Skull Heart Chronicles, Part 2: Bloody Rebellion

by ReapingRose115

Make a wish... Nearly a year had passed, it seems as though that peace has prevailed. Unfortunately, the Reapers now find themselves preparing for a new threat, as strange events occur in New Meridian. Perhaps an Unholy Alliance has formed a force far deadlier than before. But the unexpected heroes of Light, Darkness, Fire and Blood, have emerged. Ladies and Gentleman: SHOWTIME

2. Chapter 2: Continuous Flow

Reala adjusted the tie wrapped around the collar of his red wine shirt. Looking at himself at the elevator mirror, he hummed. "Honey. You like my nose, right?"

Linda, who stood beside him, chuckled: "What nose?"

"I'm kidding." He smiled as he turned back to Wright, who wore a formal business suit, preferring a chocolate blazer and skirt. Forgone was his trench coat for today, instead, opting for a long-sleeve red shirt, tucked in under a pair of black denim jeans, and to compliment: a pair of dark chocolate spurred boots. He only had one of his huge handcannons today, but that was because Linda had the other, hidden in a closed carry holster. His own firearm was openly fastened on his left, handle angled upwards for his right hand to reach.

Hotel California… He hadn't been here for at least a few years. The last time he stayed around, was with Linda, and for reasons not needed to be disclosed… "I think we've come a little overdressed." He commented. Linda nodded, but playfully nudged the Commander.

Passing a few more floors, the elevator finally stopped at thirty-three, where the others will be. As the doors opened, the vixen was allowed first before the Commander followed. "Still can't believe that an Angel was here, and went rogue." Reala noted.

Wright hummed and nodded but regardless, didn't allow the grim news to set the tone down. "You can speak to the Conference about it later."

"I think I want to avoid them for now." He took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly. "Let's just take our break for now."

Reaching room two hundred and four, Reala knocked first. The thought of greeting the others was slightly trailed off by his growling stomach. Reaching a hand at his belly, he sighed. With the confusion of yesterday, coupled with missing breakfast, he could use a bite. "I could go for a burger right now." They even had the chance when the two passed the market, especially where stalls of street food had setup for the ongoing festival. Burgers, sausages, barbeque pork meat on a stick!

Shaking her head, the vixen smiled once more. "You should've eaten when we got here."

"Stop reminding me…"

"Or what, big guy?" Linda said, with a hint of playfulness in her voice as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders. "You need to stop skipping those meals. You need to stay in shape." She joked as she poked his chest. Of course, he really didn't, but she knew more than anyone that he was an unashamed big eater. Combine that with his bulky stature, he seemed like a regular mid-tier body builder. Wright however knows that he's not one to brag, not at all.

Standing close to him, she noticed they were of equal height, and Linda giggled at the thought. Rather than ask questions, the Commander chuckled as he nuzzled his left cheek over her left, eyes closed and all… "I swear hun… You have the softest cheeks of all time…"

"Damn right I do…" Linda added. The doors finally opened, and the vixen pulled away from the Commander, albeit slowly rather than scrambling away like a teenager trying to hide her embarrassment. Behind the door was Sienna, who wore a modified form of the outfit she first wore upon meeting the Reapers. The same one that Micheal had bought for her.

"Commanders." She said in monotone, with a faux salute to match, and she was met with one in kind, before breaking into a friendly outburst. Her arms flailed at her two Commanders, pulling them in as she smiled and chuckled. "It's so good to see you two!"

"Look at'chu! Getting taller and still haven't lost your touch!" Linda said as she accepted Sienna's hug, and kissed her on the cheek. "By the way, got to see your last performance at the Luce and Ombra Theatre." Her last performance was for a play, in which she played a daughter of a rival gang to another gang, who had fallen in love with one of the sons of said rival don. Her acting skills were impeccable, but everyone stayed for her voice.

Hadn't it been for Linda, Sienna wouldn't have found a way into the Theatre, or Opera, at least at such a fast rate. What made it easier was the need for good talent, and the company that Sienna works with as of now has a good reputation for taking care of their actors and singers. Of course, if all else fails, Sienna can make a living as a Reaper and Demon Hunter.

The nightmare Commander slipped his hands into his pockets, his lips curved but only just. "Glad you've been doing alright Squigly. Just to let you know, Nikki and Leviathan will be popping over." With recent events, it was a precautionary measure. If Angels are really going rogue, Nikki had to get involved, especially since she was one of the members of the 'Angelic Conference'. They'd most likely be pestering her for an investigation, or worse, would deem the situation a lie and would want to speak to Sienna directly.

But even if Sienna delivered the deadly blow, she couldn't have figured out that 'Anya' was an Angel on her own. Anya was definitely keeping a low profile, and the only way she would've figured her out was to draw her out, but that would make her a priority target. Someone else had to have been there, someone who can keenly detect a preternatural when hidden in plain sight.

He didn't dwell on the thought however; he had to put aside the work and business for now because he had promised both the vixen and other Reapers that he would enjoy the celebrations. The other juniors had already made it to the room beforehand, with Kazuo and Klo assisting in making brunch, instead of buying food from outside. A conservative but very smart idea!

Sienna allowed the two in with welcoming arms, as Linda and Reala both took to the piles of sandwiches and other foods and snacks that have been made. Reala reached out first for what appeared to be a chicken salad sandwich, and immediately taking a bite, he nodded with a thumbs up. "That's good… Oh my Lord…"

The vixen swallowed her own bite. "I can marry this… Can I marry this?" She jokingly asked. Reala nodded in agreement; perhaps he'd marry his own sandwich too if possible.

Kazuo and Klo continued to prepare the feast, as they expected others to visit. With most of them being preternaturals, the amount of nutrients needed to sustain them was very high. Today was going to be long, and so the two packed everything into brown paper bags, and labelled each bag with its contents such as a sandwich, some snacks or even a boxed meal.

"Hopefully there's enough food. Gonna be a lotta people dropping by." Klo noted.

Kazuo nodded. "And the FNG, right?"

Reala finished up his sandwich and nodded silently. "Two. First one's female, the other, I think you know him very well Kazuo." Foxhound nodded. Swallowing the chewed up mush of what was once bread, meat and blends of condiments, he grimaced. "Steel yourselves lads, first one's probably going to bite harder than a wolf."

Bringing out his PDA, he sent documents over to the other members in a few touches. Klo and Kazuo took to their devices to view the data, whilst Sienna peaked over since hers was out of reach. "Her name is Maud Rihfort, Chessian, twenty four... Mortal." Taking a can of soda from the table, he pulled the tab to open its contents. "And yet her ki is really powerful. If anything, it's almost akin to an aura of sunlight. There aren't any family members of hers that had any involvement with ki training or anything remotely preternatural."

"So how did she get her powers?" Sienna asked, raising a brow.

Linda stepped in: "Training. Gabriel found her a year ago after a strange incident. She volunteered for the program but her training grounds were in the Dragon Empire." With her own can of bubbly nectar, she consumed to her hearts content, before stopping to exhale her satisfaction. "She excelled in a Martial Arts known as 'Yángguāng wén bō'. Sunshine Ripple in Simplified Dragonian."

Kazuo nodded. "I heard stories about it. Utilizing inner ki to replicate energy similar to the Sun as I've heard." He thought it could only exist in stories and animes, but it seems as though it is as real as can be. He'll take Reala's word with a grain of salt, because at this point, anything is possible and the impossible has been done. "But you said she excelled in it. How far are we talking?"

Linda squashed her now empty can and threw it into the bin besides her. "In that year alone, she was able to master skills that most students would take at least a decade, if not several. I'm sure I can think of one person who can help with that." The nightmaren Commander smiled impishly as he took another sandwich to mouth. "Regardless, training aside, she has no real experience in combat. I trust you all will be as welcoming as possible." Michael and Kneesocks are no doubt bringing her up as they speak…

"Yes ma'am." Klo assured with a thumbs up. Kazuo and Sienna responded in kind with nods and smiles. Just as they agreed to said request, the door flung open with a forceful push… Their attention swayed to the doorway, and they found Micheal and Kneesocks standing behind a slightly short, petite, blood red haired young woman. Her appearance screamed nothing short of 'Attention Grabber', as her outfit was of black and red, frilled and with sparkling jewels of ruby…

"Trinity be damned, fuckin' train sucked…" None of the Juniors said a word. "What's up Reala? Oh fuck is that food? Maid damn! I could use some of that!" She rushed herself at the set of sandwiches and immediately stuffed the first one she had to hand into her gob.

"This… Is… Her…?" Sienna asked, confused.

Linda nodded slowly, much to the dismay of both the Juniors, and on Reala's behalf as well… "This is she…"

"These sandwiches are damn good. Fuck me, they hit the spot so good. Even the bitch ass whores during the train ride couldn't make a good sandwich." She shook her head in disgust at the thought. "It's two fucking slabs of bread with meat and fuckin' condiments for fuck sake!"

Kneesocks dropped herself on the chair, slumping out of exhaustion, whilst Michael went for the bed, face first. "I think that last bag tugged on my collar…" He noted, reaching for the said garment around his neck.

The demoness sighed. "She made us carry everything… EVERYTHING!" And the hybrid feral on the bed pointed limply at the doorway, which had several luggage bags and many other bags from brand names such as 'Hillson' and 'Mullarkey Co', all of which are expensive clothing brands. No doubt that they simply avoided asking for room service, because with this much baggage, it was a sure-fire way to increase the tip.

The nightmaren cleared his throat, and tapped on Maud's shoulder. When she turned to him, he only glanced at the three other Juniors, before minding his own business with Linda. Rihfort sighed but stood and bowed to the three. "Maud… Maud Rihfort."

Kazuo tilted his head with arms folded. He then offered a hand, but she only glanced at it and didn't respond. The sudden change in her outgoing attitude to mellow and respectful was strange, but perhaps it was a custom ingrained into her mind from her sensei. The bow itself had to be met correctly, so he retracted his hand and bowed as well. Sienna and Kazuo also bowed.

"Sorry… It's just that… The way I'm used to greeting people is this way." She explained, straightening herself out. "I mean, it's stupid but I think I prefer it."

Sienna shook her head. "No, it's not stupid at all. I think it's nice to have a little cultural diversity." Contiello smiled. "I'm Sienna, Squigly if you will. Both work."

Foxhound stood up straight. "Kazuo. Kaz. You'll get to know us all soon enough. I mean there's no rush."

"I hope not." She smiled. She offered her right hand. "I'm curious as to how well you tan." It was illuminated by a mist of tangerine, emitting blonde yellow sparks with each passing second.

"Well… Doesn't really work out the way I want it to." Foxhound joked as he accepted the handshake, meeting her ki with his own, thunder blue sparks and flow of energy. As their hands clasped, their powers surprisingly did not conflict with each other, rather just cancelling each other out with equal measures of use. "That's really good channelling!"

Maud agreed, but also could tell that the hybrid feral contrasted with her perfectly, but the two weren't looking for a fight, they simply wanted to test their powers. "Well, if you fucker's don't mind, I'ma eat. Starving to shit here…"

Contiello shook her head, but regardless, couldn't help but smile at how Maud was relentless in her uses of F-bombs. There was an uncanny resemblance to Nikki, if not exaggerated in a way. Of course, if she did this in front of her sensei, probably wouldn't be here today. For one not to care or even think about someone, you wouldn't affectionately insult them right away. Maybe Rihfort was just as excited to be around as all the others, if her rudeness did represent this.

Again, the attention was immediately snatched away to the doorway, where a feral of black fur with purple hints, knocked. His outfit consisted of a maroon long-sleeved shirt, coupled with a pair of black dress trousers, and black combat boots, mostly hidden by the ankle cuffs. It was like he was attending a formal interview, and what's more, he even had a tie, and held his leather coat over his right arm.

His distinctive features include a pair of feral rabbit ears of rasin colour, but if one could ignore the ears, he had an uncanny resemblance to Takamichi, in fact, that extends to Kazuo. "Sorry I'm late." His gaze immediately met Maud's, and while she remained neutral, he immediately smiled, one that was true down to his core.

Captain Foxhound smiled at the guest, and allowed him in with a hand reel towards himself. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you in a while."

"Well there's a reason why I'm here." The long eared feral joked as he hung his coat on the rack on his right. Right after, he approached the team as if he knew them for a long while, like old friends. Of course, according to the team's reaction, this was more than justified. Even Squigly knew whom Kazuo spoke to. She had met him several times down at Innsmouth, at Yu-Wan's restaurant as one of the waiters. So this is what Reala meant by Kazuo knowing the second new member?

Zhai Takeo. Another member to the Takeo clan, his mother was an Accountant in the Chess Kingdom, whilst his father… He didn't know too much about him actually. Undoubtedly, his father was where the rabbit ears came from. If anything, he hadn't went through a day thinking harshly about it. Zhai moved to New Meridian at the age of seventeen to study at one of the local UF Academies. According to Kazuo, that was three years back, and he passed with decent scores. By that time, he was able to land a spot as a waiter for Yu-Wan's restaurant.

But his real ambition was much like Kazuo's: to help people as a Reaper.

"Man… Traffic was all over the place." Zhai noted. With the parade coming ever so close, he could only expect that his journey here would be slowed down. "But I made it at least."

"Well, don't keep yourself waiting. Help yourself." Kaz patted his cousin's shoulder and allowed him towards the kitchen.

As Zhai approached, he bowed in as a means to greet. "Hello. The name's Zhai, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Maud raised a brow. He wasn't in the room when she explained that she only bowed instead of a hand shake or other means of physical contact approaches. "Sorry, force of habit… It's part of my job as a waiter down at Innsmouth."

"A waiter?"

"For a Dragonian/Dagonian restaurant."

Made much more sense there at least. He would have to greet customers politely, and to fit the culture around it too. "Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

The feral took a seat, leaving a stool as a gap between himself and Maud. "It's the start of something new…" Takeo said as he reached out for a sandwich.

"Can't be any different from training." Maud said dismissively… But deep down in her heart, her soul, she knew that her training from hell will be a God send by the end of it. Thoughts were interrupted when the others started to pack small rucksacks with food and drink to go. It was time to enjoy the celebrations. She stood from her seat and joined the Commander who led several members out. Time to party. Squigly however urged the others to go, to help Micheal rest.

---

Sienna sat beside the drained feral. She doubted that the bags were what tired him, but rather the 'colourful' personality that Maud expressed to both her and Knee would easily run him down. Mason-Fox was the kind of person who enjoyed conversations, but mindless one-sided spouting was one thing she understood he hated. Alternatively, their 'good' night meant he was aching, and that carrying the bags really did tire him. Doubt it…

The pale skinned singer petted her feral's ears. Soft as always. "Mick?" He didn't say a word, but he sighed as he relaxed himself, his fox tail swishing and swirling, his mouth curving a smile. The opera singer couldn't help but smile at the sight. She worked her right hand lower to just under his chin, and promptly, after an impish smile, began her attack! She stroked, rubbed and tapped with her fingers at his neck and shoulders, and like a close canine friend, he couldn't help but laugh, chuckle and whimper at Contiello's mercy.

"Come on, stop being so lazy!" She laughed manically as she pulled her right hand back and reached out under his t-shirt, and continued her plan of attack, doubling efficiency and effectiveness as the fox-rabbit's laughter turned up to eleven! "Who's a good boy!?" She joked.

"Nngghhh! Come on!" He said in a whimpered tone, but his pleas were ignored as she continued on, and the laughter became breathless and eyes tearful. He couldn't stop laughing, his tail only swished and swayed faster, his joyful crying becoming a flood… It was a weakness he was powerless to! A kryptonite!

A moment of reprieve was given to allow him to take a breath… "Merciless, aren't we?" The hybrid feral said between pants for air. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed and rested head on Contiello's lap.

"Well…" Producing a small box from behind her back, she smiled devilishly as she waved it in front of the hybrid. "Considering that you weren't going to say anything about 'this' sooner or later…" The feral reached out for it as she raised her arm higher. A mistake which left her vulnerable as Micheal returned the favour. Both were in fits of constant laughter, Sienna taking the brunt of it whilst Mason-Fox laughed at the predicament he had her in.

But she was a sly one, having found it right under his nose. He'll give credit for her keen senses however. Of course, he was merciful as he withdrew his attack, but both smiled at each other. Contiello handed the box back without another word, and he revealed its contents. "Hun… I know we've only known each other for nearly a ye-"

"Yes." She interrupted, but it wasn't a 'yes' to enquire, it was a 'yes' to respond to what he was about to ask. "Yes, yes, yes. A thousand yesses, a million yesses if need be! Yes, yes-yes-yes-yes! To heaven and hell, yes!" She was breathless, taking deep exhausted breaths, recovering from her sudden outburst.

Mason-Fox was paralysed, his eyes wide and jaw slightly agape, but his trance ended when a guest in the room they had forgotten about cleared their throat. Knee, who was still on the sofa, smirked at the sight. The feral turned, but the Crimson demoness urged his attention to his lover. It was settled… Removing the ring from the box, Sienna offered her left hand, and Mick reached out for them with his left. With his right hand, he slowly slipped on the ring…

Simple as its design was, Squigly smiled, and couldn't hold back the glee in her voice. So many thoughts rushed through her mind, but none of them reflected any doubt or regret. But she noticed he didn't have one for himself, nor was he wearing one on his left hand. "Wait… What about yours?" She took his hand, and even deduced that there wasn't even a ring mark. Did he have his own stored elsewhere?

Micheal loosened his collar from its hiding spot under his shirt. He does wear a variety of collars out of personal preference, but upon closer inspection, this one had some sort of chain linked to it. Pulling on it, he revealed the ring which hung like a tag. "Put it on today."

"You were hoping I'd say yes, hmm?" She raised a brow, but the smug grin on her face said it all… 'You got lucky…' She thought to herself. Regardless of the fact that he didn't wear it the same way as most couples would, he still had the ring attached to him in a way. Perhaps the reason he had it there, and why the chain had some length to it, was to simply… Tug… And pull him… Towards her lips… 'Perfect.'

"Well I'll be damned." Kneesocks murmured. When the two broke contact, she stood and urged them to the door. "I'm spreading the word! When are you two gonna properly hitch up!?"

Micheal scratched the back of his head. "We need time to think about that."

Sienna shrugged. "I was thinking something a little 'simple'." Inspired by her own mother-in-law no less. She wanted to forgo all the big traditions of a wedding for something smaller, but tying the knot was the thing that she cared about. "Just a suggestion."

Regardless, the Crimson Skin ran off with a smile, ready to spread the news to the masses. Meanwhile, the feral kissed Sienna on the cheek, a little surprised that the opera singer was opting for a 'conservative' wedding. Living with his family has certainly evolved this once gentle dormant bloomer to a beautiful blue rose, with prickly thorns of course. Most of the cues were inherited from his own mother, but she didn't abandon what she valued beforehand.

As such, Sienna is still kind and gentle, she'll treat well if they return the favour or in returning the favour herself; Mick can attest to that in many ways, whether it be himself or someone else that she shows her friendliness to. While he remembers very much how competent she was in fighting before she had proper training from the Reapers (and his parents), he also remembers how much anger he could feel upon any mention of the Medici then. Their time is over, but some part of him feels the bitter aftertaste left behind after all that fiasco, only masked by the vast loads of the sweet yet enticing taste of victory.

It was as if she shared a similar taste to his mother. Both he and his father hadn't much of a tragic life to begin with, and many would point out his 'relative' pure scent. Sure he has his bitter moments, but he doesn't hold grudges or worse, any long-lasting pain. Whether he could help phase that out of her life, he didn't know. Perhaps it has become a part of her, much like his mother's past is something she willingly holds on to. While she never dwells on it, those thoughts alone are lurking, but maybe that's why she's always pushing ahead to the future.

It didn't matter what held Squigly back. The feral reached for her hands, gently rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Her left hand was, naturally, solid hard due to it being a synthetic, but her right hand had all the warmth he needed to feel from her. They were as warm as ever can be, just as warm as she were undead… "You know. I still wonder whether I'm worth becoming your husband to be. But I'll be happy to stand by your side."

She rested her head against his, their foreheads holding together along with their hands. "I want you to be by my side, and I'll stand by yours too." He was her priceless feral, one she wouldn't trade for anything. "I wish you had the chance to meet my family, they would've loved you."

"I dunno. I'm not sure they'd be happy to see you dating someone with sharp canines like…" And he showed the sharp embedded claws in his mouth.

Sienna scoffed as she broke her hold with him and stood. "Well, I'm dating you for the 'tongue'." She mockingly said before rushing out the door, a wide smile on her face. Mick ran after her, closing the door behind himself of course, and smiling all the way.

---

Another day, another crowd following. The doppelganger sighed once more... At least she had time to stop for breakfast without too much trouble, and pick up a Bento box for lunch. A breakfast wrap to start the day, and a cup of coffee. The coffee wasn't anything to ride home about, but the damn wrap was AMAZING! A hash brown, three bacon rashers, a flat sausage, and a cheese omelette to top it off. Dima was smart enough to buy two, one to go with lunch.

"Man, that place was awesome. Bacon's perfect, sausage is tender and meaty…" He oozed pleasure from such a concoction.

"They're good but please, control yourself Dimitri." The feral ignored her request and continued to feast on his wrap. Dima always enjoyed whatever comes to mouth, hell he enjoyed a lot of the little things that life has to offer. Being with her small covert group, she learned a lot about her few team members. It was straightforward to analyse the albino hybrid, his mannerisms, his honesty, always out in the open. While there was a degree of conservation, he relished in whatever interests him. Though there was a sense of dread within him, no thanks to the news of his father's death.

If there is an afterlife, which in a way seemed likely, Romeo would be either disappointed or distraught that his son wasn't actually dead. Or perhaps he'd be relieved that he didn't die as he had thought. Dima never dwelled on it, preferring to leave the past behind and keep pushing forwards. It's understandable, he had nowhere to go and his mother doesn't even remember him or Romeo (no thanks to him on that part).

Optimism and confidence can only go so far without some sort of support, but Dimitri was strong enough to leave some sort of influence in the world. Just being around him was a pleasure, regardless of his messy eating or whatever you could consider a bad habit of his. The world could learn a thing or two from him.

From Albus, he was the one who lived in the moment, just enjoyed life as it was given. All instinct, and he never thought too much about anything he does unless someone else does it for him. Some would call him stupid for not seeing and understanding the problems that the Canopy Kingdom, or what the world has. But why should he really bother? If anything, his carefree attitude is a good thing, because there won't be a single thing to hold him down.

There are nit-picks. He's impulsive, to say the least, and at worse, blunt when he doesn't realise it. Still, he's good muscle, even more so is that he learned to work with his new team quickly. Didn't have to learn the hard way either, since he could tell just by looking at Diana-Linda, he'd rather submit to a new employer. Albus learned however that his new employer would treat him as an equal, and his workload was much less manual labour.

Sure there was a lot of labour, especially when it came to handling deliveries of equipment and weapons. Albus however wasn't one to complain since he was getting a handful

Horace on the other hand, compared to his younger partner, was level headed and withheld his emotions to his comrades. Despite this, he has his moments. His transition to DL was smooth, as he understood the benefits of working with his former employer's enemies. A capable fighter, many would foolishly mock his large stature, where Albus was muscle, Horace had fat and muscle. To the surprise of Diana-Linda and Dima, the owl proved to be no slower than a Black Belt Taekwondo practitioner. Furthermore, he was a logical thinker, and was known to 'think smart'.

Thinking smart however has its caveats, what with him not commenting on moral dilemmas. The owl genuinely has a distaste for 'knocking the bird's head', mainly because his career beforehand involved an eerie amount of gruesome disposals. Horace followed orders, showing a degree of professionalism. So why did he go so far to defect from Neferu? That's easy: the Reapers had a major starting advantage, with numbers and firepower outclassing her.

Still, he didn't doubt that if she returns, there will be major bloodshed before she loses, or worse, wins. For now, he is confident that Reala's daughter would successfully lead Eliza to where she wants her to be. For now, he will take his paycheque, adjust his fez and continue work as normal. Since his past was shrouded in mystery, Dima assumed that his capabilities were down to vast years of experience elsewhere. Most likely the vixen would've found a lot about him, but probably to keep things confidential, had tampered with whatever data of him existed.

Was he a soldier? A former mercenary or assassin? Would explain his good martial arts skills and expertise with firearms, according to his runs in warehouse. His record sits only behind Dima, who sits first place including accuracy bonuses for time deduction. Eliza has yet to run through the test herself, but her standards are set to compete with Horace. Albus, not so much in the speed department but he was a really good shot, vs DL who was a lousy shot surprisingly.

"You know, we should stop at the range; kinda curious how I'd do."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Dima nodded in assurance. "Horace is catching up, I'm honestly worried that he'll kick my record down." He laughed at the idea, though he knew that the owl is more than capable of reaching his time and score, eventually.

"Another day, another lesson." Eliza pulled out a book from her blazer. "But all planned out."

Dima shrugged and smiled. "Look at you. Didn't realise you'd enjoy teaching so much."

The doppelganger smiled as she passed through the main gates. Her smile immediately straightened as she felt a strange sensation pass through her, originating from her left and spreading like wildfire. Straightening herself and adjusting her cap, her eyes peered to her left. It was the Vice Principle again. "Good morning."

"Again with that hat. You're putting an impression on these young girls." Not to mention, the scuffle she had with one of the other teachers. Another history teacher who simply reprimanded Eliza's fame right outside of school, but of course Eliza did nothing in response. Of course, said teacher lost her cool and threw a slap, only to be given a nose crunching punch in return. The rumours are circulating fast among students.

Eliza raised a brow. "Perhaps. But it's a positive one." She retorted. Barring the scenario where she defended herself from assault that is…

The Vice Principle folded her arms. "I don't like that attitude of yours…" Ariel glared at Eliza, akin to a tiger ready to pounce a dear.

Unfortunately, Ariel was coming up against another feline instead… One who had claws as sharp as her own, and just as ready to strike. "Miss Ariel… We may not get along, but if you insist on continuing to have a meaningless grudge on the grounds of who I am, we settle it away from the children." She tipped her hat off to the Vice Principle.

"Crimson Scourge…" Ariel murmured. At that, Eliza paused, turned back with her own glare. Her left eye looked directly at Ariel, a piercing glare designed for the toughest of armour. Ariel glared. "What's wrong? Did I strike a nerve?" Ariel chuckled before bursting out in a menaced laughter, holding the tips of her fingers against her lower lip.

The doppelganger was held back by her feral companion, but she persisted and threw his hold off. She put her foot down… "YAKANOSHI! Uto-shi-zoh!"

Dima however was able to get back hold of her. "Not here…"

The Doppelganger sighed before adjusting her blazer and cap once more before leaving for class. 'I'll smash that face right in if you piss me off again…' She thought to herself.

---

It had been at least a day since the start of the Festival, not so long after the incident at the Hotel. Filia approached the hospital. Her assignment for today: Escorting a witness to Headquarters. If a Guardian was involved with the last few murders, it's better to have someone capable to bring him to absolute safety. The only reason he stayed at the hospital was because he still mourned his unfortunate twin brother. She and Samson wouldn't be alone for this assignment.

Of course, the hospital would rule his death out as natural, but it was far beyond their understanding. The Colt stirred nervously in Filia's coat, a tingle around her itchy fingers, trigger and non-trigger, and her mind far too alert. Something was off, but priorities first: she needed to pull Marco out before anything happens.

According to the files, he and his brother were pure bred Type III vampires, born from a middle class family. Type III because they were born with natural resistance to sunlight. His full name was Marco Mullarkey, and he would've lived with his brother in an apartment complex down at New Meridian. Their father passed away when they were only ten, and left his widowed wife and sons a small business located downtown. He was a manager of a well-known restaurant: Smithfields.

Romeo had been there before, if she remembers her dream correctly… It wasn't a good day for him there (bless his soul).

Due to being preternaturals, they usually avoided visits to hospitals, but they did buy expired blood from blood banks to sustain themselves. All autopsies on Polo were kept to 'Eyes Only' nurses and doctors, those with licenses and clearances to work on him. The results will go to Moka down at the lab, even though they won't mean much.

As a way to get Maud out into the field, she had been assigned to assist Filia in escorting Marco. Needless to say, neither the two were exactly thrilled to work with each other. The blood red headed recruit had several qualms working with a Medici, never mind the theon attached to her head. Probably the bad reputation of her family didn't help, but Rihfort didn't explain herself, and instead just refused to speak.

Aside from the obvious smell of different brands of cigarettes (and possibly cannabis), from what she can get out of Rihfort, a valiant bouquet of different flowers in a single bundle. Assorted roses mostly, all freshly cut and prepared from a florist as a gift. Some daisies, sorbets and sunflowers were in the mix too. There however was an underlying smell of charcoal, the faint smell of its burning from afar which was making it difficult to appreciate the scent of those flowers.

The charcoal smell was probably the harsh and blunt exterior she shows to everyone on a daily basis. The flowers? Perhaps she didn't want to show what they meant anytime soon.

"Alright, this bitch ass better be worth the find. The fuck we bringing him in for?"

"Poor bastard's brother died, and we need to know why he among several others were killed. None of them were linked aside from the poker game."

"Waste of time…" Maud noted but followed with hands in pockets regardless. Filia spoke to the receptionist, whilst Rihfort busied herself by watching patients, nurses and doctors pass by in groups, beds or alone reading results of whatever they were. She hadn't visited the hospital for a long time, at least a year ago if she remembers…

Hospitals and General Practices personally annoy the fiery red head. "I remember being here…" That didn't mean she hated them.

Just as Medici was told the room where Marco was staying in (much to the chagrin of the staff), she heard Maud's murmur. "Sorry?"

She snapped out of a trance. "It's nothing important. Let's just go already, standing around like idiots here." The red head cleared her throat. There was a blank stare from the Detective, but she shook it off and walked ahead, and the recruit followed.

Samson sighed as the three continued passing rooms. With all the technological advancements, it was a wonder why these people are suffering. Magic was prohibited from public use in hospitals, but it would've made a hell of a difference. Some of the patients that were bed ridden included soldiers and civilians injured from the war several months back, some still in a serious state, no thanks to Voltage using whatever means necessary to fight back, and they held their own. In the end, they were outgunned by the combined forces, but still, casualties were high.

At the very least, the Skullgirl and the Medici mafia were beaten… Lorenzo was out there somewhere however. If anything, she'd be glad once she can get a bead on him, and then personally arrest him.

Her mind must've wandered, as Filia hadn't noticed that they were outside the room they needed to pick Marco up. Room number '115B'… Two police officers stood guard outside the room, one a short female feral wolf, and her partner, a tall male of dark skin. As Filia approached with badge in hand, they approached as well. Both were uniformed, and also, both looked exhausted. The feral offered a hand to greet Medici. "Detective?"

"Yes. We're here for Marco. How's he holding up?"

The feral shook her head. "Probably had much less sleep than us." To her partner, the tall male officer was given a thumbs up that everything was under control here, and that he can finally leave his post. "Name's Jenny." Jenny didn't ask for Filia's name as she was told in advanced by staff of her arrival. She opened the door before them. She tended to the lone twin; she wasn't wrong about him having less sleep.

The lonesome twin stood and nodded, his baggy eyes and frizzled hair spoke volumes of his current state. His brother's death would leave a harsh mark, or perhaps there was something else amidst all of this. When he came to greet Medici and Maud, he only gave a nod. His glance to the red-headed recruit however was far longer than a few seconds, as they shared a stare for at least a minute… Neither had noticed of course.

The flowery smell of Maud became a little more distinctive, but Marco himself was blooming with a strong persona. There were no masks, just a flowery, pollen laden smell. And even as another minute passed, the two couldn't stop staring at each other.

Having noticed this, both the Detective and her theon snapped their fingers and a strand respectively to grab both of their attentions. "Hey, gonna stand around all day? Let's go."

"Well excuse me, Princess…" Maud shook her head as she followed, leading Marco and Jenny behind her. Medici entered the elevator with the other three, and two janitors with a mop and bucket also followed.

Marco reserved himself, but Maud pressed on and continued to annoy the Detective. "Friggin' waste of time. Just as I said. Bullshit all the way through."

"Quiet Maud. For even a minute, just don't say anything!" Samson grumbled and scoffed.

The red-head shook her head and scoffed right back. "You ain't in charge."

"Girl, I don't have to be to give you a good ass kickin'."

Filia turned on the two as she took hold of the theon embedded in her head by holding his lower jaw. Her fingers were literally hanging on to his sharp teeth, but the mop of hair knew very well that even with all his might, his teeth will do nothing to her hand, nor would he want to for two reasons: one was that he couldn't hurt Filia on his own personal conscious, and two, if he did, she'd purposely put him through a lot of painful shampooing… Medici also glared at Rihfort with enough vigour to outmatch an army. "Quiet…"

At first, it seemed as though Rihfort and the theon had thoroughly annoyed Medici. That wasn't the case… Marco lifted his head, and saw the two janitors reach into their buckets…

"These two smell awfully like iron."

The shaggy haired vampire took a quick whiff of the air… And he agreed with a silent nod. That's when things went quiet in that cramped space.

It didn't stay quiet for long, once the two janitors reached into their buckets, and out came suppressed pistols. Cramped as it was, a fight still broke out, with Medici flinging herself at the first janitor and smashing the gun wielding hand at the door to sway his aim away from the others, whilst Maud responded in kind with the second janitor and held his gun and aimed towards the ceiling. Rihfort forced her assailant to fire his gun until it was empty, but was thrown off and knocked Jenny and Mullarkey back towards the wall.

Samson tried to restrain his and Filia's target, but he was able to struggle and hold out. It escalated to trading blows between Filia and him whilst Samson kept him in place.

The assailant then revealed a small pocket knife from his boot, and swung at Rihfort. Luckily for her, the vampire stepped in and reached out his arm to take the jab, leaving him wide open. The red-head smacked the Janitor in the jaw, and he let go of the stuck blade. Without a moments delay, the fiery recruit took the small knife that was stuck through Mullarkey's arm, pulling it out before jabbing at the assailant's neck!

No doubt he himself was a preternatural as he still squirmed and struggled against the two. The red-head pushed the VIP back and took hold of the handle, and twisted the blade. It still wasn't enough! With one deep breath, she sent a strong current of her Ripple down from her arm to the small blade, ensuring devastation from within. "FUCK YOU!"

When the elevator stopped, the doors opened before them. Filia threw herself and the janitor out the elevator. Of course, the hostile made a run for it, whilst Medici checked on their VIP. "Said it was gonna be easy, huh?" Filia mocked Maud.

Marco shook his head and gave a thumbs up. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" But he shook his head. "There are people here… They'll get hurt."

Rihfort shook her head. "Go after that fucker!"

Medici nodded before running after the trailing scent of the assassin. The 'janitor' threw aside his mask and made his way through the narrow corridor, not glancing to his pursuer. With each pass by with civilians and staff, he knocked them over, along with whatever obstacles he could reach and push behind himself.

The Detective however was not deterred as she jumped over said obstacles and whomever he had thrown to the ground. "Sorry! So sorry! Sorry!" She kept repeating. Some of these people were undoubtedly already hurt or sick, and using them like dominoes would worsen their current conditions, as well as have some healthy people receive an injury worthy of admission.

Another pass through a hallway before the two run through the Hospital Centre, which were all interconnected balconies above on another from the fifth floor down to the ground floor. They were on the fourth floor, so there was still a long way down.

With all the commotion, staff members and patients scurried out of the way of the two who still ran around after each other. The assassin however decided to take a dramatic exit as he leapt over the balcony, but flawlessly caught on to the first floor balcony's railing. Another preternatural? He pulled himself over without further ado.

But Medici didn't follow examples all the time, and instead threw herself over the railings. Samson entangled himself over her arms and legs, tightening specifically around her hands and feet, right before she pulled off a perfect landing, fist firmly in the ground and feet tiptoeing, still leaving a fracture to the floor beneath her. Luckily, no one was caught in the landing. The scent of bloodlust iron was still strong, but he landed above one floor.

If she remembers correctly, one of the stairways lead to the cafeteria nearby, especially the one where the corridor her fled to lead to. He may have taken another turn to throw her off, but it was a gambit she was willing to make. Closing in on the staircase, she heard a large amount of ruckus behind the double doors right of the staircase. The sign read 'Café'.

Breaking through, the hostile continued to evade her, but had very few options to actually leave, as running through the kitchen would definitely slow him down. The bystanders all tried to get away from the man who ran amok with a pistol, and he raised it at the Detective. Pulling the trigger, the gun clicked. He didn't even let a shot out in the elevator, but some rough handling must've caused a jam of sorts.

He turned to throwing chairs and tables, whilst terrorising some of the civilians. Filia drew her gun from its holster, and directed it towards the assassin who turned to picking up one of the bystanders, a brunette short haired woman, still clad in a nurse outfit. He tugged at her hair, as she whimpered and cried, unable to call for help under all that wailing. Some of the other nurses and doctors tried to step in, but the janitor put the gun against her head.

Filia knew that the gun failed to work, but that nurse could still get hurt. "Leave her alone, she doesn't have anything to do with you!"

"Drop the gun, Medici!"

Always the surname first… "I said, let that nurse go!"

"This is gonna get ugly Fil'!"

It was… Be she didn't want a bystander added to her conscious, nor to anyone else in this room. Luckily for her, backup had arrived in time. Maud and Jenny had the perp flanked from behind, so there really was nowhere to run. The red-head had her handgun drawn, and with a relatively clear shot, but she didn't shoot. The hostage was there, and their perp was a preternatural, perhaps fast enough to throw her in front of the shot.

She didn't even need Medici to tell her that just having guns drawn would bring about bad results, and so she holstered her pistol. Jenny followed reluctantly. "Fucking asshole…"

Filia was last to withdraw, throwing her gun aside, though Samson still encased her arms and legs and hardened them; never can be too careful. Medici looked at the name tag of the nurse… 'Kyanna'… "It's gonna be okay Kyanna." The nurse nodded slowly, still struggling to free herself. "Let her go. It's between you and me. What is it that you want?"

The perp hummed, before loosening his grip on the hostage. "Oh Medici… It's not what I want…" He stopped himself there, and in a split second, he sent Kyanna flying with a straight kick to her back.

The Detective rushed to catch the nurse, stopping her mid-air, though the force was enough to send her aback. "Damn!" Barely landing on her feet, she kneeled to inspect the injured nurse. She was unconscious, but that kick had a lot of horse power behind it. Straight at her back too, which could spell out a pretty harsh diagnosis. Gently setting her aside, Filia stood and removed her trench coat. "You bastard…"

Both Maud and Jenny were mortified by the assassin breaking his promise. They were too trustworthy of him. But the real shock came when Filia rushed at the janitor without a second thought.

The janitor made the first move, a jumping roundhouse kick aiming for her head, but she was barely able to block that, especially with the amount of force behind it. Once he was on his two feet, Medici threw a mean hook, slapping away the mask concealing his face, and taking him aback. He was of dark skin, and silver short hair, his thin build offset by his naturally powerful blows and fast attacks, but yet he couldn't take a punch himself.

"Damn… That hurt!" The silver-haired menace felt his nose run with crimson. Allowing his rage to take over, he threw another overhead roundhouse, only for Medici to stop the blow with her covered arms, and setting him to the ground again. His response was an overhead right swing, but she was ducked in time to land a few hooks and jabs to his side and abdomen. Even Samson gaped at the blazing speed and ferocity of his host's attack, as even the fast Janitor couldn't properly stop the attacks she threw.

Another hook with her left, she dazed him, and he was wide open. Without needing to say anything, she curled her arms around his neck, and her theon tightened her grip. Bowing him down, she threw a volley of knees at his face, his attempts to block were futile, surprising as it was as just a few moments ago, he was overpowering the Detective! Her fury overshadowed his own, and with every passing second, her rage continued to enhance her strength!

He was able to free himself with a few good punches to her abdomen, but that didn't stop her, as she continued sending blow after blow with her fists. Good ole one-two, right in the kisser and another to his chin with a quick uppercut! That last hit send him a few steps back, but she allowed him some reprieve. The silver-haired janitor tried to throw his own volley of fast punches, and even went as far as speeding up, but Filia was able to take his attacks or block them.

Medici responded in kind, using more vicious punches, ones that would break bones of most normal people, but she was throwing them in rows! The perp was able to hold his ground, but Filia broke his guard, and Samsom followed up by smacking him across his right, spinning him around for his host who rushed in and wrapped her arms around his waist. The futakuchi-onna tightened the grip before the Detective heaved and lifted the janitor over herself, landing her back on the ground whilst her opponent hit the floor harshly, head first.

The floor beneath them was smashed in by the force, but both combatants had energy left in them yet! Quickly rolling aside, she stood up and readied herself for his next rush. He was barely able to stand, but from the moment he tried to straighten himself out, the Detective quickly sprinted at him, tackling him towards the counter, luckily, the bystanders learned to steer away from them before they approached. Medici started to throw punches, and then kneeled atop him as she decked him over and over, his attempts to block were futile!

Her teeth still gritted together, and her eyes glaring full of death, even beating the now broken assailant couldn't sate her wrath! It took Samson and Jenny to reel her away from him! "Filia! Hey, kid! Stop!"

"Woah! Woah! Fuck!" Even the two of them could barely hold her back, but Maud stepped in and rivalled her strength. After a few moments to allow her to calm, her strength calmed as well. "Damn, you were gonna kill that asshole!" Jenny noted.

"Fuck Det…" Rihfort couldn't help but feel guilty for doubting Medici. For a person she didn't know at all, she still lost it, as if she was taking revenge for a family member. Though the beating was over, Rihford could see in Filia's glassy eyes that the dish she served was cold, and unsatisfying… "Didn't think you had it in ya."

Filia shook her head. Her hands bled with open cuts from all those punches she gave, but there wasn't any grimace as she rubbed her hands against each other. She stood and reached out for the hand sanitizer mounted on the wall, pressing and squeezing several drops to her left hand. Still no grimace as Medici cleansed her hands, and she left the two to clean up. The commotion would probably have attracted attention of the Egrets, or HQ. That rampage however meant that Medici had quite a lot of anger still in her heart, perhaps she really did hate her own family for what they've done. Or was it that she couldn't stand failing to save people?

Most of the bystanders were left gaping speechless, some were already badmouthing Medici's brutality. The few that tended to Jenny were thankful, yet behind their smiles couldn't help but fear the Detective.

---

The drive was silent. Clean up crew arrived an hour later to take away the perp. Though the scary part is how Marco knew him. His name was Buxton Humphries, and was a Cambion, a demon/human hybrid, originating from another middle-class preternatural family. That means there are others trying to clean up and cover up what Anya couldn't finish, or being hired to do so. Don't have to be mortal to enjoy the riches of cash or security.

At least the silence allowed the detective some peace of mind…

The car stopped just outside the Redgrave Office. While HQ offered safety with the number of well-trained Egrets armed with high grade equipment, Marco's presence could attract unwanted attention.

"So we gonna leave him here with this 'Nikki' chick? The fuck?"

"Trust me, she'll do better than what the whole of HQ could provide, and who would think to look here?" Then again, the Office was seemed more of a service shop, would attract very little attention for its small offering of services. Seeing as it offers Private Eye services, who would think that a Private Eye would be protecting an important asset for the Egrets? Also to note, is that Nikki is a devil hunter, and a proficient one at that (profitable however is a different story).

Marco nodded as he stepped out of the car. "I've heard the stories. I was always nervous about stopping by."

"Whatchu mean?" Maud raised a brow.

"Haven't you heard? Nikki is one of the top demon hunters out there." Marco elaborated.

Samson nodded. "Kicks ass, and doesn't break a sweat doing it."

"A load a bullshit." Maud said, but her voice cracked slight bit; knowing what Filia, a current generation Captain, could do, a senior could be miles better. The doors opened without a problem, and as they entered, they found themselves in a small office which had a pool table, an antique Jukebox, several plants and a desk in the middle. There were doors leading to other rooms, probably storage and personal bedrooms. There was a sofa also set besides the Jukebox.

As a testament to the demon hunter's proficiency, many ornaments were of weapons of different kinds. Each weapon were hung up my mounting racks, furthermore they were locked in with rack cages. The only weapons that weren't mounted alongside them were the few hung up behind the desk, a long oversized claymore, two large custom handguns, and a sheathed katana sword. She didn't have to be near the weapons to understand how intimidating they were…

From where she stood, the edge of the claymore almost shone in what little light seeped in to the office, its thickness not offset by being dull. Quite the opposite in fact, as if it looks sharp enough to cut cleanly through just about anything. The guns looked very similar to the UF45 she had herself, but they were of a steel frame, longer barrel and furthermore had ported compensators and different finishes to distinguish their roles.

The silver gun had ivory grips, specialised combat sights whilst its blackened counterpart had wooden finish grips. Nothing could leave such an impact just by looking at them.

Filia smirked. "Impressed? You should see she what she does with 'em."

One of the doors creaked open. Emerging from the darkness of the room inside was a woman standing 5'6'', red coat with navy blue accents. Silver short hair with patches of black, a red and blue eye, a dark skinned rabbit feral. "Fili-buster. Nice to see you around." Removing her coat, she hung it upon a standing rack. Now she was simply clad in a navy blue thick vest. "This the new kid? And the VIP?" Nikki asked as she looked at Maud and Marco.

Marco approached, arm ready for a handshake. Nikki accepted, but even with a light grip, the vampire found himself struggling to hang on. "F-firm s-shake…" When she released, she smiled as he slowly pulled back and shook the pain away from hand. She did that on purpose…

As for Maud, she only folded her arms and stared with an impish smirk. However, Maud raised a brow at the Private Eye: "Have we met before?"

Mason shook her head. "Probably not." The nephelim folded her arms and scoffed. "Hailing all the way from the Dragon Empire… Learn an age old art and master it in a year. Remind me of a friend, lives down at the Chess Kingdom."

Maud nodded, but still refused to show a wider curved mouth. Instead she reached for her pocket, producing her vape. In the blink of an eye, the vape was swiped from hand by the Private Eye, who inspected the device. "Hey, that's mine!"

"A disgrace to smokers' kiddo." Putting it on the desk, she then pointed at a small case right beside the vape. "Look in that, you'll love it."

Rihfort grunted but followed through the request. Opening the small metallic box, she saw that it was filled with Kingsman Cigars, pre-cut, fresh from Edonia, New Kord according to the brand. Kingsman brand cigarettes and cigars were known for their quality, though their cigars were cheap in price. "No way… Gran Corona, Oscuro wrap!?"

"Take one. My treat."

The red-head was hesitant, but she couldn't help but reach out for the case, pinching the first brown branch she felt. The tobacco leaf felt well aged to the touch. No doubt these were the higher end, mature cigars that would cost up to at least ten bones for just two sticks. Problem was that she didn't have a lighter. Producing a box of matches from her desk's draw, Nikki handed the box to the red-head who desired a real smoke!

Taking one match, she scratched it against the side, igniting the small, yet potent flame. The Gran Corona burned from its end, but it was slow and soothing, only gradually burning faster when Rihfort toked. A strong taste of matured, refined tobacco pasted itself onto her tongue, an experience she had put aside for the artificial flavours of her substitute. Yet nothing could compare to the real thing…

Mason noticed the young Detective's cut and bruised hands, which she did try to hide them behind Samson's locks. The parasite sighed as he frowned, stuck in a loop of thoughts. The feral stood: "Filia. Can we talk?"

It seemed as though Filia was in a loop of thoughts as well, as Nikki's urging snapped her out of a trance. It was a silent moment before she could register what was said, but she nodded and stood whilst the Senior Private Eye. They took the conversation outside, as Marco and Maud rested in the Office. Even in their privacy, Filia was withdrawn within herself, more so than her theon.

Mason snapped her fingers. "Det. Kiddo?"

Both the theon and young Detective turned to the Private Eye. "Sorry… I…"

"I know kid." She nodded, placing her hand on the Junior's shoulder. "I've been there."

Filia sighed: "I still wish there could've been something I've done so that someone didn't have to get hurt."

"Kiddo, it could've been a lot worse." From the reports she received from Egret HQ, Filia wasn't so kind when it came to serving the perp's 'just desserts'. The hard working hands were a good indicator of such events. Even so, it was just as bitter serving it as much as it is being on the receiving end. Punching Lorenzo square in the face was cathartic, but beating someone half to death in front of a crowd? Probably wouldn't win her any votes as 'best Detective'.

If anything, her theon felt worse, especially the fact that he cannot hold back his host alone anymore. Medici has steeled herself, far more than anyone had first anticipated. He was both proud of her and yet apologetic, as if he feels responsible for steering her towards this path. She used to be an innocent schoolgirl who had forgotten her past life. While Filia was mostly in control, the hairy parasite had coaxed her in to fighting, and then fighting Marie.

It was a big mistake for the both of them. They delved back into the deep end of a deep fryer, finding out things that the both of them didn't want to know about. Revelations about Filia's past, a reminder of how Samson had his previous hosts killed for his own selfish gain. The innocent schoolgirl was shattered, and the strong theon for the first time in a long time, felt vulnerable. Filia's life was at best a slice of toast turned into pure burnt carbon, whilst Samson struggled with his own personal guilt.

Even now, they feel haunted by past troubles. Perhaps what made them strong was that they were willing to share the pain, but both have their limits. Nikki could attest to that. "It's not easy you guys but you've made it this far. I mean, what's to say that you should stop?"

"I don't know Nikki." She shook her head.

Samson grunted. "It feels like we stood by and did shit in the end. And when we did get our hands dirty, were we any better than the 'family'?"

Mason sternly shook her head. "We all make mistakes, and we all make rash decisions from time to time. But don't let it hold you down: you're gonna be living with it."

The junior took a moment to process that thought, before she took into consideration that Nikki had went through a lot herself. Made worse by how she had come this far, and what she had to lose in the process. They shared a similar pain, only Nikki perhaps outshone nearly everyone she met when it came to fixing their own mirror. The stories that she and Sienna would listen to would always leave Medici and Contiello to appreciate what they have now.

Mason was still cracked, but perhaps she stayed that way to allow herself to continue down the road she travels. And everyone she passes by, she'll help them down a better path, for better or for worse. It's not obvious, but she had a bitter aftertaste of a scent, with the forefront naturally sweet and potent with spices. How many years will she endure that everlasting after effect?

"Check in at HQ. I'll speak to the Commander, see if I can get you a day off." It should help her clear her mind from things. "I can handle the newbie."

Filia nodded. "But there's one thing you might wanna look in to. A school downtown. Private… I saw…" She cleared her throat. "She looked like the Crimson Scourge…"

Nikki took a moment to process what she said, but nodded as acknowledgement. "I'll have someone look in to it." She nodded to herself. "Well, no point standing around here. Come on in, I'll order a few pizzas. Sienna and Micheal are on the way, said they have some important news." The Private Eye opened the door, and allowed the Junior Detective first through.

After, the Private Eye turned her attention to the red-head smoking the cigar. It'd only been a few minutes but such a high quality smoke should last a good ten minutes. Even an addict with no hope of return would be sated by such a rich taste. Leviathan had slid into the room, standing his post on the desk while Maud's hand shook and her eyes blankly staring. Marco was already asleep in his seat, so he hadn't noticed.

Rihfort took the stick to mouth, dragging deep, though she wasn't looking to sate herself at this point. The drake hopped on to the floor and slithered towards Mason, and she kneeled to take hold of him. "What's up Levi?"

The theon looked towards the red-head, before returning his gaze to Mason. "The smoke is nothing new. But perhaps it's filling up faster than it should."

Mason nodded. "Alright kiddo. Wanna come walk with me?"

There was a pause, but then a chuckle. There was no hint of genuine malice, and it faded prematurely as Rihfort brought the near finished stick to mouth. Another silent drag, and another… A mindless stare, a quick head turn away before she slowly stood from her seat. There was a sigh, but no rant. "Shit…" She said to herself. Another moment of silence, awkward and unsettling, but she worked up the courage to agree. Without another word the Chessian retrieved her vape from the desk; she followed the feral rabbit out.

As the two emerged from the small service shop, Maud threw her now finished cigar aside, still walking after her superior. "Hah… Fucking good stuff that is. Haha…" There was a lack of drive behind the lacklustre laughter. The silence had to be broken however. "So what. You run this shop long? Small shit, don'cha wanna like, expand or something?"

"I like my shop as is. It's cosy." She slipped her hands into her coat pockets. "Had it for about twenty years, day in and day out it's always good to come home."

"Workin' on a shitload of missions? Pfft. What a way to live life. No fuckin' about, hell I bet you haven't been to a real bash for those years." Without another cigar at hand, she returned to using her vape. A few drags to calm her senses.

Nikki shrugged. "There used to be a time where I loved throwing myself to parties. I'm not some twenty-something kid fresh out of boot camp, so that luxury doesn't apply to me as much." Nor does she care about parties as much as she did before.

Maud shook her head. "So you got married, had two kids and worked, worked, worked? Fuck, that's a boring fuckin' life."

As they continued down the street, the Reaper Senior scoffed. "So what do you know about life huh?" There wasn't a response as the Chessian Reaper stopped herself. "You're not in a normal life anymore. The day you started your Ripple training was the day you locked yourself in a long, hard cycle." The energising properties of such an art allowed mortal users to live dramatically longer than that of normal people. No doubt the reason why Maud mastered her skills so far was because she was trained under a master who had decades upon decades of training.

She will age, but Maud has a much longer way to go before she has to find something to leave behind. "Millions, if not billions of normal people wish for immortality, or a longer life. You've got one wish, but is it all worth it? You're gonna spend the next several decades, if not a century, partying?" Another bout of silence.

The frozen look of shock plastered on Rihfort's face spoke volumes of how she felt, and Nikki shook her head. "I… I…" She stopped herself. She had no answer to all those questions, perhaps will never find them too. The real question is, why didn't she bother to ask herself such a question? Then there was more silence as she looked down to the ground, the mood melancholic as ever.

Mason approached, and threw a hand at her shoulder. "Somethin' on your mind?"

"It's nothing."

"A fat load of shit. If it was nothing, you'd be still acting like a shit face spoiled brat." She had seen this look before. She'd seen it in the mirror, seen it on other people's faces. It was a memory on rewind, the kind one doesn't want to be reminded of, but it keeps popping up.

Another moment of silence, but it was one of solace. Rihfort turned away. "How can you live with that…?"

"With what?"

She really didn't want to say, but she had to speak, otherwise it'd never be pulled away from mind and heart. "You get people… People who… Who can hurt others, like that? The way that it changes that person forever? Then there's that guy. I didn't see his face when I..." She stopped as she brought the suppository smoke to mouth, dragging deep breaths. "Those eyes… Empty eyes."

Nikki folded her arms, nodding at herself. It was easily figured out from there… More silence as the red-head worked on draining the contents of her substitute smoke. Each exhale wasn't followed up with sigh of relief, and she puffed away. Breaking it away from mouth, the FNG continued. Only a few hours in and already she was startled by her first kill. That alone however wasn't the only thing that was troubling the new girl.

"I've seen that kinda face before. Eyes wide open, staring at nothing, hell… They weren't even staring!" She combed her long hair with her hands, sighing at the grievances.

Nikki relaxed her standing and pressed on: "How long ago?"

The Chessian threw her arms about. "About… A year?" Time hadn't been so graceful, she couldn't remember it exactly. The moment it happened is all she remembers. "She was a few years older than me. We never got along, but I always screwed her over on that." A tear ran down as she shook her head at the memory. "I kept telling her 'you should die, you bitch'. I didn't mean it literally… I don't know who he was but…" A sniffle, an arm across her eyes, another snuffle.

"Take your time."

Maud's sobs began to work harder as she couldn't hold them back. "Some guy, he had a long coat. White feathered wings… I never saw his face because I passed out right after…" She flailed her left arm, pointing it in the general direction of the hospital. "Ended up in that same hospital."

'White feathered wings…?' Thoughts aside, Mason pressed on. "How did you feel? When you saw your 'friend', with those 'eyes'?"

How could she explain it? Words alone couldn't say when needed to be said. As much as Maud wanted her voice heard, it was drowned out by the expressionless stares. "I don't know…" She really didn't know what to say, but she wanted to say something. A year's worth of agony in training was easier to deal with. "How do you live with that…? I killed another person. I jabbed that fuckin' knife down his throat and scorched him with Ripple."

Feral Private Eye Mason sighed and turned. "It's never easy, the first kill. Sure, I've killed demons without thinking twice about it. Most demons are cannon fodder, emotionless or irredeemable monsters; the moment you cross the line and take the life of a person?" She shook her head, knowing it all too well. "And seeing death before your eyes, and you still weren't ready for it." For her, the feral was able to live with a stitched up scar, a few beforehand made her ready for that one. Maud had so very few to strengthen herself against it, and it's stinging badly.

"What was her name? Your friend I mean."

There was only a second of pause before she turned to the Private Eye. "Jenna." A year on, saying that name still hurts down to the bone.

"It's not easy, never is. But you gotta carry that around with ya. We've all done something we're not proud of. If Jenna rings you enough to cry, then I'll stand by ya, until you're ready to walk the road again." She sighed. "A name for me still rings true."

Maud stared at the solemn Reaper, with glassy eyes of honesty. There really was a name that was engraved on to her heart, branded more like. Perhaps more, because such eyes were akin to the wise, to her Sensei, to Reala. What has Nikki seen to have such knowledgeable sight? "Did that person have a name?" The rabbit sighed and nodded her head.

"I'll tell you another time." She approached Maud, and then threw her arms around her neck. Reeling her in, she pressed her chin against the newbie's shoulder. "I know right now you're hurting. That person that died, the person you killed; they were both people, and we are too."

"Still… A life is a life, isn't it…?" Her sobs strengthened, her tears flowed ever so much…

"It is. And it takes real courage, and a real sense of humanity to be cry about it." The FNG agreed all too well when she returned the favour, and buried her head in Nikki. The shell wasn't fully cracked, there was still a long way to go before Maud is ready. Still, it was disheartening to see her wail. "You're not alone on this, kid…"

---

Kazuo stopped the mini-van right outside the office. "Well. We're here guys." With his squad, Sienna and Micheal sat at the back of the mini-van. Traffic was hefty due to all the clean-up from all the celebrations of the parade. Even the Commanders had fun, all the drinks, the food, and the cheerful spirits of the crowds all make for a good day.

Knee and Klo were first to exit, before allowing the love birds out as well. "Haven't seen a parade that big since I'd moved to New Kord." The demoness admitted. Her old home town had quite a few parades, and most would pretty much lead any participant into a whirlpool of fun, but leave them with a pounding headache afterwards. "But I guess it's back to business as usual." She must admit, she would've liked another day off.

Kaz and Klo were already at the door, Micheal not too far behind, leaving the two ladies to follow suit. Of course, there was no rush to it, everyone just went at their own pace. "Well it's good to be home." Squigly sighed in relief. "I wonder how Levi' is."

"Probably missing ya like no tomorrow. I mean, you two are family after all." From death to new life, the two continued to work in unison. They may not but permanently stuck together as they were before, but the two were in sync when they are together. Leviathan had been with the Contiello family for generations, he would know them all too well.

Contiello nodded. "Yes." She smiled at the thought, but then it begged the question: "Do you have any family?"

The Crimson Skin threw her arms in the air, before resting her hands behind her head. "A sister. We were close. Though we went our separate ways, and Reala found me. That's how I ended up meeting these two." A day didn't go by at the thought of how their first meeting was strained, Knee didn't like the idea of working with anyone other than her sister. Otherwise, she would've been working alone to this day.

"I see."

"There was once a time where I pissed them off to no end. Now? I love working with those guys. It's almost never a dull moment."

Time passed on and things changed, gradually but surely. Kaz and Klo were perhaps the closest friends she has, fire forged from all the fighting. Some extra gentle applications of warm conversation helped to melt the icy barriers between them.

From Kazuo's end, he was always the one to encourage her, and didn't skip a beat when it came to helping her out in a jam. His carefree yet positive outlook on life ingrained a seed into her mind that helped open her doors to the others. Foxhound tolerated her initial reluctance, which was a feat in itself. Foxhound does doubt his leadership abilities at times, but the Crimson Skin trusts his judgement when he makes a decision. Outside of missions, he's just another regular person who will listen to whatever she and Klo would say.

For Klo, he was a step further into the carefree territory, furthermore, he really enjoys life around him. From the small things to the big things, he always had something to say about it, and in most cases it comes with a smug smile that has become something that she grew fond of. The Captain himself was as fond of it as she, both couldn't help but smile back whenever he did. Alas, Klo wasn't as straightforward as the Captain in his attitude.

Deep down, there's a hint of concern to garnish a rancid meal. The long eared feral happened to think a lot, and think, and think, and think… A lot of questions must sit unanswered in his mind every day, and perhaps a lot of them aren't of anything he's directly involved in, if at all. Throwing herself back, the first time she noticed he was down on the dumps, it was during a patrol around a populated makeshift town in No-Man's Land. The feral pondered on how hard life must be for those people, who had little food and water, among many other things.

At first, Knee queried him, he didn't want to admit that he wanted to balk. On their break, he couldn't help but ask all those questions, but she didn't have any answers. It was easy to figure out the solution when they both pictured themselves as the poor souls of that town, thirsty and starving, not knowing who dies next or when they would perish themselves.

Knee sighed at the thoughts. "Those two are idiots, but I am too. They're brothers to me, I'm a sister to them. Perhaps Reala assigned me to Arthur Squad for that reason."

"Maybe." Sienna murmured. Right now, she was assigned with Micheal and Marcus, AKA, Doc. The relationship between herself and Mason-Fox was anyone's guess, what with all the public displays of affection. Doc preferred to keep things simple, it almost made him seem reserved to everyone else.

There were a few people that could coax more out of Doc than a simple smile, one of them undoubtedly was Knee. How their relationship began, perhaps that was a story to ask for another time. "You know, I'm jealous. Didn't think that Mick would pop the question. Doc and I have been around for what, nearly two years?"

Contiello giggled. "He'll ask. I assure you. Perhaps we could invite your sister to the bachelorette's party." She fiddled with her newly fitted collar…

"I'd love that." Knee smiled. She led on, climbing the steps to the office. The demoness allowed Squigly first in, and she accepted the gesture as she opened the door. Both ladies found themselves rushing in when the strong smell of freshly baked goodness enticed them.

Nikki opened one of the flat boxes, whiffing the smell towards them with Leviathan's tail. Even the drake couldn't help but drool... "Welcome home Squigly." Nikki then stopped herself when she saw the collar, with a ring fitted under a thin chain. Turning to her son, she saw he had the same. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "Oh boy. So that's what you two meant by good news huh?"

"How does it look?" Contiello asked as she continued to fiddle with the ring.

"Amazin'. Still. Doesn't mean you're off the hook just yet."

"Oh? Did she do something wrong?" The theon on her shoulder asked before slithering towards Squigly.

Nikki nodded, but the smile assured that she was mostly joking. "Left me hanging here for a few days. So you get the first assignment from me. Mick, you've got one too. Then I'll talk to you about 'arrangements'."

Kazuo shook his head. "Business as usual."

"Filia headed out not too long ago. The newbie and the VIP are taking their rest in the guest room." There was only one bed, but there was a sofa. Of course, like a real gentleman, Marco took the sofa, and Maud was given the bed. Comfy. At least she could rest, and drain her sorrows in a dream. Hopefully…

"How was she?" Sienna asked, knowing first hand of her strangely alluring angry behaviour.

The Private Eye smiled. "Reminds me of when I was a prick during my College years." Been far too long, but the brash 'bitchiness' had mellowed, and she grew fond of people. Growing fond of people always changes one's own personality, even a slight bit. The icing on the cake? Just about every Reaper she meets is worthy a soft spot in her heart. "She had a bit of a rough day, so try not to bother her tonight."

Squigly nodded. Somehow, she had a feeling that her step-mother had chipped away at the iron crust of Rihfort's shell. Perhaps the mission left a lasting impression, and the motherly Private Eye stepped in to keep her spirits up. "Well. More pizza for us."

Kazuo stepped in. "Good, but I think you've seen the latest report from Medici, right?"

"Story time over dinner. Wonderful, but I'll pass." Nikki shook her head. She already knows the story, reading the debrief wouldn't be any less unpleasant.

As for Filia's findings, she'll send Sienna to assist in the investigation at the said school tomorrow. Carol will be taking Filia's place for the day. As for the 'Janitor', she and Mick will pay a visit to Egret HQ, get some answers out of him. There was something about all of this that seemed all too convenient to be coincidence, but she didn't want to think it was fate either.

Any time there were a mesh of events, she knew that something big was on the horizon. As for the Angel that Squigly killed beforehand, Nikki had a feeling she still had some help. Perhaps she didn't want to reveal who had helped her, by that person's request. The demon that attacked Marco had a reason to do so, and it wasn't anything personal. Something was afoot.

Then there's the fact that there was someone who looked exactly like Eliza roaming around a school. Definitely something was on the horizon. "Anyways. You guys enjoy the pizza. Whiskey's under the desk" She said as she took one box for herself.

"Something wrong Ma?" Mick asked.

"Just something to attend to." Mason said as she left the office to the Juniors.

Contiello hummed curiously whilst she helped Leviathan fit back into her head. Kazuo folded his arms, also curious about what may be bothering the demon hunter. Was it something they had missed? Knee was first to break the awkward silence: "Might have to call in on HQ…"

Kazuo shook his head and sighed. "More shit to deal with. Comes with the job I guess." He tilted his head, lazily relaxing as he leaned back on the desk. "Hey Mick. You know your mom the most out of us."

"Perhaps?" He said, shrugging. "I mean she IS my mom."

"So what's it like?" Leviathan pondered. "Having her as a mother I meant."

The hybrid feral took a seat on the sofa, slice of pepperoni in hand. Fond memories, if not, ones of hardship. "She may be a little bit harsh at times, but she really did feel like the dream mom. The ones who spoil you with every penny they got, the one that makes every minute spent with kids worth framing in mind. Fleur and I always loved that." He chuckled at those fond moments. "When I was five and Fleur was eight, we always asked for toys. My pa would always ask ma, and she'd get us to do some chores or something to keep us busy, but she didn't screw us over on the promises. And whenever we wanted to go for burgers or a kid's meal down at the joint, maybe two milkshakes, she'd take us there! No questions asked!"

Squigly smiled at the thought. Nikki spoiling her young children, but also keeping them on the right road as much as possible. They appreciated every gift to a considerable degree. "And when you got to High School?"

The feral leaned back, still smiling. "Man, she was always goin' on like…" He stood from his seat and pointed aimlessly at the door: "'You hurt my kid, I'll hurt ya more'! I mean, seriously, I was like the coolest freshman."

"And she went on to teach you more about fighting, right?"

Mick nodded. "Step by step, but amidst all the studying in school and training in combat, there was always a smile from ma to the both of us. A smile to pa as well in most cases. Though there are times where… She didn't smile." He relaxed in his seat. "Every February sixteenth, and every time someone was hurt in front of her, that smile goes real fast. I remember one time when we stopped by a small restaurant down at the Chess Kingdom. Summer vacation, I was only seventeen at the time."

Throwing himself back, it didn't feel like he could simply forget what happened. A rowdy customer didn't want to be served by one of the waitresses, who happened to be a feral. There were no justifications, just prejudice. At first, everyone minded their own business, but the feral waitress, a cat hybrid, served their table and she was among the best. Even the other waitresses didn't understand why this man couldn't stand her.

She wore the usual outfit, professional waistcoat, long sleeved white shirt, dress pants and shoes, and a name tag as per restaurant policy. First initial and then surname. P. Amelia, and the second name rang a strong bell within his mother. Her first girlfriend was a cat feral, Nina Amelia if he remembers. Of course, Nikki didn't press on that matter, but was encouraging to their waitress for the good service.

As for the rowdy customer, he continued to bash at the waiters and waitresses, and several customers at that. It hit breaking point when he noticed Nikki cheering the waitresses and waiters on despite the pressure thrown against them. He made two major mistakes: insulting his mother was the first. The second was trying to use, of all things considered, a spoon to assault her. The insult however was directed towards his grandmother, who he never knew.

Of course, in a show of disproportionate retribution, the man ended up in hospital, with a few second degree burns. A diagnosis she personally inflicted with a fresh bowl of thick, tomato soup with spices. Icing on the cake was that said spices consisted of dried grounded peppers of varying kinds.

She didn't smile for the rest of the day after, at least not the same one he had come to know. He didn't really know his own grandmother, but if his own mother was so brash to defend her from any form of dishonour, she meant a lot to the Private Eye.

Another similarity that his fiancé and mother shared, and one he shared to some extent as well: they were all fond of their mother. But he wasn't as extreme as the two who had as much as in common as twin siblings willing to share the path down the road. Of course, Squigly was different: she was relatively ladylike and favoured elegance over being straight forwards, owing to her background. Well, his mother did come from a well off family however.

"That's a rough story." Kazuo said as he folded his arms. "It's just like my grandpa said. She's a bird that was broken, but she's still flying high…"

Both Sienna and Mick nodded in sync. They couldn't have agreed more.

---

Another day, another dollar, another annoyance. Eliza and Dima were luckily able to escape the after-school crowds by leaving a minute early. DL requested that they arrive back at the safe house as quick as possible. The early leave made all the difference.

The two were greeted by the vixen outside their warehouse. As usual, she had her trusty large sidearm to her holster. Never could be too careful, especially around the Port. "Glad you guys could make it."

"What seems to be the problem, Dee?" The feral asked as he approached.

The vixen sighed. "Something went down at the Hospital. A Cambion attacked." She further explained that he was under Egret custody, but it confirms a few suspicions she had. There was a party involved, trying to silence several people, one of them was still alive. Looking further into the backgrounds of those that were murdered at the Casino, ALL of them had connections to various high profile preternaturals.

None of them probably knew each other or about that fact, but no doubt they withheld some very important Intel about such people that could spell bad news. Or they were targeted for getting involved with other people's business for the sake of who they knew. Either way, that was one clue they had to work with, but they still needed more bread crumbs before they could piece a slice of bread together. "Anything from your end of the bargain?"

"Very little. But I did notice… Something." The Doppelganger slipped her hands into her dress pants pockets, shaking her head. "The Vice Principle. I felt something strange about her." Dima hadn't noticed it, but Eliza couldn't be wrong. Certain preternaturals are good at hiding themselves from most other people, but Eliza was the niche kind of person that they needed for such situations. Hell, her outburst from yesterday was a sign that there was something up about that woman, yet he couldn't sense it.

With all the whiffed attempts to catch out the strange occurrences at night, perhaps actively searching for something odd in the day would pose better results. "She even knew the name, 'Crimson Scourge'." The Doppelganger didn't want to be associated with that name.

That's when the questions and the answers stopped. DL drew her hand cannon, and racked the slide several times to eject a few rounds. There were five .440 corbon rounds, perfect for eliminating elephants and a raging rhino. Eliza knew why she was handing them over… "Just be careful 'Liza… If she knows about the 'Crimson Scourge', then she definitely isn't no ordinary teacher."

It was a sure shot how she was going to use them. Without a gun, the bullets will be difficult to use, but not impossible. She had one trick up her sleeve… "I won't hold my breath."

"And please, make sure you don't attract attention like you did at the bar." Few months still fresh on the mind, Eliza really did prove herself when she took down several thugs at a bar at Innsmouth. The best part was that most of it was bare handed. "If it escalates any further, do not stay there. Call in and I'll pick you up myself."

Dimitri nodded. "And a plan B?"

"No point standing there. Guess you'll have to fight thereafter." She urged the two over as she led them back into the warehouse. "Horus and Albus are picking up some dinner for us. Dragonian food today. Sounds good?"

Both nodded. "They didn't forget to grab some koroke? They better not have, otherwise it's 'owl stew' and 'fried jackal' for tomorrow." She threatened, but she smirked at the thought. "That does sound delicious. What do you think Dima?"

"Don't tempt me… Two large guys for a meal?" He licked his lips.

DL shook her head. "She meant literally." Though she did agree… It was tempting.

"I prefer my meat as raw as possible, so I wouldn't trust either of you cooking." Dima added. "But I also like a really good helping of juicy pie…"

Eliza shook her head. "The both of you have issues." All the talking made her hungrier… Speaking of food: "Look." She pointed at the 4x4 which slowed to park, the two ferals waving hands from the window. The jackal exited first, and opened the door to the back seats. From the backseat, he pulled several bags of Dragonian food. "Took your sweet time."

"The korokes are to blame. Ordered an extra-large portion, JUST for you." The owl approached with another bag, the smell of fried breadcrumbs, minced pork and chicken with herbs and spices…

The Doppelganger could not mistake that smell. "I believe you two have just won me over…"

"No use standing around. Let's go inside, tuck in!" Horus urged. The others stepped inside the warehouse, but the owl was stopped by the doppelganger of his former employer. "Hmm? Something bothering you?"

She shook her head. "I just have one question: If DL hadn't found you and offered you this place, would you have stayed with Sekhmet?"

There was a pause, momentary silence where the two stood, staring at each other. Then the large owl adjusted his spectacles as he turned away. "Perhaps. I did promise my duties to help Eliza…" And he turned over her shoulder: "And my assignment continues. It's just that my employer and the environment is different."

"Horus."

"Hmm?"

The doppelganger tried to think of something to finish up, but words wouldn't form, both her head and mouth hadn't anything to make use of. She adjusted her hat. "Nevermind. It's… Nothing important." And she walked ahead of the feral, whom followed.