise, a hot wind and a massive shockwave surged and send everyone flying. Noir was pretty sure a trash can next to him just exploded in a ball of fire before the shockwave slammed him right in the face and he subsequently lost consciousness. When he came to again, he's on the ground with pebbles and dirt raining down on his masked face, ears ringing, and as soon as the heat stop singing his senses, the pain will wrack his whole bruised body. He can barely make out the shape of Dobby's little finger, thumping his face in his attempt to shake him awake. He can then see the poor creature's terror wracked face, and though he's still partially deaf, he can read his lips to know he's shouting at his master to wake up.

"I'm fine Dobby." He know he said the word, he just couldn't hear himself speak. Noir start first by looking at himself: still two arms, two legs, two ears, two eyes, his Bert suit is now in its Titanbane configuration, but his mask… cracked. A good chunk shattered right over his right eye, the slit revealing a sliver of his cheek and his purple eye. Then he looked around…

Then he found out why he wasn't injured as bad. Godric's body lay next to him, scarred allover from where the blast hit him when he shielded him with his body. "Godric…" Noir choked the name. He can start hearing himself speak. In fact… he can start hearing just fine. In particular, the screams and cries of horror start flowing in. Just the kind of chaos you'd expect when someone terrorist bombed a public street. Noir nevertheless focused on the now. He rolled down Godric's body. When he turned his chest up, Godric coughed the soot out of his throat and heaved to take in air into his parched lungs, proof he's very much alive, albeit singed. But he won't be standing up any time soon.

Noir sighed in relief. "Dobby, watch over him."

With trembling limbs, Noir managed to get back up on his feet. About 20 feet away from where he had been sent flying, there's this smoking crater. And there are also bodies. Intact or otherwise.

Dealing with terrorist bombing 101: First: don't panic. That's exactly what the terrorist wants. Second: open your eyes past the horror and look at your surroundings for anyone suspicious. Third: be wary, there might be follow up.

Noir scampered across the ruin towards the crater as close as possible, looking wildly at the scene, his trained eyes took in all the information he can get from this situation, searching for the most infinitesimal clue. Then he found it. And now he knew who did this.

Just then, he heard galloping sound, the Bicorn had rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"

"I… I'm not sure anymore."

Noir stood there in silence, in the middle of all this chaos and horror… and there he stood.

0000000-8 years later-0000000

0000000-LACUS-0000000

What the hell is going on!?

That was the question that bombarded the minds of the Takeuchi twins at this moment.

Just a moment ago they were wondering just what kind of torture the 13th would devise to get that Witch Doctor to talk…

Now… suddenly, they're being chased by the whole city.

Like… LITERALLY… the whole damn city: 7th division, 10th division, 9th, 11th, 12th… the navy, the army, the Yakuzas, the Mob, the Triad… even the 13th are also out for their blood!? What the HELL!?

Once they've heard their Leader is also under Hikari's custody, the Tools Toul To girls turned against the twins in a heartbeat. Aided by the 7th and their allies, the rest of their Squadron was captured, leaving just the two of them left.

"Come on guys, this isn't funny!"

"You damn right it isn't!" Neil grunted as he brandished his spear. "Kidnapping a royalty is never funny."

"WHAT!? What are you blabbing about!? Since when it's OUR FAULT!? Your Doctor kidnapped her, she said it herself!"

"True. She admitted it herself. She also openly admitted that things had gone sideways in the worst way possible. She was being honest… which is more than what I can say for what you two had done." In a rare sight, a 13th division Inquisitor actually stood side by side with soldiers from another division. "You didn't tell us the Important Personage she had taken was the Empress. You knew where she kept them, again you didn't tell us. What else are you hiding!?"

"That doesn't make sense!" Nike growled. "If we kidnapped the Empress why on earth would we report to you about it?"

"You tell me, sir. Insofar, your incomplete report had caused us to waste valuable time. The Empress now only had… 10 minutes left before she dies!"

"WHAT!? Where did THAT come from!? And you pin it on US!?" Nike gasped. "We don't know anything about this!"

"Safe it for the Interrogation! You will submit to my authority and tell us where you hid that Sphere!"

"And where would we hide something THAT big you moron!? We don't even know that thing can be moved!"

"Regardless, until a moment ago, you're the only person in the entire city who really knew what's in it. You had a grudge against that Doctor for getting in your way, hence you reported her to us. The Doctor was trying to clear her guilt by trying to show the sphere to us and now it's gone. You're the only one who would gain from this. Do you think we don't know about your side job as the Eunuch's henchmen? You've kept us busy with your halfhearted report while you absconded with your prize. We don't care whose fault this is. You, and that doctor will surrender for questioning!"

Nike gritted his teeth in rage. The 13th, more than anyone, would know the issue between the Empress and the Eunuchs. Of course they also knew they have to keep their mouth shut. But because they had publicly shown to have arrested the Empress' kidnapper, they have to make a public show that they care for her survival. And whatever it is that Doctor whispered to their ears, it put some zeal into the 13th. So he and his brother are now the Scapegoat. "Brother… say something! Brother…!?"

Sora… had been suspiciously quiet throughout. Rather… he's constantly caressing his cheek… actually, he's scratching it. Viciously. That small scratch he got when tussling with the Witch Doctor… he kept saying it itches… doesn't mean much… but… It's been annoying him to no end. He kept scratching it whenever he think no one's watching, reopening the wound… worsening it… it started off a scratch, now it grew increasingly visible. "Stupid witch… she must've poisoned that blade…"

Poison? Nothing. I would never do that.

"Hrgh?!" Sora jerked in shock. He can hear her voice in her head?

You really should stop scratching. You're making the wound worse.

"What… where are you!?" Sora frantically looked around… they're surrounded by hostile soldiers, but not one of them is her. "Where are you!?"

Save your breaths, I'm not even there.

"Get out of my head, Witch!"

I'm not even in your head.

Needless to say, everyone's eyes are on him. What's with him muttering and whispering to thin air, constantly scratching his cheek so vigorously, completely ignoring everyone and everything else. To the other onlookers, Sora's erratic behavior and barely understood babbling made him look mighty suspicious.

"Stop playing around and surrender, Takeuchi Sora!"

"My brother has been unwell for a while!" Nike growled. "That witch must've… jinxed him or something!"

"Is this the same 'unwell' you said to us when your brother faked his crippled legs?" The Inquisitor was unsympathetic. "Yeah. I know the story. You kept pretending you were wheel chair bound for years to skip missions, and then one day they're 'miraculously' healed. Is this that same 'unwell'?"

Ouch… your lies are coming back to bite you!

Sora grunted as Lacus' taunting sing song voice kept buzzing in his ears. "You… bitch…!"

Let me help you out of this!

And all the sudden, Sora starts screaming. That scratch on his cheek began to… boil. It swelled… until a bubble is formed… until everyone can see this bubbling lump of flesh puffing out of his cheek.

"What…"

Sora screeched… his bubbling cheek is bursting. The pain, the itch… it's overwhelming! "STOOOOOPP!"

He yelled…

But when he yelled, another voice blasted out of his throat together with his own. It amplified his scream to unworldly level. The surrounding soldiers felt the voice slammed against their faces like a wall slammed against their whole body, the shockwave sent them all flying. Even Neil was thrown off his feet; it really caught him off guard. Only Nike was strangely unharmed, even though he was right at the center of the blast range.

But seeing all this knocked out soldiers… Nike looked in horror at his brother. "Sora… what have you done?"

"That witch…" Sora rubbed the no longer itching scar on his cheek with renewed sense of disgust. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?"

The same thing you did to Ikki Minami. That's his name, yes? Simca told me all about it. Poor kid.

Again… her bodiless voice, mocking him… taunting him…

You lend him your powers… then you lied to him… betrayed him. Now I did the same to you. I just gave you a sample, a facet of my powers. Have fun with it… while you can. IF you can.

And the innocent but mocking voice went silent. Sora gawked… he cursed under his breath… but then… what supposed to be a mere whisper turned into an echoing yell. A voice so strong it blasted Nike back by a step. That witch wasn't joking… his voice now became needlessly LOUD.

Pure blooded Clynes start developing their sound based abilities from as early as 3 year old. Their ears start catching all kinds of sounds, from the faintest to the loudest… from hundreds of meters away. VERY distressing to the child. Followed shortly after their hearing, their voice quickly developed. As if to react to this unbearable noise that drowned even their own voice, the Clynes' voice grew excessively loud as well to overcome the cacophony. At that time… childhood is a very distressing period of life. It takes a great amount of discipline and training at very early age to control this unbridled force. This training can take up to 2-3 solitary years in a specially prepared isolation chambers. Nearing the end of this isolation period it is also around the time all Clynes start developing the advanced ability to control and manipulate other sounds and voices beyond their own. No one is still quite sure how… a testament to the mystical strength of the Old One's blood in their veins. But this advanced ability was discovered and refined even further by the legendary matriarch of the Clynes, one of the first Hakutenkuns, Lorelei Clyne, when she aided George of Glenn founding the Zaft Empire centuries back. She was the one who developed various techniques of the Sound Warfare… which was passed down and used by the Clynes today: the Soundless Bubble, the Silent Sonata, the Echo Seed, Lion's Roar, Siren's Gift, Banshee's Curse… and so much more.

Now, using one of these teachings, specifically, the Banshee's Curse, Lacus planted this 'curse' on the scar on Sora's face. It's a small grain sized ball of condensed sound, packed full with decibels of her screaming voice. It resonates with Sora's voice… every time he raised his voice; the seed will amplify it to… troublesome volumes. Lacus gave just a smidgen of her voice to Sora. An annoying hassle she had to endure when she was but 3 years old. To her credit, Lacus's isolation lasted only a year once she mastered her voice. Her sister took 2 years longer with her help. Can a Natural master it? Well…

"YOU BITCH!"

Judging by this uncontrollably loud curses hollering in the street drawing whole city full of killers towards it, Lacus will go with a solid 'NO'.

That blast, shout, or whatever it was… it knocked those assailants unconscious… but… that was it. Now the agents of the 13th Division will think he's secretly some kind of an Advanced sleeper agent. Sora had enough discipline at least, to keep his mouth shut. He communicates with Nike with hand signs and written memos. What do you think?

"They said the Empress will die in 10 minutes, we're now… down to 8! And we can't call anyone for help!"

Doesn't matter. Killing her was always our mission. This Doctor went ahead and did it for us. After 8 minutes she's dead. The doctor and the 13th will take all the blame. We just need to survive for 8 minutes.

"Right. We had some safe houses… shall we go?"

Sora nodded.

That safe house is located in a small narrow gangway. Inconspicuous. Hidden. Safe. The only way in is a small door carefully concealed in the shadows. Inside, there will be enough supply and equipment to last them a while. Another 5 minutes and this nightmare will be over…

When they opened the door… they jawdropped.

Because their nightmare had just began.

The Shut In Heaven Sphere is there… and so is an army of Inquisitors, one of the Juppongatana named Setsuna… and the Doctor is also there.

"Welcome. (koff) We've been expecting you! (koff)"

And the hostile troopers cocked their rifle to convince them not to run.

The twins had no choice. These troopers are 13th… yet they somehow obeyed the Doctor. However it was. They harried the twins towards the sphere.

"We have 5 minutes. Clock's ticking. Let's go."

"You need… us?" Nike blinked.

"I need the both of you to undo this spell. Twin Null Children are extremely rare. When alone, their Null powers are weak… but when together… it's amplified exponentially. That's how you were able to tear through my spells."

"We've tried undoing this spell of yours together witch! It didn't work!"

"Because you didn't understand it. This Sphere is a combination of Arcane Magic and Ninjutsu. Your powers can nullify half a structure. But to completely undo it, the ninjutsu half had to be neutralized as well."

"ENOUGH! Clock is ticking!"

"Come."

The twins were dragged before the sphere. They looked at each other, then to the Witch, who simply nodded. The twin had no choice. They approached the sphere and stretched out their hands. Likewise, Hikari also approached the sphere and placed her armored hand, right inbetween the twin's hands. She brushed Nike's.

"D… DON'T TOUCH ME!" Nike was on the verge of punching Lacus, but stopped immediately when he heard menacing cocking sound in the air.

"Can't help it. Your hand is very big!" Lacus chuckled.

"Grrggh!"

"We push our hands together on 3. Ready? 1… 2… 3… Kai!"

The three hands simply pushed together… and like a balloon, the sphere popped…

…unleashing at least a million albino king cobras to every direction.

"Now, now, don't worry. This is just its final defensive measures when the sphere is forcibly collapsed from the outside. These King Cobras are quite harmless. There's just like… a lot of them. That's not gonna be a problem, I think?"

Unfortunately, due to the panic caused when a million king cobras the size of a cannon shell jumping and slithering right to their faces, no one had the wit to listen to Lacus' pithy explanation.

"Get em off me, get em off me!" "AAHH! IT'S IN MY TROUSERS!" "SHOOO! SHOOO!" "GEF OUF OF MA MOUFF!" "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The panicked soldiers and troopers tried to swat the sudden flood of creepy crawlies, but they are everywhere! On the ground, up the ceiling, even in their undies! In panic, they began to fire some shots… again to no avail. Take out one, and hundreds more kept pouring out of nowhere! Fact is, the twins' safe house can barely house even a tenth of these snakes. The overwhelming number of snakes soon overflowed the room way past capacity, and something had to give. The doors of the secret safehouse was blasted off its hinges and out pour the hundreds of thousands of white snakes, carrying with them some of the terrified former occupants of the room. Soon, they spread all across the city of Shanghai, sowing terror and panic wherever they went.

Owing to this chaos, no one noticed the befuddled Tien Zi and Simca stood unharmed in the center of white snake ocean.

"Anoo… Hikari-onee-sama? Y… You're just kidding about the whole suffocating thing, right?" Simca timidly asked. To cause them to not panic, Lacus used her magic to let them see everything that she's done from her perspective.

"Of course I'm just kidding you silly! (koff)" Lacus laughed. "As if I would trap you inside something THAT dangerous! (koff)"

"Ah… Ahaha… okay… because… for the record… when you said those things to the Inquisitors… you were very convincing… even I was almost convinced… But that was just… an act right? Just acting?"

"Well of course it is. (koff) Shut In Heaven defenses was made airtight in case you're dealing with poison gas but there's enough ventilation you will never ran out of air. (koff)"

"Of course." Simca sighed in relief-

"Of course… the thing about how even I can't get you out of the sphere is true. A miscalculation on my part for that one. And there's also the problem there's no food or water left in it… so that's another miss…"

"…"

"Well… at least you know what kinks to work out next, Doctor!" Setsuna's voice came from nowhere.

"?" All looked around amidst the slithering snakes…

"Up here…" They looked up, and lo, the Blind Swordsman of the Juppongatana is hanging by the ceiling avoiding all the snakes… "I hear hissing and slithering all across the city. They are everywhere. It's panic outside those blessed doors."

"You're afraid of snakes Setsuna-kun?"

"Hardly. But I do have concern about those trigger happy morons firing allover the place when the chaos starts. Are they gone?"

"You hear it yourself. We're chatting. No gunshot."

"Right." And with that, Setsuna readily descended from his perching spot and the snakes parted ways quickly to make the space before the blind Swordsman landed with a thud. "But… in all honesty, Doctor… is there really the Empress of China in our midst? All I sense is you, Lt. Simca… and this little girl."

Simca sighed in exasperation and just stopped thinking altogether.

Tien Zi timidly snuggled out behind Simca's leg. She eyed one of the snakes curiously. She even began poking her finger at one ever so slowly. Lacus saw this… and she made sure that one particular snake to react gently… by letting the curious little girl to touch its snout. When Tien Zi broke into a chuckle, the tension in the room defused enough, even Simca began to relax.

Perfect time… for Nike to quietly point his gun at Tien Zi and prepare to fire.

I wouldn't do that if I were you.

Lacus' voice entered his ears just as Nike clicked the gun, his finger had just depressed the trigger, and the gunpowder inside the gun began to ignite. But as soon as the sound of the first hiss of the spark lit up were heard… the Banshee Curse Lacus planted in Nike's gun holding hand amplified that little spark into a powerful sound explosion…

The formless explosion blasted the gun to pieces… the bullet missed the target a mile off, hitting nothing… and it bent Nike's forearm the wrong way… to say nothing of his ruined fingers. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHHHH!" Nike roared and screamed holding at his broken arm. "MY ARM! MY GOD DAMN ARM! YOU BITCH! YOU CRAZY FUCKING BITCH! YOU BROKE MY ARM! YOU FUCKI- MMPHH!" Before Nike can utter another curse word, Lacus had sutured his lips shut and wrapped it under layers of golden strings for good measure.

"That's enough profanity laden caterwauling from you. We have a child in our midst." Lacus sighed. "And Takeuchi Sora-dono, if you so much as to throw a pebble at Her Majesty, I'll blow your cheek off."

Sora froze in place as he was just one step away from the Empress. His butterfly knife fell from his hands. He noticed Hikari glanced at him… just like that he circle around the group, away from Tien Zi and stood still before them for her viewing pleasure, next to his twin, still holding on to his twisted arm… mumbling in pain beneath his gag.

Setsuna gulped. "…Umm… Doctor… If I'm to summarize everything: you've… kidnapped the Empress of China, and Lt. Simca, locked them both in a prison they can't escape from, humiliated the 13th by escaping from their custody by, I assuming some kind of brainwash technique, and then unleashed Cobra-kai-geddon on Shanghai… may I ask what do you plan on doing now?"

"And will Shanghai still stand at the end of the day?" Simca asked.

"Relax, I'm not Kage." Hikari looked at Nike still mumbling on the floor. She merely scoffed and jerked her palm at his arm.

Nike's broken arm was suddenly yanked violently by an unseen force, causing such pain, Nike's yell barely escaped his mouth gag. He mumbled and moaned in pain, but… Lacus didn't seem to care. She dispassionately observed the damage on said arm: fractured bones… every finger bones completely dislocated on all joints, to say nothing on its compound fractures… She balled her fist, and with a loud sickening crack, Nike's broken arm was violently put back in place by an unseen, ungentle force. Nike let loose a loud howl at the pain as his forearm is being forcibly placed no slammed back into his fractured elbow joint. He squirmed and moaned as his fingers are being painfully fixed back to place, bone by bone… each causing unspeakable pain every time they were fixed in place, never mind his torn ligaments. His dangling body seems trying to get away from this force holding his arm in place. With one last grip, and one last sickening SNAP, so much pain coursed through Nike, he screamed so loud, his jaw rip open the strings clamping his mouth. But barely a syllable escaped, Lacus doubled his mouth gag… before she coldly let go of the arm, at last, and let Nike fell on the floor, barely conscious, curling down, holding his painfully fixed arm with the trembling fingers of his other arm.

Simca watched this and not sure what to say or think. Takeuchi Nike… the man who hounded her nightmares… one of the reason she slept less soundly every night… and Hikari-nee-sama manhandled him like a misbehaving child. But… not that she pitied Nike, obviously… but… "Hikari-onee-sama…? A… Are you okay?"

"…yes? Why?"

"You're being… uncharacteristically brutal… today…?" Where's the girl who wouldn't even want to kill a virtually irredeemable psycho pedo?

"…I am?" Hikari looked at Nike's squirming figure… "…I see…" Come to think of it… she really did being needlessly cruel today. "…I'm… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry you have to see that. Simca, Tien-Zi-sama."

"Hikari-daifu…" Tien-Zi looked sadly at Hikari's gloomy figure.

"No… I'm the one who should be sorry." Simca bent her head down. "You've been dealing with my problems with Shanghai, the orphanage, ME… and then the 13th… This has been a hell of a day for you, and I hate myself for the part I play."

"No. It's not that. Just…" Hikari sighed. "Events today had been… causing me to reminisce… remembering… things… something unpleasant from childhood days… well… All I'm saying… I guess I'm just a bit moody today."

"Ri~ight." So everybody picked the wrong day to give her hell.

"…as for your earlier question, Setsuna-san. For now… let's go to Archangel. Rendezvous with Kaguya and Salamandine, check up on Corleone and the kids… and then we'll return back to the Forbidden Palace." Hikari then glared at the twins. "And the two of you will escort us, after which you will surrender yourself and admit to your crimes to Xing Ke."

"Ah… yeah… about that." Setsuna raised a finger. "Umm… it's all sound good in paper… but… uhh… I heard some things while I was hunting these two. Apparently they're not the only assassins under the Eunuch's employ. I hear more than a few whispers to kill them on the spot and call it an accident… to shut them up."

"I see." And Hikari stomped forth with an upright chest. "Then they can bloody well try."

0000000-KIRA-0000000

As Rygart continue to do his work on the Atilla, Kaite was getting an update on the latest situation.

"Ummm… Captain… There's been a lot of chaos on our end too… we've been hearing things, people saying about Gorillas on a rampage across the train… was that…?"

"Yeah. That was me. Not on purpose." Kage grunted flatly as he looked at the hallway doors. "Did they get here?"

"Not yet."

And then suddenly, a wave of unease washed over them, causing them all to frown. The air was suddenly felt suffocating. A palpable stench of rot suddenly assaulted their senses. Everyone immediately wrinkled in disgust. "What…?" Rygart gaped.

"What is this…?" Jess looked around and noticed even the Captain had the same reaction as everyone else.

"What happened…?"

"…Black Magic." Kaite deduced.

"WHAT!?" Jess gaped. "That's…"

"Old Man Hellsing always said it… when someone enacted black magic, they can't hide it. The air will be foul decay, a nasty rot sets in… like you turned into a corpse even when you're alive."

"But what kind of black magic-"

"Necromancy." Kage's eyes glinted with bloodlust far worse than when he first started. His killing intent rose up anew to almost unbelievable levels.

And then the tank wreckage rumbled. Everyone gasped and took a few steps back…

Of the dozen that was squished under the tank, not all of them were crushed outright… some survived with a torso or a portion of their body still intact… by all rights they should be dead… except they didn't. Shambling and moaning, the broken living dead tried to crawl their way out of the wreck, those who still had arms clawed at the living with dark hunger.

Rygart ran out of the tank in terror as the undead troopers' hands are reaching out to him.

"This is why you fucks should've killed that bloodline off!" Kage growled as he prepared a few handseals. "Katon, Enryuu! (Fire Stream!)"

In a flash of fire, the zombified damned souls were turned to ashes. Kage's rage manifest into a ferocious flame that engulfed the whole tank. His wrath made the flame so hot, Rygart watched in horror as he can see the Atilla's armor began to smolder. After a while though, the fire died down, and Kage controlled the flame, reducing it to a spout.

Heaving and panting in a barely containable rage, Kage growled. "Rygart-san… you better finish it. NOW!"

The order came from a hoarse throat that just breathes fire hot enough to turn people to specks of dust. Rygart remembered it all too well. But… the fact that zombie starts sprawling out… "Understood. Give me… half an hour."

"You have 15 minutes)Kage merely confirmed with a scoff. "Kaite, watch the perimeter!" After that short order, Kage blazed off, his killing intent is now spreading in full froth even when he disappeared from view.

"Well… shit. I almost pity those sons of bitches." Kaite gulped. He had felt killing intent many times, but, holy shit, the Captain's was on a wholly different level altogether.

"He's pissed." Rygart gulped. "Way more than before… because of Necromancy?"

"Dude, it's Necromancy! Every Advanced on the planet know what happened to Junius. We know how it's done. Of course we'll be pissed." Kaite growled. If the Captain did not go, he'd go himself too. "And I thought you Alliance had dropped this bullshit… you really should've killed every last one of the Azraels."

Rygart gawked… Kage… is an Advanced… well… he kinda put that together but… this reaction… the 13th had gone too far this time… "Go get them capt."

0000000

"…!" The Alpha Gorilla watched in barely concealed shock as his troop ran back in terror, screaming something about the dead is rising.

They've killed every human they came across. Crushed them. Rip them apart. Punched them across the room until their innards exploded. And now… the Alpha watched those same humans rose up, shambling and crumbling in ways no living thing could survive… a walking corpse… he had never seen anything like this… and yet… a primal instinct he inherited from his ancestor called to him… warned him… this thing he's witnessing before him… this is an abomination. An affront to all life. His first instinct was to fight it… but even louder than this… was the call to run. Retreat. Beasts cannot fight this.

The Alpha roared and called his troops to fall back. The last thing he wanted is for any one of his own troop turned into one of these abominations.

But as this happened… another commotion broke out.

0000000

"It's called Inferi."

"…"

"It's not Genma. Okay? I don't put demons into corpses, I just reanimate them!" The Necromancer explained to a decidedly uninterested Sergeant, who frowned in disgust at the wizard's appearance.

When one practices in the black arts, there are consequences. And they cannot hide it. His skin is decrepit and pale like it's rotten, what's left of his unhealthy teeth had blackened, sickly boils blistered across his bald head… with some patches of his skin missing, showing the skull beneath… he's hardly dissimilar with the corpses he raised. No wonder they locked him up in his own dark cubicle, away from sight and mind, eating his diet of… eyeballs and rats… fuck. The mere sight of him gave him the creeps. "Just finish your fucking job!"

The Sergeant hated himself for being forced to do this. When this is over, putting a bullet in-between that creepy eyebrows would be such a pleasure.

But as he entertain this thought, a soldier burst into the room. He was covered in gore and blood… he almost mistook him for a zombie but… that's not his blood… and it's not his gore covering his face. "Wh… what happened…?"

"D… D… D… D…"

"Huh?"

"D… Demon… He's a fucking demon…!"

"…huh?"

0000000 a few minutes earlier…

Kage was opening the door with his thought still filled with rage… when instead of a familiar hallway, he found himself inside… a space.

"…been a while since I'm here…" Kira's back inside his own mindscape. That shattered dojo floating in the cloudy sky. If there's anything different, is that there's no longer Shiki to welcome him.

"This place does feel rather empty since that sword girl left…"

When Kira turned around he was surprised to find an unexpected guest. He was expecting Jorm… but the one who appeared was this hulking scarred man whose head is covered in helmet, his arms and legs bound by gauntlets and greaves covered in chains, with multitudes of blades piercing through them. What happened to the limbs within is anyone's guess.

"It's a pity. We all kinda like her company. You should find a way to get her back, whelp."

Kira briefly forgo his rage and rocked his memory a bit. He knew he's seen this man before… and he remembered. "Guts, right? Jorm's brother?"

"Little brother, to be exact." Guts crossed his arms. "Third youngest."

"How can I help you?"

"No." Guts tilted his head. "It's how I can help YOU."

"…pardon?"

"They piss me off too." Guts grunted. "That sickening feeling. Necromancy. Of all the shit you humans can come up with, this has to be one of the most profane and blasphemous."

"You're going to help… me?" Kira glanced at Guts back to see if Jorm is around. He's not. But Kira didn't sense Guts to be lying either. "Is Jorm okay with this?"

"We've all sworn to never interfere with the affairs of men… but… what they're doing… necromancy is a grave disruption to the laws of nature. And that law had been broken enough as it is. And to do it here, in this forest, of all places… The whole crazy family is beyond furious at this point. Believe it or not, I'm currently the most reasonable of them all. That's why I'm here speaking on their behalf." Guts approached Kira and touched his forehead with gentleness Kira wouldn't expect from such a vicious looking hand. When his armored finger caressed his temple, it felt… warm. "This injury on your head had been causing you no end of problem today eh?"

"Not gonna let it stop me."

"No. I don't expect it would." Guts chuckled behind his helmet. He pressed his finger and Kira felt the warmth seeps into his head… and that distant ache edging at the depths of his head was smothered by the warmth. "It will suppress the symptoms and kept the injury from worsening. You can go all out as much as you want without issue and then some… but fair warning: I'm not healing your wound, just keeping it from getting worse. This power is on loan. I'll take it back when this is over. And when that happens, if you're not careful and you overdid it, the kickback's gonna be a bitch."

Kira smiled in gratitude. "Eh, what else is new?"

Again Guts chuckled. "Give them hell, whelp."

"With pleasure."

0000000 NOW

Throughout this whole ordeal, the 13th had forgotten about a lot of things in their zeal to fulfill this assignment from the Logos masters.

They forgot this behemoth of a train is an ancient relic filled with technologies long forgotten, with precious few even knew how they worked. Some of that precious few had been tragically lost that day. Carelessly killed off as acceptable casualty in their carnage. And they forget it was the ceaseless attendance of those precious few that kept this train in working order. Had they not done that, some of the damage Kage inflicted on the train may be fixed or at least lessened.

They forgot the environmental hazards of their surroundings. They've been warned by so many: fellow troopers, superior officers. The Forest of Sages is a place where humans are no longer the Apex Predator. It will tolerate no trespass. This train is the only thing that protects them and now it's damaged. Crippled.

But where they've blundered the most, is with their target: The Blacklist Captain, Kage.

No, they did not misjudge his might. That's why they've filled almost 2/3rd of this entire train with their men. That's why they've brought enough weaponry to fight a small war all for the sake of killing one man. Insofar, after seeing what he's done, they were glad they've brought this much force with them. They did not come unprepared.

And this is where they've blundered. They've seen what the Blacklist Captain can do and thought they understand. They forget one thing.

The Captain was running away from them.

Sabotaging the train, killing 'only' those who gets in the way, rescuing an engineer, commandeering a tank, even blowing several holes on the roof and bringing in an army of giant gorillas… Everything he's done so far was him focusing on surviving instead of fighting. Everything he's done so far was him trying to minimize the casualty. Everything he's done so far… was him being kind.

…and now… he stopped running.

Six men fired in every direction to catch this black blur. When the blur stopped, blood sprayed out of six slit throats.

Now, he no longer cared about survival. Least of all, his own.

Gripping a knife in each hand, the captain looked like a demon as he rushed through a shower of bullets, never mind some of them grazed parts of his body. Before the troopers can reload, the Captain had reached their makeshift entrenchment, and the bloodbath began anew.

Now he will not stop until he's killed every last one of them.

Within minutes after the Captain went on full blown rage fueled offensive, his killcount skyrockets as he made his way from the front of the second car to the back in a killing spree. The Captain was slaughtering the occupants of another entrenchment when a squad was discreetly preparing a Gatling gun array from what they think a hidden location. Unfortunately, the captain noticed them. Throwing one last punch that effectively crushed a man's face, he appropriated his grenade, lit the fuse and throw it accurately… straight into the Gatling gun ammo crate. He pulled the dead trooper and curled beneath his corpse as the ammo crate exploded, the stray bullets ricocheted allover the closed room, lacerating everyone in vicinity. By then, the 13th went from defensive retreat to just… let's just get the fuck out of here.

Now… he's done being kind.

One trooper crawled across the floor trying to keep his innards in his stomach. In the background, every trooper tried their chances even halt the now murderous Blacklist Captain for even a second. The longest record so far was three seconds. In close combat, their guns became utterly useless, as after being shot at all day, the Captain had learned well the skill of anticipating a bullet trajectory by the tilt of their gun barrel. They watched in disbelief as the captain can seemingly dodge bullet after bullet at paper thin margin at such speed and precision, it was as if the bullets just conveniently passing through him as he closed the distance, at very rapid pace. Most can only let loose at most two shots before Kage swept towards them and rip out their jugulars, snap their necks, jam a knife through their eye sockets, forcefed a grenade down their throat before shoving him to his comrades to deal with the explosive aftermath, and various other ways imaginable to kill a man with knifes, explosives, or his bare hands. Everyone was quick to find the former two is preferable, they're faster. Less painful.

The last trooper became an unfortunate victim to showcase why you don't want to be killed by the furious captain when he's out of knifes and explosives. First he broke his legs, pin him to the ground, and then the first punch shattered all of his teeth. The second punch broke his nose. The third punch smashed in his lips. By the fourth and fifth punches, skin were flayed off his flesh. But the enraged Captain kept throwing subsequent punches as he howled in increasing rage and volume with every blood stained hit.

That howl was heard all across the car and beyond. The Sergeant and the Necromancer looked at each other in horror, knowing they're fucked. The Gorillas on the third car gawked. They thought that was a human howl… but there was something about the clarion of that howl that seems vaguely familiar…

The last few dozen trooper assassins in that car were frozen in terror as they watched the scene of sheer brutality played out before their terrified eyes: The captain's latest victim's ongoing execution. They watched in horror as the now misshapen face of said victim whimpered what they think is a plea for mercy… a sound went unheard when another sickening crunch came out when another merciless punch landed. They were so terrified, some didn't even realize the pee soaking his pants, or teeth clattering behind their agape lips… they even forgot they're still carrying their guns.

And then they were reminded. Reminded why these Captains were called Blacklist. The Alliance troopers didn't come up with the term. The Blacklist Captains themselves certainly did not. The enemy did. Those Advanced, the ones who they called Monsters were the ones who come up with the term. When even monsters called one a monster… how would mere mortals compare to THAT monster of monsters!?

One last punch, and now, all everyone can see was a man's misshapen neck sunk into a fist shaped crater on the floor. His head had disappeared into the dark crevices of said crater. What it had become is a tale only a pool of blood and spilled grey matter can tell.

As every trooper still left jawhung at what could possibly be the scene of their own very nearby future fate, Kage stood back up, his balled fists caked in gore, the sound of the bile dripping from his fingers seem magnified across the now silent hallway as it tapped on the metallic floor. His right purple eye is barely visible beneath the bangs of his brown hair, but his left eye glowed like fire. It's a red slitted pupil with a backdrop of flaming green cornea and crimson sclera. It maybe just their imagination, but that eye seems to blaze with golden fire.

"Death." Kage hissed and everyone winced in attention. "Destruction. Carnage. Is that why you've come here, in this damned place, bringing with you, your damned souls!?"

Kage took a step. A strong, firm, furious step. "If so… …COME!"

And at that point, propelled by a primal sense of self preservation that surpassed even their sense of duty, the troopers thought of turning away and run. At first they thought of going to another car to escape the captain's wrath, but then they were all reminded the way there had been clogged by the undead. And even if there weren't any zombies, the subsequent car is still being occupied by the Gorillas. The only way out… is to fight the Blacklist captain blocking the way forward. Hundreds of their comrades had tried that all day… and all they succeeded in doing is making him angrier. More brutal.

Between a Rock and a hard place doesn't even do justice in describing this situation. They're inbetween hell. Death is all that awaits them whichever path they choose.

"Ha…"

"What the hell are you laug-"

BANG!

A trooper, understanding the helplessness of the situation, put a sidearm into his own mouth and fired. His headless corpse stumbled over the railing and fell to the bottom floor down below.

The troopers looked at the choice their despairing colleague had made… and they all wondered if they should choose the same fate…

As all this happened, Kage's eyes barely twitched, he didn't even bother moving muscle, not even to uncross his arms. But his glare never left them. His eyes remained fixed on their terrified and conflicted expressions. "…nice to know some of you had brains."

The troopers looked back at the Captain. He just stood there imperiously.

"You're all going to die. Make no mistake. How that's going to happen is the only freedom you have left." Kage hissed, his voice echoing with someone else's. "…and just to be clear… this is why you fucks piss us off. Dying… is part of man's God given freedom. To rest forever from the pain this merciless world inflicted upon you. But… your superior… they desecrated even that. Do you even understand the shit you're in now!?"

As the troopers is still too terrified to understand what the Captain is preaching, the sergeant and the Necromancer down below knew their time is short.

"Call the zombies. Send them to him. Resurrect the ones he killed too!"

"…I… I'm trying."

"What do you mean? Trying?"

"I don't get it." The Necromancer grunted as he strained his decrepit temple. "This happened with the first ones too… everyone killed by that captain seems… resisted on being reanimated. I had to spend more ether mana than normal just bring back those in the first wave."

"Then maybe you need a little incentive." The Sergeant pulled his sidearm and pressed it on the Necromancer's head. "You have to the count of 3 to do your magic, or I'll blow your brains out!"

"Save you threats. I'm almost ready!" The necromancer slapped the stupid gun away. "I didn't say I couldn't do it. Just need more mana than usual." As proof of this, a mass of baleful green energy had been gathered inbetween his crooked fingers. Chanting profane spells under his breath, he raised the energy over his head as it grew and grew… before with a horrifying cry, this wicked energy slammed the floor, and sickly green veins permeate all across the surface before spreading chaotically across the whole train.

A second wave of that sickening, nauseating feeling once again permeates across the car, Kage grunted as the second dose of this unpleasantness washed over him again… refueling his rage in the process.

Just like the first time… the corpses that littered along Kage's path of rampage twitched as the vile green energy veins touched them. They rose up from where they fell, green sickly light glowed from the crevices of their eyes and mouth, shining balefully from the unholy life forced upon them. Soon, the dead walked across the second car, closing in upon what's left of the living in that car.

The last remaining troopers in the second car huddled in terror as all the sudden, what were once their comrades are now besieging them, hungering for their living flesh.

Kage coldly looked at the corpses of his victims swarming towards him. Unlike the terrified simpletons around him, the Captain didn't even budge. But not because of indifference or arrogance.

At this point, he was too angry to care.

Inside him, Kira was not the only one who was furious. Guts crossed his arms… not even a growl escape his mouth… safe for this gigantic inferno swirling around him. "…okay, you fucks. You've been warned. Whelp… let the world burn."

Before everyone knew it, the black captain is engulfed in a firestorm. Kage is literally on fire. He looked at his right hand and saw it's alight with fire… actually, it's fire… and yet… it's… beautiful. It's bright, but refreshing to the eyes… rainbow shined from the glow… It's unlike any fire he had ever seen. No. Wait. He'd seen it before… in fact everybody else has. It's the glow of the sun. When he balled his fist, a great mass of the sun fire concentrated on said fist.

Forget trying to touch him. Every Zombie that even looked at this flame turned to dust.

Now Kage began to understand why he was SO angry. It's not just an Advanced natural hatred to the practice of Necromancy… he's carrying the wrath of 4 'ghosts' inside him. 4 'Ghosts' who are even angrier than he is regarding this whole wretched affair.

…so understandably, this is going to hurt.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!" Kage slammed his fist to the ground.

And fire burst out from every nook and cranny of the second car. The firestorm rampaged across the whole car, every corner, every chamber, every nook and cranny, from the biggest hallway to the smallest plumbing… the fire reached everywhere. Floor after floor was cleansed. Every inferi zombie was instantly reduced to dust. Even the corrupting power of necromancy that had suffused the car was burned out. The Sergeant and the Necromancer exchanged one last look… before the flame arrived and vaporized them for their blight.

Kaite was at his wits' end when the Zombie start crawling at their door before a wave of golden fire turned them to ash.

The golden flame didn't reach the third car, but the Zombies in that car collapsed to dust just as they lunged towards the Alpha Gorilla. His troop, initially resigned for a last stand, now found themselves confused as they cleaned up the zombie dust from their fur.

The Alpha was as clueless as his troop as to what just happened… but… he saw this plume of golden fire still roaring from the entrance of the second car.

Unlike the flame from these humans, this flame felt… gentle. He could stare at it right in front of his face and he wouldn't even flinch. He knew this flame had saved his life and his troop… but how? Why? Who? So many questions- "!"

To the Alpha's surprise, the answer walked out of the firestorm and straight into his line of sight.

It's that black clothed human he saw in that iron carcass…! Wait… is that… who…!?

Physically, all he saw is one of those puny humans. In fact, he's even punier than the other humans…

Spiritually though… he saw… THAT… and the Alpha never felt so… tiny…

0000000-LACUS-0000000

Simca wasn't quite sure what to say with this bizarre procession of which she's now a part. She and Setsuna flanked the Empress and Hikari stood protectively before her. The Takeuchi twins were figuratively being held on gunpoint by the seemingly unarmed Hikari, and the two was forced to open the way forward in silence. They don't have much to do in practice… Hikari had unleashed… lord knows how many million of albino King Cobra into the city… and it's in chaos. Everyone is so busy trying to deal with this massive snake infestation, they don't have time to pay attention to the fact the Cobras are actively NOT trying to bite anyone. They just happily slither around minding their own business… never mind the humans raining bullets at them. And no one certainly pay any attention to how the cobras obediently parted way, opening a safe passage for Lacus' entourage.

But that doesn't mean the road is completely safe. Even amidst all this pandemonium… the assassins Setsuna spoke off still try to do their charge in an admirable, albeit misguided, professional commitment. When they saw the twins being harried like a puppet, they easily surmised their failure. So they have to silence them.

The Sniper with the Elephant gun looked through his scope, waiting until the twins aligned in his crosshairs so that he can kill them both with a single shot. Just when they did however… he heard a hissing sound right next to him. He looked to the side and a very not friendly albino King Cobra is glaring at him with its angry red slitted eyes. Only Lacus can hear him scream.

Then, another sniper tried a different approach. He waited until the entourage passed underneath a massive platform carrying bricks held aloft by a single rope. He aimed his gun and fired at it, cutting the rope with a single shot. The Platform fell right on top of Lacus and Tien Zi… or it would've if at least a few thousand snakes did not merge together to form a gigantic composite King Cobra who then used its massive neck flap to shield the pedestrians below from the falling object. The sniper didn't even have a chance to ready a second shot, a horde of angry cobras overwhelm his location in a heartbeat.

Now that everybody, who's not dealing with snakes, had a moment to think about it, perhaps this is why the good doctor flooded the entire city with snakes. She had anticipated trouble… and these snakes prevented that. They are her eyes and ears, her fangs and claws…

"There's no hiding it this time." Nike growled. "You're an Advanced."

"Did I ever say I'm not?"

"Do you even understand the sh… the hell you're about to face?" Nike hissed carefully. "They're going after you now! The 13th! The whole Alliance!"

"You speak as if it's a given. As if I'm your enemy just my being existing."

"Hello!? Have you been living in a cave? We're at war! Your kind and ours!"

"My kind? That's very funny. Coming from you."

"What do you mean?"

"What…? When you say my kind… you're referring to the Advanced race. Let me ask you this: what is an Advanced?"

"A race of half breed human… Half human half… monsters. A product of the meddling of the Oni… the Old Ones."

"Correct. Monster reference aside, you are correct. We are humans born from the mingling of the Old Ones' blood. But if that's how you define the Advanced… then by that definition… the two of you are also Advanceds."

At this, Nike and Sora froze. They turned angrily at Hikari. "What do you mean by that!? Our parents are Naturals! Both of them!"

"Exactly what I mean. Your parents are naturals, but you are Null Children. Your very existence was designed to be an anathema to magic users."

"Designed!?"

"Yes. Designed… by the Old Ones. By the Oni clan. The genetic alteration that brings about Null Children traits had long since been submerged into the basic human gene pool by the Old Ones… that was… eons ago. It's a wild card value, even Naturals with no relation whatsoever to any Advanced Bloodline can gave birth to Null Children. So you see… the two of you… are also a product of the Old One's altercation. The two of you, by your own definition… are also Advanceds."

"Why are you telling us this?" Nike scowled.

"Why are you treating me in so hostile a manner… just because of me being Advanced?" Hikari asked back. "And while we're at it, I find it funny because you yourself are trying so hard to deny who you really are… when in your heart… you know I'm right."

"W… We know… our history." Sora whispered under his breath. Lacus had momentarily neutralized the Banshee curse, he can speak normally… for now. "Your kind… hunted our own kind… made pariahs of us… freaks even amongst you freaks!"

"I cannot speak for how others of my people had behaved. But I'm a Witch. Your very presence standing before me hurt my eyes, literally. Like they're being pierced by needles I cannot remove. And yet not for a moment have I ever considered any of you freaks. Personally I find that idea offensive. Like… Pot calling Kettle black logic."

"How so?" The Empress spoke up. Her eyes gleaming with awe.

"…Null Children can be born from even Natural Parents. That's proof… the most solid and empirical proof… that the power of the Old Ones flow within us all: Advanced and Natural alike. Everyone tried so hard to divide us into two… but the Old Ones see the truth. There never were two species… there was only one. Always have been… always… will be."

Nike and Sora looked at the weird doctor… But Sora was the first to scoff. "We're nothing alike. Witch."

"Whatever you say." Hikari pointed her finger forward and the Takeuchi twins were forced to walk forward again. But Nike made occasional troubled gesture at Hikari… and the timid Simca behind her…

A good walking distance, and several prevented assassination attempts later, the Archangel is in sight. Like so many other first timers, Simca had to help Tien Zi pick her jaw up as she fathomed the enormity of Kage's floating fortress.

It is the only place in the city that wasn't infested by snakes. But they swarmed the approach towards the Fortress' entrance, preventing access. That is until the swarm parted at their approach. And the guards noticed, and they extended the connecting bridge. Already waiting at the bridge, are Kaguya, Salamandine, and Canard, waiting at the back.

Salamandine immediately rushed past the twins and hugged the Empress. "Your Majesty! I'm so glad…"

"Sala… I'm okay."

"I… I…. there are no excuse, milady. I deserve a thousand deaths! I shouldn't have abandoned you… I'm truly sorry, your highness!"

Kaguya looked at the twins… and to Hikari, then to all the snakes around… "You gonna do something about all this?"

"Oh… right." Hikari removed the mouthguard of her helmet and she began to whistle. A beautiful clarion song of a whistle. The Serpents all across the city heard the song, and they all slither away to its tune, converging towards Archangel. Before long, the perimeter around the great ship was densely populated by white snakes guarding the approach.

"That should give everyone a little elbow room." Hikari chuckled, Kaguya can only sigh. Then Hikari looked up to Canard. "Canard-san… the children? Are they safe?"

"Yes. They're in daycare facility." Canard gestured her to follow with a nod.

0000000

The Daycare facility is not exactly an official addition to the Archangel's facility… quite unlike the Angel's bath. It was a facility erected in a hurry, as the Archangel was carrying civilian passengers, refugees from Orb which also include various children and orphans. When the refugees were relocated, understanding the necessity of space, everyone agreed for the facility to be dismantled, seeing Archangel will become one of main setting of the coming conflict.

Thankfully, when Corleone showed up with children of the orphanage at Archangel's door, they haven't started the deconstruction. So most of the equipments are still intact.

All children are accounted for, and none were badly hurt. This is the best news Hikari heard all day.

"For something erected in such a hurry, this place is pretty well equipped." Marina reported to a pleased Hikari. "Where's Tien Zi? Is she…?"

"Ah… She's… alright. But… give her time."

When Lacus went to check on the orphans, Tien Zi refused to come along. She was mortified. The Takeuchi twins destroyed the orphanage because they were looking for her. She felt she had no right to face them after all the trouble they went through. Lacus told Sala to accompany her until she calm down.

"But you do understand they can't stay right?" Canard scoffed at Hikari. "We were planning to dismantle this place today… and it's for a reason!"

"I know. I know." Hikari nodded. "They also know. I'll figure something out."

"And the 13th… they're not gonna give up."

"No. I don't expect they will."

"…what are you going to do with the twins?"

"I'm checking them out now… I'll be sure to let you know when I figure what to do with them."

"You're a politician aren't you?" Canard grunted, causing Hikari to pause.

"How do you figure?"

"You have a knack of saying a whole bunch of fucks just to say: I don't know what the fuck I am doing."

Lacus chuckled as she sauntered off. "Tee-hee-hee… now you see why Kage hate politics." And Canard just scowled as he shook his head.

The twins were locked up separately in two of many of Archangel's cells. Needless to say this ones won't be dismantled anytime soon.

To Hikari's shock… Simca herself volunteered to be their warden. Specifically, Nike.

However, all she did was set up a seat and sit there, watching him, unblinking. Like a staring contest. Or she tried. Lacus noticed she blinked more often than she should. As if her eyes were irritated by something.

"They're not gonna go anywhere. Null children can do a lot of things, but teleportation isn't one of them." Lacus chuckled.

"…" Simca turned to Lacus. "W… What are you going to do to them?"

"That… is entirely up to them." Lacus stand before her two prisoners. "If it were up to me, I'd have you two rebuild Setona's orphanage, brick by brick. But we don't have time. And… no offense, I think you two would suck at construction."

Sora snarled.

"…but… I think at this point, everyone agrees… we need to have them relocated. Can you help them, Simca?"

"If you had asked me that question before the 13th were THIS riled up, I'll escort them to the refugee center myself."

"…but they seem to be quite disorganized to me. Like… they don't know about the Empress, they don't know about a lot of things!"

"True. One even get the impression they seem to be under staffed. And reckless." Simca frowned in thought. "…could it be… Kage-honey?"

"Yes. I imagine so." Lacus sighed. "It's amazing how an army this disjointed can last so long against Zaft. Then again… maybe not." The doctor turned back to the twins. "You've called the 13th into action. What would it take to make them leave in peace?"

"…peace? Are you kidding me? There will be no peace! They know you're advanced. And thanks to you, they think I'm an Advanced too! They'll never stop as long as either of us draws breath!"

"Hm. Well… if that's all they're concerned with, at least I know they're not exactly unreasonable."

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"That means I need only to worry about you two."

"What?"

"Come on Simca. We have much to prepare." Lacus gestured a somewhat confused Simca to leave. But before she left, she turned one last time to the twins. "As long as you keep rejecting who you are… there will only be pain down the road."

Simca glanced at the twins' perplexed expressions and to Hikari. She followed Hikari for a bit… and once the twins were out of sight. "Hikari-onee-sama…"

"…yes…?"

"…the Null Children… did they affect other people differently?"

"…why this question?"

"The sensation you described: needle pricking your eyes… I felt it too… always… I always thought that was my fear of Nike but… I mean… I will never forgive what he's done to me… but-"

"When the Oni Clan altered human genes to create Null Children… they created them to be the natural enemy to magic. And the way they did it: the Null Children generates some kind of… aura… an aura of negative energy that interfere with the flow of Ether, disrupting all forms of magic, whether they big or small, good or bad. This… they cannot control. It's like breathing, they did it without even realizing it. All the time. As they were conceived due to the Old One's hatred of magic, they're not supposed to incite a pleasant feeling to their… umm… victims. The problem is… this aura affects most strongly on Magic Users. Now in this case, Magic Users is defined as those who possess Magic Circuit within their being – it is what allowed them to use spells and perform magic. However… perhaps a miscalculation on the Old One's part… is that basically ALL of humanity excluding the Null Children themselves… possess a sliver of Magical Circuit within them. Not enough for them to use magic… but more than enough for them to also feel the negative effects… the discomfort caused by a Null Children's presence."

"Is that… so…?"

"The Old Ones did not foresee the scenario where all of humanity would possess Magical Circuit in their veins. What Sora said… about my kind hunting his. It was true. Most humans found the mere presence of the Null Children as… repulsive. Advanced and Natural alike. Advanced even more so with their higher than average birth rate of wizards and witches. So we actively hunt them down during the Holocaust. Kill them, whenever we can. And in so doing, we chased them into the welcome arms of the Witch Hunters… those that will become the 13th. No Null Children will ever find sanctuary in Zaft."

"You were worried about them." Simca began to understand what Hikari was trying to achieve. "You were trying to tell them that… when the Alliance are done with the Advanced… they're next?"

"Am I wrong?"

Simca wished she can say her Nee-sama was wrong. But… "…the Takeuchi Twins… Look, I understand you pitied them… but… they're different. If this is Maka and the Spartoi, I'm game… but I know those two! I've already told you what they did to Ikki-kun!"

"Yes. But sometimes, rather than what people did, I'd rather try to understand WHY people did it."

Even now, she still seeks to help and heal. Simca had to admit, as far being healer goes, she really can't match her dedication. "hm…?"

That's when the two girls noticed a small timid figure of Tien Zi fidgeting and hiding in the corner. "…Tien Zi-chan?"

"Umm… I… Ummm…"

"How can we help you, Tien Zi-chan?"

"…daifu… I… I want to… talk about… the orphans…"

Hikari nodded. "Let's talk somewhere else."

That somewhere else is Lacus' atelier. Kaguya and Salamandine are also there. Even with the latter's support, Tien Zi still find it difficult to speak her mind, constantly fidgeting and could barely utter a word… And so Hikari gave her a cup of tea to calm her. Once she took a sip, indeed, the warmth returned some life back to her cheek. And Lacus chose that time speak.

"…Tien-Zi… before you say anything… you need to stop blaming yourself for what had happened. This all started because of my decision to bring you here to Shanghai. If there's anyone who should be apologizing… that should be me. So… no need to feel guilty about it, okay?"

"I… I understand… but… there's something else…" Tien Zi nodded. "…I heard from Simca-darren… Marina-darren told her that her orphanage was in such a state of neglect and disrepair because the funding was cut off… All facilities for children at risk in China should've received some monthly stipends from the Government to supplement its operational cost… Xing Ke told me it's been that way since even before my father's time… it should've stayed that way… especially in times of war. Why did the funding was cut off?"

"Xing Ke-dage would never lie to you, Your Majesty." Salamandine replied for her brother.

"I know he would never." Tien Zi frowned. "…he's overworked. It took everything he's got just to keep things as they are, try as he might, some things slipped his watch. The Eunuchs… they should've… ooohh…" Her expression wrinkled in anger. "…I have to go back. I have to return to the Forbidden Palace, it's the only way I can fix… I… I have to."

Sala clasped her mouth. 'This… this is…'

When Tien Zi turned to Hikari… a faint but evident glint of determination shined in the Empress' eyes. "…how soon can you bring me back to the Forbidden Palace?"

"As quickly as you wish. I promised to return you before sundown, after all."

"Make it sooner." Tien Zi did not immediately reply. "…and I won't be returning alone."

"I understand." Hikari nodded. "That will require a bit of preparation though. There are… some adjustments if we are to transport that many."

"Do what you must… but quickly." Simca sighed. "I don't think the 13th-"

BTOOOOMMM!

Simca's words were cut by the loud sound of a familiar cannon fire. "Gottfried Cannons! They're here!"

Canard was running across the hallways until he climbed up and emerged on the upper deck so that he can see the damage. A smoke rose up from one of the Archangel's many batteries. A shell just struck there. He looked down angrily at the culprits, standing next to a smoking barrel of a Gottfried cannon, well outside the reach of the snakes. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING! STOP FIRING!"

The Inquisitor of the 13th yelled back in response: "You have in your custody a criminal! You will surrender her to us or ELSE!" The 13th had ran out of patience at this point. To hell with shame and dignity, nobody made a fool out of them and get away with it!

"WELL F-"

Hold your tongue.

Canard's prepared curse laden retort stopped in his throat. Lacus' voice boomed in his ears.

Pretend to cooperate.

Canard blinked… and made the smallest gesture of compliance. "Look buddy, she pissed us off too! All these motherfuckin' snakes in every motherfuckin' corner, you have no idea how much she had cost us. She's holed up in her fucking room, we were besieging her as you yammered the fuck out. You gotta give us time, we'll bring her out as soon as we broke that door down!"

"Then you better hurry up, Liutenant. Our patience is already at an end!" The Inquisitor glanced at his team: "15 minutes. Then we attack. Get more shells here while you're at it."

"Whatever. PRAYER! WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT BATTERING RAM!?" Canard roared to Prayer somewhere. "Doc, you got 10 minutes."

More than I need.

The preparation that Hikari spoke off ultimately amounted to just three things:

First, the Orphans.

"Time to go. Setona, distribute these candies to everyone, make sure they all had one. Yes, you too, Miss Marina." Hikari handed a bag full of black colored sweet looking gobstoppers. Setona dutifully share them with the kids. And they all say:

"Mmm! So sweet!" "Delicious!"

Secondly, she went to the prison.

"Alright. Up you get, the both of you." Hikari gestured the twins to get up.

"What?"

"You're coming with us. I had wanted to talk to you guys long and hard in an intensive therapy session, but circumstances forced my hands." Hikari opened the jail cells while Prayer cuffed the twins.

And lastly…

Hikari wrote a note and hand it over to Simca. The buxom Lt. read it with frowned brows. It's a recipe. "…a recipe of… what?"

"An Antidote."

"For…?"

"This." Lacus took a deep breath… and unleashed one strong note of a whistle.

In one instant, the eyes of the millions of albino King Cobra that surrounded the Archangel gleamed with murderous intent. They all suddenly charged into the ship en-masse. And this time: they BITE. The Guards were completely caught off guard, and they became the first casualties. As soon as the Cobra bit them, they went into violent spasms, their eyes rolled up white, foam bubbled out of their mouth and they all collapsed to the floor, as stiff as board. Panic erupted all over the ship as the now extremely aggressive white Snakes attacked every person in sight. In a blink of an eye, the snakes very quickly overrun the whole ship, and none can escape, not even when they try to jump ship. When these jumpers splashed into water, they found it to be just as heavily infested, and snakes are far better swimmers than humans. The bodies of those who were bitten in the waters soon seen floating lifelessly on the sea surface… before a mass of snakes dragged said bodies down under (for safekeeping – something no one needs to know… yet). The unnerving sight proved an effective discouragement for the rest of the crew from trying anything similar, which means now they're left with fighting a losing battle against a flood of ophidian across the narrow corridors of the battleship, with the creepy crawlies outnumbering the humans a thousand to one.

Meanwhile, the 13th division watched, from a distance, slack jawed and wide eyed as they can hear the terrified screams and howls of terror from the 7th division soldiers as the snakes attacked them. They saw, with their own eyes, as terrified militia soldiers futilely opened fire at a tidal wave of white snakes before it engulfed them. When they slithered away, what was left was a pile of lifeless corpses, every inch of their body is deathly pale and swollen, so heavily infused with venom.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Poor oversized Fuji was quick to become the center of attention. The giant had nowhere to run, his extra plus size made him an easy to bite target for the snakes. His thick skin prevented the fangs from getting in too deep and the venom couldn't get far… but when tens of thousands of snakes swarmed this super massive target, even Fuji's thick skin can only protect him against so much. Fuji's lifeless and sickly pale body can soon be seen floating in the ocean next to the now overrun Archangel.

"When Kage comes back, he'll strangle these snakes and beat you to death with it. And when he do, I'll sit back on this chair, watch, and laugh." A very pissed off Canard and a rather nervous Prayer stood ready before Hikari as she's making the final preparations for her departure.

"The poison is lethal, the symptoms are severe… but they're slow. It won't kill quickly. It'll take a month at the earliest. Plenty of time for the antidote, whose recipe is simple enough that even idiots can make them, to be concocted and distributed within less than a week, no one will die. Simca assured me she had more than enough ingredients to make antidotes for the whole crew before anyone is in any real danger." Hikari explained calmly. "This way, even the 13th won't be able to say that you guys let me escape TOO easily." As Hikari said this, a single white snake climbed up her hand. "Now… it's your turn." Hikari shoved the snake before the two. The Albino Cobra hissed, showcasing its fangs, dripping with venom.

"Should we fight back? They'll be mighty suspicious if they saw us poisoned with our weapons undrawn." Prayer laughed nervously.

"You're welcome to try."

"Fuck it." Canard sighed. "Just hurry up and get this fuck over with before I change my fucki-"

Two cobras jumped from their flanks and bit the two Juppongatana by the arteries, completely catching them off guard. They both earned a single bite, and both quickly fell on their knees. And while most of the rank and file collapsed instantly, they still managed to retain some measure of consciousness… even though their shocked complexion rapidly degenerate into pain filled paleness. Even Prayer, who cannot feel the pain, fell on all fours whereas Canard stumbled to a knee. They're both shivering and violently spasmed, but they're still conscious.

Hikari quickly checked her latest victims for any sign of anomalies or any life threatening symptoms outside her projections… to her relief, there's none. They're dying, but curable. In fact, Canard still had the strength to glare at her with daggers shooting out of his furious eyes. "…Go." He choked.

But then, the atmosphere turned tense once more. The ground shook. The bombardment had recommenced.

"Right on time…" Hikari sighed and balled her fist.

The millions of snakes she had unleashed upon the Archangel began to gather on one location. Hers. Before long, everyone in that room can find the snakes start filling the floor. Everyone cringed a bit as the swarm of snakes rapidly rose up. First it was ankle deep, and in a blink of an eye, it was waist deep. "Ahhhh!" And soon everyone was drowned beneath a mass of snake.

But then… the snakes slithered together… merging…

The smug smile of the 13th division inquisitors vanished as this massive serpentine shadow quickly covered his… and everyone's vision. The whole city was frozen in terror.

That's how most people would react… when they're being stared down by a giant 600 feet long albino King Cobra with red glowing eyes that bore straight through everyone's soul. And yet… despite her size, one cannot deny… she's surprisingly beautiful. Her neck flaps glowed like rainbow lights. Her scales are soft like feathers. Her body is lithe and smooth. Perhaps in reflection to its creator's taste.

"Shut-In Heaven - Mobile Mode: Akasha. The only problem this one had over its previous version, is that this one is too obnoxious. Couldn't make it smaller." Lacus grinned at the passengers. Namely: The excited orphans, the exasperated Kaguya, the rather stupefied Salamandine and the Empress, a still somewhat confused Simca… and the very suspiciously quiet Takeuchi twins, all bound and stored down at the back.

They're inside that void of space within the giant white snake.

"Now… let's be going now!"

The Giant Cobra leisurely slithered down the Archangel and into the street. "OPEN FIRE!" The troopers tried to shoot at it, first guns… then they move to bigger sticks: bazooka, cannons… nothing works. The bullets cannot even penetrate its scales; they might just as well throw eggs at a tank. "Contact the fleet! Tell them to bombard this monstrosity!"

0000000

Indeed, as this happened…

Jane, Murrue and Mwu looked at this scene straight out of a Kaiju stageplay they once saw in Japan. The difference being, the monster in that play is papier mache. This one is… honestly, Jane's first instinct was to order her fleet to bombard that thing to kingdom come… but… insofar, other captains soundly counsel her against it.

"As far as I can tell, that snake is actually minding its surrounding." Mwu sounded his analysis as his sharp eyes observed the situation to the smallest detail. "That kind of care and attention, I sensed Hikari-chan at work."

"Kage's girlfriend." Jane nodded. "Yeah. Even I've heard her already. Her no kill policy is fast becoming legend in these parts." And she's still having a hard time believing someone like that can be Kage's girlfriend. "However, it seems she also pissed off the 13th. Pretty soon, those lapdogs will send orders/request/demand for me to open fire at that thing."

"Open fire? With Shanghai at the backdrop!? Are those guys that insane?" Murrue groaned.

"Murrue, you're still new at this… so I'll say this for you. That division is filled with nothing but lunatics. So. Yes. They're that insane."

Just then Tessa came running to her Captain. "Captain! We just got orders from the 13th, they're ordering us to open fire at that thing!"

"Order!?" Jane glared at Tessa… who smiled mischievously in return. "I heard you right, Tessa? They said order?"

"Word per word, Captain."

"Tell them this from me: the Navy is currently undergoing maintenance and inventory check up. So tell them to come back later… Much… much later. Preferably once they understand what chain of command means."

Tessa delivered that request word per word fully knowing Jane would take offense. Any Captain would. Internal Affairs be damned, Inquisitors or not, they're rank and file - footsoldiers. Who are they to presume to give order to a Captain?

Once Tessa rushed away to deliver the reply, the Captains returned their attention back to that giant snake, and wondering, in barely concealed amusement, on what will it do now…

00000000000000

"…the bombings of Februarius. Even I have heard all about that." Rosso sighed. "I should've known Noir would be at the center of it."

"Actually, I think he's the cause of it all? He admitted it himself…"

Athrun began to understand the role he plays to these 5 storytellers. These people followed the footsteps of a great man. A complicated but great man. Whose actions and character are open to a broad interpretation, they themselves don't always see him eye to eye. Why… they're struggling as hard as it is to keep up. As Noir's partner and closest friend, it is Rosso's honor… and privilege, to help them understand. "The official report… that everyone know about those bombings… they're revenge killing. Noir caused the arrest of 24 crime lords… and what's left of their criminal empire want their pound of flesh. Noir and I endured something like that in Aprillus… too many times already. It's not a pleasant experience. Is that what it's all about?"

"No." Godric growled. "This is worse. Far worse. This… was our future, my lord Judge. Our future."

0000000-8 years earlier-0000000

The explosion incident killed 5 people, with many more were injured. An investigation was launched and it was summarily concluded as an accident. Someone had dumped a combination of wrong potions into the trash can, where it reacted badly, causing the tragic incident.

A few days after this incident, life goes on, as it was.

Until another explosion caused a fire that tore through an apartment, killing 20 of its occupants. A few days after that, yet another explosion destroyed a café. When the fourth explosion destroyed a carriage killing an entire family and injuring so many more, the populace began to realize this is more than just a series of isolated incidents. This will never stop, and it'll keep coming. A letter was sent to the Marshall's office. The writer claimed responsibility and made its demand: for every day a certain Judge is not expelled out of this country, the bombing will continue and escalate. An atmosphere of fear and terror sets into the continent.

In a blink of an eye, Noir went from a friendly face… to the most hated person in the country. Riots broke out. People protesting, demanding for the Judge to surrender himself. They first tried to the orphanage, but he wasn't there. They've checked. They know he might be in the Forest, but very few had the guts to try. Those few didn't end up well. Picketers and angry citizens flocked the Warden HQ.

Marshall Slytherin quickly declared martial law and mobilized every Warden in his employ to secure the city. To calm the riots, and most importantly, prevent further bombings. However… despite their best efforts, they never had the experience to deal with this kind of crisis. This was made painfully clear when the fifth bomb exploded… right inside a café where 3 Wardens often frequents. The 3 Wardens made it out, and not by their own effort. They would later spoke of a rider. A ghastly pale faced knight, adorned in charred black armor riding a dark shadowy two horned Bicorn, who rushed in at the last second and pulled them out just as the explosion sets off.

It was the first time he made appearance… and it would not be the last. Over the course of the next few days, the Dark Knight would appear sporadically across Februarius. Most often, he would appear in places where an incident would occur. Like he knew where the explosion would happen before hand. Several potentially catastrophic incidents had been averted, with the Explosives successfully discovered and disarmed. From these, the Wardens finally discovered the instrument of destruction: A time fused bomb. Pack up a bunch of explosively flammable concoction and set up a quick burning short fused candle as a trigger. The law of this country said one can't kill another… but that only prevent fellow living beings killing another living beings. Such lifeless contraptions have no will, no ill intent. They explode because they were designed that way. Whether or whether not the explosion kills their intended target is not the issue. This device was something the Wardens of Februarius had never encountered before. No one in Februarius even knew how to make such a horrifying contraption. Yet the Dark knight seems to have no problem locating them. It began to raise questions.

Some began to whisper that it was the Dark knight who caused the explosions in the first place. Others in opposition said he was there to help. And indeed, Dark Knights sightings became a prophetic warning of an ill omen, that terrible incident will occur somewhere, wherever he's near. More than a few lives had been saved as the mere sight of the Dark Knight alerted the populace to escape the vicinity with all due haste.

Regardless, the incidents continue to increase in intensity. And while the Dark Knight can seemingly traverse across vast distances with the supernatural speed of his dark mount, he cannot be everywhere at once. The bombings increase both in scale and frequency, so much so that the he could not cover them all. And the Wardens were just as helpless as the citizen they're supposed to protect, as a certain Judge had prophesized.

With mounting casualties, desperate measures were finally taken.

Goud Veia had been staying in the vicinity of Februarius for his sabbatical. That he became involved with several minor incidents was considered, by his word, an entertainment that makes his vacation less dull. But now… now with this crisis continue to rise; orders had come on high for him to contain this situation by any means necessary.

And so, the Februarius saw rank upon rank of Water Knights, Emerald Knights and Bladebanes marched across the street. This has a mixed effect. For the human population of the Februarius, this was a welcome sight. People cheered as they parade the Immortal Hero of Zaft who ended the Magic War across the streets. All prayed their coming will herald the return of peaceful days. That Veia's fleet also bring with them the much needed food supply to aid in their current food problems, never mind that later on Veia instilled strict martial law, placing the wardens under the army's jurisdiction, and enforce strict curfew on the streets, all welcome the Hakutenkun with open arms.

For the Otherworlders… this is like… a recurring nightmare. Many Alpheim races had very long memory. And they still remember the terror they felt in the Magic War when they had to face Goud Veia's unassailable might and immortality. When they heard he's here, many of them ran back into the Gate, back into Alpheim.

In a span of but two weeks after the first explosion, Februarius was changed.

And Godric Gryffindor wasn't sure if it's for the better.

In those two weeks, Godric's scars from the explosion had largely healed. But there was no denying that he was a changed man ever since.

Godric had ever saw Noir not only as a bottomless reservoir of wisdom, but also a paragon of courage and valor whose only flaw was the physical frailty of his youth. Then Princess Clyne granted him a worthy gift in form of the Titanbane, a body worthy of the intellect and wisdom housed within… Godric had thought Noir was all but unassailable. And then that explosion happened. That explosion that very nearly took both of their lives happened just right after Noir was expounding upon him the vulnerability of Februarius resulted from loss of vigilance that was caused of their overreliance to the Three Laws. Never before had a lesson been beaten into him with an example so hard, so on the spot, they've rocked him to his core.

Vigilance. Constant vigilance. The wariness to question everything around him. To doubt. The last lesson Noir imparted upon him, and by Merlin, he will not be forgetting this lesson any time soon.

And… it is a lesson he now have plenty of chances to put into practice. The human population in Februarius welcomed Goud Veia's army with open arms. That the bombing incidents stopped entirely when the army arrived further add to the jubilation. And yet… Godric found himself less than pleased. Something… something is wrong about this situation. Logic and common sense dictate this the way it should be, but something else deep in his heart is screaming silently that this is not right.

As one of Balthazar's best Wardens and a survivor of the incident, Goud Veia himself acknowledged Godric as a fine knight, briefly trained him, and elevated him to an honorary Elemental Knight, granting him authority over a squad of his men to help the young Warden safeguard the city.

For his part, Godric was honored by the trust. But… apart from his own personal doubt, he grew increasingly embittered by a prevailing sentiment amidst Veia's knights. Chief among them… was their determination to arrest the so called Reaper Judge.

"He's not our enemy. Dear God, he saved my life and god knows how many more!"

"And then those people being bombed to get to him-"

"I'm not going to hear this nonsense again. We DO NOT negotiate with terrorist! Doubly so when the demand is something so dishonorable!"

"Then why did he not show himself? Why is he hiding? Why didn't he work with us like you do?" The argument was made. "Why didn't he pay homage to our Lord? Why didn't he report what he knows?"

"Let's consider for a moment, that he had no choice. Solitude is the only way he can get closer to the truth."

"What truth?"

"The truth as to why all these terrible things are happening. Sure, with the army here, the incidents stopped, but have you found who caused it in the first place?"

"I had a feeling if we get to him, he'll tell us!"

Godric growled. He's not sure where this theory comes from, but this sentiment that Noir is both Arson and Fireman is ludicrous. Alas, owing to Noir's less than welcomed reputation amongst the Februarius Wardens, none tried to silence this theory. If anything, they seem to encourage it. The best he can do was to keep the men under his command to never even preach this stupidity. Not in his presence or anyone else. Especially… in the one place where Veia had specifically declared to be off limits to all but to a select few knights.

Thankfully, Godric is among those exceptions that can come and go to that place as he pleased.

"Children!" Godric laughed.

"Sir Gryffindor!" the children of the Starfall Orphanage always welcomed him with smiles and laughter. Even though those smiles and laughter seems forced at times. A lot of things had happened. A lot of bad things that make the days ahead seem darker than yesterday.

"Master Gryffindor." Helga smiled. "How did it go?"

"No sign of him." Godric shook his head. "Improper as it is, I think it's a good thing."

"Good? How is that good?" Fayt, now Godric's newly appointed squire in training, grunted.

"Because that means, Veia's men still couldn't find him yet." Rowena replied as she gently caressed Helena's hair.

"I still can't believe they're actually hunting him down?" Fayt grunted. "After everything he's done, are you kidding me!?"

"You and me both, young Fayt. But Veia took a hand's off approach. He let his men believed in whatever theory they want, as long as they kept order to the city. But… I can't help but feel this… doubt. An unnerving feeling that this is not the best thing for Februarius."

"What happened to our city…? Is this… what Master Noir envisioned for Februarius?" Hugo frowned.

"Master Noir envisioned our children playing happily on the streets!" Helga growled. "Do you see any children these days!?"

Congregated in this house are also men and women who shared Godric's doubt. Noir's staunchest allies. Perhaps the only allies he had left in Februarius. One above all, even Godric. "By the way… where is she?"

"You know where to find her. She most likely had heard you coming anyway."

What everyone in Februarius fail to notice, or at least they just begin to notice, is that Goud Veia's army had completely taken over. That children can no longer play on the street was the least of it. Now even adults dare not to go out at night or even broad daylight. The various fantastical creatures that used to roam Februarius streets so freely were gone, leaving even the busiest of markets deserted. Only Knights roam the streets now, patrolling, searching for anyone suspicious. Sometimes, the knights would even get a tip from someone, and a house can be subjected to a strip search. In so far, there has been no damage, no one was hurt… but to say this whole situation grew increasingly stressful to the populace is an understatement. Thankfully, Veia ensured Balthazar this will not get any worse.

He would do this, not because he respected Balthazar authority… no. He would do this because the last thing he wanted was to draw the ire of one person. This person is the reason why Veia declared this orphanage is off limits. "It's more than your lives' worth to go to that place looking for trouble."

Godric went to the place where this person had spent most of her time of late.

There amidst the garden, in an ocean of white roses, stands a gazebo. A pink haired princess sat there quietly, humming a song.

Every time Godric came here, he made it a habit to come and personally report to the young princess. A bit redundant indeed, what's with her ears literally hearing his coming from a mile away, she had undoubtedly heard everything that had been said at the front door. Still…

"Milady." Godric knelt on one knee before her. "Forgive me."

"For what?" Lacus chuckled. "If you cannot find him, it's because he doesn't want to be found."

The Princess had changed immensely since this whole ordeal started. Or rather… truth be known, she reverted back to what seems to be her original true personality. Oh, she's still being playful, from time to time. Occasionally ditzy and airheaded… but circumstances demanded her to show everyone the true dignity of an imperious Princess of Zaft more often then she would've liked.

Lord knows, it took its toll on her. Just look at those growing eyebags and reddened eyes. Even though Godric patrolled the streets all day, she had been using her sensory ears and spent sleepless nights observing and monitoring the whole of Februarius. A tall task that asked much of her hand, so much so she didn't even had the capacity to search for the one she really yearns for.

"Milady, what is that?"

"Hm?" Godric was referring to this sheet of paper before her. She seems to be writing something? Musical notes… "Oh… this? I feel a song coming along. So I'm writing them down. I have the tune… but I still have no idea for the lyrics."

Watching this just made Godric angrier. Not just to himself, but to his society as a whole. What kind of country is this where the adults had become so unreliable that Children had to shoulder such a burden?

"…I'll leave you to it then." Godric took a moment and turn away to leave… he barely made it past a few steps when-

THUD.

Instantaneously turning around, Godric saw Lacus had fallen face first unto the flower bed.

"MILADY!" Godric's howl was heard allover the house.

Moments later, when Lacus came to, she found herself in bed, surrounded by the relieved expressions of everyone who adored her. "Arara… everyone…"

"Milady!" Helga's tears had yet to dry. "Milady, thank goodness!"

"You really gave us a fright." Fayt sighed.

"I'm sorry for the scare." Lacus looked most apologetically to Sophie, who also come to her side despite her own condition.

"…milady, you shouldn't push yourself like this." Godric was still thoroughly shaken.

"My apologies… it's just… I… I was using my ears to monitor the city… and then… I found… something. Or rather… someone. The excitement got to me."

And there's only one person who can make the Princess faint out of excitement. "…you found him?"

"Not quite. Ah… how should I put this? I didn't found him, he found me." Lacus chortled shyly. "I… just found Dobby."

"Dobby?" Helga jerked. "You found him?"

"Yes. Briefly. I sensed his heartbeat. You all know what that means. I didn't found Dobby, Noir sent him to be found by me. He wants to meet."

"At last!" Fayt balled his fist.

"We shall go as soon as you recover-"

"No. You will go to him right away. All of you. I will stay here." Lacus knew her own condition better than anyone. Even in her prime, she'll only be in the way. "Don't worry. I'm well cared for here." Just then, a small pair of hands popped out from beneath the curls of Lacus' hair, carrying a small muffin cake. "Ara, thank you kindly. Please put it on the table!"

The one Lacus addressed was a House Elf. But, as the little creature made its presence known, Godric noticed something that brought a little smile to his face. "Is she wearing a… teabag?"

The House Elf had fashioned herself a rug made of emptied teabag. Godric first looked in amusement… then gladness. If there's one good change that happened to this city, is that no small number of Elves had witnessed the impromptu fashion show that transpired at the street the other day… and though they still reject clothes… it seems a spark had been lit.

"I've been… experimenting." Lacus grinned. "First I tried with scraps of silk… then leftover fabrics… they still deem it too luxurious, so I had to settle with teabags. For now."

"I went to visit a witch friend of mine the other day." Rowena snickered. "She dressed her house-elves with folding paper."

"More like… the whole 'well mannered, civilized and intelligent lifeform' speech seems to have hit a nerve." Hugo chortled.

"You won't find naked House Elves in this house anymore, and that's a good start." Lacus grinned. "In any rate, I'm just saying, I'm in good hands. Several of them. So your concern for me is at a minimum."

"We shall depart at once. Don't worry milady. We'll find him, we'll get to the bottom of this. Fayt, you come with too. It's time you get your first field experience."

"Yes, Milord!"

Lacus reiterated that she found Dobby near the sewer exhaust pipe near the river. And that's where they go. "Oh… and uh… it might be wise to go alone." She said. Godric agreed and left behind his men, but apart from Fayt, he also brought along Hugo and Rowena. He also called in Salazar, just in case. They all rendezvoused at the sewage entrance.

And Salazar didn't come alone.

"Salazar… who are they?" Godric frowned at the Wardens behind Salazar. They seem to be far more heavily armored than he remembered.

"You want to scour the sewers for that Judge… how exactly are we supposed to do that with just a few of us?"

"We're not here to arrest judge Noir! We're here to talk. To get some answers!"

"Just the same… I feel a lot safer with them. Don't worry, my father handpicked them himself. We can trust them."

"…if you say so." Godric frowned skeptically regardless. "Let's go."

The small army then marched into the sewers. Almost immediately, everyone reached for their nose. Not to mention that unnerving squelching their every step make. "Oh dear god, what is this smell?"

"It's the sewers, mate. Go figure!"

"How could anyone stay down here… uuggh…"

"Squelchh… Eaaargh! What is this!?"

"I just bought this armor!"

"Be quiet!" Godric growled.

"Why? It's not like anyone is after us here!"

Godric shook his head in disbelief…

They ventured into the depth of the sewer for quite a while… and then this happened.

Click.

"Huh?"

CLik. Clack. Riiing. Clack. Click, clack…

A series of things happening…

It was a bit dark, so no one can actually see the mechanism working… but after one last click… they suddenly heard an increasingly loud growling sound from above…

And the next thing they know, the flood of mud, urine mixed water, and excrement flowed down from three directions and completely poured the rear group of wardens.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!"

Almost every Warden Salazar had brought were swept away by a flood of shit and mud. Godric, Rowena, Hugo, Fayt and Salazar himself were strangely spared.

The flood lasted only briefly, but it produced the desired effect.

"WHAAAA!" "WHAT IS THIS!" "YU~UCK!" "MY NEW ARMOR!" "I'M OUTTA HEEERE!"

"O… Oii!" Salazar's yell was ignored as the Wardens retreated en masse. Before he can say anything else, the wardens had all but disappeared, only they remain. "…unbelievable…"

"No kidding."

Everyone jumped when they heard that now familiar voice. When they turned they saw that familiar white mask hanging on the dark background, albeit now there's a horrible crack marring it, revealing a bit of the boy's face beneath it, his purple eye shone in disapproval, crossing his arms.

"…is flooding people with shit your idea of welcoming guests?"

"I had other things prepared. But if this is all it takes to send them away… well, that's just pathetic." Noir sighed. "Well, come on then. We're ways off."

"Don't you have anything to say to us?"

"Not here. Come."

And so, what's left of the warden team now followed the black clothed Judge across the sewers. Then the Judge lead them through a winding trip, making turns and roundabouts that showed the Judge's startling familiarity with his surroundings.

"Ma… Master, H… have you been living here since… that day?" Hugo gawked.

"I am. My compliments by the way. This is by far the least smelly sewers I've been to. And the rats are surprisingly plump too."

"You've been to other sewers?" That little implication about the Judge's diet also brought Hugo to the verge of hurling.

"If you understand the network, sewers can take you wherever you wish to go, unnoticed. Also, plenty of space to hide here."

The journey ended in what seemed like a dead end. Noir tapped a certain number of bricks, and the next instant, the bricks collapsed and rearranged themselves into a doorway. The door led to a large room.

Everyone but Noir had their jaw hung open. Inside the room is a chart of the entirety of Februarius… and beyond. The Februarians could hardly believe it, but somehow, Noir had managed to even create a very crude map of not just Februarius… but also of the world beyond the Gate. Of Alpheim. The chart somehow had depicted all the incident of Unicorn killings, even ones happening on the other side. Apart from that, clippings and piles of journals can be seen sprawling in every corner.

"How did you manage to gather all this?"

"Some from here, some from there." Noir shrugged. "I've been continuing my investigation. And… despite my solitude, I managed to make great progress."

"Why did you hide?"

"Because… because of the suspicion that the Wardens had been not so subtly voicing in the last few days." Noir sighed. "And they were right. Those explosions that had been plaguing your country. It happened because of me."

"No." Godric gawked in horror.

"I'm afraid so. See… these explosions were warnings. I've been getting steadily close. And they don't like that. They were scared. Hence the explosions to dissuade me from my course. Unfortunately for them… I'm all kinds of stubborn."

"Close?" Rowena looked at the chart… "The Unicorns?"

"Yes. Thanks to Godric, I finally understand why the Unicorns are getting killed for their Horns."

"Thanks to me?"

"Remember that day? When you shielded me from that explosion? That level of explosion, at that close of a proximity… you should be dead by now."

"Oh?"

"I ran it over and over in my mind. I can only think of one reason you survived that blast. Remember that Skellegro? You kept telling everyone that your bones are stronger than ever?"

"That's how I survived?"

"Yes. That Unicorn Enhanced Skellegro didn't just fix your skeleton. It improves it. Make it vastly stronger than any other humans. A superhuman bones." Noir lifted the book of the Magic War chronicle. "I've been reading this book page to page. A good read. Unicorn horns had never been used as a weapon, it's used, mostly as you say, for recovery items. And then it got me into thinking."

Noir showed the whiteboard containing a list of things. Skellegro was one of them, which was connected to Skeleton. Noir also listed other potions and tonics made with Unicorn horn, connected to various human vital organs: Muscle. Heart. Skin. Lungs. Liver. Digestive organs. Nose. Eyes. Ears.

"The potions that used living Unicorn Horn dust will have its efficacy improved vastly over the original formula. If a human get injured, and you drink this potion, yes you recover. But… what if… you weren't injured… and you still drink it anyway?" Noir paused to let the audience to catch up to his mindset. "Imagine that: reinforced bones, improved muscles, better eyesight, sharper hearing, impervious skin… a superhuman. Super Soldiers."

"Like the Samurais of Orb."

"Project Paladin." Noir slammed a file into the table for all to see. "An old Super Soldier program, proposed by the Church to create the Sixth Elemental Knight that is stronger than the existing five, a Holy Knight, so to speak."

"That's why they've been capturing Unicorns and harvest their Horns?" Rowena frowned as she began studying the files. "Hold up… this… Super Soldier program, this is no small thing! The Government! They had to be involved!"

"They were." Noir replied. "They had several prominent noble families, funding the whole operation. But over time, with every failure, more and more Nobles withdrew their support. Until there's only one left. And… I'm quite sure… very recently… that last one had also pulled down their support."

"Why did they pull back?"

"…I convinced them to." Noir sighed. "That last noble family… was the Britannians. Can't go over the details but… let's just say my last conversation with Charles Zi Britannia may have had some effect. Regardless, some of the more zealous members of the Project went rogue with their last sponsor pulling back, and they got desperate."

"It was you." Salazar growled. "It's all because of you. Everything! You knew they're blowing up innocent people because of you and you kept going anyway!?" Salazar roared.

"It's because they're blowing up innocent people that I know I had to keep going." Noir glanced coldly at the entrance. "Understand that we're dealing with very dangerous, very determined people. They think they're doing a mission for God, so they don't give a damn with whoever else is in the way."

"They're using children." Rowena suddenly gasped as she had continued reading the file regarding the Project Paladin's development. "They started with adults… but then… they're switching to children!?"

"Children still grow. Their bodies are much more susceptible to extreme changes."

"But children!? I… I mean…" Rowena frantically opened page by page. All she sees are failures after failures… torturous, inhumane experiments committed by half sane minds with zero morals… all of them invariably ended in death. "Children. They did this to children!"

"Yes. Yours."

"…what?" As if everything he said hadn't been infuriating enough…

"Remember a while back when I said that there seem to be very few human children in your country?"

"You said it was because of the malnutrition issue?"

"That's true. But… turns out I've been looking at half a picture." Noir grimaced. "Because… parents aren't stupid. Especially when it comes to their children. They know something was wrong. They just don't know what… and when you're desperately trying to save what you love, you'll believe anything they told you. Including… people who said they can make their children better. And it's not a lie… they DID try to make your children better. Just not in the way they hoped." Noir looked at the entrance again, as if he's so eager to leave this place, and yet he did not make a single step towards it. "…but then… I came, I found out about the malnutrition issue, I made it public, now everybody knows. They've lost a ready supply of guinea pigs, and now they resolve to… extreme methods."

"Extreme methods!?"

Noir moved to the map that depicted the recent bombings, particularly ones that had succeeded. Next to each location of the bombings were small lists of casualty names. "The first bombing killed 5 people and injured another 26. That's the official list… except… a few days later, the children of those 5 dead people also went missing. The next bombing that burned that house and killed 20 people? None are looking for 10 or so missing children who also lived in that flat amidst all the burnt ruin."

"They're using the bombings… to hide the fact they're abducting children!? OUR CHILDREN!?" Godric was on the verge of exploding.

"…why are you telling us this?" Rowena was also at her limit, but she still had enough rationality to ask.

"I need to entrust what I've learnt so far to someone I can trust… You see… right after this… I'm leaving." Noir explained simply.

"What?"

"My investigation hit a dead end. I've reached the limit of what I can do here. To solve this to… to really put an end to this madness… I need to go straight to the root of it all. And it's not here."

"Let us go with you!"

"NO! That is not why I called you all here." Again, Noir kept looking back at the entrance towards his room. But he turned back to his audience to make his point. "What have I been trying to tell you since the start of this conversation?"

"That someone is trying to harm our people, our city, OUR CHILDREN!?"

"NO." Noir growled. "To make you understand that this foe is beyond any of you. You can't fight this, but you can defend yourself against it. Defend your children. Defend your home. I take the fight to the enemy. I started this. I will put an end to it."

As if on cue, before any of the Februarians can protest, Dobby's squeal called from the entrance. "MASTER! MA~ASTER! THEY'RE HERE!" The House Elf ran through the entrance as he pointed frantically at the alleyway. Noir had been eying that entrance not because he wants to leave… he was expecting company. And if the horror in Dobby's voice is any indication, they're not as friendly as present company.

"You're being followed, as I suspected. Why do you think I didn't coordinate with Veia's army? Why didn't I share this with anyone? Even if I can trust Goud Veia, I can't trust his men. They are everywhere! There's not a single institution in Zaft they did not penetrate by hiding in plain sight!"

"I… I don't-" Hugo gawked. Godric shared a brief glance at Salazar, but he immediately gripped his sword. But Noir placed his hand over it before he can unsheathe it and he shook his head to Godric. "No. You can't fight them. Dobby! As we discussed!"

"Yes master!" Dobby swung his hand and another wall crumbled, revealing another door.

"What, you think I built this place? This door will take you straight back to the surface. They cannot see you with me, and you must never tell anyone what I've just told you, your life depends on it! Now GO!"

Rowena and Hugo immediately departed out of their newfound fear for their loved ones, followed by a thoroughly disturbed Salazar. But Godric was reluctant, and so is Fayt. "Come with us, Master. If we tell this to Lord Balthazar, I'm sure the Wardens-"

"No. And not because I don't trust Balthazar either. You all are better off not get involved in this any further. Now go!"

Godric and Fayt had no choice and left. As soon as they step through the door, the gate collapsed to reform the wall. But at the last second, Fayt had a different idea. He jumped back in right as the wall reformed.

"FAYT!?"

00000008 Years later0000000

"…you jumped back in?" Rosso perked.

"One 8 year old him vs an army of killers? Really?"

"Noir would never let himself stuck in that position without something to back it up."

"Yeah… I didn't know better than. Even still… he's my little big brother."

Athrun smiled fondly behind his mask. "I… truly appreciate that. I know I would've done the same in your position. That being said… what exactly you can do? I mean… I don't think you'll just jump in there with only your guts and well intentions no?"

"You know I'm a Leingod?"

"I do…" Rosso know very well what their bloodline limits are. It still sent shiver down his spine. "…I thought yours faded."

"Apparently, I just happened to be a late bloomer."

00000008 Years Earlier0000000

"What do you think you're doing!?"

"What does it look like? I'll help you fight your way out!"

"You have to protect Sophie! And the kids of the Orphanage! And Lacus!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Fayt replied as he pulled out his sword. "What do you think their chances are without you to protect them!?"

Before Noir can argue back, the footsteps were loud enough that the two kids realized the enemy is here. Noir only have time to do one last thing. "Here! Put this on!"

Fayt caught a crudely made Noir mask and a dark grayish cloak. When Fayt had just finished putting the garb on, their guests arrived.

An army of white cloaked men with pointy conical hat that covered their heads save armored facemask to cover and protect their faces emerged from the entrance. They number at least… a hundred. And they're all armed. Heavily enough to face a small war.

And opposing them… are just two barely armed kids.

"JUDGE NOIR OF THE CIRCLE OF LUSTITIA!" The head of this group, the one with red pointy head, boomed. He paused briefly when he saw two masked children before him. "…is there a Judge Noir among you, my children?"

"What's it to you?"

"I come to bear him glad tidings." The Red Hooded man eloquently spoke. "He has been chosen. Chosen by the one true God to take the next step towards greatness."

"Not interested."

"My son, I believe we… how do you children put it? Get off on the wrong foot." The man took a step. "When my men first saw you, unfortunate circumstances and lack of faith forced them to see you as an obstacle, when in truth you are, in your own way, a fellow servant of Our Lord God Emperor. You tried to prevent the spilling of more holy blood in a heathen's warzone. And for that, we should've thanked you." And indeed the red hooded man actually bowed his head.

"You're welcome." The two Judges spoke together. Insofar these people had yet to figure out who's who, so, let's play this for as long as they can.

"No, no. Words fell short. You are Noir! The Reaper Judge of Aprillus who vanquished those blasphemous sinners. You fought harder than anyone for the soul of the corrupt city that is Aprillus. Please, if you would allow me, on behalf of all those thankless fool, to reward you fittingly for all the services you've rendered!"

He speaks of reward and gratitude, and yet the behavior of the army behind him speaks of a more violent recourse. "…Project Paladin was condemned ages ago. The Government pulled their funding when you guys start using younger and younger test subjects. How exactly are you building a better future for this country, when you butchered the youths that are its future?"

"Hm. Honored martyrs. Each and every one of them. My heart wept for every one of them. But worry not, the Angels care for them-"

"Spare me your theological rhetoric; I don't follow your beliefs." Noir growled. "And let's cut the bull, shall we? When the Government pulled their Funding, you're left with the charity from private sector. Those lords who can't keep their loins in check and ended up with too many legitimate heirs and not enough inheritance to go around. And eventually you expended even that, now you resolve to kidnap sick children from hapless parents? I've thrown away my childhood to dedicate myself to fight murderers like you, not joining them. I don't care if your God had chosen me. I choose my own fate."

By now, it became clear that their chosen one will not come with them willingly and… violence is imminent.

"…my children. Please. Let's not do this."

"No. Let's." One of the two Noirs showed a sword in hand… and blue aura began emanating from allover his body. Dirt, dust, and even sizable rubbles were pushed away from him due to sheer pressure of his being.

Noir tried to remember the Bloodline limit of Leingods… and he thought they were at the end of the line…

"This is regretful." The Red hooded man snapped his finger. Negotiation failed. The other white hooded men step forward, spears protruding. They all charged in unison…

Noir(Fayt) simply swing his sword in a vertical chop, and a blue wave emanated from his sword, and 5 spears pointed at him were… disintegrated to particles and then nothingness.

The Leingod's bloodline limit is… somewhat difficult to understand. Legend has it their ancestors were the product of the Old Ones' attempt on pushing the limit of their highly advanced art of Geneology. 'How much destructive powers we can give to a human test subject before it destroy themselves', that kind of idea. Whatever the Old one did to them, Athrun once theorized that their bloodline limit inflict massive damage to their surroundings by emanating an energy (what they later know as Chakra) that disintegrate molecular bond on whatever objects they made contact with. Because they destroy things at base molecular level; even regenerators like Athrun are at their mercy, their damaged parts can't heal themselves after being shredded down to its atoms.

Of course, no one, not even Kira, understood what the hell any of that means, so they just concluded to call it with the apt name it was given: Destruction. Pure Absolute Destruction.

They say in its heyday, the most powerful Leingods can disintegrate everything, so much so that they could've destroyed themselves if they're not careful. So they've learnt to imbue this destructive power unto objects that can take the burden, popularly swords.

That would explain why Fayt's training grade sword can completely disintegrate through the Hooded men's obviously state of the art weapons.

"What the…"

"RAAAAAAAAGHGGH!" Fayt unleash a second swing, this time horizontally, and the wave struck the front most line, sending them all flying. After seeing what it did to spears, one shudder the thought of what it'll do to human flesh… but…

The pile of men start getting back up. The only thing that was destroyed is their armor and weapons. "It hurts a little. It's no big deal!"

"What… why?" Noir(Fayt) gaped. Last time when he did it to a training dummy, he wiped them off existence!

"The three laws." Noir concluded. "You can't kill in Februarius."

"Oh come on!"

"H… HAHA! DO YOU SEE!? BEHOLD THE DIVINE PROTECTION OF THE LORD!"

"Didn't you just said-" Noir(Fayt) tilted his head.

"They just love to believe whatever they like." Noir sighed. "Anyway, you can't kill them. But you can hurt them. Cut off their arms or legs, or whatnot."

"What!? B… that's a bit cruel!?"

"They're gonna do worse to you. Oh well. Back up a bit." Noir pulled Fayt back a step. "…Dobby! As we discussed."

Dobby appeared on Noir's shoulder and snapped his finger. In just one snap, all one hundred hooded men were literally knocked off the ground by rising stone pillars right up their groin and pushed to the air until their heads were bashed flat to the ceiling.

When the stone pillars are gone, everyone fell not so gently to the floor, holding on to their heads or their groin or both. The cacophony of pain and horror that followed was relatively traumatic. And still some deigned to get back up.

"Dobby, up to down."

By up, means the ceiling. By down, means bring it down on top of their heads. Dobby snapped again, and the ceiling collapsed upon them, raining them all underneath with rubble until all that's left are just twitching limbs buried beneath pile of rocks.

"Dobby, did you just kill them?" Noir(Fayt) asked in horror.

"No, Master-lookalike! Dobby was told to only… maim or seriously injure!" Dobby replied… with a disturbingly cheerful tone.

"…A week with you and he went from self flagellating to… this. What the hell have you been teaching this little elf?"

"Manners. History lessons. Language. Cooking. And just a little bit of logic." Noir innocently replied.

"That's one twisted logic."

"I know." By then Noir had put on his Bert suit. "Dobby, did you get them all?"

"A thousand pardon master, I believe the red one got away! He ran really fast ahead of the others!"

"Yeah. Cowards tend to do that." Bert transformed into its Titanbane mode. And Dobby, this time without another word said, climbed up Noir's hand and rested on his shoulder. "Come on."

Fayt followed timidly behind as Noir stomped over groaning men under all that ruin. Just as they walk past the corner, another pack of Hooded men came charging in. Noir only nodded at them, and Dobby waved his hand, a shockwave propelled all six men to a crumpled mess cratered in the wall. "Did you know this guy is actually a High Elf? Ergo, his magic is… more potent than a hundred wizards pooled together." So Noir explained as the living shoulder mounted weapon that is Dobby sent 7 or so armed killers flying across the sewer.

"Oh man…" Fayt winced as he watched the ridiculous ease in which Noir made his 'escape'. "So… I'm guessing after this you'll… what… ride the Bicorn all the way to the harbor or something?"

"Something like that." Noir sighed. "But you know what? Now that think about it, I think it's good that you are here. I need someone to take Dobby back to the Orphanage. Can't exactly take him back with me to Aprillus. I'm not firing you, Dobby; I'm assigning you another duty: I need you to protect the Orphanage in my absence, understood?" Dobby was on the verge of crying, but then he nodded and accepted the assignment.

"I see…"

But as soon as they said that, they reached the exit… and the last obstacle to freedom.

The Red Hooded man stood before him… and next to him… is a tall figure shrouded in dirty cloak.

"It's a shame, truly!" The Red Hooded man bawled. "You were granted a privilege to be among the chosen of the Light! Yet you choose to… to mire in darkness!"

"You try to blind everyone with lies using your 'Light'." Noir replied. "And in so doing you try to bury the Truth in Darkness. That's what you always do. If that's how it's going to be, I'd rather stay in the Shadows. To remind you that Truth cannot be buried. Not even in Darkness."

"Truth! Hah! What is the Truth but the Grace of the Divine! Now witness the truth! Witness His Divine Might and Wrath in flesh! HALLELUJAH!"

The tall shrouded figure moved and in so doing discard his ragged cloak, revealing his true form. A knight. A tall, lean, gaunt and fully armored from head to toe. He's only a head shorter than Titanbane Noir. he armor also carries an angelic theme with various parts designed in white angelic wings ended with orange tinged feathers. The helmet covered the knight's entire face with multiple slits for the eyes to shine through, as well as bearing a circular ram horns on both sides, designed in such a way to resemble Angel's halo. He bear a small diamond shaped buckler on his left and carry a two pronged spear made of conjoined twisting steel rod on the other.

Noir's one visible eye widened. He didn't think the project had reached this stage already. "DOBBY, PROTECT FAYT!"

Just as Dobby jumped down from Noir's shoulder to Fayt's, his master was already being pushed through the wall by the Paladin who just charged him faster than his eye can blink. It took everything Noir had to prevent the two forked spear from piercing his heart, holding that spear by the haft with both hands. But this Knight… this Super Knight is unbelievably strong. If Noir had not spent every waking hour mastering his Titanbane, he would've been gutted by that first charge but his life is still in peril. The Knight kept pushing him through wall after wall, and his feet carved the ground in its futile attempt to even slow this Knight down.

Thinking quickly, Noir used every ounce of strength he had and let the spear found its mark, specifically, away from his heart and into his shoulder. Ordering the muscles on his shoulder to tighten up, Noir trapped the spear there. Holding that trapped spear in one hand, Noir start punching the Paladin in the face. The shock was enough to stop his charge, although his grip on his spear hardly budged. The two were locked in that position for a while and Noir kept punching the Knight's unresponsive face again and again. But then at the next punch, the Paladin suddenly headbutt the incoming fist, repelling it. And while Noir is still bewildered, his chest was struck by the Paladin's knee. The armor hold, but the shockwave rattled his insides. That hurts… and it did some real damage. But the Super Knight hadn't finished yet. He raised his Diamond shield, the tip opened up, and a blade extended out before he slashed it at Noir's flailing arm. But Noir sent a certain mental command, and the joints between his forearm and his bicep, the part that the Paladin aim to cut, suddenly loosened. The Paladin gasped when his shield blade ended up trying, and failing, to slice a stretch of rubbery matter. His blade ended up getting repelled back. That cost him a solid knee from Noir straight to just underneath his armpit. The pain shot all the way to his lung, but if he felt it, he showed no sign.

Instead, he tightened his grip on his stuck spear and made a certain motion. Noir need only to see the way he set up his wrist to know what he's about to do next.

A drill stab. He's going to rip his entire shoulder off. The Paladin growled briefly and rapidly spins his spear like a drill. But here's something he did not expect: at the last second, Noir also jumped and spin along with the spear in the same direction as the rotating spear. When the spear stopped spinning, the giant knight nimbly landed on its two feet, shoulder still intact, spear still stuck. Noir had prevented the worst of damage. And then, after relocating his dislocated joint, he used both of his arms and grabbed hold of the spear, and pulled it further in. The Paladin had no choice but to let go of his weapon for the first time. But that's exactly what Noir had planned. He swing back both fists and launched a double straight punch at him. The Paladin raised his shield in time, but he was still sent flying with his shield bearing imprints of Noir's oversized fists. He crashed unto the ceiling but kicked it off and landed deftly on his two feet. When he raised his head to face the enemy, his spear is already heading towards his face. He merely tilted his head, dodged it by an inch and caught it with one hand midair. But the sheer force in which Noir had thrown the spear grated his gauntlet until its hot red before the spear stopped, the momentum pushed his whole body back a few steps, but he's otherwise unharmed.

They're back to square one, but both now had some idea as to what they're up against.

"Holy shit." Noir gawked. "You're a Super Soldier alright."

"And you're telling me you're not?" The Paladin spoke for the first timein acknowledgement, as he deftly swiveled his spear, readily pointing the business end of his weapon at Noir's mangled shoulder, as if aiming at a vulnerable opening. But.

"I've been trained to think fast. And now I have a body that can move just as fast." Noir give that damaged part a pulse of a thought, and the torn artificial muscles re-knit itself back, the damage disappeared like it was never there. In the weeks since he first unlocked the true power of the Titanbane, Noir had gained full mastery of the armor. In full manual mode, it gave him a body that reacts as fast as his sharp mind can think it, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Every strand of muscle in this suit is under his full control and so he can use it in ways even Lacus never thought possible. Joint dislocation is trivial, but body reconstruction was the first trick he learned.

Also, because the wearer of the Titanbane is a diminutive child, over 80 percent of his body was just bundles of artificial muscle. As long as no harm came to the chest area, where his original body resides, one can pierce his shoulder or rip off a limb, it's still no harm done and only the pain gets transmitted. And as far as Noir concerned, pain's an old friend. After that brief exchange, the Paladin had figured this much out. His true target lies at the chest area, where all that red energy pulsing out across his body.

By comparison, Noir had pretty much guessed the overcharged spec of this Paladin. He's a speed type. And that reaction time is just unreal. The Titanbane can barely keep up even with Noir's lightning fast commands and its instant reaction to it. Actually… Noir just realized, just now he was just testing the water. Now he'll get serious, and he'll be even faster than before. The only thing Noir got going at the moment is his durability and his brute strength. If he's to gain an upper hand… he only had… one option.

Noir crossed both arms around his chest, a defensive posture. The Paladin tilted. So… the Judge knew that he had figured out his weakness. So intends to double down on defenses, particularly around his weak spot.

The Paladin reacted by throwing away his shield and held his two pronged spear with two hands.

And then they both waited.

This fight will end in the next blow.

The Paladin made the first charge. He thrust his spear with all his might. The gamble here, is if his two handed spear thrust is powerful enough to pierce through two layers of defense of Noir's thick arm.

But he's not planning on gambling. At the last moment, the Paladin kicked the ground at such speed, he seem disappeared. Noir only heard two distinct thuds, the Paladin had leapt over his head, kicked the ceiling, landed on his back and kicked it again to lunge in with his spear, a back stab against his unprotected rear.

The two pronged spear punched through the Titanbane's chest from the back, right through the heart. In fact, the Paladin pushed his spear so deep, his two arms plowed through the Titanbane's back…

…and he quickly realized something's wrong. The Titanbane armor is too… soft?

His spear pierced through the Titanbane from its vulnerable rear, it went straight through the wearer's heart… that is… if the wearer was really there to begin with. And he was quick to realize this was not the case. That's when the Paladin realized he's trapped. His spear is trapped, entangled in fibers of the artificial muscle.

The Titanbane began to tremble and coiled, its thigh bulged unnaturally… and Noir sprouted out of his hiding place. Another trick he learned using the full manual function of the armor, he doesn't need to stay in its chest cavity to control the armor, and his small size meant he can just 'swim' away across the muscle fibers to any body part as necessary.

"Your reaction speed is amazing."

Noir grunted, and the upper half of the Titanbane twisted its arms and body. Its armor pieces shifted along with the muscle flow until the whole upper body half had made a full 180 degree turn and grabbed hold of the Paladin in place. "But you completely misjudged your enemy and your situation." Noir slide to the Titanbane's back, and then stretched out his right arm. And while the Titanbane's two muscular arms are still locking the Paladin in place, the other muscle strands from every other part of his body flowed like swarm of black snakes, converging on that one stretched right arm. It took in about 60 percent of the remaining muscle strands from its whole body and constructed an arm three times the size of the normal Titanbane arms. Heck, the knuckle alone is as big as the Paladin's height!

When he saw that third oversized arm, the Paladin stopped struggling, fully knowing what comes next.

"Here endeth the lesson!"

"Oh fu-"

BAMMM!

That thunderous cannonfire like sound can be heard echoing all across the sewers.

Fayt and the Red Hooded man was just wondering what that noise meant when a wall was ceremoniously smashed apart as the much crumpled Paladin was sent flying through it. His flight immediately ended when he crash landed and cratered the sewer floor right inbetween them.

The Red Hooded man looked at the crater, and though Fayt couldn't see it, he imagined his eyes went just as wide as his.

"You killed some of the most innocent creatures in the world…" Noir's voice echoed as he climbed out of the crumbling wall. "…all for THAT?" He's fast, he's strong, he's sharp… but… Noir had caught faster things. He and Rosso had come face to face with much stronger beings. They've outwitted sharper foes. If this is their idea of a Super Soldier… they got a long way to go.

"M… My… word…" Rather than being upset, the Red Hooded Man was… mightily impressed. "He may be just a test model… but… even with that armor, to be able to win so flawlessly…"

Alas, it was evident for everyone that was not entirely true. Noir was holding on to his chest with one hand, the other hung uselessly, and his breathing was heavy and erratic. He won, but the Paladin still managed to did a number on him. Not to mention the backlash of using the Titanbane in such a radical way cost his underdeveloped body dearly.

"You truly are a chosen one, Lord Noir. Alas… I pity you! All that potential for greatness, for glory… all that was trapped in a body that cannot support it!"

"…oh… huff… why don't you just… huff… shut it." Noir tilted his head. "On second thought… no… don't shut up. I'm gonna need you to blab a lot. Starting with… who's been making more like him?" Noir jerked his thumb at the still twitching Paladin on the crater.

"Pardon? Don't you think it would be more prudent for me to bring you to meet Him?"

"I wouldn't want to go anywhere within two blocks with you. No. I'd rather we both stay here… and we have our little chat… under a threat of immense pain for you."

"Even with feat as magnificent as this, did you think I'm that helpless?"

"Yes." Noir and Fayt answered.

"Don't look down on me you insolent brats! While you're busy fighting against this broken thing, I've sent for another 500 of my brothers! They should be here shortly!"

"Actually, it's more like 50."

Before the red hooded man can reply, he felt a heavy thick breath puffing against his back. When he turned around, something fell unto his lap. It's the bloody severed head… of one his 'brothers'. As with all severed head, he's very, very dead, especially considering something had brutally punctured him from his eyesocket. As the Red Hooded man slowly lifted his head up to look at the culprit, he was welcomed by the nightmarish visage of a bloodstained jet black horse with two curved horns, a Bicorn fresh from his carnage, his horn still dripping with gore, his hooves still had some bits of skull and bone shard prickling its fur from when he crushed his victims underfoot.

"W… Wha…"

"A little lesson to the unwise." Noir's voice hissed like death. "Yes, one of the Three Laws in Februarius said you can't kill… And that is true. But none of you realize one BIG contradiction: If you can't kill… how do you slaughter the animals for their meat? How did Dwarves and Goblins can kill each other with impunity? Not sure how it works with Goblins but still… The Law that prohibits you from killing… only applies if you are of the same race. If you are a different species… then it's a free for all."

It made so much sense to Fayt that he had to question himself: "…and we didn't notice this until now, WHY!?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It took me a little over two months to notice it myself." Around this time, Noir stopped panting and his footsteps grew increasingly firm and menacing. He's recovering rapidly, much to the Hooded Man's horror. "And another one for you, my good sir: the last Unicorn who died because of this project was that Bicorn's… mate. So… as you can just about imagine, he's all kinds of pissed."

To make his point, the Bicorn showcased his gore stained curved horns before the Red Hooded man. At this point, the Red Hooded man dropped all façade of eloquence and fell on his knees, pissing himself. Now he's completely surrounded by hostiles. "No… No… please… in the name of God… please… mercy! Mercy My lord!"

"I've told you. We need you to talk."

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want to know!"

"Who's been leading you? Answer me!"

"It was the benevolent Arch-" The man never gets to finish it. As soon as he said that, runic markings glowed fiercely from underneath his garb. The man screamed as the markings grew brighter and brighter and he quickly went into spasm. His body began swell at an alarming rate, as his scream grew louder and louder, light bursting through his every orifice.

It happened so quickly, Noir only had time to voice one order:

"RUN!"

The next second, the doomed man exploded in a blinding conflagration. Such was the intensity, everyone in vicinity can only see white for a while. The explosion was surprisingly silent. But the destruction it inflicts was evident.

When Fayt came to, his eyesight is still blurry and clouded by errant light, the after effects of that blinding event.

"Careful, now. Just take it slowly, you're okay!"

Who is that? He never heard that voice before.

"Where have you taken us?" That was Noir's voice. Good. He's okay.

"Deeper back into the Sewers I'm afraid. I'm sorry, I just don't see a way past that explosion."

"And Dobby? The Bicorn?"

"They were on the other side of the blast, but I'd like to think they're fine. They are, as you know, much stronger beings than us."

Fayt is starting to recover his eyesight. But he's still confused on who is this person who was implied to have saved them. He started by trying to get back up. But his head spin, and he almost failed, but then a pair of firm hands helped him up. "T… Thanks…"

"Don't mention it." So says the Paladin who was trying to kill Noir just a few minutes ago.

"WHA~AT THE!?" Fayt jumped back in panic and hastily get to a fighting stance… until he realized he was lifting a broken sword.

"Please. Calm down. I mean you no harm!"

"Yeah right! You were trying to gut Noir a few minutes ago!"

"And just a second ago, he dragged us out of the explosion and the resulting landfall." Noir surprisingly defended the Paladin.

Fayt looked at Noir and gawked. Noir is still in his Titanbane, but the armor have been irreparably shredded on several parts. He lost an arm, and a portion of his leg had been eviscerated.

The Paladin made a gesture of bowing. "I'm… truly sorry for my behavior earlier. I did ask Hallelujah to play the part, but he can be a little bit excessive."

"Hallelujah?"

The Paladin then removed his helmet. But the already ruined headgear crumbled anyway, revealing the man underneath… or rather… the boy underneath. He had a well combed dark green hair with a bang was purposefully swept down to cover one of his eye, revealing his one Grey left eye in the open. Fayt gaped. He looked only slightly older than him, but his height and body size… it's abnormally tall.

"I'm… Allelujah Haptism. I am… as you might have guessed, one of the first Paladins. One who managed to survive anyway."

"How… old are you?" Fayt gawked.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. After everything they've done to me, I couldn't remember much of anything anymore."

"…they managed to get this far?" Noir shook his head. Then quickly changed the subject. "You saved me and Fayt… and… even though we fought just now, you've been holding back?"

"For years, I've been waiting for this chance. The one time they're going to test me in the field. Of course, I didn't expect my first enemy to be you… but… if it's you… especially after you showed me that level of prowess…"

"As far as fighting prowess goes, you far outstrip me, you do realize that?"

"But you're still the formidable Judge Noir. The Legendary Judge Noir… I… I don't know who else can help me but you!"

For his part, Noir was at least grateful enough for the Paladin… no, for Allelujah's help saving his and Fayt's life. But he also had a lot on his mind. Namely: "…you saved me and Fayt. I won't forget this debt, Allelujah. But I also had a lot of questions that needs answering." Noir hopped out of the damaged Titanbane for this occasion.

"I'll do what I can."

"So Project Paladin really did continue. But… if they managed to create you… then it's far worse than I suspected."

"I'm not very familiar with the technical side of things… All I remember of my beginning was an empty cell and a parade of men in masks, taking notes." Alelujah began explaining what he know. "In my case… they've been injecting me with all kinds of stuff. Forcing me to eat things that… that prove tortuously painful in the coming days. It was very hellish in the first few weeks. Many of my other fellow test subjects didn't even make it past the first few days. Those who didn't make it… they died in horrible conditions. I was lucky."

Noir can just about imagine.

"I was… the first of their test subject that succeeded. In some way. They still think I'm not 'there' yet, but they see value in my survival for further testing and combat readiness. So I rose up through their ranks and became a bodyguard of sort to one of their head scientists. That Red Hooded Man just now, my overseer. But… truth be known, he's not as high ranked as he thinks."

"But high enough that he seems to know who's in charge." Noir snorted. "Before his death, he said one syllable: Arch. Now there are several ranks in our Church with Arch in it. Arch-Deacon. Arch-diocese. But… not many people can have command of the Cardinal Guards. That's yet another clue."

"Cardinal Guards are the personal Bodyguards of the Pope. Who else can move them?"

"There's the… Arch-Cardinals."

"Never heard of such thing."

"It's not an official title, but it is an informal way to address the… Preferiti."

"P… Preferiti?" Allelujah choked.

"What's that?" Fayt asked.

"Preferiti are the favored of the Pope. In the event when the current Pope passed away, his next successor will be chosen amongst the Preferiti." Noir tilted his head. "Arch-Cardinal is not an officially acknowledged title, but… the current Pope is ancient. Everybody knows he won't be long for this world. As the moment approaches, the Preferiti will start gaining influence and authority over other Cardinals, leading to the unofficial title: Arch-cardinal. That actually makes a lot of sense. Only an Arch Cardinal would have the resource and power to do things at this scale. That reduces the numbers of possible suspects down to five."

"Five?"

"There can only be five Preferitis at any given time. The Cardinal of Fire, Water, Earth, Wood and Steel." Allelujah nodded. "Just like the Five Element system of the Elemental Knights."

"But you don't know which, Allelujah?"

"I wish I knew."

Noir sighed. "…what exactly do you want from me, Allelujah? You wanted my help, but to do what exactly?"

At this Allelujah somberly knelt on his knees and tucked his head down. "…I was very selfish. I originally planned this, with the idea to escape alone."

"You… were waiting for them to test you on the field. Then you were going to fight your way to freedom?"

"As simple as it is selfish. I know it's stupid. Of course, they did come up with a way to ensure that I won't be able to escape. But… the brightest idea they can think of on me is a slave choker. Which… after months of effort, I managed to sabotage without their knowing." Allelujah showed them the slave choker on his throat. The runic inscriptions had been carefully scratched to malfunction. "Months playing the servant, pretending to be in pain whenever they activate the choker… all for this day."

"…and you threw it all away to save me. Why do I deserve this?"

"I didn't know I was going to fight you. Quite frankly, I don't even care who I'm going to fight in my first field test. But… then… these people… when they've realized they drew YOUR attention of all people, they start gathering files. Information, whatever they can get their hands on. I watched as their fear and wariness of you turned to sheer awe. The things you've done. All you have was your mind and you sharpen it into such a deadly weapon, even I can't do half the things you've done with only your wits. When I saw all this…, like them, fear turned to admiration… I began to think… to plan more than just to escape. I've made up my mind right then and there… if fate willing… if I have a chance to find you… I will help you. Because you are my only hope."

"Tell me what do you want of me, Allelujah."

"…I want what you want. I want this madness to end. If I could tell you who's in charge of the whole operation, I would. Alas, I cannot. But, what I can tell you now… at the very least… I know where I was made. And there are more of us. Innocent children turned into Monsters like me." Allelujah bowed his head lower. "I beg of you, Judge Noir… Please… help me save them!"

"Saving them was always part of the plan." Noir nodded, and Allelujah's face brightened. "And your insider knowledge will be invaluable, make no mistake. But… let us redirect our attention to the present. Specifically… our current condition."

And their current condition being… they're currently trapped inside the ruined sewers. Noir and Allelujah's fierce fight had weakened the foundations of the sewer, and then that exploding hooded man had completely collapsed the structure. Now that Fayt noticed it, it's pile of rubble wherever he looked. As Fayt continue to look at every which way, a dreadful realization began to haunt him. "…are we… buried?"

"Seems that way." Noir replied flatly. "Thankfully, we're not completely trapped."

"…there's light, and the air is not so stale." Allelujah also looked around. "But… if there's a hole, I don't think any of us can fit in."

"Let's just start with trying to find where that air comes from. You got any matches, anything that can light fire?"

"I had some stones, but nothing to light."

Noir start rummaging at his own belongings… "I got… ah!"

"?"

Noir pulled out… a Lamp. The so called Magic Lamp. The three looked at it… recognized it… and ceremoniously snorted.

"If that's what I think it is, we could've just wished our way out." Allelujah chuckled.

"It's empty. I've checked. Well, we could always try to…" Noir paused. He was just about to open the cap of the empty lamp… only to find he can't. He tried again, straining this time… but it's like it was welded shut. And yet he saw no sign of tampering.

"What's wrong?"

A thought reached him. "…" He turned the lamp around… and then he start rubbing.

Before the other audiences can say anything… smoke erupted from the tip of the lamp. The smoke continues to accumulate and expand, until an alarmingly huge amount had filled the entire ceiling ominously like a roiling storm cloud. Sparks of energy began to jump inbetween that grew increasingly severe as the storm gain momentum, and the cloud began to coalesce and condense to form a vaguely humanoid shape. When the form finally partially solidifies, they can see a ghastly grayish body covered in glowing runic inscriptions, and a head with two glowing burning eyes sparkled with infinite power… looking at them, and then speak with a booming voice that shook the ground.

"O Great One who summoned me. Powerful one who shall command me thrice. I, Djinn of the Lamp, am here now to answer your wishes and whims, as you command."

No reply.

The three audiences are still in the process of trying to pick up their jaws. And preventing their overwhelmed brain from pouring out.

"…hello~o? Anyone there?"

Noir finally caught up. "Genie… as in… Oh my word…"

"It's real." Fayt gawked next. "THE STORIES ARE REAL! AHAHAHA!"

Allelujah didn't even know what to think, so he just blanked out.

"Hmmm… interesting. As I thought, we Djinns are pretty popular by now." The Djinn mused. "…I trust I don't need to sing out how it works?"

"Please don't." Noir shrugged, scratching his not so itchy head. "It's just… we all know the story, we just never thought we'll be in one in our lifetime."

"Then you must congratulate your fortune, mortals. Men had spent the rest of their lives for the opportunity, and still couldn't even come close." The Djinn shrink. His voice boomed less, now he's the same size as a full grown adult. He's muscular but surprisingly lean. He had facial features, but the smoke that served as his hair covered a good portion of it. He seems pretty young. Two gold bracelets covered his ash colored arms.

"Alright. Alright. So… let's get some things straight first." Noir nodded. He showed the Djinn the lamp, to show who had rubbed the lamp; and therefore, control of the wishes. The Djinn smiled in acknowledgement and bowed to his master. "The rules. Is it still the same?"

"I answer to the wishes three. I shall remain bound to your service until all three are fulfilled for as long as you carry that lamp."

"No killing, no bringing someone back from the dead…"

"-can't change people's hearts. No wishing for more wishes. And you have to physically rub the lamp and say 'I wish-'. The usual."

"Pretty much." As is his wont, Noir start thinking immediately.

"Well, this is great!" Fayt laughed. "Now we definitely had a way out!"

"Master, am I correct in thinking that you are trapped here?"

"What, you're worried I'll trick you like that other guy with the monkey?"

"All Djinns knew the story. A cautionary tale of Men's deviousness." The Djinn smiled uneasily.

"Don't worry. I'm more of a bird person. And you are right. My first wish is definitely to get out of here… BU~UT if you are as powerful as the legends say… I'd say we can do more than that."

"What do you mean?" Fayt asked.

"We don't want to JUST get out. Technically speaking… the Djinn can transport us from point A to Point B easily. Can you?"

"Aha! You are very perceptive, Master. Good. You've grasped the first rule in wish making: the deal is in the details. Indeed. I can take you not just out of here… but wherever you wish to go. In a twinkling of an eye!"

"Huddle up, then. Time to plan ahead."

Now they had phenomenal cosmic power at their command, their options expanded exponentially.

"First of, let's think of the situation. You want to free your brethren and I want to stop the Paladin Project from causing more damage. Am I safe to assume our interest aligned in this, Allelujah?"

"But of course!" The Paladin eagerly replied.

"Good. I'll help you get what you want… but I will also need your help to get what I want."

"And what is it that you want?"

Noir explained and Allelujah understood. "Well… that might be difficult… but… but I do need your help. It's fair. I agree to your terms. Until both of our quests are complete, my spear is yours to command, Lord Noir."

"Alright. Let's do this." Noir turned to Djinn. "Djinn… before I make my first wish, I need to understand if you can do what I'm about to ask."

"I've been listening, Master. I think I'm starting to understand what you'll ask of me. Of all the Masters and wishes that I have granted, yours might just be the most complex one yet. And to think this will only count as one wish! But worry not. The question is not if I can do it. The question is that you know exactly what you want me to do, master."

"Then it's time to draw a clearer picture." Noir picked a twig and start drawing on the sand.

"Our primary target is the Grand Basilica of Aprillus. The Church's main seat of power in the whole Empire of Zaft. There are two locations that we need to go. First, the place where Allelujah claimed he was created: a secret facility built deep underground in the Necropolis of the Basilica, the place where they bury the Hallowed Dead. A good place to hide a facility that had caused so much death and need to keep their dead hidden. The second place is… the place that I need to go. The Basilican Asset Archive. Located at one of the five elemental towers." Noir had drawn a crude but very detailed blueprint of the massive structure.

"Asset?"

"Church is a massive institution that moves a lot of funds. No matter what they preach, spiritual enrichment or whatever, even they must keep a record of their holdings somewhere. Paladin Project undoubtedly consumes an alarming rate of funds. Allelujah pointed at one location, but there's no guarantee it's the only one. If I can track the funding… we may be able to cut it at its source." Fayt and Allelujah nodded. "But here's the problem. These two locations couldn't be further apart. Between that, and the fact we are infiltrating one of the most heavily defended location in the Empire, not to mention that we need to move a lot of people in a hurry at the end…"

"Then I'm ready to play my part, Master. Make your wish!"

Noir took a glance at the other two to ask their readiness. They confirmed with a nod. He took the lamp and rubbed it. "Djinn… I wish-"

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