(A new canon has arrived and now that the series of events have unfolded in front of us. We shall now see where the next path lies.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics =Japanese Conversations

Canon 31

The first thing Noel Vermillion felt when she woke up was a sharp pain in her gut. The next thing afterwards was the cold cold ground her face was lying on. Her senses were slowly coming back to her as the pain she felt on her gut was simply unbearable. As soon as a little of her senses came back, she immediately realized that something was wrong as she immediately felt her whole body's senses kick in and tell her to wake up at that moment.

'Makoto!?' Noel's mind first thought, the last person she saw was Makoto Nanaya as she was beaten and bruised on the floor. 'Where's Makoto!?' Noel thought as she tried to stand up, wincing in pain as she realized she was standing in a different environment as it was clearly not the meeting spot that Makoto had arranged Sector Seven to pick them up from. It looked more like the top of another building as she shook her head, trying to get a bearing of her surroundings.

"Oh My. Lieutenant Vermillion. You shouldn't be waking up so quickly." A voice mockingly said as Noel tried to focus to see the person who said that. "Who...Who goes there!" Noel shouted, holding her belly a bit before finally focusing her gaze on what was in front of her. Her confusion suddenly turned into anger as the green haired man known as Hazama was simply looking at her at that moment. "But then again, you did have a rough night's sleep so maybe you should be sleeping some more." Hazama said, smiling as Noel quickly made manifest in her hands Bolverk once more out of instinct.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MAKOTO!?" Noel questioned, raising her voice as her hands tightly clenched the nox nyctoreses as her eyes were simply glaring right at the man as Hazama simply raised his hands in the air. "Hey hey now, there's no need to become so aggressive on me now. We don't need violence in these parts now." Hazama cautioned as Noel did not relent her aim towards her former colleague as she did not trust his words at this point.

"TELL ME... WHERE IS MAKOTO!" Noel demanded as Hazama simply shook his head. "I am afraid that she kicked the bucket I am afraid." Hazama said, speaking in a sad tone as Noel's eyes flared up at that. Makoto was dead? No, that couldn't be. "You're lying! You're LYING!" Noel shouted, denying the words of the man in front of her as she did not want to believe that her friend was really dead. That she really had died.

"Why should I even lie? I gain nothing from doing so." Hazama asked as Noel gritted her teeth. "BECAUSE YOU JUST WANT TO GET INTO MY HEAD! MAKE ME DOUBT MYSELF! MAKOTO'S NOT THAT WEAK TO JUST DIE LIKE THAT!" Noel shouted, having great faith in her friend as she wanted to believe, to trust that her friend was still alive and that Hazama simply had her kept somewhere. Maybe a prison or an airship.

Hazama couldn't help but sigh at that. As much as he could appreciate the fact that Lieutenant Noel Vermillion had so much trust in her friend. He knew the truth much better then she did and was purposely trying to rile her up enough, build her rage before he pulled out his trump card. "Oh trust me. She was way weaker than she looks. Her muscles are nothing but fat at the end of the day." Hazama said as he could feel Noel's anger seeping out of her.

"I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOU!" Noel shouted as Hazama couldn't help but feel a little bad for doing what he was going to do next. Key word being a little as he reached into his coat. "If you don't want to believe me, fine. Why don't I show you my proof then." Hazama said as he calmly with a sly grin pulled out the severed arm of Makoto Nanaya for Noel to see as Noel's eyes widened greatly, recognizing it as Makoto's arm due to the glove that it wore as Noel felt her blood freeze for a bit.

"See? Don't believe me? Why don't you give it a feel." Hazama said and tossed the arm towards Noel's direction, the arm sliding across the ground as Noel shakily stared at it. She slowly leaned in to look at the arm as she placed one of the Bolverks to the ground and slowly picked it up from the ground. The cold skin feeling she felt on her hand confirmed that the arm was recently severed as she did not want to believe it. In fact she wanted to believe that the arm Hazama had tossed to her was simply a lie.

But the more she felt around it, the more she held onto it, the more Hazama's supposed lie was actually the truth. Noel wanted to scream so badly at that moment, scream in horror that she was holding potentially and most likely her deceased friend's severed arm and that Hazama had killed her and dumped her somewhere nobody would be able to find her. "She died as she had lived. A rodent." Hazama simply mused as Noel's hands began to shake angrily hearing that as her eyes flared up in anger.

"HAZAMA!" Noel screamed as Bolverk began to create waves of energy. The seithr around the area began to shape itself and suck itself right into the white pair of guns as Hazama simply grinned. "Oh what's the matter? Going to get angry at me?" Hazama taunted as Noel's teeth gritted hearing that. Her anger was flaring at that point as she wanted to simply kill Hazama at that point. A bloodlust began to grow within her, a hatred for this person right in front of her that she had never felt inside of her.

'I'm going to kill you...KILL YOU.' Noel thought as dark thoughts began to swim deep within her mind. A hatred she had never felt before was starting to grow. Her friends being taken away from her, her love possibly gone and she may never see again, and she had nowhere to vent her anger... except for the person who was responsible for possibly staging her friends death as she gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on Bolverk.

"Yeah right? As if someone as soft as you can really get mad now." Hazama taunted as Noel angrily fired a shot from Bolverk, blasting a beam of energy from the barrel as tears began to drip out of her eyes. "HAZAMA...HAZAMA!" Noel screamed as she began to angrily fire her shots at the green haired man, accuracy be dammed as she was not aiming her shots, blind anger consuming her focus as Hazama barely had to try and dodge out of the way.

"Oh come on now? Is that all you got? Is this all your rage can muster up?! I cannot help but feel insulted!" Hazama said as Noel could no longer take the abuse of words she was hearing at this point. "HAZAMA! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Noel screamed as she pointed the barrel of Bolverk, her hatred fully seething out of her face as bloodlust leaked from her, the seithr in the air responding to her anger by swirling behind her like a raging tempest.

"KILL!" In that one moment, where Noel's emotions had gathered up, been played with, her hopes, shattered to something that was beyond recognition and finally her dreams for the future laid ruined in her eyes. Noel pulled the trigger as the barrel of Bolverk grew bright red at that moment before immediately shattering, blasting the entire Nox Nyctores apart from her hand, leaving just the pistol grips of the once full gun as Noel felt her mind go blank at that moment.

'In that case...destroy the world...destroy it and everything within it.' a thought flashed as she instinctively pointed the other remaining barrel of Bolverk right at Hazama. The dark thoughts in her mind swimming effortlessly and melding with her current train of thought. 'Kill everything. Start by killing everything in this world. Let this world know your anger. Your rage. Your sorrow. Everything!' The voice spoke as Noel released out a bloodcurdling yell and attempted to fire another blast right at Hazama.

In the apex of her emotions. Her feelings boiling in an uncontrollable fury. Her eyes blind to the anger she was displaying and the sense of innocence she had within her vanished as the other half of Bolverk destroyed itself the moment she pulled the trigger. Hazama couldn't help but grin madly as a cocoon began to manifest itself behind her. "Yes...That's right. Let it consume you. Let your hatred consume you and let you become the god slayer you are destined to become."

Noel couldn't even utter a word at that point as the cocoon slowly extended out energy tendrils to pull her in as her body assumed a fetal position. Allowing the white wings of the cocoon to surround her as Meifang walked in on that moment to see the giant ball floating in the air. "So this is what killing my target is worth? A giant ball in the air?" Meifang questioned as Hazama chuckled hearing that as he pulled down on his hat to make sure it remained on his head.

"Of course not. I needed sufficient emotional backlash from Miss Vermillion to ensure she would be reforged into her Murakumo self, thus becoming the god slayer she is meant to be instead of that timid girl she currently is." Hazama explained as Meifang scoffed and walked over to Makoto's severed arm, picking it up. "And you had to sever the arm of my goal for what reason?" Meifang questioned as Hazama simply shrugged, taking the severed arm from Meifang's clutches.

"I could have brought her the rodent's head and it would have had the same result. I just wanted to see Miss Vermillion agonize over the fact that her friend might actually be dead and that there's nothing she can do about it." Hazama answered as Meifang scratched her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from the head of intelligence himself and how casual he was being. "Look. We may be working together for the same goal but that doesn't mean I have to like you. Don't do anything stupid to make me hate you even more." Meifang explained as Hazama raised his eyebrow.

"Oh? But don't you already hate me?" Hazama mockingly questioned as Meifang stared at him in the eyes. "I had my sights on that girl. I was going to ask for Relius's help in making her material for a project of mine. But now she's dead my own plans are fucked. So maybe next time you do something as stupid as that, consult your friends first why don't you." Meifang said, her voice raised as Hazama simply shook his head in disbelief.

"Jeez. All I did was simply kill a bitch for standing in my way and everyone's already hating me even more than they did before. Not that I mind but still talk about having a hate magnet strapped onto me." Hazama mildly complained as Meifang scratched her head. "Fuck with my plans again. Or not let me know what you're going to do. And I swear I am going to make sure you're fucked with Snake. After all, the Zero Division does have their methods." Meifang warned as Hazama opened his eyes, glaring right at her.

"Is that a threat directed right at me Miss LapisLazuli?" Hazama questioned as Meifang made sure to get up his face and stare him right at the eyes. "No. It's a disciplinary warning for you. You may be part of intelligence but don't think your actions are not going unnoticed by the higher ups. Especially those in the Zero Squadron. I am simply warning you as beneficial friends to not do anything that will compromise our goal at the end." Meifang warned as Hazama couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Of course. Thank you for letting me know about that. I promise you that I will make sure to keep that in mind the next time I conduct my business." Hazama said as Meifang simply turned around. "I'm going to keep the base clear of anybody thinking of interfering. You better make sure you don't mess this up for all of us." Meifang warned as she soon left Hazama on his own as his eyes were simply focused on the giant cocoon once more, admiring his work as he held the severed arm of Makoto Nanaya with a eerie like glee.

"I better make sure I get this preserved so I can hang it on my wall. Hehehehe"

As Hazama continued on with his plans. Ragna was keeping watch as Sora continued to cradle Makoto in his arms tenderly. They had managed to stabilize Makoto at this point but she was breathing weakly. At this point, she should consider herself lucky to have survived being amputated and then tossed of the height of a high rise building to her death. Despite this however, it doesn't change the fact that she was currently unconscious and her heartbeat was faint.

Sora himself was quiet, rubbing his hand on the amputated closed wound of Makoto's missing arm. So many different thoughts were running through his mind at that point from who could have done this to her? What the hell had happened with Noel and is Makoto going to be alright from this as with such a traumatic event like this, Sora would be surprised to know that she wouldn't have PTSD at this point.

"Is she doing alright right now?" Ragna questioned as Sora looked at him with a bit of surprise in his eyes. "The way you're caring for her tells me that she's alright for the time being but I don't want to come off as just guessing it." Ragna continued as Sora silently nodded his head. "She's stable for now... but her pulse is weak and she's not going to be waking up anytime soon." Sora explained as Ragna nodded his head at that, deciding to give Sora some more space by keeping his eye out for NOL troops.

As he did so, Sora continued to look at Makoto, stroking her hair gently as he felt a deep sadness in his heart. It was his choice that they had split up, it was his idea that they meet up later after he had met up with Rachel. Now that she had ended up like this and he knew it was all because of him, Sora couldn't help but want to punch himself in the face as he placed his face on her bosom to feel her body's gentle warmth, being careful to not apply too much pressure in the process.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Makoto..." Sora apologized, knowing very well that she was not going to be able to hear what he was saying but still felt the urge to say so. It was his plan that caused all of this to happen to her, all of the pain to be inflicted onto her way as he bit his lips tightly, regret growing on his face as he did not know what he should feel at this moment. Regret for his choices, anger that his choices caused this to happen or sadness for the pain he had inflicted on his loved one.

All of these choices had one simple feeling. His actions caused the most amount of pain and now he was dealing with the aftermath as he continued to rub the stump of her arm. Even if she receives a mechanical arm to replace what was lost, it will never change the fact that she has lost a part of herself for the rest of her life and she can never return to a normal way of life that two normal hands can give over a mechanical one.

Even she recovers and she doesn't mind not having a mechanical arm, the fact that her body was now permanently scarred the way it was and to have a constant reminder of his greatest failure ingrained onto the person he loves and their body is traumatizing to any boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife. And Sora was not exempt from this as while he was used to having pain be reflected on his body, for the first time in his life, he was now experiencing the other side of that pain.

He's normally used to the people he loves being dead... yet this seems even more painful than that. At least with the people he loves dying in front of his eyes, they are dead. Their deaths are just as equally painful as those who are alive but they aren't suffering any longer than they need to. Death... in a strange way in Sora's mind, is much more preferential to living. Does this mean that he wishes that Makoto had died? Of course not. it's just that the pain and grief he felt deep inside him was just eating away at his conscious.

"Hey man. We got to talk about what we are going to do now." Ragna said, snapping Sora out of his funk as he slowly raised his head off Makoto's bosom, Ragna noticing how Sora had been unconsciously crying as he simply nodded before Ragna leaned his back on the wall. "The way I see things right now. She's in no condition to be moved around right now." Ragna said as Sora nodded his head, agreeing with what Ragna had said.

"The way I see it, we have to leave her somewhere to make sure that she's being well taken care off right now." Ragna said as Sora nodded his head at that suggestion. "I do have a friend who can take care of her for us... Who am I kidding, you should probably stay with her right now." Ragna said as Sora's eyes widened at that. He wanted to say something but took a deep breath and patiently held back as Ragna realized he wanted to hear Ragna's rationalization and tell him more.

"The way I see things... you're currently going to be a liability with your emotions. I get the whole emotions making you stronger thing but if you don't get a grip on it, it's just as good as being a damn detriment to us." Ragna explained as Sora closed his eyes, noting what Ragna said as his mind began to think about the suggestion that Ragna had just suggested to him, weighing in on the option that Ragna had just proposed to him. Ragna knew he had to give the man some time to think despite their need to rush to the NOL base.

As Ragna gave Sora his space, Sora began to weigh his options. He could abandon his original plan of heading straight to the NOL headquarters and instead go with Ragna to this person who could take care of her. There he could spend the necessary time to take care of her until she was in a better condition that he would be able to go to the NOL base by then. But if he did that, he knows he would be squandering the best chance he got at finding the truth.

Besides that, there's also the question of Noel. She was supposed to be with Makoto to bring her to Sector Seven. So by going that train of logic and judging from the way the NOL were after both her and Makoto the night before that simply meant that the NOL has something in plan for Noel and that they were going to do something to her. If that was the case, wouldn't Makoto would want to head straight to the NOL headquarters to try and rescue her from the clutches from the NOL?

"Makoto..." Sora mumbled as his mind continued to think about possible options he should be considering. Does he really want to endanger Makoto's life even more than it is currently? Is the truth really worth the possibility of losing Makoto? If that was the case, he should really consider taking Ragna's offer and stay with Makoto to take care of her. As much as that sounds like the rational... the correct choice. It did not sit well with him.

Would he be alright letting go of the truth like this just because his loved one was injured the way she is? Would Makoto really be alright with him abandoning everything just to take care of her? Wouldn't that be equally as damaging to her mental psyche to know that she was the one responsible for making Sora to lose his truth. Sure she would be safe but would she really be able to live with that fact in her mind? He knows he's not Makoto and he's not able to think about what she's exactly saying but he also knew that this was his decision to make.

"Tell me... where's your friend exactly?" Sora questioned, making Ragna raise his head. "She works in a clinic at the oriental district of Kagutsuchi. If we head there now, we will be able to get that girl of yours the treatment she needs." Ragna explained as Sora closed his eyes and gently rubbed his hand on Makoto's stump once more. The oriental district. That would mean making his way to the NOL headquarters after dropping Makoto off would be near impossible if the NOL beefed up their security.

"If that's alright with you. I'll give you the location of her place and I will be on my way." Ragna said as Sora quietly closed his eyes before nodding his head. Ragna took a deep breath as he got ready to give Sora the location of Litchi's clinic for him to head to as he slowly lifted Makoto into a bridal style carry. "Come on Ragna, we got to get moving." Sora said as Ragna nodded. "I know. Just give me a bit to give you the location first." Ragna said

"Not for the clinic. We are heading straight for the NOL headquarters right now." Sora said, alarming Ragna as he quickly walked up to Sora surprised to hear his decision. "Are you serious right now?! You are going to go to the NOL headquarters with her injured like that!" Ragna said as Sora simply nodded his head. He knew that Ragna knew that his decision sounded stupid. Irrational and reckless.

"We can just drop her off at the clinic and we can head to the NOL headquarters if you're so determined to head to the NOL for something! Don't you want to make sure she's in a safe space and well taken care off at least!?" Ragna argued as Sora nodded his head. "Then why are you saying you are going to take her with you to the NOL!? Are you trying to put her life in danger!?" Ragna said, trying to understand the rationale of Sora's current decision as it was pure nonsense in his mind.

To him, the most logical choice would be to just bring Makoto back to the clinic, have Litchi or her assistant take care of her and then head to the NOL headquarters. That way, she wouldn't be endangered and he would be able to fight without much concern in his mind. "Tell me then Ragna. What would you do if you are asked by someone you barely know to place someone you care for in the care of someone you don't know at all." Sora explained as Ragna was surprised to hear that.

"Would you leave someone you care about in the care of someone you don't know just because of good word of mouth?" Sora continued as Ragna had to take a breather hearing that. It's rational to understand the feeling of leaving someone you care about in the hands of a stranger, people would be scared to do something like that. "Then why don't you just stay with her then. If she's that important to you then her safety should be your top priority." Ragna said, understanding what Sora was going through from his own past.

Sora: Are you trying to tell me to stay beside her and watch her get better?

Ragna: Uhhh...Duh! Isn't that obvious?

Sora: That will be the best way to make sure she's safe right?

Ragna: Of course you moron! If you really care for her that much then the least you can do is drop what you're doing and go and make sure she's safe at least!

Sora: That would be the easiest path to take. I would be able to protect her and she would be safe from danger.

Ragna couldn't believe he was hearing. Sora had clearly thought about it. He clearly had rationalized that was the correct choice and that it was the only choice he had. The answer was so clearly easy and spoon fed to him at that moment. "So if you understand that then..." Before Ragna could finish his sentence, Sora immediately took a deep breath to stop him from speaking further before exhaling loudly. "Just because the choice seems obvious doesn't mean it's the right choice to make!" Sora yelled, making sure his point got to Ragna as he looked at the white haired man with a serious expression.

"Of course it would be easy to stay with her. Of course it would be easy to take her away from danger and make sure she's safe. But that is not the choice I am going to make. I refuse to let the truth slip out of my fingers nor do I choose to abandon Makoto." Sora explained as Ragna was shocked to hear that. "I will instead to choose to do both. I will continue to chase after the truth placed in front of me while I continue to protect Makoto with my own two hands. Is it dumb? Of course it is. Is it reckless? You're right saying that. Isn't there a better and easier choice? I would have picked that choice without hesitation." Sora said.

This made Ragna rough grab him by his collar, Sora carefully holding onto Makoto and making sure she didn't slip from his grasps. "I am not telling you to leave her behind dammit! I am simply saying that she's better off being in a place that is safe for her. And you literally just admitted you are going to be bringing her into danger! What are you stupid!?" Ragna shouted, hoping to get Sora to realize some damn common sense. He couldn't tell if this person was being an idiot of just stubborn headed right now but he was clearly being reckless.

"Yeah... I got told that a lot." Sora said, not even trying to deny the accusation that Ragna was tossing his way. But before Ragna could raise his voice and chastise him for his choice he got a good look at his face and observed his facial expression at that moment. Ragna at that moment realized that Sora had made a very difficult decision. It was not a decision that was made lightly nor was it a choice that Sora had chose to make out of a childish impulse.

In Sora's eyes and facial expression, Ragna the Bloodedge could see the look of a man who has been through similar situations such as this before. His eyes were dry of tears but the red veins popping out of the whites of his eyes as well as the dry spots on his skin hinting he was suppressing the urge to cry at that moment told Ragna that Sora was personally blaming himself for what had happened to the girl he was holding. Even if he was not directly responsible for the actions that caused this to happen to her, he still blamed himself for leaving her all alone and was determined to not separate from her, even if it meant making his life even more difficult for himself.

Ragna scratched his head at that, unable to believe what he had just heard and also the facial expressions he saw from Sora. It was like looking at the mirror of his younger self in a weird way. The way he would often put the needs of his younger sister over himself as Ragna shook his head and scratched his head, sighing in the process. "Don't put it on me if something happens to you both them." Ragna said, surprising Sora as he looked at Ragna with shock on his face.

Sora had expected Ragna at this point to simply just leave him behind and go on to do his own thing. Sora would have done that himself, to avoid being a burden on other people. Yet this was the decision that Ragna had come to and it was just as surprising to witness as well jarring because he had expected the opposite to occur. Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards the white haired man as Ragna released his grip on Sora's shirt and turned around.

"Now let's get going already. We're wasting time standing around here and doing nothing." Ragna said as he slowly started to walk ahead. Getting ready to make twice the effort to rush towards the NOL base now that they had a third person that needed to be constantly taken care off. Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards the man as he felt like he could trust him with Makoto should anything happen to him in the process as he looked at Ragna.

"Ragna!" Sora said loudly as Ragna looked at him confused. "What is it now kid?" Ragna questioned as Sora took a deep breath before saying what needed to be said. "Can you promise something for me?" Sora questioned as Ragna couldn't help but feel like he was getting his with more and more surprises with each and every time Sora talked to him. "Look... I can promise you something but I won't be able to guarantee that I will be able to keep it alright." Ragna said, Sora understanding why he would say that as Sora quietly nodded his head. Ragna's good enough for him.

"Can you promise me if anything happens to me... That you would make sure that she's alright?" Sora questioned as Ragna was surprised to hear that. Hear he was, being asked by someone he had just met today to watch over a girl he barely knew. The level of trust required for such a thing was rather high and he had to doubt the sanity of the man asking this. "Look... I understand that we just met and what I am asking for is a rather high thing to ask for... But I have nobody else that I can turn to ask about this. I have asked others to do so... but I would feel a bit better if there was more people protecting her." Sora explained as Ragna nodded his head, understanding his explanation.

"I can't promise you anything... but I promise you that I will try my best." Ragna promised as he caught Sora making a small smile on his face. "In any case, Let's get going right now. We can't be wasting time." Ragna said as he soon took off, deciding to go on ahead to make sure the coast was clear in order to protect both Sora and Makoto at the same time as Sora stood still for a bit, looking at Makoto in the face as he stroked her hair for a bit.

Here he was, making another reckless decision that people can say is another idiotic decision from the series of idiotic decisions of his life. Should he had taken the rational and logical choice at that moment? Maybe. But every decision in life is never made with complete certainty. All he can do was simply do his best to live with his choices and own up to them. "Don't worry Makoto... I'll make sure not to leave your side." Sora said, gently kissing her in the lips.

Promising himself to fulfill that promise to the very end.

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING IN THIS FINE DAY!? I hope you all are doing well because well COVID-19 sure is making things hell for us. Half a year has passed and this disease sure knows how to kick us in the dirt and keep us locked in for longer. All I ask is that people keep safe and don't do anything that will keep us locked in for even longer. We want to go out and return to a sense of normalcy but that normalcy won't return if we keep doing stupid shit right now. So as your daily reminder, You too contribute to slowing down the impact this virus has on our lives right now.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TO OUR HEROES!? WILL RAGNA AND SORA BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE NOL BASE IN TIME!? WHAT WILL STAND IN THEIR WAY!? WILL SORA BE ABLE TO PROTECT MAKOTO FROM ALL DANGERS OR WOULD HIS CHOICE TO BRING ALONG AN INJURED GIRL COME TO BITE HIM IN THE ASS!? In any other case, we shall see where the path takes our heroes from this point onward.