The next morning, Mia woke up from an Aimee dream, and answered the front door to the Council of Four: Aimee, Makoto, faceless-but-a-scar Atori, and two-headed Dmitri. Atori's badge read 'ECLIPSE' and Dmitri's 'ALCHEMIST'.

"Bombs went off at a local hospital." winced Aimee. "Rayaka's there. Need to go."

+++

The scene was cacophony when they arrived. The parking lot was packed with emergency personnel, evacuation vehicles coming and going, sirens over the fighting within the three-floor hospital. The windows were shattered and filled with smoke, a blaze angered within, and the six rushed through the crowd gathered.

"Lavender Menace!" shouted Aimee. "You - Eclipse - Worldwide - second and third floor! Symphony - stay here to help with the evacuation - Dmitri, with me."

"Yes, Aimee!" shouted Marisa, throwing Boudoir's strands around Mia & Atori, and as they rushed up to the hospital -

- a strand erupted from her dress and yanked them up -

- and straight through the second-floor window smashed the three, glass cutting their skin as they landed in the melee raging in the corridors. All around them were embers & smoke & glasseyed men, scarab tattoos nodding from necks that were stained crimson, mob shoving murderously through new doors.

"Definitely a Revenant." winced Marisa as they rushed; another mob burst out of the doors ahead to block them -

- and three blades went through six men each, Worldwide's scarabs flying behind and charring to ash the next dozen that'd burst out behind, Atori with knife drawn at Mia's side, scarab tattoos falling off of broken necks. The mob was packed tight in the halls, and as the three carved their way forward, Mia's scarabs burnt every foe they found to ash, Boudoir's strands throwing them out of windows when there was an inch's room to swing a string.

"None of these people have Revenants, do they?" winced Mia, another arc of blood hitting her clothes -

" - they do not." muttered Atori. "Some other Revenant is controlling them. They're not disappearing -"

- and one knife's sweep decapitated another three, three screaming with quadruple on the floor, and as the three saw a stairway ahead & left -

" - Worldwide - with me!" shouted Atori, and the two rushed up as Marisa guarded their exit, coming out to another left&right hall -

" - search the right." said Atori, and Mia nodded as she rushed right, Atori rushing left, both disappearing past their respective corners, and in the next instant -

- an explosion blasted Mia forward -

- and right in to the hall's floor she smashed; she felt another dozen men rushing to meet her -

- but Worldwide's scarabs swarmed them, ripping and tearing the flesh off their bones, not a single skeleton left as she burnt them to ash, wincing as she slumped against the wall, few wounds but still dripping.

"W-Worldwide." she winced, cauterizing it herself. She heard a familiar voice shouting her name around the corner ahead, and stood up just in time to see Rayaka coming out of it.

Fifty feet separated the two. Mizuchi's form swayed up beside him as Mia readied her scarabs & sword.

"You actually came for me!" laughed Rayaka. "What did you think was going to -"

- three arms shot past the corner and gripped his neck, and fear filled Mia as Dreadnought stepped out with it. One four-fingered hand threw Rayaka to the ground, and Mizuchi fell with it. He stomped Mizuchi's neck and Mia winced as blood squirted from both it & its master's eyes.

"B-Boss…" panted Rayaka. "I-I thought we were -"

" - I do not have time nor care to discuss my reasoning with you." he said in his otherworldly tone. Five years had not made Mizuchi's host any less despisable.

His hand shot in to Rayaka's chest and all Mia made out in the cloud of blood was his fingers ripping out Rayaka's still-beating heart, veins still connected around it.

"Hollow vessel in the form of man. Heed the will of your new master."

Dreadnought set his heart back in, and Rayaka rose up like a man in a surf, eyes blank as he walked past the corner with his horrendous wound still dripping. Both torso & legs turned towards Mia.

"Why - w-why are you after me?" grunted Mia, sword held tight. "Why did you g-give me fucking advice?"

"I have need of Worldwide. I will make one offer and one offer only. For the price of a single Revenant, I shall send no more Revenants towards you or men." he said. "A thousand dead civilians. Five dead students. This hospital can be one starting point of another dozen."

"I - I'll never fucking give you Worldwide."

"If you do not, I shall take it from your corpse."

Embers burning in the hall, he stomped forward as Mia rose.

"Then - c-come fucking take it."

"…aye. Raise your weapon - your teeth of steel - your blood-red voice. Show me that you possess power fit to best me."

Mia couldn't tell how one man spoke two patterns. A mist of crimson filled her eyes as she rushed forward, and for all the exhaustion & doubt & nausea that drained her mind, she carried it through in one sword sweep that met with his trio of gauntlets -

- but she'd never felt such might in the strikes she blocked; her steel blunted the first and second -

- and the third cracked her left arm in a burst of blood; she swept with the speed of light back -

" - Worldwide!" she shouted; a pillar of flame erupted ahead -

- but was just as quickly snuffed out by a second set of scarabs ahead, chill with blue-lines extinguishing her flames, corridor filling with steam as the Dreadnought stepped forward -

" - two opposites, Mia Schultz!" he shouted - " - you'll face me with your steel or not at all!"

' - distance first.' she thought as she stepped back, door at her left as she stumbled back, Dreadnought rushing towards her ahead -

- and a sweep of scarabs burnt the door down; in to the room she swept, vicious charge catching only air outside as she rushed across the room, shoving instruments and beds aside as she came up to the wall & turned, and in the next instant -

- he burst through the wall at her left -

- and underneath a trio of hooks she dodged, sword's sweep catching against his armor, steel already starting to crack as they fought in a whirlwind of blows. Inch by inch, the pressure of his strikes forced her further back, and as she felt another wall approach behind -

" - Worldwide!" she shouted; a swift swarm burnt the wall down -

- and in to the sudden hole she swept again, Dreadnought charging towards her again, and as he came danger close -

- his left grasp shot to her right; she swept underneath his legs -

- but his right ripped her by her hair and threw her through another wall -

- and another -

- and another, scarabs swarming as she landed and stood again, Dreadnought charging at her through the apertures again -

- and right in to an orange pillar of flame -

- but a swarm of his own scarabs snuffed it out as he came in to the room; another pillar of flame claimed him -

- and his extinguishers filled the room with steam, mist so thick he could no longer see Mia, but sensed her presence lurking and waiting to strike. One figure was at the corner of the room, and as he rushed towards it -

- the scarabs composing it dispersed, and before he could react -

- Mia's blade entered his back & out his chest; grunting as he staggered, three hooks went wildly back, one grip on her sword hand -

- and throwing her with the strength of a million out through the wall and to the corridor again, blade still stuck in his chest as she rose up wincing, pilfering quick another blade from another corpse beside. She saw him charging at her again -

- and swept left just in time to avoid it, new blade slicing and hacking at his right arm -

- but one punch threw her with the strength of a million away; as she flew, she saw one window behind, bracing herself as her scarabs readied to burn -

- just in time to keep her from hitting the glass as she flew out of the aperture and out behind the hospital, third-floor fall of asphalt below -

- and one pole crunched her skull as she landed & smashed right in to it; stars lit her vision as she shrieked, agony filling her eyes -

- and she saw the Dreadnought leap out of the third-floor ahead, blade still stuck in him as he staggered forward, blood oozing. One hand ripped it clear out, and Mia barely saw five beats in his chest's corners.

"Rise! Raise your weapon -"

" - Rider!" she barely heard Aimee shout, and in the next instant -

- Aimee was on his back with knife drawn -

- but three hands slammed her with the strength of a million down, Dreadnought's voice suddenly rage-filled -

" - THIS BATTLE IS NOT YOUR'S! SCOURGE!"

- and she saw his fingers gouge open Aimee's chest and pull her still-beating heart out, energy only in her left arm as Mia picked up her blade again, Dreadnought speaking -

" - hollow vessel in the form of woman. Heed -"

- Mia threw her blade forward -

- and the keen end cleaved his left arm off in a shower of crimson; the pain staggered him back, Aimee & heart dropping but still connected as he screamed -

- and Mia fell unconscious.