Fashion was never Mika's forte, a reason why her classmates often poked fun at her during her schooldays. Wong had offered her a few fancy clothes, including a red qipao, but she had chosen a gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Although plain, they wouldn't hamper her mobility.

After drying herself and putting on those simple clothes along with her belt holster, Mika looked at the big mirror in the bathroom. Most schoolgirls preferred long hair over ear-length bob, but Mika didn't care; she worked part-time for the unofficial slum patrol group after all. Brandon had always told her that short hair was better for combat.

Walking towards the bathroom's door and opening it, Mika grinned at the thought. Despite telling her that, Brandon had a wild black mane that went past his shoulders a bit. Well, he had a reason to not care about it; yanking his hair wouldn't cause him any pain.

Outside the bathroom was a windowless hallway illuminated by yellowish wall and ceiling lamps. Cold wind blew out of the air conditioners on the ceiling, making her shiver a bit. Mika should've asked for a jacket from Wong, but that'd be so greedy of her, wouldn't it?

Katrina stood beside the bathroom's door, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Warmth and scent of jasmine emanated from her clean brown fur.

Mika raised an eyebrow. Rabbits shouldn't take a bath, should they? Even if someone dried their fur with a hairdryer, the heat would hurt them.

"What's the matter?" Katrina asked.

"You took a bath, too?"

"Why not?"

"Isn't wet fur troublesome for rabbits?"

"Do I look like an ordinary rabbit to you?"

Mika shook her head. Okay, the words "not an ordinary rabbit" were enough to answer everything.

"Anyway, we should head out." Katrina turned and walked away. "Mr. Wong is waiting for us at the castle's yard."

Mika nodded and followed the rabbit woman along the desolate hallway. Mahogany doors rested left and right on the wall; each of them had a metal plank specifying what lay behind the doors. The signs featured both Chinese and English languages at once.

The further they went, the warmer the air grew. A slow melody from plucked strings echoed amid the sounds of footsteps and chatters in the distance. Soon, Mika and Katrina arrived in a large hall, where well-built men in suits roamed.

The main hall of Jiugang Castle had not changed much, as far as Mika could recall. While the granite floor and the four pairs of round red pillars remained, the stone tablet had changed. The object still rested against the wall, exactly four pillars away from the castle's entrance, but the yin-yang carving now had a white fenghuang on the dark side and a black eastern dragon on the bright side.

Mika strode towards the exit with Katrina leading the way; unlike the rabbit woman, Mika would still look at the men who sat at the corner to play their Chinese zithers - the guzheng. With Wong's earlier bamboo fan performance in the garden, the gang certainly lived up to its title: Gatou the Artistic.

When Mika stepped out of the castle, war cries smothered the oriental tune. To their right men in changsan stood in lines, raising their wooden swords overhead and bringing them down when their instructor - an old man standing across them - commanded them to.

In an era where various firearms and explosives were viable, human swordsmen seemed useless, especially against monstrosities of the mist such as orgmen. However, Wong and his men steadfastly refused to use modern weapons, and it actually worked. When Wong first guided Mika into the castle, he had explained to her that his men wielded the zhanmadao, a sword with a very long and broad blade capable of slicing through a horse's legs. With enough skill, these swordsmen from Gatou could cut down orgmen before they could do a thing, and Wong had proved it by sending his men to Metaslica to test their might against David's orgmen.

Mika traversed across the large stone yard, the sunlight heating up her skin. Unlike the garden, the yard only had a few small trees to mitigate the scorching sun.

Wong stood a few feet away from the castle's entrance, looking at the cerulean sky with his hands behind his back. Jyuji stood beside him.

Ah, so the sapphire dragon had argued enough with the jade dragon. Mika wondered what Long had done to drive Jyuji away from the garden.

Katrina halted in front of Wong and Jyuji. "Long kept telling us about his destructive power. Did he actually hurt someone with it?"

"He came close to it, rabbit woman, and it was partially my fault. I had not prepared a proper landing site for him when I rode him home from Metaslica." Wong cleared his throat. "I knew if he landed on this yard, he would demolish Jiugang Castle and kill many people. So I immediately directed him to land on a block of multistory buildings out there."

"And then?"

"He made his own landing site by crushing the buildings under his weight and sweeping away the remaining ones with his tail. He did not see my man's car speeding along the nearby road, but fortunately, the chunks of debris missed the car by a few inches."

Katrina nodded. "I see."

"Pfft, strength is useless if one can't hit the foe." Jyuji shrugged. "That big snake is too slow to hit anything."

"Long blowing you away from the garden does not count as a hit?" Wong asked.

"His super breath didn't even scratch me, old man!"

"He never intends to hurt anyone, dragon." A pause. "Fenghuang is coming."

Mika looked up and spotted Fenghuang with her rainbow wings spread. Seeing the rider of the colorful bird made her smile. Brandon, now back as a strong and healthy man, sat on the back of Fenghuang's neck, sunlight glinting off the double bit axe in his hand. The blue luminescent lines that ran across the blade and the handle reminded her of a circuit board.

Huh, where did he get that axe? Did he steal it from Metaslica or made David craft it for him? Either way, such a big, barbaric weapon looked better on him because he had a wild mane and a robust body. The long-sleeved dress shirt didn't really complement his looks, though; he should've put on a t-shirt or a tank top, so that he could show off his well-built muscles and veiny arms.

In his other hand was a teal electric guitar. As Fenghuang dived in for a landing, Billy shot out of the instrument and glided towards Mika. Brandon tossed the guitar at Billy, who caught it without looking back.

"Good day, Mika!" Grinning, he stopped in front of Mika. "Happy to see your father back?"

"Of course! You helped him find me, right? Thanks a lot!" With a broad smile, Mika ran past everybody and towards Fenghuang with her arms spread. "Brandon!"

Brandon hopped off Fenghuang, returning Mika's smile. However, it quickly vanished as his gaze fell to Mika's left arm. It had nothing but a stump below the elbow.

Mika stopped in her tracks, the hair on the back of her neck rising. The fatherly gentleness in his face had gone; his face pretty much spelled out, "Woe to the wretch who took away my daughter's arm."

He wouldn't give the culprit a swift, painless death; Mika was sure about it.

Brandon seized the remainder of her left arm. "Was it David? Or maybe Orion?"

Oh, no, why did he have to bring up Orion of all people? The alien did surface on her left arm when they journeyed in the misty area, but it had taught her to defend herself better.

Brandon raised his voice. "Who did it?"

"I-it was David," Mika muttered. "His snake bit off my arm."

Brandon released her arm and let out an animalistic snarl. Mika gulped; although David was a despicable man, she would rather not watch what Brandon would do to him.

Also, what would happen to her chance of entering Metaslica if Brandon unleashed his wrath on David?

"Vengeance will not get you far, Brandon," Wong spoke from behind Mika. "Without him, you cannot access Chrono Chamber."

Brandon growled at Wong.

"The methdroids are known for their loyalty towards their creators and masters. To be an enemy to their creators or masters is to be an enemy to their methdroids." Wong pointed at Brandon's axe. "That is a methdroid from David, is it not? Try activating its true power now."

Brandon's thumb went to push a switch located near the grip. However, nothing happened even after many clicks.

"David was behind its creation. You intend to harm him, so it refuses to let you use its true power."

"We don't need any help from that bastard!" Brandon snapped.

"I can relate to your issue since I am similar to you: a mother who wanted to avenge her dead son. But whether we like it or not, we have to ally ourselves with David," Katrina reminded, walking towards Brandon. "Chrono Chamber will help us unleash our potential."

Mika winced. Oh, no, this would be messy. She'd better not tell Brandon that she actually agreed with Katrina.

"You said you were a vengeful mother." Brandon pointed his axe at Katrina, his voice calm but chilling at the same time. "But you tried to persuade me to not avenge my daughter."

"Stopping the mist is equal to saving humanity." Katrina folded her arms over her chest. "Not like your case. Torturing and especially killing David is equal to denying us the access to Chrono Chamber. You have yet to learn how to utilize your folk's power properly, which is important if you wish to take on the misty capital."

"I beat David without Scutum's barriers."

"David is very proficient with his folk's power and can give you a lot of trouble. I'm sure that at some point in the fight, you wished that you could use Scutum's barriers."

"I didn't."

Mika didn't need any signs of a liar from Brandon; her instinct could tell her that her father was lying.

"How about we have a duel? I'll show you the importance of folks' powers."

Knowing Katrina's powers, Mika almost screamed "don't" at Brandon. However, she resisted the urge; doing so would further anger him, as it came from his child's mouth and he would interpret it as "Katrina is strong and dangerous."

"Challenge accepted," he replied firmly, flipping the humongous axe in the air before catching it with both of his hands.

"Brandon, don't use that!" Mika held Brandon's wrist. "Mrs. Katrina took care of me when you were away! You shouldn't... You shouldn't-"

"I have my folk's power, Mika," Katrina interrupted. "Worry more about him, not me."