Silence befell the two men, as their mortality crept up their shoulders. The cat hero stood, and solemnly walked forth, the green-clad newbie in tow. Their steps were ever so heavy as the gravity of the situation was finally settling in. Their reality shifted the looming silence into one of remembrance.

For the most part, Shindo's mind was sent into a whirl. He felt angry at everything. He wanted to curse non-stop at the increased difficulty of the mission. He wanted to release his bottled anger at Yata, shut his paranoid mouth and force him to speak his true intentions. Yet the worst of all, was his anger at himself. He knew he was regressing into his old persona, yet that thought revolted him. Why? Why couldn't he muster even the tiniest bit of empathy for someone else? Was he truly becoming that thing again?

Yata fared no better. Shindo saw the distant look in his eyes, his lips partly open. On the surface, he simply looked sad, yet it was his slow pace and his closed off body language that showed how deep his thoughts were. He kept caressing the tattoo on his right shoulder, which on closer inspection said "clover 7.2.58". He kept stealing glances at the silver bracelet on his wrist, gritted teeth hidden between his sorrow. Even when he looked back at Shindo, his eyes held no contempt or disgust, but remembrance… something that reminded Shindo of himself after his fight with Pyro...

"Argh!" Without warning, Shindo's power activated again. The sharp pain started from his back, and slowly spread towards his arm. He could not walk. He could not talk. He could barely even think. His breathing quickened; his thoughts being slowly consumed through the pain. He wanted to scream, but he feared compromising the mission.

"Wattz! WATTZ!" Yata exclaimed in a hurried panic as he approached Shindo.

"Don't..." Shindo groaned weakly. The vibration had spread towards it, rendering it a bit blurry. Or at least Shindo thought that's what he saw through his pain.

"Come on, let me help," The cat hero slowly approached the wounded Shindo but when his hand was about to reach him, Shindo's face steeled in both anger and reflex.

"Please, don’t touch me!" Yata quickly retracted his hands as his eyes widened towards Shindo's desperation. Shindo could see through his eyes the disbelief his words caused to Yata.

"You...Fine." Yata stared at him as his face changed from disbelief, to worry, to frustration. He exhaled his anger and gave his back to Shindo. "Are you good enough to continue?"

The long silence had allowed Shindo to calm down, letting him bottle up that horrendous past again. The pain finally managed to reduce to a mere itch.

"I'm fine." He responded while he stood and gave his baton a twirl. However, Shindo winced a bit. His dominant hand still had a residue of the power in it.

Yata glanced at Shindo’s hand, a flash of worry and frustration passed through his eyes, but he turned away and descended to the fourth floor. Shindo followed suit and closely followed his "partner" as they dashed through the fourth floor. Yet, what they walked into was a bloodbath.

Every time they turned a corner, they found one or two dead guards. At first, they were cleanly killed, as if killed by the hand of an expert. Yet, the closer and closer they got, the more horrid the scenes were. Some sat still a hand on their injuries as their lifeless eyes conveyed their regret. Others were sitting unnaturally, as if they had died making the last stand or as if they had fled. And others… Others weren’t as lucky, as an arm or a leg were cut cleanly of their bodies, their faces twisted in agonizing pain.

This sight did a number on the two heroes. The more bodies they found, the worse the mood between the two heroes was. Shindo noticed that this scene had opened up an old memory for Yata. He walked with more purpose than before, with anger. An insatiable drive was lit under him.

On the other hand, Shindo grew more and more frustrated the deeper they went into the fourth floor. The battle-scarred floor grew more and more nauseating with each downed bodyguard patrol they passed by. They showed signs of a struggle. Yet, none of this mattered, cause, all the guards were butchered.

Still, all this led Shindo to believe that the new intruder had a similar goal to theirs: to get information on Mardav. After all, the bodies showed more signs of struggle the closer they got to the server room. This also explained why the Streetsender's CEO was so stricken by grief. Who wouldn't be? Almost all of his guards were brutally slaughtered!

"We're here," Yata whispered to Shindo as they both came to halt.

The pair stopped right in front of a gray metallic door. Two dead guards were near the door, one with his hand covering a wound on his neck, and the other one face down, seemingly stabbed through the back of her neck. Bloody footprints went from the guard with the stab wound to the guard with the neck wound, and then, they disappeared behind the metallic door.

The two heroes exchanged glances. Their worst fear had been confirmed: the intruder was after the same information they were looking for. What's more, it seemed that the intruder was still inside.

The vibration on Shindo's slowly simmered in pain. Yata’s face darkened, as he made his way towards the guard with the neck wound. Just like with the guard they saw on the stairway, Yata reverently closed his eyes through gritted teeth. He then gripped his silver bracelet, stood, and made his way to the server room. Shindo followed suit, his anger bubbling inside.

They entered the room, step by step, alertness rippling through their careful footwork. Only the sound of the many fans trying to cool down the servers and data banks accompanied the two. They followed the bloody trail deeper into the server room. It felt like an eternity, but they were making slow progress for the sake of alertness. Or at least that is what Shindo thought.

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Yet that wasn’t the worst of his worries. Yata was acting colder and more distant than before. Exactly like he was acting during the exam.

Shindo tried putting his hand on his shoulder, but again, Yata tensed, ready for an attack. Remembering what happened the last time he tried this, Shindo retracted his hand, opting to try and control Yata later.

"—formation acquired." A rough, distant voice echoed through the room. The two heroes straightened themselves at the new voice. The intruder!

The two heroes tried getting a closer look without alarming the intruder. From his lightly toned body, Shindo would guess the intruder was either in their late twenties or their early thirties. The build was definitely male, yet he had his back towards them. His short hair was a muted blond color, which had an odd transparency to it. He wore gray spy gear with cyan highlights, which oddly complimented his big stature.

Every fiber of Shindo's being felt danger at the sight of the man, provoking Shindo into raising his guard. Yata also raised his guard, his face steeled in anger. The alertness that man radiated was too intense. So much so, that Shindo had only felt this much danger during his days as a Herttz. Out of habit, Shindo took a Static controller. Yata reacted much the same, hardening his grip on his knife.

"Mhm, yes, yes. Seems your source was right, E." The Intruder continued talking through his comms while turning to the right. This let Shindo take note of the man's face. Almost all covered with a balaclava, except for his blue piercing eyes. He was also fiddling with a small black flash drive. The information!

The Intruder started pacing in an oddly calm manner as he spoke through the comms.

"The inconsistencies with the routes weren't coincidental. Seems StreetSenders has been supplying Cinder with off-the-book gadgetry," The Intruder fell silent as he listened through the comms. In a few seconds, The Intruder stopped pacing, his eyes widening with disbelief.

"Avalon?!?! Motherf--! So that's why the routes end on sectors 3, 7 and 12... but how are they involved in this shit?" At the mention of "Avalon", Yata started shaking out of anger. Shindo however did not care; he was focused on listening in.

The Intruder started pacing again. "Finally! The price was finally worth it. This will change everything!" He fell silent for a bit, before nodding a few times. Yata gritted his teeth, while Shindo tightened his grip on his controller and baton.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'll report it to the higher-ups." He stopped pacing, his body facing where the two heroes were hiding. "E.P., Close the com line. I'll give you a report after I get out of this place in one piece."

With that, he lowered his arm. A scowl flared to life as The Intruder directed his gaze to where the two heroes were. "Come out."

They were only two words. Two words. But the weight they carried made Shindo both afraid and excited. What a powerful man!

Yata took the initiative and went out from their hiding spot. Shindo went after him, standing a bit behind his "partner".

"Well now, what do we have here? Two of HOC's heroes." The man put his hands behind his back. "To whom do I owe this warm welcome?"

"Mind if you tell us your name?" Yata retorted with a forced smile.

"I asked first." The Intruder stated, "Who are you?"

The two were giving each other glares, something Shindo found amusing. After a little moment, Yata decided to talk. "You can call me Yata. This one to my right is Wattz."

The Intruder smiled. "Interesting. For now, you can call me Agent Cyan."

Yata raised his eyebrow. "An agent? For whom?"

"That is not your problem 'Thirteen'." Agent Cyan retorted.

Yata's face hardened at that nickname. "How do you know this name?"

Agent Cyan's eyes gained a cold glint.

"HOW?" Yata raged. His body was shaking in anger, almost ready to pounce Cyan.

On the other hand, Shindo remained silent. He wanted to know more before he decided to attack Cyan.

"Seems like I correctly guessed your identity, Mr. hero killer." Cyan mocked in fake seriousness.

"I'm not here to talk about my past. What do you plan to do with the information?" Yata asked through a forced scowl.

"Not in the mood, eh? I would love to tell you all about my plan, I will not keel over that easily. I'm not as weak as Felix Ideo." Cyan taunted. Yata's hand started shaking in anger, yet he stayed silent. Cyan’s eyes glinted with amusement.

"Seems like I hit another mark, yet the rumors don't do you any justice, Yata.” Cyan spoke up, spreading his arms, “From what I heard, I expected that you would immediately attack me, yet you're calm. For a hero killer."

Yata gave a nervous glance towards Shindo, but Shindo wasn’t particularly surprised by Yata's reputation as a hero killer. Batoon had spoken about it before, but that wasn’t what mattered. Agent Cyan knew too much and knew how to anger others.

This made him dangerous. Like Shindo did in the exam, Cyan was pressing all of Yata's buttons, slowly manipulating him into anger. This in turn annoyed Shindo. Yata could be a hotheaded ass, but the way Cyan attacked him with his past rubbed Shindo the wrong way. It was about time he interjected.

"Now, now. You seem very knowledgeable about other people's lives. Are you his stalker?" Shindo cockily mocked as he stepped forward, standing next to Yata.

The cat hero looked at Shindo with surprise, as if he had forgotten he was not alone. On the other hand, Agent Cyan directed his gaze at the green-clad hero. His eyes reflected hints of both amusement and annoyance. Shindo grinned. This was getting interesting.

Cyan glanced at Shindo. "Green, String Visor, and a cocky attitude. You check out all of the rumors, Wattz."

"Oh my, I've become famous recently." Shindo brushed off, but kept his eyes on Cyan. "I guess that people talk enough for a cold-blooded killer to hear about a simple guy like me."

Cyan arrogantly raised his chin, "Money talks."

"Enough for a killer to interfere with an official HOC mission?" Shindo threw him a daring smile. The Agent immediately readied a stance in reaction to Shindo's killing intent. Yata and Shindo also prepped themselves, just in case.

No more words were needed. The arrogant glare clashed with the daring smile and the angered scowl. The sound of fans once again filled the space between them. They were all waiting for someone to make the first strike.

Shindo saw a small twitch from Cyan's left hand. He was about to break. Shindo's smile deepened. At least that was the case, until Yata dashed straight towards Cyan, knife in hand. Cyan effortlessly dodged to the side and brought out a seven-inch combat knife. Yata wasn't deterred by this and charged at Cyan again.

'YATA, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!' Shindo cursed in his mind. However, he didn't have time to react, as Cyan went straight towards the heroes. With a click of his tongue, Shindo dashed straight into battle.