https://youtu.be/xWkyyCcyfCI

"Inigo, I come bearing exceptional news. Thanks to your advice, and a little ingenuity on our part, we have successfully exposed and defeated Grant Monarich and forced him to retreat. I'm sure Deus Spero smiles on all of us today!"

Looking down at the latest update from Jude, Inigo sighed a long-awaited sigh of relief as he put his phone away, looking over at Scarlett. The two of them, having finished their food, were now making their way out of the Hole, stopping outside as she stepped in front of him, smiling happily with her hands behind her back.

"Soooo, Inigo." she began. "That was...pretty fun, all things considered."

"I can imagine eating breakfast with your enemy is a novel experience." Inigo replied. At that, Scarlett gave a playful wink.

"Yep! Usually they treat me to dinner." she said, and at once he began to wonder if that was a joke or not. "This may not have been so glamorous, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless."

"Sorry if you're more used to caviar and foie gras." Inigo snarked, putting a hand on his hip. "I hope your muffin was a good substitute."

"The muffin was great." Scarlett smiled. "So, no need to worry."

"But I'm curious. Do your enemies treat you to dinner often?"

"Well, they didn't know they were my enemy at the time..." Scarlett sighed, looking up and gently scratching her arm. "I'm usually sent to capture our enemies, and getting close to them usually works. They let their guard down around me, and...well, I'm sure you know the rest."

"Uh huh..." Inigo nodded slowly. "I can imagine you're very good at that."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I meant it as one."

She smiled slightly at that, looking over at him before holding her hand out towards him. "Well, Inigo, it's been fun, but...I've got to get back to Ruben."

"Why don't we go together?" Inigo suggested. "I've got business at Ruben, too."

"I thought you said the rest of your day was busy. What are you doing at Ruben?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

"I need to meet up with some friends, and I also want to check the place out." Inigo explained. "Let's get walking. I'll elaborate on the way."

"Uh, sure..." Scarlett replied, turning around to walk. Inigo kept pace with her, walking next to her as they made their way through the not-so-bustling streets of Arc, heading towards the town exit to begin their trek towards the red settlement. As they walked, Inigo cleared his throat, deciding there was no further reason to keep her in the dark - and in fact, it was imperative that he fill her in.

"To begin with, I should probably tell you why I invited you here. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy your company." Inigo explained, taking a deep breath. "But having you come over to Arc was so that I could get you out of the way."

"I didn't realise I was in your way." Scarlett looked up to the partially-cloudy sky for a brief moment before turning her gaze over to Inigo. "What for?"

"For my attack." Inigo said simply, beginning to gently play with a lock of his hair. "As of this morning, Ruben knows who the white-flame menace is. They know who the Libera filth who stole their town is."

He didn't make eye contact with Scarlett once as he fessed up, but she kept her eyes on him the entire time, it quickly dawning on her what he meant. "...for real?"

"As we speak, my friends are over there. They gathered the clues, they questioned him, and they forced a retreat." he replied, while her eyes slowly widened in disbelief. "I sent him flying into a rage, and he destroyed the foundations that he'd built up. Also, probably a few blocks. I didn't know whether or not you'd help him or oppose him - he's your old man, after all. So I didn't want to risk it."

"...heh." Scarlett smiled a little, looking ahead and shaking her head slowly. "So that's why the Mikado wants you so badly."

"You seem weirdly okay with this." Inigo raised an eyebrow.

"It is weird, isn't it? You took on one of my allies - my dad, no less - and won, in a way that'll probably affect my life directly. In doing so, you manipulated me just to maximise your chances of success." Scarlett smiled more. "I should be angrier. Right now, I feel like punching you in the face."

"...permission granted."

"...but at the same time, I feel like giving you a hug - or at least, a very heartfelt thanks." she continued. "If what you're saying is true, then you've saved a lot of people - at least for a while. It'll take some time for him to recover from that, after all."

"Like you said, you'll be affected, too." Inigo pointed out.

"Yeah..." Scarlett sighed. "Not like I don't deserve it, though. I was complicit in everything he did, and...well, you know what he did?"

"I'm at least seventy percent sure he's an organ trafficker."

"That and more." Scarlett nodded. "So, I can't get too mad at you. You did the right thing."

"It's not like innocents weren't hurt in the crossfire..." Inigo murmured. "Still, Scarlett...you think you deserve this?"

"What, do you disagree?"

"Remember what I said the other day?" Inigo tilted his head slightly, earning another sigh from his frenemy.

"Of course. I've been thinking about it ever since." she said.

"Remember my exact words?" Inigo continued. "You said you were in too deep. And I disagreed with that notion. Not just because you helped people in Caerulus, but because of how you feel about your actions. It may sound like a paradox, but if you feel irredeemable, and you don't like that, you're probably more redeemable than you think."

She remained silent, and he watched for her reaction for a bit before continuing to speak. "Once you realise you can be a better person, what comes next is actually doing it." he said. "Because, like I said, you have a choice to make. You've just gotta summon the courage."

"...easier said than done." Scarlett sighed, crossing her arms. "How do you do this, anyway? How do you oppose Libera so easily? Do you just not feel fear?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Scarlett. I'm a human, too." Inigo replied. "Every second of this battle is one where I'm wracked with fear. But you'd be surprised at how far someone who really wants something is willing to go. Though, given your father's little catchphrase, you might know what I'm talking about."

"That makes sense, kinda. He always said that to justify his ruthlessness." Scarlett smiled a little. "But now that you mention it, the line itself is pretty neutral. If you held back and let fear overtake you, you wouldn't accomplish anything, would you?"

"See, now you're starting to get it." Inigo nodded. "Against people as ruthless as Libera, you're gonna have to take the gloves off. And doing that gets a lot easier as long as you remember what you're fighting for."

He hummed as Scarlett began to take in his words, and he took in a deep breath as he looked at her. "By the way, in case you were worried, I made sure my friends didn't kill Galileo." he said, prompting her to look up. "I may hate the bastard, but he's still your dad. Regardless of how well you took in my words, it can't be easy to just let go of him."

"I appreciate that..." Scarlett smiled slightly. "And, I think I'm gonna give it a try, anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'm done appeasing him. And when I'm ready, I'll stop being such a coward, too." she explained, looking at him with a happy little grin on her face. "It kinda feels like I've been waiting all my life for someone to tell me what you did, so the least I can do is listen."

"Well. That's good to hear." Inigo looked ahead. "I have faith in you, Scarlett. It won't be easy."

"You're telling me." she chuckled quietly, remaining very close by his side while they walked forward, leaving Arc behind and walking onto a new street. They walked past the alley where they had once fought the Caricatures, who didn't seem so eager to pick a fight this time, and continued on their path, observing the breezy surroundings. The streets were still reasonably empty, with a few people walking in and out of shops, and maybe a car or two rushing down the road every now and then. As the two walked, Scarlett's smile slowly faded away as something began to gnaw at her mind, and she tapped Inigo's shoulder, getting his attention. "Hey...can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why do you trust me?"

Inigo raised an eyebrow at that, but before he could answer, she continued speaking. "I mean, logically, it doesn't really make sense, does it? I'm with Libera, I'm the daughter of the guy who hates you, and I'm the one who ratted you out to the Mikado. Not to mention, I told you not too long ago that I've gotten close to many of our enemies, only to sell them out in the end." she pointed out, looking away from him as she stared at the passing trees in the distance. "It just doesn't make sense to trust me...yet you do, without question. I could've been trying to honey-trap you this whole time..."

"Well, were you?" Inigo asked, causing her to pause briefly as all their prior interactions flashed through her mind. She tried to call on how she felt during those times, the shift in her emotions over time. Inigo, observing this brief moment, gave a tiny chuckle. "Didn't think so."

"Well, I actually was, at first." she admitted. "Or at least, I tried. You put a stop to that pretty quickly. I wanted to try again, but I looked back on our first proper meeting...and I decided you were actually kinda interesting."

"How'd you figure that?"

"Well, you shut me down almost immediately. You weren't interested in my ruse at all. But even though you made fun of me for being in Libera, you didn't actually seem to mind too much. And you were pretty easy to talk to..." she said. "It was brief, but I enjoyed that talk, and it made me want to get to know you a little more."

Inigo nodded slowly at that, finding that to be a decent response. "Well, then, I suppose I don't need to ask you the reverse question." he mused. "But rest assured, Scarlett. I trust you."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." she giggled, mildly amused. She leaned closer towards him while they walked, making their merry way over to Ruben and continuing to make casual conversation over time, their faith in themselves and each other renewed.

.........

https://youtu.be/8vMpc-eB7js

"Welcome to Ruben" read the sign at the entrance, but as they walked past, Scarlett didn't exactly feel welcome. Knowing her father's secret was out, she could only fear for what her future held. As they walked further through the streets, they took note of the surroundings, as the few people who were out talked openly with one another, discussing the menace with fear and caution. Every now and then, Inigo spotted men in suits scavenging around, and made sure to put his hood up and remain close to Scarlett.

As they progressed through the town, they noticed an increasingly tense atmosphere, which came to a head as they made their way to Favilla. Looking at house number 34, they immediately noticed the door blasted to smithereens on the ground, and both stared in surprise before Inigo spoke up.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he began, twirling a lock of hair between two fingers. "But I could've sworn you had a door yesterday."

"Your friends and my dad must've gotten up to some crazy shit today." Scarlett mused, vividly recalling the presence of a door as she had left earlier. "Wonder what happened, exactly..."

"Maybe we should ask around and find out." Inigo suggested, looking around to see if anyone was nearby. But nobody seemed to be out on that particular street. He frowned slightly until he saw a certain trio running in from around the corner - and with it, his chance to get a primary source. "...like those guys over there."

Scarlett nodded, and as the two faced the Spectrum trio, they saw that they had already spotted them, and were running in their direction. He offered them a wave as they approached, while Scarlett, not knowing who any of them were but vaguely recognising Jude, did the same.

"Inigo, hey!" Silas spoke up, and eventually, they stopped in front of him, Azurine looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

"...uh, hey, guys."

"Inigo, what were you thinking? You machiavellian bastard!"

At Azurine's angry outburst, he looked down to focus on her, taking a deep breath and not stopping her. Scarlett raised an eyebrow, trying to work out what was going on here. These were Inigo's friends, most likely, but the short one seemed mad at him. Best to listen, rather than butt herself into what was likely none of her business.

"Jude and I almost died because of your little stunt!" she continued, pointing at him. "You just dumped us in the middle of this town, made us fight your nemesis, and you couldn't even give us the chance to object!"

"...The plan wouldn't work if I was actually there..."

"Alright, cool!" Azurine yelled. "But next time you gamble with my life, tell me!"

"I've gotta agree with Azurine here." Silas added. "You should've been more upfront."

"I may have omitted some information, but that was because of the plan." Inigo pointed out. "If you knew any more than you did, things wouldn't have gone right."

"I can see where he's coming from. The plan did involve hiding all traces of his own involvement...until the right moment, that is. And Grant is a very clever man." Jude observed. "From a practical viewpoint, I can see why he wouldn't want to give us any more knowledge than we needed. Morally, however, the act was quite reprehensible."

"I...I know that." Inigo sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. Really. And for anyone else who might have died in this incident, too. But I'll say that I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think you could pull it off."

"I suppose what matters most is that the threat's over." Silas sighed. "And you did help with that. So, good job, Inigo."

"Yeah. I don't know how it would've ended if you hadn't sent Iago." Azurine crossed her arms. "That redeems you. Slightly."

"Uh, I don't mean to intrude..." Scarlett spoke up. "But you did know Galileo was a dangerous fighter, right?"

"I'm pretty sure they did." Inigo replied. "But they weren't expecting to have to fight. I sent them on a combat mission disguised as an intel-gathering one."

"You also sent Grant on a wild goose chase looking for you." Jude pointed out. "He completely shed his social carapace for the chance to stop you from unravelling his plans."

"But...he was in Arc with me." Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

"The point was getting everyone to see him." Inigo explained. "I couldn't tear down his cover, so the next best thing was to make him do it for me."

"People died in this event. I'm sure this is what constitutes a tragedy." Silas lamented, lowering his head. "But at least the survivors will know what happened to their town. They'll know who was responsible."

"Yeah...and maybe the people here will learn how to smile again." Azurine said, giving a slight smile to get her point across.

"That's the silver lining, at least." Inigo sighed. "Speaking of Iago, where is he?"

"He said he had business elsewhere in the town. If I had to guess, I'd say he's fighting off the rest of Grant's men." Jude commented.

"I wanted to go after him, but we decided it was probably better to look out for the survivors." Azurine sighed. "...You wanna come with us?"

"Sure."

"Alright..." Azurine nodded, before pointing a finger at Scarlett, who looked on in mild bemusement. "You! You understand what's going on, right? You know what we did to your father?"

"I like to think I'm in the loop." Scarlett replied casually.

"Well, we roughed him up really badly, and we're gonna do the same to you if you get in our way!" she exclaimed, stepping closer to the taller woman and glaring menacingly at her. "So you're gonna stand aside and let us save the day, got it?"

Silas raised an eyebrow at this, figuring the intimidation would probably be more effective if she wasn't so small and cute. Scarlett stared at her, wondering whether to quake in her boots or stand there and give the girl headpats. Nonetheless, she stayed where she was, putting a hand on her hip. "Actually, I was thinking about coming with you."

"I- you- what?" Azurine stammered before glaring at her, distrust written plainly on her face. "Out of the question, Libera scum! You're just gonna stab me in the back!"

"She's more of a slashing type, actually..." Inigo mused, mostly to himself.

"I wasn't planning on it, no sir." Scarlett shook her head. "Plus, even if you stopped me from coming along, I don't think you can stop me from going off on my own. That seems like a risk you don't wanna take."

Azurine grumbled at that, narrowing her eyes before resting her hands petulantly on her hips. "Then you can come along. But I've got my eye on you, missy!"

"Ooh, and does it like what it sees?" Scarlett winked, her nonchalance in the face of her threats causing Azurine to clench her teeth and roar slightly. Silas, observing this, placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, shaking his head.

"Azurine, cool it. We have other matters at hand." he said, more amused than anything. At that, she took a deep breath before letting out an equally deep sigh.

"Let's just go..."

And without much further ado, they were off, with the unlikely - and in some cases, almost unwelcome aid of Scarlett. There were people out there counting on their help, after all. For now, they could put aside their petty squabbles and focus on the bigger picture.

.........

https://youtu.be/byTldJdeg3M

As Grant emerged in the middle of a dark, empty room, he growled slightly, quickly regaining his bearings and standing up straight. Still feeling humiliated in the wake of his defeat, he hesitated to open the door. But he did eventually, and as he stepped through, he found himself in the Mikado's office, with the Mikado herself sitting at her desk, sipping on her hot chocolate. Leaning against the wall next to her was Coyote, the two of them seemingly engaged in a conversation.

"You know, the great bridge connecting Han'ei and Erdeland took over a decade to complete. There were a lot of complications to sort out, such as diplomatic agreements, monsters hiding in the vast ocean separating them, and the various bandits and racial supremacists who felt that the construction materials were better used elsewhere."

Naturally, the Mikado was infodumping him with some factoid about engineering, and like the mindless mutt he was, Coyote was listening like it was his job. Almost as though he found this drivel interesting.

"Despite these issues, the bridge saw completion, but those who refused to walk the path provided for them forged their own. A quicker path, but a more dangerous one. A railroad was built beneath the bridge, closer to those bottomless blue depths." she continued, but her gaze was now focused on Grant, rather than Creed. Taking another sip of her hot chocolate, she continued. "The result? Those people, in their arrogance, fell victim to their own hubris and became one with the waters. Now it is up to people more competent than them to ensure that the trains run on time."

"If you have something to say, I insist that you be direct." Grant glared angrily.

"We all know how well your insistence has gone in the past, Galileo." the Mikado shook her head slowly. "You insisted on circumventing my orders and going to great lengths to kill the Red Joker despite my requests that you bring him to me alive. And you couldn't even kill him, could you?"

"All this time, money, resources...and nothing but a burning city to show for it!" Coyote shook his head, crossing his arms. "Man, if you could go ham on all of our enemies like this, we'd never have to worry again!"

"All I needed was a little more time-"

"What would you do with that time?" the Mikado asked, putting her mug down and tenting her fingers as she pierced into him with freezing eyes. "Let him work out how to kill that thug you keep hiring? Perhaps burn down a few more civilians? Maybe you could even go right up to his doorstep and personally teach him how to kill you."

Grant tried to speak, but one chilling glare from the Mikado shut him up. "You've had time, Galileo. And you wasted it at every turn. The best thing that can be said here is that you've proven an excellent counter-exemplar." she continued. "I have let you run free, and I have watched your battles with that Joker, and I can only conclude that you need me - and all of Libera - if you plan to accomplish any of your goals."

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't-"

"We've seen what happens when you act without - or even despite my orders. And we know that I get things done." the Mikado shook her head slowly. "With your failures, can't you see that you're further from stopping our enemies and avenging her than you would be if you'd simply done as you were told?"

"You let yourself get sidetracked, and you lost sight of the main objective." Coyote shook his head, looking at a frozen, steadily crumbling Grant.

"In whatever realm awaits us beyond this one, she's waiting for you, Grant. She's watching you. She wants you to achieve justice for her untimely fate." the Mikado continued, observing Grant as his composed veneer slowly cracked. "How do you think she feels watching you perform like this? I can only imagine her relief as you caught this chance to seek revenge, only to turn to horror and shame as you threw away this golden opportunity in favour of chasing rats."

"You of all people should know that a cornered rat is the most dangerous kind." Coyote added. "You lost it all, Grant. It's a shame, really."

Grant clenched his teeth, lowering his head and remaining silent as he tried to think of a retort, only to come up completely dry. He couldn't even feebly blame anyone else this time. "...so, what next? Is this where you kill me?"

"You provide an invaluable service to Libera. Compromised as it currently is, it isn't unsalvageable if you act quickly. I wouldn't destroy it, or you, for as long as that remains true." the Mikado shook her head. "But if I were you, Galileo, I would be dreading the day the risks of your employment begin outweighing the benefits. As would she."

"...understood."

"Now, you are dismissed." the Mikado said, while Coyote opened the exit door, holding it for him. Grant, meeting neither of their eyes in shame, dragged himself out, leaving the two alone, a brief silence between the two before Coyote spoke up.

"...so...you wanna keep talking about bridges?"

"In a minute, Creed." the Mikado picked up her mug again. "We have other priorities that must be discussed."

"Like the Red Joker?" Creed asked, smiling slightly and earning a nod from his boss.

"That man...he's quite the intriguing opponent, isn't he?" she mused. "Galileo may be of the temperamental sort, but he still isn't easy to outfox, and the Joker managed to evade every move set by his opposition. I don't know if he's brave, a fool, or both, but I'm actually somewhat impressed so far."

"So, what comes next?" Creed asked. "Need me to go gather more data on him or Iago?"

"What we have will be sufficient." the Mikado replied, shaking her head. "Tomorrow, I want you to find him and update me on his position. Watch him, and make sure you're not seen."

"Ooh, stealth missions." Creed grinned. "But are you sure you're content with simple watching?"

"For now, I am." the Mikado nodded. "Because I think we need to talk."