Blacken Snake

As Lucianna walked through the school's main doors, a heavy wave of awkwardness slammed into her. The usual cheery students of the school silently stood in their friend groups in the halls and gossiped with one another. There was the original pipy voice now and then, but those voices faded out the moment they were released. Lucianna made her way through the anxious students before being stopped by a boisterous voice that broke the awkward atmosphere.

"Hey, Lucy!" All the students stopped and looked toward the end of the hallway, where a tall, dark-haired girl stood. She wore the same uniform as Lucianna but with a golden crest on her uniform. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Around her neck was a cream-colored scarf she wore year-round, no matter the temperature outside. Her smile illuminated the dark atmosphere, causing the other students to talk as if it were a typical day. "Meet me; you know where in 10." She then waved and disappeared up the stairs beside her.

Lucianna nodded in affirmation as she headed towards the staircase after the girl. Compared to the ground floor of the building, the upper floor was full of life, as if they were unaware of the situation outside and the fate that would soon follow. Lucianna exchanged hellos with some classmates she passed by. Occasionally, there were a few mocking glances followed by chuckles given by a few of the girls. After walking a bit more, she made it to an empty classroom, whose windows were covered by a blackout curtain. Lucianna reached into her pocket, pulled out a small key, and opened the door. She quickly wormed her way in and closed the door behind her.

The dimly lit room with a single ceiling lighting up the room gave Lucianna a relaxing feeling as she stretched a little. A small table with four chairs sat in the center of the room. Lucianna looked around the room, puzzled, as the girl that had asked her to be there was nowhere to be seen.

"Odd. I thought Audrey made it here before me." She walked to the table and dropped her bags. Just as she was about to sit down, Lucianna's hair stood on end as a shadow that wasn't hers stood beside her and wrapped its arms around her in a loving embrace.

"You are just the thing I needed to free me from the stresses of life~" A familiar voice eased Lucianna's fears as her body relaxed. While at ease, Lucianna attempted to free herself as the hug grew tighter. She let out a cute noise, causing the voice to giggle playfully.

"A-Audrey, cut it out!!" Lucianna struggled in vain as the tall, dark-haired girl squeezed her tight. After a short while, Audrey finally let Lucianna go. Lucianna quickly ran to the other side of the room and started gasping for air. "But...Why?" Lucianna said with two breaths that punctuated her words.

Audrey walked to the door and ensured that there were no prying eyes through the cracks. She then turned to Lucianna and gave her a little wink as she apologized. "Sorry, Lucy, you were being followed, and I wanted to make sure that the officer thought we were getting down and dirty." Her face quickly changed to a devious look as she looked at Lucy with lustful eyes.

"But why!?"

"You don't know, I see." Audrey walked to the table, and her expression grew serious. "I assume you want to know what is happening?" Seeing her expression change, Lucianna backed down with worry on her face. This, in turn, caused Audrey to smile and lighten her expression. Her hazel eyes followed Lucianna as she sat in the chair beside her. "Alright…" She took a deep breath and talked in a quiet voice. "All I know is that somebody at this school has been marked as a target for the terrorist group known as Ouroboros. The information the other council students and I have gathered is that this is related to the events within the Eastern District. You know, the ones centered on that boy playing the hero role." Audrey shook her head with disgust.

"Damn egotistical men, always causing issues the second they get recognized once."

Lucianna sighed a little. Her best friend, Audrey, hated men with a burning passion. While she never dared to ask her why she assumed it had something to do with the scarf she wore around her neck all the time. While Lucianna could agree with Audrey in the sense that some people let fame get to their heads once they were recognized, she knew that the boy in question was not that type of person. The boy she once knew would not just go around and kill two high-value targets marked as a threat to the city for fame. He must have had a motive. She could not wrap her head around the fact that Alan had killed his own father, much less seeing him alive after the events of the quake that leveled the city 10 years ago.

Lost in thought, Lucianna failed to see her friend trying to get her attention. "Lucy?" Audrey waved, "Lucy~, Imma grope you if you don't respond." Audrey had a mischievous smile as she crept her hands toward Lucianna. Lucianna snapped back from her thoughts and noticed a very horny girl move towards her. Audrey noticed she came back from zoning out and quickly placed her hands behind her back and whistled with a soft pitch.

Lucianna saw Audrey's failed attempt at playing innocent and sighed. "You are a handful. Anyway, let's head to class for now."

"Wait!"

"Wait, what?" Lucianna looked at Audrey, slightly confused.

"Let me fix your hair... I think you forgot to do it this morning." Audrey reached into her handbag on the floor and pulled out a brush, a comb, and a small spray bottle filled with water. Lucianna quickly reached for a mirror in her bag to investigate what Audrey was talking about. And to her surprise, her hair was, in fact, not done earlier that morning. Her face bloomed slightly red as she recalled all the strange looks she got that morning. "Why didn't they tell me…" she said quietly as Audrey walked behind her and started working on straightening it.

"A top student, yet very forgetful. You should take it easy. Your life is more important than being a top student." Audrey said.

"Says the student body leader." Lucianna smirked.

"Heh, heh...Hey, at least I know how to manage myself." The two enjoyed idle chatter while Audrey was fixing Lucy's hair. After a few minutes, a bell rang, notifying the students that they had only a minute to get to class, and the two rushed out of the room they were in and went to their class with only a few seconds left to spare.

~~~R~~~

Meanwhile, back at Alan's apartment, Renne sat bored on Alan's bed after waking up from her brief nap, trying to figure out what to do. Unlike the others, she didn't really have the luxury of leaving the apartment complex due to her being wanted by both Ouroboros and the city's police by association, excluding the Eastern District's police force.

"This is sooo boring!" Exclaimed Renne while kicking out her legs like a small child. "Screw it. I'm gonna risk it. I need to collect information anyway." She got up, made her way toward the door, and gently placed her hand on the doorknob. Just before opening the door, she looked down at her purple tracksuit. "Yeah...maybe I should change into something that stands out less." She said out loud as she went back into the main room of Alan's apartment. She then rummaged through Alan's clothes to see what fit her because she had no other clothes apart from her tracksuit and purple and black gothic dress. While looking through Alan's clothes, she noticed a very boring pattern of black and grey clothing that were either hoodies or long sleeve shirts. "Wow...he has a lame sense of fashion," she pulled out a dark grey hoodie from his dresser, "But at least I can fit it normally, unlike Eva's shirts." She put on the grey hoodie and left the apartment looking less fashionable than before. But she paid it no mind as she went to a busy shopping mall to collect information.

Once she entered the mall, a burst of warm air brushed against her cheeks. The inside of the mall was less populated than she had initially thought it would be. She walked around aimlessly, enjoying the lack of annoying crowds before remembering her original reason for coming. She noticed a map with the layout of the building and saw something that might be worth checking out. The mall had four floors, with the fourth floor restricted to all civilians unaffiliated with the police, government, or military. 'Maybe I'll check that floor out then.' she thought as she made her way to the nearest bathroom. Once she entered the bathroom, she searched all the stalls, ensuring she was alone before taking a deep breath and summoning her mist. Her dark purple mist seemed to dematerialize her as it traveled upward to the upper floors, leaving nothing behind. Upon reaching the fourth floor, she re-materialized in a dark corner located right next to a small group of five men talking at a table with coffee in their hands. She listened in.

"Yeah, I understand. But isn't that risky? After all, she is the daughter of one of the city's biggest supporters." A doubtful man said while the other four looked at him.

"I mean...you say that, but do you really think these leaders really care about their daughters? Look at Mr. Seamon, for example. He straight up sent a hitman to kill his daughter." Said an older-looking man with a smug face. "Those girls are worth nothing to these men and the city's future."

"So basically, you support the girls being used as bait?" A younger man said sternly, with one eye visible due to his long, unkempt hair. His demeanor seemed different from the rest. He bore a look that was both uninterested in the conversation as a whole yet intrigued by what was being said.

"But of course! Rich, spoiled girls have no place in our society. All they are useful for is being a disappointing leech to their fathers." All the others look at the older man with visible disappointment. "...What…?"

"Too far…" the others said in unison.

"Nevertheless," the younger man said while sipping his coffee, "I wonder how the press will react with the military watching over the Seamon Providence Academy over in the Northern District and 'WHO' would be able to save that girl from being captured by either side." Without alerting the others at the table, he glared at the corner that Renne was hiding behind. Renne grew nervous as the man stared straight at her, hoping it was a coincidence.

"'Save'?" the older man burst out laughing. "Nobody is dumb enough to fight against experimental cyber soldiers."

"You'll be surprised." The young man took another sip of his coffee, keeping his eyes on Renne's hiding spot. "Those misty snakes can be very slippery, especially that purple-haired reaper."

Upon hearing that, Renne retreated into a dark room and quickly summoned her mist. She traveled back down to the lower areas, lost in thought. 'What the hell?' she made her way towards the entrance after reappearing in the same bathroom as before. 'How did he sense me? Was he helping me or baiting me? Even if that was bait, I'm curious about who Ouroboros has their sights on.' Renne walked out of the mall and made a trip toward the Northern District.

~~~L~~~

"Lucianna!!!!" A cheerful young boy shouted from across the hall as he ran up to Lucianna,

"Come eat lunch with me!" Lucianna, slightly embarrassed, felt the pressure of nearby glares as girls sneered from behind. The sudden question caused an odd movement from the officers within the halls. They each turned their attention towards Lucianna, which made her feel uneasy about the boy's request.

"Sorry, but not today. I have some stuff to take care of." Lucianna spoke earnestly, hiding that she was uncomfortable with the situation. She then smiled at the boy and returned to the empty classroom she and Audrey had been in earlier. She entered the room and sat at the table, pulling out her lunch. After a moment of being alone, the door quietly opened, and Audrey sneaked in. She then turned her head towards Lucianna.

"You might need to stay here for a while."

"Why?" Lucianna said quietly in a concerned voice.

"Those officers are agitated. After they lost sight of you, they panicked. But it's good to know that yo-"

*BANG BANG* Loud gunshots followed by loud screaming were heard coming from below.

"-!?" Both of the girls let out a frightened squeak as they tensed up.

Audrey quickly recovered from the initial shock, walked toward the window, and peeped out, making sure nobody could see her from below. "N-no way…" she fell to her knees. Out of curiosity, Lucianna, who was still tensed from the gunfire, followed and looked out the window. From a normal day with a few extra armed men, to a bloody massacre with students and officers alike lying dead in their own pool of blood. Lucianna quickly tensed up even further as the gunshots continued to get closer. Before long, the gunshots and screaming stopped. Lucianna was shaking in fear while Audrey snapped out of her fear and took a stance the second she heard footsteps coming from outside the door.

"W-w-what a-are you d-doing?" Lucianna said in a shaky voice.

Audrey took a deep breath after seeing Lucianna shaking in fear. She then faced the door and spoke in a calm voice. "They want you, but I won't allow them to have you. I'll distract them while you climb out of the window. There is a rope placed on the edge. We felt you would be a target, so the others and I devised an escape plan for you."

"But-"

"No buts. I will make sure you get out of here alive. "

"Are you sure about that?" A mysterious voice appeared from nowhere, causing Audrey to drop her guard.

"!?" Audrey found herself unable to move. A dark mist surrounded her, blocking her sight and removing the scarf around her neck. Although blind, she felt a sharp sensation on her neck, and a gentle stroke traveled up her back to the nape.

"Too bad. Looks like I have to break you also, Pride." The voice said before letting go of Audrey. Audrey quickly distanced herself from the man and inspected him, looking for an opening. The man in question was a somewhat tall man with a black fedora and a black suit covered in bloodstains. He gently brushed off his outfit and opened his air console to check the time with a bored expression.

"Just who are you?" Audrey said in a low growl. Annoyed that her opponent is looking down on her.

"Whoa there, kitty." Audrey's gaze caused Onyx to lower his guard and smile. "I'm Onyx, and I am not here to kill you two. Honestly, all that needed to happen was for the government to hand the two of you over. But noooo, they insisted on fighting. Too bad for them, though, they lost an entire squad of cyber soldiers, and a lot, and I mean a LOT of civilians died. Adults, kids, elderly, you name it. Even some dogs too." He then walked towards Lucianna.

"Stay away from her!" Audrey ran towards the man with her fist pulled back. As she lunged for the man, he sidestepped and punched her right in the stomach while holding his hat in place.

"!?" Audrey fell to the ground, holding her stomach in pain.

"I did say to calm down. Unlike the others, I don't plan to rape or abuse you. However, if you continue to resist, I will call a colleague who would love to have a fun night with you." He said while looking down at Audrey as if she was nothing more than dirt. He then turned his attention back to Lucianna. "Hmm... I wonder if that Alan boy remembers you."

Lucianna's ears perked up. "W-what do you mean?" She said in a shaky voice.

"Simple, we will use you as bait to get Alan to separate from Renne-"

"No need." A female voice came from a purple mist that protruded from the floor below. The mist swallowed both Lucianna and Audrey and moved them towards the room's exit, with a young girl blocking the man from reaching them.

"Oi there, little princess. Didn't expect to see you so soon." Onyx said while pulling out two chunky-looking guns from behind.

Renne slightly turned her head towards the two girls, watching while monitoring the enemy in front. "You two go ahead. He's the only one here. I will catch up with you shortly to escort you and answer your questions." The two girls nodded and took off running. She then turned back to Onyx. "Last time I checked, this wasn't in your job description."

"You're right. However, because of the weaponized corruption that affected roughly a quarter of our manpower, the others are currently hunting Ouroboros's corrupted men and women. But enough chit-chat. I spared you once out of generosity, but you came crawling back. I will be taking that bounty of you yours."