Meanwhile, driving in her SUV as fast as she could without being pulled over, Kayla successfully fled the scene with Ryoko sleeping in the backseat of the car. Kayla turned on the satellite radio to calm her nerves; it was a nightly FM radio show called “The 1300,” which talks about current events all over the world.

Immediately, Kayla turned off the radio. She didn’t want to hear more about it. She remembered the entire incident in London better than anyone else. It was a complete and utter nightmare. Still, to this day, she can smell the burnt flesh of her comrades and innocent people. But, she has other problems to worry about.

Arriving at the main entrance of Waldorf Astoria hotel. Kayla got out of the car and wasted no time carrying Ryoko out of the car and going to the 19th floor as she ran up the flats of steps. Less than a minute, she went into her luxury suite were Natalia, Ryoko, Ayeka, and herself are staying.

Ayeka sees Kayla carrying the limp body of Ryoko from the kitchen and immediately freaks out, “Kayla-chan, what happened?”

“What do you think?” Kayla answered as she quickly went into Ryoko’s room… And walk up the bellboy who was tied up to Ryoko’s bed. She plops Ryoko on her own bed and cuts him loose, dragging him out of bed, taking his clothing with him to the door, “You! Leave! Now!”

“But, can I get a shower first?” the disheveled bellboy pleaded.

“Use another room,” Kayla denied as she threw him out of the suite.

Seeing this erratic behavior, Ayeka held her friend and tried to console her as she was breathing heavily, “Kayla-chan, calm down. What happened?”

Kayla tried to calm herself by looking around the room. She just couldn’t believe what just happened. How could anybody have found out about this? How could they take out the Killer Queen? She regrettably came to terms with the reality, “they took them out.”

“What?!” Natalia exclaimed.

“Someone got them. Shayna, her inner circle, everyone. They’re all dead,” Kayla explained.

“Impossible…” Ayeka was lost for words.

“See, I told you! I said that fuck-head is playing for keeps now!” Natalia accused.

“Okay, okay. Let’s just all recollect for the time being,” Ayeka rationalizing the situation. “Did you actually see this person, Kayla.”

“No, I did not…” Kayla denied. “But Memento showed up when we did.”

“Then it’s not Memento,” Ayeka concluded.

“WELL, YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT EITHER! YOU WEREN’T THERE!” Natalia debated as the three moved their conversation to the kitchen.

Ayeka was more annoyed than worried as she went to the refrigerator and got herself a can of sparkling water, “by the looks of things, Shayna-sama had a lot of enemies, way before we ever met her. Let’s face facts, she was living on borrowed time.”

Ayeka continued as she opened the can of sparkling water poured it into the glass, “Keep them hungry and at the same time have them well-fed. Her methods worked, considering. If only someone didn’t light that fuse, we would’ve had another global war on her hands. But that never happened. ‘The grandmaster’s beloved pet puppy fucked up everything for us.’ Her words, not mine…”

“I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF THIS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE!” Natalia resented.

“In short, I’m surprised they lasted this long,” Ayeka examined the glass of sparkling water, watching all the little bubbles flowing to the surface as she gives every one of the meaning and purpose, “when it comes down to it, we are all survivors. That’s what we do best. We survive.”

“Ah, but of course. Using necessary evils to survive,” an unknown female voice spoke as the four turned around only to see another woman behind them.

It was a tall Korean fox girl with long charcoal black hair and ocean blue slitted eyes. Her attractive measurements are an example of an hourglass body type, wearing an elegant short red kimono robe with stylish design details with high waisted deep garnet red geo-fire printed leggings and high heel boots.

“WHOA! WHO IN THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” Natalia shrieked.

“Pardon my bold interruption, ladies, but I am here on behalf of his Majesty. I have arrived here tonight to bestow upon you an important announcement; to be sure such information is handed to the person in charge,” The female fox kemonomimi announced.

I didn’t feel her aura… Who the fuck is she? Kayla thought.

Ayeka, however, tried to make the best of the situation. This girl was just a messenger, “His Majesty? Where did you come from?”

“My dear girl, I was here the entire time,” she boasted.

“YOU WERE HERE THE ENTIRE TIME?!” Natalia yelled.

“Yes, even when you all brutalized that poor bellboy who gave you all room service. Not you, Natalia, being so squeamish. But I am not here to handle such transgressions. Allow me to--”

Natalia was fed up. She wasn’t going to give this little pissant an inch. She grabbed the little Fox girl by her collar as gentle feminine laughter came from her lips and carried into the air. It seems so out of place but, Natalia didn't even pay any attention to it.

The mysterious Fox girl’s approach was silent and graceful beyond anything Natalia, a trained professional killer has ever experienced. The first counter sent tremors of pain throughout her entire body when she dual knife chopped Natalia’s neck. The next knocked her down to her knees, paralyzed in sensation by using a couple of open palm strikes to the abdomen. Then the third rendered any kind of consciousness as she grabbed her by the hair and hammer fisted Natalia at the back of her neck, sending her to the ground.

Afterward, the remaining two wolf girls stood in awe as the fox girl unflinchingly continued where she left off, “--formally introduce myself to you all. My name is Noel Moon, senior royal advisor of I.N.D., Imperatoris De Neque.”

Both Kayla immediately looked at Ayeka to find any kind of reaction. Strangely enough, Ayeka was impressed, which is very hard to do nowadays, “Noel Moon, huh? Something tells me you are more than just another errand girl. Or else you wouldn’t be here in the middle of the night asking for somebody like us for attention.”

“Precisely, Madame,” Noel confirmed. “I really am ashamed of my own actions. I really didn’t mean to hurt one of your cohorts in such a manner. Given her history and his Majesty’s warning, I felt it was in my best interest to take better care of myself while defending my own honor.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Kayla disavows. “She usually makes a grain of salt and turns it to a mountain all the time. By the looks of you, you’re not really normal yourself.”

“Why, yes, of course. I am also a nephalem,” Noel confirms. “However, what I am and who I am should not be any of your concern. Indeed, I am one of you. But we are not the same. But it doesn’t mean I share your concern.”

“Yes, Noel-san. You come here unannounced, beat up my friend, and now you speak in riddles,” Ayeka added.

“You must excuse me. I do sometimes go off in my little world and do talk outside of my own space,” Noel admitted. “The reason why I came here tonight was to inform you all on what such transgressions with the Killer Queen and her inner circle. Such a tragedy. Such loyalty wasted.”

“Well, what can you do?” Kayla blew off.

“I do believe you were in the process of not only distributing the six crates that used to belong to Xerxes. It seems to me Xerxes’ lieutenants were intent on taking these items for themselves, and you stole it from them.”

“My superiors just wanted to know what he had,” Ayeka admitted.

“Indeed. Curiosity can be very dangerous at times, but also necessary. Madame, you were correct about being curious about what Xerxes kept from the public. I can guarantee you this. You wouldn’t have profited from it. For those who know how to wield such immense power, it is priceless.”

“So, he did have one. And he didn’t even bother telling anyone…” Ayeka reflected.

“Had what exactly?” Kayla asked.

“An equalizer for the war that we were supposed to have. Something that would take great industrial nations to such great heights, he said. Something that mirrored his own power of a daemon knight. The BDX, more commonly known as the Beast of Daniel,” Ayeka explained as Noel nodded.

“As of right now coming from several different production plants, several parts to make the BDX model were in storage. Since then, most of these parts were later severely downgraded and sold to the public market. You have indeed acquired the crates that contain the BDX Model. However, I hate to inform you all, or should I say I regretfully inform you that these items are now gone.” Noel explained.

“How can they be gone? You mean somebody stole them?” Ayeka asked.

“Precisely,” Noel answered.

“Who would take such machines?” Kayla asked.

“The same people who had a hand in building them,” Noel teased.

“Redgrave…” Ayeka guessed correctly as Noel nodded.

On the floor, Natalia came to her senses as she took huge gasps of air and exhaled painfully.

As Ayeka walked over to her friend and helped her up, Noel continued, “the Redgrave family nearly had a change of heart. Just like any other company who turn war into profit, the Redgrave family would have handsomely profited from it.”

“They just had cold feet,” Kayla added.

“Even your own grandmaster had cold feet. It would have been rivers of blood. Even though many people love war, this one would’ve been the end of the world as we know it.”

“So, what does this ‘I.N.D.’ want from us?” Ayeka asking the burning question.

This was Noel’s cue. She brought a little satchel with her in the contents inside contains workups and locations. Noel handed Ayeka the satchel, “His Majesty wants you to leave New York City immediately and do a mission on his behalf--”

“No!” Natalia denied flatly.

Noel was a bit irritated about being rudely cut off, “My word, Madame Silvestri, your leader hasn’t even opened the satchel yet—”

“I AM THE LEADER, AND I SAID NO!” Natalia denied flatly again as Noel sighs in discontent.

“Then I am ever so grateful, your subordinates can make up their own minds--”

“GO, FUCK YOURSELF!” Natalia snapped.

“Relax, Natalia-chan. No one is doing anything yet,” Ayeka chastised. “we will run it by our superior. She will make the call.”

“As well as you all should deliberate on it. If you all decide to stay for a couple of days, Xerxes’ crates will arrive here in New York City promptly tomorrow night. Sadly, you will not find anything that you are looking for. Be that as it may, this is a time-sensitive mission, so every second count. Read the workups and the location and the primary objectives of the mission. Once you have decided, regardless if you accept it or deny it, his Majesty would love to have all of you at his mansion. Even though we are still renovating, our home is quite presentable now. Good evening, ladies,” Noel bids farewell as she takes a bow and leaves the suite.

The ladies of the Nether Elite are left somewhat with a lot of answers, but with a whole array of questions. Ayeka wasted no time going into the satchel and pulling out the contents. It was a huge binder filled with pages of the latest prototype mech, the BDX. Flipping through the sketches, blueprints, configurations, and speculations about the prototype.

Ayeka was impressed, “I don’t know this Noel character or her boss. How in the world did they get their hands on classified paperwork? Hell, even Alastair and his team back in the day, couldn’t get anywhere close to these. Meanwhile, someone walked in here and just gave it to us.”

Natalia scoffed, “Proved how good he was to us…”

“Yeah, you should know…” Kayla defended as Natalia rolled her eyes in contempt. “Makes you wonder. We might end up using this for our benefit,” Kayla speculated.

“No, I don’t think so. Why wouldn’t her boss give this to us so freely?” Ayeka questioned. “Because she knew, even if we tried to replicate what we have, we can’t.”

“And let’s not forget the UN is keeping an eye on not only us but everyone almost involved in the war. What we have here is a breach of contract of immunity,” Kayla added. “Which brings us to Noel’s boss, I.N.D. I don’t trust him. The UN is waiting for us to screw up again.”

“More good reason to stay and wait for the crates,” Ayeka suggested. It wasn’t that bad of a suggestion either. To Ayeka, it was very logical. Stay for a couple of days and wait for the crates. If Noel is right, they go and see her. If she is wrong, they get what’s inside the containers and follow the mission initially.

“Well, I do want to see a matinee tomorrow,” Ayeka flirted.

“I guess it can’t hurt staying here for a couple of days in the city,” Kayla relented.

“Okay then, let’s just relax and hang tight until the crates come tomorrow. Until then, let’s stay out of trouble.”

“Well, Ryoko will be happy to hear that, knowing she will get to go Time Square and go shopping in Queens again,” Kayla said.

Ayeka was sincere with her words, “Of course. Consider this as you not only earning it but deserving it after tonight.”

“I’ll get cleaned up and get ready for tomorrow. I’m gonna call my husband,” Kayla announced as she went to her room to get a shower.

Ayeka turns her attention to Natalia, who was eerily silent, “I think we should all follow suit and get some rest, Natalia-chan. The only viable option is to wait.” Ayeka announced. When Natalia was about to go into her own separate room, Ayeka stopped her for a moment, “by the way, Natalia-chan…”

Natalia turns around to face Ayeka as she continued, “no matter what happens, we got to find out what’s inside these crates. Even if it means working with Noel. Redgrave can’t have their hands on it. We can’t let them.”

This agitates Natalia, “If you want me to play nice with that Ahri wannabe, then we’re good, Ayeka! For me to hate her, I have to care about her first!” Natalia declared as she goes to her own room, leaving Ayeka behind the kitchen.

Ayeka couldn’t help glancing through the binder one more time. Such a deadly weapon for Xerxes to have in his possession without anybody knowing. Xerxes wasn’t a man who shied away from showing off his own true strength and intelligence, and he’d never used any kind of weapon since he prided himself on not using any other than his own skills. To Ayeka, this was alarming, because she knew Xerxes more than anyone and this was the absolute and undeniable truth about his own secret, “who were you afraid of, Xerxes, and why?”