Hey guys! So quick little thing before we get started into this chapter, I did change some things in terms of when you first get to the Park Ruins and some other scenes, but you'll find that out soon enough. I've tried writing this second part like five times since the last update and when it comes to combat my head can think it, but my fingers can't type it.

Anyway, sorry for the wait. Things have been pretty crazy and I've been trying to write for this story and a few other ones that I'm working on, but I won't lie when I say it's hard to do so. I'm trying to take my writing and things in my life day by day, I really appreciate your guys patience and understanding. Now let's get back to Vein!


"Finally!" Luna shouted, entering into the park ruins with her companions behind her. They had spent most of the day exploring the Old City Ruins, fighting through wave after wave of Losts. Compared to the tunnels that she was first thrown into, it seemed like a cake walk in comparison to what they endured.

Activating the mistle the darkness of the miasma quickly faded from the area as they all took a moment to rest, the fighting was relentless. "The amount of Lost here is a bit worrisome." Yakumo spoke, as all eyes turned towards him. "Last time Louis and I came out here it wasn't as bad, but this….this may be a problem."

Tilting her head, "how so?"

"The Lost seem to be more condensed in the city area," Louis said. "Before they were more spread out, but something may be forcing them to move that way." the dense clusters of Lost were worse than what they had seen before. Normally they would be in smaller groups that were spread out across the entire area; Louis couldn't help but worry about what else was waiting for them as they were drawing closer to the Blood Spring.

Shaking his head, Yakumo seemed to be thinking the same thing. Looking over at Luna he could see the perplexed look in her eyes as she took off her mask. "You may or may not remember this, but there are Lost out here that are more of an issue than what we've already faced."

Thinking back, Luna could only think of a few larger Lost that she had fought back in the tunnels. Large monsters that were nearly over ten feet tall with elongated drooping noses, "I mean it would surprise me if the worst thing we could face is a Raging Noblewoman." she told him. Looking around, the roaring screams of the Lost that surrounded them in the center of the Old City Ruins was nowhere to be heard, an eerie silence blanketed them in unease. "If there is something here…. It's making its presence well known."

Tapping his sword against his shoulder, "you mean the silence?" Yakumo asked.

"Yea… it's weird, even in an open area like this we could still hear them but now…. There's nothing." she didn't trust it, not one bit. "I don't think I need to say this, but we really shouldn't let our guard down."

"I agree," Yakumo sided with her. Putting their masks back on, they cautiously made their way through the remnants of civilization. Large portions of the red brick like ground had fallen away, leaving only endless chasms in their place. Looking ahead, "what's that?" they heard him question as they followed him towards a ladder.

Luna glanced over the edge of where the ladder was placed, it didn't appear to be too far of a jump but it would still hurt. Her eyes followed the set path as she could see an ivory statue in the distance, "I'm gonna go check it out." she told them, stepping off of the ledge she braced herself as a slight stinging pain clawed at her legs. Gasping at the pain, she gritted her teeth, "probably should have used the ladder."*

"You alright?" Yakumo inquired from above, he and Louis watched her shake off any discomfort she may have felt.

"I'm fine!" Luna replied, "I'll make this quick." running over to the statue, Luna was amazed by how fastened it was in the ground even as everything around it was crumbling around it. Dried spots of blood and claw marks marked the long dress of the Goddess statue. It was still strange to her that something like this was here, the fact that it even survived in its condition was remarkable.

Circling around the statue, Luna spotted the small red fragment on the ground. Quickly picking it up she placed it in her pouch along with the others that they had found. So many memories, so many fragments of the past had been scattered amongst the wasteland of civilization. Her eyes shifted upwards, "what the…." the ladder was pulled up a majority of the way, as it hung from the ledge.

Stabbing the blade of her bayonet into the ground, Luna reached towards the ladder; even reaching as far as she could she was unable to reach itit. Bending her knees, she attempted to jump towards the bar, but still to no avail. "Luna! What's taking so long?" Yakumo's inquisitive shout shocked her.

She knew she had been taking too long, retrieving her weapon Luna hurried back over to her group. "I'm sorry," Luna apologized, climbing up the ladder. Taking her weapon, Yakumo grabbed her other hand pulling her up. "Did you guys know there's a ladder over there?" Luna pointed towards the other ledge.

"What are you talking about?" hearing Yakumo's confusion, Luna again pointed in the direction of the ladder.

"Over there!" she insisted, "there's a ladder over there, but it's pulled up." Thinking about it, Luna found it strange that it was pulled up. There didn't appear to be a way for them to make the ladder descend on their side, only on the side of the ledge. "I think whoever pulled the ladder up, wanted to ensure that no one go to the other side."

Walking towards the ruins, "I don't want you to think that I don't believe you, but we should focus now on our mission."

Clenching her fist, Luna shoved aside her frustration. She knew that saving the human was much more important than her discovery, but still it irritated her that neither Yakumo or Louis were the slightest bit interested in her find. "Understood," she hesitantly submitted.

They continued walking down the decimated and narrowing path for a few moments, "is that…. A cocoon?" Louis questioned. The flower-like webbed lattice work appeared to cover a large portion of the area ahead of them like ordained spikes of havoc. Numerous webbed spikes line the circular field as fragments of various objects were hidden deep within their swaddled bindings; in the center of the white flower was a dark bead of something he couldn't identify. "Look at the size of it, it's massive." even from the distance, it's size was remarkable.

"I think I know what caused the Lost to migrate towards the city center," Yakumo spoke. "I had heard a rumor that-"

"Luna…" a woman's voice spoke her name, Luna tuned out Yakumo and Louis's conversation as she looked around trying to see who else was with them. "Luna…. Over here." turning to the right, her eyes widened. Long silver hair nearly reaching the cement ground swayed with every step she took, nearly covering the back of her blue hospital gown. Turning her head the woman's red eyes gazed over at her, her tan hand motioning Luna to follow. "Come on!" the woman cheered.

Following the woman, Luna could see everything around her started to change, the piles of rubble and debris faded away. The red sky of the setting sun transformed into a baby blue shade with thin white clouds dancing above. The chaos that she had walked into disappeared, bringing a sensation she thought she would ever feel in the world. Peace.

Numerous conversations and people walked by her, they didn't have red eyes or carried weapons or even dawned Blood Veils. They were all normal humans. "This isn't real," Luna whispered to herself. "This can't be real." This looked nothing like the world they were once in, everything seemed so lively and happy. No lost running around, no Revenants fighting for blood beads, nothing of the sorts.

"Of course it is! Honestly Luna, you should know better." Laughter traveled with the sound of the birds singing their melodies. Emerald green grass framed the stone walkway, a few flowers had sprouted here and there. "Luna! Look!" the woman called out to her, kneeling down before something. "Take a look at this!"

Luna couldn't see it, "what is it?" she asked the woman. Kneeling before her, she could see it; a fragment of a vestige. "That's!"

"Take it, I know you want it" the woman encouraged her. Reaching towards it, she grasped onto it as it lay dormant in the palm of her handl. "You say you want to ensure they're never forgotten, but do you really think you can handle all that pain?" Luna could vaguely hear the sound of screams and pleads in her head, before locking eyes with the woman only to see the sorrow in her red eyes as she appeared to be searching for the right words to say.

"Do you think it's a bad idea?" She stared at the girl for what felt like an eternity. "What are you trying to tell me?" she asked her, but still got no response. "First in my dreams and now here…. Why are you doing this?"

"Luna?" hearing Louis's voice, everything around her shattered. A sharp pain burned in her chest, her hand clenching at the fabric that covered her. The agonizing torment speared her entire body in intense distress. The sound of her pain filled gasps alarmed them both, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Louis kept a tight grip on her, "is she frenzying?" Yakumo questioned as he kneeled down besides them.

Examining her neck, Louis couldn't see any trace of the black veins that were usually an indication of frenzy. Gazing at her eyes, there wasn't any sign of change or illumination that would have been a sign. "No, but something's not right." Her trembling body caused his levels of concern to skyrocket, as they waited for her to calm down.

The pain she suffered slowly began to dissipate along with the illusion of the world that she once saw, the scenes of tranquility were restored to the mayhem and chaos that she now found herself surrounded in once again. Taking a few deep breaths, Luna could sense the tension in that air around her; looking at the palm of her hand, the fragment of the vestige still didn't react. "It didn't do it…." she whispered.

"Didn't do what?"

Shaking her head, Luna pushed herself up. "Nothing," she told them. She couldn't explain what happened. That girl once again showed herself to Luna again, but this time when she was awake. "Who the hell is she?"

"Aaaahhhh!" a loud shriek pieced the unsettling silence. "Let go of me!"

"Shit he must have found her!" Yakumo charged towards the sound of the voice. Running closely behind him, "Luna! Hit that guy with everything you go!" he instructed her, as they could see the Revenant from earlier grabbing the human by the arm, trying to drag her along. Blood and dirt caked the button up sleeveless shirt and black skirt that covered her body. The worn leather coverings of her boots were terrible as they seemed to be falling apart. "Well get the girl to safety."

Readying her bayonet, "don't have to tell me twice!" As she was about to charge in, Luna felt something grip tightly onto her shoulders. Looking over her shoulder, Louis had a firm grip on her stopping her from charging forward. "What are you doing?"

Louis didn't say a word, as he and Yakumo were transfixed on what they were both staring at. Turning her attention to what caught their gaze, her eyes widened in fear as the center of the lace flower started to move. "I guess the rumor is true…." Louis whispered.

"What rumor?"

"The reason why the Lost are migrating towards the city center, is because of that." Yakumo said, "an extremely dangerous Lost that's known as the Butterfly of Delirium. Davis said that it specializes in poison based attacks. It kills anything from Revenants, humans, to even other Lost." he explained.

Watching the black bulb starting to unfold. White tendrils adorned its feminine face like a crown along with parts of its legs, dark purple orbs bejeweled them. The black exterior of the thin petal like wings opened up, exposing the light pink to purple ombre that colored the inside of the six individual wings. Large golden eyes scanned the area before it, as the long black tail began to unfurl showing the black spikes that were attached to each individual scale-like section. The large head at the end of its tail drooled a light violet liquid that escaped from its sharp fangs and incisors.

"Let go of me, I'm done being treated like an animal!" she screamed, the braids that framed her face stuck to her skin, her blood discoloring her darkened white hair.

"How dare you run away from us! Don't you know what happens if we don't have blood, or did you think about that before you ran away?" The Revenant questioned the human. The fear in her eyes screamed the torment and sorrow that had encased her for so long.

"I don't care! I'd rather die than go back!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

The Revenant grabbed onto her shoulders, "that can be arranged you ungrateful bitch!"

They watched as the Butterfly of Delirium swung it's large tail towards the Revenant, the force of the hit causing his body to be launched a distance away. Taking the chance, the girl ran off as she quickly disappeared from sight. The eyes of its tail locked onto the Revenant, the flames of Louis's Fire Storm stopped it before it could sink its teeth into him. "Get him somewhere safe!" Louis commanded.

"You owe me for this!" Running towards the Revenant, Yakumo picked up the unconscious Revenant.

Pulling a dagger from her pouch, Luna threw it at the Butterfly of Delirium. "Of all things," she shook her head, "it had to be something that deals with poison." knowing she had antivenom in her pouch made the anxiety she felt a bit easier to deal with. Firing a few shots of ichor, the tail of the beast blocked each shot as none of them didn't seem to affect it. "Don't aim for the tail!"

Rushing towards it, Louis slashed the monster with his sword. The white encasing around it's legs didn't appear to be damaged by any of his strikes. "No good!" Covering itself with its wings, they could all see a thick purple cloud surrounding it. "Move now!" thrusting its wings back, the strong breeze of poison hit both Luna and Louis, knocking them back a distance.

The familiar sting took over her nerves, Luna couldn't hold back the violent coughs that followed. The toxins released by the Butterfly of Delirium were stronger than the blobs that she had encountered before in the tunnels, the back of her throat felt like it was on fire, the molecules of venom coated her skin and clothing like a second flesh. Hearing the others holding it back, Luna used her Regeneration. Part of her felt better, but there was still the issue of her strength being sapped away.

Sensing their opponent approaching, Luna aimed her bayonet. Glancing through the scope, she pulled the trigger releasing a few more shots. Each shot managed to hit it, but still it wasn't enough to badly injure it. Flying away from them, the monstrous head of its tail perched itself over its head releasing tiny orbs of poison around it. Forcing herself to move, Luna avoided them.

"Fall back!" Yakumo shouted, he could see her mobility was slower than normal.

She watched him and Louis take on the Butterfly of Delirium as she searched her pouch for the antivenom. Looking in her hand, she only had three vials worth of antidote. Putting two back, she took a deep breath as she held the tip of the needle close to her neck. Breaking the skin, Luna took deep breaths as she pushed the plunge on it sending the antivenom through her veins.

Dropping the vial, the effects of the venom quickly dissipated. Knocking the monster down, Yakumo and Louis didn't hesitate to attack it. Dashing towards them, Luna thrusted her bayonet into the side of it. Pulling back her weapon, a wave of poison started to surround it. Jumping back, "how tough is this thing?" she questioned.

"Don't know, don't charge in recklessly." Yakumo told her, "do you have any antivenom?"

"Yea, I only have a couple of vials." she told them, "what about you guys?" she asked them as she used part of her Regeneration to heal her wounds.

"I should have enough." Yakumo answered her.

"Same."

"Good, now enough chatter. Time to take this thing down!" Luna spoke before charging towards the Butterfly of Delirium, Yakumo shook his head.

Following behind her, "don't rush in!" Using his blade as a shield he blocked the charge attack of its tail, the force of it pushing him into Luna. Rolling onto her back, Luna concentrated as the flames surrounded her arm. Throwing the ball of flames, it staggered giving them an opening. "Let's go!"

As they were about to attack, the mouth on its tail opened widely sending out a large projectile ball of poison. Luna knew she didn't have enough time to dodge it, lifting up her leg. "Move Yakumo!" kicking him with all of her might, she watched him stumble away from her.

"Luna!" they both shouted her name, as she was consumed by the ball of poison. They could hear the laughter rumble out of the Butterfly of Delirium as it swung its tail, making direct contact with Luna. Rolling on the ground, the feeling of poison hit her again. "What the hell were you thinking?" Yakumo questioned her, as he dragged her away leaving Louis to fight the beast.

Coughing, "I thought it would be better if one of us got hit instead of both of us." she managed to speak, "comrades need to look out for each other."

Yakumo chuckled, "guess you're right…." preparing himself, "take a minute to heal up, I'll cover for you in the meantime."

Feeling her bayonet slipping from her grasp, everything started to feel heavy around her. The weight of her Blood Veil dragging her down, the heaviness of her own mask upon her face. Looking towards the others, through blurry vision she could barely make out their silhouettes giving it their all to fight off the poisonous monster. Digging into her pouch her fingers could feel the vials that she desperately needed. The sensation of the long needle pushing into her neck, pushing the antidote in her veins alleviated the ailment.

Throwing the emptied vial, her hand reached for her chest. "This is all I have left," weakly saying to herself. The damage to her body was beginning to heal, taking a deep breath she could feel most of her strength return but not all. "Only one more use of Regeneration left." Luna knew she had to be careful, the Butterfly of Delirium was tougher than she had originally thought.

The roaring of their opponent was getting closer and closer, it's tail snaking in the air directly towards her. Rolling to the side, holding her breath purple eyes could see the thin wave of poison surrounding it. The particles dancing around it, in a deadly manor. Holding up the bayonet, Luna took aim firing off several rounds of condensed ichor. Pain filled screams clawing at her ears, before pulling its tail back as it launched it towards her. Raising up her bayonet, Luna tried to block the attack.

Sheer force slammed into her, her footing slipping from under her feet as she was launched back. Yakumo and Louis could hear her pain filled cry, as they both tried to keep the Butterfly away from her. Poison entering their systems, as they all managed to get their distance away from it.

Panting, "think we're close to killing it?" Yakumo asked, before the Butterfly let out a ghastly roar. "Guess not." they all had landed enough blows to knock down at least three noblewomen, but this was unlike any Lost they had faced before. Even facing a Frenzied Oliver was easier than this.

"This is bad," Louis muttered. They all took the chance to inject the antivenom into their veins, curing them of their ailment. "If this keeps up, the entire area will be filled with poison."

Looking around, Yakumo and Luna could see what Louis was talking about. The once reddish hue of sunset was beginning to become clouded by a dark purple tint similar to the same aura that the Butterfly of Delirium was giving off. "If this keeps up, all the antivenom in the world won't save us." Luna whispered, seeing the poison dancing in the air. "We need to end this quickly."

"Might be easier said than-" before Yakumo could finish his sentence, Luna charged towards their opponent. "Luna!" he shouted her name, but there was no stopping her. "She's way too reckless!"

"I don't have much ichor left," concentrating, the blazing flames wrapped around her hand. "I can only use and maybe one shot," throwing the large ball of flames towards the Butterfly of Delirium was a direct hit. Orange and red wisps covered its body, Luna could see the anger filling it's eyes. Dodging its tail, Louis and Yakumo ran towards the beast; seeing the opening that Luna created.

Appearing behind it, Luna lifted her bayonet aiming directly at the back of its head. A wave of calmness washed over her, she knew that Louis and Yakumo saw the chance and they took it. She just needed to keep it's attention on her for just a bit longer. Watching it turn towards her, she didn't hesitate; pulling the trigger.

Empty clicks of her bayonet destroyed the calmness she once felt. "Shit!" Luna swore she had no more ichor concentrates and even if she did, there wasn't enough time for her to use it. The large dark head of its tail locked onto her, as it charged straight at her. "I'm not going down without a fight!" Adjusting her grip on the handle, Luna put all her force behind her strike.

Her eyes widened in horror, everything stopped. The sound of metal breaking shot into her head, things around her slowly started to move; half of her bayonet was inside of its jaws. Fragments of metal shimmered across its lined face, Luna could have sworn she could see it smirking. Opening its jaws time returned back to normal, releasing the half of her weapon by spitting it before her.

"What the hell!" they heard Luna shout, as they had all watched Luna's weapon being destroyed right before their eyes. The lacking sound of gunfire was a clear indication that she was out of ichor, she couldn't use any of her gifts and now her bayonet was gone.

She was completely defenseless.

"This is bad!" at Yakumo's response they sprinted towards her. Shock took over her, leaving her unable to move. In an instant she was left with nothing to fight with. No ichor to use her gifts, no weapon to attack or use to block attacks, nothing. "Luna get out of there!" hearing Yakumo's command, Luna could see the tail hanging high above her.

"There's no way I can dodge that!" she screamed in her head, "no it can't end like this!" as the Butterfly of Delirium launched it's tail at her, Luna froze; she didn't know how she could avoid this attack. Dark purple liquid dripping from its razor sharp teeth, its jaw was slightly open giving her a glimpse at the darkness inside of its mouth.

Closing her eyes tightly, "Luna!" something shoved her, as her body struck the ground, but it didn't feel like the beast. "Aaahhh!" The metal blade hitting the ground was muffled by Louis's cry of pain. Opening her eyes, she could see Louis closeby gasping in agony.

"Louis! No!" Luna hurried over to him, holding him in her arms. "Louis! Say something!" she screamed at him. "Fuck! Why did you have to save me?" Luna felt immense guilt take over her senses, "I froze up, I should have taken that blow! Not you!"

"Hey!" turning towards the sound of Yakumo's voice, she could see the Butterfly of Delirium was locked onto him. "Get him out of here!" he motioned towards an area of the battlefield to her, as he blocked the attacks with his large two handed blade, "I'll hold her off!"

Grabbing his arm, Luna lifted Louis up as much as she could leaving Yakumo to fight off the Butterfly of Delirium. Carefully setting him down, she reached into her pouch pulling out her last antivenom. She could hear him panting deeply for air through his purifier mask; the last hit attack from the beast was a direct hit leaving him poisoned severely. Propping him up, Luna could feel the poisonous fluid that coated his back.

"Luna stop…." Louis panted, he knew what she was going to do. "You need it."

Shaking her head, "I'm sorry Louis, but we have no time to argue about this." she ignored his pleas, "it's my fault you got hurt, I shouldn't have stood there like an idiot." Injecting the antidote in his arm, Luna looked over at the fragments of her bayonet on the ground. "Just stay here, I'm going to make sure this ends now," she said to him before grabbing Louis's blade.

"Luna," Louis grunted her name, even though the poison was beginning to subside the weakness he felt lingered, "what are you doing?"

"I'm gonna borrow this for a minute," she told him. "Please…. Let me end this." Turning back to face the battlefield, despite Yakumo's spirited tauntings at the Butterfly of Delirium she knew that he wasn't going to hold out much longer. "I'm not going to let you guys disperse." Even though dispersing was better than having your heart destroyed it still wasn't pleasant. The thought of losing your memories at the cost of revival was a steep price to pay, she wasn't going to let them lose any of their memories because of her mistake. "I don't have any memories….so if I disperse…. I won't lose anything."

Closing her eyes,"do you need me to help you again?" the voice echoed in her mind. Luna remembered she had heard it once before, back when they first fought Oliver at the Crossroads. A chill ran down her spine, she didn't want to say yes or reply but she knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer herself.

"Who are you?" she questioned the voice. "Tell me who you are!"

"Answer my question…. Do you want me to lend you my strength?" it asked her again. Luna knew last time she heard it she didn't remember anything that happened. The feeling of something controlling her body started to grow stronger. "We don't really have time for games here, so tell me what's it gonna be?"

Gritting her teeth, the poison in her body was starting to eat at her remaining strength. One more hit and she would disperse, tightening her grip on Louis's sword. "I want to help them. Protect them!"

The voice began to laugh,"I'll take that as a yes." Luna felt her mind slowly starting to melt away, as everything around her began to vanish. "Let the fun begin."

Feeling something inside of her stirring, her pain vanished leading to a rush of energy to consume her. Opening her eyes, the darkness enveloped the whites of them as the glow of her blue irises locked onto the target. Yakumo held onto his weapon tensely, staring down at the beast. The monster tail attached to it, drooling poison its yellow eyes hungrily glaring at him. Yakumo was nearly out of breath, he was reaching his limit. "You're going down!" lifting his sword, he could feel a heaviness that was foreign to him.

"That's my line!" Luna shouted, jumping off of his sword launching herself towards the Butterfly of Delirium. Her arms and legs wrapping tightly around its tail, the beast screeching in shock as it began to thrash around to shake her off. "I'm going to end this!"

Holding onto its tail, Luna refused to let go of it as it swung her around violently. She needed to wait for the right moment, this was her only chance. "Luna!" Yakumo shouted her name, he had never seen anyone attempt to do something like that. He flinched as it tried to bang her against the walls of the battlefield. "What the hell?" He knew something wasn't right, he knew that something was different. Swinging upward, she released her grip flying upwards in the air.

They were both speechless, watching as she floated over the Butterfly of Delirium for a brief moment as the monster itself didn't know how to react. She was too high up, leaving herself wide open for an attack. "She's not going to survive!" Louis stood up, his body riddled with pain despite being cured of the poison. He needed to get to her before she hit the ground.

Looking down at her target, Luna placed her hand on the middle of Louis's crimson sword she knew she couldn't mess this up. This was the only chance she would get, the damage of the fall would be too much for any Revenant. Plummeting back down, she moved her body as needed to ensure she hit her mark.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" the voice screamed in her head over and over again. Feeling little to no resistance against the sword, the wings of the Butterfly of Delirium were hacked off, turning to ash. Reaching the ground, Luna rolle to lessen the fall. She couldn't feel any of the damage of her descent back down.

"Luna!" Yakumo was stunned to see that she was able to stand after falling from such a height, she even managed to severely injure their opponent. "What the hell?" his whole body felt frozen as he could see the blue illumination in her eyes, an eerie coldness ensnared them; almost like she was lifeless. "What's going on here!?"

They didn't know what to do, as they watched Luna raise up Louis's sword and with no hesitation, slashed off the beastly tail of her opponent. Its wailing cries shook the entire area around them, as it collapsed to the ground in pain. Louis couldn't believe what he was seeing. She had taken so much damage during their fight, and yet she was able to eliminate their opponent with ease. "Yo Louis…. Look at her eyes." Yakumo pointed out.

A chill ran through his body, the illuminating blue eyes encased by the darkness of her eyes. Void of any life or emotions. Louis couldn't speak. He had seen those eyes before, he searched his memories but couldn't find where he had seen them before. His heart started to beat fast, a surge of terror took over him. "What's going on? Why do I feel this way?"

Taking a few steps towards the creature, its body flailing against the ground. The howls of pain that escaped its mouth was nearly enough to make someone feel sorry for it, but she felt nothing of the sort. Her blue eyes gazed upon it, the poison that once surrounded it was gone as the black blood from its wounds pooled around it. "You pitiful creature…." Luna spoke to it in a low voice, its eyes looking up at her like it was begging for mercy. Summoning the elongated stinger blade forming from behind her, the glow of its bright red center shined upon Luna's face.

"Die."

Snapping her fingers, the blade of her Blood Veil stabbed through the Butterfly of Delirium its blood coating every inch of it. Pulling it out, her eyes watched as it turned to dust. "Thanks for the fun….Looks like you don't need me anymore…."

Fatigue took over her, the sound of Louis's sword hitting the ground didn't register as she collapsed. They didn't hesitate to rush over to her, Yakumo shook her as she didn't budge. "Luna! Hey wake up! Wake up!" he shook her, he pushed the concerns of what they witnessed aside as he turned her over onto her back he could hear her breathing was starting to grow weaker.

Louis put aside his own injuries as he rushed over to Luna, Yakumo was still trying to shake her awake but her eyes wouldn't open. Looking behind him at the mistle, "we need to get her to the mistle." he told Yakumo. Grabbing his sword they both carefully picked Luna up, carrying her towards the mistle. The sounds of her pained exhales worried them, they didn't know how much damage she had taken during that fiasco; the fact that she hadn't dispersed was a miracle.

Gently laying her down, Louis pulled the glove off of her hand. Pulling out a dagger, he drew the blade across her palm allowing her blood to spill from the wound and onto the mistle. The darkness of the mistle began to fade, as the plant began to glow with life. The denseness of the air around them began to clear, making it easier for them to breathe. Taking off his mask, Yakumo kneeled down next to the mistle, his body recovering from the fight.

"She might be tough, but she's reckless." shaking his head, Yakumo couldn't get the image out of his mind. Those piercing blue eyes, the brutality of her final blow. He may not have known her long, but the way she fought was a complete opposite of how she usually did. Cold, callous. It was true that most Revenants were that way, but he wouldn't expect something like that from her.

Watching the cut on her hand heal, Louis slipped the glove back onto her hand. The way she took down the Butterfly of Delirium was almost identical to how she defeated the massive Lost at the Crossroads. "I'm glad she's with us." Yakumo laughed, trying not to think about what he saw. The thought of those eyes sent shivers down his spine. "I'm gonna have to stay on her good side."

Louis smiled behind his mask, "yea…. I don't think either one of us would want to be in a fight against her." he knew that Yakumo had seen it too, there was no denying it.

Yakumo looked towards the stubborn Revenant from earlier, his unconscious body was still in the same place. The girl was still nowhere in sight, a good thing for now. "So what are we gonna do about that jerk?" he questioned Louis.

"We'll knock some sense into him if we have to." Louis answered him, feeling the effects of the poison and his own exhaustion beginning to fade. Standing on his feet, they walked towards the Revenant leaving Luna to rest by the mistle.

"Wasn't Luna supposed to do that?"

"We're doing it for her." As much as they wanted to give Luna her shot at him, they prioritized her recovery over her want of dealing with the arrogant Revenant.

The sound of muffled groaning escaped from the Revenant, shaking himself awake. Placing a hand upon his head he surveyed the area, "what the hell?" he weakly spoke in curiosity. He couldn't see the human anywhere, nor the monster that had knocked him out.

Footsteps captured his attention, "you awake?" Louis glared at him.

Jumping to his feet, he reached for his weapon but it was nowhere near him. "Where is the girl!?" he shouted at the two men standing before him. "Answer me! Where the hell is she?!" the anger in his voice echoed in the quietness around them.

"We're taking custody of the girl. She will no longer be forced to serve Revenants like you."

Rage consumed him, making his blood boil. His body was shaking due to the sheer amount of frustration. Looking ahead he could see the female Revenant that threatened him earlier laying beside the revived mistle, "let's see if you feel the same way once I kill your companion!" before he could move, the sound of a gun clicking stopped him dead in his tracks.

Holding up his handgun towards him, "you touch one hair on her head and you're ash." Yakumo threatened him.

Shaking his head, "this is bullshit! Why are you protecting those pathetic humans?" he yelled at them. "We were forced to come back to life, only to fight and protect them! We die over and over again, just to protect them. They don't even bother to try and help us instead they're locked away from the horrors while we're here in this never ending battle of survival."

"That doesn't mean you can just use them how you want." Yakumo wanted to take this jerk down, the way he spoke only fueled his own animosity towards him.

"You really don't think so?" he scoffed, "we live with this terrible thirst and fear joining the ranks of the Lost, some of us died at the hands of the Queen over and over again and for whose sake? It was all done for those pitiful humans. If blood is the only price they have to pay then I'd say it's a pretty good deal."

Yakumo kept his gun pointed at him, his finger on the trigger, "humans are not possessions for Revenants to keep and use, they have rights." Yakumo declared.

"Then what about the rights of Revenants, do you think we asked for this sort of revival because we thought it would be fun?" he sarcastically questioned, "look at your fucking friend! Do you think she chose this life? Do you think she wants to have to fear her own sanity? She's exhausted and injured from battle just to save a damn human, she and the rest of us are forced to fight for our own survival."

Throwing a small bag towards the Revenant, "that should be enough to get you through a month." a single blood bead rolling out from its beige strings.

"Louis! What are you doing?!" Yakumo had no idea that Louis had packed so many with them, the fact that he was just giving them to some low life was infuriating to him.

Pointing his blade towards him, "just make sure that you and I never cross paths again," glancing towards Luna. "And if you ever threaten her again, I'll be sure to end you." the fire burned in his eyes. "This is your one and only warning."

He knew that blade, there was no denying it. "The Crimson Sword…. No way." he had rumors about a Revenant with a crimson sword who was an expert at exterminating the Lost. A skilled fighter that took down their targets with efficiency, someone you never wanted to fight against. Leaning down he grabbed the blood beads, holding them tight before running out of sight.

Shaking his head, "I guess we're back to what we once had again." Yakumo knew that those blood beads were the same ones that Luna had given to them. Even though they didn't need them, it was nice knowing they had more than enough to get them by for the next couple of months.

Walking over to Luna they could see her starting to wake up, as she managed to sit up. They both kneeled down next to her as her eyes wandered all over the battlefield. There was no sign of the Butterfly of Delirium anywhere or that arrogant Revenant, even the poison that once filled the air had cleared up.. Placing her hand upon her head, she could feel a slight panging at the front of her head. "What happened?" she asked. "Where's the Butterfly of Delirium?"

"You don't remember?" Yakumo questioned, he was relieved to see that she was back to herself.

"Remember what?" Luna could see the worry in their eyes, "all I remember is grabbing Louis and the next thing I know I'm laying right here." she told them.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Louis tried to hide the immense relief he felt. "It doesn't matter, what's important is that you're still here." looking over the pieces of her broken weapon. "Though I can't say the same thing for your weapon."

Searching around her, Luna tried to find the bayonet but quickly remembered what had happened to it. Sighing, "I hope Murasame won't be too mad at me for letting it get destroyed." she spoke, as she staggered to her feet. Feeling Louis keep a light hold on her to keep her balance, Luna could feel a light burning sensation across her cheeks.

"She'll understand," Yakumo spoke lightly kicking the broken bayonet. He had seen weapons before be destroyed by the Lost in battle, even something like the older model ones were vulnerable to breaking. Patting her on the back, "we'll need to get you set up with a new one though."

Nodding her head, "yea." a thought snapped in the back of her mind, "wait! Where's that jackass? And the girl! Is she-?"

"He didn't leave with the girl." Louis reassured her, they all looked towards the entrance way that was hidden behind the white webbing, "there's a bloodspring in there, let's go check it out." continuing along with their expedition, they both kept a close eye on Luna. Even though she rested by the mistle, whatever came over her definitely took its toll on her physically.

"Luna…. You gonna be ok?" Yakumo asked her, the fact that they were still continuing despite the fact that she didn't have a weapon was a bit worrisome.

Nodding her head, "yea…. I'm sure I can find a pipe or something and just use that as a weapon if that's what's concerning you." she answered him. Walking into the slightly darkened cavern, they maneuvered around the large boxes and car shrapnel that was ensnared in the webbing. The winding path slowly started to open up, orange traffic cones and boxes piled high in the corner, the amount of dust on them showing the years of abandonment. In the center the bloodspring, withered and dry, "I'm starting to wonder why I even keep this glove on," Luna sighed, exposing her palm.

Putting the dagger to her skin, the faint line showed the previous cuts she had carved into her flesh. Pushing it into her hand, Luna tilted her hand, allowing a few drops of her blood to fall onto the roots of the blood spring. The familiar sound of wood cracking filled the small space, blinded by the bright light the branches extended, the blood spring itself almost doubling in size. Blood beads sprouting in various sizes, "wow…" Yakumo was nearly speechless, "this is amazing!" jokingly holding Luna in a headlock, "where the hell have you been all this time!?"

Louis smiled, it was amazing. She had a power that could help not only them, but other Revenants as well, kneeling down "ok, we can trace the flow of the blood beads from here. Give me a moment," spilling a few drops of a luminescent golden fluid, a line started to glow from the blood spring. Examining the path, "our destination is this way." they all looked at the black metal framed elevator.

"Strange place for that thing," Luna whispered. "Let's just hope it works." A new scent covered the air, she knew this smell. Gritting her teeth, she tried to keep herself under control.

"Come out, we know you're there." Yakumo informed the individual. Stepping out from behind the boxes, the human girl from earlier shakily stood before them. Her blood covering the handle of the large knife she held against her neck.

"What are you…?"

"Stay back!" she shouted at them.

Taking a small step forward, "just take it easy, we aren't going to hurt you." Luna tried to calm the girl down.

"I'm the one who decides how I want to live my life! I'm done listening to Revenants like you!" she screamed at them, the terror in her voice making each of her words sound shaky.

"That's fine, just put the knife down." Yakumo said to the human.

"I'm sick of it, day after day of having my blood sucked by any passing Revenant!" Tears formed in her eyes, "I'm not an animal!"

Taking a few steps forward, "you're right…. And we can help you." he spoke to her, "we know someone who can take you to one of the government shelters. If you ask them, I'm sure they'll take you in and you'll be able to live in safety."

Shock overcame her, as she lowered the knife. "What?"

"You won't have to spend your days living in fear of Revenants anymore, although you will be asked to donate blood." Louis informed her, digging into one of his pockets. Pulling out a slip of paper, "all the information you need is right here. You're the one who decides how you live." turning his back to her, they all walked towards the elevator.

"It's a trick…." Luna glanced over her shoulder at her. "Why would you be trying to help me?"

"I think the time for sacrifice is over. That's all." Louis answered her. The woman didn't speak for a moment, her eyes reading over the information on the piece of paper. "Alright let's get moving."

Stepping into the elevator, Luna couldn't see any buttons or anything that would make it move. Placing her foot on the edge of the orange and black circle the doors sealed shut as it made its descent down. "Well…. That worked."

"Yea…." Louis muttered, looking at Luna. "We'll head back to base as soon as we get an idea of what we're dealing with next." he told her, "if any Lost do show up, Yakumo and I will deal with them."

Crossing her arms, "fine." She hated the idea of not being able to fight, but with limited ichor and no weapons she knew it was a good idea. "Worst case scenario I'll use my blood veil."

The elevator stopped, the creaking of metal doors sliding open pierced their ears, the sound was almost like nails on a chalkboard. Hesitantly walking out, the tunnel was illuminated by the glow of the thorns that were embedded in the sides, "this tunnel was most likely built when the miasma was thin." Yakumo said, "be interesting to see where it leads."

"Yea, let's get go check it out." Both men started running down the tunnel, placing her hands on her hips Luna shook her head. "Don't fall behind!" Louis shouted. Hearing the sounds of her heels clicking with each hurried step, they all made their way through.

Luna felt like they were running for a while, as the red glow of sunset shined into the tunnel. Slowing down she could black spikes piercing through the red colored walls, dark chains hung onto the dried coral that decorated the area. The cliff-like space was a bit slimmer than what they would have expected. Standing close to the edge, more black spikes of large sizes could be seen. One in particular caught her eye, as a whole ship was impaled through with the black spike. "What the hell?" Luna whispered. It was like the ocean had vanished, causing the sea life that once roamed it to vanish and the vessels that traveled along the waves to be a reminder of what was once here.

"This place has changed completely too," Louis spoke. It had been years since they were last here, except this path wasn't around and the ground was more present than what it was.

Sighing, "yea… it seems everything changed since the Great Collapse. The only thing that has stayed the same is our appearance." Yakumo stated, they all looked out at the endless devastation before them. "Come on. There's a mistle up ahead, we should get back to base."

Nodding their heads in agreement, they began making their way towards the dried mistle. "It's my fault…." Louis's voice echoed.

Stopping, "you say something Louis?"

Stunned, "no."

"Why didn't I-!" his voice rang out again.

Looking down at the ground, the aura that surrounded it was the only thing that showed that it was vestige. The coloring was so similar to their new surroundings that they could have easily missed it. "Is this…. Is this really my-?" he looked at Luna. Something was drawing it to him, the memories inside that belonged to him. His heart pounded. What secrets did it hold? What would it show them? Nodding her head, Luna knew what to do.

Grabbing it, the vestige reacted to her presence. "Ahh!" Spikes stabbing through her hand, holding the vestige in front of Louis the blue aura swirled around her arm and the vestige as they were consumed by the blinding bright light.


Opening his eyes Yakumo inspected the new area they were in. Before him was a large cement building that appeared to be several stories tall, a pair of dark metal like material doors were sealed shut. Looking over he could see Luna next to him, but no sign of Louis anywhere. "Where are we?" he asked her.

"This is a memory echo, Io says it's a place where lost memories of those still wander." she answered him. "This place…..It's part of his memory." she spoke. Hearing the footsteps behind them, they turned to see who was approaching them.

"No way…." the outfit he wore was similar to the one he normally wore. Brushing the hair from his face, his once red eyes were now green. The lack of his crimson sword and blood veil confirmed what they saw, "this is when Louis was…"

Nodding her head, they watched him walk towards the doors as they slowly slid open. "From when he was a human," Luna could feel a strange feeling in her chest, it was like happiness, but not quite. They stayed close to him, "this is strange…." Luna whispered, they watched him sigh a book at the desk.

"What is?"

"This is different…. The last memory echo we were sucked into….. It wasn't this…." she didn't know the right word to say.

"Real?"

Sighing, "guess you could say that."

"Hey Louis! Are your classes done for today?" a man questioned him.

"Is Cruz awake?" he asked the man.

"She sure is, in fact she's in a pretty good mood today too. Go on ahead and see her, here's your visitation pass." the man handed Louis a laminated piece of white paper.

"Thanks."

Walking down the hallway, "what is this place?" Yakumo inquired, it didn't look like any hospital he had seen before. Glancing over at Luna, she remained silent. "You ok?" he stopped her.

Luna couldn't shake what she was feeling, "I'm fine. Let's keep following him." she told Yakumo, walking to the last door down the hall, a woman's laughter could be heard.

"And then? What did the professor say?" the woman's voice asked him.

"He said…. 'Well there's no cure like the obscure.'" he spoke a lower tone.

The woman laughed once again, pushing the door open Luna's eyes widened in shock. Numerous machines and monitors lined the walls of the room, numbers in red either stayed the same or changed. Sitting in the chair close to the bed, he smiled at the woman. Luna had seen her before. It was the same woman that had awoken her, the same one that was in her dreams and showed her where the vestige fragment was. "Cruz…." the woman finally had a name.

"Haha! Another groaner!" she cheered, the smile on her face was heartwarming.

"I hope the experiments end soon, so how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, could be worse. Your sister has been taking good care of me, so…. Don't worry." Cruz reassured him, "I'm the only one that can do this…." looking down at her hands, "besides…. I have you and the others looking out for me….."

"I think you're forgetting someone."

"Yea…." Cruz sighed, "I just wish I could see Luna."

Her eyes widened, "did she?" she whispered to herself. Cruz spoke her name, "did she mean me?" as everything around them started to fade to blackness. The cramped space of the room changed, as they were once again back outside of the facility. "We're back here again?"

This time the doors were wide open, "oh you're here early again Louis." the way he spoke made them both feel a bit unsettled, "is school on a break right now?"

"Yea, the professors are devoting all their time to research lately…. How's Cruz?"

"Well, we're having a hard time suppressing what's causing the rejection." the man informed him, "ordinarily we wouldn't let you see her, but…" sliding the visitors card towards Louis.

He quickly took it, "I see. Thanks. I appreciate it."

Walking down the hallway, Luna looked over at Yakumo. "What did that man mean by rejection?" she asked him.

"When someone is injected with the BOR parasite, their bodies respond differently to it. Some are fine and will wake up right away, while others…. Their bodies will fight it, either due to incompatibility or other reasons and they aren't exactly pleasant." he briefly explained to her. "I've even seen Revenants go through rejection years after, most of the time they joined the ranks of the Lost."

"I see…." Luna muttered.

"S'it hurt?" Louis asked Cruz. Laying on the bed, her hand was barely touching the cords attached to her chest.

"Yea…" she answered him, looking into her eyes they could see the tears beginning to form. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did it have to be me?" Cruz questioned, curling into a ball she gasped in pain. Her body convulsed as she struggled to maintain herself.

"Cruz!"

"I…. won't stop fighting…." she breathed, "I won't give up…..I won't lose!" Cruz shouted.

Everything began to change around them, metal walls appeared before taking the shape of the hallway as Louis and Cruz vanished. The floors were extremely uneven, as even parts of the walls and ceiling were in disarray. "Do all memory echoes change like this?"

Shaking her head, "no…. Only this one."

Cruz's pain filled sobs bounced off the walls, "please…. Please, Louis….. I'm….. I'm sorry…." she cried out.

"Cruz….I-I can't!" they could hear Louis's anguished response.

"Louis….stop me….please….please…." Cruz weeped, "kill me."

"I can't!"

Continuing along, the large metal door at the end of the hallway creeped open as they saw what lay on the other side. The metal doors of the facility were blown off of it's hinges, fragments covered in blood were sprawled along the ground. Large amounts of dark crimson liquid covered the walls and floors as they cautiously entered inside. "This is horrible…." Yakumo muttered under his breath.

Going down the hallway, blood nearly coated the walls and floors, "no…." Louis spoke. Entering into the room, they could see him kneeling before the bed where Cruz once was. The machines along the walls were demolished, her bed broken and soaking with blood. "What have I done?"

"Ahhh!"

"Wraahhh!"

"Someone help!"

Voices cried out in pain and help, the scene around Luna and Yakumo crumbled away as a new one began to open up to them. Fire burned all over the mounds of debris and devastation, people lying along the shattered ground engulfed by their own blood and flames. "Run Louis…. Save yourself…." looking up they could see Louis holding a woman in his arms.

"Karen!" he shouted her name, tears streaming down his face. "It's my fault…. Why didn't I…."

"Louis!" Yakumo looked over at Luna, confusion in her face. They both heard her voice crying his name. "I didn't say anything…." she quietly spoke, her gaze turned upward as Cruz levitated above Louis. Holding her left hand up, numerous white spears manifest around her. "No…."

The spears shot towards them, as Luna covered her head with her arms. The sounds around them died down, moving her arms away she could see the familiar ornate gate that would lead them out of the memory echo. Luna could see Louis had returned to them, visibly shaken by what they saw. Not saying a word to either of them, she began walking up the stone steps entering into the light.


Huffing, Luna could still feel the lingering pain in her hand. Pushing herself up, she could see the saddened look on Louis's face. "Nobody would want to relive that…." he said to them both, before turning his back to them. "I couldn't stop Cruz from going into a frenzy… so many people lost their lives, including my sister…" sighing, "I wanted to forget my frailty."

"Louis…." Luna whispered his name, the pain in his voice resonated inside of her. She felt her heart aching as each word he spoke made it hurt more and more.

"But…. if we can find the Source we can help save Revenants from the thirst they suffer. We can finally put an end to all this suffering and free not only ourselves, but others from this nightmare." he confidently spoke. "We can eliminate Silva's levy and hopefully, both humans and Revenants can live together in peace. I'm going to take responsibility for my past, I believe it's the least that I can do."

Taking a few steps towards Louis, Yakumo patted his friend on the back. "Then stop talking about and let's get it done! Are we going to end this nightmare or not?" they could tell he was smiling behind his purifier mask. "You can't move forward if you're always looking back."

Nodding his head, "yea…." turning his attention to Luna, the glow of the newly activated mistle illuminated her. He knew that Luna heard her name and her voice in those fragments of his memory, "Luna...I-"

Removing her mask, Louis could see the half smile on her face. "Must be weird….. Knowing two girls with the same name…. I didn't know it was a common one." she joked.

"Luna…" Yakumo saw the expression on her face when they heard her name, confusion, sorrow.

"Anyway we should probably get back, I wanna go check on Io." her body slowly started to disperse, her mind concentrating on getting back to base. "Cruz….Louis…. What exactly is going on?"


*so funny thing about the ladder thing, I wanted to make a joke about taking fall damage in the game. I know there are some places that you don't, but there are ones that you do so that was my little funny for this chapter.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it, I know it's a bit different than what happened in the game but when I thought of this story a lot of things I wrote where kind of already decided. I'll try to update again a lot sooner, I'm aiming for next Friday at the latest!