(A New Distortion and an investigation will be on it's way. What kind of investigation would be taken care of by Sora, Amy and Bullet? Only one way to find out.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 45

There was a lot of things going through Sora's mind as he approached his final destination. What he was going to do once he got there, the initial goal he needed to do before he could leave in peace, the people that he were with. There was a lot of thoughts that were in his mind that sounded like the main three that were swimming his mind. He tried to not let these thoughts overpower his mind as he decided that he should focus on taking them one step at a time. The first step? Well that was simple.

"We got either the Meatball Marinara MRE or the Pizza MRE. Either one is not really ideal for what I would like to eat but you guys want any?" Sora questioned as he had hoped that the entrance for the 5th Hierarchical city of Ibukido's cauldron would be not heavily guarded and that the three of them could easily walk in but much to his surprise, there was an actual NOL presence and that was not a good thing. He would love to just walk in there and start getting to work but he knew better than to just go in without a plan. A good plan at least.

"As much as those two options are nice, it would be better if the professor packed us something like a steak MRE." Amy said as Bullet continued to keep her watch, using a pair of binoculars to keep observing from a distance. "The meatball marinara for me." Bullet simply said, not letting the need for food disturb her task while Amy simply sighed at the response she got. "I guess the pizza MRE has my name on it." Amy said as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that before placing the MRE's in their respective seithr heating packs before looking at the old maps of Ibukido.

"Ibukido huh…" Sora said to himself as Amy noted what he said and nodded her head, understanding what he meant by that. He had never figured that he would return back to the Hierachical city where he was supposed to die, let alone sneak into a cauldron. He still had some questions about how he survived the ordeal he went through but he decided rather than think about it, he needed to focus on the task in front of him.

"From my observation, I can see that they are mainly relying on foot patrols on the entrances and they mainly consist of soldiers only." Bullet explained as she handed the binoculars to Amy and took her seat next to Sora as he looked at the maps. "Foot patrols huh… if they are only watching the ground level we can try sneaking through the sewer system of Ibukido… or what's left of it at least." Sora suggested as Bullet shook her head at that.

"And deal with any potential rubble that comes from the ruins? The sewers are more than likely not maintained at this point. Even if they are well maintained, the NOL would logically post some men there to watch over for any potential infiltrations." Bullet explained as Sora thought about what she had said and nodded his head in agreement. "You're right about that. It would be a bad idea to go through the sewers if they have become unstable at this point." Sora said as Amy herself decided to take a peek through the binoculars to look at the entrance of the Cauldron itself.

"I am just surprised that the NOL are able to navigate through such a desolate ruin like that. Why would they need to remain there in the first place?" Amy said as Sora kept quiet upon hearing that, figuring that Bullet would give the answer instead of him. He knew that Amy knew the answer but she had to play the role of the curious one in this case, mainly to ensure that the timeline was still following the given reason by the Master Unit most likely.

"These ruins may not look like it, but whatever destroyed the hierarchical city focused their fire primarily on the NOL base here. The NOL would love to keep the information that is here top secret and they are probably trying to retrieve all of the lost information there." Bullet said as Amy tilted her head. "What destroyed the Hierarchical city? I mean, I sorta know the official NOL reason was that a weapon similar to nuclear weapons were used but I wonder what you think?" Amy pondered as Bullet chuckled.

"If you honestly ask me? I think a Nox Nyctores was involved somehow. I don't know which one and don't care honestly but yeah, that's my best guess on the matter." Bullet said as Amy simply nodded her head upon hearing that. "And what about you? What you think destroyed Ibukido?" Bullet questioned as her question was directed towards Sora as he remained silent upon hearing his name being directed towards him at that moment.

"Ummm… I don't really know to be honest. Both seem plausible to me. But if you ask me which one though…. A Nox Nyctores is strong but not many are capable of destroying Ibukido the way it did so I guess… Nuclear weapons?" Sora answered as he still remembered the day that he was in Ibukido and had seen the actual series of events with his own eyes. He decided however to keep that a truth only for himself and Amy to know as Bullet simply shrugged upon hearing his answer.

"I guess unless the NOL deems fit to release a response that isn't their cookie cutter one, then we will never know the actual truth of things." Bullet said as Sora took a deep breath upon hearing that as he noticed Amy was looking at something. "Did you spot something Amy?" Sora questioned, moving to be beside Amy as she scratched her head at what she was seeing. "Well… is it me or does security look rather light at the entrance. I mean even though they have people walking around to make sure their angles are covered but the actual guards protecting the entrance are not plentiful." Amy said as Sora took the binoculars from her to observe what she had observed.

"Well what Amy is saying is true. Hmmmm" Sora thought as he decided to observe the paths once again to see what can be done. "Hey Bullet, how strong are your gauntlets in terms of destructive power?" Sora questioned as Bullet looked at him as she took the MRE's out of their heat packs. "Enough to crater something if I want to. Why?" Bullet questioned as Sora had a plan form in his head as he checked the paths to see something else that would make this work.

"I am just figuring if we can make use of that destructive power to our advantage." Sora said as both Bullet and Amy could see that the man was thinking of something and whatever that was in his mind, it was most likely going to involve some wanton destruction in the process. "Well stop trying to think of stuff by your lonesome and let us in on the plan." Bullet beckoned as Sora couldn't help but smile a bit and take his seat next to the girls at that moment.

"Alright fine, here's what I am roughly thinking…"

The 5th Hierarchical city of Ibukido. To most NOL soldiers that come here, they often cannot help but wonder why they would be brought to this once thriving Hierarchical city on what seemed to be a useless protection detail. Some of the NOL soldiers thought that this was some form of hazing from the higher ups to try and make them better soldiers in the future. Others thought that this was the NOL making an example out of them to ensure that no future soldier becomes complacent enough to be sent here. Some even thought that this was to help build character and teach them the importance of keeping their wits up even in peace time.

Whatever these individuals were thinking were of little concern for the man known as Relius Clover. He was simply focused on the task ahead of him and that was to dig through the hidden relics of Ibukido and discover what kind of files were still here. He had been in Ibukido before, a long time ago in fact when he was working on one of the various Murakumo projects. He had long thought the information that was here was long gone but seeing the memories of Makoto Nanaya proved otherwise.

He could have left it all alone, it was all old data in the first place. There was nothing to be gained from gathering the dusty remains of what he considered completed research. No this was to ensure that incidents like Makoto Nanaya discovering what he did would never come to light, a burying of the past to put it lightly. He would have loved to do so alone but Izanami had insisted he went with a patrol of soldiers should anybody decide that they would pay him a visit.

"And that is the current report Colonel Clover." An NOL Soldier reported, telling Relius the 10th report he had heard this day. The boring routine of reports and having to listen to them was not only boring but also eating into any precious time he had to discover what other secrets remained in Ibukido and what he should keep and destroy. "Very well, keep up the good work soldier." Relius said as the soldier was about to leave before he remembered something.

"Also Colonel Clover… I know there is a lot spoken about you, but I am personally happy to have this chance to work with you." The soldier said, bowing before leaving. A normal human being would feel touched to hear someone speak in a positive light about them but Relius simply continued to stare at his notes, uncaring about what the man had just told him as Ignis made herself appear beside him.

"There's no need to worry about him Ignis. That man is of little significance." Relius said as he closed the file containing his notes as he stood up to take a glimpse of the entrance. All of this bureaucracy that he was going through at that moment would have driven someone like Hazama/Terumi insane. This did not mean that he enjoyed such wastes to his time. "Let us go to the ruins. The sooner we find what we need the sooner we can go and start to set up our end goal." Relius said as Ignis simply bowed before preparing herself to vanish at that point.

But before he could do so, Relius's ears caught wind of something that prompted him to go into the ruins immediately. As soon as his mind thought of doing so, a loud bang could be heard as a whole mass of voices cried out and began barking orders. Whatever had happened was no longer going to be his concern. His concern was more for what laid underneath as he ignored the voices calling out for his name.

"Ignore them Ignis, we have more important matters to handle." Relius simply said, walking towards the ruins as the voices being called towards him now became quieter. He could care less if he was going to be attacked at this very moment. The NOL should be able to handle an attack force at this point and he was not a commanding officer for battle, but a scientist. He will let the men who wish to fight continue their fight while he went on his own way to continue doing his due diligence in uncovering the truth.

...As that was more important to him than some lives at this very moment…

"What is happening!? An earthquake!?" a soldier called out, his first thought being that one of the old buildings had it's seithr valve explode. It was not uncommon for the remnants of the buildings around them to occasionally explode but an explosion like this was genuinely concerning especially being near their current location. "No sir. It looks like one of the buildings was directly destroyed and the path is completely blocked." Another soldier reported as the various theories ran through their mind.

"Where are our scouts!? They should have returned from their latest patrols!" The soldier questioned, hoping that the scouts were safe and able to report on anything they had spotted. "Our scouts haven't returned yet. It seems that the explosion occurred near their path." The second soldier quickly responded as the man felt a sense of frustration come over him at that moment. If the scouts had returned they would have information but the more likely situation at that point was that the scouts were the one that they were attacked and they needed to act.

"Get the radio and contact the patrolling party to get back to base, Whoever is attacking us is most likely going to try and isolate us from the pathways and we need all of the troops here as soon as…" before he could finish his sentence, another loud explosion could be heard as this prompted him to grab a radio that was on the table to immediately contact the patrolling party. "Patrolling party this is base, what is going on over there!" The soldier questioned but the silence that greeted him sent chills down his spine.

"Patrolling party come in! We need to know if you guys are alright over there!" The soldier shouted as he had hoped that the silence was just the radio being temporarily taken out and not the squad being wiped out. "Patrolling party to base, patrolling party to base, we are fine over here but we are currently separated from the path. It will us some time for us to get back to base, maybe an hour max." a soldier from the patrolling party said as the soldier couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Dammit. While it's great to know that you are fine, but at the same time, knowing that you are separated and can't get back is going to make things a pain. Just do whatever it takes to get back to base. I suspect we are under attack." The soldier said as the patrolling party sounded alarmed by hearing that. "Is it some splinter group from Ikaruga? Or a pair of mercenaries? We didn't get a good look of the people responsible for attacking us so we aren't sure if the people responsible for separating us are the same people about to attack the base." The patrolling party asked as the soldier himself was unsure how to respond to the question that had been given to him.

"We do not know ourselves. You are to get back to the base but more importantly, not get into any fights if possible." The soldier ordered as the patrolling party understood their objective and left it at that. "Has anybody got back in contact with the scouting party?! I want to know if they are alright or not!" The soldier asked as it was clear he was trying to manage multiple things at once. But before he could get his answer, a new loud explosion could be heard as the sounds of men and women scrambling greeted his ears.

"We're under attack! Retreat to..." soon the voice that said that disappeared as the sounds of people calling for backup and people trying to order the now disorganized group to a more defensive posture died down and that made the soldier feel cold as he immediately went outside to take a look at what was going on outside. It was when he decided to do that he couldn't help but immediately regret his decision to do so as he felt an immediate urge to take cover.

The first thing he saw was various NOL soldiers, men and women alike were under a sense of panic. These people were trained to handle these kind of situations, fighting against all odds. Hell some of the people he saw were veterans of the Ikarugan war. That told him that the individual or individuals they were dealing with were enough to strike a fear into the hearts of these men and women. He tried to see if he could locate the individual responsible for causing such panic in the first place but that was when he felt it.

Lingering in the air, was a sense of blood lust. It was like a predator that was hunting for their prey. The people that were panicking were simply the bait being carefully laid out to lure out their intended target and their lives were actually not important at that moment. It was then footsteps could be heard as the individual capable of causing such chaos in the first place was finally beginning to make their appearance and that was when the soldier truly regretted his decision to take a peek into what seemed to be like a preemptive attack by a group of individuals

As instead he was greeted by death itself..

"Are we almost there!?" Sora shouted as Bullet and Amy tried their best to keep up with him. Their plan to try and isolate the scouting party by having Bullet destroy one of the older buildings that was near the NOL base had gone well and things were going well. However when another explosion occurred on the other path, Sora had a bad feeling crawl up his stomach as he had a feeling that things were going to get much worse and he needed to act before things got even worse.

"Just take a left over here and we should reach the camp that the NOL have set up!" Bullet shouted back as Amy herself was deep in thought herself, not struggling to keep up as her eyes were scanning around to see if there was anything strange that was happening around her at that moment. Their plan had been going well so far but the fact another explosion occurred told them two things. One was that they and the NOL soldiers based here were not the only ones here and this mysterious force was now making their own move towards securing their own objectives.

"Whatever happens from here on out, just be ready." Sora said but he knew that was just to emphasize the danger they were facing. Words were not needed when there was a situation this dangerous in front of them but it helped him to feel reassured that the others knew what they were going to get themselves into. As they approached ever closer the base, there was no sounds, no sounds of fighting or cries of pain, and that was concerning for everyone that was there.

When they finally rounded the corner, the saw the reason why for the silence. The NOL base their eyes were observing only but a few hours ago was now in ruins, the various structures placed by the NOL soldiers now in ruins as the one responsible stood in the rubble. His long blue hair flowed as the wind blew on him, his white coat picking up the wind and barely hanging on his shoulders. The man simply turned, having sensed more prey coming his way as Sora, Bullet and Amy saw a grin grow on the man's face.

"Ahhh, Look who comes but the prey that only just escaped my grasp a few days ago." The man, the mad dog Azrael said as he turned to fully face the trio in front of them as Sora's hand immediately drifted towards the prototype Rev Blade on his back as he felt a great sense of unease come from his body at that point. "What the hell brings you here mad dog? Don't you have any other place to be but here?" Sora questioned as Azrael laughed upon hearing that.

"Why of course, I just happened to come across this small little base. I had hoped to meet with a little bit more of a challenge so I decided to test myself a bit. Unfortunately for me, these people have proven to me that they are nothing but paper weights." Azrael said as Bullet noticed one of the soldiers trying to crawl away as Azrael, not even bothering to look at the man's way simply stomped on his foot, causing the ground underneath the man to emerge and slam him on his stomach, making him fly away from view as Azrael sighed.

"You insatiable dog…" Bullet said as Sora simply remained quiet and continued to observe the sight in front of him. Bullet was correct in saying that as even after destroying a base like the way he did, he still sought further combat. It was clear he had an insatiable appetite for blood as Sora knew a fight was inevitable. But there was something he needed to try something before more fighting broke out.

Sora: You sure you cannot let us pass? Even just once?

Azrael: What's this? I thought you knew me better than that after our one duel! Sora Minakaze!

Sora: Well… What can I say, Even after knowing how much of a bloodthirsty monster you are for combat I cannot help but try and convince you see the other way.

Bullet: What are you doing Sora?! You know we have to fight our way through anyways!

Sora: I cannot help myself. I am just trying to not limit my options here.

It was then Azrael laughed as hard as he could at the words he was hearing at that moment. He couldn't believe what his ears were being greeted to as he had a smile on his face. "To think you would have a sense of humor as well!? Oh I will enjoy making that voice of yours sing as I break you limb from limb!" Azrael said as he stomped on his foot again, creating a small fault line that threatened to swallow the three whole, forcing them to separate to save their lives.

As Sora recovered his footing, he immediately sensed danger coming for him as he raised his blade to protect himself from being struck fatally as Azrael's fist crashed right into the blade of the proto Rev Blade, causing the air around them to blow away in the process as Azrael's fist continued to put pressure on the weapon Sora held, threatening to simply break it in half. At that moment, Bullet intervened, spraying fire right at the eyes of Azrael as he backed away before Bullet could land a hit on him.

"Do you really think that we will let you have your way mad dog?" Bullet said as Azrael then felt the presence of another come right for his back as without even blinking, he bent his back all the way and tried to deliver a kick from the angle, using a soccer overhead kick to strike his would be attacker with as much force as he could despite his compromised angle, causing them to slide on the ground greatly and struggle with their footing. "And who are you? Little lady." Azrael simply questioned as his eyes were on Amy at that moment.

"Not anybody that is worth remembering. Azrael." Amy simply said as Azrael simply shook his head upon hearing that. "You say that yet your body hides much power. That tells me you are much stronger than you make yourself out to be and you will be very much worth my time." Azrael answered as a grin began to grow on his face, sensing all of the challenges that were now in front of him and his battle lust now being satiated in ways he could never had imagined.

"So come on you three! Throw yourselves on me! Let me taste everything you three can bring to the surface right now!" Azrael shouted as his hands extended out as a red aura began to grow out of him, alarming Sora at that moment. The fact that Azrael was beginning to erupt this mysterious aura was enough to make him realize that Azrael was going to get more serious. This was further proven as the red aura began to dig the ground around itself as Sora felt his blood chill at that sight.

"Just how much power are you keeping held back!?" Bullet demanded as Azrael grinned. "Enough power to level a whole hierarchical city." Azrael said as both Sora and Bullet did not know how to interpret his words. Was he making a bluff? Trying to play down his true strength and make it seem like he actually weaker than he made himself out to be? No to think that he was actually weaker would be a stupid one as Azrael would have nothing to gain with such a bluff.

No it was clear that his bluff was to hide that he was much stronger than he was and that he was in fact making his feat of strength seem much weaker when he in fact had a much bigger ceiling. "Awww how nice of you to joke and play down just how much of a ridiculous monster you are. Really nice of you really." Sora mockingly said as Azrael laughed upon hearing that. "Now that's the spirit. So let us continue to play with each other shall we!?"

"Before you four decide to fight against each other, may I borrow some of your precious time." A voice called out as Sora froze upon hearing it. "Oh not you again." Sora simply said as Relius Clover emerged from the entrance of the old NOL base. "Indeed, it is me, Sora Minakaze." Relius simply said, making his presence known as Azrael's eyes were now drawn towards Relius. "Hmmm… Colonel Relius Clover of the NOL. You must be strong to have that rank in the first place." Azrael said as Relius looked at Azrael directly.

"I am not interested in fighting a rabid and mindless animal like you mad dog. I merely wished to see what the commotion was all about and why there was no response from the others." Relius said as he then felt Sora's gaze upon him, his eyes telling Relius everything he needed to know. "And you must be wondering as to why I am here at this very moment you are not Sora Minakaze?" Relius questioned as Sora wanted to remain quiet at that moment but he couldn't stay silent.

"As much as I don't want to, I cannot help but wonder what on earth you are doing here near a cauldron Relius." Sora said as Relius merely chuckled upon hearing that. "I was simply here to investigate the cauldron here and help the NOL retrieve any information they are lacking. I guess us meeting here must be a coincidence of fate." Relius said with a slight mocking tone as Amy wanted to attack Relius at that moment but relented against making such an action abruptly should Relius be ready for such a thing.

"A coincidence of fate huh? What a sick joke." Sora simply said as Relius scoffed upon hearing that. "As if I must care for what you are thinking at this moment. I am simply stating what it looks like to me." Relius said as his eyes went towards Azrael. "And do not think I don't notice your gaze towards me. I can tell you wish to fight me right now." Relius said as Azrael looked right at Relius at that moment before looking away at disgust.

"You know what, I don't have any interest in fighting against you anymore. Not only do you lack the smell of someone who wishes to fight. You barely have any interest in entertaining me in the first place." Azrael said as Relius chuckled upon hearing such a statement being directed towards him in the matter it was. "My to think that I would prove to be such a bore towards the mad dog himself. Truly that is an achievement by itself." Relius commented as Azrael simply scoffed upon hearing that.

"If you merely wish to talk my ear off, why don't you be a good coward and just go back down the little hole you came out of. I can guarantee that I will not have any interest in pursuing you." Azrael said as his eyes then glared at the air behind Relius. "Though the thing that is behind you. Now it definitely wishes to fight against me most definitely." Azrael commented as Relius raised his hand up to calm down

"Come now Ignis, we have much work that we need to do and we have no time to waste with the nonsense in front of us." Relius said as he turned his back towards the fighting, ready to head back into the entrance of the cauldron at this point. "Wait Relius Clover!" Amy said as Relius stopped walking at that moment as he did not bother turning his head to face the group. "If you wish to stop me, you will have to make me. But that is only if the Mad dog deems you worthy of being let go." Relius said as he soon walked right back into the entrance.

"Relius Clover!… Dammit." Amy cursed as Sora placed his hand on her shoulder at that moment. "You heard the man, we got to get past Azrael first if we want to get to him. Relius will be waiting for us… as much as I hate to say something like that." Sora said, cursing a little bit that he knew such a thing in the first place. If they wanted to figure out what Relius was doing here in the first place, they will need to go through Azrael first and Azrael had a small grin on his face.

"Now that bothersome pest is gone, why don't we continue with our little duel?" Azrael said as Sora shook his head upon hearing that. Before he said a word however Bullet was quick to throw a pellet of flame right into Azrael's face, letting his face feel the burn as his skin was barely burned by it. "Will you ever shut up you crazed mutt!" Bullet shouted as she soon tackled Azrael hard and sending him flying through another direction in the process.

As Bullet took Azrael to a different direction, Sora couldn't help but look back at the entrance and his mind began to ponder on his options. "You are thinking about going on ahead aren't you. Sora." Amy said as Sora froze upon hearing that. He wanted to deny her claims but at the same time she was not wrong with her bringing up that question. "Am I really that readable at that moment?" Sora questioned as Amy simply nodded her head upon hearing Sora say that as he sighed deeply.

"I know we should be going to the cauldron now, especially now that we know Relius is here but…" "But you also wish to assist Bullet in her time of her need and you refuse to leave her be." Amy quickly answered before Sora could finish his thoughts as he froze upon hearing that. He looked at where Bullet had gone through as his mind raced with several thoughts at that moment as his hand then drifted towards his chest and gently tightened to a fist near where his heart would be as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Amy did not say a word at that moment, in fact she allowed him to pull his thoughts together as she couldn't believe that Sora was seriously considering abandoning a person to achieve his goal. While she normally would be excited at this because that would mean that he would be going through the cauldron and that may help stabilise the timeline yet something about his choice of words gave her a feeling of not wanting that to happen now, as if to say that she did not believe that is what Sora would do.

"Forget what I was thinking. I just cannot abandon Bullet right now. Not this close." Sora said as he charged off the direction Bullet went, most likely to help her before Azrael truly ripped her apart. This made Amy smile a bit seeing Sora do what she thought was the right thing in this case but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder if she was beginning to let her feelings for Sora influence her at that moment. Perhaps the night's conversation and her remembering the man she called father is making her feel the way she was at that moment.

As for Sora, his mind couldn't believe that he had thought about leaving Bullet alone to deal with Azrael while he went after Relius Clover and the cauldron but at the same time that was both the rational and probably the correct choice in this case. Sure to some people it would sound cruel to some people but the fact of the matter is that he is a stranger in this world. Whatever happens to the versions of these people he would most likely never see again and thus it would be fine for him to abandon her to her own fate.

Yet at the same time that would make him no better than the people that he despised at the past. They often made choices that were morally questionable and while they may not be wrong in their way of thinking, he cannot agree with such thoughts in the first place. It's not about being in a moral high ground or being a better strategist in the long term. It's about doing what he felt was the right thing even if it was the wrong thing for most people's minds.

So here he was, going to the direction Bullet and Azrael went to help Bullet out against a wild mad animal like Azrael and make sure they get out of this alive. Amy herself followed behind closely as the both of them kept quiet, knowing that words were not needed at this point and while they are most likely doing the one action they shouldn't be doing and should be focused more on their actual goal, there was something about the thing they were about to do…

...That made them feel like good human beings…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? Man we are almost done with 2022. Truly the longer I live the more I feel the effects of age hit me like a truck, like realizing that I am aging with each passing day and that can be quite terrifying. At the very least, I have games like Call of Duty to take my mind off the weight of age and I am trying to get better at it. Even if I am considered a boomer in COD Terms.

WELL WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT FOR ALL THOSE THAT ARE INVOLVED!? WHAT KIND OF LOST SECRETS ARE WAITING TO BE REDISCOVERED BY RELIUS CLOVER!? WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE CONCLUSION WITH THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE MAD DOG AND THE PEOPLE HE IS FACING? AND WILL ANY LIVES BE LOST ON THIS DAY!? All this and more the next time the canon shows itself.