https://youtu.be/Z-E5QzhJa4k

"Well, now. It looks like the experiment was a resounding success."

In the midst of a dimly lit room, surroundings shrouded with darkness, there stood a wide, cream-coloured table with an ornate vase stuffed with plants in the centre, and above it, a projection of the calamitous events of Caerulus playing for all to see. Sitting around it were five mysterious figures - one listless, one lively, one prim, one relaxed, and one in the middle, with a distinctive pair of glinting spectacles.

"Ha! All this funding and research, condensed into one card-shaped little moneymaker! And all for the low, low price of one city!"

"These stones have quite the potential, don't they? I wonder how far we can go with this..."

"And to think little Minori could do something like this. In more capable hands, who knows what they could do?"

"Hmm...hey, Doctor, I think I should wield the next one. It'll really spice up my next rodeo."

"Ah, yes, your supervillain gig. I thought 'Mr. Fahrenheit' doesn't hurt people."

"I could give 'em a good scare, though. Just imagine the headlines!"

"If you two are done, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"You're right. I find the three who stopped this to be a crew most...motley. One of our own, one of our enemies, and one who occupies a most curious position in between..."

"How did those three even come to an agreement? I was under the impression that Libera wasn't capable of listening to reason once our forces were in the picture."

"Just so we're clear, Doctor, you don't mind that Makoto stopped this, do you?"

"Not in the least. If anything, I find myself rather relieved that cooler heads prevailed in whatever discussion led to this joining of forces."

"What's important is that the Arcana worked."

"Right, right, just making sure we don't need to give anyone a stern talking-to."

"But who does the media blame, I wonder? Perhaps this could prove to be the spark we need! Doctor, we must mass-produce this posthaste!"

"Woah, Acedia. How many cities need to go up in flames before you're satisfied?"

"I thought you might ask that, so I've done the calculations! It will take roughly five big, flashy attacks like this one before the more radical members of the populace decide it's a threat from Mortain or Freesia! Just sprinkle in a few more, and in comes the retaliation!"

"Sounds rather foolproof, if you ask me! Well, save for all the fools we're relying on."

"Erdeland provides no shortage. But we must be wary. Libera appears to feature rather prominently in the collective consciousness as of late."

"Ah, right, that white-flame menace? The stars tell me he's gonna be fresh in their minds for a while."

"Then it appears the best thing to do would be to let things cool off for a while. Then we strike."

"What?! You have to be kidding!"

"Acedia. Calm down. The plan is still going to happen."

"Yes, I know, it's just...we were so close!"

"You'll get your chance to roll in all the dough you could ever desire. Mark my words." the Doctor smiled slightly, leaning forward in his seat. "But in the meantime, we ought to watch. And I'm particularly interested in these happenings now that our little wild card has returned..."

.........

https://youtu.be/woz5qvDdMRM

"Aaaand that's a wrap!"

As the clock struck seven, the gym at Arc Town was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers. Today just wasn't a busy day, thought Silas, as he sat down on the foamy floor, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Next to him was Valerie, gazing lifelessly at the wall in the immediate aftermath of their post-workout stretch routine.

"That was a good one, wouldn't you say?" Silas said, leaning back with his hands on the floor and grinning at her, only to pay closer attention at the lack of a response. Watching her navel-gazing for a little while, he frowned slightly and shuffled closer, tapping her shoulder. "Yo, Val, you good?"

"Oh, uh, yes. I'm good. Excellent, even." she replied, shivering slightly at her touch as she snapped back to her senses. Looking over at Silas, she saw his eyebrow raised and sighed. "...okay, but I'm not doing that badly..."

"Something on your mind?"

"On account of me being a human being, there's always something on my mind." Valerie said dryly. Silas rolled his eyes in amusement.

"You're telling me you've never had a 'no thoughts, head empty' moment? Bullshit." he smiled slightly. "I'm all ears, if you wanna talk about it."

Valerie seemed to deliberate for a little, and as she did, she looked over at him, observing his smile and how gentle yet earnest it was. Like he was absolutely certain about what he wanted to do. It was enviable, she thought. Sighing, she decided there was no harm in it, and gave a short nod. "Sure, I guess." she said. "Can we do this somewhere else, though? I'd rather we discuss this somewhere more private..."

"Of course. I happen to know the perfect place." Silas said, standing up and looking down at her. "Let's get changed. Then, you can just follow me..."

.........

"Really? Your bloody workplace?"

The two, dressed in their casual attires, stood before the Java Hole, with varying levels of enthusiasm written all over them. Silas was grinning radiantly, hands on his hips as he looked up at the all-too-familiar building. Valerie, by contrast, had her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, a raised eyebrow the only sign of any emotion on her face.

"Finest eatery in all of Arc." Silas chirped. "It closes in, like, two hours, it's quiet at this time, so nobody's gonna overhear unless you're really careless, and you can have a nice veggie smoothie while you talk - on me, of course."

"I respect that you're a vegetarian and all, but I'll take a burger over this stuff any day of the week." Valerie shrugged. "Shall we go in?"

"Of course." Silas said, stepping forth to hold the door open for her. "After you."

Valerie saluted to that, and the two of them entered the cafe, where they were assaulted by the scent of cinnamon wafting through the air. Undeterred, Silas led her to an unoccupied table by the corner, where they both took a seat.

"Alright, first order of business..."

.........

A few minutes later, Silas returned to their table, holding a tray with two glasses of green smoothies with black straws in them, setting it down between them as he sat down. "So...are you sure you wanted a veggie smoothie? You didn't have to, you know..."

"You recommended it. Plus, it's healthy."

"Well, it was more of a passing remark..." Silas murmured, taking his smoothie and sipping from it gently, enjoying the cool taste of avocado, kale and cucumber creamily flowing down his throat. "Now, for the second order of business..."

"Right, that." Valerie nodded, drinking from her own smoothie with a low hum. It wasn't her usual choice of beverage, but it surprisingly wasn't that bad. "Where to begin...I don't reckon you know what Apex is, do you?"

"Uh...I think an apex is, like, the top of a mountain, right?"

Valerie snorted a little in amusement. "Not just a mountain." she said. "But I mean Apex, with a capital 'A'."

"Oh. Can't say it rings a bell." Silas shrugged.

"Can't blame you. Not a lot of people do." Valerie replied. "Buncha egghead scientists. They study Natura, and they've done miracles with it. Potions, prosthetics, strange magical phenomena - you name it."

"Sounds cool. So, you were thinking about them?"

"It's only natural, I think." Valerie sighed. "They're the guys Libera's trying to stop...and my former line of work."

"...well. This is new." Silas nodded after a moment of silence, taking another sip from his smoothie while staring at her with wide eyes. "No offence, but you don't-"

"Don't really strike you as a scientist, do I? Never heard that one before." Valerie rolled her eyes slightly. "If you wanna be fit, it helps to have a good working knowledge of biology and physics."

"Makes sense." Silas replied, still taking all this in. "So...if you were one of them...and now you're in Libera...that means you're opposing them now, right?"

"That's how it works, yeah."

"But then...why?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. I had a lot more freedom and a lot less fear." Valerie admitted. "The Doctor, charming bastard that he was, let me put my strength towards a cause that was just, and when I wasn't training, I'd be helping Iago with his magical formulae. It was the life."

"Back up a bit, did you just say 'Iago'?"

"The same one who's been butchering Libera."

"...I can see it, actually."

Valerie sighed wistfully, holding onto her smoothie with a smile. "He and I were tight. Despite our differences, we got along." she said. "Nice as the Apex days were, though, I...couldn't agree with the Doctor's methods anymore. He was a bloody mad scientist, and I couldn't bring myself to keep letting people suffer at his hands. So, I quit, and so did Iago. From there, though, our paths split."

"Because you joined Libera, and he opposed them." Silas mused.

"All I can say is, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Valerie said, her voice flattening. "I wanted to stop the Doctor, and Coyote made it seem so appealing. We met, and he seemed nice, but he revealed his allegiances to me gradually over time. So I listened to him, agreed with him, and look where it's got me - trapped under the Mikado's thumb."

Silas nodded slowly, hearkening back to when he'd asked her why she didn't just leave. "That Mikado...she doesn't have dirt on you, does she?"

"Dirt? Hah, no. Bloody bitch don't need to collect dirt. She's got other ways of keeping us under control." Valerie laughed weakly, shaking her head. "She knows what makes a person tick, and she'll exploit that to make sure you stick with her. Fear, greed, wrath. No emotion is safe from her almighty thumb."

"Then if you think about it..." Silas murmured. "You're in a sort of prison...of your own making."

Valerie remained silent before visibly deflating, and simultaneously, both of their hearts sank to the ground. "Perhaps so..." she muttered. "But either way, she's the warden...and there ain't no key."

.........

"Welcome to Aurum City" read the sign at the entrance, but there were very few people left to read it. The pristine city had let go of a large percentage of its population, and throughout the day, it had been largely quieter than usual. As the town had already been a beacon of peace, the sun over Aurum's horizon seemed to hold a respectful silence for the fallen.

Sad, thought Iago, as he strolled through the streets, the sun replaced by the equally-silent moon. The atmosphere of death was still fresh in the air, and very few people were out at night. His whole stay at Aurum today had been peaceful, strangely so - while he'd been ambushed by Libera a couple of times on his way, once he actually entered the city, the biggest threat to his life had been an overly-handsy news reporter asking him about yesterday's attack.

What was especially peculiar was that Inigo was nowhere to be found. He'd made sure to leave him a letter this morning, but his white-haired companion had either not seen it or intentionally ignored it. And with neither his greatest ally nor his less-than-fearsome foes, the day had been dreadfully slow, though with his fitted tuxedo, Iago found he fit right in with the pompous, pretentious citizens of Aurum. So he did manage to sneak in some enjoyment today, dining on chicken sandwiches wrapped in gold leaf and looking at the noticeably busier-than-usual cemetery.

In light of that attack, it made sense that Libera would want to lay low. Still, it frustrated him greatly - those few he'd slain on the way could only sate his bloodlust for so long. As he stood in front of Verity's grave, he placed a hand on his chest, looking up to it as a red robin perched on its index finger, pecking around aimlessly.

"We meet again, Sir Verity." Iago began, humming quietly. "I thank you for what you've done with my brother. I cannot claim to know how, but...you seem to have inspired him. Rejuvenated his soul."

He took a short bow, and the robin seemed to bow its head in respect, too. "But alas, I am not just here for that. I seek...a little fulfilment of my own." he said, now looking up. "I dedicate my life to fighting evil, but today, the world feels sinless in excelsis! You, who embodies justice for all, tell me, have I acted in error today? Should I not have remained in stasis, waiting for a companion when nobody came? Tell me, Verity - how do I cleanse this world as quickly as possible?"

"By keeping your eyes open."

"U-Uhm, pardon?" Iago stammered, startled at the response. He looked up at the gravestone, but the only thing he saw was the stone itself and the robin, staring at him with dead eyes. Wait a minute-

"Ca-caw!" the bird shrieked in an obviously human-like voice, and before Iago could properly react, it spread its wings and flew into his face, slashing him with its talons and flapping its wings wildly as he stumbled backwards, vainly trying to bat it away. He called his rapier to hand after a while, and at that the bird kept its distance, floating a few metres away from him before its body became bathed in a red light and its size and shape changed drastically.

https://youtu.be/kvhEYbzToK4

Far from the bird it appeared to be, it was a well-muscled man, with skin that was lighter than dark but darker than light, his arms and legs covered with red tattoos. As the light vanished completely, the man gazed into Iago's eyes with his golden pair of peepers, and the dark sorcerer, sword still in hand, smirked once he saw just who had attacked him.

"I was wondering why today had been so quiet. Not a peep from your church of hypocrites!" he exclaimed, his hands entering his pockets. "I should have guessed that the guard dog of Libera was waiting in the wings."

"Heh." Creed grinned toothily, waving at Iago in a manner that was almost friendly. "'Sup, D-Spawny?"

"We meet again, my dearest pedigree." Iago took a bow in response. "What brings you to a venue like this under the pale moon?"

"Well, I thought this was a pretty cool cemetery. But it'd be even cooler if..." Creed began, before shaking his head, baring his fangs at the shorter, skinnier man. "Ah, let's cut the shit. I'm here to kill ya. Nothing personal."

"An unfortunate, if unsurprising revelation." Iago sighed. "I take it you're here on behalf of your owner, yes?"

"You know, a lot of people call her that." Creed scowled disapprovingly, crossing his arms. "It's not like she owns me or anything. I'm not some slave."

"Aren't you?" Iago raised an eyebrow in faux-confusion. "You answer her every beck and call, expecting nothing in return, no matter how foul the deed. I wonder what you call that."

"Now you make it sound like I'm some kind of blind follower." Creed shook his head. "I can see why you'd come to that conclusion, though - you're not me."

"Hmm...despite the woman you work for, you always seem oddly convicted in your path." Iago murmured. "Never fearful like the Mata Hari, nor resentful like Galileo. And not leaving regrets everywhere you walk, like...her. I would be lying if I said I didn't wonder what drives such devotion."

"I've seen the kindness she's capable of. She changed my life for the better."

"Oho? The villain has a heart?" Iago looked on in fascination. "I wonder what was so wrong that you consider Libera an improvement. I don't remember seeing you in Apex."

"Nah, not them. I had nobody." Creed shook his head. "Life kinda sucks when you're poor. Surely you've seen all the bandits around here, right?"

"Yes, they're quite the blight."

"They're a symptom. Most of them, anyway." Creed smiled. "For every Caricature out there, there are lots of people like me, who had to fight and steal in order to survive. Some of us got better at it than others."

"Is that why you let the Mikado put a leash on you? To survive?" Iago asked, growing more and more genuinely curious.

"Well, let's just say one day, I picked a fight with the wrong woman. She totally destroyed me." Creed chuckled as he looked back on that day. "But she took it better than I expected. She praised my courage, showed respect for my strength, and empathised with my situation. And then, she gave me an offer."

"Creed, was it? I sense fire in those eyes. You wish to survive, do you not? Then come with me, if you want a chance at a better life!"

"To join Libera, yes?"

"And that's where I am today."

Iago stared blankly, unsure what to make of this information, but shook his head slowly. "It sounds to me like she's taking advantage of your circumstances."

"Maybe to you. But I've seen the way she relaxes when I'm with her." Creed smiled. "Sure, the material stuff is nice and good, and I'm useful in turn, but I can tell that we're more than assets to one another."

"Well, if what you say is true, then it makes you all the more heinous. To follow a woman like that and genuinely feel jubilation while doing it." Iago shrugged dramatically. "As my colleagues would put it, 'cool motive, still murder'."

"Call me whatever you want. I'm following her in her quest to stop evil, and if you're in the way, that's that." Creed said, entering a hunched stance. "It's funny, though. In a way, I see her in you. You're both doing evil to fight evil, and that's put you in each other's way - killing people regardless of their motives, if they're an obstacle. I wonder what's to be said about that."

Iago's eye twitched slightly, but he let out a loud laugh, spreading out his arms as they crackled with dark energy. "The difference is, she's blind, and I'm the gods-damned hero!" he yelled, a strange aggression in his words that wasn't there before. "You're blind, she's blind, they're all blind! As long as that blindness poisons the world, I shall be here!"

"Not for long, you won't!" Creed responded, much less agitated than Iago as his arms transformed into a pair of praying mantis blades. He stared his opponent down and charged towards him. The time for pleasantries had passed, and the battle had begun.