Anciel enjoyed the wind in his hair as he was carried on the back of his friend’s flight-capable summon. Maybe he couldn’t see far, but the view of the city from this perspective still served to get his adrenaline high.

"Wooo-hooo! You know…if you want to scream and let out all of your worries, now is a good time," the blond man yelled over his shoulder.

"It would be very unbecoming of the city’s guardian to be seen acting like a child."

"Oh brother…" Label rolled his eyes.

"But then again, I should really let out some steam once in a while."

"So that’s a yes?"

"Woooooooooooot!!!" the kimono-clad man yelled from the top of his lungs, turning heads down at the city.

"Wow…that was…loud. Good. Maybe hanging out with me will turn you back to being normal," Label commented now satisfied.

"What do you find so un-normal about me now?"

"The way you talk. So stuck up. Your attitude towards things. The way you hold your chin up like you saved the world. How you treat others as if they are not as valuable as you are. How you enjoy everyone calling you ‘master’, ‘your majesty’, ‘your highness’…" Label was making grimaces as he kept complaining.

"Hahaha! Nobody calls me ‘your highness’."

"Well, I’m sure they’ll start eventually."

"Oh…Label. I missed this so much," Anciel admitted.

"Yeah…I missed it too."

Albus had fun diving in under bridges and circling the towers, sometimes flying close to the ground while other times reaching for the sky above the everlasting fog.

"Hey buddy. I think we flew around enough. It’s getting dark. You’re gonna hit something in the fog if we continue…" Label caressed the top of the dragon’s head.

"Wroar…" Albus’ blue eyes looked disappointed.

"I know…but we can do it again tomorrow. Alright?"

The giant creature just let some hot air from its nose as a reply, folding its feathery wings and descending toward the ground.

"You can land there," Anciel pointed at a specific spot atop one of the lower buildings.

"There?"

"Yes."

As they closed in, Label noticed a group of people clad in black standing on the roof.

"There are some suspicious guys down there. I have a bad feeling about this…" Label said.

"Mrrrrr…" Albus agreed.

"Label...I need you to trust me."

"…okay," the blond man tapped the dragon’s head and the creature landed on the roof with a few flaps of its wings, removing the steam and revealing the group.

"Right on time," a raspy voice spoke through the demon mask, "I still can’t decide if you came because you knew we are going to be waiting, or we came to welcome you because we knew you are going to land here."

"The tree of time changes its shape depending on the number of people that can see it. There are too many of us here for anyone to be certain of the one true branch," Anciel descend from the dragon before Label made it dissipate and fell down into a crouch.

In front of them were a dozen people dressed in black cloaks with hoods on. The fog and darkness didn’t help discern their faces. The rooftop was relatively small for such a large group, not leaving a lot of room between them.
The man with the demonic mask spread his arms and shrugged.

"So this is the fabled Label…Not what I expected. Still, orders are orders. Let me get to the point; we are the neo shogunate. Emperor Celehnius Caius wants Label brought to Toukoku. The rest of the Republic is of no concern to us. You will not resist if you want to avoid unnecessary violence."

"And what if I do resist?" the blond man’s brows furrowed.

"I knew you were going to ask. I know everything before it even happens. Reveal them!" he ordered with his hoarse voice.
The cloaked men removed the masks and hoods from what seemed to be two of their members but were instead Lalane and Noix.

"Before you do anything rash, I just want you to know that there is another one of your dear friends, or should I say a possible romance between the members of our unit. Also, there are explosives around the city, ready to blow at any sign of resistance," the leader threatened and then lifted his arm up front, gesturing, "Come now."

"Anciel, is this an illusion?" Label wasn’t good enough with the mind mastery to be absolutely certain.

"No. These are really Noix and Lalane."

"What about Mai and the bombs?"

Anciel turned to him, "So…Rose Rogue de Mai, is it?"

"Anciel…this is really not the time."

The kimono-clad man showed towards the group.

"I can’t tell which one, but she’s definitely here. There are too many of them. Believe it or not, all of them are masters of the mind. It feels like I can only find out exactly what they let me…We are outnumbered."

"All of them?!" Label let his voice and face reveal the shock.

"Unfortunately. They were wise to assemble a unit exclusively out of one cosmic state. They sacrificed variety but gained unmatched strength in one field. Clever.
I can’t read their mind, but what I can tell for sure is that this man is not lying," he pointed at the one wearing the demon mask, "All he said was true, that much is certain."

Label still stood his ground.

"So predictable," the demon mask man clicked his fingers and they revealed another cloaked person.

"Master?!" Label yelled, recognizing Zandor straight away.

He was tied and muffled, just like the others.

"Now for the final push; let the lynx speak."

At the leader’s command, they removed the muffler from the old orgriash.

"Master Zandor…" Label was devastated.

"Aren’t you feeling regret now that your decisions have led you to this point?" Anciel frowned at the orgriash.

"Anciel! Who’s side are you on?" the blond man got upset.

"No, Label…he’s absolutely right. I was selfish…and this is the result. They hold my family hostage at the mansion," Zandor admitted with a heavy heart.

"Enough" the leader repeated the gesture with his arm, "Label, there is no choice to be made here. Come with us."

"What will you do, Label?" Anciel asked.

"Guess… I have to go with them."

"…I suspected you’d be willing to make that sacrifice. But you are not going with them," Anciel stated firmly.

"What do you mean?" the blond man was confused.

Anciel started walking forward toward the demon-masked man.

"You seem to be mistaken," he said quietly.