Iris gave him an odd look and said “I’ll send Dante over for you in the morning…”

Scarlet waited for him at the door and headed out side, the night air crisp. “Did you drive? I’ll leave my bike here. I can fly back. I don’t want to leave Iris alone here tonight in case she needs a hand”

Matias found himself outside once more as he stepped out of the warehouse. The view here wasn't remotely as interesting, just an empty road with some bushes and one or two streetlights in the distance past the iron gate. His faithful sedan sat right where he left it, gleaming in the moonlight as if beckoning him over.

"Yeah," he replied, pointing at his vehicle. Just keep in mind I live a little far from here."

He walked up to the car, pulling his keys out from his back pocket. With a click and a twist of the key, the driver's seat door opened for him, and he settled on his leather throne. One hand laid on the steering wheel while the other pressed a button on the side of the door to unlock the others.

"Alright. Get in."

Scarlet bounced over and slipped into the car, smiling as she shut the door. “I’ve never been in a car like this. It’s very nice. So where do you live? I know Dante is at the Blood Manor and I think Bane is staying at the base since his place was hit”

Matias couldn't hold back the small grin that grew on his face from Scarlet's comment. A soft chuckle escaped him at that moment.

"Thanks, I guess. She's old, but she works."

The key slipped into the ignition, and the car sputtered and rumbled to life. Its eyes glowed a brilliant yellow, illuminating the path in front of them. The car then pulled away, gliding along the asphalt with ease.

"I don't live anywhere fancy," he replied, "just your average suburb with average humans. What about you?"

Scarlet looked at him and said “the boss was able to get me a place in Pixie Village. A nice old couple owns the small cottage I rent but they are good people. Like I said…I owe the boss my life”

Keeping his eyes on the road, Matias let out a soft "hmm" and nodded. It didn't take long for them to be carried into the city. The streets still had a few cars in them, but it wasn't out of this world.

"That's nice," he continued, "Wonder where the boss lives..."

He let the silence kick in for a moment. He wasn't one to play the radio at this hour; the rumbling of the tires and metal walls were suitable white noise.

"How long have you two known each other?" he asked suddenly. "Feel like it's been a while, no?"

Scarlet thought for a few minutes and then said “she saved me three years ago…she was forming the rebellion then. Bane was already part of the group, but no one else…” she looked out the window and said “how did you join up, I never heard the story”

The gap between the question and the answer was enough for the latter to startle Matias a tad. No car crash though, not even close. He, again, responded with a "hmm". The question that followed made Matias blink a few times.

"How did I join? Uhh..."

He took a moment to ponder.

"I don't think anyone in the team brought me in, so how did I... Oh...!"

A tap on the steering wheel indicated his memory kicking in.

"It was the weirdest thing... I was at home when I found this note. I remember, it had kinda crappy handwriting, but it had some coordinates on it. Popped them on my phone, led me to the warehouse, actually. That's when I met, I think the boss? Yeah... They were all like, 'Oh, why are you here, did you know about the rebellion,' stuff like that... I just felt so weirded out by the whole thing."

He paused as the car made a left turn into what looked like a neighborhood.

"I wasn't going to join, but then I remembered the war from a while back, all the bigotry I saw in the news and even in my life, and how the government is just, like, tirándose fresca... Guess it's just in my nature as a punk."

The car stopped in front of a quaint-looking house. Matias directed it to park in the driveway.

"Well," he sighed, "we're here. Guess you can leave now if you want."

Scarlet jumped out of the car and said “I want to go around first and make sure no one broke in or anything. Iris will kick my but if I don’t check things out before heading back.”

She summoned her wings and floated into the air, flying around the back of the house to check things out.

"Broke in? What? No, that was months ag–?"

Before Matias could finish his sentence, Scarlet was up and gone. He let out a long, deep snarl before stepping out of his car and looking off to where she went.

"Scarlet, no one's there. It's fine."

It seemed true for the most part. The back of the house was half clay and half grass, the yard blooming with tall grass and dandelions with some bushes dabbed on top for good measure. A worktable on the clay tiles housed a tool or two thrown haphazardly on top. A large cabinet and a ladder accompanied the mess. Nothing alive seemed to be back here save for the crickets and cicadas chirping away wherever they hid.

It took Matias a moment to unlock the back gate of his house and enter the vicinity. He still didn't look too happy.

"Well?" he puffed. "See anything?"

Scarlet landed in front of him and folded her arms. “When we’re you going to tell us you had someone break in? Well it’s clear out here. No heat patterns or anything…”

She sighed and added seeing his face “what does it bug you so much that we worry? Want to keep everyone safe?”

Matias fell silent at Scarlet's initial question. His lips pursed for a moment as he looked to the side.

"Didn't really think it was that important," he muttered, "I guess someone leaving a note with coordinates on it leading to the warehouse is a little strange... But, like I said. That was months ago. Whoever that was clearly isn't a threat. Hopefully..."

He gained the courage to look back at her.

"I'm not mad about that," he huffed, "What, do you just let people randomly scan your backyard for things out of paranoia? Like I get being cautious, but come on."

His hands fell on his hips, their grip firm.

"Look, all that matters is that no one's here. Iris can take that as she will."

Scarlet sighed and said “Matias…everyone has been targeted at some point. After tonight we just want to make sure everyone is safe…I was grabbed outside my family home when I was taken…I don’t want anyone else getting hurt if I can avoid it…”

She folded her arms and sighed. “I know I sound crazy…it’s just the team is the closest thing I have to family…”

Matias's glare weakened as time went on. By the time Scarlet finished, he was left staring dully at her. His hands had now fallen dead to his sides, and his once-rigid posture was more weighted on one leg.

"I get it," he sighed "just... you know... take it easy. Alright? We've got lots of firepower on our end of the game, and we're making progress. Those purists, or whoever the hell they are, they won't know what hit em."

He chuckled lightly.

"Think you should get going... Any longer here, and Iris's probably gonna send a search party after you."

Scarlet nodded and summoned her wings again. She then said “if you did need me…just start a fire with the ashes I put in the bag you asked for…” she jumped into the air and waved, then vanished into the night sky.

"Bye..."

Matias watched Scarlet soar off until he was hardly able to discern her from the stars. He glanced over his shoulder at the aforementioned bag still hanging from his back. Now that he was at it, he took a look around his yard, just to be sure.

Nothing.

Sighing softly, he left his backyard through the gate, locked that, then properly entered his house through the door he was supposed to go into. He walked straight past every room it took for him to get to his bedroom, a yawn escaping him at that precise moment. He felt no need to eat or shower at that moment; sleep would do for now. He threw off his jacket and jeans before tossing himself on the bed with a grunt. He was tired enough, so his eyes immediately began to close. He was so tired, in fact, that he was even able to ignore the soft, rhythmic clicking from what felt like outside.

===

"𝟻0.𝟽𝟿𝟾0𝟸, -𝟼𝟷.𝟸𝟿𝟻𝟻𝟺

𝙳𝙾 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙹𝙾𝙱"

That note met Matias this morning. Same crude handwriting and everything. It was currently sitting in his jacket pocket, neatly folded in hiding. He was now focused on what he considered his actual job, which was riding himself to the warehouse again. It went off without a hitch; no traffic meant no delay. He parked in more or less the same place as last time and hopped out. He took in a pint of fresh air and held it for a few seconds before letting it free. He felt the weight of the day on his shoulders, and he only knew it was going to get heavier as time went on.

He passed through the entrance.

"Anyone home?" he asked, looking around.

Dante was at the war table and looked up when he came in. “Hey Matias. Glad you got home alright. Bane is passed out still…don’t ask about the boss just…”

There was a crash and Dante lowered his head. “Iris isn’t happy right now…” scarlet appeared behind Matias and smiled. “Morning. Just doing a check around…is Iris still mad?”

Dante nodded and Scarlet sighed. “While I was gone with you Iris passed out some how. When she woke up I was back and asking where the boss was…they are gone.”

They heard steps from above and Iris appeared. “The boss used a knock out scent. They must have woken up and used it when I was getting supplies…” Dante sighed and said “must really not their secrets known…Matias? You ready to head to the upper level and meet with Lady Midnight?”

Well. There goes his shoulders.

Matias flinched at the crash, his hand instinctively slapping onto his holster as he entered fight or flight mode. The sudden appearance of Scarlet didn't help matters.

"Jesus!" he barked, jumping backwards. "Was that you?!"

His eyes darted back and forth between Dante and Scarlet, unsure of who to focus on at the moment. Scarlet's speech clued them in, but Matias almost wished he didn't hear what he just heard. He blinked rapidly, his eyes going wide as he leaned forward.

"W... What the hell do you mean 'gone'? They died?!"

Yet another sound to focus on. Matias's gaze met Iris's descent, begging for an explanation. He got it alright, but it didn't lessen their confusion in the slightest. His jaw fell agape and remained so even when he faced Dante.

"How are we supposed to do that if we're literally missing our damn leader?! What a crock of–"

His head whipped towards Iris.

"Did they leave any traces? At all? Where could they have– aaaRRRGH..."

He clenched his hair by the handfuls.

"First the note, now this?! What a bunch of–"

Matias let out a slurry of profanities that were, to say the least, inappropriate for the current environment he was in. His gums and whites were in full display, and he might have spat a few times. There seemed to be no stopping him.

The three of them waited till he was done and Scsrlet said “are you alright?” Dante smirked and said “umm…Matias? It’s alright man. The boss comes in and out all the time. They will show up when they are ready. Now come on, we can go to the meeting.”

Iris nodded and said “it’s true…the boss always seems to vanish…” Dante grabbed his hat from the rack and said “come on, let’s head to the meeting then we will see if we can track the boss down.”

Matias peered back at Dante with a look of pure befuddlement mixed with a dash of rage. He had to take a deep breath to even speak again.

"Seriously? Not one of you is wondering if they're even in the state to be running around right now? The girls saw what happened! Seriously, none of you?!"

A hand met his forehead as he let out a painfully hoarse "Dios mío..."

"Okay. Fine. Since you guys don't care, I won't either. From now on, pure apathy if anything happens to anyone in this god damn room. Including me."

His hands dug into his jacket pockets.

"So... The upper level... How're we getting there?"