"There really is no vacation from the world in which we live" - Michael Chertoff

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"Don't we ever get a vacation?" Hayaka's whining echoed in the meeting room.

Everyone was gathered and as expected, Jarek announced a new mission was on the team's horizon. Alard was having trouble getting the excitement flowing through his veins as it was 9 A.M, basically the hell some people referred to as mornings.

"Do you think the Peacocks take vacations?" Jarek responded in a tone that inferred it was the dumbest question he had ever heard. In hindsight, it might've certainly been up there in Hayaka's growing catalog of dumb questions.

Still, Alard could understand where Hayaka was coming from. Since consuming Jigoku it felt like he had constantly been on the move, either training or doing missions.

"Who knows?" Hayaka responded, genuinely considering Jarek's response, "Maybe they do get a week's vacation since there are so many of them."

"Sounds like you should join them then," Kenneth commented.

"Maybe I will."

"Enough," Jarek commanded. His voice wasn't raised yet it had the same effect of a shout, quieting the room immediately. "Let's go over the basics of the mission." He paused, ensuring every eye was on him before continuing, "Our goal is the death of an important figure in the Peacock hierarchy."

Without being asked, Alden produced a picture and placed it on the table. From the amount of zoom used Alard deduced that the picture was taken from extremely far and the figure's features could hardly be deciphered despite his squinting. Still, he wore a special attire that separated him from the usual Peacocks.

"This is Kingsley Sutton, a Parasyte user recruited from a foreign district and used to strengthen the defenses of the Wall of Hades. His heightened senses exceed even Aura's, making him a great recon asset for the guardians of the Wall," Alden informed. "Now as you know, the Wall of Hades separates the important bases of the Peacocks from the dangers of Vrille and by extension, the Underground. The removal of Mr. Sutton greatly decreases the fortification of Hades."

Nessa gasped, her eyes wide as she turned back to Jarek. "You don't mean-"

"Yes. It hasn't been confirmed yet but the Underground is on route to launch another attack on the Wall in hopes of bringing it down," Jarek responded.

Even Alard was aware of the first Great Attack on the Wall of Hades. It had been a nationally televised event, even for the poorest districts and for his, it was no different. He could still smell the rancid smell of beer and sweat as more people than the district bar was made for piled inside to watch the live coverage of the Underground's attack on the Wall. It was the first moment where it seemed possible that the Peacocks could be defeated.

Then reality hit as it tends to do.

The Underground were underprepared, guided by their pride after only one year of discovering Parasyte merging they cockily launched the attack and quickly learned just how much manpower the Peacocks were packing. Their defeat was the reason they started accepting civilians who wanted to join them in battle, no longer being inclusive in hopes of eventually matching the Peacocks in manpower. Countless died in the Great Attack from both sides and the very earth had suffered from the first show of mass Parasyte battle.

Alard couldn't help but shudder at the prospect of being involved in one. He would be watching from a small TV no longer and that in itself was a bit terrifying.

Nessa's demeanor changed completely, her shoulders slumping as her eyes glossed over. No one else outside of Hayaka and Alard seemed surprised by this reaction and continued on as if it hadn't happened.

"Are they sure it'll work this time, Boss?" Kenneth asked, glancing subtly at Nessa. "We can't handle another failure, we lost a lot in the last attack."

Jarek nodded. "Agreed, which is why the Underground is taking considerable steps to best ensure success. Bringing down that wall is the first step to bringing down the Peacocks." Jarek turned to look at Hayaka evenly, his expression hard. "Still want that vacation boy?"

Hayaka grinned, zero hesitation in his tone. "Hell no."

"That's more like it."

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"Can we go over the plan again?" Alard asked Aura, his nerves on fire as the wall came into view.

The two of them had split apart from the group to act as scouts, surveying the area to dispatch any Peacock stragglers.

Aura sighed, shooting a serpentine glare his way. "We scout, making sure that the rest of the team can get close to the wall without being detected by the human Peacocks outside of Sutton's heightened hearing bubble."

"And then?"

"And then we use Nessa's ability to travel closer to the wall soundlessly and after reaching as close as cover allows us, we let Nessa approach Sutton while we stick behind the cover. Sutton is known to be a cocky brat who loves to fight so it's likely he becomes absorbed in defeating Nessa, allowing us to catch him by surprise and eliminate him before the wall guards come to his rescue."

Alard raised an eyebrow. "That sounds remarkably...easy."

Aura nodded. "That's the best-case scenario. You'll quickly learn that it rarely goes down that way when Parasyte users are involved."

Alard thought back to the lighthouse mission that had ended with him almost drowning and being killed. It certainly wasn't hard to imagine.

Finally, Aura stopped, turning around sharply with a grim expression. "The coast is completely clear."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Perhaps," she looked around warily, "but it certainly is weird."

"We're a good ways off from the wall still, maybe everyone just went back to their stations for lunch or something," Alard offered.

Aura didn't look convinced but she said nothing, wordlessly moving back in the direction they came. Alard took one last look around and then followed her, convinced that nothing was amiss.

"You don't understand," Aura said, turning her hard gaze onto him, "we can't fail this mission," her gaze softened and her usual confident tone morphed into a pleading one, "We just can't."

It was clear there was some personal attachment embedded more into this mission than the ones of the past for her. The Peacocks had affected the lives of everyone and it was a general understanding not to pry where they were concerned but Alard couldn't repress his curiosity.

"Is there a particular reason it means this much to you?"

She turned away and started back toward the meeting point. It seemed like she wasn't going to elaborate and Alard didn't dare press harder, already kicking himself internally for his rudeness.

"My sister..." she started suddenly, not bothering to slow her speedwalking. Her voice was much softer than normal, painting the image of a broken girl struggling to stay afloat. "She was taken away by the Peacocks. She's the reason my brother and I became parasyte users. To find her and bring her home."

Alard gulped. The lighthouse mission had been his first encounter with Peacock kidnapped victims though it had been a rumor that reached even his district. When Peacocks struck districts it was typically for eradication for breaking one or more of the countless rules the government enforced (or even just a suspicion of such), but sometimes they took away people instead to serve as test subjects. No one could guarantee the survival of these test subjects so they were often considered dead after the passing of twenty-four hours.

"I'm sorry," Alard said with as much sincerity as he could muster.

"No need," Aura responded evenly. "Maria is alive and I will find her and something tells me she's behind that damn wall."

The rest of the walk was coated in silence but thankfully short. On the duo's return, Aura recounted their findings --or rather lack thereof, Jarek shared her skepticism. "Peacocks randomly spread out and monitor the surrounding area so that Rogues can't catch them by surprise," he explained. "The fact that there's none is worrying?"

"Why?" Hayaka asked, "Can't they just be on a break or something?"

Alard didn't know if to laugh at having thought the same as Hayaka or be mortified by it.

Jarek grunted, not bothering to give an actual verbal response behind his 'Are you stupid?' stare.

"Change of plans then, Boss?" Kenneth asked.

"Absolutely not," Nessa said suddenly, a rare scowl cloaking her features. "We didn't come here to scurry back to our holes at the first sign of danger." Her words were laced with venom and her eyes matched, rage lighting up her serpentine pupils like a boiling sun.

"Let's not let our emotions get in the way," Jarek responded evenly, holding Nessa's gaze until she looked away. "Still, I do agree with Nessa. We have one target and this is the only day where we have confirmation of his exact location alongside the wall so we must proceed with caution."

Kenneth smiled, his freakishly white teeth gleaming. "Caution is my middle name."

Nessa crouched down, placing both hands on the floor before beginning to 'float'. She had given a rough explanation as to how her ability worked after constant hounding from Alard. She said it was as if she hardened the air, much like the condensation of water to ice, creating an invisible solid that she could use in more ways than one.

Now, she concentrated harder than he had ever seen before, her face twisted into a sketch of pure concentration. "It's ready," she announced after a few moments.

Kenneth, Jarek, and Aura moved without hesitation, jumping next to the floating Aura and landing on some invisible platform that also gave them the illusion of floating alongside her. Alard and Hayaka were a bit more wary about putting trust in something they couldn't see, gingerly joining the rest on top of the invisible floor.

It felt just like the ever...sometimes reliable ground under Alard's feet but seeing the ground way below his feet was more than a little disorienting all the same.

Nessa gave them a nod and then started walking forward, her eyes pinned to the invisible floor that seemed to slide forward to accommodate her steps. The others shuffled after her and Hayaka and Alard followed suit.

Thus, Alard found himself shuffling behind a line of Marked individuals on an invisible platform toward the Wall of Hades.

If only his district could see him now, they would probably start rolling with laughter at the insanity of it all.

Or cry.