Vei was in a lab full of chemical utensils, tables, and more. She was placed on an empty table and got strapped down by belts. One across her stomach, wrists, and ankles. She was still unconscious... The table was tilted diagonally so he could hook her up better and IV needles where medical tape held it against her skin, drew blood. Her blood streamed through the thin tubes into a jar on a table nearby, where Gratta stood.

The helmet he took off before, was back on his head, most likely to keep himself hidden in case something happened. If unexpected guests were to waltz in without warning, then he'd at least be prepared. He watched all the blood seep out of her veins slowly, filling up the small jar. Igilous was keeping watch outside the door since he was ordered to do so.

Vei's eyes fluttered open, she groaned and saw the dark surroundings with faint glowing lights around the walls. She peered around, saw where she was at, and gasped. Being too weak to even move or speak, she groaned once more and laid her head back against the surface she laid on. "Where..." she managed to mutter out, too exhausted feeling to even finish her question.

"You're in my personal lab...Vei. Draining you of your blood but not so much that it would kill you, just enough so I can multiply its chemicals on my own. Hang in there...dear," His words nearly fell on deaf ears, Vei was too dizzy, too woozy and exhausted feeling to even care right now. "I'm sorry for having to put you through this..." he added with mourn in his clear, deep voice.

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As fast as he could, Saitama ran with haste through the rain forest and Genos was right behind him. Genos, being the loyal disciple he was, refused to let his master tend to this task on his own. What neither of them knew was that Isabelle was following along too, she made Drive Knight and supposedly Sonic, to stay behind to watch over Gaia and her husband. She remained in the shadows, her appearance couldn't be seen among it and it seemed as though she wasn't wearing a dress... "We're almost there, master!" Genos hollered with fury in his yellow, glowing eyes.

Saitama didn't respond, he was too focused on retrieving Veirin and saving the world from becoming a death bed full of corpses... Passing tree after tree, jumping over rocks and big logs, it wasn't long until they found the graveyard. "This is the place, hurry!" The demon cyborg shouted and scanned the area for any signs of life, as he quickly trotted over to examine specific spots. Upon seeing three or more heat signatures, he gasped and pointed in the said direction." They're underground!" as soon as he said that, he felt Sai'shand touch his shoulder. Both he and Genos wore their hero outfits, so he had a red gloved hand resting on the cyborg.

"Stand back," His expression looked dead serious. After his pupil walked backward and stood behind his master, Sai pulled a fist back then aimed it at the ground.

Ebon picked up the jar after taking the IVs out and examined it closely. "Perfect...thank you, Vei," he said and walked over to her, placing a reassuring hand on her head before rubbing it. She was too dazed, the loss of so much blood left her feeling sick and motionless. "You won't have to suffer for long..." he added until a quake rumbled and shook everything in his lair. A loud bang occurred, it was as if an explosion went off outside and it alerted all of the senses in his body. "Igilous, go see what all the commotion is about!" he hollered, was about to unstrap Vei when he heard gagging outside his door. His head jerked over his shoulder and watched the door swing open, revealing Genos and Saitama. "You..." he began, fully faced them, and held that closed jar under his armpit securely.

Genos's fury was evident when he saw just how bad off Vei looked. His fists clenched, feeling the boiling rage overflow his body as if it was about to burst. "Let her go, Ebon Metal!" he hollered with a strong voice, lifted his hand, and started channeling a blast from his palm.

"I'll take care of him, Genos. You handle this guy," Sai spoke up after letting go of the redhead; he too was beyond furious after he saw Vei. He walked past the cyborg and glanced over his shoulder at his pupil; not only did he want to kill Gratta, but he also didn't want Genos taking damage and possibly getting killed by Ebon.

The cyborg nodded hesitantly and turned around, dragging Igilous away from the room. "Saitama... You are such a disappointment. To know you didn't fulfill your duty, irks me..." Gratta stated and backed up towards the table, safely placing the jar of blood on it behind him.

"Disappointment...? Why do you keep saying that and what duty?" Sai questioned angrily and clenched his fists.

Ebon lowered his head, peering at him dangerously behind his blackened helmet. As if on cue, Gratta surprised Sai when he appeared before him with his hand grabbing his face and pushing him backward out of the room. Sai was slammed against the hallway's wall, being held against it by Gratta's strong grip on his face. It left a large crack on the surface and the baldy's eyes were a little wide. "My brother... You are a disgrace..." His dark, threatening voice echoed through the halls and soon they both disappeared, leaving the lair. Outside, Ebon chucked Saitama out from his grasp and made the baldy crash through countless trees in a row.

Sai didn't seem fazed at all, even more so when he stopped crashing through them and landed on the ground on top of a log. Slowly he sat up, dusted himself off, and frowned, soon vanishing and reappearing before the false king. Muscles defined beneath his yellow suit and strict features on his face, he eyed the villain dangerously with caution. "I don't have a brother... So why are you calling me a disgrace, when we've never known each other?" He asked and gave a firm stance, preparing himself for any kind of unexpected attack. He was confused, angry, and curious at the same time. Sonic appeared in the trees with his purple ninja attire on and a black mask covering his lower face.

"Sonic...? Sonic, what are you doing here...?!" Isabelle who was hidden among the shadows and hard to see, questioned the ninja whilst watching him look around in surprise.

"Isabelle? I came to help you. Your planning on saving Vei while the metal head is distracted, right?" He asked, darted his head around, and crouched on the branch he stood on. They were whispering back and forth, staying out of sight from Ebon and Sai.

"Yes. Though I haven't seen Genos come out with Saitama, so maybe you should help him so I can get Vei out of there," she paused for a moment and then continued. "I thought I told you to stay with Gaia,Lumeri, and Drive Knight...too," she added with a slightly irritated sound in her voice.

"You did...but as I said, I wanted to come and help you. If Ebon Metal is just as dangerous to Villains and other people, then I, Speed O'Sound sonic, have a right to self-defense...!" Sonic peered up above his head and saw her shadowed figure, with a risen brow. "Why are you hiding in the shadows like that?" questioning the woman, it was avoided when Isabelle disappeared after saying, follow me. His brows knitted and he disappeared too, following after her.

"Oh... I know of you. You're the boy Saitama, that I picked up off a street long ago. The boy who was wandering around near his home who's had died a few years later to some villain! The boy who got swallowed in sorrow and loneliness after his parents died and that I saved, by granting you my DNA!" he explained through anger and clenched a fist, lifting it up a bit in front of him furiously. "I erased your memory, Saitama... Injecting my blood into you, giving you the same treatment I've given myself throughout the years I've grown up; I gave you the same strength I possess. You were but a boy when I snatched you and gave you the power of unimaginable strength!" he yelled out. Saitama, as much as he hated long descriptions and sentences, preferring twenty words or less, chose to put up with his explanations so he could get some answers.

So... That's why my mind felt blank the next day I woke up. When I was little and was living by myself, I woke up on the floor in my house. I didn't know how I got there but just brushed it off, thinking I just passed out from overworking myself to try to earn money and dealing with school. Him saying, when I was a boy, I think he was referring to me being in school; so I was roughly around sixteen or seventeen, that was when my parents died...by a villain. Sai said in his mind and narrowed his eyes more. He knew I would eventually want to get stronger, for some sort of purpose. he added in his head. "I wanted to become a hero for fun, so what duty are you talking about?" He asked, glaring at the metal head not too far from him.

Gratta lowered his head, grumbled angrily, and disappeared. He reappeared before Sai within a split second and was about to grab his throat until the baldy sidestepped with a slight astonished face. Watching the villain stand there now to his side and lower his hand, he received his answer. "To kill every empowered human on this planet...so I wouldn't have to!" he yelled, swung his fist, and backhanded Sai across the face with the sound of a shotgun going off in the air from his hit.

Air dispersed from his attack and caused a large crater to form where he stood, as he watched the baldy fly monstrously. A light grunt had left Sai's lips before he flew across the ground away from the graveyard. Trees swayed harshly, leaves danced through the air and dust flew. Ebon disappeared out of the area, catching up to him and leaving the crushed up ground where Sai had used his strength to unearth the entrance to his lair.

She and Sonic withstood the harsh air burst from Gratta's attack and clung to the base of the trees, when they sneakily maneuvered around them. "Now!" Isabelle yelled and vanished, making Sonic gasp from her sudden sprint, and went to catch up with her. Inside the lair, Genos swung his leg out at Igilous, who just recently injected himself with the temporary chemicals he told Vei about before. The cyborg knew he had to hold back, lest he makes the lair cave in and possibly put Vei at risk.

Igilous lifted his forearm and blocked the incoming kick, then swatted it away and did an uppercut. The cyborg leaned back and avoided it, then ducked, doing a dropkick. Now that the redhead was on the ground, he pinned him to it after getting on top of him and went to punch him hard, until... "Wait!" It was too close for comfort, he had almost punched him seeing that Geno's fist was barely touching the scout's nose. The demon cyborg froze, glaring dangerously at the redhead. "Please... I'm only doing this because Ebon Metal would kill me if I didn't! I don't want to fight... I don't want to be killed...but..." he trailed off, frowned, and expressed an emotion he hadn't felt in years....hope. "Please... I just want it all to end... Please stop Ebon Metal. I'm tired of all of this! I just...want..." he began, only to get cut off by Genos when he overran him.

"Just what...? Normally a villain's follower or minion would want to defend their leaders and sometimes even trick their opponent by pleading for mercy. I'll say this now, I don't show mercy to those who-" Now it was Igilous's turn, he ran him over.

"I'm not playing games here!" The redhead yelled with tears brimming his black eyes, that there alone was proof enough... "Ebon Metal... He's been using me the whole time... I just wanted a job, something that paid well and needed me. I was out of a job when Ebon Metal found me and hired me, I didn't know who he was and I didn't know what work waited for me on the other end. Once he started making me do his bidding, I had no choice but to go along with it, otherwise, he'd kill me if I disobeyed!" Fear was clear in his eyes as he explained to Genos, that and tears started streaming down his cheeks. "I don't want this job...please, just kill him already! I've been waiting for someone to do so, for a long time!" He cried out, closed his eyes, and turned his head. He didn't care anymore, he didn't care if no one wanted to give him a job anymore, he didn't even care if anyone needed him for anything... He just wanted it all to end. Losing everything in his life, living in utter despair, depression, and pain, he wanted it all to just stop.

Genos frowned, took his fist away, and stared at him with a judging expression. "Then...go. I don't want to see your face around Vei or Ebon Metal again, got it...?" he demanded and stood up, watching as Igilous grew shocked at the mercy he was given. Slowly his black eyes locked onto Genos's and they stared at each other for a good moment. Disbelief, he couldn't believe the freedom he was being offered and nearly broke down into tears. Gradually the cyborg watched him situp, crying and nodding as thanks. Now the redhead bolted for it, running out of the lair and leaving Genos there alone. "Hm, I actually feel sorry for that man..." he mumbled with sympathy.

Suddenly, in came Sonic and Isabelle. Though Isabelle ran into the room Genos was near at and the purple ninja stood before him with curiosity. unfortunately, the cyborg didn't even see her, not noticing her even enter the room. "Where's that redhead at?" he questioned, only to see the demon cyborg shake his head no.

"I let him live. He begged for mercy and told me everything, as to why he was defending Gratta. Why are you here, anyway?" Asking that, Sonic folded his arms and backed up a bit, looking in the room Vei's master was in.

"I wanted to help Isabelle... I have my reasons," That was all he said, then received a nod from his temporary teammate. "After all of this is over, we're going back to our own paths. I still haven't given upon Saitama!" With a fist clenched and his other arm still across his chest, Genos sweatdropped.

Inside the room, Vei mumbled out a puzzling hum and her head bobbed up and down to try and look around again. A blurred vision, a weak body, she could barely see the person across from her. "Who...?" she began with a meek voice, groaning all the while.

"Vei, dear...it's me, Isabelle. Come on, I need to get you out of here before this place collapses!" She rose her voice in a panicked state, then felt rumbling around her which indicated the place was soon to cave in. Saitama must have been a little too rough when he unveiled the secret entrance and the ground around it.

"M-Master...?" Vei mumbled, eyes fluttered open and closed continuously. Isabelle was still barely visible to her but managed to make her out. She had black kunoichi clothes on, something that you would see from the feudal era of Japan... A tight black mask was over her lower face, her hair was up in a high ponytail and it dangled down past her lower back; it was a very long ponytail... Her shoulders were visible while black netting covered them, fingerless gloves covered her hands and a short sword was attached to her lower back. The short sword's hilt stuck out from the side in its sheath, giving her easy access to wield it when needed. Her honey brown eyes held a motherly look towards Vei, she was so worried about her. Quickly, out of a rectangular, hard pouch that hung on the side of her hip, she drew a red talisman and her other hand was placed on Vei's stomach. Her eyes closed and her hand glowed like before, she was trying to heal at least some of Vei's stamina considering she can't rejuvenate blood...She pretty much figured Gratta extracted a lot of blood from her since there was a jar of it sitting on the table.

When Vei's eyes fluttered open more, she felt energy begin to course through her body. As if on cue, Isabelle quickly unstrapped her from those belts and put one of her arms over her shoulders, supporting her weight. In came Sonic and Genos, but, without hesitation in his actions, the demon cyborg ran over and picked her up into his arms. "It'd be faster if I carried her!" Genos hollered, then they both nodded and ran out of the room.

"Wait...the...cat..."Vei managed to speak up and made them halt in their pace. Isabelle and Genos looked over at sonic with expectation in their eyes, hoping he would go get the little guy. Since he was one of the fastest, Sonic sighed with a nod in understanding. Every lab servant that was hired by Gratta was kicked out after he had turned that lab room into a guest room for Vei. So there was no need to worry if others were in the lair. Soon, out they came.

Genos had her in his arms, Isabelle had that talisman in case a barrier was needed and Sonic cradled the cat in his arms with occasional affectionate licks from it. "Where did they go?" Sonic asked, searching for Saitama as he stood there moving his head around.

"Fighting...EbonMetal..." Isabelle spoke up upon feeling Saitama and Gratta's power flaunting in the far distance. "We need to stay as far away from them as possible, we don't know the full extent from either of their powers. This way!" Quickly she ran after speaking, heading in the opposite direction Sai and Ebon were in. They all rushed and scaled a mountain's cliff and stood on the edge watching, Vei barely being able to stay awake. 

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!~ Don't forget to leave a comment, I'm always happy to hear from my readers! \o/