Better Safe... III

"I'll hire you..." The sentence caught in Mias' throat, Zero leaned into Mias' face head cocked to the side like an interested puppy.

"Please, anything you want... If you kill our fathers then-

Then they'll come back you won't have anything to offer and I'll have every assassin possible after my head because I swung for the most influential heads in Neon City?" Zero interrupted with an almost cheerful tone. Mia bit down hard on her lower lip, her mind raced for a single idea that could lead to the self-preservation of herself and her lover.

Zero sighed to signify their boredom as they turned and walked back over to Tia, pulling Gula from its place and slicing Tias' hand off in one clean motion leaving her to writhe on the ground. Returning to Mia she raised Gula to eye level.

"Last words?"

"A Perma Death Compact... For my father and his."

This stopped Zero in their tracks, a Permanent Death Compact is when an assassin is hired to make sure death for an individual is as it was before with certain stipulations. First, the assassin hired is guaranteed to move in rank as killing someone permanently is not only a difficult task but requires an assassin to offer up their life if they fail. Second, the client has to offer their permanent death as compensation and a reward equal to or greater than the targets themselves and their possible counter offer, because of this most of these types of compacts are done by family members or rivals in certain fields of work.

The third and final stipulation there is no backing out of a PDC, refusal of completion of client or assassin will lead to the permanent death of both, and their bodies and minds are broken down for parts and testing by the guild of the hired assassin and the ownership of any kind will be relinquished to the guild as well. With these rules, this makes a PDC a fool's errand and a risk that any average assassin worth their salt would ignore.

"What are you offering?" Zero couldn't hide their excitement, they even sheathed Gula intently waiting on Mias' reply.

"Everything, you kill our fathers we inherit the companies and money, I'll drain all the coffers and every ounce of Bitz we can find as compensation."

"Not enough, your father's can offer me the same."

"We are planning to marry, and unify the Yamada and Yashida companies, the Yashida's keep the upper-class families plump with ether and money circulating between each other and the Yamada family keeps the slums addicted and separated so no thoughts of uprise can occur." Mias' gaze matched Zero's even though the red cloth covering their body hid their face and only showed eyes she could tell was listening.

"So you planned to create a new company to rival your parents and in doing so threatened their power... It's the power I want then, from this point on this new company and all its potential advancements or prospects will be shared with my contracted guild you will work with one hundred percent transparency with said guild-

Deal!" Mia interrupted before hearing the last bit of Zeros conditions.

"And, you will give me your triplets to do as I see fit." Mia's eyes widen not realizing what she just agreed to.

"Do you accept this compact?"

"No... I can't just-

-yes she does." A barely conscious Sia answers in her sted her words dripping with determination and spite.

"Sia... I-i accept this compact." Mia admitted defeatedly. The cloth split open taking on a devilish grin, Zero leaned on their heels as crimson threads started to wiggle and writhe their way from the tips of fingers and the mouth created by the cloth.

"Welcome to the Threads Of Fate." The threads moved with a quick and purposeful motion inserting themselves into Mia and Toshi first, Mia shook at the feeling of the Threads weaving their way into veins.

"What are you doing." Mia choked through the pain of the strand of Crimson that began flooding their bodies with Nanomachines.

"I have to make it look like you guys died and make it pretty convincing at that, so I'm giving you some of my homemade Nanomachines they'll fix you after you've been collected."

"Toshi is a purest he won't want them in him forever."

"Don't worry I'll retrieve them once I come for your bodies, he'll be just as human as he wants to be." The threads done with their job returned to Zero.

"Now do me a favor and play dead." White blood explodes from Mias' mouth, she slumps over Toshi who had stopped breathing moments ago.


"Lady Mia!!!" Sia screamed, without arms or legs she began using her chin to dig into the ground trying to get closer to her mistress.

"You really love her, were you all humans or just very convincing androids."  Tia who was keeping quiet let the tears that threatened her eyes flow before answering Zero.

"We were orphans in the lower districts ether poisoning took many things from us, but we were saved by Lady Mia when no one else even acknowledged us, gave us bodies, and in return, we tested new Materia and cores, she trusted us and we trust her."

Zero seemed to mull over what she said, they weren't androids, but enhanced humans who had full loyalty to their master. The potential seen in them excited Zero especially since now a PDC on the Shogun and Samurai of Neon City was on the table.

"Delta hail an instant port for three to my forge and send the triplets to be prepped for the test." Delta flicked into existence looking over the broken Tia.

"You took this one Materia is it any reason to take her?"

"Of course, I have something in mind for all three." Delta shook his head in affirmation and snapped his fingers the three glowed in a blue light before disintegrating into crystallized particles and disappearing.

"They successfully have been sent to the forge." Delta replied with a curt bow.

"Thank you, now connect me to Zeus."

Delta's form began to change into a different person entirely, shorter with glasses, snow White hair, and a white lab coat that drug the ground, all belonging to a child-like frame of a young man staring off into the middle distance. Zero waited for a moment before the man acknowledged them standing there.

"Ah, Zero! How did your job go?"

"Better than expected, I got a PDC for you."

"Yes, yes, great a PDC that's fantastic... A what! Are you insane a PDC?!"

"Relax. If successful you get full rights to the Tech and Materia of the Yamada and Yashida companies." A moment passed as the enticing reward fought with the worried feeling in Zeus's gut.

"But if you fail I lose my best assassin." Zeus whispered through clenched teeth.

"Key word, if." Zeus sighed hard pulling out of nowhere a mug of warm liquid to sip on.

"Fine whose the clients and targets?"

"The targets are Kai Yashida and Ryu Yamada."  Zeus spits out the brown drink and tossed the mug out of view with a satisfying smash.

"Are you fucking kidding me, the people who just hired you, you take a fucking PDC on?! Who're the fucking clients?!" Zero side steps reveal the two bodies behind them. Zeus fell to his knees in defeat.

"Your clients are dead?" A sullen look etched its way in Zeus's face.

"Kind of..." Zero shrugged curtly.

"You want to kill the two kings of Neon City, and your clients are the dead targets of your last clients..." Zeus fixed his glasses on his face.

"Yes." Zero shook their head vigorously.

"Are you possibly the craziest person alive." Zero pondered this for a moment.

"Most likely." Zero chuckled to themselves crouching down to match Zeus's eye level.

"Look, I gave them a bit of my Nano machines so they will be more than alive and I know the Yamada and Yashida family has kept our guild out of all the big talks, so we kill them and gain two new faces to vouch for us plus as your best assassin I'll jump at least 10 ranks." Zeus's ears perked at the words.

"Do you think you can do it?"

"Of course." Zeus looked over his Zero and then the corpses nearby shook his head and sighed.

"Fine, PDC accepted by the Threads of Fate, I'll put it through once you retrieve your clients Alive Red, you got me?"

"Sir yessir!" Zero stood and saluted sarcastically, making Zeus roll his eyes.

"Oh also, I have three in my forge who I want to take the aptitude test to join the Threads of Fate."

"I saw you had three transported, we aren't in need of new members at this time." Zeus replied looking over a screen Zero couldn't see.

"I'll be watching over them, they will be directly joining my team." A laugh erupted from Zeus as he held his stomach.

"You? A team? So you going to just toss these poor souls aside then?" Zero didn't answer and blankly stared back.

"Okay... You're serious. They will be under your care and you will administer the aptitude test, may I ask what's the point of this little team you are building?" Zero looked upward at the synthetic sky changing above them.

"Better safe than sorry, ya know?" Zeus watched his assassin for a moment as long as he has known Red, he knew Red did nothing without seeing all the outcomes, he shrugged his shoulders moving on.

"Alright, good luck Red I'll be getting back to my research, oh and congrats on passing your final qualification to reach the top hundreds rank, as of this compact your new rank is two oh one welcome to the big leagues." Zeus smiled before turning back into a Delta sitting on his knees.

Delta looked over himself and over Zero.

"Went well?"

"Yeah..." Zero fell backward lying Sprawled out on the ground.

"Delta how much for another instant transport." Zero asked while enjoying the view.

"The last three were on the house because the forge pays for any incoming products, but personal use will cost you a thousand bitz."

"Pay it and let's go home." Delta shook his head and snapped his fingers. Zero began disappearing just in time for the guards to show up and start their jobs and to report to the Yamada and Yashida family that their children have passed, recovery of Toshi's body is in process and Mia will be salvaged and recovered to be placed in a different and more subservient vessel.

~End of Chapter 1 Better Safe...