Survivors, Monsters and Murderers

by jetangel02

Night Raid and the Jaegers are prepared to battle each other to the death. But are either of them ready to stand against one of the galaxy's deadliest species? Their best hope lies with a group of survivors from beyond the stars. War is inevitable and death is certain. Courage and trust are their best weapons against the Xenomorph plague. Rated M for language, violence and gore.

8. Chapter 7

To All Readers: Thank you so much for your patience and your reviews so far. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated. Please enjoy this chapter, and review to speak your thoughts and opinions.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 7: Never More

Below Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire

Kurome and Seryu continued searching Hudson's belongings, to determine if he carried anything useful. Apart from a canteen and a trifold pouch full of odd tools, he had nothing. Kurome had figured out the ComTech's Shoulder Lamp can unhook from his armor. The teenage assassin held the grip of the Shoulder Lamp and panned the light around "Wow, amazing…" she commented "It seems to be an abundant light source, and it's brighter than a torch."

Seryu looks up and spoke "Okay, so we're taking Hudson with us? How do you propose, we do that? Carry him?" Kurome turned towards and shine the light at Koro "Can't we have Koro carry him?" Seryu argued against it "Koro's my partner for Justice, not a baggage carrier! You can't just have him move and transport objects, whenever you wish. He's meant for fighting Evil, not for handling cargo."

Kurome frowned and counter argued "You and I, both need Our hands free to defend Ourselves, in case that Thing comes back. You got any better ideas?" Seryu leered an unconscious Hudson, then over at Koro. A clever smirk spread across the auburn haired murderess' face "Koro!" she points at Hudson "Load Up!" the biological Imperial Arm enlarged his arms and his mouth, then he gently lifts the comatose Marine and slid him down his gaping maw. After slowly closing his jaws, Koro then carefully swallowed.

Kurome pulled at her black hair in shock "What the Hell, did you do!? I didn't say for you to let Koro eat him!" Seryu held up a hand to calm her down "Relax! I had Koro add Hudson to my inventory, where I keep the Judgment of the Ten Kings." She demonstrated "Koro! Hudson!" Koro regurgitated and parted his lips to reveal Hudson's face. He then sucked him back in and swallowed once more.

"We can carry him back to the surface like this, without burdening Ourselves." explained Seryu. She glanced at her Justice City Detector and saw a signal blip at the edge of her radar-scope. "I've got something." The amber eyed murderess announced "Movement, out some distance away." The signal blip disappears, and Seryu sighs in annoyance. Only those Creatures can elude the Justice City Detector to this degree, as long as They remain still.

"If It's the Beast, then It's too far away to be our concern."Kurome reassured. She held up the Shoulder Lamp and walked towards the passageway leading out of the room "Let's keep moving. We've gotta find our way back to the upper Levels." She drew Doya's Revolver and waited expectantly.

Seryu took another look at her Justice City Detector to try to see if the signal blip had returned, and saw nothing. She drew her Tonfa Guns and began to follow her comrade. Koro trotted behind to keep up.

The two young women walked out of the small room, and onto a stair landing that overlooked a broadly spaced area. The small stairwell led down into two and a half feet of dark brackish water, which gave off a sour smell. "This must be the Colony sewers." Kurome surmised, as she wrinkled her nose at the odor.

Seryu observed the stagnant waterway, with a solemn expression. She's not too prissy to go mucking around in sound sludge-filled passageway, if it meant getting out of here. But, anything could be lurking within those briny waters, be it chemical or creature. Fortunately, she already has a solution in traversing the area without touching the stale liquid.

Seryu turned to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro!", she then indicates herself and Kurome "Carry Us." Koro grew to large size and reach out with his enlarged hands. The teenage assassin and the amber eyed murderess stepped into Koro's outstretched palms, and were lifted up to his shoulders. Kurome and Seryu sat alongside Koro's head. Both young women held on tight to Koro's collar, to keep from falling off.

When Seryu and Kurome sat securely on each of Koro's shoulders, the biological Imperial Arm lurched forward and stepped down the stairs into the dark water. The shallow waters ebbed and flowed around Koro, as he made his way through the sewer, with Kurome using the Shoulder Lamp to light their way.

They haven't moved for more than several meters, and obstacles have already appeared in the form of barred passages and sealed doors. "Ignore the bars. They're probably meant to block objects from flowing in and starting a clog. The doors should be for human traffic, anyway." explained Kurome. Seryu directs Koro towards the doors.

Like the set of doors that led towards the room with the stairs and elevator, these doors were shut and had an unresponsive control switch. So like before, Koro pried open the doorway and trudged on through. Something got Kurome's attention, and she shined the light at various parts of the sewer passageway. "What are those?" Kurome asks, and Seryu glanced around in confusion.

Scattered throughout the large tunnel they're in, are large numbers of Alien-shaped husks. "What happened to these Serpents? Why are they like that?" Seryu asked. Kurome singled out a husk and concentrated the light on it, for observation. The Creature's exterior was a mash-up of blistering tissue, and scalded bone. And on some parts of the exoskeleton, were bloated pustules of yellow fluid. "It looks like damage from some sort of heat source." Kurome deduced "They must have came into contact with something extremely hot. They don't seem burned, but rather…melted."

Seryu nods in agreement "More like, boiled." She turns to her comrade, and explains "General Esdeath would tell me of the outcome, when a person is boiled alive under extreme temperatures." she points at the Alien husks "These things look similar to the results, she described." Kurome wanted to ask how Esdeath came to know about such trauma, but digressed. They must keep moving.

Koro pressed forward down the sewer tunnel and past the piles of husks. They reached a large L-shaped junction ahead and paused to search for any possible way to reach the higher levels. All that occupied this area were a large ventilation fan hanging high above, a pile of waste that rose slightly above the sludge water, with a lone husk sitting above said pile. And this One had started to move.

The Boiler Alien stirred from its resting point and began to hobble feebly around the sewer passage. Koro stood still, silently awaiting orders from Seryu, who was also staring at the Decrepit Xenomorph in morbid disgust. Seryu readily held up her Tonfa Guns, and glared over at Kurome who was shaking her head furiously. "(There May Be More...)" the teenage assassin mouthed quietly, hoping that the auburn haired murderess can read her lips. Seryu understood, and mouthed back "(What Do We Do?)" Kurome held up and hand, and gestured that they watch and wait.

Both Jaegers and biological Imperial Arm stood perfectly still, and keenly watched the Boiler Alien as it continues to wander the passageway. Twice, It came towards them, and faced them directly. But It made no move to attack. It was either ignoring them, or It couldn't sense them there. Seryu glanced questioningly at Kurome. Akame's Younger Sister made a gesture of covering her eyes, indicating that the Creature couldn't "see". Even when the Shoulder Lamp's light was shining at It, the Decrepit Xenomorph failed to notice them.

"(Blind...)" Kurome mouthed, and Seryu nods in understanding. Before, they can determine what other senses the Boiler Alien lacked, a small object came floating down from the other end of the L-shaped junction. The object slowly bobbed in place, as it came into contact with the Decrepit Xenomorph's right leg.

Hiss! The Boiler Alien gave an angry hiss, as It violently swiped at the object with Its deformed claws. The object was sent sailing through the air, and straight towards Kurome, Seryu, and Koro. Kurome reacted fast and caught the object, to prevent it from making any noise for the Creature to hear. She looks at it, and realizes that it's a doll's head. The doll had only one blue eye with the other being long since removed by time and harsh conditions, and a few strands of scraggly blond hair still hung from the top.

Kurome wanted to grunt in disgust, but kept it in. She can't risk making any noise, that may draw the Creature's attention. Then Kurome got an idea. She turns to Seryu and pointed at the doll head, she then points to a far corner of the junction area. Seryu nods in confirmation, and signals for Koro to be ready to move along slowly. Kurome takes careful aim, and threw the doll head towards the corner.

The toy piece flew at a certain distance, and bounce off a sewer wall in a clear sounding Tap! The Boiler Alien made another angry hiss, and quickly hobbled over to where the doll head landed, to investigate the sound. While It was distracted, Seryu directed Koro into proceeding towards the other end of the junction. The biological Imperial Arm carefully tread through the water, making sure not to make a splash or a slosh.

Koro made it to the other end of the L-junction without alerting the Creature. The biological Imperial Arm started down the sewer passageway, while Seryu and Kurome kept sidelong glances at the Decrepit Xenomorph, to make sure It wasn't following them. Kurome wanted to maintain view of the Boiler Alien, so she tried shifting her position for a better look. She was so intent on maintaining her gaze, that she failed to notice her shoulder brush against a bunch of loosely hanging broken pipes. The pipes came away from the sewer wall, and banged against each other as they clattered down. Clank! Clang! Splash!

Skreee!!! The Boiler Alien screeched out loud, and charged straight towards the source of the noise.

"Dammit!" Kurome growled, as she aimed Doya's pistol and shot at the Creature. The bullet pierced into one of Its glowing pustules, and the Boiler Alien exploded violently. Showers of acid-blood drenched a large radius around where the Decrepit Xenomorph once stood. Any closer, and the acid-blood would have sprayed all over Koro, as well as Seryu and Kurome.

"They explode, now!?" Seryu gasped in shock. Suddenly, dozens of more screeches echoed down the sewer tunnel, from all directions.

"That sounds like a bunch of Them." Kurome said anxiously "We need to keep them from getting close!" Seryu steadily aimed her Tonfa Guns towards the front "Koro!" she addresses her biological Imperial Arm "Keep pushing forward! Kurome and I will cover you." Koro growls and nods to show he understood, then he trudged onward at a fast pace.

Boiler Aliens came at them from down the sewer tunnel. "Justice Will Prevail!" Seryu fired into the pack and blew apart an opening for Koro to pass through. The biological Imperial Arm wove his way past the carnage, taking care not to come in contact with any of the spilled acid-blood. Sszzzt! A few stray puddles here and there, would barely touch his leg and singe him. Kurome aimed Doya's Revolver at the rear, and picked off any stragglers.

Seryu and Kurome continue to fend off the Boiler Aliens with their combined firepower, while Koro carried them safely through the winding sewer network and occasionally having to pry open more sealed doorways. Whenever the biological Imperial Arm had to stop and pry open a doorway, the two young women would quickly unload on Anything that moved toward them.

They finally came up a set of stairs that led upward. By then, Seryu and Kurome were dangerously low on ammo. Thankfully, no more of the Decrepit Xenomorphs were pursuing them. "I think, we got Them all." Kurome stated, as Koro began to pry open the last set of doors at the top of the stairs. "Let's hope so. I only have a few more rounds left." replied Seryu. Kurome loaded her gun once more, silently thanking Wave for providing an ample amount of bullets. She can reload Doya's Revolver about two or three more times, then she's empty. But there could be more Serpent Creatures down here, and that Beast is still wandering around.

Koro opens the doorway, and the two young women climbed down off of him to walk. They stepped through the doorway and down a level passage, to end up in a very large room with an equally large blocky machine at the center.

"Where are we, now?" Seryu wondered out loud. Kurome shined the Shoulder Lamp at various parts of the room. The area, and the machine within, were easily two stories high. Catwalks and ladders lined the second floor and led towards the machine's higher areas. Cables, conduits, and pipes wound around the walls and ceiling, with most connected directly to and from the machine. Lastly, were the many signs stamped along the walls and solid structure. Most were made up of letters spelling "DANGER, HIGH VOLTAGE, KEEP OUT," or "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". But, one sign caught Kurome's attention "EMERGENCY POWER GENERATOR". Below it, was another sign "CAUTION, MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS BEYOND THIS POINT ONLY."

"I know where we are." Kurome indicated the signs "We're at the Auxiliary Power Station. Just like the one described in that directory, near the stairs where we encountered the Beast." Seryu nodded in confirmation "Then, Our way back to the other Jaegers, isn't too far from here. We can tell them about this place, and maybe have Run figure out on how to get the lights and doors working again."

Kurome was about to agree, then she notice something moving in the shadows behind the large generator.

The Raven lumbered into full view of the light, and bellowed a threatening roar. Behind It, another passage led into the only corridor out of here. "It looks like, It doesn't plan on letting Us leave." Kurome surmised. Seryu's face grew murderously warped "Enough of this! Evil must be Destroyed!" she turns to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Berserk Mode!" Koro's body grew bigger, muscular, and his fur turned red. His face became more menacingly frenzied with overwhelming rage and bloodlust. He split his mouth wide open, and emitted a powerful roar blast G raaaooohhh!!!.

Groar!!! The Raven roared back in response, and charged straight towards Koro. The Berserker Imperial Arm swung a large fist at the Rogue Xenomorph, and sent It staggering back. The Raven growled in anger and swung Its claws in retaliation. Koro blocks the attack with his massive arms, and followed up with another swing of his fist. This time, the Raven catches the punch with an outstretched claw, and with Its other, grabbed Koro's other arm.

Wham! The Raven head-butts Koro, and sent him back in surprise. The Berserker Imperial Arm stumbled back and very nearly trampled over Seryu and Kurome. Before then can get crushed, Seryu swapped a mechanical arm for the Hookshot, seized Kurome by the waist, then grappled and zip-lined up to the catwalks overhead. Once they were safely out of danger, both young women peered over the railing to watch the monstrous brawl unfold.

Koro got his bearings and looked down at his midsection, to see he was once again hooked by the Raven's harpoon-like tail blade. The Raven tugged hard in order to yank Koro off his feet, but the Berserker Imperial Arm was too heavy to lift. Instead, Koro grabs and pulled on the Raven's tail, and swung the Rogue Xenomorph into a nearby wall Slam!

Crumble! The Raven came away from the damaged wall, trailing busted pipes and torn out cables. Before the Rogue Xenomorph can recover, Koro wrapped his arm around Its head and tried to twist Its head off to break Its neck. Seryu's face became hideously twisted again, as she commanded her Berserker Imperial Arm "Rip Its Head Off!"

The Raven struggled and squirmed under Koro's headlock. With the spiked ridge along the top of Rogue Xenomorph's elongated head, It raked and sawed away at Koro's flesh. Koro growled in frustration as his arm was starting to get shredded off.

Suddenly, his grip began to loosen as he lost motor control to his partially severed arm. The Raven slipped out of the Berserker Imperial Arm's hold, and delivered a claw swipe in retaliation. With only one arm functional, Koro tried to blocked again, but was overwhelmed by the blow. The Rogue Xenomorph then followed the assault with a tail swipe, and Koro was batted aside and sent stumbling by the impact.

Before the Raven can follow up on any more attacks, a hail storm of bullets came pouring over Its head. Seryu and Kurome were firing their weapons at the Rogue Xenomorph, aiming for Its grotesque face in order to try and hurt It.

The Raven growled in annoyance, as It raised a clawed hand to shield Its face. Both the auburn haired murderess and the teenage assassin stopped their barrage, as Seryu's Tonfa Guns clicked empty and Kurome's Revolver Pistol needed to be reloaded.

Seryu quickly revealed her mouth gun and took aim, but the Raven reacted first, by picking up a broken pipe, and sending it her way to throw off her shot. Clang! The pipe smashed against the catwalk's safety railing, and caused Seryu to duck for cover. With Its other claw, the Rogue Xenomorph reached out and seized the support strut holding up the catwalk both young women were standing on. With a great tug, It tore out the catwalk's support, and a section of the platform came crashing down along with Seryu and Kurome Crash! Thud! Clang!

Kurome fell down, and rolled to the side to recover. Seryu wasn't as fortunate, as she was caught up in all of the falling debris.

"Seryu!" Kurome yelled out worriedly "Are you alright!? Where are you!?" She squinted and searched the pile of debris. Her vision is severely hampered, as the Shoulder Lamp was dropped back up at the remaining platform section of the catwalk above, and its beam of light was facing upwards at the ceiling.

"Kurome…" Seryu called out from beneath the debris "I'm stuck. I can't move!" Kurome drew Muramasa, and strained against the power transfer once more. The strain quickly passed, and she held the katana Imperial Arm aloft.

The glow of Muramasa's red blade provided enough light for Kurome to properly search the debris. She finally sees Seryu underneath a grated panel and some steel girders pinning her to the floor. The amber eyed Jaeger struggled to lift the debris off herself, but the weight of all that metal refused to budge.

"It's too heavy!" Seryu growled. Kurome carefully stepped over to her and grabbed a girder to lift it. "Hngh!" Akame's Younger Sister grunted and heaved, as she tried free her trapped Comrade.

Seryu looked up and screamed "Kurome, Behind You!" Kurome glanced over her shoulder, and looked on in terror, as she sees the Raven looming over them. It reaches for Kurome with a clawed hand, and snatched her off the floor.

Kurome struggled to break free from the Rogue Xenomorph's grip, but to no avail. Its strength still outmatches the teenage Jaeger's drugged and Imperial Arm enhanced body. She could only watch, as the Raven held Its tail blade steady and poised to strike at her face.

"Grand Fall!" Wave called out, as the black armor clad sailor leaped out of the darkness, and drop-kicked the Raven in the face, sending It barreling away and dropping Kurome. The teenage assassin rolled away and looked up to see Wave, equipped with Grand Chariot's armor, land in front of her, and holding up a torch for light. Behind him, Esdeath and Run came dashing out of the passage opening. The General and her Aide stared at the Rogue Xenomorph, as It righted Itself back up and let out a ferocious roar.

Seeing the need to buy time, Esdeath conjured a wall of ice between the Raven and the Jaegers. The Raven threw Itself against the ice barrier, in an attempt to break it apart. The wall held for the most part, but it won't be long before It comes tearing through.

As the Raven busied Itself at tearing away at the ice wall, Esdeath addresses her Subordinates "Kurome. Where's Seryu?" Kurome points to the pile of debris, where a newly regenerated Koro was clearing away the metal scraps to free his user. Seryu climbs out of the pile and salutes her Comrades and Commander "I'm okay! Justice watched over me, and protected me from the Monster's barbaric attempt to entrap me!"

Wave rushed over to Kurome, and helped her to stand. "Are you hurt?" Wave asked Kurome. The teenage assassin gave a small grin, shook her head, and asked "How did you know, where to find us?" The black armored sailor spoke with a regretful tone from inside Grand Chariot's helmet "We didn't. Esdeath decided to find the Colony's power source." He grew silent, as he turned towards Run to indicate he explained instead.

"I convinced the General, that We should restore power to the Colony." Run answered "We were hoping to use the lights within the facilities, to help in Our search for you and Seryu." Kurome gave a small nod, to show she understood. "This place is the Auxiliary Power Station." Kurome explained. Then, she pointed at the center of the room "A sign over there described, that the large machine in the middle, is the power source."

Wham! The Raven struck at the ice wall, once more. Many cracks began to form along the barrier's surface. "We're running out of time. Everyone, get ready to fight!" Esdeath commanded. Run activates Mastema, and sprouted wings. He then spoke up "Our torches aren't going to last much longer, and Kurome's Imperial Arm can't illuminate the entire room. We need to activate the machine and restore power to the lights." The Jaegers' leader glanced at her torch, to see it has already began to burn out. Soon, Wave and Run's torches will burn out as well, leaving the room too dark to combat the Creature effectively. Esdeath concedes and responds "Fine. Do what you can, to turn on the power. Seryu, go and help him. You too, Kurome."

Seryu detached her Justice City Detector "Wave! Use this." She throws the radar-scope over to Wave "You can track that Monster with this. Just in case it falls back into the shadows. We have another light source we can use, up there." She indicates the fallen Shoulder Lamp on top of the broken catwalk.

Wave glares down at the Justice City Detector and notice a signal blip heading right for him. He turns to Kurome and spoke urgently "Fall back. The rest of Us can handle It-" Shatter! The ice barrier abruptly broke apart. Whip! The Raven's long tail coiled around Wave's armored body and jerked him away.

"Wave!" Kurome cried out, as she watched helplessly. Run flew towards the teenage assassin, and carried her up onto the upper catwalks. He makes for the generator "Come on! Help me activate this machine, so we can help Wave and the Others."

Seryu shot her Hookshot and grappled onto a catwalk, then zip-lined over to where Kurome dropped the Shoulder Lamp. After acquiring the light, she hastily made her way along the catwalk towards the generator, while shouting out orders to Koro "Koro! Help Wave!" The Berserker Imperial Arm charged at the Raven, but the Rogue Xenomorph quickly stepped into the shadows to avoid the incoming assault. Wave fought to break free from the confines of the Raven's tail. When his efforts proved futile, the black armor clad Jaeger took his torch and tried to burn the tail off of him. The Raven growled angrily as It whipped Its tail about, and thrash Wave into submission.

Grand Chariot's armor held up against the impacts, but the constant jostling forced Wave to drop his torch and the Justice City Detector. The overall coverage of light grew dimmer, as Wave's torch was snuffed out upon falling to the floor and stomped on by the Raven. To help keep the Raven in sight, Run threw his own torch down in front of It. "Don't let It stay in the shadows!" warned the General's Aide. Behind him, Kurome called out in panic "Hold on, Wave!"

"Kurome, I need your light over here! We've got to find the controls!" Run ordered. Kurome held up Muramasa, and joined in helping Run find the switch to turn the power on.

Esdeath brandishes her ice covered rapier and dashed straight towards the Rogue Xenomorph. Koro does the same, and charges towards the Raven's flank. The Raven whisked Its tail, and launched Wave like a projectile.

The black armored sailor is sent spiraling forward, and collided with the Berserker Imperial Arm. Both of them were thrown back and knocked down by the collision. Esdeath closed in for a strike, and swung her rapier. The Raven met the attack, and swiped with Its claws. But the blue haired General proved too fast and nimble for any claw-swipe to connect. The ice reinforced rapier slashed across the Rogue Xenomorph's torso and left a shallow gash. Acid-blood began to trickle out of the light wound.

Groar!!! The Raven roared again and brought Its harpoon tail blade around to try and impale Its assailant. Esdeath nimbly dodged, and cartwheeled away to a safe distance. The General calmly observed the wound she gave to the Creature. Its exoskeleton is tougher than the other Serpents, she's fought. And like the Bull Alien and Dog Alien she's killed before, she'd have to bring down the Raven in the same fashion. One quick and decisive blow, to completely bring down the Monster. "But, where?" Esdeath wondered.

Seryu shined the light of the Shoulder Lamp onto the Rogue Xenomorph, and spoke up "Commander! Its face is vulnerable! Go for the face!" Esdeath nods and respond "Alright, thanks!"

Seryu reaches her side of the generator and searched along its side. "What am I supposed to be looking for!?" she called out to Run. "Anything that looks like a switch or buttons. Try to find out, if there are any written directions on how to operate it." Answered Run. The amber eyed young woman nodded and continued searching. Her side showed nothing that may indicate controls, but one object did catch her notice.

Lying on the grated floor of the catwalk, was a firearm that resembled some sort of rifle. The weapon had a retractable stock. There were two triggers for the two barrels at its front, with the top barrel covered in a ribbed shroud and the lower had a pump mechanism below it. The gun's color was a mixture of black on both barrels, stock and grip, while the slide breech, magazine housing and carrying handle were olive green. And on one side of its magazine housing, the rifle had a digital number display showing the number 26 in red lighting.

"What is This?" asked a curious Seryu, as she picked up the odd-looking rifle. The weapon was surprisingly lightweight for its size. And for reasons unknown, the auburn haired Jaeger can feel a sense of reliance, emanating from the weapon. She holds up and shoulders the gun with both of her mechanical arms, and checked its sights "And why does it feel so comfortable and reassuring?"

Down on the lower level, Esdeath conjures ice javelins and hurled them at the Raven's face. The Rogue Xenomorph held up Its arms readily. It swats away the first ice javelin with one clawed hand. The other catches the second. Then, the third narrowly misses. And the fourth was batted away by the caught second.

The Raven quickly realizes, the ice javelins were a distraction to hide the real threat. Esdeath came barreling towards It, at high speed. She leaps up and tries to stab the Raven's face. The Rogue Xenomorph brought It harpoon tail blade around, and barely managed to parry the blow. The Jaegers' leader vaulted back after receiving the parrying blow. The Raven countered by trying to use Its tail to impale her.

Esdeath instantly raised another ice wall to absorb the Raven's attack. The tail blade embedded itself into the ice wall and the skewered through the other side. The Raven tries to reel It's tail back, but the harpoon shaped blade had hooked into the ice and now refuses to budge. Putting aside her ice covered rapier, Esdeath conjures up a large ice axe between her hands. With the ice axe held high, she brings the axe down with all her strength, and hacked off the Raven's tail blade Chop!

Groaahhh!!! The Raven roars in pain, and hastily withdraws Its injured tail. The tail blade was cut cleanly off at its base, leaving the tail with a stubbed end and dripping acid-blood. The Rogue Xenomorph looks up to "see" Esdeath standing with a sadistic grin on her face. Beside her, were Wave and Koro standing by and ready.

Before Esdeath can initiate another assault, she noticed something that caused her to drop her smirk. The room was starting to grow dim. She turned her sapphire eyes to her torch, just in time to see it fade and burn out. Everyone's gaze fell towards the last torch laying beside the Raven, as it began to fade as well. The darkness all around, began to shroud the sides of the power station. The Rogue Xenomorph quietly fell back into the shadows, and out of sight.

Esdeath began to yell out "Run! We need those lights! Now!" Up near the power generator, the Winged Jaeger places his hand on a small retractable panel. With a light pull, the panel slid open to reveal a set of switches, buttons, and input socket extensions. "Hang on, Ma'am! I may have found the controls." He looks up and calls out "Seryu! Use your light, and help the others." Seryu slung her newly acquired firearm over her shoulder, and aims the Shoulder Lamp down on the lower level, in search of the Raven.

A beam of light illuminated one part of the room, to show the Raven as It whisked Its injured tail, and flicked drops of acid-blood towards Esdeath and the other two with her. Seryu cried "Look out!" just before Koro place himself in front, and blocked the acid-blood with his large body. The acid burned away at the Berserker Imperial Arm's flesh, but eventually stopped and allowed him to regenerate.

"It's using Its corrosive blood, as a weapon." Esdeath surmised "It's trying to pick Us off from the cover of darkness, so we can't retaliate." She sees the Creature move to the side as It attempts to get out of Seryu's light. With much darkness still covering most of the room, the General had Wave, Koro, and herself back up along a wall. Their position should narrow the field, and prevent attacks from behind.

The Raven ducked back into the shadows again, and sent out more acid. "Don't let the acid touch you!" barked Wave, as he dodge aside to avoid the yellow fluid. Several more splashes of acid-blood came in wide arcs. Koro receives some more of the acid, which threatened to completely dissolve him, so he was forced to fall back.

Esdeath and Wave stood ready to see what the Rogue Xenomorph was going to do next. Seryu manages to adjust her angle, and put her light on the Raven once more, just as It flicks more acid. The large drops splashed straight forward, which the blue haired General and her black armored Subordinate were able to dodge.

Suddenly, another spread of acid splashed forth, and Koro was still busy regenerating to intercept. With no other option, Esdeath conjures up another ice wall to block the acid. As the yellow fluid splashes onto the ice wall and started to melt it, something happens that the Jaegers' leader wasn't prepared for. A black sharp object came smashing through the icy barrier, and barreling straight towards Esdeath. The sapphire eyed woman had only a split second to react, but managed to hold up her rapier to block. As the high velocity object collided with her rapier at lethal speed, she recognizes the object as the Monster's severed tail blade. "That's what It was planning..." Surmised Esdeath, as the force of the impact sent her backwards against the wall in a violent Slam!

"Ungh!" gasped Esdeath, as she collapsed on the floor. All around, her Subordinates shouted out in panic.

"Ma'am!" Wave called out.

"General Esdeath!" screamed Seryu.

"Hurry, Run! They need help, down there!" Kurome said urgently. Beside her, Run had took a cable extension from the generator's input, and jacked it into the Portable Terminal for interface. Words began to appear on the Portable Terminal's screen "NEGOTIATING WITH HOST. PLEASE STAND BY…HOST IDENTIFIED AS INSTALLATION AUXILIARY POWER SUPPLY. DO YOU WISH TO INITIATE ACTIVATION PROCEDURES?" Run calls out and announces "Okay! I'm in the system! Starting it up, right now!" He types in a response "YES"

More words appear on the Portable Terminal's screen "INITIALIZING STARTUP. PLEASE STAND BY…" Throughout the room, a series of mechanical humming and whirring began to sound off and grow in volume.

Suddenly, a splash of more acid-blood came out of the shadows, and headed straight towards a vulnerable Esdeath. "Dammit!" Wave dove forward and placed himself in front to receive the acid. The yellow fluid splashed dead center onto Grand Chariot's black armor. Sszzzt! The acid had already began to burn through the armor plating.

Kurome yelled in horror "Wave, No!"

Seryu calls down worriedly "He has to get that fluid off his body! Fast!"

As Wave tried using his armored hands to wipe off the acid with futility, Esdeath began to groan out from behind him "Wave…get rid of your armor…deactivate Grand Chariot…Quickly!" Without wasting another second, Wave deactivates Grand Chariot, and the black armor dematerializes off of him, taking the acid-blood with it. Most of it anyway.

A small trickle of acid remained and kept burning through Wave's jacket. "Shit!" Wave hurriedly tried to remove his jacket, as the acid began to dissolve a rolled up magazine book within his jacket pocket. He snatched the adult magazine from out of the pocket, and threw it away. The last of the acid lost potency, as it burned the remains of the magazine.

Wave breathed a sigh of relief "Whew! That was close-" Sszzzt! His moment of respite was interrupted, as he overheard the continuing sound of burning acid behind him.

Wave looks around and sees the previous splashes of acid, that he and Esdeath supposedly dodged, eating away at the support struts to the catwalks above. "No Way! Could It have been aiming for those, this whole time?-" Groan! Crash! The catwalk overhead came crashing down, right on top of Wave and Esdeath.

"Wave!!!" Kurome screamed in shock.

"Commander!!!" Seryu yelled down.

"Almost got it!" growled Run, as he stared frantically at the Portable Terminal. The words on screen currently reads "PRELIMINARY STARTUP COMPLETE. REROUTING INSTALLATION POWER GRID. PLEASE STAND BY…"

Along the ceiling, rows of halogen lights began to flicker and glow as power began to flow through their circuits, once again. It started to become easier to see, as light shone throughout the large room. Seryu, Kurome, and Run looked anxiously over at the new pile of debris. They couldn't see their Commander, or the sailor Jaeger.

"Koro! Clear away that metal debris!" Seryu commanded her Berserker Imperial Arm. Koro hastily began digging away at the debris. He was halfway finished, when the Raven jumped him from behind and put him in a headlock.

The Rogue Xenomorph tried wrenching at the Berserker Imperial Arm's neck, in an effort to pull his head off. But Koro's Trump Card granted him superior strength, and he's already begun prying the Raven's Arms off, gaining leverage by slipping a hand beneath each arm. In a moment, Koro will have broken out of the Raven's hold. But the Raven has a way of stopping him. It can now "perceive" the core inside Koro's head.

The Raven brings Its tail around and held it up over Koro's head. Drops of acid-blood began to trickle onto the Berserk Imperial Arm's scalp, and it began burning into his skull. Koro lets out an urgent growl, and stepped up his efforts to break free. But the Rogue Xenomorph bought more time, by latching Its claws and finding purchase into Koro's red flesh.

Koro's regenerative abilities struggled to combat the acid's dissolving properties, but with every drop of yellow fluid added to the burning wound, the more potent the acid burn. At this rate, the acid while have reached and dissolve the core, before the wound can heal it closed.

Seryu cries out in panic "Koro's in trouble!" Run spreads Mastema's wings and sent a volley of razor feathers at the Raven. The feathers glanced off the Raven's tough exoskeleton harmlessly. Seryu joins in the shootout, as she unslung the Pulse-Rifle and opened fire Rata-ta-ta-ta! A barrage of Pulse-Rifle bullets peppered away at the Raven's exoskeleton, and had no effect than previous weaponry used against It.

Seryu's face warps and screws up with frustration "What the Hell is with this Thing! Why Can't We Hurt It!!!" Rata-ta-ta-ta-…! Seryu continues her stream of Pulse-Rifle fire, until the weapon goes empty Click! In desperation, she pulls the gun's other trigger and the lower barrel fires a projectile Plunk!

The grenade whizzed on by, behind the Raven's back, and hit the nearby wall Kaboom!!! The wall explodes and random cable wires were blasted loose, with they're with severed ends writhing and crackling with electricity.

An extremely loud alarm blared throughout the Auxiliary Power Station. With it, a female voice calmly spoke from an electronic PA system.

"Attention. Emergency. Power fluctuations detected within the vicinity. Please notify the nearest available Maintenance Technician."

Run listens attentively to the PA voice. He then spies the wildly crackling power cables whipping around along the wall near Koro and the Raven. So far, a deep hole has burned its way through Koro's skull. It's only a matter of seconds, before the core is reached and dissolved.

Run looks back over to Seryu who was carefully working the pump action on her powerful new weapon, and sees it chamber another explosive round. And finally he glances at the Portable Terminal's view screen to see another set of words "IRREGULARITIES DETECTED ALONG DAMAGED LINES. DIVERT POWER FLOW, TO PREVENT HAZARD?"

Run calls out to his amber eyed Comrade "Seryu! On my command, aim for the Creature's side, and blow It towards the wall!" He then turns to Kurome "You stay here and keep an eye on the computer. When I give you the signal, type in the word YES, on this keyboard." Kurome sheathes Muramasa and sets down near the Portable Terminal. She sees the keys with the letters Y, E, and S, then nods in understanding.

The winged Jaeger flies across the room and hovered above Koro and the Raven. As soon as he got in position, Run calls out "Seryu, Now!" Seryu adjusts her aim and fired a second grenade Plunk! This time, the round hits squarely on the Rogue Xenomorph's side Kaboom!!! The Raven was blasted off of Koro, allowing the Berserker Imperial Arm to be released from the headlock. Koro grasped the top of his own head, and violently tore out a piece of acid covered flesh to save himself from having his core dissolved.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Groar!!! The Raven fell against the loose cables, and roared in pain, as the cables electrocuted It. "Koro! Finish It!" Seryu commanded, and Koro grabbed a chord of one of the loose power cables, then jammed it down the Raven's throat. Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

A long moment has passed, and the Raven stopped moving. Run signals Kurome, to divert the power flow. A moment later, the alarms stopped and the PA voice made another announcement

"Power rerouted. Warning. Circuit abnormalities detected in A-Block, C-Block, and D-Block. Please notify the nearest available Maintenance Technician."

The damaged cables ceased jolting the Rogue Xenomorph, letting It fall to the floor in a heap of charred and blackened exoskeleton. Kurome called out to her Comrades "Did We Kill It!?" For good measure, Koro twisted the Raven's head a full 360 degrees, and broke Its neck. He then resumes clearing away the debris covering Wave and Esdeath.

Kurome steps away from the Portable Terminal, and along the catwalk. "Wave! Are you alright!?" she called out, as she made for the broken section of the catwalk looming over the debris pile. Run flies over the teenage assassin, to pick her up and set her down on the lower level. Back at the generator, Seryu slung the rifle over her shoulder, equipped and deployed her Hookshot, then zip-lined off the catwalk down towards her Comrades. "Is the Commander okay?" she asks upon reaching her fellow Jaegers.

Koro lifts up the last piece of debris, and throws it aside to reveal a small round dome of ice. Beneath the ice, and lying safely together, were Esdeath and Wave. Both of them were locked together in a tight and awkward embrace, to save space underneath the cover of ice.

As Esdeath calmly laid still and began to disperse the ice off of them, a shivering Wave clung to her for warmth. Wave had his arms wrapped around Esdeath's sides while her legs tangled around his as the Sailor's hips rested between the General's smooth thighs, and his face was buried right between her large soft breasts.

Kurome ignored the intimate contact between Wave and Esdeath, and ran to pull her Comrade off their Leader.

Wave came away in a shaking fit. His face was slightly blue, and his body was cold to the touch. "K-Kurome…" Wave spoke in shaking breaths "I'm…s-so…c-c-cold!" Kurome hastily reached for the Sailor's Imperial Arm "You're freezing to death! Hurry, and equip Grand Chariot's armor to regulate your temperature!" she places Grand Chariot's cutlass in his hands. But whenever Wave tries to activate his Imperial Arm, he'd break down in a shivering fit.

"He needs to warm up first, to stop all that shaking." Run surmised. He quickly glances around, and spotted a small fire left by Seryu's initial grenade attack nearby. "Help me drag him closer to that flame." Run instructed, then he and Kurome both took Wave by his cold hands, and dragged him over to the small fire.

The flame's radiance slowly started to warm up Wave's body, so Kurome placed herself on top of him, and hugged him tight as she attempted to help warm him faster with her own body heat. Wave's shivering motion began to relax, enough for him to deploy Grand Chariot's armor. As the black armor materialized over her Comrades body, Kurome stepped back and waited for his recovery. The black armored Sailor laid still, then after a moment, he rose and stood up to examine his surroundings.

"I'm okay." Wave declared "My Imperial Arm helped resolve my low body temperature." He turned to address his Comrades "Thank you, Kurome. And you too, Run. You both help me out." He then turned to his Commander "I suppose, I should thank you too, Ma'am. You're powers saved my life." Esdeath makes a haughty scowl and turned away. "Next time, mind your surroundings…" she muttered. Run walked over to her and asked "Are you alright?" the blue haired woman waved him away "I formed an armor of ice along my back, to absorb the brunt of the hit against the wall. I'm sure there's nothing but light bruising to worry about." The Jaegers' leader then checked her surroundings "Anyway. What just happened? Where's that large Beast?" Seryu and a normal sized Koro ran up to them, beaming with pride. "We've killed It!" Seryu declares happily, as she points over to the dead Raven's body "The Evil Creature of Darkness, has been vanquished by Our Light of Justice!"

Esdeath picked up the Justice City Detector, and hands it to her auburn haired Subordinate "It won't be the last One, We'll encounter. There could be many more down here, so stay sharp." Kurome spoke up "Me and Seryu have. I think we've got Them all. Else, We'd have seen more of Them." Seryu concurred "It's true, Ma'am! They were disgusting Monsters, ugly as Sin, and needed to be purged from existence!"

Run gave a puzzled stared, so Kurome explained more specifically "We've come across a pack of Serpents that weren't like the Ones We've fought before. These looked different, twisted and desiccated. Like some sort of mutation." She points down the passageway leading back into the sewers.

Wave stared at Kurome quietly "So, you guys did run into trouble…" he threw a slightly accusing glare at Run, from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate. Kurome looked back at the black armored Sailor and responded "We found more than that." She turns to Seryu "Show them."

Seryu stood before Esdeath, Run, and Wave "Koro! Hudson." The biological Imperial Arm expanded his mouth and belched out an unconscious man in dark green armor. Koro then laid him out in front of the Jaegers.

"Who is he?" Wave asked, and Kurome explains "His name is Hudson. We found him down in those tunnels, before we made our way here." Run crouched down next to Hudson's body, to examine him "There's barely a pulse, and his breathing is extremely slow. What exactly has happened, to make him like this?" Seryu shrugged and answered "We don't know. We found him like that, inside a cocoon made from the Serpents' vile slime." Kurome then adds "Just like those Imperial Soldiers from the Expeditionary Force."

Run nods and holds his chin in thought "So, he wound up just like the others. Another victim of the Serpents." Wave spoke up in a anxious tone "Does that mean, he's gonna burst at any given moment? The same way, that happened to Bols?" Kurome makes a grim expression "We figured, We should try to get some information out of him. Before his time comes."

Run nods again in understanding "Good call. But let's not determine his fate, before going over a few facts." He faces Kurome and Seryu directly "Have either of you seen any of those oval leathery pods, like the ones seen back at Serpents' Hive?" Both young women shook their heads. The winged Jaeger then asks "What about those Facehugging Creatures, like the One that got on Bols' face? Have you seen any Them nearby, when you found this man Hudson?" Again, the teenage assassin and the auburn haired murderess shook their heads. "Then, there may be a chance Hudson here won't end up like Bols and those unfortunate Soldiers." surmised the General's Aide.

Esdeath held up a hand and got all her Subordinates' attention "We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's take him with Us, and wait until he wakes up." She makes a sadistic smirk "When he does, We'll question him, and get him to spill every bit of information he knows." The Jaegers' leader began marching towards the passageway leading back to the elevator "Saddle up, Everyone! Let's head back to Operations, and find that control room."

The Jaegers gathered up everything they needed to take with them. Run flew back up to the Portable Terminal near the generator, disconnected the device, and fold it up to carry it. Seryu sets the Shoulder Lamp and the Pulse-Rifle near the unconscious Hudson, then turned to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Load up!" Koro enlarged his mouth, and the amber eyed Jaeger placed both the lighting equipment and the weapon inside. Koro then expanded his arms, and gently put the Colonial Marine back in his maw before slowly closing. Wave and Kurome started walking towards the passageway after Esdeath.

Wave started apologizing "I'm sorry, I couldn't come sooner…" but Kurome held up a hand to interrupt "You did what you were supposed to do, by following orders and choosing a path that benefited Everyone." she smiles and leans against him "It was the right thing to do, and I'm proud of you for that." Wave turned and faced front to stare at Esdeath's back.

Earlier, when the large Serpent Beast brought the catwalk down on top of Wave and his Commander, panic and an instinct for self preservation spurred him into conducting himself in what others would consider indecent. But, much to his shame, he now realized how nice it felt, to have a woman as gorgeous and voluptuous as General Esdeath held within his embrace. To have her long blue hair cascade over his shaking hands. To listen to her breathing and heartbeat reverberate against his cheek while face was smothered by her large breasts. And then smelling her scent when there was enough breathing space after being pulled away by Kurome. All of those recent experiences hardly garnered his notice or embarrassment at the time, as the devastating cold was too intense to ignore, and it would have killed the Sailor if Kurome and Run hadn't thought fast in helping their freezing Comrade.

Within Grand Chariot's helmet, Wave closed his eyes and smiled in relief "Thank You, Kurome. For everything." The teenage assassin then made a frown "You need to be more careful, Wave. Just because I agreed to steer clear of any major dangers, doesn't mean you can put yourself in harm's way often. We could've lost you, just now. Even, if you had the foresight to layer extra protection beneath your jacket." Behind the black armor's faceplate, the Sailor Jaeger blushed a deep red "Umm…Yeah. Foresight. That's right!" Kurome gave him a perplexed stare, but didn't ask any questions. The Jaegers fought the Creatures once more, and they won with no lose of life. For that, Akame's Younger Sister was thankful for a good turnout. It was fortunate for her Comrades to survive this incursion, by the skin of their teeth. And all this debacle happened, because she fell down a hole.

"Thank you, Wave. For coming to my rescue." Kurome murmured softly. Wave turned to her "Huh? Did you say something?" she shakes her head and replies "It's nothing. Let's just get out of here, and find more clues about this place."

No one spoke further as the Jaegers made their way out of the Auxiliary Power Station, and towards the room with the demolished stairwell. Esdeath approached the shaft leading upwards to the upper levels, and frowned. The General's back still somewhat ached, and she's certain using her powers would agitate it further. Fortunately for her, Run stepped up and got Everyone's attention "This way." he points at the elevator platform "We can use that, to take us back up."

The Jaegers step through a retractable rail bar, and boarded the elevator. "Okay, now what?" asked Seryu. Beside her Esdeath also inquired "What's supposed to happen, Run?" Run traced along the sides, in search of something "A lot of heavy materials and equipment were used in the construction of this place. They wouldn't have used the stairs, because that would have been difficult and time-consuming. So, it stands to reason, they Colonists would have some other means for transporting themselves and what they were moving between the upper and lower levels." The General's Aide spotted a square shaped device on the side of the guard rails.

There was a set of buttons on the device, and Run pressed the one indicated by the stamped word "UP". The gap in the guard rails closed up, as a rail piece slid into place Clank! Suddenly, the whole platform lurched upwards Vvooomm! Every Jaeger temporarily lost balance, as the elevator began its steady climb to the upper levels.

"We're moving…" commented Esdeath.

"Whoa! How convenient!" marveled Wave.

"It's like magic!" declared an astounded Seryu, as she peeked over the railing to see the lower levels grow distant beneath them.

"Advanced technology…" corrected Kurome, then she sat down, took out her bag of sweets, and began eating. All around, her Comrades settled down and waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

Eastern Outskirts, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

Mine was beginning to lose patience. There hasn't been a mission update from anyone for a long while. Ever since Lubbock managed to sneak Leone and Chelsea into the church, the radio network stayed silent. And, by her count, one Rakshasa Demon is still at large and could be anywhere. "Uhh! This is taking forever!" she complained "I say, We go into town and hunt the last Rakshasa Demon Ourselves."

Tatsumi glared at her with apprehension "You know as well as I do, We can't abandon Our post. Boss' orders were clear." He then looks down at Incursio's sword form thoughtfully "But, I agree with how you feel. The longer we sit here doing nothing, the more likely Everybody else find themselves in danger. Just like what happened to the members of the Spy Team, and the same with Hicks and Lubbock."

Mine stared at the green eyed fighter for moment. She can see the look of concern for They're Friends and Comrades, written all over his face. "This is distracting him. He needs to focus…" thought the Genius Sniper, so she spoke in an assuring tone "Look. Hicks and Lubbock may have found themselves in a pinch, at the beginning. But, don't underestimate their tenacity. Hicks dealt the killing blow to one of Our opponents, and a deadly one at that. Lubbock managed to hold off two of the Rakshasa Demons, long enough for Su to come help. That comes to show how tough and resourceful, Our Friends can be." Tatsumi nods in understanding, but his expression remained concerned.

Wanting to further do away with Tatsumi's doubts, Mine clapped a hand over his shoulder "Don't take this the wrong way, but you should worry about not being a burden to others." Tatsumi frowned at the comment's sting, but Mine continued speaking "Right now, your only concern should be about holding your own against Our Enemies. Everyone else is competent enough as fighters, and It's alright to worry about them from time to time. But, you must first think for yourself and how reliable you can be. If you're not bringing your A-game, then what's the point in worrying about the Others' safety? Even if you have the opportunity to help out a Friend or Comrade, what good will it do, if you cannot ensure their well-being?" her thoughts drifted to the memory of Sheele and her own helplessness for what happened to the purple haired bespectacled woman. All because she couldn't handle a delusional psychopath named Seryu Ubiquitous and her ravenous monster Imperial Arm, Koro.

Emotion began to well up inside of Mine. But, before she tried to hold back her tears, she felt Tatsumi place his hand on hers gripping his shoulder. "You're right. Thank you, Mine. I shouldn't be wasting time worrying about the Others, when I can spend it growing stronger and getting ready for battle."

Mine blushed, as she withdrew her hand. But, Tatsumi didn't notice as he was busy checking to make sure the Shotgun Hicks gave him, was fully loaded. Ch-chk! Tatsumi worked the pump-action, and chambered a round. The pink haired sharpshooter overcame her initial embarrassment, and did likewise by checking her Pulse-Rifle. She takes a spare magazine clip and slapped it into the ammo housing Click! The 00 on the gun's ammo counter display, turned into 99. Mine then carefully took out some grenade shells from her pouch, and began loading them into the Grenade Launcher's magazine tube K-chk! K-chk! K-chk! K-chk!

Off to the side, on a cliff overlooking the ravine and the ruins below, a woman in a martial arts garb peered down at the two unwary members of Night Raid.

"Interesting weapons, they're holding." commented Suzuka "Those don't seem like Imperial Arms, nor do they resemble conventional weaponry." She glanced behind her, for a quick look in the town's direction "Maybe, it wouldn't be a good idea to fool around with these people. Better head back and tell the others. We'll need to be ready for whatever these two might be capable of-" Kaboom!!! The cliff side suddenly exploded, then the rocks she was standing on blew apart and fell beneath her.

"Dammit!" The Rakshasa Demon flipped and somersaulted away from the collapsing earth, then landed gracefully on the canyon floor. She looks up to see both her targets brandishing their guns, and aiming towards her. One of them, the young man with the brown hair and green eyes, was currently wearing the white and silver armor of Imperial Arm, Incursio.

Tatsumi spoke from within Incursio's helmet "Bishop was right. She was watching Us, this whole time." Beside him, Mine narrowed her eyes and her finger drifted to the Pulse-Rifle's trigger. Suzuka held up her hands and began to speak "You're wearing the Imperial Arm, Demon Armor Incursio. But, your physical description does not match that of its current wielder, Bulat. So, tell me. What has happened to the 100 Man Slayer Bulat?"

Mine squeezed the Pulse-Rifle's trigger and fired at the Rakshasa Demon's center mass Rata-ta-ta-ta! Suzuka had already shifted her vitals away from the targeted parts of her body, before calmly receiving the barrage.

As the pink haired sharpshooter let up on her assault in confusion, Suzuka retaliates by extending her fingernails and sending the razor tips straight towards Mine. "So, this is the rumored Body Manipulation Technique…" Tatsumi intervenes by aiming the Shotgun and firing at the nails Blam! The extended nails were blasted clean off of Suzuka's fingertips.

"Ahhh!!! Hahhh!" Suzuka was exhaling in ecstasy as she experience the pain of losing her fingernails, combined with the bullet wounds made by Pulse-Rifle rounds.

"What's with this woman!?" asked a bemused Mine. Beside her, Tatsumi worked the Shotgun's pump-action, and chambered another round Ch-chk!

Suzuka quickly came to her senses, and dodged at the same instant Tatsumi fired his next shot Blam! The conic spread of buckshot was just wide enough to clip the Rakshasa Demon's side, but it had no apparent effect.

Suzuka ignores her recent gunshot wound, and began to sprint away from the Night Raid assassins. Mine tried to foil Suzuka's escape, by switching back to the Grenade Launcher, and taking careful aim.

Too late. The fleeing Rakshasa Demon dashed around a rocky bend, and out of sight. "She's getting away!" Mine yelled urgently. Tatsumi slung his Shotgun to his back, and dashed off in pursuit "She must not make it back to Borick!" He goes around the bend, and down a trench leading out of the ravine.

"Tatsumi, Wait!" Mine called out after her Comrade, but the exclamation went unheard. With a frustrated growl, the pink haired gunner ran after them.

Within the Cheyenne Dropship, Najenda and Company were gathered around a seated Bishop and his array of computer screens. Night Raid's leader spoke urgently into her headset ("Mine! What's your situation? Over.")

Over the Dropship's PA speakers, Mines voices blared for Everyone to hear ("We've encountered the last remaining Rakshasa Demon! Tatsumi has engaged, and I'm in pursuit!")

Najenda nods in confirmation and spoke again ("Understood. Keep up the chase, and try not to lose her.") She looks at a display screen showing an overlaying map of Kyoroch. On it, were the blipping signals of Tatsumi's and Mine's Locators, following an infrared marker of the Enemy they're pursuing. Najenda talks into her headset once more ("Lubbock. You there?")

("I read you, Boss. Loud and clear.") Lubbock responded. ("I want you to use Cross Tails, and set up a barrier along the city's eastern border.") Najenda commanded ("Do not let the Enemy get by you, at all cost!")

("Don't worry.") Lubbock assured ("I'll take care if it.") The radio network goes silent, and Bishop, Najenda, Ripley, and Newt stared patiently at Tatsumi's Locator position as it steadily closes in on Suzuka's thermal signature.

Down in the rock trench, Tatsumi was gaining on Suzuka. Although the Rakshasa Demon was fast and agile, the superhuman strength and speed of Incursio's armor abilities allowed the newest member of Night Raid to overtake her.

Suzuka was so intent on running away, she failed to notice how close Tatsumi had come. The silver armored fighter activated Incursio's Trump Card, Invisibility, so as not to lose the opportunity to take his target unawares.

"Gotcha!" upon reaching behind the fleeing Rakshasa Demon, Tatsumi became visible, manifested Incursio's spear sub-weapon Neuntote, and swung down on Suzuka. Only for her to quickly grip the weapon by the haft, and brought its armored wielder down, using his own momentum.

Tatsumi was laid out against the ground, in a unbalanced heap. He faces up at Suzuka, who was looking down at him while giggling playfully "Hehehe…you broke my nails, earlier." The silver armored fighter growled in response "Why, you…" The Rakshasa Demon continued speaking in a mocking tone "It's painfully obvious, that you lack real battle experience." She stood ready, as Tatsumi stood up off the ground.

"It won't be possible for me to outrun him." Suzuka thought "But since he's so heavily armored, it'll only be a matter of time before he can no longer maintain it. He'll run out energy, then I can escape." She licks her finger in anticipation "Patience is the key, when it comes to fighting Imperial Arms users.

"Mine's right…" Tatsumi clenches his fist in frustration "I'm still so Weak!" Within his helmet, he found himself clenching his teeth "If I don't step it up, and hold my own, I won't be any help at all to my Friends and Comrades!" his thoughts flashed back to his fallen, Bulat, Sheele, Ieyasu, and Sayo "I've had so many regrets!" Then, he found himself thinking about those he wanted to protect, Najenda, Susanoo, Lubbock, Chelsea, Leone, Akame, and Mine "But, I won't let it happen again!" The silver armored fighter put aside Neuntote, and unslung the Shotgun once more "Hicks, Ripley, Bishop, and Newt, please lend me your strength!" he worked the pump-action, and chambered a third round Ch-chk!

Suzuka placed a hand in front of her, then stood in a ready position, while Tatsumi brandished the Shotgun and stared at his opponent as they both entered a stand-off. "She's formidable in close combat. Her hand to hand martial arts can easily overcome my attacks." Tatsumi surmised "And firearms don't seem to affect her, since she took a full-on bullet spray from Mine without faltering. Could this be one of the abilities granted by Body Manipulation? I need to know more…"

"How are your wounds?" asked Tatsumi. Suzuka stood there and respond in bewilderment "Are you really gonna stand there, and ask such nonsense? Shouldn't you be worried about how much longer, before you can't continue wearing your Imperial Arm?" Within Incursio's helmet, Tatsumi made a smirk "The same can be said about your situation. How long do you think you can wait, before my partner catches up?"

Suzuka grins and answers "I'm willing to make that gamble. Her weapon didn't kill me the first time..." With one hand, she undid the seams of her top clothing "As you can see…" the female Rakshasa Demon partially opens her robe, and reveals her midriff. Multiple bullet holes had burrowed into her body, where her heart and stomach should be, and passed out through the back. Much to Tatsumi's dismay, the wounds have already started to close.

"You shifted your vital organs, so they wouldn't get shot?" presumed Tatsumi. Suzuka grins and winks at him "Any injury, done to where there are no risks of inflicting critical damage, is no different than giving me a paper cut." She began to lewdly lick her fingers again "So, how about it? Think that weapon of yours can achieve that which you desire? Or, will it achieve mine?"

Tatsumi glared down at his Shotgun for a second "What I desire?" that comment made his thoughts drift towards everything he ever wanted in life. To save his village from poverty, overthrow the corrupt Empire and do away with the evil Prime Minister and General Esdeath, to protect his fellow members of Night Raid and share their victory together, and most recently, to save the entire World from the Aliens. The stakes have never been higher, and all it takes is the life of one man, to help turn it all around. Borick must perish, so that the Rebellion can set off a chain of events, that may lead to the end of one decrepit nation, and the birth of another, better one. And it must be done soon, before the Aliens come for all humanity, and one country will fall after another. Until every last living thing dies.

"I desire many things." Tatsumi admitted "I wanted Everyone to be happy and safe. I wanted for there to be no more hatred, suffering, and death. I wanted this World to be a better place, and not come to an end." He looks up from behind Incursio's faceplate and continues "And, to make all that happen, it's necessary to kill a man." Much to Suzuka's surprise, he lowered his Shotgun "You should give up, and surrender." the silver armored fighter asked pleadingly "We do not wish kill you, if we can help it. We need strong warriors like you, to help Us fight what's coming." The Rakshasa Demon threw him a suspicious look "What are you talking about? What exactly is coming?"

"A Destructive Plague, that's far worse than any man can dream of. And, It's coming after all of Us." explained Tatsumi "No one alone can stop Them. Only by working together, do We stand a chance." He held out an armored hand and reached out invitingly "Come with me. You can be a part of a great and noble cause." Suzuka silently stared at Tatsumi's outstretched hand. "Think of the greater good, We can achieve together. A bright future for all Mankind."

Suddenly, Suzuka whipped her arm forward and slapped away Tatsumi's gesture. "If you wanted to deceive me, you should've come up with a better story than that." berated the Rakshasa Demon "I don't care about the good of others, or what they need. I only care about what I want." She reels her extended arm back, and stood ready to attack "And, what I want right now, is for you to come at me like you intend to hurt me!"

Tatsumi aimed his Shotgun, and fired once more Blam! Yet again, Suzuka dodged and was clipped by scattershot. "She's just like Esdeath. She can't be reasoned with. All she cares about, is inflicting misery on people." muttered Tatsumi, as he worked the pump-action Ch-chk! "Gonna have to put her down! But, how can I do it!? She's too fast for me to get a decent shot." He hastily surveyed his surroundings, hoping to find some sort of advantage from the terrain.

The trench they were in had a broad spacing, and wasn't narrow enough to hamper Suzuka's movements. On one side of the canyon, was a row of old ruined buildings carved straight into the side of the rock formation. The ruins only had a few openings, that allowed entry into their dark interior.

Tatsumi thought of an idea "What if…" he began stepping sidelong through an opening, and backed into the ruins. Light from outside filtered into the ruins' few openings, and granted limited visibility within. The silver armored fighter glanced beside him, and sees that Suzuka had already followed him inside and was waiting expectantly.

"Did you really think going into the ruins was gonna help you at all?" asked a smug Suzuka "Were you going to try to become invisible, and take me by surprise like before? Or were you perhaps going to snipe me from cover, so as not to give away your gun's trajectory?" Tatsumi let his Shotgun go, and left it hanging from its strap. He then drew Neuntote, and answered "Neither…" As quickly as he possibly could, the silver armored assassin swung his spear, and smashed every building support he can find.

"No need to be fancy about this! I'll just defeat you with brute force, Rakshasa Demon!" Tatsumi tore at anything that seemed like it could hold up the ruins. Walls and support pillars gave way and collapsed in on themselves, as the old building grew more shaky and unstable.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Suzuka yelled in panic, as she searched desperately for an exit. Unfortunately, the widespread damage to the ruin's interior had already closed off all viable passage to the outside. "There's no way for you to escape!" declared Tatsumi, as he continued demolishing everything around him "I'll bring this whole place down!"

Suzuka continued to desperately search for a way out. She paused and looked up, just in time to see the ceiling cave in, as rocks began to topple from above. With nowhere to go, the Rakshasa Demon could only watch helplessly, as large piece of stone fell right on top of her Wham!

From outside the crumbling ruins, Mine watches in shock, as every last inch of the old building came crashing down. Clouds of dirt and dust were kicked up, as the devastation settled all around the canyon.

"Tatsumi!!!" Mine cried out for her Comrade, as she ran towards the pile of crushed earth and stone. She frantically began digging away at the rubble "Tatsumi!? Answer me!" The pink haired sniper lifted rock after rock, fearing the worst. After a while, before she was about to give up, a large stone boulder came off the ground near her.

The rock rolled aside, to reveal a silver armored Tatsumi breathing heavily and wiping some dust off of himself. "Phew! I think that got her…" he scanned his immediate surroundings in search of the Rakshasa Demon. After confirming Suzuka was no longer around, the new member of Night Raid pumped his fist in victory "Alright!" he failed to notice Mine nearby, until the latter threw herself against him and lightly battered at him with clenched fists. "Stupid Idiot! What were you thinking, going off on your own and pulling a stunt like that!?" Mine chided.

A bewildered Tatsumi deactivated Incursio's armor, and held Mine's fists to stop her from hitting him. "Geez, Mine. I only did what I thought was right, and I had to stop that Rakshasa Demon with all my strength." Mine refrained from further hitting him, then wrapped her arms around him "Good for nothing brute!" was all she said in response. The green eyed fighter remained perplexed at his Comrade's behavior, prompting him to explain "But, I managed to pull it off, right? You said it, yourself. That I should worry about holding my own, and not become a burden to others. I was only thinking about you, when I went after the Enemy."

Mine stared in disbelief. "You…you make it sound like, I was holding you back!" she retorted angrily, then she released her hold on Tatsumi, and looked away "But..." her thoughts drifted back to the moment when Suzuka's attack would've skewered the Genius Sniper, had it not been for Tatsumi's quick response with his Shotgun "You really did help me out, that time. Thanks…" she looks back at Tatsumi, with her face slightly blushing. The green eyed fighter blushed as well, as he shifted his gaze away

"Yeah." Tatsumi began to rub the back of his head, while fidgeting "You better get ahold of the Boss, on the radio. Tell her and Bishop, that the last Rakshasa Demon has been neutralized. It's all up to Leone and Chelsea, now." Mine nods in understanding, and placed a hand on her headset to speak into the mic ("This is Mine. The Threat has been dealt with. The elimination team are in the clear.") Over the communications network, Everyone heard the news, and waited for Night Raid's leader to reply.

("That's wonderful news!") Najenda praised, then she began giving orders ("Alright, Everyone fall back to the Dropship, double-time! Let's get ready to pick the elimination team, once the deed has been done.")

("We're on our way.") Mine responded. Behind her, Tatsumi transformed back into Incursio's armor, picked up Mine in a bridal hold, and dashed out of the canyon, towards the Cheyenne Dropship.

("This is Hicks. Akame and I are falling back.") announced Hicks. He then gives Akame a thumbs-up, and they both left the crypt, as they made their way out of the cemetery.

("Lubbock here. I'm heading to the ship, now.") informed Lubbock, as he zip-lined across rooftops, using his Imperial Arm.

Lastly, Pais' voice sounded out through the radio transmission ("The Spy Team will remain in the city, to help cover Night Raid's tracks, and oversee the efforts in pulling out all persons involved, once the Mission is complete.")

Ripley spoke into her headset ("Take care, you guys. And stay safe.")

Najenda follows up afterwards ("Night Raid is thankful, Spy Team. Your support has been a great help.")

Hicks concurs as well ("We appreciate all the you've done for Us. Please, stay alive, and make it through to the end.")

A silent moment passed by, before Pais spoke again ("We'll see you all at the Capital, when this is over. Farewell, until then.") The radio network goes quiet, as Everyone got ready for the last phase of the Operation.

Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire

A set of elevator doors retracted open, and the Jaegers stepped back into the ravaged halls of the Level 2 corridor. After taking a ride on the sub-levels' elevator platform, they navigated the Colony's illuminated halls to find themselves back at the auto-sentry guarded barricade. The barricade remained as solid as the Jaegers had found it, and was still blocking their way forward.

"I saw an offshoot in a different direction." Run narrowed his eyes, and spoke up "Look over there." He points to a small door cleverly tucked away alongside a dark corner of the barricade. If it hadn't been for somewhat decent lighting from the now circulating power, all eyes would have missed the door entirely. "Let's see if We can get around this barrier." the General's Aide explains "This whole passage seems to be rigged to keep Anything from coming in, and We don't know what's waiting for Us on the other side."

Wave looked at the door skeptically "What makes you think nothing's waiting for Us, behind that door?" Run addresses his Comrades, and replies "Those who erected that barricade, and laid out those automatic-sentry guns. They were intending to hunker down, and hold out against the Serpents, until help arrives." He indicates the side door "When preparing for a siege, it's a standard tactic to install a small opening along the front, in case the defenses were ever bypassed by the enemy. It would allow for the besieged to make an escape, if the front was determined to be clear of hostiles." Esdeath nods her head, and concurs "He's right. A wise strategist wouldn't have bet everything, solely on their defenses. One must have a backup plan, should the defenses ever fail." Her thoughts drifted back on her defeated foes, the Ban Tribe and the Northern Tribes, and how she had easily overcome their defenses, which allowed her army to defeat them and violate their home and people afterwards. The General's lips curled into a sadistic smile "Believe me. I've met plenty of fools, who didn't take the necessary precautions. And, from what I'm seeing so far, We seem to be dealing with a tactical genius who knows what they're doing."

Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

Within the Cheyenne Dropship, Ripley suddenly sneezes "Achoo!" Beside her, Najenda gave a look of concern "You alright, Ripley? You're not coming down with something, are you?" The former Warrant Officer starter wiping her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. "I don't know." she responded "Perhaps, some of that dust from outside blew in, when we opened that ramp for the others to disembark."

Newt walks up and tugs on Ripley's jacket. When the latter looked down, the little girl presented a bottle of cold medicine for Ripley to take. She gives Newt an appreciative smile and accepts the offer "Thanks, Sweetie."

Over at the control console, Bishop calls out and announces "Hicks, Akame, and Lubbock have arrived. Lowering the Ramp, now." Susanoo and Najenda stood by, while the Dropship's loading ramp started thrumming and whining as it lowered open to allow two assassins and a marine to enter.

Hicks walks up the loading ramp, with Akame and Lubbock at his sides. When all three of them came inside the Dropship, Bishop quickly engaged the controls and closed the ramp back up.

Hicks took a quick look around, and realized something was amiss. "Where's Tatsumi and Mine?" he asked. Ripley sets aside her bottle of cold medicine and reciprocated that question "They didn't come back with you?" The Corporal shakes his head, and Lubbock shrugs beside him "We haven't seen either of them, on our way back." Akame shakes her head as well, to affirm they're claims.

Najenda dons a look of concern, and turns to Bishop "Bring up Tatsumi's and Mine's location. Let's see where they can possibly be, right now." The synthetic Android nods and turned to his computers, as he began locking in on Mine and Tatsumi's Locator signals, using the control console.

A minute goes by, and two signal blips appear on screen for all to see

"There they are…" Bishop announced "Computer tracking shows them holding position, just a few klicks outside the city's southeastern border."

Everyone gathered around the computer screen, to look at their two missing Comrades' location. A pair of signal blips showed on screen, along with an overlaying map of the city's outlying area. They were about halfway between the Dropship, and site where Suzuka was defeated. And, just like Bishop had described, the signals weren't moving.

"Get Mine on the coms. Someone ask her, why she and Tatsumi have stop moving?" demanded Ripley. Najenda hastily spoke into the mic of her headset ("Mine? What's going on? Why aren't you and Tatsumi heading back to the Dropship, as ordered?") A low wave of white noise hissed over the PA speakers, as Bishop worked the audio controls to help boost the radio signal.

Finally, a distant sound of someone talking can be heard through the static. The faded voice was Tatsumi's. He was speaking urgently (" they're…going…to see us…have to...deactivate Incursio.") A moment after Tatsumi stopped speaking, another's voice can be heard (" greetings…we meet again…")

"That's Tatsumi." Akame concluded. Beside her, Lubbock agrees "Yeah. But who is he talking to?" Hicks raised a finger to his lips, and shushes them. Meanwhile, Bishop continues working the control console to get a better signal and a cleaner voice audio output.

(The voices finally came clearly from the PA speakers, and Everyone can clearly hear Tatsumi's conversation with the other person "It's you again. The Lord of the Path of Peace" In response, an elegant voice spoke out "I apologize for impeding your journey, but do you mind if we talk for a bit? Seeing each other once more, is quite a chance encounter. Who knows when our paths may cross again?")

("I wouldn't know."Tatsumi explained "We're just travelers, exploring these ruins for buried treasure." The Lord then replies "Oh, that's fine. I'm not trying to investigate you, or anything like that.")

(A sigh of relief can be heard coming from Mine. Then Tatsumi can be heard speaking some more "Well, the Path of Peace is quite influential around these parts. And, as I recall, you're it's founder. Am I right?" The Lord can be heard explaining "Yes, that's right. Ever since I was born, I had mysterious powers to heal people's wounds and see prophetic dreams. As I kept healing and prophesying, more and more people gathered around me, and proclaimed me as a man of miracles. By those same people, the Path of Peace was created and became what it is today.")

(Tatsumi began to speak again, with hesitation "Uh…Um. About those people that serve you. Do you sense anything around them, with those mysterious powers of yours? For example…Evil?" Through the enhanced signal of the radio transmission, Mine can be heard growling in a low voice "Idiot! That was way too obvious…")

(Several seconds passed by, and the Lord responded "Hahaha…There is no such thing as a human without Evil." Tatsumi then followed up with another question "What about animals? Is it possible for other creatures to be naturally Evil, and harbor Darkness?" The Lord answered promptly "Far from it. All animals, including Danger Beasts, are simply perpetuators of the endless cycle we call, Life. No creature that walks this earth, can ever harbor such negative things as Evil and Darkness. They are perhaps the most purest forms of life in this World, to which Nature can never dictate otherwise. But, man is different. We are the only Species in this entire cosmos, that has something that sets Us apart from other creatures. And that's Choice. We can choose whether or not to follow Darkness and commit Evil, or to accept the Light and do some Good for the sake of others. While it is true, that I sense a deep-seated Evil from some of the religion's leaders. When you're in charge of an organization as large as this, you sometimes have to make difficult decisions. If I was still by myself, I would only be able to save those right in front of me. But now we've come this far, thanks to those who provided the infrastructure we needed. Which is why I've chosen to believe in my fellow leaders.")

"Damned Fool…" Hicks muttered. Next to him, Ripley does the same "He has no idea, how much of a piece of shit, Borick actually is…"

Bishop concurs in a factual tone "He's far too trusting. If he carries on like this with Imperial Spies lurking about, it would only be a matter of time before someone like Borick comes and eliminates him, and then take his place as the religion's new lord."

Akame places a hand on Murasame's hilt "We have to hurry up and eliminate Borick. If the Lord won't clean out the filth in his organization, then We'll just have to do it for him." Lubbock nods, and grins "He should count his blessings, that Night Raid is looking out for him. If we can get rid of guys like Borick, and replace with Revolutionary Sympathizers, We could then have Our uprising back on track."

Najenda nods, as she takes out another cigarette from her pocket, and began to smoke it. She takes a puff, before speaking "This Lord sounds like a good person, but let's not mix up Our priorities. We're here to start a revolution. And we can't afford to go out of Our way to save each and every person who may be in the Empires crosshairs. If we act rash at this point, we may end up crossing paths with Esdeath and the Jaegers when we're not ready."

Hicks made a scowl "What will it take, for Us to be ready to take on Esdeath?" Najenda held her chin in thought "…Fifty thousand elite soldiers, and ten Imperial Arms users, including Akame." The Corporal went silent. Beside him, Ripley was in disbelief "That many, for just one person!? Is she really that powerful?" Night Raid's leader gave an affirmative nod "She and the Great General Budo are on a completely different level." She held up her prosthetic arm and hand, then tapped her eyepatch "It was just shear luck, that I as an Imperial Arms user, had faced Esdeath head to head, and come away with my body receiving this amount of damage."

Najenda then gave Hicks, Ripley, Bishop, and even Newt a serious, near urgent look "Esdeath is as unpredictable, as she is strong and ruthless. Don't underestimate her, or it will be the last mistake you make." She looks down at her prosthetic arm again "I thought that as long as I can outsmart her, I can beat her. But, I've learned much to my everlasting regret, that she's much sharper than you would think. Trying to outthink her isn't enough. You need more than that." Her gaze drifted to the Pulse-Rifle held in her left arm "When fighting Esdeath, the Jaegers, or any Imperial Arms users for that matter, always use what little advantage you have."

Hicks looked at Akame and Lubbock, and they both gave him concurring nods. Ripley was idly stroking Newt's blonde hair, while pondering Najenda's words. Susanoo was going over the Ship's external monitors. And Bishop had started making adjustments to computer instruments.

(The PA speakers sounded again, as the Lord spoke up "By the way, it seems you two are getting along better than the last time we've met." Neither Tatsumi or Mine uttered a response, so the Lord continued "You say, you both are treasure hunters? I'd say the real treasure, are the moments you have together. Cherish each other, and the time you spend together. You two are very blessed indeed.")

Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire

In low hum, a sliding door retracted open as Run carefully pressed a switch near the doors opening. Considering the mishaps with the complicated interior of the Colony buildings and close call they had with the Creatures lurking down in the sub-basement, every Jaeger including their leader, had decided not to disturb the blockade and the risk setting off another possible trap. Quiet nods were made all around, as Everyone agreed to make a detour.

The Jaegers filed past the door, one at a time with a Grand Chariot armored Wave going first, Koro second, Seryu third, Kurome fourth, Run fifth, and Esdeath last. As they spread out afterwards, Everyone took a moment to observe the spacious room. Operating tables, gurneys, surgical instruments, and medicine cabinets occupied a vast majority of the area, owning up to the room's fairly obvious nature and purpose.

"This place looks like an infirmary. It's most likely where the Colonists come, to treat their sick and wounded." surmised Run "It seems like We've entered the second level of Medical building, according to that directory back near the stairs." Wave turned to the General's Aide, and spoke from within Grand Chariot's helmet "Medical is situated right next to Operations. That's what the signs stamped along the building exteriors, indicate. Perhaps, we can find a roundabout way of reaching the Control Room?" Esdeath walks up to them and spoke "Everybody, spread out! Let's find a way through this area." All of her Subordinates fanned out, and began searching for a way through to Operations.

Kurome ventured along the walls to the side of the room, looking for anything that may lead to a way forward. What she found so far, was a door that leads into a smaller room that had its windows smashed apart. Inside the smaller room, was an overturned hospital bed leaning against a distant corner. In other parts of the room, there were overturned instruments and chairs, which indicates some sort of struggle. And on one side of the room, there were two bullet-riddled bodies of those small Facehugger Creatures.

Akame's Younger Sister stiffed up tense and alert, then she started to cautiously back away. She went back a handful of steps, before backing into someone. Kurome startled, as she looked behind herself to see Esdeath standing behind her. The blue haired General threw her Subordinate a questioning glare, and the teenage assassin quietly pointed towards the dead Facehuggers.

Esdeath stepped around Kurome, and ventured into the room. She observed the toppled bed, the smashed windows, and the small corpses of the Creatures.

"Interesting…" Esdeath's close observation of the scene gave her an idea of what happened. "Those small Things were in here." she explained "They attacked whoever was resting on that bed, but They were intercepted and thrown over there." She indicated the room's far wall, and made a shooting gesture. Tiny shards of ice manifested from thin air, and darted into the dead Facehugging Creatures.

Kurome walked up behind her Commander. "I don't see any eggs. Where could They have come from?" she asked. Her foot brushed against something, and Akame's Younger Sister looked down to see a jar-like object laying on the floor with its top opened. Another one lay nearby with its lid also open. "What's this?" both cylindrical objects remind Kurome of Seryu's culture tank for reviving Koro.

"Over here." Run stood at the entrance to a small lab, and was calling Everyone over. Esdeath and Kurome exited the small room, and headed towards him. Wave was already there staring closely at several more glass culture tanks, from within Grand Chariot's helmet.

Inside most of the glass tanks, were more Facehugging Creatures floating suspended in a clear viscous liquid.

"Careful, Wave." Kurome warned, as she approached the black armored sailor. Wave held up an armored hand for silence, and softly tapped the side of the closest tank with his other. The Facehugger didn't react or move at all. It was dead.

"It's alright." Run declared, upon stepping into the lab, and observing some of the Specimens "If these little Creatures wanted to get loose, They'd be out already." He indicates Their motionless bodies, as he rapped his knuckles against several tanks "Judging by Their pale coloration and unresponsiveness to external stimuli, it's possible these Creatures may have already been…Spent."

Wave continued to stare. Behind Grand Chariot's faceplate, he was making a thoroughly disgusted expression. Kurome stood beside him, with her hand placed on her chest while quietly shuddering to the fact that these Things had already impregnated Their victims with Their abominable young. Kurome hurriedly reach into her bag, and began eating some of her sweets.

Esdeath placed her hand on one of the tanks and froze it with ice. She frowned, after seeing the Creature within remained intact as the ice cracked around It. "What were the Colonists doing with these Parasites?" the Jaegers' leader wondered out loud. Run made a curious glance all around the compact laboratory.

"Studying Them, most likely." Run speculated. He began pointing at various desks and instruments "I'm no Dr. Stylish, but judging from this kind of equipment, I'd say that those who ran the place, had this small lab set up to observe any captured specimens." The General's Aide looked down, and noticed several sheets of paper lying on the floor in front of him. He crouched and picked up a handful, then walked over to a nearby lamp. Most of the papers' contents were detailed medical charts and technical readouts that were beyond the knowledgeable Jaeger's understanding, except for a written report on the next page.

"Surgically removed, before Embryo implantation." Run read out loud, for those around him to hear "Subject: Marachuk, John J. died, during the procedure…" he looks up to see Esdeath, Wave, and Kurome listening intently. "They killed him, taking It off." Run explained conclusively.

Esdeath stared, then made a menacing grin "Lethal in defeat, as well as when carrying out Its purpose. It made sure Its enemies never got their way, if they tried to subdue It."

"Hey!" all eyes turned to look at Seryu, as she called out to her fellow Jaegers, from outside the small laboratory. "Koro and I may have found a way through." she beckoned for Everyone to follow her.

Seryu led the Jaegers passed a row of shelves, towards another door in the far corner of the Medical facility. "There were no other doors nearby, and it looks like someone engaged a bolt and locked it from this side." explained the amber eyed murderess. Run studied the door very briefly "The colonists must have locked this door, to keep the Creatures from following, as they made their getaway through Medical." Esdeath held her rapier steadily "Prepare yourselves. We don't know what's on the other side."

When Everyone was gathered and ready, Run undid the lock, and pressed a switch. The door slid open and revealed a small junction area. The small square-shaped room had a medium-sized opening that led into a ventilation duct. A protective grating lay next to the exposed duct opening. And on the adjacent side of the junction, was another passage with its door completely smashed off its slide rails, and left crumpled against the opposite wall.

"Is sheer firepower the only means of keeping those Serpents at bay?" Wave asked "Is there nothing else that can hold Them back?" None of the other Jaegers answered that question, as the cautiously filed into the small junction chamber. The other doorway led into another large room, but the room itself was poorly lit. Save for a few rays of daylight trickling in from somewhere, there were no other working lights source.

This time, Esdeath took point, as stepped ahead of her Subordinates, and conjured a large shield of ice. With her ice shield held in front, she slowly walked forward into the gloom. Wave trekked behind the blue haired woman, with Kurome, Run, Seryu, and Koro following after.

As the Jaegers entered the large and dim room, they found themselves walking alongside a large rectangular construct which was effectively blocking of the view of the rest of the area. Esdeath walked past the obstacle and out of the isolated corner. When she got the full view of the dark room, she signaled her Subordinates that the area is clear.

Everyone gathered around Esdeath's position, and made a broad observation of their surroundings. Much of the room was still too dark to see. Only a small portion was illuminated by small rays of light filtering in from outside the building through a damaged, shuttered window panel at a corner of the room.

Wave immediately walked over to the shutters, and began prying them open. "Koro! Remove." Seryu pointed to the shutters near the black armored sailor, and the biological Imperial Arm obeyed her instructions. Koro grew to medium size and sprouted large arm, before tearing away at the closed window shutters.

In no time, Wave and Koro managed to remove the metal panels of the windows, and daylight shined brilliantly through the opened windows.

With the large room properly lit, the Jaeger began studying the room interior. It was completely wrecked. All sorts of computer systems and control panels were blown apart by some variety of explosives and small arms fire. Accompanying the shattered remnants, were more dead bodies of Aliens.

"We are we, now? And what happened here?" Wave spoke through Grand Chariot's faceplate. Run keenly scanned the entire room for anything that might clue them in about their current location. "This might be Operations' Control Room." he surmised "It's the right relative distance from the barricade, and most of the equipment I see here look like they were meant for visual monitoring and computer data readouts." He gestured towards a cluster of video screens fastened along a latticework of overhanging mounts. Most of the monitors were blasted apart, and the remaining few had cracked screens.

At the far side of the Control Room, Seryu walked over to the only other door leading out. When she tried a switch, the door refused to open. With a scowl, she tried to force the door open by herself "Hngh! It won't budge!" Esdeath walked up beside her and found the problem "The seams are melted together, forming a block, and effectively sealing the passage." The General's auburn haired Subordinate fidgeted "What could burn hot enough, to melt this kind of metal?"

"Not burned. Welded." corrected Run. All eyes turned towards him, as he begins to explain "A few smiths and masons in the Empire, were working on this theory, that if a single point of superheated fire can be formed and applied to unheated metal, the metal itself would be cut apart or fused with other pieces of metal." Everyone glanced back at the welded doors.

"The Colonists' advanced technology must have done that…" Kurome commented. She looks down, and notices an object next to her foot. The teenage assassin pick up the object and looked closely. It was small, blocky, and had a tiny glass lens on the front. Behind it, there was an input jack. Akame's Younger Sister handed the compact recording device over to Run, in the hopes the General's Aide may figure out if it's a clue or not.

Wave approached the welded door, and brought an armored fist against it in a dull Clunk! "Pretty solid. They must have sealed the door as extra measures to keep the Serpents out." Seryu was skeptical "What's the point? The Evil Creatures still managed to find Their way in here."

"Seryu's right." concurred Esdeath. She then points to the ceiling, and revealed a multitude of gaps torn along several patches of the ceiling's grated panels "That's how They got in. They infiltrated the partition between the ceiling and the roof, dropped right down on top of them, and ambushed them from above." The Jaegers' leader then made an amused smile "These people made their last stand here, before they tried to get away." Her Subordinates glared back towards the isolated junction room leading into Medical.

"So, where did they go!?" Wave asked impatiently. Esdeath just shrugged, and turned to her Aide "Run. Is there anything useful, you can salvage from this place?"

"Give me a moment, Ma'am." replied Run as he pocketed the device Kurome gave to him, and searched around the area looking for something in particular.

"There…" Run spotted a series of cable extensions and input jacks along the same rectangular block that had sat by the back exit door. He approached the large object, grabbed a cable extension, and jacked the connection into the Portable Terminal.

A set of words appeared on the Terminal's screen "NEGOTIATING WITH HOST. PLEASE WAIT…HOST IDENTIFIED AS VISUAL DATA ARCHIVES. DO YOU WISH TO SEE RECENT DATA?" Run turns to face his fellow Comrades "Visual Data. Maybe it can show previously recorded events?" Esdeath gave him an encouraging nod to proceed. The General's Aide then began typing on the Portable Terminal's keyboard "PLEASE SHOW MOST RECENTLY VIEWED AND UPLOADED DATA." The words on the screen made a response "STANDY BY…"

Another message scrolled across the Terminal's display screen. "UPLOADING PREVIOUSLY ACCESSED VISUAL RECORDING. PLEASE STAND BY…"

All of the Jaegers gathered around to see what the Portable Terminal was going to do. The screen display changes, and began showing a video.

("They see a man in a hardhat and construction foreman's suit, standing before a row of window shutters that happen to be the same ones inside Operations. "Greetings fellow associates of Weyland-Yutani. And hello to all who are seeing this from Earth." the man spoke in a cordial yet jubilant manner "My name is Curtis Hadley, and I am pleased to report the Terraforming Colony of Planet LV-426 has been completed. The last construction efforts to the Atmosphere Processor finished about a week ago. And it was only 8 hours since the Processing Facility has been commissioned and brought online." Curtis Hadley stepped back near the window shutters behind him, and pressed a nearby switch. The shutters slid open to display a window view of the outside.")

("It was dark. And the gloomy view displayed a completely different world. Barren and unstable rock formations littered the surrounding landscape, all around the Colony proper Hard winds blew ashy soil and dust all around the outside terrain, and random flashes of lightning would strike the skies. With the shutters now retracted, the sound of raging winds and thunderclaps became quite audible, along with low droning Hum of some type of machine. "Listen to that baby purr." Curtis Hadley held up a hand, and pointed it out to a distant object within the stormy atmosphere. It was a massively large conical building, with a rimmed top emitting hazy stacks of boiling air, and a slightly glowing broad base. "The Processing Station is currently operating at nominal capacity. Despite LV-426's slightly unstable nature, much of the base elements are in abundance. The Processor need only break down the unnecessary components, and then release the cleaned and refined product back into the environment." the man continued to speak "It's quite the remarkable piece of machinery. I'm confident, we'll have achieved desirable atmospheric profile sooner than originally projected." He then closed the shutters back up, and stepped away from the windows "Colonial personnel have already began to rotate in from off-planet transit. Most will be arriving from planets from the Sol System, such as Earth, Gateway Station, Luna, and even Mars and Venus. And we'll also be receiving qualified individuals and families from as far as Thedus out past the Solomons. Although, those who are shipping in from that galactic region, will have be taking a much longer time to arrive, due to extra travel precautions implemented since certain loses took place out there over the past decades" Curtis Hadley then made a formal salutary gesture "This installation will have it's complete staff, by month's end. Weyland-Yutani, Building Better Worlds." The video cuts out, leaving the Terminal screen blank.")

Every Jaeger watching the video instantly recognized the structure as the same building that Esdeath had froze from a distance, outside across from Colony Operations. They all briefly shifted their gaze towards the frozen building, as the Jaegers come to realize what the Atmosphere Processor was, and what it's purpose entailed.

"So that's the Atmosphere Processor…" Esdeath determined, after seeing the video log.

Wave followed up with a speculation "That humongous structure is what these Colonists are using to terraform whole other worlds, by changing the air composition to what they desire."

Seryu gnashed her teeth and growled "Tampering with the Empire's environment, is a capital offense! We must bring Justice to these Wicked Invaders!"

Run held up a hand. "They're not invading the Empire." he corrected "Did any of you see what was outside the Operations building, when this Curtis Hadley was giving his report? That wasn't Our world outside his windows. It was some other place entirely."

"He was referring to that place as LV-426." agreed Kurome "According to that man, LV-426 is a planet. A different place…A world beyond Our own." her Comrades all glanced upwards, as if they were trying to perceive past the ceiling, and towards the sky and stars above.

"So how did they end up here?" Wave asked "What could have happened? And Why?" Run tuned back to the Portable Terminal's display screen "Let's keep watching, and maybe we'll find out."

The Jaegers continued watching the view screen, and waited for another video to appear.

("The screen changes again, showing a different man than before. The other man had a thick build, wore a button-up shirt with long sleeves, and had a brow-beaten yet witty demeanor "Salutations, everybody. I'm Al Simpson, Colony Administrator and your host for this evening's festivities." Another man walked by from off-screen, and nearly bumped into Al. The second man was much slimmer, and wore similar attire to Al's.")

("Al Simpson gestured towards the second man "And this is my outspoken sidekick, Vice Administrator Brad Lydecker. Hey, Lydecker. Say hello to our friends and associates, back on Earth." Lydecker looked up from writing on his clipboard, adjusted his glasses, and kept on writing. "How provocative, Lydecker." Al remarked sarcastically.")

("Lydecker looked up from his clipboard once again and spoke "Oh, by the way. Al. I just got off the coms with Chester. He says, he's on his way up to see you. And he's not happy, so be ready." Al Simpson sighed in morose anticipation.")

("After a while, a third man came into view of the video screen. He wore a white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck, and had a more sour expression than what Simpson and Lydecker were making. "Let me introduce to you, our resident surgeon Dr. Chester Ling." Al gestured to the agitated surgeon, who started to talk "Al. Be sure to remind all arriving personnel, to come straight to Medical for their mandatory physical and checkup. You know as well as I do, there are no exceptions." Al Simpson raised an eyebrow "You came all the way up here, just to remind me of standard procedure?" Dr. Ling irritably shook his head "No. Not for that. It's about Dr. Reese and the Science Team. They're still locked up in that lab of theirs, doing God knows what. My staff and I are completely swamped with all the clinical duties for the new arrivals. All members of the Science Team are qualified to work at Medical. Tell them to get their pompous asses down there and help with the work. The sooner we can take a look at everyone, the sooner they can get started with running the Colony. You know you have the authority to give them that order. Scientific study cannot interfere with the Operations of this Colony. And the Colony can't operate without sufficiently available personnel." Dr. Ling took a bow, and then left the Operations Control Room.")

(Al held his chin in thought. "Lydecker." He spoke in a somber tone "Head down to the barracks and rouse any and all Marines that are cleared for duty. Then go to the lab, and see whatever the hell the science team is working on. If they're not doing anything important, like studying some sort of alien. Then I want them in the clinic, looking at people." Lydecker began to hesitate "And if they refuse or ignore me?" Al Simpson rolled his eyes "That's what the Marines are for. If all else fails, I want those guys to escort the Science Team to Medical. Talk to Sgt. Draper. He doesn't seem to mind, and he usually knows what he's doing." Lydecker nods, and began to leave the Control Room.)

("After Lydecker's departure, a middle-aged couple with a young boy stepped into view of the video screen. The husband was a man who had a lean build, messy light brown hair, and a sly look about him. His wife had blonde hair, an inquisitive air about her, and a very noticeable bulge around her belly. The boy was approximately 3 years old and walked between his parents with both his hands held by them. "Ah! You must be the Jordens." presumed Al Simpson, as he picked up a clipboard to help identify his new acquaintances "Russ and Anne. From the Survey Division, yes?" Russ made a smug grinned and answered "We like to refer ourselves as Prospectors." Al makes a serious expression "Yes. I understand, most of you people like to moonlight as Wildcatters. And that you're a very competitive bunch." He puts down his clipboard, and leaned against a wall, while crossing his arms "Make no mistake, Mr. And Mrs. Jorden. The Company may be lax about how you Wildcatters conduct yourselves out there while running a survey expedition, as well as the questionable practices when trying to put your names on a claim. But, for as long as you live within the confines of the Colony walls, you are colonial personnel of Hadley's Hope, here on LV-426. And that being said, you will not do anything pertaining to your work, that might put the entire Colony and its people's safety at risk. Comprende?" Russ and Anne gave hesitant nods.")

("Al nods in return, and then he smiles "How far along are you, Mrs. Jorden?" Anne blissfully smiles and answers "About 6 months." Al Simpson took a quick glance at data terminal on a nearby desk. "According to the manifest, your child might be the first newborn within this Colony." he said informatively. That made Russ beam with pride and excitement. "You hear that, Timmy?" he asks his toddler son "Your new sister will be born a true extraterrestrial. She'll essentially be an alien." Anne makes a frown and pinched her husband. "That's a horrible thing to call your soon to be daughter!" she said irritably.")

("Russ then made a mischievous face "Well, it's too soon to call her a human being. At this point in time, she's resembles more like a Newt." Anne was not going to take anymore of her husband's jests. "Russell Jorden! You will cease your capricious antics, right this instant! If we're not careful, the word Newt might become a nickname to Our little Rebecca, indefinitely. And, I'm not about to have my unborn daughter's image become synonymous with that of an amphibian." Russ' grin eroded away, as he falls in line at the threat of his Wife's contempt. The video ends its current reel, and the screen goes blank again.")

Run was the first to speak "I hope that answers some of your questions, Everyone." He motioned his hands all around "These Colonists weren't invaders, or even a military outfit. They were pioneers, explorers, and prospectors, who were striking out to new territories in order to expand their civilization. They were visiting different and unstable planets or worlds, and transforming them into ideal settlements." One by one, his fellow Jaegers nodded in understanding.

Only Seryu remained unconvinced "They're still criminals, for coming here and disturbing the peace by causing destruction to this Valley. So many Imperial lives have been lost, while trying to investigate the Colony's recent appearance!"

Wave quickly deigned to argue "We don't even know how they came here. Difficult as it may be to believe, but it was already established that this place, Hadley's Hope was originally constructed upon some planet different from Ours." Kurome then spoke up "So, the questions We should be asking, is How this place came to be here, and Why?"

Esdeath raised her hands to gather her Subordinates' attention "Let's keep observing the visual data, and see if We come across more answers."

Every Jaeger shifted his/her attention back at the Terminal view screen, as another video began to show.

("They see Al Simpson again who was looking more disheveled than before. "To those of you back on Earth and on Gateway Station, you should know by now who I am. As Colony Administrator, I'm am vested with certain authorities in regards to the operations of this installation. Over the years, I have turned a blind eye to the cloak and dagger proceedings to which your associates have been conducting with some of our personnel here. Now I'm not naming names as of yet, but I am pointing out certain events that are happening behind my back. Like the Science Team taking liberties with instructing our Colony Surveyors into venturing out to uncharted and potentially dangerous regions of the Planet's surface. Or having our local garrison of Colonial Marines deployed as escort detail for those Wildcatters. As of this day, that all ends. I am no longer condoning any random survey expeditions on behalf of some suit sitting behind a desk in some fancy office. From now on, all survey grid references has to go through me or Captain Brackett of the Colonial Marines. If you don't like that, then you can take it up with Colonial Administration or come out here yourselves if you want to go snooping around some tectonic shifts and shredding storms." A beeping ringtone sounded off, and Al donned a communications headset. Using one hand, he pressed the earpiece closer and spoke into the mic "Yeah, I'll be heading down there right now. Keep me posted, and let me know when he's brought them back. Also, have Dr. Reese meet me in my office. If he refuses, that's fine. I'll no longer protect him from Brackett or Drapers, and throw him to the wolves as soon as they get back." Al removes the headset and stepped towards a computer terminal "That's all I have to say in this report. Now, please excuse me while I go clean up after one of your associate's mess. And God help you all, if anything happens to the Jorden couple and their kids." With a fume, he hits a switch, and the video cuts out.")

"Sounds like, something's happened to that merry couple Russ and Anne Jorden." Wave commented. Kurome started to have a bad feeling "It didn't sound too good. They must have found themselves in a dangerous situation." Esdeath held her chin in thought "According to what that Al Simpson was talking about, it seems like the Jordens were following some sort of orders or instructions. Someone from Weyland-Yutani wanted them to go out there, for a reason." Seryu makes an angry scowl "Who would manipulate people's lives like that? And for what reason?" Run shakes his head "I don't know. Let's keep watching…"

Everyone ceased talking and resumed watching the screen.

("They see Lydecker frantically typing in commands on a nearby keyboard "This is Brad Lydecker, Administrator's Assistant of the LV-426 Terraforming Installation! I'm calling in an official mayday, and a request for rescue! Some of our survey teams ventured to investigate the Jorden family's last known location. Something came back with them, and now It has gotten loose inside the Colony. We do not know exactly what It is, but It is extremely hostile, deadly, and there are more than one of Them. Some of our people have already perished because of Them. And others have disappeared. The remaining personnel are on the verge of panic, and our higher-ups are busy undermining each other. Dr. Reese and his Science Team haven't been at all helpful towards our situation. Sgt. Draper and about half of the Marines have gone off to try and hunt these Creatures, but all contact was lost shortly after. Their last call-in was at the Atmosphere Processor. Captain Brackett, Al Simpson, and a company of volunteers are forming a search party, to go look for the missing personnel. The rest of us are going to barricade ourselves here at Operations and at Medical, and await the others' return. Please send help, as soon as possible! People are dying out here!" Kaboom! A distance explosion sounded away from view.")

("Lydecker looks up in a panic "What the Hell, was that!?" Somewhere off-screen, a person answered him "One of the Seismic Survey Charges. We've rigged a few along some of the corridors, in order to slow those Bastards down. One of those Them must have tripped a couple." Lydecker growled in frustration "Watch where you set up those damned bombs! There's vital hardwiring between here and the Communications Uplink. If the transmitter goes offline, we'll never be able to call for help." He continued typing on his keyboard, as another person spoke up "That one sounded rather close to us. We should hurry up and join the others at Medical. We're out of time!" Lydecker nods and threw a few more switches. The last switch ended the recording.")

Wave started to feel a sense of foreboding, for some reason "There's something terribly familiar about the Colonists' situation." Run turned to him, and spoke "It sounds like they found Something out there, on one of the survey team's expeditions. Whatever It was, they must've brought It back, and now It's ran amok inside Hadley's Hope." Kurome began to clutch her shoulders "I think, I've seen enough. How many more like this, are left?" Esdeath gestured at Run, and the General's Aide takes a closer look at the Terminal's screen. "There's just a few more data files left, for Us to see." he informed, and Akame's Younger Sister nodded and waited for the next video to start.

("The view screen changes once more, and shows Anne Jorden sitting in front of it. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and her eyes are red and moist. She had recently, been weeping. "You Goddamned Sons of Bitches!" Anne growled angrily "You knew It was out there, didn't You!? You knew, and You didn't bother to warn us! Why didn't You warn us about Them!? Was That what You wanted all along!? To have those Things brought here!?" she started to break down into a grieving fit.")

("Shortly after she managed to regain her composer, Anne Jorden continued to speak "Russ is…My husband is dead, and so will our children along with everyone else on this Fucking Barren Shithole of a Planet. I just want you to know, their deaths are on You. Their Blood are on Your hands. Murdered by You all, as well by those Monsters from a Hell beyond Hells. Those Aliens." A hand reaches out from view, and grasped Anne by her shoulder. A startled Anne looked up in shock, but quickly relaxed when she saw it was another woman who grabbed her.")

("Somewhere off-screen, screeching metal and gunshots can be heard. "Anne, what are you doing!?" the other woman asked "Those Things are just outside the barricade! We're falling back, and heading down to Maintenance. The doors down there are stronger and thicker. We can hold out there and wait for help to come." Anne reluctantly nods "Alright, Mary. I'm coming. Where are my children?" Mary indicated something out of view "Your son and daughter are waiting for you in the corridor. The others are going to try and hold off those Things, while we find a secure room. Hurry!" Both women rushed out of the Control Room, leaving the video to go on recording for several more minutes before shutting off.")

This time, Esdeath is the first to speak "Did all of you hear what Anne was talking about?" She got affirmative nods all around.

"She mentioned that word, Alien." Seryu remarked. Wave shook his helmeted head "Anne said Aliens. It's in plural. Meaning there's more than One of Them running loose." He turns to Run "It's the same word, that described Xenomorph, the name of whatever that Corporal Hicks was searching for." Run makes a nod "Alien must be a generalized term, to that which had been attacking the Colonists in Hadley's Hope."

Kurome was almost afraid to ask "But what do these Aliens look like? And where did They and the Colonists go? And how did Hadley's Hope and the Atmosphere Processor come to be in this World?"

("The Terminal screen reactivates, and another video began to show. The Jaegers see an image of a little girl of approximately 6 or 7 years of age, quietly tiptoeing in front of the view screen. The child had messy blonde hair which completely obscured her face from the view of the camera, a box of food packets in one hand, and a doll's head in the other hand. The little girl reach along a side panel along a far wall, and began prying out a protective grill of a small ventilation shaft. As the girl continued to pry open the vent, her head cocked to one side, and she cleared her dirty hair away from an ear to listen for something off-screen. Suddenly, she began to furiously pull the grill away from its grooved recesses. The grill managed to come away, and the ventilation duct popped open. Without wasting a heartbeat, the little girl flung her box of food, and her doll's head into the shaft, before crawling into the duct herself. She grabbed the grated ventilation cover and quickly swung it closed.")

("Less than a minute passed by, then Something else wandered into view, and stalked across the screen in an all-black exoskeleton. It stood on two clawed feet in a hunched posture, had a pair of clawed hands, a long bladed tail, four tubes jutting in pairs along Its back, and an elongated head. Its face had no eyes, nose, or ears, only a mouth with very thin lips which would occasionally flare open and reveal sharp silvery teeth. Despite lacking any visual means of sensing Its surroundings, the Creature would sway It head side to side, as if searching for whatever might be near. Finally, when there was nothing moving within Its vicinity, the Creature parts Its mouth wide open, and slowly eased a secondary set of jaws out from out Its primary mouth. The inner jaw would snap at thin air with its own set of sharp teeth, and then slowly retract back into the Creature's main jaw.")

("About several minutes have gone by, until the Creature finally decided to wander off somewhere else, and It left the control room empty and undisturbed. Nothing else appeared on the screen, as the video finished its recording loop.")

"It's a Serpent!" Seryu realized "What are the Serpents doing in that Colony!?" Wave continued to stare at the Portable Terminal screen. He made a horrified look from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate "What the Hell is going on here!?" Run calmly stood beside him "Isn't it obvious? The Serpent Creatures that We've encountered, and the Aliens that have terrorized the Colonists, are One and the Same. We've been fighting the very same Xenomorphs that Corporal Hicks and his team of Colonial Marines were hunting for."

Kurome made an involuntary shudder "All this time, the Jaegers have been battling a Monster Species from another World." Her gaze drifted towards the gaping window shutters and to the land outside "The Empire, The Rebels, every Tribe and Nation on this planet…" she thinks back on all the Imperial Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force that had perished at the hands of the Xenomorphs "The Aliens are going to come after Us All." she hauntingly declared.

Seryu made a twisted face and growled "Not if I have anything to say about that! Justice will always win against the forces of Evil, no matter what planet or world the Evil had originated from!"

Run was pondering something "Who was that little girl?" Esdeath turned to him, and replied "A survivor, by the looks of it. She must have been using the Colony ventilation system to avoid being captured by the Aliens." She dons a smirk "Pretty clever of her, to go into places those Things can't fit"

Wave nods in agreement "She could be anywhere, at the point." He then addresses his Commander "Should we mount a search, and try looking for her?" Esdeath slowly shakes her head "The girl is of no concern to Us." she explains coldly "Our mission is to determine the truth behind the events, that led to bringing this Colony and the Aliens into Our World. And Our time is better spent combing through the Colony Archives, and not hunting for some filthy brat who's probably dead by now."

Kurome's thoughts lingered back to that doll's head she found in the sewers. It was the very same piece, that the little girl in the video was holding. She closed her eyes, and tried to shut out the question of how that toy found its way down there.

Wave was about to protest his misgivings, but Esdeath had already shifted her attention back to the Portable Terminal's display screen, indicating that the matter was closed and not up for debate.

("Another video began its playback, and the screen shows a new face than the ones previously seen. It was another man, who wore green combat fatigues, had a nearly shaved head, a no-nonsense attitude, and a formal air about him. "This is Lieutenant Scott Gorman of the United States Colonial Marines, 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. My squad and I have been dispatched, to investigate the loss of communication with the terraforming installation on LV-426. Standard operating procedures dictate, that we update the Colony logs with a video document of our progress." Gorman took a moment to compile his thoughts.")

("When the Lieutenant was ready, he began to speak "On July 27 2179 at approximately 0700 hours, our ship had arrived and entered orbit around LV-426. Our drop onto the surface was successful, and squad deployment followed soon after." Gorman waited shortly to take a breath, then he continued "Preliminary sweeps of the Colony proper yielded no results, as all of the facilities seem abandoned. There has been evidence of a struggle, and it's been speculated that a Xenomorph may have been involved in the state of recent events which led to the Colony's loss of communication. And so far, with the exception of one, there has been no sign of any of the missing Colonists, or any indication to where they may have gone-" Somewhere close by, another man's voice can be heard calling out "Yo! Stop your grinning, and drop your linen! I found them!" Gorman turned away from the view screen, and rushed over to where the other man's voice originated.")

("Only Gorman's back can be seen, as the Lieutenant began to converse with the man who called for him off-screen. "Are they alive?" Gorman asked. The other person reluctantly answered "Don't know. But, it looks like all of them. They're over at the Processing Station…Sub-Level 03…right under the Main Cooling Towers." All of the Jaegers instantly recognized Hicks' voice, as the Corporal spoke up from within the video "It looks like a Goddamned town meeting…" Gorman began talking again, and addressed someone else "Let's saddle up, Apone." Somewhere close by, a gruff voice sounded out "Aye, Sir." A brief pause followed, as bodies began to move and shuffle off somewhere.")

("Apone's voice sounded out once more, as he began issuing orders to those around him "Alright! Let's go, People! They ain't paying us by the hour, so let's go. Head'em out! Okay, Frost, you're driving…" A couple of minutes passed, as sounds of marching and movement grew distant, before the video finished its playback.")

Seryu started to fidget "Processing Station? Sub-Level 03? Does anyone know what any of that means?" Run looked out the gaping window and answered "It's the Atmosphere Processor. That's where the Colonial Marines think the Colonists were located." He points out to the enormous conical structure in the distance "Hicks' team must have headed over there, and went down 3 levels beneath the surface of that building, in search of the missing Colonists."

Wave joined in gazing out the window towards the Atmosphere Processor "I wonder how their search turned out?" Kurome stood beside him, and stared at her weapons "Nothing good, if the state of this Colony was the end result…"

Back over at the jacked-in Portable Terminal, Esdeath called her Subordinates back "Everyone, come quick! There's one more video."

The Jaegers reconvened at the Portable Terminal, to watch the next video pulled from archives.

("The video shows Corporal Hicks in front of the view screen. His expression was grim and his tone of voice was tired and daunted "This is Corporal Dwayne Hicks, of the United States Colonial Marines, 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. I am recording this message, as an update of the current situation within the Colony on LV-426. The mission is a failure. The Xenomorphs have completely overran the Installation and associated Facilities. All Colony personnel are confirmed deceased, save for a sole survivor. My squad has experienced multiple casualties, with only four Marines including myself, remaining. The only other individuals still alive, are one synthetic Executive Officer, one Weyland-Yutani Corporate Liaison, and one Mission Consultant-" Suddenly, a woman's voice can be heard screaming from a distance "These People are DEAD, Burke!!! Don't You Have any Idea, of What You've Done Here!?" Hicks quickly fumbled at the Terminal controls, and adjusted the audio input, to filter out the noise.")

("When the Corporal finally finished making the necessary audio adjustments, an alarm sounded off throughout the entire complex. Hicks immediately stepped away from the console, and attended to a separate one nearby. Somewhere close by, the voice of the same man who spoke to Lieutenant Gorman about the Colonists' location, called out and asked "What is it? What's going on?" The person ran in front of the view screen, and revealed himself to be none other than Hudson.")

("Hicks promptly shuts off the alarm and answered "They're coming." Hudson then asked "Where?", and Hicks specified "In the tunnel…" Someone else pressed a button, and the video came to an end.")

Run looked over the list of log files within the Portable Terminal's display screen "That was the last recording, left available." He typed in a command on the Terminal keyboard "IS THERE ANY MORE AVAILABLE DATA?" The computer deliberated for several seconds. Then, a written message began to scroll across the display screen:

DIRECTIVE 061279

DIRECTED BY: BURKE, CARTER J.

RECIPIENT: DR. REESE, BARTHOLOMEW

…

NEW INFORMATION ACQUIRED, REGARDING COMPANY INTERESTS.

...

SURVEY TEAM IS HEREBY INSTRUCTED TO INVESTIGATE FOLLOWING COORDINATES, IN PURSUIT OF PROSPECTIVE LEADS TO SUBJECT'S LOCATION.

...

END OF TRANSMISSION.

"Interesting…" commented Run, as he gleaned the written information from the Portable Terminal. "What's it say, Run?" asked Wave. The General's Aide looked up, and addressed his Comrades "Looks like orders and directions, for someone to head to a certain location." Kurome was curious "Directions to where? What location?"

Run looked over the information once more, and shakes his head "I can't make sense of these coordinates. They don't match this land's cartography. The longitude and latitude are too small and close in proximity." Seryu began to grow impatient "Can't you use a formula, to convert it?" Run shakes his head again "No, I can't. It would be impossible to calculate, without any sort of reference point."

Esdeath called for all her Subordinates' attention "None of that matters. We got enough adequate information to determine the answers to Our previous questions. Hadley's Hope, the Aliens, and The Colonial Marines, it's all tied together. They all come from a different World on a different planet. And, for reasons unknown, they suddenly appeared in this World, and could be anywhere right now." She smiled menacingly "But, We now have several leads to get more information regarding their sudden appearance." The blue haired General indicated the device Kurome found "We'll have a look at this object, to see if it has anything useful. Then, we'll setup camp in the forest outside the borders of the Valley. Finally, at Our first opportunity, we'll search the Atmosphere Processor."

The Jaegers all nodded at their leader, and Run uncoupled the connection cable from the Colony Archives. He then took the input cord from the device Kurome found, and jacked it into the corresponding port in the Portable Terminal.

The Terminal's display screen changes once again, as another video began to play.

("The video shows a woman with close-cropped hair and wearing a bandana. The woman addressed the screen with a hardened face and a somber tone. "Carmen…" the woman began "It's Jenette. If you're seeing this message, then something must have happened to me." She pauses for a second, then continued "There's little time and a lot I wanted to say. First is, don't make the same stupid choices I have made. I know you thought I was being tough, when in fact I was just making one foolish mistake after another. Always do right be others, and live a long happy life. Second is, your big sister loves you very much, and I wished that I could have given you a better life." The message is interrupted when an alarm sounds off and Hicks' voice speaks out from the woman's headset "Hudson! Vasquez! Meet me at Med Lab. We've got a fire!" Vasquez began to run off somewhere, as the message stops recording.")

"Who was that?" asked Wave. Run removed the cord from the input jack, before answering "Must be one of Hicks' comrades. Telling from the way she ran at the Corporal's summons, it's that likely her name is Vasquez." Seryu bared her sharp teeth in pure hatred "Just another wicked sinner, confessing her misdeeds to a degenerate sibling." She then makes a nefarious smile "I hope we find her soon. So that I may kill her myself, and feed her remains to Koro. I'll do the same for that bastard Corporal Hicks!" beside her, Koro makes a vicious grin, show rows of hideously sharp teeth.

Esdeath looked at her Subordinates and spoke up "Perhaps, We can learn Hicks' whereabouts from or guest, Hudson." The Jaegers' leader then makes an insidious smile "I'll be sure to interrogate him, when We've made camp and completed our search." She turns to her Aide "Run. Is there anything else, you can dig up from this room?" Run took a quick look around the Control Room, before folding up the Portable Terminal "No. Everything else is smashed, shot, or blown up beyond repair."

Esdeath wasted no time, and began walking towards the back exit. "Come, Everyone. We're heading back outside."

One by one, the Jaegers began to file behind their leader, and make their way out of Colony Operations. Kurome pauses just outside the junction into Medical, and looked back towards the Operations Control Room. "Vasquez. Older Sister…" an image of Vasquez appeared in her mind, and she recalled the tender emotion Vasquez made when Jenette spoke her sister Carmen's name. It was the same facial expression Akame made, whenever Kurome's Older Sister would speak to her. Full of Love and Nurture.

"What's wrong Kurome? Why did you stop?" Wave spoke up from behind Akame's Younger Sister. Kurome turned around, and saw that the black armored sailor was standing behind her, waiting for her to keep moving. The teenage assassin shook her head, and resumed walking "It's was nothing, Wave. I was just wondering, where that ventilation duct back there leads to."

Wave took a quick look at the open vent hole, and shrugged "I don't know. It looks big enough for a person to fit inside…" He then gave a stern look from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate "Don't go off exploring the ventilation network, by yourself. God knows where those ducts can lead to…" Kurome frowned in irritation "Relax. I'm not going into dark places anytime soon. I promise you that."

"Hey, you two!" Esdeath called out from Medical "Pick up the pace. You're falling behind." Kurome and Wave stopped talking to each other, and began jogging to catch up with the other Jaegers.

Church of the Path of Peace, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

It was dark inside the Cathedral, the only sources of light came from braziers lining the sides of a audience chamber and sunlight filtering through the many stained glass windows. Towards the center of the chamber, a man in ceremonial robes sat on a high seat with the religion's emblem hanging behind.

Before the seated man, a young woman with pale hair and wearing skimpy robes, walked into the audience chamber, and kneeled in front of him.

Borick looked down at the young acolyte, and spoke with a gracious smile on his bearded face "Congratulations. You have been chosen for the glorious position of discipleship to our Lord." The young woman's face shone with pure joy "Is that really true!? To be able to witness the miracles of our Lord, personally. It's my dream come true!"

"Miracle, huh?" Borick thought "Nobody knows, that I secretly took a blood sample of the Lord, and had it sent back to the Imperial Capital, to have Dr. Stylish conduct research on it. And we found out he's half Danger Beast, an existence that shouldn't be possible! That's explains how he has supernatural powers." Borick then chuckled insidiously "It was an incredible discovery, that even the Lord himself did not know about." The acolyte made a puzzled expression "Lord Borick?"

Borick snapped out of his notion, and directed his attention back to his current task. "However…" he began "It seems, that you still have some wickedness inside of you. Because of that, you wouldn't be able to perform your religious duties." The young woman got anxious and spoke in a worried tone "No…It can't be!"

"Remove your clothes." commanded Borick "I shall conduct a holy ceremony, to cleanse you."

"Yes…" with no hesitation, the young acolyte carefully slipped her robe off and let it fall to the floor. She then stood there in front of Borick, completely nude. "Please!" she spoke urgently.

As Borick approached the naked young woman, his thoughts drifted back to his previous scheme "Soon, I will take over this religious organization. With the knowledge I have on hand, getting rid of the current Lord should be child's play." He reaches for the acolyte's bare shoulders, and pulled her close. "I couldn't eliminate the Lord beforehand, because of those damned powers of his. But, maybe with the information the Empire has on him, we can find a means of getting around his prophetic abilities."

Borick held the young acolyte close to him. So, close that he can hear her steady breathing in his ear. He then placed a hand on the nude woman's leg "No man or beast in this World can be completely invincible. As long as you learn of their nature, and understand their strengths and weaknesses, you can find ways around their defenses. Know your target inside and out, and you will be able to destroy them easily." His hand began to slide up the young woman's thigh "With Me, as the new Lord of the Path of Peace, the Prime Minister will have total control over these foolish zealots. Until then, in my current position, I'll make the most of it-" Stick! A sharp pain shot into the base of Borick's skull.

"What!?" Borick hissed in pain, and realized he couldn't move. His limbs wouldn't respond, and all senses, excluding the pain, has left his body. He is paralyzed.

Confused, and unaware of what's happening to him, Borick looked at the only person who can give him an explanation. The naked young woman in his arms, had her own arms around his shoulders, and were reaching behind his neck. She pulled back her arms, then she smiled at him "Assassination, Complete…"

A large cloud of smoke billowed forth, and engulfed the young woman's body. When it finally dissipated, a different woman remained. Her skin was fair, her robe was still on, and she had reddish brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

Borick's eyes widen, as he witness this unassuming acolyte transform into Chelsea of Night Raid using Gaea Foundation to disguise herself. "Wh-who…are…y-you-" The Prime Minister's Spy collapsed forward, and laid still. In the back of his head, a steel needle has pierced the base of his skull, and remained stuck there. Chelsea looked down, and callously spoke "I'm someone who's going to change this depraved World, by getting rid of Scum like you."

Chelsea stepped away from Borick's body, and headed towards the back of the room. She was about to reach into Gaea Foundation's compartment for another lollipop, but stopped and turned around instead.

"Leone? Is that you?" Chelsea asked aloud. From the shadows, a buxom woman with blonde hair, gold eyes, and wearing a robe that is having difficulty swathing around her large bust, stepped into view.

"Yeah, it's me." Leone answers. She completely exits the shadows, with a body slung over her shoulder. "Who's that?" inquired an anxious Chelsea. The voluptuous blonde laid the body out on the floor to give a better view. It was a man in a white formal suit and a black vest. In his hands was a strange looking scythe.

Chelsea observed the strange scythe "What's that in his hand? It that an Imperial Arm?" Leone shrugged "Don't know. I killed him, before he can use it." She then nudged the scythe with a foot "Let's leave it alone for now. The Spy Team can recover it, later." The red-headed beauty nods, and then turned to look behind the flag with the religious emblem. She spotted a trapdoor leading underground. Before Chelsea can approach the trapdoor, her golden eyed Comrade called after her.

"Where do you think, you're going?" asked Leone. Chelsea gave her Comrade a perplexed look "Borick is dead. The Mission is complete. So, now I'm just looking for an exit."

Leone walked over to Borick's body, grasped Borick's head, and twisted it 180 degrees, snapping his neck in the process. "There. Now the Mission is complete." Leone declared triumphantly.

Chelsea remained confused, borderline irritated "Why did you that? I've already killed him, so doing something like that was completely unnecessary." Leone looked up at the red-headed assassin "How can you be sure, he's dead? All you did was jab a needle in the back of his head."

This time, Chelsea was full-on irritated "I've employed the same method I've used to kill all of my previous targets. I've no reason to think he'll wind up any different." Leone started to become irritated herself "Not everybody's the same, Chelsea. You can't go on using the same skill, to eliminate your foes. There are no guarantees, that a single type of attack will work on a different person. A good warrior uses a variety of abilities, to ensure her kill is certain and thorough." The glamorous assassin began to mutter defensively "I'm an assassin, not a warrior. My kills are discreet and efficient. And, I take the fast and easy way to carry out an assignment."

The buxom blonde glared at Chelsea "We're on the brink of War! Killing someone will no longer be a walk in the park, for Us." Leone paused, and looked out the stained glass window. "You know What's out here as well as I do, Chelsea. You've seen Them yourself, and what They're capable of. Do you really think pricking Them with a needle, is enough to take an Alien down? Let alone a whole swarm of Them?"

Leone walked over to the red-headed young woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder "Every one of Us within Night Raid have pledged Our lives, to see an Old decrepit World changed into something better. But, that doesn't mean We'd have to give Our lives so recklessly. If you want to see this through to the end, you'll have to change that conservative practice of yours. Change the way you fight. Use different weapons and strategies, to balance out what you currently use. Be an active fighter, and stand beside your allies. It is much better to have backup to fall back on, than to go it alone." She then wrapped an arm around Chelsea's shoulder, pressed her forehead against her own "You're one of Us, Chelsea. You should trust and rely on Us a little more. Do you think being aloof is gonna make things any easier? The answer is no, it is not. Just because you prefer to act alone and risk your life by yourself, doesn't mean people won't be sad if anything were to happen to you. That's because, you still have friends who care for you and see you as one of their own. Like a family. Didn't you ever wanted a family, Chelsea?"

Chelsea grew silent, as she listened to Leone. When she finally spoke, the only answer she gave was a whisper "Yes…" Leone smiled and nodded "Well, you have one. And a large one at that. You have brothers, named Lubbock, Tatsumi, and Su. You also have sisters, named Najenda, Akame, and Mine. Newt is your cousin, Hicks is your uncle, and Ripley is your aunt." Chelsea then spoke up "What about you?" Leone's smile grew wider "I'm your Big Sister, who'll always look out for those she loves, including you. Understand?"

Chelsea quietly nods, and Leone releases her embrace "Good." She then scanned the room "Now, let's get out of here, and meet up with the Others. Someone's gonna find Borick's corpse, and I don't wanna be around when that happens."

"Over here. I think there's a secret passage to Borick's mansion, behind this seat." Chelsea began to pull back on the religion's emblem, until Leone grabbed her by the shoulders. "No need." she said, and then she used Lionelle to change into bestial form "We don't know what we'll find on the other side, and I'm not up for surprises today."

Leone then placed Chelsea's arm around her shoulder, and carried her up to the rafters above the Cathedral. They found a hatch along the ceiling, and went through it to wind up on the roof.

"Hold on tight." Leone instructed "I'll carry Us along the rooftops, and make for the outskirts of the city. We can hike on back to the Dropship, afterwards." With a nod, Chelsea clung onto Leone's shoulder. The bestial blonde then leapt across the roof of other buildings, with the glamorous assassin in tow.

Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

Thump! Thump! Thump! A loud knock came from outside the Cheyenne Dropship.

Najenda listen closely to the pattern of knocks. "That's got to be Leone and Chelsea. Lower the gantry." she ordered. Hicks stood ready with his Pulse-Rifle, while Bishop pressed a switch to lower the steps.

A few seconds later, Leone and Chelsea stepped up the gantry, and into the Dropship's cabin.

Najenda walked up to her arriving Subordinates "Welcome back, you two. How did it go?" Chelsea step up and proudly announced "The Mission is accomplished. Borick is history." Night Raid's leader made a pleased smile and congratulated "Good job, Everyone! Now we're finally on track, in getting this Revolution in full swing. But, all of you be ready. Because, the battles are going to get more intense from here on in!" Every occupant within the Dropship made a serious face, full of determination and resolve. There'll be no turning back, from here on in. They must achieve victory, or die in the struggle. Their Opponents are strong and mighty, but Their allies' technology can level that playing field.

Ripley made a quick head count. "Everyone has made it back, Najenda. Let's pull out and leave this place." Najenda nods in confirmation and addressed all her Subordinates "Night Raid. Our mission here is completed. We are now leaving Kyoroch, and heading back to Hadley's Hope. Get some rest, and stand by for arrival." All of Night Raid nodded their heads, and began unloading and stowing their armaments.

Akame unstrapped the leg holster to her Handgun, and placed the weapon aside with her small pouch of bullet clips. Hicks walked up beside her and spoke "How did that Pistol turn out for you?" The red eyed assassin tucked Murasame in a nearby locker, and responded "It came in handy, against Ibara. But the trigger action was sort of heavy." The Corporal makes a sly grin "Bear with it, for a while longer. When We get to the Sulaco, I'll be sure to make some adjustments and try to offset that drawback." Akame threw him an excited smile "I can hardly wait."

Tatsumi placed his Shotgun and bandolier full of shells into a box and set it aside. He then took Incursio's sword form in its sheath, and hung it on the back of a passenger seat. He was about to unbuckle his Marine Armor, but stopped as he overhead Lubbock speaking "Sorry ladies. But, there's not enough room for you to change back into your clothes back here. You'll either have to remain in those revealing robes for the duration of the flight, or strip in front of the rest of Us."

Tatsumi walked up to the green haired defense operative, and berated him "Get out of their way Lubbock. You still have to remove your gear, as well." Lubbock threw him and aggravated look "Quit being stupid! Are you a Homo!?" The green eyed fighter grew red in the face and yelled back "Don't be an idiot! I'm totally not like that!" He then felt a hand placed on his shoulder, so he turned around and saw Leone and Chelsea were standing right behind him.

"Well in that case, Tatsumi. Whose outfit, do you like the most?" Leone asked with a sultry grin. Chelsea smiles and winked, while adding "Oh, I'd like to hear the answer to that."

Tatsumi began to blush, as Leone began to lean towards him while exposing the top of her cleavage. Chelsea stood next to her with her hands on her hips, as she swayed in a seductive manner. Tatsumi's blush grew redder, as he struggled to keep his nose from bleeding. He needed to find a way to get out of this.

"Hey, Su." Tatsumi called out to the humanoid Imperial Arm "I heard you helped Lubbock out of tight situation. Way to go, man!" Sweat dropped down the back Tatsumi's head.

"Ah…" Leone moaned in disappointment "He ran away…"

Hicks stood in front of the hatch leading into the cockpit "Hey. Settle down back there. I want everybody properly situated and seated. Bishop won't launch the Ship without Everyone belted and secure.

Mine unslung her Pulse-Rifle and slid it onto a rack. She then took Pumpkin's case, and stowed it under a passenger seat. Finally, she undid her pouch full of ammo, and set it into a nearby bin. When she finished, she took a seat and began to buckle herself.

When the pink haired sniper finished strapping herself to her seat, she turned and noticed Tatsumi has taken a seat right next to her. Mine also noticed the green eyed fighter had a disheartened look about his face.

"What's wrong?" Mine asked with slight concern. Tatsumi took a breath and began to explain "When I chased after that Rakshasa Demon, and cornered her, I offered to make her a comrade of Night Raid, she refused me outright with no apparent reason than her desire to fight and kill me. Even when I tried to warn her of the threat of the Aliens, she merely scoffed at my story, and called me a liar."

Mine stared at Tatsumi for a second, and then began to speak "You should already know by now, Tatsumi. That most people in this World don't really need or want a good reason to do terrible things. Some forego any excuse what so ever, and go on committing atrocities, just because they think they can get away with it. You throw in a story about the Xenomorphs, to try to make others see reason and civility, and you really think they would believe you?" She makes a sigh of disdain, and continued in a calmer tone "You have to admit, Tatsumi. The Aliens may be terrible and a bane to all Life in existence, but that won't convince everyone to put aside their immoral tendencies, in their common interest of survival."

The Genius Sniper then leaned her head against his shoulder, and closed her eyes "All We have is each other, in this fight. So, We all must do Our part and rely on one another, if we're ever gonna save this World from Those who would destroy it." Mine's voice began to drift of sleepily "Entrust your strength to Us, Tatsumi. The same way, Ripley, Hicks, and even Newt have entrusted theirs. And I promise you, that I will always have your back…" her voice droned off into a mumble, as she slipped into a deep sleep. Tatsumi place his arm around her, to support her surprisingly heavy head, while being extra careful neither of her twintails would get snagged.

All around the Dropship's cabin, Everyone else began readying themselves for flight. Ripley, Najenda, and Susanoo stowed their weapons on racks, and took their seats across the aisle. Newt sat next to Ripley, and Najenda sat beside Susanoo.

Chelsea and Leone managed to change into their former attire, and went to take their seats. Chelsea sat next to Tatsumi, and rested her head on his other shoulder, which prompted him into using his other arm to support her head. Leone sat down next to Akame and Hicks, and Lubbock took up the other seat beside her.

As soon as everyone got comfortable, Hicks spoke into his headset "Okay, Bishop. Everybody's ready for take off. Go ahead, and launch."

Over the PA speakers, Bishop replied "Affirmative. Commencing take-off…" Throughout the Ship, a sound of winding jet turbines began to rise, all round. After the thrusters achieves maximum lift, the cabin lurched upwards as the Ship began to lift off.

After the Cheyenne Dropship reached a certain altitude, Bishop disengaged VTOL hovering. Then, he throttled the engines, and flew the ship up into the evening sky.

Church of the Path of Peace, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

The Lord of the Path of People stood in front of the Cathedral doors, and turned his gaze upwards at the setting sun. His thoughts were occupied by his encounter with that young couple he kept running into.

"I pray, that those two's future takes a different path, than what I predicted when I first met them." He then closed his eyes "Young souls, such as them, should not go through so much loss and suffering." he opened his eyes again and looked on once more at the waning sun. "But perhaps fate hangs in their favor? A strange glow looms all around them. It's as if some sort of power from beyond, is closely watching over them, ever vigilant and fiercely protective…"

Suddenly, the Cathedral doors burst open, and a disciple ran out to address his leader "My Lord! Terrible news! Our Lord Borick has been assassinated!" Many other disciples stood at attention near the Lord. One of them spoke up "Who would want to murder our beloved Lord Borick!? Could it have been the Empire!? Or perhaps those blasphemous Rakshasa Demons who keep him company!? Where are they right now!? They must be held accountable for this travesty!"

The Lord calmly raised his hands, and called for silence. When all his disciples quieted, he spoke "The loss of one our own is an unfortunate tragedy. But I say to you all, don't make reckless accusations and false assumptions. We need reasonable heads, and clearer minds if we're to make any sense of what has transpired-"

Another disciple ran out of the Cathedral and called out to everyone "My apologies my Lord. But I made an important discovery, whilst investigating the chamber in which Borick has perished." He produced a large bag full of paper and envelopes, then threw it at the Lord's feet. "I'm my search for clues, I've stumbled upon a secret passage that led to Borick's own Mansion. At the other end of the passage, was Borick's personal study." The vexed disciple then plunged his hand into the bag, and took out some of its contents "On his desk were piles upon piles of letters and documents. Detailed information regarding this Organization's infrastructure, background information of many of our followers, receipts of transferred funds, and even instructions on doing away with our own Lord!" He held up the papers for all to see "They are all addressed to the Empire's own Prime Minister Honest!" he threw the scattered papers in a fit of rage.

The Lord listened to this revelation, with a reserved demeanor. When he finally spoke, it was in a cold emotionless tone "Borick was secretly under the Prime Minister's employ. He's an Imperial Spy, sent to infiltrate our ranks." All around him, his followers and disciples erupted in a chorus of vengeful fury

"Traitor!!!" "Lecherous Imperial Bastard!!!" "Rapacious Charlatan!!!" "Vile Assassin!!!" "Where's his body!? Let's cut off the head and set on a spike!" "Where are the ancient scriptures!? Let's set a curse on his soul, and damn him for eternity. So that it will never know peace, and go on haunting those who sent him to us!"

The Lord raised his hands again, to calm his followers "Everyone, please calm yourselves-" he abruptly collapsed to the ground, as if struck. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he began convulsing. Everyone around him took notice of what's happening, and nearly panicked.

"Our Lord! What's wrong with him!" "He's taken by an illness! It must be Borick's work, or that of his fellow Imperials!" "Somebody, do something!"

"Nobody, touch him!" commanded one of the disciples "I've seen this plenty of times! He's gone into a trance. And a deep one, at that. It means, he's having one of his prophetic visions. Leave him be, until he's finished seeing what he has to see!" Every religious follower withdrew from the Lord, to give him space to breathe. No one was close enough to hear him whimper and mewl "no…stop…save…me…They're coming…"

("As the trance took hold of him, the Lord of the Path of Peace was plunged into the confines of his own mind. What he saw there, made him scream and cry with every strength he could muster. At first, he saw nothing. Only because It was so dark a void, that It's impression would have been considered nothing. But It couldn't have been the void, because It was moving. It was a moving, writhing darkness. And It has form. The Lord watched helplessly, as the form took a clearer exoskeletal shape. It stood on a pair of long legs, which allowed It to tower at 3 stories high. A long flexible tail with a large blade at its end, whipped and coiled behind It. Large spikes ran in pairs, along Its large back. In front of It were two pairs of clawed arms, with one pair massive and horrendously powerful, and the other pair smaller yet dexterous and precise. Finally, at where Its head should be, there was a broad crest resting on titanic shoulders. At the front of the crested head, was a protective slit, which housed something almost as terrifying as the rest of the body. The slit parted, and a massive jaw full of fanged teeth slid out into view. The jaws were the only defining feature of Its face. There were no eyes, nose, or ears. But It can see, because It was looking straight at the Lord. Somehow, It was able to see the Lord, the same way the Lord was seeing It within the trance. As if the trance itself was serving as a conduit, to bridge one mind to an infinitely greater, more terrible mind. While It continued to stare at him, the fanged jaws opened, and an otherworldly hiss emanated forth. Then, the jaws opened wider, and an unholy shriek sounded out. The Lord tried to cover his ears, but to no avail. The shrill cry was so loud, it can rival a thunderstorm. The cry receded, and Its mouth opened wider still. Suddenly, at the speed of lightning, a second set of inner jaws shot forth in a voracious Snap!")

The Lord finally regained consciousness, and sat up while making rapid unsteady gasps. His disciples gathered around him, and helped him to his feet.

"My Lord? Are you alright?" "What was it that you've seen in the vision, my Lord?" "Please, say something, my Lord. We are all here to serve you."

Shaken and desperate to regain his composure, the Lord raised his hands to call his followers to silence themselves. When everyone around quieted themselves, he spoke out urgently "Everyone, get the word out! Put the city on high-alert, and close off every road and gateway inside!" All of his followers stood there, unsure of what there leader was asking of them.

"Please, do as I say!" he implored "Have this city sealed on all fronts! No one goes in or out! Establish a curfew, and put every armed guard on watch!" most of the Lords disciples snapped out of their confusion, and proceeded in carrying out their Lord's instructions. Those who remained began asking questions.

"Is all well, my Lord?" "Why are we going on high-alert? Are we expecting an attack!?" "Is it the Empire!? Are they retaliating, because of Borick's death!?"

The Lord nearly regain his serene demeanor and tried to explain as best as he could about what he saw. "It's not the Empire." he explained "It's something much, much worse. It's an Evil, that is as ancient and foreign, as the stars above us. An all-consuming darkness bent of ending Life on all corners of existence. A World-Ender. A Species-Killer. The Apocalypse Itself!" Everyone around began to grow frightened.

"How can this be!?" "What should we do!?" "Please save us, my Lord!"

In the center of the crowd, another disciple fought his way to come before the Lord. "My Lord! This just came in by messenger eagle!" he held up parcel for all to see. The disciple then presented it to the Lord who accepted it, and opened it to see its contents.

The Lord then removed a letter from the parcel, and began reading it. With a determined nod, he folded the letter back up and began addressing his remaining followers "I want every able-bodied man to grab a shovel, and begin digging a trench along the outskirts of this city. Everyone else gather as much firewood, incense tinder, and anything else that can burn, for fuel." Everyone hesitated, and waited for an explanation. "That was a communique from the Revolutionary Army. They're somehow aware of the looming threat heading towards us, and have sent advice on how to safeguard our people." The Lord read the letter once more, to confirm something. When he finished, he resumed explaining "As soon as the trenches are finished, dump every fuel source we can spare, and start a fire. We are to keep these fires burning through the night, until daylight shines the next day."

While most of the people within the city set about their task of fortifying the borders, the Lord gathered all of his most faithful disciples. "We're moving ahead with the plan." He declared "We will have every one of our followers take up arms, and attack the Empire. It is imperative that we do this quickly, while we still have time. Otherwise, the Great Evil that threatens us all, will gather enough strength to become unstoppable. Only by overthrowing the Corrupt Empire, can our people unite with others, and face this Ultimate Evil together."

One of the disciples asked a question "My Lord. How can we know, that this Evil will wait long enough for the coming war with the Empire to be over?"

The Lord tried to put into words, what he sensed from his vision "Because, what I saw before had terrible power and a desire to further It own existence, through the deaths of all others. But the worst characteristic this Crawling Darkness had, was that It hasn't attained the height of Its strength as of yet. It's still growing, and It hasn't reached Its limit, if there is any..."

Eastern Outskirts, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire

Out along a long canyon, two men in explorer's gear were inspecting a collapsed ruin. One began to speak "We shouldn't be out here. There's a curfew in place for a reason. Word on the street is that apparently, something really, really bad is coming this way. And, it's not safe to be outside the city after nightfall." The other man waved him away "We still have small amount of daylight left. This is the perfect opportunity to check these ruins for treasure."

The second man observed what's left of the ruin's interior "This place sure came down hard. I hope we can find something good." He sees a large mound of rubble "this seems recent. It's as if something was intentionally buried here-"

Suddenly, the rubble began to stir. At top of the mound was a cluster of broken stone, which came apart when a hand shot out and reached up towards the sky. "Ahh! It's a Zombie!" both men screamed and ran out along the canyon, right towards town.

Suzuka shoved aside the pile of rocks, and climbed out of the ground. "Ha! I've experience a live burial. Good thing, the Body Manipulation technique saved me from being crushed." She blushed and scratched her cheek in thought "That was such a wonderful new game to play! For a liar, that boy in white and silver armor is not that bad a playmate…" the woman thought back on the boy's earlier story "Destructive Plague? Don't make me laugh. It has nothing to do with me, so it's none of my concern." She surveyed the ruins behind her, but darkness was encroaching fast, and made it hard to see the collapsed structures. The female Rakshasa Demon held herself as she pondered "That Night Raid girl called him, Tatsumi. I wonder if he's still alive…"

Something moved out the corner of her eye, and Suzuka quickly turned to sees what It was. Down her line of sight near the end of the gorge, there were shadows casted by the surrounding cliffs. And the shadows seemed to be moving.

"What's that?" Suzuka wondered, as she squinted to get a better look at the distant shade of darkness within the canyon. "Suzuka?" a voice called her name from behind her, and she quickly turned around while taking a fighting stance. She instantly relaxed, when she saw it was Mez who stood behind and spoke her comrade's name.

Suzuka calmed down, and smiled at her fellow Rakshasa Demon "Dammit, Mez! You'd nearly made me jump out of my own skin, just now. Mind you, that would've been fun for a different time." Mez shrugged and spoke "Borick is dead. His identity as an Imperial Spy has been discovered. And now, the members of the Path of Peace are locking down the city, and readying for war. Sten and Ibara are dead too. We're the only ones left, and we've failed our assignment. The Prime Minister is really gonna let us have it now." Suzaka eagerly licked her fingers "I can't hardly wait. I wonder, what he plans to do to us?"

Mez shrugged again "A one way trip to the Torture Chamber, I imagine." Suzuka quivered with excitement "Sometimes, I wonder if we're being spoiled. You wanna give me an extra hand, before it happens? We could have a lot of fun, with the free time we now have." Mez shakes her head "Not this time. You're too selfish."

"And you're so mean!" Suzuka responded euphorically. Mez then smiled at her "You seem to be unusually edgy. Did something happen to you?" Suzuka shakes her head "Nah. Just having some fun with a new acquaintance."

Mez rolled her eyes, and then found herself staring out at a distance. "Is that them, over there?" she pointed down the canyon, and indicated the shadows at the other end. Suzuka followed suit and then explained "No. That's something else. You can see it too, right?" Mez nodded her head in agreement "Yeah, there's definitely something moving over there. Whatever It is, It's keeping to the shadows, and staying just out of sight."

"It's probably watching us from afar. That's quite rude, don't you think?" Suzuka commented. Mez cupped her hands and shouted "We know, you're over there! Come out and show yourself!"

A moment passed by, till finally a shape began to come out of the shadows, and into the evening's fading light. As it crawled into view, the two remaining Rakshasa Demons instant saw It wasn't human. Its body was all black and exoskeletal. A long bladed tail whipped around behind it. Four tube-like protrusions stuck out of Its back. Clawed hands held up some of Its upper section, until it stood up in a hunched position. It head was an elongated skull with no face, except for a thin lipped mouth at the front. The same mouth parted the lips to show a jaw full of sharp silvery teeth. In a low hiss, the Creature opened the jaws, and a second set with sharp teeth, extended out from inside the main mouth. The secondary jaws opened and closed, before retracting back into the primary mouth.

"What the hell Is It?" wondered Suzuka "Some sort of animal? A Danger Beast, perhaps?" Mez held her hand out in front towards the unknown Creature "Whatever It is, It doesn't look friendly." she then pointed her fingers at It "Let's try to make It understand, that It shouldn't fuck with us." She stretched forth her arm and extended her fingernails. The attack traveled rapidly towards the Alien, and missed as the Xenomorph dodged sideways.

"You're getting sloppy, Mez" commented Suzuka. "Shut up!" retorted Mez "I'm just off my game, today. That's all!" she explained with a blush, as she recalled her encounter with Lubbock, before blacking out for some reason, and awaking to find herself in an embarrassing position.

Skree! The Creature retaliated, by charging headlong towards the Rakshasa Demons, in a violent screech. Mez sent out another attack, and It once again evaded while keeping up Its charge.

The Alien leaped off the ground in a pounce, and barreled straight for The two women. Suzuka smirks, and caught the Xenomorph by the arms. In a fluid maneuver, the female Rakshasa Demon turned the Creature over, and slammed It into the ground.

"Too predictable…" Suzuka taunted, but she suddenly felt something wrapped around her ankle. "Wha-!" was all she had time to say, before she was whisked off her feet in a whipping motion.

After landing on her side, Suzuka looked up to see the Creature had already recovered and was about to strike at her with Its claws.

Before It can attack, a set of long sharp fingernails embedded into the Alien's side, knocking It back and inflicting deep stab wounds into Its body. "Don't forget about me!" Mez declared, satisfied that her attack had finally pierced the target. The Xenomorph swiped away at the nails with Its claws, but the female Rakshasa Demon had already withdrew her attack.

Mez' fingers began to burn. As she looked down and noticed a yellowish fluid was quickly dissolving her finger digits, she cried out in pain "Ouch! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Before Mez could figure out what to do to make the pain stop, she turned aside in panic. It was then, that she realized something about the Creature, which made her forget all about her burning fingers.

It wasn't alone.

Another Alien leered from above as It hung over Mez, while crawling along the sheer flat side of the cliff face. In a blink of an eye, the Xenomorph lunged forward, and seized Mez by the neck, then It quickly dragged her up the cliffside, and scuttled back over the top edge.

Suzuka picked herself up, and stood up off the ground. She glanced up along the cliff face, in search of her fellow Rakshasa Demon. "Mez!" she called out, but there was no response. "Mez!?" Suzuka called again, not sure of what to do.

Suddenly, the twilit sky was shattered by a loud howling scream. It was Mez. Something terrible was being done to her.

Suzuka made ready to dash up the cliff side "Hang on, Mez! I'm coming!" Her preparation was interrupted however, as the first Creature that charged before, stood back up after receiving the wounds from Mez' attack, and stalked back towards the remaining Rakshasa Demon.

"Get out of my way, and we can play later." demanded Suzuka "I've got to go help my comrade." The Creature hissed in response, as it ignored the Rakshasa Demon's words, and made ready to attack. Suzuka noticed that Its wounds were bleeding a strange, yellow liquid. When the fluid dripped onto the ground, a hole would burn open where the drop had landed.

"What the Hell are these Things!" yelled the female Rakshasa Demon, as she took on a defensive stance against the Creature. Suzuka looked around, as movement from elsewhere caught her attention. She then backed up slowly, and watched in surprise as more and more Creatures started crawling out of the darkness of night.

Another scream sounded out into the night's sky.

Suzuka looked up at the top of the cliff, where Mez was taken. But she can no longer see any sign of her fellow Rakshasa Demon. Only the writhing shapes of more Aliens crawling along the side of the cliff with apparent ease. The pack of Xenomorphs numbered in the 30s, as more and more swarmed into the canyon. They began to head towards Suzuka in an attempt to surround her, leaving her with two choices to make as the area behind her started to close off. Run or Die.

"I'm sorry, Mez…" Suzuka turned around and bolted for the shrinking gap between the overwhelming Creatures.

The Aliens gave chase, but already began falling behind as the nimble Rakshasa Demon managed to outrun the entire pack.

A third scream filled the air, as Suzuka continued running with all her strength. She'd kept on running, even when her pursuers had long given up the chase. She never bothered stopping for an instant, not even for checking to see if she got away. Never daring to look back. Never wanting to hear that horrible, awful scream, ever again.

Chapter 7 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, Heroes and Villains cross paths. Will the Jaegers declare a Checkmate? Or, will Night Raid hit the Jackpot?