Nana stood outside of Maple House, arms curled around her shaking body. She was currently standing beneath a tree, as though making a feeble effort to shelter She couldn't go back inside, back to where Alma lurked just out of the corner of her vision. Always watching with those awful yellow eyes, ready to tear her apart, or plant fake memories in her head. It didn't matter how much Alma remained, or how docile she was. Nana could never truly bring herself to relax around her, let alone forgive her for all the pain that she'd caused her. Nana knew she couldn't kill her, and that she'd probably never leave Alma. Why couldn't they both just go away? Or maybe she could go away, leave Maple House, find her papa, and-

A hand gently touched her shoulder, and the young diclonius nearly let go of her limbs in surprise, "Yeep!"

She whirled around, ready to send her vectors flailing about at Alma, but paused when she saw that the figure was, in fact, not Alma.

"Ah," she sighed in relief, (and maybe a bit of embarrassment,) "Sorry about that. I didn't hear you coming up."

The Point Man silently cursed himself for his natural silence. It was a bad habit of his to always move so stealthily. Sure, it served him well during his training and time spent on F.E.A.R., but now there was no battlefield, no enemies coming in to gun him down on behalf of a private corporation. Just a scared little girl in need of a friend. He looked down at her now, waiting calmly for her to voice any complaint she might have.

It was only a moment before she was able to speak again. "I-I'm frightened about Alma."

"..."

"I mean, I understand this is personal for you as well, what with you being her, um, her son."

"..."

"I'm…actually kind of curious how that's possible."

"..."

"It's just…you look so much older than she does, and your scary brother mentioned something about procedures and enhancements and…and…"

"..."

"...On second thought, maybe I don't want to know."

A nod of the head instead of the usual silence.

"I guess I just don't get how I'm supposed to live with her now. I don't know if I can even live with her! She…she hurt me really bad."

Unable to speak, the Point Man simply put a hand out on Nana's shoulder, who stiffened in surprise at the sudden physical contact. "I…thank you."

The Point Man wasn't sure what he'd do if Nana came in for a hug. A part of him wondered if Alma might be jealous of it in some roundabout way. But the girl didn't move in. She just kept staring at him with bright curious eyes.

"You're…different from the rest of your family, aren't you?" she asked, "Your mama is cruel, and your brother's scary, but you…you act really kind. You're helping around the house, listening to others…it's really kind."

He gave her a small smile in return, and she relaxed a bit more, chuckling somewhat to herself, "See, you're doing it again."

For a moment, she allowed herself to believe that everything could be alright. That she could be allowed to enjoy a calm, happy life here. But then the memories of Alma came slowly creeping back into her. Memories filled with blood and pain and those pale eyes that would not look away. Nana hung her head in sorrow.

"I…I can't stay here. I'm sorry."

The Point Man didn't stop her as she turned and walked away, her dejection apparent in her gait.

"Let her go, brother."

Paxton Fettel hadn't been leaning against the tree a moment ago, but he was now, and he viewed the girl's retreating back with dismissive disdain, "Honestly, brother, you grow too soft. What's it matter if one of those Diclonius decide to fly from the nest? One less little girl of unpredictable power to worry about. Either she'll get herself killed, or she'll kill others, and draw attention away from this place. That's what you and those brats want? And besides, it's not like Mother doesn't appreciate a refreshing bloodbath."

The Point Man rolled his eyes and walked after Nana at a safe distance. Paxton watched his brother leave with a sneer…that quickly turned into a confused frown as he felt another presence pass him by. He couldn't see her the way normal people could, but he knew who she was.

"Why go after them?"

Her lack of response unsettled him greatly.

It was almost time to head off. Mariko, too weak to stand, was resting in the hangar on her wheelchair, waiting for the cargobob to finish refueling. Kurama didn't mind, as it gave him a chance to talk. He looked at everyone else, all the guards and researchers, who would be escorting his daughter out toward the target.

"Give us a moment alone."

Every member of the staff looked surprised to a certain degree. One of them even felt the need to speak, "Sir, I don't think we can-"

"You can," Kurama turned toward them with a sharp gaze that chilled many a board meeting, "You will."

No room was left to argue. In a few moments it was just him and his daughter, who'd been looking off to the distance with an amused little smile.

"Mariko?"

The monster he'd sired turned to look at him, her expression bright and sunny, "Yes, Daddy?"

"How's your arm?"

"It's alright, Daddy," she raised her plastic limb and had her vectors bend the fingers into a fist, "It's good as new."

"Are you apprehensive about this assignment?"

"Not at all! First I'll kill Lucy, then I'll kill that other Diclonius, then Alma will be next to go. I'll kill them all!"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that, Daddy!"

"You want to do this, Mariko?"

"Yep!"

For whatever reason, he felt the need to pause before going forth with his next question, "And why do you want to do this, Mariko?"

Mariko's smile shrank slightly in confusion, as though her father had asked something too obvious to be anything but a trick question, "Because it's fun, of course!"

So eager to kill, while Nana had only been eager to please. And now he was working with two shady corporations to kill Lucy. But what if it was Nana that ended up being caught in the crossfire? Had she managed to make it to safety? There hadn't been any reports of a girl resembling her likeness, and Kakuzawa always made sure to keep a close ear to his various contacts throughout the local police force. It was a good sign that nothing had been reported.

"Well then, I'm sure you'll enjoy your day out," he said calmly, being careful not to give any signs of stress, "After all, it's not like you're the only one who seems to enjoy a bit of bloodsport."

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Mariko, his own flesh and blood, wasn't all that much better than Lucy, a monster whom he would always abhor. He didn't even know if there was a trace of genuine affection in her, like there had been with Nana. Maybe if this was over, he'd try to connect with her…after he was able to find Nana, and get her to safety behind the Institute's back, and be able to defeat Lucy and Alma, and solve world hunger and enable world peace, because why the heck not?

Kurama had to stop his thoughts before he got himself worked up. Mariko was still in front of him, and she was starting to frown in confusion, "Is there something wrong, Daddy? You're making a weird face."

"Nothing's wrong, Mariko."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay!" Her expression turned sunny once more, and she began excitedly rocking back and forth in her wheelchair like a student about to go on a field trip.

Kurama walked out to the other researchers, giving them all a nod of assent. They filed back into the hangar to begin departures. Kurama looked amongst the sea of stoic faces, and frowned when he couldn't find the woman he was looking for. So she'd decided not to attend, had she? Kurama reckoned that wasn't much of a surprise. He spun on his heel and marched back into the Institute, not bothering to give Shirakawa a second glance as she watched him leave with concern.

Shirakawa watched her boss until he was out of sight, and then turned to look at his daughter. She fixed the seated Diclonius with an expression that she hoped would come off as stern.

"You are aware what will happen if you try to double-cross us?"

"Yes," Mariko's smile was much smaller now.

"Very well. Remember that I'll always have the detonator with me, and that the first explosion won't guarantee you a quick death," she looked toward the attendant in charge of the wheelchair, "Load her up. We depart at once."

Kakuzawa answered his expected phone call halfway through the first ring, "Report, Kurama."

"They've taken off, sir."

Kakuzawa's grin widened, "That's excellent news, isn't it? With any luck, we'll soon have Lucy dead."

"Hopefully."

"And Alma, as well."

"Indeed."

"And Nana, too."

"...Yes."

Kakuzawa could hear the restrained anger in that final delivery. Letting Nana die would be perfectly adequate punishment for letting the girl escape, "Do be sure to keep me posted on any updates you hear about the mission."

"Of course, sir," and he hung up without saying goodbye. How rude.

Kakuzawa looked up from his phone toward the woman sitting at the other side of his desk.

"Are you pleased with how things are progressing, Ms Aristide?"

Genevieve let out a collected sigh, "Your plan is effective, Mr. Kakuzwa, I can't complain."

"Really? I'm sure you must have some suggestions on how to handle this mess. We can always appreciate new ideas."

Genevieve's expression tightened, and in that instant, she fully realized what he was alluding to.

"Kurama already told you about it, didn't he?"

"Oh, but he did!" Kakuzawa sounded almost giddy as he leaned forward on his desk, "Alma's not the only one, is she?"

"We're not sure what to classify the creature that we have. It's probably not even an actual creature."

"What would you call it, then?"

"A bad dream, perhaps. My scientists theorize that it might have been a mistake, a byproduct of Alma's emotions and memories towards one particular person."

"And how were you able to contain it, and not Alma?"

"We were able to detect it when it was still growing, while it was incomplete, and built a special prison to house it. Our containment unit, or cage, generated an artificially psionic field inside it, keeping it secured as it continued to grow. We were prudent enough to strike it while it was weakened, but when Alma manifested in a similar state, she was too strong to be absorbed by our cage."

"I'm not sure I'm following you, Ms. Aristide."

Genevieve resisted the urge to give an exasperated sigh, "Let me explain it like this. Our device, or cage, was unbreakable from the inside, with a one way door that no specter could escape from the inside. The door is like a vacuum, but the suction is only strong enough to bring in an incomplete specter. A more fully developed specter like Alma would easily be able to resist the current. However, once contained, no matter how strong it gets, the phantom can't escape unless I let it."

"Sounds like a poor sequel to Ghostbuster," Kakuzawa raised a single gray eyebrow, "It kept developing, even while in containment?"

"Based on our readings, yes. Soon, its powers began to rival Alma's."

"So we fight fire by fire?" grinned Kakuzawa eerily, "I believe I can get on board with that."

"It's not that simple," Stated Genevieve with a sudden sharpness to her tone. She'd clearly anticipated this idea, "This beast is even more unpredictable than Alma, and we can't replace one monster with another."

"Do you know if this monster actively wants to destroy you? I thought that it was originally one of your scientists."

Genvieve was beginning to have the expression of someone who'd inadvertently bitten into a spicy pepper, "No, it's based on the emotions of one of our scientists, formed by the warped memories of a tortured little psionic. It's not like Harlan Wade has risen from the dead."

Kakuzawa made a dismissive scoff, "Do you have a name for it then, if not Harlan Wade?"

Genevieve was becoming very uncomfortable with this whole conversation. Despite her warnings, she could still see the eagerness gleaming in Kakuzawa's eyes. She had known men like this in her predecessors back before she'd taken the reins. They'd gotten that similar gleam when discussing Project Paragon, when Alma had done nothing but exceed expectations in all of her psychic tests. Her victories had been theirs, and thus they had believed that they could do no wrong.

She'd never forget the looks of terror forever petrified on their burnt corpses.

"Some of our staff simply refer to it as the Creep," she said in a neutral tone, "And there's no telling how much damage it'll do."

"Where's Nana?"

Kouta and Yuka looked up from Nyu, who they'd been keeping an eye on. The Diclonius had been acting much more energetically since Alma had finally revealed herself, though Kouta couldn't tell whether or not this meant that Alma's presence to her was good or bad. He knew that they'd been friends, once. Alma had been willing to share some memories with him, the mental images flowing through his head like a slideshow in his skull, and so he'd gotten to know how far back they went. For some reason, certain portions of their time together had been blocked off, leaving him to wonder what she might have been hiding from him.

(Did he even want to know?)

Of course, Nyu's renewed energy ment that she was more prone to mischief, so Kouta and Yuka had to be sure that she didn't cause any more trouble for the pair of them. It seemed like a good enough idea, except then he couldn't keep watch on the rest of the group. So, when Mayu came in asking this question, Kouta couldn't give an answer.

"Do you think she went out for a walk?" asked Yuka, a hopeful note in her voice.

Kouta shook his head, "Odds are she probably ran away. Alma must've finally gotten to her."

"Well, we're busy looking after Nyu," said Yuka sheepishly, "Maybe the Point Man could do it?"

"I don't think that'll work, he left too."

"Well then, the two of them probably just went out for a walk."

"Don't count on that," everyone leapt back in surprise as Paxton Fettel materialized out of thin air, looking around at the teens with mildly bred contempt, "She ran away, frightened of Mother, and my brother went after her to keep an eye on her…oh, and Mother left after them both."

"Wha-" Kouta needed a moment to process the fact that Paxton was here, "Why?"

Paxton cocked an eyebrow, "I assume you're asking why Mother left after them…no idea."

"What?" exclaimed Yuka in total surprise, "B-but she's your mom…right?"

Paxton fixed the young girl with a smirk that bordered on being a leer, "Child, I have been trying to figure out Mother's motives for as long as I can remember, and I've still so much left to learn."

"S-so you don't know if Alma will hurt her again?" whispered Mayu.

Paxton fixed his dark gaze on her, making the girl automatically wince, "If she wanted Nana dead, she'd have disposed of the brat long ago. No, I'd be more worried about the authorities."

Yuka, Mayu, and Kouta went wide-eyed with silence. Nyu looked around at the shocked faces, curious about their shared expression.

"The authorities?" said Yuka.

Kouta answered this one, which was a relief for Paxton, as he was getting tired of these gawking children and their incessant questioning, "Of course. The police were looking for Nyu, and now they're looking for Nana, too. We need to find her before they do!"

"But where are they?" Kouta turned to Paxton, "Do y-

"No, I don't know where they are," sneered Paxton. He was reaching the end of his patience, "If you're so concerned, then might I humbly suggest you all go out and search for them?"

Paxton saw the color building up in Kouta's face and quietly added, "Be careful how you answer, boy. I would, at least."

"...Fine."

"Wonderful," exclaimed Paxton, "Sounds like you have your evening all planned out. Good hunting."

And then he was gone. Vanishing as suddenly and spontaneously as he'd first appeared.

"I will never get used to that," shuddered Yuka. Kouta rolled his eyes as he got to his feet.

"Alright then," he declared, "I know Maple House has a problem with people running off, but we always find a way to convince them to come home. I see no reason why this will be any different. I mean, even Alma's been behaving herself."

"But Nana was still uncomfortable living with her," added Mayu, "What if she doesn't want to come home?"

"She may change her mind when we tell her about the people that were hunting Nyu," replied Kouta, "For all we know, they may have found her already."

They had found her already.

Various police blockades had been erected throughout certain chokepoints of the Kamakura. Mariko had been wheeled out of the helicopter as soon as she'd arrived. The idea had been to wheel her around with an armed escort once a lead and an exact location on either Alma or the Diclonius' had been confirmed. Isobe had figured that this would be a manhunt lasting well over a day, at least. So he was quite surprised, as well as suspicious, when Mariko declared that Nana was heading toward the bridge about thirty minutes after she'd arrived by helicopter.

Nonetheless, they'd been ordered by Kurama to follow Mariko's instincts, and so they'd positioned Mariko and a good portion of police at the bridge. Mariko had been giddy, bouncing up and down in her seat like a…why, like a little kid in a candy shop. Isobe still had his doubts about this, but sure enough, Nana had appeared, seemingly alone, and Mariko wasted no time in getting to work, taking her sweet time in breaking in her new toy.

First, Nana's clothes had been rendered to shreds. Then she'd been lifted up by Mariko's vectors and slammed into the ground hard.

"Aw, don't die just yet," giggled Mariko as she gazed up at Nana's limp form. A leg had already come loose from the girl, and her blood had begun to flow into the crevices of her remaining limbs. She was starting to look like a great big gory doll. Mariko's sadistic smile slowly fell into a disappointed frown as she regarded her latest toy. It hadn't broken already, had it?

"This is boring," she said suddenly.

"You're upset about this?" asked Shirakawa, feeling quite upset by the whole thing herself.

Mariko flicked her eyes lazily toward Nana's loose leg, which was lying aimlessly on the ground, "She's already broken."

Shirakawa regarded her psychopathic ward, wondering if this violent display had been pent up aggression from her isolation, or simply a natural part of her psychopathic Diclonius behavior. She looked up at the bleeding form of Nana, and offered a silent apology to Kurama.

"Alright then Mariko, that's enough. Kill her, and be done with it."

She'd been expecting, or hoping, that Mariko might protest. But the Diclonius in a wheelchair simply shrugged, and Nana let out a whimper as the vectors on her body tightened. But instead of the graphic display of a young naked girl being ripped to pieces, Shirakawa and the others were treated to a less barbaric scene of another young wheelchair-riding girl clutching her head in agony.

"AAAGH!"

A few of the guards looked at her in dismay, but Shirakawa wasn't looking at Mariko. She was looking out onto the bridge, past Nana, and toward the western man with a machine gun, and the scrawny girl with yellow eyes.