PHOTOGRAPHS BURNED.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY 2:20 am.

Tak ran up to Noche as she approached the door. When she was upset, of all the people she could have chosen to keep her company, she chose Jack. He didn't know what these feelings he was experiencing were, but he didn't like them.

"H-Hey, Noche. I can come with you."

"Thanks Tak, but I really need some space."

"I can give you space," he said. "You won't notice me at all."

Noche stared at him for a moment.

"Tak, you're my friend right?"

He nodded.

"And friends like to help each other out?"

"Yeah?'

"Awesome, look, I'd like you to keep an eye on my grandfather," she said. "You'll do that for me, cause your my friend, right?"

Tak paused; his expression dimmed. "O-Of course, Noche."

"Great, thanks for doing this."

She ruffled his hair and walked out the door. Tak stood there and frowned. Wondering why she spent so much time with Jack, but now wouldn't let him tag along.

"Maybe she'd like me more if I was useful to her," he thought.

Tak sighed and walked over to Professor Grim, who was in the same room as Mary. Pouting, he walked over to the dark-skinned girl. She was wearing blue, rubber gloves and a syringe floated in mid-air next to her.

"H-Hey Mary, watcha working on?"

Prismatic energy sparkled in front of the girl as wind blew towards her. A glass cylinder full of liquid floated opposite to the syringe, followed by a rag wet with seventy percent alcohol.

The neck of this cylinder was wiped, the rag thrown away, and the glass thing placed into the wind. The top was snapped off with telekinesis.

"Compounding some medicine in a makeshift laminar airflow workbench," she said. "I just need to create a filter straw for this ampule. Making it five microns requires the most concentration."

Tak blinked. "What?"

"Medicine stuff, bruh."

"Oh."

Tak was silent as a straw of sorts was created, attached to the syringe, and placed into the open ampule. Mary's concentration was at its peak as she did all this with telekinesis. Liquid was drawn up and the straw was removed, then thrown away.

"Normally one handles this with their hands," she said as she created and attached a needle to the syringe. "But when you can use pure drive energy, it's easier to avoid touching critical sites such as the plunger or the needle's shaft."

"OH! I-I read about germs!" Tak said. "Is this to prevent germs?"

Mary chuckled. "Basically. I had to make the area aseptic before I began my work. Luckily, anything one creates is inherently sterile."

The needle floated towards an IV bag.

"So Tak, do you know why IVs are zero point nine percent sodium chloride and five percent dextrose?'

He shook his head.

"Pure water would cause hypotension in the blood cells. They'd absorb so much water they'd burst," she said. "That's why we add that stuff. But adding too much causes hypertension and shrivels the cells."

"Y-You know a lot about the body, don't you?"

"I need to learn more..." Mary chuckled. "And they say chemists are the best create users."

"Is that true?"

Mary paused. "Well, it makes sense. Create's whole thing is chemistry-based... But medicine uses a lot of chemicals too."

Alice entered the room. She nodded at Tak, who returned the gesture.

"Mary. Have you been... avoiding me?"

Mary didn't respond for a moment. "No."

"I... Know your upset. About grim gel."

"Look Alice, I told you already, I'm fine."

"We should talk."

"I should focus on my work."

"Mary we need to talk."

"Alice! I don't have time to talk!"

Both girls stared daggers at the other.

"I-I think I'm gonna go," Tak muttered.

They snapped to him at the same time. He swallowed and left; the sounds of a growing argument becoming more muffled behind him.

Not even a full minute after he walked away, something shattered inside the room. He spun on his heels and darted to the door. Inside broken glass laid on the floor, Mary had tears welling in her eyes, and Alice faced a wall. Both girls had their back to each other.

Tak moved away from the door as silent as he could. When he had snuck away, he turned to the main room. Shaylin was still busy downloading stuff from Grim's computer and Vida... Well, he didn't like Vida. The only company he had to choose from was Jack and Boots. He choose the latter.

Even sitting the orange-haired boy towered over Tak.

"H-Hey Boots?"

The surface scout didn't respond.

"Boots?"

Still no answer.

Tak walked over to the lad and tapped Boots's shoulder. The orange-haired boy snapped out of his trance and stared at the immortal.

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"What's wrong — is there a situation?" Boots said.

"N-No situation. Just..." He paused. "Tell me about Noche. As a kid."

Boots blinked and stared at him. "Why?"

Tak shrugged.

The oranged-haired boy sigh. "More or less the same as she is now... A cunt."

The immortal's eyes went wide and a fraction of a grin appeared on Mr. Starnight's face.

"She's always been a take-charge sort of person. Her way or no way," he said. "And God knows if she got an idea in her head it was impossible to get it out of her."

Boots's eyes were beyond Tak. He chuckled. His mirth vanished as quick as it appeared.

"Spark was always so happy to hang out with Noche," he whispered. "The two always had such energy... Their optimism was infectious."

Tak patted Boots on the back.

"I-It'll be ok," he whispered. "We're gonna save her."

The orange-haired boy lowered his head. "I hope so."

"Hey Toots!"

Both turned to Vida as she walked into the room.

"Tak and Boots," she grinned. "Together you're Toots."

"I dislike you," Boots said.

Vida's smile widened. "I'm heading out. Be back in a jiffy."

The blind girl walked out the front door as the two boys turned to each other.

Meanwhile,Noche snuck through the hallways as quiet as she could for the last few minutes.Her ears strained to listen for any sound that could indicate the anglerfishsoldier. So she nearly jumped out of her skin when Vida tapped her on theshoulder. 

"Fuck! Vida! You scared the shit outta me," she shouted in hushed tones.

The blind girl grinned.

"What can I say, it's a gift," she chuckled. "You left pretty quickly. You ok?"

Noche stared at her for a few seconds. "Vida, are you... Concerned?"

Her grin widened. "Am I not allowed to be?"

"N-No, it's just... Weird."

The blind girl laughed.

"Hey! You're not exactly known for your empathy," Noche said. "The first time we met, you attacked me!"

"Ohh? You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is!"

Vida laughed harder. Noche crossed her arms and her face tightened up.

"Fighting is my religion, and death is the ultimate act of devotion," she smiled. "So what's wrong with a little act of worship when I meet someone strong?"

"Battle crazed Viking," Noche muttered.

Vida grabbed Noche by the bicep, pulled her around, and wrapped her in an embrace. Noche's face went a bit pale from the sudden hug.

"Vida... What are you—"

"— It's ok to be upset," the blind girl said. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

Noche went silent.

The embrace lasted a few more seconds before she let go. A soft frown encompassed Noche's face as her eyes lingered on the blind girl. Vida punched her in the shoulder with enough force to leave it sore. The blonde grunted and held the injury.

"I'm ready to kick your ass, once you're done being a sad sack," Vida chuckled. "See ya around, Nachos."

"I'm not being — oh fuck off."

The blind girl turned the corner and was gone; Noche sighed. Her gaze lowered to her sore shoulder and she rubbed it.

"I've must've seemed pretty, fucking, miserable if Vida had to come cheer me up," she shuddered. "Never again."

Noche shook her head and continued to scout the halls. She was before Falcon's room in no time at all. Two massive doors separated the hall from the bird of death's private chambers. With their path secured, Noche made her way back to the group. She turned the corner with a grin — and bumped into someone.

The blonde stared at the person before her. A man in a yellow raincoat that hid most of his body. The hood was up and had a white skull painted on his upper-left side. He wore a solid black mask under the rubber fabric that obscured his head.

"I-I have a badge on me, I swear," he said.

His hands scrambled in his pockets until he pulled something out. Noche sensed an opportunity and took it. The man pulled out a badge full of numbers and barcodes.

"I've been requested on the other floor."

Noche resisted the urge to grin and played along. She took the badge and inspected it. There was no name, but it had a picture of him in the same outfit. The numbers were aligned in a way similar to Boots. After taking more than enough time to analyze it, she handed it back.

"You really should keep that pinned to your chest," Noche said.

"Yeah... I know we don't have a formal dress code," he motioned to himself. "But isn't your outfit a bit — Nautical?"

Noche crossed her arms. "Are you really one to talk?"

"Fair point," he shrugged. "Sea... You around?"

The blonde furrowed her brows. "Was that a pun?"

"Water, you talking about?"

Noche groaned, the stranger chuckled. With a polite nod, he walked past her and towards Falcon's room. As he turned the corner Noche's eyes followed him.

"He seems so familiar," she mumbled. "Where have I seen that raincoat?"

Noche shook her head and rushed back to the group. It took no time at all for her to approach the doors to Professor Grim's room. It took even less for her hand to halt before the words FRIEND KILLER which was written in blood.

Lights popped out at both ends of the hallway. Pitch, black darkness filled the area like spilled wine. A chilled wind brought silence and rotting meat Noche's way as light faded. She held up her left hand and created electricity for some illumination.

It worked for a moment — then the golden sparks fizzled out.

Create wasn't working.

The odor of rotting meat grew in intensity as the darkness expanded. Cold seeped its way into her very bones. Her create had failed her and all sound vanished. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Then it hit her.

Not rotting meat.

Corpses.

It was the smell of corpses.

The lights all came back on; everything vanished. There was no foul smell, no cold, no silence. The blood words written on the door had disappeared. All traces of whatever had happened, were gone. Electricity danced around her left hand once more — as if someone flicked a light switch and Create had turned back on.

A single crow feather drifted in front of her eyes. They followed its slow, black descent to her feet. She stared at it for hours without blinking. Her eyes shot to the ceiling — nothing there. When her gaze fell back to the floor the feather was gone.

"I must be losing my god damn mind," she muttered.

Noche was still in a daze as she stumbled into the room. She bumped a closet door she hadn't noticed earlier and it swung ajar. Inside was a stack of boxes and one sat on the floor with its lid off. Inside was what appeared to be a photo album.

All other thoughts in Noches brain shut off.

She threw the door opened, launched herself forward, and fell to her knees. Noche grabbed the box, yanked out the album, and opened it with such alacrity that it would put Boots to shame.

Time stopped before a photo of a little girl about three or so standing on a beach; a lighthouse behind her. Noche sat there for eternity as she stared at her younger self.

"Mom. Dad... Where's a photo of mom and dad," she said.

Noche flipped the page — an explosion sent her body and the album flying in separate directions. She slammed into the wall with sickening force as flames latched onto cardboard and coats. The familiar piercing hum of tinnitus filled her ears as her eyes rose to the Anglerfish soldier.

Its Gatling gun began spinning — Noche erected a telekinetic barrier a split second before bullets slammed into her. The force field took most of her drive to withstand the barrage of heavy, metal slugs.

Something slammed into the behemoth soldier and sent it flying past the open closet door. A moment later, Alice appeared with her sniper rifle. She fired round after round as she walked towards the direction of the monster. Each shot hit with ten times the force of an elephant gun.

Noche regained her senses and scanned about. The photo album was missing and flames were spreading. She sat there motionless as her world burned, once again.

"-xygen," Mary gasped. "The fire is eating all the oxygen."

Tak ran past Alice and out of sight. There was an explosion of ice and the immortal was sent flying back. There was a thud as he impacted against something.

"He made a telekinetic barrier," Tak shouted. "I can't use immortal aegis on him."

Jack ran up to the blonde.

"NOCHE! We have to go!" He said.

She raised her head up to him and stared. She spoke no words, but he recognized her expression.

"I'm sorry," he said. "We have to go."

Noche closed her eyes and tightened them shut. Her right fist mimicked her frustration; she stood. Jack grabbed her hand and led the blonde out of the flames. Together they caught up with the group as they ran deeper into Professor Grim's room.

Boots had destroyed a portion of the wall to reveal the hallway on the other side. Shaylin was assisting Professor Grim. Tak, Mary, and Alice were focused on the anglerfish soldier. Vida was relaxing on a couch; she smiled and waved at Noche.

"Escape route is up!" Boots shouted. "Let's go!"

One by one, everyone left the room. Tak was the last out and threw up as much ice as he could muster.

"That won't hold him back long," he shouted.

"Then let's move," Boots said.

"I'm so sick of this bastard," Noche said. "Why can't we kill him?"

"Because it's a waste of time and resources," Boots reminded her. "If we stick to the plan, and keep moving, we shouldn't encounter him anyways."

"Yeah, cause that's been working so well," Noche said.

"Ohh? Are you upset he's stronger than you?" Vida grinned.

"H-He is not!"

"He definitely is," boots said. "Even though we could win — fighting him would take too long and cost too much drive. We need to focus on saving Spark."

"Just have Vida incinerate him!" Noche shouted.

"And what if a small part of him survives? He can regenerate from even a single cell," Boots said. "You forget, he's intelligent. If he suspects he's about to be destroyed, he may do something to ensure he comes back."

Noche had no response.

"Vida may have the overwhelming power to destroy him, but unless we burned every cell, he'd survive," Boots said. "Being that thorough takes time. A lot of time, and no small amount of drive."

"Damn it. God damn it," Noche muttered. "I hate him."

"Just be glad he's the only intelligent soldier," he said. "The others may share his strength, but they're all mindless drones."

"Bruh, that's not comforting," Mary said. "Even the undead don't need sentience when there's an army of them."

"If Edward had an army of DeathTech soldiers, then we'd all be screwed," Boots said. "Luckily, I'm fairly sure he doesn't. From what I've seen, he probably has a few hundred."

"Golly, why didn't he make more?" Shaylin asked.

Boots shrugged. "My guess is he was focused on quality over quantity... He has so few because he only needs a few. They're that strong."

"And Edward doesn't seem the type actually interested in taking over the world," Mary said. "Like Boots said, he seems more interested in fucking with people."

"Just be grateful he only has a couple hundred," Boots said. "These soldiers are strong, they're immortal, they can fuse to any flesh they touch, and each one is ten times stronger than a Cross soldier."

"Edward doesn't have an army," Noche said. "He has a small battalion of monsters."

"All undying and hungry for men," Tak muttered.

Silence filled the air between the party.

"W-Well, we'll have to thank our lucky stars there's so few of them," Tak said. "Cause if Edward had a real army..."

"... The world would be doomed," Noche whispered.

The blonde's feet slid to a stop — her eyes flashed towards a golden light. She broke away from the group without a word. Tak yelled after her, but she was already halfway down the new hallway.

Noche bent down and grabbed Jack's goggles. As she lifted them up, a crow feather fell out of them. She hesitated for a moment until instinct sent her adrenaline into overdrive. Fear flooded her system with fight or flight as she snapped her head up. A flickering figure was hiding in the darkness — it vanished a split second after Noche's eyes landed on it.

She didn't take time to process what she witnessed. Noche turned on the ball of her foot and ran. Jack's eyes went wide as Noche threw the goggles over at him; his face lit up like no other.

"NOCHE! Where! How!"

"I just found them! Over there!"

"That's... Not where I dropped them."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. There's no blood on the floor."

Noche opened her mouth, but Tak appeared between her and Jack. He threw up an ice wall and a split second later it cracked as bullets slammed into it. The whirling of a Gatling gun overtook Noche's shout. The immortal gave a quick glare to Jack and turned his gaze to Noche.

They approached the doors to Falcon's rooms. Shaylin carried Grim on her back piggyback style as she ran to the door's control panels. Before she could connect any wires the doors opened. Falcon stood in the center of the room with a grin on her face.

"Zo, there you are. Zee little intruderz," she grinned. "Iz everyone ready to die?"