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

3. Chapter 3: Converging Cells

Good scars, bad scars… The former ASG, Carol, looked in the flip out mirror from her side, examining her still scarred face. At the very least, her skin tone had grown into a natural shade of faded amber, which was better than he sickly pale several months back.

Again, in the passenger seat for a long drive. The drive between New Kord and the Canopy Kingdom always lasted a good three hours without a pause at Pit-Stop 109. Today's driver just happened to be Gabriel, who had stopped at the New Kord Mansion from the Chess Kingdom. Gabriel is one of the senior members, of the First Gen Ops, a Colonel who specialises in marksmanship and sniping.

Not only that, he took over Moka's spot as Carol's trainer, in which he taught her a few tricks in extended ranged combat. While she was no sniper, her training has brought her accuracy levels to that of a designated markswoman. Gabriel was also good at putting her through much more hell than either Moka or Lab-8, both which have created stressful training courses, but nothing like the feral that she works with now. He was a monster that would put the roughest of training instructors to shame, the strictest of teachers wouldn't hold a candle to him.

Her early daily regiments would've been starting the day with an inadequate breakfast, put her through tons of obstacles with absurd penalties if she had failed. One could just cry at being forced to restart a nine-part obstacle course, being shot at by paintballs and beanbag shotgunners. All of whom were good at making it near impossible to get past step one. Then a fifteen minute break, more gruelling runs, and then dinner with MREs.

Weeks would pass on and her regiments became easier, slowly but surely. Her anger thankfully helped her push on, and as more time passed, beanbags and paintballs weren't as agonising and annoying. Eventually she was made to work new obstacle courses, before finally reaching the speed demon courses. She didn't set an outstanding record, but nonetheless she was able to keep pace with some of the fastest on the list, including Kazuo.

Today's assignment was to assist in an investigation, and whilst Filia would've been the perfect candidate, she was given the honour to take over the operation herself. Hearing that she had a run-in with an assassin, and nearly beat him to death, wouldn't have been a pleasant experience. Fighting Medici's, undead and demons didn't leave her with any sign of trauma, but most of those battles never occurred in front of innocent bystanders. Filia didn't even go as far as she did, having made sure that whom she did kill or eliminate were taken down fast so that they didn't suffer.

Giving a heavy serving of knuckle sandwiches was not only painful, but it showed how ruthless she could be. For all the reasons she beat this assassin, all came down to naught when she crossed a very thin line. It made her skin crawl, just thinking about how Filia is trying to cope with one of the biggest moral mistakes she had made.

Perhaps it wasn't far off from what some of the Senior Reapers would do. Painwheel already understands that Reala isn't so soft when innocents or even a Reaper, is harmed. Of course, Valerie was on the receiving end of some fine beatings, and the fact that he went toe to toe against perhaps one of the strongest Skullgirls ever known without any assistance meant one thing: anyone who couldn't compete on that level and is in Reala's sights, will probably be praying for the Trinity to save them. That said, why would he need the likes of everyone else to help him?

Alas, deep questions like those will sooner or later be answered… Somehow, Painwheel had a feeling that the Commander is upset over recent events as well.

"Mind in the gutter, lass?" The hybrid feral asked.

"Oh?" Carol shook her head. "Sorry. Just been thinking you know…"

"Ah don' worry 'bout it. Filia had a spurt, but she's a strong one from what I 'ear."

"I don't know. Strong doesn't mean invincible."

Gabriel nodded. "But it also means that people get up faster from a fall." The city seemed a closer from their viewpoint. Not long now, and first stop would be at Redgrave Office. "But right now, let's focus on what's hand. You're goin' into a school, so that means no big guns. Just keep a sidearm, maybe your cello case."

Makes sense. With so many bystanders around, something above a low calibre handgun would be far too risky. "So, you're planning on meeting the FNG?"

"Of course. Probably teach her a good few things." Considering that Maud had already been through a hellish training regiment, the feral Colonel didn't need to go about setting up a new course for Maud. Whilst he steered with his left, he brought out a pack of cigarettes from the cup holder, taking one between his lips. His offer of one to Carol was turned down of course, though she took the time to find a spare lighter in the glove compartment. Once lit, he took a good puff down. "Mmm, might get that prat, Patrick, involved. Rookie hasn't learnt shiete." He took another drag.

Painwheel shook her head. "Fun…" And then she turned to him. "I think I remember once that my father said to me that smoking kills."

"Taking a fifty to your face also kills." Gabriel added. "That is, if you were a normal person."

"True… But still, not good for anyone."

"Well, you never know. Experts don't realise how these things can save a life too." Carol doubted it, but then was handed what was left of the pack. Two cigarettes left. "Well. New Meridian's on the horizon. Takes two to tango."

Carol sighed and accepted. "I'll keep it in mind."

"You know lass…"

"Hmm?"

"You ever wonder if there are other worlds out there? Like, how it could be so different to ours?" The existential question could dig very deep into shallow minds, piercing right through and leaving a crater on both ends. Carol hummed on the idea. "I mean, if you think about it, maybe in one world, you wouldn't have met me, or the others. Maybe in another, the whole fiasco of people like me, 'immortals', around."

"Hmm. I'm open to the idea." From what she has seen, it's entirely possible. "For better or for worse I guess. Maybe in another world, I could be the next Skullgirl." She tempted fate oh so dangerously. But still sounded ever so plausible…

"Perhaps we're lucky, or screwed to shiete for what we have." Gabriel understood how these people have changed upon joining the team. Some have changed drastically, others, to a minimal but still important degree nonetheless. From what Carol used to tell him, it wouldn't have been hard to imagine the powerful smile that would have resided on Medici's mouth.

Maybe in another world, she was still smiling, or perhaps in another, she had it worse. He had never met Medici personally, but the stories of her bubbly personality certainly reach around. "I'm still wondering if your friend would be smiling, working with a group like us. It's almost thankless, even when we take some hard hits."

Carol nodded and patted the feral's shoulder. "Don't get all sentimental on me, Colonel. You know I cry easy."

"Yeah yeah… But it's looking up to her. Perhaps we've set her right with a guide. It's up to her to work with it." And even with the Medici Mafia brought down to ashes, there's always a problem to stomp out.

A few minutes of driving down the road, they eventually found their way towards the Canopy Kingdom. A large welcome sign depicting the stereotypical Canopian family smiling as they were happily celebrating their Canopian freedom. A young boy with a bottle of soda, a blonde mother, brunette father, haloed by the sun shining behind them.

"I wonder how the Den is doing. Bastet's Den… Bought it from a company known as Ra. Apparently they're an investor of sorts." Though that company had went bankrupt not too long ago, hence the hasty sale.

Carol hummed. "I wonder what happened."

Few minutes had passed again, and they had converged with the outskirts of traffic, and boy, the difference was significant. There were handfuls of vehicles on the road, all busy to their destination, halting only at the crimson illumination of the traffic lights. Some lanes leading to specific roads were locked in a jam, cars moving in a slow line; most Canopian drivers just followed the path like sheep.

Painwheel thought about the sign, how it represented the kingdom. It wasn't there yet, but close… The Medici's gone was step one, step two would be ridding the kingdom of many of its problems. Carol's train of thought was interrupted when the car abruptly stopped, and she jerked forwards. Luckily the seatbelt she wore prevented her face from having an 'intimate' meeting with the glove compartment door. A van that had come from a street on their left turn attempted to rush through traffic.

"Blighter!" They were only lucky to have avoided a domino effect. "Bastirt almost screwed me car." The worst was yet to come, as the rushing van speeding by and caused other vehicles to crash into each other. Some flew and spun, wreaking havoc across the street. Traffic was going to be a problem, especially when the road they would take is blocked. "We'll have to take a detour… That blighter…"

---

The Friday morning was sunny as ever, and at the same time, a nuisance. The Doppelganger struggled to block out the morning spirit when the sunlight leaked through the cracks of the blinds, and went as far as to throw her whole blanket over her head. The chirping birds and the loud honk of boats and ships didn't help at all. Throwing the blanket over in defeat, she sighed and turned to her left, where Dima slept in his own single bed. Unlike the abruptly awoken Clone, Dimitri was still comfortably enjoying his dreams.

Not for long however… The room was small, but enough two fit two wooden single beds, a wardrobe to share between two, and a coffee drawer between their beds which also had a kettle. You know… For making instant ramen. The first thing most people would do when they wake, especially when they wore next to nothing in their sleep, is to find clothes. Instead she demonstrated one use that the kettle wasn't intended for: scorching your friend to wake them. With a fresh boiled pot, she poured a 'generous' amount of the insanely hot water over Dima's right arm which poked out of the bed.

Being a preternatural however has its perks… While he couldn't take the heat, waking him, Dimitri's arm suffered little ill effect as he simply rubbed his arm like someone gave him a light jab. "Hey, trying to sleep here!"

"Sorry but we got students to teach here. Get up and get ready." Blunt, but at least there was no dilly-dallying. To ride the point home, she tugged away at his covers. Like her, he slept with next to nothing on; wearing boxers alone would do that. Of course she had a very nice view of his small yet athletic body, more so than usual. A few packs, nothing to ride home about in terms of biceps, under a good layer of clothing, he always seemed scrawny.

Dimitri's natural blue tint around his hair didn't seem to be present around anywhere else, but the fur was to a minimum, as with most ferals. When DL had the two share the same room (and perhaps the smallest room of the warehouse), there was a time where the two weren't too comfortable sticking together. Now it was second nature…

"Sweet berries ready for two, ghosts are no different than you… Ghosts are now waiting for you…" Eliza recited from a song she had heard on the radio a few days back. The rest of the lyrics were turned into lyrical hums instead.

And still nothing was thrown on to cover themselves. Dima smiled at Eliza, but it was the friendly smile she has grown used to. She folded her arms under her chest, which Dima probably didn't try to ignore. The lace cupped them well, but they were very potent mounds of flesh that even Diana-Linda complimented. "I was having the best dream of all time Eliza. Remember that nurse chick down at the school?"

"Please, I rather not ask what this dream involves." Another thing she has grown apathetic to; his constant fantasies, which he eventually gets to act on. There will always be someone new every week or two, and she just takes time to leave Dimitri and his new 'friends' to converse… In their bedroom of course.

But Dimitri is at least considerate enough to make sure bedsheets were changed, carpets were cleaned and vacuumed, and most importantly that everything is in order. A few months of growing used to another's bad habits went a long way for the both of them, since Dima is always willing to put up with her bursts of anger to others. He was a bit of a chain, but she needed some restraint. Where everyone else sees Eliza, he and the others saw what's beneath the shell.

Not even a year old and yet the clone knows herself better than the real Eliza did. It was easy to tell since she was always blunt about things, whereas the 'Real' Eliza wasn't. Considering she fooled the world for centuries, that was to be expected.

Dimitri stood from his bed, and reached out to the wardrobe between them. Once opened, he picked out the usual outfit for the Doppelganger: her signature cap, one of her customised blazers, a short-sleeve blouse (in lieu of her usual t-shirt) and matching blue dress pants. Lots of blue, and these threads were sacred artefacts he refused to mishandle, less he enrage its owner.

A far cry from what the Crimson Scourge would wear on a daily basis. Such a flashy outfit would've caught the 'real' one's interest, but the extra bells and whistles have a bit of a rough vibe to it that lacks the elegant charm that her usual outfits would be, not that she needed to buy any.

For himself, he went for the casual teacher look: black denim jeans with leather shoes, a long-sleeve shirt and tie. He passed Eliza's pile of folded garments first before tending to his own. "So what, we're gonna walk in like yesterday didn't happen?"

"We'll be fine Dima." She assured with a nod as she threw on her formal shirt. "We can still find out what's going on. I've a feeling that Vice Principal Ariel is hiding a lot from us."

Dimitri shook his head. "Can't be too sure she wouldn't step up and just throw us out on the spot." He sighed. "We only got one shot at this Eliza. I know Ariel's a bit of a bitch, but we can't screw up right now."

Eliza hummed. "I guess I can let it slide for now."

"Maybe after all of this, you can really be a teacher." Dima nudged the Doppelganger, who sighed as she fitted her cap on and adjusted its angle on her head. "I see you with those kids. Not even a couple days and you're already showing off your shit."

The dark skinned amazon scoffed in retort, but the smile said otherwise. "Kids are annoying. But I like teaching about Nile's past."

Dima suspected that she only gave one half of the cake he wanted. He patted her back and leaned his head on her left arm as she pocketed her hands. "You remind me of my mother. Never tells the full story all the time." While the clone wasn't perfect, she clearly turned out better than one could've hoped when comparing her to the source.

Amidst all the clue searching and goose chases, and from way back into her early days of basic training, it felt like years. She wasn't exceptional, but never backed down, and never allowed herself to give up. It wasn't the training he had in the Academy, but being able to plow through the toughest of make shift drills, she would push her limits. Tsuyakimaru respected how she was a tank, a walking glacier.

DL chose her to be the main partner between the two, hell, DL appointed Albus and Horace as her underlings outside the partnership. The vixen saw a lot of potential, and the Doppelganger will have to reach deep to use it. The sparks she had shown was enough to interest the vixen, and he was starting to see it as well. Investigation skills however are a far cry to what the Reapers had, but the luck they had in finding the right clues meant that they needn't look far.

Last night turned out to be a relatively fruitful search: nothing spells 'idiot' more than leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. A few masked figures in fatigues had a meeting in the gym, or so it seems. The voices were altered, but he knew that whatever they discussed, ranging from such vocabulary as 'missing', 'gone' and 'kids' were all used in the same sentence. Eliza on the other hand found that the chalk markings were replaced with invisible ink.

A little bit of UV light came in handy. The symbols and strange markings however were missing despite being able to see the ink. It was rather the fact that the hieroglyphics were replaced with threats in English. Either someone knew they were nosing around, or it was to ward anyone off in general. Such fruitful phrases such as 'Get Out' or her personal favourite: 'Leave or die'.

Fully dressed and ready to go, Eliza checked one last thing before she left the room; she patted her blazer's inner pocket, and felt exactly five small cylindrical objects. "I'll be waiting in the car. Don't take too long."

"You know me." He assured, picking up an umbrella. Well… She did to some degree.

---

It hadn't lost its touch to say the least. The city had evolved ever so slightly, with technology advancing at a pace beyond normal. The scent of theonite had subsided as well, which was a change for the better, one Painwheel could do without. Passing through crowds, she didn't feel as though that she was getting unnecessary looks and stares of horror. The vibe was the same however: busy streets, with people not stopping worth a moment's notice.

But in the end, Carol felt uneasy about staying in the Kingdom again. But what bothered her wasn't the temped weather, or the busy streets and sidewalks, or that it is constantly a hotspot for the Skull Heart and Medici mafia; somewhere in this city were her parents. Her mother and father however believed their daughter had went missing, and worked hard to search for her. It was Painwheel who found them first, but with the mask on and the deformities…

A sad ending to a fairy tale. Then again, a lot of fairy tales had harsh origins. The mask was gone however, and her skin and body had improved for the better. Carol however did not want to meet them again, nor does she desire them to find her. It's easier that way.

The school ahead was reminiscent of her former high school and the UF Academy she and many students were moved to. There was a small market, many food stands were setup. According to those who passed by, they were commonly crowded by students during lunch times, and sometimes after school. Some stands ranged from fast food, 'gourmet' and foreign cuisine. A stand dedicated to cooking Imperial Dragonian foods happened to be a fan favourite, especially for their koroke's for a 'local celebrity'.

And if Filia's report meant anything, it could be Eliza. While she never fought the Crimson Scourge herself, Arthur Squad with assistance from Sienna and Filia at the time couldn't touch her when she was backed up by stygian.

Gabriel and she waited outside the school, Carol sat comfortably in the passenger seat whilst the feral Colonel stood out and leaned on the driver seat door. Nikki will be coming around with the FNG, Maud, and Reaper Rookie, Patrick. Patrick was a scaled feral, employed a few months ago for his expertise in biological research. That, and that he was a soldier.

Also to note, several 'inspectors' came by request of the Vice Principal of the school as stated by several students passing by. Painwheel also took note of how they didn't expect this. Her thoughts were interrupted when a car pulled in.

As the car stopped and the engine muffled before dying out by request, a feral demon huntress opened the driver door, whilst the front passenger door opened up to a shorter, scaled feral. Nikki stood nearly as tall as six feet. Gabriel however was enough to match her height. Even more perplexing was that the both of them sported athletic builds, Gabriel being relatively bigger than Nikki in terms of bulk.

From the passenger seat, emerged a red-headed young woman, clad in a long-sleeve t-shirt, with a pair of navy blue denim. To top it off were the trainers and gem encrusted belt supporting the denim across her thin waist. From the back seat, the left door opened, and out emerged a short scaled feral, frills atop his head and the spectacles he wore were the most noticeable thing about him. As most reptiles were, he was of green skin, smooth by the looks of it as well.

"And what time do you call this?" Gabriel asked, shaking his head, standing straight up as he waltzed towards the three. "Take your sweet arse time, you know that. Haven't changed a bit."

Nikki smiled. "Of course not."

Both seniors turned to the passengers. "So, you two must be fresh black puddin'?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The red headed woman snapped. Pretty as she was, Carol could already tell she had a mouth of platinum…

'Platinum bullshiete that is.' "Colonel Magilligan, call me Frost. Gabriel if you will." He folded his arms, bowing in respect. Maud, seeing the gesture, responded with her Tiber bow, with left fist in her right palm. "Well. You must be Patrick."

The smooth scaled reptile chuckled, grinning widely, but it lacked a hint of malicious intent. It was a friendly grin, despite its smug appearance. "Yes sir! I've heard a lot about your work sir, I won't let you or Nikki down." A bit of a squeaky voice to match his size too.

Frost turned back to his apprentice, urging her over with a light nod. "This is Carol. Been under my wings for a few months now." When she stood by his side, the difference in height was night and day. While she had grown, she only stood at five foot three, an insignificant difference from five foot one.

Both the 'FNG' and the 'Rookie' raised a brow at the sight of the short, scarred Junior. Rihfort in particular looked up and down at her, noticing that she wore long-sleeves and dress pants. From the looks of the scars and veins around her face and neck, there were more under those garments. "I have to work with this freak?"

At first, she took a breath and opened her mouth to say something. Her role was abruptly taken by Gabriel: "Oi! I take offence to that. We're ALL freaks." That left a smile on her face. "But yes, you will be working with this lil' prat 'ere." He said as he ruffled Carol's hair.

"Ugh, this is bullshit…" Folding her arms, she produced her vape and took a few drags. As she took deep breaths and plastered the taste of mixed fruits on to her tongue, she looked dead into those glowing red eyes. Carol stared back, and most likely right back at Maud's own eyes. Rihfort found herself gazing into a new world as she could see all the rough roads and broken bridges. Wherever Carol was heading, she had a hard time with her journey.

The vape was stored behind a coat, and Maud found herself at ease in regards to the proposition. "A saying goes from my former Sensei: 'A rocky road is hard to cross with bare feet. But once you find back to flat ground, you'll appreciate its offers for a smooth walk, even with bloodied feet'." That same saying was one that she hated hearing, but… It was true. "Like a carpenter who knows nothing about perfection, and is outclassed by one who was perfect. And yet when the perfect carpenter fails, he believes all is lost, whilst the carpenter with no sense of perfection will only improve their craft."

At first, the former Anti-Skullgirl raised a brow, but then that brow lowered back down as she hummed at the sayings. Both parties nodded silently, neither smiling, but they were on the same page.

For the short scaled feral however… "She's pretty." Of course, probably not the best thing to blurt out when you first meet someone.

"I'm working with this guy?" Carol asked, her face flushing red and right hand pointing at the short rookie who was covering his mouth at his mistake. The red head nodded for the Seniors… No doubt he had 'accidentally' complimented her too. She shook her head. "Well, let's move on. What about you Gabe?"

"Nikki and I will pop around the marketplace just nearby. Something goes wrong, don't hesitate to call in." Then the two left the three Juniors to their task as they went about their own.

"I just hope nothing goes wrong…" Carol wished, but part of her felt she had just jinxed it. "I probably shouldn't have said anything." As she led the other two towards the main reception of the school, she couldn't help notice a black van in the parking area. It was familiar, but why?

Thoughts aside, the three entered the reception lobby, and approached the counter where a young woman in the typical formal blazer, shirt, tie and skirt, awaited. "Good afternoon, welcome to Victory Academy. How can I help?"

"Carol Painwheel, United Forces." The former Anti-Skullgirl produced her wallet, and revealed her badge. It was a trident crossing over with an open umbrella, with a rook chess piece and dragon emblem printed on the right and left side of the crossed trident/umbrella. A combo of the respective nations of the world; her United Forces badge. "We've heard of a sort of commotion happening at this school. We'd like to speak with the Principal in that regard."

The receptionist shook her head. "Unfortunately the Principal has been ill for the past few days. I can arrange for the Vice Principal to attend to you."

Painwheel nodded. "When did the Principal report in sick? If it's okay to ask, that is."

"Five days ago. A day before the festival." She pointed at the comfy chairs which rested besides several shelves and glass displays of photos and model scales of ships, cars and framed photos. "Please, have a seat whilst I try to reach Vice Principal for you." She stood from her seat and rushed out of the lobby.

Patrick decided to take the offer for a seat, though his short height meant he had to properly adjust himself to the large mammoth of a chair. It met its expectations in looking comfy by being as such, soft, fluffy and enough to sleep in if he wanted to. "Little excited if I'm honest."

Painwheel scoffed as she examined the different scale models and framed photos. "Excited about what? We're just gonna have a quick look around."

"It's my first 'real' job since I've joined. Most of what I've been doing was running errands and assisting the Reaper scientist, Moka. I think that was her name."

The name sparked some life into the conversation when she turned to the scaled feral. "Moka you say?"

"Yeah. She does most of everything though."
Painwheel full well why she did almost everything in her lab alone. It reminded her of Avian, at least the few days she had the chance to know him. "Well, a little field work should be good for you then." More scale models and photos, none of which she recognised.

Maud scoffed as she stood by the scarred Junior. "You call 'this' fieldwork? Get real." She rolled her eyes, but she curved her mouth ever so slightly when she looked at Painwheel once more. The offer for a seat was taken, and she shrugged as she rested herself. "I mean, it's not like some asshole is gonna come in guns blazing on us, hmm?"

The short rookie turned to Maud: "Are you really going to jinx us right now?"

Paying no attention to her comrades, she then noticed one specific picture. The frame was dark, wood, possibly oak, and larger than all the other frames. It had a picture of a youthful woman, the usual school photo of a staff member to display. Her face lacked a blemish of any sort, short ginger hair down to her chin. While she was smiling in picture, there was an unnerving feel to it. Just looking at the smile was chilling…

For one thing, this woman looked familiar. A former teacher of her former high school? A teacher from the academy? The gold plated plaque that said 'Principal' made it very clear who she was to the school. Ginger hair? Sick for five days, before the festival? There was no name, but a signature on the top right corner spelled ' '.

Tilting her head to the right side, then to the left. Not much else to say except that she still looked oddly familiar. "A…? I wonder what that stands for." Thoughts interrupted again… It wasn't Gabriel however that would grab her attention. The young receptionist arrived again, this time with another formally dressed woman. Glasses, formal blazer, shirt, tie and skirt, thigh highs, she stood taller than the receptionist. Behind those spectacles were navy blue eyes, her face lacked any sort of blemish, almost unnaturally!

Unlike the Principal in the framed photograph, her hair was silver, and there was an emphasis of makeup around her eyes and lips. Such eye candy would woo just about anyone, herself included. It was a light layer, so she didn't even need any makeup to begin with. There had to be a reason for the extra frosting over an already sweet cake.

"Good afternoon. Carol, I presume?" Her voice boomed with enough authority to tame a drill Sargent. Alas, she smiled, but the smile felt cold to the eyes. She offered a handshake, and didn't notice the scars, or had noticed but oddly didn't have a care in the world about them. The cold smile starkly contrasted the grinding smile of the Principal, for better or worse…

Painwheel accepted the handshake. "It's nice to meet you. Though I've heard that the Principal was sick." She turned to the framed photograph. "This is she, right?"

"Ah yes…" She nodded, her smile fading, but there was a hint of a frown as she turned away for a moment before returning her gaze to the photograph. "My sister, Anya Ariel. We formed this establishment to better New Meridian. It started small but eventually we grew." Again, a solemn turn away from the photo. The name Anya was familiar too… "But let's get down to business, shall we? Can I get you and your colleagues anything?"

Maud and Patrick shook their heads. "Can't we just start looking around the school? We're here to have a better understanding of what had been happening." Maud demanded. "We don't have all day."

"Indeed. But please, mind the classes and children." She turned her back, but urged the three with a wave to follow. The Receptionist returned to her post.

---

Today would've gone swimmingly like others… But a stroke of bad luck had hit Dima and Eliza, particularly Dimitri. Despite his heavy eating, his body was crashing from the lack of blood consumption. None of the food they've eaten in the past few days was of meat that cooked to rare, so he was thinning himself out. The good thing was that he fainted, instead of lost his cool and possibly hurt the students or staff for the trouble.

Having heard of the commotion herself, she left her class to a group based assignment to role explore different scenarios in regards to historical Nilian events. It should keep them occupied for the moment; she had to check on her partner. Should the 'Inspectors' see that her class is missing a teacher, there will be trouble for sure. Of course, no one was told they would be arriving, so they probably have other reasons to be at the school

The school nurse was tending to one of the students, one of the junior years. Aside from the usual uniform, she was dark skinned with short blonde hair, and she cradled her stomach. A bad case of food poisoning? Upon seeing the celebrity teacher, she waved with a smile. "Come to see Dimitri? He's out back."

Eliza nodded. "Thank you. How is he doing?"

"Well, if his medical records are correct, it's the anaemia, but it's nothing serious. We'll let him rest for now."

The Doppelganger nodded and continued towards the back of the ward. The usual assortment of do-hickeys and gadgets that a nurse would need, from the simple thermometer, the boxes of bandages and other wound dressings, and first aid boxes. Out of the ordinary was a fountain pen, perhaps the nurse was a pen enthusiast?

The sight of the tired hybrid feral was one to behold. She couldn't help but smile… Dima was practically a helpless baby at this point. "Told you to take your medicine Dimitri."

"Yeah, haha…" He said dryly. "I was a practical joke in front of those kids."

Eliza smiled. "You're one to me." Sending a glance back to the nurse, she was still busy tending to the student, taking her temperature with the thermometer whilst preparing some antibiotics to help with the stomach ache. With her right arm, she pulled the sleeve with her left and brought the arm to Dimitri. "Do it quickly before she notices."

"It's not even our first date, and already I get to taste you." He joked. His foul mouth was silenced when she forced her arm against his mouth. The sharp fangs elongated on their own accord, and went to work as he took generous sips…

"Greedy…" She murmured, exhaling at the tingling feeling. A vampire's venom was an aphrodisiac, Dima was no exception despite being only half cast. His venom could bring the most resistant to their knees. She could barely hold her standing as she was! In a split second, she pulled back on the instant. "And by the way, this is the second time I'd bailing you out of a problem."

Wiping his mouth, the feral nodded. "I owe you then."

She smiled. Luckily she didn't leave a huge gash pulling back. "You know you're a bit of a baby. You need others to feed you."

"Well, thanks, 'mom'." He smiled. "Rich tasting, if I may admit." Like a juicy rare steak cooked to perfection. Richer than most, even powerful preternaturals had average tasting blood at best. Or perhaps living on a diet of expired blood packs had lowered his standards for the while and Eliza's warm blood was refreshing for being out of the ordinary. There was a fair amount of muscle to get his fangs through, but they pierced.

"Is everything okay here?" The nurse asked as she returned with a new thermometer on hand.

Eliza nodded. "He's holding out. He should be fine. I'll take him home later."

The nurse raised a brow. "Home? You two live together?"

"Interesting story behind that." She adjusted her cap. "We've been together for nearly a year." A half-truth, but one she's willing to use. But Dima was part feral cat, and 'the real' Eliza's Nilian heritage had a lot of respect for cats, in regards to an ancient religion. It only made sense that a Nilian would go for a feline.

The nurse smirked. "I'm envious." When Eliza cleared her throat, the nurse closed her mouth with an imaginary zipper, and padlocked it, and threw the key away.

"He's a bit of a slob when it comes to eating." Although, that could imply 'other' aspects. "And is terribly childish."

"I take offence to that!" Dimitri interrupted, but hushed himself as he relaxed in the bed.

Eliza shook her head. "I'll be heading to class. Please take care of him until I get back." An act had to be convincing. Leaning over, she pressed her forehead against his, eyes closed solemnly. "You had me worked up dear."

Dima didn't know whether he should be flattered, or concerned that this act came out of nowhere. But for someone he knew for less than a year, there was genuine concern in that tone of voice. "I'm alright. You should get back to class. Wouldn't wanna disappoint those 'inspectors', huh?"

"Probably not." There was a pause, then suddenly, Eliza uncharacteristically kissed Dimitri on the cheek. Even though he had little to drink, he felt far more aware from that alone. It was an act right? But… Why did it feel heavy on him?

She adjusted her cap again as she proceeded to the door, eyes to the ground. Why the hell did she do that? Wasn't pressing her forehead against his enough!? That came out of nowhere… Didn't it? Thoughts were blank for the moment, but she continued on. Her senses flared as she closed in towards the door, and in an instant, she halted.

Looking forwards again, she was confronted by several men and women in identical looking suits. The inspectors? Strange to see ones without a notepad in hand, and wearing sunglasses indoors. "Hello. Is there a problem?"

The suits didn't respond, all of them stared through their sunglasses. There was minor chatter from the hallway, but not from any of the suited men or women.

"Seriously, all that's here is a bunch of idiot kids." A rough female voice shouted.

"Maud, that's quite enough…" Another, lighter toned female voice sighed. "Sorry Ms Ariel… Please continue." Someone was on tour… Maud?

The tourists were brought just outside the nurse's quarters, whilst the suits stood aside to allow the Vice Principal through. Two women, brunette and short, the other was red dyed and fairly petite. With them, a young scaled lad with frills. The brunette had a sort of scar in the form of an 'X', but seeing Eliza, her mouth gaped.

"Eliza…?" Then she looked towards the back of the room. A face she had seen before, but where…?

"Do I know you?" She asked, raising a brow and adjusting her cap again.

The Vice Principal stepped in. "And now that we have everyone here… Eliza, this is Carol Painwheel. Painwheel… This is Eliza…"

The Doppelganger saw the gaped expression turn to a conserved straight mouth. Then it hit her: Painwheel was one of the former Anti-Skullgirls, and one of the Reaper members that DL had notified her about. Eliza was being mistaken for 'her'… "Does this have to do with the strange events happening, Vice Principal?"

"Yes. And unfortunately I'm disappointed." Then the suits converged behind her, and all of them produced small sticks from inner pockets. All of them whacked it out to extend it to their true forms. They were wielded expandable batons, and each of them glowed an ominous white. "See, I don't like it when people stick their nose into other people's businesses, especially mine."

Despite the fact they were careful in their nightly visits, perhaps being around and finding clues gave them away. She should've been more careful, or more importantly, she shouldn't of had responded to her insult yesterday. The ill student and the nurse stood and lied in place, confused as to the situation.

Painwheel turned back with her two colleagues, all three of them stepping back as they were threatened by the baton wielding suits. The Vice Principal smiled. "Sic 'em…"

There were seven suited men and women; they charged at the four. The three tourists stood ready, but in a sudden second, they were interrupted when one of them was knocked down! Carol turned to Eliza, who had a small stream of blood forming a fist, but its crimson glowed a bright blonde colour.

"No way!" That gold glow, the sparks of yellow lightning! Her controlled breathing! "That's Ripple!" Maud exclaimed.

Upon closer inspection, there was no open end to her body, nothing compromised or revealed like the reports said. When Sekhmet used blood she changed her form, but this one didn't. What she did notice that Eliza held a small test tube in her left hand. Ripple infused blood? Definitely not what the reports said.

"Normally I don't like fighting in front of innocent bystanders. But you've left me without a choice. I knew there was something about you." Eliza tightened her left fist, and her blood formed golden fist also tightened, ready to strike. The downed suit recovered from the harsh blow, patting his chest before resuming in his task.

Patrick found himself the first target, but being much shorter, found it easy to slide right under his attackers before jumping and kicking one of the suits in the back, stumbling him towards Carol. Painwheel grabbed this 'suit' by his collar, lifting with her left hand from the ground, before slamming him on the floor effortlessly. Two more rushed at her, both swinging at her, but she ducked in time to avoid the batons.

Instinctively she reached for her back, but she forgot one thing when she noticed she didn't feel anything: her cello case. She left it in Gabriel's car, and now she had no time to retrieve it. Would've been useful to use her Buer Drive or even her Hacksaw. Rolling to her right to where the downed suit was, she picked up his baton. The weapon still glowed white in hand, and it felt heavy despite it looking thin and fragile as others.

It was evident it wasn't any normal baton as she blocked the two attackers, who brought Carol to her knees with extreme amounts of force. Patrick jumped on the back of one of her attacks, whilst the other's attention turned to the frilled lizard's attempt to subdue them. The suit that was held couldn't shake the reptile off, whilst the other avoided swinging relentlessly to avoid harming her team mate. Looking away from her former target spelled doom as Painwheel whacked her on the head with enough force to smash a normal person's in.

Maud was rushed by two suits, and they fought right beside the nurse and her ill student. "Don't just sit here, get out!" Without another word, the school nurse helped the student up and the student, supported by the caring woman, limped to the back of the room.

Rihfort avoided another attack before reaching out to a counter besides her. First thing she took hold of: a thermometer. Sidestepping one attack, she fitted the measuring device into the attacker's mouth before giving him an infused uppercut, breaking both teeth and thermometer.

The other attacker was distracted by his fallen comrade, and Maud took a moment to take a deep breath. Her body glowed a bright gold, before she spun, counter-clockwise, and smacked her charged fist into her remaining assailant. The immense blast sent him across the room, crashing hard against the wall… As the dust cleared, she took one deep breath and exhaled…

As for Eliza, she handled the last two remaining attackers, using her ripple infused blood to send wave after wave of punches! Carol couldn't even keep pace at the rate that single streamed fist could do, but the remaining suits were bruised and broken. All of that destruction, and she didn't lay a single finger from either of her hands.

Battered and defeated, the fighters allowed the downed suits to crawl and limp away from the fight. Vice Principal Ariel was left, but she had other plans instead of running away. Ariel stood her ground as she hid herself behind the ill student, whilst the nurse had already been hurt in the process of protecting the young girl. "Enough."

The three Reapers and their newfound ally stopped. "Shit…" Carol murmured.

"Not again…" Maud shook her head. "Oh man…"

"You have several choices. Surrender now, and the girl lives."

The Doppelganger grunted. "Hurting one of your own students, what kind of Teacher are you?" Even 'bad influences' have standards.

The Vice Principal smirked. "Perhaps you would like to know what happened to all those missing students." Ariel's opponent froze in place, her eyes widening, fist tightening and her glow blinding. "Aren't you curious to know, Eliza?" She mocked, holding the chin of the young girl, who whimpered, her weak body unable to struggle.

"Let her go Ariel. You wouldn't like what happens if she's hurt!" Carol threatened.

"Well… As you wish." Her impish smile carved itself beyond the point of humanity, as she pushed the student towards Eliza. In one fell swoop, she swung her arm in an upwards chop, sending a cutting vortex at the two. Maud and Carol both called out, but they couldn't reach them in time as the capped fighter shielded the girl with her own body.

The strike connected with devastating results, the whole room was clouded with dust! The open and smashed windows however allowed the dust to clear. Whilst Eliza took a heavy blow, a cut across her chest bled but wasn't deep; she wasn't the one who was directly hit. It was the albino feral! "Dima!"

With an open Umbrella in hand, he was barely able to ward off the strike. His aura was able to enforce his personal shield, but with the little blood he had to run... At least the student wasn't hurt. He couldn't hold up his umbrella as he stumbled and fell to his knees.

"Dima…?" Carol repeated as the dust cleared around her. Taking a good look at the hurt feral, she saw the resemblance he had to Romeo… The looks were near exact, barring the minor sky blue tint to his hair. He was indeed, Romeo's son. Alive and well. No, it was a coincidence, this couldn't be the same Dima. Dahlia killed him! Filia even saw Kazuo's memory, even Reala saw it! How could it be…?

But his stare towards her, and her comrades… They were Reapers, and he grunted and frowned at the fact of his own reveal. But that wasn't important right now. The Vice Principal had nearly killed one of her own students.

The Doppelganger tightened her fist, and it shook violently as it was engulfed in a gold aura. "How dare you..." Eliza growled as she stood up, despite the large cut across her chest.

"Are you seriously going to stand up again?" The 'Angel' scoffed as she prepared herself once more. "I'll just knock you down again. You're nothing but a simple sandbag, and I am the truck that's going to trample over it." She smiled. "Since the day I saw you step into our school, I knew you only came to meddle with things. But you stayed, and continued your meddling." From her back, sprouted large white feathered wings…

It was starting to make sense why Eliza was here, at least this 'Eliza'. Whoever this 'Eliza' was, she wasn't the same one Filia had encountered before. Maud was practically in shock, whilst Pat was still dizzied from that last attack. And then it made sense: that power, those wings, her sister Anya… The Vice Principal was an Angel herself.

"Well. I think it's time I finish up here. All of you look worse for wear." While only Eliza and Dima were the ones who took most of the damage, the blast itself was disorienting, and Rihfort was trembling at the sight of the rogue Guardian.

Eliza sighed. "Look... Since I've come to be, I've gained a bit of a reputation for being a 'bitch'. No one ever calls me a nice girl." She shook her head. "I beat the shit outta people to high hell, some are still bed ridden in hospital. When some guy or girl thinks they have authority over me simply because of their status, I take them down several notches. Hell, I don't even pay for crappy overpriced food... I'm not even 'that' Eliza." The dark skinned Canopian grit her teeth as her fist shook violently, with a visible vein popping out from her wrist. "But how dare you bring an innocent little girl into this!"

The Angel scoffed. "Collateral damage. One life, tragic as it is, my reasons justify the means. You've only brought it upon her." She turned to Carol. "And you 'Reapers'… My sister. My sister was everything to me!"

Hearing that the Vice Principal declare harm to the student 'collateral' was enough to revive her. The pain was gone, but the anger: "Even I can tell what's true evil! The evil of those who use the innocent for their own gain and then smash them aside when they're done! But no, when you're done here you'd easily walk free. No one could catch an Angel, especially one who is protected by a system... If one life is worth throwing away, then how many more will die after!?" Readjusting her cap, she cracked her knuckles before swiping her hand across her cap. "Therefore! I will judge you!"

"Really now? Well then." Bringing her hand up, her palm enclosed itself to a fist, her aura reformed into several floating translucent daggers. "Like it? Entirely pedestrian for the likes of me, but for you, not so much."

The Doppelganger calmly reached into her blazer's inner pocket, and produced a small cylindrical object, one that sported a mostly gold tint, with the top entirely dark grey of sorts. Ariel raised her arm, as if she were commanding an army of archers, but Eliza only twitched her glowing hand… A crash of thunder boomed from her fist, as a trail of her golden aura flew and struck at the Vice Principal! The force was enough to smash her against the wall!

"Nghh! What was…!"

"A little gift of a friend. Three hundred and five grain, sixteen hundred feet per second, and seventeen hundred foot pounds of energy… The .440 Corbon round." She took a deep breath, and exhaled as she produced two more from her pocket, and her fist illuminated a blonde glow. "My name is Eliza. And I'll show you what happens when you piss me off!" Raising her hand, the powerful Ripple forcefully overpowered the bullets to fire.

Quick on her feet, the Vice Principal used her spirit daggers to block the oncoming projectiles! The force stumbled her and she was left wide open. Eliza closed the distance, two more bullets in hand. Rather than aim then like before, she raised her fist, and smashed it against the blocking daggers!

Maud could tell what she had in mind. A technique of combining forces, one she learned herself. A minor shield to protect her hand from damage as the bullets unleash their force only serves to enhance her own punch! A focused attack to pierce through Ariel's tough defence! Indeed, that punch smashed through. "She's open!"

Barely avoiding the blow herself, Ariel was left wide eyed, gaped mouth and with bleeding hands. "How!?" The simple response? The dark skinned Canopian tugged at her tie and reeled her in, and Ariel found herself in an intimate position with Eliza's elbow. The blow itself was beyond the typical mortal, and Ariel can attest to that herself.

She was able to break away from the capped teacher, and threw a brutal hook to her cheek, and then an uppercut to her abdomen. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as Eliza reeled her in once more. The Vice Principal smashed her forehead against the false teacher, before pushing her to the wall behind her. "You…" She could taste her own blood… A mortal no less did this to her! "How shameful… But now your time's up!" As she stepped forwards, one of the beds was thrown between her and the downed Canopian!

Maud had bought some time for Eliza, as the bed was teeming with her own ripple energy! An impenetrable barrier! "Eliza! Do it!"

Smashing the bed against Ariel with her streamed fist, she pinned Ariel against the wall! It didn't hold her for long however as she smashed it away (naturally, she is strong after all). Of course, she didn't have the chance to retaliate as she was reeled in by her tie (again…), and this time, Eliza's fist had made their impression on the Vice Principal's face. Dazed and confused, Ariel couldn't stand straight at all, and her vision blurred and reddened by her bleeding forehead.

Without a second to think, the Doppelganger smashed her right fist into her left palm, and took one deep breath. "APOPHIS!" With her crimson fist, it threw a volley of punches in rapid speed, all the while with the capped Canopian yelled her kiai! And with one final push… Eliza delivered the finishing blow with her own bleeding knuckles.

"My judgement… You should spend eternity in Osiris' realm. But smashing in your face is good enough…" She did make good on that promise. Her body felt numb from all that fighting, and she couldn't stand straight either. As she stumbled forwards, she was supported by the red-headed Reaper who saved her in the last minute. "Mmmphmm…"

Despite her size, the red-head was easily able to support her weight, though the height was the main issue. Still, that must've taken a lot out of her, especially with the bleeding cuts she has right now. Nothing serious at close glance… "Hey, lover boy! Gonna help me out or what!"

The albino nodded as he stood up from the still unconscious student. "She's hurt real bad. We need to get outta here too."

Painwheel, finally shaking off her disoriented vision and feel, nodded as she took Ariel's left arm. "Pat, gimme a hand."

The short scaled feral nodded as he helped place the out cold Angel on Carol's back. "Talk about a busy day…" He said as he picked up one of the first aid kits from the counter.

Dima knew that the only help they can get was from the Reapers. There wasn't a choice here… DL would understand.

---

The commotion was enough to attract Gabriel and Nikki's attention from the main market. Loud, explosive crashes from the school. Somehow, Gabriel felt that leaving them behind was all it takes to cause trouble. Emerging from the front doors, indeed, was Carol and the other two, with two injured and one helping them carry said injured. Upon closer inspection, Nikki and Gabriel stopped in their tracks as they saw a face of a ghost.

That ghost stared right back, both parties became awkwardly silent. Then one of the injured party members caught Nikki's eye. She resembled the woman she had shot in the head near a year ago, but she felt… Different. This wasn't the same woman she blasted at all…

"Bloody hell, shiete went bad." Gabriel noted, and seeing the other injured party, he shook his head. "That's bloody Ariel!"

"Another conference member…?" Nikki shook her head in disbelief. "What happened!?"

"This woman… She used fuckin' Ripple!" She pointed to the said woman, the one she helped away from the school. She must've lost some blood whilst they traversed the school.

Nikki nodded as she urged the team over, rushing to her own car. The familiar albino feline brought the 'lookalike' to Nikki's car, with Maud helping her from her left and himself on her right. She was bloodied, no doubt she was in that last fight. Eliza would've healed by now, but this woman that was rested into the backseat was barely able to stay awake.

Patrick offered the first aid kit he procured, and Nikki immediately checked its contents. All the typical things, but no alcohol… "Lie her back! Maud, open the trunk, it's got all sorts of booze!"

"What the fuck are we gonna do with booze!?"

"Don't ask, just do it!" Nikki demanded as she threw the keys at the red head. Turning to the feline feral, she snapped her fingers. "Dima! Her name! What's her name!?"

Dimitri shook his head out of his trance. "E-Eliza. That's all we call her."

"Shit…" She shook her head. "Hey! Hey kiddo! This is gonna sting a bit!" Seeing that the first bottle Maud brought to hand was vodka, she snatched the bottle before hurryingly opening the bottle cap. Rihfort helped open the ebony broad's shirt, and Nikki followed up by dousing her entire torso with the bottle. Eliza squirmed, holding tightly to the car seat as she could barely hold back from the excessive sting.

Taking a sip from the bottle, she passed it back to Rihfort before taking the kit to hand. Gabriel returned from his car to assist. "She's taken some pretty bad hits." Pulling up her coat's sleeves to her elbow, she squeezed her fists to conjure some of her red electric essence. She palmed Eliza's injured body, but it left her patient sighing in relief. "We need to get her to HQ." Pulling back, she returned to her driver seat.

Dima took the back as he raised Eliza before resting her head on his lap. "It's gonna be alright 'Liza…" She was strong, but whatever that vile Vice Principle did, it really left an impression on her. "Is she gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, but something's screwing with her essence." She urged Maud in the car.

As for Ariel, Carol and Pat, Gabriel had a nice comfy seat in the trunk. The feral half-breed helped the unconscious Ariel into her wonderful place, whilst Carol and Pat hurried into their seats. "Let's bugger out!" He said as he ran to the driver's seat. Once both their engines roared, the teams screeched away before they outstayed their welcome any longer.

Sirens from a distance could be heard… They were lucky to have escaped in time.

---

"Power… Give me more power… This is not enough… I demand more… MORE!"

"And more you shall have…"

"I will not stop… Power is all I need, I need it… I need it to beat 'them'…"

"Then do you understand what needs to be done? Make a wish… Sekhmet…"

"I wish… I wish for… 'Heh'…"

---

The darkness was vanquished when Eliza woke abruptly, sitting up from where she rested, sweat running down her cheek and breathing out of control… Taking a quick look around, she noticed how bright the room was, and how she was in an adjustable bed. To her left was an IV drip, filled with clear liquid. Perhaps they were painkillers. Then there were all the other nooks and crannies that she had very little clue about. Her breathing calmed and her mind eased itself.

A hospital? Everything around her seemed to point that way. That last attack must've did a number to her… Where was Dima? What happened right after she smashed Ariel's face in?

Her train of thought was halted when the door ahead of her creaked open. Clad in a red trench coat, reaching down to his knees. A striped red and black jester hat was placed atop his head, his skin almost a pale grey with black scar-like tattoos were marked across both eyes vertically. Sky blue pupils… Almost mesmerising. Behind him was Dimitri, eyes towards the ground, hands in pocket as he followed tall, bulky 'man'.

His steps, whilst not unlike any other normal person, the sound of their clack against the ground sent shivers down her spine. There was a sense of dread just by looking at him, as if the world around her darkened to his entrance. His stern stare didn't help either as he closed the distance. He stopped just to her left side, and inspected the doppelganger. From head to toe, he stared, before taking a look right into her eyes…

It felt as though someone was looking directly into her soul… That is… If she had a soul to begin with. If she did, then that was the best explanation. Constant tingling feelings right up her spine, the feeling of imminent danger and dread, and the unsettling blue eyes. It broke all broke down in one instant, when his stern face was replaced with an impish, but warm smirk.

"So… Eliza, is it? Or is that what you like to call yourself?" He asked as he folded his arms. He didn't expect an answer however, judging by his playful smile. "New life created from essence… Almost unheard of, or widely detested that it could happen."

She said nothing, as Dima took a seat right side of her bed. "You okay?" Dima asked, palming her right hand with his own. The Doppelganger nodded silently. Their cover was blown, and no doubt DL would be coming around soon. Diana-Linda only ever talked about the Commander, unlike the other Reaper members since they had their data logged. No doubt that this was said Commander, his stance practically speaks volumes of his role.

"So, let's avoid the formalities. My name is Reala… I assume you have an idea of who I am, hmm?" The question was rhetorical of course: "And you… You are perhaps the first essence based clone I've ever met." On point already.

Dima nodded. "He's a nightmaren; they used to be dream based entities." As the story goes, their world crumbled and brought them here… Well… The few that are known to exist at least. "It's a really long story."

"I'd be happy to tell you about it another time too." Reala assured. "But right now, I need to speak to you… And my daughter once she arrives."

Daughter? He didn't mean… That brought up more questions than answers. DL never explained that her father was the same man she never spoke about in detail. At least it answers one question. Still, she had a reason to hide it from him, perhaps she didn't want her activities hindered by some of the politics behind what the Reapers handle. Being partners with the likes of the Egrets and other forms of local enforcement meant that had to play by certain rules.

At least, that's what she assumed. If anything, DL only made what they were doing seem important. Eliza only followed because she hadn't another place to go.

"She tells me she goes on vacation, instead, she does my job… Not bad. Though…" He turned to Dima. "Not entirely happy she kept you a bit of a secret." It wasn't the kind of 'you disappointed me' kind of unhappiness: his tone was very stern, and he gave it a lot of thought to understate his feelings. The hint of anger in that voice sold it effectively, and she was caught in the middle of it all.

Dima nodded shamefully. The albino feral probably had a harsh talking to earlier before they entered. As a soldier, he knew full well why he was reprimanded, more or less he stayed silent and turned away. Reala shook his head, full of solemn melancholy, but said nothing more to press on the issue. Without a word, he urged the albino feral to give himself and the clone a moment. Not another word and he stood. "Good luck." And he was out the room.

"Well… Drama aside…" Taking the same seat that Dima stood from, he relaxed himself. A sigh of relief as he rested his back on the chair. "There we go. Tell you one thing, walking around the whole damn place really gets to your feet." Releasing the tension from his legs by stretching them, he sighed once more. After a pause, he cleared his throat. "Now then… According to Carol's last debrief, you were able to take on Charmeine Ariel on your own. If you were the 'real' Eliza, I would expect that." But it was clear, she was not.

Eliza never got Ariel's first name, only the initial, which was of course 'C'. Very few would know that as well, since her framed photo had an annoyingly complex signature font. Anything that the Vice Principle wrote, while looking absolutely fabulous, can leave many confused due to the way she conjures her E's and C's. Reala must've delved into some archived documents the Egrets had to solve the problem altogether.

It was surprising that Charmeine was a Guardian in the first place, but if she was Anya Ariel's sister, it made sense. Anya was implicated at the crime at the casino several days ago. But then it hit her: She took on Charmaine, for the most part, alone! But that fiery redhead was her saving grace, having thrown a bed between her and the rogue Guardian. The frame was infused with a short burst of powerful Ripple, something she didn't expect to see under anyone else's hand. She'll have to buy that woman a drink one day…

"Interesting application with your blood there." Producing a small test tube from his coat pocket, it happened to be her own. It was emptied out because she didn't store it after that last fight. "You refill this thing yourself?"

Not wanting to be rude, she nodded: "Yes."

"So… From what I've been told, you've never had any formal training with Ripple, no?" When she shook her head, he nodded. It was clear how she only had the fundamentals to work with, but she compensated with this interesting technique. "I see. According to Maud, while you didn't have any advanced techniques, you still took advantage of opportunities. That is without a doubt, very impressive." This Eliza could think on her feet, hence how she won.

But strength alone isn't what he found alluring; if he was looking for strength he could find countless fighters in No-Man's Land. "You stepped in knowing full well you could've got yourself killed when that student was endangered."

The dark skinned amazon nodded without hesitation. "She was in the crossfire, she wasn't involved in any of it. But to see her nearly take a direct hit…" Even if her short lived career as a teacher wasn't meant to be real, she had a responsibility as a teacher to care for the students. "Ariel betrayed an oath as a teacher…"

"You don't take such a betrayal lightly, hmm?"

"It's like backstabbing everything you agreed to." There was a stern sense of honesty that Reala could both see and feel from her. Such a belief only meant she was loyal to her word.

Reala smiled. "You stand pretty proud. A far cry from what Sekhmet is." He stood from his seat. "I have high hopes for you, it'd be a waste to send you away, not after all that effort." Since DL was helping the Reapers in the background, Eliza hadn't a reason to distrust him. "For now, you should rest. I shall have a word with my daughter, and we'll see where this goes." Just before he reached out for the door handle, he glanced back once more with a warm smile.

There were a lot of questions on her mind. Perhaps there won't be any point to dwell on them. As Reala left, Dima re-entered, retaking his old seat. "Got a bit of a rough talking to?"

"Rough is an understatement. But I didn't exactly expect it to be sunshine and rainbows if they ever saw me." He shook his head, leaning his chin on his fists. "Can't live it down, but I'll live at least." That's good enough for him. Even when life goes down in the dumps, he won't let it hold it down. She knows that herself.

Sitting up, she reached out to him, a hand to his shoulder, and a friendly squeeze. "Don't get all sentimental on me yet. We just survived a run-in with someone way above our league."

Dimitri nodded. "I was worried about you throughout it." There was a pause. A pause that took a moment too long to break. "You're my friend and partner, that's why." Somehow she felt he had to think of that response. Sure, they look out for each other, but the way he answered, felt different to how a friend would respond.

"Dima, are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah. I'm alright."

A stammer. He was hiding something from her. As a good friend however, she didn't press on the issue for now. Had to be something minor, maybe shaken up by recent events. Nah, he'd been through worse, left him worse for wear too if she remembers how he met DL. This was something else. "Look, if you need to talk about something, just say so. We're partners, aren't we?"

The feral nodded. "I'm fine though… Really." He smiled. It was forced. Mostly… She can only smile back. "I think you should take the rest. I'm sure DL is gonna get an earful from the Commander."

---

HQ's rooftop happened to be the perfect place for private conversation. "Okay. So you thought to take advantage of your Vacation… To lead a Covert Team behind my back…?"

DL shrugged and impishly smiled. "I thought it would've worked at the time."

"DL, there is a reason why we keep in touch and why we at least let each other know what the hell is going on." He shook his head. "I don't want a repeat of what happened to Romeo. You risked these people's lives and your own."

The vixen leaned on the balcony railings. "We're fine pa, we would've been fine."

"It doesn't seem like it. Eliza took a bad hit, and you're saying that its fine!?" He shook his head. "Right now, the Conference is getting all worked up, and it's making it hard for people on our end to work with things right now."

"The Conference. Bah… A group of old farts with heads up their asses."

Reala agreed, but if Angels were going rogue around them and causing trouble out of nowhere, he had to keep a happy face to reel the rest in. Someone had to have been pulling strings. "I know you wanted to help, but you risked jeopardising not only the whole operation, but the safety of every man, woman and child." There was silence, no response… She only looked ahead to the city. The silence outstayed its welcome: "I know I'm sounding like a real bastard right now. But you know me…" She glanced at him and nodded.

Diana-Linda knew very well that her father could never stay mad at people he cared about. "Right… I get it pa, I screwed up."

Another awkward moment of silence.

The silence was broken as the wind flew by; Reala sighed and DL hummed. The both of them sent a glance towards each other. Both had glassy eyes, both were struggling to keep their sight on each other. Eye contact broke when DL returned to overseeing the city before her, and Reala turned away from his daughter.

"Well… Now what…?"

The Commander turned his head back: "I'll start re-arranging operations… I'll take Eliza in for training… As for you." A short pause… "O'five-hundred hours tomorrow, two thousand suicides, three hundred pushups, and five runs on the combat drill…"

"You're letting me off easy." DL noted.

"Am I now?" He asked.

"There used to be a time where you pushed my limits. Now I'm practically asking for it."

Reala smiled. "I could double that, and you'd still be ready for another go." A few steps closer to the elevator doors, he scoffed. "There was also a time where I didn't want you involved in any of this."

"What's stopping you from stopping me?"

As the elevator doors opened before him, he chuckled as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm practically asking for it." He echoed before the doors closed behind him. Whilst the elevator slowly descended, his PDA rang. It was a message from Nikki. 'The Conference are holding a meeting. They're pissed. Meeting Room 4A' "I wouldn't doubt it."

---

Who knew that a meeting that included pizzas would just piss her off even more? Mason wanted peace or at least comfort when eating the delightful slices, not be berated by a few people. There were only a few members around to represent the Conference, but all of them were 'important' members. To Nikki, they were the 'oldies', ones who've been around since the conception of the group. Probably more than a few thousand years old.

You would expect someone at that age to have a clue about what they're saying. Well… "Regardless if they attack or cause trouble, their actions will be judged by US!" Ombra, one of the few 'first' angels. Like Nikki, he had silver strands of hair, but he wasn't a feral, though was also dark skinned. His eyes were both of a pale grey, almost as silver as his hair. He sported a white motif outfit, with a long-sleeve shirt, black tie and matching white denim. Most conference members unfortunately conform to this unholy style…

Nikki stood out among the four members in that meeting room, considering that she only wears her own sewn garments. As always, she said little to counter or respond to Ombra's statements. Not because she couldn't, but someone could easily say it better than she could.

The meeting room doors were thrown open by the appearance of Reala. Upon his entry, he quickly removed his jester hat, and removed his coat. They were both folded over his left arm as he held them against himself. "Sorry for the late arrival. Had to sort out a couple things." Without his coat, all he had were his pink long-sleeved shirt, a pair of expensive dress pants, supported by suspenders which also mounted two holsters for his oversized handcannons. A pair of brown leather shoes served to finish his appearance with simplistic finesse.

"Perfect. The jester arrives." The second representative said, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms. Micah: relatively short at five three, shoulder length brunette hair, ruby red eyes and of course, wearing the utmost unique outfit of the whole room... A white pair of denim jeans, long-sleeve shirt, black tie and grey boots. She wasn't far off from Ombra in terms of age, though trim it down at least one hundred and fifty years from Ombra.

Unlike Ombra who is passionate about complaining, Micah prefers to be snarky with everything. Perhaps not the best habit for an Angel. Perhaps she was passionate about being snarky in the first place.

The third Guardian who attended the meeting happened to be quiet throughout. He scoffed and tutted here and there, but towards his colleagues. A younger member, a kemonomimi feline with white shaggy hair to match his own extremely unique conformity. Being one of the younger members, he never exactly agreed with the oldies. Angelo; Gabriel and he go back, though Nikki doesn't know him very well.

Reala took a seat besides Mason, laying the foundations of his day to day outfit on his lap and relaxing in his seat. "So. I assume this meeting is about Charmeine?"

"Yes." Ombra shook his head. "She is a Guardian, and we Guardians will be the judge of another Guardian that has gone rogue. Understand?"

Reala shrugged. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." He said as he retrieved a pen from the table. "Instructions were a little unclear there."

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Ombra sighed and ran his hands through his head. "It is part of our rules that we handle our own people. You haven't any business with her."

Instead of listening to the representing Guardian, he simply fiddled with the ball point in hand. The silence in the room called his attention back however. "Hmm?"

"Will you take this seriously? Do you ever take anything seriously!?"

Reala flicked the pen aside. "Not you unfortunately."

Micah stepped in, growling as she leaned in pointing at the jester. "Listen here, you-…"

The Commander retorted with a glare, one that simply overwhelmed her confidence by sheer brutality. Such a stare could leave one emotionally drained, for it's not the judging eyes, but the dark feeling of paranoia that slowly builds up during his watch. Those two sky blue eyes become many, looking from hundreds of different angles, a gaze that pierces. "What was that…?" He asked, disrupting the darkening room around her.

Micah couldn't think of anything to say, and took her seat. The only audible response she had was her clearing her throat and gulping. Needless to say, it was accompanied by her glistening glowing face.

Once the brunette Guardian backed down, Reala turned his attention to the silver haired Guardian. "Do you actually think you know what you people are doing?"

Mason smirked as she leaned back in her seat when Ombra couldn't think of a response. "Lost for words?"

Reala stood from his seat, throwing his coat over his shoulders and pocketing his hat. Swaying his hair, he scoffed. "I'm not going to sit back and allow anyone, let alone a Guardian, go rogue and start causing a ruckus. There are no exceptions, so complain all you want. A word of warning from me: If I have to deal with any of you myself, don't expect a cakewalk."

"This coming from one of the last of his kind? Anat has been unkind as to such…"

The nightmaren stopped himself, but didn't turn back. There would be no benefit turning to him… "If the Conference happens to be the perfect group capable of protecting this world and its kingdoms… Tell me… Where were you when Valerie nearly unleashed hell on this earth?" Silence… "I thought so." And he continued out of the room.

Mason stood, and sent a mocking salute towards the two, though she sent a friendly, casual wave to the neutral Angelo, before following after the Commander. She jogged after the speed walking nightmaren, who continued his waltz through the busy halls as Egrets and other personnel passed by. "That was a low blow there, huh?"

"Honestly, I wanted to punch the smile off his face…"

"Well the good thing is that you didn't…" Because she had a feeling that the face would not be the only thing flying off. "So… What's the next step? We still have Charmeine."

"What do you mean, we 'still' have her? You said we arrested her, but I know you didn't bring her in when you arrived!"

Nikki laughed nervously. "Well… She's still in the car."

Reala stopped. "What do you mean… 'Still in the car'?" When Nikki's nervous laughter was followed up by an impishly guilty smile, he shook his head. "You threw her in the trunk of Gabe's car, didn't you?"

"Shamelessly."

"Oh my God, Nikki…" He only hoped that whatever Nikki practices… Sienna and Maud don't follow her lead. "Please don't tell me that you were about to tip the car over a cliff."

"Oh dear God no…" She shook her head. "We don't do that until AFTER we get all the information we need." She joked. "It'll be fine. What's the worst that can go wrong?"

Reala shook his head. "I'll find Gabe, and I'll speak to her myself. For now, please keep an eye on Eliza. Her nightmares have been playing up a bit."

Nikki nodded as the nightmaren left her among the crowd.

As for the nightmaren, he contemplated the current situation. The Guardians are right up at his neck like leeches, several members have gone rogue, a clone of one of their wanted enemies exist and they still need to find out why the players at the casino were eliminated. Since Marco was a sole survivor, he'll have to speak to him.

Somehow he felt that the Conference had some sort of connection to the murders, or at least a member or two. Perhaps the Conference's recent policy enforcement was a response to avoid the prosecution of members outside their party. Unfortunately, if it turns out that there are members organising these murders, the Commander will see to it personally… That is a promise.

At the very least, there hadn't been any mention of a Skullgirl. Almost a year ago, that encounter with Valentine left a very prominent fracture to the Canopy Kingdom. It has mended over time, but another brush with the Trinity's greatest creation is inevitable. Destroying one heart was merely cannon fodder, since there were plenty of candidates for the next heart. One Skullgirl caused much more damage than a yearlong military occupation in over two weeks.

Even he knew very little of them, but they seem to know a lot more about him. Obviously, that marks the Trinity on his list of high-risk targets. While he knows very little about them, according to sources, they originated as a peaceful trio who lived a sort of Haven a far while back. Sekhmet was known to have perpetrated a devastating attack that robbed the lives of Venus and Aeon, the only two daughters of Queen Lamia, leaving the Trinity a solo act.

Of course, their deaths didn't mean their deaths prevented their actions in its entirety. Perhaps Lamia fell to the same fate, and only continued the Trinity via members such as Double… Or was Double Lamia? Still… They employed Eliza the last encounter with the Skullgirl, and it seemed that she was coaxed into working for them. Samson notes that she was power hungry, so there isn't a doubt she only did it to score power in their world.

Since the Reapers had become a thorn in their side, no doubt Double, and any other members of the Trinity and affiliates, were pissed. The chances of the remnants of Valentine's truce being a danger was slim; Lorenzo was outclassed and out of power (and can't be a candidate for the skul hleart), Dahlia and Valentine were dead, the Medici Mafia had crumbled to oblivion, and demons already hate the Reapers in general.

He stopped. "Wait…" And then everything was clear… The Eliza clone's nightmares, the fact that they were unable to capture the Real Eliza, and worst of all… This was all happening at the same time as the fiasco with the Conference. Sekhmet was out there, and that spells bad news if the implications were correct… He didn't see the Clone's nightmare, but he felt the raw energy seeping from her as she slept. The mere mention of a Nilian deity from an Angel who shouldn't believe...

Turning back, he immediately rushed through the crowd, and even ran past Nikki (who happened to be taking her time).

Mason was smart enough to catch up to him. "Something wrong boss!?"

"A shit load of things wrong! Can you get Ombra on the line?"

Nikki produced her PDA and attempted to ring the Angel, regardless of her dislike of him. The line was completely dead. "Nothing."

"That's not good…"

Luckily they were able to reach one of the elevators before its doors closed, and an empty one at that. Next stop was the ninth floor, the Medical Ward, room thirty five. Producing his PDA, he called the first person he had in mind. The young dagonian Operator, Minette. Today, she was on GeoScape duty.

After a few flat rings, his call was connected, and from the other line: "Commander? What seems to be the problem?"

"Minette, scan for theonite levels, concentrated hotspots! Compare them with the last major read." He turned to Mason: "Where was Ombra from?"

The Private Eye thought back for a moment. If she remembers correctly, he has a knack for mentioning Nilian mythology. "Nilian? I don't know, no one had said anything about it!"

"What do we know from Marco? Anything that's big!"

"His father invested funds into a big company. But that's what he tells me. Something about 'Ra'…" An investment company that migrated most of their clients to other investors for a fee, whilst the few such as Bastet's Den, were sold very quickly due to certain complications.

"Ra…" Reala murmured, before delving back to his PDA. "Bastet's Den… Ra used to invest in that place… Doesn't the names correlate?"

"A Nilian God." Nikki whispered.

As for Minette: "Sir, levels have risen to critical levels. Just about as high as the last major recording."

"Send a warning out to the Operatives, get the word out!" The elevator stopped right at the floor they needed. Luckily, no stops. Rushing through the hallways with the Private Eye trailing him, he retraced his steps to the room. "Thirty three… Thirty four… Thirty five!" She was still there, resting, and Dima too. No subtlety required here, pushing the door open, he hurried in to the room.

His dynamic entry caught both Dima and Eliza by surprise. "Sorry to bother guys! Eliza, have you been having strange dreams lately?" The Doppelganger was still, not saying anything for a good minute. The only response she could muster up was a silent nod. "What did you see? What did you hear!?"

The dark skinned clone was adamant about staying silent, but she could see it in his eyes: concern and worry. "Someone asked… Sekhmet to make a wish. She sounded like…" A pause. "Me." Silence… "Is that… Bad?"

"Very bad…"