To the northeast of New Mayhall stood Roslin, a city that had a similar history its two "allies".

Roslin received its name from a past ruler, a woman who was said to have killed many Corrupted and protected hundreds. There were many similar figures around the continent of Sulvar but none of them reached the heights of Anton, the enigmatic man who was something like a religious figure.

Inside the concrete walls of Roslin, the city stirred in a lively manner. Their government, laws, and general culture were different from New Mayhall but they retained order. Of course, that didn’t apply much to the lower class area. A seedy apartment complex with a blinking light saw various aggressive looking individuals gathered outside.

A convoy of several dark trucks came driving from off in the distance and stopped in front of the apartment and soldiers began pouring out.

“Disperse!” An order was shouted through a loudspeaker and no matter how intimidating they looked, the individuals did as asked and quickly left.

“Goodness, you’d think they would at least engage in a productive activity.” A well-dressed man scoffed as he climbed out of the car. He, along with several soldiers in dark blue fatigues, entered the building and took the elevator up to the highest floor. They quickly moved to the end of the corridor and knocked on a door with patched up bullet holes and dents covering it.

“It’s open!” A voice called out from inside.

The well-dressed man nodded toward one of the guards and they opened up the door before checking for any threats.

“You guys really have to do that every time?” Said a shirtless young man who was currently enjoying a cigarette. He couldn’t have been over his early twenties, but his eyes were filled with the experience of a well-trained soldier. Even his body, which he showed no sign of covering, showed off an impressive amount of muscle as well as a few battle scars.

The young man ran his fingers through short black hair while his grey eyes remained locked on the well-dressed man who stood huddled between his soldiers.

“It’s a matter of precaution, Mr. Demetrius.”

“Sure it is...” Demetrius picked up a small knife and narrowed one eye.

The soldiers immediately raised their weapons but he paid them no mind. He tossed the knife and it struck a target on the wall. The sound of the impact caused the well-dressed man to slightly jump in a startled manner.

“Easy, guys. Can’t I enjoy myself in my own home?” He put out his cigarette on an ashtray and stood up. “So what do you want?”

The well-dressed man frowned before speaking, “This was classified information for the last few years but...New Mayhall has found out about our activity with the Freedom City and they were behind those attacks on our shipments. That’s also the reason why all of our contacts in New Mayhall went quiet.”

There was no way he would guess that the entire event was caused by Visette who inadvertently caused a power surge in the detention facility. Still, even if she hadn’t, the group of Abnormals who broke out of the facility were scouting out restricted areas so it was clear they were planning something prior to the event.

“So?” Demetrius asked, picking up another knife and tossing it at the target.

“Our retaliation is long overdue.” The well-dressed man spoke.

“You want me to attack them?” Demetrius asked. Even though the request would seem too much for one person, he didn’t seem shaken by the thought of it.

“Yes, but you won't you be alone. We’re assigning you a team to assassinate one of New Mayhall’s Councilor’s.”

“So how's the money?”

“What?”

“How much money am I getting for this?”

“You’re a soldier of our city, money should be the least of your concern-”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Demetrius stopped just as he was just about to throw a knife. “I made it clear that I’ll move for money and nothing else.”

“Don’t forget that we risked our relationship with the Freedom City when we accepted you. We’ve paid you as we promised but all you do is spend all your money on gambling, alcohol, women, and cheap cigarettes.”

“I want fifty-thousand in my account before I start.” Demetrius fiercely threw another knife at the target.

“That’s not going to happen-”

“Think carefully.” Demetrius paused with a throwing knife in his grip. “I don’t know if they told you but you had a predecessor. He was a fairly smart guy who would come here and give me assignments just like you’re doing now. You want to know what happened?”

Demetrius threw the knife at the target board with all his strength and it sunk in until the handle stopped it from going any further.

“He died.” Demetrius flashed a grin. “If I remember correctly, it was in that same spot you’re standing in now. It was easy to kill him, but taking out his guards required a bit more effort.”

“Are you threatening me? You think that my superiors would allow you to harm me?”

“I killed the one who came before you and I’m still here. You can understand what that means, right? Unless you can sprout type-4 and type-5 abnormal traits, you don’t have any value when compared to me. Now go back to whatever kennel you crawled out from and give them my conditions.”

The well-dressed man opened and closed his mouth a few times before retreating in defeat. He clearly had no confidence in dealing with the young man in front of him.

Demetrius laughed at the cowering official and fell back into his torn up leather chair, lighting another cigarette with a sense of triumph.

…

Meanwhile, in New Mayhall, Visette was being briefed by Commander Wakefield. Her reintegration into society was accepted by the Councilors though Dr. Eliza protested.

“Let’s get some thing’s clear, Visette Thales. I understand that you want benefits in exchange for your cooperation. That’s why I’m enrolling you in New Mayhall’s academy for a brief period of time. While you’re there you’ll have unrestricted access to all types of material, especially the things you asked for while you were being trained. All you have to do while you’re in the Academy is ensure the safety of Charlie, no matter the cost.”

Visette remained silent as Commander Wakefield paused and gathered his thoughts.

“Moving on, you will have a special role in New Mayhall’s army. I will personally see that once you achieve enough merits, a fitting reward will be given to you.”

“As a reward, I would like the smallest version a novidium battery that you have, the components to create a battery, and samples of the mineral itself.”

“Let me guess…” Commander Wakefield reached into his desk and produced Visette’s old watch she received inside the Minerva Laboratory. “You want to use it to power this?”

“Incorrect,” Visette replied. “I only wish to study the battery.”

“Oh…Well, that can be done, but remember, you’ll have to complete the assignments I give you before that time comes.”

“I understand,” Visette responded with no real emotion.

“Then you’re dismissed. O’Hara will deal with the issue of your residence, salary, equipment, and enrollment. Also, be sure to change your clothes as soon as you can, Thales.”

Visette nodded and left the room without showing any sign of military etiquette. It was a subject that wasn't covered in her training and Lyn placed no importance on it though Commander Wakefield didn’t care much.

Almost as soon as Vis left, Dr. Eliza burst into Commander Wakefield’s office.

“What are you doing, Nathan?!” Dr. Eliza questioned him furiously.

“What do you mean by that?” Commander Wakefield asked.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t aware that you submitted my suggestion from four years ago to the council! I advised you to place Visette into a social environment and you refused adamantly until now.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy then? She’ll get more than enough interaction with those of a similar age.”

“That suggestion does not apply now. A current evaluation would show that she isn’t fit to be suddenly placed into the Academy. You were supposed to allow Rachel and Charlie to have regular contact with Visette so she could gradually get accustomed to socializing and understanding others.”

“I think you’re underestimating her a little, Doctor.”

“You do realize you are taking a girl who has been doing nothing but harsh training for the last four years and forcefully putting her somewhere she isn’t accustomed to. What do you think will happen if someone mindlessly tries to bother her? She could misunderstand simple actions as hostile ones and end up hurting or even killing someone, Commander.”

“Fine, I’ll have O’Hara set some guidelines in order to make sure she doesn’t act without orders. I’ll even have a remote lockbox installed in her locker so that she only has access to her service weapon during an emergency.”

“...You’re allowing her to carry a weapon?” Dr. Eliza asked, completely distraught at Commander Wakefield’s words. It seemed as if he was in his own world and heard nothing she said.

“Just a knife for now,” Commander Wakefield replied.

“Commander you can’t do that!”

“Dr. Eliza, I’ve taken your thoughts into consideration but my decision still stands. Even if you spoke to the Council about it they’d be unlikely to reverse their judgment.”

“...I hope you don’t regret it, Commander.” Dr.Eliza glared at Commander Wakefield before leaving his office.

Commander Wakefield paid no mind to Dr. Eliza's poor mood and instead smiled when thinking of how the Council would act after his plan was put into motion.