Apollo, Clay, and Chroma sat in the living room, attending to their own matters, Apollo was reading some papers, Chroma was focused on drawing on her book, and Clay lay on the couch, preoccupied with her phone.

“I’ll go check on the kid and his friend for a sec,” said Chroma as she stood up,

“Oh I’ll go with you,” said Apollo following suit,

“Sorry Apollo but you’re not going anywhere,” said Clay, “You’re still injured, I’ll go with Chroma,”

Apollo scoffs, “Wow, that’s pretty ironic coming from you, didn’t you always ignore what I say whenever you’re injured,”

“That’s because I’m younger, I can still walk around even if I’m injured,” Clay replied mockingly

“Oh really? Then are you saying that I’m old?” Apollo asked in an annoyed tone,

Clay grins and replies “Well… you look old… I’m guessing, somewhere around late forties,”

“Wha-...” Apollo turned to Chroma, and asked, “Chroma, do I really look that old?”

Chroma hesitates, she bit her lip and looks around the room, unable to answer his question.

Apollo sighs feeling utterly defeated, “You know what… Fuck you, the both of you, I’m only five years older than you Clay,”

Their eyes widened in disbelief, followed by an open mouth, Clay and Chroma looked at each other and back at Apollo, Clay then stood up and patted Apollo’s back.

“It must’ve been a horrible five years, I feel sorry for you,” said Clay in a sincere tone,

Chroma giggles, “Alright, that’s enough, the both of you are injured, I’ll go check on them myself,”

Chroma then left the two of them, she went to the room to check on Vin and Claire, and as she opened the door, she saw VIn sitting on the floor, looking confused.

“Oh, Kid! Looks like you’re awake, that’s a relief,” said Chroma, seeming genuinely worried.

“Y-yes, thank you for the help,” replied Vin,

Chroma shakes her head, “You can thank our quack of a doctor later, and not me, speaking of which, I should properly introduce you to the others, she said, “Come on let’s go to the living room,”

As soon as Chroma turned around, Vin saw Claire reappear behind Chroma, her hands curled up in fists ready to attack her, Chroma turned and blocked the punch with her arm which was covered with a thick layer of brown paint.

Claire gritted her teeth followed by a slight grunt, “Hey kid! Is this your friend?”

Vin stood up, “Claire! What are you doing? She's the one who helped us!” he said, clearly confused by Claire's actions.

Claire ignored Vin and continued to attack her, throwing punches that resonated with a loud thud followed by a gust of wind, her kicks were silent and quick as if she was cutting the air. Chroma blocked each and every one of her attacks, with every part of her body, thickly layered with paint, the sound of each hit was hard and solid, almost as if she was punching a wall. Vin stood there, unable to do anything he wanted to stop them, but he knew that if he tried to interfere, he would only be entangled in the conflict.

A black-haired woman, steps in between them, blocking Claire’s attack, with her bare hands. Claire stepped back, her attention became focused on the woman, who was currently clenching on her necklace.

“Clay!” said Chroma in a shocked expression

Apollo enters the room panting heavily. “What happened?” he asked,

Chroma shakes her head, she doesn’t know what to answer, she is confused herself.

Clay’s hand tugged on the pendant of the necklace causing the chains to snap, and with one swing of her hand, the pendant turned into a large sword, and the chains of the necklace extended and wrapped around her arm up until her elbow. A click escaped from Claire’s tongue, she looked at Clay with an annoyed expression, she reached for her pocket and took out a white ring with an unfamiliar engraving, she then slipped the ring through her finger.

The ring then emitted a faint glow that encapsulated Claire, as the glow dissipated, her fists were wrapped in a steel white gauntlet, it had sharp claws, and was bigger than her hands, it looked considerably heavy, however, she was wearing it with ease.

Chroma bites her lip, as she clenches her fist, and thinks to herself “H-Her hits earlier… they were heavy, inhumanely heavy, and strong… but she's only using her Artifacts now? She’s going to be a problem if left unhandled,”

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The room went silent, Claire and Clay, stood at a standstill, waiting for the moment to attack, the both of them looked each other in the eyes taking one step forward, their bodies quickly turned into a blur in the eyes of the others. The sound of metal clashing, along with a gust of wind, created chaos throughout the room. As the fight continued, drops of blood splattered on the floor but no one knew whose blood it was, their movements were too fast for the human eye to see.

Vin stood there, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, not knowing what to do, his mind was running through a cluster of emotions, his mentality slowly depleting, he was still mentally exhausted from the past events, he was concerned and confused about Claire's actions.

“Stop…”.

“Stop… it,”

Vin's eyes flared up, he could feel his heart leap out of his chest, his whole body shaking, he didn't know how to feel or what he was feeling at the moment. His mind then went blank, with only one word in his mind, his lips parted, and he shouted, “STOP!” in a distorted, corrupted, voice.

The room went silent, the sounds of fighting stopped, everyone looked at Vin, their expressions unreadable, the silence in the room was loud, almost deafening, however, it was broken, by a groan. Chroma, Apollo, and Clay, all dropped to their knees, clutching their ears, groaning in pain. Claire stood alone looking at Vin, with a smile on her face, her ears were bleeding. Vin could see the pain in her eyes, but she remained unfazed, and continued smiling, even when blood dripped down from her mouth.

At that moment, everything was silent, the screams became muffled, it was horrifying, yet strangely calming. Vin's heart started to beat slower, his breathing stabilizing. He could hear a slight ring on his ears, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening it once again. This time, everything became clear, Vin looked at the three, Apollo, Chroma, and Clay, they had blood on their palms and some on their ears, as they struggled to stand up. Claire on the other hand was sitting on the bed with her head down, Vin could not see her face clearly, but he could see the blood dripping to her thighs

Apollo slowly approached Vin, his breath was shaky, every intake had an audible gasp, upon reaching Vin, He rested his bloody palm onto Vin's chest, waves of emerald-colored illumination, filled in between his fingers. Vin felt warm in the place where Apollo's hand was.

Apollo looks up at Vin, “How're you feeling?”

Vin hesitates to answer, he looks at Apollo, then looks at Chroma, and the woman beside her, the person who fought Claire, was wielding an enormous sword that rests on her shoulder, her body was bloodied and full of bruises. Vin was confused at first but decided to ignore it, but he had an inkling that he was the cause of it, despite his curiosity he decided to ask for another time, he knew that his mentality wouldn't hold for too long if he tried to ask.

“I'm fine, thank you, and I'm sorry for the trouble I've done,” Vin replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

Apollo smiles but doesn't respond, after the glow fades, he pats Vin's shoulder and leaves the room.

“Hey, kid! Come to the living room with me, and bring your friend, the both of you are probably hungry” said Chroma, her voice slightly trembling from pain, but keeps a smile on her face.

Chroma then leaves the room, Vin then approaches Claire, he squats down trying to see her face, but it is hidden under her bangs, he placed his hand under her bangs and lifted it, revealing her pale bloodied face, which was still dripping blood, he felt his heart sink seeing her in that state. Vin flinched upon feeling something placed on his head, he reached for the top of his head and grabbed it, his eyes widened, it was a handkerchief, he turned around but saw no one there, he noticed that the woman with the sword was already gone. Vin smiles slightly, he turns to Claire and wipes away the blood from her face and thighs, Claire looks at him, she feels that she is about to cry, but she holds it in, instead she smiles and pats Vin on the head.

Silence once again returns to the room, the turmoil has dissipated for now. Despite the blood on the floor, and some injuries, it was a serene scene, and the atmosphere lightened, it was a silence that anyone would appreciate.

As things settled down from within the room, chaos began to stir outside. Atop an abandoned building, there stands a person, overlooking the bustling city, under the night sky, the moonlight shines on the person, showing their figure. It was a man, wearing a black suit stained with blood, his face was hidden behind a white smiling mask, covered in paint, its eyes were hollow devoid of any emotions, its smile hidden behind layers of knitted thread, forming a grotesque grin.

A woman appeared beside him, she walked to the edge of the building and sat on the ledge swinging her legs. The moonlight shines, revealing her figure, she is a pale woman, with red messy hair, covering her face, a metal ring–like cuff wrapped around her neck, with a short line of broken chains behind it, her body is wrapped in a thick white jacket which was stained in dirt, it is surrounded by velcro and buckles, the sleeves were tightly bonded together by a strap that wrapped around her arms tightly, the woman shakes her head, dispersing her hair, revealing her small pale face and a drawing of a tear under her right eye. The woman looks at the man and smiles, the man responds with a nod, his eyes still fixated on the view of the city.

“Do you like this city?” asked the man,

The woman tilts her head, seemingly confused by his question, she stops swinging her legs and thinks for a moment.

“Valerie doesn’t know… does Valerie have to like it?” asked the woman.

The man shook his head, “No… there’s no need,” he replied

The man then looked at her and asked another question, “How would you feel if the city were to be destroyed, or… burned?”

The woman shook her head, “No… no no no, Mama and Papa are still there, looking for Valerie! Valerie doesn’t want the city to be destroyed” she said in a seemingly calm tone.

“I see, but what if your mother and father weren’t in the city, how would you feel then?” asked the man,

“No! Mama and Papa won’t lie! Valerie is sure that Mama and Papa are still in the city looking for Valerie! They said that they’ll return!” she replied in a defensive tone, “Valerie trusts them! They’re the only ones Valerie trusts!”

The man snickers, “But what about me? Don’t you trust me?” asked the man

The woman nodded, “Yes! Valerie trusts Big Brother, but Mama and Papa first, and then you,” said the woman as she smiled.

“Thanks, Valerie,” said the man in a genuine tone

The woman smiled, “No problem! Big Brother is the only one kind toward Valerie! Big Brother also helped Valerie become strong, strong enough to punish those bad bad white coats.” she replied

The man then looks at Valerie, he sits beside her and pats her head, “What If I told you that people in white coats aren’t the only bad people,” he said

Valerie looks up at him her eyes full of curiosity and fear, “There’s more?” she asked

The man nods, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you all about them,”