Laptop bag in both hands, Greyson picked up his pace and followed Azul out of the building. He said his final goodbyes to Officer Tayla, who only replied with a wave, and headed towards Azul's car. Just in time, Ciel appeared, carrying a few paper bags in his hands. A quick sniff of the air made Greyson's stomach growl. The smell of coffee and freshly made sandwiches washed away the scent of blood earlier, and it almost made his mouth water. Hopefully, he would be able to finish it without any unpleasant memories.

He hopped inside the seat next to Azul and smiled. Finally, they were going back to the office. He couldn't wait for the day to end.

Azul started the car, then drove off. Greyson turned to the window and cast one last glance at the Portia Times' building. It became smaller and smaller, until it disappeared amongst the other buildings when the car turned. He leaned his back on the car's seat, and he felt his ears droop down. He had driven off numerous crime scenes before, but this one felt... different. He couldn't explain it, but it was like a part of him was still in the building. Earlier, he wanted to do nothing but leave. Now, leaving felt wrong.

His hands reached for his bag's strap and held it tightly. Perhaps he just left his energy in the building; he sure felt like he didn't have any left.

"How are you two feeling?"

Greyson lifted his head and turned to Azul. "Hmm?"

"How are you two feeling?" he repeated. "Especially you, Shee. You're quieter than usual. This is your first case, and it's someone we kno--knew. I want to know how the two of you are."

"I- I honestly don't know what to say," Ciel replied. "I didn't know Ate Dayanna as much as you guys, so I don't know what to say. It just feels really weird, I guess."

"I see. How about you, Grey?"

Greyson sighed. "I don't know, either. Ate Dayanna is--was--a nice person. I just- I don't know why anyone would kill her."

"Well, our jobs are dangerous. We're dealing with all sorts of people, and getting answers sometimes means death for others. So they're willing to kill anyone just to spare themselves." He paused for a while, then continued. "If you need some boosts, remember what Viktor always says. We in the DUO have two choices when at crossroads: follow orders and solve the cases, or abort the missions and not solve them at all."

Greyson felt his frown deepen, and he turned his head away. He wasn't going to question his superior's words, especially if it was something that he still couldn't understand that much.

"Goddammit." Azul groaned. Before Greyson could ask, he turned the car to the left instead of driving ahead. "Why is there traffic at this time of the day?"

"Lunch rush, probably," Ciel replied. "I don't think it's that heavy, though. I'm sure you can wait another three minutes, this turn is gonna take us another ten."

"I'm not risking it. You know how traffic can be. It'll look like three minutes then suddenly it's ten years. Besides, joyrides are fun. Children like you deserve to feel a sliver of joy before work crushes all of your hopes and dreams."

"I'm nineteen."

"And you're still a fetus. Now zip, I can't see if you talk."

Greyson laughed at the two of them. At the same time, he never understood how they kept throwing insults back and forth, then still managed to talk to each other as if nothing happened. Maybe it was an adult thing that he would understand in the future, or maybe it was just a sibling thing that he would never understand.

Just like what Ciel said, it took them even longer to get back to the DUO's headquarters. Though a part of him doubted that it was because of the fact that they had to take a longer route. He swore that it felt like Azul was taking even more twists and turns than necessary, and he was certain that it took them longer than ten minutes. By the time they got back, he was sure that his coffee and food were already cold.

Azul was the first one out, and Greyson followed shortly after. He stopped and waited for Ciel to gather the paper bags in the car, then matched his pace when he started walking. Azul pushed the doors to the headquarters open, letting them all inside.

Greyson placed a hand in front of him, stopping Ciel just in time before he bumped into a ten year old girl carrying a stack of papers in her hands. The voices from other DUO members made his ears perk up and down a few times, though there were too many people talking at the same time for him to focus on one conversation. He had to stop even more times when people in lab coats ran around the lobby, and he nearly hit a boy his age following after them.

"You two go ahead."

He lifted his head and turned to Azul, who seemed to be staring at something. Greyson followed his gaze and--

He furrowed his brows and frowned. "Please tell me you're not going to flirt with the receptionist again."

"Hush, child." Azul placed a hand on his head and patted his hair. "There are things you'll understand when you're older. Now go on, shoo. Don't keep your mom and Doctor Anthea waiting."

And without another word, he fixed his coat's collar and walked towards the receptionist.

Behind him, Ciel sighed. "I'm not sticking around. It was funny last time, but now he's just giving me second hand embarrassment."

"I'll shave my black hair if I meet someone who's even worse at flirting than him," Greyson replied as he reached for a black strand of his hair. "I guess the only good thing I can see is that the receptionist seems interested as well."

The two of them headed towards the elevator, which fortunately didn't have any other people inside. Greyson leaned on the glass and waited for them to reach their floor. Once they were there, he led Ciel down the hall and stopped by their door, then opened it with one hand.

He scanned the room, half expecting a baby dragon to leap at his face and make him drop the laptop in his hands. Instead, the only thing that greeted him was a yawn, followed by a sleepy 'You're here'. Doctor Anthea lifted her head from her desk and brushed some of her brown hair away from her face. She stretched her arms, then slowly stood up from her chair.

"You three took a while," she said with a soft laugh. "Where's Azul?"

"Being an embarrassment." Ciel rolled his eyes and passed a bag to her. "Where's Sir Viktor? The food's already going cold."

"He left a little while ago." Anthea hummed, and her pointy ears pointed downwards. "He probably won't be back for an entire day, though. Sedah took him and his dragon to the city outskirts."

Greyson felt his own ears droop as he grabbed two bags from the desk. And there went his hope that Viktor would be able to answer a few questions that he had, especially since this sounded like a case he wanted to get to the bottom of as soon as possible.

He sighed as he sat on his chair. He placed the laptop bag down first, then slid the paper bag on the desk. "I'm guessing this one is yours, Lucinda."

Lucinda turned her head from her tablet to him. A smile formed on her face, making her dull golden eyes slightly brighter. "Thank you, Sweetheart. Have you eaten already?"

"Not yet." He grabbed his coffee, and he felt his frown deepen. Cold, just as he expected. "We were planning to get here first before eating because... well, today's case was..."

"Oh, that reminds me." Anthea yawned again, and Greyson was starting to wonder if her airiness today was because she couldn't sleep last night rather than making sure her mood was in check. "How was your first case, Ciel?"

Ciel placed a hand on his nape as he sat down on one of the chairs. "It was... something. It was strange for a first case."

"How strange?"

"Dayanna Linn is dead."

Greyson nearly jumped up from Azul's voice. His head was low as he entered the office, and there was a frown on his face. It was hard to tell if his sudden mood drop was because of the case, or if the receptionist had rejected him again.

Still, Greyson felt the tension that he brought. The air became heavy, and he swore it was piercing his lungs whenever he took a breath. Even his coffee felt like it lost its taste, and he was sure that he would throw up his sandwich if he were to try and take a bite out of it now. For a split second, he thought he smelled blood, almost making him gag.

"She's the victim," Azul continued as he sat on his chair. "We don't know who did it yet. Ciel said her memories weren't clear, and the cameras didn't show anything. The feed died when she was murdered, so it's safe to assume it was a wielder who can cut signals." He paused and looked around. "Where's Viktor?"

"Out with Sedah," Lucinda replied.

Azul's eyes widened as he stood up from his chair. "Shit."

Lucinda furrowed her brows. She crumpled a piece of paper into a ball, then tossed it in his direction. "Language. Greyson's in the room."

"I don't- whatever! I need to talk to him right now, there's an emer--"

Before he could finish, the alarms blared in the office. Greyson jumped out of his chair and covered both of his ears. The once blue color of the office turned into a blinding red. It didn't help that dark sheets covered the windows, making the red even deeper and brighter.

"Damn it." Azul grabbed his phone from his pocket. "Lucinda, you're coming with me to the control room upstairs. Greyson, control room in the basement. Ciel, Anthea, help anyone you can and make sure he gets there. Now move!"

Greyson nodded. He turned to Lucinda and gave her one last hug before running out of the office with Ciel and Anthea. As soon as they got out, both wielders and non-wielders ran past them, some to their own offices while others were with them as they ran downstairs.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his heart pounded quicker than usual. He would have used his ability to travel in the DUO's lines and get to the basement quicker, but he didn't want to leave his body behind. And he wasn't sure if Ciel or Anthea could take his body to the control room when he was one of the only few people who could access the basement's elevator.

The moment he reached the ground floor, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

He expected a large group of people, or perhaps powerful and dangerous wielders, but he didn't think that it was that many. It almost looked like an entire organization came to the DUO HQ. His fellow DUO members were fighting against people he didn't recognize, and there were some people lying on the floor already. He just hoped that most of those people were from the attackers and not from the DUO.

"Greyson, goose!"

He didn't get the chance to ask or react. Greyson felt something grab his shoulder and drag him downwards. A scream left his lips, and he tore himself away. His back ached as he hit the floor, but he quickly hoisted himself up. The moment he did, however, it felt like someone poured cold water over his body.

"S- Stera?"

Stera simply stared at him, making Greyson furrow his brows and narrow his eyes. Something felt off. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and his gaze looked distant. It was like he wasn't focused on what he was looking at. There was a dark mark on his face, just by his cheeks, and he wasn't sure if it was there earlier or if it was just new.

Just as Stera was about to lunge at him again, Ciel ran in front of him and struck Stera's head with his metal staff. Stera stumbled back, and Ciel didn't waste time to hit him in his stomach area. Stera screamed, and he fell to his back.

"Are you okay?" Ciel asked as he turned around.

Greyson furrowed his brows. "Who the heck says 'goose' instead of duck?!"

"I forgot what duck was for a moment and had to scream the first bird I thought of, alright!" He shook his head. "Forget it. Head to the basement, we'll be fine here. Go!"

As Stera stood up from the floor, Greyson gripped his bag's strap and took a step backward. The sound of his heartbeat drowned the sound of alarms and fighting, and he could feel his gloves absorbing the sweat on his palms.

His legs shook as he took another step back. Viktor always said that people in the DUO had two choices in situations like this: follow orders or abort missions. And he didn't want to abort the mission. He didn't want to let his coworkers down.

Gulping, Greyson turned around and ran to the halls, where the elevator to the basement waited.

Listen I promise I'm taking this chapter seriously but 1) I couldn't think of a chapter title, 2) my friends dared me to make this the chapter title, 3) do chapter titles even need to be serious , and 4) I might change the chapter title but I make no promises