A/N: Hello, welcome back! Please remember that we switch to a twice-a-week schedule, so the monday chapters are also valid story chapters! :)
Seira V – Mexico, 7th February, 03:15
Seira was feeling nervous as the group approached. These were the Union agents – and the one in white must be the Third Elder then. She was glad that she had not come alone – even now, with her companions, she barely felt safe at all.
Third approached, looking over the group. There were four more people than was anticipated. "You did not come alone."
"Neither did you," Seira pointed out calmly. "I am Seira J. Loyard, and I am here as ambassador."
That was fair enough. "Third Elder. We don't give out our names, just titles. I am also here as an ambassador."
She nodded, accepting this custom of theirs. "You wished for more information?"
He nodded, looking around. If they were to be attacked, he needed to be ready. "Whatever you have is good. I'll ask questions when I need."
". ...We understand that the werewolf Lord is also a member of the Union, but we assume that he will not remain loyal to you either. This alliance would be beneficial to both sides."
"Yes. We've long thought that about Second." That's why he was here, to hear the nobles out.
"We are only interested in maintaining peace. This includes not being assaulted by werewolves or Union members when we try to quietly live our lives."
That sounded easy enough. He nodded to that. "Your allies who killed the Elders. What of them?" Surely she understood. Someone who seemed like they had a vendetta against the Union could not be allowed to coexist with them.
"..." Raizel and Frankenstein. "The one who killed the human Elders is dead. He was killed by the werewolves."
". ...I see." He'd have to tell First about that then.
Seira hesitated. ". ...we cannot deliver the one who killed the noble Elders. He sentenced them according to Lukedonian law when they attacked us first."
"I'll make sure First knows that." Laws were laws, he supposed.
A wave of sickness washed over her. Zarga. ...She still could not fathom how anyone. ...
"You mentioned Ignes Kravei," M-21 said all of a sudden. "She is better than Crombel, right?"
"Better in what way? She'd a better scientist than he is for sure." But if he meant anything else, he'd need to specify.
"She is on our side. She helped me smuggle out orders from the Lord and helped us contact you."
"And we can't get back in contact with her." But they could get her back. And then they'd have the best scientist back under their control.
M-21 nodded to confirm. "The situation is risky for her as well."
"I imagine it is." The lead scientist, and a foreigner.
"I believe this is the best course of action for both the nobles and the Union," Seira stated to conclude.
"I'm inclined to believe so as well. I'll do my best to talk First into it. I mostly do the administrative duties. First makes the actual decisions."
". ...how will we contact you?"
"Is there a number you can give-"
"Someone's headed this way." Karias butted in.
Third frowned and turned around - who would come and bother? Then they forcibly must have been right. Seira tensed as she felt it too. About six people - they crossed the water with ease. Takeo and Tao froze in horror as their visitor giggled.
"And I thought I was just going to meet two." But it was alright. She came prepared. Aris smiled. "Tao ...Takeo. ...my babies! You both look so good! Aren't you happy to see me?"
Crombel III – South Korea, 7th February, 03:00
As expected, the house was empty. Absolutely empty - so the two strong ones had left as well. This was bad news - Crombel feared that he would not see Aris and their toys again if they had gone as well. But that's why he kept Yuri here. If the mission failed and Yuri was with them, they would know immediately that he was behind it. Aris? Aris was officially dead, after all. It was pretty easy to bypass the house's security measures. Yuri looked around with a whistle. "I will check out if there is anything of use upstairs."
"Mark and I will go to the underground labs then," Crombel said dryly. Mark easily used the elevator to get them down there. Spies were useful. "You hack that computer. I'll take this one."
Mark nodded as he followed him. "I can't believe they are leaving the house pretty much unguarded."
"I can't either. We'll take a look around once we get what we came here for." He stuck a USB stick into the drive, letting the program on it do the work of hacking the computer for him.
"This will take. ...ugh. Easily an hour." Mark rubbed his chin. "It's well secure."
"I'll be going through the other rooms then." It would pay to find out all of their secrets.
Mark nodded, leaning back on the chair. "Aye. I'll keep watch here."
After going through the labs and a surprising number of training rooms- why was there an Olympic sized pool underground?- Crombel headed back up to the ground floor. He could join Yuri upstairs.
Yuri was rummaging through the drawers of the room he presumed to be the one Miss Seira was in. It held schoolbooks, mostly, but he had to remind himself that she was way more than a hundred years old, as noble clan leader. Not some school girl. He liked to think he had more class than that. He quickly shut the drawer when he heard his boss' footsteps
Crombel found Yuri in a mostly empty room, lightly decorated with a few feminine touches and some books. This decidedly did not look like any source of data, prompting Crombel to quirk a brow at the tanned man.
His cheeks reddened as he tried to think of a good excuse. ". ...The nobles might have some useful information in some sort of. ...journal. Diary. Something."
He'd gotten all of his most important work from F's journal. This room didn't look like it'd have anything useful, but Yuri was searching well all the same. "Good work."
Yuri smiled nervously. "Of course." Ah. Damn. "Well. ...no leftover noble journals here." He slipped his hands in his pockets. "Guess I will check another room."
"There are plenty to go through." This house was far bigger than the outside would have you think.
"Alright. I take ...the left one."
Huh. A bedroom. It was perfectly neat. The mirrors were covered with bedsheets. All photographs were placed picture down. ...and a single candle on the bedside table, not quite matching the rest of the decor. "Did someone die?"
"...I wouldn't know." He lifted one of the pictures. Was that. ..."We're going to have to investigate this. There's no way that person died."
Yuri hummed and moved on to the next room. An office. He shuffled through the papers and. ...frowned. "It says the Ye Ran Chairman died. ...in a hospital abroad? After a. ...ski accident?"
". ...Impossible. That man has the same power as I do." A ski accident? An obvious lie.
"Probably preparing to skip town to avoid questions, I assume." Yuri set down the papers.
"Yes." That would be the most likely thing. Damn. "Guess we came here at the right time. He'd probably have taken his data with him."
"Things sure do come together in your favour, boss." Yuri grinned and pushed up his glasses. "I will have a look around downstairs."
Crombel nodded. "I'm going to try and see which of these is M-21's."
"Good luck." Yuri headed off, leaving Crombel to his own devices.
The room was bright and simple, nothing much in the way of personal effects except for a few pictures. He wouldn't have known it as M-21's were it not for the others all obviously belonging to others. A quick search of the room showed that he'd find no information here. Well, that was a waste. He'd join Yuri then.
Yuri had stepped outside, and he'd stopped two steps away from the door. This looked like a small shrine. ...To the chairman. "They're really taking this whole faked death thing serious."
Wait. Was this not? ". ...I'm starting to believe this isn't faked. The shrine could be for show. But his room? There's no reason to assume strangers might go in there."
"A casualty on the werewolf island?" That man was affiliated with the nobles after all.
"A distinct possibility." He sighed. He'd wanted him to join them. "Let's go see how Mark is doing." At least he'd get some data out of this.
The labs were imbued with a certain stench. Burnt electronics. Mark was clearly distraught, slamming his fist on a computer. The metal case gave in instantly. "It autodestructed!"
"Damn it!" Fuck! Not even any data! "See if you can salvage a few hard drives. We'll try and recover the data back in our labs."
Mark nodded and got to work to salvage the hard drives he could get. "So they'll know we were here."
"If they return," Yuri pointed out.
"Aris will handle it," Crombel dismissed. Or not. It wasn't like her life or death mattered here. He'd gotten her brain picked plenty already.
They hummed. Yuri got to work too, disassembling the computers to the best of his ability. "So, was the visit worth it?"
"If nothing else, we've found that they're missing their best fighter. It'll make it easier to capture them later."
"You're still interested in capturing them?", Mark asked idly.
"You've seen how much they've improved. Those skills. ...we need to take a look at them in order to see how he did it."
"Ah. That makes sense. I assumed for your grand schemes, they're pretty much irrelevant," Yuri admitted. He decided that this was a hopeless case and gave up on trying to break out hard drives. He wasn't even sure which of those parts were drives in the first place.
"They are. But figuring out how to stabilise my new world the way he did them. ...surely you can see the boon there, Yuri." He'd get things done much faster that way.
A few seconds of silence passed. "You think you can stabilise me?"
"I very well might be able to. I lack any information on how to do it. But if we can manage to salvage this," he swept his hand across the lab, "then I have the relevant data on the process."
Then maybe he would live. Even though Yuri had forsworn life itself, he wouldn't mind reclaiming it. If only he could.
"I hope Aris will manage the situation," Yuri admitted. "If they all went together and if the Third Elder didn't go alone either, she might be in trouble."
"They will not trace her back to us." Even if she was in trouble, it was no true loss.
Yuri was quiet for a few minutes before paling. "Actually.. ...That. ...Is not quite correct."
Wait. What? "What do you mean?"
". ...She tried to take a friend of theirs as souvenir a couple of months ago. She was stopped by Miss Seira and M-21. Muzaka stopped them from killing her." How on earth did he forget about this incident?!
"And I wasn't informed of it immediately afterwards because?"
Why, actually? "I do not remember. My memory seems to be affected as well."
And now they'd know. His best chance after that was going to be trying to ally with Second Elder to take down the others if Aris failed. "We're going. Pick up what we've managed to salvage." There was nothing left for them here.