The Longest Night Begins

Some days later, Chizuru pokes at her food at the dining room table with her parents. They look at her then at each other, concerned.

"Chizuru, what's wrong dear? You've been so down recently, did something happen?" Henry asks, worried.

"No, nothing happened."

She says without lifting her gaze in the slightest.

"Well something must have happened. We made your favorite yet you haven't even touched your food." Pastel says.

"I just… don't want to talk about it."

Chizuru replies softly. Pastel gives a concerned look but tries not to pry too hard.

"If something happened with your friends, just remember that they're always there for you. No matter what sweetheart. Just give yourself some time to process whatever happened. I'm sure it'll all work itself out. Take it from me. I didn't get to be the CEO of a big company without my share of battles with friends, haha!"

She laughs awkwardly a bit to try and cheer her up. She sweats when it doesn't immediately work, but Chizuru does perk up a bit at her mother's comment. She gives a slight smile and takes a bite of her food. Henry and Pastel both sigh silently in relief.

After dinner, Chizuru is in bed as Pastel tucks her in and gives her a kiss on the forehead. She sits on the edge of the bed.

"I'm happy to see you smiling, even if it is just a bit. Don't stress about it too much, sweetie. I know it'll be okay."

She strokes her head with her hand gently to which Chizuru smiles in response.

"Also, I'm gonna be gone for a few days. There's a few things I got to take care of abroad so please listen to your father and don't give him a hard time. You know how much he stresses about you."

"I know mom. I'll see you when you get back?"

"Of course dear. Now get some sleep, I love you."

She gives her another kiss goodnight and leaves the room after shutting off the light. Chizuru lays there for a while but can't seem to fall asleep. She eventually sits up and looks like she's thinking hard about something and is conflicted about it. She gets out of bed, changes, grabs her bag and opens her window. She climbs down the side and sneaks around the front.

She walks down the street in the city with an intense look on her face.

'I can't believe I didn't go to Shiori's birthday party! I can only imagine how upset she must've been. All because I was too scared to face Lucy…'

She thinks about Lucy facing away from her. Her look gets more sad.

'I just don't know what to do. We've never fought like this before. Should I just give her space until she's ready to talk? Or should I call her? And what about Shiori? What if she's so upset with me that I didn't go that she doesn't want to be friends anymore?!'

She grabs her head with worry as she walks and struggles with all these questions she has.

'There's so much happening, I don't know what to do…'

She stops and just stares at the ground for a moment. She eventually shakes her head and gets a determined look.

'No! I can't just give up! I'll fix this! I'll make it better! First things first, I gotta make up for missing Shiori's birthday. I have to get her something really nice! But where would I go at this hour..?'

She looks around for a moment and then gets an idea.

"I know! The Fawn Mall! That place is open all day, every day. I'm sure to find something there."

She then heads towards Fawn Mall, the same direction as the large Fawn Tower.

Elsewhere, on a rooftop across from Fawn Tower.

"Alright Chief. I'm in my position. Just waiting for Watchdog's arrival. Everything good on your end?" Fullsky says into an earpiece.

"We've got the green light here. I have officers in all locations surrounding the tower on the ground. Now we wait on your signal."

He lets go of his ear piece as he turns around to face a group of officers in heavy armor and larger weapons.

"Everyone, tonight's the night we take these guys down for good. We don't know what they're planning exactly but we know that this tower is where their heart is. We are to go in, take down as many members we can and provide support to Fullsky and Watchdog who will be coming in from the top. But above all else, stay alive. You're no use to anyone dead. Alright, now let's do a coms check and make sure we're ready."

He pep talks his team. As he goes over the strategy with his officers, Fullsky stays crouched on the roof, watching the building intently. There is a heavy thud from behind her.

"Took you long enough." She says with a smirk.

"Hey, not everyone can fly like you."

She turns around and smiles at him. He steps next to her and observes the tower too.

"Chief is in place and ready to go?" He asks.

"Of course. They're gonna try and keep the grounds clear and send in support from the bottom up."

"We should probably deal with those Pillars or whatever before any of the officers meet them first, huh?"

"Yep."

They stand for a moment, staring at the tower in silence.

"It looks like a normal building to me."

Watchdog says. Fullsky turns and gives him a 'Really?' look.

"What? I'm just saying, if what they're planning really is that big of a deal, there would be signs, wouldn't there be? Like in the movies?"

Fullsky walks over to him and puts her arms around his neck.

"I adore you but no. They're smarter than that. This isn't a movie."

She gives him a peck on the mask over his lips before letting go. She then gets a look of worry.

"This is gonna work, right?"

Watchdog takes her hand.

"Of course it will. We'll save everyone and finally take them down for good, tonight."

He gives her a reassuring look. She gets determined and nods.

"You ready?" She asks.

"As ready as I can be."

They nod at each other then leap from the roof, high into the air. Chief sees this and knows what that means.

"Alright everyone! Let's go!"

The officers down below begin rushing the main and back entrances of the building as Fullsky and Watchdog crash through the large windows of the building into a large hall. There are quite a few Devil's Syndicate members, who are heavily armed and armored, wandering around. They all stop as the vigilantes land and roll. 

"Hello everyone."

Fullsky says. They quickly break out of their daze and start yelling and shooting at them. Watchdog and Fullsky flip and dodge while punching and hitting the members, knocking most of them out with single hits. Fullsky has her wings out to aid in blocking bullets and reaching opponents farther from her while Watchdog focuses on close quarters combat, mostly using his insane speed to dodge bullets.

Within what seems like moments, most of the fodder is taken out while others run out of the large hall to regroup elsewhere. 

"Come on, what else you got!?"

Fullsky shouts before quickly being smashed through the wall behind her by a large stone fist. Watchdog stances up and turns to see Keeper stepping closer. 

"We figured you would show up. Unfortunately for you, we have already planned how you both will perish tonight."

"Funny thing about that is I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

Watchdog bites back. Keeper doesn't react to his comment. Watchdog then lunges forward insanely fast, winding up his arm to deliver a heavy blow to Keeper but before he can, suddenly something else gets in front of him.

Watchdog's eyes widen as he is smashed through multiple floors below. The other person lands next to Keeper. They look at each other and nod. The other person then jumps down, following Watchdog. 

"Hey."

Fullsky calls out. Keeper turns his attention to the hole in the wall. Fullsky stands up in the middle of it.

"That hurt."

Suddenly, the stone floor beneath her creates two walls around her and smash together, trying to crush her. She disappears and Keeper's eyes look down when he is struck across the face from above. He is staggered as blood splashes from his mouth. He stumbles back a little as he reels from the hit. In a few seconds he is composed again.

"You have gotten significantly stronger."

"What can I say? I'm amazing, right?"

"We will see."

He then lifts his hands with his palms facing the ground. Two large hands made of stone form above him. One swings down and tries to swat her but she dodges and charges him. He then claps his two stone hands together but before they reach her she slips into the floor. His eyes widen as she comes out of his shadow behind him.

She shoots her wings at him, trying to impale him from behind but he dodges. From above, he swings down a giant fist upon her. She is hit but blocks it. She holds as the ground beneath her feet cracks a bit. She then slices the arm up into three pieces with her wings. Keeper is taken aback by this for a moment but focuses up. 

"What are you planning with the serum and that amulet!?"

"You couldn't possibly understand."

Fullsky grits her teeth in frustration then charges. She air walks a couple times back and forth until she flips above him and lands a heavy kick which he blocks above his head. He then grabs her legs and throws her into one of the pillars in the room and through it. She smashes into the wall behind it and coughs up a little blood but stays on her feet.

'This isn't good. He's so strong, I can't land a hard enough hit. Watchdog would've been a better match for him than me. I just hope he's got better luck.' She thinks with a slightly concerned look.

Down below, Watchdog smashes into the ground a few floors down. He props himself up and holds his head.

"That didn't feel too good.."

He looks up to see someone standing in front of him. His eyes widen for a moment before he is struck and sent flying through the wall behind him. He sits up and sees a woman standing before him. She is tall and fairly muscular with large hair. She resembles that of a lion. 

"What's the matter, Watchdog? Never been hit so hard before?" She taunts with her mature voice.

"Oh I've been hit plenty. This isn't anything special."

Her smile goes away as she pounces at him. She slams her fist into the ground where he was but he dodges and spins, landing a heavy uppercut to her face and sending her through the roof to the next floor.

He goes to follow up but he can't jump, he is caught by something. He looks down to see two hands coming from the ground, holding onto his ankle. He quickly turns and sees another person in the shadows of the room staring at him. Before he can think about anything else though, Sahara, the other Pillar, comes down and strikes him heavily across the face. He still can't leave because of the hands so he instead jumps back, extending his leg to gain distance.

This surprises the individual so the hands release. He faces off against the two people standing in front of him.

"What do you say, Gallow? Think we should finish this before Strife gets involved?" She smirks with her sharp teeth.

"He won't survive two Pillars, Sahara."

The woman steps from the shadows revealing her to be darker with two large scars on the side of her head. She is a smaller build than Sahara but when she steps out two more of her appear behind her. Watchdog droops.

"Great…"

Suddenly, he is grabbed from behind. Two more of Gallow hold him still as Sahara lunges at him. His eyes are intense as she lands a heavy blow to his stomach. She then follows up with an uppercut then strikes his face to the right then his chest.

She releases a flurry of blows across his body for a moment before he kicks out the leg of one of Gallow, allowing him to dodge to the side. Sahara accidentally strikes one Gallow as Watchdog slams his head back into the other, causing those two copies to disappear to smoke.

Sahara is caught off guard as Watchdog drives his fist into her stomach hard. She coughs up some blood and is sent flying with another punch to the face. Gallow dodges Sahara flying at her and charges Watchdog with her arms still under her cloak. She jumps and kicks at him which he blocks with his left so she delivers another kick to his other side.

He is hit but grabs onto her leg and flips her over, slamming her into the ground. As soon as she hits the floor, she poofs. Watchdog's eyes widen as he is struck across the face and smashed into the wall by Sahara's boot. 

"You piece of shit! That hurt!"

She winds her leg back to stomp his face again into the wall but he leans to the side to dodge it. He then kicks her other leg causing her to fall. Quickly getting above her, he lifts his leg and drop axe kicks her face into the floor. He snaps his head up to see Gallow charging him. She duplicates her arm a few times and palm strikes him. He puts his arms up to guard but is still sent smashing through the wall.

He roles back and lands on his feet but before he could even finish sliding back, he is struck in the face to the right then uppercut and again in the face to the left. He stumbles over but maintains focus as if the strikes didn't even do any damage. Not even five seconds passed before his knee buckles and he coughs up some blood. He looks stunned and shocked.

"This shouldn't.. hurt this much."

He looks up to see another individual. He is much taller than Sahara. His eyes are glowing green and he has scarring across his body and neck, a cloak covering his right arm. He has an intense look in his eyes but a neutral expression, as he speaks softly.

"Watchdog, I am Strife. Pillar of the Devil's Syndicate. You will perish tonight."

"What's with you guys and death threats. If it was so easy, I'd be dead already."

He is immediately shot with a sonic shockwave from Strike's right hand. It is metallic and machine all the way up to his shoulder and onto his chest a bit. Watchdog is sent hurtling into the wall behind him. 

"Aw Strife! We were gonna handle him ourselves!" Sahara whines as she steps through the hole in the wall.

"You know what the commander said. Us three against him, Keeper against Fullsky."

Suddenly, Watchdog starts laughing. The three Pillars turn and look at him laying against the wall, blood running down his face.

"Hahaha! You guys only sent Keeper to fight Fullsky, huh?" He looks at them with an intensely serious look. "That guy is done for."

All three Pillars look at him with sharp eyes, hearing his words.

"Her power only hardly exceeds yours while Keeper greatly exceeds even mine. She stands no chance for success." Strife says back.

"You don't know your enemy at all. Her or me." He says while standing back up. "Her soul greatly exceeds all of ours together."

He puts his fists up and stands ready for a fight.

"But enough about her. Where were we?"