Yasha: And we're back!
Terumi: I think you mean I'M back. You haven't shown up in a few chapters, have you?
Yasha: Is someone angry that I took his nemesis away~? How cute. How about you go jack off to a picture of Trinity to keep your mind going.
Terumi: You wanna go there, hm? Well, he and I go WAY back. You're just some bitchy substitute. You won't last much longer.
Yasha: Refresh my memory. Who got rekt in chapter 18 again? Oh, wait! This guy!
Ragna: Can both of you just shut the fuck up?
Imperator: Yasha, silence.
Yasha: Kiss my finely shaped ass.
Imperator: Or maybe you would like it better if I shoved my foot up there instead?
Izanami: Hm. I must have missed something here.
Kagura: You missed a lot.
Nine: We've been busy. Anyway, let's just get started.
Yasha: Come on ladies, gentlemen, and that rainbow in between! Step right up!
Jin: If this ends up being another one of your pranks mage…
Akahana: Who shoved a pole passed your sphincter?
Yasha: I guess Tsubaki likes to use that strap on.
Tsubaki: I do no such thing!
Kagura: So, who's turn?
Akahana: Makoto Nanaya! You're up sweetie.
Makoto: Alright! Finally, my turn! Let's do this!
Kagura: Man if I could just get that one command that entire top would be gone in seconds…
Makoto: Shut it, perv!
Yasha: It leaves little to the imagination anyway. Besides, anytime she's around Ragna they're practically just there in full view.
Makoto: You shut your mouth!
Rachel: Can we stop with the idle banter and continue? We ARE on a timetable. At least from the directors.
Terumi: We have a staff? I could've sworn I killed them all…
Kokonoe: So THAT'S what happened to the last crew…
Yasha: I was wondering why I found an ear in my lunch and blood in the kitchen.
Noel: You WHAT!?
Yasha: Oh quiet down will ya?
Celica: I don't think that's something we can just brush over…
Ragna: Neither do I—and for god sakes Nu! Let my damn arm go!
Nu: No! Ragna got a mouth full of a tongue that wasn't Nu's! So the least Ragna could do is let Nu hold his arm.
Ragna: Holding! And dry humping! Are two very different fucking things Nu!
Lambda: Fair argument. I will join in too.
Ragna: The hell you will! Hey! Get to it, Makoto!
Makoto: But I don't know what to do.
Akahana: Oh, right! You'll be doing…! My biggest shame!
Makoto: Shit… Not that one.
Tsubaki: Heh…
Makoto: Why are you so happy!?
Tsubaki: Because I know the story…
Noel: Oh! It was that time!
Nine: Hm? What are you talking about? What time?
Makoto: Don't say it—I will! I lost my panties in school! I noticed a sudden updraft and realized my underwear went missing!
Jin: …How?
Makoto: My underwear is designed specifically for me, but they're worn very low, so they slide down sometimes…
Kagura: How could I miss that!?
Akahana: Ah, don't worry about it—things like that happen.
Kokonoe: They do?
Akahana: Yeah. Something similar happened when Celia was wearing her training bra. She had some really huge knockers as a twelve-year-old, and they were a bit tight so one day it just snapped and—g'uh!
*flies through door after a right hook from a now panting and enraged Celia*
Celia: What the EFF!
Valkenhayn: I believe that is what the young people refer to as 'getting rekt'.
Ragna: Please don't say that again—and Lambda! Both of you get off my arms!
Lambda: Then can I sit on your lap?
Nu: Nu calls crotch!
Bullet: I think now is a good time to start the chapter.
Terumi: Yeah! Heh heh…
Tsubaki: Why are you leering at me like that?
Terumi: Start the chapter!
Chapter 31: A Camellia falls
Tsubaki laid leisurely back on her neatly folded bed; scarlet hair fanned across the plump mattress and ocean blue eyes gazing aimlessly at the ceiling. Huffing, she allowed a sigh passed her smooth, pink lips, blowing up to her bangs. After months of separation, she finally had her chance to speak with Jin. Wasn't a long chat. A simple 'how are you' and 'what's been going on'. He hadn't much to share—somewhat vague about his endeavors. The only thing she could make out was he, and Hakumen met at some point, and Jubei gave him hell. Otherwise, from that, she couldn't decipher anything. Even after drilling him she got no further answer. Maybe it was important or personal, but he didn't have to be so cold about it!
"What am I doing getting upset about? I shouldn't stick my nose into his business. I wonder if he's still awake... Maybe I could go talk to him?" Tsubaki rose from the ruffled sheets, fixing them before she took off to Jin's room. Once before it, Tsubaki had second thoughts about disturbing him. Maybe he's sleeping? But... He could be awake! Oh! Maybe some practice before she went in?
"U-Um, Jin. D-Do you...want to talk?"
No, that's not right.
"Hey, Jin!" She smiled, giggling, "How about we talk for awhile?"
That's not it either. That's more Celica's style.
"Jin! Come with me! Now!"
What am I!? His commanding officer!?
"Hey, there~ Hehe! Are you feeling lonely? Maybe I can help~"
Ah! What is wrong with me!?
"Ok! I'll just go for it! Huh?" Tsubaki arched a brow as, when she turned the knob, she found it unlocked. Creeping the door open, she peaked in before walking inside to find Jin nowhere. Where did he go? Did he step out? Maybe, he's with Kagura? He did say he wanted to speak to him earlier. But...why did she feel this way? What was this worry that had settled its way into her body? Tsubaki's eyes scrolled down to her brightly glowing hand. Specs of light converged as the Izayoi abruptly appeared, gripped firmly in hand. The ominous glow her weapon emitted dimmed then illuminated perpetually, almost like a beacon. The young redhead brought the glowing dagger to her face and examined it, blue eyes scanning it as if it had meaning, and it did. She felt it was trying to tell her something as she spoke her thoughts aloud.
"Jin...is in trouble?" 'What does that mean? No... I can't worry about that now!' "Where is he!" Tsubaki yelled at her weapon, feeling a bit ridiculous talking to an inanimate object. Strangely, the light brightened twice, and Tsubaki knew precisely what it said. Bursting out from Jin's room she ran down to Kagura's office to warn them but stopped when she overheard something frightening.
"Noel, Ragna, and Rachel are all gone. Damn it!" Kagura's hand crashed on his mahogany desk, threatening to break it in half. "Can Tager and Lambda find them? I know I said we should stay out of it, but we should be out there." Tsubaki, barely able to peak through the crack of the slightly opened door, saw a woman in a white lab coat standing beside him. If she had to guess, it was Professor Celia.
"It's only been an hour so keep your damn pants on," Celia popped a lollipop in her mouth and stuck it in the corner of her mouth, stuffing her speech a bit. "You've gotta be patient if you're gonna be a leader. If you leave, it's gonna stir up trouble. You're not some high school student anymore—you're a commanding officer. That speaks more than you know. You said you'd inherit his will and going back on that promise now would be a disgrace upon his sacrifice." She chomped down on the rock candy and spat the stick into the trash can beside his desk. "Still, having Rachel silent is troubling. Means they're moving to the next phase. We need to come up with countermeasures and hope we get them all back. It's all we can do at this point... Let's just hope Sector Seven doesn't butt their heads back in again."
'So, Noel, Rachel, and Ragna are missing too!?' Tsubaki crept away from the door before taking off in hot pursuit of her missing allies. Noel, Jin, Rachel, and Ragna... How were they able to take all four of them!? Whatever the case may be, she believed her allies were alright. Stopping in her tracks at the center of Yabiko's plaza, she used her glowing Izayoi as a compass, pointing it in all directions, stopping once she saw the light glow the brightest heading north. 'So, they're not in Yabiko anymore. Towards the forest!' Again, Tsubaki bolted down from the plaza like an Olympic athlete at the sound of the gun, forcing citizens to dive out of her way. Aching worry throbbed in her breast, making her sprint faster. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this.
-Yabiko Westside Outskirts (forest)-
Tsubaki marched through the dark forest, following the Izayoi to where it beckoned her. Whether it be Noel, Ragna, Rachel, or Jin-finding any one of them could lead her to the other. Navigating through the dark woods proved laborious. Even with the illumination of the Izayoi, she could barely see two feet in front of her, and the moon proved no help. Its silvery rays could not penetrate the thick awning above. The darkness spurred a slight sense of claustrophobia into the young woman. It reminded her of that one time she, Noel, Makoto, and everyone explored the school when it had closed. Makoto heavily insisted on the ridiculous deed, continually bombarding them with fantasies of adventure. That night scarred her for life and being all alone in this thick, dark forest only activated her trauma.
Branches and tree roots had intertwined with her paths, each step a crack, sending electricity through her body. Breaking branches and creaking tree barks from the blowing wind kept silence to a bare minimum. Tsubaki has seen so many scary movies about lone men and women in the forest. A peaceful, normal walk, only for some demon to take them away and saw them in half, or cut their heads off—oh my god I want to go home! Tsubaki whimpered aloud, fearful of what crept within the shadows. Usually, this silence would be tranquil. But this time it was the exact opposite. Hidden within the overwhelming fear of night laid an ominous sense of danger. Almost instantly when that thought crossed her mind, Tsubaki heard a footstep that did not belong to her. Leaves crumpled, and the air grew still and...cold?
"Jin?" Tsubaki called out to the shadows, yet received no answer. A sudden high-pitched ring snatched Tsubaki's eyes from the shadows to the Izayoi. Instinctively, Tsubaki dived to the right as javelins of ice impaled the tree behind her. Quickly rising back to her feet, she summoned her shield and went on guard. "Who's there!" She called out to the darkness.
"I wasn't expecting you to dodge that." A chilling voice spoke from the darkness, bringing with it an icy mist that froze the trees around her. A male figure steadily appeared from the blackness, hands behind their back and winter blue eyes locked onto the redhead, Tsubaki's eyes narrowed to the person's full form.
"Setsuko! Why are you here!? Where's Jin!?"
"I don't know, and I don't care either. I plan to take care of him later on. Now that you're here, you could say I'm pleased." The man stopped before the bushes he walked out from, exuding a stronger gust of icy winter. "You're eyes...irritate me. They remind me of 'her'..."
"Her?" Tsubaki repeated, taking a step back. She didn't know why, but... This man... She needed to escape and fast.
"It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that you die here." Instantaneously, a sword of frost appeared in his hand, oozing winter.
'...'
She heard a voice echo.
'What?'
'RUN!'
Yabiko Northside Outskirts (forest)
Ragna awoke to a dull pain pounding his skull and the scent of grass clogging his airways. Even before the criminal opened his eyes he knew damn well he wasn't by some cauldron or within the city and he wasn't lying down in the branch. This fresh air that brushed against his face and danced in his platinum hair, the odd, yet comfortable texture in which he laid and the sound of rustling bushes. Yep, he was in the forest. At least this was better than by that cauldron or with...her. The criminal felt as if the weight of the world was being pressed down on his eyelids as he opened them and when he did, he found he could only open them halfway. His vision was sleep-blurred and untrustworthy, and his body had a strange, uncomfortable numbness to it that made him feel uncomfortable in his own skin. His eyes scroll to the awning of leafs above that blocked the moon, allowing slivers of its rays past the canopy. When he tried to sit up, pain struck him relentlessly, but he managed to fight against it and scooted back to lean against the tree behind him. The Grim Reaper sighed pulling up the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a silver bracelet.
"That chick... Why the hell does she remind me so much of her?" Ragna shut his eyes and allowed his arms to fall like lifeless limbs to his sides as he leaned his head back on the rough bark.
"Ragna, are you ok?" Azure asked.
"As good as I'll ever be. Anyway, we need to get back. Those bastards are on the move now," Ragna gnawed on his bottom lip when he tried to stand, immediately falling back against the bark, panting, "Damn it...! Still not healed yet..." Ragna cursed under his breath, his chest heaving with his rapid breathing. It took a moment, but he finally got his breathing back under control as he looked to the canopy above. "Just what the hell am I going to do? I can't just sit here."
"Well, we don't have much of a choice. You should be thankful she didn't kill you back there, but...I wonder why? She seemed to know you Ragna. Is it possible you know her?"
"Maybe..." Ragna tried to stand once more, using the tree to help him up, wobbling a bit before he finally stood on his two legs. "We can figure that out later. We need to get in contact with the others." He placed two fingers on his ears and spoke, "Hey! Celia, can you hear me? Hey!"He got no response, only static. "Shit. Things fucking busted," he bit. Guess he had no choice but to hoof it back and hope he was going the right direction. Before he even took a step, approaching footsteps spun him around as he gripped the handle of his blade, wincing a bit to the pain that lanced at his side from his quick movement. This wasn't good... He didn't have the strength to fight. Ragna clenched the handle harder when a figure came into view and took a step back, ready to run, as much as it pained him. When the character came from the shadows he immediately dropped his guard, but not because he was relieved—well, that was part of it, but because they rushed and tackled him the moment their eyes met.
It was just Lambda.
She raised her head from his chest so her eyes could meet his. "I finally found you," Lambda said with great relief before pushing her head back into his chest. "I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're ok, Ragna."
"Ok, ok, Lambda—I get it. Can you please get off of me? Everywhere hurts..."
"And look who finally decided to make themselves known." A grouchy, groaning voice echoed. "Where the hell have you been? Sniffing the roses or some shit?"
"Long story," he said as he sat up with Lambda still in his chest, later sighing, "But first, mind getting this idiot off me?"
"Lambda, come on, we can't waste any time," Celia said, groaning when she received no response, now a little aggravated. "Damn it, Lambda. Get off him and get back here."
"Initiate ignore protocol."
"Why you little...!"
"Ok, enough," Ragna stepped in, later sighing, "Come on, she's right, we need to get back, and we're only wasting time just sitting here." Lambda pulled her head from his chest to reveal her cute pout to him.
"But I want to stay like this." She argued, her voice like a child.
"If I take you to that bug store in the central plaza and buy you some bugs will you get off?"
A pause.
"...I want a whole jar."
"Fine..." Ragna groaned. Lambda got up and helped him to his feet, throwing an arm over her shoulder to help with his balance, but they wouldn't be going anywhere fast like this. "Hey, how far are we from Yabiko?"
"We are currently one hundred and thirty miles away from Yabiko."
"That far, huh?" Ragna groaned.
"Don't worry, Tager should be there in a couple minutes. For now, keep walking straight, and you should run into him."
"Gotcha. Hey, you heard anything from the Rabbit or Noel yet?"
"I've been trying to get a hold of them, but neither has responded yet," Celia said. "But, now that you're here mind telling me just what the hell happened?"
"To be honest... I'm not too sure how to explain it. I'll tell you when I get back."
"That's pretty vague, but alright. Over and out." Celia said as she cut communications.
"Alright, let's haul ass. Sorry about this Lambda." Ragna may have been standing on his own two feet, but most of his weight was being pressed down on Lambda.
"It's ok," Lambda said as they started off. "I don't mind. You aren't that heavy."
Even though your feet are wobbling?
Ragna just sighed and helped her the best he could, but soon, his thoughts derailed to the so-called Imperator. Her voice echoed in his head; her eyes and being etched into his brain. He couldn't get her or her impromptu confession out of his head. Just who was she? He felt like he should know and he felt like...no. He knew he had to know who she was. Ragna's eyes wandered down to his left arm and narrowed with a cross of sadness and disbelief. Even if it was who he thought it was—why in the hell would she align herself with Terumi? He took everything and yet... Then again, last time he recalled, her hair was jet black not platinum, but he had no room to talk. Honestly, he just hoped he was wrong about this. He didn't need anymore ghost haunting him.
-Yabiko Westside Forest (outskirts)
Military boots ruffled the scattered leaves as Jin Kisaragi emerged from the bushes, finding himself out the forest and before what seemed to be ruins. Judging from the moss that encased the entrance, he'd say this place has been out of commission for quite some time. The swordsman briefly closed his eyes, pulsations running through his body as his emerald eyes unveiled from his lids as if in slow motion. Something defined ly struck him as odd. This ominous tension that radiated from this place... There was no mistaking it. Jin started off into the abandoned facility, finding the silvery rays reached the entrance and no further; however, he needed no further guide or light. He had his own. But for safety sake, Jin conjured a small Ars Magus circle to give him some light, flimsy, but it will do. Boots clapped against the metallic floor, resonating around the empty halls, echoing back to him. The same as his quickened heart. For whatever reason, before he even left the forest, pain had settled itself with his heart. It ached. It tortured him. It told him to turn back. But he couldn't, not when he had come this far. Coming to the beginning of a stairway leading further into the underground, Jin made his way down until he reached the bottom. Finding another room just up ahead. This ominous, cumbersome atmosphere... And the way his body pulsated. There was no mistaking it. It seemed he was right on the money.
"The Cauldron," Jin muttered aloud, quickening his pace to enter the large, oddly crafted room. Old machines scattered about around the mouth of the Cauldron, odd lines engraved into the metal leading up to the gigantic mouth. However, unlike the Cauldron back in Akitsu, this one emitted no light, leaving the room in near darkness. Though faint, Jin could still feel its power. It may not have been functioning, but it wasn't dead. Then...what was this...?
"Jin Kisaragi? What are you doing in this place?" Footsteps approached the young man from the side, stopping a few steps away from him.
"Relius Clover..." Jin narrowed his eyes at the masked puppeteer. "What are you doing here?"
"I would like to ask the same, Jin Kisaragi. What are you doing here?" Relius asked.
"I sensed a disturbance..."
"Hmph. How interesting. To think the Power of Order could sense such things." Relius averted his gaze to the Cauldron. "The functions of this has ceased, yet you are still able to detect it..."
"So, it isn't dead after all," Jin said.
"It would seem more research is to be done. Whatever the case is, I am done here." Relius said, completely ignoring Jin. Before Relius could pass with his wife, Jin stood in his way. "Move. I am done here."
"Whatever your intentions or whatever you did, do you think I will just let you by?"
"Hmph. What a nuisance..." Jin broke down into a stance, preparing himself for the puppeteer as he watched the doll switch into its battle mode.
However...
"That's enough, Relius." Came a stern, dominating, confident tone. Footsteps kissed the floor, ringing from the darkness of the stairwell Jin had emerged from prior. Instantaneously, the air grew heavy, and Jin felt as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him, threatening to bring him to his knees.
"Ah. Imperator." Relius spoke to the platinum that just emerged from the darkness. "You have finished already?"
"As have you. But it seems we have a guest..." The Imperator narrowed her eyes at Jin, grabbing the hilt of her blade. "I shall handle him. You may go now, Relius."
"I will take my leave then." Relius turned and made his way out of sight with purple marionette by his side, his clapping boots waning until they were no longer heard and his disappeared into the darkness. However, Jin no longer cared for the masked man. Someone far more dangerous than he had made themselves known. Jin slowly unsheathed his blade, scraping the metal against the sheath as it drew, pointing the sharp edge at the woman. Such an unearthly pressure... It was just like before.
"Where is my brother? What are you plotting?"
"I do not need to answer you," she said simply, unsheathing her blade to display the glorious silver. "As you are the one who helped take him away... Isn't that right?" Jin stayed quiet. Neither knew who lunged first, but before their blades clashed, moving faster than the human eye, appearing as nothing but afterimages as sparks scattered and the shrieks of clashing metal resonated in the large room. With a strong clash, the two jumped back as Jin propelled a bevy of ice blades at the platinum. Like glass, they shattered easily against her sword, falling to the ground in pieces before evaporating. Digging her feet into the ground, she hurled herself at Jin, opening her palm as a bright light encompassed it. Swiftly raising his sheath, the blow struck the metal with enough force to knock him back to the edge of the Cauldron. Quickly he regained himself and lunged at the Imperator like a swallow, striking down, missing his mark as his blade cleaved through the metallic floor. Barely managing to a avoid a kick, he retaliated with his own, missing his target by a margin, following up with a massive blast of winter that engrossed the woman and turned the room into an ice ring. The metallic walls sparkled like diamonds, and the temperature had reached near zero. From the clearing cloud created by his attack, the Imperator stood with her blade and sheath before her, shards of ice on them, the rest of her untouched.
"Oh?" She put her arms to her sides. "You seem to have gotten much better..."
"I do not need your praise," Jin pointed his blade at the young woman, his emerald eyes steadily beginning to glow as a pale, frosty aura permeated from his body.
"Such focus... I suppose he could take a page from your book," she shrugged.
"What have you done with him? Where is, Ragna?"
"If you wish for me to be honest, I haven't the slightest clue where he ended up. I'm sure he's not dead at least." The Imperator said.
"You didn't answer my question. Where is he?" Jin asked harshly, his voice deepening as his hands went into an archery stance, crafting a bow and arrow from finely crystallized ice. From the tip, frigid wind gathered, and the further he pulled back, the stronger it got. Almost like he was warning her, he held his stance, but it didn't seem to faze her. After a silence, Jin fired the arrow as the Imperator dashed off in an arch, avoiding the arrows he continued to launch at her, landing in the spot she stood the moment she picked her foot off the ground. Planting her foot firmly on the ground with enough force to shatter it, she sheathed her blade and broke down into a stance then unsheathed with a flash of light that cleaved the coming arrow like butter. The wave of light tore through the floor towards Jin, giving him no choice but to dive out there way. Before he could get back on his feet, the young man was met with a strong, breathtaking kick to his chest, the blow so intense it sent him flying into the wall with enough force to bounce off and leave a dent.
"I must ask you, do you think it's wise to be here? Shouldn't you be elsewhere? I would think you would want to be by her side for her final hour." The Imperator said, later sighing, "But it seems the deed has already been done."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Jin asked, coughing on his way back to his feet, wiping some blood from his chin.
"Tsubaki Yayoi..." The Imperator started, continuing with news that widened the young man's eyes. His heart stopped, and all the oxygen that filled his lungs escaped.
-Yabiko Westside Outskirts (forest)-
Noel emerged, not in the Yabiko branch or somewhere in the city, but within an arbitrary forest. She couldn't even see Yabiko from where she stood. With all the tree blocking her view it made that task impossible. Not even the moon could be seen. Disengaged from her Kusanagi armor, the young woman traversed the dark forests in hopes of finding her way out. She could never deal with dark and spooky. She couldn't even stay up alone at night because of the creepy crawlies that lurked in the shadows. A childish thing, she knew it was, but she couldn't help it. With all the horror movies Makoto forced her to watch it only traumatized her.
'Mu... Do you know where to go?'
'Sadly, no... Just keep walking, Noel. We're bound to make it out of here.' Mu encouraged. Noel nodded and did as her sister told, trying to find her way out while calling into her communicator. No luck. Not like she didn't see it coming. Noel stopped in her tracks, sniffing around to a strong scent of iron in the air. The strong stench corroded her nostrils, grimacing at the smell. Noel never liked blood and even while traveling with Ragna she never really got used to watching him skin ached animal or the scent of blook in produced. Noel figured a dead animal lied around here and the closer she walked, the more intense the smell got. Almost like...it was fresh. Not only that, what seemed to be ice shards stuck on the tree barks around. This wasn't due to anything natural either... There was a fight and judging from this scent of blood, someone lost. Noel cautiously trotted to the source of the iron.
Only to find Tsubaki in a bloody heap leaning against a tree; her red, blood-soaked bangs covered her eyes, and her arms laid limp, her head hung and what seemed to be javelins of ice stuck her to the bark. Her clothes were torn and drenched in scarlet with the same color pool beneath her.
Noel stood in silence; her eyes stretched at their corner, her pupils dilated. She just stood there, unable to process what she was seeing until it finally hit her. "Tsubaki!" Noel rushed to her friend's side, sinking to her knees, leaving the javelins as she had no idea what could happen. "Tsubaki! TSUBAKI!" Tears protruded at the corners of her eyes, burning them, turning them red as she grabbed her shoulders and began to plead, "Please answer me! Tsubaki, please answer me!" Noel cried and brought a hand to the redhead's cheek and gasped.
It's...so cold...! No... No, no no no, NO!
"No, Tsubaki don't go! Don't go, don't go, don't go! Please, please please, please!" She cried out, but her plea went unheard. The tears that filled her eyes began to gush out like a broken damn, running like wild rapids; her hands shook, white gloves stained scarlet. Disbelief, anguish, confusion crossed on Noel's expression. This had to be a dream... This couldn't be real. But from the fresh blood on her hands and crimson that stained her shirt and skirt she could only deny the truth for so long.
Tsubaki Yayoi...
"...Has already taken her final breath in this world."
"TSUBAKI!"
Well, Tsubaki's dead. So that's a thing. Hope you guys found enjoyment in this and I'll see you next time. Also, while on my little hiatus, I took the liberty and am taking the liberty of fixing some of these chapters or maybe re-writing them. If anyone has gone back to read my early chapters, you might see the changes made. Anywho Tales of Azure should be next. I really need to update my blazblur story sometime...
Next Chapter 32: More than we bargained for