Piecing Them Up

When the moment Reaper came to be, he noticed that he's somewhere very familiar. He woke up back in his room in the Hill House all patched up. The events last night immediately flooded his memories but he wants to believe that everything that's happened is just a nightmare for some reason. However, his injuries are saying otherwise. He's still feeling the toll from the fight he had especially with that mysterious woman so couldn't actually get up.

He realized that the lights in his room are dimly lit which didn't really bother him and it actually encouraged him to continue resting so that's what he did. Little did he know, an unexpected shock is coming his way. As he slowly opened his eyes, he suddenly saw someone with familiar body markings slowly walking towards his bed. He suddenly remembered the mysterious woman from last night and thought of her coming back to finish the job.

This sight triggered all his senses so he mustered all his regained energy and prepared for combat. Knowing that his opponent is an Anomaly, he nullified it first before charging in while still in his bandages and still under his very dimly lit room. His opponent was visibly taken aback by his sudden attack. Although he is still technically recovering, he's holding his own in this fight it's as if his bombarding attacks are slowly but surely defeating his opponent. Suddenly, someone else came into the room and fully turned the lights on making Reaper stop.

"Hey, what's the commotion all about?" Glass asked as soon as he came into the room. Lighting the room up properly revealed that Glass and Beast were also patched up due to their injuries.

"I see you're back to your senses, Reaper." Beast commented. It appeared that it was him who was with Reaper all this time.

"Beast" Reaper asked in shock. "Why are you here?" He added.

"Pandora asked me to check on you then you suddenly went berserk." Beast explained.

"I'm very sorry! I didn't mean to. My head is just probably fuzzy because of what happened last night." Reaper replied.

"Don't mind it." Beast responded calmly. "Your attacks are pathetic as always so I was able to dodge all of them." He teased.

"Beast, enough of that. Let's just him rest some more." Glass said.

"Fine. See you around." Beast replied then left the room.

"I'll be leaving now as well. Rest for a little while if you'd like and I'll tell the Professor and the others that you've regained consciousness." Glass advised.

Due to his embarrassment by letting himself be eaten by his unruly judgment in attacking Beast out of nowhere, he did choose to stay in his room and rest up for a little while longer. He was then visited by Sprite who wanted to check up on him and heal him further if needed but Reaper refused as he confirmed that he's recovered already. Sprite told him that they're about to have a meeting regarding what happened last night and he's invited to join if he can.

"Let's hear it for the man of the hour!" Glass announced as Reaper did show up at the meeting room.

Reaper was welcomed by Glass and the rest of their team including their Mr. Wazowski and Ms. Sullivan. Due to the injuries they've gained from last night's incident, Glass, Beast, Surge and Medusa were also covered in bandages. Mr. Wazowski and Ms. Sullivan confirmed that Rocco and the others are still back in their chambers hidden underneath the orphanage so they can properly be healed. It was also confirmed that the Professor along with Zythandra and Calcipher are out of town to attend to some Anomaly-related errand while Tabitha stayed back at the orphanage.

"We will be facilitating this meeting but do feel free to engage if need be." Ms. Sullivan said.

"As you all know, this is about everything that's happened last night. Here are the facts that we know." Mr. Wazowski commented.

It was pointed out that they were attacked by an Anomaly around the time before the sun sets. Luckily, Rocco and the others alongside Sprite and Reaper were in the area of the incident and did their best to defend the orphanage. It was confirmed by Sprite and Reaper that the culprit was Feral who was a former comrade. However, Pandora was also able to verify that Feral has someone with him but she doesn't know who that other person is. All they know that Feral's comrade is also an Anomaly as well.

"Speaking of Feral's comrade or partner as we will, I remember before I lost consciousness that I was slashed by some kind of a knife or maybe a sword multiple times all over my body by a woman." Surge said.

"How do you know it was a woman?" Beast asked.

"I just felt like it. It may be dark but her presence reeks of a woman. Not just an ordinary woman but a beautiful and sexy woman." Surge commented obviously becoming a fanatic of their attacker.

"Let's assume she's a girl but did you notice that she just showed up as soon as that spear got close to us?" Medusa asked.

"I noticed that too." Glass replied. "That's probably her Anomaly."

"I fought with her but for some reason I can't remember everything that went down." Reaper butted in. "I may not be able to confirm what her Anomaly is since I nullified it before our fight begun. However, I couldn't see clearly who she is due to the darkness."

"Pandora?" Glass said suggesting to have Pandora to look into Reaper's memories.

"I got it." Pandora responded. "Psyche Vista." She whispered.

Pandora dived into Reapers memories almost immediately. She relived every moment that's happened the night before in Reaper's perspective making him remember all of them in the process. Initially, it was Rocco, Amber, Blake and Aira were the ones who took the frontlines to defend while Sprite and Reaper stayed back to support them. Eventually, the wave of attacks stopped making Rocco and his team decommissioned and Glass and his team were taken down as well. Reaper was then forced to face the mysterious woman.

Regardless of how many times Pandora relived the moments when Reaper took on the mysterious woman, she or even Reaper couldn't really tell who the opponent was since the darkness was a huge inconvenience. However, it's not all that hopeless as they notice familiar markings on the mysterious woman's arms. As soon as they noticed it, they immediately knew where they see it very often. They suddenly looked at each other in shock then immediately looked at Beast's markings.

"What is it you two?" Beast asked as he knew something is up.

"The woman I fought last night has the same markings like you have, Beast." Reaper responded which made Beast visibly uneasy.

"That's impossible!" Beast violently reacted. "This kind of markings is passed down only to our family."

"Don't you think you came up against Beast sister?" Pandora asked.

"I can't tell for sure." Reaper replied reluctantly.

"That's nonsense!" Beast shrieked. "My sister is as kind as a sheep. She's the fighter type. She can't even kill a mere insect."

"Calm down, Beast. We're not that sure yet if it's your sister or not. We need to look into it further." Glass recommended.

"Well, that's quite a surprise." Medusa commented.

"I wonder how strong Beast's sister is really. Reaper is a great hand-to-hand fighter but he was beaten almost easily." Surge whispered to himself.

Beast went silent all of a sudden as he tries to conceal all emotions he is feeling after discovering the fact that his sister is highly likely just out there and somehow wreaking havoc. His memories with his sister started flashing right in front of his eyes. The way he and his sister tease each other, the way they always have each other's backs and everything in between is what flooding his mind at the moment. It came to the point that he can't control his urges to go and find his sister so he suddenly stood up and about to leave everyone else behind.

"Stop it right there, Beast." Glass said as he blocked Beast's way.

"Don't try and stop me, Glass. My sister is out there. I have to get to her!" Beast responded. The atmosphere became more intense all of a sudden due to the tension building up between him and Glass.

"You need to calm down, man. We can't really tell who are what is out there." Glass responded still holding Beast by the shoulder as firmly as possible.

The tension became more intense as the he and Beast almost simultaneously manifested their Anomaly all of a sudden. Beast transformed his arms into his gorilla arms as he holds Glass's collar with his left gorilla hands while his right is aiming for a punch. On the other, Glass didn't flinch he continue to firmly holds Beast's shoulder but now having numerous glass discs floating around and appears to be aiming at Beast as well.

"Whoa! It's getting intense here." Surge commented.

"Cut it out you two!" Medusa exclaimed.

"If you're going two fight, do it elsewhere." Mr. Wazowski said.

"Reaper?" Pandora said suggesting to have Reaper nullify Glass and Reaper's Anomaly.

"Don't even think about it!" Beast exclaimed. "I will not hesitate to take you out if I have to." He pointed out.

"Now that won't be necessary, is it?" Glass responded.

"Going out there right now isn't a great idea." Ms. Sullivan said. "Did you all forget that the city alarm went off last night indicating that Anomaly or you lot were discovered? That's a problem we must face as well."

"Ms. Sullivan is right so please go back to your seats." Pandora commented.

"We're not the enemy here, Beast." Glass said. "Trust me when I say that our makeshift search and rescue team still has your sister's safety as one of our priorities. Surge, back me up on this."

"You don't have to tell me, Glass. I've got you, man. Beast, my man, calm down. Glass is right. Your sister Thana's safety is still the top of our list but the military has once again gaining on us so we have to take things carefully. Even I, a person who always wants some action, is hesitating to go up against them." Surge exclaimed.

"Fine. If something happened to my sister, her blood is in your hands." Beast said and though he's reluctant, he went back to his seat.

"Now then, let's talk about the military's involvement since it's already brought up." Mr. Wazowski said.

"Yeah. We were informed that the city alarm did go off. Luckily, none of us were caught." Glass commented.

"It went off during the fight I had with Beast's sister. At the time we heard the alarm, I was already taken down." Reaper explained.

"Such strength! I like this girl even more." Surge commented.

"Watch your words, Surge. That's my sister." Beast responded firmly.

"I was just kidding. Of course, she's your sister so I'll calm myself down." Surge replied cheekily.

"Going back boys and girls. Before the military force came flooding in the area, your mentors, Mr. Wazowski, a few of our attendants and I were already in the area to pick you all up so thanks to Pandora for getting everyone's attention early on." Ms. Sullivan explained.

"We took you all back in. We have all decided to keep you guys separately to prioritize your safety. That's why Rocco and the others were in the orphanage and you guys are sent back here in the Hill House." Mr. Wazowski added.

Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski continued on to confirm that the attendants in the orphanage are currently being interviewed regarding the Anomaly sighting. The word has already spread that there are unusual flashes of light witnessed near the skies of the orphanage and also that earthquake which was felt in the entire City of Ophiuchus or even beyond that. For them, the flashes of light were caused by Amber's Anomaly while the trembling of the ground was Rocco's.

Though unofficial, all of them assumed that the orphanage has been set under a serious surveillance from now especially Tabitha since she's the one who runs the place so that's why she stayed back there. Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski were able to leave the orphanage before the number of the military force increased. However, they do plan to go back there after their meeting with the Professor's men to assist Tabitha and the rest of their attendants.

"So that's the reason why you forbid us to go out." Medusa commented.

"That's right. At this point, the Hill House is now highly likely being monitored." Ms. Sullivan confirmed.

"How will you two go back to the orphanage if the Hill House is being watched?" Surge asked.

"You might not know this but there's a hidden tunnel here leading to an underground river and further leading to the sea. From there, we can get to the orphanage." Mr. Wazowski explained.

"We have that kind of passage here?" Glass asked in shock. "That's interesting."

"Now that you mentioned it, I'm sensing numerous presences above us. That's probably the military force." Pandora commented.

"How will the Professor and our mentors go back here if the military force is swarming the area?" Reaper asked.

"They'll be using that underground passage as well since we already notified them of the entire situation here." Ms. Sullivan responded.

"So basically, you want us to stay put and wait it all out?" Beast asked obviously becoming irritated.

"For your safety, that's what we want. We've already discussed this with your mentors and with the Professor and Madame as well." Mr. Wasowski responded.

"Well, that's a drag." Beast muttered to himself.

"I know what you're thinking, Beast. Don't you dare sneak your way out of here again." Pandora discreetly told Beast.

"I know, I know. Don't worry about that." Beast responded.

"Also, we just want to point out for you guys to not go out whatever happens. We may never know when the military will show up or where they are hiding." Ms. Sullivan said.

"Wait for our next meeting or at least a word from us before we move. That of course goes with Rocco and the others as well." Mr. Wazowski added.

"That's quite a bore but there's nothing we can do, I guess." Medusa commented.

"That means we can't train outdoors? That's just great." Surge sarcastically said.

"We may not be able to give it our all when training inside but we need to follow orders." Glass responded.

"Why can't we just let ourselves loose? We should fight those military forces off. We're in a remote city, there are a lot less residents living here compared to other cities and we have a lot of fire power to everyone else outside these walls combined. I mean, this is what we're trained to do? Tell me I'm wrong." Beast voiced out.

"I'm not going to lie. I'm actually thinking the same thing." Surge whispered.

"Right? We have Pandora who can do reconnaissance works. Glass, Surge and Medusa can be our assault team. We even have Sprite as our medic and Reaper as our strategist. As for I, I can be both in the reconnaissance team and in the assault team depending on the situation." Beast further pointed out. "Reaper, don't pretend that you didn't already thought about that."

"I don't know where this rebellious behavior is coming from but I'm not complaining." Medusa commented. "Pop off, Beast!" She cheered.

"M, don't encourage him." Pandora responded.

"Well, I-" Reaper was about to reply but was cut off.

"Don't even think of encouraging him too, Reaper." Glass butted in. "I understand your point, Beast. However, there's a lot on the line here. We can't just go out there and fight. Think about the stigma that the non-anomalies attached to us. We can't just go out there and fight. We will just solidify their claims that we're monsters, freaks of nature and so on." Glass explained.

"Do what you will." Beast responded.

"We actually want to hear what Reaper has to say about this." Ms. Sullivan said.

"Yes. We heard some of your feats under the Professor wing before you all came here and we can tell that you're definitely an asset." Mr. Wazowski commented.

"Thank you for acknowledging my skills first of all, Mr Wazowski, Ms. Sullivan." Reaper responded feeling elated. "Well, what can I say is that I actually did think about what Beast has just pointed out but I can also say that this is not the best time to challenge the military head on."

"Why is that?" Ms Sullivan asked.

"Tell us. If we're really going to think about it, you guys including Rocco and the others will surely greatly impact them." Mr. Wazowski said.

"I want to borrow Glass' point on this. It's true the negative stigma linked to our kind will definitely intensify once we go up against the military in full force." Reaper explained. "If that happens, the hunt for our kind will strengthen as well and we can't guarantee that we'll get killed on the spot."

Reaper continued on to explain the repercussions if they defy the military and ultimately the government. Though the majority of them are against Beast's proposal of them to fight, they got enlightened even more. Even Beast got convinced to settle down for now and act when it's really necessary. Reaper ended his piece saying that the military force is not their only enemy at this point. He pointed out that there's still the existence of the Coven, the former councilmen of the recently abolished summit and the unknown group lurking somewhere in the shadows that was established shortly after Kitty and some others were taken custody by the military. So, every step they'll take should be well-thought of and not just be tainted with irrationality.

"Well said, Reaper." Ms. Sullivan said.

"Those are great points there, boy. Even I forgot about that nameless group somewhere in the Grand." Mr. Wazowski commended.

"I know your strategizing skills are up there but I didn't know it's that way up." Surge commented.

"I'm starting to wonder, Reaper. That's your real Anomaly, isn't it?" Medusa asked jokingly.

"This is a genuine question, man. How did you get to that level in terms of strategizing? It's been some time now and it still amazes me." Glass commented.

"It probably just got honed by the hundreds of online games I played before." Reaper responded as he silently reminisced those times that he's been playing those games with his best buddy Raf. "Whenever we're in a situation, I tend to think of it as a game and we're the players. I guess that's what works for me."

"Well, that's a unique take on that but continue with that if that what really works for you." Ms. Sullivan replied.

"I've been playing online games myself but my strategizing skill is nothing compared to you." Glass said.

"Me too!" Surge agreed. "Mine definitely sucks. What are the games you've been playing before?" Surge asked.

"Unlike Aira who is fond of single player games, I'm mostly into MMORPG, MOBA and even shooting games. If I really get myself into it, I'm probably considered as a pro by now." Reaper responded proudly.

"Good for you then! I suck at those games." Surge replied.

"I can't relate, P." Medusa whispered.

"M, don't worry. I can't either." Pandora responded. "Sprite, do you know what they're talking about?" She asked.

"I've played some before so I slightly get what they're saying." Sprite responded.

"I haven't. Teach me once we get a chance." Medusa replied.

"Sure thing!" Sprite happily said.

The meeting is going on for a while now so Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski planned to finish it up by pointing the fact that if their former comrade Feral is alive, there's a great chance that the others are too. Moreover, it will be a much greater problem if all of them are working for the Coven in any way like Feral is right now. Not to mention the Anomalies that are already under Eve's disposal. This made the atmosphere inside the entire room plummeted once again.

"It's true that Feral may be working for the enemy but we can't tell for sure that others are like him." Glass responded.

"We can't also rule out the fact that he may just be under control or something." Pandora commented.

"Sprite, you're his closest friend. Did you notice anything that might indicate that he's being controlled?" Medusa asked.

"I can't tell for sure. I only saw him in a distance. However, my gut tells me that Feral is not in his true self." Sprite pointed out.

"We can't deny the fact that Feral became a lot stronger. There's no telling how strong the others are now. It's scaring me If being honest." Pandora commented.

"Whoever we may be put up against, all we need to do is fight." Surge firmly commented. "Besides, we've become stronger ourselves so let them all come. Let's have a reunion in the battlefield."

"Remember, Surge. Our main goal here is to rescue all of them not to harm them." Glass said.

"I know that. I'm just getting into the mood." Surge responded.

"Do whatever you want but leave my sister out of it." Beast replied.

'Since we're already in the topic of the Coven, why don't we look into what all of them can do. For their main forces at least." Reaper said.

"What do you mean?" Glass asked.

"What I mean is that we should take a look into the Anomalies of those people who attacked us back then and destroyed the mansion." Reaper responded.

Pandora took on the task to discuss what they have learned about the Coven thus far mainly about its main force based on what the intel they've gathered and what she have read from their minds before. They got Eve who they're calling Madame as well and probably their leader. There's Jinx who has strong ties to witchcraft. There's Void who can summon dark humanoid figures which varies in agility and strength. Blast is also with them who they claim to be really called Nuke who can make strong explosions. Lastly, they got Sandata who is just now fully acknowledged to be Beast's sister who can transform her limbs and her entire being into a bladed weapon. She is also known as Thana Ojibwe, the Princess of the Roaring Lions.

"The pieces are coming together now." Reaper commented. "That unknown woman with familiar body markings Eve and the others are with back at the mansion the day it was destroyed was Thana Ojibwe." He pointed.

"That was her? I knew I saw those body markings before." Medusa said. "She does look intimidating."

"I saw her that time too!" Surge exclaimed. "So, she was that beautiful? With the strength and beauty like that, I wonder how it's like fighting her."

"I wonder if that Eve person has an Anomaly of her own." Glass commented. "If she does, that will be a different kind of problem. Those four are probably her strongest. If she's equally strong or even stronger, it could be the end of us."

"We don't even know what they main goal is. Why would want to take the Professor and Reaper?" Pandora asked.

"They probably plan to make their so-called Homunculus and control those abominations as they see fit. However, we can't tell for sure." Surge replied.

"If they are stronger than us, they could've taken the Professor and Reaper from us even before." Beast pointed out. "They had a mole living among us back then but they didn't strike us head on. That means they've grown weary of what we can do."

"You've got a point but we can't let our guards down." Glass responded.

"There's a great chance that having Nuke, if that's what they call him now, live with is just their way of assessing our Anomalies' strengths and just simply keeping a close eye on us." Reaper explained. "That means, they most likely have multiple countermeasures against us already. The attack last night probably has the same purpose which is to assess our current strength along with Rocco and the others."

"We can't rule out that theory." Pandora commented.

"So, we can expect that the incident last night won't be the last?" Medusa asked.

"It's highly likely that it's not the last one. We have to be more careful if that's the case." Glass replied.

"I don't mind who we're going to go up against but I hope you can let me face my sister." Beast requested. "I have some unfinished business with her."

"Sure, man! She's all yours." Surge replied. "Just in case you need back up, just call me up!"

"Nevertheless, we need to be cautious in every way we can. There's no telling how many people are working for the Coven. We don't know how many Homunculi are under their disposal or how many of our former comrades are being controlled or even upright working for them." Reaper explained.

The meeting took longer than everyone has expected since a lot of worthwhile topics were raised. Ms. Sullivan, Pandora, Medusa and Sprite took turns in bringing snacks for the rest of them. They didn't notice how many hours it took for that meeting so they finally decided to come into a conclusion and continue their discussion in a later time if needed be which everyone agreed upon. Pandora then confirmed that there are movements in the perimeter of the Hill House.

"I'm sensing the military forces are retreating." Pandora said. "However, there are still a number of them left behind scattered in the area. It appears that they are snipers tasked to continue eyeing us."

"We'll utilize this time to go back to the orphanage. Take care Professor's subordinates." Mr. Wazowski said.

"You do take care, children." Ms. Sullivan said.

The rest of them accompanied Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski to the underground river they mentioned earlier. In their surprise, it appears that there really is a channel deeper in the Hill House. There are a few number of boats tied alongside the manmade platforms at the edge of the rock staircase. As Tabitha's head attendants confirmed, this channel leads to the ocean which supposed to be outside the military's radar so this is the safest way of going in and out of the Hill House.

As soon as Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski left, they all went back to whatever it is they were supposed to be doing. Training, cleaning up, tending to their wounds and some of the things they continued on doing. Night time then finally came but they were no signs of the Professor and their mentors arriving so they have decided to call it a night themselves. However, some of them couldn't sleep that well due to the discussions they had earlier so they have decided to take action.

Even before all of them completely succumbed to their slumber, Glass had decided to take matters into his own hands. He realized that as the appointed leader of their pack, he must put on a brave front so the rest of them will not fallout. The first thing he did was to fetch Surge and Beast from their rooms. Surge and Beast was understandably surprised of Glass' behavior because it never occurred before that he was the first one to break the rules.

"Glass, what is this? We're trying to sleep you know." Surge commented while still struggling to compose himself.

"This better be good." Beast said while trying to hide his yawns.

"Cut whining and just back me up on this." Glass firmly responded.

"Back you up on what? In case you didn't notice, it's the middle of the night already." Surge said. "This will not look good for us if the Professor and any of our mentors caught us."

"Since when did you shy away from action?" Glass asked.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Surge replied cheerfully as if all his drowsiness left his body. "Let's do whatever is this!"

"Quiet down." Glass hushed. "The others might hear us."

"Where are we going anyway, Glass?" Beast asked.

"We're going to save your sister." Glass proudly responded. "That's what this team is created for, right? Are you with me?" He asked.

"Hell yeah, I am!" Surge excitedly replied. "I knew you couldn't resist the action, man."

"I said quiet down or I'll call this mission off." Glass scolded. Surge then gestured zipping his mouth but he couldn't hide his excitement that well so he started punching and kicking the air.

"What about Feral?" Beast asked. "Based on the reports, those two are working together."

"We'll deal with him somehow but you should focus on your sister. You might be able to reason with her." Glass explained.

"Let's get into some action, men." Surge whispered.

"Thanks, Glass." Beast said.

"Don't thank me yet. Do that when this is done. Got it?" Glass responded then Beast nodded in agreement. "Now, let's go!"