Clarette was alerted when the sound of keys hitting the hard wooden table rung. She stood up from her seated position and looked towards the air vent.

"That should get you out of here. I'll meet you outside this room." Akagi returned to sneaking in the air vent.

Clarette took the keys and fiddled with her cuffs a bit then unlocked her bindings. She rubbed her sore wrists then went to the door to try different keys to see which unlocked the door. A sudden click sound was heard and she carefully moved out of the room so as to not make a sound.

She stepped out onto the hard floor and looked around the hallway. The interior of this section of their base was like a mansion, so much so that it would be easy to forget one was in Imperia's HQ representing holy. Clarette brushed her hands along the bright walls as she walked, not paying any mind to whether she would be caught or not. For now, she explored the inner architecture looking at carved statues extensively and the paintings of previous Imperia governors and founders. Her family, the Castivel lineage, only entered Imperia's history during the latter half before the collaboration with Japan. And they were more known for their expertise in technology than governing. Likewise with the Fukami family who better represented Imperia, often being the country's spokesman for foreign affairs. Midare was in line to take her father's place in government as Grand Fox after he grew ill, but she was eccentric. Just like Mark, Clarette didn't know why she did what she did that day.

Her actions caused great disorder in Imperia to the point of no recovery. A catastrophe so big that the whole world watched the aftermath playing out live on TV. The historic event spilled ink on Japan's history and this war was only further going to soak the pages in black.

"Hey over here!"

Clarette turned to see Akagi strut towards her. His casual mannerisms briefly perplexed Clarette, a talking catーno, an animal that managed to survive the experiments and communicate on the same levels as humans was indeed like a strange dream. "Are you done looking at old guys yet?"

Clarette grew slightly offended at his disregard for Imperia's historic leaders. "I was reminiscing about my father. It frightens me how different Imperia is from when I was growing up."

Akagi poked Clarette's leg with his paw. "Ah gee, didn't mean to strike a nerve."

But she changed the topic, asking one more time. "How should I know you aren't tricking me?" She leaned over the small white cat staring back up at her with oceanic eyes. "I didn't want to be cooped up in a cell they want me to call home. If I stayed any longer I'd probably die from whatever they were injecting me with. Same could happen to you!"

"Mm." Clarette rose back up and took one last glance at the painting of Imperia's leaders. A sigh followed her whimper and she decided to put her trust in Akagi. The cat ran off with Clarette following close by, first going to a storage room with crates full of outdated weapons, unused paintings, mechanical and miscellaneous equipment. Either goods that would be thrown in the trash or propped up on display in the HQ. The room was unorganized and Clarette had to step over various objects and maneuver past tight spaces searching for a gun she could use.

She dug in a box and took out a pistol, pulling back the slide only for it to all fall apart in her hands. "All this equipment looks broken…"

"Where there's trash, there's treasure." Akagi bit on a black cloth to move it, revealing a black bladed chainsaw leaning on the wall. The handle was long like a sword but still had to be held with two hands, at the base and hilt. Clarette crouched down to touch the shiny metal surface of the blade. Wiping off the dust, she could see herself reflected off it and soon frowned because it would soon be stained with blood.

She picked up the weighty weapon, giving it a few test swings. "What's a weapon like this doing in storage?"

"Looks like a prototype. Whoever designed this must've loved chainsaw movies." Akagi then pounced on Clarette's back, climbing up to her shoulder "I'll lead the way outta here. Let's go!"

Clarette followed Akagi's directions out of the homely interior and into a more recognizable section of the HQ. Clarette peeked over a balcony where she could see the lobby below full of night guards on patrol. "Is there another route of escape?"

"There should be. Let's look for secret exits to take." Akagi replied. Clarette turned and escaped into the hallway.

She slowed their running to step down a flight of stairs and continued their rush once on the second floor. But once They turned a corner in the hallway, their hearts sunk when their eyes connected with Warui's.

"Ah…"

"..!"

Both Warui and Clarette were speechless. However Warui was the first to compose himself, taking one step closer "Clarette…"

"You know why I'm leaving." She hissed while taking a step back. Warui placed his hands in his pockets. "I do...but what makes you think it's any safer out there?"

"I wasn't treated as a test subject by the people outside. I could tell by the way they spoke, they truly cared for me just like my brother used to." Clarette retorted harshly.

"My intentions were clear from when we first met. Those people could be manipulating you." Warui took another step forward "I kept you in that room so you could be safe. I know how much Kaga cares for you."

Clarette tightened her grip on the chainsaw making Warui grow ever more tense. She thought back to Seraphim's goals and how steadfast Amelia was towards ending the war. Similarly, Clarette would take the same path, "I don't need your help to be safe! I'm able to make my own choices, stop treating me like a child."

"Just like the other test subjects, the EXover serum injected in you could turn out to be unstable. You too have a high chance of dying from your unstable EXover abilities." Warui took his hand out of his pocket to hold it out "I don't want that and neither does Kaga…"

"Whether I die or not is on my terms!" Clarette ran forward and slashed down her revved up chainsaw. Warui drew his sword just in time to block the attack and attempted to move back while deflecting the chainsaw downwards. However, Clarette gripped the weapon with both hands and swiped it up, the tip end of the chainsaw grazing Warui's left eye leaving a deadly yet light slash and crimson sent flying to the ceiling. He stumbled back and dropping his sword in the process trying to refocus his blurred vision on Clarette.

"Maybe if I killed thousands like you, then you would see I don't need to be saved. I'll start my massacre with you!" Clarette pulled back her chainsaw preparing to thrust it forward.

"Flambée!" Warui shot out a medium sized fireball from his hand which blew Clarette back with an explosion. He covered his wounded eye and slammed the ground "Gah! Damn it all!!" He screamed.

Clarette weakly stood with burn marks on the chainsaw's blade and minor burns on her hands. Akagi was quick to hop off her shoulder, "Forget it, let's bail!"

She nodded and followed the cat leaving Warui with permanent scars he could never cover up.

》》》》》◆《《《《《

Mikael hopped off the ladder once reaching the bottom. He and Mark escaped from the facility through a security exit, sneaking in and pushing aside a desk that showed them a trap door leading to here. They found themselves in a similar yellow tinted storage room, albeit a small storage room underneath the lab that went unused. Flies and gnats swarmed over black barrels and many wooden crates rotted from old age. Most of all, this area contained a foul smell coming from the pipes lining the walls.

While Mikael complained about the leaking stench, Mark noticed the area to be unusually quiet. He carefully looked around then peeked from behind a metal container, his worries heightening upon fallen soldiers littering the hall ahead. Mikael noticed him ready his gun while moving to the soldiers to inspect their slashed clothing. He assumed for the assailant to be a skilled fighter, bringing a sword to a gunfight was practically a death sentence against Imperia's military. Not many could pull it off without the use of magic.

"Whoever did this must be enhancing their physical abilities like my accelerate ability." Mikael said.

Mark took note of his warnings and continued down the trail. They found more bodies along the way, then emerged from the facility into what looked like a forest. Looking up however yielded no sky, instead, a pitch black void similar to the darkness casted over the lower triads. Though unlike the slums, they found a city lying in the middle of this forest and soon Mark remembered what this place was. Inside the mountain was an indoor city. The inside city was similar to the first triad in the sense that the sky couldn’t be seen. Street lamps, lanterns and other cheap light sources were the only means of effectively lighting up the cave city.

Mark swiftly dashed behind a thick bush and Mikael took cover behind a tree. He peeked from behind a tree and only saw an empty street they could follow straight into the city. With Imperia's security off their backs for now it was best to act normal.

“The area’s clear. But stay on guard.” Mikael muttered. Mark placed his hand on his pistol’s hilt, ready to draw whenever and carefully began making his way around the bush. But shifting movement unnoticed by Mark alerted the cowboy, “Something’s here!” he shouted.

Mark stepped out from his hiding spot, pulling up his socom only for an upwards slash to knock it out of his hand and into the air. He could only get a glimpse of the person’s blonde curly hair and her weapon, a large pair of scissors..?!

He drew his other pistol from his belt though unable to extend the blade in time to guard. Instead he blocked with the base of the gun, the closed scissors caught underneath the barrel and trigger guard. They were locked in a clash, the strength of this girl rivaled trained soldiers but the way she was dressed showed she was not allied with the TGA nor Imperia. Mark tilted his gun to the side and pushed away the giant scissor sword, making the girl dash back a bit as he tried to close the distance. All he had to do… was shoot… right there..!

Again they clashed weapons, this time Mark had the barrel of the gun pointed at the girl’s head. She tilted her scissor sword to angle it away before he fired a bullet that pierced a tree behind her. Faster than wind, she kicked his leg forcing him to kneel and opened her scissors to place his head in between, and just before she closed the gapーMikael hopped out of his cover with his gun pointed at the girl “I wouldn’t make that move if I were you.”

The girl looked back at Mark then moved her scissors away. “You don’t look like soldiers.”

Mark stood up “We aren’t.” he backed away and holstered his pistol to pick up the socom slashed out of his hands. The damage dug deep into the side of the gun rendering it nothing more than a prop now. Mikael lowered his gun "Mind telling us about yourself? Were you the one who defeated those soldiers back there?"

The girl wore an oversized black jacket with a fur trim around the hood. The thick jacket made it difficult to know what kind of black dress she was wearing. Her golden hair was short and very curly but well kept. She looked like a doll unscathed in the middle of war. "Yes, I am. My name is Ferry and I'm helping the civilians evacuate. It's becoming too dangerous to stay here."

Mikael looked at Mark for a second then back at Ferry. "I'm guessing you're not allied with either army like us?"

"I still find that hard to trust." She pointed to Mark's pistols "That's Imperia tech. They keep weapons like that locked up."

Mikael scratched his head "Well we managed to get lucky. Those weapons fell into our hands thanks to a friend who got captured. Right now our team is split and we're trying to get into the city so we can reorganize ourselves."

Ferry eyed Mark once more, double checking for any signs of him having ties to Imperia or the TGA. There was nothing on him besides her fearful suspicions. The boys presented themselves as trustworthy, and Ferry had goals of her own. She nodded and joined their posse but it didn't take long for them to run into trouble.

Out from the bushes came Ken, blocking their path on the road. He was in a similar situation as they were, split from his team making this encounter an odd set of circumstances. If Kent were to let them pass then they'll come back a formidable foe, if Mark were to spare Kent, he certainly wouldn't turn a blind eye to his generosity. Though Kent was outnumbered, he had the fire power and Mark had tactics.

Wind brushed along the road tensing up between the two hovering their fingers over the trigger of their guns. Mark's unique pistol fired once and he wasn't sure if it was going to fire again. Silence ensued then... Kent slugged his weapon over his shoulder letting them have this victory. Mark eased his hand and watched as Kent walked by.

Ferry tried to provoke the man, splitting her scissors into two blades "Yeah run along." but Mark was quick to shut her up. Kent looked back at Mark, both meeting eye to eye before they continued on their separate paths.

"Were you trying to get us killed? Kent could easily beat us if he really wanted to." Mikael scolded.

"Er.. He didn't look all that tough to me…"

They followed the road into the dense city inside Imperia's mountain.