Part 5:
Together, we shall create a future the gods could never foresee!
Chapter 3:
Family Matters

Ashe's POV:
S.O.N.G.'s Medical Wing

"Tremble in fear! Cower in your boots! For the main event has arrived!"

"I will not allow you to stain my songs in blood!"

"Compared to you, we're all weak and imperfect beings who stand no chance of taking you down."

"Which is why I have no shame when I do THIS!"

*SHUNK!*

"NOOOO!"

Recalling fractions of last night's horrific events, Ashe woke up in a cold sweat screaming. Thankfully for him, Kanade, Serena, and Chris were in the room and quickly made sure he wouldn't hurt himself in his panic. "Hey, take it easy, Ashe!" Kanade said. "Last thing you need right now is to hurt yourself more."

Taking deep breaths, Ashe processed what Kanade said, looking down and seeing the cast over his arm. At the same time, he felt a pain in his stomach, which made him lift up his shirt to see some stitches. "So that wasn't a dream, then..." Ashe sighs, before a realization dawned on him. "What about the kid Millaarc took hostage?! Is she-"

"The girl you saved was taken to the hospital shortly after Lilith came to help patch you up." Serena said. "Much like Onee-san, Kanade, and myself, she only suffered minor bruises. She and the other survivors stayed the night at the hospital, but she should've been discharged by now."

"That's a relief..." Ashe sighs. "What about Kana and Tsubasa? Are they doing okay?"

"One way or another, both of them are still unconscious." Chris answered. "For Kana, it's simply because she was working overtime because she's the only one of us able to teleport people. But Senpai..."

Chris was hesitant to explain, same for Serena and Kanade, but Ashe had a good idea what could've happened. "...I'm sorry... About, Millaarc, I mean..."

"Hey. Her actions are not your fault, Ashe." Kanade said in a more serious tone than usual. "The fact you're willing to take the blame for what she did, especially what she did to you, is more than enough proof of that."

"But because I tried to find a way to get Millaarc to stop, to surrender peacefully and answer for what herself and Elsa are doing, I only made things worse..." Ashe says, clenching his unbroken fist in frustration while tears began to form in his eyes.

"You did what you thought was best, and that's all anyone should ever ask of you."

Hearing that voice, everyone looked over and saw Kana, still laying down, looking over at everyone. "Kana! You're awake!" Serena cheered in relief.

"As awake as I can be..." Kana said in a groggy whisper with a weak chuckle. "My body feels like it got hit by a bus with how drained I am right now..."

"It's honestly a surprise you're even awake as is." Chris replied.

"Ashe's scream helped wake me up." Kana said, before slightly adjusting her gaze to look at Ashe. "But even though I'm not fully awake, I still stand by what I said, Ashe. You were just trying to reach out to your friend while protecting that girl. I know for a fact if I were in your shoes and she had one of us held like that, I would've done the same thing. So don't be so hard on yourself for doing what you thought was best."

Even with Kana's words, Ashe still felt partially responsible for Millaarc's attack during the concert. "'What I thought was best', huh? That's what I thought I was doing in the Illuminati base we were all escaping from, but look where that got us..."

As Ashe thought about the events leading up to this moment, thinking about what he could've done differently to have his friends join him with the others at S.O.N.G., an alarm blares through the submarine, getting all of the Wielders' attention. "We better go see what's happening." Serena said to Chris and Kanade, who nodded in agreement as they headed towards the command center. Before Serena would join them, she looked back at Kana and Ashe one more time. "I'll be back later, but while I'm gone, just get some rest and let your wounds heal. Although, that last bit more so applies to you Ashe than it does Kana."

"I don't really plan to go anywhere anytime soon. At least, not with this." Ashe replies, gesturing to his broken arm.

"Just needed to make sure. People here tend to be rather reckless when they need to recover, the commander included." Serena chuckled. "Be back in a bit!"

Ashe waves her off as she leaves, but once she's gone, he goes back to moping over the events that occurred recently concerning his reunion with his friends. "You're still thinking about them, aren't you?" Kana asked, surprising Ashe.

"I am, yeah..." Ashe replies. "I thought you went back to sleep after they left."

"I'm exhausted, not sleepy, Ashe." Kana chuckled, gaining enough strength to prop herself up and lean against the wall next to her bed. Once she was done, she cleared her throat before continuing to talk. "If you still feel like you hold responsibility for the genocide your friend caused yesterday, I can't force you to get over it instantly, but I can at least be there for you to speak your mind. Like you said, it's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon."

Ashe chuckles hearing Kana use his own words on him. "Circumstances aside, it means a lot that you're willing to listen to my woes."

"I'm sure you'd do the same if I was in your shoes." Kana said. "That being said, I don't think you've really said much about your friends outside of that you were all stuck in an Illuminati facility together."

"Well, that was just because I was hesitant to say more out of fear of how you'd all react to hearing about them. It feels silly saying that now that I know more about you and the others." Ashe says while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "For starters, much like myself, Elsa and Millaarc were people the Illuminati experimented on, hoping for a specific result, and if I'm anything to go off of, they also didn't meet the criteria the Illuminati hoped for. That being said, my experiment was done in an environment where they would've made me one of the Illuminati's elite like Saint-Germain, theirs were... Not as welcoming... At least from what little they were willing to talk about..."

"Gods..." Kana winced, not needing more context on what Ashe was referring to. "You mentioned a third friend as well, but we haven't run into them yet. Were they in the same boat of someone unwillingly turned into an experiment?"

"Actually, Vanessa used to be part of the Illuminati, but an accident during one of their other tests left her... Well... Let's just say it's a miracle she's alive." Ashe answers, which horrified Kana. "But I think that's the most they'd be comfortable with me sharing about their pasts. While they're our enemies right now, I'd rather not give them an actual reason to want me dead."

"I'm sure Chris would do the same to me if I shared anything she's told me in private..." Kana said. "To change the subject though, what was your first meeting with them like?"

Being given this question, Ashe recalled his first night with his friends...

Flashback
Bavarian Illuminati Base, Europe

Walking through the corridors of the base, Ashe was left in the dark as to what his fate was now that he was seen as useless by the Controlling Director. He tried asking the hooded members where they were going, but his words fell on deaf ears. After what felt like hours, they finally stopped at a door that led to a dimly lit room.

"Welcome to your new home." One of the hooded members said mockingly as they both gestured for him to enter the room.

Ashe was hesitant to go past the door, but that was quickly met with the two hooded members pushing him inside. Surprised by the push, Ashe quickly got up and ran for the door, but they closed it right on his face before he could leave.

"Let me out! Let me out!" Ashe shouts in a panicked tone as he bangs on the door as hard as he could, hearing the two hooded members laugh as they leave him locked in the dimly lit room. Once he couldn't hear them anymore, he hit the door one final time before falling to his knees in a mix of sorrow and anger as he finally let the gravity of the situation sink in as tears began to form in his eyes and he started sniffling.

Shortly after he began to cry next to the door, he heard noises from the other side of the room, quickly turning his sorrow into fear as he turned to face what could've made the noise, being greeted by three women giving him different looks: One of anger, one of curiosity, and one that remained neutral.

"Geez, would it kill you scumbags to say something when you enter instead of making a racket?" The angry looking woman asked. "It's bad enough we have to go through your bullshit. The least you could do is be decent when you drag us out of here for it."

"S-Sorry about that... I wasn't aware there were others in here..." Ashe replies, still sniffling as he tries to compose himself.

"Wait, you weren't aware we were here?" The curious woman asked. "You do know what this room is, right?"

"I don't, no." Ashe answers. "Even when I was shown around the place, they made my training more important than getting to know this base."

"So you're new here, then..." The angry woman said, before bursting into hysterics. "Damn, they must hate you to throw you in here with us without any knowledge!"

"Hold on a moment, Millaarc. I don't think he was thrown in here for the reason you think." The neutral woman said, before turning back to Ashe. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

"My name's Ashe, or at least, that's the name Saint-Germain gave me." He replies, notably shaken by Millaarc's outburst.

"'Gave you'? What are you, another one of her besties?" Millaarc asked mockingly, getting a glare from the neutral woman. "Why am I the villain here? He's using your boss' name casually!"

"Former boss, thank you." The neutral woman retorted.

"You used to be Illuminati?" Ashe asks.

"It's a long story, but yes. Now, much like these two, we're nothing more than guinea pigs for the Illuminati's experiments." The neutral woman explained. "But enough about us, why are you here?"

Ashe was quiet for a moment before he explained what he knew: His training with Saint-Germain, the Controlling Director's expectations for him, and the failure to meet said expectations that brought him here. Hearing this, the trio's expressions turned into ones of sorrow for Ashe's woes.

"So you're just like us..." The curious woman said.

"Discarded and abandoned by former friends and family since you didn't meet the Illuminati's perfect expectations..." The neutral woman added.

"Saint-Germain was the only person in my life since coming here." Ashe said. "I don't have any memories of anything before my time here... I don't know if I ever had a family..."

"Great... Now I feel bad for lashing out at you..." Millaarc sighed.

Hearing Ashe say this, the neutral woman got up from her "bed" and walked over to Ashe, which made him nervously back away. "It's alright, Ashe. I'm not going to hurt you." The neutral woman said as she held her arms out, giving Ashe a hug when she was close enough to him. "Our first impressions weren't the best, I know... Millaarc... But I hope we can start over and have you join our family. What do you say?"

As a response, Ashe started to cry again before he returned the hug and began to cry into the woman's bosom, his tears of sorrow now mixed with joyful tears. As he cried, the other two women joined in the hug, one more eager than the other due to her first impression.

Recalling his first moment with his friends, Ashe teared up a bit. While those days were some of his most miserable, their company was something he would always cherish from them. "When I had lost everything, Vanessa and the others were willing to welcome me into their lives. Seeing them act like this, though... It hurts... And I blame myself for it." Ashe says, clenching his fist. "If I had just stayed with them instead of trying to lure the agents away- Hell, if I had known that the agents in the raid worked with S.O.N.G., maybe we wouldn't be fighting each other. Maybe those innocent lives lost at the concert would still be with us..."

"Ashe..."

"I know I can't change the past, but that's not going to stop me from wishing I could." Ashe continues. "But enough of me wallowing in self-pity. Thanks for letting me speak my mind to you."

"Anytime, Ashe!" Kana replied with a smile. "And I promise you, speaking for myself at least, I'll do everything in my power to help you properly reunite with your friends, or at the very least, make it so you're able to see each other under better circumstances."

"That's probably the best I could ask for, all things considered..." Ashe says as he laid back down in his medical wing bed. "Well, I should probably do as Serena asked and get some rest, mainly since there's nothing else to do right now."

"Might as well, yeah..." Kana agreed, using what little energy she had to get comfortable in her bed. "Have a good rest, Ashe."

"You too, Kana." Ashe replies as he gets comfortable, hoping to not have the same nightmare that woke him up so violently again.

S.O.N.G. Command Center

After a few hours of sleep, Ashe and Kana got up from their beds to grab something to eat in S.O.N.G.'s mess hall, being joined by the other Wielders, save Tsubasa who was still in recovery. For the most part, they chatted about various topics, such as the Dragon duo's well-being and things going on in the other Wielders' lives outside of S.O.N.G. work, trying to get their minds off of Millaarc and Elsa for the moment. However, that moment would soon come to an end as the Wielders, both active and in recovery, were called to the command center for an update on something that was found during the most recent battle between them and said alchemists: A broken briefcase.

"We've finished analyzing the briefcase we recovered." Sakuya reported.

"Putting our findings on screen now." Aoi added, changing the images on the monitor from the broken briefcase in a crater to said briefcase now open, and full of blood bags and ice packets.

"Is that... Ketchup?" Shirabe asked, unaware of the bags' true contents.

"They're really planning to have a barbeque at this time of year? These enemies are our worst yet!" Kirika added, sharing her best friend's blissful ignorance.

"That's whole blood for transfusions." Genjuro explained. "It's more common to see it separated into compartments first nowadays, so you don't see blood like this anymore."

"Especially this type of blood: Rh-xxoyle type." Elfnein added. "This type of blood is only found in every one in 1.4 million people."

"Are you saying they need blood transfusions?" Maria asked, before turning to Ashe. "Did they ever need those in the Illuminati?"

"Every now and then between testing, yes." Ashe replies. "Although, I figured they would've had a supply stashed up if they were willing to attack you all like they have, so it's weird that they suddenly had this on them while fighting you..."

As Ashe wondered what was going on with his friends' interesting tactics, Ogawa entered the room with a small clipboard in hand. "We've finished questioning the victims. According to their accounts, they saw the alchemists meeting with some men in black suits, assuming what they saw was a drug deal."

"So the Bavarian Illuminati remnants are receiving outside help?" Genjuro thought aloud.

"Our only suspect currently would be the US government, considering their interference with us on several different occasions recently." Sakuya stated.

"They had arranged a joint investigation of the lunar ruins as a way to repair our relations after launching the reactive weapons on us months ago. If we're to suspect that they're assisting the Illuminati remnants, though, it could mean this joint operation is being used as a means to hide something from us." Aoi added.

Just as they were starting to question what the US government could've been hiding, an alert came up, showing a facility devastated by explosions and fire. "We've just received word that the Los Alamos research lab in America has been attacked by what is believed to be the Bavarian Illuminati!" Sakuya reported, surprising everyone.

Watching the camera footage, everyone was horrified by the destruction that was caused, but more importantly, Ashe looks at the footage in disappointment as he sees who was the culprit for the attack: A woman with long black hair, a white jacket, and what looked like a red and black jumpsuit underneath, but he knew that it was no jumpsuit, but rather, the culprit's cybernetic body.

"Just what I was afraid of..." Ashe says as the culprit turned to face the camera, almost as if she knew S.O.N.G. was watching.

"Vanessa was behind the attack..."

The Next Day

Following the attack on Los Alamos, the Wielders who were in the medical wing were discharged, but Ashe was not allowed to fight until his arm was all healed up. At the very least however, thanks to Lilith's healing, as well as his training in alchemy, the estimate was that he would be combat ready once again in a couple days. The recovered Wielders aside, Yatsuhiro and his men went to America to assess the damage caused by Vanessa, and his findings were about to be shared with S.O.N.G.

"It's been a full day since the attack on Los Alamos and we haven't heard anything since." Genjuro stated. "What's your take on this, Brother?"

"Los Alamos is the center of the US's most advanced technological research and development, also serving as their home base for research on their own heretical technology." Yatsuhiro stated. "It's difficult to believe they would sabotage themselves like this."

"Did he say American heretical technology?" Shirabe asked.

"Yeah." Genjuro confirmed. "According to Dr. Nastassja, the FIS was once part of Los Alamos as well."

Surprised, Shirabe, Kirika, and Serena turned to face the Doctor who, much like Maria, remained quiet on the matter.

"In addition to being the first lab to develop nuclear energy, Los Alamos is also the birthplace of cutting edge technology like the Echelon project." Yatsuhiro continued.

"If they attacked a place like that, then they must be after something important, right?" Kirika asked.

"From what we were told, they took several relics that are believed to hold no real power. As well as this." Yatsuhiro stated, sending over a picture of a familiar gold and green relic in a secure setup.

"Of course they were after that..." Chris scoffed.

"The precursor relic found in the coffin at Antarctica." Yatsuhiro continued. "There are cuneiform words etched into it which read 'Shem-ha'."

"So the holy corpse in that coffin was named 'Shem-ha'?" Kanade asked. "Well, if there's anything to be said about that vambrace, they must've been an eccentric God."

"And what would you say about the moving coffin we had to fight?" Chris asked rhetorically.

"We'll continue to ask the US government for help in resolving this matter. For now, this is my battle." Yatsuhiro stated before hanging up the call.

"Thank you, Brother Yatsuhiro." Genjuro said aloud, thankful for his brother's assistance.

Just after Yatsuhiro hung up, the door to the command center opened up, revealing someone that everyone in the room was happy to see up and at em once again. "Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki cheered.

"I knew it was only a matter of time until you woke back up, but it's good to have you back!" Kanade added.

"Sorry to make you all worry, but I'm all good now." Tsubasa said with a smile.

"Okay in what sense?"

Without warning, the lights in S.O.N.G.'s command center dimmed and a call came in from the Patriarch of the Kazanari family: Fudo Kazanari. "Grandfather..." Tsubasa mumbled.

"Have you forgotten how you allowed foreign enemies to launch an attack on our soil?" Fudo asked. "You are a fool if you think I'd allow you to brush it aside!"

"Of course I haven't forgotten!" Tsubasa answered. "A tragedy like that will never be forgotten, as I will always bear its weight."

"That makes two of us..." Ashe said to himself.

"Know that you will never be a true sentinel." Fudo continued. "As you are now, it is impossible for you to protect all people!"

"I... I can't protect them as I am?" Tsubasa asked in shock at her grandfather's words.

"Songs cannot protect the world." Fudo stated.

"Songs... Cannot protect the world?" Tsubasa echoed shakily.

"Despite your failure, I still have hope that the blood of a sentinel still flows through your veins." Fudo said, before hanging up as suddenly as he called.

Once Fudo was gone, Ashe looked around at everyone's reactions, be it anger directed at Fudo, or worry for Tsubasa, and then turned to Kana. "Who was that guy? And why was he so rude to Tsubasa?"

"As far as you should be concerned, Ashe, he's just some self-absorbed asshole who only cares about himself." Kanade answered for Kana.

"While I wouldn't word it the same as Kanade did, she's not wrong." Kana said. "That was Fudo Kazanari, Tsubasa's grandfather and the head of the Kazanari agency."

"That's her grandfather?" Ashe asks. "Even if he was upset by the tragedy, that doesn't give him the right to be so harsh to his own family..."

"Like I said: Self-absorbed asshole who only cares about himself." Kanade restated, before turning her attention to Tsubasa. "He's wrong about you, Tsubasa. You're twice the sentinel he'll ever be. You know that, right?"

Clenching her arm, Tsubasa let out a soft chuckle to hide her pain. "I know." She said. "As a sword, it'll take more than words to break me."

"Atta girl!" Kanade cheered. "Now then, let's get you somethin' to eat. I'm sure you're starvin' after being out cold for a couple days."

Kirika and Shirabe's POVs:
Tokyo

Following Fudo's sudden belittling of Tsubasa, the Wielders all went to their homes for the night, well, save Kirika and Shirabe, who decided to go for a walk through Tokyo to get their minds off of what happened. But even as they stopped to sit down on a nearby swing set, the events in the command center still weighed heavy on the Zababa duo.

"Tsubasa-san... She didn't seem okay to me." Shirabe says.

"I can't believe he said all of that to her, not to mention after she had just recovered." Kirika adds as she starts to swing faster on her swing.

"And to make matters worse, we still don't have a clue who our enemy really is..." Shirabe states, before hearing Kirika jump off of her swing and land several feet away from it.

"And the gold medal goes to Kirika Akatsuki for a perfect landing dess!" Kirika cheers, imitating an adoring crowd of fans shortly after, which just earns her a displeased glare from Shirabe, which made her recompose herself. "Well, if our enemy's after blood, then they must be real vampires, eh? Wait... OYOYO!"

"What's wrong, Kiri-chan?" Shirabe asks, surprised by Kirika's sudden shout.

"I figured it out dess!" Kirika answers. "If they're after blood, then they're next attack is surely going to be somewhere that's loaded with the stuff! Like a blood donation center or a big hospital!"

"I mean, it's an interesting idea, Kiri-chan, but I doubt it's that sim... ple?" Shirabe was about to disagree with Kirika's theory, but just as she was about to, they spotted a familiar silhouette in one of the spotlights about the nearby hospital, both filling Kirika with pride of being right and equally shocking both of them that Millaarc appeared at all. "We need to tell HQ!"

"We'll tell them on the way!" Kirika shouts as she begins to run towards the hospital. "We have to stop her before she can get away!"

"K-Kiri-chan! Wait for me!" Shirabe replies, chasing after her.

Tokyo Hospital

On their way to the hospital, Kirika and Shirabe called up S.O.N.G. and let them know their findings as they ran into the building. "Hey! Visiting hours are over, girls!" One of the nurses said to the duo.

"Sorry! No time to explain dess!" Kirika apologizes as they continue to the elevator.

"We saw it on our end, too." Aoi stated. "She's extremely dangerous. Do not engage until reinforcements arrive."

"We don't have time to wait!" Kirika replies.

"We're the closest to the scene. We can't afford to stand by." Shirabe adds as they enter the elevator and prepare to inject LiNKER into themselves. "Ending communication. Commencing assault!"

Once the elevator made it to the roof, the Zababa duo were greeted by Millaarc, who looked as if she were struggling to keep it together, before quickly resolving herself. "Stop right there!" Kirika exclaims. "You may be Ashe-san's friend, but we're not afraid to rough it out."

"But before that, tell us who you are and what you're after!" Shirabe adds.

"I don't have any time to waste on the likes of you!" Millaarc retorted, pulling out a handful of Alca-Noise crystals and summoning a horde to stop them, but the Zababa duo was more than ready to fight, responding by pulling out their pendants and singing.

"Various Shul Shagana tron"

(Mijuku Shōjo Buttagiri! begins to play)

With their Gears active, Kirika and Shirabe make quick work of as many Alca-Noise as they can in order to reach Millaarc, who makes an effort outside of the Alca-Noise to keep her distance from the duo, but Kirika is equally as persistent to keep her from getting away.

"Your actions are illegal under some law whose name I can't remember!" Kirika states, doing her best to sound authoritative. "Cease your resistance!"

"Quit trying to sound all high and mighty!" Millaarc retorted, going on the offensive out of irritation, while also taking advantage of the smoke generated by destroyed Alca-Noise to get a cheap shot on Kirika.

Seeing this strategy from a mile away, Kirika used her scythe to avoid the vampire's attack by striking the ground and lifting herself into the air. "If you're going to fight dirty, you're gonna need to be a lot faster than that dess!" Saying this, Kirika swung herself around her scythe's pole and delivered a kick that sent Millaarc flying, forcing her to protect herself with her wings to minimize damage. "Shirabe, let's bring the blades of Zababa together and finish this!"

"Ready, go!"

With this, the Zababa duo combined their weapons into a massive makeshift slingshot armed with a rocket-propelled buzzsaw. As they formed the weapon, Shirabe got on Kirika's shoulders as the Igalima wielder planted herself in place with a spike in her armor's heels to keep her and Shirabe stabilized.

Once everything was set, Shirabe fired the weapon skyward, which went straight for Millaarc, who narrowly avoided it. "Hah! You missed!" Millaarc said confidently, but before she could take in the moment to get cocky, she looked back and saw the flying buzzsaw redirect itself back at her, this time leaving her with no other choice by to shield herself with her wings, but even they couldn't save her from the full force of the Zababa duo's combined might.

With the weapon making its mark, it returned to the Zababa duo, deconstructing into their separate weapons and pieces of armor as Millaarc fell from the sky and crashed into the rooftop.

"We did it!" Shirabe cheers.

"If anything, I think we overdid it dess..." Kirika adds, considering how much easier this fight felt to their previous adversaries.

Despite Kirika's doubts of overkill, Millaarc got back up, enduring through her wounds as she clutched her arm and struggled to stay standing. "I won't lose... I... I can't lose!" Millaarc proclaimed. "Even if it kills me, I'll fight to protect the two of them. I will protect my family!"

"Your family?" Shirabe asks aloud.

"'Family'? Well, I never thought I'd see the day you finally called us that. Thank you."

As a new voice entered the fray, Kirika and Shirabe heard the sound of a rocket getting launched into the air, seeing an explosion of lightning erupt soon after, causing a blackout throughout the town. "Who turned out the lights?!" Kirika asks in a panic. "I can't see anything!"

"Calm down, Kiri-chan!" Shirabe shouts, trying to make her partner focus, but before she could recompose herself, the duo heard the sound of two rockets heading towards them, which struck both of them and sent them flying.

With both Wielders knocked back, the rockets returned to their owner: Vanessa, who slowly descended onto the hospital's rooftop as her rocket fists returned to their proper positions. "I brought down every electronic in the immediate area with that EMP. Unless you move fast, countless lives will be lost in this hospital."

"She's taking the patients hostage..." Shirabe groans in frustration, as Kirika let out an equally frustrated 'Dess'

"Vanessa! You came!" Millaarc cheered.

"And she didn't come alone." Elsa said, catching Millaarc's attention as Vanessa landed on the roof. "I got what we needed while you were fighting."

Seeing her efforts weren't in vain, Millaarc began to cackle like a madwoman. "Vanessa! Elsa! It's time for a Daedalus End! Now that we're together, we can use our full power and destroy these-" Before she could continue her motivational speech, she finally felt the weight of her injuries and collapsed on the ground.

"Next time, my dear Millaarc." Vanessa said, giving the vampire a pat on the shoulder. "But with the state the two of you are in right now, our best option is to retreat. Big sister's orders."

"Who are you people?" Shirabe asks.

"Noble Red." Vanessa answered as she pulled out a teleport crystal. "We'll meet again soon enough. But for now, I bid you adieu."

"Oh, no! I'm not letting you get away!" Kirika shouts as she charges at the alchemist trio, before Shirabe stops her advance.

"No, Kiri-chan! We have to help the patients, first!" Shirabe says as the Noble Red trio vanish from sight.

"DESS!" Kirika screams in frustration as she slams her scythe into the rooftop. As this happens, the Zababa duo hear flapping wings in the distance approaching them. At first, they assume it's Millaarc, but once they see the source of the flapping, they relax. "Kana-sama!"

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." Kana said as she landed on the roof. "Where's Millaarc?"

"They got away with help from the lady from the Los Alamos attack. She set off an EMP on the city." Shirabe answers.

"So that's why comms went down on my flight over here..." Kana said. "Hopefully Genjuro-san sent Lilith and some of the medical staff here to help, but we should hurry and assist either way!"

"Right!" The Zababa duo reply, hurrying for the closest set of stairs.

Vanessa's POV:
Noble Red Hideout

After returning to base, Vanessa got Millaarc and Elsa all set up for their blood transfusions, keeping an eye on them as they recovered. As she waited for them to recover, Vanessa made a call through the computer in their hideout to a familiar white-haired man. "Just as you wanted: The Vambrace of Shem-ha, safely within our possession."

"Indeed." Fudo replied. "With this divine power, Japan shall reclaim its rightful place as the true ruler of the world!"

"That being said, there are a few things that could set us back if left unchecked." Vanessa states.

"If you're referring to S.O.N.G., then we already have plans to set them back in motion, starting with that new ally of theirs." Fudo said. "But I have a feeling that's not the concern you're talking about, is it?"

"While S.O.N.G.'s Wielders are a major concern, it's their new ally that is the issue." Vanessa answers. "Ashe was once one of us, meaning he's capable of spilling all sorts of information on us, which could lead to a crushing defeat."

"Am I to assume you have a plan to deal with that?" Fudo asked. "Or was this call meant for more than a status report?"

"Quite perceptive, sir!" Vanessa replies. "While Ashe is among their ranks currently, he struggles to fight us due to our bonds with him. Alongside this, he's seeking answers about who he was before the Illuminati took him in, answers that they would more than likely have in spades."

"Get to the point." Fudo said irritably.

"If the Kazanari agency had any information taken from the raid, specifically information on Ashe, he could be dealt with easier." Vanessa continues. "Should this information be found, our progress could be hastened, seeing he does not suffer from the same conditions the three of us do."

Fudo stroked his beard in thought, pausing for brief moments, but eventually nodding in confirmation. "If information is all you require, then there had better be results." He said. "I'll have my men find what they can and bring it when we start testing."

"Thank you, Fudo!" Vanessa cheers.

"Remember this, Alchemist: If your plan fails, or if you betray me once you regain your ally, you will live to regret it." Fudo stated, before hanging up the call.

"As long as our end goal is achieved, that won't be an issue." Vanessa says to herself, before turning back to her allies. "I might as well get some rest while I wait. After all, once everything's set in motion, it may be a while before I get to properly sleep again."

On her way to bed, however, Vanessa looked at the Vambrace of Shem-ha one more time, imagining the life that awaits herself, Millaarc, Elsa, and Ashe once their work is complete.

"The users and the used... An intimate relationship, but I wonder just how long it will last."

A/N: And with that, we end the chapter!

Just as Ashe's last moments with Saint-Germain were shown two chapters ago, his first with Noble Red have now been as well. If it wasn't clear before just how hesitant Ashe is to fight his former friends, it's pretty crystal clear now.

Speaking of his friends, it seems Vanessa has something in store for him, should Fudo follow through on her request. But I guess those results will have to wait just a moment longer.

With that out of the way, Thank you all so much for reading this chapter. I shall see you in the next one!