-----

Opening his eyes, Ren find himself in a space of swirling, hazy pink. All around him are clouds of cotton candy-like pink, distorted by a wave of mirage. The sky and the distant surrounding him are seemingly endless, only filled with the same mirages of pink clouds. Under his bare feet, he feels softness unlike any other, like standing on a glass that is as soft as a mother's mattress. He then looks down, startled when he sees his own reflection in what seems to be solid, colorless liquid that reflects its surroundings, thus creating another sight of the pink clouds.

Then, to the reflection, he widens his eyes.

From head to toe, he's naked.

In instinct, his hands and tail cover his bottom front as he muffles out a startled yelp.

Once again, he looks around. Seeing nothing but the hazy sight of pink in the far distance.

"This is... A dream..." Upon that realization, he sighs in relief as he calms down, though his tail still covers his body.

His lips now parted in awe, each steps he takes play a harmonized musical note, as the ground of solid liquid ripples as his feet touches it.

Everywhere he goes, nothing differs. Just a barren space of beautiful and whimsical pink. Is this what heaven looks like? Or perhaps... This is some sort of lucid dream? They say that everything you wish for will come when you're aware that you're in a dream. Perhaps, Ren could try.

He closes his eyes, trying to imagine the things he desires the most.

A Z-Station, the whole collection of Guardians of The Universe volumes, and an ultra-rare action figure of Kebin Kazlana from Mega Impact 3rd.

But then, when he opens his eyes, in front of him is a pair of purple staring back.

Azayaka.

And she is naked too.

Immediately, holy lights of censorship flies over Ren's eyes. But that doesn't stop his immediate blush and his own coverage of his underside.

"A-Aza!?" He yelps, his hands covering his eyes while his tail protects his thing.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," He repeats, again and again.

"This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is just a dream," He changes his word patterns. Even then, he dares not to take any peek.

"Ren," Her cold whisper strays, "Open your eyes."

Ren gulps. His lips are shaky to no end, as he begins to remove his hands away from his eyes.

And he widens his eyes to the sight.

In the far distant in front of him are two blurry figures, both sitting opposite to each other on the pink ground, in between them and in their hands are cards, messily piling up and neatly held respectively.

"Checkmate," One of them, the shorter and smaller, square-shaped one sneers.

"I lost again, it seems," The other, feminine and tall with faint silhouettes of nine shadows behind them, sighs and scatters their cards.

As Ren observes from afar, their conversation continues, the taller figure picking up the cards and shuffling them.

"Keep practicing, dear. Surely, you're bored of losing, right?"

"Of course not. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

"A pretty youthful sentiment for someone like you."

"Oh? So I'm not allowed to take from the youth now?"

"Hah, of course you can. It's just..."

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Ah, it seems you have company," The smaller figure seemingly turns back, causing Ren to shudder, "Aren't you gonna say anything to him?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hmm..."

"Hmm?"

"No."

-----

Once again, the second time in a row, Ren wakes up to find himself lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Though, unlike his previous situation, the bedroom he's in now is more... Put together. As in the walls and floors are wholly intact. Looking around, he seems to be in some sort of a cabin, the room condensely packed in a small, yet servicable space. All furnitures, including the bed, dresser and bed-side counters are made of wood, the same kind of wood that built the forest of purple-leaved trees that still surround everything as he looks out the window. Though this time, the moon has already replaced the sun. Huh... How long did he pass out this time?

His ears then quip back to the sound of approaching footsteps. Just as he turns around, the door creaks open to reveal a familiar figure, a steaming and warm bowl held in between her hands.

"Oh, you woke up. How was your sleep?" A dazzlingly beautiful woman with hazel-eyes and short, grey hair greets as she enters the room. She wears a simple puffy sweater and a pair of loose jeans, both seemingly handcrafted with granny-like love.

Maybe it's Deja Vu, but Ren couldn't help but stare. It seems like he has seen this woman before. But he couldn't pinpoint where and when.

"I know I'm pretty. But no need to keep on staring, sweetie," She takes notice immediately. But her tone comes out as playful.

Ren pulls his ears back as a faint blush taints his cheeks. He purses his lips for a moment, before mentioning, "Ah... Sorry... My bad. It's just... I feel like... I have-"

"Seen me before?" As she puts down the steaming bowl, she interrupts his words, "Well, that's cause you did... But... You didn't just seen me," After a short pause, she continues with a smile, "You saved me."

He agape his eyes, bewildered by her words, "I... Did?"

"The name's Lenia. I'm a... Werewolf. Does that rings any bell to you?"

At that moment, he remembers everything, "Ah, I... I remember now. You're the girl that I saved from that group of Werewolves, right?"

"Bingo. That's right!" A moment later, Lenia averts her gaze elsewhere, as she weighs down the topic, "Speaking of... Can you tell me what happened to him? To Rexy?"

Putting the context clues together, Ren assumes that Rexy is the Werewolf that Azayaka... Killed. Thus, he looks down in unsureness, before quietly answering, "I think... From what I remembered. He passed away after that incident."

At that, Lenia sighs, "Good. That's a relief," Another pause commences, again, she sighs, before continuing, "Sorry if I brought your mood down by bringing that up. But, here, I made you some crab chowder. You seems like you need some energy, considering I found you passed out on the stre-"

Just as she's about to end her words, Ren has already engulfed the entirety of the clam chowder. Then he ends his display with a loud burp.

"..."

"Sorry..."

"Don't worry. I would do that too if I were you," She chuckles with a friendly smile.

"Ah, by the way... Can you tell me where this place is?"

"You're on Nami Island, a small island near Sylvae. If you've never heard of it, then it's warranted considering theres practically no one living here. Except for me, I guess."

"I see... And... If you don't mind... Do you have a phone I could borrow?"

"Well... I would lend you my phone. But there's basically no reception here. But if you make it to the island's station, then you could use the phone booth there, though it's half a day by car. And I don't even have a car," To that, Ren melts to his bed in defeat, but quickly rises up again when she asks, "Speaking of... What happened? I mean... You looked like you were stranded. Which I'm guessing is what happened."

"Well, you could say that..." His mind then wanders back to the event these past few days. How quickly it all lead to each other. And how fucking unlucky he has been to actually be the main victim in all of them. All that commence to him in one sigh, "I don't know why. But I've been really... Really... Unlucky these past few days. I don't know what the world is trying to do with me."

To that, the woman simply huffs in acknowledgement as she leans and sees out the window, "Yeah. I get that. That's why I moved here. Away from the city... Away from the loud crowd. The simple peace and quiet is pretty good for you. The lack of internet sucks, sure... But... It helps with your gay porn addiction."

Ignoring the last part of her words that she so casually said, Ren smiles and chuckles, thinking back to himself, "Yeah... Agreed. I guess I need to do that too sometimes," Then he is reminded to one thing he missed, thus he widens his eyes and glances to her, "My name's Ren, by the way, in case you're wondering. Sorry, I... I was too distracted by the conversation."

"That's fine. Knowing that I saved my savior is enough for me."

The two then proceed to a round of smiles. A wordless banter of kindness. A thanksgiving when thanksgiving isn't even a culture anymore. Then Lenia ends it with a brief chuckle, as she stands up and approach the room's exit.

"Then, I'll let you rest. You seems in a grave need of it. The bathroom is right outside the door, on the left. Also, the sink water is drinkable, if you're thirsty."

"W-Wait!" Ren stops her just as she's about to exit, "Thank you... For uh... Picking me up and not letting me die on the streets."

"Of course! And thank you as well, for not letting me get eaten by my own boyfriend."

-----

"I can't believe we're giving a freakin' wanted assassin a ride," Frowning as she leans herself onto the car's window, Amura continuously huffs as she hangs her feet on the passenger seat's dashboard.

To that, Kai rolls his eyes as he drives the car past the morning view of the Central City. Cars of many varieties pass by him as the morning dew wets the windshield, as he passes by the towering buildings of the city's central District, "Get over it, Amura. The least you could do is to shut up," He grumbles as the radio plays the hit song of 2023.

Amura's frown deepens as she dramatically gasps, "I'm not gonna 'gEt oVeR iT'! Especially when he's the one that fucking chopped off my arm!"

"But you grew it back in less than fifteen minutes..."

"That's not the point!"

A sigh comes out of Kai's lips as he looks at the rearview mirror, seeing the Fallen Archangel, still unconscious as he sits on the middle passenger seat with an ensemble of pink, glowing chains entangling all his limbs and wings, the latter now lessened to a quarter of their flight-appropriate size, "Look. Assassin or not. He's in a bad shape. And, with how things were last night, with the new Chief, or whatever that thing was... Something is definitely going on."

At his mention, Amura purses her lips, "Wait... Have you tried calling her yet?"

"I did. Fourteen times last night. And she didn't answer."

"I guess... That does sound fishy..."

"Tell me about it."

A tune of pop-rock band plays from the car's radio. Its loud bass reverberates throughout the black lamborghini, shaking the entire innard of the car.

To that, the Archangel blinks his slightly open eyes twice, then his consciousness comes back, "Where am I..?" He grunts as he looks around his surroundings. His gaze then meets with a Chupacabra's, riding a motorcycle alongside the car as it gives him a smile from right by the window. Then he tries to move his arms, but he is quickly made aware of his bindings. With a frustrated huff, he looks forward, seeing that pink haired woman and that ram-horned man from last night, "Where... Where are you taking me?"

Amura gives Yuu an unhinged smile, looking at him from the rearview mirror, "To hell."

Yuu lets out a little gasp, prompting Amura to chuckle and Kai to sigh.

"We're taking you to the Knight's HQ. You have the right to remain silent until the situation calls for it," Kai answers, his gaze still focused on the road.

"You're... Taking me there?" Hearing that, the first thing that comes to mind is that Eliana, the Krasue that attacked him might still be there, so he grits his teeth as he begins to struggle his wings, "No... Wait... No, don't!"

"Sorry, but... We don't have much of a choice," Kai mentions.

"And, if you think about it. You have yourself to blame considering you're the one that asked for our help in the first place," Then Amura adds.

"Tch... Let me out of here! You goddamned brainless slaves! Or else!"

"Look, pretty boy. We just saved your ass from being fucked by a floating head. So either you shut up. Or I'll make you," Amura's index finger glows a pink sparkle as she twirls it around. She keeps her surveillance of him through the rearview mirror.

Then, as Yuu tries to struggle his wings, trying to enlarge heir sizes and open them wide. But his binding keeps on tightening, causing his grunts to grow louder.

"Hmm~ you can struggle all you want but the seal I casted onto you will only keep on tightening~" Amura then flicks her index finger to her right, causing the pink sparkles to shoot towards Yuu's lips, forming a pink plaster that muffles his grunts. Amura then looks behind, smirking mockingly towards him, "Aww, look at you~ What are you gonna do now? Wanna cry? Does the little cock needs some tissue?"

"Ggrh... I'rgh khill yhou!"

"Heheh... Go on. Try it then. The only thing you'll murder is my virginit- blergh!" A slap right to her cheek causes cuts of her words.

"Stop provoking him, Amura. What did I tell you about being nicer to people?" Kai reminds, rubbing his palm onto his thigh.

"Hmph! I thought you meant being nice to only those that aren't a menace to society."

"Nope... That's so out of line from what I meant..."

-----

Azayaka's heart keeps on pounding as the excruciatingly slow elevator rises its way towards the top floor. The calm music doesn't help. The sight of the morning city beside her only adding to her anxiety. A gnawing feeling of unsureness keeps on raging inside of her, muting her lips and keeping her body stiff. As such, she hasn't spoken a single word, even from all the way towards here.

Thus, she looks to her side. The purple-scaled, red eyed and blond Draconic is standing beside her. He seems pretty chill. His hands neatly kept in his pockets as he hums to the elevator's tune.

Azayaka slightly parts her lips, but no words comes out. This raging heartbeat outpaces her thinking for words. Thus she looks to Niz again, then one question comes to mind, "So... Why are you so scared of Charlie's parents?"

Niz glances to Azayaka, then slightly blushes beneath the corners of his eyes before responding with a few intentional coughs, "Well, they only want Charlie to be with other Vampires. And so, they hate me."

"That's unfortunate."

"Tell me about it..."

"Do you know why though?"

To that, Niz silences himself for a second before answering, "I'd... Rather not dwelve into that but... It has something to do with the fact that Charlie is... Immortal and I'm not."

"That... Sucks. But... Your people lives long either way right?" She thinks to herself for a moment, "You'll still have plenty of times with her. So why not just... Enjoy it? Instead of thinking of that? It's the least you could do for her, right?"

"Looking at it from that angle, I guess you could say that..." He sighs, "But..."

"Ding," The elevator opens before he could continue.

Azayaka slightly widens her eyes, her parted lips making their comeback. With that, her heart starts thumping again.

Huffing, Niz leads the way, but seeing that Azayaka keeps her feet still in the elevator, Niz pats her back and gives her a reasuring smile before moving her along the hallway.

Soon, they arrives at the door. With the mental image of them preparing themselves mentally side by side in front of the door, Niz mentions, "This is giving me deja vu."

"Same," Azayaka chuckles, momentarily lifting her nervousness away.

Niz then looks at Azayaka. After she lets out a calm breath, she answers his gaze with her own, nodding to him.

Then finally, he pushes the door open, to the awaiting Chief of the Intelligence agency.

"Eh?"

They sees Udin and the siblings gathering around a big bonfire in the middle of the room, a pink gust of flame blazing from it. And they see Yuu, muffled with a baby pacifier, tied to a pole that hovers over the flame with a rope, all made out of pink magic. Continuously, he is spun around, amidst the joyous laughter of the most likely perpetrator, Amura, who's spinning the pole slowly and slowly.

Kai is standing there beside her, face palming himself to no end.

Azayaka and Niz then looks to the other side of the room, seeing the familiar faces of last night.

Sion, Kao, that demon guy, and that floating head, now intact to her body.

And most importantly, that masked woman, Faust, sits in between them, as if moderating an argument. She then snaps her gaze towards the newcomers, before saying to them, "Perfect. You've arrived just in time."