"How are your plans?" Onaga asked through the mystical ethereal form that he had named Damashi, his orange light shining through the dimly lit room upon his appearance. "Answer me, Dairou!"

"I am thinking!" Dairou yelled as he turned to face Damashi with both of his arms crossed. "Everything I need is in this box right there. Blueprints of the prison layout and the tools to breach through its system."

"Do I look like I can open boxes, fool?" Damashi queried.

"If you can't touch anything then how am I going to be given my pay?!" Dairou shared his own question as he pulled the box over and opened it to reveal its contents to Damashi.

"I have other accomplices who have your reward in place as we speak," Damashi promised him. "Now tell me… how are your plans?"

"Well my time as a Seidan Guardsman has taught me a few handy tricks," Dairou revealed as he suddenly released some yellowish energy from his hands to demonstrate his magic. "With this ability I can physically switch places with whoever is nearest to me."

"Demonstrate it," Damashi ordered.

Suddenly, Dairou vanished, leaving a puff of yellow smoke behind. Through the thick smoke emerged a different person. The man who was now standing in Dairou's place was bald with a goatee. He took his orange tinted sunglasses off for a moment to examine the avatar who bore the same colour that was his favourite: orange, of course. The ponytailed mercenary called Dairou then walked back into the room and opened his arms out for Damashi, waiting to hear his reaction.

"Most impressive, Dairou," Damashi praised. "Now who is your friend?"

"Who is YOUR friend?" the man asked the same question to the mercenary.

"Damashi meet Darrius, Darrius meet Damashi," Dairou introduced them both to each other. "Darrius is the leader of the Seidan Resistance I told you about, Damashi. And Darrius, Damashi is the accomplice I mentioned to you earlier."

"By accomplice I had assumed you meant a fellow Seidan… or at least a physical being," Darrius said as he examined the orb of light that was Damashi. "But a friendly face is a welcome one nonetheless."

"He is helping me rescue an old friend from my time in the prison," Dairou clarified to him. "I appreciate you letting me have a room in your headquarters by the way."

"As long as your magic friend here is going to keep his lips sealed about this place then I have no quarrels with you staying here for however long you wish," Darrius told him as he took a look into the box for himself. "Sound plans, pal."

"You think so?" Dairou asked with surprise for such praise from the genius leader of the Seidance Resistance himself.

"I'm confident you'll succeed in freeing this friend you care so much about," Darrius assured him as he read a scroll which Dairou had listed the steps to his plan on. "Keep my people on standby if you do need a few extra helping hands, however. Y'know, just in case."

"I will," Dairou promised. "Thank you for all your support, Darrius."

"Don't mention it," he responded before turning to Damashi again as he put his sunglasses back on once more as the light exuding from the ethereal strained his eyes. "Not exactly sure what you offer to us, but the Seidan Resistance is always welcome to more members if you're willing to-"

"I am completely devoid of interest in your cause, Darrius," Damashi informed him bluntly. "I am only interested in the man that your mercenary ally is going to free."

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," Darrius told him as he found his refusal to be rude. "Anyway, what's so special about this prisoner?"

"A mutual friend of both me and Dairou," Damashi revealed. "My commission is merely pushing Dairou to hurry up on executing his plans."

"I said I'll get round to it when I'm certain of everything," Dairou reminded him. "I'm not taking any risks. I have far too much time on my hands as is."

"Well I don't!" Damashi snapped. "All I ask for your payment is to make haste with these plans!"

"Shujinko has been in that prison for nearly twenty years by now since he was taken into custody," Dairou spoke as he recalled what his old friend had told him when they first met in prison together.

It was lunchtime in the Goldtown Prison, one of four throughout Seido's main city, with others quite far away but all connected by the mystical floating bridges. The capital, however, was as organised as any other distant city throughout Orderrealm. It was split into four towns that were each colour coordinated, with a central point in the city housing a guarded pyramid at the center surrounded by four adjacent towers which served as government buildings. Dairou, however, was not going to be able to go sightseeing throughout his native realm anytime soon.

He had gathered his lunch tray and had been served the same meal as everybody else in the room, before taking a seat at the end of one of the long tables. Despite the obvious disdain of being a prisoner, Dairou at least found the quality of the place to be respectable. The room was as clean as possible, with the Guardsmen in operation of the prison assuring that good conditions of the prison are maintained.

"Excuse me?" asked a man with greying hair and a beard in a kind voice. "May I sit here?"

"Go ahead," Dairou permitted. "I take it you're new around here?"

"I've been sentenced to multiple years for missing a curfew I had no idea about," the man complained as he took his seat. "What about yourself?"

"I killed the bastard that murdered my family," Dairou immediately revealed coldly. "I was a Seidan Guardsman at that time, the idiot that I was. What I did to my family's killer was deemed immoral… brutality even."

"I… am sorry to hear," he apologised as he knew not what else to say. He made an attempt to change the subject as he examined his lunch and said, "at least they're offering balanced meals."

"Pfah! of course they do!" Dairou remarked. "I am Dairou. What is your name?"

"My name's Shujinko," he introduced himself. "It is nice to meet a friendly face here, Dairou."

"The prisoner's are hardly who you have to be concerned about," Dairou assured him. "Most have probably been arrested for something absurd such as a curfew like yourself."

"I see," Shujinko noted while Dairou bit into his sandwich. "This will certainly be an unfortunate way to spend my years."

"That's putting it nicely," Dairou commented while chewing his food.

"I'm on a very important quest," Shujinko informed him. "This will certainly cause delays…"

"And what may this task be?"

"Ever heard about the Elder Gods?"

"It is common knowledge in Seido," Dairou stated as he began to realise that Shujinko was not a Seidan like himself. "Which realm are you from?"

"I am from Earthrealm," Shujinko informed him. "Do you know about my realm?"

"Abacus keeps us Seidans informed," Dairou educated him.

"Who is this Abacus?"

"The Protector God of Seido," Dairou revealed to the Earthrealmer. "He is in charge of everything. Every absurd law this place holds is passed by him."

"Sounds corrupt," Shujinko reviewed.

"He isn't corrupt," Dairou deconfirmed. "Abacus is just an extremist obsessed with assuring that Seido is a perfect civilisation."

"The measures his law enforcement take are certainly extreme," Shujinko agreed. "This Abacus seems nothing like my realm's Protector God."

"The Realm of Order has attempted to align with your native realm long ago," Dairou recalled as he knew about Seido attempting to create alliances with as many realms as possible. "But the Thunder Goddid not agree with their ideals. He knew that Earthrealm already had similar issues that would be worsened by their enforcement."

"I see," Shujinko understood. "Thank you for being so informing, Dairou."

"Thanks for just talking to me," Dairou expressed his own gratitude. "I've been quite lonely since my… ah nevermind."

"I suppose I will see you around?" Shujinko said as the two finished eating their lunch.

"Unless I manage to get outta here then we will," Dairou assured him. "Farewell for now, Shujinko."

"Riveting story, Dairou," Damashi commented as Dairou concluded his reminiscing. "But I did not ask."

"What more important stuff does a ball of light like yourself have to do anyways?" Darrius asked while sitting on a nearby crate storing several weapons for members of the Seidan Resistance.

"A lot actually!" Damashi snapped. "If only you knew!"

"I didn't mean to make assumptions," Darrius apologised to Damashi. "Good story, Dairou. What did you say your friend's name is by the way?"

"Shujinko," Dairou repeated.

"I know of that man!" Darrius finally realised. "He was a Seidan Guardsman like yourself a few years ago."

"He told me about that," Dairou recalled. "You've met him?"

"I've fought him," Darrius clarified. "I was causing what seemed to be a successful riot in Redtown…"

"Don't tell me now you're going to tell a story!" Damashi shouted before sighing in frustration.

"Nobody is forcing you here, buddy," Darrius told him.

"I'll return later," Damashi decided. "And when next we meet I expect progress, Dairou!"

"You'll get it," Dairou promised.

"Hmph," Damashi grunted before disappearing.

"He's grumpy," Darrius joked.

"You have no idea," Dairou replied as Darrius chuckled. "Now tell me about your encounter with Shujinko."

"Where was I…"

"Very chaotic, folks!" Darrius praised his allies as they vandalised one of the red painted streets in Redtown which civilians ran around in horror they screamed while running around with their hands in the air. "Redtown is nearly ours!"

"Look out, sir!" yelled a member of the Resistance. "It's a Guardsman!"

"A single Guardsman?" Darrius sought clarification and got a nod in response. "Hah! Leave them to me!"

Darrius pushed through the panicked crowd to meet the approaching Seidan Guardsman. Darrius grabbed the man and slammed him on his shoulder before throwing him aside onto the grassbank between the main pathway and the entryway to two adjacent towers that the Seidan Resistance had taken over. Darrius' allies approached and surrounded the Seidan Guardsman.

"Don't intervene," Darrius commanded. "He is mine."

Darrius tore the uniform helmet off of the Guardsmen and threw it to his allies who began playing catch with it while they waited for their leader to deal with the officer. With his helmet now removed, the Guardsman was exposed to be a young man with long black hair.

"State your name," Darrius demanded. "That is an order you people make to my own right?"

"I am Shujinko," he replied. "I have been ordered for the arrest of a man named Darrius."

"This must be a joke!" Darrius underestimated Shujinko. "There is no way Hotaru sent a mere rookie alone to stop me!"

"He has trained me himself," Shujinko revealed. "Trained me to bring terrorists such as yourself to justice."

"I prefer the term revolutionist," Darrius said as he offered Shujinko a hand up. "Well go on! I want to see what Hotaru has taught you."

"Maybe allow me to escort you to our station," Shujinko advised. "We can avoid any more violence."

"Hmm… no," Darrius refused.

"Then I must use force," Shujinko warned him as he raised his fists.

"I look forward to resisting arrest," Darrius said as he extended the blades on his gauntlets out and began swinging at Shujinko.

Shujinko flipped back before using the abilities of Hotaru that he had learnt to replicate during his training. Shujinko blasted a shot of lava from his very hands which created a burst at the ground beside Darrius, who swiftly sidestepped to avoid the attack. Darrius then dashed forth with a punch that was amplified by his magic energy that was of a bluish colour, perfectly complimenting his orange accented attire. Shujinko was knocked back from the punch where he would've fallen off the edge of the land, but he instead smacked off an invisible barrier of sorts.

"Once again Abacus' magic limits Seido," Darrius said as the barrier was of their doing. "Once I slay him his remaining followers will be dumped down to whatever lies beneath this city."

"Do not be confused between reality and dreams," Shujinko advised as slid forth thanks to the aid of Cryomancy that he had adopted from the first Sub-Zero.

Darrius was knocked over but rolled back to get to his feet before launching a projectile made up of his powerful blue coloured energy which caught Shujinko by surprise. Each new realm he entered, Shujinko was always caught off guard by his new discoveries. Darrius then began slicing at Shujinko after he was stunned by the projectile, his armour fortunately being strong enough to survive the first few slashes but Darrius' blades had intentionally been sharpened enough and made of strong enough metal to breakthrough the armour of Seidan Guardsmen. Cracks began forming as Darrius' bladed gauntlets began to deal more wear and tear to Shujinko's gear.

Shujinko used his wits to quickly strike a low kick to Darrius' shin, halting his offense for the moment. Shujinko then spun his leg around and landed his heel against the top of Darrius' skull after he had dropped down to a knee from the previous kick. Darrius tried to stand but Shujinko helped raise him up by sending an ice geyser from beneath Darrius which froze him in the air before a blast of lava unfroze him but also sent him flying into the side of one of the identical cone shaped towers that he had sought for the Seidan Resistance to seize control of.

"Darrius is down!" declared one of the observing Resistance members who rushed over to their unconscious leader.

"Disperse immediately!" Shujinko ordered the group which they complied out of fear of what would happen if they challenged the man who had just knocked out their powerful leader as they grabbed Darrius and began retreating.

"He beat you?" Dairou was shocked by Darrius' tale.

"We'd have a headquarters like this in Redtown too were it not for him!" Darrius was annoyed as he had to recall his past failure. "But if he was imprisoned then I take it he began to see things clearly."

"Like me," Dairou related to him. "Please give him a second chance."

"I shall," Darrius promised. "I am not as strict as most around here."

"That much is clear," Dairou remarked as he began rummaging through his box. "Anyways, I should continue evaluating my plans."

"Let me know if you need a second opinion," Darrius offered. "Later though, as I too have some plans to make…"

"Before you do, sir," came the voice of a fellow Resistance member as he barged into the room. "There's a matter that the others agree is kinda urgent."

"What's wrong, Knox?" Darrius asked his trusted ally.

"We've had an intruder," Knox reported to him. "Our security cameras caught it a few minutes ago."

"Was it a Seidan Guardsman?" Darrius asked as he clenched his fists at such a thought. "I'll catch you later, Dairou, I must help investigate this matter."

"Farewell," Dairou bidded as Darrius and Knox headed outside the room.

"So what was it?" Darrius inquired again as they headed to the room of their headquarters that had been designated for monitoring the security of all their bases within the city.

"I'm not sure," Knox admitted. "They were a man in a peculiar attire. Red and black. But nothing like a Seidan Guardsmen uniform I assure you."

"How are you so sure?"

"Take a look for yourself," Knox advised as he nudged the Resistance member operating the cameras to present the footage of the intruder.

"They managed to find the switch to our hidden passage," Knox detailed as the security footage played.

The Resistance's main headquarters also served as a genuine market business to prevent the building's standing from being questioned by the officers who patrolled Goldtown. Behind the counter to the store was a shelf that would open up with a push of a button hidden beneath the counter. Beyond that passageway was entry into the Seidan Resistance's main base of operations and it was right beneath the noses of the Seidan Guardsmen, who occasionally would make purchases to their masked business without knowing what the money they were giving was going towards.

"Here they just look around the corridor, and appear to have looked down each passageway," Knox continued to commentate over.

"Has anybody caught a glimpse of this man's face?"

"No, sir," Knox informed him. "His hood obscures his face the entire time he's on camera."

"So how long ago did he leave?" Darrius wondered as he hoped there was a chance that the Resistance could track him down in time for some answers.

"I never left."

"Agh!" Darrius and his Resistance allies inside the security room leapt up and spun around to face the calm yet nerving voice. "It's you!"

"It is," he confirmed. "I must say, that technology you Seidans have is quite impressive. My realm could do with some more of that."

"Who are you?"

"You're one for formalities, hm?" he sounded surprised. "Well then…"

The hooded man offered a handshake to the leader of the Seidan Resistance. Darrius cautiously accepted, and soon gasped as he had managed to somehow pull the man's hand off as they ended their handshake.

"Your hand!" Darrius yelled in shock as he now held a severed hand. "Wait… I see now…"

"Yes?" the man asked as he paid no attention to his detached limb.

"You're a Chaosrealmer are you not?"

"So many forceful questions," the man complained. "This is no way you should treat your guest… of course there are many ways but not this."

"You've just broken into our base," Darrius reminded him. "You owe us some answers."

"That's a shame."

"What is?"

"When I had heard about this Seidan Resistance I had indeed hoped that you were Seidans finally truly embracing Chaos," he had believed and sounded disappointed that he had just been exposed to such a formal and orderly interaction. "Maybe you just aren't fully understanding of the ways of Chaos yet.".

"You've heard of us?"

"Stop asking so many questions," the man requested quietly, clearly irritated but he had maintained his calmness. "If you want to, that is, I would never force a demand onto you."

"Well then, could you please give us some answers?"

"Enough of this!" Knox snapped as he suddenly took a knife he was carrying and threw it at the intruder who literally snapped his legs so that he could duck it before snapping his suddenly broken limbs back into place. The knife came back thanks to the use of blue energy, which Darrius had taught Knox to unlock and utilise, which was used to spin the knife back where it stabbed the man in the back.

"Wow!" the man reacted with applause as he ignored the knife impaled deeply into his back. "That was fun! I like your friend already!"

"Answers," Darrius reminded him. "Please?"

"Mannerisms are an unnecessarily enforced public expectation," he told Darrius eloquently as he calmly pulled the knife from his back and recklessly threw it back at Knox. "But since your friend put on such a good show… I'll be happy to let you know all about me!"

The man slowly began to pull his hood down, unveiling his horrifying face. The top half of his head was normal with natural flesh like a regular himan and black hair with a clump wrapped up into a ponytail. He then began laughing to himself at the looks of shock from the people observing him. At the bottom part of his face, he had completely torn his flesh off, leaving just bone which made seeing his chuckle even more unnerving. He eventually composed himself and went to begin speaking again...

"Now where should I begin…" the man wondered as he paced around the room. "Ah! My name! I am Havik: a cleric of Chaos. Fellow Chaosrealmers came to tell me about a discovery they had made during their labelled 'misdeeds' throughout this oppressive realm… that discovery was this Resistance."

"Chaosrealmers have heard of us?" Knox asked as he was surprised by the news but Darrius had expected such.

"We have an infamous reputation here," Darrius reminded his close ally. "As do the Chaosrealmers…"

"And that's what I liked the sound of!" Havik told the group. "I had hoped to have found some like minded individuals, but I am uncertain that my search has led me to such. I do also like uncertainty, however."

"We aren't like you if that's what you're wondering," Darrius clarified to Havik. "Your kind just seek anarchy, we are looking to better Seido… just by extreme measures."

"So are we," Havik countered, "because this realm would be so much better if it was brought into anarchy."

"I'm not too sure anymore," Darrius admitted. "But when me and my group take over Seido, we won't be doing whatever you Chaosrealmers do."

"As long as you don't try to oppress your fellow Seidans or my own home then I can accept that," Havik said with his calm demeanor changing ever so slightly when mentioning his own home as he dwelled on the Seidan Guardsmen who would come to try and control his people.

"That's good to hear," Darrius responded. "So is that all you wanted?"

"Well I could do with that back first," Havik pointed to the detached hand that Darrius was still holding. "Unless you want to keep it, of course."

"Um… you can have it back," Darrius said as he threw the hand over to Havik who caught it and stuck it back onto himself with ease. "Anything else?"

"I am well respected back home in the Realm of Chaos," Havik informed him. "I have plenty of fellow Chaosrealmers who would be willing to support your cause in destroying the Seidan Guard."

"Well that's not our only goal…" Darrius tried clarifying again.

"And that is fine with me," Havik reassured him. "Us having a mutual enemy is all we need to want to strike an alliance."

"I suppose you're right," Darrius agreed. "I accept this partnership."

"Excellent," Havik said with delight. "I will return with further details at a later date."

"When exactly?"

"Whenever I feel like it," Havik promised. "Farewell for now, friend."

"Uhh… bye?" Darrius replied as Havik put his hood back up and left the headquarters. "Well that was strange."

"More allies is a good thing though," Knox reviewed. "Right?"

"I hope so," Darrius replied with uncertainty. "I'm sure they'll be of aid… as odd as Chaosrealmers may be."

"Well at least it wasn't an officer," Knox said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is everything alright?" Dairou asked as he was concerned about what had been reported earlier about an intruder.

"It is resolved now, Dairou," Darrius assured him. "The intruder was wishing to strike an alliance."

"I see," Dairou noted.

"And who is this other ally?" Knox asked as he had not been properly introduced to Dairou yet.

"This is Dairou," Darrius introduced him. "The infamous mercenary himself."

"Hello," Dairou greeted. "I've been helping out the Seidan Resistance whenever I can for helping me out of prison many years ago."

"Why have I only met you now?" Knox asked with a puzzled expression on his face which his sunglasses, flashy like Darrius', covered.

"I take up lots of other work," Dairou clarified. "Anybody with the right amount of money can hire my services… unless its to murder innocents."

"I can respect that," Knox told him. "So what are you up to now?"

"I'm planning to free a friend from the prison just outside the city," Dairou informed him as he held some plans in his hand. "Darrius was kind enough to offer my refuge here."

"It's nothing," Darrius remarked.

"Wait… that's the prison where my sister is!" Knox realised. "Let me help!"

"I'm sorry but my current plan won't work with an extra pair of hands," Dairou regretfully informed him.

"Then change it!" Knox demanded.

"That's enough, Knox!" Darrius raised his voice. "If you want to free your sister then make your own plans!"

"When I joined your cause you promised me you'd get around to freeing her!" Knox yelled angrily as he reminded Darrius of his own promise. "I've waited long enough!"

"Patience, Knox!" Darrius requested. "Our last attempt was sloppy! We didn't get all the prisoners out and we lost some allies in the process!"

"Wait, was this the attempt that managed to get me out?" Dairou realised.

"It was," Darrius confirmed.

"Dairou!" Knox called for. "Did you meet a woman named Dani there?"

Dairou shook his head and claimed, "I would've remembered if I had."

"Okay," Knox said as he processed the information. "Look, if you're going to try and break into that prison then it'd be worth getting my sister out too."

"His plans aren't on behalf of us, Knox," Darrius clarified. "We cannot just make such a demand. He is being paid by a different accomplice."

"I don't care," Knox said bluntly. "Why would I pass up on this?"

"Because it has nothing to do with you, Knox," Darrius told him straight. "I apologise for this, Dairou."

"No, it's okay," Dairou reassured him. "I'll help you, Knox."

"Huh?"

"My entire family was murdered," Dairou recalled the tragic event. "It set me down this path... I won't let you be separated from your family too."

"Thank you," Knox said gratefully as he shed a tier behind his blacked out shades. "I'm sure you will be reunited with your family in due time."

"While they've gone to the Heavens, I'm afraid that I'm heading down south," Dairou expressed his concerns with the afterlife realms being no secret to Seido in another attempt to try and deter people from having sinful lives. "But come with me, Knox. Let us reevaluate my plans…"

"Let's do this," Knox said with a nod as the two headed off to continue preparing for the prison breakthrough…