Severed Brotherhood

As soon as a military official announced that the event has been breached, the entire building was enveloped in a deafening silence. The crowd stopped anything and everything they're doing, the previously bombastic music that filled the air was cut off and everyone went extremely vigilant specially all the military men present as they start eyeing anyone who looks suspicious and out of character.

"I repeat, we have been breached. Unattended personality or personalities has entered the vicinity to wreck our harmonious event." The military official said.

"Give us something, Pandora." Zythandra said.

"I'm trying." Pandora responded.

Kitty suddenly notified Pandora about the situation. She confirmed that the General's unconscious body was found and now being treated. The military assumed that they're under attack so they took the liberty in putting the establishment on lockdown which means no one can go in or go out from the event. Good thing here is, the military hasn't profiled them yet so they're still not aware who the party crashers are. Pandora then relied the information to the entire team.

"That's a relief." Zythandra said. She continue to approach Surge and his date as discreetly as she can to avoid unwanted attention.

The military official suddenly spoke again after a long pause to confirm that they have a way to know who the uninvited guests are. He validated that the only way for them to know is as simple as removing they're masks. The entire team contemplated if they will remove their masks or not but eventually, they've decided to have it removed since there's no way for the military to know everyone's faces.

"I'll be counting to 3 so here I go." The military official said then started counting. Everyone else positioned to take off their masks including Zythandra's entire team.

"Do not take them off!" Pandora suddenly slipped a message to the entire team. "As per Kitty, it's just some kind of a test. Everyone knows not to take their masks off whatever happens including the guests. If you take your mask off, you'll be tagged as the intruder." She explained as Kitty notified her right after Kitty was just also notified backstage by her manager.

"That's kinda dumb trick." Surge responded.

"Copy that. Mask is still on." Reaper confirmed.

An ear shattering alarm went off indicating that the intruder was spotted. The team immediately realized that they are not the only ones who untended the event uninvited. Everyone searched for the ones who removed their mask so they can be apprehended. Reaper was in shock after seeing who were the ones who has their masks removed. They were actually two of them and they were familiar faces.

"Saoirse and Quintin!?" Reaper thought to himself in shock after seeing a former schoolmate and her brother in an odd situation.

"Wait. Saoirse and Quintin are the intruders!?" Pandora was surprised as well.

"Excuse me. You know these people?" Surge asked.

"We don't have time for details. We have to get out of here. It'll just a matter of time before we are the ones to get caught." Medusa commented.

"She's right but Pandora and Medusa can stay with me since they're still technically my guests. Zythandra and the boys can go through the sewers again." Kitty suggested. Even though it's challenging, Pandora is accurately sending the messages to the entire team back and forth.

"Why in the world is The Coven here?" Vivian muttered to herself after seeing Saoirse and Quintin but Surge and Zythandra heard.

"We were right! Vivian was the secretary and she does seem to know some information." Zythandra said. "I'll handle her." She then punctured Vivian with her customized needle to her nape making Vivian dizzy and eventually pass out. This method was easier more efficient if the same opportunity occurred during her encounter with the General but his guard was always up so she didn't get the chance.

"Wait, what? What's happening here?" Surge asked in panic.

The military official who announced the breach immediately instructed the security personnel to apprehend the intruders. Saoirse and Quintin were visibly vexed then flee to avoid being captured but they were pursued by the security personnel. Just after the intruders leave the area as well as their pursuers, everyone present in the event heard unnerving screams seemingly coming from security personnel who ran after Saoirse and Quintin but no one is aware of what happened to them.

"Attention to the force!" The military official once again announced. "Apprehend them! Capture them alive and sweep the area if there are others. Rookies, focus on evacuating the civilians. Let your seniors handle the rest." The uniformed men armed themselves and followed the tasks. The crowd is now is in state panic but the rookies are trying their best to calm the situation.

"It's time to get out here. Surge, let's go." Zythandra said.

"Wait. Reaper isn't with us." Surge responded. "He's still probably looking for that Raf guy."

"Zythandra and Surge you better get going. I'll look for Reaper and instruct him to fall back. Medusa and I will blend in the crowd and participate with the evacuation alongside Kitty." Pandora commented and the rest of the team acknowledged except for Reaper.

The screams continued from where Saoirse and Quintin originally ran off to. The military and the security personnel started to be cautious in approaching the area. Reaper happened to be nearby to witness what's happening. The evacuation is now in motion like the official instructed. Pandora keeps trying to call onto him but he's not responding since very eager to talk to Raf even amidst the situation.

"Anomaly Alert! I repeat, Anomaly Alert!" One other military personnel who is spearheading the pursuit announced which made everyone more on edge. Familiar figures sprung out off where Saoirse and Quintin ran off to and started attacking the pursuers.

In Reaper's shock, he saw the dark humanoid figures who attacked them once before and initiated to attack the military men and the security personnel. Then, Saoirse and Quintin went back in view. It appears that the dark figures are being controlled by one of them and right after they've reappeared, some of the pursuers collapsed and wailing about a pain of being impaled. At this point, Reaper saw Saoirse holding some sort of a doll wrapped unusually with a ball of hair and seemed to be poking it with a sharp object. Quintin is probably the one controlling the dark humanoid figures

Reaper couldn't deny that Saoirse and Quintin are also Anomalies. The once bubbly classmate who was very friendly towards him looks so sinister now and her brother who seemed to be the as gentle as puppy is now wrecking havoc. He realized that using his own Anomaly, he can stop at least one of them if not both but he considered the fact that he may get caught by the military as well so he just continued watching everything unfold.

"Reaper! Get out of there. There's no saving them now." Pandora said. "Go along with the evacuation efforts. I'll guide to you exit later."

"There's definitely a reason why they're here, right? They're also like us so why nit help them?" Reaper said while still contemplating to help them or just let them be.

"You don't know what you're saying! It's a long story but both of them has something to do with Eve. The lady who vouched to hunt us down and capture you and the Professor." Pandora explained.

As Reaper started to convince himself to not help them in any way, a rookie approached him and told him to join the evacuation effort. Reaper instantly knew that this was Raf but Raf didn't seem to notice that the one his talking to is his friend probably because of the mask and the intense situation. Reaper followed Raf but he realizes that of there's an opening to get them a chance to talk, this is definitely it.

Without any words spoken, Reaper followed Raf's instruction then both of them left the area and had the remaining military force deal with the chaos caused by Saoirse and Quintin. During the evacuation and the mess happening in the very crowded hallways, Reaper noticed an empty room just a few steps ahead. Since Raf is still directing the flow of the crowd nearby, Reaper got an idea to isolate himself with Ragf in that empty room for them to finally have a talk.

"Sir, we should go back in line. We have to evacuate." Raf said as Reaper pulled him into the empty room. Raf is under the impression that both of them accidentally pushed in that room.

"You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you my friend." Reaper said as he proceeded to lock the door. "Look at you being so reliable and all."

"I apologize but you've probably mistaken me for someone else. We really have to get out of here. Those Anomalies may wreck havoc in this area any time soon." Raf responded as clearly is confused of his current situation.

Reaper proceeded to remove his mask to let Raf see him and at the moment, Raf remove his mask as well. As Reaper expected, Raf was sent speechless as he sees who is under the mask and why he acts very friendly to him. A moment of awkward silence filled the room and Reaper couldn't tell if Raf is happy to see him or not or he can even recognize him due to the unclear expression of his face.

"Tobi? Is that you? Is it really you?" Raf said as he hugged Reaper in excitement. Reaper was in shock about his friend's reaction because he expected a totally different response from him.

"So you do remember me. I'm so moved." Reaper teased him. "Thank goodness."

Raf's hug seemed to be genuine. It made Reaper feel that the fact of them seeing each other again after a long while made both of them truly happy until an ominous feeling hit him. He eventually felt that something is off since Raf is hugging him for too long. Reaper realizes that the atmosphere seemed off and undeniable sensation of bloodlust coming from Raf is getting more evident by the second.

Reaper tried to calmly break off from their hug but Raf's tightened his hug as if he's trying to lock Reaper in place. At this point, Reaper is expected something bad will happen so he made sure that he won't let his guard down. A sudden electric was heard and Reaper realizes that Raf is holding a Taser on his right arm. Raf gestured to his Reaper with it but Reaper was able to free himself thanks to the self-defense lessons being taught by Zythandra.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Reaper yelled at Raf after he was successful in making some distance between them.

"I can raise an Anomaly Alert right here, right now but I will not. At least not yet." Raf responded as the tension between himself and Reaper builds up. "I have questions for you."

"What are you talking about!? We're friends right?" Reaper responded. He immediately planned to escape but he realizes that he mistakenly threw himself earlier away from the door and throwing Raf exactly in front of the door so the escape will be difficult for him.

"My friend is dead! My sister is too! Those cursed Anomalies killed them. My mother is still missing after the fire so you probably know where she is or what happened to her."

"What in the world are you talking about? I'm definitely alive if it's not that obvious yet and you're is too. We found someone who took us in. It's true that your mother is still missing but we're doing efforts to look for her."

"Don't play me! Wait. I know what this is. You're probably just in head trying to mess with me right now. One of those Anomalies must have the ability to mess with it's victims thoughts or one of those two can summon dead people also basing on their victim's memories."

"That's quite an imagination you got there, man. I'm telling already that I'm your best bud and your sister is alive waiting for you. I can take you to her and you can help us find your mother."

"I will never fall for that trickery! I'm not sure if you're an Anomaly yourself or just a product of someone else' Anomaly but if I capture you and hand you over to my superiors, I will sure get promoted by a rank or two. Prepare yourself!"

"Wait. I'm not here to fi-"

Reaper wasn't able to respond to Raf's claims as he was started to be attacked by him. Raf is very determined to knock Reaper out and follow through with his plan. He didn't even attempted to raise an Anomaly Alert since he's confident enough that he can take down his enemy on his own. However, Reaper is still adamant in fighting back so he doesn't any choice but to be on the defensive.

"Can you stop? I don't have any intentions in fighting back." Reaper said as he continues to deflect Raf's attacks.

"Less talk, more fighting!" Raf responded as he throws his punches and kicks at his target.

After a few more aggressive offense from Raf and effective defense from Reaper, Reaper decided to end this nonsensical brawl by finally executing his counterattack. It didn't took long for Reaper to subdue Raf's thanks to Zythandra's teaching in combat. Reaper was successful in doing a joint lock to his opponent so he was able to restrict his movements. He then started to talk sense into him again.

Raf doesn't have any choice but to listen to Reaper and to everything he wants to say. He tried to free himself but failed multiple times. At this point, he couldn't that someone else is better than him in hand-to-hand combat because he was the best fighter among all recruits back in the military. Minutes passed of him still struggling to free himself but still failing. Reaper continues to talk about anything and everything about them and his family.

"Come on, man. Open your eyes! This is me. I'm your friend. A lot has changed since the day of the fire but this is still the same Tobi you grew up with."

"Everyone who got an encounter with an Anomaly is either ending up dead or left alive but severely broken may it be physically or mentally."

"If that's what you believe in, so be it. I'm a crazy one but at least I'm alive."

"If you say you are the Tobi I know, you probably know my stand towards the Anomaly. They killed my father, damaging my mother then eventually let her go missing and now killing my sister too. I can't sit still and just let it be."

"How many times do I need to tell you that your sister is alive. A lot happened during the fight but I know you know what happened to her."

"Oh, I know what I saw. It's like what happened to the General's daughter. Both of them were killed by an Anomaly.

"What? The General's daughter is dead. That' probably why he also despises us."

"Us? You mean you're one of those Anomalies? I know I shouldn't you. Everyone that I cared for is dead. I shouldn't be fooled by an Anomaly! Unhand me!"

Reaper realizes that he messed up. As he tried to think a good comeback, the door flew open and due to the force used it broke off its hinges and heading towards the both of them. Reaper doesn't have any choice but to unlock himself from Raf so both of them can dodge the door that's getting closer and closer by the second. After they dodged, they were in shock seeing who are standing in the doorway. They were Saoirse and Quintin.

"I knew I heard something in here. It's just two guys doing something and I want to know what that something is. Care if we join in?" Saoirse commented in the most provocative tone.

"You must be confused so I'll just say it. The troupe is decommissioned so surprise!" Quintin added confirming that all the military force who pursued them were all taken down. "They're still alive I think but that probably doesn't matter anymore anyway"

"Q, look! I didn't realize it at first but we're in for a treat. It's Tobias Liu, right?" Saoirse said obviously getting excited by the fact that he saw Reaper.

"Target sighted." Quintin responded.

Reaper doesn't what the two of them are talking about but one thing is clear. A fight will surely happen between them but it's easy to know who'll this match because Reaper is outnumbered that is unless he can convince Raf to back him up. They may have a chance in surviving if they work together but he know it's going to be a challenge talking Raf to take his side but he wouldn't know if he won't try.

"Saoirse, Quintin what are you guys doing? We're friends, right?" Reaper attempted to talk to them.

"No we're not. You're just our prey. That's the sole reason why we got close to you but along the way you vanished but here you are again. Lucky us, aren't we?" Saoirse said.

"Prey?" Reaper got confused.

"If it's not clear yet, we're basically saying that we will take you with so it would be best if you won't resist but I know you will but I know everything will go our way eventually so resist all you want." Quintin explained.

"Hey. I know you know they're going to attack us. Fight with me." Reaper discreetly told Raf.

"I know that you're one of them so it's obviously 1 against 3. I'll take care of myself." Raf responded.

"Man, drop your ego and work with me. If not, both of us will get killed!" Reaper said.

"Are you done with your quarrel? I'm itching to take you on!" Quintin said.

"Just attack them, Q. Go for it." Saoirse commented and Quintin surely followed.

Raf finally gave in and agreed to fight with Reaper since Quintin stepped in the room started summoning a dark humanoid figure. Reaper is convinced that both of them really are Anomalies and they're behind the attacks from before. He told that Raf that both of them aren't melee fighters and they rely on their Anomalies too much so it will be a challenge for them since the both of them specializes in hand-to-hand combat.

"Here I go!" Quintin announced as he sent one of his dark humanoid figures to attack Reaper and Raf.

Unlike the user, the dark humanoid figures excels in hand-to-hand combat but Reaper and Raf are successful in fending it off with their unexpected teamwork. Reaper knows that his Anomaly would be really useful at times like this but he's having a hard time to focus due to him being busy with the enemy. Just as they thought it wouldn't get worse, Quintin sent in another humanoid figure. Now, instead of Reaper and Raf being occupied with just one of them, it became one-on-one.

"Nice moves you both got there." Saoirse commented. "I would like to join in but I won't yet. We'll play with you a little longer."

"Your so called friends are mad in the head." Raf told Reaper but due to him being unfocused, the dark humanoid figure he's fighting with punched him in the head and seemed to grabbed his head then ran towards Saoirse and handed something to her.

Raf was left unoccupied so he helped Reaper again in fighting the remaining dark humanoid figure. Little did they know, Saoirse is now joining the fray. She took a out what seemed to be a voodoo doll, put a hair on it, chanted on it then stabbed it with a needle. Raf suddenly fell to the ground complaining about his hurting leg. This made Reaper slightly unfocused then the dark humanoid figure attempted to grab his head but he is quick to deflect it. Due to the shock, Reaper's Anomaly got triggered for a moment and he was able to make the dark humanoid figure vanish.

"No way! Q, he did it!" Saoirse got excited after seeing Reaper use his Anomaly.

"Madame is right after all. We definitely need to take him with us." Quintin responded.

"Stop this! You're killing him." Reaper exclaimed.

"No, I'm not. It's just a leg. This is me trying to kill him." Saoirse said then he took another needle and stabbed it to the dolls neck then Raf suddenly seemed to be choking. She then took out a third needle. "This needle will help him with his pain. One poke on this dolls heart and your friend will die instantly."

"You monsters!" Reaper screamed. Being engulfed rage, he charged towards Saoirse and Quintin to attack them knowing that if he knock down the user, the effects of the Anomaly will wear off.

"Oh, no you don't." Quintin said then created a few more dark humanoid figures to stop Reaper but due to his frenzy he easily canceled them all.

"Cute." Saoirse commented. She then took out a gun and shot Reaper in the neck. It turned out that it was a tranquilizer shot which took effect immediately. Reaper fainted and fell to the floor. "You really though we didn't come prepared, huh? Nice try though. Q, have your shadows carry him. It's time to go home."

Just before Quintin create a few more dark humanoid figures from his shadow, the farthest wall in the room burst open creating a huge hole in it. It turned out that Surge punched it open and along with him are Pandora, Medusa, Kitty and Glass. Pandora was quick to realize the situation and went in the heads of the enemy and mess with their thoughts making them feel intense headaches. This stopped them from controlling their Anomalies completely.

"Kitty, tend to the wounded soldier. Medusa, go get Reaper. Surge, assist me. We'll help Pandora with the enemies." Glass instructed the rest of the team.

Quintin took his remaining strength to summon a much larger dark humanoid figure to distract their enemies which succeeded as Pandora loosen her grip from them. They took the opportunity to retreat as they realize that the are now outnumbered. Surge and Glass was quick to defeat the summoned dark figure. Kitty confirmed that Raf fainted due to exhaustion and Medusa said that Reaper was taken out due to the tranquilizer shot.

"That superhero entrance we did is epic guys! We should do that more often." Glass jokingly commented.

"If the girls think I look cool when we do it, why not?" Surge agreed.

"Count me out. That thing we did is very messy. Look at my dress! It's covered in dirt, I'm covered in dirt!" Medusa strongly disagreed with the idea.

"All I can say it is very dangerous." Kitty commented.

"Guys, we should get out of here the military back up will arrive any moment." Pandora said.

The entire team left the scene leaving Raf behind. They all agreed that they'll let the military take care of him. They all went back to the van to tend to Reaper's injuries. Zythandra was left in the van to look out for it and Vivian. Vivian is still unconscious so Zythandra couldn't ask her questions regarding Eve and The Coven. Pandora agreed to check her thoughts but she needs time to recover her stamina.

"Guys, we have to go. They're coming." Surge said as he saw the military vehicles closing in.

"I got this." Glass said then drove away from the area.

"Guys, aren't we going to take Reaper to a hospital or something? He's kind of unconscious right now." Medusa said.

"We can't. He's injuries aren't that serious. I noticed that he was shot by a tranquilizer. That's probably the reason why he's knocked out. We'll come around soon enough." Zythandra commented.

The team contemplated if they'll bring back Vivian with them at the mansion or wait for Pandora to regain her stamina to read Vivian's mind. They were thinking that if they took Vivian in, everyone else in the mansion will ask question. If they wait outside, the risk of being caught gets higher by the second. Luckily, Pandora's stamina was enough to go into Vivian's thoughts and so she did.

"I'm in her memories. I think I gathered every information she has about Eve and The Coven. Not much but I guess this is helpful." Pandora said.

"That's great! We can just let her be and we can go back home." Kitty suggested.

"Won't argue with that. She'll eventually be found by the military." Glass agreed.

"Are you sure? She's a lady. We can't leave her somewhere dark like here." Medusa commented.

"I know. I can leave her on a slightly lit bench nearby. I can carry her there." Surge suggested and everyone else agreed so he went off carrying Vivian.

Just after Surge came back to the van, the team noticed something off. They were being watched. The number of the civilians in the area seemed to be increases comparing to when they arrived. Everyone agreed that something is not right. This assumption intensified when a military vehicle came in out of nowhere. It turned out that the civilians are police men who are in surveillance as per Pandora as she checked there thoughts. Without any hesitations, Zythandra took the wheel and drove off the scene immediately. The military vehicle was sure to follow right away.

"This is the military. Pull over!" Someone inside the military vehicle announced. The police force scattered and followed the team as well in their mobiles.

"I just heard that they're calling for back up." Pandora said.

"What do we do? Should we do something about them?" Surge assisted sounding that he's intending to fend them off using their Anomalies.

"Don't tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking." Glass commented.

"I probably am." Surge responded.

"We should not! That's very problematic in so many levels." Medusa exclaimed.

"I agree with Medusa. If we risk the fact that we're Anomalies, who knows what will happen." Kitty commented.

"I can shake them off guys. Hold on to something." Zythandra said then drove intensely to take their pursuers off their tail.

From two police mobiles following the military vehicle, it became five in just a few avenues. Though challenged, Zythandra is still confident in shaking them all off. She maneuvered their van through narrow roads, several intersections and they even drove in a train track but the police and military forces are very persistent. She may lose some pursuers but it easily replaced with a few more after a while.

"Hold on. I know where to go." Zythandra drove as fast as she can in the unusual route to the abandoned tunnel near the riverbanks.

"You have been surrounded! Surrender or we will use force." A military official announced from the entrance of the tunnel. Moments after, Police sirens are being heard from the other end of the tunnel.

"No way! We're trapped. What should we do!?" Medusa exclaimed.

"How did they know we're here? This can't be." Zythandra muttered as she was confused of the police and the military's actions. At that moment, Reaper regained consciousness.

"Finally! You're up. But we'll taken down any moment now." Glass commented jokingly.

"Stop that! How can you joke around at a time like this?" Medusa yelled at Glass while trying to stop herself from tearing up.

"Guys, what are we going to do now?" Kitty asked also trying to calm herself down.

The team was sent into panic since they are not sure what to do in this situations they were in. They that the military and the police force are closing from both sides of the tunnel. At this point, a familiar voice for Reaper was heard from the entrance of the tunnel. This made him shock and realized something. The reason why they're tailed by the military and the police force are very elementary. It's because if Raf.

"Tobias Liu! I know you're in there. Surrender now or we will definitely use force." Raf announced. It's obvious that he's still hurting from all the damage inflicted to him from his encounter with Saoirse and Quintin.

"Raf?" Reaper muttered to himself.

"Reaper, take of your shirt off!" Zythandra commanded. "Now!"

"Wait a minute. We're sitting here about to die and you want Reaper to strip?" Surge commented.

"Please. Don't be dumb. I just realized why we're followed by them easily. A tracking device." Zythandra explained.

"Seriously? Man, take it off now!" Glass said then he took Reaper's shirt himself.

"What is this?" Reaper took out a small device from his nape.

"I knew it. Destroy it now!" Zythandra said. "That's a pretty smart move from the military."

Reaper refreshed his mind to know when and how the tracking device was put on him. Base on Zythandra, this is probably the work of the military so she must've experienced it before but Reaper thought that he doesn't any encounters with anyone in the military except Raf. It then dawned on him that it was Raf who put it on him. It was when Raf hugged him. Raf discreetly put the device on him as he pretended to genuinely hug his friend.

"It's great that we discovered that we're being tracked all this time and all but we're still in danger. Aren't we going to do something about that?" Kitty asked.

"All I'm thinking about right now for us to wiggle our way out of here is to fight. Right, Surge?" Glass recommended.

"I totally am in." Surge agreed.

"Oh my god! We are so going to get caught." Medusa exclaimed.

"Fine. Boys, let's do this. Remember to not kill just knock them out." Zythandra said and Glass and Surge got all excited.

"Hold on a minute. I have an idea." Pandora said. It's obvious that she has something up her sleeves to save them from this problematic situation they're in.