Repent

Claire awakened from her deep slumber after the implosion at the penthouse party. Her machine arm had been severed off, and she sustained major bruises and scratches from the crash site. She lifted her head off of Jinrai's cushioned bomber jacket, finding herself next to Ryo and Natia who kneeled patiently waiting for her awakening.

"W-Weiss?" Claire muttered, expending the last of her energy even after proper rest. Her body's stamina tremendously dropped instantaneously after remembering what had happened to her at the penthouse. Her galvanized attitude would have to wait. "What's going on? Where's Jinrai?" She asked Ryo and Natia, who both looked at her with concerned and worried eyes.

"You need to rest," Natia said, placing her palm on her arm. "You've been through a lot."

"How would you-" Claire began.

"Jinrai told us everything," Ryo revealed, looking down at his knees. "If everything that he said was true, I can forgive her for attacking my sister. But clearly, there's a bigger picture behind the scenes about why Edelweiss continues to be controlled."

"Rion... Stormfield..." Claire uttered, grunting at the mere thought of his boorish and savage face. The more that she envisioned him with Weiss, then she wanted nothing but to mangle his corpse. "I have to kill him. He has to pay for what he did to her."

Ryo and Natia exchanged glances with each other, knowing the full extent of the situation and her pain. "Claire, there's something you need to know..." Ryo began.

"Rion Stormfield is dead," Natia revealed, crossing her arms together. To an extent, she was relieved after pushing away Claire's vengeful perspective.

Claire's eyes widened. "He's... dead?" She asked. "But... if that's the case, then why is this still happening to Weiss? She's being controlled by someone else from Polycyclone or the Seething Vipers!"

A swift breezy wind swept through the three, signaling Jinrai's hasty return. He kneeled beside Claire and stroked her hair with his gentle palm. "Claire..." He affectionately called her name as he poured his heart into her injured condition. The mere sight and realization of her missing an entire arm perturbed him immensely. "You are truly... such a fool."

"I learned it from you," Claire whispered, smiling at the sight of his return. "Playing with fire, taking risks, no limitations. That's what you said, right?"

"That's my job, not yours," Jinrai clarified. "And now all of Kathuz has risen from the underground, no doubt as a retaliation tactic from Weiss herself. How she did it is beyond me, but I can say for certain that she's had enough of our games."

Natia slammed her fists on the dirt below her, frustrated at her inability to save the people around her. "Goddamn," She voiced out. "Edelweiss is Claire's sister. How are we supposed to save her?"

"That comes with a reason," Jinrai said, looking in Ryo's direction. As he was still affected by the natural shock of watching Claire's battered body, his voice was hushed and more reserved than his normal bombastic and witty functions. "Ryo Nakai. You found something in the Meister's Casino, didn't you? An object of great importance."

"Yeah, I did," Ryo said, retrieving the cylindrical golden-trimmed gadget from his back pocket. He held it up against the refractive sunlight beaming down upon them. Natia, Jinrai, and Claire both examined it closely. "I don't know what it is, but I've got a hunch that she's pissed off that it's gone."

"Because... it's her only weakness," Jinrai said, holding his palm out for Ryo to plop the gadget within. He pinched between a golden trim and a servo lock, opening the gadget apart to reveal a magnetic claw-like device powered with an unknown cyan-glowing element. "Rion Stormfield took the Jester, Edelweiss Tianne Waters, and experimented on her body for their plans. What it is, we'll never find out until we cure her. But this, this right here, is the cure."

"I don't get it," Natia said. "How is that thing the cure? It's just a piece of metal scrap."

"Look alive, Natia," Jinrai continued. "Rion Stormfield was the creator of Genesis, the ones who were responsible for manufacturing memory fragments from the negative emotions of individuals, harnessing its power to create immortal and perpetual energy. According to the classified Sunlight records that Rose Accel tasked us with, the memory fragment that Rion Stormfield used against Sumire Nakai granted him supernatural abilities. Enhanced durability, strength, stamina, and illusions."

"So Rion did the same thing to Claire's sister?" Natia added, disgusted by the thought of his cruelty. "What a sick fucker."

"This right here must be something that can take out the memory fragment inside her," Jinrai explained. "It's a special device that perhaps Polycyclone or Genesis created themselves."

"So, she's not mad," Ryo concluded. "She's scared. She's scared because we have the tool that can remove her power for good."

"Right," Jinrai said. "We may have a shot at curing Weiss if we detain her. But without a doubt, she is extremely powerful. Maybe even more powerful than me."

"We have to try!" Claire exclaimed. "I've spent my life wanting to eliminate her from my life, only to finally understand what she has been through! I have to save her!"

Jinrai clenched the extractor in his fist, turning around and lifting himself from the ground. He took several steps forward until Ryo realized his true intentions, blasting off of the floor to seize him. "No," He warned. "You're not about to face her yourself, are you?"

"Rai!" Claire cried.

"It's the only way!" Jinrai forcefully shouted without turning his back. "Ryo Nakai, Natia Zanner. Both of you need to keep Claire safe. Weiss might be too strong for you both-"

"The fuck are you talking about?" Natia interrupted, bolting toward Ryo and Jinrai together. "We haven't even fought her yet, and you're making assumptions about her strength compared to ours? Don't forget that you're the one who called us here on an official mission to eliminate a target! Don't pussy out and think that this is the only way!"

Jinrai swept back, eyeing Natia's glare deeply as he approached her with his tall, hulking stature. "This mission was my responsibility from the start," He said. "Recruiting you two was an outlier. Why would you rather risk your life for a responsibility that isn't yours? You two need to take Claire and leave Weiss to me!"

"No fucking way!" Natia shouted back, deeming his ideals incorrect. "You dragged us into this mess, and we're doing this together. Don't be so naive in this shit. I have to protect Kathuz and that's what I'm here to do." She satisfyingly stood her ground, keeping Ryo and her decision to protect the sanctity of her past together.

"I'm with Natia," Ryo agreed. "We got so far together in this. We have to end it together."

"What are you two on?" Jinrai asked, unsure of what unknown force built their motivation and optimism to protect Claire and himself. "Why are you both so stubborn in this?"

Claire giggled at Jinrai's reaction, catching the trio's attention. She laid back harmoniously, basking in the sweet joy of their companionship. "Because they learned it from you, Rai," She uttered. "You put the responsibility on them, and they fulfilled it. So, logically and theoretically speaking they are continuing to fulfill it. You brought this on yourself. You three were meant to be a team together."

"We haven't even fought as a team yet..." Natia complained to Claire, crankily placing her hand on her waist. "What are YOU on about?"

Jinrai panicked, and Ryo chuckled. It was a total breath of fresh air to witness Natia ultimately engaging and flourishing with Jinrai, himself, and Claire for a full team effort. It seemed to him, at least from his hopeful perspective, that she was finding her purpose to protect others without needing to be arrogant or stubborn. Natia was headstrong, realizing that nothing could push her down. Not even Eve's pitifully pathetic words could.

And Ryo wanted the same for himself as well. The unexpected mission allowed him to connect with Natia and Jinrai even closer, supporting a noble cause for Claire. From the beginning, he scowled at the bare thought of Jinrai's face after stunning April Springwell. But he understood just how vulnerable and human he was, and he appreciated it. Ryo could sense him rising in strength and morale, just from being together with people that genuinely cared about him and the fate of the world.

"We still don't know how the plague came to be," Claire said. "Kathuz has been in shambles for years-"

"I know how it came to light," Jinrai began. "Before I saved you, I was at the canal. It's the Seething Vipers. They attacked the sewage systems across the city with their poison. But now that Kathuz has emerged from the underground, the weather plants have neutralized it."

"Why would Weiss do that?" Claire asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"We struck a nerve," Jinrai explained. "She has to be planning something that we don't know about. Something worldwide."

"Shit, and I think I know what it is," Natia mentioned, observing their surroundings. Flight vehicles soared across the sky in a V-shaped formation. Cars and trucks jammed traffic through the streets as they all gathered toward an unknown location for an unknown purpose. "Something's going down."

"It's time for us to go," Jinrai ordered, placing the extractor in his pocket. He passed by the duo, sliding beside Claire as Ryo and Natia watched in utter confusion. Jinrai lowered his head and gently kissed Claire on the lips before affectionately bumping noses with her. "Be safe, my love." He said.

"I'm coming with you," Claire whispered, cheeks flushed full of devotion and companionship. "I have to save Weiss."

Natia creaked her head to the side to face Ryo like a rusty valve, fidgeting her left eye in bewilderment and awe. Ryo turned to her as well, chuckling lightly at the two. "Uhh, how long have we been gone?" Natia asked. "Am I missing something here?"

"I think it's obvious what's happening here," Ryo stated, greatly proud of Jinrai's abilities to overcome the decision-making skills that he revealed when they had trained together. "Are you sure? You're injured."

"This is nothing..." Claire said, standing up from her frail position. Although she did not have an arm, Claire was determined to face her sister in any way possible.

"Whatever that was, that was gross," Natia bleached in response to Jinrai's action, activating her nanosuit to prepare for flight. Although, she was happy for Claire, considering how she saw her as a devoted individual who fought for everything to maintain peace in the world. "All right, come on. She's coming with us then. Hurry up, we don't have all day!"

Jinrai rushed back in the middle of Ryo and Natia, embodying a serious manner to explain their specific mission instructions. "Ryo Nakai. Natia Zanner," He addressed. "If we are to face Weiss herself, you must remember this. She is the Jester, not who she was. We may know the pain and suffering that she has endured with Claire, and we may share the same goal, but she is the Jester. If you must strike her down, you do not hesitate," He shook his head. "This is our moment. This is it. You cut her down if you must. Got it?"

"Understood," Ryo said, nodding in return. Natia remained silent and nodded with him.

"I'll take care of myself," Claire whispered. "I'll meet up with you. Be safe, you three."

"All right. Then let's move out!" Jinrai shouted, ascending the skies with his speed. Ryo and Natia followed immediately after, chasing the path where the congested traffic circulated toward.