A/N: This one's pretty graphically violent again-moreso than the last one, so head's up.

Removing the radio from the small pouch at her side, she called Ralf, giving the signal that she and Duo Lon were poised on the building across the way, ready to lower themselves down to head in the back. Duo Lon would utilize his abilities to phase through the wall to neutralize any targets and open the door for Leona; this would make entry as quiet as possible. It was quite dark already, but they had sharp vision, as well as enhancements if necessary.

Ralf gave the okay, wanting to proceed with everything as quickly as possible.

"You remember the mission, right?" she asked the assassin. He wore a black mask over the lower half of his face, as well as the heavy weight in his hair, since it could be used as a vicious weapon.

"Get inside. Neutralize the first three floors, or at least ensure they are clear. Message back to Ralf, so they can do the last part of their own mission." They had gotten a quick, curt call from the man telling them to let them know. Neither questioned him at all, and the fact he sounded serious made them bent on making this as quick as they could.

"Yes. Their communications are located there, on the lower floors. Disrupt them, and the other two will be able to do what they need with no issues." She folded her arms.

"After that, they radio back when they're complete, and we take out the rest of the building...staying as hidden as possible, being ready to see if anyone comes down stairs. It may take the other two up to an hour to do what they have to."

She smiled up at him. "I take it you don't mind hunkering down for an hour or two."

He laughed softly. "I've had to...hunker down, as you say, for two days."

"I knew you'd be good for this. If for some reason they end up coming down to the comm room earlier than suspected-according to some intel Ralf got, they probably aren't the types to closely monitor their goons-we just ice them there, but we may have to go to plan B at that point."

"What have you heard about the upstairs opposition?"

"From what the guys sent me, they do indeed have a sniper somewhere up there."

"Do they know what just happened?"

"No. According to the guys, they had managed to neutralize anyone before they could radio, as far as they could tell. The ones above are more than likely still waiting for orders."

"So we're still on clean up duty, as said."

"Indeed." She checked her things, making sure everything was there. She had even brought a canteen along, and had suggested he did, as well-as they may have ended up getting tied up for a couple hours or more. "You know, it's strange how this group got access to a less...seedy place like this. Did they buy it off, somehow?"

"Maybe this group is more well-connected than we thought."

"It could be. Well...I guess that's not our part to worry about."

"I agree. Let's go." The two started to head down the building as they would, quietly jumping down the fire escapes as they would, making their way toward the locked-up, fairly windowless bottom floor of the large installment.

Duo Lon nodded to her, and she hid off to the side as he phased immediately through the wall; he could see two men standing by the door, but no one else in the room. Dropping out quickly behind one, he snapped his neck with a twist before he could react; the other was too stunned to do anything about the sudden appearance of the assassin before he did the same to him, dropping him on the spot. He tried to keep the kills as bloodless as he could, for Leona's sake.

He then stripped any keys and such quickly from the bodies, tossing them in the corner. He let Leona in, nodding.

"That was fast," she whispered.

He shrugged, nodding forward. She removed her computer, checking the sensors. Pointing to it, there were five little blips on this floor; it seemed fairly well populated. Tucking it away and motioning to him, they quietly snuck toward the door, making sure they were clear before they slid into the next room.

Their opposition was split; three in one room, and two in another-they figured they were split up discussing a few things. Looking at one another, Duo Lon and Leona seemed to be considering their options-to split up, or stay together. If they stayed together, they could neutralize the one far room with two, since it would be easier to sneak in on. From there, they would wait to plan out how to hit up the other three.

Looking back and forth, they nodded, seemingly deciding on the latter plan rather than splitting up. Creeping slowly over to the room-the door was shut-Leona and Duo Lon stood on either side of it. Quickly causing a small knock on the wall, they heard voices; not suspicious, they heard someone get up to open the door.

As soon as he did, a hand-shimmering with a small, cauterizing energy 'blade'-found its way home in his heart, courtesy of Leona. He died without a sound. Duo Lon dashed into the room and had the man's head twisted around so fast he had no time to even utter a yelp; quickly dragging the bodies to the corner, they shut the door, so as to not raise any suspicion.

So far, so good.

Duo Lon sighed, smirking softly under his mask.

"Four down, three left," he said. He looked at the one she dropped; the single wound on his chest was clean. His own had blood coming from his nose and mouth. It was one of the cleanest hits he had seen.

"Yeah," Leona whispered back. "The other three haven't started moving yet."

"How big of a range does your sensor have?"

"One floor, which is hopefully enough," she said. "If we're quiet going up the stairs, we'll be alright."

"How are you?" he asked.

She nodded. "Fine. A bit...hyper feeling."

He gently put his hand at the side of her neck; he could feel her pulse elevated, but she indeed seemed alright. He nodded at her as she returned a soft smile to him.

"We can maybe wait until the other three come here...if it seems like they will. We could lure them, too," the assassin said.

"That could work. We can search this room first."

At that, the pair went around, first rifling through the corpses. Making sure any communications were off, there was nothing much more of note on them-they were just grunts waiting for their orders, by the look. That particular room garnered nothing of note, either.

"This place seems to be more recently commandeered by them, if I had to guess."

"I agree. More a means to an end than a major base of operations." She looked around, thinking. "Wonder how they got it?"

"Money can get you a lot, it would seem."

"Yeah, that's probably it," she agreed. "Paid off the right people."

As he went through the coat of the man he killed one last time-his head bonelessly falling forward and touching his chest, making it clear Duo Lon basically internally decapitated the man-he shook his head, dropping the corpse again.

"Didn't miss anything."

"Head's up," the soldier said suddenly. "The other three are moving."

"Okay. We'll intercept if they come into the room. Try to take them out as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

Positioning by the door again, they waited silently. And kept waiting.

No one had come through.

"Huh," he whispered.

She quickly checked the sensors; the three had disappeared. "They're gone."

"Perhaps they went upstairs instead?"

"Think they tried to warn the others?"

"Hells," he whispered, shaking his head. "Possibly."

"Let's…"

"Go," he said, completing her sentence. They were both on the same wavelength when it came to this. "And quickly."

"We might be able to catch them."

Heading out quickly and quietly, the two slid fast toward the original room before turning the corner to head out the other door, by the look into another hallway which likely led to the stairs that would go to the next floor, if their memory served them from the maps they had seen.

They were both correct; what they didn't know, however, was that the men who had left ended up quickly heading back in, only popping up on Leona's sensors too late.

"They're here," she whispered quickly.

At that, the door opened; while the pair wasn't taken by surprise, per se, they weren't as prepared as they could have been.

One of the three's eyes grew wide.

"What th-"

"Shit!" another one yelled. He managed to press the button on his radio. "Intru-"

Leona once again summoned the near-shimmering chi around her flattened hand; she grabbed the closest one and shoved said hand up inside of him as if it were a blade. Duo Lon continued to try to make his kills as bloodless as possible, sticking to just snapping the necks of any unfortunate person he got his hands on. Quickly throwing one aside, he ended up in a grapple with the second; Leona was able to stab the man in the back, hitting his heart as Duo Lon held him still.

He dropped him, nodding toward her.

She shrugged. "Teamwork."

It started to go downhill when three-not two-ended up coming down the stairs immediately, surprising them. Their weapons were drawn, as the yell of the one man no doubt got their attention.

Duo Lon lashed out all too quickly with his clawed hand, ripping the man's throat out in a huge gout of blood; at that same time, Leona's strike was clumsier than normal, and she, too, ended up with a bloody hand shoved into a man's chest. The 'cutting aura' she had summoned was not one of the better ones.

Dropping the bodies, Duo Lon charged the last one, who tried to jump back to get a shot ready; the assassin instead lashed out with one of his powerful, deadly legs in a roundhouse that allowed his boot to connect with his temple. Having summoned a burst of strength, he caved it in with a crunch, putting the man on the ground.

He turned, looking over at his partner. The two were splattered in a fair amount of blood, and he could see her breathing heavily. He hurried over to her, wishing he could touch her more, but his hands were soaked. Quickly wiping them off, he checked her pulse; it was certainly elevated.

"Want me to-"

"No, I can go," she said. "I have to." She almost sounded desperate.

That last battle had ended up bloodier than she'd have liked, and she could feel her heart racing. It took quite a bit of control to calm herself. Looking over at Duo Lon, she nodded, seemingly doing alright, though she started to get afraid.

Duo Lon nodded knowingly back, regretful that he had ended up tearing into those few to the extent that he did, but the fact they had to kill them quickly made him attack with less focus. No one could escape.

"They know now. We have to get up there and head them off. They'll be coming down."

"Yes," she said, her voice somewhat shaky.

They ran upstairs; by the time they got to the third floor-their goal-they found it empty; though Leona pointed at her sensors.

There were more on their way down, as thought.

As the two split off to watch each doorway, they easily managed to head off the attacking group; there were a few coming up each side, but none of them had any idea of what they were trying to ambush. Still, they were armed and dangerous, and the two assassins treated them as such.

The first two were dispatched in almost no time. Duo Lon quickly grasped one's head in his large hand and twisted, snapping his neck deftly, as Leona's cauterizing blade found its mark right into the heart of another, penetrating in seconds. Pulling it out and pushing the corpse into another, she leapt to swipe her trademark cutting hand across another's spine to sever it right at the base of his skull nearly bloodlessly; as usual, she could almost heat up the air surrounding her hands to do so.

Duo Lon leapt back, attempting to go for another clean kill, but due to the sudden movement of the man ended up sending his deadly claws home into his throat. He died, gurgling blood everywhere; another he tripped up with his braid on his ankle, and deftly used his penetrating strength to drive his heel home right through his temple, caving in his head before he could react. He held back enough that the blood was relatively minimal even if his temple was grossly misshapen from the blow. Leaping again out of the way, he blocked a man's blades with his hands as he took a sudden hit, hissing at the attacker. He had gotten distracted…

...Because another man had come up behind Leona to shove a blade into her shoulder as she drove her hand home through the heart of a third. Hissing in pain and growling, she turned, her hand now developing its more trademark, larger glowing blade as she shoved it into the man's stomach...causing it to explode as he was blown back violently into the corner.

He was very, very dead.

After that, the assassin could notice the tiniest streaks of red appearing in her hair. She looked at him-the look in her eyes almost desperate-and he could read them very clearly.

Help me, they said. She had managed to take the bloodshed-and quite a bit of it-and remain in control, but the injury started to push her over.

He quickly turned, driving his steel-like hand through his attacker's spine and ripping it out as he shoved the corpse aside, running and flying at a second attacker who was heading toward Leona, slashing her with another blade as she was distracted from her own inner turmoil. He was no longer being as careful as he could, just wanting them dead so he could help her.

Striking the man with a vicious flying kick from his position, Duo Lon-his adrenaline now starting to kick in much more heavily-hit him so hard that his heel shattered his spine and cracked his skull. The Hizoku's blows, if focused, could hit like a hammer.

Spinning, he noticed Leona struggling to focus, her hair streaking red and her eyes scintillating color between their natural blue and the strange red...and she looked desperate trying to hang on.

Inside, she was terrified. Her worst fear for today wasn't just a risk, it was happening. The last time this happened was at the end of the last tournament. Ralf and Clark had been hurt. They healed quickly, and joked about it, but she was still terrified of what might happen…

Running into another man with her hand, she hit him with a clumsy upward slash, tagging his jugular...but failing to cauterize it completely, so she took some of the blood spray directly on her. The man stumbled down the stairwell, clearly dead, but the blood had started to affect her even more...as did the next hit that she took as the two got surrounded.

Duo Lon went into a mode of deadly focus, snapping another's neck with deadly ease, he also utilized his heavy, brutally fast kicks to cave in another's temple where he knelt. Blood poured from his mouth and from the wound, but it could not be helped at this point.

As Leona finally finished the last...she had ended up digging her hand into the man's stomach rather far, letting him go with a much bigger explosion than normal; it blew the man clean in two at the waist, such was the force of the chi. Thankfully, the heat generated at the source was surprisingly enough to keep the blood from this minimized due to the cauterization effect. The blood had affected her greatly...but it was the last injury that she had just taken that pushed her over the edge.

Turning-in a voice that was simultaneously frightening and absolutely heartwrenching-she begged.

"Don't let it take me!"

Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she could see the red tint try to appear, but she struggled to hold it back as her assassin partner moved toward her.

The voice inside was whispering to attack.

Shut up, she thought. No. I won't. Not again.

Before he could reach her, one more came up behind him from the stairwell, slashing him with a jagged blade; he was forced to turn and deal with him quickly, which meant ripping his deadly hand across his throat, causing another gout of blood to fly at a time where it was very much not good to do so.

Hells, he thought to himself as he turned.

That last scent started to get to her.

"No!" she screamed, her voice a mix of terror and rage...her eyes more red than blue now, and her hair more fully streaked.

And then, she charged.

Without thought, the assassin immediately met her charge, grabbing her and slamming her into the wall as one of her hands hit home on his upper arm, managing to cut the skin somewhat through his black shirt. It was not deep, however, and it was somewhat clumsy. He didn't want to go that hard, but he knew he had no choice.

Staring at him-the riot half staring daggers, while the tendrils of Leona looked desperate-she reached her hand up to start to shoot toward him. He caught it in his own, and using his fevered, adrenaline fueled strength-the Hizoku-especially those trained in the more necromantic and body controlling arts-knew how to summon vast reserves through techniques of insane body control, for instances of needing to break through barriers or chains-he slammed the hand into the wall, pinning it there.

She snarled...but her eyes flashed. She recognized this. Her burning brain first tried to recognize this as a hostile action...but the better part of her mind, that was still there, that she forced to still be there, knew this, between the two of them, was something that had been used as an action of affection.

This caused her to hang on.

The other side, however, continued to tug at her sanity.

Slice him. Slash him. Smell his blood.

Leona pushed against him, her eyes flickering between red and blue, sometimes desperate, other times crazed, her snarls sometimes turning to choking sobs.

Come on. His throat. Slash it. Bite it.

Why do you keep trying to take everything I love? Why? It's my first time back out on the field since the last time! Don't do this to me!

Silly, you're only a tool for destruction. You don't need...

No! Shut up! Shut the hell up!

Duo Lon held her firmly; it took far more force than usual, but he did not budge. He continued to stare at her, not even realizing what else was going on at the moment with her other hand. Her growls continued, and they would end up fading to the more heart-rending sobs in the middle of it, as if she was trying her hardest to keep together, but the blood, the smell of it...

"Leona," he said, his voice steady, snapping her mind back from its train of thought.

Staring at him, she had stopped snarling, her eyes now starting to settle back to blue more often, the colors no longer flowing as much. He stood, his strength unwavering, holding her there. He knew her wrist would be terribly bruised...but that was minor compared to having to actually fight each other.

The Riot seemed to have one more attempt to push her; she looked up at him once again, her eyes finally going blank as she snarled-a primal, guttural sound coming from her as she tried once again to break free. Squeezing hard, he shut his eyes, doing what he knew was probably the best course of action.

His free hand snapping up, he struck her firmly in the side of the neck with his fingertips, mindful of the nails, hitting a pressure point that caused her eyes to roll back into her head for a moment. The vicious pressing against his own hand started to subside.

Duo Lon had been wanting to avoid this, as the pressure point in question could be dangerous.

In the end he decided to take an educated risk with it as the best possible option, though he quickly hit the point again to bring her back around, as he knew exactly how to do. They used such a point as a coercion technique from time to time...but he knew it had a chance of working here to sort of 'reset' her in a more painless manner. Dangerous as it was, it was still better than the alternative; possibly having to fight her, wounding each other-possibly badly-and then bystanders dying in the process if the other enemies on the higher floors got a leg up. He was grateful they were several floors up and couldn't hear anything going on.

Even on the more mild side, if he held her arm any tighter, or if she pressed against it suddenly and too forcefully, he feared the bone would snap in half, which would be agonizing for her.

Panting, he noticed her hair starting to ease back to only about a quarter red...then only the tips...and soon, it was blue again. He felt her strength starting to wane as he gently let her arm down. When she looked at him, her eyes were bright blue...and full of fear and guilt.

"Duo Lon…?" she said, blinking.

He smiled softly at her. "I knew you'd come around." He winced, though only a tiny bit. It was still enough for her to notice, though.

She looked over. Her eyes widened as she removed her hand from his shoulder; she had dug her fingers in about half a centimeter. It was enough to cause some definite blood and pain; it was nothing he couldn't take, though. He had taken far worse.

"Gods…" she whispered. "What did I do to you?"

He shook his head. "I feared what I did to you," he said, rubbing the bruises that had appeared on her from when he had shoved her into the wall and violently held her arm. He also rubbed her neck gently where he had to hit the point that he had wanted to avoid, checking her eyes and her pulse to make sure she was okay. He could feel her previously quickened-pulse heading slowly back to normal, though certainly still elevated from stress.

She lifted his shirt to see the wounds; brushing her hand over them, she winced, grimacing...and a few tears fell from her eyes. She started shaking.

"I'm…"

"Shh," he said, holding her head with both of his hands, looking at her as he brushed them away; previously used to kill...now having been used to bring her back. "You're fine. You fought it off. You realize that."

"I...you were the one…"

"I only helped," he said. "You could have just kept going when I woke you up."

She exhaled deeply, looking down for a moment, her hand still over his wounded shoulder. Looking back up, she had a steely look in her eyes, and she nodded.

"Yes," she said, her voice more steady. "I remember...red...everything red, and then nothing. I remember screaming at it to go away."

"That was you fighting it."

She looked down, rubbing her chest for a moment. "I...fought it?"

"You don't have to fear. I'll help you again, if I have to." He smiled, showing how he wasn't afraid.

Smiling back up at him, she removed her glove for a moment and touched his face; both of them were spattered in the blood of battle. They had sustained some injuries themselves from the enemy, but they both still stood.

Her heart was pounding, but she was coming to the realization that she was okay. Her trust in Duo Lon was not misplaced. She knew he would have been able to stop her...no matter what. She knew that even if he had to beat her out of her Riot, he would have done it. He'd have hurt, but he would have done it, which is why she trusted him.

As they separated, she pulled her bloodied glove back on, realizing that right now, she felt calm, though still shaky.

"Let's get to the communication room," she said, her mind clearly together.

"Yes. It's clean in there. We can hide out and report to the others."

"I…"

Duo Lon touched her face. "I think we're still on target for the mission."

"Yes," she agreed. It was true; no one had escaped yet, and no one had done anything they shouldn't have. The two moved forward, sliding into the room that would allow them to set up and start monitoring the rest of the building.

Ralf heard a buzz on his radio.

"Yeah?" he answered, leaning back against the wall on his own computer as Clark was busy messing up what little communications the others had left.

"First three floors are secure," he heard Leona say, her voice very steady and smooth. "Proceed."

"Roger. We'll contact you."

"Out."

He looked over at Clark, nodding.

"That was fast," the blonde said, calling up a few other things on his device.

"Indeed. We made the right call."

-West Building, 1 hour later-

After having laid low, painstakingly mapping out the building with the computer that Leona had brought along, trying to pinpoint where the rest of the enemies were as quietly as possible, while Ralf and Clark did their necessary work over in there area, the two were now reaching the point where they could continue.

Finished with the monitoring, and having mapped everything out, Leona looked over at her partner after checking her message; Ralf had given them the go-ahead.

"Time to get upstairs, then," she said. She felt a lot better, truth be told.

"Yes. Do you remember how many?"

She exhaled a few more times, taking out her pocket computer, and checking. "Eight targets above us. Two wandering, Six in the main room, which is fairly large. But that's where it gets hard," she said.

"The sniper."

"Yes."

He nodded. "I can hide," he said. "In the veil."

Leona blinked. "Are you sure?"

"It's why we are taught," he said simply.

She nodded; he knew his abilities more than she did, after all. "I'll sneak around and neutralize the stragglers. You head up to the top and contact me when you need to. Take the fire escape closest to us-I'll take the further one. We'll end up in the same place."

He nodded. "See you soon." He spared her a gentle look before pulling the mask over his lower face again and sliding silently out of the door.

For a moment, Leona looked around the communications room, gathering her thoughts. Rubbing her wrist absently-he had to squeeze her very hard to hold her still-she looked again at the bloodied fingertips of her gloves, knowing he would have five more scars on his shoulders because of it now.

But she had also gotten through it.

Shaking her head, though steeling her resolve, she pressed forward, knowing she couldn't let it get to her.

I am better than it.

As the assassin made his way up the stairs, everything was going just fine as he crept up the stairwell, glancing carefully onto each floor, just to make sure everything was clear.

It was then he heard the sound. The door from the last floor, where he had to be-opened, and someone had started to come out, though no voice was heard.

Duo Lon knew he had to slide into the veil now; whatever had happened had sent one from the room down, and he suspected something was going on. He wasn't sure what tipped them off-something did. But they now had an extra man walking around, and he could tell and he was heading down to the floor below...close to Leona's patrol.

Before the person could move out of the door, he had disappeared, sliding through the walls, teleporting up and through the door, directly into the room where he was originally going to meet Leona outside of, the world a bland gray, black, and white...though he could see his enemies around.

It was worse than he thought. The sniper that was upstairs, as warned, was actively trained on people, and neither of them knew about how the backup was armed...who could harm more innocents. He would have to stay put until Leona took them out, and then he would be safe to tear the enemies in this room apart. He considered popping out to immediately kill the sniper, but in that time he feared that the others could alert the men downstairs, so he opted against it; they were too far apart for him to kill all in a single swipe. If they had been together in a bunch, he'd have thought nothing of it, but they were spread around the room. As fast as he could kill...no, it wasn't worth the risk. He saw what happened earlier when others were allowed to warn their partners.

How did they get information? he thought to himself. He was glad Ralf and Clark knew how guys like this operated. Somehow, in their intel gathering, they were able to know that they would have an active, trained sniper.

He wasn't sure if the series of decisions he made were ideal or not, but he made them. At the very least, he would be right near him; if he sensed he was going to pull the trigger, he would strike, and then hope for the best in regards to the others getting alerted. It was by no means the first time a mission he had been on went slightly sideways and he had to change his plans-he had done it before, and was still successful.

So for now, he waited, all of his focus on keeping his mind shielded, as he feared he would have to sit here for a long time.

He knew Leona was quick, however.

Sneaking around, she knew he was going to have to step through into the 'other world'...and due to this, she also knew she had to act fast.

She knew the stories.

There were only three targets on this floor. They were also separated; they would be mostly no issue for her. She just had to make sure that they were taken out quickly, and that she was able to give the signal to Duo Lon soon after they were out. She was afraid if they weren't out first, if the ones above were killed, it may have raised enough of a ruckus for one of the ones on her floor to react, and contact yet others, possibly ones in Adel and Whip's vicinity.

As she slid into the hallway, she found the first guard there, looking the other way. Quietly creeping up to him with no trouble-her nickname, the Silent Soldier, was not only because she didn't like to talk, after all-a quick hand in the back and out the chest silenced in him instantly and bloodlessly, the heat generated from her blade's chi helping it bloodlessly penetrate, and cauterizing the wound as it would. He never knew what hit him.

But when she turned the corner to look for the second-who had been on their early maps-he wasn't there. Shaking her head and checking her computer again, she looked around...nothing.

Shit, she thought to herself.

This wasn't good; she knew that Duo Lon, if he was in the veil, would not be able to field calls from her. It was up to her to locate him, and quickly. She hoped that he could duck out of the room quickly if necessary, but she had no idea how all of that truly worked...but all she could do was continue her search to try to find him as quickly as possible.

Where did he go?

Upstairs, Duo Lon continued his steadfast concentration, but he began to feel a familiar itching around his very soul...which is the only way he knew how to describe it.

He glanced around, seeing some of the spirits of the men he had just slain.

Just specters. These are nothing.

They truly were not; these weren't the problem.

The sudden shriek he heard, however, was . It was enough to distract him for just a moment, allowing the very pull of the place to begin to slide it's maddening tendrils into him.

That was all it took.

People were not meant to stay beyond the veil for more than a few moments...let alone more than a few minutes, like he currently was. He knew his actions were risky, but they were also important. The mission relied on it.

He considered his options again. He could drop out, kill the sniper immediately, and methodically make his way around the room, dropping the other several men in one strike each. He... could do it, before any of them radioed in an emergency signal.

As he was considering his options, the spirits scratched at his brain some more. Teasing him.

Leave me alone, he thought. I'm no longer a boy. He knew that it was a risky maneuver he tried, but it was a risky situation.

He was no longer a boy, indeed. His mental conditioning was extremely honed. But no one was perfect. Anyone, even elders, could be lost to the veil's madness after having stayed too long.

Simply focusing on the task at hand, he swatted at the spirits which started to grow thick around him, trying to reformulate his thoughts. He would have to soon consider passing through a floor to drop out of it, but he also knew you couldn't just 'reset' this. Once you got the spirits' attention, they could continue to follow…and if he dropped through at the wrong place, and alerted someone...

He knew he should just teleport away and leave, coming back to do it manually. But then he thought of the bystanders; the man with the rifle could start at any moment.

Plus, he knew he had to get done soon to get Leona back. It was all she could do to fight herself off, and he wasn't going to leave her to that.

Why am I confused? Why? He didn't realize that it was...the place that was affecting his mind, causing his confusion.

I need to stay, he thought to himself. But I should not be here anymore. I can hold it, though. They...they all rely on me. I have helped them all when they needed it.

The Veil is nothing.

Downstairs, Leona had managed to take out the second guard with a quick slash to the chest, finally-but now she had trouble finding the third, who had seemingly hidden away somewhere. The second had been patrolling; she had turned the corner and practically met him face to face but her hands were lightning-quick and pierced his heart before he could utter a sound.

Where are you, you bastard? She thought to herself as she crept around. She knew time was ticking; it had been several minutes that Duo Lon had been sitting in the veil. Even if he teleported away, he risked issues, and then he'd have to go back, anyway.

She didn't know...everything about what happened, only that she had to work quickly.

Please, I need to find him…

Heh. We remember you.

No, you don't.

You were the one. Those years ago. Killing us. Thinking you knew what you were doing. Stupid child.

No. It can't be. It's been years.

Spirits never forget. Nor do they forgive if they were wronged.

Stop it!

The back and forth continued, as he grit his teeth; the spirits grew thick around him again. Reaching for his mind...his sanity. He tried to ignore them; they were only apparitions, he told himself. He knew they were real, though. The Hizoku knew things that the everyday person did not.

He started swatting at them, still in the other realm.

Or were they? Where was he?

He heard voices. He dropped out of the spirit realm...but they were still there. He still saw things in shades of gray, though bits of color mixed in.

No! Not this!

Snarling, he tore into the men in front of him out of desperation; were they the men, or were they spirits?

They barely had time to utter a sound. The sniper never got off a shot; Duo Lon's hands split the gun in two cleanly as he ripped into the men, his brain burning in a way he had not felt for literal years. He had taken many trips through the veil, and had been just fine. He had even sat there for a couple of minutes. Through some miracle, they had ended up not even being able to make a lot of sound, other than some confused chatter, since he tore into them so quickly. Had he had been sane, he would have hoped that whoever was left downstairs did not hear the slaughter.

But this...this feeling...

The rain, he thought to himself.

Why was it raining inside?

He hadn't felt that warm rain since the time he made his way out of the forest…

Hearing the bloodcurdling snarl come from above, Leona's heart sank.

No, she thought. Please, no...

She had to make a decision. The third man...he was loose somewhere, wasn't he? But Duo Lon was upstairs...and judging by the sounds of his voice, snarling and screaming, he had spent too long there.

The mission... she thought to herself.

A lot more than the mission is about to be jeopardized.

Shaking her head, she turned to run up the stairs. She only hoped that the other man didn't hear anything.

I'm not strong enough to do this, she thought. I don't know if I can bring him back. This is different. I don't know how this works. I don't know what this is, except from what he told me. Desperately trying to keep herself from panicking-as that would go nowhere good-she raced up the stairs, bursting into the room.

Shaking her head, she staggered back a moment, looking at the carnage.

The other five men were dead, ripped to pieces. Duo Lon, when in a frenzy...she had never seen him like this before. He seemed to be trying to fight invisible opponents in front of him, snarling and growling at them, muttering threats in both his mother tongue and English.

Bracing herself against the scent of blood and the view of the carnage, which was all too tempting to set her off again, she grit her teeth, refusing to give in. He had gone so far to bring her out of it, and damned if this was going to happen again.

Wouldn't it be nice? To rip each other to shreds?

Fuck you! She mentally yelled-no, screamed -at the 'riot' voice, shutting it up immediately.

Silence.

It did not bother her again that night...nor for a very long time. Only later would she realize that her slip up today was only partially caused by the blood, injury, and the seal...all dangerous, and certainly didn't help-but they were not the full cause. She had lost herself more to her own fear.

The fear had prevented her from focusing properly against everything else...and caused its own turmoil. One she asserted herself over it...

She knew she had won.

But now...there was someone who needed her help.

Staring ahead at her, his red eyes-an almost eerie, distant look in them, the pupils so contracted they barely looked like they were part of them, and the whites bloodshot-fixing on her, as if she were a new spirit.

She held out one hand in front, and the other turned flat, off to the side and in a combat pose, showing that she was ready to intercept him if need be. She had no idea what she was truly dealing with, but she would try...whatever she had to. She only knew the stories he had told; she never imagined facing someone lost to the veil of death.

It was different from a Riot, she knew. He was not possessed by anything, or driven into random rage, he literally thought that he was fighting endless opponents in front of him, desperately trying to swat the spirits away, or tear the malicious ones apart. The veil was wearing away at his sanity that he may never make it out...he had told her about incidents with others. He was terrified more than enraged right now...but this could lead to worse, she recalled, from the bits he had told her.

Permanent madness. He himself had told her about a time where he had to kill one of his own who was lost to madness, as an act of mercy.

That was all she knew, though. That, and Ralf and Clark had to help her more than once...and they did.

She was not about to leave.

"Get away from me!" he roared, to no one, anyone, or something behind the Veil, in a voice that was so pained it ripped at her heart, but she stood steady.

And then he saw her...in his mind, she was another hostile spirit, taking a battle pose.

He charged, his deadly nails above his head, poised to strike.

As they clashed, she ended up pushed away roughly, his larger size and weight winning out as he felt a far more substantial spirit. These were the right ones, right?

Right?

Staring ahead, the spirits...some of them looking terrifying, threatening to fray the rest of his sanity-kept pressing him. No man should have ever stayed even half this long in the veil, and he managed-though eventually, as always, his mind started to give into its dark touch.

And the warm, wet substance...he could smell the blood.

Squinting, he saw the figure in front of him trying to match his blows, trying to deflect them. He felt something bite into his arm, but paid it no mind.

Why is this spirit fighting me? Now he grew angry.

Trading lightning-fast blows a few more moments-he felt his hand strike the spirits mouth, as it struck his nose...it hurt somewhat? It wasn't broken at all, but it stung.

How…?

Angered that this strange spirit was injuring him, he snarled as the other spirits howled in terror.

"Stop it! Die!" he yelled, feeling his nails bite home into some flesh...and then he heard the cry of pain that suddenly shook him to his core. It was so mournful that it permeated even the horrid, possessed wailing of the evil spirits that were now flocking to him as he stood, and it was enough to jolt him.

Wait…

Soldier…

N...No…

Looking at his clawed hand in the spirit world, he could see the red. Color...didn't show unless he was heading out.

Red?

Color?

He felt another blow strike him, pushing him back this time; the spirit seemed to try to charge him. Gritting his teeth, he met them again, pushing them back, this time the two ended up falling...falling, and falling…

...Until the ground was hit, instead of falling into an abyss?

He was pinning the spirit...her blue hair showing…

Blue?

Blue? What was blue again?

Wait...

Staring up at him, she could see his pupils starting to dilate again, almost like he was finally starting to come back. The two had wounds on them...she was forced to strike him a few times, and he had struck a few nasty times home on her, as well...but she grit her teeth and kept going.

She didn't care. She wasn't losing him to some fucking spirit world. It was almost uncanny how the two ended up in a similar situation on the same job...but stranger things had happened in the world, most like.

In hindsight, letting them team rather than be alone was one of the best things that could have happened.

"Duo Lon," she said, her voice as steady as it could be as she stared up at him, her lip bleeding from one of his blows. The more painful one was the wound on her clavicle, caused by his iron grip as he slashed even through her thin body armor, but she didn't even care. That evil voice inside of her remained silent.

As he looked-his nose with some blood on it as well-his focus re-appeared, the gray giving away to light...and a lot of red and gore splattered all over the room. He had ripped, torn, and crushed the men so badly that it looked more like a horror scene than a combat zone. When he was in his maddened state, the same adrenaline boosts and body control that let him do impressive things were turned upon the enemy, to much grislier results.

And in the corner, he was pinning Leona, who looked up at him and grabbed his face in both of her hands, rubbing away some of the blood on his nose with her thumb.

"L...Leona?" he asked, his eyes locking with hers. "I...oh god…" he said, wiping one hand off on his shirt first before reaching down to rub away some blood...he could recognize the wounds. He barely registered the ones she had given him on his arms. He touched the violent claw marks that he left on her, however. "I…"

"Shut up," she whispered, holding his face. "Just scars. That's all. They're just scars," she said, her voice shaking.

"You…how…" he shook his head. People...usually weren't capable of removing others from the veil once the true madness had hit.

"You did. You snapped back. Like me."

"I…" he suddenly stood-his own voice wavering some, which was something she had never heard before-looking around the horror of the room. "Hallway," he said, standing and staggering out, going to sit by the wall as she joined him; neither even thought about where the last would be at the moment. His mind was still a fog, and it still felt like remnants were trying to pull at him.

As he settled, she knelt in front of him, removing her gloves and pulling his head up. "I'm sorry," she said, when he eyed the slash mark on his arm. "You...were swinging…"

He shook his head. "I was killing everything in front of me."

"As I was earlier." She cupped his face, the two assassins examining one another. "I...had to get you back. After you got me back."

"I told you, you did that. And...I could have killed you-"

"What possessed you to do that?" she said, her voice growing more frantic.

"The mission," he said, shaking his head. "I had to stay. A long time. A very long time. So...I wasn't able…"

"Why didn't you just drop out?"

"The bystanders…it was-"

"Who the hell would take me to our bar? Who'd buy me my fucking bourbon that is always sitting there waiting for me when I walk in, and who's going to get me those demos I still want? I still don't remember the names of the older ones!" she suddenly spat out, her voice shaking; her dialogue was clearly her trying to keep herself straight, the usually taciturn young woman's words becoming more and more emotional. "And I could have ki-killed you, too, earlier, and you didn't care. You slammed me against a wall and snapped me out of it. What would have happened if you got stuck? Who would go sparring with me in the city? Who would I have taken to the next company party?! I'd have been back to sitting there in the g-goddamn corner staring at the wall like I always used to!"

He smiled softly at her, a lump forming in his throat at the sound of her voice.

"I almost took your throat out," he almost whispered. "I...was foolish."

"And?" she said, not seemingly caring. "You didn't." She rubbed some more of the blood away from his nose, when she was forced to strike him. Her own lip had been split by his hand, but it didn't register. Seeing the wound on his shoulder that she had given him earlier from her incident...it almost darkly amused her that the two had managed to give each other fresh scars in a similar area. "Never stay there that long again. You know better. You could have stayed back. It...wasn't worth…" she trailed off, her voice still shaky. "I know my own fear got to me. I…"

"Partners...help each other," was all he could manage. He knew he made a mistake...as skilled and together as he was, as many solo missions he had gone on in his time- highly successful solo missions-and no matter how much he was the one that his friends would lean on if the needed advice...he was still a young man who controlled some extreme power. He could still occasionally let it slip.

"Partners," she repeated. "I asked Adel that if someone was your friend, if you could still love them," she suddenly blurted out.

"What?" he blinked, extremely confused at this point, as it seemed completely left-field. "What are you talking about?"

"At your house."

"I…"

She shook her head, pressing her forehead to his, before sliding her arms around his neck; she felt his strong body against hers again, only this time once again out of affection, which was far more familiar with the two of them. As she held him, her body began to shake somewhat, the gravity of everything hitting her. Both of them had nearly fallen to their personal levels of madness.

And both had helped to bring each other out.

"I'm saying that I think you can," she said.

It felt like they had forgotten everything going on around them at this moment. It was almost like she feared if she didn't say anything now, they wouldn't get a chance.

Letting it all hit him at once, he touched her face as well. Seeing how they both sported wounds from the other, he couldn't help it anymore.

"I may not be the best for you," he said, touching the wound he gave her.

"Bullshit," she hissed before kissing him deeply, her arms going around his neck as his own found her. As it broke, they stared at each other.

"Maybe you are for me, though," he said, unsure of what else to say.

"Weird way of saying 'I love you'," she whispered close to him.

His red eyes fixed on her, he managed a chuckle. "When did I say 'I love you?'"

"Just now, it sou-"

At that, he pulled her forward for his own deep kiss, allowing them to complete the bond that had started to form at the summer party. They were still on a mission, there was still one person running around the building, but the two of them needed this right now very, very, badly.

Technicalities of their particular, strange relationship could be discussed later. For now, none of that mattered.

Leona found she could no longer hold it in; she let it out and began to cry. Having to come so quickly out of her own Riot earlier, coupling with the injuries she gave him during it, having to not think about that, and then having to help pull him out of his insanity, it was too much.

She broke down against his neck, crying it all out. Leona had sobbed before in the past; after the incident of reclaiming her memories those years back, and while she didn't often...it finally overtook her.

Duo Lon held her as she sat, kneeling across his waist, tucked into his neck. His hand slid into her hair as his own eyes shut, glancing at the slashes he had given her over he shoulder; scars she would carry the rest of her life. He didn't care about the ones she had given him.

The assassin was not one to weep. The last time he wept was the time he was stuck in the veil as a youth, and even then, it was just a few tears, mostly out of sheer, abject fear and horror; possibly even more shock than anything else. The Hizoku had gotten things like that trained out of them. While they were not trained to be emotionless-they felt joy, sorrow, and the like, they were trained to keep such things more muted, especially more extreme emotions, as such things could get in the way of their work.

He felt a single one work its way out of his eye, streaking his face as it hit her hair as he held her.

It took her a few moments, but she composed herself as the two looked at each other.

"Let's finish up here. There's still someone there," he said. Somehow, through everything, they had remembered to shut the door.

"Yeah," she said, as she wiped her eyes; he helped. Glancing at his face...she noticed a streak in the blood; a single, solitary streak. A sad smile spread on her face as she touched it.

She knew how much it meant...because she knew how much it took for that to come out of him.

Standing, the pair limbered up before nodding at each other, preparing to hunt this last man together, completely renewed.

"I usually don't do this on missions," she said, a laugh coming from her, almost to try to calm down from everything. "Not...very optimal."

"I know," he said, taking his spot by the wall, his mind feeling quite steeled from the previous madness. "Neither do I."

"Going to be a hell of a report."

His sensitive ears catching the movement of the final person-just as Leona's sensor picked him up-he glanced at her, pulling the mask back over his lower face.

"It'll technically be able to be reported as a success," he said, as they both dashed into the hallway.

A/N: I understand that people may take some issue with the whole ''pausing on a mission to have a breakdown'', but I wanted to show that these characters are...again, people. They are soldiers, and assassins, but they're what, 19 and 22 in this ficverse now? They're stressed, they've got old trauma, and I think it's perfectly realistic if they don't keep it completely together 24/7(especially with the way Duo Lon is usually portrayed as the unflappable member of this crew who seemingly hadn't made a mistake since his teen years. He's wise beyond his years, but he ain't perfect.) I considered having them break down after, but I thought it would make it more poignant the other way. Leona's Riot being potentially triggered as much by her fear of it as the blood was her hint that she had to sorta stand up to it, as once she asserted that bravery over it, the voice just shut up.

I'll let the readers decide if it was a good idea for Leona to go upstairs first...maybe the Leona of old would have finished downstairs first. But I wanted to show she could have dilemmas on a mission...especially after a stressful incident. They both could.

And finally, I'm very aware it's a bit coincidental(read: I know it probably reads contrived) that they both ended up having problems on one mission, but, well, the situation WAS sorta there for it. ('If he had gone alone, he might have been able to do it clean'-well yeah, and if the villain shoots James Bond right away there's no story.) The way I had written the 'veil'-indeed, spending too long there causes problems, and I felt like the two situations were connected to the other, with Duo Lon ending up taking extra risks after Leona's incident, wanting to hurry to get it done. Perhaps something subconscious affected his concentration. I stand by it for character development purposes; each one being able to both help the other and fight their own demons.