The "Final Day" of the KOF Twilight Tournament was essentially over... ending in pure disaster.

There were semifinals, yes, and those couldn't have gone better... but on the brink of the final battle, slated to be between Iori Yagami and Kula Diamond, all hell broke loose in the form of tensions boiling over, vendettas unearthed, and past villains resurrected.

The end result? The KOF scene had now completely relocated to a hospital in Munich, where the besieged staff were tirelessly working through the procedures of dealing with a gaggle of superpowered freaks. Some were still there from the Odeonsplatz disturbance. Others needed more intensive care from the Magaki and Goenitz incident. The rest were there for a mandatory checkup, before they were allowed to be cleared.

This was the ugly side of KOF, hidden by the bright lights and spectacles and hype. It all came at a cost... some years more costly than others.

"Sign here, please. Sign here, please. Sign here, please. Sign here, please. Sig... are you SURE you should be checking out?"

Shingo Yabuki flashed a goofy grin, and a thumbs up. "S'all good, ma'am. I'll feel better after a bowl of cereal."

"...Right. Sign here, please."

The majority of the roster had taken some bumps and bruises (mostly pink fireball-related), and after a routine checkup and maybe some painkiller prescription, were allowed to sign clearance papers and be properly checked out. The hospital became more of a post-tournament party than anything else, as everyone at this point had grown enervated by the twists, turns, detours and crashes of this week's horrific iteration of King of Fighters. Their delusions of grandeur long-washed away, nobody was sure there was even a proper conclusion coming. Thus, Day 7, for all intents and purposes, was being treated as the end of the nightmare.

"A toast... to another rotten, stinking, horrible year of this tournament our masochistic asses can't stop coming back to!" Mai, and several others raised their vending machine sodas in unison in a mocking celebration. The "Clears" were all mostly sticking around inside the hospital, and the celebration of the Twilight Tournament's demise had moved to the lounge. The rest were visiting the rooms of the "Admits", of which there were a decent number.

"Hear hear." Terry joined in.

"No gown for you, Mai?" Joe teased, taking a sip of his Pepsi Zero.

Mail rolled her eyes. "Joe, I would not put on that gown again if both my legs were broken. And if you ask again, you may find yourself just in that position."

"Alright, sheesh. Just sayin, you don't look half bad in one..."

"JOE!" Mai angrily patted Andy on the back, a vein close to exploding in her head. "Andy darling, control your idiot. I'm about to make my rounds."

Andy nodded to her with a small smile, watching her exit down the hallway, no doubt going to check on Yuri and Kasumi, who were two of the "Admits". This left the three Wolves alone with their thoughts, and the three, as if their minds were in sync, had the same reaction: a simultaneous sinking into their seats, followed by a LONG, exhausted exhale.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... every year, this happens." Joe lamented.

"This is why I didn't want to come this year." Andy griped. "What if Hokutomaru had followed me? God, I can't even think about it..."

"What if Master Tung had come this year?" Terry lifted his hat, rubbing his scalp. "He's way too old for this nonsense..."

"Maybe we just need to boycott KOF one year." Joe opened with a crazy idea. "What do you think, guys? We all just sit out one year, see if the damn... cosmic forces balance back out, and things return to normal. Maybe the universe is telling us to just give it a rest for a bit."

Terry shook his head. "Forget it, man... no stopping the machine. It's gonna keep on rolling, no matter what. We have the choice to get onboard or get ran over. KOF is a curse that we all have to live with, as long as we're alive, as long as our muscles are bloated and our bones are healthy. Shit... we'll be doing this until WE look like Tung."

"Guess you're right..." Joe sighed.

"Yeah..." Andy sighed.

The Wolves concluded this thought-sharing session the same way it started: with one, long, collective exhale.

"So did she bleed?"

"Yes..."

"Did she bleed a LOT?" Malin's eyes grew wider and wondrously wider with each question, as she bombarded Kasumi with a quiz about her encounter with Yuri Sakazaki, just a night ago.

Kasumi finally pulled the plug on it. "Malin, listen-"

"Did you do one of those badass Aikido flips on her-"

"MALIN!"

"Huh?"

"...I really, really don't feel comfortable talking about this."

It took Malin much longer than necessary to put two and two together, but the nearsighted girl FINALLY noticed the awkward situation: Kasumi was sharing a room with Robert Garcia, the same man whose beloved she hated. Who Kasumi just engaged in a brutal fight with a night ago, and THEN the girl in question.

Malin flashed the most awkward grin. "Ohhh ummm... h-heyyy. Didn't see you there, Robbie."

Robert glared at her. "Um, that's Yuri's nickname for me. And my close friends."

"...Right. Sorry." Malin's sheepish grin grew wider, as she faux-stretched and made her way towards the door. "Weeeelp I better hit the trail... you need anything, girlfriend? You good, Rob?"

Kasumi shook her head; Robert just continued to glare.

"Okay well, BE GOOD YOU TWO! HATE YOUR WOMAN! LATERZ!"

Malin left the room, and Kasumi quickly realized that maybe she had taken the girl's presence for granted, as she was now left all alone... with the man she had personally put in that bed in the first place. An agonizing anxiety welled up inside her, as seconds ticked by slow as molasses... she was tempted to close her eyes and feign sleep, or at least hold out for him falling asleep. But she also knew that was only a temporary relief... reconciliation with Yuri, and with the rest of the Kyokugens, came through Robert, first and foremost. She had to mend that wound, the one she herself had inflicted.

"...Robert-san?"

She heard a stir. "Hmm?"

"I... I'm sorry for what I did."

Silence. She felt the anxiety gnaw at her a bit. Finally, a sigh... and a response.

"Ahhh don't worry about it... I'm an empathetic guy. Maybe I got it from hanging around Ryo and Yuri so much. I know it's just a product of weird... daddery."

She almost wanted to exhale in relief, but such a loud noise from her would be embarrassing. She swallowed it, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Listen, I... I'm not sure if you know about what happened with me and Yuri, but..."

"Oh I know." Robert laughed. "She told me all about it this morning before hitting the Stadium. I knew it would turn out alright."

"You.. did?"

"Yeah." Robert smiled. "You're a good girl, Kasumi. You're not stuffy and single-minded like your old man. But listen, I just got a bit of advice for you... live your own life, girl. Make some friends, meet boys, just be what you want. Take it from Yuri, if she lived her life by old man Takuma's wishes, we wouldn't have the amazing romance we have right now. It's worth it. I promise."

Kasumi felt herself eased by his words, happy to be receiving positive advice and not hateful backlash. "Thank you... Robert-san. I'll try my best. But you know, I'm not the most social person... stuff like boys doesn't come naturally to m-"

"HEY KASUMI!"

Kasumi slightly jumped as the door flung open and in walked Shingo, carrying multiple colorful confections and a goofy grin. "Hey uhh listen, I got this predicament... you see, I was going for a bag of Funyuns and I pushed the number and Funyuns fell out, but apparently the vendor accidentally stuck a bag of Bugles behind it... and well... two bags fell out... and so uhhh... well... would you like to eat these Bugles?"

Kasumi cocked a bewildered eyebrow at the boy... his eyes were closed, his teeth baring a ridiculous grin, a very prominent blush on both cheeks as he rubbed his head with the hand holding the Funyuns bag.

She smiled. "I'd be glad to, Shingo-san. Thank you."

"Cool! Well uhh... here ya go!" Shingo chucked the bag of Bugles at her, landing perfectly on her chest. He quickly exited the room. "Uhhh get better soon! See ya!"

The door shut. Robert laughed. "I think you're doing just fine."

The other half of the Final Two, Kula had gone slightly under the radar compared to the likes of her opponent, who was more heavily favored to win a KOF. He had fought bigger, more gruesome battles. He was on the frontlines of the conflicts that plagued KOF annually. Regardless of her chances or "right" to be here, she was the other side of a story that was reaching its terminus. She enjoyed making it this far. It filled her with pride to see how far her abilities could take her.

...But winning the tournament was more an afterthought than she ever imagined it'd be if she'd made it this far. She found herself thinking less about the taste of victory, and more about the bitterness of friends lost, and relationships strained. She wanted the prize money... but she'd trade it all away, to go back to once was. Back to Milan, Italy, when she had her family with her, and it was okay to lose in the first round, because they loved her the same.

Having told Diana, Foxy, and Candy not to follow her, Kula's shoes clacked until they finally rested at a known destination. Nausea struck her insides, as the fear of screwing up worse wrought chaos within. She hated that she had to be here and do this; she'd give anything to not have to play her part, and let it resolve organically. But that was childlike thinking, and starved as she was for the comfort of a friend... she couldn't bear to leave things as they were. That was her motivation to at last open the door, where four bodies were already present inside the room. They didn't notice her.

"Awwww, look at my big, strong boytoys all laid up in the hospital~" Jenet cooed to the two men residing in the beds: her former teammates, Gato and the now-defunct Tizoc, now known as King of Dinosaurs. The wrestler in question was no longer donned in his attire, but did opt to keep on a mask to hide his identity. Strangely enough, this didn't deter him from his carnivorous mannerisms... judging by his reaction to Jenet scratching his chin.

"Purrrrrr... purrrrrrr... purrrrrrr~" Tizoc's massive feet flailed affectionately.

Hearts were pouring from Jenet's aura as she scratched him like a pet. "Awwwww who's a cute little diney-winey? You know, I thought you were a jerk at first, but you've really grown on me~"

"Are you in pain, onii-sama?" Hotaru, who was also bedside, asked her brother, her hands tenderly clutching the sheets covering him.

Gato's face, while still stern, showed a hint of softness. "Pain is nothing. I shouldn't even be in this bed...it's beneath me."

"But at least you're safe here!" Hotaru responded. "So please... just stay, for me. No more... no more bravado. You don't have to prove yourself to me. I just want the two us to have... peace."

Gato was initially annoyed by her plea, but upon looking into those soft, gentle eyes, the corners pooling with tears... a defeated sigh leaked out. "Fine."

His eyes then abruptly popped open as an uninvited pair of lips crashed against his forehead and left a wet smooch. "MMMMMMWAH! Ohh Gato, you're so cute when you have a sensitive side~"

"Get off me!" Gato was able to shove Jenet away, but a wince indicated all-too well how bad he was hurting.

Hotaru shot a rather annoyed glare at the pirate queen, and she realized she was exacerbating the situation. "Okay okay, sorry! I'm just gonna head out now. Lemme know if you need anything Gato." She turned to the blue-haired girl. "You need anything, sweetie?"

"N-no thank you, Jenet-san. I just... want to be with him."

Jenet gently stroked her hair. "Fine with me. Yo Dino! Can I bring you something?"

"THE TENDER MEAT OF FRESHLY HUNTED PREY!" the eccentric luchador boomed.

"I'll... see what I can do. Later guys! Oh... Kula. Didn't see you there~"

Bonne Jenet was finally the one to alert Kula to their presence, announcing her name as the pirate queen was headed towards the door. With a goodbye wave, the door shut... and left Kula standing there awkwardly, with an emotionally confused Hotaru and the man she defeated in the quarter finals.

Hotaru's facial expression was torn in limbo; she wanted to present a strong front, though her natural meekness fought against that manufactured impression. She finally looked away, her eyes shutting tight, as she took in a deeo, relaxing breath... as Kula's feet finally rested, feet away from her, Hotaru turned back around, with a frown.

"Wh-what are you doing here, Kula-san? Last time I checked, you had no love for my brother." the blue-haired girl tried as hard as she could to appear fierce.

Kula, on the other hand, remained calm, and her words came out solemnly. "Hotaru...I don't know how to make it right. For what it's worth I... I'm sorry. There are some personal things... affecting me... and I let those emotions manifest in the wrong way. Your brother was just a victim of my misdirected..."

Kula couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't want to use whatever nasty, ugly word described what she'd done to Gato on that field.

Hotaru maintained her stern expression as long as her opposite spirit could maintain... until finally she lost the battle, and her face softened to its more comfortable nature. She spoke again... with more sincere, but not necessarily forgiving, words.

"Kula-san... you're still a kid. You have extraordinary power, but you're not mature enough to use it."

Kula slightly winced. To hear a girl only two years older than her say such... raw words... it made her evaluate herself.

Hotaru continued to speak as if the words were directed at the ice girl, but her eyes now turned to the man laying beside her, as she gently stroked his hair. "I'm just thankful that my brother is okay, and back in my life. It eases the grief in my heart. Kula-san, I know you've lost people close to you... I hope that you find them again, and you can feel this peace too. Maybe then... such things wouldn't happen."

Kula had no response, no rebuttal to challenge her statement... she was right. She was mature for her age, while Kula couldn't have been more of the opposite. Maybe she didn't deserve Hotaru Futaba as a friend.

The conversation ended there, with a slight nod from Kula, as she turned away. "I'll see you around... Hotaru. And again... I'm sorry."

Kula walked away, no more content, except in that apologizing was the best she could do. The door shut.

"Hotaru." A surprising third voice pitched in, from his bed. Hotaru turned.

"Gato?"

Gato's eyes were on her, ever with that usually-unsettling sternness...but again, with a hint of warmth towards her. "You're not the vengeful type... that's always been my department."

Hotaru's face saddened. "Gato onii-sama, now that I have you back, after all this time... it only makes me angrier to think of what could have happened. What if she had gone too far, and taken you from me? I know I shouldn't dwell on the past and the hypothetical but... it's eating me inside. I can't bear it."

"You may not agree with this," Gato continued. "But what happened with me and Kula was necessary. Had it not, maybe I'd still be the same, and we WOULDN'T be here right now. So if anything... Kula is to thank, for knocking sense back into me."

"But you heard her!" Hotaru argued. "She didn't care about that... she was just trying to make herself feel better about her own problems. She doesn't deserve credit for accidentally fixing you."

A few seconds of silence passed between them, before Gato responded again... with an ironic chuckle.

"Hah... never thought I'd be the one trying to convince YOU to take the path of mercy."

"Alright... alright... alright." King sat one of the available chairs in Ryo and Yuri's room, leaned over, her hands pressed together in a gesture of elephant-addressing. "Let's just talk this out. Calmly. Rationally."

"Cec..." Yuri's voice was almost a whine, from where she occupied the right bed. "We couldn't have known what was going to happen on the field, you know that."

"I know... I know." King sighed.

Ryo, occupier of the left bed, who King considered just as guilty, finally threw in his hat. "Look, we saw the opportunity and we took it. Big had to pay for everything he did."

"But leaving him inside a crumbling building to get crushed?!"

"I tried to tell her." Ryo shrugged.

Yuri slightly rose up in the bed, her voice growing agitated. "Don't you two high-road me! It was Big. BIG! He's made all our lives miserable, and he's incapable of feeling the slightest compassion or remorse. He'd keep doing it forever if he could. I did what had to be done."

"You left him to die!" King fired back.

"What would you have done?!"

"I... we could have turned him in."

"To who, the police? We got nothing on Big. What are we gonna nail him for, battery? It's a damn fighting tournament, we're all beaten and bruised."

"We could have given him to Heidern, he doesn't play by any jurisdiction." King tried next.

"What does Heidern care about Big at all? What would he do, keep Big in a holding cell and feed him forever?" Yuri again struck back.

"Anything's better than being a killer!"

"WE. DIDN'T. KILL HIM! LEAVING HIM TO DIE IS NOT KILLING HIM!"

"Okay, enough!" Ryo rose up in the bed, stretching his buff arms out in a pseudo boundary line between the two ladies. "Look... I think the moral of this is that there's no right answer for these things. We could have rescued Big, but then he'd live to keep tormenting us. We could have let Silber murder him, but then that makes us no better than murderers ourselves. Leaving him there wasn't the right move either... it makes me feel just as dirty. It's just... it's gray. It's all so gray."

He turned to King, with a frown. "You don't have the right to judge us. And..."

...He then turned to his sister. "I don't have the right to judge you, Yuri. What's done is done... and we have to live with the consequences, whatever they may be. Maybe our lives will improve without him. Maybe karma will damn our souls. I don't know."

Between the three of them, they had ran out of justifications, blame to shift, fingers to point. Ryo had summed it up perfectly... there was no leg to stand on among them. They all hated Big. In the darker recesses of their mind, they all wished bad things on him. There was an unknown line between what was too far and what not. Even King couldn't say, and she had the luxury of not having to, because she wasn't there when Big tried to take the money.

Thus, the three of them responded the best way they could... a shared, weary sigh. A sigh of tolerance, compromise, and unconditional love. Even when things got gray.

...The door abruptly opened, and an alluring ninja poked her head in. "Hey guys! What'd I miss?"

"Aw cmon, I could give a good sponge bath." Ramon spoke in an enticing tone, his open hands and curled fingers squeezing the air.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, waving a dismissing hand. "The only thing I'd let you touch of mine are my feet. They're f***ing killing me."

"...You offering?"

In the adjacent bed, her partner Seth spoke. "Forget the feet, you're lucky to not have a broken neck." He shifted around in the bed a bit, the pain of his lacerations immediately flaring up. Mary and Ramon winced when they heard the sharp air suck in through his teeth. "Ahhhhhh this sucks...come to Germany for an easy job, babysit a VIP, go back home to the wife... now here I am with my guts nearly sliced out."

Mary spoke with a weird mix of humor and remorse. "If I'd known you were coming, I'd have warned you your client was the devil in a pretty red dress."

"You should be in a bed too, Mare." her closest friend opened again. "It's a wonder you haven't keeled over at this point. You too, Ramon."

Ramon grinned sheepishly. "Well what can I say? She patched me up surprisingly well. I didn't peg her as the type to mend wounds... more like the opposite."

As if talking about her was some magic cue, the woman in question opened the door, her face and loud voice making themselves known. "YO RAMON! You gonna ditch those gaybos and come get drunk with me, or do I have to drag you outta here?"

Three unamused pairs of eyes fell upon Ramon, who started looking around at this partners, his face growing redder and redder by the moment. Finally, Vanessa broke the awkwardness of the moment with some sarcasm.

"She's a charming lady, Ramon. She'll make you very happy,"

Ramon was quick on the draw with a comeback, flashing a stupidly hilarious grin that only he could. "Always room for one more, V baby."

"Get out of here, you horny idiot." Vanessa giggled.

The door shut, leaving the room two lighter. Mary was the next to rise to her feet, taking advantage of the momentum of everyone being up and about. "Alright guys, I'm doing for a snack run. What can I bring you?"

Rather than respond with a choice... Seth instead eyeballed her sternly. "Mare... when are you gonna take it easy?"

Mary didn't initially respond; just made her way to the door, all but ignoring the question, as if it was some absurd, impossible request. But as her hand reached for the knob, it stopped... and her mouth opened, her back turned.

"I'll take it easy when we're all on a plane leaving Germany. And when I'm home in my bathtub. Until then, I can't trust things not to go to shit the moment my back turns."

The door opened; Mary stepped through the other side, turning around just long enough to give her friends a concerned look, before it closed again.

A tired sigh. She walked onwards, reflecting on their words. They meant well... but they didn't understand. Nobody could understand the feeling of watching that woman get her head...

...She shuddered. Couldn't bear to bring back those still-fresh images. All the blood this week... so much of it... it was enough to make her resent this tournament, to never want to enter it again.

A man who shared similar ideals just so happened to be walking her same way. She looked up and noticed him: a man she had fought with, bled with, and formed a strange yet strong bond with in the span of only a few days.

"Adelheid!"

"Mary." he walked up on her with a polite nod, even managing a smile, despite his current temperament.

"I can't believe you're up and about. You didn't check yourself in?"

Adelheid shook his head. "I'll heal up just fine. I'm more surprised to see you not in a bed, after all you've gone through."

Mary smirked. "I'm a tough girl."

A few seconds of awkward silence passed between them until Mary asked the most glaring question. "Is... she gonna be okay?"

Adelheid's eyes closed, as if showing humility. "She's awake. They stitched her up."

"That's good to hear." Mary replied with a tiny smile, even if she didn't necessarily mean it.

"Yes." Adelheid nodded. His face then grew stern. "I've... got some unfinished business with her. It's auspicious that she got her own room, and I won't bet on expecting any visitors. I'd ask that nobody bothers us for a while. There are some family issues that need... ironing out."

Mary sensed the change in tone... and her face changed in turn. "I understand. Well... good luck."

Figuring it was a very good time to part ways, they walked on their separate paths... but Adelheid stopped her one last time.

"Wait."

She turned back around; Adelheid stood up straight, and gave her a respectful nod.

"Miss Ryan, I feel I haven't given you proper credit, and I'm sure my sister hasn't. But since I've come to know you this week, you've been a fierce warrior, a loyal ally... and you've done much more for myself and Rose than I could ever repay. I'm grateful to call you my friend. Thank you."

Mary blushed at the airs being put on. "It's nothing dude. Look, I just... do what I can. I don't have half the power you do. But I have a taser."

Adelheid chuckled softly, prompting Mary to join in as well. A more comfortable silence passed between them, before Mary spoke again, that smirk returning.

"If you wanna tag me in at any point, please don't hesitate to find me."

Adelheid smiled warmly. "I might consider that offer."

He exhaled deeply as he headed towards a certain door. There was no nervousness, no anxiety; if anything, remorse, for having let things go so far. He felt himself tremendously to blame... though that did not discount her own fault.

He arrived at the door, and didn't give himself a moment's reprieve before opening it and storming in. He wanted it over, sooner than anything.

...Adelheid could barely look at her. What was once confident, commanding eyes now lay gloomy and listless. Her once proud, presentable appearance, now reduced to the lowly drabness of a hospital gown. Her makeup, gone. Her exotic hair, undone. This was Rose Bernstein in her barest, most humble form.

"Rose." he spoke her name neutrally, lacking sympathy and sorrow, yet not quite wrathful. "Just look at you... such beauty, reduced to this."

Rose slowly turned her head, nearly-dead eyes falling on his. "My tournament... my vision... gone. All for nothing."

That was her response, and her head slowly turned back to its static position, eyes facing forward. Yet, she opened her mouth again. "How... how could you allow yourself to be defeated?"

Adelheid tensed up. "Allow...?"

"We're Bernsteins." Rose spoke with a zombie-like drone in her voice. "We're the chosen people. Our family, our heritage, sits atop the hierarchy of human superiority. And that foul Yagami swine... spilled our noble blood... he ruined everything. The chance for our name to be heralded, for the common folk to prostrate at our feet-"

"I have had it up to here with that CRAP!" Adelheid's voice was such an abrupt increase in volume that Rose slightly jumped in place. She turned back, and his usually-white pallor had a hue of angry red.

"Look what your so-called quest for glory has gotten us! I thought I'd LOST YOU! After everything that's happened... all the death and destruction, the madness... all you can talk about is that we didn't win?! You just don't get it! You've NEVER gotten it!"

"We owed it to the world to win!" Rose cried. "Because then it all..."

"What? Would have been worth it? My god, Rose..." Adelheid's hand plastered across his face, as if she gave him a physical headache. "A fighting tournament is not worth putting people's lives at risk!"

"But I didn't kn-"

"BE. QUIET!" His forceful voice silenced her. "For a minute, even I fell for that farce...I thought that I had to win, to justify everything that had happened. I thought that if we won, you'd be right after all. That it was all worth it in the end. The truth is, I should have stopped you long ago... damn me for not stopping you."

"But we had to try!" Rose argued back. "If we had quit, that uncertainty would always hang above our heads and everyone else's, eating us alive! How was I supposed to know all this was going to happen? I did the only thing I could... I stayed composed, stayed professional, and made sure the tournament continued at all costs. You told me to be a stronger hostess! You don't just quit King of Fighters, Adelheid! You just... don't!"

"And you didn't care who you stepped over, who you hurt or betrayed or took advantage of, to do it." Adelheid fired back. "This tournament idea never should have left the Sky Noah that day. Maybe then, your soul would still be intact. Maybe then I'd have my old sister, who was tolerable... and not this selfish, narcissistic monster wearing your face now. This tournament has changed you... and its my failure as a brother for not stopping you."

"But I did it for you!"

"NO, YOU DID IT FOR YOURSELF!" Adelheid exploded at her. "YOU BROUGHT ALL THIS ON US, ROSE! YOU! NOBODY ELSE! YOU!"

Rose winced. That was the loudest he'd yelled at her in... as long as she could remember. Whatever bite she had left in her seemed to fade away, judging by her body language... and the lack of sharpness in her voice represented it, as she responded with desperate justification.

"...But don't you get it, my darling? It's the same thing. Everything I do is for you, Adelheid... because you complete me. Your my flesh, my blood, my spirit... I'm but a half, and you make me whole. That's why I did this... in your name."

Adelheid glared at her, as her honeyed words attempted to marinade in him... but the more his eyes squinted, the clearer it was that her tongue had failed her.

"Rose... I'm not going to be your excuse. Not anymore."

Her eyes began to wetten. "Adelheid-"

"I don't fight for fame, money, glory, or to be worshipped... I fight to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. To maintain honor and dignity to our family name... and in one week, you've undone everything I worked for. You ran our name into the mud."

Her eyes no longer contained the wetness, as the reservoirs broke and tears flowed freely. "No... sniff... no..."

Adelheid took an authoritative step forward. "From now on, Rose, this is no longer a democracy. From now on, I decide what's best for the family... because you can't be trusted to."

Through sniffles and a breaking voice, she responded, sounding more humble than ever. "Adelheid, please... sniff... you must believe me. I... I didn't mean for anything bad to happen. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

The brunt of his aggression emptied, Adelheid's voice returned to a softer volume, though the scald of the scolding only increased. "I know you didn't, Rose... but you did nothing to stop it. You allowed it to go on. And worst of all... you fueled it. That makes your hands just as unclean as Botan, and Shion, and Freeman, and every other monster that terrorized our home soil this week."

"Please... just tell me how to make it right." she pleaded, her voice practically a whimper. Tears dripped down her chin.

Adelheid shook his head. "I shouldn't have to tell you, Rose. A lot of damage has been done... the only way for us to go back to what once was, is for you to figure it out. Yourself."

He couldn't bring himself to stay in the room after that. As bad as he wanted to stay by her side... right now she didn't deserve coddling.

As his boots clacked down the hallway aimlessly, towards no destination in particular, his mind again wandered to the old days... it seemed so foolish now in hindsight, what he and his sister had tried to do in '03. He remembered being a man with a pure vision: to fight, for the sport of fighting. Rose went too far back then too, always grooming him as some exalted champion meant to be worshiped, but he could at least control her then... not like now.

It was funny... a Rose with free reigns somehow turned out worse than the one bound by mind control.

He truthfully had no answer for what Rose could do to fix things. He was too angry to think straight... but he loved her, nonetheless. He knew some of her psychological problems were things she couldn't help, as a result of her unusual upbringing, and the loss of their father, which had always hit her worse... it was up to him to isolate and inhibit the parts of her that COULD be helped. It was his duty as a big brother to do what's best for her. Especially if she was incapable of doing it herself.

His mind wandered the depths of uncertainty so deeply in the hallway, it took him a longer moment to realize he was being watched. Even stranger, his peripheral caught the yellowish figure not on the ground... but up above.

"WHO'S THERE?" He shouted with such a powerful tone, the young lady on the celling lost her balance from intimidation. "Wh-wh-whoooaaaa...!"

Thankfully she seemed agile (she'd have to be to get up there) enough to land gracefully on her feet and even stick a flip before landing. The bee-like ninja adjusted her tilted red specs before talking. "Easy dude, easy! I'm not a hostile! I'm more of a stalker than anything."

"If you want someone's attention, it's best to get it on the ground." he grunted.

Nagase shrugged. "Fair enough. But listen, speaking of the ground... shouldn't your ship be there?"

"...What?"

Nagase grinned nervously. "Listen, don't get mad. Just cuz I watched it happen doesn't mean I could have done anything about it. I'm just one little bee and more of the data gathering typ-"

"Where is my ship?!"

She recoiled, adjusting her specs with a nervous laugh. "Well uh... look out the window. Should be passing over us ETA 20 seconds."

He mentally cursed, barreling past Nagase so fast, only her agility saved her from being trampled. He ran to the nearest window, peering outside... and it was only then that he could hear the familiar rumbling of machinery... he'd been so busy yelling at Rose, he hadn't heard it sooner.

...And that's when he saw it. His eyes popped... up in the majestic skies above, a black speck was able to stand out, from its massive size and extensive design. It was the Sky Noah. Their home... being hijacked.

"...I'm getting Heidern."

NEXT CHAPTER: The Sky Noah has taken to the skies... with the owners on the ground! Could the police have anything to do with this? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!