"BULLSHIT!" Artorian screamed as he slammed his fist into the wall, fighting against the combined efforts of Emilia, Liddy, Reitia, Touka and Sakura trying to keep him seated. "You have a lot of damn nerve to think I'm not going after that bitch! So you better correct yourself right fucking now!"

"I stand by what I said. Nicolas informed us that Artorias contributed greatly to Bankert's hatred towards Slayers." Judal responded, albeit from the door of the private care facility unit, Artorian's wounds barely stitched up after Kaeda patched him up. "I doubt even extensive plastic surgery could hide your presence from her, especially if Dimandias and Ornstein's reports on who the ringleader could be. You're a greater risk than anything else."

"Please Artorian, I know you want to save Karen as soon as possible but if we can't find where they took her we… I don't want to lose her either!" Sakura pleaded with the hybrid, the effort all five were putting doing little as he forced himself to stand.

"I'll fucking get her! I'm not letting some arrogant, self-obsessed bastard decide how to save the only family I had for ten years that he used on me for fucking blackmail!" Artorian shouted in response, taking a step forward against them.

'T-This is insane! I was aware he was physically the strongest Slayer here, but two Variants, a partial Vessel and even another Abysswalker isn't holding him back!' Liddy thought, her taking the brunt of his efforts as she was physically the strongest one trying to keep him down.

"Shinshisho, you're still hurt…! Your wounds will reopen if you don't let them heal…!"

"Like some papercut wounds will stop me! Or this blond bastard of a-!"

"I'll go." Matthew spoke up as he and Claire entered the room, pushing past Judal with his shoulder.

"Matthew?"

"Let him go, you're just causing more stress on his wounds." Matthew said, the five hesitating before Reitia relented first, the rest following and Artorian stomped past them and got face-to-face with Matthew. The tension in the room escalated as Artorian glared hard enough that his eyes were going bloodshot, Matthew's eyes collected as he returned the stare.

"What the hell makes you think your thunder ass is any better than whoever Judal picks as his operative?" Artorian growled.

"We don't know Bankert's loyalty to the Anti-Slayers." Matthew pointed out. "She may have a means of preventing her from revealing information: a cyanide tooth, a kill switch that explodes her heart after uttering a single phrase, or even a gunmen pointing at her head every second she's visible. You rushing in could lose our only lead on where they could be located."

"Artorian, you and I have never seen eye to eye. We very likely will never after this. But let me make this clear." Matthew than placed a hand on Artorian's shoulder, pushing his fellow hybrid back and giving him a somber stare. "I will do whatever I can to apprehend Amanda Bankert and find where they took Karen."

"Words are cheap, as you have been in the past."

"On my family's name. On my father's legacy."

Those words alone silenced Artorian, the hybrid looking at his fellow Slayer with rage still. However his fury cooled slightly at Matthew's promise, an untold weight behind it only he could understand.

"…FUCK!" The weight of Artorian's scream physically forced his feet to dent in the floor, the Abysswalker trembling in rage as he looked down.

"I know you don't want to trust anyone else to do this, but it's the only way to rescue both Karen and Miharu before it's too late." Matthew reassured Artorian.

"One thing goes wrong, one thing, and I will tear that building down and dig her mangled body out to get the information. Are. We. Clear?" Artorian growled, looking Matthew in the eyes one last time.

"Crystal."

"I want to be on whatever we have that can fly undetected, try to keep me so much as a kilometer away and I'll break in myself." Artorian relented, the pressure behind him going down as he looked down in shame.

"I believe we can accommodate that." Charlotte stated, stepping in behind Claire. "I'll see about getting you and your plus one good enough disguises. Have anyone in mind?"

"Claire, what's Erica doing right now?" Matthew asked, looking back to his commander.

"Helping in the debris removal of the hospital." Claire answered.

"Tell Chris he's taking over for her. I'll need someone good with tech and capable of being on the field when we infiltrate." Matthew said. "Liddy, Emilia, I need to talk with you as well. Walk with me."

"I'll come too." Reitia added.

"No, go help with clearing the hospital. Take Touka with you too." Matthew ordered.

"But I-"

"Please, I have to talk with them privately." Matthew interrupted, Reitia surprised at the somber tone in his voice.

"…Okay." She relented.

"It must be pretty big, you and I don't talk much." Emilia said, her and Liddy following the hybrid until they were in an empty room. A pulse of Matthew's lightning caused the camera's to burst, any device rendered broken as he looked to them.

"We need to talk about Artorian's condition."

"His injuries were bad, but your concern doesn't seem to be in character." Liddy called out.

"Not his physical wounds. His mental. The Abyss." The subject alone brought a cold seriousness, the Slayers all struggling to think on what to say next with this confrontation.

"W-What about it?" Emilia asked.

"The last time he slept was almost a month ago, and with Karen's pendant destroyed, there is a very slim window to get him the treatment he'd need. And with how potent the Abyss has been the past few weeks we need to start taking every consideration into account."

"Are you saying there's a chance the Abyss could control him?"

"I'm saying when it happens, I need people who understand the danger he possesses and understands what needs to be done." Matthew corrected. "Of the people who can do something, you're the only two I believe that understand the danger that comes with an Abysswalker losing control. And the only ones I can trust to do the right thing."

"What about Claire? If we explain the Abyss to her-"

"Out of the question. Even if we do, Claire would be limited to the information. She's also become too attached to Artorian, she can't do what would be expected of her."

"And Liddy doesn't care? I don't?" Emilia argued.

"It's because you care about him and understand the weight of this situation that you know what I mean." Matthew stated. "I am not asking you to throw aside your feelings for him Emilia. All I ask is you don't stop me when I do what needs to be done."

The Slayers looked down in silence at Matthew's request, the weight of the responsibility far greater than they could have predicted. Deep down, both had understood that this was the outcome of their relation with Artorian. He himself made it clear that the Abyss would win in the end, but with everything that's happened, the approach of the Abyss felt cruel and unfair. No less what is expected of such a corrupt presence.

"I'm sorry, I really am." Matthew said, placing a hand on Emilia's shoulder. "But you know that it's what he'd want."

"…Maybe it won't come to that. Artorian's stronger than you or anyone else gives him credit for." Emilia said, albeit her tone made it clear it was a distant hope.

"Hold on to your hope, but understand we have a duty when it happens." Matthew said. "You two should get some rest. It's been a long day and we don't know when we'll make our assault on the Anti-Slayer faction." Matthew then stepped past the two, opening the door and pausing before leaving. "I've never liked Artorian, but I understand this is a hard decision. If it were Reitia I would carry on with a heavy heart."

"But could you still do it?" Emilia asked.

The hybrid remained silent as he looked out the door, the air around him growing heavy as he tightened his grip on the doorframe. "If it was the only option… then yes."

"…He's what's wrong with Lords." Emilia said when Matthew left. "They choose duty above all else, they can't see anything but that."

"Maybe, but we both know the dangers the Abyss carries. If Artorian loses control we have no choice but stop him." Liddy responded. "We don't have to agree, but Matthew is right."

"It's Matthew's people that chose to leash Artorian's family like dogs. Neither him or the Lords are right." Emilia spat back.

"I know, but do you have any idea on how to stop him otherwise?"

"…"

"I'm sorry Emilia, but we don't have any other choice."

"…And neither did he."

"I fucking hate this, being sidelined when Karen and Miharu are both in the hands of damn terrorists." Artorian said, his fists tightening as much as he could, Charlotte sitting across from him as she typed on her laptop.

"I know, but you know Matthew's right. There're too many variables to account for. Bankert may have something to counter the Abyss for all we know, you could end up being who we need to save if we aren't careful."

"Charlotte… we both know I'm on day 24. It's a miracle I'm still awake." Artorian said, looking to the pillow on his bed and grabbing Karen's broken pendant, shifting the shards to face up the pictures of Hayato and her parents. "And with her pendant destroyed, there's nothing to cleanse me when it takes over."

"Don't talk like that, once we rescue Karen we can keep you awake with stimulations and my latest batch of medicine." Charlotte stated, the mentioned medicine held in a white vial next to her. "Some of the additional drugs could be painful, but if we can keep you awake for a few more days, I'm sure Karen can enchant another pendant."

"That's a big leap, especially since your medicine hasn't been tested yet."

"And here I thought I was trusted."

"Charlotte-"

"It will work, so don't even bother trying to say otherwise." The woman stated, not accepting another doubt from the Abysswalker as he looked to her from his bed.

"It wasn't your fault, no one could predict the Second Attack's timing would happen so close to the Century Armament's testing." Artorian eventual said, Charlotte stopping her work as she hid her face by looking at her screen.

"Is that what you think this is about?"

"I don't have to."

"Then you already know what I'd say next, so stop planning on our failure and find the right words to apologize to them when everything is done." Charlotte ordered, going back to her work as the hybrid hung his head in shame, his eyes looking at the outdated photo of Hayato and reflecting on what he had become.

'I failed you, but I know you don't want her hurt either.' He thought, clenching his hand and crushing the remains of the pendant in his palm. 'I won't fail her.'

"Dr. Dimandias, you called for me?" A tired voice spoke at the door, the two looking to see Nesat. The former Hunter was dressed in the clothes she was given before Vitaly's attack, her eyepatch gone revealing the glowing artificial eye. Her left eye had returned to its usual grey; however her hair was still the bright blonde, a permanent defect her overloaded Variant Mode caused.

"Ah, perfect timing Nesat." Charlotte said with a smile, looking back to the girl as she pulled a maroon variable stone out of her pocket. "I just finished the calibrations."

It was a terrifying silence, Karen barely remembering to breathe with each step as she was directed by Cronu directed her with a hand on her shoulder, Miharu being carried over Desen's shoulder as the larger man growled in annoyance.

"This is bullshit, he makes us do pickup and then drop off while he gets to talk to the boss?"

"Would you like to explain what happened? I'm sure they'd love to hear what happened." Cronu responded simply, the brute grunting in response. He was itching for a fight, especially since Artorian without his variable suit hit him hard enough to crack his charcoal skin, the crack across his face still visible past the shattered visor, but the sins were a league of their own, and he wouldn't last ten seconds against the weakest in a straight up fight.

"Good, now shut up." Cronu spat back, guiding Karen through the intertwining halls without looking to her, following Envy's orders since he was pinged by the Collective. Barely able to handle the pressure of the situation, Karen looked back to Miharu to see the nurse was motionless, either unresisting or passed out from the pain she endured. The thought terrified Karen, concerned that the nurse's injuries could be worse than the expected broken ribs, not to mention her leg was covered in her blood, the injury still untreated.

Karen lost track of time once they were at the Anti-Slayer's cell blocks, her being pushed in by the smaller man. The silence was cut when Desen tossed Miharu into the cell, the impact of hitting the ground causing her to shout in pain as she was jolted awake.

"Miharu!"

"Will you stow it!" As Karen went down to check on the nurse, Cronu shoved Desen by his shoulder to push him away, the large man cracking his neck as he took the challenge.

"What's wrong, growing a heart for the w-!" Before Desen could put in an insult, he was floor as Cronu was in the finished position of a punch.

"Envy informed you to check your behavior, and if you didn't I would." Cronu stated, his multicolored eyes glowing past his visor as he dared the man to make another move. "Now pick yourself up and get out. Go check on the artillery and make yourself useful."

"If the bastard didn't crack my skin, I'd give you a reality check you'd never forget." Desen growled before getting up and leaving, the door shutting behind him as Cronu sighed.

"Freedom fighter to terrorist in a day, way to go." Cronu said to himself before turning to the prisoners, Karen helping Miharu sit on one of the beds.

"I-Is your wound still bleeding? We can use the sheets from my bed to… to… make a… what is it called?" Karen asked, still shaking as she asked how she could help the nurse.

"Torniquet, but it's fine." Miharu winced, giving the girl her best smile she could give. "It stopped bleeding awhile ago, I just need some… some rest."

"If you want an infection maybe." Cronu responded, Miharu attempting to put her body between him and Karen as he entered the cell.

"Get a step closer and you'll…" Miharu nearly collapsed as she became lightheaded, Karen surprised as Cronu appeared beside them and caught the nurse, leaned her back against the wall.

"You lost too much blood, I told Envy you needed attention right away. But leave it to a Sin to put an injured civilian in a cell rather than the infirmary." Cronu spat, the two blinking to see him now on a knee with disinfectant and bandage wrapping. "We don't have much for the severity of the wound, but luckily it was mostly clean. I can prevent an infection and clean things up."

"And what's to stop that from… making it worse?" Miharu questioned, Cronu sighing before taking his helmet off, exposing his black hair and red/blue eyes, his complexion showed he was from the Middle East.

"Ma'am, I know you have no reason to trust me. But before… this, I was a doctor. Same as you. Please let me treat your wound."

"You think helping one person makes the dozens you killed go away?" Miharu narrowed her eyes at the man.

"No, they'll never go away." Cronu responded, going silent as he cleaned the blood off of Miharu, the man being careful with her wound as he disinfected and wrapped it up.

He didn't say another word as he stood up, turning and walking out of the cell and closing it. He took a look back to see Karen, the scared girl looking at him with eyes that brought a bloody memory and caused him to look away in shame. "Since none of the other Vessels can be trusted, I'll be taking over as your security. I'll bring you food in an hour. If you need to use the restroom I'll let you out to go. And I'll get you a change of clothes as soon as I'm able."

"Karen, don't trust him." Miharu said as the man left. "The infighting was likely staged, an attempt to make us believe he's trustworthy, the "favors" are just further efforts to trick us."

"I-I know." Karen stuttered, the girl still shaking from the shock of the past couple of hours.

"It's okay Karen, I know it looks bad now but it'll be okay." Miharu comforted the girl, hugging her and resting her face against her shoulder as she embraced her. "I'm certain Artorian and the others are already working on finding us. Wherever we are, he'll find us in record time. Nothing can keep him from saving you."

'That's what I'm afraid of.' Karen thought as she started to cry into Miharu's shoulder, unable to speak through her sobs.

"You were given explicit orders not to attack Warslran!" A cold fury came over Wrath as the sins spoke, Envy rolling his eyes under his helmet as the older man scolded him. "Do you have any idea what this looks like? This became world news in minutes. Minutes and you tore down all of our Liege's work into revisioning the Anti-Slayer movement. And in doing so casted us all as an extremist terrorist organization."

"I'm not sure if you know this, Wrath, we have a member whose explicit job is to eat loose ends." Envy countered. "And last I checked, I was given weaponry and ordinance, I just put them to their designated use."

"Gluttony is meant to keep dangerous ties from breaking off to hurt civilians, to learn from the mistakes of the First Generation Slayers. What you have ended up following." Wrath argued.

"Oh please, I kicked the beehive and jumped in the water. They have no way of finding me and I showed that the Slayers are weak and incompetent. I'm doing us a favor."

"You struck a hospital filled with civilians injured during the previous attack not two days ago." Pride added in, her stare remaining calm but with much more anger than Wrath. "And for what? Your meaningless grudges?"

"Leave it to a fool to do a fool's errand." Lust chuckled, a single stare from Wrath turning him silent with a professional face. "But you seriously made a mistake this time Envy, it's ugly to kill so many people without a purpose."

"Can I go and take a few bodies? I've run out of my own." Gluttony asked, sucking on a finger as he looked off focus, likely at the damage of the hospital.

"No Gluttony, we have enough worries without you ending up caught on the ship." Wrath stated, Gluttony whining at the reason.

"But Wraaaaath, I'm super stealthy. I promise to be in and out before anyone sees me."

"No Gluttony. We'll discuss a meal after this."

"…Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay, I'm pretty set on this meeting then!"

"Good… one problem's set then." Sloth sighed. "And Envy?"

"Oh please, what can be done here when He isn't-?" Envy spat at the woman, freezing in fear as a black fog filled his room.

"My sincerest apologies Envy, you know how much effort it takes out of Milady to send me great distances and I wished to give her time." Envy and the rest of the Sins all dropped simultaneously to a single knee as armored footsteps went to the center.

The man that appeared was massive, a Lord adorned in damaged yet polished black armor. Not a part of his skin was visible, and on his back was a greatsword so large it equaled him in size. The power radiating from him sent shivers down several of the Sins, Envy nearly shaking from the raw presence he exuded through the black fog.

"Lord Raime, I was not expecting the honor of an in-person audience. I am truly sorry for such a lack of manners." Envy apologized immediately, keeping his head lowered as far down as he could while avoiding stuttering just barely.

"It was a rare occasion, there would have been no way you'd know." Raime forgave the man, a raven on his shoulder cawing at Envy as it spread it's wings.

"M-M-My Liege, what gives us such an honor to hear from you?" Lust asked, shaking from the pressure despite being in a different country.

"It shouldn't be too surprising that seeing the news of an Anti-Slayer terrorist attack was deemed necessary to investigate. I did uplift all of you with the intention of avoiding such an… incident." Raime answered, Envy sweating under his helmet as the Lord approached him. "Envy, could you inform me why you attacked despite your peers and my wishes?"

"I-I-I-I… I beg your forgiveness my Liege!" Envy pleaded, dropping to a prostate position with his head down by Raime's feet. "You warned us a rival was on the vessel, but I wished to remove a stain on the world with one of the Slayers on board."

"Artorian correct? The son of Artorias of the Abyss?" Raime asked, stepping away with a hum. "There were reports he was stabbed; I assume that was you?"

"Y-Yes my Liege!"

"It was never confirmed outside of his inner circle if the Lord was actually the Abysswalker or a decoy Lordran deployed. Releasing such a powerful asset seemed too… flawed, for Gwyn." Raime pondered, nodding as his raven cawed in response. "Could you tell if Artorian was a True Abysswalker?"

"No my Liege… I-I didn't even sense the Abyss within him."

"Not even sensed?" Raime echoed with curiosity, looking to Wrath. "Wrath, our intel does point to him as the lead of the original Slayer program correct?"

"Yes, however even in my position I couldn't get much more than the black ink covered in the program." Wrath answered dutifully, not an ounce of fear present as he showed his respect to their master.

"Perhaps Artorias truly was bait after all, well played Gwyn." Raime assumed. "Well Envy, you may have solved a problem for us. However you created one just as damaging. Your attack reflects negatively on our movement, and has forced us into a difficult position."

"What would you have us do our Liege?" Pride asked.

"We will have to completely disavow the attack, Envy will be regarded as a renegade extremist that went too far against the new Balance Act Movement." Raime detailed. "Pride, I hope that will not be too much."

"Of course not, my Liege."

"This also may be a chance to make some amends with Warslran and build bridges." Raime added. "Wrath, I would like you to make a public announcement on strike orders on Envy and put up a bounty for his capture or elimination."

"M-My Liege?" Envy stuttered out.

"Do not worry Envy, if we get to you first I have no intention of killing you. But we will have to look good to the rest of humanity if we're to have a foothold in politics." Raime promised.

"I understand my Liege."

"Lord Raime, what funds should I put for the bounty?" Wrath asked, getting a thoughtful hum from Raime.

"Although I'd prefer we reached him first, I have a sneaking suspicion that Warslran may find Envy before we send in a collection team to make it look good. And from what little our info-broker told us, Judal has something important planned. Something that could lighten the burden of Savage attacks and make for bargaining space." Mulling over everything, Raime turned to Wrath as he folded his hands behind his back. "Wrath, put forward ten percent of my personal treasury to serve as the bounty. If Warslran gets it first, I'm hoping that'll serve as the funding they need for Judal's project."

"It will be done."

"Very well, it seems we have a plan in motion." Raime stated, turning back to Envy. "We'll be coming around to evacuate you in three days. If anyone attacks you before, do your best to stay alive and keep our secrets safe."

"Of course my Liege, I'll see to our defenses are triple checked every ten minutes to make sure nothing gets by." Envy promised, getting a satisfied nod from Raime.

"Then our meeting's done here. Everyone continue with your efforts, and we will execute radio silence between each other for two months. Any discussions after today must be done in person. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my Liege." Every Sin responded.

"Good."

"My Liege, would you object if your tribunal discussed a few things before you return to isolation?" Pride requested, getting Raime's attention as Sloth, Gluttony and Lust signed off.

"Of course Pride. Envy."

"Understood, my Liege." Envy gave a final bow before standing and striding out of the room, the door shutting as the fog remained around the Lord.

"So Pride, what confusion may I alleviate?"

"The Abyssal bloodline has carried the Abyss for centuries. Even if Artorias was not an Abysswalker, he would be a Vessel. His son no doubt is an Abysswalker." Pride discussed. "Why lie to Envy?"

"I'm curious to see how my rival will handle such an opponent." Raime admitted. "Although Envy is far from the strongest, he is a Sin with merit. If he's reported not sensing the Abyss within him, Artorian may just be as blind as the rest of Lordran, lost in ignorance."

"Pretty risky, what if Envy loses?" Greed asked.

"There isn't much to it, if he loses he was unable to attain what he grew so envious for." Raime answered. "I admit, I admire his drive to claim that which he cannot have, the same drive I see in you Greed. But unlike you, his desire causes him confliction. He hesitates, and that hesitation has been his greatest weakness."

"I see, so this plan is to either remove that hesitation or remove him." Wrath realized, rubbing his chin in thought. "Due to his actions, we most likely will have a net-positive of whatever comes of the end of the week."

"But is risking one of us that wise my Liege? No Vessel can compare to an Abysswalker." Pride responded.

"Never underestimate the Abyss Pride. This is also… an experiment of sorts." Raime stated. "Human Vessels are still a recent creation, Artorias' work was quite inspiring given his lieutenants. You are my Sins because you embody what I see in humanity, the strengths that'd be tossed away to appear normal. If he can surpass the hold the Abyss has on him, I believe Envy may surpass all of you quickly."

"I understand then, this gamble may provide a new second and the strongest Sin present." Pride lowered her head, still objected to the plan but has been satisfied with the answers.

"It may also determine whether my rival is powerful enough to stop me, or if he may have added his own Vessels to his forces." Raime added. "If your questions are answered, then we must cut communications. I will be discussing our next step with Milady for when Envy is retrieved or killed."

"At peace, our Liege." The three Sins stated before their feed cut, Raime's body fading away as the black mist vanished, a deafening silence filling as Raime's forces planned their next move.

"This is quite the special gathering; wish I was chosen to be your plus one." Traveling the flourishing capital of Britannia, Fritz tipped his hat up to look in the back of the limo he was driving.

"I'd never be able to sell our relationship. If Artorian could be trusted you'd maybe have gotten it then." Matthew responded, adjusting his tie as Erica sat across from him. The two looked drastically different from normal, the hybrid having a long crimson wig with green contacts in, any scar or blemish removed with makeup, all finished up with a white tuxedo.

Erica meanwhile had dyed her hair white, adding some blue streaks to match her dark blue contacts. Her dress matched the shade of blue while having white markings down her front, a golden sash finishing the outfit that better focused her lower body.

"How long do I have to get in position?" Fritz asked.

"Approximately 30 minutes, Matthew and I will mingle with the guests for a while to dispel any doubt before getting to work." Erica informed. "Remember to put as little power into your shot as possible. The less injured she is the more we have to work with."

"Aye aye ma'am." Fritz saluted.

"Thank you for coming on short notice Fritz, Warslran's transport jets aren't the most comfortable when transporting across the globe within a two hours." Matthew said to the blond, getting a shrug in return.

"Beats the hell out of janitor duty." Fritz laughed it off. As a sniper, there wasn't many jobs he could do back at Liberia, so being personally picked by Matthew was the first real mission he's going on since joining Warslran.

It was after five more minutes that the destination was reached, Fritz opening the door for the two for them to step out in front of a massive mansion, both registering it was three times the size of Claire's estate on Little Garden at least.

"I see she lacks restraint." Matthew whispered with a sigh.

"Wasn't your family's manor in Lordran even bigger than this?" Erica responded.

"…Let's not waste our time here." Matthew refused to answer, Fritz getting back into the limo and driving away. As the two walked the courtyard past the two fountains, they were greeted by a security team of six guards, each armed with N-Tranquilizer rifles.

"Hold it, we need to check your persons before you may enter." The head of the team said, holding a scanner up to Matthew and beginning to search for any hidden weapons.

"Does there appear to be any problems?" As the guard scanned Matthew, Amanda Bankert appeared at the top of the staircase, wearing a gilded red dress as she approached the search.

"Just scanning for any weapons ma'am." The captain responded.

"I don't believe our guests came all the way from the Rasiya Empire to cause trouble, do you?" Amanda pointed out to the captain, him having found nothing despite a deep-tissue scan, albeit shocked by the supposed businessman's compact muscle structure. "Amanda Fairbanks Bankert, it's rare to meet another of such refinement, or with such fair taste in fashion." The woman's second statement was pointed towards Erica, the Slayer laughing in a laxer tone.

"Trevor Synclaire, it's an privilege to have been invited to such an event." Matthew responded, folding his arms behind his back as he noted the woman's smirk of approval at his response.

"How nice to finally have someone with backbone here, most of my guests have grown too lax in these times." Amanda stated, motioning for the two to follow as they walked up the stairs. "Complacency seems to have been the greatest fault of leaders these days. Everyone's quick to entertain those with influence."

"My placement is well established. I look for equals, not superiors." Matthew responded.

"And you found yourself quite the equal." Amanda complimented. "Tell me Hannah, what is it like to be dating one of the top suppliers of Anti-Savage weaponry?"

"It's an interesting experience to say the least." Erica answered. "It's rare to find a man who can take control of a room with complete authority."

"All too rare." Amanda agreed, the base of the mansion massive in scope. The decorations mixing from the sleek steel walls detailed with green energy, making out various images of human history and even detailing the First and Second Attacks. "I must apologize, I have a few other guests to attend to, their egos take hits if I don't give them a certain amount of attention."

"Of course, and as host it is best to keep them entertained." Matthew agreed.

"Help yourself to tour the entire premises. And please, help yourself to the drinks. The specialty today is Mongolian airag." Amanda offered to the two, getting appreciative nods as they walked away, one of Amanda's security approaching her as they walked outside to the balcony.

"Twenty guards that we can find." Matthew spoke, making sure he and Erica were alone or out of ear shot. "Did you see any areas that could have her shipping manifest?"

"Two locations fit the best." Erica responded, her contacts flashing as she looked over the signals. "One has five guards present, and the other is a floor up, likely her own room."

"Every entrance way there has guards posted, along with a team of six on the roof likely ready to repel in at the sound of trouble." Over the two's earpiece Charlotte spoke.

"We'll check the guards' room first then, maybe find something useful in there to get into her room." Matthew decided.

"We should mingle for a bit before we do. It'd arouse suspicion if we walked out for a minute just to walk back in." Erica pointed out, Matthew nodding in agreement.

"We'll be cutting contact until you're in their system." Charlotte informed, already picking up on the mansion's security attempting to worm into their frequency.

When the communication cut, the two Slayers went on to mingle with the guests across the party, having to stall for time to be noticed without putting themselves too forward in the main hall. They also made sure not to converse for too long, as any cracks in their story would be picked up if the guests ever spoke while they were away.

After enough time was spent introducing themselves to the rest of the guests, the pair stopped in front of the guards' room, a holographic system appearing much to Erica's relief. A holo-lock was much easier to bypass than physical and avoided noise on her end. Matthew made sure to stand between Erica and the eyesight of several guests, participating in a small toast before Erica pulled him to follow. When the door closed, the two sighed as there was still a small hall before entering the main office.

"To think there was so many people that shared a disagreement on Slayer operations." Erica said, having nearly had to bite her tongue with the amount of guests that degraded the past couple of missions from Warslran in particular.

"I'm more concerned with the people. Especially since Amanda's guards are armored with technology that Warslran are supposed to have a monopoly on." Matthew stated, recalling the weaponry and armor of the guards. "N-Tranquilizers may be out of the question."

"If we activate our Hundreds, there will likely be sensors that will pick up on the high concentration of energy." Erica responded. "We have no idea how many guards are in the next room. If we can't take them out with N-Tranquilizers, we can't take them down in time."

"We have more than energy to work with." Matthew reminded the Slayer, his hands cackling with lightning as he glared at the room.

There was no lock software on the guards' door, so Erica quickly interacted with the hologram before flinching as Matthew flew right past her. One guard had no time to react as he was kicked square in the face and knocked back against the wall. The second only had time to see Matthew when the hybrid slammed him onto the ground, kicking the chair into the third before delivering a swift kick down on his head to knock him out.

One was reaching for his gun when Matthew delivered a harsh punch to his chest, not fully extending for the strike before circling around the final guard and tripping him from behind. The guard could only turn up to see Matthew rearing his fist back before hitting the ground hard from a strong blow to his face.

The four other guards slumped down like dead weight when Matthew let out a wince, tightening his fists as his lightning slowly sparked away.

"Matthew?"

"Without my armament it's a lot more of a burden to use as an enhancement." Matthew responded, placing a hand on the desk as he let his muscles relax from the sudden pressure. "I'll be fine, see what you can find on the database while I bound the guards."

Erica wanted to make sure he was okay, but knowing they were on a time limit agreed with the plan and went to the main computer, getting into the system and linking her contacts with the network while Matthew cuffed the guards' wrists and ankles, placing thin metallic muzzles to keep them quiet before standing up.

"Find anything?"

"Well, from what I can find this isn't her actual residence, there's no labeled bedroom that she or any guests would be staying at." Erica explained, pulling up a holographic projection of the mansion. "However, that upper room I mentioned. It's bigger than the initial scan showed." She then focused the image, seeing that the above area was almost as large as the main hall of the mansion, if not compact to fit in the remaining space.

"A little too big to be a regular room." Matthew noted, getting a nod from Erica.

"And there's a clear no access policy unless Amanda gives authorization." Erica pointed out. "If you give me a minute, we'll have a virus in to access their comms and let Charlotte fully in for open communications."

"Sounds good. What else do we need?"

"With Charlotte in their system? Just a voice sample. And maybe a DNA sample if you can get it."

"I'm not sure I'm the best suited for that. Especially after our introduction."

"…You're joking."

"You might need a fresh coat." Matthew responded, putting the lipstick Erica had on by the keyboard. "I think she liked the blue."

(A/N): I... have no excuse this time. Summer classes and lack of sleep have been hitting hard, and I've gotten into the Warhammer hobby and have bought and build the models needed to make an army. Painting's been helping me relax but I've slowly been getting back into writing so with luck I'll be getting the next chapter out sooner or within a month or so since I have a trip with a friend planned. It'll help that this chapter was adjusted to be cut short of the original plan, as I may have been writing for another week or two in order to get it out, not mentioning the edits made to what I had set.

Sorry for such a long delay, hopefully I won't be putting you on wait that long and hope this chapter will hold you over as after the next part's done that's when the arc will really kick off. At least that's the plan and I look forward to seeing how it turns out as my first original arc in awhile. Have a good day and I hope to see you in the next chapter. Peace!