Unlikely Alliance

Jenna drew her blades, pointing one at the masked man. He remained unfazed, looking more bored than intimidated. He repositioned himself, his elbows resting on the table. He folded his hands together, leaning forward. The silence between the two opposing parties only heightened the tension. Though the masked man's emotions could not be traced, Mori knew the man was studying them. She knew he could have ambushed them at the first chance and the fact that he elected not to take the opportunity was the only proof the reaper needed to know that the man had a plan. His posture suggested careful calculation and commanded control, something the operatives would never yield to him. Jenna remained calm, but despite their numbers she felt a profound dread tugging at her. Perhaps the dim lights and the red aura emanating from the masked man put her off kilter, but it did not stop her from keeping the knife pointed at their mysterious foe.

"Have a seat," the man began, not making a single move.

The operatives refused to comply. The only thought in Jenna and J-chad's mind was how to go about detaining the man.

He sighed, impatient. "If you think I'm here to kill you all, then relax. I just want to talk."

The angel scoffed. "Talk? Why the hell would we want to talk with you?"

"Because I know you and your team are in a desperate situation."

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" J-chad's eyes narrowed.

"Look around you. The Church of the Dark Mother are enacting the final rite of passage in the summoning ritual. Soon, this entire city will be reduced to rubble, and all of you with it."

"We'll find a way to stop them," Mori retorted.

"Oh really? Do you have a plan? Without one, you're all as good as dead."

"You came for a reason, didn't you? Spit it out," Jenna demanded.

"I can see it in all of your eyes, the fear," the masked man began, "You all fear what the Church will summon to this plane of existence. You all desire answers for the mystery of this ritual. I am here to give you that."

The angel raised a brow, slightly lowering her weapon. "What do you mean?"

"I want to propose a temporary alliance."

The operatives were taken aback. Mori looked to the others, who were just as confused as she was at his statement. The two managers could not believe their ears, their enemy wanted to work together. The reaper turned to Jenna and J-chad, both looking like they had the same thought as she did. Mori knew there was something more to this.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Jenna asked.

"We both have a common enemy."

"What reason would you have to fight the Church?"

"It's simple really. This world cannot be destroyed by the Church's god."

"Because?"

"It is to be destroyed by my master and he alone," the masked man flatly explained.

"So that's it, huh?" Coco interjected. "You want to save the world for Nyarlathotep to take, is that it?"

Mori noticed Jenna and J-chad wincing at the name. Twice she saw the name evoke a reaction, and her interest was becoming piqued.

"Exactly. I know you all are at a loss and have no idea what to do next."

"What's the catch?" J-chad asked. "You seem like the kind of person that wouldn't help someone without a goal in mind."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," the masked man recited. "Like I said, we both share the same enemy. I see this as an opportunity to get rid of the opposition. You should see this as a way to save countless innocent lives."

Silence once again descended upon the room as Jenna contemplated the options in her mind. Picking up on this, the masked man continued.

"I see you all need time to think. I will give you time to discuss this," he stood up from his seat, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. "I'll be at the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building later to hear your decision. Remember, time is ticking. I am the only person with the intel you need in order to even attempt to stop this ritual from completing."

In the blink of an eye, the masked man vanished, only red smoke left in his place. The dark atmosphere that kept the group on edge had dissipated, leaving the operatives to discuss their decision. Jenna reclaimed her seat, looking at the others.

"We've got a lot to talk about. Let's begin."

"Are we going to take the enemy's offer?" Fubuki started.

"We should go through what we know," Noel suggested, "Do we have any actual clue as to where the Church is hiding?"

"None whatsoever," Coco answered. "Seems like Havoc and her followers took the hint when we stormed her base."

"Do we have the means of finding them?" J-chad inquired.

The chairman shook her head. "I insisted that my men evacuate, so they're all gone. Besides, I don't think we could've made much progress with the threat of those Dark Young prowling in the streets."

"There are still people that need to be protected. That ambush cut us short from getting hospital patients out," Mori explained, a worried look on her face.

Jenna placed her hand on the reaper's shoulder. The angel could not imagine the amount of stress she had in her mind. With Kiara missing and Kaworu in potential danger, she knew Mori was having a nervous time.

"That rain gives me some bad vibes," Okayu remarked, laying her head on the table.

"I wonder where it came from..." Korone mused, playfully patting her partner's head.

"At least we have a way to fight them without being overwhelmed," Flare turned to Rushia.

Rushia nodded. "You can count on me to provide support."

"So many unanswered questions..." Jenna sighed. "We need to make our decision now."

J-chad crosses her arms. "Are we willing to work with someone like him?"

"If you're asking me, I think our best option is to work with the masked man," Coco proposed.

"What makes you say that, Kaichou?" Aqua asked, laying down some fresh tea on the table.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we're desperate. The ritual is close to finishing and we still have no clue what is going to happen, where to find them, and how to stop them. If the masked man says he knows what to do, I think it's our best bet."

"I agree," Jenna nodded, "but there's the possibility that he could be lying."

Fubuki shook her head. "I don't think that's the case. What would he have to gain by lying to us?"

"He could be after something?" J-chad suggested.

"Could be the case, maybe he wants something the Church has," Mori theorized.

"So why doesn't he do it himself?" Jenna wondered.

"Maybe he plans on telling us when we accept his deal?" Lamy chimed in. "He's probably withholding major details to make us cooperate."

"He knows we're short on info and he's using his knowledge as a bargaining chip to force us to help him, clever bastard." J-chad grumbled.

"So it looks like we really have to accept his help by his conditions, huh?" Jenna sighed.

Mori shook her head. "We could still negotiate. If he really needs our help, we'll force him to make some compromises."

The angel nodded. "Hopefully that's the case," she turned to the rest of the girls. "So we're all in agreement then?"

The operatives nodded in unison, giving Jenna confirmation. "Ok then, while me and my team meet the masked man, I'm counting on the rest of you to keep me posted about anything interesting going on and to keep watch over every hospital in this sector. Remain on standby till further notice."

The angel turned to the reaper, hellbeast, and chairman. "Alright, J-chad, Mori, Coco, let's not keep the bastard waiting."

"Gura?" Kiara asked, blinking twice to make sure she was not dreaming. "I can't believe it's you, what are you doing in a place like this?"

The Atlantean put her hands on her hips. "I was going to ask you the same thing. You need help?"

Though the phoenix felt better, shockwaves of pain continued to pulse across her throbbing brain. With Gura's assistance, she got to her feet, stumbling a few steps. Kiara looked up to see Haachama standing atop a pile of debris. She shifted her focus to the shark girl, who seemed absolutely calm with her surroundings.

"What are you doing here, Gura? This place isn't safe."

The Atlantean smiled. "Don't worry about me, I'm alright."

"Why didn't you evacuate earlier with the others?"

"I've been working together with a friend, we're trying to solve a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Well...it's complicated to say th-."

The growl of a Dark Young interrupted Gura, and both of them were on high alert. Haachama jumped down from the top, walking towards the two.

"I hate to interrupt your little chit chat, but we've got to go. A pack of those monsters are heading this way."

"More Dark Young?" Kiara muttered.

The straightjacket-bound girl turned to the phoenix, curiosity in her one eye. "Well, I haven't formally introduced myself. The name's Haachama."

"Takanashi Kiara. Nice to meet you."

"Lovely name, now can we get the hell out of here before those things come? Unless you want me to..." Haachama chuckled, turning to the Atlantean. For some reason a chill crawled down Kiara's back.

"Not now," Gura answered without hesitation. She turned to Kiara, "I'll explain everything later, let's go."

The three ran down the street, the group of creatures pursuing behind. Turning a corner into an alleyway, they rushed through, only to find a Dark Young appearing on the other side, snarling at them, saliva dripping from its many mouths. Kiara stepped in front of Gura, drawing her blade and shield.

"Kiara?" the Atlantean asked, surprised.

"Stay behind me, you don't have a weapon."

Gura shook her head, summoning a trident in her hand. Now the phoenix was the one shocked as the shark girl flung the weapon at the monster, striking it with precise accuracy. It cried out, black blood oozing from the wounds inflicted by the trident's prongs. She ran at it, pulling her weapon out and jumping up. She brought it down on the Dark Young, severely cutting it and incapacitating it. As she went to finish it off, Kiara spotted a creature jumping down from the rooftops. The phoenix sprung forward as it descended upon the Atlantean, tackling it as Gura noticed it. Kiara slammed the creature against the wall and plunged her blade into it. Thrusting her open hand out, an intense blast of fire cremated the corpses of the fallen monsters. Haachama ran forward, warning the two that more Dark Young were following. Exiting the alley, the three arrived at an open street devoid of any cars.

"This way," Gura pointed to her right.

As they made their way down the road, Dark Young came down from the rooftops of the buildings lining the sides of the street. Landing in front of them, they cut them from advancing further. It was not long before the monsters chasing them arrived at their position. Kiara and Gura gulped, they were surrounded.

"Y'know, this could all be over quickly, Gura," Haachama stated. "If you give me permission to let loose, I'll end this in an instant."

Spotting more Dark Young arriving to circle their prey, Gura knew she had no other choice. Kiara nervously watched the shark girl as she sighed.

"Fine. Go for it."

Haachama grinned. "Finally, it's about damn time I let loose. Kick back and enjoy the show, ladies~"

Her eye flashed bright red. Without even seeing what she did, Kiara watched as the first circle of enemies surrounding them were split in half without warning. Their upper bodies tumbled to the floor, blood spewing like a fountain from their lower halves still standing. Haachama ran forward, laughing like a maniac. Though they were hard to see, Kiara noticed many long arms with clawed hands extending from her back. They grabbed a large number of the Dark Young, and with one rough squeeze they bursted like grapes. She took one, slamming it against the wall of the building with a loud smash. She began to viciously batter the monster with her myriad arms until it was reduced to paste. Kiara watched as Haachama lifted one of the creatures with her arms and flung them at its companions.

She pulled a street lamp from off the ground and swung it at a group of monsters, sending them flying through buildings. She brought it down on one of them, crushing the Dark Young under the lamp's weight. With one loud roar, ten of them were decimated in an instant, a loud splatter the only evidence they once existed. Gura shuddered, she could only imagine what Haachama's true power was out of her jacket. Kiara began to burn what remains were left during the blond girl's rampage. Haachama caught a Dark Young midair as it tried to lunge at her. With sheer force and willpower, the girl grabbed the top and bottom of one of the creature's many mouths and split it in half, black blood splattering all over her white jacket. A smile of intense bloodlust was glued to her face, and it made Kiara shudder to no end.

"What the hell is this girl?" she asked, her tone hushed as she burned the bodies.

"A monster," Gura replied.

Soon only a few monsters remained to incur the wrath of Haachama, but before she could annihilate them, another person slashed down on the Dark Young before her hands could reach it. Haachama jumped back and when the dust cleared she realized who she was.

"Emma!" Gura yelled.

The demon stood next to the fallen monster, her katana plunged into its body. She turned to the group, pulling out the blade and swinging it to the side, black blood splattering on the road. She sheathed her blade, approaching the three. Stepping in front of Kiara, her eyes widened.

"Kiara?" she asked.

"Oh, you know Kiara?" the Atlantean chimed in.

"Emma...it's really you," a smile started to cross the phoenix's face.

"So you do remember...." Emma muttered.

"It's been so long," Kiara embraced the demon.

"So how do you two know each other?" Gura asked.

Kiara turned to the Atlantean. "Emma's an old college friend of mine. I haven't seen her in a long time."

Gura's eyes widened. "Woah, and you two met here? What a small world..."

"I thought I told you not to let Haachama fight, Gura," Emma crossed her arms.

Gura rubbed the back of her head. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. We were surrounded and I panicked."

The demon sighed. "It's fine, at least you're all safe."

Haachama rolled her eyes, stomping on the ashen remains of a Dark Young. "You're such a killjoy, y'know that Emma? I was having fun there and you had to rain on my parade."

"Fun isn't the mission here. I could take you back to the cell I found you in."

"If I had actually known how much of a bore you were, maybe I should've stayed in prison."

"Look on the bright side Haachama, at least you got to see the outside world for once," Gura remarked.

"Fair point. But there's a difference between seeing a cake and being able to eat it the way I want to."

"You'll get your chance later when we storm the building," Emma explained.

"Well you better hope we get there soon before heads start rolling."

"Wouldn't try it," the demon's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, yeah, I was kidding."

"So where've you been Emma? Jenna said you were on your own mission."

Emma nodded. "That's right. My side of the investigation's really important for the two of us, so we decided it was best that we split up and pursued separate goals."

"So is that why you didn't help out at the evacuation zone?"

"Yeah, I saw it as an opportunity for more intel gathering. We found the Order's HQ."

"Are you heading there right now?"

"Uh-huh," Gura replied, "we're close, but Emma wanted to see if you guys needed help after that earthquake."

"Please, take me with you," Kiara offered.

"You wanna help out?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. I know the others are working hard to beat the Church, and I don't want to stay on the sidelines."

Gura smiled. "We could use the extra firepower."

The demon crossed her arms. "Then it's settled. Welcome to the team, Kiara."

Haachama yawned. "We done with the talking? Let's head to the HQ before more of those things come. Though, I wouldn't mind if we stayed," she smirked.

"Calm down, we were just about to leave," Emma sighed, irritated.

"Hey, Kiara was it? I noticed you were burning the corpses of those monsters, why?" the chaos god asked.

"The Dark Young have regenerative abilities. We have to get rid of all their remains or their entire body's going to grow back."

"So you cremate the bodies. Interesting, I'll keep that in mind while I turn them into paste."

The group made their way through Shibuya, crossing over into Shinjuku. Black rain poured during their journey and Kiara warned them of the presence of monsters. While the other two wanted to avoid battle as much as possible, Haachama wanted to battle. When conflict was inevitable, the chaos god dispatched the Dark Young with efficiency and brutality. Kiara could only watch in awe as Haachama ripped apart the monsters with ease.

"Still can't believe this is the person making our food...." Gura remarked, stabbing a Dark Young with her trident.

"Wait, this girl makes food?" Kiara asked back, surprised.

"This is all for those community service hours!" Haachama squeezed the life out of one of the creatures, making it explode into a pile of guts.

"Damn it Haachama, I just got this shirt washed!" Emma shouted, examining the blood on her clothes.

"Can it or else I'll add an extra pile of tarantulas in your noodles the next time I'm cooking lunch," the chaos god retorted with a growl, tossing the corpse to the side.

The four continued, finding themselves at the doorstep of a tower. The moon smiled down at Kiara as she stared up at the top. By a simple observation phoenix assumed that the building was about a hundred stories tall, give or take. Surprisingly, despite the recent tremor all the lights were on inside, though no people could be seen. Emma grabbed the handle to open the door, only to find that it would not budge in the slightest. She saw that there was a lock underneath the handle, and an idea hatched in her head. She pulled a Bobby pin from her hair, undoing her black and red ponytail. She bent it and stuck it inside of the lock, fiddling with it while the others patiently waited. Emma could feel the lock loosening, and Kiara and Gura watched in anticipation.

Haachama grabbed the handles of the double doors and yanked them off their hinges, flinging them to the side with an exceptionally loud crash. The phoenix and the Atlantean jumped back, but Emma was left unfazed. She stood back up, looking towards the chaos god with an unamused, deadpan expression.

"Really?"

"What, we got in."

The demon sighed. "So much for going the stealthy route. Let's go."

Haachama leaped onto the secretary's desk in the lobby, keeping her balance using her ghostly red arms. She sniffed the air, grinning. "They're here, alright."

"How'd you know that?" the phoenix inquired.

"I can smell their chaos," the girl replied, offering no other insight.

Emma pulled a device out from her pocket. "Gura, you have the walkie-talkie, right?"

"Right here, boss," the Atlantean presented it to her.

"What's the plan?" Kiara asked.

The demon showed the phoenix the device she held. It had a dark green screen with a few numbers on it. "This is a signal tracker. With it, you can find the location of a communication device connected to the same signal. And this is a walkie-talkie we found off a member of the Order."

Kiara nodded in understanding. "So you used that walkie-talkie to track the cult here..."

"You sure caught on quick," Haachama remarked.

"It isn't my first rodeo," the phoenix smiled.

"The signal's being traced upstairs. Let's move."

"Should we take the elevator?" Kiara asked.

"Nope," Gura started, "haven't you seen action movies, everything goes wrong inside elevators,"

The phoenix shrugged. "Good point."

Haachama crossed her arms. "There's no way in hell I'm climbing up all those stairs. I'm crazy, but not that crazy."

Their conversation was interrupted by a ding. Turning to the side, Kiara noticed the arrow pointing down above the elevator glowing white. The four drew their weapons, and from the elevator six armed men with full riot armor and masks stepped out of the elevator, training their guns on them.

"You girls are breaking into private property. Leave now or we'll be forced to shoot," one of the men stated.

"It's them..." Gura whispered.

"I know," Emma glanced at her, keeping most of her attention onto the guards.

The guard pulled a walkie-talkie from one of the pockets of his vest. "We're taking care of the intruders now-"

The walkie-talkie in Emma's hand sputtered to life, repeating the guard's line. The armed men noticed this and before their leader could ask another question, two of Haachama's phantom limbs shot out and grabbed two of them. The unloaded their guns as they were raised to the air but could do nothing as the chaos god slammed their bodies onto the floor and threw both of them across the room. Their leader commanded the remaining guards to open fire. Before their bullets could strike the four, Haachama summoned more arms to shield them. As the bullets bounced off the transparent barrier, Kiara looked around for a way to move away from the line of fire. She and the others, with the exception of Haachama, did not want to kill anybody unless it was necessary. Gura spotted an giant aquarium in the wall behind the front desk filled with a large amount of water. A lightbulb sparked to life in her head. Kiara watched as the Atlantean held her trident over her shoulder, pointing it straight at the aquarium.

"Sorry, fish..."

With a strong throw she struck the glass, shattering it. The guards had little time to process what had happened before they were face-to-face with a wave of rushing water descending down upon them. Knocking the men down, the water advanced forward, its movement curving around Haachama's barrier. As the water poured out of the building and into the street, a few of the guards began to stir awake. Kiara, Gura, and Emma dispatched three of them, incapacitating them and leaving them unconscious. Haachama picked up the last one, the leader, and pinned them against the wall with an arm with a resounding thud.

"Where's your boss?" Emma asked, an intimidating look in her red eyes.

"He's upstairs, please don't kill me!" the man replied frantically.

"Don't worry, we won't," Kiara assured. "Isn't that right, Haachama?"

"Yeah, yeah," the chaos god punched him, knocking him out before he slumped to the floor.

An intercom rang to life, grabbing the four's attention.

"Good evening. I presume you're here to stop our operation? It's too late, everything has already been set into motion. Soon those madmen of the Church will regret ever trying to cross us," a man's voice spoke.

Emma spotted a security camera aimed straight at the four. She raised her katana, pointing its tip at the lens. "We're coming for you."

The voice laughed. "You can try, but first, you'll need to get up here. Good luck."

Gura walked over to the elevator, which was ajar. She pressed on the buttons inside, but they did not respond to her inputs no matter how many times she tapped them.

"The elevator's not working..." the Atlantean sighed.

Emma shrugged. "Well, I guess we're taking the stairs."

"Damn it!" Haachama slammed the ground with her phantom fists, making the floor shake, startling the others.

-

"So was Emma the friend you were with when we first met, Gura?" Kiara asked, climbing up the thirteenth flight of stairs.

"Oh, she wasn't," Gura replied, panting from the workout she was getting.

"Really? Who was it then?"

"Sorry," Emma interrupted, "but we can't tell you that, it's company information."

Kiara raised a brow. "But I'm part of the company."

"Management and higher-ups only."

"Oh, I see. I still can't believe both of you were part of the organization this whole time. I just joined a few weeks ago," the phoenix remarked.

"Well, we have that in common," Gura smiled, "I just joined a few weeks ago too."

"You should meet my friend, Calli."

The Atlantean's heart skipped a beat. She froze in place for a second, stopping in the middle of the flight of stairs.

Emma looked down at the shark girl's crestfallen face. "You good, Gura?"

Concerned, Kiara placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Kiara asked.

Gura nodded, raising. "Let's keep going, sorry."

Reaching the twenty-fifth flight of stairs, the four stopped, their feet aching from climbing. Haachama panted, sitting on one of the steps. Emma leaned against the wall, catching her breath. Gura wiped sweat off her forehead, wishing for the day they reached the top with every fiber of her being.

The chaos god cursed. "Damn, we're only a fourth of the way there?"

Emma sighed. "Trust me, I hate this as much as you do, but we gotta keep going."

"We'll die before we reach the top," Gura joked between heavy breaths.

"C'mon, we'll make it throu-"

A gurgled roar echoed down the staircase from above them, silencing them. The sounds got closer, growing louder every second. Something fell from a high spot and splattered against the stairs below them. From her place, Kiara spotted something slimy and black, dragging itself up the stairs with many tentacles and what appeared to be human arms with hands grasping at the steps. Hundreds of eyes opened, staring up at the phoenix. More amorphous blobs dropped down from above. Gura and Emma spotted creatures descending from the flights ahead. The monsters were closing in on both directions. Haachama attempted to grab one of the monsters, but her ghostly hands sunk into the slimy mass, grabbing nothing. The four backed into each other as the monsters made their approach. Emma looked to her side, finding a door leading to the offices. She threw it open, slamming against the wall.

"Get in, hurry!" she yelled out.

The four ran inside, Haachama pulling the door shut behind her. The monsters' limbs began oozing through the cracks of the door. The chaos god caved in the ceiling above the door, the rubble crashing in front of them. Though it would not stop the creature's advance, it would slow them down for enough time to find a way out. The four bolted down the hallway, finding another door and heading inside.

"Breaking the ceiling to block their path? Nice thinking, Haachama," Kiara complimented.

"What the hell were those things?" the chaos god asked.

"Shoggoths. They can transform their shape and it's impossible to kill it with normal weapons," Gura explained. "They're also weak to fire."

"Well that explains why I couldn't grab them," Haachama remarked.

"We need to find another way up. The rubble won't keep them away forever. Let's spread out and search the floor for any possible way up. Haachama, you're coming with me. Gura, Kiara, work together. We'll meet again in fifteen," Emma instructed.

Gura nodded. "Roger that, ma'am."

As the two walked away in the other direction, the Atlantean and the phoenix began to explore. Kiara created a fireball to light the area around her as, other than the moon, the night sky eliminated any sense of visibility. Gura approached the window, being greeted with a display of Tokyo, the tall buildings looming in the distance. It was strange to her to see all the lights turned off and the absence of people walking around the streets gave her an eerie feeling unlike any other. Kiara stood next to her, looking out into the scenery as well. An awkward silence fell upon the two, the phoenix struggling to find the words to say.

"Hey, Gura," she began.

The Atlantean turned to her with a curious expression.

"Look...I'm sorry about earlier."

Gura shook her head. "No, it's ok."

"But you seemed sad."

"Just had a bad memory, that's all."

"Have you and Calli met?"

Gura nodded.

"Did something happen between you two?"

She looked down. "Yeah, we didn't exactly get off on the right foot."

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

"No, not really."

Kiara smiled. "Alright then, anything you're comfortable with."

Before she turned to leave, the shark girl grabbed her arm. "Wait, Kiara."

"Yes?"

"Could you...tell me more about her? About Mori?"

"Why?"

"She always struck me as the serious type but...I feel like there's something more to her."

Kiara nodded. "Sure, I'd love to tell you about her."

Gura smiled. "Thanks, Kiara."

"So, where to start?" she began. "When I first met her, I thought the exact same thing you did at first. I remember our first breakfast together like it was yesterday," she chuckled. "She was being very secretive and stayed that way all morning, but that all changed when we went to Harajuku together."

"Why'd you go to Harajuku?"

"To go clothes shopping and eat sweets, of course."

Gura's eyes widened. "You went shopping...with Mori?"

"Uh-huh. Surprisingly, she has great fashion taste for someone who wears the same uniform everyday," Kiara giggled.

She proceeded to tell Gura about the skirmish in Harajuku, where she and Mori fought monsters to protect the people and save a little girl. She then talked about meeting the operatives and finding out Mori's true goal.

"So Mori wants to find this Detective Watson, huh..." Gura looked out into the distance.

"Yeah. I don't think killing her is the right thing to do but she has her reasons for doing it."

"And those are?"

"You see, Calli's been on exile on this planet for centuries," Kiara explained. "She disobeyed her master, the Grim Reaper, and hasn't been home. She hasn't seen her family or friends for a while. She was alone for a long time, wandering the earth."

Gura frowned. "That's horrible...I...I never knew. So that's why..."

Kiara explained their nights together after the dome covered Tokyo, how each time they traveled together brought them closer. The phoenix's persistence convinced Mori to lower her barriers and let Kiara understand her. She fondly reminisced about the night at the Skytree.

"We went to Tokyo Skytree one night. We talked and...I finally understood everything. Why she acted the way she did, why she kept to herself a lot, why she was reserved whenever we went out to eat together. She never deserved all this, but it happened and I can't change that. All I could do was promise her that I'd always be her friend."

"You're such a caring person," Gura remarked.

"Thanks, but Mori's way more kind than I could ever be. She still believes it's all her fault that she got banished and it's bullshit. She's put herself in danger to save people. She's been there for people in need. We rescued a sick boy named Kaworu on a mission, and she's visited him at the hospital most days just to provide him company."

"When you put it that way, Mori sounds like a great person."

"She is. I hope you two could work things out."

Gura turned to Kiara, smiling. "Yeah."

-

Mori stood next to the looking glass of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's observation deck. The green fluorescent glow of the forcefield reminded the reaper of the northern lights. The smiling moon hanging above unnerved her like always. She crossed her arms, a look of worry painted on her face. From behind her, J-chad stood next to the reaper, sipping a cup of hot coffee. The manager leaned over the railing, seeing the sights.

"Something on your mind, Mori?"

"It's nothing."

"You've been quiet since we left HQ, don't tell me that it's nothing," the hellbeast offered a cup. "Here, take it. Jenna gave me another to give you."

Mori raised a hand. "I'm fi-"

"Just please save me the trouble of carrying two cups and take the damn coffee. You haven't eaten or drank anything since we left," J-chad interrupted.

Seeing the manager's stern face the reaper knew she would not back down. Mori took the cup and took a sip, the hot beverage warming her.

"Am I worrying the others?" the reaper asked.

J-chad nodded. "I just wanted to check in on you. I know we only met a few hours ago, but if it's any comfort for you, we can talk about it."

Mori saw her reflection in the window, the worry and concern in her face. "I...I'm just worried about Kiara."

"You two seemed really close."

"Though I don't like to admit it, we were," a small smile spread across the reaper's face. "We ate together, slept in the same house, went on adventures together."

"That sounds nice."

"Don't tell her or anyone I said this but...Kiara gave my life meaning. I've been alone for years. I was lost, but she found me."

J-chad lowered her shades, showing her wide eyes. "Wow, she really helped you out."

Mori chuckled. "If it weren't for her, I'd be a way different person."

"I'm glad you met Kiara. She was a light in my life too."

Mori nodded. "I know she's a strong person, but I still feel worried about her and I don't know why..."

"We're all worried about her, you're not alone in that. You might feel worried about her more than we do because you were the closest to her."

"But she's just as much my friend as she is yours and Jenna's."

"Then maybe that means you have different feelings for her than me and Jenna."

The reaper's face slightly turned red. "Different feelings? What do you mean by that?"

J-chad smiled. "You do the math, Mori."

The reaper looked away, blushing, drawing out a laugh from the hellbeast.

"Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime."

"Am I interrupting something?" a familiar voice spoke.

The two snapped around to see the masked man and his two alien guards beside him. J-chad pressed on her earpiece, informing Jenna and Coco of their arrival. The angel and the chairman arrived at the scene.

"Who are your friends?" J-chad inquired.

The man patted one of the monsters on the head. "My personal bodyguards. Shoggoths."

One of the creatures let out a gurgled growl, drool dripping from their mouth. The other, on all fours watched the group with curiosity. Its serrated claws slid across the floor, marking and scratching the tiles below.

"You arrived earlier than expected. I take it that you've made your decision?" the masked man asked.

Jenna nodded, crossing her arms. "We've decided to work with you. But know we're watching you at all times."

"Wonderful," he clapped his hands together. "Well then ladies...shall we begin?"