Flora and Krysta had approached the Slums of Evo City. It had been three days since the fire. Flora had finally mustered the courage to leave her home. While she was out in the city she liked to wear rather revealing clothing. A loose fitting floral top flashed a bit of her cleavage while exposing her midriff. At her waist, she wore short jeans that barely covered her thighs. It was a stark contrast to Krysta's more punk influenced, business casual attire. Flora was slowly getting back to her usual self.

The two girls walked through the streets of a ruined ghost town. The air was far too still and eerie. The essence of this decimated district was one of death. Countless people must have died in the battles that erupted on every street. The streets became the graves for nameless souls. The destruction of one-fourth of a city is usually an event that doesn't go unnoticed. Yet, somehow the powers that be were able to cover it all up. No one even remembers how the Slums became the way they were. Some even think the place always used to be a sprawling ruin.

"How are we supposed to find her in this mess?" Flora asked with irritation.

"She usually frequents the old shipyard. Our Second Personalities should be able to pinpoint the exact location," Krysta responded.

Flora sighed to herself as she stood motionless in thought. She still hadn’t completely accepted Fauna. It was still a difficult choice for her to make, one that she was easing herself into as she drew closer to Nina. Krysta approached Flora from behind and patted her on the shoulder.

"If you’re still nervous about using it, I’ll take care of it for you. Don’t force yourself to accept her. You have to come to that naturally. Okay?"

Flora nodded and began to pick up her pace. Krysta followed closely behind, guiding Flora closer to the shipyard. Krysta began to feel anxiety swelling up inside her as their destination drew nearer. She was desperate to help Flora. But as they searched the Slums for Nina, Krysta began to question whether it was the right thing to do. She was beginning to have her doubts about Flora’s desires.

"You sure you want to do this Flora?" Krysta asked with caution.

"She burned the Gardens to the ground. That place was my home, the one thing that made this life worth living."

Krysta frowned as traces of a familiar tale began to trickle into her mind.

"You sound a lot like another Demon I heard about. He lost his father to Nina and is on a warpath because of it."

"I don’t care about the others. None of them would understand. I'm not like them at all."

Those words pierced Krysta like a dagger in the back. Doubt began to seep into Krysta’s thoughts. Did Flora trust her? Did Flora believe that Krysta was like the others? The girls carried out the rest of their journey in silence as Krysta led Flora to the shipyard. She wanted this struggle to end. She wanted to see Flora smile again, and in the end that was all that mattered. Flora was going through her own personal Hell. She felt alienated from the world. She was a Demon who wanted to live the life of a normal human. By definition, Flora was destined to be secluded on a path between two sides.

*****

Nina sat alone in an empty warehouse. She leaned her back against an old rusted shipping crate. It had been three days since CAPRA's reveal. Nina still struggled to recover from the haunting memories of her battle with Vixen. Part of her was too terrified to move, while the other was seething with anger. The notion that a human could lay a hand on her, let alone bring her to scream out in agony. That notion drove her mad. She had to maintain her superiority. She was granted these powers for one purpose and it was a purpose she had to stay true to. There was a lot she had left to achieve and if she was to do it she would need more power. She would have to get stronger.

Nina's attention was immediately drawn by a loud creak. The sound of the warehouse door cracking and bending rippled throughout the air. Nina turned to see that the door was encasing itself in a sheet of ice before shattering to pieces. The door crumbled to dust to reveal Flora and Krysta standing in the doorway. Flora’s eyes immediately went wild as she laid them upon Nina. Rage consumed her and she began to concentrate on her power for the first time. Nina stared indifferently as she watched Flora begin to channel her energy. In seconds Flora created a massive field of rose petals surrounding her. The petals glided around her with grace. Many of them flowed towards her back and began to settle in place, forming the shape of wings. Flora had taken on the semblance of an angel of Nature.

"You!" Flora growled as she pointed an accusing finger at Nina.

Nina sighed and stood up from the floor and watched Flora prepare to attack.

"You’re going to pay for what you did!" Flora screamed out.

A barrage of petals propelled itself towards Nina. Many of the petals missed their mark and found themselves burrowing into shipping containers. Others found themselves hurtling towards Nina with perfect precision. Within a split second, Nina raised a barrier of flame that shattered the petals like glass. Pink fractals of light scattered throughout the warehouse, dancing with Nina's embers. Nina launched a trio of fireballs with one swipe of her hand. Within seconds the three fireballs froze from a blast of ice. They collapsed to the ground and shattered as Krysta dashed in wielding a sword and shield, both made of ice.

"Don’t you dare hurt Flora!"

Krysta ran towards Nina with blinding speed. With one swift motion, her sword of ice glided towards Nina’s throat. A loud clash of metal rang throughout the warehouse. Krysta watched in surprise as her blade crashed down onto the cold steel frame of an M16 rifle. Krysta clenched her teeth in anger as she leapt back from Reaver. Reaver returned the rifle to its Mind Gate and replaced it with a black revolver. The long barrel of Reaver’s pistol stared down at Krysta as Reaver spoke to his enemy.

"I will be your opponent," Reaver said.

Krysta nodded and looked at Flora as she backed up into Krysta. Flora glared at Nina with her own flames consuming her gaze. Krysta and Flora broke their stance without warning and dashed at their foes. Flora threw a flurry of petals towards Nina, who struggled to defend. Several of Flora’s projectiles found their way into Nina’s soft flesh and cut deep into it. Krysta blocked Reaver’s hail of gunfire with her shield and rushed at him. Once she drew close enough she slashed at him. Krysta's blade flew towards her foe, only for the body of a rifle to intercept the strike. Reaver countered Krysta's charge and blasted her into Flora with shotgun fire. Krysta’s numbed body knocked Flora to the ground. Krysta moved fast and raised a wall of ice in front of her as Reaver opened fire. Bullets and shotgun pellets embedded themselves in the thick ice wall. Every shot failed to penetrate the ice in a feeble attempt to taste flesh. Nina growled in frustration and set the wall ablaze. When the ice melted into a massive puddle Nina saw what had been lying behind it. Krysta grinned as several large spires of ice floated around her in mid-air. Krysta pointed her fleet of spires straight at Nina. The spires launched of their own volition like missiles. Nina ran towards the hurtling projectiles with her hands burning white. She burned down two of the spires with ease as she slid underneath them. Reaver opened up a flood of Mind Gates and provided covering fire for Nina. Flora reacted just as quick and fired off a barrage of petals to meet Reaver’s bullets head on. Each projectile collided with one another violently between Krysta and Nina’s battle. Nina finally drew closer to Krysta only for a frigid shield to bash her face in. Krysta took the opportunity to slice into Nina a few times. This got Reaver’s attention as he dove onto Nina to prevent any further damage. Krysta cut into Reaver's arm as his body leapt in front of her strike. Within seconds the wound was frostbitten by Krysta’s blade. Reaver descended to the ground with Nina in tow and fired a few rounds from a hastily summoned revolver. Flora fired two petals to intercept the bullets in seconds. Reaver stood up from the ground and stared down the other two Demons.

"It seems yet another one of us misguided by vengeance," Reaver said in a soft tone.

Flora clenched her fists tight with rage. With a flick of her wrists, chains of her steel like flower petals wrapped themselves around her arms. Flora charged towards Reaver and lashed her chains at him in a deadly dance. Her body flipped and twirled with grace and poise as her arms swung out and dragged the chains towards her foe. Reaver did his best to dodge and weave through Flora’s fatal elegance. Krysta ran up from behind Reaver to try and keep him on his toes. Reaver dodged as many strikes as he could while still receiving a few cuts across his body. Reaver finally leapt up above the two women and summoned forth several Mind Gates. Gun barrels emerged from the Gates and aimed down upon Reaver’s foes. Krysta jumped in front of Flora as the bullets came raining down. Several hot slugs of lead embedded themselves into Krysta’s back as she threw up a barrier of ice. Krysta leaned against her own barrier as blood began to paint it red. Flora crouched in front of her friend and looked at her with worry.

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"Can you still stand?"

Krysta nodded and looked up at Flora with a gentle smile.

"It’s gonna take a lot more than that to kill us."

The encasing barrier melted into the ground adding to the frigid puddle beneath the Demons’ feet. Krysta got back on her feet and forged an ice shield from the water in the atmosphere. Krysta defended herself from Reaver’s hail of gunfire, only to feel her bulwark begin to heat up. Krysta dashed behind cover as her defense fell to the ground in a melted heap. Had Nina melted her shield? Krysta peered out from her cover as Flora engaged Reaver. Nina was nowhere to be found, she must have fled while Reaver distracted the two of them. Krysta clenched her fists tight and slammed them against the shipping crate that hid her.

"That bastard!"

Flora did her best to keep Reaver locked in combat with her. Hot lead rained down on her as Reaver continued his relentless barrage. Her petals shattered into pink fractals with every bullet that collided with them. Flora created a barrier of petals to hold back to assault and readied herself. Once the barrier shattered she unleashed a storm of petals as she dashed forward. Flora propelled herself ahead with her rose wings. She lashed her chains out at Reaver and caught him in her grasp. She reeled him in and pierced him with an unfathomable amount of razor-sharp rose petals. Flora unraveled Reaver from her chains, exposing Reaver's cut up body. Reaver stumbled from his prison as blood dripped from his shallow wounds. Red iron soaked through Reaver’s clothes and mixed in with the sweat coating his body in a sheen. Reaver was breathing heavy as he looked at Flora. She seemed confident, but her attacks were sloppy. None of her strikes had cut Reaver’s body deep. Reaver spat out a wad of his own blood onto the wet floor as his wounds healed.

"To hell with this."

Reaver summoned a pistol to his hand with instantaneous speed. He pointed the barrel straight at Flora who continued to stand her ground. She was misled. As Flora watched Reaver aim his gun at her, she saw Reaver's hand change targets without hesitation. Reaver sent several rounds penetrating into Krysta’s chest. A full six shots fired from Reaver's revolver. Reaver emptied his gun into Flora's closest friend. Flora’s eyes widened in horror as she watched blood escape the burrowing bullet holes. Flora rushed to Krysta as the bullets dug their way to Krysta’s ribs and heart.

"Krysta!"

Flora ran up to her friend and held her up in her arms. Krysta stared blankly into Flora’s eyes as blood poured down along Flora’s wrists. Fauna’s voice rang out in Flora’s head as she held Krysta close to her chest.

"She is only unconscious! Get her out of here!"

Flora picked up Krysta’s limp body and stared upon Reaver with sorrow and malice filling her eyes. Reaver nodded to her and recalled his Mind Gates. He still did not wish to kill anyone. He only promised to protect Nina. If he were to attack Flora in this state, he would view it as dishonorable. He let her go without a fuss.

*****

Flora walked out of the warehouse with Krysta bleeding onto her shirt and exposed midriff. A trail of scarlet trickled and splattered on the pavement behind Flora. Dried blood clung to the skin of Flora's stomach as fresh coats of warm life ran down her body like rain. Flora kept walking blind. One thought consumed her damaged mind as she carried Krysta through the ruinous Slums of Evo City. She had to get Krysta out. Guilt began to wash over Flora like a tidal wave. She began to realize that she was the reason Krysta suffered such terrible wounds. The soft sound of metal hitting stone echoed in Flora's ears as Krysta's regeneration began. Krysta's healing pushed the bullets from their holes as new flesh formed in their place. Tears trickled from Flora’s eyes as she held the unconscious body of her best friend tight in her arms. She pressed Krysta's head into her soft, bloodstained chest as she wept. How could she have been so selfish? She let Krysta get involved in this desperate struggle for revenge. She dragged someone she cared about into a conflict that had little to do with her, let alone had any true purpose. Flora’s only motive was revenge and redemption. But what would be redeemed if Nina died? What would be corrected? Would Flora’s life return to normal?

Flora made her way into an abandoned apartment and laid Krysta’s body on a dusty old couch. She knelt down in front of her comatose friend and rested her head on Krysta’s bloody chest. Krysta’s regenerated flesh had already removed the bullets. But it would still take quite a lot of time for her to wake up again.

Even if she had survived the fight against Reaver, Guilt was there waiting to claim Flora for his own. Guilt had dragged his long bony fingers along the contours of Flora’s face. He wrapped his fragile old hands around her throat. Guilt was choking at Flora now and she couldn’t help but cry into the red-tinted chest of her friend. Guilt had coaxed tears from a faerie.

*****

Terra and I had searched the Slums for hours. We both knew that Nina was hiding out in the forgotten district. If Flora was looking for her than this was the place she would be. Terra looked around at the streets scarred by the lingering whispers of the dead. The wind howled through the ruined roads of the Slums as the two of us wandered through its empty depths. I thought I would have been used to the place after my first trip to the empty Industrial District. But even during the second visit, the silent cries of the dead still drove me to sorrow. As I wandered through what was once a thriving Industrial District, I could hear the voices of ghosts.

"Still not used to the place huh?" asked Terra as we walked.

"Not at all… This place is so macabre," I replied.

"That’s a fancy word to use, but you’re right. This place still gives me the creeps."

Only a few more minutes of walking brought us to a fresh trail of blood. Wet crimson carved its path through the overgrown pavement. Terra motioned me forward towards the moist scarlet trail and pointed in the direction it was heading.

"Assuming that this blood belongs to Flora, she more than likely lost a fight with Nina. She must have retreated from the shipyards," said Terra.

Terra and I looked around and followed the trail of blood with our eyes. It had crept into the ruins of a small apartment. The two of us approached the building with caution. Terra peered into the darkness of the ruin. Through the shadows, Terra saw locks of pink hair draping down a feminine back and onto a blood soaked floor. Sobs resonated around the torn apart shelter the girl had occupied. Terra looked at me and nodded as the sobbing grew closer.

"It’s her." Terra spoke in a whisper."

I nodded and approached Flora in silence as she wept over an assumed dead body. I took careful steps as I crept towards Flora hoping not to startle her. Despite such stealthy efforts, my feet kicked away rubble with every step. Flora immediately turned and shot a glare at me with her amethyst eyes. Her whole torso draped itself in a darkened shade of scarlet. Within seconds she growled at me and unleashed a surge of projectiles upon me. I reacted without even thinking and absorbed every petal with my dark matter.

"Flora calm down it’s just us!" Terra shouted."

"Exactly…," Flora muttered before clenching her fists.

"You act is if I can trust anyone of you, monsters!" Flora continued, raising her voice to a frantic shout. A sickening grin stretched across Flora’s face. Guilt and Grief strangled her and raped her mind with their tormenting thoughts. At that exact moment, Flora's mind broke. Everything that had happened to her pushed her closer and closer to snapping in half. Abraxas had come for this woman. But in this instance, she had created the egg herself. The egg was her own world, the world she crafted to suit her interests. Did Abraxas bring her salvation or was this a cruel joke to punish the ignorance she harbored?

I stared into eyes of violet with a perplexed fixation as Flora threw a barrage of petals towards me and Terra. Terra immediately dove at me and pushed me away from the blast.

"Stay focused Hev!" Terra shouted as she slammed her fist into the ground and launched Flora into the air on a pillar of stone. The massive column surged upward through the roof of the desolate building. Flora fought with all her strength to regain control but the force was too great for her to repel. Terra stood back up on her feet and stomped her foot into the ground causing magma to shoot up the pillar. Flora screamed as magma flared up in front of her and burned her flesh. Flora cried out in terrible pain as the magma threw her off the stone pillar and she hurtled towards the ground.

"Flora!"

Another female voice rang out as Terra and I saw a blonde haired girl dash up to catch Flora as she descended. It was Krysta, the Demon of Frostbite. Terra let loose a fierce battle cry as she bolted towards Krysta. Krysta brought Flora to the ground just in time to block Terra’s rock entombed fists. She pushed Terra back and shouted to her before she could retaliate.

"Why are you attacking us!?"

Terra froze in place as I approached her from behind. Terra sighed to herself before shattering the armor of stone encasing her fists. She glared at Krysta as she sheltered the broken Flora.

"Lockhart wants both of you back at the Cocoon. Flora is not strong enough to take on Nina and you and I both know that! What were you thinking Krysta!?" Terra growled.

"I’m her only friend! What choice did I have!?" Krysta shouted back.

Just as Krysta began to explain herself I watched her body suddenly collapse. Flora followed suit as her body hit the ground in a comatose state. I watched in shock as I turned to see a whole squad of heavily armed men grouped up in tight formation. They all stood at the entrance to Flora’s temporary shanty with their weapons ready. They were soldiers through and through. They wielded tranquilizer rifles and wore a bizarre kind of armor. It was black and glossy and reminded me a bit of a knight, with a more futuristic touch. I could see an emblem imprinted upon their shoulder pad. The emblem was a white circle surrounded by a red ring. A sword overlapped the circle vertically. Written proudly in the red ring were the words "EXCALIBUR PROGRAM." Terra nodded to one of the soldiers as the others moved into collect the unconscious Demons.

Questions floated about in my head as I watched the soldiers collect Flora and Krysta. One thing was clear at this point and it shone within the center of a vortex of inquiries. I had become a soldier.

"Who are they?" I asked Terra.

"Excaliburs. Lockhart's militia."

"Why would Lockhart need a militia?"

Terra‘s expression soured as she stared into my eyes. She sighed as she looked back at the Excaliburs apprehending Flora and Krysta. Finally, she glared back at me and uttered a single response.

"They keep Lockhart’s children in line."