WARNING: Upsetting content. Includes gore and graphic content.

"You know, you don't look half bad in these photos", said Imelda, angling her phone towards Finian so he could see the pictures she was looking at.

They were pictures of a soaking wet Finian—courtesy of a prank by Imelda a couple of months after he joined the agency.
His navy blue shirt clung to his body, showcasing his incredibly toned physique.

"I don't know why you'd want to do some dumb trainer's programme when you can stay here and have all the fun in the world."

Finian scoffed when he looked at the photos, shaking his head and turning away.

Imelda raised an eyebrow at this.
"Got something to say?"

"I just find it funny how you're so invested in micromanaging my life all of a sudden."

"Oh, please!
All I said was that you don't need to go on this trainer's programme!"

"Ok, but why?"

"What are you on about?
I told you wh-"

"You told me some stupid reason, not the reason."

Imelda rolled her eyes.
"I don't need this."

She turned around and stormed away.

"Why can't you just talk to me, Imelda?"

Imelda stopped in her tracks.
There were so many reasons why she couldn't talk to him.

Feelings... they weren't something Imelda's family were accustomed to talking about.

And then there was her relationship with Finian.
It thrived on mutual respect, trust and a promise that they'd always have each other's back.

If Imelda gave in to her true feelings for him, that could break the bonds they had worked so hard to form.

After all, her mother always said that love poisons the mind.

"You're my partner, Mel.
We promised to always have each other's backs.
So why can't you have mine?"

Imelda's face softened, but she quickly closed her eyes, in an attempt to regain composure.

"You're being stupid, Finian.
That's why."

She headed for the door, without saying another word.

As she reached for the handle, a loud alarm blared, startling her.
She quickly pulled her hand away, just in time, as large metal shutters had slammed down, blocking the door and the large window to the hallway.

"What's going on?", questioned Finian.

"Emergency shutdown?
Something's wrong..."

★★★

The lights were turned on again, and the agents sprung into action.
Calihan had pushed the trainees behind a table.

Several agents surged forward, each one being attacked by opponents dressed in deep green robes and red latex balaclavas.

Aoife glared at the woman, who seemed to be the ringleader.

She had bright red hair, which was in a low ponytail, with a straight part down the middle.
She had pale white skin and eyes a bottle green colour.

She had a long silk robe that was the exact colour of a purple nightshade plant, which also happened to be the symbol that was stitched onto the other fighters' robes.

Calihan glanced at Aoife, and the pair nodded to each other.
They ran forward, and Aoife pulled out a small blade from under her heel.
She pressed a button, moving the blade in a downwards motion as she did so.

The blade grew, transforming into a katana that glowed a cyan blue.

Despite not being able to see their faces, one of the fighter's seemed scared, because they immediately pulled out a blue orb from their belt and threw it at Aoife and Calihan.

"No!
We only had one left!", screamed the red haired ringleader.

The orb bubbled away, forming a pool of liquid that hardened at their feet. Aoife and Calihan shifted, flailing their arms around in an attempt to break free.

The ringleader smirked.
"The more you resist, the stronger its hold on you becomes."

Some of the agents looked to Aoife and Calihan for instructions, whilst others seemed like all hope was lost.

That confused Ashryn.
If it were her, seeing her superiors in trouble would make her want to fight even more.

Then again, Ashryn didn't like to call them that.

No one was superior to her.

"Agents!", she called out.
"Stand down."

The ringleader smirked.
"Good girl."

Reluctantly, the agents lowered their weapons and stepped back, earning taunting waves from the ringleader and her goons.

"Quite sad, really.
I was hoping for blood."

"You still might get it", whispered Ashryn, clenching her fists.

Raphael placed an arm in front of her. "No, we need to stay out of this.
We can't draw attention to ourselves."

"What's your name?", asked Olga.

"My name?", repeated the ringleader, before cackling loudly.
"These are the people who are tasked with saving others?"

Sophia grimaced, but Olga remained calm and collected.

Olga pointed to the symbol on the fighters' uniform.
"Nightshade.
They're beautiful."

The ringleader's expression changed, and she seemed to be surprised, and even mildly impressed, as far as Makoto could tell.

"Deadly nightshade is, as its name suggestions, deadly.
A fitting name for your group, I assume?", continued Olga.

The ringleader smiled.
"You're smart."

She placed her hood over her head, and the fighters stood up straight, before clapping twice and thumping their chests repeatedly.

She spoke again, this time her voice ringing even louder than before.

"We are... The Nightshade.
We are here to serve as your first, and if you are wise, you're only warning."

A fighter stepped forward.
"Do not try to save Agoraville."

"You will regret it", said the ringleader.

She raised her hand and clicked her fingers.
A red mist filled the room, obscuring the view.

"What's going on?"

"Is this poison?", asked Makoto.

"No!", exclaimed Sophia.
"It's... Yew X."

"Yew X?", questioned Ashryn.

"It won't harm us, don't worry", said Sophia.

"Then why did they spray it?", asked Ashryn.

Sophia's eyes widened when she thought about what Ashryn had said.

"Finian..."

★★★

"Why the h*ll is there red mist ever–"

Imelda cut herself off when she saw Finian, doubled over, with green liquid oozing from his mouth.

"No, no, no, no, this isn't happening", she mumbled, her eyes full of fear.

She hurried over to him just in time to catch him as he collapsed into her arms.
His eyes rolled back and he began muttering something, but Imelda couldn't tell what it was.

"Come on, Finian!
You have to fight through the pain, alright?
You've done it once, you can do it again."

"H-Hurts..."

"I know, I know.
I'm right here, ok?", she said, gently rubbing his arm.

Her worry intensified when she looked back to the metal shutters.

"It's alright, I'm gonna look after you."

★★★

"It's a long story, but this stuff can do some serious harm to Finian.
It's derived from the roots of a tree, but it becomes dangerous once it's combined with a chemical.
I don't know too much about it, just that it can cause those affected to grow branches–", explained Sophia.

She was cut off by the ringleader approaching them.
She squinted at the trainees, who she had spotted hiding under a table.

"Hmm... what's going on over here?"

Before she could get anywhere near them, someone jumped in front of her.

"Oi!
Creepy villain lady!
What makes you think we're scared of you?", questioned Faizah.

"Agent Alami!", hissed Aoife.

Alessa knew Faizah was trying to stop the ringleader from finding the trainees, who she no doubt knew the appearances of, but that didn't mean she was happy about it.

The ringleader raised an eyebrow. "Alami?
Faizah Alami?"

Her expression changed into one of intrigue, and she looked down at Faizah's injured leg.

She laughed, her face lighting up.
"They said your injury was bad.
But seeing it in person fills me with so much more joy than I thought it would."

Faizah's guard dropped, and she looked like a child that had just been picked on in the most vicious way.

The ringleader's eyes glowed a bright red, a satisfied smile—as if an itch had just been scratched, appearing on her face.

"What's she doing?", questioned Rhiannon.

The ringleader looked at Faizah.
"I've heard stories about you.
The Sole Survivor."

She chuckled.
"Oh, I would've given my right arm to be able to see you squirming in pain as the creatures tried to feast on your flesh."

Faizah's breath hitched, her whole body tensing up with fear.
She watched as the ringleader stared at her injured leg, grinning at the contraption that stopped Faizah from living the life she once had.

"Well, guess what?
They didn't get me.
I won."

The ringleader's smile faded, and a dark expression, one that brought chills to Rhiannon's body, covered her face.

"You gloating little b*tch", she spat.

The ringleader reached behind her back and pulled out a sharp knife.
She grabbed Faizah's waist, pulling her closer.

The agents gasped as the ringleader placed the knife to Faizah's neck.

"I want your friends to watch as
I slice into your skin", snarled the ringleader.

"Get your f*cking hands off her!", screamed Alessa.

Alessa leapt forward, her hands outstretched.
She clawed at the ringleader's face, droplets of her blood covering Alessa's nails.

This only seemed to anger the ringleader further, and she grabbed Alessa's arm.
When Alessa winced, the curious ringleader pulled her sleeve down, revealing Alessa's scars.

Her eyes lit up, and she smirked, before pinching a few of the emerald crystals that were embedded into Alessa's scar. She twisted them, a devilish grin appearing on her face when Alessa's eyes widened.

Alessa wailed in pain, her sobs getting caught in her throat as she coughed and spluttered.

"Get off her!", yelled Faizah.

The ringleader let go of Alessa's arm, laughing when Alessa clutched it.
She opened her hand so that the palm faced Alessa.

Her eyes glowed red once again, and Alessa went flying backwards, slamming into a wall.

"Alessa!", shrieked Faizah.

Rhiannon felt like she had heard Faizah's soul breaking then and there.

The ringleader raised an eyebrow. "Alessa?"

It took her a few minutes, but it was clear that the cogs in her brain were spinning rapidly.
Her expression changed, and she looked like she had just won the lottery.

She walked over to Alessa's body. Several agents had attempted to attack, but Aoife, much to the trainees' surprise, told them not to get involved.

The ringleader knelt down beside an unconscious Alessa, moving a few strands of her hair out of her face.
She looked at Alessa like she was a prized possession, something otherworldly.

Alessa stirred, slowly slipping back into consciousness.
The ringleader grabbed Alessa's face, forcing her to sit up.

She squeezed Alessa's face, smiling as Alessa winced.

"Get away from her!", yelled Faizah.

The ringleader tightened her grip on Alessa's face.

"I remember your mother.
Kind soul.
Pure heart.
Good fighter too."

The ringleader's eyes darkened.
"But not good enough."

She held Alessa's head against the wall.

"I loved seeing the light leave her eyes as I beat her senseless."

From what the trainees knew about Alessa, they expected her to k*ll the ringleader right then and there.

But a truly surprising thing happened.

She just broke down, tears streaming down her face.

The ringleader moved to grab her knife, but was thrown onto the ground. Wide-eyed and stunned, the ringleader looked up to see Faizah standing there.

"Get away from my best friend before
I really lose my sh*t", ordered Faizah.

The ringleader saw that a few of the agents were battling her fighters.
She chuckled, before clenching her fists.

"Oh, this'll be fun", she smirked.

From the corner of her eye, the ringleader noticed that Aoife was crouching.

"Oi!
What's going on over there?"

Aoife quickly stood up.
She whispered something very quietly, but Makoto read her lips.

She was counting down from five.

Suddenly, Aoife and Calihan's feet stopped glowing blue, and Aoife grabbed her katana.

Raphael saw that Minerva was behind her, holding an odd looking device.
He knew it should be the least of his worries, but Raphael couldn't help but feel sad that Minerva was the one to free Calihan and Aoife.

"This ends now", said Aoife.

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