"My memories take me a certain distance back. Unfortunately, most of them are being purposely held back in a certain part of my H.I.V.E. It's an acronym that was described to me as 'Holographic Intelligence Virtual Environment', that most Augmented are connected with. It's main function is to withhold certain aspects of character, such as emotions and memories from the user, in order to enhance combat performance.", she sipped her coffee.

"Woah, slow down. Hold back memories, you say?"

"Precisely. It was recently brought to my attention that Drima is a culprit of this device and more than likely, an incomplete prototype was used on Dante to hold back his memories as well. However, it being an incomplete version, it's highly likely that Dante did not have the same complete effects such as me. That being an emotional block."

"Holy shit...Drima was in on it?!"

"Unlikely. Though he is surely to blame for the creation of the invasive technology and probable surgery for it's application, he expressed clear remorse for his creation, thus removing him from direct correlation with the activities inflicted on me and my little sister."

"Hmm...ok. Sounds legit.", Tiki softly nodded.

"Are you not going to investigate it further, or even judge upon him further?"

"Nah...for once, I'll empathize with the nerd. Didn't see his reaction live, but when he wanted to talk to you at the training area, I quickly realized that it wasn't going to be pretty. And I can totally understand where his coming from. I've seen a lot of times where something created for another purpose gets used for something else, or something used for what was intended gets completely derailed to the extreme."

"Today's conversation is indeed...enlightening. Now for my memories, I only remember me and Lina at the orphanage, passing each and every day. I had my target set on completely protecting her from the outside world and it's many dark realities, while additionally fending off several members of the renowned group 'Chaos Sect' that called themselves the 'Abyssal Assassins'. I had recently settled with our life as it was, but upon realizing that there was a chance for my main directive to be complete I could no longer stand by and watch."

"Yeah, I remember those freaks...so two questions. Why did they want you? And what the hell is that 'main directive'?"

"The assassins were sent after us by an unknown source, their core objective to eliminate both me and Lina. Reasons for that remain unknown, as their faith to their cause, along with what I believe to be rigorous counter-interrogation training."

"You interrogated them? Damn, that sounds hella interesting. They taught you that as well?"

"Affirmative. I was trained with every single form of combat and war related necessities, like interrogations. Despite my best and most brutal efforts, however, I ended up eliminating them in the process, in fear of Lina finding out what was really happening."

"That's not good, y'know. Raising the kid in such big a bubble honestly does show why she's so overly curious about everything."

"There was no alternative. If she were to be eliminated because of my inability to eliminate the threats hunting her down, my existence would cease of meaning."

"I mean...you do realize there's more to the world than just your little sister, right? Not saying you shouldn't protect her, by all means, do so, but you need to remember that besides all of your mechanical parts and everything, you're still alive. That's why, you need to live too."

"Negative. I, like you, believe is something different. And my beliefs are in direct correlation with my little sisters well-being."

"Then why can I bet my ass right now, she tells you to do the same? Because the way she pushed you out of the room were telltale signs of that."

Luna paused for a brief moment, taking a long sip of her coffee before continuing on, "Disregarding that, about my main directive. Augmented were created as part human, part machine hybrids like demi-humans, with the fusion of demon based DNA from Corosta. The objective was to create the perfect Obsulyte users to counter all known threats while they were under control. Partially succeeding, our main directive was then revealed as 'protecting humanity'. A weapon in masses, designed to eliminate all form of beings that threatened humanity in any way, shape, or form. I believe...I believe that if I complete the task that was assigned to me, which is to kill the beings we call Gods, that I can then brake free of the imposed restraints that cause me severe neurological damage. If the main directive is complete, then maybe, H.I.V.E. in it's entirety can begin to collapse from the sheer lack of users, thus shutting down after it's innate directive that correlates with mine is forthfilled. Currently, because of my sisters experimental state, I remain the only known H.I.V.E. user to date. The graves of the orphans before the orphanage were failed experiments that were either eliminated or simply could not survive the procedures to become an Augmented. Those such as myself who came close to success were held as such successes, and were put on the training program that finalized our combative capabilities. My sister, despite her age, underwent extreme surgeries in order to see how low the could push the age gap bar for those that were to be turned into Augmented. However successful the experiment might have been held, judging from the sheer strength of my little sister, it severely compromised her metabolism, because of her young age and the fact that she had experienced her growth period around that time. In general, we were instructed that the capable age for someone to undergo that surgery was around teenage years. Later down the line, my sister was deemed a failed experiment, after she suffered multiple seizures during the last surgical procedure that was supposed to ingrain her in the H.I.V.E. and under complete mental and emotional control. It was deemed that the upper limit was the age of 12, for the lowest amount of years that a transformation could be deemed successful. Later down the line, there were supposed to be pushed further back, so younger orphans, as low as the age of 6 were brought for surgeries. Approximately 248 orphans, excluding me and my sister, which was the maximum legally allowed limit of orphans underwent the procedures. Of those 248, around 230 were collected and buried by me after the 'incident'. It was the day were my sister and I escaped under unknown circumstances. H.I.V.E. currently holds all data from the incident and renders me unable to be reminded of the full events. However, a faint image of some sort of warrior comes to mind. Perhaps the Wandering Phoenix, that was referenced by my little sister, when she was practicing her martial arts potency. For around 5 years, our only objective remained survival. The entire field in the back of the orphanage was replanted flowers and flower seeds planted by Lina out of sheer abundance of time, as well as honing combat capabilities. It turned from a grim cemetery for those fallen before us, to a field of remembrance for their innocence when they were taken early from this world.", she finished her coffee.

"The term 'legal' surely doesn't fit for shit here...hell. Didn't even realize that the field we saw was indeed the kid's work...man. But wait, what about the other orphans? You buried 230, and it was another 18, plus you two."

"They were sent to an unknown location, supposedly finishing their transition as Augmented and deployed for service."

"Look, you've gotta give this info to Drima. He's gonna have a hell of a time processing them, but he can help you."

"Negative. Drima has been brought to my attention as a hostile entity that must be avoided, if not eliminated.", Luna seemed to show anger.

Tiki finished her drink and sighed, "Hah...this isn't pretty. Luna, you can't hold all of that in. The more you do, the worse it's gonna get. Trust me on that. Sometimes, holding out on important information can be devastating when they come out delayed later on."

"Your suggestion is noted, by our situations are dissimilar, allowing for my personal objection. If so, at least for the time being, they will only be documented and not acted upon."

"I can't force you to do anything, honestly. I'll stand by you, but if shit goes south, expect me to get in the way. Now...what other questions are there. More like 'where to start', but...hmm.", Tiki thought.

"I suppose that we can-", Luna paused, dropping her cup.

Tiki jolted, "Hey! You ok? Luna?"

Luna then leaned back, gasping for air, her entire body suddenly going numb.

"Luna! Snap out of it!", Tiki started shaking her.

Luna then jolted back up, gasping all the air she could, "What the-", she coughed, "Hell?!"

Tiki paused in surprise, "Wait, what? Say that again!"

Luna then sat back up and calmly pushed Tiki away, regaining full consciousness. She panted as she recovered from her shock. When she started looking around, behind Tiki were a dozen set of eyes, pinned directly on their table.

"I apologize. It seems my operating system has been severely compromised. My H.I.V.E. seems to also be compromised. I do not know the reason behind my sudden actions. However, it must be noted that I have a severe headache, which is most unusual given the functionalities of my system. The comfortability of the situation also appears to be severely compromised, as you can see behind you from the coming onlookers."

"Yeah...right. I don't give a shit. More so...I'd say that their reaction is justified but...hang on a minute.", Tiki turned around to the people looking at them, "Yo, bozos! She's fine! Eyes off or I'll rip them off!"

With another demonstration of her extravagant communication skills, Tiki made every single bystander and staff member look away at lighting speed.

"That's that. Now, come on, let's get outta here. Been a good hour or so anyway." , Tiki dropped the money on the table, tip included, "Look...I don't know what the hell that was but surely, we must check up on it. Can you walk?"

"My movement capabilities do not seem compromised."

"And how do we take a look at what the hell just happened? Because this isn't exactly a common cold situation."

"There's a direct access unit located at the occipital lobe of the brain with a system extending from the main nerve track to the thalamus. An access point should be available and the base of the neck, near the trapezius. However, my knowledge for the subject runs dry, as I have not been properly tutored around the inner workings of the system that affects me. My training was cut short after the incident."

"Screw it, we must give it a shot anyway. If something like this happens again, chances are it'll return even stronger so best act now. Please...let me help you."

"I both thank you for the assistance and entrust you with resolving the situation."

"Good, let's go then."

The two of them left at a fast pace, beam lining directly for their newfound headquarters. Coming down the elevator, Tiki quickly guided Luna to the operation room and sat her on the nearby chair.

"Hell of a ride that was. Now keep in mind, that despite my basic knowledge on medicine because of our war school, it's a public education system so...fingers crossed. Otherwise I can try to drag Drima-"

"I would advice against his summoning. Please, proceed as you see fit. I am unable to properly maintenance myself due to the lack of expertise and available machinery, but I will entrust you with the procedure."

"Wait, what about Lina, doesn't she know anything about this mechanical parts of yours?"

"Negative, she has been transformed at a young age, and like me, she has yet to fully understand maintenance procedures."

Tiki finished putting on her rubber gloves, "Don't blame me if shit goes south. Now relax a bit.", she grabbed a small scanner and flashed it on her neck, "Partial X-ray is...is this it, Luna?"

Luna looked at the X-ray Tiki took, "Affirmative. That is the access point."

"Inches above the trapezius...this will sting. Can I apply anesthesia or something? Maybe localize it?"

"Negative. I am unaffected by any form of chemical, dangerous or otherwise, but it should not cause a problem. My nerve fibres, spinal cord and brainstem have all been compromised one after the other to ensure complete pain related immunity. While it may cause issues in daily life, it maximizes combative capabilities."

"I'll...take your word on that one. Now, sit still for a moment."

Tiki took Luna to an operating chair and started tying her at all her limbs, rendering her completely immobile.

"Metallic Thema class restraints...huh. No idea if he has these because he's that kind of pervert or just a criminal mastermind. These should hold you tightly. Now don't try to move either...I have never done this before, obviously."

She then grabbed a scalper and slowly placed her hand on the base of Luna's neck and began to try and do a small incision.

"Come on...", she got frustrated.

"Is there a problem?"

"I can't make an incision."

"How so?"

"I dunno Luna, you tell me.", she kept trying, "It feels like I'm using a shitty pizza cutter over here, and the slices don't even separate if I start stabbing the thing with it!"

"Impossible. Studies based on Obsulyte users which were shown to actively harden themselves and their defensive capabilities as soon as they please when they enter combat were used for the experiment. While not in battle, my hardened exterior should not be as prevalent."

"Well it obviously is."

"That must mean that the main operating system must be compromised and my defenses activated. You will have to increase forced used."

Tiki tried and tried for sever anxious minutes, increasing the size of the blade constantly, eventually reaching out for a few large knifes outside the operation room.

"For the love of-hragh!", Tiki began trying to stab Luna at the back of the neck.

While maniacally trying to stab Luna, the knife broke and sent the blade flying pinning it to the wall.

Tiki slammed the table next to her, "Alright, that's it!"

She ran out the room and left Luna chained. She simply wondered in her thoughts while hearing a ton of metal clinging sounds behind her back. She saw a water bottle placed on the table, and from its subtle reflection saw Tiki coming into the room with what appeared to be a chainsaw twice her size.

"Screw messing around with some mediocre knifes.", she yanked the zip backwards and turned on the chainsaw, "I'm cracking this bitch wide open!"

Luna seemed to be worried, "I would probably advice in attempted assault and decapitation-", Tiki ignored here.

"Hayah!", Tiki jumped at Luna.

Perfectly aligning the back of her neck with the massive looking chainsaw, Tiki began to preform her warrior's cry, using her strength to cut through Luna's neck. Steam and sparks flew around the room as Tiki kept pressing on and on, not letting go for a moment. Slowly after the steam started to clear up, Tiki was dumbfounded to see that besides everything, it was the chainsaw that received maximum damage, her staying at a flawless state.

"What. The. Shit.", Tiki stood there in surprise, "This was literally Obsulyte infused, Thema class metal. Literally could cut Dante in half. How?"

"I seem to have also underestimated my defensive capabilities."

Tiki tossed the chainsaw aside, exhaling and thinking for a moment, "Alright. Be right back."

Again leaving Luna alone, this time Tiki was quick to return with he giant axe at hand.

"You are...kidding. Right?", Luna nervously said.

"You have any better ideas, I'm all ears. Literally the only thing left in the arsenal that might be capable of damaging your thick ass neck."

"I...will trust you. I believe.", Luna started to doubt.

"Batter up.", Tiki stood besides Luna, softly tapping her axe on the ground and widening her stance, bringing it above her shoulder like a baseball bat.

Just then, like a miracle from the heavens, Dante opened the door and entered the room, rubbing his eyes with a face painted with annoyance.

"You guys do realize that every time I fail to sleep I get hyperactive and can't try to fall asleep right after, right?", he finished rubbing his eyes.

His eyes met with Tiki's as he paused from the sheer weirdness of the sight before him.

"The what?", he looked at them both.

"Yo, meatbag. Do me a favor. Grab onto Luna's chair so that I don't send her flying."

Dante kept looking at Tiki with an awkward look, "I think I'm entitled to ask 'What are you doing?'"

"Surgery.", Tiki promptly answered.

"Since when was surgery a sport for you to prepare for a home run?", he sarcastically said.

"Look, will you help or not? I'll reward you."

"What am I, a dog?"

"No that's Anya's job now that she's a furry. You're more of a...thing."

"A thing?"

"Look, help me with this and I'll let you have a ton of training rounds with me. I know you love a good battle, so don't deny it."

"The only thing I wanna beat the shit out of right now is Hikari's D.I.D."

"What's that?"

"Dissociative Identity Disorder.", Luna answered, still worried and chained up.

"That.", Dante pointed at Luna, "Also, did she not get a say for this bullshit?"

"She gave me the ok, so we're cool."

"She did?", Dante looked back at Luna.

"I did.", Luna regrettably said.

"Look...help me out and I, uh...", Tiki sighed, as she made a desperate decision, "I'll tell you where the boxes of cookies I hid in the kitchen are."

"You hid cookies in the kitchen? When? Nevermind, I don't even care anyways. Cut it out before someone actually gets hurt."

Tiki prayed on his sweet tooth, "White chocolate chip."

"Seriously?", Dante looked at her with a straight face.

"Strawberry dough with vanilla drops."

"You actually are serious.", Dante

Tiki heavily exhaled, "Limited cherry muffin flavored dough with cream filling and rainbow sprinkle topping, double cream stuffed."

"Deal."

Luna looked like she really started to get worried, looking back at both Tiki, who took her home-run position behind her, and Dante who held onto the chair.

"Should I not have a say on the matter, given the gravity directed towards me?", Luna asked.

"Nope, we're coming through that thick skin of yours. Now hold her!", Tiki prepared herself.

"It's ok Luna. I think it'll only take a second. Judging off your feats, I doubt this is gonna do much.", Dante held on to the front of the chair.

Luna played her last card, "Could I perhaps have sip of water from the table?", she tried to stall.

Dante nodded as he grabbed the water bottle and began opening it. He tried again and again and again, but to no avail. The bottle remained closed and firm, despite him angrily squeezing and trying his best to pry it open. Tiki, however, went forward without any hesitation.

"Here I go!"

Dante jolted up, bottle at hand and not grabbing onto the chair, "Tiki, wait!"

Tiki swang her axe forward with all her strength, before realizing that Dante was standing in front of the chair. Both Luna and Dante were sent flying forwards, crashing into the wall as Tiki then realized what had happened, dashing to them.

"Holy shit, you guys ok?! Dante, what the hell?!"

The chair Luna was sitting on was the first to come off the pinned wall, followed by a grunting Dante. The water bottle he had tried to open was still perfectly intact, imprinting it's shape on his face from the sheer force of the impact.

"It would appear as if I am perfectly functional still."

Dante started getting up, "If someone ever says that I am a universe consuming, invincible god again..ghk-", he got up, rubbing his injured parts, "I'll shove this god damn water bottle down their throat!"

"So you let go to open that thing, and you didn't even manage that?", Tiki sarcastically said.

"Piss off."

Dante threw the water bottle at her, Tiki easily avoiding it as it crashed to the wall behind her. Still flawless, the bottle looked like it didn't have a single dent on it even after the abuse it received.

"Interesting...", Tiki looked at the bottle briefly, before lifting Luna back up, "Yo, you ok?"

"I am starting to reconsider on multiple scales.", Luna seemed to be angrily saying.

"Well it was not in vain! Take a look at this. Clinical incision right there.", Tiki bragged.

A small cut had formed on Luna's neck, exposing what seemed to be a few metallic areas around it, giving Tiki access to her internal workings.

"Alright! Nice!", Tiki excitedly said.

"Ehm.", Dante cleaned his throat.

"I carved a small opening for a room underneath the microwave. Use a butter knife to open it because I don't want the entrance damaged, otherwise it'll show. This is top secret info by the way. Share it with anyone else and I'll kick you ass! Now be careful that no one is around when opening it."

"How the hell did you plan that out? Nevermind that, when did you managed to do all this without anyone noticing?", Dante questioned her.

"I have my ways...also I did it off screen."

"Fair. Do you need me for anything else?"

"Not for now. I'll see what I can do with her system now that we've made an access point."

"Shouldn't you call Drima for this? He would surely be able to help a lot more than whatever you're planning to do.", Dante advised.

"Well...nah. We've got our reasons. Plus, you don't have to worry, it's not my first rodeo with technology."

"Except this is a highly sophisticated system, not a microwave. I'd really advice on Drima's assistance here."

"I would advice against you seeking to further indulge in a business that did not initially involve you. As a seasoned soldier, I would highly advice that you act upon given orders instead of questioning said orders.", Luna angrily said, "Tiki, please, continue with the procedure as told."

"I...ok. I won't bother you two. Just make sure you clean up. If the noise hasn't alerted anyone else, I won't tell anyone else. Pray that Hikari isn't the one to find this first. I heavily dislike this, I don't think any more secrets will serve any of us good here. I mean, hell, I don't even know why you started tempering with Luna's systems in the first place here."

"Yet you went along with it for a box of cookies.", Luna said.

"Hey, they're really rare cookies."

"I promise I'll tell you everything at some point, meatbag. But not now."

"This 'but not now' pisses me off. Look, I won't say a word for now. But at least, until tomorrow, do tell me why. Please?"

"I can see where you're coming from...and with all this happening just yesterdayscrew it. I'll tell you. but let me take a hold of this situation first."

"Fine by me. I'm off...and Luna. Hope this pans out ok."

Luna took a trusty look back at him, "Thank you...Dante."

With Dante leaving the room and the two of them left alone once again, Tiki took the scanner again and began to zoom towards the incision made on the back of Luna's neck.

"Ok...what's this? I see...connection all the way up to the thalamus...damn. This is actually a little bit out of my jurisdiction here. It's way too advanced biotechnology, but I do know a lot on this subject myself so...I'll try. I assume there's a firewall or something?"

"Yes. However, it only exists within the inner area of the thalamus and connected to the frontal lobe, where the main system is located."

"Then...I dunno what to do here. Unless...what I can do it intercept the line between your neck and the main system with a plug in and it might work as a mediator between it. But mediator means I won't really be able to directly act in any way. Information wise though, that's another story."

"If intel can be gathered from the main system's location, then accessing the H.I.V.E. and all it's data can result in finding the instruction manual handed out to Augmented soldiers."

"Can you not access that thing directly yourself?"

"Negative. My full integration was incomplete, therefore while I am connect to H.I.V.E., I am unable to access it."

"Alright then...sit here again. I'll be right back."

"Please, do hurry as suspicion from others might arise."

"I'll go as fast as I can. Good work is not necessarily fast work, and I don't want to risk frying your brain here."

"Then what about you attempting to chop it off?"

"Ah, bite me. Your exterior is extremely durable anyway. You think I wouldn't know after I properly face you twice? Now sit tight."

Going to the arsenal and then proceeding to the kitchen, Tiki sat on a chair and layer a big looking gun on the table, accompanied by what looked to be a baton. Dante looked at her with interest, as she opened a small tool case and began tinkering around with the equipment.

He ate his cookies, "So uh...what is all this?"

"Just making a little something, but I'll need you in a sec.", Tiki put on a pair of visors, focusing on her work.

"You know, over the past few minutes, you have blown me away. Didn't think for a moment you could...well..."

"Not act like a total, shit-mouthed jackass? What can I say. I'm an enigma."

"That and also be so...compassionate? Understanding?"

"If one of us needed help with something, wouldn't you help?", she took apart the baton.

"I mean..."

"No need to answer now. I understand it can be hard to do so, since I know how you feel. But once you fully recover and don't act like a butthurt emo on the internet, then we'll talk about this."

"I'm not a butthurt emo. And in any case, don't you think that speaking of help, Drima should be involved?"

Tiki sighed, "Drima is partially responsible for Luna's and Lina's mechanization. The prototype surgery he used on you to seal your memories was used as a base blueprint for whatever the hell kind of thing they did to them. Obviously Luna is...in a weird place right now. Telling you this might piss you off even more, but you owe me one, so if you want us to be even, you'll not do shit...for now."

Dante exhaled deeply, "And how do I owe you?"

Tiki lifted her once broken arm, still focused on her work and instead giving Dante the obvious queue.

"Alright...I won't. But shouldn't it be the least bit alarming that now two of us have it out for this asshole?"

"It's alarming as far as you go. It's easy to want to paint someone in red to have closure. I'd know. Think of it like how Izuko was like. A victim of circumstance...it took me years to actually come to the realization that Neker's death, the guy that had his DNA robbed to make your amulet, wasn't entirely his fault. I can keep backtracking more and more to reach the source, but at that point...why even? Think of Anya for example. She has all the money in the world and every door wide open. But did she do what her dad did? Hell no. A weapon or creation isn't good or bad. It comes down to how you use it, isn't that right?"

"It's the same cookie cutter bullshit you hear from everyone on repeat. Come on Tiki, you know that there's a lot more variables in play than just "this used like that". You can't always insert the absolute at something."

"Unless you've got the full image, right? You are indeed as weird as Enemy said you are."

"Seriously? Siding with her now too? I honestly never expected someone like you to say anything like this."

"See? You came full circle into my words. Not everything is black and white, Dante."

"Yeah, more like a solid gray. At least the way I see it."

"That or because it's actually a little bit gray to begin with. What, you think the war started by a couple old shitheads on a fancy chair pointing fingers ended because of some ink on a paper? It's normal to be honest. I might've been alone in Corosta, but I wasn't detached from the world. War with weapons, war with cash, war of ideals. Really, I don't think we've ever stopped fighting. You want my opinion, it's just that it only starts to show when we reach a breaking point. Case in point: today's date and time."

"Hmm...then what's the point? If we are going to fight for something that's just going to plunge itself back to fighting? Just save the world from being nuked, then do it again because nobody ever gives a shit about learning from their mistakes?"

Tiki chuckled as she briefly paused from her work, "Man...you are romantic. And I love that."

"The hell?"

"You think that the world romantic only refers to lovely dovely kissing, touching and potentially rumbling down? Uhh..could be. Depends on how you see it. The way I see it, 'romantic' is a way to describe a dream. This dream that you try to deny will ever happen, while holding onto and wanting to make it happen. That is the reason I followed you in the first place. Not that I don't want Corosta and demon demi-humans reputation restored but...I want to actually come close to that world. Definitely hard to make it happen, but god dammit, 24 years in this world and I hate to see it be the way it is. So I'll change it. Don't you?"

"No...I don't. What even is the point anyway? Save it to see it get destroyed again? It's the same shit. Just look at how they tried to hunt down Obsulyte users. I killed Cecilia that day...I murdered my own mother. Why would I save a world to have some other bastard go through it? I've read a lot of stories, always epic and shit. Because they always follow a main character with a life of adventure. What about all the other normal people in that imaginary world forced to suffer through his actions?"

"You took Cecilia out her misery. Ironic that you hurt her to stop her hurting more, only to hurt yourself. Same shit with Neker, like I told Luna. I'd rather he never returned from that mission over seeing him hurt every day for it. And as far as the stories you read go think of this: The average person will always get affected by the hero's actions. Then how much more or less would they hurt by him being a transient? I've asked myself that several times...several painful times while back in the army. I still don't have a clear answer. Maybe you'll find one before me, or vise versa. Let's just tell each other our findings when we do, right?"

"Right...now what did you want me to do?"

Tiki looked back at the weapon, "Yeah, right. Grab that core real quick and pull it out.", she took a step back.

Dante did as told, "Like this?", he grabbed a glowing blue core from the weapon.

"Oh, nice! Didn't blow up.", Tiki stepped in front and grabbed the core, sitting back down and continuing her work.

"Blow up? Did you use me as a dummy again?", Dante said, irritation clearly showing on his face.

"I mean you aren't that unfamiliar with taking hits, so what's the matter?"

"Screw that...whatever are you making anyway?"

"I used the core and parts of that pulse rifle to extent the button and make it much more accurate as far as energy blasts go. That way I can make a localized EMP blast on Luna's neck to shut down the general area around it and implant an information transmitting device without having her boosted immune and computing system interfere. Maybe I can collect some info from her database and use it to my advantage to figure out exactly what went wrong with her. She had a little bit of an episode back at the café we were at."

"You really need to tell me how the hell you know how to do all this, considering you showed absolute zero signs of it."

"Then you should've probably looked around a bit more on how I made that underground bunker back in Corosta and battle plans for Izuko. Attention is always in the details."

"Why did you not consider to tell us to get back even? What if we were the bad guys all along?", Dante sarcastically said.

"I've seen a fair share of bad guys. You definitely didn't look like ones. Considering you were the definition of the losers club anyways. You might go around like a crying little emo bitch, but I see right through you."

"Yeah right, bite me. Then why become a member of that club?"

"Because I like it."

Dante turned around, wanting to avoid an obvious argument, "Just tell me exactly what the hell even are you someday."

"I will...someday. But for now, I'll keep trying to help Luna by preforming pseudo-torture."

"I'm glad it's Luna and I know for a fact she's more durable than any of us. I think I'll go crash in my room and play some games.", he looked inside the box, one cookie remaining, "Hey, uh...there's one left and I'm full. You want it?"

Tiki seemed to softly smile while working on the device, not letting it show, "Yeah, sure. Bring it here, I don't want to oil up any dangerous parts."

Dante went up an gave Tiki the cookie, softly placing it on her mouth while she held onto it with her teeth. As he left the room, Tiki lifted her head up and ate the entire cookie, rounding up her device while whispering to herself.

"Attention always in the details..."

Just as she discarded the rest of parts and got up to test her device before using it a familiar figure stepped behind her, standing at the door.

"Thought you went to sleep, meatbag. What is it, you want that fight I offered now?"

"I'd like that...but first, we need to do a little bit of our own talking, don't we?", Terna proposed.

Turning around, Tiki was stunned to see a newly rekindled Terna standing before her. No more flashy jewels, no more pink idol uniforms, rather than a simple everyday outfit she never thought she'd see her in.

"Terna? The hell happened to you? Where were you?", Tiki asked.

"Back in Dirunon. Had some rounding up to do...I see you picked up being a mechanic while I was gone?"

"Engineering, thank you. And how was your...change?"

"It was...reminiscent. I've already checked in with Drima and Magi beforehand. They're both busy with the legislation papers for this new thing we're doing and I had to of course deliver my answer I promised."

"So?"

Terna extended her arm forward, waiting for Tiki to grab it back. Not wanting to leave her hanging, it didn't take Tiki long to respond to the gesture as she grabbed it back.

"I'm in. And Tiki? Thank you. I've long realized what you did...no more idols. No more going around like an idiot, spouting magic tunes. I'll use my talent the way you do yours...to write my own songs."

"Hmph.", Tiki tightened the grip on her hand, "You better not die...because you make a hella good teammate anyway. Had my eyes on you for far too long."

"Keep them on me and I'll do the same...though, I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm still a bit angry at you for what you said. Despite my realization."

"I know the feeling. But remember to do this for yourself, not me. Let me go shoot Luna and we can go have a couple rounds. You need to give Drima combat data anyway."

"Uh...do what with Luna?"

"Long story short she went 'kaboom' and I'm fixing her."

"By shooting her?"

"Should've seen how I axed her throat a few minutes ago."

"Right..."

"Hey, judge me later! Now I've gotta do this before Luna gets too bored while chained up on that chair."

"Sounds good! I'll go back to my room and start preparing it anyway. If Lina is missing, tell Luna she's with me. She was all too eager to help with the decorating. Can't say no to her."

"Decorating? What, now you became a fashionista?"

"Not really...", Terna gave Tiki a sort of annoyed but understanding look, "Drima gave us the go ahead to personalize our living quarters. I've ordered a few things from my funding with my...previous 'career'. Turns out, this will be a full blown operation, so he wanted us to feel like home...and Magi threatened him."

"Nice, I can finally get some proper weights in there! Now I'm pumped, I'll come back shortly!"

"I'll be there."

A few moments of relaxation were all that they needed to finally revitalize, for the day before them gave time to prepare. Only a few days together, it seemed like they would want much more of them to come...but they would have to, of course, fight for it all.