Author's note: Hello and welcome back to this chapter I have been looking forward to since the start since here, finally, you all probably will be able to guess what path everything will go c: A big thank you to everyone who is still reading!

Takeo III – South Korea, 27th November, 9:15

Guard duty at the school really felt wrong and lonely without M-21, Karias and Rael around. Even though Rael was absolutely unbearable and downright creepy at times. They were sort of a team. Knowing that Frankenstein was not in his office and Rai, Seira and Regis not in class was... sad. Yes, it was just sad, and this was all one could say about it.

Takeo stopped at the gate of the school and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Everyone was in class now, so surely no one would mind if he indulged in one of his few vices. He'd just lit his cigarette when one of the speakers nearby made a rustling sound followed by a high-pitched beep. "You know smoking is bad for you, Takeo," Tao's voice came from the speaker. Takeo rolled his eyes. Life was bleak enough as it was, so he might as well enjoy a cigarette from time to time. Maybe the modifications would fail them and kill them early, he heard a lot about that. Maybe the union would decide to cause problems again. Now that it was just him and Tao, what were they supposed to do against enemies that were a challenge for the assembled RK? Maybe the werewolves would just smash everything and enslave them all or something like that. Either way, nothing good was ahead, and Takeo had no doubt about it.

"Screw you, I'm going to smoke two," he said. Because there was nothing else he could do. Nothing but smoking and waiting, waiting and smoking.

Takeo had started his second cigarette (Tao had not tried bothering him again) when he noticed a familiar face approaching him. Yuri. He already has been unbearable when he was still known as Aris' assistant. But now... He was even worse, now that it turned out that he was not just a sleaze, but also a fake snake. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Was Yuri here to cause trouble?

"Good day, Takeo." Yuri had a bouquet of red roses, which was suspicious enough. And he came alone, which was also unusual. Tao better be alert with this on camera.
"Yuri." Takeo nodded courtly because being civil was just about all he could do right now.
"I hoped to see the Loyard Clan Leader, Miss Seira Loyard," Yuri said and Takeo could swear he saw a hint of nervousness flicker up in his usually suave countenance. He... wished to see Seira? That was... and with the flowers and... this made no sense, or rather, the only explanation made no sense. Takeo remained on his guard.
"She is not in today. You will have to try another time."

For a second, Yuri looked both relieved and disappointed. This whole situation was wholly unreal. With a sigh, Yuri pushed up his glasses. "Ah. I see. Well. Have a good day. I have no other business here."

He... was leaving? And Takeo just let him, deciding that it was best to just do nothing. Attentively, he watched Yuri toss the roses in a trash can he passed on his way towards the exit.

M-21 IV – Werewolf Island, 27th November, 13:30

Was he really supposed to die here? It felt like it. When M-21 looked at Lunark in the cell across from his own, he felt as if this really was where they were going to die. Hunger gnawed at his intestines most of the time, and when he was not hungry, he was cold. He slept so much, sleep turned into exhaustion. There was nothing to do but sleeping and thinking, and M-21 would rather not think at all. There was nothing worth thinking about.

Dully, he looked up when he heard the sound of heels clicking against the floor with each step. Ah. Again. Ignes opened the door to his cell quietly. This was all a well-known game, by now. Sometimes, he tried to goad her into ending this. She, however, had dulled as well, it seemed, and rarely responded to his taunts with the same ferocity as she had done before. He was just stuck in this limbo that was more a nightmare than anything else.

Once more, he ended up against the wall, wrists strapped in chains to keep him in place. He watched her getting her equipment ready. "You know, you got boring," he said, maybe it would draw a reaction.
"And you're still annoying," she huffed, brows furrowed into a furious scowl. She picked up the knife. "But it's alright. I'll find out what you're all about. You know, not even the Union-" She stopped mid-sentence and her crimson eyes widened as she almost dropped the knife. "Of course," she whispered with held breath, and M-21 felt dread rise up. Just what on earth could this devil have thought of now?

Ignes opened her mouth to speak and, with a glance to one of the corners of the laboratory room, closed it again. With slow, controlled movements, she placed the knife back on the tray of tools and approached him instead. Closer. And a bit closer still. Ignes placed one hand against his side and her cold fingers on his skin made him uncomfortable. The scientist leaned in and brought her mouth close to his ear. He would not flinch, or give her the satisfaction of dignifying her with any significant reaction.

"Respond only with 'yes' … or 'no'," she started, her voice nothing but a whisper of lips brushing against his ear.
"Go fuck yourself," he growled in response and Ignes chuckled.
"Do you want to leave this place alive or not?", she whispered, and M-21 froze. "I figured. I can help you. Do you know where Lukedonia is?"
"..." This could be a trap. Why on earth would Ignes, out of all people, help? However... It wasn't as though there was much else he could do. M-21 swallowed his discomfort. "Yes."
"I have a message from Rask – the Lord that needs to reach Lukedonia," Ignes whispered, running her hands over his sides. "They have no way of freeing their Lord on their own, with the way things are. They will need help."

M-21 tried to process what was happening. This... this was a twist he had not anticipated. He, too, glanced towards the corner where Ignes had looked just before approaching him. A camera. He shuddered. Of course, he should have figured this place was supervised.
"I still know the location of some old bases and their access codes. Someone must find one that is still connected to the Union network. The Union alone cannot stand up the Werewolves either. But together..." Ignes paused for a moment. "... they might just about make it."
"So you want to -"
"Shush." She pulled away slightly with a smile that resembled a tense grimace. "Don't talk. Just … don't talk." She shifted, putting her lips next to his other ear. "Deliver the message to Lukedonia and contact the Union. Get them to work together. Or at least try. Promise you will do this... and I will help you leave this place."

This could not be anything but a trap – and at the same time... M-21 swallowed. No, if he thought back to all the things he had witnessed with the Union.. and here... He could not bring himself to let a single coherent thought form. This must be a trap, he thought. Give him hope only to let him down. But if it was not... Ignes pulled away, and the nervous worry in her eyes was sincere. Could she really be trying to switch sides right there? And get the Union involved? He wanted to laugh at the mere notion of the Union and the Nobles possibly working together, but...

"Alright, I will do it," he whispered, and Ignes let out a little sigh, and her relieved smile looked genuine. She pulled away form him slowly. "Hmmh... maybe you can help me unwind later," she said sweetly and turned around, pressing one of the buttons against the console she used to control most equipment in this place.

A few moments later, a young werewolf scientist entered the laboratory. "Yes, Lady Ignes?"
"Bring the test subject back to his cell... and put him on an extra ration, I cannot work with starved material. I need him strong. Note that down on the maintenance plan."
"Yes, Lady Ignes," the lab assistant said and when Ignes left the laboratory, M-21 was almost inclined to believe this might be for real.

Raizel IV – Lukedonia, 28th November, 21:00

Garda was not good at making tea, but she had a much better sense of direction than Raizel ever had. She was not good with conversation, but neither was he. Garda was good at being quiet, and he enjoyed it. He also enjoyed when the tips of her fingers brushed over the back of his hand, a grounding gesture that brought him a comfort he didn't know he needed until she occasionally started doing it.

Sometimes he wanted to tell her to leave, he brought nothing but misery, after all. Sooner or later, everyone would fall victim to his own inability to make the right decisions at the right time, if it was not his mere existence that was the problem in the first place. Nothing good ever came from being with him, and he wanted to tell Garda that. Claudia or Karias would happily take care of her, and she seemed to like them too, and when he sacrificed himself, inevitably, to free their Lord, no tear would be shed for him and he could comfort himself with that knowledge.

He never minded dying, no, he always knew that this was his inevitable fate. He would die, as all must, and he hoped he would get to choose when and how... and what for. He should have disobeyed the Lord's orders. He should have destroyed the werewolf Lord where he stood, even if it meant using up the last of his life force. So many things would be different now, or so he hoped.

"Raizel," Garda said softly, gently rubbing the back of his hand with the tips of her fingers. She must have noticed that his mind had wandered off again to a darker place. A place without hope and with no light. But she was there, and she smiled. Her smile held genuine warmth, and reached her gentle, amber eyes. Raizel found himself smiling back at her, even though his own smile did not chase away the sadness.

"Frankenstein died, and M-21 is gone. Raskreia is imprisoned. The nobles are in despair. All because I could not – " He stopped. He could have. He did have that much power left. "I was selfish."
"No. No. You... You weren't," Garda said, shaking her head. She barely has been there – her mind has been elsewhere, even before Muzaka had beaten her out of consciousness.
"I was. I am selfish. I hurt people."
"No. You... you are not selfish," she insisted, and Raizel's eyes widened when she placed her hand against his cheek. It was soft, and warm, and he almost leaned into the touch. It made him realize how lonely he was. "You are... kind. You have a good heart," Garda insisted and tears welled up in his eyes. No. Raizel's throat tightened and he knew he might crack and cry as well. Garda had lost Muzaka, whom she had loved so much once, and he had lost Frankenstein, who felt like half his soul. They had nothing and no one – no hope, no future, no light. Only vengeance and...

Garda leaned forward and caught his lips in a tender, helpless kiss, and in his own lonely despair, he returned the kiss, a blush covering his cheeks.

Only vengeance and each other.