p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Zane." scythe says calmly, "I have a mission for you."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Name it." Zane says from the shadows./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of the people searching for Ein, one is particularly dangerous. Your mission is to kill Remus Lupin."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Any restrictions?" Zane asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""As long as he is dead, I have no problem." scythe smiles, "I want it done by the end of the summer. Report to me when it's done."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Yes master." Zane bows, leaving the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Drei, how is she?" Scythe asks the blond in the corner./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She's progressing quite well." Cal smirks, "Her marksmanship is already on par with mine, her spell casting is stronger, though less varied and her endurance is coming along quite well."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Is she ready?" he grins./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""So that mission was a bunch of crap." she laughs, accepting and down a shot of firewhiskey/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Not quite." he smiles, "Remus Lupin is a werewolf. If he were to venture out as a wolf and retain his mind, he could potentially find her. While that makes no difference once she is complete, before it is a problem."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""So, of he succeeds, great. If not, than Ein kills him and the threat goes away." she chuckles, "Anyone ever tell you that you're a bastard?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Oddly enough, I have heard that." he sighs, "Give me a timeframe for her completion."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Three weeks. She'll be finished the week before school." Cal smirks, "Shall I prepare her to kill?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Please do." he smiles, "And then, we can begin the first act."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Cal sighs and walks from the room without a word./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Like every morning, Ein woke with a start as Dorry popped into the room with a tray of food. The food was still as good as it had been, and left her strangely full of energy. She could easily endure the harsh training that Drei has been making her do without even worrying about lunch./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei walks in just as she's finished. "Let's get started. We've got a lot of work to do." she says calmly. Ein nods and follows her out of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Back in the main factory, she notes a wide array of weapons. Pistols, Sniper rifles, and submachine guns of all kinds were lined up at the front./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Pick which weapons you like." Drei instructs. Ein picks the Sig and a semi-automatic sniper rifle./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Good. Now today, we're gonna skip the physical training and work on your accuracy." she says as she walks over to the first crate, "In here, I've got ten targets. You've got to hit them all. What makes it different is that they'll all be moving randomly at the same time. Some might even try and escape, so be ready."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein mods, and check both her weapons. The sig won't be a problem. As long as she's got a clear line of sight, she's got problem hitting them. The man issue is that if one gets away, she'll be forced to use the rifle. While she still has good aim, the recoil makes rapid shots impossible. 'So I'll limit that to a last resort. 'She thinks as she straps it to her back and draws the Sig from its holster, disengaging the safety./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei opens the crate and ten pigeons fly out, some flying towards her, others headed towards the open doors. With two shots, the birds going outside were silenced. The remaining eight scattered, flying rapidly around the roof of the factory. She aims again and shots. The bullet grazes the wing and it fall to the ground. Determined to check it later, she shots at each of the others. Some were easier, taking one bullet to put down; b other took all her focus to hit. In the end, it took twenty one bullets, and five minutes to hit them all. She walks towards the bird that shed grazed the wing and found it still clinging to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Don't waste a bullet." Drei told her, "put it out of its misery with a killing curse."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein stops for a moment. She'd been training for it since the beginning, but she's never used it on a living creature. Shaking, age draws her wand and points it at the downed bird, "Avada Kedavra." she mutters. The green light collided with the poor creature and it goes limp at once./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei claps, "Well done. You did good. This is the training we'll be doing for the rest of the day. Any birds that you knock down, but don't kill, use the curse. Ready for the next batch?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods, arm still shaking slightly, but she'd been trained to ignore it and maintain her accuracy. The next group was eighteen shots in four minute. Slowly, her aim and speed increased. By days end, she could kill them all with ten shots in less than a minute./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Tomorrow, it gets tougher, so be ready." Drei warns as she sends Ein to bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"With her gone, Drei sighs and sits in her chair with a bottle of booze. "I must look pathetic." she mutters as she drinks a swig./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I told myself I wouldn't become like Reiji, and this is where I ended up." she sighs, "I still can't believe he's alive."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"What were those memories she remembered in the chamber? Why would she kill Lizzie, who despite being a pain in the ass babysitter was still her friend? And what about that tender moment with Reiji? She's never even set foot in a church. "I settle things with him next time." she mutters as she lies down in her bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Zane watched quietly from the corner of the tavern as his target sat drinking with his friend. 'If I can get him alone, it would take only a minute.' he thought as the two stood to leave. After they'd disapprated, the tracking charm he'd places on the wolf showed that he was back where he couldn't be touched. 'Curses.' he mutters as he returns to his master./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""How goes it?" Scythe asks as he steps into the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""He doesn't leave alone." Zane tells him, "He always has black with him. Any attempt at him would likely become a losing fight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You're afraid of Black?" scythe smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Regardless of what some within the organization seem to believe, he is as formidable as ever. If Drei were with me, it would be different, but I cannot hope to defeat them both." Zane answers calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Quite true." he nods, "Sirius black has auror duties the night of the twenty fifth. The night of the full moon. Lupin has a small cottage in the middle of the countryside, miles away from any civilization. Strike then. You likely won't get another chance."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Understood." he replies./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Until then, go and help Drei put the finishing touches on our protégée." scythe smiles as he walks out of the office./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Get up." Drei said from the doorway. Ein woke quickly and grabbed her wand and the sig from the bedside table. "It's been awhile, but Zane's here to help you with your training."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein shivers slightly as she remembers the first day, but she's improved since then. "Hurry up. He's getting impatient. No time for breakfast." Drei says, holding the door open as she gets dressed and walks out into the main room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Finally." Zane says, shooting a few of the targets, "What's the plan for today?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Box two." she says, waving her wand. The lid pops off the large box and several armored monkey burst out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""These are controlled, and the armor is enchanted to repel all projectiles, magic and muggle. You task is to kill them, before they kill you." she smirks, "Choose whatever weapons you like."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Again, the same assortment of weaponry was laid out, along with a verity of knives. Ein chooses an ak47, a Remington sniper, and two long blades knives. She also takes several extra magazines for each, plus her Sig./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You ready?" she asks, and without waiting for an answer, she releases the spell keeping them in place. The first charges straight at her. She replies with a continuous stream of bullets from the AK, but like Drei had said, the bullets bounced off harmlessly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The beast takes a swing at her, and she dodges, putting work distance between them. 'Think!' she shouts at herself while dodging blows. Luckily who was control them had only sent one after her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"'Drei had them stopped before. But how?' She wonders, ducking under another strike. Out of desperation, she lashes out with the knife. She's pleased with the resulting resistance quickly followed by a flash of scarlet. 'It only blocks projectiles, so I can still directly attack it.' she notes as she pulls the second knife. The wound seems to have enraged it and it jumps viciously towards her. Out of sheer instinct, she sidesteps and as it lands, stabs the knife upward. Following a howl of pain, the body went limp as it slides to the ground, blood pooling beneath it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She's improved." Zane says emotionlessly, "But the only reason she survived is because I only sent one. Can she outlast them all?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I think so." Drei laughs, "You've got two minutes to think up a new plan to deal with the rest of them."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods and returns to her previous train of thought. They could still move, but couldn't advance. Most be an indirect spell. Rather than applying it to them, she applies it to the ground or the air to stop them./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"As the time ticks down, she begins muttering the spell Drei taught her to stop a moving car. While the beasts were still restrained, the concrete beneath them liquefied and they began sinking. Drei laughed wildly as they struggled against their own weight pulling them into the ground. Stopping the spell, the concrete solidifies, trapping all of them./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I'm impressed." Zane says calmly, "But she's not done yet. Finish them."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein sighs and picks up her knives, walking over to the struggling monkeys. The first is dispatched with a slit throat, the second is stabbed in the heart./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Kill the last two. One with magic, one with a bullet." Zane challenges."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"She draws her pistol and places it flush against its forehead. With a squeeze of the trigger, the blood sprayed everywhere, a hole ripping open in the back of its head. Her wand is placed right between the lasts eyes and she mutters, "Avada Kedavra."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The green light struck and it collapses. "So she did notice it" Zane mutters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Duh. You think I wouldn't teach her something so basic?" Drei chuckles, "Ein. Well done."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Thank you." she sighs, sitting across from her mentors./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Let's move on. We've got a lot of work to do. Scythe wants you ready by the end of the month." Drei says as she lifts the lid of the next box, and an unearthly howl filled the factory./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Scythe, how goes your new recruit?" McGuire asks from the head of the table. The general assembly, which before had been spacing out were instantly staring intently at the smiling teacher./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She is progressing far faster than I would have believed." he chuckles, "Tomorrow night, I'm conducting her final test. Would you care to accompany me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Testing her against Zane?" McGuire asks and the crowd began talking amongst themselves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Zane is a failure." Scythe smirks, "We recently discovered that Zwei survived."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The table roared in outrage. "Enough!" McGuire shouts, silencing the members who'd never heard the boss raise his voice, "Clearly, after having his identity compromised and such a blatant failure, he needs to be dealt with. But are you quite sure about using her? I would think that against a trained killer, you'd want another. Phantom would be the obvious choice."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""No one here would doubt that phantom would succeed." he replies, "Even though they don't say it, several of this esteemed council remain convinced that it wasn't worth the risk to acquire this girl. I want to put such fears to rest once and for all."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Everyone looked to Rey McGuire, who, after a moment, announces his ruling, "Very well. I don't think I need to tell you to bring Phantom as a precaution."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course. I assure you that you will not be disappointed." he bows./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Are there any other students at that school who could be useful to us?" Martinez asks from across the table./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Three, though for the time being, I've ruled them out."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Explain." Gonzales says from Martinez's right side./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""First is Harry Potter, who actually began training Ein before she was acquired. While his overall power is easily greater than the previous three phantoms put together, he lacks complete control over it. Additionally, he is too headstrong. He would never follow our orders."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Add to that the fact that he is regarded as a hero in this country." McGuire sighs, "Even if he were forced to join us, the ministry wouldn't stop searching. Until we are better placed, we can't afford to take that risk."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""The next two could be even more dangerous." Scythe smiles, "What do you think about possibly recruit the children of Ein and Zwei?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The members stared at him in disbelief as he waved his wand and displayed the information, "Eleven years ago, following their escape from us in Japan, an encounter that nearly cost me and Drei out lives, the previous phantoms went to Russia for six months. My research shows that during that time, she gave birth to twins."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Then how would they have come to Britain?" the leader of the reformed bloodies asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I haven't a clue. But the moment I saw them, I knew. The girl looks so like her mother." scythe smiles fondly, "At some point, they arrived in Britain at the age of five and were placed in an abusive family. The twins disappeared less than a month later and I could find no trace of them for two years. I regained their trial in Diagon Alley, where they had been taken in by the wand maker Gerrick Olivander."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""And you are quite sure?" McGuire asks, silencing the muttering./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I am. If we were to recruit them, nothing would be able to stop us." He answers calmly, "But such a move would be dangerous in the present situation. This last attack in Hogsmeade has proved that. Ein and Zwei are not stupid. They know where their children are. If we move against them, they will respond."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Phantom alone cannot topple inferno. You must remember how Claudia fared." Shiiga reminds everyone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Certainly. But what about two phantoms? It's been made painfully obvious that not only have they not lost their edge, but they've improved at the same rate as Drei. Combine that with their coordination and we would have no chance in a fight. Look at the massacre outside Los Angeles. We first thought that it was only Ein, but if it were Zwei as well..."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It would make sense." Gonzales sighs, "What do you intend to do?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Lure them in slowly. If we take them, Ein and Zwei would retaliate. Make them join on their own, at least until we eliminate them." Scythe grins, "And potter as well."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Keep us informed." McGuire nods, "Leave now and prepare for tomorrow night."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe bows, "I understand."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"All eyes followed him as he walked across them the room and left through the double doors in the back. He lightly tapped his wallet with his wand and spun out of the covert office of Inferno./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The next morning, Ein woke late, though oddly she hadn't been woken up like she usually would have. She'd been allowed to sleep in. Somehow, that didn't seem like a good thing. On the up side, her normally sore muscles were fine. No pain at all and she felt stronger than ever./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Miss is up." Dorry says from the doorway, "Would miss care for breakfast?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Sure." she sighs, "Where's Drei?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Mistress is outside. She instructed Dorry to let you sleep." Dorry bows, popping out of the room and back with the usual platter of food, "Shall I inform her that you are awake?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I'll go see her when I'm done." Ein says, accepting the tray and the sliver ware. The elf bows and pops back to his duties./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Following a quiet meal, which was as good as ever, she left the tray for Dorry to pick up later and left her bedroom. She easily walked through the maze of hallways and into the main chamber./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei was sitting in the sun, sipping her drink, seemingly ignoring the world. Nevertheless, Ein didn't need to say a thing./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You're up?" she asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Yeah. What's with the change? Usually you'd have gotten me up at the crack of dawn." Ein sighs, sitting next to her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei doesn't answer at first, draining her glass before speaking, "Today you've got some serious work ahead of you. Better that you be fully rested. Even if you weren't tired, your muscles would be."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I did notice that I wasn't as sore as usual." Ein says, levitating the bottle get to her teacher, "So what is this 'Work'?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Again Drei didn't answer. She simply refilled her glass and stared across the land, over the forest in front of them. Ein didn't bother repeating the question. She simply poured herself a glass of wine and waited./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ten minutes later, Drei gave her the answer, "Your final test is tonight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Test?" she asks calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You've been hard at work for the last two month. It's time to put those skills to the test." Drei replies, still sipping her wine./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I have to kill someone?" Ein gulps, dropping her glass in surprise./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It was bound to happen eventually, you know that. It might be a bit soon, but you wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were ready." Drei chuckles, stopping the glass with a wave of her hand, "You'll learn more about that later. For now, enjoy yourself. Get some last minute training in. Relax. Make sure that you're as ready as you can."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods sheepishly and grabs the glass. With one gulp, she drains it and starts practicing her spell work, helped along every now and then by Drei's coaching./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"They stopped for lunch around one, and Drei claps her on the back, "You keep that up and you won't even break a sweat tonight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Thanks." she sighs, eating a small bite from her sandwich, "What can you tell me about this test?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""One of Infernos hitters was recently made, and hasn't shown enough worth to warrant keeping them around." Drei answers, "This guy knows too much about inferno's operations to risk him revealing anything, so he must be disposed of."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""And that's my job." she mutters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course it's your job." she smirks, "If you'd prefer, think of it as taking revenge for all the people he's killed, or making the world safer. If you think of it in more noble terms, it might make it easier."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein stares at her, "How is what we do noble?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei stops eating for a moment, and then lets out a long sigh, "Inferno is an organization of murderers and drug dealers. That's just how it is. But the thing about those people is that during conflicts between them, innocent people get hurt. People like my sister, Judy."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Your sister?" Ein gasps, eyes wide./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""My real name is Cal Devon's, though I was born Camellia Evans. My father was an arrogant prick, so I ran away, and snuck on board a plane leaving from the London airport. It landed in Los Angeles. I spent over a month on the street, foraging for trash to survive. At that point, Judy found me."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"At this point, Cal couldn't hold back the tears as she told her apprentice the story that only Reiji had ever heard before. "We lived together for two years, and they were among the happiest of my life. But that changed one night."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein listens intently as Cal continues her story, "I was helping Judy back to the house when we got caught in the middle of a gang dispute. A local heavy hitter wanted to sabotage his competition and took out her guests, but a stray bullet hit Judy."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"After a course minutes of silence, she continued, emotions back in check, "After that, I met Reiji. I never would've guessed that he was the best, but with a week of meeting him, I watched as he killed the man that murdered Judy, and his boss killed the ringleader. That was how I got started in this business."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""What happened to Reiji?" Ein asks quietly, poring them both a glass of wine./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""He betrayed me a few weeks after that mission. He left me in a burned out apartment and ran off. Scythe found me and that's the end." she shrugs, taking the cup, "Even if we kill those people, that doesn't mean we don't have a heart. Once inferno's taken over, wars between rival gangs will be nonexistent. The lives we take now will do save countless more later."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods in understanding. When she started, she wanted nothing to do with this, only the threat against her life convinced her to continue. Now though, part of her was determined to see this through to the end. Even if she never remembered anything./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"They spent the afternoon relaxing l, and at seven, Cal drew her attention./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It's time. Are you ready?" she asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"With a nod, Ein took her hand, and they disappeared with a crack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe apparated to an abandoned storage area in the countryside. They acquired it solely for this test. The area around it had been completely warded. No one not keyed to them would be able to get within ten miles of the testing grounds./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The interior had been vastly expanded, providing multiple areas of confrontation or cover. In the rear, they had placed an extremely well stocked arsenal, containing all manner of weapons, traps, blades, and wands./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Is everything ready?" McGuire asked from the backseat of his limo./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course." he smiles, "Zane will be arriving in several minutes, followed by Ein and Phantom at seven."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""What reason did you give him?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""A situation has arisen that requires all of the phantom candidates." scythe smiles./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"At that moment, Zane silently apparated along the wall, waiting for scythe to give him orders. They waited in silence until, at exactly seven, two more shapes apparate to the battleground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe motions for the three to join him, and declares; "Now we begin."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Name it." Zane says from the shadows./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of the people searching for Ein, one is particularly dangerous. Your mission is to kill Remus Lupin."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Any restrictions?" Zane asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""As long as he is dead, I have no problem." scythe smiles, "I want it done by the end of the summer. Report to me when it's done."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Yes master." Zane bows, leaving the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Drei, how is she?" Scythe asks the blond in the corner./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She's progressing quite well." Cal smirks, "Her marksmanship is already on par with mine, her spell casting is stronger, though less varied and her endurance is coming along quite well."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Is she ready?" he grins./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""So that mission was a bunch of crap." she laughs, accepting and down a shot of firewhiskey/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Not quite." he smiles, "Remus Lupin is a werewolf. If he were to venture out as a wolf and retain his mind, he could potentially find her. While that makes no difference once she is complete, before it is a problem."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""So, of he succeeds, great. If not, than Ein kills him and the threat goes away." she chuckles, "Anyone ever tell you that you're a bastard?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Oddly enough, I have heard that." he sighs, "Give me a timeframe for her completion."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Three weeks. She'll be finished the week before school." Cal smirks, "Shall I prepare her to kill?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Please do." he smiles, "And then, we can begin the first act."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Cal sighs and walks from the room without a word./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Like every morning, Ein woke with a start as Dorry popped into the room with a tray of food. The food was still as good as it had been, and left her strangely full of energy. She could easily endure the harsh training that Drei has been making her do without even worrying about lunch./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei walks in just as she's finished. "Let's get started. We've got a lot of work to do." she says calmly. Ein nods and follows her out of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Back in the main factory, she notes a wide array of weapons. Pistols, Sniper rifles, and submachine guns of all kinds were lined up at the front./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Pick which weapons you like." Drei instructs. Ein picks the Sig and a semi-automatic sniper rifle./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Good. Now today, we're gonna skip the physical training and work on your accuracy." she says as she walks over to the first crate, "In here, I've got ten targets. You've got to hit them all. What makes it different is that they'll all be moving randomly at the same time. Some might even try and escape, so be ready."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein mods, and check both her weapons. The sig won't be a problem. As long as she's got a clear line of sight, she's got problem hitting them. The man issue is that if one gets away, she'll be forced to use the rifle. While she still has good aim, the recoil makes rapid shots impossible. 'So I'll limit that to a last resort. 'She thinks as she straps it to her back and draws the Sig from its holster, disengaging the safety./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei opens the crate and ten pigeons fly out, some flying towards her, others headed towards the open doors. With two shots, the birds going outside were silenced. The remaining eight scattered, flying rapidly around the roof of the factory. She aims again and shots. The bullet grazes the wing and it fall to the ground. Determined to check it later, she shots at each of the others. Some were easier, taking one bullet to put down; b other took all her focus to hit. In the end, it took twenty one bullets, and five minutes to hit them all. She walks towards the bird that shed grazed the wing and found it still clinging to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Don't waste a bullet." Drei told her, "put it out of its misery with a killing curse."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein stops for a moment. She'd been training for it since the beginning, but she's never used it on a living creature. Shaking, age draws her wand and points it at the downed bird, "Avada Kedavra." she mutters. The green light collided with the poor creature and it goes limp at once./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei claps, "Well done. You did good. This is the training we'll be doing for the rest of the day. Any birds that you knock down, but don't kill, use the curse. Ready for the next batch?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods, arm still shaking slightly, but she'd been trained to ignore it and maintain her accuracy. The next group was eighteen shots in four minute. Slowly, her aim and speed increased. By days end, she could kill them all with ten shots in less than a minute./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Tomorrow, it gets tougher, so be ready." Drei warns as she sends Ein to bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"With her gone, Drei sighs and sits in her chair with a bottle of booze. "I must look pathetic." she mutters as she drinks a swig./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I told myself I wouldn't become like Reiji, and this is where I ended up." she sighs, "I still can't believe he's alive."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"What were those memories she remembered in the chamber? Why would she kill Lizzie, who despite being a pain in the ass babysitter was still her friend? And what about that tender moment with Reiji? She's never even set foot in a church. "I settle things with him next time." she mutters as she lies down in her bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Zane watched quietly from the corner of the tavern as his target sat drinking with his friend. 'If I can get him alone, it would take only a minute.' he thought as the two stood to leave. After they'd disapprated, the tracking charm he'd places on the wolf showed that he was back where he couldn't be touched. 'Curses.' he mutters as he returns to his master./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""How goes it?" Scythe asks as he steps into the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""He doesn't leave alone." Zane tells him, "He always has black with him. Any attempt at him would likely become a losing fight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You're afraid of Black?" scythe smirks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Regardless of what some within the organization seem to believe, he is as formidable as ever. If Drei were with me, it would be different, but I cannot hope to defeat them both." Zane answers calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Quite true." he nods, "Sirius black has auror duties the night of the twenty fifth. The night of the full moon. Lupin has a small cottage in the middle of the countryside, miles away from any civilization. Strike then. You likely won't get another chance."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Understood." he replies./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Until then, go and help Drei put the finishing touches on our protégée." scythe smiles as he walks out of the office./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Get up." Drei said from the doorway. Ein woke quickly and grabbed her wand and the sig from the bedside table. "It's been awhile, but Zane's here to help you with your training."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein shivers slightly as she remembers the first day, but she's improved since then. "Hurry up. He's getting impatient. No time for breakfast." Drei says, holding the door open as she gets dressed and walks out into the main room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Finally." Zane says, shooting a few of the targets, "What's the plan for today?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Box two." she says, waving her wand. The lid pops off the large box and several armored monkey burst out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""These are controlled, and the armor is enchanted to repel all projectiles, magic and muggle. You task is to kill them, before they kill you." she smirks, "Choose whatever weapons you like."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Again, the same assortment of weaponry was laid out, along with a verity of knives. Ein chooses an ak47, a Remington sniper, and two long blades knives. She also takes several extra magazines for each, plus her Sig./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You ready?" she asks, and without waiting for an answer, she releases the spell keeping them in place. The first charges straight at her. She replies with a continuous stream of bullets from the AK, but like Drei had said, the bullets bounced off harmlessly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The beast takes a swing at her, and she dodges, putting work distance between them. 'Think!' she shouts at herself while dodging blows. Luckily who was control them had only sent one after her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"'Drei had them stopped before. But how?' She wonders, ducking under another strike. Out of desperation, she lashes out with the knife. She's pleased with the resulting resistance quickly followed by a flash of scarlet. 'It only blocks projectiles, so I can still directly attack it.' she notes as she pulls the second knife. The wound seems to have enraged it and it jumps viciously towards her. Out of sheer instinct, she sidesteps and as it lands, stabs the knife upward. Following a howl of pain, the body went limp as it slides to the ground, blood pooling beneath it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She's improved." Zane says emotionlessly, "But the only reason she survived is because I only sent one. Can she outlast them all?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I think so." Drei laughs, "You've got two minutes to think up a new plan to deal with the rest of them."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods and returns to her previous train of thought. They could still move, but couldn't advance. Most be an indirect spell. Rather than applying it to them, she applies it to the ground or the air to stop them./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"As the time ticks down, she begins muttering the spell Drei taught her to stop a moving car. While the beasts were still restrained, the concrete beneath them liquefied and they began sinking. Drei laughed wildly as they struggled against their own weight pulling them into the ground. Stopping the spell, the concrete solidifies, trapping all of them./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I'm impressed." Zane says calmly, "But she's not done yet. Finish them."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein sighs and picks up her knives, walking over to the struggling monkeys. The first is dispatched with a slit throat, the second is stabbed in the heart./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Kill the last two. One with magic, one with a bullet." Zane challenges."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"She draws her pistol and places it flush against its forehead. With a squeeze of the trigger, the blood sprayed everywhere, a hole ripping open in the back of its head. Her wand is placed right between the lasts eyes and she mutters, "Avada Kedavra."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The green light struck and it collapses. "So she did notice it" Zane mutters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Duh. You think I wouldn't teach her something so basic?" Drei chuckles, "Ein. Well done."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Thank you." she sighs, sitting across from her mentors./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Let's move on. We've got a lot of work to do. Scythe wants you ready by the end of the month." Drei says as she lifts the lid of the next box, and an unearthly howl filled the factory./p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Scythe, how goes your new recruit?" McGuire asks from the head of the table. The general assembly, which before had been spacing out were instantly staring intently at the smiling teacher./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""She is progressing far faster than I would have believed." he chuckles, "Tomorrow night, I'm conducting her final test. Would you care to accompany me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Testing her against Zane?" McGuire asks and the crowd began talking amongst themselves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Zane is a failure." Scythe smirks, "We recently discovered that Zwei survived."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The table roared in outrage. "Enough!" McGuire shouts, silencing the members who'd never heard the boss raise his voice, "Clearly, after having his identity compromised and such a blatant failure, he needs to be dealt with. But are you quite sure about using her? I would think that against a trained killer, you'd want another. Phantom would be the obvious choice."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""No one here would doubt that phantom would succeed." he replies, "Even though they don't say it, several of this esteemed council remain convinced that it wasn't worth the risk to acquire this girl. I want to put such fears to rest once and for all."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Everyone looked to Rey McGuire, who, after a moment, announces his ruling, "Very well. I don't think I need to tell you to bring Phantom as a precaution."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course. I assure you that you will not be disappointed." he bows./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Are there any other students at that school who could be useful to us?" Martinez asks from across the table./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Three, though for the time being, I've ruled them out."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Explain." Gonzales says from Martinez's right side./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""First is Harry Potter, who actually began training Ein before she was acquired. While his overall power is easily greater than the previous three phantoms put together, he lacks complete control over it. Additionally, he is too headstrong. He would never follow our orders."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Add to that the fact that he is regarded as a hero in this country." McGuire sighs, "Even if he were forced to join us, the ministry wouldn't stop searching. Until we are better placed, we can't afford to take that risk."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""The next two could be even more dangerous." Scythe smiles, "What do you think about possibly recruit the children of Ein and Zwei?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The members stared at him in disbelief as he waved his wand and displayed the information, "Eleven years ago, following their escape from us in Japan, an encounter that nearly cost me and Drei out lives, the previous phantoms went to Russia for six months. My research shows that during that time, she gave birth to twins."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Then how would they have come to Britain?" the leader of the reformed bloodies asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I haven't a clue. But the moment I saw them, I knew. The girl looks so like her mother." scythe smiles fondly, "At some point, they arrived in Britain at the age of five and were placed in an abusive family. The twins disappeared less than a month later and I could find no trace of them for two years. I regained their trial in Diagon Alley, where they had been taken in by the wand maker Gerrick Olivander."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""And you are quite sure?" McGuire asks, silencing the muttering./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I am. If we were to recruit them, nothing would be able to stop us." He answers calmly, "But such a move would be dangerous in the present situation. This last attack in Hogsmeade has proved that. Ein and Zwei are not stupid. They know where their children are. If we move against them, they will respond."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Phantom alone cannot topple inferno. You must remember how Claudia fared." Shiiga reminds everyone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Certainly. But what about two phantoms? It's been made painfully obvious that not only have they not lost their edge, but they've improved at the same rate as Drei. Combine that with their coordination and we would have no chance in a fight. Look at the massacre outside Los Angeles. We first thought that it was only Ein, but if it were Zwei as well..."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It would make sense." Gonzales sighs, "What do you intend to do?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Lure them in slowly. If we take them, Ein and Zwei would retaliate. Make them join on their own, at least until we eliminate them." Scythe grins, "And potter as well."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Keep us informed." McGuire nods, "Leave now and prepare for tomorrow night."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe bows, "I understand."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"All eyes followed him as he walked across them the room and left through the double doors in the back. He lightly tapped his wallet with his wand and spun out of the covert office of Inferno./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The next morning, Ein woke late, though oddly she hadn't been woken up like she usually would have. She'd been allowed to sleep in. Somehow, that didn't seem like a good thing. On the up side, her normally sore muscles were fine. No pain at all and she felt stronger than ever./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Miss is up." Dorry says from the doorway, "Would miss care for breakfast?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Sure." she sighs, "Where's Drei?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Mistress is outside. She instructed Dorry to let you sleep." Dorry bows, popping out of the room and back with the usual platter of food, "Shall I inform her that you are awake?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I'll go see her when I'm done." Ein says, accepting the tray and the sliver ware. The elf bows and pops back to his duties./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Following a quiet meal, which was as good as ever, she left the tray for Dorry to pick up later and left her bedroom. She easily walked through the maze of hallways and into the main chamber./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei was sitting in the sun, sipping her drink, seemingly ignoring the world. Nevertheless, Ein didn't need to say a thing./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You're up?" she asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Yeah. What's with the change? Usually you'd have gotten me up at the crack of dawn." Ein sighs, sitting next to her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei doesn't answer at first, draining her glass before speaking, "Today you've got some serious work ahead of you. Better that you be fully rested. Even if you weren't tired, your muscles would be."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I did notice that I wasn't as sore as usual." Ein says, levitating the bottle get to her teacher, "So what is this 'Work'?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Again Drei didn't answer. She simply refilled her glass and stared across the land, over the forest in front of them. Ein didn't bother repeating the question. She simply poured herself a glass of wine and waited./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ten minutes later, Drei gave her the answer, "Your final test is tonight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Test?" she asks calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""You've been hard at work for the last two month. It's time to put those skills to the test." Drei replies, still sipping her wine./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""I have to kill someone?" Ein gulps, dropping her glass in surprise./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It was bound to happen eventually, you know that. It might be a bit soon, but you wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were ready." Drei chuckles, stopping the glass with a wave of her hand, "You'll learn more about that later. For now, enjoy yourself. Get some last minute training in. Relax. Make sure that you're as ready as you can."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods sheepishly and grabs the glass. With one gulp, she drains it and starts practicing her spell work, helped along every now and then by Drei's coaching./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"They stopped for lunch around one, and Drei claps her on the back, "You keep that up and you won't even break a sweat tonight."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Thanks." she sighs, eating a small bite from her sandwich, "What can you tell me about this test?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""One of Infernos hitters was recently made, and hasn't shown enough worth to warrant keeping them around." Drei answers, "This guy knows too much about inferno's operations to risk him revealing anything, so he must be disposed of."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""And that's my job." she mutters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course it's your job." she smirks, "If you'd prefer, think of it as taking revenge for all the people he's killed, or making the world safer. If you think of it in more noble terms, it might make it easier."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein stares at her, "How is what we do noble?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Drei stops eating for a moment, and then lets out a long sigh, "Inferno is an organization of murderers and drug dealers. That's just how it is. But the thing about those people is that during conflicts between them, innocent people get hurt. People like my sister, Judy."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Your sister?" Ein gasps, eyes wide./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""My real name is Cal Devon's, though I was born Camellia Evans. My father was an arrogant prick, so I ran away, and snuck on board a plane leaving from the London airport. It landed in Los Angeles. I spent over a month on the street, foraging for trash to survive. At that point, Judy found me."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"At this point, Cal couldn't hold back the tears as she told her apprentice the story that only Reiji had ever heard before. "We lived together for two years, and they were among the happiest of my life. But that changed one night."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein listens intently as Cal continues her story, "I was helping Judy back to the house when we got caught in the middle of a gang dispute. A local heavy hitter wanted to sabotage his competition and took out her guests, but a stray bullet hit Judy."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"After a course minutes of silence, she continued, emotions back in check, "After that, I met Reiji. I never would've guessed that he was the best, but with a week of meeting him, I watched as he killed the man that murdered Judy, and his boss killed the ringleader. That was how I got started in this business."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""What happened to Reiji?" Ein asks quietly, poring them both a glass of wine./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""He betrayed me a few weeks after that mission. He left me in a burned out apartment and ran off. Scythe found me and that's the end." she shrugs, taking the cup, "Even if we kill those people, that doesn't mean we don't have a heart. Once inferno's taken over, wars between rival gangs will be nonexistent. The lives we take now will do save countless more later."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Ein nods in understanding. When she started, she wanted nothing to do with this, only the threat against her life convinced her to continue. Now though, part of her was determined to see this through to the end. Even if she never remembered anything./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"They spent the afternoon relaxing l, and at seven, Cal drew her attention./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""It's time. Are you ready?" she asks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"With a nod, Ein took her hand, and they disappeared with a crack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe apparated to an abandoned storage area in the countryside. They acquired it solely for this test. The area around it had been completely warded. No one not keyed to them would be able to get within ten miles of the testing grounds./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"The interior had been vastly expanded, providing multiple areas of confrontation or cover. In the rear, they had placed an extremely well stocked arsenal, containing all manner of weapons, traps, blades, and wands./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Is everything ready?" McGuire asked from the backseat of his limo./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""Of course." he smiles, "Zane will be arriving in several minutes, followed by Ein and Phantom at seven."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""What reason did you give him?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;""A situation has arisen that requires all of the phantom candidates." scythe smiles./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"At that moment, Zane silently apparated along the wall, waiting for scythe to give him orders. They waited in silence until, at exactly seven, two more shapes apparate to the battleground./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"Scythe motions for the three to join him, and declares; "Now we begin."/p
