xodus

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

As the adrenaline from the clash shimmered down, Samad held the man's arm in a vice grip. Bella quickly began to collect the two escorts and tie them up. She collected the guns before the twins arrived. Considering their earlier reaction to one, she didn't trust them not to play with the weapons.

Satisfied with the living prisoners’ containment, her attention turned to the corpse. They could've left it, but ARMO preferred to leave nothing for study. Bella leaned down and hooked her arms through the corpse's. With all her strength, she dragged it farther down the tunnel's end. Shadows swallowed her up as she left a blood trail in her wake.

Samad patiently kept the President in his eyesight and nearby. Any sudden movements immediately drew a glare.

Meanwhile, Bella began to dispose of the body. She pulled out a vial and struggled slightly to uncork it. When it finally released, she casually poured it over the carcass. A loud hiss echoed in the tunnel when the acid began to rapidly eat away the flesh. Bella leaned against the wall, waiting until nothing remained.

She casually replaced the cork on the empty vial and put it back in her pouch..

Samad's voice entered her head. Is the corpse done yet?

Almost. Too bad this stuff doesn't work nearly as fast or well on living tissue. She answered, her mind bored during the wait. Some more time passed before Bella and Samad heard the others approach.

At this point, their mission was over. The President appeared to be a defeated mess and his escorts living proof of their abilities. Soon they would head to their next mission.

Bella emerged from the darkness with the scent of burning flesh in her clothes. Her nose crinkled as she spoke.

"After this, I need a shower."

Angel towered behind Elsa and Samad as they began to wrap up. Reri was still shadowing the twins as they wrecked up the white house, bulldozing through any remnants of resistance.

Perhaps we overdid it. The Reaper thought as he observed the carnage and the traumatized President. I'm sure we will be more prudent next time Angel made a mental note before placing his palm on Samad and Elsa's head, patting them.

Samad immediately shifted, avoiding the childish gesture. No thank you.

Bella just shook her head and smiled, watching her partner’s reaction while the Silver Reaper moved toward their captured quarry.

"Mr President, A.M.R.O expects your contribution to the cause, next time we won't be as civil." With that he led the two veteran Asylums away, to speak to them privately.

"The Keepers can handle the clean up, we need to depart now. That blade will be up to some mischief and delay will only make things worse."

“Wait, what are you talking about? We completed the mission.” Samad tensed as he narrowed his eyes upon the Lost Number.

Bella held up a finger, signaling her partner to wait until the Asylum finished. Something told her this was critical.

The Reaper had already requested a group of Porters to arrive, by now they should have completed the necessary preparations. "There has been an unexpected uprising in one of the Bloodline regions, A.M.R.O has requested the presence of the others, so it will just be us. Ah what fun we will have!" There was a smirk on his face as he continued to lead them towards the Porters while Reri headed the twins.

The Desert Wolf's form tensed at the mention of Bloodlines. Bella's attention zoned in on his reaction and her concern surfaced. She extended a soothing gesture. When her hand rested on his arm, Samad glanced at her. She let a gentle smile linger on her features as she put his worries to rest.

Everything will be fine. I'm sure your family is well and untouched, it's likely another one stirring trouble. Let's keep our minds alert and on task. We'll get through this.

Leaving her words on the air, they continued to follow Angel to the outside.

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

Angel had decided to lean back and let Samad Elsa take the lead, this would be a good opportunity for the twins to learn from the Veterans. While the Reaper adored the twins he wasn't so delusional to believe that he was the ideal teacher. Experiences mold everyone separately and he was molded to be a survivor, a killer and a monster. As such it's no surprise his beliefs reflected in Reri, the child who he had practically raised. Not that Angel has ever regretted it, to be strong is what truly matters especially when you have enemies all across the globe.

Finally out of his reverie Angel made his way towards Bella and Zane, those two were quite the amusing duo. The Reaper towered behind the two as his breath caught frost, the temperature had dropped and next was snowfall. "Not a bad tactic," Angel thought out loud from behind the two. He would have preferred to simply use his clairvoyance however the pesky rogue was concealing himself and the president. Had it not been for Samad and Elsa, Angel would have possibly rained fire atop the ruins that remained of the Whitehouse until the president squirmed out. In hindsight....it's a good thing he brought these kids with him, they are far more patient.

Meanwhile Rin continued to shadow the twins, her form just far enough not to be seen by them. She had already rendered roughly eight snipers unconscious and continue to prowl around the perimeter, silently observing Elsa and Samad hunt for their quarry.

"Looks like this little game of cat and mouse is about to come to an end," Angel spoke to the two rookies. His infuriating smile a constant companion to his arrogant tone. "Now we can finally focus on the main job I called you lot for. Finding that damn six hundred thousand year old talking sword that ran away from my prison because it wanted to visit the Bahamas......again." Even as he spoke, there was a tinge of frustration as even Angel found this whole thing ridiculous let alone what others would be thinking.

"Do you two know what is a....Relic?" And now that smile was back on his face.

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

Angel and Reri had deliberately stayed further back, the kids needed the spotlight and Ante Mortem needed to tie up loose ends. Angel couldn't help but chuckle as a flashback occured, the event of his debriefing. A young officer trembling as he explained key factors for mission while Ante Mortem zoned out. Though a few words did stick out.

"Stealthily"

"Silently"

"Indirect"

"Avoid attention"

Rin's cold doll like gaze slowly observed the chaos in front of them and then her head tilted to face her partner. "This is...a terrible idea" she spoke in her deadpan tone. Her partner though just continued to chuckle as he walked out to greet the "Keepers".

The one in charge saluted the Chrono and began explaining their counter measures. The entire premise had been cordoned off and all traffic diverted via the manipulation of traffic lights and policing force. Next they had cut all communication within a 10 mile radius of the white house, no signal could go in or out. Specialized support Asylums had also been deployed, their illusionary barriers coating the White House, blocking all auditory and visual ques. For the witnesses present, they would be herded off to quarantine camps under the pretense of being exposed to gas leak, here their memories will be gently modified. Post mission completion, media manipulation will allow the story of the gas leak to be fed to the public.

Angel couldn't help but clap in appreciation, this was the true power behind AMRO. Sure the trained alchemist killing force was important but the Keepers, they were the foundation. These ordinary humans that toiled to maintain balance, they were the sweepers that ensured chaos was contained.

"Satisfactory..." The Chrono replied and calmly walked off to join the twins. Rin never understood the value of human life, aside from that of some very select few individuals. She found the vast majority to be expendable, that was the extent of their worth. The twins, they were an anomaly for her. To her these children meant little, but because of their relation to her partner their importance was elevated. As such, they can't be harmed.

When Angel finally arrived through the barrier the White House was in shambles, he considered scolding the twins on property damage....but Ante Mortem had recently destroyed Niagra Falls, and it had to be artificially reconstructed. The Reaper gave a weary sigh, these kids were too smart for their own good and their habit of getting into trouble was endearing but exhausting.

His senses had picked up roughly thirty six rogue alchemists within the premise, more than half had been silenced as soon as Rin had entered. The latter were now concealing their alchemic drive. They probably won't cause trouble after seeing this display.

"Excellent work little ones," Angel spoke as he casually joined the twins and other Asylums. Both his palms resting atop their heads as he squeezed their skulls. "Quite the aggressive display," he spoke while bonking their heads gently together. "Explosions, destroyed the white house, injured perhaps 3/4th of the special forces, but ......buuuuut....where is Mr President?" Before Angel could bonk their heads again, both of the devious little chimps squirmed out of his grip and dashed away, giggling. Rin a step behind them throughout, like a shadow.

This left the Lost Number with Samad, Elsa and Bella surrounded by the bodies of groaning officers and bystanders, all still alive....all except the foolish rogues who were a blood smear.

"The president is not here....and I can't sense him. He is being veiled," Angel spoke more to himself than the others, his fingers gently tapping the metal frame of his glasses. "They have been recruiting rogues....and they have one that can veil someone while keeping their own alchemic drive hidden....." Now Angel was smiling. "This has just gotten interesting....any ideas where Mr President could be?"

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

Angel reached out both arms and grabbed the heads of the two siblings in front of him, fingers rustling their hair as the Lost Number towered over them. The reaction from this squad was less than stellar at his arrival, he wasn't exactly expecting a parade but at least some excitement? Hadn't he assisted them with their grand escape and saved their lives on multiple occasions? Angel would himself lost in thought for a brief second. Or perhaps had he placed them in danger? In the end the Silver Reaper merely shrugged it off and his attention finally returned when on of them finally answered the right question!

“Why are we going after the president? It’s not everyday that AMRO is wanting to throw the world into a frenzy and with the current struggles we are facing it seems like an odd time to stir up more troubles.”

He snapped his fingers in the direction of Zane and Bella as they stirred his dramatic flair. The twins behind him striking a pose with the Chrono joining in at last second. The only thing missing was a contained explosion, perhaps some fog.....next time.

"The current struggles are the reason for this. Real power and the perception of power are almost one in the same!" Angel was smiling now as he transmuted the ground to summon a chair and sat cross legged in one fluid motion. "When one falters it effects the other and the ripples attract vultures. A.M.R.O has been considerably crippled since the incident at the Island and others have noticed." The last part was a whisper, as if an omen uttered. "Our reach is divided between quelling splintered uprisings and repairing the damage from the fall out. Now the world powers thing us weak, they think they can ascend from pieces to players." His smirk was almost livid, a seething anger clawing to the surface before being buried once more. The though of ants claiming to challenge titans, it was ludicrous and that is how the world turned to ash.

Rin's cold eyes switched from the amusing twins to the Asylum dogs in front of her. She viewed them like she viewed almost every other thing there is, without interest. "When worms forget themselves, they must be reminded." She spoke, her tone devoid of any emotion. It was a simple fact. Her partner simply nodded to the Chrono's truth.

"The world powers know of A.M.R.O and they know off alchemy. They also provide generous donations that help fund many projects for A.M.R.O. However when altruism dies, humanity dies." Angel was smirking again, but this time it was his usual mischievous smile, the devil's smile. "We cant let that happen now can we? And as such we shall show them the strength of A.M.R.O, we shall display absolute power so they are reminded. A.M.R.O has just told us to put up a show!" Now the Lost Number was standing as he faced his new team of misfit soldiers that included two small children who had black mailed him to be part of this mission and the rest slightly more mature children.

"We will not kill a single person, we will effortless disarm and destroy their weaponry. We will walk straight to the oval office and drag the president away!" By now the Reaper was laughing as if all of this was a beautiful joke. "This will be fun!" And that smile was back. "And who better to lead us than a pair of kids!" Now Angel was kneeling and yet still taller than the two twins. "What say little ones? You lead and we will follow!"

"After today the great United States of America will never miss an altruistic donation!"

And then an Angel laughed

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

@DrRtron plan on joining us for chapter 2?

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

CHAPTER 2

5 MONTHS LATER

When "Innocense" fell it shook the very foundation of A.M.R.O, it showed that you can hurt the infallible and the consequences had only just begun. Rogue factions were growing bolder, the great Bloodlines had begun vying for more power and for the first time in Centuries there was a shortfall of Asylums. The death toll from the destruction of Innocense had never been disclosed however there had only been roughly five hundred survivors, staff and students included. The Island held capacity of over two thousand. A multitude of trained Asylums had been lost along with far too many children. Evacuation had proven difficult, especially since A.M.R.O believed their Island was impregnable as such there had been no contingencies in place. With the ensuing chaos there was no order to the rescue, no prioritization. The staff rescued whoever they could, whoever was closest and whoever they could get within the time frame. However the greatest tragedy to A.M.R.O was their loss of Chrono candidates. Only two had been rescued, the siblings - Yin and Yang. The far reaching consequences were apparent, eventually there will be a shortage of not only Asylums but also Chronos and Lost Numbers.

Now five months later, A.M.R.O is still recovering from the fallout of the prisoners escaping. Their force spread thin containing rogue alchemists while also in search for the missing convicts. The organization resorting to use all resources at its disposal to monitor the world itself in order to locate those prisoners. One had been confirmed dead with the destruction of Innocense, that still left three unaccounted for and that terrified the management. All the displaced students had been moved to a classified location to continue their training while at the same time a gargantuan project had been initiated, code named - "The Goliath".

Now while all Asylums and Chronos had been immediately dispatched for damage control. Angel and Reri had been detained and placed under arrest for the first month after the fall of Innocense. After roughly eleven prisons destroyed within the first week, the two were promptly shifted to a lavish apartment where they were once again placed under house arrest, though this time with several bribes to keep them in. It took another two weeks of consistent interrogation to finally come to the conclusion where the two suspects had nothing to do with the events that transpired at the Island and the previous event dubbed as "Bloody Valentine" had been necessary and as such the two were released. In the four months since the two proceeded to go on very specific missions with barely any backup and the Asylums that were often assigned to them ended up either killed or deemed unfit to continue, it didn't take long for most Asylums to outright refuse to be assigned to the duo who brought death where the went.

-------Xx-------xX------

"Pardon?" Angel questioned as he lounged on a rather comfortable couch, his partner seated on the arm rest. Both of them drowsily staring at A.M.R.O's messenger.

"Uhh...well...you...you see sir. I was umm...informed by the management to let you know of your next mission." The Keeper responded, looking even more nervous than he sounded.

"We aren't taking requests right now, not to mention there is a certain....problem that we need to take care off." Angel replied while yawning, barely even looking at the little man in front of him.

"Sir..umm...this...well this..comes from the management." The Keeper persisted but instantly turned ghostly pale when his comment drew a glare from the little Chrono.

"Oh leave him be little one," Angel finally interceded, since it looked like the messenger might get a stroke any second. "Alright, give me the letter..this better not be a waste of our time." He spoke as he accepted the envelop from the messenger and watched him scurry off.

"Well?" Rin responded, her gaze slowly moving towards the letter which her partner proceeded to open allowing both of them to read the contents silently.

"Interesting...."

------Xx-------xX------

It hadn't take the duo very long to locate their 'friends'. It was quite fortuitous that Samad, Elsa, Bella and Zane had all been abruptly called back, their mission left incomplete. Such a fantastic coincidence which Reri definitely had no hand in, she most certainly did not use her influence as a Chrono Asylum to bring all these Asylums back to a very specific bunker in Washington DC.

"HELLO!" Rena suddenly smashed open the door to the bunker and hopped in, greeting the two Asylums teams with a big smile. "Surprise!" She yelled as soon as she was visible to the two teams, Angel towering behind her. "You are officially drafted in 'Team Panda 1!" She declared, pointing at the Asylums in front of her. "Mission details - we are going to kidnap the president!"

"Questions?"

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

The female rogue observed the Asylum in front of her with a baleful glare. She was furious at having her prey escape but hesitant at engaging an Asylum. In the rogue world they were regarded as monsters, demons even. They wrought destruction and abducted children and carnage often followed in their wake. Within the rogue world, Asylums were boogeymen.

"I don't want no trouble missed, just doin me job. Toughening up these little shits!" The female snarled as she raised her arms to display her disengagement. The boy was silently weeping while clutching his scorched face.

"Ya see?" The rogue pointed at the boy, a smirk on her face. "He's still alive, I don nothin wrong!" She scoffed at the Bella before slowly moving towards the female student who hadn't yet surrendered. "Now if'ya don' mind, I still got a job t'do," the rogue snickered as her palm began to glow a dark crimson, heat distorting the air around her hand.

"It's ya'turn now princess!" The rogue hovered over the female student, whose face only displayed horror, so terrified that words escaped her. "As long as she don die, you can't interfere eh?" The rogue snickered while staring directly at the Asylum.

"This be mo'fun that I thought!" Before the rogue could burn the female student screams began to echo across the jungle, violent death throes of children along with something howling, something gutteral and primal.

"What te'fuck is-" the Rogue's body had hit the ground before she could finish the sentence and the prisoner was standing behind her, his veiled gaze set upon Bella and Elsa.

"That deadzone was a prison," he spoke to the two Asylums in a cold and detached tone. "I don't have the details on the ones that are wreaking havoc on the main Island, but Chronos have taken center stage and evacuation has begun. What I know is that a Chimera has made its way into this jungle." He continued while switching gaze to various points, as of trying to track someone.

"You are dealing with old forbidden alchemy. You need to take it down and evacuate. A Chimera isn't some monster, it's a - "

"What have you done Angel!" Tabion screamed in front of the prisoner, interrupting him.

"We don't have the time for this you foolish little man!" Angel responded, not even bothering to look at the Chrono, his attention still focused on the Asylums.

"You can't destroy the Chimera unless you destroy the -" before Angel could explain, the Chrono had suddenly collided into the prisoner with such force that both of them went hurling and crashing through the forest.

In the distance, sirens could be heard along with explosion but most of it was drowned by the screams that echoed from the jungle along with that gutteral howling.

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

Much to the boys credit he kept his whimpers under control as blood trickled down his thumb from the nail he had just torn. His gaze observed the rogue and his peer who had been tasked with eating the torn nail. Anger boiled inside him as his fingers subconsciously twirled, his thoughts leaning on past lessons.

Anti-alchemic poison does not negate alchemy instead it disrupts alchemy as long as the substance is within your blood stream and based on it's potency it can last up to 12 hours. If injected with alchemy complicated forms of casting become impossible, as such teleportation and healing will be out of the question.

The kid's gaze slowly switched to his environment, branches, rocks and dirt. Things were seeming dismal already, this rogue no doubt had access to alchemy and from his actions he was a morbid son of a bitch.

"I could run and leave the girl as bait". The kid thought before dismissing the idea, he wasn't so callous to leave his peer. There was only one option left to try then.

"Burn asunder!" The boy screamed which successfully drew the Rogue's attention and just for a second there was fear. Capitalizing on that split second hesitation the kid charged the rogue, his knee connecting with his ribs followed by both palms clapping his ears.

"Run you dumb bitch!" The kid screamed at the crying girl who was now clutching at her torn clothes, but in her shock there was little she could process.

"That was a mistake you little shit!" The rogue growled who had already recovered and now was casually walking towards the boy, leaving the weeping girl.

"Let me give you a lesson in pain!" He screeched while laughing. The Rogue's hand enveloped in flame with which he grabbed onto the boy's face, searing it slowly.

"You smell that boy? That's the smell of your flesh burning!" He commented while branding his palm onto the boy's face.

"I forfeit! Help me!" The boy finally screamed aloud unable to bear it no longer.

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

As the days passed by and the trial grew ever closer a strange silence loomed over Innocence. The rowdiest of students had gone tame and all energy was now focused in preparation for what would be their greatest test. Sleep was a luxury and all students poured hours in understanding terrain, geography, battle tactics, calculating fastest route, understanding probability of success, forging alliances, gauging competition.

Despite the trails occuring every year, very little information was available to the students. They were told it would take place in a large jungle. They would be told their objective is to reach the end point before 24 hours. And finally they were told of all the participants entering, only half would pass.

Almost all of A.M.R.O's tests are designed to groom an alchemist into the perfect soldier. They are given little information so as to expand their imagination and observe their pre-planning. A time limit exists so as to observe how they react under stress and pressure. And finally a ceiling on passing rate exists to observe the human element. When a hundred students know only fifty of them are allowed to pass, what will be their reaction?

Most student behaviour fell into pre-defined patterns. Some began accumulating information on the trial through bribery and espionage. Students engagement slowly broke and consolidated into trusted groups. The paranoid ones began to completely isolate themselves. By the first few days alliances had already been made and now the planning stages had begun.

Students now begun to access the best course of action to take. With their limited information they planned for everything. They planned for obstacles and traps, they planned for dangers, they planned for betrayals and sabotage. And finally they prepared to eliminate their peers.

On the second last day the final rule was announced which none of them had been prepared for. Each and every student entering the trial will be given a dose of Anti-alchemic poison which will inhibit and or disturb their alchemy for the first twelve hours.

And so on the second last day, chaos ensued. Some broke under pressure, others began restructuring their plan, alliances broke and new ones were formed. Trust broken, enemies made. All of this for A.M.R.O to observe how they would react to unforseen and undesirable circumstance. Most students would never know, but the Trails did not begin when the students entered the jungle. The trials had already begun and the psychological part was always the first.

--------xx-------------------------------------------xx--------
Final Day Before The Trail

Throughout the week Yin had shown zero interest in preparation or any of the other foolishness her peers were participating in. She was not a sheep, nor was she going to give in to A.M.R.O's little games. She smirked as she imagined them gritting their teeth as they observed her with one of their many hidden cameras. All of A.M.R.O's tests were designed to elicit some form of response, and Yin refused to do so out of pure spite. She was a Laofeng, her potential in alchemy was superior to her brother and yet she was not deemed fit to be a Chrono Candidate. Instead they demeaned her by demoting her to the ranks of A.M.R.O dogs. And so she already knew what she was going to do. She would simply mediate under this large tree and let A.M.R.O pull their hair out. When the time comes, she will succeed like she always did, by herself.

--------------------
The Trial Begins!
--------------------

A large group of students had assembled near a porting sigil along with their designated mentors and invigilators. The students numbered at least two hundred and all of them knew only half would be passing this trial. Each of them was injected with a controlled dose of Anti-alchemic poison before the Porters arrived to begin the teleportation sequence.

While the preparation for mass teleportation was being made, Terra briefed all mentors telepathically.

"You are observers this day. All of you have been here and you know the dangers and yet you faced them through your own wit and power and so must these students. Do not interfere unless a student willingly disqualifies himself by asking for your aid. There are rogue alchemists dispersed across the jungle, they are given leave to harm our students but not kill. If a fatal blow is coming, only then are you to interfere."

"I wish you all good luck!" Her last words were spoken aloud for all to hear right before the teleportation sigil activated and everyone standing within the circle vanished.

--------------
The Jungle
--------------

Yin found herself standing in what A.M.R.O aptly described as the jungle. There were trees and foliage every where, sounds of birds and insects echoed around her. She found this place strangely relaxing. She calmly began walking, trying to understand her location while also trying to ascertain where exactly to go. It was no surprise that A.M.R.O just randomly dropped them without telling them where to go.

"I assume everyone was teleported to random spots, so much for building alliances." Yin chuckled as she tested her alchemy, trying to summon a raging fire but only succeeding in creating sparks. "Fantastic", Yin spoke to herself as she began climbing a stout tree. It took her longer than she liked, but she finally made it to the top and her eyes slowly widened at the view.

This place was massive, it was so gargantuan that she could not see the end. What she did see was the tallest structure available which was a large spire near the center. So that was where she would need to go in order to get her bearings.

"I hope you perverted peepers are having fun!" The Lao screamed loud enough for any hiding invigilator to hear her before making her way to the spire.

Chrono Asylum: Prelude to Madness

Angel observed the new comer, casually tilting his head to greet her, her demeanor diminishing the tension around them. All the while he continued to silently observe these Alchemists, each groomed to err on the side of caution and hence it was no surprise most of them did not trust him. He was especially amused with Elsa and Samad, those two seemed mistrusting that bordered on paranoia. And so he simply finished his dessert while the British sounding Asylum did the most British thing, offer tea and biscuits.

“Right, excellent ice-breaker Miss Tea&Cookies,” Angel eventually cut in, his curiosity needed to satiated. ”But I believe none of you answered my question?” Angel merely smiled at them as his voice echoed in their minds, he had rerouted their telepathic channel and reconstructed it to include all of them in it, albeit forcefully, for privacy. Oh and no matter which prison you’re in, the meals are always horrible.” He replied to Elsa before switching his gaze to Zane, the same patronizing smile on his face. And no I did not deliberately send you into danger boy, that was all you. I merely pointed out that there was a strange phenomenon and you proceeded to find it through your own volition. You can’t coerce someone to do something stupid, they have to have the talent for it.

_out…

Elsa’s icy cool voice answered Angel. For all the time during training that both Bella and Cici had known the Ice mother, her tone rarely dropped to the degrees of freezing. On the other hand, being her partner, Samad had seen it on very rare occasions. Usually when someone crossed a line or became a threat. He subtly braced himself as the expected warning came out in the telepathic channel.

You really should learn to ask permission before you force your alchemy on others.

A small concern edged from Samad’s link when he noted the incident had evaporated her appetite. Underneath the table, his hand reached for hers and gently gripped with a reassuring squeeze. He knew the cause, but wisely kept it to himself.

_out…

Angel's smile hadn't wavered a bit as his veiled gaze settled on Elsa. "I apologize, I merely sought a private audience. You are welcome to accompany me to my prison and discuss all the finer points of Alchemic etiquettes, later."

_out…

Samad decided to inject himself into the conversation.

I assume you have a reason for this and the longer you delay, the less we get done. Can we please get to the point? He knew the apology wasn’t going to be enough.

It hadn’t been for her brother when he used his dying breath to utter one. The asylum's eyes narrowed on the man who upset his partner as he continued to try to ease over her internal fury.

_out…

A small hum could be heard through the telepathic conversation. However, being less audible than a soft whisper, Bella’s input was easily drowned out by the conversation taking place. Sitting frozen in place, Bella stared at the half eaten cookie in her hand. She could feel her heartbeat rise as a familiar tightness started to grow in her chest.

_{out…out…out...}

Bella’s volume slowly started to rise as the tempo of her demand started to quicken in pace.

Out. OUT. GET OUT!

Bella’s alchemic drive activated as her panic grew. The cookie in her hand crumbled as she clenched her hand. As she clenched, the metal utensils that were scattered on the table flew towards the prisoner’s head and chest with the intention of stabbing the man with the tines of the forks and the blades of the knives. As the utensils made their way towards impact, Bella raised up her other hand. A bot the size of a baseball came out of Bella's backpack and using her implant commanded it to fly towards the prisoner.

Angel's eyebrow had risen a fraction from Bella's outburst, her panic flooding the telepathic channel creating an empathic ripple where everyone could feel it rather than just see it. Before the prisoner could disconnect the channel the Asylum before him had launched a salvo of utensils seeking to impale him and from purely her perspective, she had succeeded. Each and every knife and fork and embedded in him and the baseball sized orb had smashed into his face, leaving a bloody mess. However this was only from the Asylum's perspective and eventually, even for her, the facade faded to reveal countless knives having pierced an empty chair. The prisoner on the other hand had remained seated where he was.

"Calm yourself child! The prisoner's voice flooded the telepathic channel, drowning her panic, drowning all and everything before finally allowing the others to be able to hear their own thoughts.

’Calm?’ Bella’s panic paused in growth as confusion washed over as she looked between the uninjured man and the damaged chair. She was certain that she hit the man. She lined up the attack well and even saw the impact. How could this man dodge an attack while wearing the chains and added safety measures inscribed on it? ’I am calm. I am fine. Perfectly fine.’ Bella said shakily through the telepathic channel.

With a few blinks of her eyes she turned on the recording capabilities of her glasses. Something wasn’t right about this man. Was he powerful enough that the chains are not enough to stop him? Panic started to rise again as she thought about the alternative. What if this man was tinkering with her perception again and the chains were fake just like the outcome of her attack. If that is true what all could this man do? How much around her could she trust to be real? She didn’t want a similar outcome to happen like the last time something like this occurred. After gaining so much these past few years she couldn’t let it happen. She could feel her body shake as she stood and glared at the man. ’You on the other hand better quit this mind fuckery. A soft hum started to grow from the woman’s backpack.

Seeing Bella this worked up concerned Zane. He had never seen her act in this way during their time together. Reaching out to his partner, the man grabbed Bella’s hand and tried to calm her down but was quickly shaken off as his partner continued to glare.

"Very well, begone." The prisoners last thoughts echoed in their minds as he banished them all from his telepathic channel.

"So troubled by your past that you barely perceive the threat to your future," the prisoner spoke in a tone similar to quoting out of a book. "I have lost what little interest I had however I will share some wisdom out of goodwill. An alchemic deadzone cannot exist. It is impossible to negate alchemy, I have a few ideas how it could be caused…"

"There you are!" A loud voice echoed across the cafeteria as a tall lean armored man walked towards the table at which the prisoner was seated.

"Rogues that don't know their place should be slain where they stand, you deserve no less for escaping your confines!" The armored man continued to speak as he approached the table, his hand hovering over the hilt of his blade that was strapped next to his waist. "Before I cleave your head off, how did you escape?"

"You are but a child wielding a stick and yet you dare face a dragon?" The prisoner replied and the chained constraints that binded him slowly cracked and chipped. Angel's smile had turned into a strange smirk, one that almost invited violence.

With a shattering of glass and screams of frustration, that violence arrived. Propelled forward by Ying’s mad rush, the Banshees flew through the window and crashed onto the floor of the cafeteria. Skidding across the ground, Maeve came to a stop with a violent thud against an empty table. She groaned out curses in gaelic, rising to her feet.

Kiara was more prepared, twisting in the air as she spoke quickly and softened her landing with alchemy. She landed in front of the table and its inhabitants, stumbling slightly as she did so. “What the hell is with this child.” She huffed, before looking over at the others. “Oh! Hello! You must be the other teachers. Well, temporary teachers. Like Maeve and I. Could we get a hand? The girl seems to have lost her mind and is surprisingly powerful. Her drive is, quite frankly, scary.”

“Alright you little bitch, you wanna play ball? I can play ball!” Maeve grabbed the table behind her and, using the motion of her throw, heaved it at Ying.

"I am going to snap you in two you stupid fuck!" Yin matched obscenities with the Gaelic Asylum as she planted her feet wide apart and smashed the table with her fist causing it to burst into splinters, sharpnels of wood bombarding the cafeteria.

"What in the hell?" Another student screamed as a splinter pierced his shoulder, inadvertently punching the student behind him and so it went as the cafeteria descended into chaos.

Yin on the other hand charged Maeve yet again, closing the distance while her arms blurred, striking the bone witch, chipping away at her defense.

“You can fucking try!”

Meanwhile at the table:

"A child wielding a stick?" The armored Lost Number in front of them gritted his teeth as he glared at the prisoner before him, apparently oblivious to the chaos around him.

"And a daft one too actually." The prisoner continued to mock the man before him, his blood lust had withdrawn and now he was back to his casual and impertinent self. "If you are trying to understand who helped me escape my confines, isn't it obvious?" Even while facing down the Lost Number, the prisoner had remained seated with his legs crossed, only his arm lifting and his thumb pointing back at the Asylums. "I give you my cohorts, especially the one standing on the table and the one fighting that terrifying child, I would call them my favourite minions!"

“Excuse me?” Kiara looked confused, her gaze switching between Angel and the Knight.

"You are all dead!" The Lost Number spoke in a whisper before drawing his blade, the kinetic energy from the motion destroying the table as well as the wall behind it.

“We just got here what are-AHH!” Kiara dove off of the table, as it disintegrated behind her.

"Impressive, that wall didn't stand a chance." The prisoner spoke a second later, his dominating figure standing behind the armored Lost number, his head leaning over the Knights shoulder and casually observing the broken wall before vanishing and leaving the Asylums to deal with the fall out.

"Coward!" The Knight screamed in sheer frustration before turning to face the surviving 'cohorts'.

"Yin you are to execute that woman, stop playing with her!" The Knight commanded before swinging his blade, each swing followed by a destructive shock wave.

“He’s lying! We don’t even know who he is!” Kiara shouted out, desperately dodging as best she could. Each time the wave was getting closer and closer.

"But it was just getting exciting," Yin groaned before stepping away from Maeve. "Bah it can't be helped, guess you're fucked." She smirked as the darkness around her finally took form, sickled tentacles and arachnid legs crawled out of her shadow, each darker than black.

“What are you, a shitty batman rip off? Afraid of spiders and octopuses so you flail around with them?” Maeve mocked, before two daggers of bones extended from her palms and into her grasp. She slashed them against the ground, muttering in Gaelic, and a tall wall of fire shot forward from the slash on the ground.

Yin just laughed as she pivoted and clapped her hands together, the motion slicing the flaming wall in half and dispersing it allowing her Lovecraftian summonings to bombard the Asylum with a flurry of attacks. With a snap of her fingers her twin Chinese broadswords came spinning back to her hands and we're now coated in a sickly dark aura.

"Way of the Lao, death stance!" The girl intoned in a whisper, a silent requiem and in that instance her Alchemic drive was terrifying.

"Stance is a bit wide," Angel spoke from behind her, his foot gently prodding at Yin's heel causing her front foot to slip, resulting in an olympic grade split.

"You fuck….." Yin growled, her face beat red as she quickly recovered, her fury directed at the prisoner who had vanished yet again. "Your friend just cost you your only chance at a clean death!" She growled before charging the Banshee with blackened steel.

Back at the table:

"Traitors and liars!" The Knight roared as his giant claymore sliced in massive arcs, each cleave followed by a shockwave that desimiated anything in it's pathway. Even in his rampage the Lost Number's attacks were precise, almost surgical as they avoided any bystanders and seemed solely focused on the Asylums that were present on the table.

Seeing the attack head towards the duo, Zane hastily pushed Bella aside as the impact of the knight’s arrived. The first wave hit Zane hard as his shield started to activate along with his alchemic drive but due to the shield not being at its full size quick enough he could feel the impact hitting him, leaving gashes on his face and throughout his body as he tumbled back into the wall.

By the second swing his shield was fully expanded and a handful of bots flew towards Zane and expanded to create a temporary shield as the man stood up and muttered an incantation under his breath. He could feel a familiar pain course throughout his body as he used his alchemy to promote rapid growth throughout his body. He could feel his muscles tear and stitch back together as they expanded and his skin felt like it was burning as it strengthened and hardened.

Bella winced slightly as she felt the pain over their link. Typically her partner was careful about blocking the pain from her but given the rush, she expected to feel a fraction of the pain. Seeing the man reach for his battle axe, Bella knew he wouldn’t be ready for a third swing yet. Switching to alchemy, Bella moved her hand in the direction of the broken bots and raised her hands and shaped them to form another shield as the third wave made an impact.

By the end of his transformation he gained six inches of height and weighed a hundred pounds heavier. As the bots crumpled again from the impact Zane charged towards the man and blocked the next swing with his shield. A loud clang was heard as his shield made the impact. He could feel the energy from the claymore reverberate through him as he was pushed back a few feet. His arm felt numb by the impact as Zane held his ground. “Maybe the rouge was right.”

‘Zane…’ Bella said through their link as she tried to stop his comment.

“Maybe you really are a daft child if you think that we would partner with the prisoner.” Zane said as he swung his battle axe towards the knight.

The sigils on the Knight's armor automatically began to glow as the battle axe struck it and all impact was absorbed as if all the energy behind the attack had just vanished. The Lost Number just stared at the Asylum with a baleful gaze, his blade heaved atop his head, clenched in both hands, before slamming it down.

And again the prisoner was there, his palm pushing Zane's back and sending him hurling forward and with the same force pushing himself backwards to avoid the fallout from the kinetic burst. The prisoner's movement was always so minimal, just enough to get away as if he deliberately refused to expend effort.

"Might I suggest working together?" He replied sheepishly before vanishing. Clearly suggesting he was not part of "together". The Knight on the hand had redoubled his efforts to pummel the Asylums, his blade a blur as he cleaved and sliced at his targets.

’Zane, can you and Bella keep the asshole distracted? If we don’t get the students out, they will get in the way and be slaughtered. I also need the room for a powerful sigil trap to encase him. Then we can gang up on the student, take her out, and return to the ass. I just need time to set it up!’ Elsa’s words appeared in Zane’s mind.

’We’ll follow your lead when the time comes’ Zane said, pivoting and moving back to dodge the knight’s attack as he relayed the information to Bella. After receiving a confirmation and seeing Bella work on activating a charm, he responded to the prisoner. “If you actually helped and didn’t depend on others to pick up after the mess you created here, working together would have been a piece of cake.”

Seeing an opening Zane charged towards the man and feinted an attack before jumping back and moving to the side. With the man focused on Zane, Bella would now easily be in his blindspot with the commotion happening in the cafeteria.

“Hey goth chick,” Zane said, calling out to Kiara with the only detail he had with only half an introduction given. “If you and Maeve keep the kiddo busy, Bella will add some more fire power. Reinforcement is on the way but we will need to hold on for a few minutes.”

“Sure, but what are you gonna do about the knight?” Kiara picked herself up off the ground, Shadow Tail writhing around her. She pointedly ignored the ‘Goth chick’ phrase.

“Doesn’t matter, I could use some help!” Maeve called, grunting as she blocked Ying’s strikes. Kiara shrugged, before launching herself on the attack at Ying’s back. Shadows lashed out at her command, attempting to wrap around the girl’s limbs.

"Did you just try to attack me with shadows you stupid bitch?" Yin replied while laughing hysterically as Kiara's shadows were just absorbed into the darkness that swirled around her. The darkness enveloping her completely before exploding outwards in a burst of sickly black spikes and shards.

Kiara merely shrugged, Shadow Tail rising up and blocking the shards that came her way. “It was worth a shot.”

Maeve dodged what she could, cursing a piece of her armor that fell off under the explosion. “Any other bright ideas then, partner?”

"Sister….this needs to stop!" A student that looked exactly like Yin stepped between her assault, his hands glowing blinding white as he struck her projectiles, causing them to lose tangibility and dissipate.

"Ah the mighty Chrono Candidate has dained to come meet the peasantry?" Yin scoffed as she stared down her brother, malice and hatred drilling off her face as she faced her serene and calm brother.

"You must calm yourself, do not shame the family," he replied with an almost patronizingly calm tone.

"Fuck the family, fuck you and fuck them! I have orders to kill, you get in the way you are added to the list!" She growled before slamming her fists to the ground and summoning two clones of herself from her shadow. And then they charged, each clone colliding with Maeve and Kiara with an arsenal of martial prowess while the student herself launched herself at her brother.

Maeve’s blades were up in a moment again, scraping against the shadow clone as she fell back under the assault. “Oh good! Family issues! That’s what this fight needed!”

Kiara darted backwards, dodging the strikes of her own shadow clone. Seeing the other student appear, an idea struck her. She leapt backwards to give herself space, and then clapped her hands together. “Let there be light.” As she spoke, pure light began to shine off of her as she glowed. “And let Darkness fall.” With a gesture, she directed a wall of light directly at the clone in front of her.

Even as Yin's clones vanished from the burst of light summoned by Kiara, she had only redoubled her efforts against her brother. Their alchemic drives were a terrifying thing to behold, each evenly matched and a perfect counter to the other. Yang glowed with a blinding light which clashed with Yin's abysmal darkness, their fists striking each other sending blasts of energy across the cafeteria. The very structure of the building around them was compromised and starting to collapse. Getting close to them had become impossible in itself, let alone stop them.

“After the miserable attempt at a sparring match earlier with the students it will be fun crossing blades with this man until reinforcements come.” Zane said as he grabbed a nearby table and threw it at the knight and as it splintered he grabbed another and chucked it as well.

’Ready when you are. Bella said to Zane through their link as she kept the Knight and Yin in her vision and took a slow deep breath.

"Perhaps if you said please. The prisoner replied telepathically, his tone laced with sarcasm and amusement.

Hearing the prisoner’s voice, Zane immediately stifled his link with Bella to limit her ability to hear the prisoner. After the freak out she had earlier he wanted to make sure to limit what she heard in case it would distract her from the fight. Zane gave a small chuckle as he reached for another table and reached out telepathically into the void in hopes that the man would hear.

’Oh please, great and malicious prisoner. Bestow your blessing in this fight to those you called your minions. I’ll even supply you with my share of the vanilla ice cream or any other dessert you would like for a week to satisfy your sweet tooth. I doubt we would ever work together after today but if we ever do cross paths you can continue to have my share of sweets. The Asylum’s response was facetious in nature but given the prisoner’s choice in lunch he was willing to keep his promise.

The Knight's sword swing was now barely visible, such was his speed. Every obstacle thrown towards him would be sliced to pieces. The man barely even attempted to dodge, just tanked forward annihilating obstacles. In a matter of seconds the Lost Number had begun to run and his body glowed as the kinetic energy slowly built around his armor. This was a juggernaut of unbridled force, but instead of charging into Zane the Knight had altered his course to Bella and behind her were plenty of rioting students. The juggernaut knew Bella would stand her ground to protect the others, but right now he had so much kinetic energy he was a force of nature.

Zane’s lax demeanor vanished as the charging Knight altered his direction towards Bella. Dropping the table in hand, Zane sprinted after the man. In a loud angry voice Zane yelled out “Reckless growth in exchange of a worthy gain.”

A stronger burn compared to the first roared through the muscles in his legs and his arms as he focused his alchemy on targeted parts of his body. As the muscles in his legs grew his speed started to quicken as well. Given the Knight’s headstart he knew he wouldn’t make it in time but Zane charged regardless.

I suppose you did say please. The prisoner replied as he finally appeared in the path of Bella and the charging mad Knight. In his hands a charm which he casually shattered while observing the Lost Number with a lack of urgency.

"Aegis.."

With that word a strange distortion appeared in front of him and just seconds before the Knight collided with them, a large metal coffin materialized to shield them.

Windows shattered all around them, tables and students were hurled away and the closest wall had been completely obliterated by the sheer force of impact. However Angel's coffin was still standing and behind was the female Asylum and the prisoner.

"You should attack him now," The man replied before taking a seat, in front of them the Knight tried to correct his center of equilibrium, clearly rattled from the crash.

Bella gave a gasp as she saw the Knight charge towards her. Forgoing the original plan, Bella moved her hands to sign out her release for her charm early. As she started to make her second sign the prisoner appeared before her, momentarily halting her progression. Bella watched as the coffin appeared and everything around her turned into shambles as the knight made impact.

Zane! Bella exclaimed loudly through their link as she watched the man tumble back into a pile of broken chairs before hastily scrambling back on his feet to continue his charge.

Zane could feel the muscles in his left calf snap as he tackled the man and repeatedly attacked the man with the edge of his shield as he aimed for any possible source of skin or weakness in his armor to stab the man with the anti-alchemy laced edge. “Now Bells.”

Bella gave a nod and finished the final few signs. There was a flash in front of her and as her vision cleared she saw a large pile of decommissioned bots laying before her. “Spear. Stab. Entangle.” Bella signed before clasping her hands together. The decommissioned bots came together and shaped into twenty long poles that were ten feet in length with a speared edge. Moving her hands apart, the woman aimed the palm of her hand at the Knight and Yin. Eight of the spears flew towards the aggressive girl while the other twelve aimed for the Knight with the intent to pierce any exposed limb. Although her aim was to hit her target’s she was more concerned about getting the spears closer to her targets. After the spears made contact, Bella clenched her fists. The spears reached towards her target and coiled and tightened around any arm, leg or body part within reach to restrict or slow any movement.

Given a breather from the assault, Maeve and Kiara paused to pull themselves together. Maeve stumbled over to Kiara, exhausted. “Should we...should we help them before the building collapses around us?”

Kiara nodded, numbly. With a moment to think, her body was screaming at her about the exhaustion it was feeling. “Yeah.” She drew a deep breath, shaking herself. “Alright. I’ll take the knight, you take the crazy girl. We gotta end this fast.”

Maeve nodded, shaking herself as pieces of bone armor fell off. She took two steps forward towards Ying, arms moving in rapid motions as she muttered in Gaelic. As she pulled her hand down towards the ground, a pillar of bright light came crashing down over Ying.

Kiara, for her part, knelt on the ground and drew a series of sigils on the ground as Zane and Bella launched their attack. As the final sigil was completed, they flashed a dark black and the ground beneath the Knight turned to soft earth as grabbing hands of shadow burst from it and attempted to drag him down, or at least impair his swings.

"ENOUGH!"

Both Yin and the Knight screamed in unison as their alchemic drives soared.

A shockwave emerged from the Knight pushing everyone back, all the damage done to him turned into a kinetic push. Now he stood, sheer rage on his face. He took slow steps towards the Asylums while shedding his armor, his blade glowing an ethereal blue. This was the Knight at his strongest where he would forego all defense and focus entirely on offense. Very few had ever pushed him this far and it was a testament to the efforts of these Asylums. Death is all that awaited them.

If the Knight's alchemic drive was scary, Yin's was terrifying. Her eyes were now entirely black and the darkness she now summoned enveloped light itself. Black ichor spread from her shadow and began to pull everything into itself, a bottomless void. Death is all that awaited them.

"No more of this foolishness!" A middle-aged woman with red hair and now stood at the entrance of the Cafeteria. Her eyebrows furrowed with anger which looked misplaced on her kind face.

Her alchemic drive instantly activated and even a novice could tell this was a Chrono Asylum, one of the twelve strongest Alchemists in the world. Such was her dominance over alchemy. She was Terra, number X.

Her hands flung seeds into the cafeteria, each seed instantly sprouting into massive vines that grew to a gargantuan size. These vines spread all over grabbing every single person in the cafeteria, protecting them while also restraining them.

As soon as she was certain, Yin, Yang and the Knight had been properly constrained she observed the damage to the surroundings and noticed Elsa and Cici's efforts at trying to minimize the damage.

"Child this is a dangerous thing you attempt," Terra kindly admonished Elsa who had gone in overdrive, ice spreading from her in order to prevent structural collapse. Almost the entire roof of the cafeteria had been frozen but Terra observed how the power was going out of control. The chill had spread to Elsa and her own alchemy had begun to damage her.

"You did a great job, both of you," she nodded to Elsa and Cici before gently striking Elsa in the middle of her forehead, knocking her out before serious backlash could occur.

In a few minutes the entire cafeteria looked like some exotic jungle. Vines had crawled to every inch of the place, acting as support to prevent the place from collapsing.

Once everyone had been evacuated, Terra was seen patting Elsa on the head before having a strange plant monster drag Yin, Yang and the Knight away.

The prisoner however had already vanished and was back in his cell, in fact reports had said he had never left the place.