Okay here is chapter 3 of my story! Also will finally see some of Night Raid and their current situation. Anyway be sure to review!

(Night Raid Base, Evening)

It was nighttime at the moment and all of Night Raid had gathered in the main room with Najenda sitting at her usual seat. Along with the usual members bar Tatsumi, two more people were present. They were reinforcements that Najenda had picked up from the Revolutionary Army HQ; a young redhead girl sucking on a lollipop name Chelsea and the other being Najenda's new Teigu, the biological humanoid male (much to Lubbock's chagrin) Teigu, Susanoo.

After lighting a cigarette Najenda began to speak. "Now the reason why I summoned you all here was besides meeting our new members…we've finally received word about Tatsumi's status. In the form of a letter left at our hideout in the capital, discovered by Lubbock this afternoon when he went to see if Tatsumi was there, which he wasn't." The silver haired beauty said.

That got a reaction out of everyone minus the two new members. Soon Najenda was bombarded with questions at once.

"What?"

"Is Tatsumi okay?"

"Did he escape Esdeath?"

"Why the hell didn't he just come back here?!"

"If he's still alive then we should go rescue him boss!"

"QUIET!" Najenda yelled. At that all talking stopped and the room was silent. Seeing how no one else was going to speak Najenda continued, "First off Tatsumi says he is fine and no he has not escape Esdeath. However he has given us some interesting information."

"Like what?" Mine asked.

Najenda took a long drag of her cigarette; a sign that what came next would not be received well. "According to Tatsumi, Esdeath apparently has developed romantic feelings for him and claimed Tatsumi as her lover."

The news received a long silence from…well pretty much everyone in the room. It was clear that this bit of news was not expected in the slightest. Though to be more precise it was something that they couldn't comprehend. To prove that Leone spoke up and asked in an unbelievable tone, "I'm sorry boss, but did you say that Esdeath, the sadistic, bloodthirsty, psychotic infamous General Esdeath, is in love with our Tatsumi? As in genuine love?" The Teigu belt user asked.

"Yes, that's what I just said." Najenda replied, though it was clear she was having trouble accepting it herself.

"Are you sure this is the same Esdeath? Because 'Esdeath' and 'love' don't sound right in the same sentence." Mine commented.

"Perhaps we should let the boss finish first before we jump to conclusions." Akame suggested.

"Thank you Akame." Najeneda replied. "Now as I was saying because of Esdeath's 'claim' on Tatsumi, she made him a member of the Secret Police, the Jaegers, of which she is the leader of. And due to his current position, Tatsumi managed to acquire a large amount of information on each member's Teigu, their abilities and more."

As she finished her sentence realization began to hit everyone of why Tatsumi hasn't returned yet. "So…basically Tatsumi is acting like a double agent for us?" Leone summarized. Her voice was a mix of surprise and a hint of pride for the young man's actions.

"Essentially yes." Najenda said, also quite pleased with this too.

"The information we got on their Teigus is pretty good too. We'd be in big trouble if we went in unprepared against these guys if they're a part of Esdeath's group." Lubbock added.

"Now I know many of you are concerned for him but you have to realize that what Tatsumi is doing for us is a great boon." Najenda continued. "We have never gotten anyone close enough to a high position such as this before. The information Tatsumi supplying us might be the difference between victory and defeat for the Revolutionary Army, and may very well bring us even closer to overthrowing this corrupt government. True, we might eventually clash with the Jaegers and thus Tatsumi to an extent, and I am sure he realizes this well. However we need to be strong and endure if that time should ever come if we are to succeed with our goal."

When no one tried to rebuff this she took it as a sign of understanding. "Now that that's settled I will try and see if we can make contact again with Tatsumi. Leone and Lubbock, you two will try and see if you can find him in the capital tomorrow. But don't get to close to the palace. We can't risk blowing yours or Tatsumi's cover, as you two are the only ones besides Chelsea and Susanoo here who do not have wanted posters. Understood?"

"Roger!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Good, dismissed." Najenda ended the meeting.

(Next Morning, Imperial Palace Training Ground)

Standing on a wide-open field in front of multiple straw dummies was Tatsumi. In his left hand was a book, which held all the notes Esdeath had acquired about Imperator earlier. After successfully delivering the letter to the vacant bookstore/hideout last night, Tatsumi decided to take the rest of the day to learn about his new Teigu. Then this morning, after an awkward awakening (for Tatsumi that is) in Esdeath's arms, followed by avoiding those blue eyes that held unusual caring and affections, Tatsumi managed to get some time to himself to practice using Imperator.

There was little information on his new Teigu. From what he read so far in the book of notes Esdeath compiled, Imperator, besides granting the user armor, immunity to bladed weapons and summoning them, allowed Tatsumi to create swords made from matter and energy, and could be any kind of sword, depending on what he wanted at the time. The sword's could be altered in terms of blade length and size as well as sharpness and hardness. A more advanced form of it was that Tatsumi could also summon swords attached to the armor, which sounded pretty cool to Tatsumi.

However just like with Incursio, Imperator's armor form depended on the user's stamina in order to wear it for an extended period of time. Not only that but the number, durability, sharpness, and size of the swords, as well as the speed of summoning them also required the user's stamina and creativity. Fortunately Tatsumi had already spent a decent amount of time training in the past in order to wear Incursio, so Tatsumi figured he would work on summoning swords for now. He wanted to make sure he got that part down so he could do it when he wore the armor or not. It made no mention of a Trump Card, or the Claymore Tatsumi could summon, but hopefully he would discover it in time.

With that in mind Tatsumi placed the book on the ground gently before raising his right hand. Feeling a familiar sensation flowing through his body, the claymore soon appeared in his awaiting palm. Its golden bronze blade gleamed as it readied for battle. And then a split second later Tatsumi launched himself at the straw dummies. The closes dummy was cut in two by the blade, with Tatsumi following it up with a backward stab to another dummy, his mind envisioning himself in an actual battle. And in that actual battle his view caught sight of an imaginary enemy charging at him from the left. In response, Tatsumi raised his left arm and vision a sword to appear. Sure enough a short sword soon materialized into his hand. Perhaps it was the fact that he had become accustomed to using this kind of weapon? Or it could be that it was the most basic form of the Teigu's abilities he could access right now. Either way the sword served Tatsumi well as it beheaded another straw dummy.

The next few minutes were a blur to Tatsumi as his green eyes dulled, his mind focus on nothing but summoning swords and bringing them down upon his targets. After a while the claymore vanished from his right hand, replaced by another short sword. He quickly beheaded two more training dummies at once before kicking one of them back and sending him up into the air. Using the momentum from the kick Tatsumi did a spin in midair while tossing the sword in his left hand. When the glowing yellow markings appeared on his body, that's when four more swords of the same type appeared in thin air, aligned evenly with the first one. Then with great strength Tatsumi swung his left arm downwards, launching all five swords at once. Each blade struck a target, the force of the impact sending each dummy down on the ground flat.

As he landed, Tatsumi's instincts went up of a presence from behind. With his mind still in battle mode, Tatsumi swung his right arm, sword still in grip, to strike the presence. It was only the sight of light blue that made Tatsumi pause his attack.

"My, my Tatsumi. Have I done something to warrant such an attack on my person?" Esdeath asked teasingly. She had her left hand up with a small shield of ice forming from it, stopping the blade. However if one would look carefully, you could see that the blade had managed to breach the ice halfway, an impressive feat, since very few weapons or people have ever been able to break Esdeath's ice. The general summarized that if Tatsumi hadn't stopped midway then the blade would've very well broken through the ice shield and reached Esdeath's flesh. A fact that excited the Empire's Strongest, as it only solidified her belief of the young warrior's potential and the power of his new Teigu.

The sudden pause of his own movements, along with Esdeath's voice, snapped Tatsumi out of his trance and returned to the present time. Pulling his blade back, the young man had a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, got caught in the moment." Tatsumi said as the sword dispersed into light particles, followed by the other blades. This left only Tatsumi, Esdeath and a field of ruined straw training dummies. "Did you just get here?" Tatsumi inquired.

"Ah, yes I just did. I wanted to know if the book of notes I left was of any use." Esdeath said, holding said book in her hands.

Truth was that she had actually arrived a minute after Tatsumi had started. Esdeath had just finished speaking to Dr. Stylish of his report on Ratto's corpse and unfortunately the scientist hadn't found anything of interest besides the man having had his body enhanced. After that she had begun to look for Tatsumi and discovered him at the training field, thus making her pause her approach. She was curious of seeing Imperator's powers.

And what she saw amazed Esdeath; not so much of Tatsumi summoning swords out of thin air for combat, but the way the green-eyed young man moved with such finesse as he swung the blades, not even bothered of focusing on where the blades appeared. As if he already knew where and when they would come into existence. It would take a person weeks, months, even years of training to be able to use a Teigu properly. Even if the person were compatible with the Teigu then they would still need a great amount of time to master it. And yet Tatsumi had only acquired Imperator yesterday and he was able to master its basic abilities at an incredible rate. There was no labor, no thinking at all, Tatsumi merely acted of his own instincts and the blades came to him freely. She had no doubt in her mind that Tatsumi will have it mastered quickly, perhaps even by the end of the month.

But what really caught Esdeath's gaze was the look in Tatsumi's eyes as he moved about the training ground. His green eyes were no longer the bright color that sent her heart fluttering; but instead a dull green of that of an animal that was on the hunt. The look of a warrior whose only home was on the battlefield and would not stop until his enemy's blood dripped from his blade and their bodies lying on the ground before him. The glowing markings on his body only intensified the powerful aura that he gave off as he moved about. It sent a shiver of excitement up Esdeath's body, heat rushing over face and a feeling coursing through her that she had never felt before; neither in the torture chambers or in battle. It took all her willpower to push it down and to compose herself from pouncing Tatsumi and making him hers then and there.

"Yeah the book helped a lot." Tatsumi said as he moved out of Esdeath's personal space, out of politeness of course. "I was even able to understand that foreign language you mentioned too…"

Esdeath blinked, snapped out of her thoughts at that. She had not expected him to be able to read that ancient writing. She doubted that even the best translator in the Empire would be able to decipher them. "Really, you could understand it?" She asked, curious.

Tatsumi shifted a bit, feeling a bit shy under the gaze of those blue eyes. "Yeah, to be honest it took me by surprise. But when I looked at the first letter, the rest felt like a first language to me." He answered honestly, also perplexed by the fact he could read it. "Do you know where it originated from?"

Letting out a soft hum, Esdeath flipped through the book until she came upon the first page containing the writing. Once again she could not understand it at all. "The language it supposedly the words of the Atlanteans, the name used for the inhabitants of the City of Atlantis." She answered.

"Atlantis?" Tatsumi repeated. For some reason the name sounded familiar to him, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

"There is little information on it in the Imperial Archives but it was supposedly a city-state that was situated on an island in the Eastern Oceans, outside the current borders of the Empire." Esdeath replied. "What is said about it is that it was the most advance civilization at the time. And the Atlanteans had a strong friendship with the First Emperor too. They are described as extraordinary people, with incredible life force, longevity and recuperative abilities. It is believed that they even possessed psychic powers and were also the main reason why the Teigus were created in the first place, as a pact of friendship between Atlantis and the Empire."

Tatsumi was silent for a moment, digesting all the information. Those people sounded incredible, especially if they were able to create incredible tools like the Teigu. However there was one thing that he had to ask, and for some reason he dreaded the answer. "W-what happened to them?"

Esdeath was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh of…regret perhaps. "Unfortunately there are no specifics, but it is said that 500 years ago, around the time when the Civil War began, the City of Atlantis was destroyed. Attacked by a combine force of both the Southern, Western and Northern nations, seeing the internal skirmish the Empire was facing at the time an opportunity too take out the threat that Atlantis posed, since it was to far from the Empire's borders. The Atlanteans were believed too have been wiped out or managed to escape and scatter across the world. The city's destruction was the main reason why our borders in the East are so small, as well as the Empire's sour relations with the tribes of the West, North, and South, since the attack was on a close ally of ours. Plus with Atlantis destroyed, along with its people, technology and history loss, it is also why the weapons of today are no matched for the Teigus of the Empire's Golden Age. I find it quite a shame to be honest. A powerful civilization such as Atlantis would've produced incredible warriors of equal standings to you and I." Esdeath said.

Tatsumi did not hear the last part as his face went down slightly, a sad look in his eyes. To hear that an entire civilization was destroyed merely because of fear was upsetting, but for him it felt a lot worse for some reason. Already he could imagine what the city looked like: A large piece of land surrounded by the blue waters of the ocean, with buildings of great height and beauty that you wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. The more he thought about it, the more the image seemed so real to Tatsumi, like he was actually there walking through the city. That only made the pain in his heart hurt more, even more then when Sayo, Ieyasu, Sheele and Bulat died.

The two were interrupted when a soldier appeared, speaking loudly to make his presence known. "Esdeath-sama!" The man said, catching the two Teigu user's attention. "I have an order from the Prime Minister for the Jaegers here." The man added as he handed out said paper to his superior.

Esdeath took it before dismissing the messenger quickly. Tatsumi watched as she read the contents quickly, her blue eyes having an intense gaze in them. Finally after a minute a small smile forming on her lips as she turned her gaze back to Tatsumi. "It seems that we've been given a good opportunity to test your Teigu in action Tatsumi." Esdeath said, obviously pleased by this, since she could now see the full capabilities of the man who captured her heart. "Get yourself clean up and then head towards the meeting room. I'll be summoning the others there shortly."

"Understood" Tatsumi said, a bit worried of what this new assignment given to the Jaegers was. His worry then turned to embarrassment as Esdeath affectionately patted his head, and then flustered as she planted a swift kiss on his cheek. Withat that Esdeath then quickly walked off as Tatsumi hurriedly made his way back to her room to clean up after his training.

(Two Hours Later, Outside the Capital)

The entirety of the Jaegers was now standing on top of a mountain edge, overlooking a large base down below. A high wall covered with local fauna was around the base, helping it blend easier with the forest surrounding it. Even from his position atop of the hill, Tatsumi could make out the various noises coming down below at the base.

"So this is our target?" Wave asked as he scanned the area besides Tatsumi. On his other side, Kurome was busy munching on cookies, her usual emotionless gaze on her face while looking down at the hidden base.

"That's correct" Esdeath said. "Since we have yet to find Night Raid's location, we the Jaegers will be busying ourselves cleaning up trash such as these people."

"Judging from the size of this base, it's clear that this won't be as simple as the last bandit camp we took down." Run noted as he stood next to Esdeath.

"Unlike the last group, these bandits have been reported to raid not just nearby villages but have also attacked travelers on the road towards the capital. Including convoys delivering supplies for nobles, as well as food, clothes, weapons and other materials. They've even attacked nobles and other important officials on the road too." Esdeath said. "The Prime Minister sees this as a threat to the Empire as the constant raids have left our armies low on supplies. Plus we'll lose support from several government officials and nobles at this rate."

'So they're not with the Revolutionary Army.' Tatsumi thought with relief. It would've been difficult for him to fight against people affiliated with the Revolutionary Army.

"Then we must be quick and deliver justice to these evildoers!" Seryu declared. Attached to a leash around her right arm, Koro let out a growl of agreement with its master.

"This isn't the time for rash action Seryu." Esdeath said, giving said person a stern look. The orange-haired girl flinched and had the decency to look down sheepishly. "While I am not underestimating anyone's skills, there are times when you can't just charge in guns blazing, even if you have a Teigu. According to our scouts, nearly all the bandits down there are equipped with firearms. And presumably they are in the possession of a Teigu."

"Seriously?" Wave asked, astonished. It was pretty rare these days for someone who wasn't part of the Empire or Revolutionary Army to possess a Teigu. "Do we know which one it is?"

"No we do not." Esdeath replied before looking at everyone else. "The plan is that I'll remain here with Dr. Stylish to overlook the operations and come in if things get out of hand. The rest of you will split into two groups from both sides: One will consists of Run, Seryu and Bols. And the other will be Tatsumi, Wave and Kurome. Dr. Stylish's own personal army will also be moving in to back you up with their numbers."

"While they're not strong, my pawns are tough enough to take down normal human soldiers. Even if they are equipped with firearms." The Doctor added. Behind him, three very odd looking individuals could be seen.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Esdeath asked. No one had anything left to say and so with a nod from her, they dispersed and prepared for the annihilation of this bandit base. Her eyes lingered on Tatsumi as the young man descended down the mountain with Wave and Kurome. She was going to be sure to keep a close eye on him, anxiously waiting to see his true capabilities.

And she was not the only one. From behind the blue haired general, Dr. Stylish was also closely examining the brunette with sinister interest. Still holding the theory of where Tatsumi's true allegiance lied, this was now the perfect chance to see this new Teigu of his. Stylish had no doubt that it would indeed be something worthwhile if it got the great Esdeath so excited.

'And make it all the more satisfying once I've found proof of the your affiliation with Night Raid, Tatsumi! And then finally get you onto my lab table.' Dr. Stylish thought with sadistic glee.

He also hoped that by watching Tatsumi's Teigu in action, would help Stylish get a better understanding of why Ratto attacked Tatsumi in the first place. It was frustrating for Stylish, having literally found almost nothing out of the ordinary in Ratto's corpse. Mostly because the body was quite durable, and kept healing and repairing any incisions that he made in it, similar to a Biological Teigu's regenerating abilities. Stylish kept that part to himself, not even telling Esdeath of that. As well as a few theories that he made too, which would have to wait until he got back to his lab. But he had to admit that whoever performed the operation on the man was a genius, perhaps even greater than him. Stylish just had to find out more.

"Doctor" Esdeath's voice said, bringing Stylish back to reality, "Are your soldiers in place?" She asked.

Doing a dramatic bow, Dr. Stylish merely replied, "They await your command Esdeath-sama."

"Then let us begin." Esdeath ordered as a smile formed on her face, anxious for the carnage.

Near the bandit base, the operation was already put into effect. The first warning of an attack that the bandits received was when a barrage of feather projectiles raining down on them from the left, while swords impaled several of them. What came next was when a wave of rather oddly dressed individuals that looked like they came out of a gay-nylon fashion show, assaulted the main entrance, easily breaking through while the bandits were distracted by the first two attacks.

"Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable fighting alongside people dressed like that?" Tatsumi asked as he cut down another bandit with Imperator's sword form. The claymore easily cut down his opponent and broke through their weapons with ease. He would also shift to summoning other short swords to use as projectiles or for dual wielding.

"You got to make do with what you have, as they say." Wave replied, though he also wasn't so thrilled of fighting alongside Dr. Stylish's test subjects. The naval man had already donned Grand Chariot and his armored fist easily broke the bones in his opponent's bodies. Near them, Kurome was leaving a path of sliced up bodies behind her. Her blade cut through the bandit's flesh with ease and she still retained her emotionless gaze. "Besides with the way you're taking them down Tatsumi, we might be able to finish this faster then we thought." Wave added.

What he said was true. Tatsumi was easily cutting down anyone who tried to attack him. The young swordsman also noted that his senses and battle instincts were a lot sharper and stronger then before. Along with that, his own physical strength and speed that was equal to when Tatsumo wore Incursio. He had no idea if it was because of his training with Bulat and Akame or some sort of influence from Imperator, but Tatsumi paid no heed to it. He was only focus on the task before him.

Suddenly a bandit struck from behind, bringing a sword down upon Tatsumi. The young man reacted as usual, blocking the blade with his claymore. But then the bandit unveiled a hidden weapon, a long dagger in his left hand as it lunged towards Tatsumi's heart. Tatsumi's eyes widened, ignoring Wave's cries; there would be no time to block or dodge this attack.

That's when the strangest thing happened. The moment the dagger touched his body Tatsumi felt…nothing. No pain, no metal digging through his flesh, absolutely nothing at all. Curious, he was not dead; Tatsumi could see that very well. And when he looked at the bandit's face he saw that the man had a look of shock and horror, having frozen completely. Looking down Tatsumi saw why.

The dagger's blade had indeed pierced his clothing and reached his skin. But instead of blood coming out of the wound, the blade looked like it had just merely gone through Tatsumi's body. No that wasn't the right word, Tatsumi mused; it was more like the blade had merged with his own body. Like water droplet becoming one with a larger mass of liquid, the blade appeared to have become one with Tatsumi's body, disappearing into it. It was then that Esdeath's words rang through his head. 'The user shall become immune to all blades.' Was this what she meant? Could no blade harm him now? The thought gave Tatsumi new sense of strength as he delivered a powerful kick to the bandit's stomach before cleaving the man in two.

"Imperator!" Tatsumi cried as the Teigu's sword form vanished. Seconds later the physical manifestation of a Tyrant garbed in the Imperator armor came out of the ground behind Tatsumi, with a loud roar and chains swirling in the air similar to how Incursio was summoned. This time however dozens of large double-edge swords shot out of the ground too. All of them were pointing outwards away from Tatsumi, as if they were protecting him from danger. As the Tyrant bent forward towards Tatsumi, covering his entire being from sight with its hands, the blades dispersed into golden dust and also began to spin around Tatsumi's body. His body was alight with the golden markings, followed by a bright glow, and soon Tatsumi was covered in the dragon-like armor once more. The power that pulse from it was enough to make Wave and Kurome pause as it enveloped them, before they were pushed back by a shockwave. In fact everyone, from the bandits, Dr. Stylish's army to the other Jaegers, all paused briefly as they felt a force of tremendous power overtake them.

The sensation did not last long. Still invigorated by the newfound revelation, the armored Tatsumi took to the air, performing an incredible jump that made him visible for all to see. The cape flapping behind him, spreading out like wings almost, Imperator's glowing yellow eyes shined as Tatsumi raised both his arms. And in doing so, summoned dozens of longswords on both sides, the blades pointing downwards. Then with incredible speed, Tatsumi brought his arms downwards, launching the blades with amazing force, as if fired from a cannon. Several buildings were destroyed by the impacts of the blades while dozens of bandits were cut down, the blades ripping through their flesh with ease as they flew.

"Holy shit!" Wave yelled as armored eyes widened as he watched Tatsumi's spectacle. Beside him even Kurome looked up in surprise, her emotionless look having broken upon watching the event.

"Amazing…" Esdeath murmured as she watched with widened eyes at Tatsumi's actions. Even from her position on top of the mountain edge, she did not need binoculars to see the brunette's performance. The power that pulse from the armor's summoning engulfed her body with an overwhelming sensation, something that she had never felt before. This was the first time that she felt overpowered before and it both shocked and excited her from the fact that it came from her lover. Her excitement only grew as she witnessed Tatsumi's forming swords from nothing and demolishing the enemy forces with ease. "You truly are wonderful Tatsumi…" She whispered as she felt heat rise over her face. Truly Tatsumi was the only person in the world who could keep surprising her like this. She did not even notice Dr. Stylish watching Tatsumi's spectacle with a calculative gaze.

Tatsumi soon landed on the ground gracefully and without even stopping, charged forward, his cape flapping in the wind besides him. The nearby bandits began to shake with fear and self-preservation as the armored young man headed towards him.

"God damn it! Shoot him! Shoot him hurry!" A bandit shouted frantically to his comrades, his gun raised.

But they never had a chance to do so. Tatsumi had moved to quick for them to react. One by one Tatsumi cut down the bandits as he now carried two swords, one in each hand. Behind him, Wave and Kurome were coming up from the rear, cutting down any stragglers. Also judging from the screams, explosions and flames from the opposite of the base, the other group was probably doing okay too.

"Damn, and I thought that Teigu was impressive before…" Wave muttered as he delivered an armored punch to another bandit, breaking the man's neck. "I don't think Tatsumi will really need our help if he can do stuff like that."

"True" Kurome said as she ran alongside Wave. "Of course now we'll never know if you'll be of use or not." She said the last part teasingly, yet somehow retained her neutral expression.

It was that moment that Wave performed an impressive face plant as his armored head hit the floor right on target. Kurome ignored it however, continuing to follow after Tatsumi. She also chose to remain oblivious to the glare and comical tears coming from Wave's armored eyes.

"Damnit! You were just waiting for that weren't you Kurome!?" Wave cried in anguish as he chased after her. He did not see the small smile form on the assassin's lips due to her back facing him. They were so distracted by their banter that they didn't sense the presence behind them until Tatsumi yelled.

"LOOK OUT!" The brunette shouted to them. Wave and Kurome turned around to see a beam of air flying towards them. The two Jaegers managed to jump out of the way just in time as the blast struck the ground, creating a shockwave upon impact. It also sent Wave and Kurome crashing into nearby buildings. Tatsumi was about to go and check on them when another blast of air stopped him.

Tatsumi quickly spotted the attacker. Standing on a nearby roof was a tall, muscular, tan skin man with a rather unattractive face that looked slightly familiar to Ogre's. Except this man had two scars running across his entire face. He also wore a sleeveless black flak jacket, grey pants and black trench boots. Clearly this man was the leader of these bandits. But what caught Tatsumi's attention was the object the man was holding. It looked like a large silver bazooka was resting on the man's right shoulder and was emitting smoke from the opening. The back of the weapon also had an opening but was a little bit smaller then its counterpart. The large man was gripping the bazooka with both hands. The appearance of the weapon made it obvious to Tatsumi of what it was. 'That must be the Teigu that Esdeath mentioned.'

"Die you fucking bastard!" The bandit leader cried as he aimed the bazooka towards Tatsumi. Air was sucked in quickly from the back opening of the weapon, and a few seconds later it was released from the front barrel as a powerful blast of compressed air, straight towards Tatsumi. He managed to dodge it though, and the blast went through the building behind him. Tatsumo noted that the blast had left scorch marks where it had hit the building.

'So not only does it sucks in air and fires it as a projectile, but also heats it up to melt anything it hits!' Tatsumi summarized as he dodged another shot from the bandit leader.

"Ha, Ha, Ha! No one can beat me! No one can beat my Hot Airwave: War Cry!" The bandit leader shouted in glee as he continued firing blast after blast of air at Tatsumi. He might have been saying that, but his attacks were barely hitting Tatsumi. Having already trained extensively to master Incursio and later Imperator, Tatsumi's speed was enough to avoid the air bullets, with the armor boosting his agility. Despite the firepower, Tatsumi could tell that he could easily cut through these air bullets with ease and figured that playtime was over.

Shooting himself from the ground, Tatsumi charged towards the bandit leader with a sword formed in his hand. The bandit fired another air bullet, this one larger then the others. In response Tatsumi raised his right arm. 'Focus Tatsumi, focus on a blade long enough and strong enough to cut both the attack and the enemy at once!' Tatsumi thought to himself as an extremely long bladed sword in his hand.

The blade was long enough that it was three times the size of a normal human being. Gripping the blade with both hands, Tatsumi swung the large blade downwards. The results were instant; he managed cut through the large air bullet with ease. But also because of the blade's length, Tatsumi also bisected the man in half, right down the middle. The two halves hit the ground at the same time, with the bazooka Teigu following right behind them. The impact also spilt the building the man was on in half too.

As the sword dematerialized, Tatsumi noticed something odd. Inside the now split building a large iron box, a cage of some sort, could be seen within, with a door and opening to boot. Curious, but not turning of Imperator, Tatsumi slowly made his way inside to get a better look. As he did he noticed that at the bottom of the cage were wheels. Said wheels were being held in place by blocks while several chains were attached to the cage and connected to the surrounding walls. Clearly this cage was meant to be use as transportation. Getting closer, Tatsumi was able to make out the noise of what sounded like a cross between a growl and a whimper. Looking through the opening, Tatsumi saw something that shocked him.

Inside the cage was the largest wolf Tatsumi had ever seen. It had to be the same size as a horse but since it was lying on its belly, Tatsumi assumed that the wolf could be even bigger. The large creature was covered in a coat of dark brown fur with a large fluffy tail that looked like it could knock someone's head clean off. From what Tatsumi could see, the wolf's claws were also very big too, and could probably go toe to toe with a Danger Beast. The most curious part was, however, that the wolf had the most amazing pair of silver-colored eyes with black slit-pupils. The color reminded Tatsumi a full moon at night.

A noise from the wolf snapped Tatsumi's from his daze. It was then that the young man noticed that the wolf had collars around its neck and wrists, all of them attached to chains. It was obvious that the wolf was uncomfortable with its current predicament, as it was constantly pulling against the restraints, but to no avail. The wolf also looked severely weakened, since Tatsumi presumed that normally, it would've been able to break free.

Taking pity, Tatsumi easily tore the door from its hinges and slowly made his way towards the beast. Sensing his presence, the wolf snapped its head towards the armored warrior. It let out a threatening growl towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi halted his steps, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might upset the large animal.

"Easy there" Tatsumi said calmly, as if expecting the wolf to understand human language. The green-eye assassin raised his hands before him, trying to calm the wolf. "I'm not going to hurt you. All I'm going to do is open these collars, okay? I just want to get you out." Tatsumi tried to reason.

Eventually the wolf lowered its growl, as if understanding that Tatsumi meant no harm. Its body relaxed but its silver eyes still lingered on the brunette. Seeing how it wasn't going to bite him, Tatsumi continued making his way towards the wolf. Then with a quick tug, he snapped the collars off the wolf easily. He then moved back outside the cage as the wolf followed him out.

As it landed on its feet, Tatsumi saw that the wolf was indeed larger then a horse, now that it could stand properly again. After doing some stretches and shaking its fur, the wolf turned its moon-like eyes back to Tatsumi's armored covered face. The two stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, both studying one another intently. Then the wolf cocked its head to the side, as if thanking Tatsumi, and took off, most likely finding the quickest exit from the camp. As Tatsumi watched it leave, he was surprise to see the wolf jump over the buildings with relative ease as it headed towards the forest. "I wonder what kind of species that was anyway?" Tatsumi asked himself, since there was no way that wolf of that size could be anything but a Danger Beast.

His attention shifted elsewhere though as he heard multiple voices cry out in shock and pain. Looking up a large ball of ice had formed above the base, before shattering into multiple of large shards of ice. The shards fell downwards, destroying buildings and crushing/skewering bandits. It was not hard to tell who was responsible, as said person slid elegantly down the nearest ice shard towards him, her long blue hair flowing against the breeze behind her. Esdeath walked towards him, a wide smile on her face, showing her perfect white teeth and her eyes filled with pride with Tatsumi's performance. After feeling Imperator's power and Tatsumi's performance of slaughtering multiple bandits, Esdeath had decided to finish the mission up so she could quickly congratulate her lover.

"Was that really necessary?" Tatsumi asked through Imperator's helmet. He had yet to deactivate it in case of an ambush.

"There were very few bandits left thanks to you and the others. So I figure that I just clean up the leftovers quickly." Esdeath said, easily shrugging it off as she reached him. Immediately she began examining the armor with the blue eyes, greedily taking in the form of one of the most powerful Teigu, much to Tatsumi's discomfort. Slowly she moved her slender fingers across the material, taking in its unusual texture. Despite it covering his body, Tatsumi shivered a bit as if he was actually feeling her cold, pale fingers.

"Such an interesting texture it has, this armor." Esdeath commented as her fingers ran down the right arm. "It feels almost alive but still so powerful." She whispered. It was true, for someone such as Esdeath, whose senses were well tune; being near Imperator covered her senses and body with a wave of amazing power. And merely touching it covered her in the heat of said power, making Esdeath's urges for Tatsumi even greater.

The moment, however, was cut off when the two heard a familiar voice. "Commander!"

Looking to the sky, Esdeath and Tatsumi could see the blonde hair Jaeger, Run, flying towards them, his winged Teigu spread out widely. He gracefully landed before the two, the wings folding within the pair of golden disks attached to Run's back. Bowing towards his leader right away, Run gave his report. "Commander, Seryu, Bols and I have finished eliminating the bandits on our side. They have gone off to assist Stylish's men to eliminate the survivors. I came here to see what the progress was and give aid if necessary." Run reported.

"Well done Run" Esdeath said as she turned her attention towards the former schoolteacher. "But as you can see, Tatsumi's group have already eliminated the bandits here. And Tatsumi himself has just dealt with their leader easily." Esdeath said as she affectionately patted the armored helm Tatsumi wore over his head. The young man had yet to deactivate the Teigu since he didn't want to be taken by surprise while still in enemy territory.

"I see" Run said as he looked around, taking note of the large number of bandits lying across the area, dead as a doorknob. "And where are Wave and Kurome?"

"Right here!" A familiar voice shouted.

The three turn around and saw Wave approaching them. Lying against his back was Kurome, who had her arms wrapped around Wave's neck while the navy man's arms were holding her legs. There was a large gash on her left leg with some bandages wrapped around it, used for a hasty first aid. The younger sister of Akame had her head hidden behind Wave's, clearly embarrassed of being seen like this. Yatsufusa was being held in Kurome's left hand too.

"That bastard got us pretty good. I managed to come out fine because I had Grand Chariot on. Kurome banged up her leg pretty badly though." Wave explained as he finally reached his comrades.

"I told you, its not that serious." Kurome mumbled, but still loud enough for the others to hear. She tried a futile attempt of getting down, but Wave pretty much had a secured grip to her legs.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Wave said to the young assassin. "And the fact that you could barely walk when I found you completely backs up your claim too." He added sarcastically, ignoring the glare from Kurome. Though he did wince a bit as the girl managed to retaliate with a light headbutt to the back of Wave's head.

"Well in either case, this mission was a complete success." Esdeath stated, getting everyone's attention. "Let us return to the capital with our prize now, shall we?"

She then effortlessly picked up the bazooka Teigu, Wary Cry, with just one hand, before depositing to several of Dr. Stylish's minions that had appeared. The rest of the Jaegers, plus Tatsumi who had finally deactivated Imperator, followed the General. As he followed the others, Tatsumi couldn't help but realize that this was his first mission as a Jaeger, not as a member of Night Raid. He'd just hope that future events would be as easy as this one, though he learned already that life was never easy, especially in a position like his.

And there's the third chapter! What do you guys think? Anyway a sneak preview for the next chapter is that it will be showing a battle happening inside the Imperial Palace and involving the forces of the mysterious man from the last chapter against the Jaegers, Tatsumi, and the Royal Guards. Hoped you liked my idea of the city of Atlantis too. Be sure to review!

Wacko12