"Ms. Aristide, we need to talk."

Genevieve turned toward the voice. Before, she'd been busy looking out the window at the hall, just calmly regarding the waves. Kakuzawa noted that she was staring toward the coastline of Kamakura, probably imagining the gory spectacle that was going on down at the town. As he approached, her guards beside her tightened their grips on their automatic weapons. He paid them no mind.

"Feeling nervous, ma'am?"

"Just wondering what'll come out of this mess, and how many of us will be left standing once the smoke clears."

Kakuzawa scoffed, "Are you always so pessimistic?"

"Only during liquidation. That's when you can truly judge an asset's strengths, and how hard they'll fall."

"Spoken like a true businesswoman!" laughed Kakuzawa.

Genevieve was not laughing, "What do you want?"

"Always straight to the point with you, Ms. Aristide. That's something I can appreciate about you."

"What. Do. You. Want?"

"I was wondering if you've reconsidered using your secret little weapon?"

Genevieve glanced down at the container, handcuffed to her wrist like the nuclear football, "This is a contingency that will only be used when all other options fail."

"Would you like me to give you our latest report on how we've been doing with No. 35?"

"I've been receiving those reports as well. I'm quite up to date."

"Then why are we still discussing this?"

Genevieve's face tightened, "There's still a few options to consider."

"Oh, please, what other choice is there?"

At this, Genevieve finally turned to fully face him, "Do you not realize what is in this thing?" She shook the container for added effect.

"A terror that can destroy the world, yes I know."

"I find it disturbing that you can trivialize such a thing."

"I have my own contingencies in play as well, you see. And your caged monster won't stop them."

"I don't have the patience to entertain whatever delusions you hold."

"Not delusions, visions. There is a difference."

Genevieve's patience was wearing thin, "Mr. Kakuzawa, I don-"

Before she could finish, a door across the room, (one that she hadn't noticed,) slammed open, and a few armed guards hurried out. Before her own guards had time to react, there were a couple loud bursts of gunfire, and the men protecting her lay dead on the floor, shot down by Kakuzawa's soldiers, who immediately trained their smoking barrels on her.

It took a brief moment before Genevieve found her voice, before she could comprehend just how much had gone wrong in just a few seconds. When her voice finally did emerge, it came as a snarl, the sort a dog might give when trapped in a cage, and is unable to bite.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Tying off loose ends. Now kindly hand over the case."

"Go to-"

Ratat!

Two 9mm rounds punched into Genevieve Aristide, causing the CEO to fall back on her rear. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, but only managed to cough up a mouthful of blood. Kakuzawa watched the crimson spill down her shirt with disgust, then reached a hand out toward a nearby guard. Said guard removed a knife from his sheath and handed it over to Kakuzawa. Genevieve watched this exchange in between the corpses of her two dead guards, her stomach in too much pain to breathe. Blood continued to dribble down her crimson chin.

Kakuzawa crouched down in front of her, smiling sadistically. His spare hand reached out calmly for the container. She tried to keep it away, she really did, but she was in so much pain, and had lost so much blood. The container seemed to weigh ten times more than its usual amount, and felt more like a prison ball and chain than a cage for an unimaginable monster.

Don't scream, she told herself as she saw the knife be brought toward her wrist, intending to sever the cuff from her arm, He wants you to scream. Wants it almost as badly as this device. So don't you dare scream, woman.

But when the blade sawed into her flesh, she did scream. She just couldn't help it.

It was a grim, gory affair, but eventually Kakuzawa obtained his prize. Genevieve passed out halfway through the procedure, and was now lying dead on the floor from blood loss.

"Clean up the mess," Kakuzawa said, not taking his eyes off of the prize in his hand. A considerable amount of blood had gotten onto the device, and the cuff that dangled from it was smeared with gore, but he clutched it tightly like a lifeline, "And keep me updated on the target's whereabouts."

By now he'd realized that the smile on his face probably wasn't the most…political expression to have, but he had long stopped caring. He was half tempted to just pull off his wig and show the world his true appearance, that was how drunk off power he was. But no, not yet.

He stared out the window that had been one of Genevieve's last views. He imagined Lucy feeling the prick of his staring eyes.

Kouta couldn't remember the trek back to Maple House. After all the mental trauma and restored memories that had come back, his mind had seemingly packed its bags and taken a trip to the Bahamas. All he knew was that by the time he'd come back down to Earth, he'd found himself sitting at the couch in his living room, having somehow made it back home in his dazed state. Looking around the room he saw that nearly everyone was present: Mayu and Yuka were sitting on either side of him on the couch. Nyu…Lucy was sitting across from him on a separate chair, with Alma on her side, restored to her older, haggard form. (Kouta noticed her wearing a new shirt. It was pink, with a white face of a cartoon cat. He recognized it as Hello Kitty, the Patron Saint of Cuteness.) The Point Man stood off some distance, and Paxton, still possessing the muscle mass, stood farther back. Nana was also present, albeit rather bruised and beaten. She stood quite close to the Point Man, casting occasionally nervous glances Fettel's way. They were all looking at him, and while the expressions were wide and varied, they all held the same feeling of expectation, as though they were waiting for him to issue some sort of dire ultimatum.

"How did I get here?" Kouta asked.

Yuka blinked in confusion, "You walked back with the others. You seemed to be pretty out of it."

"I was," he admitted, before fixing his eyes on Lucy and Alma, the two girls who'd ruined his life. Maybe he was trying to glare them down, but there was too much fear to muster any real aggression, and when he spoke, he sounded less like an aggressive wolf, but more like a neutered pup, "For most of my life, I've always struggled making friends. People talk to me, and I just want to shy away. My Mom told me I was never to blame, that it was just the way I was. That I'd been…traumatized by the sudden deaths of half my family, and that was why I had such a hard time forming a connection."

Yuka reached out a hand, as if she wanted to put it on Kouta's shoulder, but seemed to think better of it.

"But the truth is, it wasn't my parents, it was you two," his gaze managed to solidify into a passable glare, "You two were the first true friends I ever made. I remember everything now. I remember seeing the two of you staggering out of those woods, your clothes dirtied and your eyes vacant. I almost questioned if what I was seeing was real. I was curious about these two girls, and eager to learn more about you, and so I eagerly decided to hang out with you more. That time we spent at the zoo…it was so amazing watching you two react to all of the animals. I had no idea you'd never even read about them before. I didn't question why you two had clearly been living in the woods, or why you'd nearly mugged me for a couple of candy bars. I was just glad to finally have some friends."

"...So were we," admitted Lucy.

"Then why?!" Kouta shot up to his feet, and the anger surged up with him, "Why did you kill my family?"

Lucy winced, and it almost looked like she was trying to revert back to her Nyu persona, to try and hide away from the trauma she inflicted, "Kouta…I…I have this voice in my mind, another personality…Alma can sense it in me."

Alma nodded.

"This voice compels me to vanquish all of humanity, and make this place a world for Diclonius."

"Diclonius?" asked Kouta wearily, "That's what you and Nana are called?"

Lucy nodded, "This is my purpose…I was made to bring humanity to an end. But before that, I found a friend who was more than human."

She glanced at Alma, and there was a glimmer of warmth that they both shared.

"Alma's been more loyal to me than anyone I know. Even when I couldn't remember her, she stayed with me here. I know that she hasn't been the perfect host, but don't blame her. I'm not the only one who can be difficult."

"Or homicidal!" Kouta snapped, "What sort of excuse is that, anyway? Some voice in your head wanted you to kill innocent people? That's absurd! Everybody has some urge, some voice that tells them to rage, and they ignore it!"

Not like Lucy, communicated Alma, This voice has been with her for as long I've known her. It's sleeping now, alongside Nyu.

"What about Nana, then?"

A few gazes settled on said Diclonius, who flinched at the sudden attention, seemingly shrinking into herself, "I-I never wanted to hurt anyone."

Your voice has been muted, observed Alma, Shriveled.

"Kouta," said Mayu in an uncertain tone, "What'll you do, now?"
"I'm quite curious myself, boy," added Paxton.

Kouta stared at Alma and Lucy for almost half a minute before he spoke, "I can't forgive either of you for what you both have done, but I don't have it in me to make you both leave. So, I'll let you both stay for however long you need…provided nobody objects to this, of course."

Yuka seemed like she really wanted to speak, but was either unwilling, or just plain frightened. Kouta took this as assent, at least for the time being.

"Alright then," he said, "I think I'm going to take a nice, long bath by myself."

He got up and left.

Disposing of Armacham's envoy had been simple enough, but gaining access to their intel had been somewhat of a difficulty. Genevieve had kept many of her files encrypted on her laptop, and despite having some of the best software engineers in the country, it still took a bit of time to crack through her firewalls. But in the end, they'd pulled through. Kakuzawa had never doubted it, though he wished that Kurama had been there to help him. He and Mariko had both gone missing during the massacre on the highway, and he didn't have the time or resources to initiate a manhunt. Still, he had a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of them. Mariko was just too unstable to lie low, and Kurama was too obsessed with finding Lucy to do the same. For now, though, he had other matters on his plate.

"Anything good?" he asked, looking over the shoulder of one of his nameless plebs who was currently scanning through an Armacham company laptop.

"No major company secrets," was the reply, "I suspect the Americans foresaw the possibility of their computer being stolen. Everything on here relates to Alma, her family, and the intel they've been gathering on the Institute. From the looks of it, they've been spying on us for years."

Kakuzawa scowled at the knowledge that someone had been able to pull one over on him for several years without an inkling of suspicion, but then he remembered the late Aristide's screams, and he began to feel better, "Are there any hints on how to defeat them? What makes them tick?"

"Well, they were both born in a lab, with their growth rates accelerated through genetic engineering of some kind, though the details are pretty complicated. It seems that each brother is only a few years old, and with abnormal abilities. Apparently, Alma's first born is still a mortal human, albeit with enhanced abilities, reflexes, and the like. Fettel, interestingly enough, was killed by his brother a while ago… apparently Fettel led an assault on Armacham, and engaged in cannibalism? Gross. It seems he's inherited quite a few of his mother's traits. Psionics, some limited range of telepathy, even the ability to possess others. Creepy."

"Does it state that he's as invulnerable as his mom, as well?"

"Don't think so. There's nothing here that states that he can just teleport away when he gets shot," a brief pause as he typed out a few more keys, "Oh, but he can teleport. Figured you should know."

Kakuzawa scowled at the alleged sarcasm, but chose not to address it, "Anything in there about the Creep?"

"Apparently, it shares many similar properties to Alma and Paxton. It's a sort of psionic phantom, made from Alma's tortured memories of her father."

"Would it be powerful enough to kill Alma?"

"...Theoretically. It would certainly scare her. Maybe send her running."

Kakuzawa considered this. That might work well for him, at least for the near future. If father and daughter were to take their fight off the island, then they would probably be able to buy him enough time to move forward with his plans of conquest. Head a whole army of Diclonius waiting to be unleashed, plus the perfect mate for his queen. But there was no room in his new world for psychic monstrosities. His zeal refused to let him believe that Alma could stop him. Diclonius would be the future of humanity, not some failed experiments and freaks. This is what allowed him to believe that he could defeat the psionic threat that was trying to turn his ace away from him.

…He just needed a little more time, is all.

"We need to bring back Lucy," declared Kakuzawa solemnly, "Do you have any leads on where she and Alma are hiding?"

After a bit more typing, his subordinate perked up, "I got it! They've been living in this old building called Maple House!"

"Maple House?" Kakuzawa studied the photos on the glowing laptop screen. It looked like some sort of antiquated mansion.

"That's the place," replied the hacker, (Kakuzawa was struggling to remember his name. Was it Keiji? Kenji? Something with a K.) "And you won't believe this, but apparently, they've been staying with Kouta, the young boy whose family they killed!"

That actually was interesting to hear, "Now why would they stay with him after all this time? Is he even still alive?"

"These photos were taken a few days ago, and I haven't heard of Maple House burning to the ground since then, so I suppose they're okay," shrugged Keiichi. (Or was it Kenichi?)

"I'll have to ask Lucy about it once I've reclaimed her," mused Kakuzawa. If this Kouta meant something to her, then he might've just discovered a way to bring Lucy to heel, and maybe even Alma, "Keep me posted on whatever you find. Until then, I've got an army to mobilize."

He left the room and walked down the stark white hall, his mind already formulating the next plan of attack. While Lucy's vectors could eventually give way with the right bullets slamming against it, it was abundantly clear that Alma would melt through however many armed men he threw at her. If he wanted to take her down, he would need to show some level of strategy. The men could still serve as good fodder, at least to distract the psionic while he unveiled his own secret weapon.

He glanced down at the container that he'd liberated from Genevieve. If worse came to worse, he would willingly use this Creep that she'd been so afraid of. But until then, there were other toys he could play with.

Kouta just wished he could melt away into the bath. Just dissolve and liquify into water, becoming one with the water, and eventually be sent spiraling down the drain. It felt like an easier way to go then to continue on living.

There was a knock on the door. He ignored it.

"Kouta?" He ignored that too.

Then the door opened, and he was no longer able to ignore that. "Yuka, I'm in the middle of a bath!"

Yuka sternly crossed her arms, "And you've been bathing for two hours, now. You can't ignore everyone, Kouta."

"I just need space."

"You need to talk to someone."

Kouta matched Yuka's glare with one of his own. Even after everything that's happened, his cousin still found time to be a stubborn pain in the rectum, "Talk? Where exactly are you hoping to start?"

"Why did you let them stay?"

Kouta rolled his eyes, "I don't know."

Yuka actually stamped her foot in indignation, "That's not good enough!"

Kouta wanted to argue back, but knew that his cousin wouldn't leave him in peace until he gave her an answer.

"I…She's Nyu, Yuka! She's still that same ditzy, clumsy girl that we first met on the beach! Somehow, I just can't bring myself to part with her."

"What about Alma?"

"Alma…" mused Kouta.

Of the two, there was no denying Alma had been the more malicious houseguest, from spooking people, to making his cousin carve into her own arm. He couldn't forgive Alma anymore than he could forgive Nyu, and the former hadn't even been the one to kill his family. Still, he remembered how sullen and introverted Alma had been during their first meeting, more so than Lucy, and that only made him want to get to know her all the more. That hadn't really changed since then. (Also, if he was being honest, cutting Yuka was nowhere near as severe as killing his dad and his sister.)

"...I don't think we'll be able to make one without the other," he shrugged.

Yuka stared at him for a short while, "...You don't have to forgive them, Kouta."

"I know, and I don't."

Yuka clearly wanted to say more, but instead turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Kouta with his thoughts and his bath.

Just let me melt away, he thought once more.

Nana lay on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. She hurt, her body was once more covered in bandages, and her prosthetics were all chipped and dented. The Point Man had finished cleaning the last of her wounds, and was now wrapping her shoulder with additional bandages. Mayu sat next to him, quietly watching him work, and maybe providing Nana a little moral support.

"Thank you for helping me," said Nana quietly, "It's starting to hurt a little less."

The Point Man gave her a warm smile that made Nana smile in return.

"You really are different from your family," observed Mayu, "I like that you're so much more friendly. How come you're the only one who's like that?"

The Point Man shrugged his shoulders in an almost sheepish manner. Mayu giggled. She was starting to feel better about things, despite the harsh revelations that Kouta had brought home with him. She was hopeful that he would be able to forgive Alma and Lucy for what they'd done, but she knew these sorts of things didn't just heal themselves overnight. Hopefully there'd be enough time before the people hunting them found this place.

"Nana, are you going to be okay having Alma here? I know Kouta said it would be fine, but…"

"Oh, it's okay. Alma actually helped save my life! I guess deep down, she really is your family, and isn't all that bad," She managed to sit up on the sofa by propping up her elbows, "I'm hoping Kouta can see the good in both of them, as well."

The Point Man nodded in agreement, but his smile faded somewhat. His time in F.E.A.R. had pitted him against quite a few monstrosities, and he knew that goodness wasn't so easily found in these anomalies. He didn't let the girls know this, but the real problem was that the last person to find good in a monster was often the monster itself.

"So this is it?"

Guess so.

"What happens next?"

Don't know.

Lucy and Alma, two girls who'd faced unimaginable pain and were nigh unstoppable in power, sat up on the roof, staring out at the surrounding woods. Despite spending numerous hours pondering this specific scenario, neither of them knew what lay in store for them and Kouta. The truth was out, he knew everything, and yet he was still allowing them to stay with him.

And yet…

"...We don't deserve this."

Probably not.

"Would he be sad if we left?"

Probably.

"I…don't want to leave him like this, Alma. I never thought I'd come to care for a normal human, but this is how I feel."

I understand.

Despite their dire prospects, Lucy was able to muster a small smirk, "I knew you were blushing back then."

LUCY!

The Diclonius chuckled at the surge of nostalgia, and for a moment, she began to let herself believe that things would be okay. That she and Alma would be able to have a future together, free from their guilt and pain.

And then…

Alma suddenly looked out to the distance, her back snapping up straight. Lucy frowned darkly, recognizing her friend's expression. Her stomach clenched up into an anxious knot, and her vectors flexed themselves in dire anticipation.

"How many?

All of them.