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Chapter Text

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Chief enters their office, immediately getting to work on their daily orders. First spend stamina, running low on discoins so might as well spend some stamina in gold rush. Next up, the supervision hall, chief checks up on some of the sinners, making sure they're not up to any trouble. Especially that new girl Eve. Next stop, the bureau, chief steps up to the map and selects which sinners to choose to get Materials. Zoya? Nah she's too busy right now. Ninety-Nine? Nah she's currently recovering from her boiling blood. Doesn't matter, chief doesn't have time for this

Chief puts down some random names to go fetch some materials in Syndicate. What's the worst that can happen?

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14:00 Tuesday January 30th N.F 113. The convoy arrives at syndicate's entrance. The first Sinner steps out of the vehicle. S-Rank sinner Rahu, Ex FAC soldier. She carries two gigantic shields on both of her arms. She only has one goal in mind, the mission. The next sinner steps out, S-Rank sinner Serpent, known for the Infamous "Dreamy Bubble" incident and her involvement with the substance known as Ambrosia. Finally the last Sinner, A-Rank sinner Nino, A video game streamer very popular on major streaming sites like "Switch" and "MeTube"

"Oh? You're a new one here ain't ya?" Nino flinches as she realizes that sinner Serpent is speaking to her.

"Oh me? Yeah yeah... Brought in only a month ago hehe" She's never been around such fearsome sinners before. What if the two power houses are out to get her? is it safe to even be around these two??

"Focus on the mission" Rahu cuts them both off

"Mmmmmmmmmmh, Nah!" Even after hearing Rahu's demand, Serpent decides to do her own thing and just wander around

Nino approaches Rahu, seeing her as a sort of beacon of safety. "So uhh, what are we here for again?" Nino asks 

Rahu responds in a low monotone voice "Elytra Shards. The chief's orders" 

Nino nods as if she knows what that is. "Oh yeah yeah. I know what those are... The things from Minecraft!"

Suddenly Nino feels something smack the back of her head

"Nows not the time to be thinking about games... Follow me" The lady with the big shields gives her a stern warning

Nino feels like there's no other choice but to follow

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15:20 

The trio wander the streets of syndicate looking for Elytra Shards. Rahu searches with intent, looking between nooks and crannies to make sure she hasn't missed anything. Serpent on the other hand is a different story.

"Hey there little millipede~ wanna be my friend~" Serpent reaches out her finger and...

"Ouch! Didn't know millipedes could bite! Piece of Shit!" Out of anger serpent smashes it with a rock. "Go to sleep forever~ hahaha"

"Jesus Christ, is there something wrong with her?" Nino can only look in disgust as serpent smashes the millipede

"A combination of Egotism, Mania, and various mental issues" The response was very straightforward and blunt. To Nino it seemed like Rahu was a machine, making calculations and only working off of logic and reasoning.

"Can't believe they'd let someone... Like that, go do whatever they want!" With such a loose canon on the loose Nino begins to doubt whether the chief is as smart as people say they are

"She came because of Chief's orders. I don't question their judgement"

"Tsk, kissass"

Rahu glares at the tiny pipsqueak right next to her

"What did you say?" She clenches her teeth hard like a gnarling dog

"Ahh I mean... I like to kiss ass! Wait no actually, no no! I meant to say I like to kick ass! hehe"

With a sharp turn Rahu walks away

"*Sigh* I just wanna go home..."
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Chapter Text

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16:00

The three are still searching for Elytra Shards. At this point it seems like they'll never find any

"Voice Log number 26. I feel trapped in this heap of garbage. *Sigh* my legs have gone numb, my ears burn, my ankle twisted! I just wanna go home and stream to you guys wahhh" It's only been two hours since the start of their dispatch and Nino is already willing to give up

"Stop goofing off and go search" Rahu's voice appears from behind Nino

"But we haven't found anythinggguh!"

"Because you haven't searched hard enough"

"Huh? wha- what about her!" Nino gestures towards Serpent who's just napping on top of a wrecked car

"She's dead weight" Rahu says bluntly

"Then let me be dead weight too" Sharply turning back to her phone screen, Nino feels defeated

At this point nothing has happened, no Elytra Shards, no thugs, no monsters. Wait

"No thugs, bandits, nobody" Rahu comes to the realization that they've seen nobody in this part of town. Sure usually it's pretty quiet but there's a least a couple of rebellious kids on the street. However not in this moment "Where'd everyone go?"

"Probably Bingo" Nino interjects

"Enough of those games!" With force Rahu yanks the phone out of Nino's hands

Immediately, Rahu begins to examine the area for clues. The windows on the building, wide open, strange. No distant noises of materials being destroyed or property being defiled

"Hey give me back my phone!" The height difference between the two makes it impossible for Nino to recover her phone. Truly the darkest of times.

"And now! The end is near! And so I face! The final curtain!" From on top of the ruined car, Serpent sings her heart out to a familiar tune. The two girls look over at her, confused as to why Serpent is singing

"Hey! What's with the yapping?!" Nino yells out

"My friend! I'll say it clear! I'll state my case! Of which I'm certain!" Serpent holds up her imaginary microphone to her mouth, clearly not giving a damn.

"Insufferable piece of sh-" just as Rahu is about to destroy the car Serpent lays on, there's a sudden rumble beneath them. Like an earthquake... 

A small crack in the ground right behind Nino begins to expand and out pops an abnormally large millipede. "Eww! It's the size of a freaking dog! what the fuck!" More and more cracks begin to open up right under them

"Nino!" In a rush, Rahu picks up Nino and holds her over her shoulder "An infestation of Mania infected Millipedes. Something straight out of a nightmare!" With Nino over her shoulder Rahu rushes to a near by building

*SLAMM* Rahu sets her down "Are you ok?" Nino nods her head

"Shit now I have to go out for the other one. Barricade yourself in here. We don't know how dangerous they might be"

"They look relatively weak!"

"Yes, but you freak out at the sight of them. Any form of hesitation can lead to them overwhelming you. I can not have that happen. Now stay here"

Rahu opens the door and slams it back shut once she's outside. In front of her stand a small group of the freaks. The small millipedes are already freaky enough, but having them be this abnormally large is bone chilling. But that doesn't matter to Rahu. She cuts through the small horde in front of her. Stabbing them with the sharp end of her shield and stacking them like a kabab. The ones that got too close would be grabbed by Rahu's hands and be torn apart and shredded

"Ahh! Rahh! Ughh!"

The sound of battle rages on until the small horde is vanquished.

"ahh... ahh... *Sigh*"

Rahu makes her way back to where serpent was, only to find out that she's no longer on her spot on top of the ruined car

"Damn... Where'd she go?" Of course Rahu knew that serpent was capable of holding her own. But was It possible that Serpent was overwhelmed and maybe...

"I'll get nino first"

Rahu heads back to the building where she left Nino in.

*Knock knock knock* "you can come out now!"

"Oh thank goodness..."

The door is fully opened and Nino steps out onto the street

"EWWWWUH, That's absolutely.. ughh!" Nino has to force herself to look away before she vomits. 

"We need to get Serpent back"

"I thought you said she was dead weight! Why do you want her back so bad?"

Rahu turns to look Nino in the eye "Chief would be mad if we don't return with her" She says this but it feels like she wanted to say something else, but switched her words last second

"Ok. I see! Operation Find or possibly save serpent is a go!" Nino says while holding a triumphant pose

"I said no games!" *Whack* a smack to the back of Nino's head.

"Ahh shit! Ok I promise no more games" The back of her head stings like a bee. Nino mutters under her breath, "Jackass"

"What did you say?"

"I said you're a jackass!"

Rahu looks down at Nino and instead of scolding her once again.

"Hehe, good one kid" She oddly enough has a smile on her face. And as she walks past she bumps nino on the shoulder. "c'mon let's go"

Chapter Text

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16:30

"Rahu! Found something!" Nino's voice echoes throughout the street.

"Hush, keep your voice down... What is it?" She gets on the same level as Nino to examine what she's found.

On the floor is a tiny bloodstain already in the process of drying out

"Do you think it's her blood?" Nino asks, worried that maybe serpent is injured or maybe even worse

Without hesitation Rahu takes off her glove and puts out her pointer finger and rubs it on the blood stained concrete. She pulls back her finger and smells it. The iron from the blood fills her nose, the strong stench makes her flinch ever so slightly. From just this one sniff Rahu has Serpent's scent memorized 

"What the fuck?" The girl right next to her exclaims. "You really just... Sniffed her blood... Ewww"

Her reaction doesn't phase Rahu in the slightest. She stands up quickly, putting her glove back on, and begins to follow Serpent's distinct stench

"Are all S-Ranks sinners this weird?? *Sigh*"

Nino has no choice but to follow closely behind the soldier. As they continue their search, the clouds overhead begin to merge and become darker.

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16:50

Rahu has been following the scent for a while now, never letting up even for a moment. However, once they reach Keylan Square...

"*Sniff Sniff* her scent is becoming weaker" Looking up at the sky Rahu sees that sprinkles of rain have begun dropping. The change in humidity has thrown Rahu off of Serpent's trail

"So this is Keylan Square huh? How lovely..." Nino looks upon the ruined cityscape. Clearly the affects of BR-004 still linger to this day. Debris all over the place, Gangs and Thugs who have made this place their home. It's hard to believe that hundreds of people used to come here daily, and now it looks like this.

"Don't get your hopes up, we find Serpent and then we leave. Keylan Square is beyond the boundaries of our search, the Chief wouldn't like us being here."

Rahu sets down her shields and kneels down to the ground. Serpent's smell seems to be in the air and on the ground, but it's become so faint and muddied that she can't pinpoint it exactly. By this point the rate of rainfall has increased, the dark clouds above signal even heavier rain to come.

"We must find shelter." The two shields are recovered and Rahu stands back up.

Both of them walk through the ruined center, trying to look for any sort of refuge. Eventually the two find Keylan Square's notorious landmark. A statue of a man standing 100 meters tall over the exhibition site with graffiti sprayed all over it.

"What the hell is that?" Nino points to the structure with genuine curiosity.

"Dr. Keylan, the man who invented hypercubes." 

"Ooooh I see now."

"And that statue is exactly where we're heading to."

"Wait what. Why?"

"The statue, it's hollow on the inside. Used to be a popular tourist attraction before the incident. Its a perfect place for shelter."

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17:00

The two enter the base of the statue. There are holes in the metal statue that have been torn off violently, leaving the inside feeling very cold. Rahu walks around and takes a seat at the base of some nearby stairs, and for the first time in this entire mission Rahu grips the sides of her mask and pinches it down, unlocking it. She pulls it away from her, revealing the lower half of her face. With the mask off Rahu takes a deep breath in.. *inhale* and a slow breath out.. *sigh*

Nino takes her seat on a dirty bench. In her mind she's contemplating why the two are doing all of this, both of them don't even like Serpent. Yet they're going through all this trouble to find and potentially rescue her, is it really worth it? To put herself in danger for someone she finds to be detestable.

From the staircase, Rahu notices the girl's silence. 

"Got something on your mind, kid?"

Nino flinches slightly at her question. "Me? Uhh no I'm fine"

"You're quieter than usual"

"Cuz I don't want to annoy you, I know you hate it when I'm loud and making a ruckus"

"Doesn't mean you can't speak" Rahu speaks in a much softer tone as before

"Well, what is there to speak about? Oh nice weather we're having here today huh?!" Her frustration seeps into her sarcasm

"Kid, you..." Before Rahu could finish her sentence, Nino cuts her off

"Stop calling me a kid, I'm an adult..." Again, Nino is letting her frustration seep out

Rahu stands up, walks over to Nino, and takes a seat right next to her on the bench "Nino, Is there something bothering you?" 

"Why are you pretending to care about me?" Nino deflects the question by asking her own question. "Better yet why are you pretending to care about anyone? We both know that the only reason that we're going after Serpent is because you don't want to get scolded by the Chief. If the Chief told you to leave us for dead, you would do it in a heartbeat wouldn't you?"

Rahu stays silent for a moment, trying to think of a response. But Nino takes that little bit of Silence as her answer

"I Knew it" Nino stands up heads towards the stairs

"Wait, Nino." With Rahu calling out to her Nino stops her in tracks to potentially hear her out

"No, I wouldn't leave you behind." Rahu says as calmly as she can

"Are you just saying that to appeal to me?" 

"No I'm not saying that just because it's what you want to hear. Nino, If the Chief were to ever give that kind of order I would never through with it. Because I know that there are people that care about you, and people in this world that care about Serpent. I know what it's like to lose someone near and dear, and I don't want you or Serpent to be the reason someone feels that way."

Nino listens carefully, to Nino this is the first time Rahu has shown resolve in anything other that a task or goal. Rahu was exerting meaningful emotion? Nino is sort of shocked

After a bit of silence Nino speaks up "I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully that person who you lost Is in a better place. Also, I'm sorry for that I got you all wrong. You're a bit of an asshole I'm not gonna deny that..."

Rahu chuckles after hearing the insult

"...But I see that you are also human, and not just some mindless machine."

Nino tilts her head up to look at Rahu, now that the mask is off she can finally see that Rahu is smiling... Smiling

"That's weird as fuck, never do that again"

Once again Rahu chuckles and even lets out a little bit of a laugh

"I like you kid. Don't change"

"Hey what'd I tell you! I'm not a kid!'

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17:15

After a couple minutes of silent waiting, the rain has ceased. Although it has stopped raining dark grey clouds still linger overhead just waiting to release it's next burst of rain.

Rahu takes a step outside onto the soggy concrete ready to begin their search again

"C'mon, let's go before it starts raining again"

Chapter Text

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16:15

We cut over to Serpent walking the streets of syndicate. Hopping along the sidewalk without a care In the world." Da Da Dada~ La Da dada Da~"

During the whole charade with the giant bugs Serpent took the opportunity to get away from the group. Now she has free reign to do as she pleases, without the other two getting all up on her.

*What a bunch of party poopers they are. Can't a lady have her hobbies?* Serpent thinks to herself 

*Well, no matter, I can do without them* Serpent continues down the sidewalk with no set destination in mind. She knew that eventually the MBCC would capture her, but that didn't matter to her. Right now it's just her in the moment and she couldn't be happier

However as she turns the corner

"La Da Da Daa- Ah! Oh my goodness!" She looks down and it's that thing again, a tiny millipede

"Oh not one of you guys again. Last time I saw one of you buggers a bunch of your big brothers came after. Oh naw I'm not falling for that again oh no."

Serpent takes a big step over the millipede making sure not to step on it. But in one swift motion the millipede dashes under the incoming step

"H-Hey!" She shouts, not expecting such a strange action from the worm. Instinctively she stretches out her leg more so that she doesn't step on it, but she stretches out too far and...

"OOF!" Accidentally hits the splits in the middle of the sidewalk. Thankfully Serpent barely grazes the millipede with her calf.

"What is wrong with you buggy?! Got a death wish or something? Uggh!" 

Serpent stands back up and dusts herself off. She takes a moment to consider the bug in front of her

*This damn bug, there's no way an ordinary creature like that would willingly want to get crushed like that, bit... Odd* She kneels down and scoops up the little bug.

The bug was identical to the mania corrupted bugs a couple blocks back, except it was miniature. However, it didn't look like the first bug that crushed during the beginning of the mission

"How strange..."

"What's strange?"

"What the!" Serpent yells damn near at the top of her lungs

"You speak??"

"Of course I do. Who do ya take me for? Some chump?" The bug spoke in a strange high pitch voice, like a chipmunk or something.

"Okay, maybe that ambrosia is starting to get to my head" Serpent sets the millipede down and grabs a rock. Bout to make this millipede look like his brother

"wait..." The tiny voice of the millipede screams out until

*SPLATT*

Serpent lifts up the rock and sure enough, dead

"I'ma need to lay off that ambrosia, *sigh*"

As Serpent sits there contemplating her possible addiction a subtle rumbling can be felt beneath her. It's the same kind of rumbling that happened earlier when she was with Rahu and Nino.

"Oh shit." The severity of her actions barely had time to sink in before those giant mania corrupted millipedes began springing out of the ground again. Two appear directly in front of her and three on her behind

*It happened again! It must be those little buggers, each time I've killed one of them, their big brothers pop up to avenge them. They've gotta be connected to each other in some sort of way* 

Unfortunately she has no time for theories right now, she gets her mace ready for a fight

"Insert one liner or something I dunno blagh!" 

The two bugs directly in front of her pounce forwards with ferocity. Without hesitation Serpent leaps up and dodges the attack. She let's her mace dive head first as she stands directly on it, the mace slams into one of the bugs on the head, splatting this disgusting green bug goop all over her mace and legs.

"Ugh! Eww"

She hops forward and off her mace, on her way down she uses her forward momentum to swing it to the bug in front of her. The body of the bug rams into his buddy and they both get sent flying. Now, One bug to her side and one bug in front

*I swung those last two out of the way, they'll be out of commission for a couple of seconds. Just need to deal with these guys before they recover*

Serpent begins to swing her mace round and round over her head gradually getting faster and faster. As soon as the bug in front of her attempt to pounce, Serpent brings her whole body forward in order to slam down her mace with extreme force, smushing the bug to a pulp. However, she forgot to take into account the goop that have been spraying out of these bugs. She had gotten to close for comfort and...

"Owh shit!" The goo had gotten into her eyes. She had barely anytime to react to the bug that was coming in at her side. It slithers right up beside her and bites into her forearm with its mandibles, making serpent get tugged forward slightly 

"Piece of shit!" With a surprising display of strength she one punches the giant bug off of her arm, but it did leave a nasty bite mark on her forearm

Serpent is able to wipe off the goop on one eye giving her partial visibility. She can see the blurry silhouette of the two bugs she thwacked away charging back. Since she can't be precise about her actions she must find another way

*think, I can't accurately target either because of my vision. Must take them out with one fell swoop or else I'll get overwhelmed... Got it* 

She holds the mace behind her and swings at what seems to be nothing. But as the mace makes it way past her she lets the momentum of the mace carry her. She has effectively turned into a giant spinning top, if the bugs get to close then...

*SPLATT*

The bugs get in the way of her spinning destruction and get smashed to pasty mess. All the bugs have been eliminated

"Phew, did I get them all??"

Serpent lays down her mace and rubs the goop out of her eyes. Still has a bit of a stinging sensation but at least she can see clearly now.

"Ok, that's enough bugs for the day ahh"

Serpent turns around and begins to walk down the sidewalk. This time not singing but mumbling in discomfort. "Mmmh uggh"

After waking a couple of blocks she sits down on some debris to take a rest. It isn't until a couple minutes later that Serpent feels an incredible stinging in her forearm

"Ahh!" *oh shit, one of the buggers bit me I forgot. Adrenaline can be a real pain sometimes* "Agh!"

The blood from the bite wound spills onto the concrete and leaves a shallow pool right there.

*Well damn, what do I do now. I could ask those two partypoopers to help me out, I do... Kinda... Need it... Nahh! Who am I kiddin' I don't need those two, I'm better than that to be asking for their help. I'm the glorious Serpent!*

"Hahahahhaha, you're so right! Hahahahaha! Yeah I'm so right! Hahahahahaha"

16:23 pm

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Chapter Text

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16:30

Serpent continues to wander, again with no set destination in mind. Serpent walks very sluggishly, almost as if she had weights holding her down. She was starting to feel a little hopeless, she contemplated whether she should bite the bullet and rendezvous with Nino and Rahu. But that would mean all the fun would come to a stop.

*Sigh* "I think it's time to call it quits." Serpent begrudgingly admits to herself. She looks around and spots a big pile of debris, she struggles to climb on top of it with her injured arm. The strain only makes her want to quit more. Eventually she stands tall atop the debris. Her hands come close to her and she cups them. She takes a deep 

*Inhale* "RAH-" But before she yell out her teammates names she notices something off in the distance. Smoke.

"Maybe I was too quick to call it quits" she hops down and off of the tall debris and heads towards the smoke, in hopes that there'll be more fun to have.

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16:35

Serpent makes her way through the debris in Keylan Square. As she gets closer to the where the smoke is she's spots an encampment. A bunch of scuffed tents were set up, they blocked the view of the smoke's origin

"Could there be people?"

She keeps getting closer and closer to the encampment. And sure enough Serpent begins to hear voices, very quiet from the distance she was standing at. Sounds like people celebrating, but they also sound kind of tuckered out. Serpent's curiosity only grew, so she continues towards the camp.

"Cheers to another great haul my boys!" One of the bigger men said with as much enthusiasm as his tires self could muster

*Clink cling clink*

The sound of bottles hitting each other echoes throughout the camp

"We've really outdone ourselves this time huh?" A woman chimes in, this one seemed young compared to the other ones around him

Serpent is able to get a good vantage point to see what these guys are up to. In the middle of the encampment seemed to be almost everybody sitting around a campfire. A five men and one woman amongst them. It was clear that they were buzzed, they're movements seemed sluggish and many of them had their eyes half closed.

Serpent whispers to herself "c'mon, spill the beans guys. what is it you guys are hiding?" She whispers mischievously

One medium sized guy spoke up. "Say, boss, do you know when our next job is?" He was referring to the big guy, the one that initiated the clanging of bottles

"Mmmh, who knows. But does it really matter? After we sell all this stuff we can take a couple months off" Some of the men cheered after hearing the news. The boss man spoke with confidence, it was clear why he was probably the leader of this group.

But still, Serpent was not satisfied. These guys kept dancing around the topic. What is it that these guys are so happy to have?

Serpent sighs "Why don't I just find out for myself"

16:40

Serpent heads around to the back of the encampment. She gets into position, gets her stance ready, her face the right tone. Nows the time, 3... 2... 1...

"Help! Anybody please help!" Serpent shouted while stumbling into the group's camp, making sure she looked as weak and as frail as possible. "Could you fellas please help a poor girl out? I have an injury!"

The members of the group get startled and then turn around the see the brightly dressed girl. At first they sit there in shock that there's another person out here. But then the lady of the group decides to take action, she stands up and heads over to Serpent.

"Girlie are you ok there?"

"No ma'am my arm hurts real bad... Ssssss ouch" Serpent tries her best to play off her injury as something she actually cares about.

"I'll get you some medical supplies." The lady turns around to talk to the other members. "Garvey! Trent! C'mere and take her inside please"

And just like that Serpent had successfully infiltrated the camp. The two men set her inside one of the tents and give her some water

"What are you doing all by yourself? It's dangerous round these parts" the one with the hat said

"Wh- uhh I was *ahem* trying to look for my pet snake" She tries her best to seem as innocent as she can

"That's not a very good idea lady... Stay here I'll help Danny with the supplies ok?"

Serpent nods In response... Time to look for the stash! Serpent pulls back her long sleeves to pull out her actual pet snake.

"Go ahead and find what they're hiding ok?" She whispers to her little snake friend. The snake even does a cute little nod before slithering away.

16:45

The woman comes back into the room with a box of medical supplies. Serpent immediately resumes her position of fragility, trying to make herself look as weak as possible.

"Girlie, stay still for me." She gets down low and starts examining Serpent's arm injury. "How did this happen?" The woman named Danny asks in a low tone

"I was uhh... Betrayed by my one scouting squad you see! The two people I was with were a bunch of meanies and they... *Sniff* and they..." Serpent does her best to try and summon tears on command. Her eyes become red, her nose becomes runny, and tears start slowly pouring out

"Ok ok, you don't have to recount me the whole thing if you don't want to ok." 

After a couple of minutes the woman finishes stitching up the injury. She wraps bandages over it and pours some gauze. "Your feeling better now?"

*Sniff sniff* "yes... Thank you so much ma'am."

The woman finishes attending to Serpent's wound. "Now you stay here and rest, ok girlie?"

"Yes ma'am" Serpent nods

The woman then turns around and leaves the tent. Just as she leaves the snake slithers back into the tent through the side. "Hey little guy, what news do you have for me?" Serpent cradles the snake in her palms. "Sssssssss. SsssSsSSssSSSs" the snake hisses in a certain way that sounds like it's trying to speak

"Very good, I like the sound of that"

"SSSssSssssSS"

"Oooooh. Well it seems like it's my lucky day!"

"SSSSsssSssSssssSS" 

"You're goddamn right"

Serpent suddenly leaves the tent without any warning. The other members of the camp look confused, how had she recovered so quickly? Serpent makes an immediate b-line to a specific tent that is marked with a red X. But before she could make it there she's stopped in her tracks

"Hey! Whatchu doing out here?" The words came from someone who had a deep voice

"Oh uhh... Just getting some fresh air y'know" Serpent's bluff is very easy to see through

"Step away from that tent missy"

"Ok ok, jeez" Serpent shifts her body and turns around, the person that was speaking to her was one of the men she saw seating around campfire. Definitely looked like someone who would be a lackie to some villain of the week in a tv show

"Say uhh... Whatcha got in that tent over there?" 

"None of your business. Now get out of here!"

"I'll cut you a deal. I'll head back to my tent if you tell me what's inside there. Sound fair?"

The man steps forwards "I can't let you do that." As he says this he can clearly be seen reaching for something on his hip. Probably a weapon.

But before the man can pull it out, Serpent beats him to the draw and slams him with her mace. "Yaaaah!" Serpent shouts out. The man gets sent flying into another tent, instantly making it collapse from the impact

"What the hell is going on?!" A shout from across the camp is heard. More goons are approaching quickly so Serpent wastes no time. She heads straight towards the tent with the red X, once inside there are two people standing in front of a bunch of large metal crates, defending them.

"Who the he-" before one of the goons can finish their sentence Serpent swings her mace horizontally and launches them both out of the tent. Making a comically large hole in the tent wall.

"Now then, my reward" Serpent approaches the crates, from what her little snake said to her, whatever is in here is absolutely delicious. Serpent tries to unlock the latches on the front of the crate but it won't budge. The footsteps of the other goons are approaching quickly, she needs to get these open now.

"Ehh uhh, man screw it!" She lifts her mace high about her head and slams it down onto one of the crates. Making a hole large enough to take what's inside. Serpent reaches deep into the crate, the footsteps get louder and louder.

"She's in here!" One of the goons shouts out. A bunch of them group up outside the red X tent. As they all group up, a familiar person emerges from the crowd. "Hey girlie! You don't have to do this, could you please step out we want to speak to you!" The lady from before, Danny

"Sure! I'll come out! But what's in it for me?" Serpent asks mischievously

"We can make this easy for you. You can stay here or you can leave. Which one!"

Serpent stays silent for a couples of seconds before, "nice offer but I think I'll PASS!" The mace is launch directly out of the entrance to the tent, striking a couple goons along its path. Most of the goons take it as an act of war and start charging the tent ferociously. But before they could even get inside... *CHOMP* A gigantic fuck off snake springs out of and clamps down on a couple of them. Once it has them in its jaws it starts shaking them around and flinging them

"I don't believe it..." The woman is there on the ground, her leg has been injured and can only crawl. "Ehh-Everyone! Retreat." Danny shouts to her group, immediately they start bolting it in the opposite direction. The gigantic snake continues to hastily follows behind them.

Serpent emerges from the tent, but she looks different. She's oozing a neon red liquid from her orifices, almost as if she's sweating this red liquid. "How absolutely wonderful! Thank you guys for such a delicious meal." Serpent makes her way towards Danny 

Danny looks at her in shock and awe. "You... Consumed the mania crystals? How are you even alive after... Consuming... So... many..." After Danny connects the dots she finally makes the realization, "you're a sinner." 

The sinner nods, "You got that right." Serpent squats down before speaking again. "Now, you and all you're goons will obey me, I want you to find more mania crystals. And if you don't... I'll put you to sleep, got it?"

The woman nods desperately. The sounds of the giant snake ravaging the camp can be heard in the distance. If Danny doesn't comply her entire group will perish.

"Ok ok ok. If you keep us alive we'll fetch you more mania crystals! Just please have mercy on us."

"Now that's a good deal"

Serpent holds out her hand, waiting for the woman to confirm the deal. Danny begrudgingly reaches out and shakes the sinner's hand 

16:50, The smell of rain begins to fill the air

"I have a feeling our business relations are gonna be very beneficial. Wouldn't you say so too?"

Chapter Text

17:15

______________

"Voice Log number uhhh... 39 I want to say. We're currently heading to go find some chick. I promise you chat that once this mission is done I will do that 24 hour marathon Livestream... So please be patient!"

Nino and Rahu tread carefully through the rubble of Keylan Square. Rahu throws chunks of debris off the way and to the side so that they can carve a path. Nino follows closely behind, looking like a lost kid.

"Can you do anything aside from being on your phone?" Rahu says, clearly irritated 

Nino turns the front phone camera so that it faces Rahu. The soldier reaches out and swats the phone downwards so that the camera faces the ground

*Thwack*

"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Nino pulls back, gripping her phone for dear life so that it doesn't fall

"I do not like being photographed." 

"Oh I see..."

Rahu turns back around and begins picking up rubble again

*Click*

The noise makes her immediately turn around

"What was that??"

Nino avoids eye contact and looks in the complete opposite direction

"Nothin"

The soldier groans while turning back around"

......

*Click*

This time Rahu was ready for the sound of the camera. Instantly she turns around and snatches the camera out of Nino's grubby hands

"Hey! Give that back!" Nino immediately springs upwards, trying to retrieve her precious treasure

"Not until you stop photographing me"

"I wasn't! Look at my most recent in the gallery"

Again, Rahu groans in frustration. She looks down at the phone and tries her best to navigate Nino's cluttered home screen. A bunch of flashing colors, notifications, pop-ups. But eventually she finds the gallery

"You took a selfie?"

"Yeah, I wasn't taking a pic of you"

"Good" Rahu places the phone back into Nino's starving hands

"Tysm" she whispers under her breath

__________________

17:20

*Sniff sniff*

"I smell her" Rahu flicks her head to the right in one quick motion. That sense of smell is almost frightening

Nino also turns her head in the direction of where the other woman is looking. In that direction there's a pretty big hill of rubble, but behind it should presumably be where Serpent is

"She's not alone" the words are accompanied by another set of sniffs.

"Jesus, how far away are you able to smell? You're like a freaking dog"

Rahu chooses to not respond to that and begins heading in the direction of Serpent's scent. The shorter girl, reluctantly follows

________________

"Get to work sheeple! I want another package of mania crystals by tonight!"

"But princess we've..." A finger is placed over the lips of the tired worker

"Shh... I don't care how many people you need to rob or how many meters below the surface you need to mine. Go get those crystals."

Serpent pushes away the tired man, he falls and nobody bats an eye. The former criminals now turned workers of the camp are scrambling to get supplies ready, going their fastest to be able to fulfill's serpent's request. Sure the camp was very open ended and had many escape routes. But even still, nobody dared to try, especially with that giant snake overlooking the camp

"Y'know, Danny, your men are really dang efficient. Where the hell did you find them?" Serpent turns around to speak to the still injured Danny 

"Well I uhh, many of them were just looking for some pay. Y'know it's surprising how far a simple 'hiring now' sign can go hahahaha" The woman's laugh seems very fake

"Hahaha, you're too funny Danny ahh. No no actually. where'd you find them." Serpent's tone lowers, turning more sinister

"Haha, well I found them in a casino. Y'know we all had the common interest of robbing people and we clicked over that y'know haha"

Serpent sighs "oh Danny, why do you keep on lying to me? I don't like liars."

"I'm... I'm not lying"

A finger reaches out and holds it's place on the woman's nose

"Fwooop" Serpent pulls her finger back and away from the woman's nose "look your nose just grew a couple extra inches. That means you're lying~"

Danny begins to breathe heavily, not being able to understand how Serpent was able to see through her lies so easily

*Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale*

The woman in charge slowly turns her back away from Danny. And in that moment Danny takes that opportunity to bolt it in the opposite direction. She couldn't handle it from Serpent anymore, she had to run she had to...

*CHOMP*

The much larger Serpent clamps done on the injured woman, stopping her right in her tracks and bringing her into the large snake's mouth

*Sigh* "what an absolute shame, and just when I was just warming up to her too"

______________

"Jesus Christ..." Someone was there to witness the snake's savagery. Nino, watching from behind the hill of rubble "Serpent, what have you done." The smaller girl is left stunned behind belief. "Is she, dead?"

Rahu chimes in "The Python devoured her whole, so it's possible that she's still alive in the creature's stomach. But she doesn't have long."

Nino's eyes lighten up, relieved that there is a possibility that the woman is still savable "Holy crap... We gotta go save her" Immediately she bends her legs, intending to spring right into action but is stopped by Rahu extending out her arm.

"I agree, we need to save her. But it's better if we don't go in guns blazing. The Python is physically very strong, it's better if we catch it by surprise and deal with it immediately" The soldier knows that she has to come up with something quickly. 

She turns to Nino "Would you say you're strong, physically?"

"Uhh, I can jump real high!"

"Any weapons?"

Nino pops up her signature sword and shield that glow with neon colors and bare an odd pixelated texture to them 

"That's good enough. I'll hold down the Python by its tail. I have faith in you and hope that you can deal either by tearing open it's stomach or making the Serpentine spit out the woman." 

Nino nods to all of this, she's more than ready to go into action. She hopes down from the heap of rubble to go position herself in a more advantageous spot. Nino is able to find a short stack of rubble while she takes for Rahu to make her first move. Even from this distance Serpent's demanding voice can be heard echoing throughout the camp.

"Keep it moving! No rest til the supplies have arrived!" Her normal high pitched voice has been substituted for a much stronger and demanding voice, a skill learned from her days of being a performer.

Rahu moves up to her location silently and listens closely to Serpent herself. The demands, her voice, this is not the Serpent they knew at the beginning of their mission. It's almost as if she's been changed by an outer force. The closer she gets to to Serpent, the more apparent what this 'outer force' may be

*Sniff sniff* "Mania" Rahu states to herself silently. However, she has no time to dwell on that, instead making more progress towards the giant snake's tail. She looks over at Nino and gives her a signal, to be ready. The soldier steadies herself to pounce on the giant tail, and with her fingers she shows a visual countdown. Her finger show up 3.... Show 2.... Then 1.... Finally clenching then to show 0. And in that moment Rahu pounces on the tail and put her arms around it, squeezing it with all her might. The snake lets out a loud and low pitch hiss, alerting Serpent of the danger

"What's wrong's Piper?" Serpent snarls as she wonders whats got her Python in such a ruckus. But In that moment she sees something out of her peripheral vision, quickly she snaps her head to look to her side, and she spots Rahu constricting the Python tail. "Hey! Get away from her!" Serpent readies her mace, but as she summons the weapon

*CRASH* The sudden reverberation of the impact almost sends a small shockwave. The Python is struck on right where the lower end of it's esophagus would be, making the Python painfully gag. In the process damn near launching the woman out of the Python mouth, drenched in saliva.

"I got it!" Nino yells triumphantly. But as she celebrating she is suddenly knocked off her Python podium by a sudden force, the swing of Serpent's mace.

"AGGH!" Nino is launch in the same direction as the woman, landing flat on her back.

"Again with you party poopers! You hurt Piper!"

The Python is able to regain a part of its strength, now it wrangles around, trying to forcefully make Rahu let go of its tail. Rahu tries her best to hold on, but together with the snake's immense strength and the moisture that surrounded the tail, The soldier is flung off of the Python and crashes into some tents

Serpent readies her mace once more and aims it towards her new target.

"H-hey Serpent we can talk about this. Y'know that if you get caught by the MBCC again you'll be in trouble... Like really really big trouble." She states nervously

"Hahaha, can't get in trouble if I don't get caught" Serpent replies with a smug look on her face

Without warning Serpent launches the maces towards Nino like a projectile. The spikes that surround the make the mace make its area of damage even wider, making it harder to dodge. Nino is able to dodge out of the way completely, she's still a long its path of effective damage. She puts her shield up to where she would be hit, and the mace is successfully deflected.

Serpent weapon is separated from her. Nino takes this as her chance to strike. She goes bolting towards Serpent, with her shield directly in front of her, a shield bash. But as Nino almost makes it to her target, Serpent yanks on the chain that connects to her mace, making its journey back to its rightful owner. Nino reacts within the fraction of a second and spins around in order to deflect the returning mace. The weapon gets launched in another direction, and now Serpent has no means of defense. But even still she continues to smile. Nino is not phased and holds her neon sword right over her head, intending to strike downward with all her force. But....

*CRASH* The Python slithers along the ground and crashes its large head directly onto Nino, launching her back

"Ha Ha Ha, That was a good one kid! You're smarter than you look!" Serpent gazes upon the dust cloud left by the impact. From behind the dust quiet shuffling can be heard, "want some more?" Serpent says all cocky

*Swoosh* Out from the dust cloud Nino's shield is hurled towards her target, spinning like an oversized frisbee. Serpent ducks below the shield and also narrowly dodges it. The shield makes a sound impact on the ground and easily slices thought inches of concrete on the ground.

if that shield would have hit me I would have been sliced in half, what are they feeding this kid? Serpent thinks to herself

Nino's silhouette can be seen within the cloud of dust, standing upright and still. Serpent points, her sharpened nails marking where her python should strike. Without hesitation the Python lunges towards the silhouette, however, inches away before it reaches the target Nino leaps high into the air. Serpent flicks her head upwards to see the attack, Nino is descending rapidly is beginning to gain a ton of momentum.

"Piper! Here!" Serpent calls out to her Python. It obediently slithers towards its master to guard her from the descending strike. But as it arrives by Serpent's side it is violently yanked back into its original position 

"Urggghh" It's Rahu, using all her strength to pull back the Python. It attempts to shake her off like before, but the soldier is more prepared this time and stands her ground.

"Piper!" Serpent is left wide open, the only option is to avoid. Right before Nino's impact she leaps backwards, but even that won't help. As Nino slams into the ground it creates a shockwave and picks up a whole whirl of dirt and tosses it in every direction. The shockwave sends Serpent soaring back even further, and is only barely able to land on her feet.

By this point the Python has run out of steam, by steam, I mean mania. The gigantic snake that Rahu grips with all her strength slowly begins to shrink until it eventually turns back into a regular sized python. Still big and scary but not as much as before. The same thing seems to be happening to serpent, the neon red liquid that was oozing out of her has began to slow down.

"That's enough Serpent, we can tell you're running out of steam just like your snake friend. Let it go, you've lost!" Nino yells out at Serpent, hoping that she will come to her senses.

Serpent is breathing heavily, she can't seem to hang on to this power anymore. She's just...

"That's what losers think" she's able to muster out a couple of words. Slowly she reaches into her skirt's pocket, and out comes a small piece of a mania crystal.

*Sigh* "This is enough." She cups in her hand and shoves it into her mouth, cocking her head back to consume it faster

Rahu calls out, "That's not how you use mania crystals! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

She calls out but serpent doesn't respond and just keeps chugging down the crystal. The soldier realizes that Serpent is not stopping any time soon. "Nino, get her!"

*Gul, Gul Gul*

Nino dashes towards her target, summoning her sword once more. With her momentum and strength she slashes in front of her intending to hit her target. But when she completes her swing she feels not resistance, as if she just swung at air.

"Nino! Behind you!" Rahu calls out, but she's too slow. Nino gets struck in the back with an intense force and is slammed to the ground "Agghh!"

Serpent looms over her, even stronger than before. Rahu doesn't waste any time, she runs over and picks up the Nino's shield that had been imbedded into the ground. And in a fraction of a second winds up and flings the shield at the threat, with the shield reaching a wind shattering velocity. But even that is easily able to be evaded.

After the evasion, Serpent does not strike back. Instead she uses the chains on her mace to latch on to some utility is folds and flings her self up high. Reaching the farthest height she can before descending back down. And on her way back down...

"Hey Rahu! Have you ever heard of this one show named Jujutsu Kaisen?!"

Rahu looks at her with confusion, not knowing what that even is

"DOMAIN EXPANSION!!"

Chapter Text

"DOMAIN EXPANSION!!"

As Serpent is descending, she is engulfed by a shining ball. The ball illuminates it's dull surrounding and brings light to everything in its radius. As it shines brighter the ball continues to shrink, as if its charging up more of its energy. All of this happening before Rahu's very eyes, she is stunned by the sight of the ball but soon snaps out of her trance. Immediately she leaps into actions, running over to Nino's unconscious body and snatching her up before running in the opposite direction of the ball

The encampment is further consumed by the light, with it penetrating through the thin fabric of the tent's walls. The ball strains, as if it can't hold on to the energy any longer. And then..

*SMASH*

The orb shatters, and out floods a purple mist from its starting point. The mist spreads out along the rough and gravely concrete and begins to create a solid barrier. Rahu uses every ounce of her strength to make it behind the barrier walls. The mist forcibly slows her down, going from a full on sprint into a sluggish jog.

"Ughh!" Rahu grunts as she tries to brute forces her way through the mist. Slowly she reaches the end of where the mist has its influence, she's about to cross the finish line when.

*SLAM*

She crashes face first straight into a translucent wall. A purple veil seems to be covering thin air, not allowing anything through it. Rahu steps back in hurt and shock, streaks of blood run down her nose as she tries and regain focus.

"Hahahaha! You should've seen how you looked! You looked like a kid that ran straight into a mirror in a mirror maze hahaha!" Serpent emerges from the purple smoke, already feeling more confident and powerful than ever before. The scales that run down her arms and legs are more emphasized and her snake like features have grown larger. Both fangs rest on her bottom lip, ready to strike at anybody who steps close.

"Remember tough gal, you're in my domain now. We play by my rules!" Serpent readies her flail, violently spinning it to her side so that it can gain momentum. Rahu is able to regain her composure, turning to face her aggressor. The soldier begins to think through her options in her head

*Not good at all. I can't fight well with Nino in my arms. I'm afraid if I set her aside that she'll be a target for aggression in serpent's eyes. I have to stall until the kid regains consciousness and then I can face Serpent head on.*

Without a second to waste Serpent launches her flail straight at Rahu, with the chain on the flail rattling in the wind as it travels at an insane speed. Rahu is barely able to activate her shield and block the attack, the the spiked flail scraping against her shield and taking off bits of its exterior. With the flail redirected Rahu holds on to Nino tightly and runs in the opposite direction of the flail.

"Come back coward!" Serpent yells she yanks the chain into the direction she's running to. The flail crashes down into the ground right behind Rahu and makes her stumble slightly. And Serpent attempts to yank the flail but due to it having spiked ends and it crashing into the concrete it has gotten wedged in between a deep crack. "Agh! Dang it!" Serpent struggles to dislodge her weapon from the ground.

In this moment of struggle, Rahu is able to slip away with Nino still in her arms. Safety has been found by crouching behind a pile of destroyed tents that run along the corner of the domain. 

*Slap Slap Slap* Three quick and light slaps to the cheek. "C'mon kid wake up" Rahu whispers to the unconscious Nino, still no response. She panics for a second and checks really quickly for a pulse.       *Badum Badum* "Yep, definitely a pulse"

Ideas begin to shoot across Rahu's mind. *This is strange, an unconscious person should not be out cold for so long. Unless if she suffered severe brain damage... No, her hide is tougher than that. She's not dead obviously, but she can't be knocked out because then she would be dead by now. Maybe maybe maybe...*

Before Rahu can come to any conclusions she is startled by a small noise

"SsssssSSSss" a tiny little snake, laying beside her. They both make eye contact, and in a moment the snake does a 180 and quickly slithers away. The soldier tries to lounge at the snake and grab it, but it slips out of her grasp.

"Damn it.." Rahu whispers in anger as she is left grasping at air. She can barely sit back up straight before a voice came booming from behind the pile of tents.

"Well Well Well!" The aggressor exclaims as she swings and strikes the tents that Rahu had used for cover. The tents are struck and launched far in another direction. Leaving the two allies out in the open and prone to an attack. Quickly, Rahu tries to get back on her feet, but before she fully can recover..

*SHUNK*

The spiked edge of the flail penetrates the shoulder, digging in deep in the flesh. "Agghh!" Rahu immediately yells out in pain as she tries and keep her balance. The lodged spike in her shoulder is capitalized on almost immediately, with Serpent giving it a violent yank. The force of the pull makes Rahu lose her grip and drop Nino flat onto the ground, propelling dust and dirt outward.

Rahu is brought before Serpent, on the ground and growing more and more weak due to mist. The two sinners open their mouths at the same time, intending to say something. However, the sinner standing tall beats her to the punch. 

"What's your deal?" Serpent asks with a genuine look on her face

"How do you mean?" The other responds in a monotone voice 

"You're resistant. To the mist." Serpent leans down to her a closer look at her adversary. "You're resistant to ambrosia"

Rahu flinches slightly at the mention of the word 'ambrosia'

"Oh I see, I see it clearly now... Oh my God how could I be so impolite! So impolite to one of my most Esteemed Customers! Hahaha." The dots have been connected, the purple mist that has engulfed the battlefield is the substance ambrosia. A substance used to put its users to sleep and make them have good dreams, the sweetest dreams. That's the reason why Nino won't wake up and also explains why the the mist is slowing down Rahu

Serpent opens her mouth again, "you've grown a tolerance to ambrosia haven't you? Say, how many did you take huh? How many sweet dreams did you have thanks to me?! Obviously enough to not be affected by a regular dose of the thing."

Rahu tries her best to keep a stone cold expression, trying her best to not let anything through

"What is it that you want to escape back to? Back to the life you had before you were a sinner? Huh?... Haha of course not! After all, you wanted this!!"

*SLAM*

Rahu is struck with a powerful kick to her face, she is repelled backwards by the force.

"Do you know how much I would've killed to be turned back into a regular girl?! And yet you come along and you brute force your way into becoming a sinner by choice." Another kick *SLAM* "You ungrateful, good for nothing, piece of shit!" Serpent continues to strike Rahu with a barrage of kicks and stomps. Making Rahu curl up into a ball on the ground.

After a few minutes the pelts of kicks and stomps finally seize and Serpent is left standing there, regaining her breath

"Uh ah, uh ah. You disgust me, wannabe sinner." She says as she looks down at the curled up body on the floor, appalled at the sight

Finally, after an agonizing couple of minutes, Rahu speaks up. "Y-you read my file?" She says softly 

Serpent refuses to respond.

Rahu again, "y'know, I did too. Before the mission even started." Now this catches Serpent's attention. "And I know that... You're time's run out." 

The purple mist that had surrounded the battle field has disapatted, only leaving behind small sparks of glitter. Serpent's special ability has run out of fuel and is now no longer functional! Rahu has successfully stalled out her ability! In that instant Rahu grips tightly onto the sinner's ankle and propels herself upwards. Serpent has the time to react but is unable to overcome the soldier's sheer strength. The two get into a scuffle where their arms are tangled and they're both discombobulated. 

"Uraghhh! Let go!!" The smaller sinner let's out a yell of anger. She can't extend her limbs and it's beginning to get her extremely irritated and angry. And on the opposite end, Rahu keeps her cool completely and is able to get the upper hand on her, able to get behind her and seal her tightly in a head lock. Now's the time

"Nino! Your turn!!" Rahu yells out at the top of her lungs, having full confidence into Nino's abilities.

And sure enough from the rubble, Nino emerges, her neon sword extended high above her head. The sword itself has gained the property to extend its size, making a it appear like a giant claymore! With one big yell Nino slams down her gigantic blade!

"Yaaaaaaahhh!" 

*BAMM* 

Both Rahu and Serpent are struck with the insane magnitude of the the sword strike! Dust fills the battlefield and obscures the figures of both the impacted sinners. The battle has been won. And as the adrenaline of the moment starts to fizzle out, Nino Realizes...

"Holy shit... Oh my God, Rahu!" Nino quickly puts aside her sword and rushes into the dust. She fans it out of her way, trying not to get it stuck in her eye or her mouth. Eventually she finds the area where her sword impacted the ground, and there lies both of the sinners. Nino completely runs past Serpent and rushes to check up on Rahu.

"Holy shit are you ok??" Nino asks, genuinely concerned for the safety of her friend.

The weakened Rahu tries her best to look like she has it under control. "Yeah, yeah. I'm ok" She raised her her injured hand, broken in a few places and only slightly mangled. At the sight of this Nino gasps in shock. "Hey hey, don't worry kid, I heal fast... Hehe you should've read my file too."

The information settles her worries, "phew, ok. I was scared for a second there." Nino stands up and reaches out her hand for Rahu to grab it. The sinner gladly accepts it. Now with the battle over they look over at Serpent's unconscious body.

Nino speaks up, "Shit, what do we do now?

"The MBCC will handle it."

"Oh okay..."

"I'll call in an evac, and have the crisis control make sure take care of the people that got hurt during Serpent's tyranny."

The two stand there in silence, an awkward silence. A silence that feels like it's forgetting something...

Nino realizes... "Oh my God, Elytra shards"

"What?"

"Our original mission was to Collect Elytra shards for the chief"

"Oh..."

"We're fucked."

___________________________

Wednesday 14:00 

*BOM BOM BOM*

The sound of a fist smacking against thick glass

"Hey! Hey! Let me outta here! Chief! Anyone! IM INNOCENT I SWEAR!"

After the incident, Serpent was put into solitary confinement for an indefinite amount of time.

And as for the other two...

"*Sigh* I owe you two an apology..." The chief says dejectedly. "I sent you three on a mission to find Elytra shards in syndicate. Well turns out Elytra shards were never in Syndicate! They are located in Eastside, so I apologize for that hiccup in the system"

Nino sits there, absolutely bewildered. "So you're telling me that we went on that mission for nothing?!"

"Yes, basically"

"..... I about to join Serpent in solitary confinement."

_______________

The End