Grunting and impact noises could be heard coming from deep in the forest near to the Night Raid Base. Two females could be seen sparring, more specifically Akame and Mine. Mine quickly sent a strong kick to Akame, which she held her arms up to block the attack and tank the impact before they backed away from each other.

Akame: *grins* "You're really motivated, Mine."

Mine: *grins* "The Empire's Strongest is after my Boyfriend. Of course I am!"

Akame only grinned as she charged and reengaged with Mine. Meanwhile, a bit away from them, Dairoku was seen, kneeling on his knees with his eyes closed and Yoake stabbed into the ground next to him. But there was something evident about them; both had a thin red aura surrounding them.

Athena: "There you go. Concentrate. Think about the feelings you felt that drove you over the edge, the power that those feelings unleashed. Now visualize what you want to protect."

Barbatos or as she's known as, Athena, told him as he only hummed in response, concentrating on what she said. The feelings he felt when he was driven mad... The power that those feelings unleashed... and what he wants to protect the most...

Dairoku's thoughts: "Akame..."

This is the beginning, of Death's Harbinger's awakening.

CHAPTER 43: KILL THE DISASTER

The grandfather clock within the Jaeger's normally lively meeting room, ticked as Wave had sat at the end of the table, in complete silence. Soon the sound of the door opening behind him, caught his attention; Kurome had entered the room, with a covered box.

Kurome: "Wave, I cot a cake. Do you want some?" Seeing her, created a small smile on the seaman's face.

Wave: "Y-Yeah, sure. This is rare. You never share with anyone."

Kurome: "This doesn't have any drugs in it." She said, putting the box down on the table and unwrapping it to reveal the cake. "I'll save a slice for Lauren when she wakes up and let's get Run, too. It's a Jaeger rule to eat meals together."

She reached for the dormant scythe, Himitsume, in order to use it to summon Run's corpse, only for Wave to grab her by the shoulders and stop her.

Wave: "N-No, you don't need to! Hey, don't use your powers for things like this." The short haired ravenette blushed a bit from being flustered from his action but from realization.

Kurome: "O-Okay. I got it. I'll make some tea!" She hurriedly exited that portion of the room to go create some tea as Wave watched her go, before remembering the time she came back the day after her, Lauren, Run and Lieselotte went out to destroy Wild Hunt.

(Flashback)

Wave: "No... Run..." The day after Champ, Enshin and Cosmina's assassinations, Kurome returned to the capital which a heavy downpour was already taking place in it, with Run's puppet by her side and in his arms was the seemingly dead Lauren.

Kurome: "He was worried about you even as he was dying, Wave... And Lauren... I couldn't do anything... Her heart stopped and there hasn't been a pulse since then..."

Wave: *clenches fists* "The first thing I find after waking up is this...? You're kidding me...!! Run... Lauren... Damnit!!"

Kurome: "I may have not been able to save Lauren... B-But since I have Himitsume's power, I was able to save Run! He's still here!"

Wave: "...What the hell are you saying? Let him rest in peace!! Are you really going to use Run!? You" Kurome's face flashed with a look of confusion... She couldn't understand why he was lashing out at her. She thought she did something good... but to Wave, it wasn't...? She decided to plea her case.

Kurome: "You're the one who doesn't know what he's saying, Wave! You don't want to be together with Run!?"

Wave: "I don't want to see my friend turned into a puppet!! Do you really think Lauren would want to see the man she loves like this!? What the hell kind of twisted thinking is that!?"

Kurome was about to retaliate, before she gasped bit and fell to her knees while coughing violently, turning Wave's anger to concern and worry.

Wave: "H-Hey.. Are you alright, Kurome-" He was about to hurry towards her, only for Run to suddenly step between them, essentially blocking Wave from her, taking the two Jaegers by surprise. "Run...? Did you make him do that, Kurome?"

Kurome: "...No... No I didn't. But Himitsume's puppets act exactly the same to Yatsufusa's. The Puppets still retain their habits and strong desires." Wave's eyes only widened before he gritted his teeth in frustration.

Wave: "Even after dying, you still bother with caring for us...!!" Kurome glanced at him before taking a look at her palm, seeing blood in it from where she coughed. "Hey! Kurome, that's...!"

Kurome: "...Yeah. This has been happening every now and then recently. Don't worry about me. *clenches fist* Our emotions aside, Run is a great battle asset to us in our current situation, Wave. It's definitely better to have him fight alongside us against Night Raid and the Others. We all have a duty to fulfill... I know Lauren would want that at least from us.."

Wave: "Kurome..."

Lieselotte: "Well that's true." The two were slightly startled but looked to their around before looking on a roof near to them, where they spotted Lieselotte bending over to look at them with a light smile.

(A/N: "Tiddy jiggles... And thighs..")

Kurome: "Liese! You made it!" the blonde smiled at her genuinely as she winked.

Lieselotte: "Yep! But let me correct you on something. Laruen's not dead." With that statement, the remaining Jaeger's eyes widened in shock.

Wave: "What..!?"

Kurome: "But her pulse has completely vanished!"

Lieselotte: "Yeah, that part is true. In a normal situation, she'd be dead. But this is the side effect of Rerumukattā's Trump Card that she used against Champ."

Wave: "It's... Trump Card...?"

Kurome: "I remember... I remembered a bright golden light with multiple golden portals opening and Lauren... weapons I remember... Murasame, Yatsufusa were two of those weapons." Wave's face took on a look of surprise.

Lieselotte: "Yup. That was Rerumukattā's Trump Card, Gates of Babylon. It grants Lauren access to all of the world's prototypes of all Teigu, Zodiac-Weapon and Shingu. Prototypes like Murasame and Yatsufusa don't retain their original abilities and Lauren doesn't get the mental strain a normal person would get from using multiple Teigu. However after it's over, the user's heart stops, but they don't die, they go into a stasis-like state, or a coma for a couple of days. So don't worry, Lauren's still alive."

She gave a reassuring smile to the two which sent a wave of relief rushing through the two Jaegers. Sighs of relief came out of their mouths as they looked at each other, a relieved smile present on their faces. They thought they had lost two... but in reality, one survived.

(End of Flashbacks)

Kurome: "Wave, what do you want to drink?" She questioned as she reentered the room, with the Tea's ingredients in her hands.

Wave: "Hm? Um, seaweed tea."

Kurome: "More Sea stuff?" She said in a slight taunting and playful tone as she looked back at him with a small giggle. Wave looked at her with a slight smile.

Wave's thoughts: "You look happier now, Kurome. That's good... Even if we get into a battle, I won't let any burdens fall on you. That way, you won't have to use Run, either. If Kurome finds out that this is what I'm thinking, she'll probably get mad at me, saying I'm treating her like extra baggage. *clenches fist* But this is what I want."

???: "Oh, cake? Do you have some for me as well?"

A certain matured and commanding female voice caught the immediate attention of the two Jaegers present as they looked towards the door, only to be surprised to see her again; General Esdeath had returned.

Both: "Commander!"

Esdeath: *tips hat and grins* "I'm back." After they had sat down, sharing out slices of the cake while pouring out cups of tea, Kurome and Wave had informed Esdeath about the situation concerning Run, Lauren and Wild Hunt. With that now in her head, her expression turned dangerous and agitated. "I thought I didn't see Run... And no wonder I was told Lauren had been put into a coma... So that's what happened... No wonder Budo's been giving off such an aura of bloodlust recently.... Wild Hunt... Don't think that you can get away with something like this..."

Wave: "I'm not sure if it's because they were shocked at losing half their members, but they've been laying low."

Kurome: "But they must be up to something. A weird workshop just popped up recently too."

Esdeath: "Either way, now that I'm back.. I won't let them do as they please." At that reassurance, her two subordinates smiled, though they both still had a hint of sadness within them... the Lounge felt so empty... There used to be Nine of them... Now there's two currently active, three if you count Lieselotte.

Wave: "How is the invasion of the Western Tribe Nation going?"

Esdeath: "They still haven't lost the will to fight. I just left my army there and came back myself."

Kurome: "And you come back to prepare for the Revolution's net move."

Esdeath: "You're sharp, Kurome. Once we've eliminated the Revolutionary Army in the South, with the Imperial Guard, our victory is assured."

Kurome: "We can win, right?" the icy haired general smiled at her.

Esdeath: "Of course. I'm here, and so is Lauren's father, Budo." Then her smile turned into a serious stare. "However, once the Imperial Guard is dispatched, the Palace's security will be thin. It'd be best if we could do something about Night Raid before then."

>>One Week Later<<

After another mental training session by Athena, Dairoku was returning to the base. So far, Athena told him that he was slowly making progress, but something was holding him back.

Dairoku: "You said something's holding me back..?"

Barbatos: "Yeah. You have the drive, it's there. But need a push to break out that power. It's lying dormant right now and something needs to happen to break it out."

Dairoku: "I've had my sisters and best friends die before me. What more do I fucking need?" He sighed in frustration as he entered the Base, only to be met by a familiar face... Chelsea. Over the Week that went by, Chelsea received her prosthetic limbs, with them being a replacement right arm and fingers for her left hand. "What are you doing out of bed, Chelsea?"

Chelsea: "I've been in bed for too long... I want to at least attempt to be useful again.. Mira's done more and she's wheelchair bound. So that's why..."

Dairoku: *raises eyebrow* "That's why...?" A tiny embarrassed blush formed on her face before she fully looked at him.

Chelsea: "I-I.. want you to train me.." There was a brief silence as Chelsea just looked away, her blush of embarrassment growing slightly. "Y-You were trained by Esdeath herself... s-so I feel you could teach me some things.."

Dairoku: "Alright." Chelsea blinked in surprise while the Vampire just shrugged. "What? You still live here with us. You've gotta contribute one way or another. Tomorrow morning, we'll begin. So prepare yourself."

He pats her shoulder before walking past her, leaving a dumbfounded Chelsea behind. As he turned the corner, he heard a slight giggle followed by the feeling of two arms wrapping around his waist with some soft mounds on his back. He glanced back, seeing his ravenette girlfriend.

Akame: "Seems like you're getting softer towards her."

Dairoku: "Heh... You and the others are rubbing off of me.."

Akame: "Well I'm definitely rubbing off of you." She said with a slight tune in her voice, causing for the vampire to chuckle lightly.

>>A Few Hours Later<<

The remaining members of Night Raid gathered into the lounge, with a slightly unsettling silence. Tatsumi and Lubbock have not returned from their scouting mission in the Capital.

Akame: "...Tatsumi and Lubbock still haven't come back from the capital?"

Chelsea: "Nope, they haven't yet.."

Leone: "Maybe they found Wild Hunt and started fighting them?"

Saber: "No, they're smart enough to not go head to head with them, without us."

Mira: "I wonder what happened..."

They all fell into silence, with Akame slowly leaning against her boyfriend who hasn't said anything. However the ones most quiet, were Najenda, Mine and Levi, who all haven't said anything yet. Soon a violet portal opened in front of them as Lieselotte walked out of it.

Lieselotte: "House Keeping-oh.. Quiet the mood shift I see..." She said before sighing. "I know what you guys are thinking and... I have some bad news." Everyone slowly looked at her before she took a small breath and...  "Tatsumi and Lubbock got captured and are being held prisoner in the Capital."

To Be Continued...