"Captain, the breakfast is ready…" Noelle said, entering the infirmary bedroom with a tray in hand, stopping in the door frame as she saw Sans casually standing right before the bed, staring straight at her.

"Sup Noelle." Comedian Outrider greeted her. "Guess I have to leave now."

"No, no, no. It's fine." Noelle opposed, walking into the room.

"I know, visit time is over. Patient needs to eat in peace." Sans kept his own way, moving to the wall as if to make space for her to walk further.

"You can stay if Captain wants it. Really" Noelle continued.

"His visit is already over." Eula whispered, being heard by the both.

"Welp, we heard her." Sans shrugged his arms, walking forward and turning to side steps as he went past Noelle by the doors. "See you around."

"..."

"How was the night?" Familiar tone greeted him as he closed the doors after himself and went into the corridor.

"Calming." Sans responded simply. "But the weird stuff she took takes toll not only on the physical body. But soul as well."

"... Worrying." Lisa commented, coming out to the full view as they met face to face. "Just at dawn the hospital took three people with symptoms almost identical to ones Eula has."

"So it's spreading…" Sans said as he went past her. "We need to talk with Jean."

"Sans, you sweet summer child." Lisa said, turning around just as he passed her, making him stop in his tracks. "Bold assumption she'll have time for you."

"How so?"

"Well, she didn't sleep even for an hour over the last two days."

"... Then I should come to her right away?" Sans suggested, looking behind to see her expression.

"I don't think she will appreciate it." Lisa pointed out.

"Welp, something you have to think for someone else." Sans shrugged his arms before walking away his own way.

"Megistus."

"Yes?" Mona asked, looking up from her desk as a skeleton covered by a dark cloak was messing with astrological rings and wingding symbols spread all across.

"The experiment is turning out to be more and more interesting by the day." Skeleton said, suddenly ripping a fabric of reality before her eyes and showing a matching column of soldiers with uniformal chainmail, rectangular shields, slings and axes. "In fact, very, veeeerrrry interesting."

"So it would seem…" Mona nodded, seeing the column of Soldiers march further over a paved, overgrown dirt path with even rows of small trees on both sides as far as the eye and perspective view could see and show respectively. "Still, do you think that our further interference is the correct way to proceed?"

"That I do not know for certain." Skeletal being responded, moving two hands with holes on the palms out of the cloak and over the reality hole to close it back down. "But I will assure you that the experiment is under control and is not harmful to us. Per Royal Scientist honor."

"By us I know you meant you and me." Mona nodded. "*Sigh* Alright. Let us simply prepare for the next to come. Events have already accelerated beyond the intended pace..."

Ding*

"Huh!"

"Hello, Grand Master." Sans said, slowly walking into the office. "I see you were jump-scared."

"Urgh, not like that. Sannsss." Jean groaned, slowly stopping to tilt from side to side as he approached closer. "What do you need?"

"To remove these dark eye bags from under your eyes." Outrider responded, making almost rectangular eyes. "Permanently."

"What black eyes?" Jean asked, giving him a dubious look. "I'm fine, I'm fine… I'm fine. Really."

"I mean, I know you aren't fashion focused, but…" Sans continued, taking out a small mirror and showing it to her. "But you could care about yourself a little bit more. Don't you?"

"... Huh." Jean almost sniffed, seeing herself in the pocket mirror held by Sans. "That's not me."

"Really?" Sans asked, unconvinced. "If that's not you, then what do you see instead?"

"... Barbara?"

"I heard the name on the street once." Sans acknowledged in his circumventing style. "Maybe we can get her to check our eyesight? Both of u-"

"No need to. No, no, no." Jean interrupted all of a sudden. "I have a lot, lot of work. So, please, don't bother."

"You don't cut away people when they talk to you." Sans crossed his arms, putting the mirror back into his pocket and making a cross face. "Seriously. Something's wrong with you."

"I said it once, and I will say it again. I am fine, thank you for caring." Jean waves her right arm on the side as if to chase away a fly before looking down at the paper on the desk in between two side pillars of written-over paper. "Now, please leave."

"Nuh-uh."

"... The fuck do you mean nuh-uh?" She looked straight up at him with shrinked, hyper focused eyes.

"Nuh-uh." Sans turned his eye abyss black, leaning ahead so close that they could spit in eachother's eyes with no problem. "Whatever is happening to you right now. I am stopping it."

"Are you thinking I don't know what I'm doing?" Jean slowly tilted her head right, standing up and leaning ahead as if to whisper into his ear.

"You don't usually act as creepy as right now." Sans stated, unfazed by the threat. "If you wanna give me a bad time. Let's have a duel."

"Right now, training arena." Jean moved away from him, leaving her desk and walking around it towards the exit.

"Sure." Sans crossed his arms with satisfaction. "Loser shuts up and listens."

"Amber, please catch me up to speed." Blonde girl with twintails and white dress said, sitting in between her and Noelle, latter giving an arm to tightly grip out of compassion.

"Sans and Jean had some sort of disagreement just now, Barbara." Amber responded, giving her a worried look. "Apparently they quickly set out to have a duel here. Whole city wanted to watch but it's a tight inner circle thing."

"Bold statement." Kaeya added, coming to sit next to Amber from the other side with a ripped-off poster in hand. "Whole city is already full of these. Apparently there is a belief Sans tried to overthrow her and this is just the culmination."

"No way." Noelle shaked her head. "He wouldn't do such a thing. I know him."

"People on the street know him too." Kaeya shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't stop them though. Still…"

"We have to wait and see." Matthias added, taking a seat beside Kaeya with Stas being next in the line.

"Didn't expect you there." Amber said to the last one.

"If an act of crime were to happen, it is just and duty for me to protect my sworn." Stas stated in classic overly-formal fashion.

"Never change, Stas." Matthias smirked for a moment before both competitors entered the battlefield. "But enough talk, the important stuff is happening."

"On positions!" A random Favonius Knight announced on the sideline as both Jean and Sans took the stance at ends of the rectangles. "Ready? Set? Begin!"

"Whoa! Tiger." Sans quickly reacted, sliding to the side despite this armor as Jean sent an air slash from her sword ahead. "Why so serious?"

"Hmm…" Barbara watched with concern - Like almost everyone else. - as Jean crushed ahead, swinging wildly and forcing Sans to move around the arena in efforts to dodge. "She isn't usually that offensive."

"He ticked her off I guess." Kaeya suggested, observing Sans get caught off as Jean managed to close her distance.

"Wow." Comedian Outrider commented, suddenly being on the other end of the arena while Jean slashes nothing but air, providing the whole audience with a breeze wave. "That was a slice try." He looked behind, giving her a wink.

"Be serious!" Jena shouted, moving the top of the blade over the floor before sending at him a whole tornado-like vortex. "Where is that menacing glare of yours?"

"Heh!" Sans gasped, moving his fist up and summoning a wall of bones from below to stop and disperse the wind. "I did it to help you, not beat you."

"And I told you I'm fine." Jean leaped high into the air as she spoke, preparing for a downward stab. "Again, and again!"

"And I knew you weren't." Sans didn't get convinced, moving the bone wall up to act as a cover.

"Because I was!" Jean shouted back, jabbing precisely in between bones that made the wall, and breaking it apart with a help of channeled wind burst. "But of course. You wanted it your way."

"Huff!" Sans gasped, being moved backwards under compressed air pressure.

"Is it really that hard to let your superior work the way she wants?" Jean asked again, landing down and spinning the sword twice before sending another air slash towards Sans.

"Well…" Sans slided to the side, having the air smack into the stairs between stand and heavy crack them downward, effectively destroying them. "Oh." He looked back at the damage and then back at Jean. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"Stop giving excuses!"

"Wow…" Amber said to herself, observing as Jean smashed her sword onto the floor as Sans teleported onto the opposite end of the arena. "Acting Grand Master really is angry."

"You don't say." Kaeya commented, unamused. "She doesn't act rationally. Watch."

"You wanted this duel!"

"Because you asked." Sans responded, summoning more bones to block overhead slash. "Besides-"

"What besides?!" Jean interrupted him, breaking through the bones and forcing the off-guard Outrider on the floor with impact. "I won't let you drag my work into eternity."

"Huff…" Sans rolled his eyes, two sweat drops going down his forehead. "You already did it yourself. That's why I do this."

"I am fine! I said to you, all of you! Numerous times. I. Am. Fine." Jean moved the top of the sword to his neck. "And that is the thanks I get?"

"You aren't." Sans responded, instantly teleporting on the opposite end of the arena for another time.

"Errghhh… Still running away." Jean groaned, turning around and looking at the sweating Outrider. "Why can't you just accept that your weird theories aren't real?"

"Huff… Puff…" Sans breath became heavy, as he looked to the right at the stands. "Well… honestly?" He asked, looking back straight at her. "Because you don't bother to prove them wrong."

"Because they are wrong. And I know it." Jean stated. "Ever since you came to us, you started to barge into my work like no one's business and went out of your way to undermine me!"

"What?"

"What?!" Chorus of surprise went all over the arena.

"You pushed against me to accept Noelle into Outriders. You go all over the place as an Outrider specifically to make people think you are better than you actually are while claiming to be lazy. YOU are making people think I am incapable by showing how much better you are!" Jean listed her accusations, pointing the sword straight towards him. "What am I supposed to tell Grand Master Varka once he returns? That I let in a usurper that sabotages Knights of Favonius authority from inside?!"

"... Holy bones." Sans said with slow realization, looking over the stands and back at her. "What will he say?"

"You didn't just ask me my question." Jean said, not even trying to control the voice pitch anymore.

"Look around." Sans added, going down into a flat sitting position and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Look."

"..." Jean looked left, then behind and all over the stands.

"..." Collective silence from watching people made a very unclear response.

"Okay, they must know she isn't her usual self. Even I know this while being here for only a couple of days." Sans thought, looking at the blonde being pitched against everyone in theory under her chain of command. "Now I need to trust them to be honest."

"You can't possibly side with him." Jean said, taking a step towards the central stand with most of the people watching. "You aren't going to put your Acting Grand Master above someone who just joined?"

"..."

"Answer me." Her eyes shrinked in a moment as if something switched in her head.

"..."

"You can't do this to me…" Jean took a step back, then one forward again while placing her free hand on the heart. "Do you know how much I sacrificed?!"

"Sacrificed what?"

"..." Everyones' eyes went with a scary brand of focus onto a newcomer. That being Hakh who just walked into the arena from a corner door to the stands behind Sans.

"Alright, you sacrificed yourself." Hakh crossed his arms unconvinced. "But you never had to."

"You…" Jean said slowly, as if more focused on aiming at him.

"Yes, me." Hakh acknowledged, slowly reaching for a bow mounted on his back.

"What do you think Master Varka would say once he hears of your treachery?" She asked him, directing her threatening eyes at him.

"Saving an ally isn't a treason." Hakh stated proudly as his eyes briefly ignited purple. "Even if it's saving him from himself."

"I won't be a FAILURE!" Jean suddenly roared, moving her sword straight up as it gained blue flame-like shine and erupted wind all around.

"Stop!" Sans shouted, suddenly standing up and raised his left arm ul as the matching eye ignited with blue and yellow flame.

KHOOOOORN*

"... What is…" Noelle said, slowly looking ahead from in between her knees.

"... That." Amber ended for her, as they both started a curved end of a large, long skull.

"Holy. Shit." Kaeya said, having a bit better angle from the side, noticing rows of spare, strong teeth in the skull's mouth as well as some of the demonic front it had. Oh, and also the white light inside of it as well.

"Ugh!" Jean groaned, bouncing off of the floor before landing just in a center of where the skull would unleash its blast. "... augghh…"

"I tried to tell you. But you didn't listen." Sans said, standing menacingly on the side. "And I understand that lack of sleep makes you act like you." He closed his eyes briefly, making the skull disappear into thin air while surrounding her dropped sword with a pile of bones. "But hurting my friends… Is after a bottom line."

"... Don't…" Jean whispered from the floor before rolling to the side to hide her face in the floor. "... Please don't hurt me…"

"... I'm done." Sans shaked his head, moving his bones down and walking ahead to her. "Show's over you guys. Now get over here and help. Please."

"Whatev' you say." Matthias casually stood up first, instantly followed by Stas.

"We should help too." Noelle followed suit.

"Good idea." Amber added, also joining in.

"How is the day, Bone Knight?" Lisa asked, walking up to Sans in the corridor in front of the infirmary doors.

"... Messed up." Sans shaked his head with dissatisfaction. "I caused this. All of this."

"At least you don't shy away from responsibility. No wonder Noelle likes you." Lisa smirked, taking a stand on the other side, right in front of him. "On one hand, you did go overboard and were too confrontational about this. On the other… It was probably the only way she would listen. How sordid…"

"*Siiigh* Hardly helping."

"Still, I appreciate the attempt." Lisa tried to reason through blame. "It's going to be same like with Eula, you just went too fast to stop unavoidable event from happening just to cause it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"I know, but…" Sans paused for a moment. "No, she agreed to the duel. I won't be imprisoned."

"Only thing imprisoned is Jean." Lisa added. "The restraining belts put on her still haven't been removed. She struggles like a frightened horse."

"Aren't you supposed to be her friend?" He gave her a confused stare.

"Friends need to know when friendship goes in the wrong direction. Changes over time are unavoidable." Lisa responded solemnly. "Besides, breaking point was in her case unavoidable with how she was handling herself."

"... Fair."

"Sans!" Familiar call made them look aside at incoming Noelle. "Are you alright?"

"Meh, I'm fine." Outrider responded. "You?"

"A bit scared, but still serving." Noelle made a determined pose with both hands braced forward. "I volunteered to keep a full time watch at Jean now since Captain Eula seems to be getting better."

"Is it because you still think the Acting Grand Master didn't really want you around?" Lisa suggested.

"I, uh, uhhh… Why would I think that?" Maid Knight responded after a while of thinking.

"That's the rumor I heard today."

"... Oh."

"Whatever the case, how about you go prove the rumor wrong?"

"E?" Sans gasped in his text to speech lowercase before Noelle proceeded to the doors.

"Will do." She responded, opening the doors and walking in with closing them behind.

"... I guess you do support me all the way with this." Sans shrugged his arms.

"Almost no one around here really has such energy to change things around." Lisa explained. "But I will take the liberty of straightening the line whenever you fumble. Like, today."

"I think that's for the best." Sans nodded, pausing for a moment with twitching eyes. "Actually, how is Eula? The news surely had reached her by now."

"She isn't happy. But not angry." Lisa responded, flicking her fingers. "Whether because she doesn't have energy or expected it to happen eventually? No idea."

"Might be both then."

"Might as well."

"How is she?" Amber asked, sitting next to Albedo at a KoF mess hall.

"Overworking combined with next to no sleep and some other hidden factor made her act irrationally." Albedo responded, going down into a pudding. "Any clue on the third one?"

"How about this?" Kaeya suggested, moving a ripped off poster directly under their noses. "These and many more others were being placed all over the city while we were getting to the duel. Definitely an organised action."

"... Barbaras' parents separated her from Jean, because Jean was beaten by her dad?" Albedo asked in disbelief, looking down at the piece of paper.

"No-no. No, no, no, no, no." Amber backed away from the two, placing her hands in between. "No way."

"It's a rumor. One of many actually." Kaeya added, taking out a whole lot of very similar posters from brown paper with black text. "I ripped off one of each for our detective to find patterns."

"Gladly." Albedo responded with a sturn grimace. "Parental abuse is a serious topic. So I will find whether it is genuine or used as a buzzword for shock value. Otherwise Seamus Pegg will be mobbed as soon as he returns from expedition."

"You show them." Kaeya cheered him up for the task. "Amber, we need to go get this crap off the streets after an emergency Captain meeting."

"Will do." OG Outrider stated, standing up quickly. "Jean has her faults. But kicking the lying down is against Outrider rules."

"'Bout time." Kaeya agreed. "Albedo, after you finish eating, meet us in Jean' office. We must get this mess together."

"Sure thing."

"Hands guy. This is getting out of control."

"Interesting, Megistus. Very, very interesting."

"No, seriously.I think we need to stop accelerating events. For our own sakes."

"Noted, and agreed." Skeleton agreed, putting his hands together in a polite self-handshake. "We must let the water wheel… Turn."