Turn 12: Falling Down


"Pray that this battle will be the last but prepared for the next."


Commercial districts are by far the most population dense areas at this time, in order to enact their plan it was quite obvious to where Reunion must seize control over first. Yet there was rarely a sign of a bystander in this area, all of them must have evacuated somehow or they are that good at hiding from misplaced retribution.

Either way it made things easy for them.

A large Reunion squadron headed to Paci Plaza; a popular mall in the district nearby the LGD Headquarters, Swire even has a connection to that place being obscenely rich herself that you wonder as to why she is even working as an officer. One can just find anything there the average Terran might need, now it has nothing but broken windows and ruined galas. Some Reunion cronies found it fun to trash the place since there is nothing better to do other than wait for orders.

The whole ambiance of the place felt off to Selena however, the Reunion Caster prodded her Reunion Soldier comrade.

Reunion is not used to the kind of beast Lungmen actually is, Chernobog was a different story it had people running away from the whole disaster, people trying to resist their new masters.

But this? The plaza felt like a ghost town.

"Isn't this place supposed to be full of people?" Selena wondered aloud, "This large mall is somehow completely empty."

Aside from the interlopers, but they aren't exactly here as customers and guests.

"I even took a look at this place and nothing of value is here." Selena grumbled under her breath, but that is apparent in this mall. No wonder her other compatriots decided to cause some minor property damage, "Everything is taken!"

"Didn't Patriot prohibited that?"

"That was not the point I was trying to make." Selena hissed, "Besides our current commander, Mephisto, doesn't give a rat's ass to what we do."

Somehow, Lungmen was able to move civilians and property under Reunion's noses so they couldn't even enforce any control over them.

"The point is, is that Lungmen somehow hid everything from us. Almost like they knew ahead of time."

Her companion just laughed at her observation, the idea seemed ludicrous to the man.

"You're just imagining things, Lungmen can't do anything to us." He proudly boasted, "We came out of every nook and cranny and overran them, like what happened with Chernobog."

"This time, we're not here to wreak havoc Sel. We're here to take it over." His voice escalating went higher, "It'll be our city."

That was one of the things the Reunion members looked forward on having, territory and power that could rival even a city. Lungmen was just too appetizing of a target to not have, being a center of commerce and such. Ignoring the ramifications of such a hostile takeover from the larger superpower, the man couldn't help but gloat after being nothing for so long.

Selena groaned at his behavior however, he did not hear a word she said.

"Did you know?" Selena decided to change the topic, "This place is the closest base to the LGD Headquarters. It'll be a cinch to supply and fortify that place from here."

"Yeah it was mentioned at the last briefing." He replied, his mood dying down, "Anything else."

"All of us are supposed to go to the LGD Headquarters and then spread out to take the place over." Ruv was concerned as Selena's voice slightly shook, "However, some of our squads that were in the other sectors went missing."

"Missing?"

"The strangest thing about this is that, our connection with their comms is still intact but they couldn't contact us."

Ruv swallowed in dread as even a dunderhead like him can read the implications of that.

"Yeah, and soon no one will be able to contact you."

A loud crash soon followed as the glass from the window shattered into a million pieces. A green-haired Oni looked at the company greeting her.

"It's the LGD, the LGD are here." Ruv beckoned to his other comrades, and soon a brawl took place within the plaza.

"You better believe it!" Hoshiguma proudly declared socking Ruv on the face, his mask shattering like glass.

Hoshiguma flipped up with her shield to dodge ARTS bolts and arrows heading her way, kicking two soldiers while airborne. She then rushed to one of the Caster firing at her and knocked them out with a kick to the ribs.

"Ggh! We have them outnumbered! Just keep fighting and we'll slaughter them!" Selena tried to boost morale, slightly fettered by the Oni's mere presence.

The attacks that followed were more aggressive but they were all sluggish, they were all sloppy and unrefined. Hoshiguma merely side-stepped out of their arms' way and countered with her shield. As two Reunion Soldiers tried to get the jump on her, they were cast aside by water.

"What the hell is that!?" A Reunion member pointed at the spirit aiding a pink-haired Liberi woman, his answer was a big mass of water smashing towards him.

"Drown them Amphitrite!"

Ch'en observed the carnage the LGD and Ceylon were doing with a bit of amusement, as another Reunion Soldier tried to grip on the rails only to be flushed with water like a piece of unwanted excrement.

"Pass me the radio." Ch'en ordered, "Listen up L.G.D! Pulverize Reunion and all of their bunkers!"

"What the hell!" Swire exclaimed through the radio connection, wincing at how audible the broken glass was on her end. "Paci Plaza is family property how dare they-"

"Sorry Swire." Ch'en said half-assedly, "We're currently busy neutralizing the Reunion threat here to worry about-"

"What the-!? Why you little good for nothing-" She was quickly cut-off by Ch'en before she could rant on the radio.

Ch'en was no doubt a bit too happy about doing that based on her little grin. Rushing towards an armored foe, she swung a strong slash at the enemy. The Armor was easily cut by the Raythean blade she wielded, but the next set of enemies raised their shields yet it was all futile. The gap between their equipment was like a chasm, even Roar Guard products can withstand a swing or two.

"You bit-" Before he could finish, he was easily struck down by a lazy blast of water. Ceylon was yawning the whole time, taunting the big and beaten down Infected with how casual she seemed to be in such precarious spot. They underestimated her daintiness and her assumed role as a Caster of some sort.

But it was all part of the plan, the angrier they are the easier it is to exploit their weaknesses.

Their narrow-mindedness cost them greatly as Hoshiguma easily kicked two of them on the back, and with a slightly fractured spine they launched towards Ch'en like a pinball. The dragon let out her blade's roar and with a single unsheathed strike they fell down like the rest.

"Be careful you two, these are still our people assets." Hoshiguma grunted as she pushed twenty or so Reunion Soldiers away, "That piano alone is worth 1.8 Million LMD."

Swire boasted about that little fact before, Ch'en however smiled slightly. This unnerved the green Oni to say the least, while Ceylon was clueless to what was going on with the two.

"Don't even think about it." Ceylon warned as she caught some Reunion trying to attack her from behind, a small tinge of satisfaction went through her face as Amphitrite threw them while they were inside water.

As the methodical chaos ensued, LGD members decided to take cover in a random piano in the vicinity. However as Ch'en blocked those ARTS bolts with her sword, she missed a single shot.

A fine instrument, turned to dust.

"1.8 Million LMD...gone just like that..." Hoshiguma was flabbergasted.

Either way the Li'l Miss would be pissed after the battle.

Selena could only watch helplessly as her comrades were torn to shreds by the overwhelming might of the city's defenders. Slightly patting herself on the back for being right, but the flame of revolution still burned brightly within her. If she were to fall she might as well have her comrades finish their work for them.

As she was finished reporting the situation her communication device was shattered to pieces, she was knocked down staring at the cold blade a Lungmenite pointed at her.

"You done?" She tiredly asked, "Good, then your mission is over."

The fire in her was quickly snuffed out, not realizing that she was falling right into the dragon lady's hands.

0o0

The fight was easier than they expected, all of the soldiers they fought were weak. Their only virtue was either stubborn grit or the volume of numbers they had. That was to be expected when fighting soldiers whose first campaign was overrunning a city into dust with a glorified riot.

Amiya and the Doctor's anecdotes were pretty helpful in understanding that event.

"Aside from the piano, I'm surprised we managed to minimize the collateral here." Hoshiguma noted, "Comparatively at least, Mister Wei would still have a headache with Lil' Miss' family regardless."

Ch'en chuckled at the thought, "It's not in my jurisdiction."

"I know, I know..." Hoshiguma smiled, "Hey it's Swarovski Crystal, isn't this your favorite brand Ch'en?"

"The pendants are nice, but the earrings aren't that good." Ch'en dismissively said, "B1, block the entrances and lower all security gates, over."

Ceylon approached the two as she heard them discussing while she was patting the dust on her clothes.

"I didn't think that you would be fond of jewelry Miss Superintendent." The Liberi girl half-teasingly said and Hoshiguma agreed.

"Well, I'm always in uniform at work." Ch'en huffed, earning a few chuckles out of the two, "The few outfits I have are just collecting dust because of said work."

She is still a girl at heart after all, even if she always pushes herself at work and clock in overtimes that would make even abused minimum wage workers be thankful of the schedules they have.

"Madam Hoshiguma, we found a modified Reunion floor plan of L3! Please look over it." A LGD guard said over the comms.

Hoshiguma quickly skimmed over the map, "Good job. Capitalize on the terrain as you continue the investigation, afterwards we'll find the best route to cross the blockade from here. We can't make do without your information."

The guards made haste whereas Ceylon clicked her tongue in annoyance, she was handling a call herself.

"Something the matter?" Hoshiguma courteously asked, but Ceylon shook her head.

"My sister interrogated some of them personally, these people really don't know anything other than what they were given." Ceylon wasn't opposed to the actions her foster sister made, if it weren't for her sister's reassurance that she wasn't using Schwarz like her dad in the past she would have felt icky about it. That's just how life is at times, doing horrible things for a better goal.

Ceylon already accepted the dark foundations her home was standing on but now she was happy that Schwarz was on her side not as a servant but as a comrade.

"I myself am fond of collecting books, shame that I had to visit Paci Plaza while it it under attack."

"That reminds me, aren't you the same as us with all those motorbikes Hoshiguma?" Ch'en stared comically at the Oni, "Besides what's wrong with looking nice every now and then? Work isn't my whole life after all."

"I pray that it never does." Hoshiguma sighed, "Although I suppose that kind of life's tolerable for us, sometimes I wonder if people like Amiya would be able to go shopping, eat their favorite food...that sort of stuff."

"I would wonder about that but recently there was a lot of changes in Rhodes Island, heck they even had a bathhouse emulating the ones from your homeland now." Hoshiguma was startled, no doubt she was interested to go there after that bomb was dropped, "C3, Ch'en here. Slowly but surely clear the first floor then push forward."

Relief glinted on Hoshiguma's eyes, Ceylon figured that saving her friend made the Oni both happy and worried. There was a lot of uncertainty regarding her friend's life after this battle, and that seemed to be egging on her.

"Phal and I are the only ones left Ch'en...I'm still worried about him after this mess is sorted out."

The sight of him broken and battered yet still willing to do his part, and to think that she didn't even check up on him after all this time.

"Me too, but we have to finish this before we could even worry about that."

Even though his wounds were healed, there must have been a few mental scars after such a harrowing mission.

"Is that intel even worthwhile?"

"It has to."

Ceylon decided to leave the two alone for a while, she didn't knew them that well enough to butt in a clearly personal worry of theirs.

"!?"

Suddenly a shiver went down her spine, she could sense an incredible amount of malicious intent, but where? This feeling was similar to what she felt from Cronin but weaker, yet she cannot deny the threat it posed.

Where was it? Where is that dreadful aura coming from?

"Bastards...I'll bury you all with me!" The glint of a bomb's light sparkled in the decrepit mall, alarming anyone that isn't blind or stupid.

Ceylon's eyes widened as were everyone in the vicinity's, without a moment's hesitation Hoshiguma raised her shield. As the detonation flashed throughout the building Ceylon called out her Persona, she had no way to protect herself all of her moves were for attacking and support. While she could heal herself, the Liberi would still experience pain. She was trying to save her strength too.

"Ceylon!"

Schwarz's concerned scream echoed in her subconscious, how could she be careless? Wasn't she here because she could handle this mission? In her desperation she tapped to every part of her she shot out multiple Aques, hoping that these balls of water could insulate the explosion.

"AMPHITRITE!"

What happened next was unexpected.

"The water..." Ceylon herself was at awe of what's happening, "It's forming a barrier!"

While that shielded a majority of them from the blast, there was still one glaring issue.

The explosion came from below.


0o0


The sphere of water protecting them finally dispersed leaving Ceylon with a bit of rubble on her clothes. Schwarz was relieved that she was alright and maybe that was in Reunion's best interest too, who knows what the legendary Feline who killed people with a pencil would do?

"Is anyone alright?" Ceylon rushed over to tend to the wounded, luckily there wasn't anyone killed by the explosion or debris. She looked around to find no one in sight, while she was thankful that no one got hurt it wasn't good to know that she was alone underneath the aftermath of a trap.

"Miss Hoshiguma!" The Liberi girl quickly ran towards the struggling Oni, she was carrying what looked like two floors worth of debris on top of her shield. Ch'en was knocked out by the force of the impact below but otherwise wasn't hurt in any form.

Hoshiguma didn't have strength to talk to Ceylon as she struggled with the massive weight on her. Without a moment's hesitation she brought Amphitrite once more, her Aqua Trident made short work of the debris, cutting them to the point that the concrete was nothing but harmless rubble and dust.

"Media." A green light enveloped the three of them, Hoshiguma could feel the little discomfort she felt fade away in an instant. Ceylon took out her smelling salts but it appeared to be unnecessary, the sleeping dragon woke up once more to face the two.

"That's the third time today Sleeping Beauty." Hoshiguma was living up to her people's myth of being mischievous for once.

Ch'en on the other hand groaned both at the joke and her sudden awakening, "You saved me again..."

"Well, Ceylon was a huge help. If it weren't for her I would still be trying to not turn us both into pancakes." Hoshiguma looked over the Liberi with gratitude, "Still you don't have to make sound so weird even if this was the third now, seriously that earnestness just now sends me shivers."

"Well, excuse me..."

"There's the girl I know." Hoshiguma cheerily smiled at her friend's spitfire, then she looked at the crowd awaiting them. Even though they were extremely hostile, why does she see fear in their eyes. That feeling wasn't for them that's for sure.

"As much I wanted to rest, it seems like that these guys won't give me any time to breathe."

Reinforcements from the enemy arrived, all of them weren't too pleased over the fact that they lived through that trap. After taking a moment to wonder in just how the hell did they survive that explosion, they rushed towards the fallen party.

They had them right where they wanted them right, so why are they still fighting like losing was worse than death?

What did their commander drilled into them?

"Cast them away Amphitrite!"

Ceylon easily intercepted their ambush with an attack of her own, multiple blobs of water cascaded towards them. The impact was so strong that it sent them flying, the Liberi gestured for the two to stand down.

"Get some rest, we'll handle this." Not before Ch'en could ask her about her backup it was answered by a loud thud and the subsequent mangling of the enemy squad's rear.

This was Ceylon's backup, the sister that they were at awe at.

Schwarz arrived with little sympathy towards her fellow Infected, a quick kick to the neck of a Reunion Soldier was her greeting to them. Naturally, they weren't able to react in time to process what was going on. In their shock, the Feline had broken through the bones of the weaker and less armored units of the squad.

A Defender quickly took command of the situation, surely not even this monster can punch or kick through heavy armor?

Schwarz soared through the air, calibrating her crossbow in a fluid motion and as she was about to land a single shot was all it took to pierce through his admittedly subpar defenses.

Those scrap-hoarders during her mission at Sargon used sturdier stuff.

This was their plan right? Have them bring more of their enemies so they won't have to waste time mobilizing. Ch'en couldn't help but be disappointed over not seeing that last hurrah that Reunion Caster had, at the very least she won't try to complain about getting a breather and have things still work out.

"It's about time I blow off some steam too." Ceylon stretched her arms as she took out a trident made of water once more, "Cover me sis!"

Aqua Trident broke through the front of the squad with relative ease, this chaotic state allowed for Ceylon the opportunity to break through Reunion's formation. They were by all means trapped with them rather than than the other way around adding to that there was no escaping with Schwarz breaking through your rear.

"Damn it!" Ruvida barked, his sword nearly fell off his hand as he tried to block an attack from a Sniper, "We have to stay strong! Try breaking through their ARTS, we have to reassert our position!"

"We can't! It won't go down!" Dale replied in a fit of panic and fear, "They're too strong, we have to make the others kno-"

"Dale!"

"I should be happy right? They're easily crushing the enemy and Hoshiguma and I are safe. Even after they did that stupid trick we managed to hold on."

Ch'en's eyes were full of worry, her red orbs flickering as the duo scattered about dealing devastation to the Reunion forces. They were absorbing the scene around them like how easily Schwarz fluttered with grace doing leap after leap without any help. Even Ceylon, who was clearly a novice in terms of fighting was adaptive and quickly optimized every move she had. The Liberi seemed to be comfortable at balancing aggression and healing like how she must be as a medical researcher.

The Oni beside her knew however that it wasn't worry, she had a fighter's spirit after all. She knew what it was like once to see foreigners hailing from different walks of life express themselves in battle. How shocked she was when a wanderer showed off a strange way of fighting, she had come to expect that from those she had no background of. Although it may not just be culture shock from seeing these Siestans fight, even if one of them had the same type of ARTS as a close friend of theirs.

So what was it then?

Shame? Disbelief? Or was she still shaken over almost getting blown to smithereens? Hell if she knew, all Hoshiguma knew was she won't get anywhere just pondering over things as the others were dealing with the situation.

"Will you snap out of it?" Hoshiguma disgracefully dragged the girl and threw her down, forcing her to sit, "That look doesn't suit you Ch'en."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You remember that time in Hua Shui?" Hoshiguma calmly asked, "You chased after that bandit leader while my leg was injured, you trusted me to handle things on my own?"

At the time, she did stave off the bandits on her own. She was an Oni and her shield quite literally can feed on souls, she would be fine even if one arm was broken to go with the leg.

"I don't see where you're going with this..." Ch'en admitted, still unnerved by her ally's sudden sternness.

"Why aren't we taking the squads that we can so that we can take back HQ?" Hoshiguma raised her voice slightly, "Why are we, no; why are you staying behind Ch'en? Even if I was blasted by that explosion earlier I can still fight and now we have Miss Ceylon and her sister decimating the enemy so why not rest or if you just want to keep standing then run towards the mission."

"I-"

"You're the only one who can take this responsibility Ch'en, and even then you did this in the warehouse earlier. When did you became so indecisive?"

Ch'en was at a loss for words, what was she doing anyways? Ceylon advised her to save her strength and all she did was be at a standstill. Hoshiguma was right, if she didn't want to be protected then why didn't she just take the others and clear the objective.

"I don't want to leave you here and what if they can't handle it, I let them-"

"Don't give me such a stupid excuse Ch'en." Hoshiguma wasn't amused, "You used to be tougher than that."

It's cruel isn't it having only enough power to choose?

A voice? Where did it come from? She must started to hallucinate after all she's been through, never mind that she had more prominent things to worry about.

As she observed the teamwork between the two, very reminiscent of how the Doctor and Amiya fought side-by-side it clicked to her. The root of why she was so unsure of her decisions unlike before.

"Yeah, I could probably lead the others and leave some of us here but it is as you put it." Ch'en finally admitted what was grating on her mind during the course of this mission, "After what I did to those two, I swore to not choose over the mission and my comrades."

Ch'en looked at the battle waging on, it was slowly calming down much to her delight.

"I definitely did change overtime I found myself loving the city that I once hated. Now I can even place my trust over people that aren't even a part of this city." Ch'en stood up, this time Hoshiguma didn't stop her, "You guys aren't just colleagues or contractors to me, you all are my friends and you Hoshiguma, are my partner."

"You are you shield had always protected me, so this time I just wanted to be yours."

Hoshiguma sighed, "If there's one thing that hasn't changed it's your stubbornness, alright since the two made quick work of them anyways I'll mobilize the troops." She said as contacted the L.G.D agents above them.

"Thanks."

"Oh yeah, you really didn't blush after that speech huh."

A moment of silence as redness flushed the dragon girl's cheeks.

"Shut the **** up."

Hoshiguma laughed across the vicinity as they had accounted for everyone, they had to prepare for the final stage of the mission after all.


0o0


"So we really are the only four who fell down here?" Hoshiguma whistled as Schwarz was piling up knocked down bodies in the background.

"I consider that as a small win." Ch'en noted, as she made calls towards a small team. They had to cleanup the criminals that the duo took down.

Unlike let's say an old abandoned city, Paci Plaza was easy to navigate in the first place and since the attack started from a higher floor Reunion just saved them the trouble of going down a level.

"Good thing we have two powerhouses along with us, it's going to be a brutal fight knowing that Reunion's commander is probably in HQ."

Ceylon was flattered at their praise, that meant that Plume and Schwarz weren't wasting their time training her. Schwarz smiled faintly, still not used to having positive feedback after her battles.

The two were briefed on the enemy like everyone else, Reunion was an organization using the rage of the Infected to incite chaos and terror. They even saw it at the news once, since such a blow to the Empire was certain to be media headline.

Yet for how amazing the feat was on paper...

"They're pretty weak..." Schwarz dryly commented, "I was expecting fully-armed guerrillas with full combat training and yet these thugs could barely make a passable punch."

That was fair assessment coming from a master of combat, and that really was a strange contrast. The arrogant words they heard by accident must really all amount to bravado in the end. The best fallback plan they had was essentially a suicide attack, a Hail Mary of idiocy.

"Yet they still managed to take Chernobog." Hoshiguma replied, "Wait a moment, I'll have to talk to Ch'en here for a bit."

Ch'en was confused, Hoshiguma was never one to be cryptic or act in any way sketchy.

"What's this about now? Look I'm fine now alright."

"Just one more piece of advice before we go on the road again." Hoshiguma was acting more casual this time but her eyes were a different story, "Reunion isn't strong but they don't show it, you, like them also have a weakness."

Hoshiguma gazed on her seriously, the Oni was adamant on her taking her next words to heart.

"I can't stress this enough but don't let your thoughts consume you, ever. We're inspectors so don't get tunnel-visioned on one thing that you ignore other possibilities, even if you retire keep that to heart; the only thing worth fighting for is for you to survive."

Ch'en nodded while a bit shaken at her friend's sudden shift in attitude, "Right right, look we shouldn't keep them too long so let's go alright?"

"Good, let's go."

"Seriously, what's with you today..."


0o0


"Reunion has already passed the Causeway Bell.

Report from AU7: Reunion is also assembling in Ha Wan. I repeat, Reunion is currently assembling. This is AU7's mission briefing." The sound of rumbling footsteps are audible at the receiving end of the signal but by the sounds of it, it appears that everything was still under their control.

"Squad AO3 has eliminated the Reunion forces in Front Bay as planned. They are now pushing the remnants back towards the L.G.D. Headquarters.

All enemies in front of Scorpio Palace have been annihilated. Now retreating towards Charles Avenue to head to the rally point. This is Squad AL1's report, over." No doubt that put a smile on Hoshiguma and Ch'en's faces, things were going smooth but this was no time to let up. This madness won't stop until they take back what is there's.

"These are the updates on Reunion's movements and each squad's progress.
Over. "

"Understood, over." Ch'en confirmed, she clicked through her communications device as the wind billowed her jacket, "Continue, the objective is to drive all Reunion forces into the designated area. If there are small groups of stragglers in the other districts then you are authorized to eliminate them, over."

Ch'en looked over the rampage overhead dying down, "Focus on avoiding casualties so try to draw them enemy away from them if possible, conserve your strength."

"Copy that ma'am, over."

As Ch'en ends the call another soon took it's place, she groaned in annoyance but this call is one she can't avoid.

"Hello? Hello?" A familiar grating tone pierced through her ears, "Is this Ch'en, you still there?"

Ch'en sighed heavily before answering her, "Yes, It's me. What you do want this time?" No doubt, Swire was here for anything other than something that concerns the mission.

Oh well, this were looking good so she ought to humor the Feline. She knows how feisty the rich girl is when she is being ignored, especially by her.

That and well, she owes Swire a good one after bailing her sorry ass on that mission that went awry.

"Ah Ch'en! You're so done for!" Swire gloated through the other end, "You're so dead for what happened at Paci Plaza, I heard it myself since you gave the orders."

Was that really all that Swire had to say?

"Is that all?" Ch'en knew that for all of Swire's threats none of them were ever genuine, an enemy in the workplace would be silent and conniving while a rival would remind her of the recent screw-ups that she did.

Swire and her worked long enough to see each other as the rival.

After that spiel Swire shifted tones, one with more concern over the troubled woman on the other end, "Look, you and those Rhodes Islanders aren't just professionals working together from what I've heard. Do you really feel that guilty leaving your friends behind?"

"I don't ever recall you being a psychologist."

"Yeah, someone in that landship of theirs probably is." Swire brushed off Ch'en's defensiveness, "I've heard that some of Rhodes Island still helped you and Hoshiguma, don't be so conceited that them helping you is a personal favor."

Ceylon made it clear why she went to assist them in the first place.

"Silence huh?" Swire was half-amused yet also concerned still, "Don't worry I'll make reparations for this."

"Reparations?" How though was Ch'en's question.

"It's a surprise, oh but you're so done for after this." There was the full conceited and mocking voice of the tiger cat, Ch'en is quite strange to smile whenever the Feline was eager to mock her. Only during calls where the girl in question couldn't see her face.

Perhaps Beatrix saw right through her and was probably making the same expression as her.

While they had some time, she might as well engage in a little casual talk and plan out a different kind of strategy for different mission.

"By the way, do you still remember that restaurant in Sheung Wan?" Swire was confused as to why Ch'en would suddenly bring that up.

"Huh? Which one? Well, whichever one it is, they're all closed at the moment." On the account of a terrorist group ravaging Lungmen indiscriminately, "Are you trying to change the subject.

Ch'en ignored her accusation, "The one with that absolutely divine steak sandwich." It was one of Ch'en personal recommendations to the Doctor when he asked what restaurants are good to go to.

"Huh?" It suddenly dawned on her, "Ohhh! The one with the steak burger as big as you palms put side-to-side."

Not to mention the glistening juices seeping out through the meat as it was ceremoniously served in front you, the sauces that go well with sandwich. Ch'en and Swire can eat that thing without shame knowing what their work is.

Yet during one recent visit to that place, Ch'en was terrified at how easily the Doctor tore that burger to nothingness. Amiya looked used to seeing him eat like this, she sipped her cola as he ate calmly; the way he ate was fine but the rate of him eating was terrifying. The man even ordered seconds and at that point you have to wonder if the Doctor was even human to begin with.

"Really...even now."Ch'en snapped back from her reminiscing, "That's the one."

Swire thought about it for the moment then it dawned on her, "Goodie Foodie right? I used to go there while on my patrols." Ch'en then heard a yelp of pain from her end, "Hey! Who said you could stand up."

"Right...that sounds like the one."

"Aha, now I get it." Ch'en could practically see the gleam in the Feline's eyes, "You're going to treat me to a meal, but why don't we go somewhere a bit more...high-class."

Ch'en scoffed at the notion, "Your idea of "high-class" and mine aren't alike."

"Come on, I can foot the bill." But that would defeat the point if Ch'en wanted to make it up to her. Still the dragon lady knew that she felt uncomfortable in those stuffy rich socialite gatherings disguised as restaurants, the food was delicious but there it was wasted in those who can't appreciate it.

"Miss S, you really think that I'm that type of person?"

"Do you really want try that with me again?" Swire was unimpressed by her back talk to say the least.

"Sorry, I bit my tongue just now." That was a lie.

"You clearly did that on purpose!"

However Ch'en remained unfazed to that accusation of hers, after that exchange her face softened as she observed the wreckage the Reunion had wrought. The stores that people got through after a hard day's work, the cafes the university kids would flock towards, at the various family owned businesses scattered across the district were all ravaged.

All because she made a mistake.

"Swire...I was just thinking." Ch'en's voice sounded unsure and tired, "If we don't do a better job this time, I don't think we'll be able to face the locals."

She really did let everyone down this time, the people of Lungmen and her new friends. Heck, her own spirit and body was letting her down. Yet, even when she found her resolve it was scary to have the possibility of failing even that.

"We depend on Lungmen as much as it depends on us."

"If you're the least bit sincere about that, you should stop with the pity-party." Swire barely let out a sigh after swinging her whip harshly, "The sooner we take down Reunion, the sooner you can treat me to brunch."

The tiger lady ran up towards a tall Reunion Soldier and kicked them on the chest, she used that as a springboard to blitz through the next guy. She sent them back using her whip, and in their confusion Swire smirked.

"Seems like the fighting is intense on your end."

Swire looked towards her prey in satisfaction, "Ah, it's nothing too serious."

They were right in the spot she wanted after all, drones were quite helpful when dealing with a nasty crowd after all. She let loose their payload onto these idiots, just enough holes for them to be taken into custody.

Her foes wouldn't let up however, as another solider tried to slash her clean with a rusty blade. It was getting irritating to see these thugs act like a guerrilla military force for Swire, it was insulting to those she actually respected.

"How annoying! We don't have all day!" Her whip accentuated her frustrations at the moment, "Hey Ch'en, I want a steak, tomato, and egg burger."

"Would you like fries with that?" Came her superior's deadpan tone.

Swire swept a man of his feet with a leg sweep and knocked him out with a whipping to the neck, "Duh!"

"Alright." Ch'en smiled as she heard Swire scream bloody murder at another foe before cutting off to a yelp of pain, "Oh, and sorry for locking you in that vault by accident that one time."

"Like hell was that an accident!" Even a blind person could see the smirk that dragon lady did after doing the deed, "Whatever, it felt great splashing you with water anyway so I guess we're even."

"Oh and Ch'en." Swire's voice became softer as did the sounds of struggle.

"Yeah?"

"While I'm glad that your now your usual bitch self again, don't throw away your life over what's in front of you." While she was still jabbing on Ch'en, there was legitimate concern that she could hear, "A lot of people are counting on you, remember that."

"Hmm...thanks for the advice."

"Hey since your already at the restaurant, you guys are close to the LGD Headquarters right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Good luck."


0o0


"We'll be going now." Ceylon bowed gracefully towards Hoshiguma, this was the part where they have to part after all.

The two of them will act as scout and medic respectively. There might still be survivors hiding inside the building after all. It was risky to repel Reunion and extract their comrades but luckily the duo are a formidable unit. The idea was to rescue people and disarm traps that might be hidden inside the building, Schwarz is a master of stealth and Ceylon would be there to support her.

Hoshiguma watched the two leave and head towards the building on a route that is catered to their unique mobility, both were doped on Sukukazine so it was easy for them to rush towards an entrance.

"Now then..." Hoshiguma headed towards the congregation of all their forces, this was the last part of the mission and there was no way that she's going to miss this.

Ch'en stood there, looking over each of her comrades; ready to fight and ready to take back what is theirs.

"All of you assembled here are the cream of the crop." She looked over there pride-filled faces, their posture did not betray their status as elite guardians, "As we speak, many of our colleagues are still out there fighting...but we have our own mission."

She looked at there dear base of operations and how defiled it had become in her absence.

How shameful.

"The building in front of us used to be the symbol of Lungmen's safety — the embodiment of law and order, the heart of the L.G.D." A few of them grit their teeth, Ch'en clenched her hands,
"But now, it has fallen into Reunion's hands, and has been tainted by conspiracy and warfare."

Most of them had families and people they had to protect too, who cares if Reunion was wronged in anyway when they themselves are in danger of losing what they love. How will Reunion bring salvation towards the Infected when all they have done is sow chaos, the Lungmenites that would have supported the eradication of such injustice but all sympathy they had was swiftly killed off.

"Some of you might see this as just another job. Some of you might be saddened, while others might be enraged."

Her comrades had a myriad of expressions in them, the rookies who were to prove themselves to the veterans that swore swift vengeance to the Reunion Movement. They will make great kindling to the fire in their hearts.

"No matter how you feel, we are the L.G.D. We aren't rioters, nor are we criminals." Ch'en's voice raised higher, "We will take back our headquarters, not necessarily for the sake of pride or justice."

The Infected are people she can sympathize with, the teddy bear that child gave her was still in her pocket. Nevertheless, Reunion was different. It was delusional of them to prop themselves up as the champion of the Infected.

Especially when the true champions are fighting the good fight somewhere she can't help them.

"We will do it because we are the L.G.D., and we will take back what belongs to us. That's the only reason we need." Ch'en raised her sword like a knight heading into battle, her visage and her determined gaze in turn raised her comrades' morale.

"Do not make Lungmen worry about us. Do I make myself clear?! "Every LGD member saluted on her command, "Obedience, diligence, and perseverance!"

The LGD roared with fervor as they prepared their formations, there was no doubt in their minds anymore.

"It's time." Ch'en looked beyond the building's horizon," Let us rid the L.G.D. Headquarters of Reunion!"

Hoshiguma gestured towards Ch'en after that speech, they were ready to advance to the next phase after three minutes so they have some time.

"Great speech."

"Heh." Ch'en chuckled, "You watch my left okay?"

"Sure, just watch my right."


0o0


Slash, Cut, Advance!

The outside of the stronghold that they have made was thick, full of nothing but soldiers and drones. However, Reunion was far from an indestructible object and the L.G.D was an unstoppable force in comparison.

"Take this!" Ho Cho, an L.G.D Vanguard screamed his halberd breaking two soldiers in twain.

Things were going well with the assault, the enemy like they don't have any brain cells left. They just keep on throwing themselves with the vague hope of subduing their siege.

It goes to say that so far it isn't working.

"Hyahhhhh" Hoshiguma grunted as she toppled a large Butcher with her shield, the flying foe crushed his comrades with all the mass his body armor gave him.

Breakers rushed towards them at a fast pace as their spec ops acted as their reinforcements, but all that did was put them closer to their swords and spells. One tried to shank Ch'en with a knife but it was sloppy, all Hubert was good for was running after all that's why he's in this core.

His moves in fighting were garbage, bad posture and overextended attacks. He thought he was safe from one slash just because he was a Voiuvre but never underestimate the elite.

"Guh!" Ch'en didn't even need to face him as he was cut down.

Several Junkmen were greeting them with Butchers to accompany them, these ones seem different as if they were glowing red.

"These guys are serious, they mean trouble if we drop our guard down." Hoshiguma and Ch'en thought at the same time, "Circle around them, don't engage on them all at once."

The L.G.D encircled them to fight around the risk.

The Veterans were in quite a conundrum, if they go all in and charge they would be easily overwhelmed by the L.G.D. As they were thinking of a counter-strategy the Junkmen with them were easily picked off by the L.G.D Snipers one by one.

"Where are our Snipers!" Weren't they supposed to be station on the L.G.D HQ's third floor?

"I lost contact of them." Another veteran butcher panicked as they fiddled with their communications.

"Damn it!" Was the leader's last word as a crossbow bolt penetrated him, the last thing he saw was a black Feline on the window.

As well as several defeated Reunion Snipers.


0o0


They expected a hollow greeting after Ch'en saw the two successfully fulfilling their infiltration goal but even this was unsettling. There was little if any enemy to be detained inside, the place was almost inviting in away. An L.G.D agent was unnerved by how easy it all it seem, the enemy squad was grossly unprepared, their weapons and equipment were all at such a poor condition that using them was dubious.

Aside from some of the enemy squadron's units most of them had little to none battle experience, they were more feral beasts than actual warriors and some of them shambled around the battlefield as if they were sleepwalking.

From what Ch'en and Hoshiguma knew about Infected, they have Originium growths in some cases but never have they seen somebody just having a small spire of Originium protruding on their backs.

"That isn't normal..." Ceylon muttered as she sent a picture of one of those soldiers to the head Medic.

The two were just ready to regroup with the Inspector on the floor below them until suddenly glass broke, surprising the duo.

"Grahhhh!" An abomination? No, as Schwarz hurriedly neutralized the thing before them; a horrific truth dawned on the scholar. Those growths were indeed abhorrent.

The creature quickly fell as its brains were crushed by Schwarz's bolt.

"You alright Schwarz?" Schwarz nodded, even though that little encounter had shaken for a bit. The thing she killed was like a beast but unlike the Shadows they fought before it had purpose, an order implanted in it.

She slew a husk, and that was a strange feeling.

Nevertheless, Reunion had no idea that they were there and that was enough solace for Ch'en to work on.

"At least they aren't a threat anymore." She mused yet she still gripped her sword's handle tightly, "We'll follow the plan for now, our non-combat personnel will scout out the distribution of Reunion on each floor and attempt to restart the security system." That shouldn't be too much of an issue given that Schwarz and Ceylon had probably cleaned the lower levels of Reunion.

"We'll rendezvous with the Rhodes Island support we have, then confirm the situation in the building." Ch'en continued, "Additionally, we'll have to prepare ourselves for a possible encirclement form the enemy."

"Understood."

"Focus on controlling the situation inside."

As they keep moving up, the combat squad reunited with the two. Ceylon and Schwarz looked like they had something to say.

"Miss Ch'en...look at this..." Schwarz urged them to follow her back, as they reached towards the point that Schwarz was referring to; dread slowly built up within them.

Schwarz showed the corpse of the Reunion soldier she just killed recently.

"What..."

"There's still Reunion Soldiers lurking here." Schwarz remarked, "Moreover, they're a diffrent kind of enemy. They lunged directly at me without care of their well-being...it might as well jumped at the end of my crossbow."

"We should exercise caution then." Hoshiguma pointed out, "We clearly know that they aren't above throwing their lives away...no matter how futile their efforts are."

The air was suddenly heavy, the darkness of the unknown was echoing in silence.

"In any case I believe we should head straight to the top as soon as possible." Hoshiguma said with a bit of forced vigor, "From what Xiao said to me, the temporary base they set up is on the rooftop."

The rooftop? That was strange for a base of operations to be in even for an impromptu one.

"This is obviously a trap..." Hoshiguma warned with Schwarz nodding firmly. There was no way that Reunion is that stupid even after the contrary.

This setting reeks of nothing but deception, Reunion deliberately hiding and lurking in the shadows of the headquarters even though they proclaimed that they secured Lungmen with confidence earlier.

Yeah, definitely a trap.

"It isn't like we have a choice on the matter." Ch'en pointed out, "Taking back this place would be like lighting up Lungmen's signal beacon." They'll make sure that Reunion watches as the L.G.D headquarters returns to its rightful owners.

"We ought to lead them all here then." Hoshiguma agreed, there was simply no way in turning back now, "We'll get ready, the recon and engineering squads should head up first yeah?"

"Right." Ch'en looked over the cavalry of Rhodes, "May I ask you two to ensure that they are safe?"

Ceylon nodded, smiling as Ch'en clearly showed faith in them once more.

"Of course, we'll make sure they're alright." The aristocrat looked at her sister, "Right Schwarz."

The black-haired Feline nodded as she quickly re-examined her equipment.

"Alright..." Ch'en took out a water bottle, "The combat squads still have a few moments to rest before the main operation begins, don't waste the smallest opportunity to create an advantage alright."

"Expect our foes to fight with the intent to kill."


0o0


The path they took was one that they rarely but are they now glad that it's there. The staircase went straight up to the rooftop of the building quite a handy design choice, though the superintendent loathed the man she could at least appreciate his foresight.

"You'll control the top floor with your vision advantage to cover me," Ch'en firmly said, "I'll head directly to the rooftop and rendezvous back when it's all over."

That declaration no doubt startled many of her comrades, especially Hoshiguma. This was just after she explicitly warned her about doing stupid stunts like this. Ch'en can deal punishment sure but she isn't built to take it the same way.

"Wait a moment, haven't I told you about this exact same thing Ch'en!"

Ch'en looked a bit ashamed of herself after bending Hoshiguma's good faith in front of her but she didn't falter on her decision.

"I'm not throwing my life away if that's what you're implying." Ch'en nevertheless looked at her right in the eye, "I have full confidence in each and everyone of you, however I might go all out on this battle, the most you can do to help me is to clear out all the Reunion rabble in this building and make sure that no one gets in my way."

Her partner tried to protest but upon seeing her hand skirting across her other sword, she withheld her words. Ch'en never did use that weapon during their years of service, not once did she swung that blade and yet she carried it anyway.

That crimson blade...

Like most things in the office there were many rumors surrounding that sword, they said it was an heirloom during the Superintendent's youth. Some say that this was her first blade back when Ch'en was a bit more ruthless, and the blood she let for Lungmen seeped into the steel itself.

But the truth that cannot be denied was that if Ch'en was gauging whether or not to use it on someone, that someone meant business.

"Alright we trust you Ch'en." Hoshiguma calmed down, "We won't get in your way so go get em, Lungmen is counting on you."

Before Ch'en went ahead she stopped to look at her comrades.

"Wrong, Lungmen is counting on us."

Hoshiguma smiled as their leader went up to the heavens itself to confront the demon lying in wait.


0o0


The sky was gray, like ash painted across the horizon. She was almost expecting a volcano to just blast through and incinerate this place with lava and asphalt. It was an omen of death but whose was the question.

The answer was when she heard soft clapping in the distance, she looked over to the Reunion commander awaiting her.

He was the only one besides her that was on top of the rooftop, a little boy with a manic grin on his face. Small burn marks decorated his pale skin, yet his attire only acted to make those wounds stand out. A twisted way of showcasing his medals of honor perhaps.

"Good evening Madam." He greeted with a mocking bow, "You've charged into my trap all alone, I wonder if you're just brave or stupid?"

"You have no where to run." Ch'en pointed her sword at the child.

Mephisto madly laughed, "Is that so? From my perspective madam, you are the one who has nowhere to run."

He snapped his fingers and soon an army surrounded Ch'en.

Even though she prepared for this situation, she felt a cold sweat run behind her back.

"My comrades will devour you."

Ch'en readied her stance, her eyes never betraying the determination they hold in them.

"Talk is cheap so show me what you got!" Ch'en shouted as she charged towards the horde, "You should have never set foot in here!"


0o0


Scattered corpses littered the rooftop, there were was no way that Ch'en could ever show them mercy. She cut through every single one of them, never letting up as she took the momentum with her like a bloodied storm.

The aftermath of course was one tired dragon lady.

Mephisto coughed hoarsely, his blood adding to the seeping crimson decorating the building.

"You're no match for me." That much was obvious, Mephisto is clearly a supportive unit in their ranks. As a commander himself he had no combat prowess whatsoever.

"You defeated all my comrades single-handedly?" He stated in mock surprise, "I should re-evaluate your abilities Madam."

"That's enough!" Ch'en had no more patience for this charade, people were hurt, buildings were destroyed, and Hoshiguma almost lost a friend.

All because of this stupid brat.

"Far from it I'm afraid." Mephisto still smiled through it all, "Give her the shakedown Faust."

Like a lightning strike, the top floor was shattered in an instant. Reunion snipers that came out of nowhere blasted her allies without a thought.

"Don't worry we're fine!" A voice from her comms shouted, it was Hoshiguma's voice. Her partner came through for them, "Ceylon and I managed to withstand them, although I don't think we can take another hit like that.

For Ch'en that's more than enough reassurance. Ch'en picked herself up and turned to face Mephisto, his air of confidence slowly faded.

"What! How did they withstood that!" He was surprised but no matter they were sitting ducks as he played around with their leader, "As long as they are preoccupied with our Snipers then they are as good as useless."

This Sniper however packed so much power in him, that was enough to raise an alarm within her. Yet, this boy looked familiar...then it clicked to her.

"Aren't you one of the Infected that we arrested?"

Faust did not answer her.

"Your bunch caused him a lot of grief that much is true...but that's nothing compared to what Ursus did to us." Mephisto answered for him, "Although your people are much too stalwart, he too was holding back. We'll spare your lives just this once so think of it as an act of kindness."

Mephisto looked happy to gloat about his comrade's escape his manic voice heightening to a crescendo of insanity.

"Right now the seeds of unrest have been sown within your group." He proclaimed, "It was due to your own organization's corruption and negligence that gave him the chance to cooperate with us."

This time it was Ch'en's turn to grin, "Scum, you really do know nothing about this world."

"Were you trying to say something profound?" Mephisto looked unamused.

"You really thought that we let him escape?"

"There were many Infected in the L.G.D at the time." He rebuked.

"Twenty-one." Ch'en made it a point to remember all the people she sent into prison and this operation made it all worthwhile, "Did you really think that at least four of them would side with you? With Reunion? What a laugh, even those four were set up by me. So what did you do after they got in contact with you? Did you lock them up?"

It took a lot of willpower for him to not screech at her sneer.

"Clever girl~" Mephisto wistfully praised, "Of course you know this too, she ran away."

"Then, do you understand? The situation you're in right now?" Ch'en taunted.

True, there was no way Mephisto could escape this. His forces are all but broken and their morale is the lowest it has ever been. Even if they can fight, they are hopelessly weak they could never hope to beat even a single L.G.D agent.

"Naturally I'm aware, are you happy now?" Mephisto mockingly asked, "Well then...come my guards. Rise."

Upon his command his comrades rose from their non-existent graves, it was a horrific sight to behold. Ebony crystals sprouting at an alarming rate, they stood up even though they looked to be in so much pain. It was disgusting as they groan and moan as they prepared to battle once more.

"The bits of Originium in them...are growing!?" Ch'en was horrified, such inhumane use of his comrades that even that bastard would be disgusted at the sight, "What did you do!?"

"The Originium in their bodies will pierce them and become their new form." Mephisto delightfully announced, "Behold their splendor, these are my guards...my immortal guards."

As soon as the first set of fallen rose, so to his elite guards followed. Horrifying couldn't even describe what she was witnessing, they stood their menacingly and one by one they assembled until...

His herd let out a silent roar.

"That's it. Take it all my herd, my comrades." Mephisto gathered energy within himself and blew a white powder like it was freshly fallen snow.

Powder snow? That was his ARTS?

"My comrades need healing, they need me." Mephisto was giddy at the thought as he continued providing the support his herd desperately needs.

"All squads be on high alert!" Ch'en alarmed the rest of her comrades, "The enemy commander is casting wide-range ARTS using some kind of powder."

"Ah don't worry this doesn't concern you," Mephisto carelessly warned, "You are not my comrade after all."

The dust that the herd absorbed from Mephisto was unlike any healing ARTS she had ever seen but as soon as the resurrected horde screeched in a state of manic frenzy she knew that this is going to be a fight of her life.

Are they even alive?

Can they even feel anymore?

"BlOoD! BloOd! I nEEEED bLood!" That thing then shrilly roared until blood came out of its mouth.

"Quiet now." Mephisto hushed like a parent to his child.

"Ch'en this is bad..." Hoshiguma relayed, "The defeated members turned into these hulking monstrosities after coming into contact with that powder."

"They started attacking us again!" Schwarz shouted to Ch'en as well, "If this keeps up, they'll break through our line of defense!"

Ch'en narrowed her eyes at how dire this situation had become, "Just how many of them have transformed!?"

"All of them!" Ceylon shouted as she powered through with her trident.

Mephisto just stood there admiring his handiwork, "They are my herd as well as my brethren...G7, G6."

The herd then followed his command, as if they were nothing but chess pieces to be ordered around all for the sake of victory.

"How could you call them your brethren when you just keep manipulating them like puppets? Ch'en questioned, there was no sword big enough to cut this piece of garbage in twain, "Can they even feel pain, do they even have souls!?"

"It doesn't matter." Mephisto rebutted as he kept blowing his dust to the wind, "I will take away all their pain, they will never fall."

Mephisto watched her comrades helplessly fought at an unbeatable opponent, not because they were strong but because they never die.

"Besides, we are all willing to become anything for the greater good." He wasn't ashamed of this monstrous act and in fact relished in their struggle, "We cannot be free without staining ourselves with blood, without being something more than what we are."

"Thus, such trivial things are to be excised. We only learned this truth from all of you...we were so trivial as well. This is your justice too, no?" If the soul ebbs pain, it shall be removed, if the body feels aching then that feeling should be gone.

They cannot do good if they hesitate.

"If this is what you call the greater good then we'll be the evil that will cut you down!"

Mephisto just smiled at the threat, only content at observing Ch'en like she was a prospect to invest in. She was driven after all, the will to get things done, a strong piece that he cannot help but drawn towards. The dragon of the L.G.D had a familiar feeling to him, one that he cannot point out just yet.

"Chew on this!" Schwarz had a chance to take the shot, this will pierce through the enemy commander. If they go down, then in theory every other unit powered by that strange ARTS will fall like a pile of dominoes.

Alas, even their self-preservation instincts were eroded into nothing.

The explosion of her concentrated ARTS left the herd unscathed, or rather the damage was irrelevant in retrospect. Schwarz was one of Rhodes' new yet strongest Snipers, however in terms of ARTS her power couldn't overcome Mephisto's sustainability.

"Too bad, as strong as you are you cannot defeat the my guards." Mephisto only laughed at the L.G.D's futile efforts, "You lot have more pressing matters to attend to right? Wounds heal, flesh hardens, and life returns. Your weapons cannot hurt them, after all we prepared it all for you."

"You prepared for this then!?" Overhearing his proclamation, Ceylon gritted her teeth as a rising tide of water rise from the building, "Guard my rear, we'll flush them out from the front."

The water crashed and broke the windows of the floor, her goal wasn't to kill or to defeat them. All it would do is push the herd off the building and try as they might, even these monsters don't have the coordination to prevent their fall.

"What!?" Mephisto was shocked at how easily his herd was beaten there, "No matter, my herd is busy dealing with the rest of your squads by now and even a strong chess piece is nothing if it's position is subpar."

"The same could be said for you!" Ch'en quickly swung her blade at the commander, only missing the boy by an inch, the second attack landed but it only sliced through his arm.

If he was a second late in evading her quick strikes, he would be cut in two.

"I would love to discuss some things with you without the need for violence..." Mephisto grimaced as Ch'en repelled two of the revived herd attempting to restrain her, "But it appears that I have to say my piece while entertaining your desire to cut me down."

He had prepared a long monologue about how great his comrades are and how they would take away all the pain that the Infected had endured up until now. Ah well, her sheer strength forced him to be the one making decisions now. Mephisto felt a frustrating sense of irony as he was about to gloat about that very same thing.

If only that water ARTS user wasn't in the picture.

"How about I just kill you right now!" The dragon lady slashed once more, her eyes might as well been glowing with hatred. She had no patience over this deluded child's rhetoric anymore, he dare treat this battle as nothing but a farce!?

If this kid was willing to die for their vision then she'll give him that death he craved. She won't make it quick if she could help it.

Her sword pierce through something alright but it was just the body of another Reunion goon.

"You're quick alright..." Mephisto leaned his head a little, while Ch'en was preoccupied with dealing with this meat shield of his that second was not gone to waste as within that second...

An arrow collided with steel.

"She deflected it with her blade?" The silent Faust was surprised at how tenacious and skilled who they're up against truly is.

As he was about to fire another shot at Ch'en he suddenly changed his aim, in order to intercept another bolt of ebony darting its way to Mephisto.

"You're not the only Infected here buddy!" Schwarz announced as she and her sister were behind Ch'en.

"What are you doing here!?" Ch'en asked harshly, "You're supposed to assist in-"

"Hoshiguma asked us to help you while they mobilized to assist the other squads." Ceylon explained, "They're luring out the enemy so less of them would be here."


Flashback


Hoshiguma breathed a sigh of relief as the water Ceylon blasted them with subsided. The Oni looked up to the rooftop, seeing Ch'en struggled with her opposition. They must be trying to coax her out of something or break her last, the commander upstairs seemed like the type to dominate over his opponents.

A kind that she was familiar with all to well.

Faust, the kid they arrested seemed to be pretty powerful. The snake kid was able to charge his shots to the point that Ch'en would find it difficult if she was in a lesser state. As much as she wanted to help Ch'en, the kid was undeniably faster and trickier to fight. The herd upstairs would make intervening difficult if it's all of them.

Ceylon herself looked pretty winded after casting that massive water ARTS, that familiar of hers disappeared with a gracefulness rivaling that of a queen.

"Wow...that was the first time I used that spell..." Ceylon muttered, immediately frisking her bag for one of her Sanity Potions. It was a weaker variant of the drug that the Doctor would usually intake but since it was easier to manufacture to the few Persona Users in the Ark there was merit to continue their production.

Aquadyne took too much from her after slinging Malaques and Aques spells like crazy after all.

"Madam Hoshiguma, all other squads are being pushed back by the horde made by that strange powder! What should we do now?" An L.G.D agent quickly ran up to her.

She wanted to follow up with Ch'en but she had to admit that she could get past that seemingly immortal horde that Mephisto had made, she already used up all the "party favors" that the Doctor generously gave them even in his absence. She couldn't ask Ceylon to do that again at the top given that attack drained of much already.

Hoshiguma didn't like choosing between friends and comrades but there was no time! So she rushed towards Schwarz and Ceylon clasping her hands to ask for a favor.

"Please! Assist Ch'en in my stead!"

The two sisters looked at her in confusion like the Oni said something strange.

"Uh...weren't we already supposed to do that?" Ceylon quizzically asked.

"Huh!?" Hoshiguma was expected more hesitance given that Ceylon gave her all in that attack and is now recuperating, "Aren't you drained, your not even the least bit tired?"

"Oh! Sure it was exhausting using that spell but it's nothing I won't bounce back from." Ceylon answered with a smile, "Although, I cannot understand why you asked that given that you misinterpreted my situation; the concern is welcome however."

"Oh, it's just every single one of the squads are having trouble repelling the resurrected Reunion." It was now her turn to be a bit confused, "I didn't want to abandon her too so I even if it compromises my-"

"Then go." Schwarz sighed, although that really just her way of expressing her understanding towards the Oni's plight, "We'll protect her in your stead, and don't mention it. A friend of the Doctor's is also a friend in our books."

"Even though she left them in Chernobog?"

"Like I said before, we don't blame you or her for choosing between them or your people." Ceylon answered, "I also have faith in them, I'm sure that he has a grand entrance prepared."


End


"She did what!" Although Ch'en was honestly relieved, she was going to ask them to focus more on their safety than supporting her.

"The quicker we deal with these lunatics the sooner Miss Hoshiguma and the others can stop stalling the enemy." Schwarz pointed out, "Besides, they have a Sniper on their side so why shouldn't you?"

Mephisto and Faust narrowed their eyes at the newcomers, they must be the sources of the strange attacks that they had witnessed. The Feline was obviously strong and experienced in battle, she said that she was Infected? To think that his own trump card backfired this quickly...Rhodes truly is a fearsome opponent.

The Liberi girl with them however, if she was the source of the water ARTS that flushed out his herd. Then she must be the frailest of them all, if she is taken down then Rhodes loses one of its valuable Operators and the current counter to his herd's power will be taken care of.

"Faust!" He didn't need a verbal command to understand what Mephisto wanted to happen, Faust suddenly disappeared and reappeared; ready to take aim.

His bolt was easily blocked however, by the strangest weapon they had ever seen.

A trident made of water.

"Interesting...I know for a fact that the L.G.D doesn't have anyone that can do that..." Mephisto grinned in intrigue, "Rhodes really assisted you after you abandoned their leaders?"

Ch'en gritted her teeth as Mephisto rubbed that blemish on her spirit in her face. Ceylon and Schwarz narrowed their eyes at the kid, knowing how it affected Ch'en even if she denied that.

"I touched a nerve haven't I?" His reply was in the form of another attempt on his life, one that his comrade took for him by force.

"That black-haired kid has a good read on my movements." Ch'en observed the snake Sniper like a hunter observing really annoying prey,"Looks like their plan was to harass me with sniper shots, and then predict my movements while blocking me off. Although now that Schwarz and Ceylon are here, their attention will be divided."

Ceylon being here was actually quite powerful now that she though about it, the power that those three shared was able to repel Reunion consistently. They could even inspire fear from what she saw during that retrieval mission a few weeks ago.

Mephisto not knowing that fact is a deadly trump card that she now has.

From what it looked like, Ceylon knew of this too maybe that's why she's holding back her power until the time was right.

Schwarz on the other hand has the skill and finesse that was able to make quick work of dozens of Reunion soldiers without breaking a sweat, dealing with these mindless drones is more of an annoyance to her rather than attrition. She also has Faust in check, they might as well be equals in terms of the power of the ARTS that they imbue their shots with.

The difference was Schwarz had years of experience under her, she can literally live circles around this kid.

"I'll admit you really caught me off-guard with your new allies...but I'm willing to account for that too." Mephisto's cockiness rang hollow for them now, yet he still continued, "So what's it going to be? Spikes? Sharp Arrows? I'm willing to take us both down by shooting the building's foundation with explosive bolts. Although I'm pretty sure I can survive the collapse if I place my comrades right."

Barring the Infected Feline, the two of them should be exhausted or reaching that point by now. The Liberi wasn't using her strong water ARTS anymore, choosing to preserve her strength by making an admittedly strong if not unconventional weapon.

What's the cat going to do even if she survives through it all? Tear through his herd fruitlessly as she too joins the crowd when she falls?

"Looks like you really did came prepared." Ch'en had to give the kid this one, for his youth and inexperienced this was not a bad ploy, However...

"But when a chess-master finishes his preparations, he's assuming that his opponent will be playing the other color." Ch'en can finally stop playing possum for once, she rose from her exhausted state fully refreshed from a long battle's work.

Mephisto on the other hand was confused, the white powder that he generously gave to his comrades was being absorbed by the dragon lady? How could this be, she isn't an...

"I see..." Then it clicked, it was all making sense now.

"I'll admit I'm not the type to orchestrate a singular outcome, I'm just prepared for everything that comes my way." Whether it was towards video games or her line of work, she preferred to react to her opponents. All of them had a weakness after all, and as an Inspector she will look at them and spot the weak point rearing it's bright-red head, "Your game board cannot contain me brat, I- no, we're not pieces on your sick game!"

Rising energy coursed through her as she remembered what she was fighting for. The ruined city, the people she left behind, the people at the slums hoping for a better tomorrow...

"You won't feel love from me...just looking at you makes me want to tear of my skin!"

"Don't push yourself too hard alright? We can't have you like this."

"I'm sorry, maybe I'm being selfish...but I can't take this anymore."

"Hey, Ch'en you free this week? I want to go shopping at Paci this Tuesday."

"This is just how it is, I hate you, you hate me."

"We're counting on you Madam Ch'en!"

"You better live through this you idiot!"

"The only thing worth fighting for is your survival."

"You're our friend Ch'en."

She looked at the plush bear in her pocket as a last reminder.

"I am Ch'en Hui-Chieh, the leader of the L.G.D and I am a blade of LUNGMEN!"

Time seemed to stop still once more as soon as Ch'en's proclamation was done, an intense aching soon followed.

"Guh!" Ch'en started to convulse as she dropped her blade, Mephisto didn't know what to make of what's happening after that confident declaration she just...self-destructed?

Nevertheless now was the time to capitalize on the addled blade of Lungmen, Faust aimed toward her calves to disable her, she won't die from blood loss since Mephisto could just heal her knowing what he knew.

But the arrows never met their target, they were blocked by an invisible force that they could not perceive.

"No! No way...not this again!" Mephisto's mind recalled the last time such an anomaly happened, "Kill her Faust! I don't care anymore! JUST END HER!"

Two charged bolts whistled towards Ch'en still suffering from a deep pain in her mind.

Again it was futile.

I have heard your proclamation young whelp.

You have finally understood what you wish to protect.
The strength nor the results you seek cannot be attained by mindless servitude.

You made it clear that you are no pawn of anyone.

"What is this...what's happening?" Ch'en's eyes expanded as her now vacant arm has a syringe gun in its place, her sword was just piece of steel on the ground now.

Words are cheap however.
Prove to me your willingness to assert your freedom.

This sickness within you, the arbitrary rules that you follow so deeply so devoted you are that you FORSAKE your friends, your ideals, and even this very land itself.

Take the plunge and you will never have to choose between those things ANYMORE!

Those booming words were like music to her, never again will she be limited by such asinine things. She's is Lungmen's blade, she protects Lungmen; the people. Blades do not discriminate, they just cut anything that stands before them, stands to take everything this blade holds so dear.

There was no debating on this one.

As the liquid within the syringe gun entered her bloodstream all she could feel is the most excruciating pain in the world. Her brain couldn't close itself in a panic and she couldn't even die to save herself from this hell and as she experiences this the world from outside tried to kill her too.

Faust fired every single shot that he could make while Mephisto ordered every single one of his legion to tear her apart.

Schwarz was subduing the ones that were close while Ceylon smiled as she witnessed the show. Did she experienced the same thing as her? She endured such pain?

Excellent! Truly marvelous.

A guardian does not need to wear shackles around them.

How can anyone protect their land when they are too busy worrying about meaningless things?
You know what is right, you can see how each and every one of these fools are blind to the bigger problem.

You are no puppet, nor are you a robot.
You control your FATE!

"Haaah ha..." Ch'en slowly rise up from her sorry state, her discarded sword flung itself to her hand. Her voice trembling as a Jing mask crossed with a Yen dragon mysteriously appeared on her face.

Remember this day fondly whelp, as from here on out you are a real DRAGON!

"QING-LONG!"

Lightning struck her form with a loud crescendo, thunder rumbled as the crackle was so loud that it bordered on deafening. The phenomenon was strange, how could there be lightning when there was no storm to begin with?

What shocked them even more was that Ch'en stood there facing them, fully invigorated by the lightning strike it appeared. However, that wasn't the weirdest thing here.

No, it was the giant humanoid looking dragon behind her.

I am thou, thou art I!
We are no sacrificial lamb, nor are we sheep.
We will protect this land in our way, how the people wish it so.
That is why we will descend from the sky and roar!

"I wholeheartedly agree to what you are saying..." Ch'en's gaze sharpened, her eyes glinted like that of a real dragon.

"I guess...the right phrase for that is what I'm saying." The leader of the finest security force of Terra chuckled at the joke, "I can feel the fear coursing through your veins Reunion...this power was what made you turn tail from Rhodes at Chernobog right?"

Mephisto looked both petrified and enraged at the same time.

"You're one of us now Ch'en congratulations." Ceylon cheered as she too brought her own, there was no reason to hide it any longer after all.

"That Liberi has one of those too!?" Both Faust and Mephisto paled at the sight of two Personas, "No matter, they're are strong but my herd is immortal...they can never die."

He would soon eat his words as lightning crashed down on the horde, paralyzing them in an instant.

"Your herd cannot die and now...cannot move." Ch'en lazily walked towards Mephisto, the ingrate can feel himself shrink with each step, "Guess that's checkmate, if we are actually playing the same game here."

"You really love chess huh? To the point that you didn't realize from where I'm standing, I'm playing an RPG." She could feel power surge with every word she spoke, "You have one last chance to surrender, squander it and you won't like the results."

"Quite cocky are we?" Mephisto feigned confidence, "That little jolt is not enough to fully sedate them, come my comrades we now truly have a worthy opponent. Show her the power of our camaraderie."

White powder descended once more like freshly fallen snow, enraging the herd that Ch'en and the others are currently facing. Yet as they rushed towards Ch'en once more, a bolt of lightning descended once more.

"I could do this all day, your ARTS is going to lose its luster after a while." The sparks of Zionga decorated the rooftop like little stars.

"I could say the same to you, that new electricity ARTS of yours isn't going to last forever."

"Then I guess I have to make sure it doesn't reach that point!"

Ch'en charged once more like a flash of lightning, a swipe cut through air and another block by an arrow. If Faust hadn't adjusted his firing speed preemptively, his friend would be scattered across the LGD building.

The other two didn't want to be there just to be forgotten so they threw a powerful bolt of ARTS along with some water for good measure.

"This is absurd!" Mephisto finally broke as his herd as paralyzed once more, "If this is what it takes then-"

Before he could finish his words his face almost met the end of Ch'en's blade. There was no hesitation in her eyes, if he died here he will truly be nothing. He and his comrades will perish without a memory or any honor to their name.

If he only had that power.

The power that these cretins had. Why does he and his comrades who were out here fighting the injustices his people had endured being faced by arbiters every single time? Why does every move he make somehow a thing that they already accounted for beforehand?

"You're frustrated aren't you Mephisto?" Ceylon wistfully smiled, she already was briefed about each Reunion leader they knew beforehand after all. Faust, the camouflaging Sniper, Crownslayer, the infiltration specialist who had trouble fighting against water and anything that redirects her, Talulah, their leader, and finally Mephisto, the psychotic child commander.

"I can tell from your face, you look like a child that is annoyed that nothing is going his way." Mephisto seethed at the Liberi, "You didn't really expect that we wouldn't fight without some sort of ace in the hole?"

It was rhetorical, Ceylon charged towards Faust to keep him occupied unable to support the pale bird. Faust wasn't that adapt in fighting at this distance and with Ceylon's reach it was a crapshoot to counterattack.

"This is bad!" Faust blocked a slash from her water trident with his crossbow, then jumped back to avoid a ARTS bolt from the Feline behind them.

"Faust!" Mephisto left his gaze as he called for more of his troops to assemble at the tower, using the time the meat barrier gave him to spread more powder. Who cares if they got him outnumbered all he had to do was call for more backup right.

No matter what happens, they cannot be hurt. He will take away all their pain, their fear, and their sorrow. All they had to do was obtain victory for him and their comrades.

All atop a mountain of corpses and a sky set on fire.

"You're still insistent on being a pawn up until the end!?" Mephisto couldn't believe what's happening, his kin once more raising his sword, kin that had the potential to help them sever their chains, "Even if you win what then? They will still discard you until they grew tired of you!"

"You know this more than anyone Madam!"

Words fell on deaf ears as the thunder that accompanied her blocked out the noise, more of his herd spurt out to guard their leader but all of them were struck down.

She was like the lightning, the rain transformed.

"We will give you a chance, the one Lungmen will never give you!" Mephisto tried to bargain as he desperately protected himself from the raging dragon's blade.

His answer was another lightning bolt going straight through a paralyzed enemy.

I don't care what you have to say.

There is nothing that you can ever give me that I already have.

You don't understand Reunion...

I chose to be on this path.

I'm on no one's side but my own!

Faust tried to intercept once more even though he was aware of the strength of these kinds of ARTS. He took on a pulse of water, a strike of lightning and parried a blade powered by the same energy.

The snake soldier coughed out a bit of blood as the wings of his crossbow were cut cleanly by the sword.

"You didn't hear a word I said..."

"Faust!" Time seemed to slow down as Mephisto cried out his name. No amount of tactics can counter the strongest form of ARTS that they have fought against. There was no winning in a game with such disparity.

But to Ch'en this was no game.

"Chi Xiao! UNSHEATHE!" This set of words however, she will carve through their skulls.

Persona and Mystic Sword joined in unison to slice through the Sniper, the yellow bolts of lightning only served to glisten the irradiated red of the other sword in her hip.

"Guards! Form a line! STOP HER!" There were did as they were told, even though they had suffered the pain of multiple deaths in minutes.

As Ch'en was about to land her blow, there was slight hesitation in her blade. Not in her swing, the actual blade itself.

"No, why now of all times?" Even so! Ch'en continued her attack unconsciously imbuing her other weapon with her Persona's power. Noticing the chance, Faust did not hesitate to unleash their full arsenal.

Just this once! Follow my will!

The red light burst through once more with a sharper color, Ceylon and Schwarz were at awe at the light her sword was producing. Her crimson blade sliced through all of the guards, its lethal cannot be underestimated her two allies evaded her attack lest they be affected too.

"Amazing!" Ceylon exclaimed but she did not let up as she fired two more Aques spells towards the enemy.

"If it weren't for this new power I wouldn't be able to use this blade..."

As amazing as that attack was that irreparably destroyed most of Mephisto's herd, it too took a lot out of her and her Persona. Qing-Long was on the verge of vanishing, if it weren't for her undying will to defeat this monstrous brat she would have long since collapsed from the fatigue.

"It's just like our leader said..." Mephisto could laugh at this display as he too was feeling the fatigue of this battle, "It isn't that you won't unsheathe that blade, it it because you couldn't..."

"If it weren't for that strange power of yours that is...but even that seems to expend most of your strength." Ch'en gritted her teeth as she can slowly feel every injury creep in her body.

Broken ribs, pierced flesh, fragments of glass sticking out and digging into her skin.

"What did you say!?" Ch'en still found the strength to be outraged, "Who told you-"

"You know this name, that blade isn't meant to cut us down. Hence, that is why it almost failed there." Mephisto wheezed out his system, the other three wisely stopped fighting as for Rhodes Island this would lead to some valuable intel and for Faust that means he can spend a few moments resting and trying to find a way out of this mess.

"It's hilarious that you disrupted its mechanism because of your recklessness, coming to that power of yours was a blessing in more ways than one it seems."

"You're wasting breath."

"Speaking of that power, I cannot comprehend how you people can just fish out strange abilities out of nowhere..." Mephisto ruefully said, everything he said next was full of poison, "We too were push to the brink, we wanted to defy the odds but to no avail. No power heed our cries, not a single one of us could be like you all."

"What's the point of this?"

"I'm merely asking a simple question...what makes us different?"

Ch'en couldn't answer that question, how could she? Barring the madman gripping his bearings the rest of Reunion had really nowhere else to go. They wanted to defy the stigma grafted onto their fates, to tear down the wall that stopped them from gaining their right to exist. All of them had a right to live like a normal person after all.

Who were they to condemn them?

"You don't know the answer either...shame." Mephisto somberly said, "I'll give you one last chance, join us and I'll call off all the others. We both know how are people are being treated, we can work towards the greater good together."

Now Ch'en had an answer to that.

A mouthful of blood spat towards the mad child.

"Like hell would I side with you fools, causing wreckage, killing innocents...is the mark of a hero?" Ch'en countered standing up with her sword, "You expect me to join you after saying that pile of garbage?"

"Some sacrifices had to be made-"

"Sacrifices!?" Ceylon shouted in outrage, "You enjoyed every single opportunity to wreak havoc, sacrifices are made with regret and stone-cold execution. Don't you dare call your careless collateral "sacrifices" when you attack and execute innocents with glee."

"That's just a matter of perspective isn't it? Are they truly innocent?" Mephisto smiled wistfully, "There comes a time where you might as well have been complicit when you have done nothing to stop such injustice."

Yet such words were something Schwarz, an Infected heard from Mephisto's mouth. If such a thing was truly feasible, you would think that something would have been done a long time ago? Reality always proves otherwise.

"Do you really think that applies to this situation in particular?" Schwarz now was the one who questioned the boy, "Do you have any idea as to how high the ceiling you're climbing towards actually is? Did you really think that hatred towards us, The Infected, was done spontaneously?"

As far as she knew, some regions of Terra don't even know what most people call the disease actually is called. Rock disease, curse of stone, yet even though they are aware of the effects of this ailment they never persecuted others because of it. They kept their precautions as best as they can, and as a result they managed to live normal lives.

At least that's what Gavial told them about her homeland of Sargon.

However, that little anecdote was enough to knock the child of his high horse.

"Kuh!" Mephisto couldn't counter the Feline's words but still there was fiery rage within him, "You don't know what we experienced Rhodes Islander! We did not have the luxury of salvation from that hypocritical organization of yours."

"Oh! I do know what you experienced Reunion!" Schwarz countered easily, "I bled and fought for my sake many times and yet I was only disgusted by my actions, yet you dare lecture me when you live for the havoc and mayhem you wrought!?"

"Many people like to justify their atrocities for the sake of a greater good, that doesn't discount the horrors of their totalitarian ways." Ceylon and Schwarz knew firsthand what they were talking about, the thing before is similar to Cronin, maybe even similar to her father.

However, her old man did not enjoy or relished in what he had to do. Ceylon could see now that remorse and disgust was always present in his face even in her childhood. Now she understands that it was the simple price of getting things done, was it moral? No, but there are times where you have to put your morality aside in order to see your vision. It's when you start to get a taste for these crimes that you would actively seek out the most destructive path is where you become a demon.

"See, even these two you aren't personally invested in this conflict can see your bullshit." Ch'en could laugh if she still had the strength, Qing-Long was the only thing keeping her going at this point. Her very soul made manifest cradling the newborn dragon, "How can anyone side with you now? Declaring war on Lungmen marks the end of your little group."

"Even if you win, which fat chance by the way, what will you do next?" It was now Ch'en's turn to fight in the verbal arena, "Victoria, Laterano, and other major powers in Terra will not standby idly as news of a strong mobile city falling to the Infected makes way."

"The Infected in those lands will be persecuted in fear, and may even die. Safe havens like Columbia might even restrict the Infected as a result, I'm no politician but even an idiot like me can see where the dominoes fall." Ch'en looked satisfied as Mephisto's face got redder and redder in rage, "In the end it's either you win now and die all the same or you getting crushed now, the only thing you have done is march towards the end of your brethren."

"It's all speculation, you have no pro-"

"Proof?" Ceylon asked quizzically, "It's right in front of you. You had to resort to using all your cards just to secure one measly building. Even then we could as easily kill you where you stand, Madam Ch'en might die but that's a sacrifice she's willing to make."

"You're bluffing." Faust spoke to them for the first time.

"Look into my eyes and tell her that she's bluffing." Ch'en dared the two with a fiery glare even at her weakened state.

There was tension that can cut a loaf of bread, as the battle around raged on the rooftop was suddenly filled with a deep silence.

Mephisto and Faust knew that they were both outmatched, the only way they could get out here alive is by running away. They others were too far and he can call in diversions to delay them.

However with such a verbal beatdown there was no way he could run. His ideals were being contested as wrong and evil to the point of just being pointless and wasteful, they dare call his efforts a waste? He and his colleagues suffering was labeled pointless by haughty people who haven't experienced the pain he endured?

There is no way that he'll run away with his tail tuck between his legs. He was no longer a bird with clipped wings.

"END THEM!" With the last of his strength he revitalized all the goons on the rooftop, they were many in mass and in variety. From shields to swords, it would be difficult even for the three of them to counter his last throes of defiance.

His delusional outrage gave enough time for Faust to do his job once more, he aimed for Ceylon once more this time with more power than he thinks would kill her.

Eyes blackened as terror rises.

Yet as the black bolt full of his desperation flew towards the Siestian noble, the air suddenly got colder.

As tears dry, she weeps in silence.

Black lines called forth black bolts of energy, the cursed energy descending to ironically, rid them of another curse.

"Oh no..."

Then suddenly, ice blasted down to the sky; like a hail-Mary across the radius of approximately a football field. The icicles rained down with such precision that it can be likened to a dozen or so precise sniper shots. It was only through [Honed Accuracy] that this feat was possible.

There was no pause to the surprises however, from the sky then descended the stuff that plague their nightmares.

"No...no no no no no..." Any semblance of confidence and defiance that Mephisto had was shattered like a poor mirror.

"And here I thought that surge of power was familiar..." The man sighed, a hint of pride laced in his words, "Congratulations by the way...Ch'en."

Ch'en's eyes bulged whether in relief or in happiness as her worst fears eroded one by one. She finally stood as her wounds were healed and her energy returning to her, morale at an all time high.

"Uughhh..." Mephisto's herd groaned as if they can feel pain, feel grief.

"What's going on?" Mephisto asked in panic, "My ARTS should have removed their emotions, so why? Why are they acting like they are grieving!? Answer me! Rabbit of Rhodes Island."

Amiya did not reply, he was not worth the words she speak.

"How disgusting." The Doctor sighed, "You cannot excise emotions like a bad tumor, you whose mission was one of outrage and hatred should know this better than anyone else."

Mephisto gritted his teeth, desperately calling for his comrades to rise.

Yet no one came, how could they? They were the dead and dying acting on borrowed time, they are nothing but puppets on strings or pieces on a board. However all of it was useless when someone cuts the strings or flips the table.

The adults around him are not interested in entertaining this child with his(?) little game.

And that irritated him to no end.

"I can only hold them for fifteen seconds Doctor, Blaze." Amiya relayed to the two.

The Doctor nodded as he called out his mask once more, the Reunion members braced themselves as they were ready for winter this time.

But the cold never came.

"Ifreet! Maragion!" It was instead a blazing inferno.

Blaze was surprised at the change of element that the Doctor somehow can do but there was no time to question it, she raised her tactical chainsaw to the ground before letting her rip. Even if it costs the LGD their turf she had to pin the stragglers somehow.

The concrete below gave way to the combined ARTS and power of her chainsaw, creating a concerto of debris that pinned the herd like the animals they are.

The Doctor only used that fire as a diversion however, if his theory hold true then this would be the blade that severs Mephisto's strings once and for all.

"Amiya, do it again!"

"On it."

Mephisto tried his best to make them evade the incoming bolts of darkness, but to no avail. They writhed in grief once more, psychosis rendering them unable to mobilize what their commander ordered them to do.

"You-"

The Doctor did not spare a moment to look at his anguished visage, only drawing sword as a way to protect himself. On his off-hand he called forth a mask, the very essence of who is he, and crushed it into a million pieces of stardust.

Instead of the devil, there was a goddess.

"Mapsio!" As he commanded the deity, dozens of small psychedelic orbs surrounded the addled herd. Each one penetrated their flesh in one swift motion, their brains or whatever is left of it broken beyond the limits of what Mephisto can fix.

"No...it can't be!" He sputtered, his footsteps nearing the edge of the building. He was absolutely cornered this time, no moves, no hidden tricks left. Fear, the one emotion that he used to have define his existence was now biting back, stronger than ever.

Then suddenly more shots came from all around, yet they proved useless as they missed their targets.

"You used your ARTS to adjust their trajectories!?" Faust accused Blaze, who smiled innocently.

"Clever, you already saw through my trick but-" Blaze slashed a bit of her skin, drawing blood and threw her own bleeding in a wave.

Then suddenly all of it erupted into flames, hitting unknown targets.

"She used her blood as an incendiary?" This kind of ARTS was insane, even a little drop of it was able to break through their defenses?

But Blaze smirked, knowing that her opponent was busy comprehending her ability. That was the first misconception about her ARTS, that she can only set fire to things and only preferred to use her blood as makeshift fuel.

Her blood isn't a conduit for incineration like alcohol and the like.

Her blood is the incendiary.

"Faust, our cover is blown!" One of his phantom crossbowmen shouted to him, as the were busy evading the attacks of the Doctor; nearly inches away from having their brains blasted.

"Drat!" Faust narrowed his eyes as he was grazed by an icicle, "Retreat! All of you!"

"You sure?" Another asked as they were shot at the leg by Schwarz, "We can still-"

"There's nothing to gain if we keep fighting!" Faust gritted his teeth as his skin was scratched by a chainsaw, narrowly slicing his leg off.

"Come on, Mephisto we have to-"

Faust looked away as Mephisto kept on issuing commands to his slowly toppling horde of barely alive troops. His frantic commands being done with little to no rhyme or reason, he was doing the tactical equivalent of flailing around and hoping for the best. But they both knew at this point...

They had no hope of winning at all.

"Are you really that adamant on making Reunion your enemy!? Rhodes!?" Yet he still bit back, his words hold no weight and he too knew this.

Amiya looked at him dead in the eyes, her gaze had little care hidden behind it.

"You made us your enemy, the moment you tried to take what was precious to us." Mephisto did not understand it at first until he looked back at what she meant.

Then it dawned on him.

All of this was because of that man, the one they tried to take for themselves.

"You...you were supposed to be on our side..." Mephisto whimpered, "You were supposed to lead us all to salvation! You were the legend we were supposed to awaken, you who lead demons once!"

He who lead demons once? What did that mean? Why did that phrase sound so familiar?


Mephisto was quite ecstatic when Talulah asked for his presence alone before the mission. He almost couldn't control himself but he did so for his beloved big sister.

"You wanted to see me?" Mephisto's maddened eyes gleamed with anticipation as Talulah gestured for him to have a seat.

"Quite, As you know I have a special mission for you. If you succeed in this, the future of the Infected is all but secured."

For a young child's ego that sent him over the moon, a mission that will dictate the bright future ahead of them? Surely that would be something of dire importance.

"In this specific area, there is someone valuable." Talulah produced a map and marking of where, "Your mission is to extract this fellow and bring him back to us."

"I see...so does he possess a cataclysmic power?"

"Something of that sort." Talulah coyly answered, "His extraction takes credence over everything, even my safety or the takeover of Chernobog."

Now that was a compromise Mephisto couldn't imagine he could do. Sacrificing the prospect of taking Chernobog is hard but doable but forsaking their leader, their hope? Why would he do that?

"I see your hesitation, it's quite understandable to those who do not know." Talulah lowered their gaze.

"Is that man really that important?"

"Indeed." Talulah said without a doubt in their mind, "He is undeniably more capable than I. At least on what we are currently doing."

"What can he do?"

"Guide us."

"Guide?" Mephisto was unsure, it was probably the first time where he doubted his big sis.

"Don't underestimated the value of guidance, he has the power to conquer and win. He was able to guide a fledgling group into the storm know as the Kazdel War, well it was more like play through the war." Talulah said as if the feat was normal for the man in question, "Winning and breathing were the same thing to him, from what I've heard."

Mephisto's eyes bulged, the Kazdel War was quite the event from what other Sarkaz told them. Some of the Infected that joined them shivered at the thought of fighting the opposing side again. Even the mercenary W couldn't help but break out of her usual devil-may-care attitude at the mention of it. The Patriot too was unnerved at the very mention of the event, as if every Sarkaz on Terra that he knew of had that war as a nexus point, a collective fear of such a battle.

Even a child like him knew how powerful one must be if they could obtain victory that easily, if somebody gave that man an army, he would easily take down a nation.

That man must join them.

They will give their lives so that he would give them the world.

"I see...then..."

His former home forsaken him, no doubt he was feeling used after being imprisoned for so long. They betrayed this man because of his strength.


"Hey, what do you mean!?" The Doctor demanded an answer, this boy knew about his past? How? But if this boy had answers that he needed then...

Guide demons? Ch'en was confused at what he meant, was it a trick? By the way the Doctor acted it was something of importance to him. Yet all of them were puzzled at what Mephisto said.

"They threw you away...just like us..." What was this lunatic saying now? His slurred words did not make a hint of sense but for some reason Amiya's heart ached at his words.

None of it mattered however. The two were cornered plain and simple.

"Hnggh..." While the others where busy interrogating Mephisto from afar Faust aimed his crossbow, not at the enemy but somewhere else.

His failsafe if things go awry.

The Persona-users noticed the intent of someone but there were to late, an icicle just barely passed through the bolt Faust had fired.

"RUN!"

As Reunion started to flee, a series of explosions can be heard on the inside of the LGD Headquarters. Thankfully no one else was inside the building anymore so they didn't have to worry about rubble crushing their allies.

"Wait, Faust, we still can-" Mephisto was quickly hefted by his brother-in-arms and without any response they fled from them, he couldn't win but he could still avoid losing.

"No they're getting away!" Ch'en tried to go after them but as she tried to chase them her body felt like hell, all of the stress and exhaustion from her earlier battles and the kickback of her awakening finally got through her.

"We have to evacuate." The Doctor quickly observed their surroundings and spotted a perfect place to grapple towards, "Schwarz, you know what to do."

"Right." She replied as she hoisted Ceylon on her back and descended down the crumbling building.

He then looked over to Blaze, "I guess you and Amiya will have that skydive that you've been aching to do." Blaze's eyes gleamed in excitement whereas the bunny girl's face paled.

"You're the best Doc." Before Amiya could protest she was carried by the bigger woman, "Don't worry Amiya this will be fun!"

"NO! STOP! HELP!"

He's gonna get chewed on by the girl but he had to attend to the dragon girl.

"Alright, you don't mind a piggyback ride right?" His only response was a groan of confirmation, nodding back at her he then pulled out a syringe. Like the one they used on Ceylon back at Siesta, this will mediate the exhaustion that a first awakening can do. They are so strapped on time that a proper recovery would not be ideal so they both have no choice but to administer it.

"Hold still, take this first then we'll get out of here."

The pain of a needle being injected was nothing to her, her exhausted state could care less about the foreign object.

"Let's go."

"Why..."

"Hmm?" The Doctor heard her whisper behind him.

"Why did you help me...?"

"Is this about you ditching us at Chernobog again?" The Doctor could hear a faint "yes" from her, "It's alright I understand, that guilt was eating you up awhile ago huh?"

"We're okay so...no harm done." The Doctor reassured her, "Besides, I'd much rather you guys not fight what we fought there."

The enemy that is now waiting for them somewhere in Lungmen, her ARTS is just a notch weaker than their leader's. If the LGD stuck out with them in Chernobog, they had no chance of surviving plain and simple.

Especially since that sword of Ch'en's was utterly useless there if she unsheathed it there.

"Anyways, I'm happy for you." The Doctor said warmly, "You finally reconciled with yourself."

"Even when we hang out after work I could still see something grating at you." He continued, "Now when I look at you, even though you're tired right now, I can see that weight being lifted."

"It's really cheesy I know..."

Ch'en did not reply, he said those things as they descended into a safer place but she didn't mind. Those words weren't wrong after all, it was true that she did had those feelings within her. It was a mistake to bottle all those things up, to not answer herself, what was she was truly protecting? Or rather, what does she really want to protect?

The answer was simple in the end, her home.

She cut ties from her painful past and yes they still live in the same city as she does but that is fine, Lungmen is her home, it was the place where she met her friends and partners. She returned to make her home better in her own way, not what those people from above think it should be.

Like any place on Terra, she was given the good and the bad of Lungmen. Just because the evil that lurks underneath is horrible does that mean this place doesn't deserve to exist? Nothing would really make a difference if her life was at Leithanien or Kazimierz.

"You can rest for now, I'll handle this."

Ch'en would normally protest but after such a battle, she accepted his proposal without much complaint.

Dragons do slumber after all.


0o0


Faust and Mephisto huffed heavily after confirming that they evaded the LGD. The snake boy was still gripping his battered crossbow like it was his only lifeline. Getting out of Lungmen seemed to be impossible in the mean time, maybe they could go to the slums and lay low while trying figure out what's going on.

Where were their reinforcements? They were supposed to be there after they managed to take a majority of Lungmen's important areas. Have they been had, or have the companies been intercepted by Rhodes and Lungmen forces?

"Drat...what was FrostNova doing!?" Mephisto screeched in silence, "They were supposed to hold them off in Chernobog! When I get my hands on her..."

"That Feline's ARTS...and the Doctor's power could it be that..." It was only speculation but that combination would be a hard to face even for the Yetis, since the Doctor's power excels in crowd-control. That Operator's power could also theoretically be a hard counter to the White Rabbit.

"No...I just got a message that FrostNova is in Lungmen." Mephisto grumbled, "Tch...how did this happen? Why is it that they have a deterrent to each of our plans? Where they leaked? Has our intelligence been compromised?"

Mephisto punched a wall in frustration, breaking his knuckles slightly.

"It doesn't matter, we have to go back." Faust said after checking the outside of the alleyway once more, "We failed this step."

"Fail!?" He choked at what Faust said, "I haven't failed, no, not yet. She must have a backup plan right? There's just no way...I..."

As Mephisto was about to continue his rant, they suddenly heard footsteps from the alleyway. It was a dapper man in a white suit, walking casually amidst all the chaos. They looked like an important noble of Victoria or maybe even somebody from Ursus, yet they looked uninterested at what's currently happening.

Faust immediately pointed his crossbow at them, "RUN!"

"What!"

Faust didn't understand why but this man reeks of danger, even though he wasn't being hostile towards them.

Yet.

"Hey hey!" He raised his hands in mock surrender, "I'm not interested in picking on defeated children, so if you please let me step aside-"

"Don't move." Faust did not believe a single word this guy was spouting, he could smell the killing intent in the man's eyes.

The man still looked amused at being held at bowpoint, sighed in defeat, and walked towards the two with more weight in his step.

"I said DON'T MOVE!"

"Well, nothing is going to change really..." The man looked at his watch, "I might as well trim the fat while I am at it."

The man suddenly lunged towards them at a breakneck speed, his fist barely punching through Faust.

"FAUST!" Mephisto shouted in fear.

"Don't mind me! RUN!" Faust fired a bolt towards him, which he quickly evaded without batting an eye.

"But-"

"DO IT!"

Mephisto for once did as he was told, and as Mephisto left the alleyway to try and go back to Chernobog his partner stared straight at the gentleman before them.

"My, how noble-" He wasn't even allowed to finish his words as Faust fired another shot intended for his head.

Faust was already tired from fighting those weird ARTS users, a deadly marksman, and the elite of Rhodes but this was the first time where he knew that if he didn't pull out all the stops.

He won't make it.

Black bolts danced through the alleyway as the white-clad gentleman evaded their danger. From the depths of his very soul, Faust fought on with sneaky feeling that if he doesn't kill this man now, many more of his comrades are in danger.

"Dark gales cast upon the sky, fly through and finally die!"

This is the end all, be all of his ARTS, a single black arrow to rule them all. There was no tactical use of this skill other than slaying a particularly strong foe, he had little practice over this skill but this was his strongest. The mayhem of battle did not grant him the focus required for this attack but in this desperate duel.

It was the ideal.


[TURN END]


Extra Turn: The Doctor in Red

Drip...drip...

My eyes are weary, my arms are tired...and yet I must persist...

drip...Drip...

My boots are soaking wet and my coat is all heavy from the fluids dampening it.

I can smell it in the air, the scent of saltwater and fear.

Two beings ran towards the Doctor, a sword and a knife at hand their eyes carrying a maddening expression.

However, before they even realized they were already sliced in two.

Sliced in twain by the scythe he carried with him.

Another pair of comrades faded away like grains of sand in a desert. Gravel was always eager to pounce on me before, shame that the last time she did that was at the end of my blade.

And Beagle...I'm sorry for what I did to Fang.

Another layer of bloodstains decorated his apparel, as he marches on towards the husk of a landship, arrows where fired towards him. The familiar faces of those he once hold dear only served to harden his gaze.

Without a word he tore through the bolts fired his way, the back end of his scythe slammed towards the enemy and using that momentum he handily lopped off the head of the other.

A mercy kill, a quick death for the late skateboarder.

The Doctor did not pay heed to the fear in the other Sniper eyes, and while it persisted he had no words for it.

This is for your own good Pinecone.

Drip...drip...

There are times where I wonder if I'm doing the right thing.

In a sense, I could still live in this place as they have taken a liking to me.

But as I see their faces, all so fake I could only feel anger and disgust as they handed me paperwork to an imitation of a business paper.

I'm sorry...but I don't want to play house anymore.

Let's play Tag, Hide and Seek, or anything else, any game where I chase you all would be "fun."

Thanks, this is exactly what I needed guys.

Drip...drip...

I already looked at this floor more times than I count, all of them are gone now.

I might as well take the elevator, god knows that I need a break after so much "fun."

Oh? A party? All for me?


[Play: Mr. Blue Sky]


The Doctor was warmly greeted by an ARTS bolt headed towards his head, handily dispelled with a spin from his scythe he began to swing it lazily at a Vanguard headed his way. A rain of swords almost punctured him as he swiftly evaded covering fire, silencing ARTS and swords.

Running past the Defender, he knocked the damsel singing for them off her feet; proceeding to get intimate with her live on-stage. Like any true fan, that would be by putting his humongous blade between her good bits.

Her guts of course, then the same blade was used to eviscerate the bullish Defender behind them.

In a frenzy, the wolf tried to pounce towards the Doctor but the scythe, still freshly lubricated by Sora and Croissant's entrails, split the old yeller in half.

He wanted to be the one to do it after all, she was his friend.

Feeling a little sinful after that mercy kill, the Doctor lunged towards the angel with a warrant from above requesting her to go back to base.

By base, he meant the golden gate; with his scythe as a one-way ticket to the great apple pie bakery in the sky.

It was successful of course as she turned into a cherry juice fountain out of gratitude(?) But the white wolf did not see it that way, however this was a perfect opportunity to walk the dog. So as the hound foolishly lunged towards him in a blind rage(?) he grabbed a hold of her leash and proceeded to be rough with her.

A rough surface leads to a rough time, luckily she won't worry about that now as she got that lesson through her skull.

After such a systematic disassembling of their fivesome, he moved on to the stragglers. Out of fear they tried to run but the Doctor was not a man you would like to keep waiting. He's here to practice medicine after all.

He'll now start with the incision because well... The Doctor is in.

Bells cracked, cords were cut, and many a head were rolling down the ground. Layers and layers of blood coating his otherwise dark coat which was already long since dark crimson down to the fibers.

Thankfully this was a mess hall...hopefully there's still food in the fridge-

Not the best day to interrupt a guy who wanted to make a sandwich. Rosa did was not that understanding to man's hungry plight it appeared.

I was an idiot to expect sympathy and understanding from somebody who stinks of seawater.

He tried to cut the stuffed bear open but he was interrupted by a small door acting like a shield. An ax and a slowing spell headed his way but the pride of Ursus was knocked down by a foot to the chin.

The spell on the other hand landed, not on him but on the bear child he just chucked after stunning. That was more than enough damage for him to finally end their waking nightmare.

He then threw the remnant's ax towards the other, the ax spun with so many revolutions that it cut through the steel of the other's weapon, and like the old days of Victoria it was clean guillotine chop from the rotting blade.

He heard of queens and kings getting axed but not a princess, only a story of evil could bear such an evil flower.

Yet, like a servant of said evil the Defender that was left lunged towards him ready to bash his head in anger. His scythe was sharper than the rusty metal in her armament so it carved a very regretful message straight to her abdomen. She looked like a funny-looking skewer, barring the blood evacuating her newly made doughnut hole.

After such a heat-hazingly tough massacre, he had to sit down on a bar stool and sigh.

Another room cleared...

The aftermath of the carnage was a disgusting mess of blood, gore, and seawater strewn about. The monsters that carried the visages of his friends bore looks of fear as their existence was stomped out.

Prey fearing their impending end by a relentless predator.

As he entered the next room, fully refreshed after raiding the pantry for some water and a ham sandwich, he let his scythe grind through the concrete floor. Letting it hum the sounds of impending death, he was not enjoying the hunt, no far from it.

He wanted them to feel fear however.

Their audacity, why couldn't such things stay right we're they belong? Did they really expect to dominate this land when they are foreign from it? Well, he was a doctor so he might was teach these newcomers a lesson or two.

The Food Chain, to be specific.

It's a different meta at dry land compared to the outback swamps these cretins came from.

"You ready Lich?" The manifestation of his very soul happily anticipated the slaughter it was about to bring in.

Yes, he will cure them of their disease.

Living.

Her damnable song will finally end.


[TURN END?]


Party Members

The Doctor LV 30

Personas

[Main] Ophiuchus LV30 (The Fool)

Frost Edge / Bufula / Mabufula / Ice Boost

Diarama / Media / Ice Arrow* / Patra

Next: Bufudyne LV 32


Frost Ace LV25 (The Chariot)

Bufula / Hama / Lucky Punch / Sukukaja

Frost Edge / Tentarafoo / Diarama/ Ice Arrow*


Astolfo LV24 (The Fool)

Garula / Jinpugeki / Light Brand / Tarukaja

Rampage / Kouga/ Blessed Arrow


Shiki-Ouji LV24 (The Chariot)

Snap / Taunt / Psy / Tarukaja

Double-Shot


Pixie LV10 (The Lovers)

Dia / Zio / Patra/ Tarukaja/

Anti-Confuse


Parvati LV25 (The High Priestess)

Mapsio/ Diarama/ Energy Shower/ Hama


Ifrit LV 23 (The Devil)

Maragion/ Agilao/ Invigorate 1/ Tarukaja


Ice Arrow: Deals Ice and Projectile Damage.

Equipped Personal Skills

Brace

Gale Strike

Honed Accuracy


Amiya LV 30 (The Magician)


Ceylon LV 30 (The Empress)

Amphitrite LV 24

The Empress
Trait: Guardian Tides

Hydrowave / Aqua Trident / Malaques/ Water Boost

Diarama / Media / Aques / Aquadyne *

Affinities: Resists Ice & Water, Weak to Electricity

Personal Skills

Hydrotherapy [Buff]
Tactical Chant [Buff]


Schwarz LV 31 [No Persona]
High Affinity: Hanged Man

Personal Skills

Eagle Eye[Buff]
Sharp Eye [Buff] *

Increases attack and critical hit rate.

Charged Shot [Attack] *
Deals heavy projectile damage.
Crossfire [Passive]
While in the party, all Projectile Attacks have a moderate increase in damage.
AP Arrow [Attack]


Ch'en LV 32 (The Hermit)*

Qing-Long (Temperance)

Trait: Guardian Scale

Increases damage and defense relative to how low the user's HP is.

Skills

Mazio/ Zionga/ Mazionga/ Tetrakarn
Swift Strike/ Vorpal Blade/ Rakukaja/ Raijinzan

Next: Ziodyne LV35

Personal Skills

Chi Xiao: Unsheath [Attack]
Deals severe physical damage.
Sheathed Strike [Attack]
A projectile attack that if connects, stuns the enemy.
Scolding [Buff]
Other party members AP regeneration rate increase.
Temper Blade [Buff]

Chi Xiao: Release [Attack]

Only usable after using Chi Xiao: Unsheath, this skill replaces Chi Xiao: Unsheath after it was used. Deals severe defense-reducing physical damage.

*New


Author Notes

Been a while hasn't it? Apologies once again for taking it this long to update. Holidays are coming so that is to be expected for sure, not to mention I'm busy balancing this and my other duties. Nevertheless it's here, part of why I took so long was re-posting the story at my Archive of Our Own Account.

Why didn't I just upload all of them in one go? Well for one, I'm not an advocate for binging content I don't do it or encourage people to do the same. Consuming media for me is like consuming food, better taking it slow to savor what you decide on consuming. That is to say, if you think my story is appropriate for the food analogy there. I'm not saying my work is a five-star meal, more like a Big Mac maybe.

Once again thank you to Kazragoth and a new addition to our merry little band of writers, The Aura King! It's always fun to share notes with you guys and if all goes according to plan then our collaborative work will online in the future, a part of me can't wait for it to see it's fruition.

We are officially done with six in-game chapters and an event, next is Partial Necrosis. An infamous part of the story for good reason, what changes have I made, how will Personas change the game this time? Who knows? Well...I do but that's a problem my future self will address in the future.

Hopefully I made this chapter justice, and what do you think? Ch'en now has her own Persona, one that she was wanting for a while now. Now that she found a reason and threw away her doubts she was rewarded for what she is seeking. This will prove useful in the upcoming battle for sure.

As for Gacha, I've been blessed to get both Skadi and Kal'tsit this time. Funny thing is I got Kal in a bid of desperation since I was doing Paradox Simulations to get enough for Orundum to pull at least once. I did Warfarin's since I E2-D her and after clearing it and did a single pull I was rewarded with ex-wife herself. Skadi's at Potential 2 tho, and I got a Eunectes as well...they're both Potential 2...

Best of luck to the people who want Carnelian, but let's be real it's either Ch'en the Holungday or NTR Knight herself. Actually...since Near Light came out my future plans are going smooth.

I wonder if Persona-User Ch'en would be a better received Chalter (LOL.)

That's all the time we have for today, hopefully the Extra Turn will give both hints and questions to the nature of the story and what I have in store, but nevertheless have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

And as always...

"Keep an open mind."


Preview

"Isn't that..."

"What the hell happened here?"


0o0


After the carnage that ensued, they observed the situation from up high. Nevertheless they had no time to dawdle, he was a gentleman after all.

"You're pretty strong Doctor." The Feline cheerily praised, yet her eyes were still analytic. They were looking for something within him.

"I'm still weak compared to you Blaze." Modest, from what she heard this man went on an arduous mission two weeks or so prior to this one. Said mission was alarming enough that Kal'tsit had to provide them support.

However she will still observe him with her own pair of eyes, after all...

This was the man Ace and Scout died for.


[END TRANSMISSION]


This was never about Infected or Non-Infected was it? It was all set-up, an excuse, a silly game. And yet the pieces they...reveled in the board's mayhem.

Next Turn: Turn 13: Panic Addiction

No more, I'm done with all of this.