Tsukiko stood before the abandoned hotel once again, Haruka at her side. The place had been boarded up a few weeks after Morgan's arrest, at the Old Chief's request, but the boards were now gone, with nothing but a dark void and broken glass in their place.

The building stood in the middle of an occupied area, standing as a sole reminder of what had happened there years ago, and not yet reclaimed by the hustle and bustle of the city. Still, the streets before it were oddly empty, save for a bald man in a green suit outside, leaning against the building's outer wall, looking like he was waiting for something.

"...you sure about this?" Tsukiko spoke to her sister, softly.

"Of course I am." Haruka stepped forward. "You think I'm gonna bail?"

"I can handle it myself. " Tsukiko looked at her.

"I know you can." Haruka shook her head. "But I'm not gonna risk it. Even you can lose a fight."

Tsukiko sighed. "Alright."

Together, the two Knights approached the building's entrance. Haruka moved ahead of Tsukiko, reaching the doorway before her. A single man in a tacky looking dark violet suit and sunglasses stood in the way, his hands together in front of him.

"Two guys?" Haruka said to him. "Where's the rest of you?"

He simply shook his head, not letting out a single word.

"Move over." Haruka practically growled.

The other man got closer, the stern look on his face showing just what kind of greeting the Knights were about to get. Tsukiko turned to him, and Haruka turned to the man in the violet suit.

They went on the offensive, the two men attacking the Knights and forcing them away from the building's entrance and back onto the street.

The two Knights paired off with their respective opponents. Haru took on the man in violet and Tsuki was stuck with the second man, who wore a strange looking dark green suit.

With no hesitation, Tsukiko moved forward, her opponent moving back and forth, trying his best to find an angle of attack. When she finally got close enough to take a swing, he moved back quickly, stumbling a bit. Tsukiko moved forward again, only to be caught off guard by a quick jab to the jaw. It wasn't strong enough to do any real damage, but it hurt all the same.

Tsukiko stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to watch her opponent. The man before her did the same, keeping up his defensive stance as the Knight put her hand over her jaw. This moment of calm didn't last long, as Tsuki raised her fists once more.

The man in green and the Third Knight Himura circled one another, caught in a never ending spiral of defense and offense never quite meeting one another. As Tsukiko got closer, she opened herself up for another punch to the jaw.

She stopped playing along with her opponent's game, opting instead to meander around slowly, taking very slow steps toward him. Though he'd been on the defensive the entire fight, he didn't let himself get any further than a few meters. Eventually, his impatience forced him into the offensive, moving forward with another punch. Tsukiko moved her leg back as he approached, took the punch, then launched her leg forward, hitting him in the shin hard.

Immediately, the man in green fell to his knee, having lost all strength and balance. He was left effectively immobilized, and Tsukiko's strength could finally be used to its full effect. The poor man's eyes widened as she pulled back her arm to finally return the favor and give him a punch of her own.

He fell to the asphalt as she hit him with an immense amount of force. He was still conscious, but he was unable to get himself back up off the ground, only getting back onto his hands and knees. Tsuki kicked him in the side, knocking him back down. This time, he stayed down.

"You done?" Haruka called out.

Tsukiko, still catching her breath, turned to her sister. Haruka's boot was planted firmly on her opponent's back, his hands above his head in complete surrender. There was a huge red mark on the side of his cheek that just so happened to look like the bottom of the Second Knight's boot.

"...yeah, I'm done." Tsukiko sighed.

"Good." Haruka raised her leg up, and the man didn't dare move.

"You're just gonna--"

"Let's not waste any time." Haruka went straight for the front door.

Just beyond the front door was a deep, dark wall of inky black that they could hardly even see through, like a threshold to hell. Once they'd broken through the dark barrier, their eyes could now see much more easily.

The inside was a mess of broken plaster and garbage strewn about between walls covered in peeling paint and exposed, corroded copper piping. Messy graffiti ruined what little beauty the place still had, covering it in obscenities and insane rambling. Shattered glass laid just under where the windows once were, next to chunks of the ceiling that'd begun to cave him.

"Where is she?" Haruka demanded.

"...was it really a trap?" Tsuki looked around.

They both turned to the far end of the hotel's bottom floor and noticed a figure, standing across from them, motionless. When their eyes finally caught a glimpse of who it was standing there, they both froze.

Sylvie was across from them, sitting in a chair, tied down and covered in crimson blood and violet bruises. Behind her was a man in a heavy coat, a black surgical mask hiding whatever cruel expression he had under it. He had a sword, one hand on the handle and the other on the far end of the blade, the back of it pressed against Sylvie's pale neck.

Haruka stepped forward, and the steel of the blade pushed further against Sylvie's skin, making her groan from behind a makeshift cloth and duct tape muzzle.

"No further." The man in the surgical mask kept his demand simple. "Go back to where you came, and you'll see her again."

Tsukiko stood strong, not willing to move forward, but not willing to give him what he wanted. Haruka, however, inched closer and closer.

The blade flipped around in the man's hands, and the cutting edge was against Sylvie's throat. The French girl's eyes widened, watching Haruka.

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"What do you think you're doing?" The man demanded an answer. "Get out."

"Fuck you." Haruka replied angrily.

Sylvie swallowed out of nervous habit, and she could feel the cold, metal blade. She tried her best to lean back, away from the blade, but the man behind her just pulled it closer and closer.

Haruka kept moving forward, slowly. Tsukiko realized the situation was now far out of her control, so she moved forward too, hoping her sister knew what she was doing.

"Haru..." Tsukiko called out quietly.

At Tsukiko's side, there was an upturned reception chair with a metal frame and legs. It looked quite sturdy, despite the rust forming just under its screws.

Haruka took another few steps forward and the man in the surgical mask moved quickly, taking the sword away from Sylvie's throat and raising it up toward the Second Knight. Haru narrowed her eyes and her lips curled up, ever so slightly.

"Back off!" He shouted.

The man with the sword kicked the chair to the ground and Sylvie fell with it, slamming into the cold concrete floor below. He raised the sword over his head and brought it flying down toward Haruka, who nearly stumbled backward trying to avoid it.

Moments felt like hours as Tsukiko reached down to grab the heavy metal chair off the ground.. As the man's sword rose back up for another swing, Tsuki ran forward to protect her sister, raising it like a shield against the falling blade. A horrible metallic squeal rang out as the katana smashed into the chair's legs and scraped off some of the already flaking paint.

Steel chipped off the blade as he slammed the sharp end of the sword against the chair's metal leg, blunting its once sharp edge. He swung with such force that it all came back into his hands, almost breaking his grip.

An opportunity presented itself as he recoiled from the power of his own swing. Tsuki moved forward, using the chair like a battering ram and aiming for the man's lower body. She shunted the chair in front of her, and the sudden force of it knocked him off his feet and down to the cold floor below, the sword escaping his grip and tumbling away.

Tsukiko raised the reception chair high over her head, and brought its immense weight crashing down on the man's body. Hs body ended up flat and motionless on the concrete below, with no chance of him getting up again any time soon.

Haruka looked up at her sister, frozen. "D-did you really have to do that?"

"He had a sword." Tsuki stopped herself.

"...yeah, you're right." Haruka stumbled back onto her feet.

Tsuki left the chair on her opponent and moved to get a hold of the sword, picking it up off the ground and holding it close. The blade's sharp edge had been partially blunted by striking the chair's leg over and over, bits chipped off here and there.

Haru kneeled down by Sylvie, reaching for the tape and rag that covered her mouth. The poor French girl coughed and gagged as she was finally able to catch her breath and let out her voice.

"Sylvie." Haru said softly. "It's alright, I'm here."

"Haru." Sylvie opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else, but she stopped.

"...c'mon, talk to me." Haruka pleaded. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

In the silence after the fight, distant police sirens finally got their chance to be heard.

"Goddamnit." Sylvie coughed, her eyes wet with bitter, angry tears. "Did everyone else make it out?"

"The Damascenes? They're fine, don't worry about them." Haruka moved to put the chair back upright. "You're hurt bad, though."

"...yeah, I know." Sylvie admitted, her eyes breaking away from Haruka's gaze. "...but I'm not dead. Not yet."

Haruka perked up, just a bit. "It'd take a lot more than a sword to kill you."

"Yeah." Sylvie said it again, but with a smile.

"Who did this?" Tsukiko approached.

"I'll tell you later." Sylvie said.

"First, we'll get you to a hospital." Haruka shook her head. "...then we'll go out and find 'em. I'll--"

"Don't." Sylvie repeated. "Don't get involved. Just stay out of it. It's not worth it."

"Sylvie--" Haruka didn't finish her sentence.

"Just listen to me, goddamnit." Sylvie spit out. "If I tell you not to do something, then don't do it!"

"...fine." Haruka lowered her head.

Sylvie turned.. "They're trying to get to you, Tsuki."

"Me?" Tsuki narrowed her eyes. "Who? Why?"

Dozens of shouting police officers stormed the hotel lobby, the sirens now deafeningly loud. They ran toward Sylvie and the Knights, holding their batons and handguns at the ready. Ishikawa broke through, and found the two Knights standing in front of their injured friend.

"Guns down." Ishikawa ordered with a wide hand gesture.

The police officers lowered their weapons, their eyes watching Tsukiko and her grip on the bladed weapon. Tsuki took a few steps toward Ishikawa, who only watched her intently, as she kneeled down and placed the weapon a few meters away from him.

"You got here before us, huh?" Ishikawa remarked. "And this?"

"The man inside had it." Tsukiko motioned to the unconscious man. "Over there."

Ishikawa nodded silently, then walked past the Knight, kneeling down. "Sylvie Fontaine..."

"...yeah." Sylvie looked up at him.

"...we're going to need paramedics." Ishikawa said to himself, then raised his hand and made another gesture, his men moving in accordance. "You're going to be alright. I promise."

Sylvie's lips curled up, just a bit.

"Hey. She'll be fine." Haruka tried to stop him. "She's tough."

"...do you really want to take that risk?" Ishikawa turned to her. "Who knows what they did to her. She needs help."

Ishikawa stood up silently, and held out his arms, pushing the Knights away from Sylvie. Haruka wanted to fight back, but she knew she couldn't. She could only watch as Sylvie was broken free from the chair and loaded onto a stretcher, taken out of the building not long after.

"...who're you?" Haruka finally got her chance to interrogate the strange man.

"Me?" Ishikawa looked at her for a moment. "I'm the new local chief of police, Ishikawa."

"What happened to the old man?" Haruka narrowed her eyes.

Ishikawa turned to Tsukiko. "You didn't tell her?"

"No." Tsukiko shook her head. "He's retired."

"...your men had better take good care of her." Haruka glared at him. "Ishikawa."

"Of course they will. They're all trained medical staff." Ishikawa tried to reassure her. "You're a Knight, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Haruka didn't want to waste any time.

"I wish we could've met under better circumstances." Ishikawa held out his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Where're you taking her?" Haruka wasn't interested in any formalities.

Ishikawa stopped her. "I can't let you go with her. It goes against policy."

"Fuck your policy." Haruka snapped at him. "That's my friend."

"Haru." Tsukiko tried to caution her sister.

"Her life could be in danger." Ishikawa reminded her. "Protocols exist for a reason. You'll see her soon enough. I'm sorry."

"If she's in danger, I wanna be there." Haruka grit her teeth. "I promised I'd be by her side if she was ever in trouble."

"You're the one who saved her." Ishikawa reminded her. "Not us. You've done your work, now let us do ours. You're not a doctor, Miss Shimizu, you're a Knight."

Haruka was angry, but she had to admit defeat. "Fine. ...just take care of her, alright?"

"I'll do everything I can for her." Ishikawa said.