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Arthur and his team left our faction house not long after Lilies statement.

I had many questions after hearing her statement to Arthur. As did everyone else it seemed. The large stone hall we were in shuddered tremendously as it began to shrink and morph. The coffin couch rose from the floor in a molten fashion. Holes opened around the windows as everything contorted back to it's rightful shape. Not one thing was out of place. Even Lilies plant sat at its usual spot on the window sill.

"So... I suppose I owe all of you an explanation." Lily said with a sigh.

Henry and the others were mostly nonchalant about everything that had happened so far but her words to Arthur had made things more interesting to them. Who was Lily's father? Why would Arthur know him?

"You can bet your sorry hide I want an explanation. We've been attacked by the warrior faction more times in the past eight years than I've seen any faction before." Beth said with her arms crossed. As always being the one who's hard on Lily when nobody else says a word.

" I suppose my explanation starts around the time BL00D was developed." She said as she sat on the floor clasping her hands. Her face was full of what appeared to be remorse.

"History remembers the scientist Johann Van Creight and his horrifying creation. But no one knows his backer and funding point. The Shadow Backer, Or as I knew him. General of the UN Forces Matthias Samuel Halsey." Lily said low and slow.

"General Halsey was a brilliant strategist and was good at political schemes. One of his defining features you could say. But his one weakness was his wife and daughter. His wife, Patricia was a good woman and loved her family dearly. But her health was poor and was prone to sudden collapses and bouts of sickness.

Their daughter even more so. Unfortunately for the general. Even years of the best care and technology money can buy could not save his sick wife. And so she died." Lily's hands wrung themselves as a frustrated look filled her eyes.

"Halsey despaired over his wife's death. Even to the point he cryo-froze his own daughter in an attempt to keep her safe. One day Johann arrived with a possible cure. But in exchange he required the generals complete backing and financial aid in his endeavors. And so the general made a deal with the devil in order to save his only daughter."

She let out a deep sigh and I could tell a bomb was about to drop.

"You guys call me Lily. My full name Is Lorelei Margarite Halsey. Daughter of former UN General Matthias Halsey. The man you all know as Ares." She said as she raised her head to look at all of our faces. Every jaw in the room dropped.

Elsewhere...

A woman stands in a dark room filled with red lights and glowing orange lines. Her sillouhette shows good curves but a flat chest. Hair seemingly flowing down her back in the darkness. A woosh sounded as a door slid open at the far end of the room. Light beyond seeming to drive away the darkness.

The woman remained in the shadows. Her figure seeming to merge with them as a figure emerged from the door. His large figure was militaristic and his face coated in scars. "I came to report." He said as he stood at attention.

A clicking sound echoed through the room as the woman strode forward. Her hands waved and the door closed. The man didn't seem bothered by this in the least as he stood at attention in the dark.

A voice echoed from the dark. Malicious, venomous, and cruel. The voice of a Crone filled the air as the sound of slithering, chittering, and tapping accompanied it.

"Report then! Report and get out! I have more important matters!" The Crone hissed.

Ares saluted as he went about his report.

"The new one you requested I keep an eye on has finally suffered a death. His faction was attacked and he used a divide and conquer tactic to make it so his faction could survive. This lead to his death at the hands of Avatar Arthur who lead the assault team. His faction still stands though and Arthur has been humiliated and punished for his failure." Ares said as he lowered his arm finishing his report.

"Hehehe!" A cackle came from the shadows as something slithered past Ares.

"What an entertaining little fellow we have in our care. How about I give him a little present next time." She said as a thicker, heavier slither followed up behind her. Two glowing red eyes glimmered eerily in the dark. "Hissssss." A rattling serpentine sound echoed as the Crone began to cackle madly. Ares seemed to scrunch up his face slightly as the thought ran through his mind. "My little Lory. I pray you can stay safe."

Back at the Death Hunter Base

Not a sound flowed through the faction house. Even the skittering of the scarabs was quieter than usual as the group sat in silence. The revelation of Lily being related to someone responsible for all of their predicament was almost otherworldly. It was like the time they had shared was fake. Some felt hurt while others felt conflicted. Lily had been within the faction for ten years. And some present had known her for longer. One was a friend for almost a century at this point.

Beth was the first to speak up at this point.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" She said. Her shoulders shook as she sat there. I couldn't tell if it was rage or sadness though. Beth hid her feelings in her voice. It was calm and level. Not angry or quiet.

Lily stood close to the window staring outside.

"I didn't know how to go about it. It's not like I could just come out and say my father is one of the biggest scumbags on this planet. Even if he did what Johann asked him thinking of my health. It's no excuse." She said as she gently pet her plant. Her eyes of course didn't exist so I couldn't tell what her mood was besides her mouth being in a frown.

Henry then spoke up. "Did John know about this?" He asked with his paper still up in front of his face.

Lily seemed to pause for a moment. "He knew. To some extent. But not everything. He knew who my father was and he knew who Johann was as we had met him a few times. But he didn't know the connection." She said as she seemingly stared at her plant clearly avoiding looking at any of us.

"So... who all knows this?" I asked from the couch by Henry's feet. "I imagine quite a few people know by now considering who he is." I said with my fingers intertwining nervously. The pressure in the room was immense okay? Even I was getting my nerves on edge.

Lily shook her head as she faced us. "Just the people in this room, my father, and Johann if he's still alive."

Her normally stoic face was in a frown. "I mislead you all and I could say that not saying something isn't a lie. But the fact remains. What you don't know can kill you. So I'm telling you all this now. The first people to know in almost a hundred years who I am and what my family is responsible for. Because of what I just put you all through just by existing." She said as her head turned back to her flower.

"Cough, cough." A voice echoed through the room.

All of us turned our heads to Hoy while Henry just folded back his paper to look at him.

"I can understand her reasoning." Hoy said. His arms were crossed but his voice was calm and he didn't sound angry in the least. "Being gay is never an easy thing and most people never notice unless you want them to. And some people shun, degrade, or otherwise scorn you once they do find out. In Lilies case she would probably be literally burnt at the stake. So I can sympathize."

Hoy's voice seemed to echoe within the room giving him a dramatic touch. But his point echoed through our hearts. It made us actually think.

If Lily had come out about this information. What would have happened? A mobbing? A crucifixion? Hell a Witch burning wouldn't have been out of the question at that point. She would have been destroyed long before she could do anything if the news got found out.

"So you kept it a secret for protection. Not out of silence of self interest?" Beth asked.

Lily nodded. "John and I wanted a decent life. With the knowledge of what my father has done I made it so he's not welcome here or anywhere close to me. If it was within my power we wouldn't even be in the same server." She said as her lips pursed together in frustration. The plant in her hands withered slightly as her agitation became evident. "But the system only allows for so much interference between players. So I have to put up with it." She said as she seemed to calm down again.

The plant regained its vibrant yellow and black hues as its leaves once again grew luscious and green.

"If any of you want to leave I won't stop you. But I couldn't justify you all staying without knowing. Especially after all that." She said waving at the door.

"But we will have a week's reprieve from the warrior faction. So if or when they come next I can be prepared at least for what's to come." Lily said standing upright. "That's if you all choose to go." She looked around. I could almost swear if she had eyes they'd be pleading. But I can't know so I won't assume.

But much to Lily's relief not one of us moved. Even me. Even though I had lost a potential everything to the BL00D. This wasn't her fault. She was just a bystander who's father helped trash the life of everyone on the planet.

I could relate in some ways as my father had been one of the head honchos of the Farming and Food aspects of Mars Colony 7. He really gave two shits about who got his product and who didn't. Often leaving the best for the other higher ups and the worst for everybody else. Sometimes even causing people to get sick.

So the pain was understandable.

I stood up walked over to the window by Lily. "You know... Relying on people ain't so bad when it's a group you can trust. Regardless of background. I've been around here for 3 weeks. And this is about the closest I've gotten to anybody besides my own family. So I'd say you got your work cut out for you." I said as I turned and went downstairs. I needed more combat experience so the holo-room was my next stop.

I heard a small bell ring and a notification for 10 points recieved for cleaning the faction house popped up. I swiped to the right sending it away into data bits.

I stepped up to the holo-room and entered my perameters for combat. Hard difficulty in a hallway setting. I needed the experience of close quarters combat in smaller spaces. This would help me tremendously in the future with instances like what happened with Arthur.

And with that I stepped through the door.