Man, I swear Mawa is like the Otacon of Spiral Knights, people of the opposite gender just keeps on dying around her.

edit: Arctic wolf is a girl? MGS sniper wolf refence?!

ding! Nick looked up from cleaning his Plague Needle. A message? Holstering the needler, he stood and pulled up the transmission. Reading it slowly, he grinned slightly. Sounds interesting, certainly better than sitting around here. He walked over to a simple looking oak table with two handguns lying on it. Scooping the Sentenza and Valiance up, Nick secured his hat and walked outside. At the last second he hesitated, hm, maybe the Nova will be useful this mission. Backtracking, Nick slid open a closet and grabbed the Driver. As he closed the door and locked it behind him, he reached up and pulled the brim of his Nameless down so it covered his eyes to onlookers. As he walked towards the road to the rescue camp, he decided he would check in with the Dragon Princess. He entered the Guild Hall, and waited for the Princess to appear.

When he noticed she wasn't doing anything, he walked up to her. Saluting slightly, he delivered his question, "Good day to you Dragon Princess, do you have any previous info on our stranger at the rescue camp?"

Nowhere.

That's where Basil was.

It had only been a few hours since Vin had been sent off to go talk with Basil in the Clockworks, but he was absent from every single Station he was supposed to be at. He had already checked all of today's gates, but to no avail. Already, he could hear chatter from his infuriated friends' frequencies that there was something very wrong indeed.

And so, that was why he returned to the Devilites for information. They knew plenty, they knew more than what should be comfortably known, but it was plenty.

And so, as Vin took small steps into the Devilite office complex, the receptionist had already picked up her chair at ready.

"Woah there!" Vin exclaimed as he raised his hands towards the marble ceiling. "Hey...I'm not here to fight. You don't want to raise your weapon at a customer, do you?"

The small Devilite, an IT graduate dressed in a smart yellow color and fashionable blue lenses, did not throw, but she did not let down her guard either.

"...your weapons, then. Unequip them now."

Without protest, he focused his eyesight to the inventory icon on his HUD, and unequipped his polaris and Snarbolax Shield.

"...your sword. Unequip it," the receptionist commanded.

And Vin bit his lip. They'd capture me if I was weaponless...but suppose I don't kill anyone right now. Maybe I could install some fear into them? I could always handle their assassins later...

As he pondered upon this, he fluidly unsheathed his sword, and pummeled the flying keyboard in a single motion.

Should be easy enough.

~~~

"A little ironic, isn't it?" asked Vin, his voice in strain. It was so because he was struggling to keep the overweight Pit Boss from falling from the sixth floor down of the office complex, who was twice his weight. "I didn't...think that Devilites could go any deeper in the Underworld, but perhaps I was wrong. Say, if I did drop you on your head, what would happen? You don't have any more Yes-men or employees..."

Vin's feet struggled to grasp the carpet, and he slid a few centimeters.

"W-well..." the burly man bumbled loudly, "...the company would fall...and we'd get replaced by the scamming law firm..."

Slide...

"And...uh...there w-would be an upset in the e-economy...since we ARE the most successful shareholding company for smaller businesses..."

"And...?"

Slide...

"A-and...th-then m-my family's name would be erased...erased...OH NO...PULL ME UP NOW! PLEASE!"

"Then tell me where's Basil."

"Basil? W-we haven't done a recipe transaction in y-years!"

"LIES! It's only been SIX months since I've left his side, and I know your company like the back of my hand!"

Vin released his grip on the Vanquisher's chain, and allowed it to slide a few inches before grabbing it again.

"OH SOL. OH VOG. H-he started transactions with the Gremlins!"

"HE'S BEEN MAKING TRANSACTIONS!"

Vin whipped the chain up and down, causing the Pit Boss to be slammed mercilessly into the window of the 5th floor, hard.

"I'll pull you up if you don't tell me, but I'll let you drop if you do. Quick and painless. You don't want to be pulled up, do you?!"

"N-NO! ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT...WE'VE BEEN MAKING RESEARCH ON A NEW LINE OF AUTOGUNS! He's been visiting our facilities since we came out with the first prototype!"

"NOW WE'VE MADE PROGRESS! MORE!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"LIES!"

Vin began to pull up, his aching arms now burning in rage as they steadily tugged in yard by yard of chain.

"I SWEAR TO VOG I DON'T KNOW! PLEASE, NO!!!"

The fat pit boss, dressed smartly in a cerulean suit, stained his attire with purple ichor as shards of glass sliced at his spine. He screamed and writhed like a madman, but to no avail. He was dragged closer, and closer, and STILL CLOSER to Vin, and when he saw the spines of the Snarbolax Shield, his please for help became nothing but mere whispers.

He closed his eyes, and waited for the blow that never came.

In fact, it wasn't until several hours later did he wake up and found himself in an infirmary, all of his employees also bedridden alongside him.

And that was that for the interrogation.

The elevator pushed upwards, a single figure standing motionless on it's cold floor. Corpses lay below him, sunlight lay above. Tyrataeus smiled under his armor and he ascended into the bright colors of Cradle. Almost immediately, a small knight ran up to him and, panting, handed him a note, then rushed off. Tyrataeus opened the note, scanning it.

"Dear Mr. Tyrataeus Korith," It began, "I am in desperate need of your help. Although we’ve never met, your family’s name and your personal reputation for stealth and swordsmanship skills are well-known to me. I am in dire need of your help. A Stranger has been murdered, and I have reason to believe that the gremlins may have a played a part in it."

He knit his brow. The Strangers were a peaceful race. Why would anyone murder them? After all, the Gremlins had no quarrel with the tall creatures. His mind began to formulate ideas, but he pushed them out for now, and headed on his not-so-merry way toward Bootshuze.

Five minutes later, he reached the Gremlin know-it-all. "Excuse me, Mr. Bootshuze," he said, "what can you tell about the murder of Rudkin?"

The Stranger tured toward him and rumbled, "Ah, you believe it has something to do with the Gremlins? Well, let me tell you what I know...."

[Before Serris and X can head for Ricasso’s gun shop, a group of robed nomads passed along, one of them manages to rudely pushes Serris aside before fleeting the scene. All of the nomads squeezed into Ricasso’s gun shop before anyone else on the bazar even noticed them, all except for X and Serris.]

Serris: *tabs the dust off his pink fur coat* “EK! Who were those peasants? Their rags needs a good clean.”

X: “Or perhaps it is used as a disguise… we should go in to the gun shop and find out what is going on.”

Serris: “Woah, Woah, Woah, I really think a man like me should get into something like this… those nomads had furry legs, no doubt Gremlins… This is bigger than the two of us, we better tell Mawashimono about our findings before we go in…”

X: “I don’t think telling Miss Mawashimono will make a difference, if these strangers are really what we think they are, I don’t think even the entirety of the spiral order could save us… it is best if we don’t tip them off first…”

Serris: *readies his pocket Polaris* “Fine, let’s just see how deep this rabbit hole really is…” *walks into the shop* “HEY! Ricasso! It is Lord Serris! I am just here looking for some new guns for sale… what the…”

[The gun shop is eerily quiet and suprisingly empty, most of the guns are stripped off from the shelf with the exception of a few cheaply made blasters, and Serris could swear that those cheap blasters will explode after just three shots.]

Serris: *sighs* “Ugh… I really wished that these strangers valued ‘quality’ as much as I did…”

X: “… do you have a high ‘quality’ expectation for women too?”

Serris: *blushes* “Well, I am pretty rich guy after all, I can’t just find a woman that only goes after my money… if you know what I mean…”

X: *nods her head* “…”*blushes*

[X and Serris flips the shop inside and out in search of the Gun merchant and the Gremlin nomads, they searched every inch of the shop and found nothing. The people outside the shop started to gather when they saw a pink haired young man and a latex wearing woman fondling the gun store.]

Knight A: *scratches his head* “Hey, isn’t that Serris and his Assassin girl friend?”

Knight B: “Yeah… and what are they doing shop lifting Ricasso? Should we report this Ozlo?”

Serris: *yells* “Her name is ‘X’ by the way, and she is my bodyguard, not girlfriend!”

X: “…”

Female knight A: *chants* “Serris and X are sitting on the tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

X: *blushes takes a smoke bomb out of her pocket* “Lord Serris! Take a deep breath!” *throws down the smoke bomb, the gun shop is covered in smoke screen*

Serris: *coughs* *coughs* “X! Why did you do that?!” *coughs* *coughs*

X: “Your reputation is at risk! We must get out of the shop from another way!” *sees a secret passage, covered by an old rug on the gun shop’s floor* “Lord Serris! This way!” *opens the vault of the passage*

Serris: *sneaks into the passage while coughing, X follows* “Damn! X, you really need to stop doing this! All these smoke screens are killing me!” *coughs* “Ugh! My throat!” *coughs*

X: “Don’t worry Lord Serris, the smoke is non-toxic…”

Serris: *angers* “That is not the point! I am sick of it when you do things like this, stop trying to protect me! I can handle myself now! I am 18 now, I am not that frail little boy anymore.”

[Before Serris can get a response out of his shadowy companion, the echo of his voice travelled inside the narrow passage and reached the other end, where two robed nomads became alerted to the duo’s presence. Meanwhile behind the lock gate at the end of the passage, a secret meeting is going on...]

Nomad A: *looks at Nomad B* “…The spiral knights are onto us… call Herex…”

Nomad B: *pulls out a radio* “Whispering venom, this is lone wolf one… we have intruders in the passage, what is our order?”

Herex: *responds* “Flush them out, the knights must not know about the meeting…”

Vin ducked and fired his Polaris launcher as a swarm of violet orbs flew over his head, and blocked the succeeding burst of bullet with his Snarbolax shield to little success; the rounds penetrated through the brittle armament and slammed into his Snarbolax Coat before bouncing off. He still felt their impacts however, causing him to be knocked back slightly.

By then, the Polaris round detonated, and as the opponent rolled forward, the silhouette of a robe could be seen against the light.

A round of a rather heavy gun was heard from a distance, which gave the Inquisitor a second or two...

To ease the impact, Vin switched to the Vanquisher and held it flat to serve as a shield. It worked well enough, as he felt the resounding impact of a shadow-type slug deflect. He then channeled a bit of energy through his Vanquisher, and with a scintillating radiancy, the chains began to come to life, and they wrapped around his arm like parasites bonding with a host.

His grip on the Vanquisher's handle became all but loose, and as though as it were tugged by a string, the blade spiraled towards the silhouette. The incoming blow was deflected by a pair of twin blades.

Oddly enough, they were akin to the bayonet of a Valiance, though one glowed with an unsettling viscous green, while the other seared through the darkness with a fiery sheen.

Vin had only a second to yank the blade back as the silhouette fired two rounds, one from each weapon, and the both of them were absorbed by the now-recharged Snarbolax Shield...just in the nick of time.

And Vin disappeared from view again, while the haunting screech of his Maskeraith module resonated with the chilly air. No footsteps were heard as Vin quietly circled his opponent, before he slipped his shield onto his back and raised his Vanquisher, two-handed.

"Basil...you fight like a Knight now..." he jeered, before walking out of a salvo of amber-emerald rounds.

"Well...Knights DO have the best fighting systems," the Stranger chuckled in his disembodied voice, "After all, your race had only just finished a war against those monste-"

"I never told you Morai were monsters, Basil," Vin interrupted, before holding up his blade to deflect another salvo. His cloak broke off into a flurry of iridescent particles, like a mirror being shattered. "They were people..."

"And yet, your kind..."

He twisted his akimbo pistols, and swapped them for a dual-wield set of Launchers. They were strikingly similar to the Polaris's structure, though they emitted heat and cold, not static tension.

"...spent all their resources to make sure they would not escape with their lives. To be a merchant during those times..."

He fired twice at Vin, which caused the Inquisitor to dash backwards. They exploded into a storm of fire and ice before dissipating.

"...I...no, the Strangers...we wouldn't have to serve under any other creature for the remainder of our time here in the stars. We would be armed with the most powerful technology there would be. Little Knight, that is the one thing you have done for my race. On behalf of my peo-"

The Vanquisher was about to touch Basil's hat, but the Stranger backed off with an impossibly fast step.

"Knight, we Strangers will serve you for only a little while longer. With all the blueprints of your technology at our fingertips, we have lost any and all need for you and your Shinies...

...the Gremlins will be our new clients, and we will control them for the...what animal did you talk to me about? Oh, yes, the PIGS. We will dictate over the hairy beasts like the SWINE they are, as well as the Fiends, the Beasts, and everything that isn't a Stranger.

...that is...unless you have a good reason not for us to sell to the Gremlins."

By then, Basil was constantly dodging various swings from Vin's Vanquisher, and he finished his monologue as he jumped off into the caverns below. Vin could not follow; he was too light and fragile.

The moonlight, artificial as it was, was a comforting sight to see again as they Compound was illuminated. On its grounds were cadavers littered everywhere : Gremlins, Beasts, Constructs...

All of which seemed to have suffered not eletrical failures or physical trauma, but extreme weathering caused by fire, ice, and poison.

Vin only collapsed onto his knees, and shivered in the snow as he planned his next course of action.

[The two Gremlin nomads revealed themselves from their dusty robes, the dark tights beneath shows that they are both senior ghost mane stalkers, one of them has five skull badges and the other has four of the same badge on his chest, each skull represents a life they have ended, either the life of a fellow Gremlin or an unlucky knight. They chucks out three saw blades each and the blades ricochet along the wall and headed for Serris and X.]

X: *instinctively shields Serris and parries five of the six saw blades* “CONTACT!”

Serris: *sees a lone saw blade buried itself deep in X’s shoulder* “Hey! You are injured! Get down!”

X: *refuses and pulls out the saw blade with her bare hand* “Lord Serris! Stay back! I will neutralize the threat…” *runs off into the passage*

Serris: “HEY! WAIT!”

[X draws her beam katana and flips into the air to dodge another three blade. Her acrobatic is astounding, the two stalkers walked side by side as they approached the assassin with the intention of ganging up on her.]

X: *frowns* “Herex’s stalkers? What are you doing here?”

Stalker A: *grins* “Within a few more days, Haven will fall! And we shall crush the spiral order where they stand!” *activates the round electric saws on his hands* “None shall stand in the way of the Crimson Order!” *charges for X*

[X evades the first stalker’s razor sharp saw and kicks him in the knee, the first stalker falls and the other seizes the opportunity and mercilessly punched X in the stomach and forced her to drop her sword. X is temporarily stunned and the two stalkers recovered and moved in on X for the kill, at the last second, Serris intervened by shocking one of the stalkers in the back with his pocket polaris.]

Serris: *pulls the flourish hidden inside his staff* “Hey, how about you two pick someone of your own size?”

Stalker B: *punches X again* “Hah! If it isn’t Serris Lengsk! The playboy Isoran millionaire! Well, you won’t be rich for long, because soon enough, not any amount of money can save you!”

Stalker A: *recovers from the shock* “You little punk!” *rends the saw at Serris*

[Serris almost shattered his one fragile spine when he tried to evade the saw blade, but his ballet dancer like agility, he successfully avoids the stalkers’ frontal assault and counters with a poke from his flourish, one of the stalker is stabbed in the chest and falls and X regains her composure and chopped down the other stalker before he can do Serris any harm.]

Serris: *cleans the blood with a white handkerchief* “Ugh, Gremlin blood, so sticky… do they have just blue berry jams for food or something?”

Stalker B: *wounded by Serrris* “… Ha ha… you knights have no idea what you getting into… we will soon burn Haven to the ground…”

Serris: *points the flourish at the wounded stalker* “And what plan do you and your order have in mind this time around? More stupid machines like the roamulus twins?”

Stalker B: *chuckles* “Bluff all you want, you are as good as dead, long live the crimson order…” *breaks the cyanide capsule concealed within his teeth, dies instantly*

Serris: *sheaths his flourish and sighs* “Hmm… that is a pity, I never wanted to interrogate him, I just wanted to bribe some information out of him with a crown or two. Geez, why do these stalkers have do get all serious like this?”

X: “Maybe they held informations that the Crimson order doesn’t want us to know. Ever since what happened back in the siege of the Grand Arsenal, the Gremlin’s war efforts are severely pushed back. It is only logical for them to seek help from a third party…”

Serris: “Third party?” *hears commotions behind a large iron door at the end of the passage* “…wait, X, did you hear that?”

X:*whispers* “… Sounds like Gremlins and Strangers…”

Serris: “They are teaming up? This is some seriously bad news!”

X: *picks the lock of the small iron door* “…” *unlocks the door* “Lord Serris, I think I have broken through…” *sees blood dripping out of her wound left by the saw blade* “… I will be fine…” *pushes open the iron door*

[A large empty hanger is what lies behind the iron door, steel cranes and large cargo crates littered the place. In the middle of the hanger stood eight figures, Greave, Kragen, Quillion and Ricasso stood on one side of the hanger representing the strangers, while Herex, two stalkers and a strange, mermaid like Gremlin female stood on the other side representing the Crimson Order. Their conversation is eavesdropped by Serris and X. Serris finds the female Gremlin particularly abnormal, unlike her furry compatriots, she is covered in mostly fish scales and has a fish like tale, wielding a trident as her weapon, the glare of her eyes screams vanity and self-indulgence, a polar opposite to the personality of X.]

Greave: *grumbles* “The prototype… it is gone, it was in the hanger yesterday…”

Herex: *crosses his arms* “I am afraid that answer is not good enough, where is the weapon?”

Greave: “… Someone must have stole it… the spiral knights don’t know this place’s existence, something here is amiss…”

Gremlin female: *yawns shamelessly* “Ugh, you strangers are SO sloppy, can’t you see that only fiends can stole the weapon within this short amount of time?”

Kragen: *sneers at the female Gremlin* “… Herex, what is this… girl of yours?”

Ricasso and Quillion: *whispers to each other* “… Gremlin filth… maybe we are better off keeping the knights in Haven.”

Herex: *chuckles* “She is my top assassin, the true fruit of my bio organic research! A biologically enhanced super being, the blade of the crimson order! She is Type-158, our next generation ‘super assassin’!”

Gremlin female->type-158: “You strangers are so primitive! Can't even keep a 50 tone machine in the hanger for a day without having it stolen! Just give us the schematic for the weapon! We will make it in the great colony, far away from the fiendish vermin!”

Kragen: *nods his head* “Fine… so be it… even if the prototype is stolen, you will still pay us the money for the schematics, Quince! Hand the schematics over to our Gremlin clients! Quince?”

[Unknown to the four strangers, Quince have claimed the schematic for himself and headed to the gloaming wild wood in an attempt to destroy any chance of the weapon be recreated. But he was caught in the line of sight of one of the stalkers at the last second.]

Stalker C: *yells* “Hey! What are you going stranger?!” *jogs towards Quince*

Quince: “Oh no!” *speeds up* "Ek!"

Greave: *yells at Quince* “QUINCE?! STOP! HAND OVER THE SCHEMATIC!”

Herex: "Hmm, it seems you have a traitor amongst your group, how pity..."

Quince: *takes the schematic out his robe, threatens to destroy it* “Greave! Fellow brethren! Stop this madness, what have we become? I thought we were meant to achieve justice and aid those in need! This is not what I intended to become!”

Kragen: “Hand over the schematic Quince… you have nowhere to run…”

Quince: *remains defiant* “NO! Stay back or the I am taking the schematic down with me!”

Greave: “Quince, we have become exactly what we intended to be… We were once nothing more than simple merchants who helps the passing travellers, our lives were at their mercy and we lived off their wallet. Now it is our chance to rule a piece of the clockwork all for ourselve! Once the Gremlins got the schematic and starts mass produce, the knights will be driven out from Haven in no time.”

Quince: “And what makes you think the Gremlins won’t betray us?! And burn down our home?”

Greave: “It doesn’t matter… beneath the ruins of Haven… A new kingdom will rise... our kingdom. You can either be a part of this or you can die like Rudkin… it is your choice…” *pulls a blitz needle out of his robe*

Edit: made some corrections

[Quince conceals the schematic and makes a run for the secret tunnel leading to the gloaming wild wood. Herex orders the last two remaining stalkers to chase down the helpless merchant while he himself seals the entrance to the secret tunnel in case any else wanted the schematic for themselves.]

Herex: *looks seductively at his bio weapon type-158* “Alright darling, you know where the spiral knights are… they have been peeping our conversation ever since it started. Kill them for me.” *smiles and seals the entrance to the tunnel with some of his bio super glue*

Type-158: *blows a kiss at Herex* “Ooooh, Herex… you always knew…” *draws her trident and yells at Serris and X’s general direction* “Come on out spiral knight scums!!! Let me have a play!”

Greave: *orders Ricasso, Quillion and Kragen to evacuate* “…Leave the sector, I don’t want Ozlo to think that the three of you are involved…”

Kragen: “What about you Greave?”

Greave: *pulls out his blitz needle* “I have a score to settle with Mister Serris… isn’t that right?”

Serris: *emerges from his cover* “Alright Greave, it seems like you are more than just a War-profiteer. So you actually wanted to build a Haven just for your own kind? Don’t you think it is a bit selfish that you have to kill two of your own friends to achieve that?”

Greave: “Haven have always been our home… until your kinds fell from the stars. The war waged between the knights and the Gremlins has driven others to extinction. It is time we wipe you off from the face of this planet for good… if it means I have to kill my own friends, then so be it…”

Type-158: *chuckles at Greave* “And the enemy of your enemy is your friend! Isn’t that right Greave?”

Greave: *sneers at Type-158* “…Don’t push your luck, Gremlin filth, once we are done with the spiral knights, your kinds are next…”

Type-158: *laughs maniacally* “Ooooh, I am SOOOoooo scared!!!” *waves at Serris* “YooooHooo, if it isn’t Saucy Serry?! Can you come down here to take my autograph?”

Serris: *winces* “Ekk…”

X: *also emerges from the cover* “Lord Serris! I will deal with the Gremlin woman while you take care of Greave.” *draws her beam katana*

Serris: “I won’t have it any other way!” *takes out his pocket pistol*

[The 2 vs. 2 battle begins. Serris dashes behind a cache of metal containers and fires at Greave from a distance, the expanded Polaris bullets staggers Greave, but Greave almost recovers instantly before firing off a volley of blitz needle into Serris’s cover. Type-158 engages X at close quarter with their weapons clashing into each other, X’s beam katana did little to Type-158’s trident’s unique alloy and Type-158 manages to get the upper hand.]

Type-158: *knocks X down to the ground and prepares to kill her with a trident to the heart* “Weakling! Why do you even bother staying with Serris anyway? He is twice the man you deserved!”

X: *recovers and fan kicks Type-158 in the face* “This is why I hate it when lord Serris flirts with other girls… they are not worthy to be with Lord Serris!”

Type-158: *wipes the blood out of her teeth* “What is wrong, you jealous? Or are you just too ugly to have the courage to confess?”

X: *shakes her head* “I hate it when Lord Serris is stuck with women like you! Woman who have no honour or integrity! All you wanted is his money, his wealth!” *tail kicks Type-158* “

Type-158: “Ugh!” *finds one of her teeth on the ground* “YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!”*lashes the trident at X* “Scr*w the money! I just want you DEAD!”

[X bends down and she can feel the trident flies across her head. She waits for the correct moment, when Type- 158 is just about to finish her swipe with the trident, she strikes, with her beam katana, she cuts off one of Type-158’s arms and forced Herex’s bio weapon to retreat.]

Type-158: *covers her wound* “Argh!!! Spiral knight scum! You will pay for this!” *flees*

[X, whose head is slightly tempered by her needs for justice, tries to chase down Herex’s bio-weapon and finish her off once and for all. But X then sees Serris panicking in the corner of her vision when Greave barraged his cover with another volley of blitz needle. X seizes her priority and throws her beam katana at Greave, the blade cuts deep into Greave’s chest and dealt the killing blow. All seems to be over, the renegade merchant is down on the ground and Herex’s bio weapon escaped via a ventilation shaft.]

Serris: *emerges from his cover* “Thank you, I thought I was a goner back there. This pocket Polaris is compact and all… but damn, this thing lacks the fire power, perhaps I can make some improvements.”

X: “I am glad that you are ok, lord Serris…” *frowns at Greave, who is still alive* “This is the end of you, Greave…”

Greave: *coughs some green fluid out his mechanical mouth, most likely his blood* “This will not be the end… this is only the beginning… once Herex secured the schematic, your Haven will be nothing more than a fleeting dream…”

Serris: “So, what were you guys making down here in the hanger? According to what I heard from your conversation with Herex earlier, you are making some sort of mechanical walker, 50 tonnes was it?”

Greave: “It matters not… it was only a prototype… it is stolen by the filthy fiends with the help of their dimensional warp holes… the real deal will be much stronger. The schematic will soon be in Herex’s hand, it is only a matter of time before they chase down Quince, then, you will all die… hahaha…” *pulls down his robe and reveals a bandolier of nitronomes beneath his chest* “So long, spiral knights…” *pushes the detonator*

[And just like that, Greave is converted into a million pieces by the explosion, destroying any chance of Serris and X getting more informations out of him. X and Serris managed to escape from blast radius just in time to avoid certain death. When the dust settled, Serris, who heard the conversation between X and type-158 earlier, is rather uncomfortable with what X said.]

Serris: “…So, you do care about what kind of women I hang out with.” *chuckles* “So, if a woman isn’t going after my money, then what is she going for? My good look?”

X: “…”

Serris: “Not going to say anything? Fine, we will just pretend that never happened…” *looks at the blood stain and guts on the ground* “…Greave… So you were more than just an arms dealer huh… well, you are now in a happier place… a Haven beyond.”

X: *shook her head* “His attempt at making an independent settlement for his people is rather misguided… he had forgotten the difference between friends and foes, he was blinded by his own greed.”

Serris: “Hmmm, I am just wondering, is there really a clear line between good and bad? Right or wrong? So far, the line seems to be very blur.”

X: “Morality is subjective to all individuals, it is up to each one of us to decide what is worth fighting for…”

[Serris and X left the secret hanger with many unanswered questions. When they are finally back to the Bazar, everything is back to normal. The place that once Greave stood is miraculously replaced by another stranger, who resembles Greave greatly.]

Serris: *whispers to X* “Crap, these strangers sure did one heck of a job covering up their trails…”

X: “We don’t have any hard evidence to put them in the court, their complex may have already reached all the way into the heart of the Spiral Order. We can’t report this to anyone but Miss Mawashimono…”

Serris: “Hmm, ok, I will write her message…” *com link rings* “Huh?”

[A message is revealed on the hologram of Serris’s golden plated com link device. It was sent from Mawashimono.

Dear Special Investigators,

A worldwide civil war is coming, one in which new alliances will be formed and old ones altered. Our friends may not be our friends, and our enemies may not be our enemies.

I believe the Stranger Rudkin was murdered by a Stranger to prevent us from getting a hold of the trinkets of power, which we succeeded in doing. Be wary of Strangers and do not assume monsters to be enemies, especially amongst the gremlins and beasts.
Watch your backs and continue to report whatever information you discover.

Sincerely Yours, The Dragon Princess

Serris’s suspicion is confirmed, the strangers and the Gremlins are indeed up to no good. And now what is worse, the fiends are now blended into the mix. They are most likely trying to get the most out of this conflict without dragging themselves too deep into the war.]

Serris: *Looks at X* “…I got some bad news… a war is coming.” *shakes his head* “No, not like this…” *tears started to flow out of his eyes*

X: “…” *strokes Serris’s shoulder* “… Are those memories coming back to you again?”

Serris: *wipes the tear away* “Yes, I can’t let this happen again! War has ravaged my home once, I cannot allow history repeats itself! But first, we need to find the weapon that the stranger was making in the secret hanger…”

X: “If the Gremlin woman was correct. The fiends must have teleported the weapon to one of their major city with some black magic. There are two known fiendish cities. Sol-fork and Amu-sol…”

Serris: “Amu-Sol is out of the question. As long as the weapon is mechanical, I don’t think it will do any good in a frozen wasteland. So that leaves Sol-fork…” *takes out his com link device*

[Message to Mawashimono.

Dear Mawashimono,

I know we have never met in person but I have to agree, I can feel a war is coming. Just moments ago, I saw the unthinkable, the Gremlin and the strangers are joining up together to destroy Haven, but the alliance is pretty shaky at this point. I don’t think it will take too long before the alliance breaks up. But the important thing is, the fiends had stolen the prototype weapon that the strangers was making in the secret hanger. It seems the Gremlins are planning on using it to destroy Haven, whatever it is, it is bad news for us. I and my assassin are going down to Sol-Fork to investigate the whereabouts of this prototype weapon. And hopefully, I can take a good look at the weapon and maybe prototype something that can destroy it.

Please, whatever you do, don’t inform Feron or Ozlo about this, it will encourage the terrorists amongst us to use this opportunity to wreck Chaos.

Ps. while I was eavesdropping on the strangers, Quince, one of the strangers decided to betray his fellow brethren by stealing the schematic for the weapon. He is headed for the gloaming wildwood, I wouldn’t try to rescue him if I was you, Herex and the stalkers are on the hunt for Quince, he is already a lost cause.

Pps. If you want to rescue Quince and procure the schematic, just be very careful. Herex has been tempering with some mad science lately. My Assassin just fought one of his latest work, a bio weapon called ‘Type-158’, she is one flirty dame, but not really my cup of tea. If you want to rescue Quince, be ready for a tough fight. I have no idea how many experiments he made after the fall of compound 42.

Good luck out there,

Serris Lengsk
]

Nick staggered into camp, and rested his injured foot. While he was resting he decided to check his mail.

Dear Special Investigators,

A worldwide civil war is coming, one in which new alliances will be formed and old ones altered. Our friends may not be our friends, and our enemies may not be our enemies.

I believe the Stranger Rudkin was murdered by a Stranger to prevent us from getting ahold of the trinkets of power, which we succeeded in doing. Be wary of Strangers and do not assume monsters to be enemies, especially amongst the gremlins and beasts.

Watch your backs and continue to report whatever information you discover.

Sincerely Yours, The Dragon Princess

Hm, I'm not so sure about gremlins being friends. Seeing as an attack force was set above the rescue camp.

Nick typed up a quick answer.

Dear Dragon Princess,

If a civil war is coming, then I think we will do well to prepare for it. As for alliances, I heard that the strangers are allied with the gremlins and Quince may betray this new alliance. Fiends arenprobably not going to be allies with the Order anytime soon. I must agree with you on the beasts. They seem to be the only ones who may form a truce with us. That is all.

P.S. Awaiting firther instructions.

[Serris returns to his office before heading to Sol-Fork to see if he can get any glimpse of the illusive Gremlin war machine. He took a quick shower and then neatly wrapped himself into a white bath towel with a golden capital 'L', the initial of his family name. Inside the steamy room, Serris wipes away the water mist on the mirror and inspects himself up close. His face is showing quite the resemblance to his deceased father, Valerius Lengsk, who died during the Isoran civil war when Serris was only ten. Before a sense of nostalgia could flood into his psyche, Serris senses a disturbance in the air, a weird and familiar shadow is creeping inside the ceiling.]

Serris: *sighs and looks at the bathroom ceiling* “X… how many times did I told you not to peep while I am having shower? I could really do with some privacy!”

X: *leaves the cover and kneels towards Serris* “… I am sorry LORD SERRIS… I am just here to ensure that no maniac or rival assassins can come in and threaten your life…”

Serris: *tilts his lips* “So far the only maniac assassin that managed to breach my proximity is you…” *sighs* “I guess you did a great job protecting me though… Greave almost had me back there if wasn’t because of you. I got to thank you for that, and for all those times you managed to save me and my dignity.” *chuckles*

X: *blushes* “LORD SERRIS…”

Serris: “Hmm? Hey, there is no need to thank me-”

X: *looks the other way* “Your… bath towel, has fallen off…” *quickly leaves the bathroom*

Serris: *realizes that he was naked all along* “My towel is off the whole time and you didn’t tell me?! Damn it X!”

[Serris wasn’t all that upset, as this isn’t the first time X saw Serris naked. She has been tailing him ever since they first meet. X probably has a great understanding of his body anatomy by now, a glimpse of his naked body shouldn’t be anything new. While Serris is changing into his new suit for the upcoming adventure, he recalls the first day he met X. When he was only eight, standing outside the mansion with his father. And that is when X and two other assassins from her clan showed up from nowhere. There was a mild wind flowing from the east that day, the way X's hair flowing inbwteen her checking eyes have inked into Serris's memory.]

Young Serris: *excited* “Father! Who are these shadowy men?”

Valerius: “Son, I want you to meet someone… your new friend.” *points at young X*

Young Serris: *gasps* “Wow, they look like those Ninjas from my favourite anime!”

[Between the two adult assassins stands a young girl dressed in dark blue outfits, whose age is similar to Serris, only slightly older. Serris can still remember how X looked back then, short oily black hair, with a strange pair of eyes stared right into him, her appearance hardly changed since. Back then, Serris was far too young to see any beauties in any Girls, he cared about playing and causing trouble more than anything else. But nowdays, when Serris recalled the memories, the way X standing stilly in mild wind, with leafs floating in the back ground, combine with the peacefulness in her eyes, X is probably the most beautiful girl Serris has ever known.]

Adult Assassin A: *tabs X’s shoulder* “Alright, X, I think it is time you show that you are worthy of your clan’s name! Go to Young Lord Serris, you know what to do.”

Young X: *nods her head* “I understand father…” *walks towards young Serris*

Adult Assassin B: “Make us proud…”

Valerius: “X will be our new guest now." *pats Serris's head* "Son, go say ‘hi’ to your new friend.”

Serris: *feels shy* "Hi... my name is Serris..."

Young X: *bows toward Serris* “Greetings, Lord Serris, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. I am assigned to protect your safety… the name is X…”

Young Serris: “Safety??? Me?” *looks back at Valerius*

Valerius: *sighs at Serris’s innocence* “I am sorry son, but there are a lot of people out there who are envy of our wealth and their jealousy threatens to destroy our livelihood, X and her clan are tasked to protect us. Me, my father and his father have risen to where we are today with hard labour, and there is nothing wrong with that.”

Young Serris: *confused* “But there are people out there starving in the street…”

Valerius: *sighs* “Like I told you, 'makers make, takers take', we make up our wealth, and it is in no one’s right to take what is ours for their own leisure. We are free men, if those people out there can’t bring themselves up with their own two hands. Then starvation is what they deserved. Now son, back to your study…”

Young X: “I can also help with Mathmatics if Lord Serris require any assistance…”

[Serris’s nostalgic memory fades as he now refocuses on the task ahead. He trades his pocket Polaris with something more practical. A modified blitz needle with a larger magazine and a longer barrel, designed to have greater accuracy and mobility at the sacrifice of fire rate. Serris carried a few hundred piercing rounds within his backpack, perfect for shredding fiend vermin into million pieces. X, who just recovered from her injuries with some bandages, returns to meet him. It didn't take an expert surgeon to see that X stitched her wound up with great haste, the treatment she administered on herself was rather poor for such a deep cut from the saw blade. Serris couldn't help but to feel worried, X never revealed her frail side towards him, as Serris's bodyguard in the shadow, X refused to admit the fact that she is a woman and suspressed her sexuality for the sake of protecting Serris.]

X: *bows* “Lord Serris, are you prepared for the journey to Sol-Fork?”

Serris: *sighs* “Yeah, I am really starting to becoming more like an adventurer than a millionaire, sometimes I wondered if I could ever be as good as my father, or better…”

X: “You already have, by being his son, you have already proved your worth… that is, in my opnion...”

[With the encouraging words from X, Serris descends into the clockwork via a secret elevator, he used his own money and a crack team of ember light builders to make this, he would never use the elevators in the arcade, if he did, the fan girls and his entourages will no doubt cram into the elevator asking for gift money and autographs. The elevator eventually stopped at the out skirt of the fiendish city of Sol-Fork. With a high tech binocular, Serris located a convoy of fiends, transporting what seems to be the weapon that the strangers built into the city centre. The cargo is covered in magical cloths, Serris roughly estimated the size of the cargo, 15 meters tall and almost 125 meters in length. The weapon is carried in an open carriage with no steel cage surrounding it, the ‘weapon’ is most likely not organic, but a piece of machinery.]

X: “Lord Serris, can you use your binocular to see through the cloths and see what is inside?”

Serris: *shakes his head* “The cloth are imbued in fiendish concealment magic, but I can tell that the weapon isn’t organic, it is not moving or making any sound, and the infra-red vision shows no signs of heat anywhere from the carriage…”

X: “So the weapon is mechanical… or atleast non-living...”

Serris: “Hmm, in that case, all I need is to take a good look at it up close and I should be able to find a weakness of some sort. Alright, it is time for some infiltration. You scout ahead and I will follow you shortly.”

X: “Understood…”

Edit: made some changes

X leaps over the barricade outside Sol-Fork and climbs up onto the office buildings in a stealthy fashion. She takes position behind a chimney and takes out a simple wooden tube, with a few quick tranquilizer dart shots, the devilites that were patrolling the street are now put to sleep. The dying moan of a devilite works quite well as an alarm for any intruders, hence why many spiral recons prefer carrying around many sleep vial when scouting out fiendish territories.]

Devilite Patrol: “ZZZzzzZZZ…”

Pit Boss: *walks out of the office building and sees the devilite sleeping* “Hey! You!”

Devilite Patrol: *wake up* “ZZZ… huh?!”

Pit Boss: “Yes you! Who dare you fall on sleep while on the patrol! No more vacations for you for next 20 years!” *a dart sticks into his neck* “Argh! Oh… I need some more coffee… ZZZzzz…”

Devilite: “Boss? Boss, are you okay?” *gets hit by another dart* “Oh… hmm… feel sleepy… ZZZzzz….”

X: *calls Serris via a radio* “Lord Serris, the path is cleared, all the devilite patrols are neutralized. You can now proceed…”

[X clears out a path free of patrols for Serris to follow. It is easy for Serris to find the right way now with all the tranquilized fiends littered across the road, sleeping like infants, each with a dart on their neck. Serris is keen on finishing some these devilites off with a vicious stomp but decided to ignore them fearing that too much noise may wake up the big guys, the Trojans to be exact. ]

Serris: *replies to X with a sigh* “Man, I was lock and loaded, ready to have a full on firefight with these little buggers. Way to ruin my one chance at reliving my childhood action hero fantasy…”

X: “I am sorry Lord Serris, but your life will always be my priority. Being the hero isn’t really your style is it?”

Serris: “Meh, you are right, I am more of a scoundrel kind aren’t I?” *sees a wounded recon knight in the distance* “Wait, X, did you see that? It is a Recon ranger! He seems to be wounded!”

X: “I don’t think it would be wise to assist a recon ranger, he or she might reveal to spiral order the true nature of our investigation. Try to aid the ranger may compromise the purpose why we are here.”

Serris: “Well, I can’t just leave that ranger to die either! There is a reason why I always think my father is wrong, he thinks that everymen in this world should be strong and the weak, or, the ‘takers’ must be purged. In my opinion, a strong man shouldn’t put others down, he should lift the weak back up.”

[Serris sneaks slowly towards the bawling recon ranger, he can hear the moaning clearly now, it is slightly high pitched, ‘this recon ranger is definitely a woman’ thought Serris, ‘what kind of sick bastard send a damsel all the way into the heart of Sol-Fork?’ When Serris finally takes out a mini-first aid kit from his back pack, the recon ranger crawls back up to her feet in respond to Serris’s presence. And for a moment, the female recon ranger stood taller than Serris himself, with butch arms and a pair of injured, muscular thighs, she is none other than the legendary recon ranger captain herself, lieutenant Desna.]

Desna: *sees Serris, who isn’t supposed to be here* “Serry boy? What are you doing here?” *sees a first aid kit in Serris’s hand* “Wow, is that for me?” *grabs the kit and patches her injured thighs with bandages* “Thanks, that is probably the nicest thing any boy has ever given to me, and also, what is a guy like you doing in a place like this?”

Serris: “Well, … this morning Miss Mawashimono decided to send me a message regarding a merchant’s death, she wanted me to investigate the truth behind his murder and I willingly accepted the challenge, long story short, the rabbit hole is now far deeper than I previously expected, but still, ‘Serry boy’ ? What kind of nickname is that?”

Desna:*chuckles* “Heh, heh, Well, I heard that name from one of your biggest ‘fan’! You know who he is!”

Serris: *frowns* “Affraiel… the renegade warden… it is he isn’t it? Only someone as low as him can come up with a nickname like that.”

Desna: *sneers* “What is wrong? You don’t like that guy?”

Serris: “He killed both my parents… so what do you think?”

Desna: *sighs and shrugs*: “Oh… ugh, Valerius and Nezula Lengsk, they were your parents right? Man, I wish I was there in the Lengsk mansion when the rebels led by Affraiel broke in. Who knows, I might have saved your parents…”

Serris: “You have never fought Affraiel in battle have you? He is an unchained beast, I saw him taking on the entire Lengsk mansion security on his own when I was just twelve, after killing forty of my father’s most trusted men, he didn’t even pant, and I saw not even the slightest remorse in his eyes when he chopped a defenceless maid’s head off… he is no man, he is a beast that needs to be locked up.”

Desna: *crosses her arms* “Damn… he sounds like one hell of a guy! But still, why are you here Serris? I won’t leave until I got a straight answer out of you. And if you want to ask why I got injured, let's just leave it as 'taking a pintch fork to the knee'.”

Serris: “Hey, hold on a moment, I could ask the same thing from you! What are you doing here? Going solo and with no rangers to back you up?”

Desna: *rubs her head and sighs* “Okay, okay, you win Serry boy, Ozlo sent me here to investigate a rumour. A few days ago we intercepted one of the coded messages sent between the fiend command posts from Amu-sol to Sol-Fork. The message says that, the fiends resurrected someone of high importance, they called him, Arkus.”

Serris: “Wait, are you talking about THE Arkus? The fallen warden?!”

Desna: “Hey, it is only a rumour, I saw him fall to his knees back in the cryptic sanctuary with my own eye. There is no way they can just bring him back like that! Besides, now that there is the two of us, a fallen warden should be no problem!”

[Suddenly, before Serris could return the favour and explain to Desna the true nature of his investigation. A spiral warden appeared in the horizon, his blackened leviathan blade is dragged along the ground, making a heart wrenching noise, the warden is wearing a set corrupted and crumbling warden armour, devoid of any life and colours, it is Arkus, a warden who was put down months ago due to his defection, has now returned. His presence can’t be any more sinister as it is, bringing a warden of his calibre back from death must have taken a great amount of effort.]

Desna and Serris: “Arkus, is that…”

Arkus: *with purple fiendish magic engulfing his armour* “Love, Hope, Dreams… where did they come from… and where do they go? Doesn’t matter, I WILL DESTROY THEM ALL!” *charges towards Desna and Serris*