Once we entered Safety Team's Main Room, I saw... a woman with pink hair leaning against the-

Is that a green rose inside a golden cup? That's... I really never had time or actual care to pay attention to this room despite being here once, but that's just a bit bizarre to look at.

But I do recognize that girl, she was with me when the 'Heart' knocked me out, same E.G.O too, and she is... high or close to it, her eyes seemed unfocused and a bit red. I saw Amelia's eye twitch.

"That's... fucking amazing. Since she's high, may as well tell you myself her name, that'll be Tiffany... and I'm suppressing the need to strangle her." She didn't sound happy and to be honest?

Neither was I, more annoyed than anything else. I noticed someone behind said plant, sky blue long hair and obviously redder eyes, drinking something... green from a bottle.

I blinked twice... that's Enkephalin, the same shit we get out of the Abnos, both a drug and a source of energy. I felt my eye twitch and I walked up to whoever that was, and grabbed the bottle out of their hands. She is wearing a bright green armored suit, with fairy wings on a shoulder pad, along with a... mace that is the same color and also has fairy wings.

She didn't even register when I took the bottle from her until a couple seconds later. She rose her eyes, narrowed in a comically angry expression, to meet my own annoyed eyes. She apparently may be lost in the sky but had enough of her grounded to not speak up, she still grumbled.

I... Exhaled with great aggravation, but said nothing else... I did crush the bottle with Gold Rush's grip. I glanced at Amelia, who kicked Tiffany's ribs a couple of times to get her back up, she did so with a... non-caring air around her.

Great, and here I wanted to keep myself calm and out of confrontations.

"Things are looking up already..." I grumbled to myself, and Amelia gave a grunt of agreement.

I heard one of the doors open, and I saw a man with green short hair, wearing a black armored suit with a red tie and small golden patterns, and a riffle strapped on his back. He was fumbling around with a nervous smile directed at the green Sephirah next to him... that was dripping Enkephalin.

Pretty sure my blood pressure skyrocketed and Amelia was in the same page as me.

"Jeremy... what?" Amelia hissed at the black armored man that is apparently called Jeremy, who flinched back and looked at Netzach as if asking for an explanation.

He kinda was busy staring at me, "I'm just using the prescription dose Hod handed to me. I thought it would be a nice way to get their mind off things." Netzach didn't look away from me, but I noted that he wasn't looking at me in the eye.

Jeremy blinked in confusion, "I mean... I do remember her saying something about a program, but you're probably over doing it... as is everyone else." He sounded timid and surprisingly upbeat.

Netzach literally just shrugged, "Seems to be working, they aren't worrying of their inevitable death." I pinched the bridge of my nose and breathed through my gritted teeth.

I noticed the faint glow in Gold Rush's gem, so I double my efforts to calm down, "Just... tell me what we are doing." I sounded disappointed and tired, which was enough to make Netzach try even harder to look away from me.

He won't even look at me when dealing with his BU-

I huffed and pushed those thoughts aside again, seems like every time I feel personally offended or something clashes with my... 'Desires', it acts up again. Guess letting it in so soon was a mistake.

"Don't know what you want me to say, you both look a bit stressed... and coming here must have been a pain. Jeremy here can tell you the rest." And then he just LEAVES. I blinked at his retreating form that almost felt like he was RUNNING away.

Amelia gaped and did her best to- "I'm... going to fucking kill someone." Never mind, she already lost it, not that I'm doing any better.

Jeremy, noticing that things had escalated, rose his hands in a placating manner, "Try to not let Netz and the others get to you... they're just tired." I exchange one look with Amelia and we both simmered down.

Not because we were over it, but because it seems like this isn't the first time Jeremy has been left to deal with this kind of mess.

"I'll... make an attempt." Amelia said, and I glanced to my right, seeing the girl wearing the green E.G.O slowly getting up and picking up her weapon... it took her three tries to grab said weapon.

Jeremy noticed my stare and chuckled, "Don't worry. Zele usually only works the Fairy Festival... that, and I'm usually there to keep an eye on her until the regenerators do their work and disintoxicate their bodies." At least he is reliable...

Amelia sighed, "So... what's the plan?" She asked what I'm guessing is the leader of this department. I shot one glance at Tiffany and Zele.

I fucking hope he is.

Jeremy nodded at us with a small and not really confident smile, "I'd like for Amelia to stay here with me, to... keep an-"

"Babysit." Amelia shamelessly interrupted.

Jeremy gave us a reproached nod, "Yeah... just bear with me... please." If I wasn't so occupied with keeping my emotions in check, I may have felt bad for him.

Amelia released a sigh and glanced at me, "And what's he going to do?" Please nothing too bad. I'm... really trying to keep myself in check here.

Jeremy perked up, "Well, we can't just NOT work. So he will be working with Der Freischütz to gather energy... you know, just in case."

I pointed at Tiffany and Zele, who were just... existing I guess, "And them?" I asked and Jeremy sighed.

"Well... I'll tell one of the other Sephirah to tell either the Manager or Angela about... this." I gave him a raised brow at how apprehensive he sounded.

He noticed this and gave me a small frown, "Angela scares me and the Manager... well he also scares me." Fair enough, I guess?

Jeremy handed me a document with the name of the Abnormality I will be working on, Der Freischütz. I took a speed read through the pages, just trying to find what I should be doing and how he acts.

So... apparently he acts on impulse, is kind of a mercenary, but that's only because he has nothing better to do. He is polite and relaxed but can and will say whatever he wants if he just feels like it, if the Qliphoth Counter reaches zero, he will just... shoot some random place in the facility.

Seems like talking to him out of his necessity to just fire his gun when he gets too bored is the way to go. Violence would most likely just make him shoot anyway.

I can pull this off, hopefully, "Alright, anything else?" I asked him, wondering if we were missing anything.

Jeremy merely shrugged, and at the same time-

"All Agents prepare for Work"

Fucking... great timing, "I still don't get why we can't have the regenerators on all the time." I commented while walking towards the door, needed to get as much energy while those two drugged fucks got their shit back together.

"According to Netz? Energy conservation or something like that." I hummed at Jeremy's words and left through the door, moving through the hallway and entering Der Freischütz's chamber.

A tall man wearing a blue cloak with yellow trimming, a gray military suit and leaning the same rifle Jeremy has on his shoulder. His face was literal shadows that acted like flames and glowing blue eyes that seemed to peer inside my soul.

He was also having the time of his life using a smoking pipe, guess drugs are the theme today. He noticed me entering and with one quick look, he seemed to notice something.

He reached under his cloak and pulled out ANOTHER smoking pipe, "It seems you need this too." His voice was firm, if a bit low in its pitch, but he could see my annoyance.

I glanced at the pipe with a frown, and he laughed lowly, "It's simply a relaxant to deal with stress, my own brew. It would be a shame to be high while trying to snipe targets." I'm... fuck it.

Grabbing the pipe, I put it in my mouth and... inhaled. It wasn't an immediate effect, but I did notice how the constriction in my chest grow lighter, I exhaled an almost transparent plume of smoke.

I glanced at the sniper with a raised brow, "Shouldn't I light up this thing to actually smoke it?" I asked and he gave me an eye smile.

"That is a trade secret... and the devil's power." I glanced at him once with an arched brow. Well... it's helping, so I'm not complaining.

Turns out? Smoking with Der Freischütz is good enough to keep his impulses in check.

And yes, also my impulses. I really needed it, more than I care to admit.