After parking the SUV in the basement parking lot of Six Trees Hills, I grab the trash bag filled with files stolen from Matsui's Club Cannibal and make my way to the Pit. As I approach, I hear the doors of the Pit unlock, confirming that The Voice is back in control of this hideout. Tired from the excitement of an entire day spent running about, I eagerly push the door open - 

- and find a snoring Alley splayed out across the lone mattress provided in the Pit. Alley had not bothered to maintain her illusions and the gentle motions caused by her snoring lets loose a small seismic quake across her jiggly, flabby gut. 

"Welcome back." The Voice rasps from the earpiece without preamble, "What have you discovered?"

"Mind telling me what Alley is doing here?" I deadpan, putting the files down on to the table and taking off the trench coat. 

"Not a clue." The Voice answers indifferently, "Mrs Alley chose to sleep here instead of leaving once she completed her mission. I saw no harm in it since you had yet to return."

"Thanks for nothing." I grumble and begin prodding Alley with the tip of my shoe, hoping to wake her up, "Alley has her own house in The City. If she wants to sleep, she can go back home to do it."

"You may want to put on a pair of trousers before rousing Mrs Alley." The Voice observes, "I also notice that you have a troubling tendency to lose your trousers when on a mission. Why is that?"

"Oh, give it a rest." I shoot back, "It was for a good cause." Alley begins to murmur as her sleep is disrupted and she swats weakly at my foot. I ignore her protests and intensify the prodding, my foot digging into the folds of her waist. Alley's snores are cutoff midway as she snorts in annoyance, her eyes snapping open as her hand seizes my foot. 

"Knock it off!" Alley snaps angrily as her eyes swivel about, searching for the offender who disrupted her beauty sleep. Her gaze freezes as she takes in the sight of me in all my trouserless glory. I spread my legs and place my arms akimbo on my hips, towering over Alley like the colossus of myth, stifling laughter at the expression of growing shock spreading all over Alley's face. Serves you right for playing home invader. The sight of my crotch is a pretty mild punishment, all things considered. 

"Gahhh!" Alley shrieks as her leg lashes upwards in panic. 

And I finally experienced what Abs Angel felt at my hands all those nights ago. 

......

"It hurts." I murmur while lying on my stomach, my voice hoarse from all the hollering. My fingers tenderly poke at my balls and I wince at the residual pain. 

 "Its your fault for scaring me in the first place." Alley scoffs, her arms folded across her chest, "Besides, are you drunk? I can smell the alcohol on your breath."

"Not drunk." I mumble, sinking deeper into the mattress. At least Alley didn't hit me hard enough to castrate Gallant. 

"You are drunk, Transmigrator." The Voice unhelpfully clarifies through the earpiece, "That is the only reason why you failed to activate the artificial core in time to resist Mrs Alley's attack. For shame."

"Look, I've got bigger problems to worry about alright?" I fire back at both The Voice and Alley. The Voice unpleasantly chuckles in response while Alley turns away and huffs in derision. 

Turning myself over, I regard Alley who steadfastly refuses to look in my direction, "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have a house of your own?"

Alley's face turns pale as she quickly shoots back, "No way. I've been hearing voices in my head ever since I came back to the surface. This is the only place where I've been able to get some sleep in peace."

I nod to myself and shut my eyes in contemplation. Alley's complaint is exactly the same as what Hernandez had been talking about. Just because they could resist Fate's brainwashing didn't mean that the experience was in anyway pleasant. Alley was never the most courageous of individuals. Being subjected to Fate's influence must have given her cold feet. Alley's trying to ride out the storm in hiding instead of actually playing a useful role. 

"You can't stay here. Period." I glare, hoping Alley gets the message. 

"I'm not going back out there." Alley insists, her hands on her hips. 

"There are other safe places, OK?" I sigh, "I'll let you crash at my apartment at Unity Academy. Its been shielded against whatever causing the voices in our heads."

"A fine idea Transmigrator." The Voice rumbles approvingly, "Mrs Alley can reestablish my link with the Academy hideout in return for shelter. I have spawned the key card for the apartment in the desk drawer."

Alley looks doubtfully at me as I pick myself up and pull out the key card from the drawer The Voice had indicated. I then pull out the electronic doohickey Alley had plugged into the Pit's data port before handing both items over to her. 

"You want me to do the same thing at the apartment?" Alley asks. 

"Yeah." I confirm, "Plug the box into the data port there and you can stay as long as you want."

"How am I supposed to get to the Academy now?" Alley complains without budging an inch, "Its the middle of the night and I took mass transit to reach here."

"Just take my bloody SUV OK?" I snap, reaching into the trench coat and tossing Alley the keys. The Voice might not like it, but I really want Alley out of my hair now. The SUV should be in good hands anyway, this is not the first time Alley would be driving it. And if anything goes wrong, The Voice can always just spawn a replacement. 

"Thanks!" Alley smirks as she raises the car keys in an abbreviated cheer. I give her a shooing motion as she leaves the Pit, slamming the door shut. As I hear the SUV's engine firing up, I have the sneaking suspicion that Alley had snookered me real good back there. 

"It is not good practice to be so generous with something not owned by yourself." The Voice rasps disapprovingly as the locks of the Pit's door click shut. 

"We need to talk." I say before The Voice can get to nagging me. 

"About you losing your pants all the time?" The Voice barks in laughter. 

"No." I respond in a completely serious tone, "I got jumped by ORPO and Matsui's thugs today while investigating."

"Mhm. Yes." The Voice rumbles, all mirth gone, "I have released the Commander from my custody after enhancing him to resist Fate's influence. He should be able to deal with any further ORPO interference. Tell me more about the Matsuis."

"I tracked them down to a club run by Ken's dad." I reply while placing a bottle of the sludge I had retrieved from the club on the desk, "Everyone had flown the coop by the time I got there, but by then some pretty serious stuff had already gone down. Living sacrifice for one."

"Biological matter of all three races." The Voice grunts, "At least that is what a cursory check of the bottle's contents tells me. You are saying Matsui had been performing ritual sacrifices to Fate?"

"Don't know." I shrug, "But I did see a swimming pool worth of your biological matter in the club. It couldn't have appeared out of nowhere."

"And the files you brought back," The Voice muses, "it all came from Matsui's club I suppose?"

"Yeah. Need you to check for anything useful in them." I agree, "There's something else I need to talk to you about as well."

The Voice makes a questioning noise and for a moment I am tempted to ask about the stuff I saw at Hobo Beard's lab. I quickly dismiss that thought though, revealing more that what I am supposed to know would introduce complications into this relationship that I am not ready to deal with yet. There's also a far more pressing matter I need The Voice's help to deal with. 

"The eye you fixed for me." I say, "Its blind. I can't see out of it."

"Impossible." The Voice denies, "I had repaired all the physical damage. There is no reason why it should not work."

"Well, it doesn't now." I grumble, "You see why this is a problem?"

"Indeed." The Voice answers, "Very well. Go to sleep Transmigrator. I will examine the eye while you rest. At any rate, there is not much else that can be accomplished today."

I stretch myself out on the mattress, making myself comfortable and soon enough, slumber overtakes my tired mind. 

....

"Princess is smart, isn't she?" I ask the elderly man standing next to me in the darkness. 

"My son. Where is Ken?" Matsui asks and I stifle the bolt of impatience that lances through me. Pay attention to what really matters, will you? I can't say this out loud of course, that's what makes the situation so annoying. 

"Ken's at my place resting." I smile gently at the old man, "He worked hard today you know? We only found out about Gallant's hiding places thanks to him."

The old man backs off, satisfied at my answer. Six Trees Hills looms ahead of us, the complex dark and silent under the cover of night. Behind us, several cars squeal to a stop, disgorging their passengers, tough looking men and women who respectfully assemble themselves into neat rows. Matsui turns to face the enforcers who in turn, bow respectfully at the godfather. 

"I won't let Ken's work be in vain." the old man tells me. I nod happily. Now this is more like it. 

"Go." a single word is all the godfather says to his men. But it is more than enough. Like a tidal wave, the enforcers surge forward into Six Trees Hills, seeking out the bad man. There is no escape. 

As I have always said, Princess is really smart.