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THE BATTLE WAS SERIOUSLY insane. When my clubmates and I were watching, our mouths were literally on the floor because of how crazy it was. The hair on my skin stood up when the lights went back on. Kim Hee-joon really is on a different level." Ari says to Felix and Ervin while the three were eating lunch at the Great Hall with the other white uniform.

     "By the way, where are the brotherhoods? Why are the royals the only ones here?" Ari then asks before taking a sip of his crab soup.

     Felix, who knew what happened with Cigarettes and the other brotherhoods, takes a deep breath before putting his spoon down. "Shit went down recently," he tells them, making his two friends looks back at him.

     "What do you mean?" Ervin asks.

     Felix leans closer to them and softly says, "You guys heard about the rumor regarding Krist that suddenly spread the other day, right?"

     "Yeah, we heard of them. I immediately told my members that it wasn't true," Ari says, and Ervin nodded his head as well, indicating that he did the same thing.

     "Well, we found out that Cj was the cause of it," Felix finally reveals, shocking the two.

     "What?!" They shouted in unison, making the white uniforms around them look back at them in shock. After brushing them off, Ari leans close to Felix again and says, "H-How did you know about this? What's going on? Are Cigarettes and Jokers in bad blood again?"

     "I actually can't really explain everything since Max is the only one who knows what's happening, but for now all we could do is wait. It would be bad if we involve ourselves in this matter, especially when we don't know what's going on." Felix explains, and Ari and Ervin couldn't help but agree more.

     "By the way, where is Max?" Ervin then asks.

     "He's still at the clubroom; said he'll just follow right after," Felix says as he takes his spoon again so he could continue eating. "Ever since we've had our new club advisor, we've all been stressed out, especially Max. You guys already know how complicated that guy's life is, and this advisor isn't helping at all."

     "We should help Max out. We're already on thin ice with him, especially after that..." Ari pauses and leans even closer so he could whisper, "That drug incident with his brother."

    "Please don't remind me of that," Ervin says, grabbing his soda and chugging it down, remembering the time they had to give Max a pill that would suppress his memories. "I already feel guilty enough for not telling Max about it. To be honest with you, I've been dying to tell him, but do you think it would do Max more good than harm if we do?" Ervin asks.

     The question made Ari and Felix quiet since they didn't know the right answer either.

     "I don't know Ervin. I feel like—"

     "Let's look at it this way," Ervin says, cutting Felix off. "If we tell Max the truth, we're not only revealing something the Sinclaire's have tried to hide for years, but we're also challenging his entire family. Are you guys ready for that?"

     Ari and Felix looked at each other. Ever since that incident, Felix was willing to tell Max the truth, it was Ari and Ervin who was afraid. But now that things aren't looking good for Max, keeping this information a secret feels wrong from all angles.

    "Secrets are such a dangerous thing. Look at Krist and Cj. Sometime you can't even trust the people you're closest with," Ari then points out.

     "But are we really friends if we continue to keep secrets from each other?" Ervin asks back, and that single question made Felix feel terrible inside. When Ervin and Ari continued eating, Felix suddenly slammed his hands on the table, making the two flinch.

    "W-What's going on? Are you okay?" Ari confusingly asks.

     Felix takes a deep breath and looks at his two friends with a serious look. "I have something to tell you guys," he says with such a serious look that Ari and Ervin were forced to stop eating.

     "I'm a—" but right before Felix could even say anything further, his phone suddenly started ringing. Felix clears his throat and pulls out his phone from his pocket. He didn't know who it would be, but when he saw the text, his eyes instantly widened and he immediately stood up from his seat, making Ari and Ervin look at him with even more confusion.

     "W-What's going on?"

     Felix was about to excuse himself, but then he gathered all his courage and says, "I'm going to reveal to you guys everything, but for now, follow me."

     Ari and Ervin were confused, but before they could even ask for any clarification, Felix started running off. The two looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders. After taking one last bite of their meals, Ari and Ervin stood from their seats as well to finally follow their friend.

    As the two were running behind Felix, Ari and Ervin noticed that they were heading to the Hall of Janus where the brotherhoods were.

     "Wait! Felix! We can't be here!" Ari shouted as the three continued running.

     "I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully," Felix says as the two looked at him, preparing themselves to listen to whatever Felix was about to say. "During my first year in J.S High, I received a purple kiss mark. I didn't know what it was before, but after finding the true meaning behind it, I eventually got recruited by Crazy 8 and became their member." Felix finally reveals, instantly making Ari and Ervin stop running.

     "W-wait, did I hear it right or did you just say—"

     "I'm a marquis. I'm the seventh member of rank 4 brotherhood, Crazy 8," Felix says with a serious-looking, stopping so he could look back at his friends as well. Ari and Ervin didn't say anything, but when they finally sank the information in, their faces changed to complete shock.

     "Holy fucking shit!" Ari shouted, immediately making Ervin cover his mouth so no one could hear them.

     "I just received a message from Siren stating that we're all going to have an emergency meeting. Something like this has never happened before, so I think something serious happened. I don't know what's going on, but I want the both of you to head to our clubroom and look for Max. If you can't find him call for the brotherhoods immediately. Is that understood?" Felix commands, and for some reason, the two couldn't help but nod their head in agreement.

     Knowing that Felix is an actual member of a brotherhood just feels completely different now.

     "Will you be alright? Won't you get in trouble for this?" Ervin asks.

     "Don't worry about me, I can handle myself," Felix confidently says. He then points inside the Hall of Janus and adds, "Our brotherhood base could be found at the very end of that hallway. I'll see you guys later."

     Ari and Ervin nodded their heads and the three of them went their separate ways. 

     When Felix finally arrived in front of their brotherhood base, he goes to the lockers first and unlocked locker seven. Inside the locker were Crazy 8's brooch and a black mask. There was also another brooch with the roman numeral seven (VII). Felix takes them all out and wears them before finally knocking on the door in a certain beat. After a couple of seconds, the door opens.

     The room was dark as usual, but as soon as Felix got inside, he was surprised to see at least twenty white uniforms standing around the room, all of them wearing a similar mask and brooch. Felix was surprised since this was the first time he's seeing them all in one place, considering how they never gather like this.

     When everyone saw the number on his brooch, the members immediately faces him and gives him a respectful bow. Felix doesn't say anything, but then he walks towards the eight chairs in the middle. Five out of the eight chairs were already filled up except for chairs 1, 2, and 8.

     Felix continues to remain silent as he finally sat on his seat. The member beside him, number 6, looks at Felix and tells him, "So you're the seventh member. I'm honored to finally meet you like this. I heard you're responsible for designing the battle grounds."

     "I am," Felix calmly answers, turning his head to look back at him. "And you must be the sniper. You're the best shooter among all of us, is that correct?"

     The sixth member laughs and waves his hand after hearing Felix's statement. "I'm flattered, but after our defeat earlier, I don't think I can claim that so proudly."

     Felix nods his head and looks down at the student's leg, realizing that he was part of the eight members who battled earlier.

     In Crazy 8, all the members have a specific role. Among all of them, there are those who attend ceremonies and assemblies, then there are eight members specifically for battle and another eight who go to the brotherhood classes. They all have sets, which is why it's hard to know who's who. And since they rarely get seen by the public, no one really notices the changes.

     Siren really was a genius for creating all this.

     While everyone was waiting, two new members in black uniform entered the room. The two of them had the numbers 1 and 2 brooches, so everyone, including Felix, stood up to bow to them as they went to their respective seats. But when everyone saw their mask clearer, they were surprised to see that it was Siren's.

     "S-Siren?" One of the members asked in shock.

     When Felix saw the one holding a sword disguised as a cane, he instantly recognized that this was the person who gave him the special mission to investigate Gavriil.

     "There are two Sirens?" Felix confusingly asks as he looked at the other member with the number 1 brooch. When he saw that he was having a hard time walking because of the clear injury on his leg, he realized that he was the one who battled as Siren earlier.

     Now it all makes sense to him. 

     Like everyone else, this is Felix's first time seeing those two up close. But as the man with the number 1 brooch walked past them, he suddenly stopped in front of Felix and whispered, "I'm really enjoying my time in Omega Society. Thank you for making it exciting for me...Mr. Campbell."

    As soon as Felix heard what he just said, Felix's entire body instantly froze after realizing who that person was.

     "S-Sky...he's Sky," Felix thought to himself as everyone finally sat down except for Felix who was still standing because of complete shock. How did he not see it? How did he not realize that Sky was a member of Crazy 8 all along? He should have known about this from the very start. It was so obvious.

     "Why are you still standing there, number 7?" a feminine voice suddenly asks, and Felix's eyes automatically widen from shock as he slowly turned his head to look at the entrance of their base.

     There was a black uniform wearing a mask that was slightly different from what Sky and the other Siren were wearing. Though he couldn't guess who was really behind the mask, Felix could tell that compared to the other Sirens that he has seen, this was different. This was definitely someone that was more intimidating than any of them.

     "W-what the fuck is going on? Who's the real Siren? Were those two just decoys?" Felix confusing asks.

     Everyone instantly stood up from their seats to greet the person who was obviously the real Siren. Felix couldn't say anything, but he gulps and quickly bowed as well.

     As everyone went back to their seats, the real Siren walks into the middle of the room and looks back at them one by one. "How exciting it is to see all my children in one room. It has not occurred to me that I'll be able to do this, but seeing it now makes me realize how I should have done this much sooner," she says as she walks closer to the members who were sitting on the chairs that looked like thrones.

     "As you all know, Crazy 8 never gathers like this, so I know you must be wondering...who is behind these masks? Well, that can wait. We're actually here today because of two things. One is because I am starting to feel a little bored and lonely. And two, we're going to celebrate an outstanding achievement," Siren says with a mischievous grin, making the other members look at each other in confusion.

     "But before that, let me just introduce these men in front of you. These seven marquis are the key members of this brotherhood. They are what I call the executives; the ones who really run the show, so please, give them a round of applause," Siren explains, and everyone starts clapping like they were told even though they don't have a single clue about what's going on.

     "I would especially like to commend number 2 for doing a good job at acting as the leader and the face of the group. Everyone has been fooled because of him, and because of his splendid acting, number 2 has made this brotherhood a respectable one, so please, clap for him as well," Siren adds. "Crazy 8 wouldn't be such a...graceful and sophisticated...brotherhood without you."

     Everyone continues to clap while number 2 —who's actually River—adjusted himself in his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable because of the sudden praise. He doesn't know why they're here, and in fact, his brother doesn't know why they're here either, but knowing Siren, River could only guess that she's planning something crazy.

     When everyone finally settled down, Siren walks toward River, and the grin on her face changes to something more serious and intimidating. "Other than posing as Siren, there is another thing that I would like to thank number 2 for."

     River unconsciously gulps as Siren leans close to him to the point where she was only inches away from him now.

     "Because of number 2, I realized that even my own children can betray me," Siren finally says, surprising River.

     "W-What do you mean?" he asks, and Siren smirks and snaps her fingers. On cue, the door to their dark base opens, revealing a white uniform who was being dragged by two other men in masks.

     Everyone didn't know who it was because the student had a sack on his head. The weak-looking white uniform was helplessly dragged to the middle of the room before being dropped on the floor just in front of the seven men who were sitting in their respective seats.

     River and the other executives stared at the white uniform with confusion as Siren walked beside him. "Thanks to you, number 2, I was able to acquire such an expensive rat," Siren says as she finally pulls the sack off of the student. As soon as the face was revealed, everyone gasped in shock, especially River and Felix.

     "Sinclaire!" River shouted, standing from his seat to approach Max, but his twin brother, Sky, grabs him by the arm and forcefully pushes him back to his seat.

    Siren laughs at the sights of River as she looks back at Max who was barely conscious.

     Max's vision was still blurry as he tries to make sense of what was going on. He tries to look around the room, and the only thing he could see was silhouettes of different people. Felix, on the other hand, gripped the arm of his seat, trying his best not to lose composure. He wanted to stand and run to his dear friend, but doing something now would only endanger Max, especially when everyone here is on Siren's side.

     "It seems like Mr. Sinclaire here has been snooping around lately, and our very own number 2 was willing to assist him. I'm a bit disappointed, but of course, there's only one thing I could do, and that's to give you the perfect punishment," Siren says as she was about to walk towards River, but before she could even take a step, Max gathered all of his strength and grabbed a hold of Siren's arm.

    "D-Don't...hurt him," Max struggled to say.

     Siren stops and looks down at Max before giving out a loud laugh. "Don't hurt him?" She asks as she continues to laugh at Max's request. "For you to protect a person you just met...how pathetic. Is this the great Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire that everyone is afraid of?"

     Max, who was still dizzy because of the drug, tries his best to stay conscious as he says, "River...is only trying to give justice...t-to his sister's...death."

     River's eyes widened from shock when he heard what Max just said. He never mentioned anything about his purpose, but it seems like Max was able to connect all the dots.

     The reason why he was at Serenity's funeral...

     The reason why he wants to join Crazy 8...

     The reason why he wants to be in J.S High...

     Is all because he wants to know why his older sister, Serenity Karlsson, committed suicide.

- END -