Chapter III: Prison Break


After being apprehended from the train by Segai, Shu, Heath, and Akiko were taken to GHQ Isolation Facility Four for interrogation. On the way to the facility, Segai turned over to a handcuffed Shu and asked him about a word for his crossword puzzle.

"So, Shu. Maybe you can answer this," Segai was met with silence. "Here's the clue: close-fitting underwear, leggings, or tights? Primarily for women. Four characters long. Any suggestions spring to mind."

"I don't know." All Shu could think about was how naive he was to let his guard down with Yahiro. Deep down he felt he already let Funeral Parlor down and took Gai's advice about not trusting anyone.

"Ooo, you need a clue? I'm a woman. So, I could give you an answer," Akiko offered.

"Do tell."

Clearing her throat, Akiko quickly blurted out. "Pantyhose!" Her screaming made everyone wince and cover their ears. "Or, just hose for short."

With his face contorting from Akiko's outburst, Segai regained his composure and calmly chuckled. "Yes, why didn't I think of that?"

Akiko chuckled. "Aren't you glad you have a lady on board to tell you unashamedly?"

Heath scoffed. "How can you take this lightly, Akiko?"

"Because I know we didn't do anything wrong, bro. We'll be out of here."

Hearing this, Shu was flabbergasted. "How can you be so sure?"

"We'll determine your fates in due time. In the meantime, Miss Akiko, was it? Since Shu is unwilling to play, perhaps you and your brother can help me fill in more blank spots I need filling in."

Heath rebuked. "Enough playing around!"

"Well, you won't have much playtime, especially since we have a nice room for you to think in. You three will be comfortable enough. You can take all the time to figure out my puzzle."


Once they arrived at the facility, the three detainees were placed in prison gear and taken into an interrogation room. Segai, who sat in front of a table, was calm while hammering them with questions. His tone was surprisingly not unrelenting. Shu, Heath, and Akiko were expecting to be harshly interrogated and chastised.

Collective as can be, Segai leaned back in his chair. Shifting his fingers on a table, Segai pulled up a visual of Gai in his Funeral Parlor gear. In front of him, Shu, Heath, and Akiko were changed into plain white prison garb. Even Akiko's wardrobe was a matching plain white outfit with no skirt.

"Here we have Tsutsugami Gai, the self-proclaimed leader of Funeral Parlor," Segai moved Gai's picture away and pulled up a recent photo of Gai with Shu. "And here's a picture of you seen with Gai. Now, what's a boy like you doing hanging out in the middle of a warzone with a known terrorist?"

Gritting his teeth, Shu responded. "Good question. Maybe you should ask Gai that?"

"Look, Shu. It's no exaggeration to say that the food here is bad…"

"You're right. It's shit," Akiko asserted, prompting a guard in the room to point his gun at her.

After beckoning the guard away, Segai faced Heath and Akiko. "Don't worry you two are next after I'm done with Shu." When he pivoted back to Shu, Akiko blew a raspberry behind Segai's back. "I can't imagine any of you wanting to eat prison food for the rest of your life. I suggest you think about that before you say anything else." When Shu declined to speak, Segai contacted Keido. "Do you see this? He's trying to keep quiet. He's familiar enough to refer to the group's leader by his first name. He doesn't display the ideal fixation characteristics seen on most terrorists. His involvement seems tangential at best."

"Take a look at this and tell me your analysis," Keido responded, displaying an image of Gai standing in front of a large screen inside a room full of books. "It's a pirate feed simultaneously transmitted to multiple news media seven minutes ago."

When he played the video, Gai was heard sending a message to GHQ that he and Funeral Parlor will raid their Isolation Factory No. 4 tomorrow and save their comrade.

Upon returning into his quarters and replaying Gai's warning, Segai dismissed the threat. "My, my, you can't get any cockier than that. Hmm, you know what sir? I just had a bright idea." He glanced over to a man with glasses wearing a GHQ uniform. "Officer Rowan, come with me."

Later, and after being sent back into his cell, Shu fiddled with a bag of spaghetti. He heard his cell door unlock and slide open. Turning around, he saw two guards and GHQ Anti Bodies Intel officer Rowan with Heath and Akiko.

"Hey, Shu! Aww, you're not missing out on that. It tastes terrible!" Akiko blurted out.

"Come on. Let's go," Rowan ordered Shu out of his prison.


With the guards escorting the three Tennouzu students out of prison, they saw Segai waiting for them outside. Segai explained to the three students about a heightened state of emergency and decided to relocate them. Due to the arrival of a dangerous prisoner, security was doubled down. Once Rowan dropped them off, Segai escorted the three students into a lofty and polished building with a glass and steel roof on top of the entrance. As they entered, they passed by a lobby full of cushioned furniture and indoor trees. It is GHQ's Isolation Ward used as a means to facilitate one ward.

"This facility is why your friend Yahiro sold you three out to us. You will realize not everything is painted black and white as you were led to believe," Segai informed Shu, Heath, and Akiko while escorting into the premises. "Yahiro was a drug dealer who went by the alias Sugar to his clients. You don't realize it, Shu, but he was said to be at the Roppongi blockade that same day selling drugs called the Norma Gene."

"Then, that was how he was able to find out about my Funeral Parlor affiliation," Shu realized.

"Correct, Shu. However, Yahiro had his reason to turn you over to us."

When they stopped in front of a glass window, Segai showed Shu, Heath, and Akiko a horrific sight they never thought they'd ever see. They saw not one but many sick patients covered with dark gray crystallized protrusions exposed on their bodies. Some had crystals covering their limbs. Others had crystals covering half of their faces.

"What he sells is dirty money for sure, but Yahiro's motives are pure. Look down there and you'll see," Segai said.

"Oh god…" Heath gasped.

"No," Akiko covered her mouth in shock.

"What happened to these people?" Shu asked Segai. He then spotted a familiar face sitting in the room beside a bedridden patient. "Yahiro?"

Segai pointed them toward Yahiro, out of school uniform, sitting and speaking with a young boy sleeping in a bed.

"Who is that kid Yahiro's with?" Shu asked.

"That's his younger brother Jun and that's the reason Yahiro ratted you out. Pretty shocking, isn't it? This is what happens when the Apocalypse Virus reaches stage four."

The boy's entire left body is covered in sickly gray crystals from his face down to his arm. The rest of his body is covered in a bedsheet. The boy is seen being hooked by wires to a heart pulse monitor.

"This facility's important role is GHQ's effort to provide cutting-edge medical attention for people accidentally infected or developed immunity to the vaccine," Segai explained as he delved into GHQ's rise and involvement with the medical industry. "It was ten years when the pandemic ravaged our country. GHQ was the only organization to develop a vaccine and helped suppress the outbreak with it. Health care came at a cost. As a means to pay for the costs of the Apocalypse Virus treatment and stays, Yahiro raised money from selling the Norma Gene drug. On top of the treatment, there was also the matter of health insurance costs with the treatments being expensive as they were. After Lost Christmas, GHQ changed Japan's health care system and made a profit off the expenses of the Apocalypse Virus, which helped enhance their treatments and medical breakthroughs at neck break speeds."

Shu was somewhat relieved that Yahiro only did it for a good cause but still felt betrayed for being ratted out by his classmate.


After escorting them to a lounge, Segai sat having made coffee for himself and the three students.

"So, as you can see, I can't forgive Funeral Parlor. Not when they disrupt the peace and stability we desperately worked to create," Segai explained. "Yet, I can't wrap my head around you three, especially you Shu. I understand you two were only affiliated with Shu as his classmates and this was a case of being in the wrong place and wrong time."

Heath spoke up. "Well, you see… we only saw Shu talking with Yahiro."

Akiko scoffed. "Listen, my brother and I shouldn't even be here. Shu is the only one you want, right? We just don't want you hurting Shu."

Drinking his coffee, Segai responded with a grin. "Of course, after we're done here, we might release you but until then you'll stay put. And rest assured I won't let anything happen to Shu." He then pivoted toward the aforementioned. "Look at that, Shu. You have friends that care for you. And based on my judgment, you seem like a smart kid that cares about people. Why would you want to dismantle all of our goodwill?"

"Goodwill? How can you say that? With the stuff I saw, that wasn't goodwill."

"I don't quite follow?" Segai was confused with Shu's accusation.

"I saw innocent people killed right in front of me by your men! What about that monster you kept in secrecy?! Such a thing shouldn't even exist in this day and age!" Shu raised his tone, throwing accusations at Segai, who hadn't budged or flinched.

"That was a hideout for unregistered citizens. These are people who refused their regular inoculations and it's a hotbed for infection."

"That doesn't make it right to kill them! And you didn't answer my question about that monster in that GHQ truck that attacked us!"

"That beast was meant as a last defense measure. You'd be surprised what science can produce these days that the public isn't aware of."

Hearing this, Akiko scowled and stood up. "If what I'm hearing is true, then he's right! That's just plain cruel! You don't have the right to take innocent lives like that! That's beyond horrific! That's-that's…" When she broke down with tears, Heath grabbed her arm and sat her down.

"It's ok, sis," Heath calmed his sibling while giving Segai a scornful glare.

"Understand that our soldiers were killed, too. They're far away from their families. Did you think they wanted to die protecting people who don't want to protect themselves?"

"Gai said we had to save the civilians. He said it was for the greater good!"

Segai cut Shu off. "Is that what he said? Explain this to me. Why is he trying to free a mass murderer?" As he said this, Shu, Heath, and Akiko were taken aback with disbelief. Then, he pressed a visual screen in front of them, displaying a live video feed of a man wrapped in a straight jacket and bound by chains on a wall. "Kido Kenji, the man responsible for the Sky Tree Bombings. Funeral Parlor declared their intention to take him from us by force. Him, not you, Shu."

When he heard this, Shu grimaced. "No, that can't be right. They're coming for me, too. They wouldn't abandon me!"

"Listen to me, Shu. Take this advice to heart. When someone tells you to be selfless, it serves just them," Segai said, placing a red and black pen on the table sitting in front of Shu, Heath, and Akiko. The pen has two buttons situated on the front top area: a red one and a blue one.

"Why are you giving him a pen?" Heath asked Segai.

"It's not just a pen. It's a transmitter. I want you to take this, Shu. The next time you're with Tsutsugami Gai, press the blue button twice and the red button once. It will alert us to their location and we'll move in before they can cause any more harm. That's all I need you to do for me, Shu. We also know about Yuzuriha Inori."

"What? You got something on her, too?" Akiko furrowed her brow.

"Most people know her as a musician on the internet. It's a shame she's also been caught in Gai's web of deception. If you refuse to help us, then you'll leave me no choice but to bring her in for questioning."

With the threat of Inori's capture wrapping his mind, Shu anxiously eyed the pen in front of him. When he reached for it, Akiko pleaded to him not to take it for Inori's sake. Out of concern for Inori, Shu snatched the pen.


Sitting in his prison cell, Shu reflected on his deep conversation with Segai. Although he had taken the pen, he still never intended to sell out Funeral Parlor and placed his hopes that they'd come to rescue him. He was also concerned for Heath and Akiko's well being considering they were only caught for overhearing Shu and Yahiro's conversation.

Just then, his train of thought was interrupted when his cell door opened.

"Come on. Your lawyer is here to see you."

Following the guard out of his prison, Shu entered a visitation room. He saw Heath and Akiko seated together with a third vacant seat.

"What are you two doing here?" Shu asked them.

"Apparently our lawyer is here to see us?" Heath replied in confusion.

"Lucky break for us! We've got the same lawyer!" Akiko added enthusiastically.

"I hope that's good news for us," Heath said.

"Likewise," Shu glumly smiled as he sat in the vacant chair next to Heath.

On the other side of the glass barrier, a man dressed in an oversized brown suit and messy blonde hair entered.

"You three must be Shu, Heath, and Akiko!" The man addressed them in an overly enthusiastic tone. When he sat down in his chair, he had a pair of thin-framed glasses and a thinly shaved goatee. Upon seeing him, Shu's eyes and mouth widened in disbelief. "Shu, your mother hired me as a lawyer as a legal defense. I'm going to do everything I can to get you out of here." Taking out a folder from his black coat, he turned over to Akiko and Heath. "And don't worry I'll make sure you two get out of here as quickly as possible so your family won't realize you were even here. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Mason!"

"Oh my gosh, Gai…!" Shu almost blurted out the lawyer's name, nearly blowing the Funeral Parlor leader's cover.

"Let's get down to business!" 'Mason' put his hand out to silence Shu. "They don't give much time for consultation, so we'll have to work out." After filling out a form, 'Mason' handed it to a GHQ guard as he walked out of the room. "So, are you three ready to talk to me about what happened?"

Just then, 'Mason' heard Tsugumi's voice in his earpiece, telling him that she's diverted their video feed. With that, he altered his enthusiastic 'Mason' voice to his calmer true voice.

"Good job, Tsugumi. Now, everybody stands by," Gai muttered, quickly untying his long blonde locks and removing his fake facial hair. While this was going on, every security footage was hacked by Tsugumi, transmitting them a mock feed of 'Mason' speaking with Shu. When in reality, Gai was ready to make his next move.

"Gai, I knew they were wrong about you! You and the others did come for me!" Shu exclaimed.

Upon meeting Funeral Parlor's leader for the first time, Heath and Akiko were flabbergasted. They had only seen him on the news and labeled him as a terrorist. They couldn't believe Shu has a connection with a known terrorist.

"So, it is true! You are in league with Funeral Parlor, Shu?" Heath asked him.

"Wow, you're Tsutsugami Gai, huh? I've got to say you're hotter in person," Akiko was taken in by Gai's attractive looks.

"C'mon, sis. This isn't time to be fawning the terrorist guy."

"He's not a terrorist, guys. He's going to get us out of here. Right, Gai?"

Wearing a collective smirk, Gai stood up. "Yes, but we need to act fast. Shu, we need to get these two to safety since they're innocent bystanders who got caught up in our conflict. We should take them back home once we escape. In the meantime, we also need to free a certain somebody."

"You mean Kido Kenji? The mass murderer involved with the Sky Tree Bombings? Why him?" Heath asked him.

"That's the one but how would you know that?"

"Segai told us. Don't you think that's dangerous business freeing a mass murderer?" Shu directly posed the question, awaiting Gai's response.

"It is, but sometimes calculated risks are necessary to bring down GHQ's operations. Look, we don't have time to discuss a prisoner's morals when we should get you three out first. Oogumo and the others are already on standby ready to attack. Kido's in solitary. When we help him escape, I want you to meet him and draw out his Void, Shu."

As he heard this from Gai's mouth, Shu began having internal doubts about Gai's planning when it pertained to freeing Kenji. He never knew Funeral Parlor would try to help a mass murderer out, making him reflect on Segai's talk about the world not being painted in black and white.

Just then, the room's lights went out and alarms went off as a female computerized voice warned of a temporary system shut down due to corruption by an outside source.

"Good. Now," Gai took out a communicator and beckoned his team. "Initiate the operation."


With that, a series of explosions erupted from bombs planted inside the corridors of the GHQ Isolation Facility Four. With the explosions disrupting GHQ's security and creating enough collateral damage, Funeral Parlor, under Oogumo's command, staged an assault and bombarded GHQ's building with rockets. In response, GHQ initiated their Endlaves.


Watching the rockets crashing into the other side of the building, Gai calmly turned and addressed the three students.

"Let's get moving. This place is going to get pulverized," Gai said.

"You heard him. Let's go!" Shu said, taking Heath and Akiko out of the room. When they opened the door, the guard returned demanding they return to their cells. However, Akiko kicked the guard's groin, causing him to grunt and double over in pain.

"Works every time!" Akiko boasted as Heath grabbed her hand and led her away.

"Hurry!" Shu called out as they ran down the hall.

"Reckless fool," Gai smirked until he heard another guard behind him with a pistol pointed. Before he could fire, Gai quickly turned, disarmed, and dazed him with a punch. Then, Gai judo flipped the guard, knocking him out, and took his semiautomatic assault gun "Tsugumi, patch me to Shibungi."

"You got it!" Tsugumi switched their feed over to Shibungi.

"I was starting to worry, Gai. We're in a position to send Ayase in for your escape," Shibungi communicated while Gai walked out of the room and put on his Funeral Parlor uniform. "Shu went on ahead with those two innocent civilians. I was going to join them but guards stormed in before I did anything. I'm going with Shu and those two civilians. The rest of you do what you can to free Kenji!" He opened fire on a GHQ officer. Passing through veils of smoke through the hallway, Gai covered his mouth to keep himself from breathing in the fire's smoke. "Shu!"

"Over here, Gai!" Shu called out from a corner where he had Heath and Akiko hidden behind him.

"Good, let's get going! The others are doing their parts! Shu, your job is to protect these two until we reach Kido Kenji!" Gai said, leading Shu, Heath, and Akiko out.

On their way out, Gai was caught up in a firing battle with several GHQ security. With Heath and Akiko's safety as his primary objective, Shu headed out another way. An Endlave quickly crashed through a wall and appeared in front of them. Preparing to apprehend the three students, another Endlave crashed through a wall. Much to Shu's relief, it was the Steiner Endlave, piloted by Ayase, as it snatched the other Endlave and punched it, sending it sailing off the floor balcony and across into another balcony where it crashed.

"Holy shit! That Endlave just saved us?!" Akiko exclaimed.

"Is that friend of yours, Shu?" Heath asked him.

"Ayase, thank goodness you're ok!" Shu called out to the Steiner's pilot.

"These two are the civilians Gai told us about?" Ayase's voice was heard through the Steiner's communication. When Shu nodded, the Steiner picked up the three students. "Ok, let's get out of here!"

"Hey, there's a woman in there?!" Heath reacted to Ayase's voice coming out of the Steiner.

"Do I even guess who is in there?" Akiko wondered.

"Don't worry. She's with Gai. She'll take us somewhere safe," Shu reassured the siblings.

"Whoever she is, that voice of hers sounds so powerful… and beautiful. Who is that angel inside?" Heath muttered so low that Ayase couldn't hear him with explosions still going off within the facility.


Elsewhere, when Tsugumi learned Kenji was being relocated from his prison, Gai asked for his exact coordinates. Segai witnessed the destructive attack on the GHQ Isolation Facility Four from the comfort of his lounge. Although he was ordered not to leave, Segai defied orders and went out for 'some fresh air' but remained far away from the ongoing battle.

After dropping Shu, Heath, and Akiko in the lobby, they were met by four Endlaves waiting to attack them. With her Steiner, Ayase was quickly able to dispatch two of the enemy Endlaves. The other two pursued the three students. One of them even stomped the ground Akiko was running on. When Heath ran back to get her, the Endlave prepared to capture Akiko, but the Steiner snatched the Endlave's face and effortlessly crushed it. This gave Heath enough time to retrieve his sister and follow Shu.

As this was happening, two GHQ soldiers pushed Kido Kenji on a wheelchair through a rampway. Targeting the ramp, Gai launched a rocket from a rocket launcher and blew up the exit way, throwing back the two guards. In the wake of the explosion, Kenji fell from the ramp and into a lobby fountain. Still restrained by his straight jacket, Kenji struggled to break loose. When Shu, Heath, and Akiko turned they saw Kenji sitting up and pulling off his mask, revealing a youthful male with unkempt, neck-length silver hair and thin yellow eyes. His mouth is seen concealed with a mask.

Meeting eyes with the mass murderer, Shu saw the desperation on Kenji's face.

"Is that him?" Akiko asked.

"Shu, don't," Heath muttered.

Suddenly, Shu saw his hands resonating with the Power of the Kings' clear blue light. At that moment, Shu sensed a Void emanating from Kenji and rushed forward, putting his hand through Kenji's chest. This, in turn, invoked a bright glow from Kenji's chest as Shu drew out his Void: a gravity gun called the Murderer's Weight.

"A gun?" Heath was taken aback by the shape of Kenji's Void.

"Behind you!" Akiko warned Shu, who turned and used the gravity gun, which unleashed a blue ball of light that crashed into the enemy Endlave and knocked it into the air. In that instance, the Endlave stayed afloat for a few moments as it started floating in the air.

Shu, Heath, and Akiko also noticed tiny puddles of water floating weightlessly around them.

"I see now. They're all weightless," Shu observed. Unbeknownst to him, Gai watched Shu on a balcony, having witnessed him utilize Kenji's Void. With Kenji's Void, Shu tapped into the power to manipulate gravity.

As Ayase and her Steiner fought off more Endlaves, Shu used his new Void to alter the gravity around the enemy Endlaves, making them float away. When Shu and the Steiner found themselves surrounded, Inori stormed in and jumped off a balcony, immediately calling out for the Void Genome user.

"SHU!"

"Inori?!"

Hearing his name being called, Shu saw the pink-haired songstress fall from several stories. Shu instinctively ran up an Endlave's arm, narrowly getting swatted away. He then pointed the gravity gun down and unleashed its full power, making everything and everyone float, including himself. He used the lack of gravity to 'swim' up through the air as he and Inori made contact.

"Shu, grab what you need!" Inori consented to him taking her Void.

"Here goes!" Shu called out.

Invoking the Void Genome, Shu once again extracted Inori's Void and summoned the Singer's Sword. With two Voids, and while protecting Inori, Shu fought off the remaining enemy Endlaves. Upon witnessing Shu's battle with the Endlaves, Heath and Akiko marveled at their classmate being heroic on their behalf.

"Who would've thought Shu could be capable of this?!" Heath exclaimed.

"He's definitely winning cool points with me!" Akiko cried out.

Just then, something else eventful happened and it was an event that Gai didn't expect. He sensed two new stronger Void presences than other Voids he's seen. At that moment, he sighted the source of these powerful Void presences: Heath and Akiko Jones.

"These two have Voids?!" Gai was flabbergasted, witnessing clear blue auras radiating from the two teens.

It happened so suddenly. As a result of the power effects from Shu's Void Genome and his resolve, Heath and Akiko witnessed entities eject out of their bodies and materialize into solid forms. However, these Voids didn't take the form of weapons but rather humanoid-like bodies.

"What in the world is this?" Heath marveled at the entity floating in front of him.

"You're asking me?" Akiko blinked and stared awestruck at the other human-like entity.

In front of Heath is a humanoid swordsman with highly rigid, steel silver alloy, and covered in armor plating on its lower arms & legs, chest, back, and shoulders. The armor is highlighted with light blue accents, the same color as the light that comes out of Shu's Void Genome. Its arms are elongated. Though its face is mostly obscured, its eyes appear under the brow as glowing blue. In its right hand is a brandished katana to fight the Endlaves with.

In front of Akiko is a similar-looking humanoid as Heath's but it has a sleeker body shape akin to a woman's physique. It possesses the same rigid, steel silver body armor alloy. Its armor is also highlighted by light blue accents and glowing blue eyes under its brow. The entity is wielding a ko-naginata in its left hand.

Upon seeing their Voids in front of them, Heath and Akiko marveled at the manifestations. Equally as shocked were Shu and Gai; the latter eyed the two physical entities. This was a first for Gai. Normally, it should be a Void weapon or object that gets drawn out of an individual's body. He never guessed that Voids could take the humanoid forms that are already equipped with weapons.

As his eyes studied the two Voids, Gai muttered, eyeing the katana-wielding humanoid. "The guy has Sakanoue no Tamuramaro." He slowly pivoted his eyes on the ko-naginata wielder. "The girl possesses Suzuka Gozen. Both are fitting names for their Voids. That said, not only can we see their Voids, but how are these two still conscious? Maybe this is has something to do with their Voids being abnormally stronger than others." He surmised while watching them and Shu closely. "And this all manifested with their contact with Shu? His Void extraction ability looks like it's evolving."

"Heath?! Akiko?! How did this happen?!" Shu asked the Jones siblings.

"I-I don't even know! This just happened?!" Heath responded.

"Uh-huh, this is shocking to us, too. But, hell I'm not complaining," Akiko looked up at her Void manifestation in awe.

"I'm more surprised you both are still conscious," Shu remarked as he heard the Steiner clashing with the enemy Endlaves.

"A little help here!" Ayase called out as she pummeled another Endlave.

"Shu! Are you ok?!" Walter was heard calling out as he ran up to him. "Oogumo told me to get you, Kenji, and those two civilians out of here. Oh good, Inori's with you. C'mon, let's…" As he turned around, he sighted Heath and Akiko with their Voids exposed. Upon seeing them, he yelled out their names with familiarity. "Heath?! Akiko?!"

Recognizing his face and voice, Heath and Akiko yelled back. "Walter?!"

"What in bloody hell are you two doing here?!"

"We could ask the same about you?! That uniform, don't tell you're one of them!" Akiko cried out, eyeing Walter's Funeral Parlor uniform.

"Oh, this? Heheh, do you like it?" Walter smirked, showing off his uniform for Akiko.

"Walter, you need to stop showboating and get your ass moving! Get Shu and those other two out of here!" Ayase was heard yelling out commands while blasting down an Endlave.

"I wish I could but what I need to know. Are those things your Voids?!" Walter noticed the humanoid entities floating in front of Heath and Akiko.

"I guess so," Heath replied with a smile exuding confidence.

"And yet you two are still conscious unlike Inori here?" Walter pointed out.

"Hmm, yeah that is strange but that isn't a bad thing. Hey, bro. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Akiko asked Heath as they faced two Endlaves charging their way.

Nodding, Heath beckoned his Sakanoue no Tamuramaro to defend them from the Endlave. The Void entity dashed forward and used its katana to slash off an Endlave's limbs. Then, with another quick slash, it seamlessly cut through the Endlave's torso and split it into two.

When the other Endlave attacked, Akiko sent her Suzuka Gozen to attack it. Swinging its ko-naginata, the Void cut off the Endlave's right leg and disarmed its firearm. Then, the ko-naginata-wielding Void beheaded the Endlave with a single strike.

Swinging his Singer's Sword, Shu quickly slew a third Endlave by cutting through its torso. After dismantling the Endlave, he ran the sword into the Endlave's face, neutralizing the war machine completely.

Upon watching their Voids in action, Heath and Akiko marveled at their newfound capabilities. They didn't know how to take this in but Shu's power helped manifest new Voids they never would've expected to utilize. Before either had a chance to relish in their new Voids, the Steiner returned to chastise the group but Ayase, too, witnessed Heath and Akiko's Voids in action. She wasn't sure how to handle the notion of two civilians capable of manifesting new types of Voids.

Just the concept of Voids with humanoid forms became mind-boggling for the Funeral Parlor members. Even Segai, who watched the events unfold from another location and far away from the warzone, was astounded by Shu's Void Genome and Heath and Akiko's new Voids.

"Get moving everyone! You've cleared the space! Let's go back to headquarters!" Gai commanded as he ran ahead. As he raced forward, and with no GHQ guards in his way, his eyes were briefly still on Shu, Heath, and Akiko on his way out.

"Hey, Shu. You heard Gai. Let's get moving," Walter said while retrieving an unconscious Kenji.

"Thanks, Walter. But, how do you know Heath and Akiko so well?"

"Heh, we're childhood friends. Our parents were all friends at one point. It's been a while you two," Walter said, facing his two friends and smiling.

"This way! You heard Gai unless you want to stay behind and get gunned down?!" Ayase yelled out as the group retreated from the facility. As Heath and Akiko bypassed her Steiner, Ayase saw their Voids float alongside them before vanishing inside the teens.

Having witnessed the shocking events before his eyes, Segai clenched his cell phone tightly and grinned. "Ouma Shu, you and your two friends, Heath, and Akiko, have made things more intriguing for me."


As Funeral Parlor escaped the isolation compound, they settled near a dock to recollect themselves. With their Voids back in their bodies, Inori and Kenji were awake. Still trying to process what just happened, Funeral Parlor were in shock over Heath and Akiko's new Void manifestations.

"You two certainly surprised me there. Now, you have Voids thanks to me?" Shu asked Heath and Akiko.

"I suppose we do," Heath smirked.

"I think I could get used to this," Akiko added with excited glee.

"But, you two have gotten involved in our affairs, I'm afraid. Now that they've seen you with Voids, GHQ will no doubt have their sights on you," Walter sighed. "Still, it's nice seeing you two again. How long has it been?"

"A while. Don't you go to school?" Heath asked him.

"Yeah, Roppongi High. That's close to Tennouzu High, where you two now attend, am I right?"

Akiko nodded. "Yeah."

"He's right, you two. Now, you two will have to be under our supervision while we help you train with your new Voids in case we need them," Gai informed Heath and Akiko. "Are you two willing to join our cause?"

"After everything we've heard from Segai and now seen? Why not?" Heath frowned.

"Count us in," Akiko said.

"Well, looks like there are more rookies for you to train, Ayase," Walter remarked as the Steiner arrived.

"Shu," Inori muttered, warmly smiling at him. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Me, too, Inori. I hope I never get caught like that again."

"Remember to stay vigilant Shu. You never know who could sell you out," Gai warned him. "Let's depart, everyone."

As Funeral Parlor disembarked from their resting spot, they headed back to headquarters. With everything that had gone down, Shu was unaware that he still had Segai's pen transmitter.


A/N: The rescue mission is a rousing success and our three protagonists are free. That was one hell of a jailbreak, almost exactly how it played out in the anime, and Kenji is set free.

Except for this chapter's stand-out moment: Heath and Akiko acquiring their Voids through Shu. This is the twins' first defining moment, bringing them into Shu's world and joining Funeral Parlor. They're also the first Void possessors who don't fall unconscious after Shu extracts their Voids. This will become a trend in AnGC as Shu's Genome Void powers are further refined.

As for Heath and Akiko's Voids, their humanoid-like appearances are based on the Legions from Astral Chain. Even the Jones twins are teenage versions of The Player and Akira from the aforementioned game. Their Voids will function like familiars rather than handheld weapons and utensils. So, Heath and Akiko will be more involved in battles with Shu and the others.

This chapter also fleshes out Heath and Akiko's personalities. Heath is mostly a reserved guy while Akiko is spunky, has no shame (yelling pantyhose in front of Segai and his guards), and says whatever is on her mind. And they now have connections and a way to get into Funeral Parlor through Walter.

Oh, and how could we forget Heath describing Ayase's voice? Call her powerful and beautiful? I sense bonds about to form between these two.

Overall, this chapter is a revision of GC episode 4. More or less, it's the same but with Heath and Akiko involved and Shu happy to see Gai and Funeral Parlor rescuing him.

All There in the Manual - Chapter III

-Tamuramaro's katana is named Sohaya Chassés. Suzuka's ko-naginata is named Tennyo's Amberwind.
-In regards to this story's worldbuilding: This chapter's narrative mentions the costs of Apocalypse Virus treatment/hospital. During pre-GHQ times, Japan's health care system provides services with the patient accepting responsibility for 30 percent of the costs while the government takes care of 70 percent. Payment for personal services is normally provided by a universal health care system (which nearly all countries in the world provide). Japanese citizens are required to have health insurance coverage. Foreigners who live in Japan for more than three months with a visa are required to enroll in Japan's National Health Insurance. Once GHQ took over Japan, most of these benefits were removed as now citizens are required to pay the higher amount of the hospital/treatment costs (the GHQ government pays for next to nothing) to gain GHQ's highly technological treatments, which can be very costly. This is exactly why Yahiro chose to sell drugs, to cover the costs for his brother's treatment. Although Yahiro like many will run into the problem that greedy health insurance systems will impose, and that's slipping in hidden costs he wouldn't even know he had to pay. This is something to consider with third-world countries and countries ruled under authoritarian governments. And even countries under democratic rule, there will be companies who will invest profits with the latest research and development of medical breakthroughs (especially in regards to COVID-19 and other possible future pandemic-related diseases), and increase hospital & health care costs in the future decades. I can imagine higher costs than they are now.
-Concerning AnGC's 2030s setting, the pre-Lost Christmas period was similar to modern-day Japan with its health care system and required health insurance. After Lost-Christmas, and once GHQ took over the country, the company's research into the vaccine required more money, which meant higher costs for health care services and with universal health care replaced by GHQ's premium plans. Once profits started coming in conjunction with the vaccine roll-out, GHQ was able to grab power and control Japan.

The next chapter will begin Heath and Akiko's training to join Funeral Parlor. The chapter after the next one will go into some new directions (but it won't deviate too much from the main story) that further develops Heath and Akiko's relations with Shu, Ayase, and the others. I can't wait until we hit those points of the story. They're going to be some of the better chapters.

Until the next chapter, leave a comment and review!