It took a few seconds for the group of three to regain their bearings after suddenly being sent out of the Theater and back to the warehouse.

"Looks like we're back." Said Raven.

"Did you sniping that puppet down allow us to escape?" Asked Alex.

"I'd say so. It seems like if the contact puppet is broken or damaged in any major way, the connection to the theater will be severed. This piece if info will be important to know going forward." Deduced Mei.

The three looked into the box and saw the puppet in there, now with its hear completely severed off, likely due to Raven having shot it a few minutes ago.

With it being taken care of, Alex turned his attention back to the still unconscious and tied up man from earlier.

"So, what do we do about him?" He asked.

"We'll just leave him there. Someone's bound to come across and take him eventually. He doesn't deserve our pity." Said Raven as the two nodded before Mei moved onto an important subject.

"Just now, the puppet managed to use the Herrscher of Reason's powers." She said.

"I know I saw it too." Said Raven as Mei began to ponder this deeply.

"The whole time we were there, the puppet kept trying to bait me into using my Herrscher powers. Thankfully Alex was able to figure out its plan and warned me beforehand. Still though, It has me wondering about something. Is there a method they have where they can strip a Herrscher of their powers without needing to yank the core itself?" She asked.

"Can that even be possible?" Wondered Raven.

"It can. I was there firsthand when the Herrscher of Reason had her powers stripped. She mentioned how even though she still felt the core inside, she had zero use of its innate abilities. Worst of all was that she still suffered from the effects of the Puppets using her powers since the core was still there. Long story short, it's 100% possible and they suffer no consequence from it." Explained Alex.

"Damn. Well, that answers on whether or not it's possible. But how is it possible?" Asked Raven.

The three began to think this over until Mei had a thought pop into her head.

"I believe I have a theory. Remember those Scepters of Duat that we used back in Coral to subdue the Ice Herrscher? I believe those scepters and what the puppets can do regarding taking Herrscher powers work in a similar way." Said Mei.

"How so?" Asked Raven.

"They're based on the same working idea. Separate the link between a Herrscher Core and its host. Think of the Herrscher Core as a faucet that's constantly pouring energy for the host to use. If the scepters worked by brutally blocking the flow, then puppets must be redirecting the flow away from the host and instead towards them. That must explain why the user still suffers from overusage. The core's still being utilized, just by an outside source." Explained Mei.

"That makes a lot sense." Said Alex as Raven nodded.

"I'm starting to see the similarities now." She added.

"Raven, could you take the puppet back with us?" Asked Mei.

"Of course, but just what do you plan to do?"

"I just need to confirm somethings for myself." She said.

Raven opted not to question her further as she carried the body and tossed the head over to Alex for him to carry despite the boy's obvious insistence to not do so.

Regardless, their mission had finally been completed as the group made their way out of the 4th and final warehouse as they made their awaited trip back to Serpent Quarters.

[A Month Later]

Things for the Serpent had seemingly slowed down in the time since their trip to the warehouse as according to brief bits of info Alex would overhear from conversations between World Serpent officials, the puppets had mainly been occupying and being active in areas closer to where Anti-Entropy was.

Despite that, the Serpent still kept a close eye on the activity in case they were to be suddenly attacked as Alex just hoped for the best for the girls over at A.E. and wished them all the luck they could possibly get.

The boy had apparently impressed Gray Serpent and Jackal enough during the last mission that he was finally taken off of errand boy duties and was now essentially tasked with the same job as Mei which was basically just sit around and wait until Herrscher activity significantly ramped up.

Though he did appreciate not having to run around all the time, he also wasn't exactly one who enjoyed just lazing about with nothing to do.

Currently he was laying down on the lounge room's couch having just come back from a jog around the city as he was scrolling through his phone.

His attention would be directed elsewhere as he heard footsteps approach.

He looked away from his phone to see Mei smiling down at him as she helped him sit back up.

"What's up?" Asked Alex.

"I'd like for you to accompany me. I have something important to attend to." She said.

"Something important? With who?"

"Jackal."

"Uh, I really appreciate that but knowing her, she'd probably just expect you only."

"It's fine. After all she's been nagging at me for a while to go see her which means it must be really urgent. She'll have no choice but to talk even if she doesn't want your presence."

Alex figured that Mei had a point as he got up and motioned for her to lead the way as the two walked down the halls, passing by numerous officers who paid zero attention to them.

They eventually entered a large laboratory with numerous scientists at their stations with an open elevator in the middle.

At the other side of the room stood Jackal as Mei approached her.

She'd clear her throat, catching Jackal's attention as she turned around.

"Ah, Mei Raiden. I see you've also brought the boy as well." She said before turning to the scientist closest to her. "Viktor. Please escort yourself and everyone else away from here. I'd like to speak to our guests in private."

Viktor would nod and quickly guide himself and every else else out of the lab as Jackal turned her attention back to the two.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked. "Actually on second thought, let me guess."

Jackal would remain silent for a moment before seemingly coming to a conclusion.

"I see. You finally ready to accept my 'checkup'? A wise choice for you, me, and the whole world. Think about it. A Herrscher with a human mind. You're drastically different from the mindless others." Said Jackal as Mei just nodded her head no.

"I'm not here for your nonsense." She said.

"Tis a shame. I truly meant every word I said." Said Jackal as Mei would take out and lay three cubic containers with golden rims on the table.

"These three items were all from three special inviduals who were in the Serpent's database in which you're super interested in."

"Yes. These puppets have a curious behavioral pattern and act alone. They could possibly be influenced by their hosts or from other sources. There are a thousand of them after all so a few outliers are to be expected."

"Correct, and now they're yours."

Mei would slid the containers over to Jackal who upon further inspection, saw that each container had a crystallized core in a strange color floating within.

'Were the Scepters used to remove the cores from the puppets we collected or did they just straight up rip them out physically?' Wondered Alex.

"I'm assuming these aren't for free, right?" Asked Jackal.

"Three special individuals in exchange for your research regarding the Legion Herrscher. Do you take my offer, or not?" Said Mei.

Jackal didn't take long to think this over as who was she to turn down gifted Herrscher cores to her?

"You know this is an offer I cannot possibly turn down." She said as she walked over and pressed a button, shutting the doors to the lab as she walked over to the elevator in the middle and motioned for Mei to follow her.

"Come with me. The boy can come as well. I have the feeling that he too knows a surprising amount about the Herrscher considering what Raven's told me so far."

Alex and Mei would step onto the platform as Jackal would type away on a panel, activating the elevator as it began to go down.

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Chapter 35: Complete