After entering the pipe, Lux stops, turning around. He grabs the ends of the pipe then pulls it inward to close the passage off. As the trio walk down the sewer system, sounds of water from the impact of their footsteps can be heard echoing in many directions, as well as their voices as they speak.

- Ether Mine (Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition)

"Looks like we're out, guuuuuys," Klaus playfully sings into the hollow, stone tunnels.

"We ain't out yet. Where to, J?" Lux asks, turning his head to ensure eye contact. Jade glances down the right passageway, then hikes forward before waving her hand for her friends to follow.

"This way. Follow me."

"Si, te seguo. Let's go, Klaus. We're movin'."

The team are walking along a narrow, elevated concrete sidewalk. The smell is as you'd expect. A putrid wave of fecal matter and human fluids all married together creating a flowing river of dark water. From the sidewalk, they enter a huge area and step off before curiously looking around. In front of them are four different passages going in different directions.

           - Sliver Cloud Prison:
              Sewer System -

"Well, this is great," Lux snarls, sending an instant surge of irritation down the passage proceeding him.

"In my adventure experience, four different paths equals eight different paths," Klaus begins, the speed of his muttered words similar to an energetic hamster on a wheel. "Those eight different paths lead to twelve other paths, which circle back to the same place. Oh no, we're never gonna get out of here!"

"'Ey, we'll be alright," Lux assures. "Red is red and blue is blue."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I knew that."

"Yeah, you did. Jade?"

"The one on the far left is where we need to go. It'll lead us outside," Jade states, ensuring to point out the destination with her finger. Klaus steps forward, speaking aloud in an accent of no origin.

"The other paths...where do they lead, I wonder?" A chuckle escapes Lux, choosing to keep his thoughts about the accent to himself.

"Probably nowhere. It doesn't matter. We're getting the hell out of here regardless."

"And that is something I can't wait for. Come on, boys," Jade declares, leading the way forward. The trio continue on their way through the sewer. It's much bigger than they thought. A maze filled with twists and turns that lead to dead ends or to waterfalls that flow into a dark abyss.

Through many ups and downs, the trio eventually make it to a wide and spacious area, which unfortunately for them, doesn't have any concrete to step on to avoid the dirty water. Instead, it's flooded to a level slightly below the waist. They have no choice, one by one they each step into the water, trenching their way forward through the murkiness. Jade makes a gag sound, followed by a noise of disgust. "Fuck. Oh my god..."

"Can't take the smell?" Lux teases, aware he's presenting a rhetorical question.

"Yeah, excuse me if I don't want to smell shit," Jade immediately snaps back.

"You're around smelly vaginas all day and this is the shit you wanna complain about?"

"I will since it's as bad as being around sweaty dicks."

"Can't you fly?"

"Do I need to remind you how difficult it is to concentrate while I'm doing that? And I'm not using my powers unless I need to. We need to conserve our stamina."

"Conserve? The hell does that mean?"

"Oh my god. You can not be serious."

"If you really think about it, we're all born with the same parts before coming out our surrogates," Klaus casually slips into the conversation he was previously absent from.

"Babe, what?" Jade questions, a puzzled look latching itself onto her face. Lux lifts his head before releasing a laugh into the air, not at all affected by Klaus' comment.

"Look at you being all informative, Klaus. We should call you Info Man," he says turning toward Klaus, who continues to converse with a smile on his face.

"I like Toymaker. It has a nice ring to it."

"Nah, that's just creepy.."

"Anteater? Plastic Bag? Purple Apron?"

"Fuck it. Let's go with Anteater," Lux replies. Stepping forward, he hears a deep splash behind him, causing him to promptly turn his back to investigate. "The hell?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of the water all of a sudden," Jade teases as a form of revenge from Lux's previous witticism.

"Shut up for a sec," he quickly responds, montining his hand downward. "I'm tryna listen." He looks down into the water to confirm what he heard. He lifts his hands up, then dips his hands into the water, tightly gripping something rough and scaly. With a powering heave, he pulls a large, humanoid lizard creature by its neck out of the water.

The creature roars loudly then kicks Lux back forcing him to let go. After the creature lands in the water, a group of them of similar dark green scales emerge from the water, gazing at the trio with eyes of a predator staring down its prey. "Ah, shit. Blightshades!" Lux shouts, simultaneously warning his mind and that of his teammates.

- Boss Battle (Persona 2: Innocent Sin)

"Careful using your powers, Klaus!" Jade reinforces into Lux's cautionary tone as she assumes a stance. By her count, there are at least eleven of these creatures in front of them. Four of them submerge into the water, while the rest of them roar loudly as they accelerate in their direction. Unafraid, Lux dashes forward to meet them head on. Jade pulls one the creatures closer to her to isolate it, giving Klaus a chance to quickly slice its neck to Lux's immediate left.

With five left, Lux grapples the creature directly in front of him, then strikes its face with a vicious head butt. Staggered, the creature falls back leaving a small opening for Lux to deal with the rest of them. He turns his body left to block the clawed strike of another creature, quickly counter striking with his own lunge punch. He next leaps over the staggered creature, only to hit the next one with a powerful spinning kick. The last of them, besides the staggered one, bolted towards Lux. Jade fires five energy balls at it and Klaus follows up with a descending slash that cuts it in half.

"Guess you could say he got a deal half off! HAHA!" His immediate laugher after causes Jade to roll her eyes mid-fight. Her concealed desire to laugh is almost revealed when she responds to Klaus' excitement.

"Now's not the time, KK!"

With one remaining, Lux trudges ahead, piercing the creature's stomach with a grueling knee. As a follow up, he quickly descends with a back elbow, only to then stomp its head in. The trio think they're clear, until they hear a deeper growl echo from behind them. A huge, black scaled lizard emerges from the water along with five more of the lesser creatures, with only the leading one carrying a long and sharp pipe on its back. "I'll fuck that big one up! He's leadin' the rest!" Lux directs, his bellicose glare instantly locked onto his target.

He doesn't hesitate to leap forward and clash with the leading creature. While he exchanges blows with it, Klaus begins jumping off of the lesser creatures' heads, leaving behind a stinging shock of electricity. While the lesser creatures are distracted, Jade conjures five, purple bubbles with a transparent interior.

She traps each of the creatures into the bubbles, then raises them into the air with Klaus quickly following up. With the creatures already being shocked by electricity, he then connects the currents with his own body. When he extends his arms out, he discharges a bolt of electricity that shocks and burns away the creatures trapped in the bubbles.

After avoiding a powerful thrust from the leading creature, Lux retaliates with vicious jabs with his feet into its back legs in quick succession, causing it to fall to its knees. Jade bursts forward into the air, then swiftly swings her sickle to cut the right side of its neck. Klaus leaps forward immediately after, he swings his knife and cuts through the rough protection on the left side of its neck.

Lux clenches his fist to channel his energy into his brass knuckles. He lunges forward, and punches the head of the leading creature clean off. Once he lands, the water splashing due to the impact, he looks back to see if Klaus and Jade are injured. "Motherfuckers. You two alright back there?"

"Yup. But that was a very wet fight," Klaus begins, nearly contorting his neck to point his head in a different direction each time a question is asked. The only participant of this meeting is Klaus himself, not ashamed to change his voice for more authenticity. "Do all lizards have scales? Why the hell would you ask that? I dunno."

"Should've known Blightshades would be down here. We need to leave before any more show up." Jade advises, placing her left hand on her hip. Completely agreeing with her statement, Lux walks forward without hesitation.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Can't stand some of those things."

The trio continue their trek throughout the sewer system. At times, they encounter more of the lesser Blightshades, and to Lux's surprise, they also find scraps of items he feels would be useful. What feels like a whole day is actually two hours.

Eventually, they walk into a small area, quickly finding an exit ladder directly in front of them. Jade releases a sigh of relief, glancing up at the full length of their escape path. "Finally."

"No kidding. Let's get the hell out already." Lux says aloud. He's the first to ascend the ladder. Once he makes it to the top, he slides the sewer cover open, then climbs out. After he's clear he leans down to help Klaus climb out, then Jade.

"Thanks, babe," she says, offhandedly passing her words to Lux.

"Uh-huh."

With his eyes now adjusted to the daylight, Klaus looks up into the clear sky with a squint. "Sunlight...my eyes are burning."

"Move your eyes away, Klaus," Lux directs, a chuckle following afterwards.

Klaus turns his gaze away from the afternoon shine, then curiously scans the immediate area noting they have arrived in an abandoned part of a city. The roads of concrete are cracked with old rusty cars filling the uncracked spaces. Most of the windows of buildings are gone, broken or shattered, and the street and traffic lights have either fallen onto the ground or are still standing with no bulbs to offer the reprieve of illumination.

- Aftermath (Sonny 1)

                   - Rason:
             Abandoned West District -

"Our employer said to meet them at The Little River Bar." Jade initiates the conversation as she takes a few steps forward to this new destination. Lux and Klaus follow after, with Lux sending his opinion toward his friends.

"What a shitty ass name. Would never go there."

"Same," Klaus says in agreement. His next question forces a well needed laugh out of Jade. "Do people go swimming when they go there?"

"Maybe they force you to wear a swimsuit before going in," she says, holding onto her friend's arm as they continue forward.

"That'd all be for nothing if there ain't no pool in there," Lux adds.

"Only one way to find out."

"We bring swimsuits," Klaus states confidently. Lux only shakes his head, knowing Klaus completely missed the point.

"No, dumbass. We find the bar."

"We'll buy swimsuits on the way there."

The trio stride forward throughout the abandoned district in search of this Little River Bar. On the way, they luckily find lost cash, and scraps of materials they feel could be of use. As they walk down a broken sidewalk, Klaus stops to glance at a dusty neon sign in front of a small building. "The...ittle...ver...ar...? Add the two, carry the one...Eureka! Hey! Turn around, guys! I found it!"

Lux and Jade stop in their tracks and turn to face Klaus once they hear his call for attention. When they approach him, Lux crosses his arms before questioning his friend. "What did you find?" Klaus points at the sign, then Lux and Jade look up in the same direction to read it. Proud of his companion for discovering their desired location, Lux nods, satisfied with the findings. "Oh. Nice find, Anteater."

"I can be useful when I need to be. I told Mother I was," Klaus declares, hysterically quivering his lips while he heightens his voice. Jade giggles, then tenderly runs her right hand across his back.

"You're a valued member of this company," she jests. "C'mon, you two." Jade swings open the broken glass door allowing them access to the abandoned establishment. As they step into the entryway, they look around to scope out the interior. There's an extensive counter to their immediate left with empty shelves behind it. In front of the counter itself are weak, dusty high chairs with ripped black cushions.

To their right is a sitting area that practically fills up the rest of the space inside, where there are small tables and tight booths with not much space to move in. On each end of the tables and booths a TV hovers above them.

There are many holes in the walls that provide enough light for their eyes to take in mostly everything. Jade climbs over the counter and looks at all the empty bottles filled with dust and cobwebs rather than alcohol. In a synchronized motion, Lux sits on one of the highchairs that he feels looks the most comfortable and Klaus flops into one of the booths, laying down in an odd position before looking up at the TV.

"Hey. Barkeep. This channel sucks. Change it to sports. I wanna see if the Bikers beat the Propellers." Klaus' tone of voice is raspy and intentional, one of his many voices that amuse his friends ever since they've met. Jade shakes her head, feeling that Klaus has just made a ridiculous comment.

"Bikers are wiping them, no doubt."

"Wow. It's sad how you're both wrong," Lux states, butting into the conversational dance before it even started.

"Bikers are going all the way, baby," Jade retorts, having complete certainty in her words.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and get me a drink."

"Yeah, sure." Jade grabs an empty bottle from the bottom shelves, places it on the counter then uses her fingertips to slide it down to Lux, who catches it and leans back in his seat.

"This so-called employer better not be wastin' our time. Then again, they must be pretty high up the food chain to help us break out of Silver Cloud."

"I wouldn't know," Jade confessed. "We'll find out when they get here. You boys have any guesses on who it might be?"

"I'm goin' with a government official," Lux guessed without hesitation. "Those fuckers always want somethin' done. They want Abnormals like us to get their hands dirty for them. What do you two think?"

"I'm thinking it's somebody we won't guess. Somebody unexpected like a foreign leader," Jade replies, curiously picking up and placing every glass bottle in her vicinity atop the surface of the bar.

"Alright. So J thinks this is a spy movie. What about you, Klaus?"

"I'm thinkin'..." Klaus begins, finishing his statement with a wave of his hands opening in a rainbow shape. "An secret alien race that's come to take our brain matterrrr...Or a clown. Gotta be one of the two."

"Considering the shit that goes on nowadays, I'd rather take the alien."

"Same," Jade agrees, poking off bits and pieces of the termite riddled wood in front of her.

"What if they're already here? What if they already took our bodies? Am I really myself? Who am I...?! " Klaus grips his head, letting out crazed whimpers into the air.

"'Ey. Red is red and blue is blue."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right. I knew that."

"Yeah, you did," Lux assures in a chuckle. Suddenly, the trio hear a male voice from across the room towards the back wall.

"If you were to ask me for my opinion, I would rather face the clown." All three of them immediately turn their heads, glancing towards the source of the voice in quick succession.

"The hell?" Lux sends a glare toward this voice, prepared to engage with who may be an enemy. With his head poked out over the booth, Klaus whispers to himself in a high pitched voice.

"They're herrrrrre."

A young man emerges from the shadows. He has pale skin with a noticeable smooth tan. He's a bit tall with wavy, whitish silver hair flowing just past his nape. He's fitted a white uniform with a solid black strap around his waist, a snow white scarf in the shape of a triangle around his neck, and a glove complimenting the color of his hair on his left hand. Over the top half of the uniform is a navy blue, long sleeved, unbuttoned jacket with white lining. He glances at each of the trio with his cerulean eyes, then nods in greeting. "Good afternoon. I hope I didn't startle you," he says politely, bowing his head just enough to demonstrate his respect.

"Somebody call a stripper?" Lux jests, displaying the immediate feeling of boredom washing away any interest he could've had.

"Who is this handsome man in white?" Klaus whispers to no one in particular.

Recognizing this mysterious man from a few analytical glances, Jade motions her head and speaks to him in a tone of familiarity. "Matthias. It's good to see you again." The young man nods back, then puts his hands behind his back as if he were a wise scholar.

"Miss Umbra. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same. You all came at the right time. I've just arrived here myself not too long ago."

"Lux, KK, this is our employer. I won't steal the thunder from introducing himself."

"Thank you. Please, excuse my rudeness. I am Matthias Vern."

Lux puts the bottle down on its side, then starts to spin it, completely disinterested. So disinterested in fact, that he speaks to Matthias while still staring down at the spinning bottle. "Sounds familiar, I guess."

Klaus sits up fully before popping himself up onto the headboard of the booth. He speaks and tries to mock a French accent. "Knock knock? Who's there? Matthias Vern, leader of the Abnormal revolution!"

"I apologize for remaining anonymous until now. I couldn't risk our contacts being traced back to us. I see your escape went smoothly."

"That's a word for it." Lux grips the bottle to keep it from spinning, then turns in his chair to look towards Matthias. "So, what's a fancy lookin' rebellion leader want with us?"

"I have read each of your arrest records and unofficial reports concerning your line of work, as well as collected information regarding your abilities from various sources. I believe you three will be effective members of my organization concerning our progression, hence why I aided your escape."

"Damm. You've been checkin' us out? Ain't that flattering." Lux's response is quick, doubling down on the nonchalant tone he adds to the conversation.

"You may have read my files, but you ain't gettin' my diary!" Klaus roars, fists balled in aggressive protest.

"Why are we really here, Matthias?" Jade asks in as calm a tone as possible.

"Oui...I suppose you wouldn't agree with what I'm about to ask you unless I give you all a good reason." The young man Jade refers to as Mathhias steps forward, his voice projecting his poise and composure.

"I do not just want to hire you, you see. For the foreseeable future, I want you all to consider joining the Ethereals."

"Full time?" Lux's words are a truculent interjection. "You must be stupid if you think I want to join some random Abnormal group. I've seen plenty of those already. Or are you telling me you broke us out just for that reason?"

"I would be lying if I told you no. But you do not have to give me your answer now. For now, this is strictly business. If you'll please follow me." Matthias walks forward still with his hands clasped tightly behind his back. He opens the front door with his left hand, leaving the bar without saying anything else; A show of control on his part.

"The hell is up with him?" Lux asks, irritated by Matthais' calm behavior. Recognizing the rapid build up of exasperation, Jade angles her head to face him.

"He's a bit out there, I know. But I can say that we can at least trust he isn't planning to turn us in."

"I don't give a shit if we can trust him or not, J. I want the money that was promised to us."

"Don't do that. You're not the only one who feels that way about trust. How about we just indulge him for now?"

"Alright," Lux agrees. After Jade climbs back over the counter, he gets off the high chair and Klaus hops off the headboard. The trio then walk outside to join Matthias. They follow him down the cracked street, taking a few lefts, rights, then finally stopping at a small parking garage. The entrance is blocked off by a wide metal gate, yet Matthias still walks up to it, knocks in a coded manner then waits. While they're waiting, Klaus walks up to Matthias, smoothly running his hands along his scarf.

"I like your scarf. It's beautiful. Like you." Matthias looks towards Klaus, ignoring what some may consider as rude, and nods in response.

"Thank you. Would you like to hold it?" Klaus answers his question by continuing to feel the soft texture of the scarf. He completely disregards what has been offered to him before gripping the streaks of Matthias' hair.

"No. It's better on you," he replies. Jade sighs, feeling somewhat embarrassed about Klaus' behavior.

"Klaus..."

Lux chuckles, assuming Matthias would be uncomfortable about Klaus being so close to him. To clarify his mood, Mattias slightly raises his hand to alleviate any signs of discomfort. "It is fine, Miss Umbra."

After a moment, the metal creaks then moves upward, slowly opening, revealing a large, gray armored car which drives out past everyone before stopping on the road. A young man, accompanied by a woman in a white and blue uniform with similar designs to Matthias' hop out of the car, only to then approach him. "Sir," The young man says in a respectful tone. His brown eyes are beaming even under his cap, happy to see the sight of familiarity.

"Jacob, Morgan," Matthias greets with a nod. With a smooth gesture of his gloved hand, he quickly drives the attention to the trio then back to his conversation. "These are the people I spoke of. We'll be escorting them to Atlacall."

"You know I trust your judgment, sir. Are you positive we can trust them?" He asks in a lower tone of voice. "They're from Silver Cloud."

"How about you say that directly to us instead of actin' like we ain't here?" Lux provokes Jacob due to him overhearing his conversation with Matthias. Jacob glances at Lux past Matthias's shoulder and gives him a distrustful look.

"That's because I'm not talking to you."

"You speak directly to me if you have something to say. Or do you always hide behind the boss man here? 'Cause if so, I'm about to have a field day with this."

"Si nous pouvons tous prendre un moment," Matthias says, ensuring to intervene with any beginnings of conflict. "I would like us to not start off on the wrong foot. Oui, we are bringing them to our home and we will treat them as we do everyone else. Do I make myself clear?"

"...Yes, sir."

"Just like that, huh? Heh, I'll remember who ain't got any balls when we get there."

Jacob mumbles under his breath as he and Morgan trudge back to the armored car. Morgan climbs in the driver's seat, Jacob on the passenger side. Matthias and his guests march to the back of the armored car, opening the double doors. He moves to the side, politely motioning his hand for the trio to climb in. "If you'll please."

"Hope your men ain't all bitches," Lux tosses out before climbing into the back with Klaus following behind him. Jade shakes her head, annoyed. That feeling is followed by a sigh and she turns her head to address Matthias.

"Just let him run his mouth," she states. Matthias chuckles, placing his right hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"It's quite alright. I'll be riding in the back with you all, if you'll allow it."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't complain when you want to put a bullet in your head."

Jade climbs into the back, Matthias trailing closely behind. He closes the doors, knocks on the interior wall twice signaling for the car to begin moving. During the ride, Lux lies down on a small bench, with Jade sitting on his legs. Klaus is sitting on the floor in front of them, counting the small increments of the metal texture, and Matthais sits on another small bench seat facing them.

It has now been thirty minutes since the car began moving. It's completely silent, aside from Klaus still quietly counting the increments on the floor. Matthias studies Lux with a certain curiosity, causing Lux to instantly respond with a look of his own. "Fuck are you lookin' at? You wanna ask me something?"

"No, as a matter of fact. I apologize if I make you feel uncomfortable. I enjoy examining new faces belonging to the people I meet. It helps me remember."

"So I guess you stare at everyone like you wanna suck them off?"

"If that is what you conclude from the face I make, then yes. I suppose I do. What about you, Monsieur Halcyon? Do you have a certain habit that helps you remember others?"

"Hm. I sleep with them. Knowing how they are while I'm nailin' it to them helps me remember."

'I'm sure you remember many women, then."

"Do you know where I've been the past few years?" Lux inquires, chuckling in response to Matthias's ignorance. "You'd be lucky if you could even get close to the women in there. I definitely remember Jade, though. But hold up, would you consider yourself a woman?" Jade responds to Lux's question with a swift but strong punch to his stomach, causing him to cough and laugh simultaneously. "Fuck...that actually hurt. You've been working out, J?"

"Shut up."

"Heh, that's a yes."

"Hm. I can see how intimate relations would be an effective method of remembering others," Matthias says aloud, right hand gently gripping his chin. "Thank you for your honesty."

"Sure thing. And don't call me that Monswan Halcyon shit again. It's just Lux." Klaus slams the floor with his hand then yells, seemingly seconding an announcement in response to hearing Lux's name.

"Lux Halcyon!"

"Appreciate it, Klaus. What's the count?"

"One-thousand, three hundred and forty-five. Plus tax," Klaus responds, his attention returning to the floor. Matthias nods in affirmation, signaling to Lux that he will indeed neglect formalities.

"As you wish. Lux it is, then." Another thirty minutes of silence pass by, then the car finally stops. The doors to the back swing open and Jacob motions everyone to get out.

"We're here, sir."

"Thank you, Jacob."

Matthias stands up and hops out. Jade stands off from Lux's legs and follows behind. Lux and Klaus stand up, stretch then hop out. When the trio walk a fair distance away from the car, their eyes widen with what they see. It's an enormous dome area with a glass roof shining bright daylight through it. Somehow, someway, the dome is floating above the large body of water below it.

"What the hell...?" Lux mumbles to himself.

The floor below them starts to descend, only then do they realize they're on an elevator of sorts. When the elevator stops at the bottom, they see an entrance to an enormous city in front of them. Matthias walks past them using his hand that seems to sit perpetually behind him, clasping inside of the other, in a motion calling for them to follow.

"Please, follow me," he requests in a tranquil tone. Large metal gates slowly slide open, then the trio follow Matthias into the city.