Much like her journey from the hospital to the SDA, Octavia found herself in the back of the van again. She didn't remember it fondly, and sitting on the hard, thin, plastic bench again only reinforced her disdain for it. At least she had company.

Along with herself, Rusty and 80 were also in the back. Miles and Miyu were both at the front with Miles driving. The ride had been mostly quiet, forcing Octavia to get wrapped up in her thoughts.

They were on their way to Gene Collins's second apartment. How long until they got there, she didn't know. Whether or not Gene would be there, she didn't know. What would happen if they were attacked, she didn't know. It was a mess of all questions and no answers in her mind. It made her dizzy with anxiety.

Rusty must have taken notice of her state and spoke up. "How are you doing, Octavia?"

Pulling herself out of her own head, she gave a forced smile, "Uh… Fine. Just a lot going on in my head right now."

He nodded, "That's understandable. I remember when I went on my first raid and had a ton of questions that I didn't know the answer to." He gave her a warm smile, "It does get better but your first time is definitely going to be the hardest."

His calm tone helped her relax, if only a little. She appreciated the kindness that her boss showed her. It was the same kindness Miyu and 80 had shown, and while she wasn't very used to it, she was still grateful that they expressed it toward her.

Rusty continued, "Here, let's get your mind off things. All of us here have an aura ability." Rusty gestured his hands around the van, 80 taking a dramatic bow as one of his hands went vaguely in her direction. "While you will be just observing, we should still go over each aura ability so you have a better idea what's happening."

"I think I already know Miyu's ability," she said, leaning forward, "He can heal any injury, right?"

"That's one part of it. The other part is that any injuries he heals from one person, he can transfer to another person. Because of this, he's rather good at interrogation."

"Wait, wait. The injuries that I got from the Steelix… he just has them now?"

"Yep!" Miyu said, peering back from the passenger seat, "Want them back?" His tone was a little too enthusiastic.

"N-No thanks, I'm good." She shuddered, thinking about all the different injuries Miyu had likely accumulated and how he had used them.

Rusty spoke up, "With Miles, he's able to shoot missiles from his hands that can be detonated on command."

What? Missiles? Octavia became confused. He could actually conjure missiles and fire them at will?

Miles reached a hand back from the front, his eyes still on the road, and showed the metal disc on his palm. "See this? It's a missile silo. Though, I don't feel that it would be a good idea to prove I can launch missiles right now. Destroying our van wouldn't be helpful."

Suddenly, the van jerked right and everyone in the back tensed.

"Arceus fuck!" Miles shouted. "Learn to fucking drive, you blockheaded Bidoof!"

"Save it for Gene, alright Miles?" Rusty said. He turned to his side, facing 80. "80's aura ability allows her to teleport to wherever she points her finger. Not only that, but she can teleport objects to her using the same method."

Octavia looked over 80 who wore a smug smile, "Is that why you were holding your hands out when we were in the alley? To teleport us away?"

80 nodded, "Yep! It can be very useful at times." She stretched her right arm out, "And as a demonstration of the other use of my ability…" Her index finger out, she pointed to one of the smaller pistols that lined the walls of the van. Instantly, the gun vanished from the straps that held it and appeared in 80's hand. "Ta-da!"

"Oh, 80 has a gun now," Miles said, his eyes visible in the rear-view mirror, "We're all going to die and the raid hasn't even started yet."

80 scoffed and attached the gun to her belt, securing it. "If anything is gonna kill us on the way to the raid, it'll be your driving."

Miles began muttering something that Octavia couldn't make out, though 80 was chuckling a fair bit at it.

"Enough, you two," Rusty ordered. The muttering and chuckling turned silent, though 80 still held a slight smile on her face.

"What about your aura ability?" Octavia asked him.

Rusty smiled, "My ability allows me to conjure a fire version of almost any bird. They follow my commands and can do many different things."

"A… fire version?"

Rusty put his arm out and opened his hand. There was a brief scattering of sparks in his hand before an intense whooshing sound filled the van. And there, in his hand, was a small Pidgey, completely made of fire. It chirped and jumped around on Rusty's palm.

Octavia couldn't help but let a small 'Aw…' escape her lips. When the Pidgey flapped its wings and flew onto Octavia's knee, she allowed herself to have a full and unabated smile. Ace would always be the cutest thing in her mind, but the burning bird would have little trouble taking second place. Ace wouldn't have liked it though, he had been scared of fire for a long time.

The fiery Pidgey leapt off of her knee and back into Rusty's palm. He closed his hand into a fist and the fire disappeared. While she knew it was never really alive, she still felt sadness for that little bird.

"We're here," Miles said. The van took another turn and came to a sudden halt.

Everyone had congregated in the back of the van. Rusty went over the details once more, assuring that everyone had their positions correctly. With only five of them, there was a lot of ground to cover.

Rusty and Miles would be the vanguard. They would bust down the door of the apartment and attempt to subdue Gene Collins. Subduing him would be a challenge, so their goal was to detach the Aegislash from Gene which would make an arrest significantly easier.

Miyu would be behind them, healing any injuries that they would be gaining in the fight. He would need to be careful, however. A small injury to himself would be no problem for him to fix, but if he were to be decapitated, that would be the end.

Then there was Octavia and 80. The apartment's back window faced a fire exit that had stairs leading down to an alleyway that provided suitable cover for escape. Though, if Gene were to try and leave that way, he would find himself face-to-face with 80. And Octavia, for that matter, though she didn't feel too fond of that idea.

80 would be able to teleport Gene right next to her and arrest him on the spot. In the event that such an arrest was impossible, she would stall for time as the others made their way down.

As Octavia expected, there wasn't much instruction for her. She would just be observing for the time being, and in the event that Gene Collins came for her, she would start running. It was already difficult to relax herself in the face of a raid, and the idea of Gene going for her only made it moreso.

"Everyone understand?" Rusty asked. He received a nod from everyone. "Let's get to it then, shall we?"

The van's back doors opened and the entire crew poured out. Rusty, Miles, and Miyu all entered the apartment building's front doors. Octavia followed 80 and went into the alley behind the apartment.

They eventually stopped in an alley that looked similar to the one they had met Lemon in. Octavia was glad that at least the smell wasn't the same. There weren't any dead bodies here.

Unless we end up being them , Octavia thought, then tensed. She was in a raid. She was going against a man with Aegislash. Aura ability or not, there was a chance she was going to die.

She breathed quick, shallow breaths. Her hands shook, even when she clenched them into fists. One hand made its way down to Ace's pokeball on her belt and placed a finger on it. Not enough. Two fingers. Not enough. Three? Still no. Fuck fuck fuck. What the fuck am I doing here? What the fuck am I doing here? I'm going to die. Gene Collins is going to take that Aegislash and cut me into pieces just like he did with all those other bodies. Pieces of me everywhere, pieces of me everywhere, pieces of-

"Octy, you okay?"

Somehow, through all the noise, 80's voice rang in Octavia's ears. She was still there. Still in that moment. Nothing had happened. Her breathing began returning back to normal as the shaking eased to a slow tremble and then back to steadiness. She took all but one of her fingers off of Ace's pokeball, still uneasy about letting go entirely.

Octavia turned to 80, not trying to hide under a facade, "Nervous… Really nervous…"

80 walked up and put a hand on Octavia's shoulder, "You'll be alright, Octopus. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. You can bet your ass on that one." She grinned wryly, "I mean, come on. You literally have me on your side, there's no way Gene's gonna get anywhere close to you."

The confidence in 80's voice helped a bit, though Octavia's confusion was what pushed her nerves further back. "Octopus?"

"Yeah! Octopus! I figured you were due for a nickname upgrade anyhow. Octy is, you know, fine and all, but it can be so much more."

"But… Octopus doesn't make any sense. I only have four limbs."

" You do, sure. But you and your reflection have a combined eight. How about that, huh?"

Despite it all, Octavia couldn't help but smile a little bit at 80. The nerves were still there, yes, but they had diminished severely. With that, she felt comfortable taking her last finger off of Ace's pokeball.

"There's your smile!" 80 said, giving Octavia's shoulder a rub before taking a few steps back. "C'mon, let's get into position. We got a Beast to catch."

Rusty led with Miles and Miyu behind him as the trio made their way through the apartment complex's beige hallways. They had already gone up the stairs and were walking through the second floor. Their eyes scanned the door numbers. They knew which one they were looking for: Room 205.

The buzz of the fluorescent lights above was so loud it nearly drowned out their own hearing. The carpet below them was gray and had many stains that stuck to their feet as they passed over it. They passed by many other rooms. Because the stairs placed them at the opposite end, the room numbers were like a countdown.

207.

And there they were.

Rusty leaned against the door and put his ear against it. He turned back to the other two and shook his head. No audible movements. He stepped away and nodded to Miles.

Miles walked in front of the door and inhaled deeply. Miyu could hear him whispering a string of phrases, likely to help psych himself up. Miles took another inhale and relaxed his shoulders. "Okay…" he whispered, getting into a ready stance, "1… 2… 3!"

Miles reared his leg back and kicked the door with all his might. The door flung off its hinges and landed in the middle of the apartment. Its wood was splintered and cracked, some fragments of it still hanging on to the hinges that were bent out of shape on the door frame.

From outside, Miles and Rusty looked in. The apartment was small, even smaller than Gene Collins's primary apartment. That wasn't the odd part, though. The odd part was that the apartment contained… nothing. No furniture, no decorations, no nothing. No person nor Aegislash, for that matter. It was completely empty. The only thing that stood out to them was the open window by the far wall.

Rusty took the lead and stepped inside, eyes vigilant. The apartment didn't feel much bigger now that he was inside it. He felt like he was in a box.

Sudden motion from the corner of his eye made him jerk his head back, only to see Gene Collins raising an Aegislash high. He had been hiding behind where the door was.

"Didn't take you long to find me, did you?"

Gene swung the Aegislash down towards Rusty. As the sword neared its mark, his instincts acted and he brought his arm between his head and the blade.

In an instant, his arm was cleaved from his body at the upper arm. He let out a yell of pain and fell to the floor. But it had been worth it. His arm had misdirected the blade enough for him to avoid being split down the middle. The Aegislash slammed into the wooden floor and dug into it, splitting the grain. Rusty clenched his teeth, seeing the sword only inches from his hand that hadn't been detached.

He conjured a fiery Pidgeotto in his hand and sent it flying in Gene's direction. It rammed into his gut, burning his clothes, and sent him back into the wall. Gene had held onto the Aegislash and used it to stand back up. He pushed himself away from the wall and moved more into the apartment.

"Miles! Miyu! Get in now!" Rusty shouted, clutching the stump of his arm that had begun bleeding profusely. He couldn't even feel it now, the adrenaline was overwhelming.

Miles and Miyu both rushed in, making Gene take a defensive position. He held the Aegislash close to his chest and had the shield come from his back to his front, ready to block attacks.

"Stupid fucking problems," Gene said, gaining a sick smile. "Just go away! Go away before I make you go away."

Rusty looked at the rest of his team. "Miyu, heal my arm," he commanded.

Miyu rushed over with Gene eyeing him as he did so. Miles stood between them, his palms raised up at Gene, ready to fire off rockets. It was an uneasy stalemate, and neither side wanted to lose.

Grabbing Rusty's detached arm, Miyu placed a hand on him. The moment he reconnected the arm with the stump, Rusty felt a surge of warmth within him, its epicenter in his arm.

After a moment, the warmth left and Rusty could feel his arm yet again. He stood up, letting Miyu help him, and faced Gene.

Gene scowled at them, his grip visibly tightening around the Aegislash's hilt. His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on Rusty.

"You must be careful with them, Gene! They're not ordinary police officers," the Aegislash said, shocking the entire team.

Gene growled, "Shut it, Hexcalibur! I can handle it fine on my own!"

Octavia could hear yelling from inside the building. Not realizing it, she had stepped backwards. Her body tensed and she placed a finger on Ace's pokeball.

Just a few moments ago, she heard a large crash followed by a scream. She couldn't tell who the scream was from, and that's what terrified her the most. If any of the team had been injured or killed then-

She placed another finger on the pokeball. No, she couldn't let that happen again. Not during the raid. She could hold out just a bit longer.

Her eyes went to 80, expecting a similar reaction from her. She found nothing of the like. 80 was more serious than Octavia had ever seen her before. Her eyes were locked onto the apartment where the sound was coming from. Her breathing, while barely audible, was completely steady and calm unlike Octavia's rapid and ragged.

Octavia wished she could aspire to that level of calm. Maybe it would come in time, but it was painful now.

A sudden noise made her jerk her head away from 80. There was nothing for a moment, and Octavia thought it had been all in her head. Then, another sound. It was… groaning?

She looked in the direction of the sound and found that it came from the dumpster next to her. She went over to it and opened the lid. It appeared to just be filled with trash bags and miscellaneous items, a pungent stench to accompany it. Yet, under a few bags, she could see what looked like a hand. A hand that she had seen in a different dumpster the day before.

"Lemon?"

"Listen to me, we must retreat for the time being!" Excalibur yelled at Gene.

"Shut it! These filth are nothing. I won't get us killed!" Gene yelled back.

Rusty couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Aegislash, apparently named Hexcalibur, and Gene were actually communicating with one another. Moreover, they were… bickering? It felt surreal. He had seen some very weird things over his years at the SDA, but not much matched up to this. He pushed himself up, Gene not taking notice as he was still arguing with the sword.

Miles stepped forward, a click emanating from his wrists that indicated the missile silos had been opened. "Gene Collins!" he called, finally breaking Gene's attention to Hexcalibur, "Drop the Aegislash and come quietly! We don't want to hurt you!"

Gene sneered at Miles with disgust lining his voice, "Just be quiet! Don't interrupt me!"

Rusty tensed and began forming a fiery Aerodactyl in his hand. It was risky summoning something that big, especially when everyone was so close together, but this situation needed to be defused quickly. Gene wasn't in a good headspace, he could tell, and that made him especially dangerous. Miles had done good by taking a stance against the assailant, but it was becoming an increasingly precarious game.

Gene stared at the detectives, hot fury burning in his eyes. Suddenly, his gaze locked onto Rusty's hand, the bird of fire present on it, and narrowed.

Shit, Rusty thought.

Just as he was about to send his attack, Gene lunged forward at Miles. In a panicked response, Miles fired one of his rockets off. It was easily deflected by the Aegislash's shield moving to where it would have him. The missile tore into the side wall, leaving a sizable hole in its wake.

Gene raised Excalibur and cleaved down at Miles. The attack was cut short as the wing of a fiery Aerodactyl clipped Gene's hands and made him drop the sword behind him. The shield that had been attached to his torso dropped to the floor.

But that didn't stop anything. Gene ran forward and tackled Miles to the ground, wrapping his hands around Miles's throat. Gene's chest took several desperate kicks but none shook him.

In desperation, Miles shoved one of his hands against Gene's chest and fired a missile. It tore through flesh, blood, and bone, and went through Gene completely. Unabated, it continued its trajectory and shot through the ceiling.

Gene let go of Miles's throat and scampered off him, clutching the hole in his chest that was already beginning to flow with blood.

Rusty and Miyu rushed over to Miles, seeing if he was okay. Miyu immediately began fixing the damage that Gene had done, leaving Rusty to confront him. He started on a warpath toward the downed man, ready to take him into custody. Just a few feet away, the Aegislash appeared in front of him, floating.

"Stop, scum," Hexcalibur said, "His life is worth so much more than your own." The Aegislash zipped over to Gene's now outstretched hand and connected with it.

Immediately, Gene stood, seemingly forgetting about the hole in his body. The shadow hands of Excalibur reached out and covered the wounds. From behind, the shield of the Aegislash zipped toward Gene and attached to his torso once again.

Gene brought his free hand up to his mouth and coughed into it, blood staining his lips as he did so. He took his bloodied hand and wiped it on his jeans, staining them as well.

"Gene, you know what we must do," Hexcalibur said.

"Fine, fine. We'll do your plan."

Immediately, Hexcalibur left Gene's hand and swung frantically at Rusty. Regrettably, he needed to back away. There was little he could do without risking another one of his limbs getting chopped off.

From behind the Aegislash, Rusty could see Gene opening the far window to the apartment and climbing through it. Though he was a good distance away now, Rusty could still hear Gene bark, "Fuck! There's more of you?!"

"Lemon?" Octavia asked again.

The hand twitched but didn't move any further. She reached down and moved one of the garbage bags that was on top of it.

Instantly, the hand shot up and grabbed the edge of the dumpster, making Octavia gasp and stumble back. Just as there was a moment of calm, another hand rose from the dumpster and held onto the edge too. With a small plume of trash, Lemon suddenly stood up.

"Fucker! Just as I got to sleep too!" he shouted. His eyes went to Octavia, who was still in shock at seeing him, "You again?"

She was having trouble even believing what she was seeing. Her attempts at speaking only got so far as the first syllable before needing to be restarted.

Lemon paid little attention though and shifted his gaze to 80, "Shorty's here too?"

"What was that?!" 80 said, making Octavia turn to her. She saw 80 get the same look of surprise that she assumed was on her own face, "Lemon?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could be saying the same thing!" he yelled back.

80 stomped over beside Octavia, "This area is supposed to have been cleared out, there's a raid going on."

"Oh, well, gee, you sure did a bad job at checking then, Shorty."

80 clenched her hands, "Why the fuck would anyone check a dumpster!" She exhaled deeply a few times and released the tension in her hands, "Listen, there's currently a raid in progress. You need to get out of here."

"The hell? A raid? Like a police raid."

"Yes, a police raid." 80 turned to Octavia, "I need you to get him out of here. Get him to the main street and keep him there. Can you do that?"

Octavia fumbled with her speech but managed to get out, "I-I can."

"What the fuck? Is anyone gonna ask me?" Lemon said.

"You don't get a say," 80 replied, "You're a civilian and we need to get you to safety. Gene could come out of that building any minute!"

"Who?"

As if on cue, the sound of a window opening drew all their attention. Octavia's breath fell short as a man stepped outside of the window and climbed onto the fire exit stairs of the second floor. She knew that this was who they were looking for: Gene Collins.

Gene looked down from the stairs and scowled, "Fuck! There's more of you?!"

Suddenly, from behind him, an Aegislash crashed through the window, sending shards of glass to rain down on the three below. Octavia ducked her head down and put her arm up. The shards peppered her arm like hail.

As soon the glass rain stopped, she looked back up and saw Gene standing with the Aegislash in hand. He stepped onto the fire escape railing and jumped from two stories up, the sword raised and ready to cut.

Octavia could only stare as Gene looked directly at her. He wanted to kill her, she could see it in those evil eyes. She couldn't move her body.

A pair of hands grabbed onto her and a rush of wind blew past her ears. She suddenly found herself on the other side of the alley, far away from the dumpster. With a look to the side, she saw 80. She had teleported her.

Her eyes locked onto Gene, who was still falling toward the dumpster and toward…

"Who's tha-" Lemon said, before he was cut off, in a sense that was literal in every way possible. His head was no longer attached to his body, the blade of the Aegislash cutting through it with no resistance, and it rolled on the ground, painting blood on the concrete. His body slumped over the dumpster's edge, completely limp.

Gene turned to them, a sickening smile on his face, "Now… who's next?"