What is happening?

Driver huffed, walking forward and lazily kicking a rock out of her path. She had finally cleared the debris that had blocked their way.

Sure, they could have just blown it up—but that would've risked their lives. The entire underground base might've collapsed, burying them alive beneath tons of rubble.

She glanced at Diego in irritation, drones buzzing behind her as he shifted awkwardly and avoided her gaze, whistling as if that would help.

"I... uh, don't look at me like that, dawg. I just slipped, okay?"

Everyone stopped walking, staring at him blankly. Even the Jacks, Queens, Kings—and even the Numbers, all his subordinates—narrowed their eyes in irritation.

Isaac laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulder and giving his freshly shaved head a hearty slap. Now that he thought about it, he always did enjoy slapping that head... Weird.

"That's my boy. You really maxed out the stupidity stat, huh?" He paused, squinting at the shiny dome. "Not to mention, you're out here reflecting the damn sun, brother."

Diego's body slowly began to ignite with flames once again. He remained silent, but it was crystal clear—he was pissed.

Isaac jumped back mischievously, raising his hands in surrender without saying a word.

Lich and Noah were ignoring them, casually discussing how they would use all the corpses they'd get from this mission—which, admittedly, would be a lot.

Cassie was using one of the Jack's eyes to observe the army of dead trailing behind them—and leading them. As Noah would say, they were nothing more than meat shields or cannon fodder. Honestly, Noah was a little scary.

While she was thinking about Noah, Isaac strolled over to where Cassie stood beside Driver. He slipped between them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Hey, guys. Wanna see something fun?"

Driver was just about to kick his ass, but paused mid-motion. A dark glint sparked in her eyes as she nodded slowly.

"Go on, debil."

Isaac grinned, planting a kiss on her cheek before winking at Cassie. Then he cleared his throat and asked, his voice deceptively casual.

"Hey Diego," Isaac called, mischievous grin spreading, "what do you call a person who looks good in photos without even trying?"

Diego paused mid-step, frowning in deep thought. He scratched his chin, then looked up, voice serious and gravel-deep.

"That must be... photosynthesis."

"Pfthhh—"

Cassie's eyes widened. Her cheeks flushed—not from embarrassment or attraction, but from desperately holding back laughter. She turned away, biting her lip and pretending to examine the corridor wall. It felt rude to laugh… even if Diego was, well, a little stupid sometimes.

Isaac and Driver both nodded solemnly, as if genuinely impressed.

"Huh," Isaac muttered. "Photosynthesis. Genius."

Driver patted Diego's shoulder encouragingly, her voice warm—too warm.

"I see... So you've been reading the books from the library, huh? Good job."

She smiled sweetly. Too sweetly.

"Let me test you then."

Diego, completely missing the tone and the trap, just nodded confidently—mouth full, lazily chewing on a suspiciously perfect burrito.

Where the hell did he even get that? No one knew. Probably Klaus's enchanted bag again. That thing had more surprises than Isaac's gambling addiction.

"Sure, why not?" Diego shrugged, still munching on his burrito like it held the secrets of the universe.

Driver glanced at Isaac and Cassie, then leaned in to whisper, her voice low and conspiratorial.

"He ain't reading shit. I got curious once and sent my drones to spy on him… He was holding the books upside down."

Isaac's mouth twitched violently. He looked like he was about to implode, but somehow managed to keep a straight face. Cassie just covered her mouth, turning red.

Driver cleared her throat and turned back to Diego, face the picture of innocence.

"Alright, Professor Diego, here's an easy one. If you enjoy spending time alone, what kind of person are you?"

Diego paused, chewing thoughtfully. Then he gave her a confident, beaming smile like he'd just cracked the code to the universe.

"Inverter, of course."

Silence.

Isaac slowly turned to face the sun like he was considering walking straight into it.

Cassie choked on her laugh, wheezing.

Driver just stared.

"...Introvert, Diego. The word is introvert. Not inverter. That's a power supply."

Diego blinked, unbothered. "Still works, though. I recharge alone."

He said and walked ahead of them. Cassie was about to burst out laughing, but Driver and Isaac quickly grabbed her, covering her mouth.

"Mhmm, uhm... mhm..."

Driver sighed in relief.

"Okay, last one then. But this time, I'm asking everyone here. What's your motto in life? Diego, feel free to use both brain cells—you can take your time answering."

Diego nodded thoughtfully, already chewing on his burrito again.

Driver smirked, voice dripping with pride.

"Mine's simple: Get rich, bomb bastards, and take every resource you find. Suck the world dry."

Cassie frowned. "Uhh... that's... War crime, right?"

Isaac shrugged, casually using his sword as a walking stick.

"Mine's: It's better to receive than to give."

Everyone groaned in unison.

"Scammer."

"He just finds you drunk and takes all your points."

"I ain't playing his game."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, unfazed by their complaints, and kept walking.

Noah pursed his lips, tilting his head slightly as he spoke with quiet thoughtfulness.

"Well… my motto is: 'A man who forgets his family is no true man.'"

A moment of silence followed.

Everyone knew Noah was the mature one—colder, more serious than the rest. He wasn't the type to joke around much. The only thing that ever seemed to genuinely light him up was his friends and family. And while his words might've sounded a little old-fashioned or even boring to some, no one could deny the weight behind them.

It wasn't flashy.

But it was real.

And everyone respected that.

Tatiana chuckled, shaking her head with a dramatic flip of her hair.

"Well, mine is: 'Beauty is just as important on the outside as it is on the inside.' Doesn't matter how kind you are if you look like a goblin—people judge by appearances. And sure, if you're gorgeous but act like a dumpster fire, people avoid you anyway. Of course, I'm the exception. I'm the fairest of them all."

A mix of groans and chuckles followed, most already used to her narcissism.

Mark, walking nearby, smirked and nudged Diego.

"Hey, man, you got your answer yet?"

Diego paused, about to speak when a metallic voice chimed in.

"Heh," Timothy grunted from inside his mobile suit, stomping along like a budget Megatron. "I've got a new motto now—Autobots, roll out!"

Mark burst into laughter, slapping his mechanical shoulder.

"I don't think that's a motto, dude, but I respect the commitment."

Diego blinked, then sighed in relief.

So… it was that kind of question. Easy.

He grinned brightly, confidence oozing.

"Well, if we're talking about motto… then mine's gotta be… motorcycle.

You know, mototoi or whatever."

Cassie nearly choked, biting her knuckle to stifle the laughter.

Yep. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the shed, but at least he was consistent.

The atmosphere was light and cheerful. Now that Cassie thought about it, Isaac had probably started these games to lift everyone's spirits. This place reeked of something sinister—disgusting, even. People had been treated like lab rats here. Unspeakable horrors had happened in these walls.

Isaac, ever the perfect gambler, had used humor not just to entertain, but to distract. To ease the tension. To help them forget, even briefly, where they were. He was cunning, yes, but his intentions weren't malicious.

At some point, Driver came to a sudden stop and raised her hand, silently signaling the others to halt.

A swarm of drones lifted from her shoulders, buzzing to life. They flew toward the wall ahead, lasers focusing with precision. Then—flash.

Thin beams of light intertwined and carved a perfect circle into the concrete. There was no sound, no explosion—just eerie silence as the circular slab of wall fell forward with a muted thud, revealing a new path.

They walked in nonchalantly. It wasn't anything special, really. Driver had created far more bizarre things in the past—this was just another mundane weapon compared to the cataclysmic monstrosities she'd built before.

But what caught them off guard wasn't the weapon. It was something else entirely.

Klaus.

He was sitting next to two children, of all things, and staring into the flames where some kind of beast burned slowly. The map had shown his location, so Driver wasn't surprised to find him—but the scene? That was unexpected.

Where had he even found children?

The group looked around, eyes scanning the lab. It didn't take long for them to piece it together. Nightmare Creatures—twisted fusions of human and animal—lay lifeless all around. Dozens of empty tubes lined the walls, and dissected bodies were scattered across the cold metal tables. Human, beast, something in between.

Even an idiot could figure out what kind of hell this place was… and where the children had come from.

Klaus noticed them and stood with a soft sigh. The children mirrored him instantly, grabbing his lab coat as they stood—silent, cautious, eyes wary as they stared at the newcomers.

Klaus offered a faint smile and waved lazily.

"Well, well, well… looks like the gang's all here. Perfect timing. Meet my new friends—this pretty girl is Hecate, and the grumpy one over here is Belial."

Cassie maintained her composure, her expression calm and unreadable. But inside, she felt a twist in her gut. She already knew. The pieces fit too well.

These kids weren't just survivors.

They were test subjects.

Klaus grinned, ruffling the kids' hair before casually walking toward the others.

Driver pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly irritated, but held back her usual outburst. Her drones buzzed to life, scanning the area as she strode up to him.

"What the fuck is going on here, Klaus?"

He paused for a moment, tilting his head with that maddeningly amused expression.

"Well… they were trying to create artificial Awakeneds."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me." He smirked. "Awakeneds without the spell. Not exactly artificial, really. Technically, we are the artificial ones—since our awakening depends on the Nightmare Spell using a first nightmare as the catalyst."

He gestured broadly to the surrounding horrors. "These Nightmare Creatures? They Awakened naturally. But because of radiation, corruption, and… several other reasons I don't have time to count right now, they ended up like that instead of like us."

He pointed casually at the burning wolf behind him.

"That beauty? She was a Noble Creature. A real one. Can you believe it? The odds of that happening were microscopic. One in ten million, maybe. And yet…"

He trailed off, his voice tinged with reluctant awe.

"I don't like Amelia. I never have. But I can't help respecting the sheer genius of what she almost pulled off."

There was a long, heavy silence.

"..."

Driver was baffled... but greed found its way around her heart. If they could get data on their research then... A manic grin spread across her beautiful face, but then she froze, watching a tiny cub feeding on milk from the boy...

Belial, was his name, right?

"Oi, Smiling Creep... Is that what I think it is?"

Klaus nodded, looking at the wolf's cub with a hint of sorrow, even as he smiled.

"Yeah... I had to cut open the wolf's belly since labor stopped... Well, I managed to save one, but the other two cubs died... I burned them along with their mother. As for the milk... You can guess, right? Selective breeding, mass breeding, even captive breeding—they prepared for everything... Not just animals... but humans as well. Those children were born here..."