Eroding even the strongest rationality. Breaking down a person’s morality. This is what happens when the world fundamentally changes on a large scale. This is why I must control it’s spread unto the populace. Because if I don’t? Someone else will, and someone else might destroy more in the process than they create.

From Professor Shokolov’s Journal, 15th Entry

It was a nighttime in Barksight. The Burnbark trees far on the mountains glowed with an inner flame that provided warmth to even the coldest person in the town. Near an avenue, there resided a single building built for some long forgotten purpose.

This building had some small stores near the base of it. The same kinds of stores you could find anywhere in the town if you looked hard enough. In between that building and another, there was a small opening that contained double doors. Those doors were manned by two strongly built men that kept vigilant eyes out for anyone approaching.

And approach they did, AxEl and his crew. By his side was Lex, while on his other was one of his dealers, a thickly built man that he had recruited only recently. They walked up to the doors hidden in the dark alley and tried stepping through, only to be stopped by those same guards.

“What are you here for?” one of them asked in a monotonous voice. AxEl looked up to him and met his gaze with his own.

“To see DoxEn,” AxEl answered. The guard’s face became more strict as he eyed AxEl up and down.

“We don’t have anyone named DoxEn here, sorry,” he said. AxEl, unimpressed, stepped forward once more.

“I know he’s in there. He’s always in there around this time,” he said to the man. They both got closer to him and one of the guards grabbed the front of AxEl’s shirt.

“You don’t want to do that,” AxEl replied, pointing out of the alley and to the other side of the road, where several men were standing around a large truck. Once they saw AxEl’s signal, they all looked over and flashed some shiny bits of metal that even the guards could see.

“Let go of the shirt,” AxEl demanded and the man answered.

“Don’t move and we won’t do anything to you. We’ve got the entire building surrounded on all sides.”

AxEl then moved past without much opposition. Inside, he found a pale and empty looking hallway illuminated by clinical looking blue light. He looked around and found that only a few other workers stood in their way. AxEl saw that one of the men was carrying a platter on one arm, hurrying down one way and disappearing from sight.

“What are you doing in here?” The receptionist asked AxEl, though he didn’t bother looking over. He simply pointed his own man to go over and continued down the hallway.

AxEl had never been inside the building before, so navigating it was somewhat difficult, but eventually, he ran into one of his own men.

“Where’s the rest of your crew? Didn’t they come in through your entrance?” AxEl asked the man.

“Yeah, boss, they just sent me ahead to give word that they’ve got their part of the building secured. Only thing left is we storm into the office itself and give them what they deserve.”

The man’s bloodlust unnerved AxEl, but he didn’t let it show in his voice. One of the other teams would be led by Nook, so they were in safe hands. Instead, AxEl moved towards the room that the man had indicated, looking on each side as his own men surrounded him.

He stood up to the doors, took a deep breath and bust both of them wide open. On the other side, he found a large table that stretched back into the room. On each side were sat some men that AxEl didn’t recognize. The only ones he did were DoxEn and his Archivist who stood beside him.

DoxEn looked surprised, but his expression soon turned into anger. Anagen, on the other hand, seemed less than surprised. Always stone-faced, aren’t you?

“What are you doing here!” DoxEn demanded. He waved over a few guards from around him. The men who surrounded him held guns within their hands, but AxEl did not falter. He strode forward into the room and took a look at the other men, displaying his own wealth as he did.

AxEl had worn a suit for this occasion, something stunning as to draw the attention of everyone in the room. His three-piece ensemble consisted of a white coat, red vest and dress pants.

“Nice planning you’ve got going on here, DoxEn. If only you’d paid as much attention to your own defenses,” AxEl said.

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“Don’t play with me, boy, what are you doing here. Answer or I’ll have you escorted off of the premises. If you’re lucky.”

“A little bird tipped me off on the location where you usually held your meetings with your co-conspirators. And one of your dealers told me the timings. Most of these people are your managers, are they not? Little leaders of the different areas of Barksight?”

By the expression that followed on DoxEn’s face, it seemed that he was correct in some regard. The men on the seats shifted uncomfortably as more and more of AxEl’s hired hands surrounded the office room.

“Well, I’ve come to make an offer to all of you!” AxEl said, clapping his hands. The men stopped behind him, ready at a moment’s notice with their own weapons. He thought he almost saw a breath of relief leave Anagen’s mouth at that moment.

Almost worth it just for that, AxEl thought to himself, feeling proud.

“I know that your product isn’t doing well. You’ve been facing a decline in sales as your customers become my customers instead. You know why that is?” AxEl asked. He withdrew a bag of the Prophecy pills he had packed within his coat onto the middle of the table.

“Because of that. That is the result of a meager amount of effort. It’s safer, cheaper, and gets you a better high. That’s the reason you’re no longer seeing the profits you once used to. But here’s the thing,” AxEl continued as he moved along the seats, among the people.

“You can, again. All you’d need to do is leave DoxEn’s dying business and join mine instead. My operation is smaller, so you won’t be at risk of getting detected for all those Burnbark trees that you’ve been secretly processing. I can promise each of you the same cut as before, even more if you’re willing to join early enough.

“And all this? Is the result of a single farm.”

“Enough!” DoxEn slammed a fist onto the table. “If you don’t leave right this instant, I’ll riddle you full of holes, you understand?” DoxEn stated before ushering one of his own guards forward.

However, Anagen stopped him.

“I’ll join,” she said.

“W-what?” DoxEn exclaimed, though AxEl simply smiled in his direction. Anagen made a show of moving from DoxEn’s side over to AxEl, where she held up a hand that held a small cloth string on it. The ribbon on her arm was visible for all to see.

“Anagen, what are you doing! Stop this instant and return. He’s bluffing!”

“DoxEn, I manage all of your finances. I know he’s not,” Anagen replied, then cut the ribbon off of her arm once and for all. It fell onto the ground as the room erupted in conversation. She moved beside AxEl and stood there among his entourage, unmoving. Some of the other men at the table began to speak to one another. They exchanged whispers, glancing between both of the men there before breaking off and starting another conversation.

“How could you?” DoxEn asked.

“Firewire’s too small. Prophecy, however, has the potential to be much bigger than this. It’s simple, really,” Anagen answered. DoxEn’s hand balled up as he glared at the both of them. AxEl felt his own lips quiver more than once in the presence of the large crowd, but kept himself from breaking.

“Out…” DoxEn whispered, though the whole room heard it. He put his hands onto his face before repeating, “OUT!” in a scream. AxEl broke for a moment, a confused expression colouring his face.

“Get them out! GET ALL OF THEM OUT!” DoxEn ordered and through AxEl’s bewilderment, he listened. He called off his men and they left as soon as they had entered the premises, leaving behind as little of a trace as they could.

AxEl didn’t speak for a moment, but he could hear the other managers talk amongst themselves as they left the building. Each of them took a separate way, walking towards the parking lot at the back of the building. AxEl stood and watched them leave with a hint of apprehensiveness still inside him.

Near him, Anagen stood with her face still as even as ever. At least he had another ally with him, though AxEl felt it weird.

“I didn’t expect him to react like that,” AxEl said.

“You should have. DoxEn didn’t handle many of the affairs of the Revolvers himself. Mostly, he left it to me,” Anagen said, brushing a hair out of her face. AxEl once again noticed the bright white of her strands and found himself questioning.

“How did that…” he said as he pointed towards her head. She looked up and almost made an expression but seemed to still herself.

“Disorder,” she answered flatly. The sun set around them as AxEl dismissed his men. He walked around and took off the gaudy suit that he had bought for the occasion, as it brought too much attention to him. Instead, he put on a more comfortable outfit for himself.

Anagen’s seen me in normal clothes before. I’m sure she won’t find this weird.

Instead, when he came out of the truck and let the driver go, he looked towards her and asked one more question. “Why did you decide to go along with me?”

“Hmm?” As the truck left, AxEl spotted someone that was near the building. It was Nook, who himself had stayed behind. He walked over to the two of them and eyed Anagen up and down with prejudice.

“Calm down, Nook. She decided to work for us, instead,” AxEl explained, though Nook didn’t take his eyes off of her.

“Or maybe she did that so she could find out where we’re cooking from,” Nook replied.

“Oh, come now, why would I do that? I’ve been helping you all along,” Anagen explained.

“How so?” Nook asked immediately.

“Who do you think kept sending you those letters? If it weren’t for me, DoxEn would know where your mother is by now, AxEl,” Anagen said. AxEl then clicked the pieces in his mind together.

“You’re the one who sent the letters!” he exclaimed, and a hint of a smile appeared on Anagen’s face as she did a mock bow.

“I’ll have to admit but I didn’t expect for you to just barge into the room like that, but it worked out in the end. DoxEn’s done for and I can put you in contact with the rest of his managers.”

“Uh, yeah, thanks for that,” AxEl said.

“Now, can you introduce me to who’s been running your finances. They and I have much to talk about if I’m going to work with you,” Anagen asked expectantly. AxEl and Nook looked at each other, then pointed to one another.

Anagen’s lips quivered for a moment, but then she looked away. “Oh, okay then.”

AxEl chuckled. He felt a warmth in his heart in that moment. Something about the moment made him a bit more happy than usual. He and Nook parted from the woman shortly after. They’d be talking to her sooner, but the day was getting late enough as it was.