"When I completed the procedure, the patient had awoken to a new world that they did not know. I didn't want to do it and I knew that they knew that as well."

"Our time was short, changes were being made and they couldn't be around..........if they were, they would have never had let it happen."

"So I was told and did the only thing that would fix the situation, my hands were stained in their crimson color."

"It was supposed to fix whatever was the problem......."

"........and yet, why did I feel so broken after?"

"When I completed the procedure........."

"I, myself, didn't feel complete......."

—Excerpt from "Log LTY-01-00"

——————————————————————————
3rd POV

Beginning Of Night-Shift

Y/n walked down the hallway towards BongBong's bedroom. He had just finished talking with Yesod regarding the new Department rotation arrangement and luckily there were no issues. Their nightly walk was relaxing and allowed Y/n to stretch his legs for a bit, though it had to be cut short since the night-shift was going to start.

Yesod had been informative and put emphasis on the declining number of clerks and available agents for their personal command. He also gave the number of average employees dying during each shift, with the night-shifts being the higher ones.

Usually the recruits would be evenly split between the Sephirot, but since the current ones have been less progressive in their training, there has been a low supply of them. Y/n didn't want to submit another request for more members since it would just lead to more paperwork, but at this point it might be the only option.

Y/n had arrived at BongBong's bedroom while he was lost in thought. The sudden noises from her room snapped him out of his thoughts as he grew an amused look. He raised his hand and then knocked on her door.

*Knock* *Kno—*

The door suddenly opened as he was mid knock and then he felt a hand hook around his arm. He didn't fight it off or seem surprised as the hand yanked him inside and the darkness of the room consumed him.

He stumbled a bit as he tried to keep up with the little girl who was dragging him towards the bed. Said girl merely kept going regardless of his struggles and soon she yanked him once again onto the bed. Y/n laughed as he landed on the bed with her but stopped when he felt her tremble a bit.

He looked at the girl who had curled up to his side as she stared up at him. He gave a reassuring smile before hugging her.

"Still scared of the dark?" Y/n quietly asked her.

"........bong......" She quietly whispered as she leaned more into the hug and lowered her head.

Y/n chuckled a bit before combing her hair with his hand. It did what he intended it to do as BongBong stopped trembling and relaxed. After a few seconds of them simply laying there, Y/n decided to get to the matter at hand.

"BongBong?" He called out quietly to get her attention.

She didn't respond as she instead just looked back up at him.

"I came here for two reasons......well three now, but anyways. I am going to submit a request for more recruits since we are in need of more. I want to know if you can handle more people to train."

BongBong didn't even think twice before she nodded her head. She would do it if it meant helping him, plus that would mean she would have more people to play with. Everyone is a happy!

Though she did have a complaint.

"Bong.........Bong." She said in a low voice.

Y/n looked at her before releasing a small sigh.

"I can't control the type of people we get, but I'll try my best to have less mean people be assigned under your care."

That was more than enough for her as she nodded again and waited for his other reasons for being here. Y/n resumed combing her hair as he smiled amusingly, the next reason was pretty light-hearted after all.

"The other reason I'm here is because I want my blanket back, young lady." He said in a playful scolding manner. BongBong simply tried to hide within the blankets that she pulled over herself.

"Hahahaha! I'm just kidding, BongBong! No need to hide from me." Y/n laughed out as he used a finger to slowly pull down the blanket from over her head. Her two eyes peaked over them as she stared at him causing Y/n to smile again. "You know I'll never get mad at you right?"

She nodded her head.

"Good, I know I've taught you.......well enough already........" His voice trailed off as he grew more tired and his eyes started to flutter.

"........BongBong.......since I don't have a blanket anymore, how about you sleep with me.......or I'll sleep with you from now on?......." His voice was becoming groggy and the dark calm of the room was luring him to sleep.

".........Bong.......Bong........." She said as she got closer and slowly wrapped her arms around him. She placed her head on his chest and listened to his calming heartbeat.

".........Yeah.........just like.......old times........"

Even though he didn't know what he was talking about, Y/n was already falling asleep to worry about it. This felt nostalgic to him in a way he didn't know, and yet it felt like he shouldn't question it.

He vaguely remembered that he forgot to take a pill for the night but merely told himself to eat two the next day. That's how medicine worked, right?

Soon sleep took them both in its embracing arms and carried them off to the next day.

——————————————————————————
Renold's POV

<10 Hours Later>

I was currently standing outside of Y/n's room waiting for him so I could give him my reports. But I was starting to think that he wasn't in his sleeping quarters as I've been standing here for nearly an hour. I had knocked on his door occasionally to see if he was still asleep but no sound was made from within the room.

I unconsciously tapped my foot against the floor and glanced to my left and right before sighing. I would move my eyes to my watch to see the minutes go by every time I did so.

Everyone had something that got on their nerves and made their day from a normal one to an unpleasant one. Mine is simply wasting just about anything.

From wasting food to resources, employees, equipment, momentum during battle, and more. Some irritate me more than others but the one that is at the top of them all is time.

In this case, wasting my time doing nothing but standing here when I could be doing something productive.

Yet, I had still waited for Y/n to appear.

That was until now, when I've certainly had enough and Y/n was no doubt with either one of the other Reserves or with a Sephirah. I pulled out my radio and simply decided to just ask for his whereabouts, and the one who would know is the one who constantly watches.

"Secretary Angela, I need the whereabouts of the Captain."

I would've asked Shina or BongBong, but the former was too busy in her hobbies while the latter I wouldn't be able to understand. So the only option that would efficiently give results was asking the Watcher.

"For what purpose?" Her voice rung out from the device, her question only caused me to glance around the room and finally find the lone camera staring at me.

"To give my reports." I said through gritted teeth. I was already peeved with the time I've wasted, I didn't need her to do so as well.

"And if he isn't available?" She asked nonchalantly.

I glared harshly at the camera as my jaw clenched causing my teeth to grind. My fists tightened as my thoughts ran past one another in a coherent mess.

"What. Have. You. Done. Angela." The question was more of a demand as I seethed each word out. Although I couldn't see the AI, I could imagine a frown on her face as she responded back.

"Nothing at all."

I didn't believe her, never did. Not when I first came here, not when I was offered this position, and certainly not when it involved matters concerning Y/n.

Angela was a schemer.

The type who plans behind the scenes and evaluates the value of all her pieces. And she is certainly the one that I despise the most out of all the others I've met.

She is the one who observes and waits for an opportunity that benefits only herself and no one else. I've had enough experience in the Backstreets to know who to avoid, and Angela was one of them.

She probably saw right through my very thoughts right this moment since she didn't try to waste her time explaining herself. Not that her words would have convinced me.

I had to take a few seconds to calm myself before I managed to calmly talk back.

"Where. Is. The. Captain." I slowly stated each word as I kept eye contact with the machine.

"The Captain is preoccupied at the moment and will likely be so till the start of the shift."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance before marching off to the nearest exit. Wasting my words on a conniving AI was not something I was in the mood to do now or ever.

"I would highly recommend you stay put where you are, Lieutenant." She suddenly said, though it didn't stop me.

Just when I was about to turn off the radio, she suddenly informed me of something that I wished wouldn't happen for a while now.

"The Manager wishes to speak with you."

My hand stopped just when I was about to open the door that led me out of the dormitory area. Her words bounced in my head as I slowly retracted my arm. I slowly turned my head and stared at the camera before bringing the radio to my mouth.

"When?"

The door that I was going to exit from suddenly opened.

"Now." Angela stated as I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

——————————————————————————
X's POV

The man who had his back to me quietly brought his arm down. The radio in his hand was on and the voice of someone speaking through it was abruptly cut as he shut it off and pocketed it.

This was supposedly Lieutenant Renold of the Reserves. His red air was combed back, I couldn't see his face but his posture was enough to show that he spoke purely business.

I hadn't seen Angela this morning either which brought my mood up a bit. The thing hadn't bothered me at all yesterday aside from that one suggestion to send Y/n in T-09-09. To which I still regret even doing.

But aside from that, she barely spoke and it allowed me to have a normal day up until the end.

'I need someone to make a report on T-09-09 before I send anyone in there again.' I mentally noted for today.

I didn't think I was that deep in my thoughts, but the sound of someone snapping their fingers at me made me blink and focus on reality. Standing in front of me with a frown was Renold, his yellow eyes piercing mine with a glare.

"State your business, Manager." He coldly spoke to me.

Was I surprised? A little.

I expected him to be bold and brash, but not to the point where he would outwardly show his displeasure to me. Though it was my own naivety to think that things would be easy.

"I wish to speak with you regarding the E.G.O. equipment for the employees under my supervision." I kept my voice neutral and smooth as I tried to get to the point.

Renold simply eyed me suspiciously before nodding his head.

"What's the issue?" He asked as he walked past me. I followed along as I put my hands in the pockets of my lab coat.

"It is just a thought, but I would like to know if it was possible for Agents to carry more than one set of E.G.O. equipment."

He didn't show a response and merely looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"It's impossible." He said after a few seconds, but when he didn't elaborate I raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain why?"

He sighed before stopping causing me to stop as well. He then turned to face me while keeping his cold glare.

"Because it just isn't." He said before sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Why the sudden interest?"

"The incident yesterday could have been dealt with quicker if one of my Agents didn't have to change their equipment. If it were possible for them to carry more, then they would be more efficient in handling Abnormalities." I explained as it really could have been easily dealt with if Roxie had been carrying the cross-like weapon with her as well.

Renold shook his head with disappointment before continuing his walk. I curiously eyed him and followed behind. It wasn't until we entered the stairwell that he spoke.

"And what makes you think we haven't already tried that?"

I thought about it for a moment and realized that they really could have already tried and implemented it into their work. The question now was why they hadn't.

"The E.G.O. equipment is unique, Manager. Once given to someone, it latches on to them like a leech and operates like a third limb." He stopped by one of the doors on the current floor, which was the Information Team Department. "Yesterday, you must've sent another of your Agents to handle the unstable one."

It was more of a statement than a question, but I still nodded my head.

"Then you must've surely seen the way both of your employees wielded their E.G.O.'s as if they knew from the start how they worked."

"To me it looked like they were just swinging it randomly." I disagreed under my breathe, but it still seemed like he was able to hear it as he turned back towards me and glared harder.

"Still far better than you could ever manage."

I was surprised at how easily my face was able to keep a calm look while my inner thoughts were of displeasure. Nonetheless it helped me since Renold turned back around when I didn't react to his jab.

"E.G.O.'s bond with their owners both in mind and body when they are put on. The knowledge of how to use them is transferred upon their owners and the rest is history."

We reached the main room of the Information Team but Renold stopped and turned to me once again.

"Facts are facts. I don't know why they reject each other when equipping more than one, and I don't care. The facts are that they do and there is nothing we can do. There is only one person that I know that is able to wield more than one E.G.O. weapon at a time and I like to believe that they are a special case."

I creased my eyebrows while I thought about that.

"And who exactly is that?"

"You'll find out yourself." He said before he closed his eyes and then opened them again with an indifferent look. "And you better be ready for when you do."

He turned and walked away as I stood here in thought. After a moment, I slowly walked out of the room when I couldn't piece together what he said and headed straight up to my office.

——————————————————————————
3rd POV

The Manager had slowly but surely made it to his office. He didn't want to rush himself as the time was only 6:47. He noticed how he had been waking up earlier and earlier as the days went on. X guessed it was due to the stress and the constant feeling that you would never wake up due to a random Abnormality breach.

Now that he thought about it, X really didn't know what happens during the night-shift. He guessed that it would be similar to what he does for the day-shift but the lack of announcements and reports from that duration of time was concerning. Though it meant that they didn't have troubles for handling Abnormalities, the fact that he had never seen the night-shift employees in the morning just made it all the more ominous.

He couldn't think too deeply about it, however, since he had arrived at his office. X silently made his way to the chair and sat down, not once acknowledging Angela who was standing to the side of his desk. She gave him a secretary type vibe, which wasn't that far off from the truth actually.

"Manager, it seems you have arrived earlier than the expected time." She said emotionlessly, to which X responded in kind.

"Yes......it seems I have." He leaned back onto his chair and stared at the blank monitors in front of him.

A silence then came over them as Angela patiently waited for the day to begin and X waited for something to happen. What exactly he was expecting to happen was unclear, but he genuinely just wanted something to take his mind off of everything.

It seemed that Angela planned to do the exact opposite sadly.

"If you are stressed over the deaths of the clerks under your care, then it would be best if you simply looked at it from a different point of view." She suddenly said causing X to look at her from the corner of his eyes. Although, she wasn't right, X wanted to see where she was going with this.

".........and what exactly do you mean by that." He cautiously asked the AI.

Angela stepped to the side and went towards a cabinet that X hadn't noticed was there. He curiously watched as she opened it and pulled out a bottle of champagne and two wine glasses.

She slowly walked back to his desk and placed all three down. X was confused as to why she brought two glasses instead of one, was someone going to visit?

"Think of it from the perspective of the company. After your arrival, the energy output had increased by 13%, which might I add, is a significant percentage." She calmly explained while popping the champagne bottle open.

X merely looked at her in slight confusion as he didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that. After all, it came at the sacrifice of several of his employees.

"At the cost of clerks and agents." He coldly mentioned as he didn't agree with the occasion.

Angela merely stopped as she was about to pour the drink and slowly set it on his desk.

"Of course. But it is to be expected, is it not? They had known the risks from the beginning, the growth of the company is similar to a tree. It will continue to grow and will prosper with their sacrifices as it's fertilization." She stated as if she were discussing the weather.

X didn't like that one bit, her nonchalant attitude was just making him more convinced that she wasn't going to be a trustworthy aide.

"And yet, what does that have to do with the champagne?"He asked as Angela merely rose an eyebrow in response.

"Accepting their deaths with equanimity would be the greatest respect you can pay to their noble sacrifices. Surely they were proud of themselves for their contributions to the company as they took their final breathe."

X doubted that, because from what he saw through his monitor yesterday, they were all scared out of their minds. X was thankful for the filter on his monitors, because at least he wasn't able to see their final agonizing moments thoroughly.

Seeing that he was in thought, Angela simply poured the bottle's contents into the two glasses. When the glass of champagne reflected the light to X's eyes, he glanced away before focusing back on it.

His gaze flickered between the glass and Angela who had the other in her hand. She swirled the liquid around the glass before bringing it towards him. He wondered if she could even consume beverages and anything similar since she wasn't even a living being.

"Three cheers for the deceased, in memoriam for their noble sacrifices!" She emotionlessly cheered and raised the glass towards him.

An awkward silence came soon after. X didn't move to return the gesture and simply stared at her like she was a lunatic. Angela didn't seem fazed at all, though it was likely due to her having her eyes closed.

After a few seconds, she slowly brought her hand back to her side and spoke.

"Ah.You wish to save it for later? That's fine as there will be many more occasions on which we could drink to." That caused X to grimace mentally. "However, please refrain from drinking alone when I'm not around. A toast is only worthy when there's a companion around to clink glasses together."

She then grabbed all three of the objects and put them back in the cabinet. Not once did she even ask for why he hadn't done it, or tried to reprimand him on it. When she once again came back, she slightly opened her eyes and stared at the Manager.

"Your lack of response is quite telling. Though I do know of your worries. Tell me, Manager, how has your life been?" She shut her eyes when she finished asking.

The sudden question caused X's mind to grind to a halt as he tried to think back to his "life" that he had. And of course, he couldn't remember anything. If he were to simply count only the past few days as "his life" then it wasn't particularly horrid or excellent.

"Just fine." He simply replied.

"Then that is an achievement of in itself. Leading a normal life is not as easy as many would think, but there is always room for improvement to the quality of ones life." She informed him. X didn't want to know what type of improvements she was speaking about, because it certainly didn't sound like good ones.

"'Each successful experiment makes you a better person.' Is what our Founder, A, had said to me countless times. This applies to many things, but at the moment, it applies to you and your position. Rather than lamenting over the deaths of your employees, Manager, you should instead be learning from your mistakes and finding improvement with each one."

Although it was sound advice, the fact that it was regarding the lives of his workers wasn't making it have a positive connotation. Even though he would still take it into consideration from now on, he still didn't trust her.

However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't take advice when he could get it. The manual was hard enough to decipher as it was, if taking advice from Angela was enough to be good at his job then he would take it.

He just wanted to be able to do his job correctly.

X slightly nodded his head at Angela before turning away from her in an almost childish manner. Angela's mouth curved into an amused smile as she saw that before her expression turned back to its blank one.

Since there was nothing else to do, X simply decided to look over some documents to pass the time. He wasn't sleeping anytime soon and he wasn't going to continue the conversation with Angela either. Said AI merely stood by his desk as he rummaged through the reports that filled his drawers.

——————————————————————————
Roxie's Room

Roxie sat at one of the two chairs that accompanied her little table. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but couldn't since Dana was resting in her bed. Neither she nor Mike knew Dana's sleeping quarters so they instead opted to bring her here to her room. Mike was sitting across from her, already in deep sleep as the exhaustion hit him last minute.

Just because she had her eyes closed most of the time didn't mean she couldn't feel exhaustion. The calming void of sleep was far better than the cold darkness of her eyelids. But, nevertheless, she continued to fight to stay awake, only so she can see one of her two "friends" wake up.

She didn't know how to feel about calling them "friends". The word felt foreign and completely alien to think about but for some reason, it just seemed to fit them. It's only been a few days and yet she already felt more companionship with them than any other person before working here.

Roxie wasn't used to this sort of thing, especially Dana's caring and cheerful attitude. The Backstreets were dangerous, filthy, and filled with "monsters". Roxie wasn't always the quiet type. She was an orphan and just like any other orphan, she begged and pleaded to passerby's in hopes that one would spare her a glance.

Roxie was blind for as long as she could remember, and she was also alone. The orphanage was no more than a place for strays and outcasts to go when they were abandoned. Their "caretaker" was but a simple old man who owned the building they resided in. It wasn't much, but it was all they had. The leaking ceiling, creaking floors, and crumbled walls made it insecure and a pain to live in during the cold nights.

Blind as she was, Roxie wasn't a burden nor a liability. Her ears made up for all that she had lost since birth. She learned to listen for the sound of money inside peoples' purses and pockets. Easily allowing her to pickpocket them. She also learned how to stay hidden and to stay alert when being close to being caught.

Why bother seeing when you can hear through other rooms by just staying quiet?

Before she learned to use her gift, however, she was but just another beggar on the streets. A little girl who was frightened by everything and everyone around her simply because she couldn't "see" them.

Since she could not see, she listened. Stories, myths, screams, loud incomprehensible noises, all of which made her deem them as "monsters". Even her caretaker wasn't an exception, because for all she knew he could've been a monster that raised and ate children.

It was only when she became old enough to leave the orphanage did she realize that she had thrown the term "monster" carelessly. She heard the acts committed in the alleyways, the cries of despair that echoed in the night, and had smelled the stench of the dangerous streets.

Roxie didn't know how long she had been alone after she left, she couldn't tell time anyways with her lack of eyesight. Though she could still write and learn, with some difficulties of course.

It was around just before she came to Lobotomy Corp. when she opened her eyes for the first time since she was a little girl. It wasn't on purpose, it was simply out of shock that a company such as this would request a random blind girl to join their services.

Was she ecstatic? Happy? Nervous? Afraid?

No.

She was none of them, simply because she couldn't believe their words.

She was blind and couldn't read the contract that they had brought out for her. Even if she tried, only blobs of ink and light would greet her. It was probably why they did ask her. So when they requested her to join, Roxie declined and continued on with her life.

Or she would have if they weren't so persistent.

She didn't know why they were, but after being found, stopped, and asked on more than five occasions, she simply gave up and accepted. It might've been foolish to suddenly accept the contract, but at the moment she didn't care. Now? She was glad because she finally found some "monsters" that certainly weren't what they seemed.

Roxie stopped reminiscing and turned her head to the sleeping occupants in her room. She couldn't see them that clearly, but her imagination gave her an image of a feisty Mike trying to sleep and a calm Dana sleeping with a smile on her face.

It was far from reality, but she didn't pay that any mind.

Roxie didn't know what was going on with her two new friends. Dana had been unstable and mentally scarred regarding someone named "Amy", while Mike was in low spirits when she found him lying on the ground in tears.

Roxie didn't understand why he wouldn't just get up from the ground until he told her that he had a prosthetic leg that Dana had cut off during her vulnerable state. After dropping off Dana and leaving Mike in her room, she had went to fetch Mike's mechanical leg, that she didn't know he had, and brought it back to him.

From what she could feel, the leg was mostly intact but there was a large clean diagonal cut near the upper part of it. Seeing that she only found one part, the other portion of the leg must have been picked up by someone or trashed.

She would've asked Mike about it but he was already fast asleep, his slight snoring told her as much. With nothing else to do upon coming back, she merely placed the leg on the table and waited until now.

She was about to reminisce about the past again when Mike suddenly breathed in sharply and groaned.

"........uuughhhhh......I feel like shit....." he commented as he shuffled in his seat. Roxie merely scooted her chair closer to the table and faced him.

After Mike cleaned the filth from his eyes, he noticed Roxie sitting in front of him and his mechanical leg on the table. He merely stared at it before looking back at her with a less than enthusiastic smile.

"Thanks.......I don't know what I would do if I had lost it back there....." he wasn't so down in the dumps that he wouldn't show his gratitude. Roxie smiled at him and that seemed to cheer him up a bit. "So, how long have I been out for?"

Roxie tapped her eyes and gave him a small scolding frown, though they both knew she was just trying to lighten the mood.

"Ha ha ha, yeah okay, that was my bad." He rolled his eyes and checked his wrist and saw that the time was 6:58 A.M. Just another hour before their shift started.

'Damn almost time for the shift.'He mentally thought. It didn't feel like they rested at all last night, but Mike held back his surprise to look around the room.

When his eyes landed on Dana's resting figure, he grew worried and tried to get up to check on her. When his missing leg couldn't support him, he scrambled to hold onto the table.

Roxie suddenly bolted from her seat and grabbed onto his shoulders to support him. His heart beat quickened as he didn't expect the sudden force of falling, but it quickly calmed when he felt her arms support him.

"*Chuckle* S-Sorry, forgot I didn't have a leg for a second there." Roxie merely shrugged his thanks off and sat him back down. "B-But how is Dana? Has she woken up at all?"

Roxie disappointingly shook her head and pulled her chair close to him in case he was going to try to walk again.

Mike sighed heavily as he thought about yesterday. After a few moments of silence, he decided to bring up the issue.

"What was wrong with her? She said something about an "Amy", but I don't know an Amy that works here." Roxie shook her head and shrugged her shoulders since she also didn't know anyone named Amy either.

But she did know something, and that was that whoever this "Amy" was, Dana wanted them back. To communicate this, Roxie brought both hands out and aggressively clenched them and brought them to her chest. She did this repeatedly and at first Mike didn't understand but slowly he realized it.

"O-Oh she wants this 'Amy' person back?" He said as he rubbed his chin. "That is true, I did hear her yelling for this 'Amy' and asking where she was."

Scenarios ran in both of their minds, more horrendous ones in Roxie's.

"Y-You don't think that they were kidnapped into this place, do you?" He asked with a hint of fear. Sure he didn't think of it that much, but surely a Wing wouldn't resort to such methods..........right?

When Roxie shook her head, he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't fully believe her, but it was at least nice to have someone let him know that it was fine.

When he was about to contemplate what else it could have been, the sudden voice of Dana got their attention.

".....aaaaaugghhhh, ouchie, I have a headache!" She groaned out as she tossed and turned in Roxie's bed.

"Dana!" Mike exclaimed as he once again tried to walk. Luckily Roxie knew what he was gonna do and put his arm around his shoulder and walked together to Dana.

"Mike.......you're too loud, you know!" She threw the pillow at him but it completely missed and went straight to the floor.

Roxie hid a giggle while Mike started laughing.

Dana turned and faced them with a pout as her eyes drooped in drowsiness. Though it turned to a smile when they both sat on the bed with her. Mike smiled cheerfully while Roxie grinned.

"How are you?" He suddenly asked worryingly. Dana's smile dropped as she slowly stared at the ceiling with a blank look.

"........not that great.........I had a dream........or a nightmare you could say." Neither Mike nor Roxie wanted to interrupt as the mood was getting serious. "I saw my daughter again........"

Although he didn't want to interrupt, he had to ask the question that was on both his and Roxie's mind.

"......is her name Amy?....." Dana's breath hitched sharply as she closed her eyes. After a moment she nodded and opened her eyes again with slight tears in them.

"Was.........her name was Amy." Her voice sounded empty and broken. "She was the sweetest little thing, you know? Always on her best behavior, never acting out when she didn't get what she wanted."

The tears dropped one by one as they slid down her cheeks. The memories were playing in her head of the happy moments they had, and it was torturing her.

"Y-Y-You don't have to say—" Mike was going to drop the matter but Dana interrupted him by grabbing both Roxie's and his hands and clenching them in her grasps.

"I-I-I want—no—need to let this o-o-out......for so long I've been running and running........I just need to let it go." She spoke as she rubbed her thumb on their knuckles.

"Okay......" was all he said, Roxie nodded her head and sat closer to her, almost laying with her.

"......I was from a not so wealthy family. Not much different from everyone in our parts of the city. I started work as a fixer when my family's finances were too short for a better education for me. I didn't complain, they did enough for me already."

"It was during my time as a fixer that I met a man named Marcus. We didn't see eye to eye at first, but we were still the greatest friends." Her blank look slowly turned to a small giddy smile. "Though we didn't stay just friends for long because we realized that we had a lot in common, same financial situation, same motives to support a family, and some hobbies."

"It wasn't even a year after we met when we both talked to each other about being in love. Life as a fixer is short, so it isn't unusual for people to quickly form and break away from relationships. Though most say it's better to keep personal matters away from work, we both thought differently."

Mike nodded his head, it wasn't much different from what he thought, his Father used to own the Office he worked in after all.

"After a year of being together, we had decided to push our relationship further. We weren't financially high up compared to the others we worked with, and so we couldn't afford rings for each other let alone an actual wedding." She chuckled at the end as she remembered how Marcus tried to find a way to make their anniversary special.

"For our first anniversary........we both came up empty. Or at least I thought we did. Marcus had planned something that night." Mike, who could guess where this was going, turned bright red while Roxie simply listened patiently. "I still remember the words he spoke, 'I may not have a ring to give, but allow me to give you something much more precious.' "

Roxie raised an eyebrow not understanding what she was talking about, while Mike nervously chuckled as he glanced away. Dana had a giddy smile on her before she snapped out of it and pulled the two of them closer.

"And precious she was........brighter than the sun could ever shine, sweeter than any delight in the Nest, and more energetic than any baby I've seen! Oh, she was simply everything I wanted, my little Amy........." she trailed off which worried her two companions.

Roxie squeezed her hand in reassurance, Dana smiled at her and pulled the girl into a hug as tears grew.

"F-F-For 8 years, I lived in bliss.......but that changed one day...Coming home to my baby girl after a day of work......." She wailed. "How could I have known that they would be there on that day?! How could I have known that Marcus was in debt!"

The memories played out in her head. Coming home on a regular day to find Marcus' and her home busted open. Marcus was supposed to be at home taking care of Amy that day as she worked on her assignment. But the stench of iron filling the air as the occasional crunching sound coming from the back room told her that it he wasn't. She remember her heart stopping, her legs shaking in anxiousness, her hands trembling in fear, and her mind crumbling.

She remembered slowly walking into the house and following the trial of blood. The moonlight served as a guiding light as it reflected off the crimson liquid. Her quiet investigation led her to what she dreaded when she saw the state of her home. In the back storage room of their small home, a group of cannibals from the organization that controlled their part of the Backstreets were gathered on the floor and consuming the source of the stench.

Dana remembered the words that came out of their mouths and how they fueled something within her.

"A fine specimen this one!"

"Oi! Pass me that leg if you aren't eating it!"

"Who would've thought that the little chump could produce something this delicious!"

"Hey! Didn't he have a lover or something?"

"Ahahahaha! We might get another mighty fine delicacy tonight!"

Dana remembered how she slowly walked up behind them.

How she slowly brought her weapon up.

How she swung it with enough force to bisect her first victim.

How she swung it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

She remembered how she didn't stop until the room was stained red and the darkness covered whatever wasn't.

She remembered how she only cried and wailed after their bodies stopped twitching and she was surrounded in the stench of iron.

Mike didn't know what to say as he simply watched as the woman continued to cry and hug the life out of Roxie, who didn't seem to mind. Roxie combed her fingers through Dana's hair as she tried to calm her down.

Roxie wasn't used to this type of interaction with people. She had never been comforted and never gave any either, so this was a completely new territory for her. But she was willing to still give it a try for her new friends.

Mike didn't want to see his new friend suffer anymore and simply joined the hug as well. To which both grabbed him and kept in a tight hold.

Nobody said anything.

Roxie had nothing to say, no words of comfort, and certainly no lies about how everything would be alright. She grew up not caring about others until now, and she couldn't relate to Dana in anyway either.

Mike was of a similar case, but he, however, knew what it was like to lose people. But it wasn't the time. This wasn't about him, this was about his friend who was suffering.They continued to hug and comfort each other for the rest of the morning.

Mike would worry about his prosthetic leg later, his friend needed him and he wasn't going to fail a second time.

——————————————————————————
Y/n's POV

I had woken up to a sudden movement that pulled me from my dreamless slumber. My eyes slowly blinked and I started to process the darkness of BongBong's room. However, I quickly noticed three things.

One: BongBong wasn't in the room, that wasn't that surprising but it was still something to notice.

Two: Something was pinning me down by my waist.

And Three: A pair of crimson bright orbs were staring directly down at me.

At first I grew alarmed and was ready to fight off the "restraints" being put on me. I never liked being unable to move, maybe I was claustrophobic? But regardless, my eyes were fully awake now and I quickly analyzed the situation. Just when I was about to headbutt them and take advantage of the close distance between us, I stopped just as I was mere inches away from colliding with them and quickly realized that I recognized those red eyes.

"Hey there, Bestie~ Pretty energetic this morning aren't you?~"

No doubt about it now, it was Shina who was currently straddling me as she gave me a grin that I barely saw through the dark. I relaxed my body but still sat up on the bed making it so I was face to face with her. As my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, I noticed her grin seemed to have gotten bigger. Probably due to the fact that I didn't shy away from her.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked. She didn't say anything for a moment and merely gazed at me.

"Do you know what I've had to do for the entirety of yesterday?" She suddenly asked with a cute pout. "I had to work, work, work, work, and work my ass off for the amusement of a tin can!"

She threw her hands up in exasperation causing me to chuckle.

"A tin can? Is that a new Abnormality or something?" I asked sarcastically which she responded by pouting even more and slapping my shoulder.

"I wish! At least that would've been more entertaining." She crossed her arms before she suddenly went blank face and then grinned. She slowly turned her head towards me and leaned close causing me to slowly lay back down until she was above me again.

"I think I deserve a reward for all that hard work~ Don't you think so, Y/n?~" Her voice was laced in desire as was her eyes. She stared directly into my eyes as she started to slowly gyrate her hips on mine. "And I think you need to relax as of late, let me help you with that~"

With each rotation of her hips, she released a small moan and her lust increased. I, myself, felt the heat increasing in my body, but I had better control over myself than she did. So I took the time to think this thoroughly.

Now, the last time I checked, I was a man. I also knew my preferences in terms of personality and types. Shina was a beautiful woman who had some tendencies to be extreme. There are people out there who like that sort of thing, but am I one of them?

In all honesty, I don't actually know. I'm inexperienced with this type of thing and I certainly don't know my own feelings regarding the people around me. Sure I love all the members of the Reserves, but how do I differentiate the love I have for them from simply friends or much more.

Well, BongBong was immediately out the question, I would rather be torn apart and put back together for eternity by an Abnormality than ever think about that.

Regarding love, some say to just give it a try and see how it goes, but what if I do and it simply turns out that I misunderstood my feelings, but the other didn't. How would I tell them that my love for them wasn't what I thought it to be without hurting them.

In all honesty, there is a lot I don't know about myself.

So instead of responding to her question, I merely brought my face closer to hers. Shina was a woman who liked to tease, but she also knew about the time and place. At the moment, we are in BongBong's room, and I would be disgusted in myself if anything like that happened in her room. Which was why I knew exactly how to get her to stop.

I slowly raised my head and whispered into her ear.

"Shina........" I huskily called out with as much desire as I could put into it, though I had to hold my laughter once I saw a glimpse of her face.

Shina, no doubt, also knew of the circumstances, which is why she didn't expect my sudden advancement and stopped grinding her hips while hastily pulling her head back.

"W-W-What do you t-t-think you are doing?!" All that lust and desire was sapped away from her as she suddenly became flustered and hid her face behind her hands. Though she hid her face poorly as I could see the giddy grin through her fingers.

I couldn't handle it anymore and simply started laughing. That snapped her out of it and she pouted once more which only caused me to laugh harder.

"Y-Y-Yeah, yeah, okay laugh it up." She said as she rolled her eyes and released a huff.

I didn't want to annoy her or make it seem I was making fun of her so I simply held in the rest of my laughing fit and sat up again.

"I-I-I was being serious you know? I-I-I deserve a reward and you better give it to me." I only chuckled and sat up straighter to look at her eye to eye with her still straddling my lap.

"And what exactly do you want?" I asked with smile.

She didn't respond and instead brought herself closer until she wrapped me with both her arms and legs. She then placed her chin on my shoulder and whispered.

"Just hold me......."

Although intimate, this was more of the type of display of affection that I was used to. It may not seem much, but to me this was simply the best way to convey what I feel. I don't know whether I loved her like a lover or simply as family, but regardless it was still love.

We embraced each other for several minutes before BongBong's alarm blared causing her to groan and hug me tighter.

"It's 7 o'clock! Wake up sleepyhead!"

"......every single time......" she whispered as she let go and got off my lap.

"Nothing we can do." I said with a shrug as I got up and stretched.

We both straightened our clothes and while I got dressed, I felt her gaze on me linger. I rolled my eyes at her and headed straight to the bathroom. As I closed the door, I heard a groan come from the other side making me smile in amusement.

After getting changed into my spare clothes that I kept in BongBong's room, we both left and walked our separate ways. I promised to continue her "reward" later when we had time which brought her mood up by a ton.

With that whole morning incident in the back of my mind, I walked to my room to get some work that needed to be delivered to the Manager.........again.

I was starting to think about just leaving the paperwork at his desk at the end of everyday just so I didn't have to go every morning.

I arrived at my room and quickly walked in but stopped when I noticed a noticeable change. There, sitting menacingly on my dining table, was not just one but two stacks of documents. When I walked up to them, I realized that one of them had a sticky note.

"I need these done by the end of the day! I know you can do it if you try your best, but if you need my help then don't be shy to ask! I'll gladly help!"

—Malkuth

I dryly chuckled before sighing. I adored Malkuth and enjoyed her upbeat attitude, but this is just taking it too far.

Good news is that I don't have to carry both stacks to the Manager.

Back news is that I can already feel the pain in my fingers from the amount of work for today.

After despairing at my work, I walked up and took two pills from the bottle on my stand. I don't even know why I'm doing this but whatever. As long as Angela doesn't bring up disciplining again then I'm fine.

With the pills consumed, I grabbed my paperwork and decided to pay the Control Team a visit before going to the Manager's Office.

——————————————————————————
3rd POV

Roxie's Room

The three members of the Control Team were now discussing with one another. The had broken their embrace a few minutes ago and were now simply keeping each other company.

Their conversations were light and each made sure to not bring up any sensitive topics, though Dana seemed more open regarding talking about her happy moments with her husband and daughter.

Their talks were abruptly interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Roxie was the one who got up and went to open it for their guest.

She didn't know who it was until the spoke to her in an amusing manner.

"Hello~ Looks like I've finally found you guys." Y/n spoke as he looked at her and the others.

Mike sheepishly grinned and mouthed a "sorry" while Dana waved at him with a facade. She didn't want to worry anyone else about her troubles, which Mike could relate with so he kept silent.

"Hello, Captain! What brings you here today?" Dana asked as Roxie made her way back to her seat followed by Y/n.

He set the papers down and stood where he was with his hands in his pockets.

"Just came in to check on you all. Yesterday was pretty rough for you guys." He said which caused them all to grimace and lower their heads.

Noticing this, Y/n frowned a bit before he smiled reassuringly.

"Hey, although you guys didn't make it flawlessly through the day, you still made it." Mike and Dana looked at him curiously while Roxie merely listened. "Yes, there may have been some casualties, and yes there will be more in the future. But at least you have each other right?"

Dana looked at the two of them while Roxie simply nodded her head. Mike looked at the table in front of him in deep thought.

"In the end, as long as you have something or someone waiting for you at the end of the day, you can push through. I know you guys can." Y/n didn't know if his little rambling would help them, but it was a start. After all that's how the Reserves formed at the beginning.

It would be great to see another group like his, at least that's what Y/n thought.

They didn't respond and merely took it to thought. His words sounded like someone far too optimistic and idealistic. It made Y/n seem like he didn't know the reality of the world outside of the facility, but none of them said anything because he was partially right.

Y/n then noticed the leg on the table and grabbed it.

"It's pretty banged up....." Mike grew somber as he looked at the last gift he got from his friends. "But nothing that Renold can't fix."

When he said that, Mike's she grew wide as he quickly looked at him in surprise.

"Really?! Are you for real?!" He slammed both hands onto the table and used them as support to stand up.

Y/n smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, Renold works a lot with E.G.O. equipment so something like this should be easy for him to repair or modify."

Mike simply smiled broadly and bowed his head over the table.

"Thank you so much!!" He put as much sincerity into his words. The other two members of the Control Team smiled.

Checking the time and seeing that it was 7:38, Y/n decided it was time to go.

"I'll ask the Manager to lay off the work for you, and I'll bring this back by the end of the day." Mike stood back up and nodded his head vigorously.

Y/n placed the leg on top of the papers and carried it out of the room with Dana opening the door for him.

They stayed silent and soon it was close to the time for them to leave and prepare for the shift.

"S-Stay safe out there, alright?......" Mike suddenly said as they were just about to leave.

Dana turned and have him a smile while Roxie gave a smug thumbs up.

"Don't worry, we'll be back."

The door closed and their lack of footsteps indicated that they had left. Mike hung his head low as he remembered how those exact words were said to him on the day he last saw the people that he considered family.

He clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"Damn it........."

——————————————————————————
Y/n's POV

I made my way down to the Information Team Department after dropping off the paperwork with the Manager. I honestly don't know why he's getting irritated with me lately. I'm not the one assigning this work, I'm simply the delivery boy.

I didn't spend long in there since the shift was close to starting, but I made sure to give a quick "Hello" to Angela since she seemed down in the dumps as well. It seemed to bring her spirits up, but I couldn't really tell with her blank look.

"What's with everyone lately?" I asked with a sigh as I entered a small room near the Information Team. This was Renold's workshop where he worked on the E.G.O.'s that needed maintenance.

When I was about to call out to him, I found him standing over an anvil and a burning furnace. I quickly noticed the slight irritation when he swung his hammer down on the E.G.O. It seemed more forceful and more aggressive than usual.

"Damnit, not you too." I said under my breathe. It seemed everyone was in a foul mood today.

But I still stepped forward and made my presence known regardless.

"Renold." I called out to him which made his stop mid swing and slowly turn.

"Captain. I am busy at the moment." I brushed his coldness aside before walking up to him. Seeing that I wasn't going away, he placed his hammer down and turned around. "*Sigh* What is it Captain?"

I showed him the dysfunctional leg and handed it to him.

"Repair. End of the day." I answered shortly as it seemed he wasn't in the mood for talking.

He nodded his head before placing it on he side and turning back around with his hammer.

'Sorry, Hod. Doesn't seem like he's in the mood.' I apologized to the kind-hearted Sephirah before taking my leave.

"Captain." Renold called out from behind me causing me to turn. He didn't look back at me but simply tilted his head to the paperwork on the table that I tried to ignore.

I frowned before shaking my head and grabbing the stack. As I left, I swore I could have heard a small chuckle from behind me causing me to smile.

"Announcement in progress:
To all personnel, the start of the day has been initiated.
Please report to your designated area."

——————————————————————————
<12 Hours Later>

The rest of the day passed by quickly and without any incidents. Aside from the occasional Meltdown, that was quickly dealt by us, nothing of note happened today.

I had spent most of my time finishing Malkuth's load of paperwork that she dumped on me while she herself sat next to me. It was a huge relief when she started helping me without me having to ask. With both of us hard at work, we barely completed the workload as the intercom announced the end of the shift.

 

"Announcement in Progress:
The day shift has ended,
thank you for your hard work."

 

I stretched which resulted in a few pops in my back to sound out. I groaned satisfied and turned my head to the sound of one of the doors opening. The three silhouettes of Renold, Shina, and BongBong walked into the room. I smiled as I noticed Renold holding the repaired leg.

I heard someone say something underneath their breath beside some. I turned and saw Malkuth glaring daggers at who I think was Shina. Shina simply grinned but did nothing else.

I decided to ignore that whole interaction in favor of stopping the speeding blur that was BongBong.

She sprinted once she made eye contact with me and half-way through her run she suddenly jumped headfirst in my direction.

Acting quick, I side-stepped and then latched onto her waist with my hands and then spun in a circular motion to slow her momentum down. BongBong moved her arms out from and made it seem as if she was flying, before I finally raised her above my head parallel to the ground.

I heard an approved "Bong" from her before clapping and applause was heard.

I slowly set her down and turned to Dana, Shina, and Roxie who were clapping. If I had to guess, Roxie was simply doing it since everyone else was. Renold was staring unamused much like Malkuth who was still glaring at Shina.

"Had your fun now?" I asked BongBong who nodded in response. "Good. Then after this is done, we can go to sleep for the day alright?"

"Bong!"

I chuckled before giving the others my attention.

"Dana, Roxie, here is the fixed leg just like I promised." I grabbed the leg that Renold held out and handed it to a cheerful Dana.

"Oooohhhh!~ Mike is going to be so happy! Let's go Roxie!" She cheered before grabbing Roxie and dragging her away. Roxie waved us goodbye but funnily it was in the wrong direction.

With that out of the way, I was going to address why they were here but it seemed Malkuth beat me to it.

"So, why are you here?" She addressed the question to Shina rather than the others. BongBong didn't even register her and merely sat on my chair and started drawing on a blank document.

"Oya?~ Me?~ I'm merely visiting my Bestie, nothing wrong with that since our shift is over~" Shina nonchalantly responded as she shifted closer to me.

Malkuth didn't seem to like it one bit as she lost her iconic smile and stared blankly at her.

"Lieutenant Shina, it would be in your best interest to—" Malkuth tried to speak but Shina interrupted and continued on as if she wasn't.

"I mean, unlike a certain group of tin cans, I don't need a reason to visit him~" She draped herself over my shoulders while I tried my best to walk away. Unfortunately she had a strong grip.

'What do they do to get such strong grips?' I wondered as my shoulder started to ache.

Malkuth's blank look twitched a few times as she tried to keep her cool.

My saving grace came in the form of Renold coughing into his fist and speaking up.

"We don't have time to mess around Lieutenant Shina, Sephirah Malkuth, a meeting with the Manager has been called." That seemed to snap both of them out of their little confrontation. Shina grimaced while Malkuth smiled once more and nodded her head.

"You're right! Let's be on our way then Y/n!" She yanked me out of Shina's grasps and I swear I heard my shoulder pop.

Our little group of misfits quickly made our way to the Manager's Office. The elevator ride was awkward with the glares between the two women of the group. BongBong was too oblivious to care and Renold just didn't care to begin with, leaving only me to play mediator to the two of them.

Luckily, nothing serious other than verbal insults were said and done.

When we reached the conference room, Malkuth was the first to enter with me following behind. The atmosphere had suddenly turned serious and even I knew that it wasn't the time to be lazy or carefree.

This room was the same one from the first day, and this time the Manager himself sat at the middle of the room with Angela beside him. Yesod, Hod, and Netzach were also there and stood in their same spots.

Different from last time, however, instead of going with them I simply walked to the other direction of Malkuth and stood opposite of the Sephirot with BongBong, Renold, and Shina following along with me.

Once everyone was still and facing the middle of the room, the meeting began.

I was across from Netzach, BongBong with Hod, Shina with Malkuth, and Renold with Yesod. Evenly split and each of us paired with our counterpart. It was amusing for me, but now wasn't the time for that as Angela spoke out.

"This meeting has been called to notify the Upper Sephirot and the Reserves regarding the new arrangements." No one said a word as she continued. "With the upcoming transfer of command of the Information Department to the Manager and the incidents within the Control Team, it is of our best interest to reorganize the personnel."

The Manager didn't say anything except bridge his hands together and stared at us. I couldn't tell if he was expecting disapproval or not. Seeing that no one was saying anything, I decided to speak up for about the major problem.

"If I may speak," everyone turned their attention towards me, "I have an issue and that's regarding the number of personnel we have at the moment."

Yesod nodded his head in agreement while the others waited for me to elaborate.

"The Reserves are low on numbers at the moment and the recruits are progressing slowly. No offense to either of you, Hod and BongBong, but it's becoming a problem."

Hod shook her head to show she didn't mind while BongBong didn't acknowledge what he said in favor of spinning in one of the spare chairs.

'I'm gonna have to scold her for this.' I noted as everyone looked at her with different reactions.

"Therefore, I'm formally requesting for a new set of recruits for our future endeavors." I simply concluded since I didn't want to get into details.

"I'll see to it." Angela replied, to which I smiled.

"Thanks."

An ominous silence filled the room after that little exchange. Somehow, the air felt chiller than it usually was, I looked around but no one seemed to take notice of it. Though it was probably due to almost half of them narrowing their eyes on Angela.

*Creeaaaaaakkkk*

The chair that BongBong was spinning on slowly came to a stop as it released a loud squeaking noise that seemed to drag on and on. Everyone once again turned their attention to her, but she didn't care as she sat there staring in the direction it had stopped her in. Which was the Manager's direction.

When she reached her hand out to spin herself again, I placed my hand on her shoulder to stop her. She turned to look at me as I smiled sympathetically and shook my head side to side. Her shoulders slumped as she nodded and simply sat still.

As if ignoring what just happened, the Manager decided to move on to the next topic of discussion.

"Malkuth, regarding your request to have Captain Y/n permanently in your Department,"

Malkuth smiled broadly as she nodded her head expectantly.

"I am going to have to refuse."

For a moment I was worried that she had passed out while standing because she simply stood frozen.

Netzach took a few steps away from her and started to doze off on a chair. Yesod shook his head before walking out of the room, nobody stopped him. Hod simply stood near Netzach but I saw the little twitches of her mouth going upwards.

Shina had to stifle her giggling while Renold rolled his eyes and walked out right behind Yesod. Those two really were similar.

As if the gears in her head finally processed his words, she stiffly spoke.

"What?"

Her smile was long gone as she looked blankly at him, and I'm pretty sure that her eyes got more dull than usual.

"Your request has been denied." The Manager repeated more clearly as he brushed her shock aside and pulled out some papers and looking through them.

"W-Why?"

The Manager rose an eyebrow, "Because it's the most logical choice."

"B-But the amount of work that is being piled into my Department and the need of a role model—"

"Can all be done by the current Control Team I have in place. And besides, Angela mentioned how the paperwork should be done by their respective Sephirah. I'm sure Y/n already has work to complete and surely in the future there will be more for him to do. We do not need to burden him with anymore than that." He stated matter of factly as he suddenly stood up and walked around the table.

Malkuth glared at Angela with so much hatred that I didn't even know she had it in her. I was worried that she was going to lash out so I immediately tried to calm things down.

"Malkuth, it's fine. I'm just gonna rotate between the four of you anyways so I'll be back in the Control Team after 15 days."

It did seem to have her cool down a bit with that but the sound of her clipboard threatening to snap was making me uncertain if I did anything at all.

The Manager walked past us and towards the door.

"If that is all that is required of me then I will be taking the rest of the night off." He didn't wait for a reply and simply walked right out.

——————————————————————————
X's POV

'What is up with everyone and their eyes?!'

A image of staring into that little girl's eyes flashed into my head causing me to shiver.

'It was like she was staring directly into my soul!'

——————————————————————————
3rd POV

Y/n didn't think that there was anything else he needed to speak to them about and simply decided that it was time to put BongBong to bed.

"If that is all, then I think it's time to head to bed. Come on, BongBong." She hopped off the chair and followed behind him as they walked out.

It was when they walked out that all hell broke loose in the room.

"I object!!" Malkuth suddenly shouted as she slammed her hands on the table.

Hod flinched from the sudden outburst while Netzach opened one eye before going back to sleep.

"Object? You will do no such thing." Angela simply responded back. "Or did you forget what your role here is?"

Malkuth grinded her teeth as she glared at her boss. She was almost at her breaking point and she didn't know if she was ready to face the consequences if she snapped. Shina openly laughing in the background did not help with her rising anger.

"Y/n deserves to be in the Control Team with me! Did you even ask for his own opinion on this matter?!"

"Not yet, but surely it wouldn't matter at this point. The Manager has already stated his decree regarding this matter, after all."

"Y-Yeah, pfft, what little Miss Tin Can said!~" Shina shouted before laughing again. Malkuth glared at her but she didn't care at all.

"M-M-Maybe we should leave...." Hod spoke to Netzach.

"....hhmmm?.....sure, I guess...." He spoke tiredly as he got up and left with Hod.

Seeing that everyone as leaving, Shina decided to take her leave as well.

"Kukukuku~ It was nice seeing you despair and all, but I'm slumped for the day~ Good luck next time on getting him, Malkuth~" She said with a teasing look before she left.

Malkuth didn't want to waste her time arguing with Angela since she knew that she was right and that she couldn't do anything at the moment. Just as she was about to leave, however, Angela suddenly stopped her.

"You are wasting your time, you know?"

Malkuth didn't look at her and simply waited for her boss to be done with whatever she wanted to say.

"How many times will you keep on doing this, I wonder. Doing the same actions, repeating the same dialogues, and to what end will you keep going?"

"Do you expect change to occur? Do you expect for a miracle to bless you? Do you expect him to acknowledge you the way you want him to?"

"Will you keep waiting for a different outcome? If you are, then know you are foolish for thinking such."

When she didn't say anything else, Malkuth slowly turned her head over her shoulder and looked at her with one eye.

That singular eye was dull and filled with an insanity that was kept within and never brought out.

"Do you think I care? As long as I can feel that warm feeling again, I'll wait for as long as it takes."

With that, Malkuth turned around and walked right out towards her Department for the night-shift.

In the empty conference room, Angela stared at the door and slowly opened her eyelids.

'You aren't the only one who is foolish then.'

Angela then walked out of the room and went to fetch a present from the Manager's office.

——————————————————————————
3rd POV

Y/n had just tucked BongBong in, who was fast asleep already, and was going to lay down with her for the night when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

With a sigh, Y/n got up from the comfy bed and walked to the door and opened it. He didn't know who he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't Angela carrying a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"Angela? What brings you here?"

"I noticed the amount of stress you have been put under and simply wished to provide a method to relieve you of it."

Y/n simply raised an eyebrow before eyeing the bottle and glasses.

'I haven't drank in a while, and it's gonna be a long while before I reach Netzach's Department.'

Taking this opportunity for what it was, Y/n smiled and nodded his head.

"Just a little wouldn't hurt, I guess."

Angela didn't show any reaction outwardly since she wanted to keep up an appearance, but inside she was feeling her circuits run faster than before.

"Come on in. Though do be quiet, BongBong just went to sleep."

She nodded her head before walking in and heading straight to the table in the room. To avoid turning on the lights, Y/n simply brought over the lamp from the nightstand and placed it on the table and turned it away from the bed.

The light shined and brightened half of their faces as they took a seat across from each other.

"Allow me." Angela said as she poured him some of the drink.

"Thank you."

He waited for her to pour herself some and then he raised his glass. He was about to drink it but Angela stopped him.

"How about a toast?" She opened her eyelids and stared at me with an amusing smile.

I smiled at her in amusement as well before raising it to her.

"To Facing The Fear!" I spoke in a whisper shout while chuckling a bit.

"To Building The Future!" Angela responded in kind with a smile.

*CLINK*

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