ZZZ: Dawn of The Black Sun

Deep within the dilatated walls of a tower, among the haunting echoes of past performance and sorrowful regrets. A certain wolf thiren gazed upon a pulsating crack within the fabric of space time. He glanced at the woman floating beside him, a pocket watch in his hand.

"Rina," he began. "Notify Corin and Ellen to hasten the cleanup," he closed the pocket watch and gazed at the fissure. "The Black Sun is close, efforts must be made to avoid contact with them,"

"At once, master Lycaon," Rina gave him a polite bow, her bangboo danced around her. "In the meantime, what will you do?"

The Wolf Thiren closed his eyes, a deep sigh slipped out of his throat. "I will, stay here and kindly ask them to leave should they appear," he began. "The Black Sun must not come in contact with our... less than experienced maids,"

"Are they truly that dangerous, master Lycaon?" Rina asked. "Not that I'm doubting you, but I simply wish to know the scope of the task at hand,"

"The Black Sun prey on the very thing that makes you human," he began. "They corrupt the very virtues we held. Faith, love, kindness, honesty, loyalty, determination..." he clenched his fist. "They are not monsters that lurk in the shadows, they are demons that haunts you in your nightmares..."

The woman's eyes widened ever so slightly. "I see... thank you for your warning," she turned to her bangboos. "Come now child, we must make haste, better finish up here quick before our guests arrives..."

"Let's go!"

"Working! Working!"

Lycaon sighed softly in relief at the sight of Rina's retreating form. He gazed back at the stable fissure, thinking about the monster that lurked within. He already told Corin and Ellen to flee on sight should they meet them, the Bangboo with a blank screen or the Cunning Hares.

Bless their heart, but it's the purest that are most vulnerable to the all-devouring darkness of the Black Sun.

[LINE BREAK]

In her line of work, Jane Doe is expected to be prepared anything. There's no such thing as predictability when you work alongside scums and organized group of criminals. Discerning motives and understanding deviant behavior is the reason why she has a degree in Psychology and Criminology just to survive this line of work.

'But still,' Jane Doe thought to herself, looking at thiren tied up along with other hostages. 'Some transparency might be required in the future...' she sighed inwardly, already formulating ways she can use this for her advantage. This... obviously rookie officer can either be her death or her savior.

Not to mention... another complication occurs. This time came from her 'assessor' who, while not Razor's body guard, is someone he considers his great ally. Said assessor is sitting atop of a crate nearby, legs folded whilst leaning on a suitcase.

"Oh don't mind me darling," the pink haired girl spoke, looking at her nails, seemingly disinterested. "I'm just here for a little... back up, should anyone act up, you get what I mean?"

Jane Doe has read the files on the Cunning Hares. What once was just a simple odd job hollow raiding agency, now became one of the most feared group of mercenary in New Eridu. The most elite of all mercenary, up there with the likes of the Mockingjay and Victoria Housekeeping. The kind that even the TOPS keep their eyes on, she even heard that someone made a movie about them.

"You're Nicole Demara, right?" Jane Doe walked up closer to her. "The boss of the Cunning Hares odd job agency,"

"Little rat did their homework," Nicole said, tilting her head with an amused grin. "What else have you heard?"

Jane Doe shrugged. "Oh I don't know, swindling people for cash, bankrupting loan sharks, raiding companion hollows for dennies..."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Alright, laugh it up," she waved her hand. "Excuse me for not born a natural born prodigy with a fuck ton of resources," she looked at Jane Doe right in the eyes. "And you? What's your deal? Razor said you strolled in here with the sole purpose of becoming his body guard,"

"Is that what he told you?" Jane Doe asked, inwardly cursing her for being so observant. "I'm just an ambitious type, wherever I found myself, I wish to give it my all," she smiled a little. "What about you Nicole? Care to share about your experience?"

"My experience?" Nicole looked up, her smile turned almost unsettling. "How do I say this," the smile never once left her face. "I just think it's fun,"

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun," Nicole continued, chuckling softly. "Ahaha... I used to... be afraid of this line of work you see?" she turned to Jane Doe. "But once you stop putting too much value on life, and just live however you want..." she shrugged. "It's just fun~"

"Care to elaborate?"

Nicole hopped down from the crate and stepped right beside the rookie officer. "For example, at a glance, this officer is pretty tough now, isn't he?" she crouched right beside the thiren, he glared murderously at her, but said nothing. "At first, he really couldn't stop yapping about virtue, the goodness of heart, and all that jazz..."

The woman grabbed the thiren by the hair, another hand caressed his chin. "The trick is to not lay a hand on him..." she whispered. "I've taught him well... For every word he says, a hostage will scream in pain..." she leaned in closer to the officer ear. "Why don't you introduce yourself to my friend here? Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt anyone if you're just following my words..."

"My name is Seth," the officer said.

"Tell me more about your uhh... friends, that you fought with," Nicole asked. "You know, that hot chick and the android?"

The officer clenched his teeth. "I already told you everything,"

"I'd like to hear you sing again sweetie~"

Seth glanced at the other hostages, eyes wide in fear, as if begging him to say something. He sighed in defeat and looked down. "Officer Zhu Yuan and Special Forensic Unit Qingyi," he began. "We were sent to capture the Mountain Lion Gang. Unfortunately, they managed to obtain hostages, I exchange myself to save some of the captured hostages."

"Was that everything?"

The officer closed his eyes. "Officer Zhu Yuan is skilled in long ranged combat, she's one of the overachievers in the New Eridu Public Security. Her partner Qingyi on the other hand is an ancient android that was created for forensic purposes. She has the ability to work under high ether condition..." he paused. "That's all I know..."

"Good boy~" Nicole pat his head with a mocking grin.

Jane Doe looked around at the other hostage. She noticed now that some are wearing bandage on their hand and feet. She could only imagine this monster torturing the hostages to make him talk. As much as she respects Seth, this officer is meeting his worst match.

"And Razor... approve of your treatment on the hostages?"

Nicole laughed at that, a genuine laugh that sounded like she just said the funniest joke.

"Ahaha! Oh honey, let's think about this in the more practical sense..." Nicole began. "This... good boy, over here," she pat Seth's head mockingly. "Is a Public Security Officer," she began. "What's some broken bones for information on Public Security... hmm?"

Jane Doe clicked her tongue, that sort of ruthless pragmatism is just what she expected from the Cunning Hares. 

"And not only that..." Nicole continued, letting go of Seth's head and strolled to the hostages near her. "This... officer here also suffers from delusions of order and peace, believing that this people here..." she put a hand on an innocent woman's soldier, making her cry out in fear. "Are model citizens, innocent, virtuous, and most of all..." she tilted her head. "a good person,"

"They're not?"

"How do you define a good person?" Nicole asked. "Is it someone who thrives to do good? What is good?" she shrugged. "I don't want to be philosophical here, but to me... you're just deluding yourself in the notion of right or wrong..."

Nicole circled around Seth before stepping right in front of him. "Tell me Seth, was it a good thing you did for ratting out your friends to me... for the sake of these nameless strangers?" she crouched right in front of him, clawing his chin and forcing him to meet her gaze.

"Betrayal has never been so virtuous... hasn't it darling?"

Seth gritted his teeth, arms clenching hard enough to draw blood. He glared bloody murder despite the tear brimming on his face. He struggled against his bond, but still said nothing. He took a deep breath, lips parted to let out a light growl, before falling silent completely.

"Aww, look at you~" Nicole said. "I trained you well, not a single peep out of that cute mouth of yours~" she stood back up. "As you can see little mouse, I got these hostages under control..." she climbed on to the crate and sat down. "Now why don't you... Go and do some clean up outside?"

"Well, if you say so," Jane Doe turned around, ignoring the primal fear coursing down her veins. "I'll handle some ethereals and any pests I come across," she walked down the hallway to the exit. "Just be sure to give some good words to Razor, mkay?"

"Why of course darling, I'll tell Razor you've always been a good girl,"

The moment Jane Doe stepped out of the base, she felt her legs weaken. Heart hammering against her chest as her mind work a million miles an hour. Forget about defeating the Mountain Lion Gang, with a monster like that around, she'll be lucky to get out of here alive.

"We need back up..." Jane muttered, shelving away the idea to become Razor's body guard. Her priority now is to get these hostages to safety. She needs to figure out a way to power up the building and create an opportunity for the hostage to escape.

First thing first... figure out the layout and security of the Ballet Twins Tower...