Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 6

Chapter 30: Farewell, My Darling

(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)

Reina was at the factory as she was running out of there with me in tow. We were facing so many of the Ketch robots as we were being overwhelmed. With her spear in her hands, Reina was ready until she felt blood trickling down her head. Something was wrong indeed until reality set in the moment I saw her in the emergency room of the infirmary wing in the castle on Alecrast. With her hair shaved off of her head to clear some of the swelling, the Medical Corps did their best to remove the bullet from her left temple as she was still in critical condition. I watched through the emergency room doors as I was worried to the extreme about her. Sitting down, I stared at the doors to the emergency room as I watched and waited in which I noticed a familiar figure walking towards me. It was Kevin as he led the charge a few moments ago as he was also concerned about what has happened, for this wasn't the end of it anytime soon.

"The Medical Corps have stabilized Reina," he said.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so, but Hugh is so distraught right now in which he blames you for not seeing the further danger that Reina went through."

"It's all my fault, Kevin… I should've seen it, but it's too late..."

"If Dean saw you beating yourself up like that, he would kick your ass right about now. As for Reina's condition, let's hope that she makes it..."

"I'm hoping for the same thing..."

I continued to watch the Medical Corps operate on Reina as the diagnosis was grim. The guilt that I suffered from was more than enough to bear as the negligence on my part was a blow to my honor that could never be washed away clean, for it was a reminder that was setin stone indeed…

Reina was in a room that had green and black painted all over. She never saw herself there before as she saw a sign that said the words, "Mystery Spot," in bold green letters. It was something that she never saw before in a while as she spotted an unusual man with brown hair and goatee all dressed up in a black suit, white shirt, and grey necktie. Unarmed and concerned, she had to confront the man as he wasn't what she expected to be until now.

"Hola, mamacita," he said in Spanish before speaking English. "Me llamo Alejandro and I'm what you call an angel del la muerte, or what you humanoids call me… La Parca?"

"You mean a Reaper," said Reina. "I've heard of stories about them when they appear to those whose times of living are almost up, only to reap them towards the afterlife where they belong."

"Quite correct, chica, but I've come to collect you just to get towards the Grey Havens where you can rest peacefully, not unlike those spirits who appear like Obi-Wan Kenobi from time to time."

"What are you talking about? I fainted after we destroyed that factory-"

"Only to get shot without warning. I know all about you, Reina Kratedes, and I know how you lived your life until that moment you were shot in the cabeza."

"Sam…, I have to get to him… I have to tell him about what I found!"

Reina sprinted out of the room as she found a door that was at the end of the hall. Opening it up, she found herself in an awful place as it was something that she feared the most. From the looks of it, this was a place that she loathed as it was none other than that from her childhood. The alleyway that connected the streets was known as Hooligan's Row, where prostitution and humanoid trafficking was considered to be the worst. It was a place that she long forgot about as she hated the fact of living there during her youth. It was also the home where she had danger lurking all over the place on Earendil in the worst of all places.

"This is… Hooligan's Row…," she said as she saw a younger version of herself being carted away into a building against her will. "This is that fateful night where I was forced to do the bidding of those who wanted children to bed with just to get their fix on their sex addiction."

"Excellent deduction, chica," said Alejandro as he was standing right behind her.

"I know that, but this isn't your case right now!"

Reina sprinted into the building where her younger self was being held down by four men to a bed in which a fifth one entered while rubbing at his crotch. The sight of her younger self being harmed like that made her cringe as she saw her own memory in front of her. It wasn't long until the fifth man lifted up the girl's dress and took off her panties in which he spread her legs open.

"No!" the girl said as she was struggling to get free. "I don't want this! I wanna play with the other kids! I don't wanna be like the women here!"

"Too late, girly," said the man as he pulled down his pants and revealed his member. "Your caretaker is desperate enough for money, so she sent you to do it by the only means necessary if you wanna survive Hooligan's Row."

"Please, don't do this! I don't want this!"

"Oh, when this is all over, it'll feel good; I promise you..."

It wasn't long until Reina saw the man get on top of her younger self as he shoved his member inside of her. The pain of it engulfed the girl as she heard the man's grunting noise while letting out a guttural sound of pleasure and pain. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt the man's large member thrusting in and out of her until he began to climax until he heard footsteps running towards the room everyone was in. Pulling out of the girl in haste, he got out his vidphone as he began to take a picture of where he entered inside of her even after he shot his load all over himself. The sight of the girl's soft flesh covered in blood enticed him even after he ejaculated until he saw the door breaking down the moment he spotted a Toraga woman in riot gear enter with a spear in her hands along with her subordinates who had guns in their hands.

"Freeze! Get your hands up right now!" she yelled as she spotted the man who had had his pants down and his livelihood coating his member like a large gob of snot. "Vincenzo Tabler, you're under arrest for drug peddling in the form of meth, skooma, hydromel, and vraxoin."

"Radha Srinivar of the Intergalactic Patrol Force," he said. "You don't have nothin' on me, Battlecat, so I suggest that you leave me alone."

"Ma'am," said one of the subordinates as he spotted Reina's younger self sprawled on the bed after the four men who held her down had their hands up. "We got a fractured one here..."

"Son-of-a-bitch..." Radha sees the recently uploaded image of where the man raped the young girl with blood between her legs. "So, you not only peddle drugs to the lowest bidder, but you have a thing for raping little girls as young as ten?!" She punches the suspect in the jaw as he fell to the floor in which she had him cowering while she held her spear. "I ought to snip that pecker of yours clean off for this! And for the image of the girl you just raped, that's a Z-class felony in which you're going to prison for a long time! The suspect and his cronies are rounded up, but the girl needs medical attention right now. Get her out of here to a hospital." One of the subordinates obeyed as he carted the girl away out of the building. "As for you scumbags, you're all going in the slammer, you got that? You and your leader not only have drug peddling charges, but delving into kiddy porn and child prostitution?! You're all despicable! All units, take the suspects away."

Reina saw the suspects handcuffed and taken out of the building as she remembered that memory that once scarred her for the first few years of her life. She remembered the sexual assault clearly as she never forgot the police officer who saved her life from a the bowels of misery and prostitution in which she was thankful for it.

"Radha… I never forgot how you saved me from my captors, but my innocence was taken away from me before you stormed in," she said. "I know now because you protected me from harm in which you even taught me how to attack by using spears and other long sticks for battle..."

"So, your Toraga caretaker was there to rescue you at the last minute, but you didn't get re-hymenated by any angel at that time," said Alejandro as he entered into the room. "You knew what happened next over the years when your mentor fell in battle the moment she fought in one of the Orc Wars on Alecrast."

"You have a big mouth… for a Reaper…," said Reina.

"Don't shoot the messenger, chica, but these are your memories that are being relived before you end up being reaped."

"This memory will never leave me, but I can't waste time right now! I have to tell Sam about the package that I picked up before I got shot. He needs to know about it or else it'll be too late."

Reina left the building as she was out of there while ditching Alejandro entirely. She didn't have time to waste as she was trapped in her own mental prison, for it would be difficult for her to get out while dodging the Reaper that was ready to reap her on the spot…

I walked towards Reina's hospital room as I saw her with no hair on her head, but a large bandage covering the wound she sustained. The sight of her worried me to the core as I felt guilty for not helping her during the mission at that factory on Drakonus. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry as I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. When I saw her spear and hip holster set next to a chair, I went towards the other latter as I picked it up and dug into it. To my shock, I saw the small case that Reina picked up as I opened it up in which it was none other than a thumb drive with a tag on it with the words, "Project Ra in the works," in black letters. I was concerned about what was put on it as I had a gut feeling that this wasn't good at all. By the time I was ready to leave, I saw Dvora entering as she had a mini-projector in her hands, for she needed to review what Reina found before she was shot.

"It's a shame that Reina's like this," she said as she saw her bald and in a comatose state with an oxygen mask over her mouth. "One minute, she was fine; but in the next, she felt dizzy before she fell into a state of unconsciousness."

"I should've protected her, Dvora…," I said. "I never knew about the bullet hitting her until it was too late..."

"There's no time to sugarcoat it right now, but we can't just let her efforts go in vain." Dvora inserts the thumb drive into the mini-projector as she saw the image of Drakonus in which some of the cities were being targeted by Project Ra, for this was the worst thing imaginable that the Executive Division was doing so far. "We have the smoking gun that Reina picked up, for this is the most despicable thing that Julilla and her forces are doing right now."

"Does Ginryu or Ryosuke know of this?"

"Of course they know, ya idjit!"

We saw Bobby skittering into the hospital room as he saw Reina in critical, but stable condition. That image of her being in that state reminded him of being at his own deathbed after being shot by Dick Roman as it reminded him of how tragic it was. He also never forgot how he kept dodging the reaper that was chasing him until he finally lost his life in human form after he gave the Winchesters of old a strange code he saw before dying. When he saw the images of the Drakonar places of Skyward City, Anzu Village, and the Order's main headquarters on that planet, he was very concerned indeed as he was ready to tell the whole thing to us directly.

"Julilla and her forces have targeted the three that are in the wake of the upcoming Project Ra in a nutshell," he said. "All they need is Sam to use his raw power to activate the Sol-2 in which they'll force him to his knees just to do so."

"You just had to blurt it out, didn't you, Bobby," said Dvora.

"You're a lot like your ancestor who did nothing but eat pie and watch Chuck Norris films."

"The Dean Winchester of old was a lot of things, but being related to him is relevant due to my ancestor artificially inseminating his seed into her before he bit it the first time… in Hell, that is… After that, she gave birth to a daughter and that one grew up to marry Dorcas Trelundar, who happens to be my grandfather. His kids came after that and I'm one of them in which my mother, who is in her Matriarch stage, is nowhere to be found right now."

"There's no time to discuss your family tree right now, but the higher-ups in the Order are gonna be having a field day all over the place. They've been busting their asses into pushing back against the Executive Division in which the people in the Drakonar region of Heigus have been dancing in the streets after the factory's destruction there."

"And Reina..." I said. "She put her life on the line to help us win, but Crowley was the one who sped up the destructive process in the centrifuge that has been churning out the artificial creations that Darbus Toller made."

"Don't get your hopes up. She might not make it 'cause I've been in her shoes in that dire situation once and that was when I was shot after the encounter of Dick Roman in the Elder Days."

I continued to stare at Reina as she was still in her comatose state. Still, I felt powerless in my efforts to remind myself of a positive outcome as I was making sure that she would wake up the moment we know of the possible reason in mind…

Reina was running out of Hooligan's Row as she found herself in the cargo hold of a spaceship that was bound for Alecrast. She also saw a Rendilian man emerging as he was dressed up in a labcoat with dark blue hair and green eyes. She even noticed herself as a young adult as she was now married and had two adult children who have married and had their own offspring in tow. She remembered that memory to be a happy one as she was on her way to Alecrast to be briefed for being an Elder of the Order in that day and age. That moment of happiness made her feel comfortable until she heard a crashing sound on the ship that they were all in.

Reina saw herself running towards one of the cabins as she saw someone appear in a familiar form that she loathed for a long time now. It was someone who should've been dead as it was in the form of a woman with red hair, but she had a scar on her body that never fully healed. Reina remembered that encounter very well as she saw herself armed with the spear in her hands.

"I know this now…," she said. "This is when Nikos and our legacies were on board at the time…, but one intruder came forth in the form of a demoness who died from the First Blade in the Elder Days…, Abaddon..."

Reina saw herself use her spear on the demoness as she cut her on her right arm, only to be lifted up and pinned against the wall. She remembered that memory clearly as the stowaway was ready to pounce the moment she used her abilities to put on her entire clothes, including the top that a cartoonish pinup and the words, "The Devil made me do it," in pink letters. In a fit of rage, Abaddon screamed loudly as the ship began to suffer damage all over, for she was in the mood of destruction on her mind.

"This isn't your ship, demon!" Reina heard herself yell. "Whatever you're after, you won't get it from any of us from the Kratedes Family!"

"Reina from Hooligan's Row, I presume?" said Abaddon. "As I recalled, you were the sole survivor of the Aegeus family, who were Rendilian, but were highly advanced to create weapons to kill people like me and that pisses me off! As for your husband, son, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law, I got rid of them before I could get to your daughter and the kids!"

"What?! Nikos! Priam! Lollia! Trajan! You killed them, didn't you?!"

"They had to go, so I did it just to keep the advanced out of our business at hand. You see, my dear Reina, people who have advanced experience in saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business are not meant to live in this day and age, so I killed them, but your maiden family was another story before I was resurrected."

"You bitch!" Reina broke free from Abaddon's hold as she knocked her down onto the floor. "You killed my husband and others that have upheld the honor of the Kratedes Family! We've done nothing to you and yet you target us! You're nothing but a monster!"

Reina grabbed her spear as she used it to slash at a pillar in order to slow Abaddon down before leaving the cabin. She was running towards the cargo area as she saw her daughter sprinting with the children that were unharmed. Fear and concern became relevant as Reina herself gathered what was left of her family and went towards the shuttle near the airlock. With what was left of her family getting in, she saw Abaddon running towards them as she stopped briefly in which a Devil's Trap was etched over the ceiling.

"You think that a simple Devil's Trap can stop me?!" she yelled. "Think again!"

Reina ignored Abaddon entirely as she got into the shuttle the moment the airlock opened up. When the shuttle started up, it fled the failing ship as it was going all the way towards Alecrast without stopping. That memory was more than she could bear as she saw herself leave with the surviving family that she had, but she was now sidetracked by Alejandro once again. He wasn't about to leave her alone as he refused to budge until she agreed to be reaped, for that was something that she didn't want right now.

"You can't run away forever, chica," he said. "For too long, you've run away at every chance to have a key to the kingdom, only to spurn it to remain in limbo."

"I've seen enough of your petty little clip show and I can't put off reaching Sam before it's too late," said Reina. "You Reapers are all the same and you don't care if one person is either on the brink of death or dead already. You're just as heartless as the angels who do nothing but arrive with blades in their hands and think like the soulless dolls that Darbus Toller churned out."

"For the record, chica, I do care… and if you linger for too long as a spirit, you'll slowly lose what humanity you once had for yourself and the people you cared about. Do you want that on your conscience right now? In the Elder Days, the Winchesters of old had cheated death countless times until we all realized that they were doing it to not only fix what they broke, but to help those in need."

"I've had enough of this..."

Reina was running towards a door as she opened it up in which she found nothing more than a white room that was untainted. She never expected to be in here before as she was facing Alejandro for an odd reason. She didn't want to die right now as she had to have a message for me, for it was important for me to hear out before she passed on.

"So, are you ready to make your decision, chica," said Alejandro. "We don't have all day, you know."

"You win…," said Reina. "But first, I must return to life briefly and give Sam a message. It's important for him to hear me before it's too late, are we good?"

"It's positive, but after all this, you're coming with me just to enter Heaven for the rest of your days. It's a win-win situation that can be clarified, for it's also a deal for the ages, mamacita."

Reina agreed as she was ready to emerge for a brief moment until she found herself clinging onto reality the moment she woke up from her coma. She saw me praying by her bedside as I was concerned about her health and safety, but her dodging of the reaper was brief before she would be reaped, for she was wanting to tell me something before she passed onto the next life.

"Reina…," I said. "Thank goodness that you're alright..."

"I… don't… have… much time left, Sam…," she said as she struggling to hold on.

"You're going to be fine, I swear..."

"No…, with the time I have left, I must tell you something..."

"Is it about the case you found?"

"That information is vital… to the Order… and our allied forces… Ryosuke must know of this… before… it's too late..."

"No, we can't lose you right now-"

"Don't argue, Sam… The… Executive… Division is… targeting three vital cities on Drakonus…, including… Anzu Village… We can't lose you… to them… or else… we are all… doomed to die in the end..."

"Reina..."

"You need to move forward, Sam… You need the support of us and yourself just to be stronger in this fight or else we all will fall at the hands of our enemies… In the end of it all, you will live by the words that are given to you…," I hear Reina gasp her final breath before she begins to flatline. "Always keep fighting… It's the answer to what you have..."

And so, Reina finally closed her eyes forever as I saw some of the members of the Medical Corps arriving to see the tragedy that unfolded in front of them. I saw them cover her lifeless body with a white sheet as she was being carted away from the hospital room she stayed in. The grief from losing a close friend like her had hit me much harder as I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. I should've known about her fate until it was too late as I was standing there the moment I saw Hugh running towards me with an angry look on his face. He was not too happy with me for not seeing the outcome of Reina's demise as he was ready to vent out his frustrations one way or the other.

"Reina's gone," I said.

"The Medical Corps told me all about it… and you were the one who killed her!" cried Hugh.

"I would never kill Reina, but when that stray bullet hit her, it was too late after we destroyed that factory on Drakonus."

"Why should I believe you?! Your negligence costed our close friend her life and you're the one who led her to her death!"

"Hugh, Ginryu's on his-"

"Just shut up, alright?! It's your fault that Reina's dead!"

"I never saw the bullet hit her until now, but I can't let it get to me."

"Why bother to try if you can't get your priorities straight? It should've been you that took the bullet in the head, not her! And the next time you take a field mission, I suggest that you do it alone! It's better for the rest of us because you're not a toddler that can be watched over constantly! You're better off going it alone anyway 'cause it's a hell of a lot better than having us getting hurt because of you!" I ran out of the hospital room as I left the infirmary wing towards the elevator with tears still running down my face. "It's all your fault, Sam! It's all your fault! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

I rushed towards the elevator as Hugh was still standing there in which he was still angry at the tragic outcome that claimed Reina's life. By the time Dvora rushed into the room, she saw him seething with a primal hatred towards me as he wanted me to die the same way. With the pocket watch in her hand, she was eager to give it to the late Elder, but it was too late as she saw nothing but an empty bed without any sheets on it.

"Reina's dead," said Hugh.

"But she was gonna be fine," said Dvora.

"Sam wanted to think the same thing, but he was the one who killed her in that mission to destroy the factory on Drakonus."

"Sam's an honorable man, Hugh. He would never put people in front of him just to be bullet fodder."

"He let Reina die and his punishment is to go it alone and be a pariah in this castle! He deserves to be carrying that burden after all that has happened!"

"If Dean sees him go off alone, then he'll send a bodyguard to protect him."

"From now on, there will be no bodyguards to watch over him 'cause he's doing his field efforts solo."

"The Executive Division still keeps tabs on him and you're throwing him out to the wolves?! You're nothing but an asshole!"

"It's better than having you put in a body bag. If you tattle to Dean, then I'll remind him of how my idiot of a half-brother failed to save Reina, are we good? He was the one who sent her to her death and there's no way he can get past it. It's a stain that will never wash away, for it'll weigh heavily on him for the rest of his days."

"Just to let you know, if the Executive Division sees Sam off guard, then we lose this war, you got that?"

Dvora left the hospital room as she was ready to file a complaint to Hugh's handlers if need be. As for the turmoil between me and Hugh, it was only the beginning of our scuffles as there would be no end to what would happen next…

I was in a secluded area as I had a box with an old picture of me and other things in which I buried them into some dirt. I was desperate to do something foolish as I saw Ikra appearing out of nowhere. She saw the desperation in my eyes, but she wasn't about to let me make a deal that would have a further stain on my honor right now, for she didn't want me to do so right now.

"So…, here goes nothing..." I said.

"Are you that desperate to revive Reina at the cost of your soul?" asked Ikra.

"I should've saved her! All I want is to bring her back, even at the cost of losing my soul towards Hell if need be!"

"Sorry, but the answer is no. You're a man of honor who has a lot of reasons to propel this galaxy to a much greater advantage, but forking your soul to bring Reina back to life?"

"I'm doing this to help Reina, not hinder her."

"Look, I know that you wanna bring that Rendilian chick back to life, but my answer is still no. I don't care if it takes one year or ten, for you should keep your honor and dignity before going dark. I'm telling you this 'cause you have to move on or else there will be no hope left. It's best that you think about it that way 'cause it isn't you to be wanting to resurrect your friend. When a member of the Order falls, he or she is meant to stay dead in order to go towards the Grey Havens, are we good? She died a hero, damn it! Don't let her sacrifice go in vain in the process, alright?"

I saw Ikra leave in a plume of red smoke as the last-ditch effort to bring Reina back to life was nothing more than a bust. The grief that I had was more than enough to bear as I returned to the main house where members of the Medical Corps were still healing those who were injured in battle. When I entered into through the back door, I was trying to be discreet as I could muster as I saw Hugh coming into the kitchen with nothing but a cold stare on his face. I was given the silent treatment as I wanted to go into my room and just stare at the ceiling. When I went towards the room where it interlocked our castle with the one on Drakonus, I saw Reiko coming as she had a sad look on her face. She sensed that something was wrong indeed as she saw the sad look that had me in a desperate light, for it was troubling indeed.

"Sammy," she said to me as she hugged me warmly. "Thank goodness that you're alright..."

"I failed to save Reina," I said. "I should've seen the stray bullet when we were fleeing the factory on Drakonus..."

"Kevin told me about it, but Hugh is angry with you for no reason..."

"He has every right to vent his anger towards me. I even wanted to make a contract to bring Reina back to life, but the Crossroads demon who heard the call didn't want me to throw my life away so recklessly..."

"I told her to tell you not to do it, Sammy. Reina wouldn't have wanted it anyway, but her heroism didn't go down in vain."

"Crowley is also dead, but if he didn't set off that explosion, the mission would've been a failure. Still, I am thankful that we are safe for another day, but that negligence I had won't happen again. I decided to take my field work solo after what has happened."

"If you did that, then Brother would be cross towards you. It wasn't your fault and you can't let that get to you, alright? Now, I've got dinner made, but after this, we'll pay our respects to those who lost their lives in keeping us safe from the Executive Division, including Mr. Crowley and Reina. Their memory won't be in vain because of how heroic they were just to stop Julilla and her allies from causing harm towards others."

"I hope that they're up there in the afterlife somewhere… If only Reina made-"

Reiko placed her finger over my lips as she didn't want me to say another word. She wanted me to be happy as she also didn't want my troubles to define for the rest of my days, for they would end up getting in the way if I wasn't careful…

Ginryu was in his office as he was seeing the reports on Drakonus with the factory there being destroyed. He was grateful that the mission was a success, but the casualties who lost their lives would never be forgotten as he turned on the t.v. screen and saw a news report that detailed the victory of what we accomplished over the Executive Division so far.

"People in the Drakonar region of Heigus are celebrating in the streets in which the destruction of the Executive Division's factory and downfall had restored hope in the people," said a newscaster on screen. "With the alliance of the Order of Letters and their planetary military allies overthrowing the usurping rule of the Executive Division, celebrations have been rampant as the citizens have welcomed a new Chieftain who is also a member of Emperor Wan's court. With peace returning with revelry in the form of people welcoming the greatness of what makes a planet great again, Emperor Wan has issued a praise of thanks for the effort into destroying the suspicious activity in the factory that was once owned by the Toller Family. Stay tuned for future updates every top of the hour. And now, the weather..."

Ginryu turned off the television as he was grateful that we stepped in and put an end to the Executive Division's activities there on Drakonus. When he was about to leave to the assembly hall in the makeshift headquarters next door to the castle, he saw Ryosuke coming in as he was filled with optimism in which the advantage against the Executive Division was working, for our work was making progress with what we had so far.

"We have them on the run, but the casualties we lost will be remembered for their bravery and sacrifice," said Ryosuke.

"One of the fallen was one of our greatest Elders of the Order," said Ginryu. "Reina was not only a woman with a tragic past, but she shaped herself gradually over her seven hundred years until her passing."

"Her funeral will be held at Kripke Shrine, but after that, her ashes will be returned to her home of Celeborn Keep on Earendil. And another thing, Reina wasn't the only one who lost her life. Crowley died while sacrificing himself to destroy the factory in Andarias."

"Crowley may have been the King of Hell, but Reina's passing is more than enough to bear. Her daughter, Lavinia, is poised to take her mother's place as Elder, for she also has a young daughter, who happens to be the wife of Reuben Winchester of the Medical Corps. As for her son, Gaius, he's in the Hunter Corps on his home turf in which he's also a commander of his own squad"

"Lavinia Sedonis was married to Trajan Sedonis, who is known for his trademark hair in two colors. When Paninya was born she had the colors of green and white from her father, but the third color in her hair is the same as her mother's. As for that tragedy that occurred that resulted in the loss of Reina's family, including her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law, only to escape with her daughter and grandchildren before the ship was destroyed.

"Abaddon was responsible for the destruction of that ship in which Nikos Kratedes' memory would never be in vain."

"What happened to my grandmother?!"

It wasn't long until Paninya burst into the office as she was concerned about the turn of events that occurred after the mission that was completed earlier. She was worried as she wanted to know more of the details that occurred, for it wasn't the end of it anytime soon.

"You're too little, too late, Paninya," said Ryosuke. "Reina died from her injury due to the gunshot wound she sustained from her mission. This isn't the first time that a life has been taken away by a Reaper and it won't be the last."

"No…, who shot her?"

"From the file I have now, a stray bullet killed Reina in which we'll be holding her funeral at Kripke Shrine."

"She was the heart of our family, only to be cut down… When she was younger, she lived a harsh life in which she was forced to be groomed into the prostitution den where her caretaker was a pimp that ended up getting arrested after the Intergalactic Patrol Force burst in and rounded what was left of the prostitution ring after she was rescued. Even after she was raped at a young age, she had guidance from the one who took her in, but she lost her life in one of the Orc Wars here. When my grandmother had nowhere to go, she was taken in by the Kratedes Family in which she married my grandfather-"

"Damn it!"

Everyone noticed Varro burst in as he had a SIM-Tron chip in his hand. When he spotted a projector, he inserted it in there as it played a clip of the factory before it was destroyed entirely. In the distance, there was an image of me and Reina fleeing the gunfire until Varro noticed a hand on the far right holding a gun. What everyone didn't expect was that the gunner had a familiar tattoo of a black dragon as it was yet another assassin that was sent in to kill. To their shock, they noticed Reina blocking next to me as the bullet hit her in the left temple before we fled the factory. It wasn't long until the image changed to the suspected assassin dead and kneeling as he had his heart ripped out of his chest with a piece of cardboard that had the words, "Nailed him," in black marker. This was highly unlikely as this was a game changer that didn't go away anytime soon.

"This was found in a mechanical bird that one of the allied forces found in which the assassin from the Black Dragon Guild was taken out by a werewolf," said Varro.

"Reina must've pissed off the Black Dragon Guild for some odd reason, but something's off indeed," said Ryosuke. "She stepped in Sam's vantage point just to take the assassin's bullet."

"That's not all. From those who were detained by the allied forces, the assassin who was hired by the Black Dragon Guild was sent in that factory to kill Sam…, by Lorne and Liesel Eichenberg when they left it. My grandmother was a lot of things, but she was also brave enough to protect him till the bitter end."

"Well, Hugh's not too happy with him for that turn of events, but it'll soon weigh heavily on him if he doesn't reconcile with the upcoming new god in the making," said Ginryu.

The proof of Reina's sacrifice was more than enough to vindicate me as she had her reasons to do so due to what was on that SIM-Tron chip. As for what would happen next, there would be mixed emotions running wild as we had to stay together before we al fell to the Executive Division altogether…

Later on in the evening, everyone was paying respects to Reina as many dignitaries, friends, and family members were going towards Kripke Shrine to do so. In the distance, the spirit of Reina watched as she saw me as the last one to attend as I had a rose in my hand to pay my last respects to an ally that could never be replaced in our ranks. Rain poured all over as Reina spotted Alejandro standing in the distance with an umbrella in his hand. He wasn't about to let her go off the hook as he had to reap her sooner or later. Even though she has passed on, she saw me ringing the prayer bell as I was heavily distraught with grief, for this was something that she never expected to see in me after all that has happened earlier.

"Oh, Sam…," she said. "Must you suffer like that, even when I'm gone?"

"I did some digging in which you blocked him just to take the bullet that killed you, didn't you, chica?" said Alejandro. "You never told him, did you?"

"No, I saw the assassin from the Black Dragon Guild up there in which he was aiming directly at Sam. I didn't want the new god to end up dead at the hands of such scum like that in which he had a few skirmishes with them, including the one who killed Colchuvar Grunwald, who took the arrow in his stead."

"Your amigos are loyal till the bitter end, but the Executive Division's ranks have more loopholes to tap into when it comes to the Black Dragon Guild sending their assassins to kill an upcoming new god like that. Well, shall we get going, chica?"

"There are prior engagements that must be clarified first in which we can't afford to lose this war right now, for it will be disastrous if we did."

"Muerte shows no prejudice here, mamacita, for it reaps the ones who are ready to be put towards the afterlife in the end. It is the way of all things, for you must realize this before you end up becoming something that you aren't supposed to be."

Reina stared at Alejandro as she heard the bells ringing from Kripke Shrine. It was a difficult decision to make as she was about to be reaped. By the time she noticed Dvora getting out of the shrine, she had her old pocketwatch in her hands as she had an opportunity to be put to good use… on careful terms, that is…, for she wasn't done with dealing with the Executive Division and their allies just yet…

To be continued...