"E-Eni?" Donva angled his head to the side, blinking slowly before mustering enough strength to keep them open. A warm and stiff breeze rushed outside of Refinery 72. Enidri stood beside him with a smile across her lips. She reached over and embraced him a hug and squeezed him tight. In a daze, Donva gently patted his sister on the back. "Nice to see you too..." he said softly. 

"You really don't remember what happened, do you?" Itzel said as she leaned in towards the man. He looked back at her with open eyes. 

"Honestly, I’m not sure. I feel like I’ve been in a coma for months, " he replied as he scratched his head. "It's a lot to take in right now." His attention was drawn to his hands; they were still an unnaturally dark shade but had lighten up since he encountered the others. 

"You did some terrible things, Donva," Brielle said. She walked out of the Refinery with Ringa using her as a crutch. The detective rubbed her eyes, trying to deal with her aching head. "You'll have to come with us for questioning."

Donva tried to stand up, losing his balance as he put his weight on both of his legs. Itzel and Enidri both took hold of his sides to keep him right. Ringa pressed her hand against her forehead and tilted her head from side to side. Now able to walk by herself, Ringa made her way towards Donva without her partner’s assistance. Her face winced from an abrupt headache, but she soon returned to her inquisitive manner. "Fortunately, no one has been seriously injured that we know of. So far. The Rescue Crew has found And Eni over there says that you were under in the influence of some kind of... rare Essencima?"

Enidri walked between the two and held up what remained of the creature in one hand. Both Ringa and Brielle looked at the crushed mass with disgust as it leaked dark purple innards and fluid on the ground by their feet.

"That's a Parisitica. Or should I say, was," Donva said as he pointed at the Essencima’s body. "The lab that I work at recently discovered it. It latches onto its victims and can manipulate the hosts thoughts and motor functions." He turned around and pointed to the thin puncture wounds on the back of his neck. "I know it doesn't excuse what I did, but it wasn’t out of my own volition. I never had any kind of special Affinity until that thing stuck onto me. I can tell you everything that happened in my lab on the last day that I remember… before all this happened. My memory is fuzzy but it’s starting to come back."

Ringa tapped her finger to her chin. "I'm not saying I believe you. But I'm not saying that you're a liar, either. Regardless, you'll have to come with us for questioning. We can't let you walk off after having kidnapped all of these people."

"I understand." Donva stretched out both of his hands, letting Brielle fasten a pair of cuffs onto his wrists. The officer took hold of his hand and led him towards her carrier. Donva turned around to look at Enidri. She had caught with them; her smile had vanished and turned into a long frown. "I'm sorry that these are the circumstances that we have to meet again," he said.

"Don't worry. I'll come see you in the Confines as soon as they let me!" Enidri said.

“I-I can’t apologize enough,” Donva replied. “After all I’ve done—”

“Hey,” Enidri replied, nudging her brother in the arm with her elbow. “I know what happened wasn’t your fault. You’ve been under the control of Essencima for the past few months. You just need a bit of rest. Once they let visitors in to see, I’ll be there.”

Tears streamed from Donva’s eyes. He began hyperventilating as he wiped his tears on his arm. “Thank you, Eni.”

“I’m not going to let silence come between us like that ever again. Understand?” She looked up, trying to make eye contact with Donva. He nodded but kept his eyes closed to limit the amount of tears that rolled down his face.

Brielle led Donva inside the hauler. He took a seat on the bench, waving to his sister before the officer slammed the door shut. She then pressed a button her projection and the locking mechanism could be heard.

"I'll keep you up to date on Donva’s status," Ringa said. 

Enidri sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Never would have thought I'd see a nice guy like Donva taken away in the back of an Enforcer Hauler."

"It's protocol," Brielle replied. She locked the back of the vehicle by pressing a few buttons on it. "But if what he's saying about the Essencima taking over is true, I don't see him staying in custody for too long."

"You really think so?" Enidri’s single eye widened.

"Yes. Of course, it's a bit more complicated than a simple 'yes' and 'no' answer. There are a lot of variables to take into consideration, but if Donva had no agency over his body, I think the LJD would understand that."

Ringa placed a hand over Enidri's shoulder. "Don't worry. I think you'll be seeing your brother again sooner than you think."

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

"We should be thanking you," Brielle said. "Without you, Ven and the others might not be here right now."

"Don't mention it," Enidri replied with a wave of her hand. "Helping people is part of the reason why I became an Exterminator."

"At least let me send you some of the Tokens I have saved up. If you let me scan your UIC, I could..." Brielle had brought up her banking information, only to have the swordswoman shake her head. 

"Keep it," Enidri said. "You need it more than I do."

"But..." 

"I've got plenty of Tokens. I've already profited enough from the surge in Essencima."

"Thank you again," Brielle said with a hint of embarrassment, realizing that she let her 'good cop' show. 

"Ready, Bri?" Ringa asked of her partner. She had opened the pilot's side of their carrier and waved at her. "They want Donva in Confinement as soon as possible."

"I'll be there in a moment!" she shouted back. The officer's attention then turned back to Enidri. "Could you tell Itzel and the others that I'll be sending their payment once I get a free moment?"

The swordswoman nodded. Brielle then walked to the passenger side of the vehicle. After a slam of the door, the carrier lifted off towards the sky. Enidri watched as it shrunk in size as it travelled further into the night horizon before disappearing to view. When she lowered her head, she saw Janus, Itzel and Gurk all come to stand by her side. 

"How are you faring, Eni?" Itzel asked softly. 

"Been better. It's bittersweet, you know?" Enidri chuckled out of irony. "I almost had to kill my little brother tonight. And that's after a decade of not saying anything to him. And now he's getting hauled away to get locked up in Confinement. Seems like life really likes to kick you when you're down, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Itzel said.

"What about you three? Are you guys alright?"

"Aching," Gurk said as he pressed his hand against his stomach.

"And my right hand is still numb from using that Signature Technique," Janus added. "But all things considered, I think we made it out pretty well."

"Oh, that reminds me," Enidri brought up her banking information. After going through her menus, both Itzel and Gurk felt a notification go off. "I'll go ahead and split the funds from that Ogre kill over by Grub On. I didn't want to say it at the time..." Enidri bowed her head, making sure that no one could see her face. "But I couldn't have done it without you two."

"Thanks Eni!" Itzel said with a smile as she looked at her banking info. Gurk nodded too and gave Enidri a thumbs up. 

"But I'm keeping my winnings from that Ranked Challenge," Enidri said abruptly. "I earned that fair and square."

"Fine, fine. Keep it. Do you want some of what me, Gurk and Janus earned from tonight? I know you turned off payment. You missed out on a lot of Tokens."

"Don't stress it. If I thought I'd be fine without the money, I never would have turned it off. You've got to watch that rookie over there," Eni pointed towards Janus. "You're going to need all of the Tokens you can get. I still make my living off Exterminating by the Refinery Sector. Competition is going to be even more fierce now that all the missing Exterminators are back and we finally solved the mystery as to why Essencima numbers have been up. There's plenty of places for you guys to Exterminate in. I don't want a few...” Enidri’s gaze slowly travelled between the other three, “competent rivals making things more difficult than they already are."

"Really Eni?" Itzel said with crossed arms but a smug grin. "You're always about being dramatic, huh?"

"What? You think I've gone soft because of tonight?" Enidri replied with hesitation. "The life of a high-level Exterminator is a rough and lonely one! I can't just go around calling everyone I ever help a 'friend.' That would mean—" Gurk stepped forward, opened both of his arms wide and took Enidri in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and gave Enidri a few pats on the back.

"Stop it Gurk! You're cold!" she exclaimed with her head next to his chest.

"Almost done," after a couple more pats, he ended the embrace. Enidri jumped back and straightened out her jacket. 

"I...I've got to get going," Enidri said, her face flushed red. She turned around and called for her one-person carrier via Implant. "Just... I don't know... be safe. Or something."

"How thoughtful of you, Eni!" Janus replied in a mocking tone. Enidri gave him a mean glance before returning to face the other direction as she awaited her vehicle.

"Oh, and Brielle said she's going to transferring the Tokens to you three when she gets a free moment." Her personal carrier lowered to the ground, landing right in front of her. She promptly got on, lifting a few feet in the air as it turned towards the direction of the main part of Labrisson. 

"Bye Eni!" Gurk said, waving as the swordswoman lifted off. She turned around, mustered an awkward wave before flying away from the Refinery Sector. Once she was out of sight, the other three looked at each other. 

"What a weirdo," Itzel chuckled. 

New Essencima art added to the Reference Page! You can see it here! Or just click here.