(A/N: "Now for this intro segment.. I'm gonna steal an idea from a good friend. Hope you don't mind.")

CHAPTER 49: KILL THE ZODIAC

Outside of Night Raid's base, Akame, Tatsumi and Dairoku kneeled over a small cot, which held Mine, who was pronounced being in a coma from the over exertion of her body and mind in the last fight, and from the fact that she used a Zodiac and Teigu simultaneously, which is like using two Teigu or Zodiacs simultaneously; she had managed to break the golden rule. Najenda, Lubbock, Chelsea, Mira, Levi and Saber all stood a bit away from them. One of the Revolutionary Army's nurses approached them.

Nurse: "I'll take responsibility and look after her until she wakes up. And I'll run some tests on her to see if she suffered anything negative from using both a Zodiac and Teigu Simultaneously. But since it was for a very brief time, hopefully noting too serious happened to her."

Najenda: *nods* "Thank you."

Akame: "Mine... After the battle is over, we'll all come to see you, okay..?"  She said in a soft one as Dairoku was gently petting the pink-haired girl's forehead before taking his hand off in silence.

Tatsumi: "Sure..."  He slowly took her hand and caressed it.  "When that time comes, marry me. Mine, I love you."

Najenda let out a small chuckle as Mira, Saber and Chelsea smiled a bit. Lubbock grumbled out of jealously while Levi snickered before elbowing him lightly. With Leone letting out a whistle of amusement, she suddenly slipped to her best friend's side, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

Leone: "Speaking of...~ When's the big day with you and Dai~? I call dibs on being Maid of Honor!"  The crimson-eyed girl blushed lightly but giggled a bit at her best friend before thinking about it.

Akame: "Marriage... That does sound nice.." 

She said with a quiet whisper, but soon frowned as she saw him walking away from them. The Vampire's eyes displayed regret as he slowly was clenching his fists...

Mine: "Dai... ro.. ku... You better take... care of Tatsumi... and... Akame..."

Her last message to him played throughout his mind. He grinded his teeth against each other before transforming into a Hell-Phoenix and flying towards the base.

Dairoku's thoughts: "Damn it... Damn it... If I hadn't have.. if I wasn't so weak to let DEATH control me... Mine wouldn't have... Fucking, hell..!"

The others watched as he flew away, Akame's expressing growing more sad as she had a feeling why he was being like this. She could feel his guilt.. his regret.. Tatsumi, deciding to break the tense silence, slowly looked to Lubbock.

Tatsumi: "That reminds me, Lubo..?"  The green haired assassin looked at him, raising his eyebrow.  "How are you alive?? Esdeath told us that you died.."

Najenda: "It is quite a mystery."

Levi: "Stop stalling and tell us!" She said as she grabbed his shoulders and slightly shook him.

Lubbock: "Well... you see..."

(Flashback)

After Budo's death at the hand of Mine, Saber and Dairoku, Night Raid was scrambling for a way out. With Mine in Dairoku's arms, Tatsumi holstered over Najenda's shoulder and Mira floating next to them thanks to Alkonost, they desperately looked for a way out.

Chelsea: "What do we do now?? At this rate, the Soldiers will catch up to us before we can get back to the base!"

Levi: "Don't worry! A ninja always has her backup escape plans! Follow me and quickly! I can hear the footsteps of the Guards approaching swiftly!"

Everyone looked at her before nodding as they all began to run towards the their left. After a short while, they stopped,  upon feeling the ground shake roughly. They looked around alarmed, only to see multiple explosions happening in the Capital's collapsed Coliseum, inducing panic in the citizens and the guards around who all went to go investigate.

Leone: "What the..?"

Mira: "What happened!?"

???: "Guys!"  Drawn by the familiar voice, the Night Raiders turned to their right and spotted Lubbock, exiting what looked like some secret underground passage way.

Akame: "Lubbock!!"

Levi: "You found my super secret ninja hideaway!?"

(End of Flashback)

Lubbock: "And.. well you know the rest."

Najenda: "I see... so Cross-Tail was destroyed.."

Lubbock: "Yeah, but luckily when I killed the Minister's son, I managed to snag his Teigu."  He took out Shambhala before tossing it into the air and catching it.  "When I used it originally, it teleported me into the Capital. I would have been a goner if it wasn't for Dairoku and his... Army, and of course, Liese helping me out. Then that whole giant dragon thing he did. Speaking of, what in the hell was even that!?"

"Well I think I'll be more suitable to explain that, don't you think?"

Everyone became startled by the sudden voice. It sounded like Athena, but Dairoku wasn't there so how was she talking to them?

Akame: "Athena..."

Athena: "Hold on. Let me come and see you guys in person!"

Tatsumi: "Wait, what do you-"

He was cut off by a bright red shine emitting from the ground. Soon a red sphere of light rose up before shining brightly, forcing the others to shield their eyes. Afterwards, they slowly looked only to be surprised to see a black-haired female, standing next to Akame. She was slightly shorter than her and her eyes was a striking red color. She also wore some revealing clothing that looked slightly Egyptian and she had a grin on her face.

Akame: "Is that you...? Athena?"  She only grinned at her before bowing lightly.

(Athena; Black Dragon Empress of Jurisdiction)

Athena: "Allow me to fully introduce myself to you all. I am Athena, the Black Dragon Empress of Jurisdiction. You may know me as Barbatos. I've been inside of Dairoku's left hand and conscience ever since he had obtained Yoake."

Everyone just stared at her, their eyes fully widened and their mouths agape before Leone just whistled. Then, Lubbock broke the silence.

Lubbock: "Wait, WAIT!! You mean to tell me.... That fucker Dairoku... had this sexy ass chick LIVING INSIDE OF HIM THIS ENTIRE TIME!?!? I'M SO FUCKING PISSED!!! FUCK YOU DAIROKU!!!!"

Levi: *sweat drops* "Ahaha... Good ol' Lubo..."

Najenda: "Anyways... Athena, was it? You said you'd tell us more about how Dairoku... 'saved' Lubbock?"

Athena: "Yup. What Lubbock saw, that Black Dragon was a secret power that only us Dragon Spirits that possess the Zodiac-Armors possess..."

Akame: "Juggernaut Drive.."  She finished. Everyone looked at Akame, confused while Athena only nodded.

Athena: "That's it. The Juggernaut Drive is an extra transformation that gives my host immense amounts of power and strength. However, the version that Dairoku used was Incomplete. And thanks to Yoake warping him, he had the mind of a Danger Beast, attacking anything that stood in his way. Heck, even Esdeath struggled against him. The only way he was able to return to normal, was from that Laruen girl and my younger sister knocking him out."  Najenda hummed at the information.

Tatsumi: "You have a sister?"

Athena: "Yeah. You know her as Bael. But her real name is Artemis, the Gold Dragon Empress of Authority."

Saber: "Interesting.."  She stroked her chin as Chelsea decided to ask a question.

Chelsea: "So are there more of you?"

Athena: "Well there used to be. We had two older brothers who never got along. Ddraig and Albion were their names, the Red and White Dragon Emperors. But I haven't heard from either in thousands of years."

Najenda: "I see... Well it's good to know that you've been helping Dairoku all this time, Athena."  The dragon female only smirked and gave her a thumbs up before looking at Akame.

Athena: "I can tell you're torn about something. You're wondering what made Dairoku charge into the Empire like that, right?"  Akame looked slightly surprised but nodded slightly.  "Well, you can ask the perv. He got the answers."  She pointed back at Lubbock who was just staring at her behind with a nosebleed before shaking his head and wiping the blood away.

Lubbock: "R-Right... While Liese and I were digging through some files in the Empire's underground offices, we discovered the origins of Yoake. Centuries ago, longer than the Teigu or even this Empire, supernatural figures created 50 extremely powerful ancient weapons that had more power than anything else the world had seen; they were known as the Zodiacs."

"However, over the years, 40 Zodiacs were either destroyed or lost due to constant war for their power and other things, leaving the 10 we have to this day. One of those original beings known as DEATH took part in the creation of those Zodiacs, more specifically, he created two; Death's Herald—Yoake and Death's Calling—Ketsuekime. Also known as, 'Death's servants', Ketsuekime and Yoake were created to work in tandem with each other and will react to one another. Ketsuekime or Ketsu for short, possessed the ability to kill any living being with a single scratch of its blade while Yoake possessed the ability to make the user stronger, the more blood the Zodiac consumes. This ability came with a price however. You see, when DEATH created both of these Zodiacs, he imbued his soul into them to essentially bring life to them, ironically enough."

That took Akame by surprise. It made sense though.. since wielding Ketsuekime, she'll always hear demonic whispers in its aura, but it never affected her. In fact, she was like immune to it.

"Ketsuekime got the easy end of the stick. Yoake however, didn't fare so well. There is a reason who the user of Yoake is always known as the Death's Harbinger. The more Yoake consumed the blood of its victims, the user will start to feel side effects each time they used it. Voices of their victims in their heads, nightmares, feelings of doubt. It'll mentally break them if they don't have a strong enough will."  Athena continued for him.

Athena: "That's not all. Yoake's Trump Card worsens that effect. Yoake's Trump Card, Sinful Harbinger was always known as, The Forbidden Secret. Every person who tried to use it before, would die immediately from the amount of stress on their body. Those who could withstand it, but had a weak mind, would risk the soul of DEATH himself, taking over and using their body to fulfill his dark desires."

Akame: "Wait.. so you mean..."

Athena: "Yup. Partner's behavior and the reason he went into the Capital all on his own, was most likely due to DEATH. If you're able to withstand all of that, then it's one hell of a Trump Card. However, the more you use it, the worse the effects become."

Everyone took a moment of silence to soak in all of the new information they all attained before Najenda spoke up again.

Najenda: "I see... Yoake reminds me of a lost Teigu of similar nature.. I believe it was called Harvester..."

Mira: "I've heard of it. Maybe Yoake's its predecessor?" 

Najenda: "Could be... How much do you think he could use that Trump Card before DEATH takes over?"

Athena: "With his current mental state, I would say his next usage would be his last."

While they were talking amongst themselves, Akame remained silent while looking at the ground. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.. Why Ketsuekime reacted to Dairoku going into his Juggernaut Drive and why his mental status began to spiral.. Yoake was in a sense, kind of like Incursio, with arguably worse repercussions. But the fact concerning DEATH and Dairoku caught Akame's attention more. She slowly clenched her fists, feeling a new urge for her mission of Operation: Vampiric Restoration to take to new heights.

Najenda: "Akame."  She looked towards her leader.  "Please see it to that Dairoku doesn't use that Trump Card once. If he truly can only use it once more, then we'll need it for the final battle, no doubt. And considering he was able to land a blow powerful enough to knock Esdeath out of the fight, means that both you and him are our only chances at wining this."  She simply nodded at the ex-general, her look of determination growing stronger.

>>In the Capital<<

In her room, with the door locked, Lauren sat on her bed, with a deep silence overtaking her. In her hair was the feather Run always wore. She knew of what Kurome did to him and she's not sure if she'd be able to fully forgive her.. In her hand however, was what remained of the destroyed Teigu, Adramelech. Lauren was just silently stared at the last remains of her father that she had before she felt a hand be placed on her shoulder.

Glancing over, she spotted a purple light that glowed before forming into a female figure. She had long black hair tied into a pony tail by a crimson bow and golden eyes. Her entire attire however, resembled a type of ninja.

Lauran: "Artemis...?"

(Artemis—Gold Dragon Empress of Authority)

Artemis: "He won't be forgotten Partner. But you need to focus. The Revolution is getting close to attacking and we need to be ready, to do our part in making sure this Empire becomes changed, like how your father and boyfriend wanted."

The blonde female stared at her before silently nodding, her eyes narrowing into a determined look.

Meanwhile, wandering through the halls was Lieselotte, her hands on her hips as she had her eyes closed. She knew the time was near and spotting Esdeath's plan earlier, made her more worried for the upcoming battle.

???: "Big sis!!"

That voice caused the blonde to smile a bit before she turned around, spotting a girl that looked completely identical to her, besides her outfit and the glasses on her forehead, running towards her, her arms spread out. With a giggle, Lieselotte held her hands out and caught her into her embrace, with the younger female snuggling into her.

Lieselotte: "Hey, my sweet little sister, Selina."

(Selina Sherlock)

Selina: "Hehe, I missed you so much sis!"

Lieselotte: "I missed you too.."  She hummed, smiling happily as she spun her twin around gently, causing her to giggle lightly. Soon, the elder of the two stopped as her smile faded. She looked around to see if anyone was watching or listening in before leaning towards Selina and whispering into her ear.  "Hey, can you do me a favor, little sis?"

Selina looked up at her, arching her eyebrow in confusion before she managed to read her mine. Her eyes narrowed into a determined expression as she nodded.

END