She found herself sitting in the dining room, with the fading glow of a distant, evening light descending from the windows. Quiet, tinkering sounds came from a set of chimes from afar, and along with it, reflections from simple mirrors that depicted back her own, golden orbs. Ornate wood gazed up at her, and on top of it, papers which housed a sea of numbers and letters. Scratches upon scratches kept up with its gibberish, as the ball-point pen in her fingers bled out its ink. From the corner of her eyes, she could make out a black bag resting against the leg of her chair. Her phone was sitting near her hand, the tiny shadow coating a small area of the table. She stared down at it for a moment, before turning her attention back up to the clock, right in front of her; almost seven thirty.

Lavender walls bared down at her, with paintings of roses lined up neatly alongside each other, some sketches, others complete. Enticing brush strokes matched well with the brown, ostentatious frames, as their meticulous designs embraced the medium hidden within it. A glass chandelier dangled over her, as she warily took in the entirety of the dining room. This was her house. And she was here, in the dining room, doing her homework.

Akiza looked up again at the clock, counting down the seconds she sat there, the ticking echoing through her ears. She gripped the pen tightly, watching the large hand moving from number to number. It was a while before she drew her fingers to her eyes, and rubbed it wearily. She fought down a yawn, before staring back at physics, the problems ramming against her brain.

How long had she been sitting here anyways? She should've been finished this by now; normally, it would've taken her half an hour for physics. English, an hour, German, maybe two or three, depending on her mood. And what about those two? During this time, either Jaden or Alexis would be calling right now, either to complain about each other, or to joke around in the same, humorous way they always do. When did she get back anyways? And what about her teachers? What'd they lecture on today? She closed her eyes; her brain was still hazy, the fatigue clawing at her happily.

What a weird daydream. She was sitting in a cafe, an oddly recognizable, familiar, cute one. It was bright, and enthusiastic, and people were smiling and laughing around her. There were a lot of families there, a lot of adults and children, some of which were misbehaving, if only for the sole purpose of getting attention. She was thinking about something, but she didn't know what.

And yet, when she thought of it, her own confusion, a sense of dread filled her stomach, the anxiousness filling an ominous shadow, deep within the corners of her heart. For some reason, however, she was drawn to it, that feeling. She knew she had to feel it, though she couldn't possibly understand why. She remembered something, and then she saw Yusei there.

Yusei.

A tiny shadow flicker across the windows. Instantly, she turned back. She saw the brief shapes of birds casually slipping through the skies, their feathers clinging to their fragile bodies within the midst of the harsh winds. She sat there, frozen for a brief moment, and then relaxed. She bit the inside of her cheek, before standing up, and walking over to the doorway, the light switch in her view. It was getting dark anyways.

As she did, she could hear the reverberates of her own voice coming back to her, its supposed normalcy haunting her, bearing a nonexistent grudge she never knew had existed.

There was supposed to be a phone call, from Jaden or Alexis. And then there was the dream, where Yusei simply talked with her, in that same, gentle manner of his. She couldn't remember anything from today, nor could she remember the lectures. She didn't remember coming home. She didn't remember seeing any of her classmates either. Suspicion nagged at her, and when she reached for the switch, she stopped.

She was at school today. She saw the mall hijackers on a website her teacher posted in the classroom, as well as the hospital fire. She aced her test, and she was getting a call from some college admissions officers in England. Her parents will be coming home soon, so she was going to have to help the maids clean the mansion. Then there was…

There was…

She jolted when she heard her phone ring.

Quickly, she looked back, and saw the device blinking on and off, on and off. She rapidly came toward the phone, and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Akiza?" the boy asked, with concern entwined within his tone.

"Leo!" she said, pleasantly surprised at the sound of the boy's voice. "How's everything?"

"We're fine. Akiza, the teachers wanted to know when you were coming back!"

She blinked. "I was at school today."

"What? No you weren't. Actually, they came up to us so…"

"I was in class. Maybe the teacher just forgot to take attendance or something-"

"Luna and I looked everywhere for you! You know, everyone's pretty worried about you-"

"I picked up my physics homework," she replied, as she stared down at her bag. She narrowed her eyes; no, the teacher did take attendance. She brought the attendance record over to the office after all. And after that, she helped with a lot of people's homework. They were having a hard time on derivatives, or integrals, or limits…And then there was the lecture. Her teacher kept throwing questions at Akiza, and she answered every single one correctly. She remembered how excited she was, knowing full well she was going to get a letter of recommendation from them. She was happy, so very happy…

But despite that, she couldn't remember…the questions. She couldn't recall the lecture. She couldn't remember the names on the attendance sheet. She couldn't even remember what she had for lunch, or any other trivial detail she would've noticed.

Her mind was blank.

And as Leo kept rambling on and on, about how half the school was talking about her, about whether or not there may be bullying involved, or if even disciplinary actions should be taken, Akiza pressed her forehead against the wall. She rummaged through her mind, tearing apart the shallow assumptions she'd had only started to follow. She was here, in her dining room. But she was somewhere else. School was an obvious choice, but it didn't seem right. The cafe however, the one from her dream…

She's been through this before, hasn't she?

"-And um, we know about the mall. So uh-"

"Leo," Akiza, steadily interrupted.

"And we were kinda hoping you would, you know-"

"Are you talking about the hostage crisis at the mall?"

Silence erupted from the other line. Akiza paused for a second, as she started recollecting her thoughts once more. Crow talked about this with her too. She was at the garage, she and Crow and Jack. There were claw marks all over the place. She asked Crow where Yusei was, and he said Yusei was in the hospital. After that, he started talking about the mall incident, and how well both she and Yusei handled themselves.

The mall and the hospital. One with civilized brutes, with bloody, red roses strapped to their throats, the other with savage innocents, with their rotting, emaciated bodies scavenging the scene. One had guns, the other, simple fangs. There were drugs there too, in both incidents; adrenaline, endorphin, anesthesia, pain killers, crutches.

She talked with Sayer that night. He was warning her about Yusei. A few minutes later, she had a needle in her hand. After that, a simple power box. Then there was an explosion, with flames everywhere. She'd been ripped to shreds, and bleeding to death. And then a cool shadow came, and saved her.

A nightmare; somehow, that's what her mind reasoned it out as.

"Leo," she called again.

"Y-yeah?"

"I wasn't at school today."

She could practically see Leo nod. "Well yeah! Everyone wanted to know where you were!"

"And I…was in the mall, when those people took over."

"Uh, yeah? Hey, Akiza, you okay? I mean, if you're sick or anything-"

"It's fine," she dismissed, as she turned back towards the light-switch, the darkness growing more and more prominent with each passing second. "Was Yusei there too?"

"We all were! Seriously though, I can call back-"

"I need to ask you something," she continued. "Was there a fire, at a hospital somewhere?"

"Y-yeah!" Leo said rapidly. "The General Hospital. No one's saying anything though, and Trudge is still looking into it."

Yusei was there with her, at the mall, and in that nightmare, she heard his voice, through the heat of the flames. The daydream showed him too, depicting him in the same way he's always presented himself. She remembered the charismatic way he talked, the light way he brushed off certain topics, the story he told, about the supposed duel gang that came in and ambushed him…

She couldn't help but recall the conversation they both had, back when she first woke up at the hospital. He seemed a bit panicked, when Akiza saw him; flustered, confused, when she relayed to him her story of the car accident. Her memories fit perfectly with the reality that surrounded her, whether it be real or not. Though everything in her brain, from the car accident, to being at school, seemed so real, in the end, everyone kept telling her a different version, alternations that refused to link up with hers, no matter how truthful she thought her own illusion was.

And Yusei played along with it.

"Um, Akiza?" she heard Leo ask.

"Thanks," she found herself say, as she reached for the lights. "Do me a favor, okay?"

"S-sure!"

The very next second, the lights came on, causing the obscurity to fade. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"A-Aki-?"

She only smiled. "I don't want anyone else to worry."

"W-what about-?"

"No," she said, as she gazed up at the golden lights from above. "Especially not Yusei."

Red.

Black.

With a hint of moonlight dyed into it.

Jaden watched the splatters of shapes flying everywhere, the shadows swirling around him with sinful temptations. He stood there, mesmerized by the chaos surrounding him, the silent shrieks radiating with agony, as the tense air dissipated. The harsh wind blew past him, yet in the end, he still remained, observing the beautiful monster standing right in front of him, now lunging after the Rook.

He scanned the area, as remnants of the attack came spilling after them. Tiny splatters of blood caused him to back away, the pain stinging his cheek. He fled into the shadows, all the while keeping a close eye on Alexis, who refused to back down.

He gritted his teeth. Though he tried calling out to her, his lips refused to move. There was nary a word found in his throat; when he felt like screaming at her to run, when he tried moving if only to protect her, he couldn't. He was frozen in place, the shock of it all still coursing through his system.

But there Alexis remained, with a sick, twisted smile upon her face. A dark gleam emanated within her now blank eyes, the once peaceful innocence fading from her violently gleeful expression. Her white dress was stained in crimson, the dirt scarcely touching the bottom of the hem. The pink ribbon in her hair was still in place, fluttering blissfully within the blood-soaked breeze.

He's seen this before.

"So," the Rook growled, as he endeavored to retain his haughty disposition. "The Queens really were hiding, huh? How pathetic."

Queens.

Jaden stole a look towards Alexis, then fixed his attention onto Drevis.

He was staring down at them, that man with a prideful light in his eyes. A small smirk coated his lips, and when he turned to them, he acted as if he were better than the rest of the world, that he alone deserved to bask in a golden light neither he nor Alexis could think of. Though he was here, the desperation so very present in his voice and behavior, in the end he attempted assuming his vain arrogance, even in the midst of two creatures, both of which he didn't know anything about.

And it was within that single memory, did Jaden creep out from the shadows.

He watched as the Rook began struggling against Alexis. Drevis had pulled out a gun, and started firing at the blonde, the power he held vanishing from his very fingertips. She danced her way around the bullets, escaping with only a small scrap on her cheek, something Jaden darkly noted. She kept leaping back and forth, her playful little waltz easily claiming the upper-hand within the fight. When Drevis looked down, he thrust the gun away, and lunged straight for her, a knife in his right hand.

Jaden narrowed his eyes. Quickly, Alexis jumped to the side, and went behind the man. She grabbed his wrist, and broke it, the knife falling away from him. He hissed painfully, before kicking the knife away, while trying to squirm out of Alexis's iron grip. Yet even then, she threw herself back, the same, powerful force keeping her from freely displaying her insanity. But before long, she charged into the fray once again, the wide, frightening grin upon her face. She went to the left, causing his eyes to follow her movements, before swiping to the right. She grabbed the forgotten knife on the ground, and came after him.

He was new, the Rook.

He was new...

A standout, a special one, out of everyone Jaden had seen.

A face, who had tried to, time and time again, get close to either he or Alexis, the saccharine words pouring from his thick, grotesque throat. A person that no one wanted to be around, as everyone knew the man was only trying to attain favors, nothing more. A shadow Jaden would rather forget, but through Drevis's persistence, his aggressiveness, the menace decorating his mood, Jaden decided to keep him around, only for entertainment. He wasn't good at fighting, but he was the perfect laboratory assistant. A scientist, with a background in parasitology and virology, a specialized surgeon that knew where to treat, what to treat, an inventor who had only ever used his mind to sabotage Jaden's own projects.

In other words, Drevis was a fool.

Alexis swiped his cheek with the tip of the blade, the bone exposed to the brutal wind. Then, that powerful force resounded from his body, causing her to stumble back. Still, Alexis managed to regain her balance. She examined the knife for the longest time, before licking the edge, whether for pleasure, or appearance, perhaps more for pleasure. Yet another force, another stumble, but she still wove her way through the nonexistent obstacles. He pulled a large, butcher knife from his pockets, and automatically, the two knives clashed.

Alexis never liked him. He was always too calm for her tastes, and whenever he approached her, he always had a predatory look on his face, the same look Jaden recognized in any other depraved, immoral scientist he'd come across.

Dissection, experiments, results, conclusions, anything that made his little project seem more disturbing, more satisfying, in Drevis's eyes. There was no room for feelings, none at all for sympathy. There was no regret, though he knew what would've happen had he touched Alexis. He even had the audacity to come up to Jaden once, and ask if he could run a couple of tests on her, just to make sure she was who she says she was.

Completely, perfectly…human.

Drevis came from the left, and Alexis dodged. She swept beneath his arm, and jammed the knife into his muscles. As he stood, paralyzed by the pain, she gripped the handle, and tore his arm in half, the solid density of bone now gone from him. He shoved his presence against her; Alexis closed her eyes, and took a couple of steps back, the bruises becoming more obvious.

Her sympathetic nervous system was producing more and more hormones, more so than the average person.

Drevis tried slashing Alexis from the right, only to end up failing. He lunges again, only for Alexis to dance back, and destroy his other arm. Jaden heard a howling scream.

Parasympathetic was completely suppressed.

She digs the knife into his stomach, and forces him to the ground. She was giggling sweetly at all the funny expressions he was making with his face. She kept digging the knife into his stomach, all just for the sensation of her own kill, the adrenaline speeding through her body.

Integration sensors on alert.

She started laughing. Laughter, entwined with screams, as she scrambled his insides. She tore away his arms and limbs, as she watched the organs twitching desperately, trying to survive without the consent of their host.

This was like a drug to her.

She raised that knife, ready to take in the high.

Jaden closed his eyes. Only he would know her horrifying enthusiasms.

How could he possibly forget them?

As Drevis's screams came to a halt, the last of his breaths leaving his body, his limbs ceasing their twitching, Jaden slowly came to Alexis. Logically, rationally, without the slightest bit of hesitation, he approached his lover, and laid his palm against the crown of her forehead. She jolted, before looking up, the smile still on her face.

"Hi!" she chirped.

He stared at her for a while, before looking to the side, and took in the former Rook, who was now reduced to nothing more than dismembered organs.

She's gouged out the eyes, the pressure from her fingers crushing them all in one go. There was a big, gaping hole in his stomach, and wrapped around Alexis's hands was the large intestine. If he squinted, he could see the gallbladder and pancreas in view, the blood rapidly drying before them. It looks like she was going to remove his gums soon.

He wasn't surprised, not in the least; she enjoyed doing things like this. There were antipsychotics for this, weren't there? No, the last time he tried that, she got even worse.

He crouched down, and cradled her shoulders in his hands. "What're you doing?" he finally asked.

"Ah!" She slid a careful gaze to the knife in her hand. Then she looked down, as if seeing Drevis for the very first time. She leaned against Jaden, and pressed the back of her head along his chest. "He was rude," she said stubbornly. "I didn't like him."

He chuckled. "I didn't either."

"He was always so needy," she sighed, her white dress darkening within the moments. She lifted the knife up to her face. "Why'd Yusei keep him around anyways?"

Ah, that's right; that's what this was all about. Drevis wanted to kill Yusei.

Serves him right.

Jaden wiped away the dirt embedded within Alexis's hair. "Considering what we've just seen, I doubt he knows Drevis exists."

"But we do."

"That's right," he answered, as they both stood. The police won't find anything; neither he nor Alexis were in the government databases. And it wasn't that much a commotion either; not many people were roaming the cemetery to begin with. To everyone in the city, this would be some tragic accident some serial killer caused.

He stared at Alexis, before using his sleeve and wiping out droplets of blood on her cheek. His gaze lingered at the scratch on her cheek. It was then he turned back to Drevis; still alive.

It looked like he was saying something, though Jaden didn't know, or care, for the matter. He took the knife from Alexis's hands, sat down, and beheaded the man.

Where was Yusei anyways?

"So, if I tore your leg off right now, you won't scream?"

Dead.

"Sayer?"

They're all dead.

Yusei laughed lightly. "What? Did Amrbosine castrate you or something?"

And he will be too…

"I guess so," he murmured, as he walked over toward the windows. He shoved both hands in his pockets, before shifting his gaze out toward the windows once more, the same smirk on his face. The madness Sayer saw before had disappeared at an instant, and in its place, an eerie calm that matched the arrogance in Yusei's expressions.

He bit the inside of his cheek, and looked up. Though he tried making sense of the insanity, in the end, Sayer knew he wouldn't understand. "What'd you want?" he finally asked, unwaveringly.

"To make sure we're on the same page."

Sayer stared down at the floors, before trailing back to the bodies behind him. He couldn't see them clearly from here, but then again, he didn't want to. He didn't want to know what lay around the corner, nor did he want to see the corpses agonizing expressions. Slowly, he looked at Yusei, who was watching the city lights from out the window. "What're you-?"

"I guess I should be thanking you," Yusei interrupted, a smile, formal smile plastered on his face. "Despite everything that's happened, you never told her."

Sayer clutched his knees. "Akiza?"

"Who else?"

Frustration gradually replaced fear, as he slowly straightened. The monster's probably slaughtered everyone in the hotel. His eyes flickered toward the phone, before Yusei scoffed. "That'd be the last thing you ever do."

Sayer froze.

"And besides," Yusei, or rather, Nikolai, continued. He turned back to Sayer and leaned against the glass, "it's not like Amrbosine would listen to anything you have to say. You're done with your assignment."

He…knew about that?

"Just what were you thinking anyways, accepting help from someone in society? But since you've been following her, I'm guessing you've completely forgotten your precious Movement. So, how does it feel? Being apart of a world you hated for so long?"

"What'd you want from me?"

Nikolai stopped for a tiny moment, before laughing. "Well that's interesting. What happened to the guy who nearly killed me?"

"…I-I-"

Sayer quieted his stammering, silently cursing himself for being so afraid. The shaking won't stopped, and despite everything he's doing to calm himself down, that still wasn't enough. Nikolai then brushed the conversation aside. "I really don't know what Amrbosine sees in you. If you're that stupid enough to leave a trail behind-"

"Nikolai," Sayer stated again, regaining his senses amidst the horror. "What'd you mean…when you…when you said-?"

He felt an unprecedented pressure wrapped around his throat. Before long, he began struggling, clawing his neck, desperately trying to take in air. Everything was getting blurry; his lungs were going to explode.

"I'd rather you didn't call me by that name," Nikolai whispered menacingly, as he slowly released Sayer from his grip. "As far as you're concerned, Nikolai doesn't exist."

Sayer sat slumped over the edge of the bed, gasping for breath. He tightly gripped his throat, trying to overcome the shock from before. And while he did, the monster continued, shrugging off the tension. "Akiza likes you, for one reason or another," he explained. He flickered his eyes down at the man, a mischievous grin on his face. "And because of that, I'm willing to let you go."

"…I-"

"Of course, that'd be the case, if not for the mess out in the hallway."

Sayer narrowed his eyes, still clutching his throat. "That was…that was your doing-"

Yusei smirked. "Smart boy."

"Why?" he suddenly demanded.

"Why…?"

"It was you, wasn't it?" he hissed. "You were the one who funded the Arcadia Movement."

Yusei's eyes widened a bit, but before long, he shrugged. "You're in no position to demand anything from me. The only reason why I'm not dangling your body on a string is because it'd hurt Aki."

Aki.

So, he really does care about her…

"I'll be brief; since she saw you, back at the hospital, I think it'd be a good idea if you kept a close eye on her."

It was then Sayer looked up. The same, stoic expression remained on Yusei's face, the silence coming between the two. Before the confusion to replay in his mind, Yusei scoffed. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

Sayer bit his lip. "And if I say no?"

"As soon as you stop shaking, I'll take you seriously." And so, Yusei folded both his arms in front of his chest, and waited. Ten seconds, then thirty seconds, then finally, a minute had passed, before Sayer calmed himself down once again.

What's his game? What'd he want Sayer to do anyways? Yusei had to have known that if he came here, there's a good chance that Amrbosine would more than likely know about it. Besides which, he's already brought enough attention to himself as is, so why not just lay low, until this entire thing blows over? Then of course, since he had connections to the political underworld, that might nearly be impossible.

Yusei cocked his head. "Sayer," he called.

"Why me?"

"Like I said; to keep an eye on Akiza."

Sayer tightened his grip on the covers. "What does Akiza have to do with any of this?"

"Nothing; I want you to make sure she stays out of the way. I'm sure Amrbosine's told you all about me by now."

"What're you going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he said lazily.

"But that still doesn't-"

"Once Amrbosine's out of the way, things are going to get boring again," he replied. "Besides, I want to see how you handle yourself on your own, without that stupid Movement behind you. I want to see how well you do, without anyone standing beside you; makes for an interesting research project, don't you think?"

Sayer clenched his fists. So that's why he's doing this, because he was bored? It seemed like a half-assed excuse, and he would've called Yusei out for it.

But then of course, even that name was just a character, a stranger who managed to worm his way into everyone's lives. He was authentic enough to even have Sayer, of all people, fooled. "Is that all?" Sayer muttered defeatedly.

"No," Yusei said, as he straightened himself. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"When did Akiza join the Movement?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't you know the answer to that one?"

Yusei shrugged. "I'm forgetful."