(Nippur) Cleaning up the streets [Great]

[Yu Kanda]

A royal request, fixing this forsaken place and create a safe haven for all once more. This was exactly what Kanda needed, an achievable goal. Building a base smack down in the middle of enemy territory wasn’t their best move. It eventually got the Order scattered throughout the verses . This plan however was far better, start out small, create a place where people can go to feel safe and build a live. Once that peace, that utopia is obtained, they can expand. First things first, cleaning up the streets of Nippur and get these men, who claim to be guards, back on the right path. One way or the other they will obey orders. The exorcist looked over his shoulders where he saw his two Black order scouts carry the still unconscious body of Dave, He will be made an example off. As the group of four paraded through the streets of Nippur they caught the attention of the citizens as Kanda and his posse passed by. Some even followed them. Exactly what the Captain of the guards was hoping for.

After a small walk Dave started to regain consciousness, the soft moaning was an indication that he was obviously still in pain. It didn’t matter, the traitor will know what he has done and it was time to let the world know Nippur is lawless no more.

Up ahead Kanda noticed Barry leaning against a wall, showing an ear to ear grin, “Seems like you got there in time. I take it this is ‘the guy’? He doesn’t look like much, did he giveyou a hard time? Oh and is the King alright?”

The posse passed Barry by, “Piss off Barry.” A simple yet effective reply, the jokester immediately knew exactly what kind of mood the former General was in. However it wasn’t enough to keep Barry away, he simply followed the drag marks left behind by Dave. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Kanda walked into one of the bigger squares  of Nippur, heading straight for the centre. Seeing three men in uniform that were dragging a fourth one with them certainly drew eyes. The swordsman kneeled down near the centre and placed a hand on the sandy grounds. Using the Omnilium around him he summoned a stone post with two chains attached to them. The black order emblem was engraved in the top of the post. The contraption made quite the menacing appearance. Dave’s eyes widened when he saw what was conjured before him, deep inside he knew he fucked up and was about to pay for it, dearly. Barry squatted down next to Dave, putting on the most scary face his clown ass could think off, “ So, how were your last few days in this world? I sure hope you thoroughly enjoyed them because when that man gets done with you, ooooooooh boy you wish you were able to crawl back inside your mama. That man is the biggest sociopath the Black order ever created.” Barry continued the moment he noticed Dave started to panic.”I heard he once made a man eat his own ear because he took his dinner order wrong.” Barry’s smile widened, a stain seemed to have appeared in the trembling traitor’s pants. Kanda’s pissed off eyes shifted towards Dave, who in turn let out an uncontrollable welp.

“Take him to the post”, The guard captain said calm. The black order members obeyed and dragged Dave, kicking and screaming to the summoned post. Leaving Barry to stand and wave Dave goodbye, “best of luck, hope it’s a quick one.” A crowd started to gather. Both of Dave’s wrist got shackled with the postchains. A firm tug on both chains by the new guards forced the traitor’s cheek to be pressed against the already warm stone, he couldn’t move an inch. The thought of having his back exposed to this maniak was too much and Dave’s legs started to shake.

Kanda looked around and took the crowd in, it seemed he has gotten plenty of attention. “People of Nippur!” The exorcist bouldered “Your king has returned to this forsaken city. And with his return this city will once again become a beacon of hope, a civilization of prosperity and a safe haven for all. My name is Kanda, and the new, by King Gilgamesh appointed, captain of the guards. He has entrusted me and my men of the black order to clean the streets of Nippur, to get rid of the filthy lowlife that have been taking advantage of you in his absence!” the crowd was silent, all that was heard was Dave quietly sobbing. The swordsman unsheathed his black metallic blade and activated it. “Today, these vultures felt cornered, their way of life was threatened by the return of the king” Kanda continued. “Because of this they made a cowardly attempt on the king’s life.” The captain’s sword pointed towards the chained prisoner, “This man was their weapon, their attempt to overthrow the King and return to the seat of power. This man has been entrusted to me, the physical embodiment of the King’s laws, to punish him for the crimes against the crown . This man,” Kanda paused a moment, “ This man shall pay for his felony. Dave..you have been found guilty for attempted murder of the king. May you be an example for all who dare to stand against the king.”

Dave whimpered, this was it. His uniform got removed from his upper body by force, exposing his back to the crowd and Kanda.
Time seemed to slow down the moment the blade touched his skin. He could feel his skin being separated as the sword of the guard- captain carved through his bare back. Screams of Dave’s agony filled air for a few blocks. Some of the locals looked away as the traitor endured his punishment.

Finally, it was done. Dave could no longer feel the steel carving through him. It did feel as if his back was on fire. Kanda stood upright as he looked at his masterpiece. The criminal’s back showed a bullseye logo with in the centre the emblem of the black order. Kanda’s loud voice echoed through the square once more, “Your king is a merciful one. This one here will be the example of this and shall be given a second chance under my command, a last chance. Waste it and your life will end, remember, you have a target on your back now.” Both guards released their grip on the chains and allowed Dave to crumble to the ground. “Take him to the medical centre. Once the doctors release him i want him brought to me.” and so it was done, the two guards dragged Dave’s mangled body to the infirmary. The crowd started to disperse yet Kanda knew he made a statement. The streets will be swept clean.

[Yu Kanda]

A day has passed since the spectacular events in Nippur took place. Kanda, who now was in command of the guards had made his statement in the city, law and order had returned to the streets. After his ordeal with Dave the traitor, the new sheriff in town decided it was a good choice to create a base of operations. When Dave was carried to the hospital Kanda started the ritual. Seeing as it was a small house for the Nippur guards to operate from it took some time to summon. After a few hours a small building was created, on top of it a large white black order symbol emitted a bright white light for all to see. It was a symbol, to make sure the citizens knew they were safe and where to go when there was trouble. Kanda made himself a small office in the back and a sleeping quarter on the second floor. The rest of the new guard office was nothing too fancy, a reception, few benches and a jail cell large enough to contain 4-5 people. For now this would have to do. But in the long run it wouldn't suffice, when the time comes he would take it up with the higher ups.

A new day dawned, Kanda started his morning ritual, breakfast, coffee and a moment of peace and quiet. He enjoyed these moments of Zen, its what helped him get through the day, usually filled with idiots trying to push his buttons. The first sip of the caffeine beverage never disappointed. Outside his quarters he could hear a small commotion, combined with Barry’s voice. With a grunt and a twitching right eye he grabbed his sword, attached his to his belt before heading down.

At the top of the stairs he could see clearly what was going on. The theatrical show of the previous day must've had its impact, the lobby was packed with people, all of which trying to get the attention of Barry who was freaking out behind the main desk. The moment he laid eyes on the captain he rushed over, “Thank god you're up. These people are savages! I didn’t even finish my bagel.”

Kanda didn't seem to care all that much about the morning snack of Barry, “What are all these people doing herr Barry?” He replied calmly as ever. “Isn't it obvious? Thanks to your little speech everyone in Nippur now thinks we are here to solve all their problems. Thinking we can actually help them.”

Kanda sight and pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling and exhaling while counting to himself not to lose patience this early in the morning, “ Barry, we are here to help them and solve their problems. This isn't like the black order, we start with making this place safe and resume our exorcist duties when we have a safe haven to return to. Now go out and retrieve Dave from the hospital, he rested long enough.”

Barry blinked, “You put him in the hospital all but 12 hours ago, you sure he is good enough to be released?”

“Barry, just go and get the asshole from the hospital, i don’t give a shit if he’s not feeling well.” The captain snapped at Barry who in turn decided to follow an order without making wise ass comments. The exorcist rushed out and left Kanda with the mob of civilians who were still gathered there. “Listen up!” his voice bolstered “We will help each and everyone of you. I will ask you to form an orderly line and one of the guards on duty will take note of your problem. We will dispatch a guard to you as soon as possible.” The crowd started murmuring immediately after. “Just get in a damn line!” Kanda yelled, silencing the mob. The people present started to do as they were told. There were three other guards left on site. Kanda addressed them together, : “ I’m not going to lie, the next few days will become hell and your duties will be testing your limits. I expect you all to suck it up for now. You two stay here and start writing down the complains or troubles these people have, and you go out to gather all the remaining guards still out there. Anyone wearing a guard uniform, old or new is to report to me personally. If they refuse i shall drag them here myself, understood?” all three of the men nodded and did as they were told. One rushed outside as the others took their seats.

Meanwhile at the hospital Barry managed to ‘convince’ the doctors to release Dave. The man had seen better days, his face was swollen due to the beating he took in the throne room, his back was covered in bandages, some still coloured red thanks to the blood which was still leaking out of the cuts. Barry almost took pity on him. “Alright sunshine, good news, capt’n wants to see you again. Isn’t that great?! He seems to have taken a liking to you.” The pat on the back that followed made Dave wince in pain. “Oh sorry, i forgot. It looks as if it hurt, did it hurt?”
The traitor gave Barry a look as if he was juggling dead monkeys. “I take that as a yes. Well let's not keep the guy waiting, he gets in a mood when….well always, just hurry up.” unreluctant Dave was escorted back to the square where only hours ago he was made an example of. Barry wasn't blind and decided to throw some proverbial salt in his wounds and started walking to the pillar in the centre of the square. Dave immediately stopped and even started to tear up. “ I’m just messing with ya” Barry laughed, “He’s waiting for you inside.” He pointed towards the new guardhouse.

[Yu Kanda]

All eyes shifted towards the entrance as the wounded Dave stepped inside. The atmosphere in the room changed, and not for the better. By now everyone had heard about his shameful crimes, and he was being publicly judged in silent because of it. Every pair of eyes on him stung deep, Dave didn’t know what was worse, the physical beating or the mental one. The presumably short walk felt like it was taking ages, almost as if with every step his feet became heavier and the door further away. Many thoughts haunted his mind, the encounter with Kanda left quite the impression, perhaps better described as quite the traumatic experience. Unsure how much more of this he could take he mustered whatever courage he had left and knocked on the door. His knocking fist was shaking with nerves. From behind the closed wooden door the words ,”Come in” sounded like a death sentence to Dave. He opened the door, the screeching sound of the hinges made the moment even more eery. With the door open he once again stood eye to eye with the torturer himself, on a simple chair Kanda was sitting upright across from an empty seat. “Close the door and take a seat.” Each cold word felt like a stab in Dave’s guts, he felt like he was going to throw up, his nerves couldn't take the insecurity anymore, he didn’t want to die, he didn't want to suffer. At a slow and careful pace the traitor moved to his designated chair and took a seat. The trained eyes of the exorcist were following his every move. Drops of sweat were starting to emerge on Dave’s forehead. “Let’s begin shall we?” Kanda articulated calmly. His ‘prisoner’ simply nodded.

“You were caught red handed attempting to assassinate the king. It was your blade pressing against the royal skin. Do you deny these charges?” This was it, the moment Dave was dreading so much, the end was near. He must've changed his mind about being merciful. In the end, it didn’t matter. No matter how much he wanted to just get up and run for it, his legs wouldn't let him. The intense aura coming off the guard captain had his legs shaking like noodles, his limbs were useless. Eventually he broke the silence, “N-no, i don't.” Kanda got up from his chair and placed his hand upon his sword ‘mugen’. Dave whimpered in response evading his gaze. “Then how about telling me who set you up to do it?” The traitor opened his eyes, surprised he looked at Kanda, “Set me up to do it?”

“I know a chump when i see one. You don’t have the brain capacity to be the mastermind behind this attempt, so spill it, who was behind the assassination attempt?” The shaking returned, it was clear he was not expecting these questions, and even better, he got nervous when they were asked. “i’m not sure what you mean? I acted alone. It was my idea, my plan, my revenge.”

“revenge for what?” Snapped the exorcist back at the nervous perp “The king had just returned, you had no reason to harm him. Things were turning out for the better, especially for an imperial guard like you. So don’t give me this bullshit and tell me who set this up.” The tone of voice clearly indicated Kanda was starting to lose his patience. Dave forcefully shook his head,” I-i can't, it was all me!” A loud smash followed, a fist was send passed his head against the wall. “You try to feed me that horsepiss fantasy one more time and i swear to the almighty one i will have you spend the remaining days of your life on that post outside eating nothing but fresh fertilizer.” The exorcist shouted directly in Dave’s face, who in turn couldn't hold back the tears. “Alright! Alright, just….calm down. I’ll talk just, i need to know it’s safe here.”

“This building was created all but twelve hours ago, by me. Pretty sure no one had time to plant bugs or anything. Now start talking before i lose my patience.” Dave nodded his head that was still shaking a bit. “They, they are going to kill her. If i didn't slay the king, they are going to execute my daughter.” Finally the secondary broke down in tears, fluids leaking from every available exit as he attempted to continue his story. “They came to me a few hours before it happened, showing me a video of my daughter being strapped to a chair, cut-” Dave sobbed before being able to continue “They cut off her finger!!” He shouted. “ T-they gave it to me, saying the rest of her came back in pieces if i did not murder king Gilgamesh. She is all i have left, there is no one else.”

In front of Kanda was a broken man, every inch of his heart was cracked open for the interrogator to see. He knew this man was telling the truth. And his hunch was right, there was more to this than just a simple guard being unpleased with the return lf the king. The captain stayed unaffected by the heartbreaking story and continued his line of questioning. “Who are ‘they’? Who forced you to attack the King?”

Dave started to calm down, he snorted once before answering,”They were the ones running this town from the shadows. It wasn’t the gangs, bandits or some warlord. They are a few clever individuals who never see the light of day and use people to do their dirty work. They hide behind the masks of civilians and keep their true identity safe. It could be the damn janitor for all i know. I don’t know what they call themselves or who they are. All i know is they have my Sofie and there is nothing i can do to stop them.” The emotional parade of tears continued. Kanda slammed the table, “Enough!! Tears won't help you. The new guards of Nippur will. If these men are as smart as you claim them to be, they will have eyes on you. That means we will have to continue this charade for a while longer. At Least until i know what we're up against. Do you think you can handle that...Dave?” He asked sternly. Dave wiped his face and nodded once. “Alright then, to continue this second chance thing and as of today you will be doing a public service. Meaning you are going to sit behind that front desk and register every single complaint the good folks of Nippur have. Once that is done, either myself or other guards will take care of it.”

“ what about Sofie?”

“I’ll take care of it. If they contact you again, you message me. Is that clear?” Dave nodded in agreement. “Yes, Sir.”

“Then go out there and do your job, I will do mine.” Dave nodded slightly, unsure of what was going to happen now that he exposed these men. Not sure whether to thank or curse Kanda for his determination he did as he was told and headed for the front desk. The swordsman followed him outside and took charge, looking at the woman behind the desk he gave clear instructions, “ As part of this man’s public service, and his past as a royal guard, he is to assist you in the duty of helping these people.” The brunette stood up, her tone of voice clearly indicated her displeasure of this order, “Sir, we can't just put a criminal like that here? What if he tries anything?” The captain gave a cold gaze, “If he tries anything, kill him. You only get one chance at redemption.” With those words the captain walked back inside his office and slammed the door shut, leaving Dave in the very awkward moment that was just created,”Well.. i..erh.I prefer not do die so..” He sat down next to the female guard. “How can i help?”

Staring outside Kanda was processing the information he just gathered. ‘As i thought there is more to it. But an organisation with no name and no face, even keeping the gangs and criminals in check was no small matter. If i have any chance of finding the root of this i will have to go out there myself.” His mind drifted as he continued to look out. There was but one more thing he would have to do before he was able to start his investigation.

It wasn't until moments later another knock was heard on his door. From the other side Kanda heard the voice of the exorcist scout he sent out earlier, “ Gene- erh Captain, all the guards have been rounded up, they are waiting for you outside on the square.” Finally it was time,”Thank you, i shall be there shortly.” The swordsman adjusted his new uniform, strapped his sword tight and made his way to the roof of the facility. As he stepped towards the edge of the roof he saw all the remaining nippur guards gathered some in classic golden plate armor, some still in their exorcist outfits, others simply wearing a badge while carrying weapons. Kanda hated this, being a public speaker, a person in the spotlight. He missed the days where he could simply swing his sword at whatever demon showed its ugly face and that's that. That time had passed. He placed his right foot on the ledge, everyone could clearly see the new and improved uniform. The classic exorcist black coat was lined with a gold stripe, upon his chest both the lion of Nippur and the exorcist logo were clearly visible. A sign that threats from outside as well as domestic would be taken care of, “Guards of Nippur!” The speech started with Kanda’s voice clearly heard throughout the square. “You’ve had a rough time here, without your king. But now that he has returned, so will your duties as guards. No longer shall the city remain lawless, no longer will you have to fear the overwhelming numbers of the criminals that were ransacking this town. I ask of you, should you choose to continue protecting this city, even at the cost of your life, you all take the oath of protection. I will warn you, dishonoring this oath will be considered a crime against the crown. For those who will take it, i salute your bravery and it will be rewarded. I will not force anyone to continue their path as protectors of this city, however you lose the privilege of this uniform.” The captain observed the crowd some were unsure how to react. It wasn’t until the first warrior raised his weapon until a loud roar of warriors echoed through Nippur, a warcry for all to hear. It send a shiver down Kanda’s spine, the impressive spectacle was quite overwhelming. He stepped down from the ledge and made his way back inside.

The next hour or so he observed how guards were sworn in to serve and protect, how the new uniforms were distributed, and new weapons being explained. The weapons that the guards received weren’t your standard shields and swords. Every single one of them was able to be activated, a gold layer of energy then coated the tools of destruction. The new guards of nippur have arrived. Now the next phase begins.

[Victor Wolfe]

Jogging through the streets of Nippur Victor scowled, he had been cockblocked by Dave of all people, he was sure somewhere in the sky that Omni was looking down on him and laughing at the twisted sense of karmic justice. Although he was the only lord available right now to inspect the changes to the guards and it would give him time to try and push the buttons of the new guard commander. After all his job was to enforce the law, something that the assassin viewed like the sanctity of life, something that is good for people to support but could get in the way of Victors fun. 

Following the trail of new guards in their rather snazzy new uniforms, the black making them stand out a lot and the material looking light enough to not cook them for being dumb enough to wear all black in a desert it reminded Victor on his own uniform, certainly an improvement over the old golden armour, that was apparently as strong as butter judging by how many dead guards there had been in the palace. The attitude and posture of this new batch of cannon fodder had changed for the better too, they seemed determined and serious for once. Although the assassin still swore to himself that if any of them got choked out by a petty thief and a rodent again he would crucify them on top of the palace for everyone to see.

The city seemed to be improving even quicker than Victor expected, there was a new sense of hope, and people seemed more willing to leave their houses now that the guards where clearly visible, although a secret clothed police force may be something to look into, after all, if the civilians can see the guards then so can the crooks and they may eventually start to use this to work around them. Things were improving though and it was clear that one of Gilgameshes greatest talents was knowing the right people for the jobs that needed to be deligated. 

The Uchiha kid had already dusted off his death and with a renewed passion was currently dealing with outside threats, Victor was using his cunning and civic brilliance to help draw in new prospects and build new relations with The Town With No Name, and clearly, this new guard captain was doing better than the last one. as he walked down the cobbled path Victor wondered what happened to the last captain of the guards, who even was the last captain of the guards? Questions for later the assassin thought as he reached what he hoped was just a temporary headquarters for the guards. Not the most impressive building in the Nippur skyline although the line of residents outside showed that they probably were just happy to have someone to complain to at last. Either that or they where already lynching the person who built this offence to architecture. 

As Victor walked towards the line people slowly noticed the gleaming badge on his jacket and bowed as they allowed him to pass towards the desk, the feeling of power causing Victor to glow with joy as he made his way towards the perplexed girl who had been taking requests, a wicked smile crossed Victors face as he noticed her teammate, a badly shaken and now terrified Dave. Walking over as the guardsmen started to Panic Victor put a hand on his shoulder "Dave old buddy old pal, how are you doing, I assume you have been working hard to make up for your sins? In fact, I bet that you have not had a bathroom break all day, actually yeah come with me we are going to the bathroom!" Before the guardsman could complain the surprisingly strong lord had pulled him up and started walking towards the sign labelled as the staff bathroom.

The Brunette made a motion to complain but before she could utter a word Victor placed a finger on her lips.

"Shh, you see this badge? It means that I not only outrank you but also outrank your boss, so I am just going to the bathroom with my friend here, don't worry I think I am going to be bringing him back in one piece? But any way you should smile more, you would look much cuter if you did miss" he said as he walked away sure she would probably be seething at that last comment. 

"Sir I know I should not be complaining but don't you worry that she will complain to human resources about the sexual harassment?" Dave questioned Victor as they walked towards the door of the bathroom labelled men's staff. 

"well you see my good fellow that is the advantage, I AM HUMAN RESOURCES, if they call up it just means I get to talk to them even more or send them through an increasingly annoying line of automated messages and annoying accents!" Victor beamed only half joking about that, after all with all of the other problems Victors lewd and lascivious ways where probably the least of Gilgameshes concerns and thus he could get away with a lot more than one would expect. 

Once they reached the bathroom Victor let go of Dave and began to check the stalls, lightly kicking them to make sure they where alone, once assured Victor walked over to the furthest reaches of the room and hand signalled for Dave to come over, his normally playful and mischievous expression replaced with a dead serious scowl. 

"So Dave, who was it exactly that ordered you to kill the King? I doubt it was cultists, they were living in a water treatment plant, not exactly the smartest or best planners from my understanding, and not the sort of method I would expect cultists to use, so who did it?" Dave hesitated for a few moments, before swallowing and answering. 

"It was all me, I am making up for my stupid mistake as we speak, he said as he turned lifting the shirt off his guard uniform to show the marks on his back from the punishment that had been inflicted. Victor let out a loud sigh as he put his hand on his face in disappointment. 

"Do not lie to me Dave, I know the sort of people that plot the assassination of world leaders, it was kind of my thing for around fifteen years, you are not the sort of person that would do this, no this is clearly the actions of a shadowy puppet master, someone who is not to pleased to have a charismatic leader back on the throne. Otherwise, you would be dead for treason right now, I don't think that guard captain would have let you off with just some marks, either that or he is much softer and a lot less stupidly loyal than I thought. Although if he let you live that means that he probably knows what it is, so I can just skip the middleman and go right to him!" Victor said placing his fist on the palm of his hand as he started to storm off towards the office before turning back.

"Oh you can actually pee if you want," he said as he stared at the guard who gulped uncomfortably clearly wanting to use the restroom but concerned by the lewd lord standing in the doorway.

"are you going to stand there whilst I go?" Dave asked nervously causing Victor to chuckle and nod. "I think I will just wait until I finish for the day," the guard said pained.

"Are you sure about that?" Victor said as he rushed forward the edge of his fingers digging into the lower gut of the guard, causing his bladder to release the lower part of his uniform staining even darker as he dropped to the floor from the pain. 

"take your time to clean yourself up" the sadistic lord giggled as he skipped off to the office of the guard captain. Letting himself in as he ignored the long-haired swordsmen he scanned the room making sure there was no way their conversation could be heard. "So Mr guard captain, what do you know about shadow organisations?" he asked nonchalantly as he took a seat and smiled.

[Yu Kanda]

Staring at his wall of information Kanda’s train of thoughts took him deep into the investigation. If these people were indeed as active as Dave claims they would need to have lackeys doing either their dirty work or at the very least use them to communicate with scapegoats like the poor schmuck at the front desk. That would their weak link, someone who only cares for his own skin. The captain's eyes shifted towards the town map of Nippur which was hanging on the wall, a few locations were marked with red or yellow pins. God he missed the old days where hunting and gutting Akume was his daily job, these people may be monsters as well, they are a lot smarter and better in hiding. Being forced to continue the investigation off the books without being able to use some of his men to stake out these posts or bring him the suspects he needs for interrogation made this deal a whole lot more troublesome. Kanda sighed as he took a step back from it all, he walked over to his desk, sat in the chair and spun towards the window. He looked at the civilians outside going on with their daily routine, ‘Any one of these people could either work or be part of the organisation just how big are they?’ The thoughts kept going round and round in his head. The slam of the door made him snap back to reality, instinctively placing his hand on his sword.

One of the most shady people he has seen today simply walked into his office unannounced, with a carefree skip in his step he moved towards Kanda,”"So Mr guard captain, what do you know about shadow organisations?" The nonexistence manners of this cockroach were like needles in the eyes to the exorcist. This was his second encounter with this man, and he didn’t make a good impression the first time. His tone of voice skipped reasonable and went straight towards animosity. “Who the hell do you think you are trash? Walking into my office thinking you own the place?!” The fire infused eyes locked with Victor’s, who in turn slowly revealed the most pompous grin on his face, “Oh, i am but a simple Lord of this fine city, appointed by the mighty king Gilgamesh himself.” With the tip of his dagger he tapped the golden lioncrest upon his chest, silencing Kanda with the sound of soft metal clashing. “I am Victor Wolfe, and came here to check on Nippur’s finest. Love what you’ve done with the place, and the new fabrics? Fabulous darling. Oh yes, and shadow organisations, what’s the deal with those?” Every word that came out of this man’s mouth was like a fingernail carving deeply into a blackboard. ‘He bears the crest of nippur, that is no fake piece of jewelry. The King made this clown a lord? What was he thinking?’ Bound by his own code of honor he had no choice but to respect the current chain of command, getting up from his chair he walked towards the open door and closed it while glimpsing outside. Dave was noticeably nervous. As the entry was once again closed Kanda noticed Victor getting quite comfortable in the captain’s seat. “Lord Wolfe, how di-” “Oh no no no no, Lord Wolfe is my father, please call me Victor. Please proceed Captain.” Kanda’s left eye twitched slightly. “Victor, how did you hear of a shadow organisation in Nippur?” The lord was fidgeting with his dagger, removing some of the filthy sand underneath his fingernail, allowing it to fall down on the desk, “Oh my good pal Dave kinda hinted at it, thought i’d come straight to the big dog for some answers. So what do you got for me,” he turned the name box towards him and noticeably reads what was on it, “Captain Kanda. Really? Kanda? I knew a Kanda once...no...wait that was Candy, any relation by chance?” The swordsman mustered every ounce of patience he had within his body, avoiding a complete burnout against this man. “No...relations.” Victor laid back into the chair, “Hmm too bad, i would’ve liked to see her again.” His attention drifted towards the window, looking at the people outside while skillfully spinning his dagger on his fingertips.
The Captain started explaining the current situation, how Dave was forced to murder the King in order to save his daughter. Expressed concern that a group of people managed to stay hidden this well for so long without even getting a name. Even though Victor clearly heard what Kanda was telling him, his eyes did not move from the window even once. “So now i am at an impasse, with just me and Dave being aware of the situation the investigation is going a lot slower than i have wished. We need to act before there is another attempt on the King’s life.”

“Uh-huh, yeah that sounds bad. What’s your plan?” The lord replied, his sights however, were firmly locked out the window. Among the many people going on their day to day routine his gaze fell upon a gorgeous, farmer vibing blonde. Her clothing was simple, a brown dress with a flower imprint covered her body, sleeves were rolled up slightly higher so she could more easily lift the crates filled with fruit, preparing for a new day at the market. Victor’s sharp eyes locked and zoomed in, his pervert scanner was working overtime.

Kanda noticed the aloof Lord staring outside but did not give it a second thought, he continued with his report, “ I’ve been on patrol a few times, here and here with the bakery as a main point, something felt a little off there.” Pointing at the map, “my presence was clear, with the intent of getting a suspicious reaction out of anyone noticing me.” Victor’s vision were still latched on the female shape moving around outside, “Ah yes, i am noticing you.”

“Yes, that was the general idea of the new uniforms, people need to see the people that are supposed to protect them. Criminals need to see they can’t do as they wish. The well represented guards of this new order are there to prevent the bad to the people.” Kanda proudly proclaimed.

“No, yes, doing bad things would be...bad. So very bad.” The dagger spinning man said softly biting his lip afterwards, followed with a sentence underneath his breath. “What was that?” Victor seemed to snap out of his trance,” Oh erm nothing Captain, so you make a good point. And seeing as i am an expert in these shadows organisations i will answer your plea for help and join you in this investigation and bring them down!” Victor put up his most heroic of voices, almost as if mocking the exorcist. “You and me buddy, a team up. Like Aragorn and Xavier. Me being Aragorn ofcourse.”

Kanda had no words, his face was stumped with stupidity. How did this happen? How did he get stuck entertaining this clown. On the other hand, if something were to happen to him during their search for this dangerous and deadly organisation…

Victor jumped out of the chair and walked over to Kanda, placing his hands on both shoulder, ”Well then Candy, lets go. Onwards to adventure.” Victor’s eye quickly dropped down, towards the sword strapped to the Captain’s side. There is no keener eye then that of an assassin, with one closer look at it he said, “That’s a fake.” He then turned around and walked towards the exit, leaving the swordsman with more questions than answers, there was no choice, and reluctantly followed the Lord.

[Victor Wolfe]

The pair briskly walked towards the bakery, one of the few businesses that had survived the last two years, apparently even the bandits didn't want to lose their supply of warm bread, evident by a large number of breadcrumbs that had covered the dining areas in the castle. The exorcist had done his homework well, with one look at the board the assassin had pieced together a lot of the information, but the new captain had spotted things that even the master of subterfuge himself had not noticed. And in the time that it took for the swordsman to explain his plan Victor had managed to eye up a lot of the local talent, Nippur had many fine women and the desert heat encouraged less clothing than in his own homeland, he was certain this place would one day be a true paradise. 

The pair walked in silence for most of the journey down the cobbled streets, the tension from the guardsman's first impressions of the Lord combined with not wanting their potential enemies to figure out that they where on to them, as anyone around them could be the puppet master behind the schemes to overthrow or destabilize their fractured city-state or just a stooge that would sell out their king on the chance that it might just get them in a better position under the next regime. Either way, Victor was already formulating a plan that might just help to catch them all in one quick move, but it would all depend on how well the man next to him could lead and order the guards of Nippur, and if he could play along. 

Turning into the small side street that the bakery was situated in the pair felt a chill run down their spines, it was like entering another world, no longer where they surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a repairing city, the smiling faces and bows from grateful citizens, but now they where met with a site that could have fit any of the ghost town stories from the overseas colonies that Victor had read about. Not a single person was visible, yet it felt like as they walked the piercing gazes of hidden observers tracked their every move. The air heavy with a sudden feeling of paranoia, curiosity and underneath it all the unmistakable feeling of murderous intent. Almost instinctively Victor moved his golden lion head pin under his cloak. 

The occasional flutter our possible whisper caused the eyes of the pair to dart, was it just the wind? Causing the curtains to move? Or was it someone peaking out and making a call to the puppet master who appeared to have a deeper grip on this district than even the assassin though possible. The feeling was almost nostalgic, like walking through a newly conquered territory trying to figure out who would just be a grunt rebelling out of crowd mentality, and who were the people who would actively set off the powder-kegs of revenge and nationalism. 

Victors eyes almost reflected the sun with their violent glow, this sensation was bringing back the predatory urge that he had not felt in so long, so much of this world had been people actively trying to fight back or seak him out but now there was an enemy trying to play him at his own game, working from the shadows and only striking when they think they can not possibly lose. Almost like a game of cat and mouse where the role of the players would not be revealed until the glorious ending. The hunt was on and Victor was ecstatic with the anticipation of finally coming up against a foe that would not just punch their way through their problems. 

The Bakery came into view, sandstone like the usual Nippur architecture and with a chimney letting out the sweet and relaxing smell of freshly made bread, if this place was simply a front for a shadow organisation they at least tried to keep up the illusion that it was a legitimate business, so they could not just storm in and start making arrests like the good guardsman would probably like to do, no, they would have to be subtle, with how suspicious this place was Victor doubted that the baker himself could tell them to much, probably a lower ranking member. however, he could be a good little stooge and pass on a message for them if they played it right. 

Feeling like there where fewer eyes on them than usual Victor noticed an alleyway to their side, no windows looking out onto it and another just like it symmetrical across the street creating a very small blind spot, making his move with great speed and surprising strength Victor grabbed the captain of the guards and pulled him into the dark and cold alleyway. He looked ready to complain and pull out his sword but Victor put a finger to his lips.

"I have a plan Candy, how about rather than trying to get this guy to slip up, we make it look like we slipped up." The assassin smirked as the guardsman looked annoyed, but moved his hand away from the fake sword as his hip, causing Victor to remove his finger from his lips.

"That is rediculo.." the assassin almost immediately cuts off the increasingly annoyed captain, who was apparently getting sick of babysitting the person who he clearly thought was only fit to be lord of the fools at a local freak show. 

"You did not let me finish honey, you see this guy is a bit too suspicious, it feels like its to good to be true. A scapegoat, someone who has been promised something but knows very little about the grand schemes. Like an early warning system, if he gets arrested they could just go into hiding them strike when we think we have won and are safe. Not a weak link but a sacrificial lamb. However, we know what their goals involve and he must have a way to  get into contact this organisation." The guard captain seemed to be following along with the assassins logic, apparently, he had more intellectual capabilities than the average prime Victor had met so far, other than that particularly wordy corpse that he had the displeasure of meeting when he first arrived. Omni had a weird sense of humour summoning that brute at the same time as a refined gentleman such as himself.

"So we go in as a routine patrol, just scouting out the area like we are across the rest of the city, nothing too suspicious, even the King himself is probably doing stuff to rebuild. And we get to talking, and I be myself and say some possibly treacherous stuff about our amazing and divine Goldie, nothing like maybe we should overthrow him that would give the game away but little noticeable hints of dissatisfaction, make them think that I am not as loyal as I could be. Then we argue a little, I can do smug, you can do straightlaced and argumentative. We don't find a weakness we make the weakness, let them think that they can win me over and get me into their fold. And after an argument I say something in an outburst, then you hit me." 

The last statement seemed to leave the guardsman dumbfounded "you want me to?"

"Hit me, I am a tough guy, I can take it, and then you storm off, let them approach me without you there, its the perfect reverse trap is it not? And don't hold back on it either Candy, I know that this face is almost too perfect to risk damaging but I do have a regeneration ability so I really want you to make it look like an explosion of emotion, can you do that sweetie?" Victor smiled.

[Yu Kanda]

"So are you going to hit me or not Mr Guard Captain?" The words echoed through Kanda’s head. Unsure whether or not this Lord meant the words he uttered. For all he knew it was all an elaborate scheme to evict him from the guard captain’s seat. By now it was clear that Victor was no ordinary man, it was a lord of many faces and even more mysteries.  The words that leave his mouth are clouded by a mist of riddles, he was a word magician, he was….a politician. For Kanda, these are the worst kind of demons, you don’t really know what they have planned and what you can expect. Though the situation the Lord sketched was plausible. While the captain was thinking his eyes were locked with Victor’s,  who in turn started to see the situation in a entirely different light, “Woah now Candy, i don’t swing that way. I’m flattered but i am more of a ladies-man myself. Although...” Victor stepped to the side, viewing the long haired exorcist from a different angle. “With enough wine, bad lighting, not much talking, perha-” The pervert’s sentence got cut short when Kanda grabbed his uniform near his throat. With a slightly shocked look on his face Victor noticed the furiously red face of the exorcist, the vein on Yu’s forehead looked like a balloon ready to pop. The lord of bullshit realised he may have struck a sensitive nerve with his hot headed partner. The exorcist heels dug into the sandy floor as he spun around, flinging his lordship through the air out of the alleyway.

Like a ragdoll the prime bounced several times before he managed to come to a stop by pressing his face deep down into the sand. It’s not everyday a Lord comes crashing down in one of the many squares of the city, it caught the attention of nearly every person present. Covered in sand Victor looked up towards the alleyway he came from, he spat out some of the gravel like texture. From the shadows Kanda appeared to follow him, sword drawn and eyes emitting hellfire. With his bouldering voice the guard captain managed to reach every ear within at least two blocks, “Lord Wolfe, you are hereby under arrest for crimes against our King. Your words are that of a whispering snake, your actions are that of a sniffling hyena, and your honor is as nonexistent as your shivalry.” As an extra act of intimidation Kanda allowed the innocence within him to spread his angelic wings, the glowing appendages shined brightly in the square, “Yield now, and face your punishment for plotting against the crown.” Victor dusted the sand off of his uniform, took off one boot and shook the sand out of it. He completed the ritual by releasing a mouthful of sand before finally responding to the accuser. “Like hell i will!” Before sprinting off away from the hunter, who in turn started his pursuit. The assassin pushed some of the townsfolk out of his way, trying to reach one of the smaller streets. The ability of flight made it easy for the exorcist to catch up, from above the Captain soared down like a lightning bolt of Zeus himself. His fist was balled up and itching, he would take great pleasure in punching the most smug faces he has ever encountered. Applying the force of momentum he threw his fist towards the vainglorious prime, his regeneration ability wouldn’t be able to help that pretty face of his after Yu was done with it. The final moments before fist met face seemed to go in slow motion, Kanda was savouring every aspect of it like a fine meal. It was almost impossible to hide the satisfaction from his own face. A mere inch away, he could almost feel the stubble on the man’s face, but..then..what? The bastard of a Lord turned his face with the exorcist’s fist, avoiding a direct hit softened the blow immensely, eliminating the joy for the pissed of captain. Even now Victor was taunting him. Lord Wolfe was knocked down to the ground again, for Kanda it still felt surreal, he couldn’t believe he was played like that...again. The assassin didn’t break character and slowly pushed himself up from the ground with a grunt.


“Ok Ok i give up, you got me Candy.” Victor calmly walked up towards the radiant warrior of God. All eyes present were locked onto the scene that was unfolding on the square, it wasn’t everyday a Lord was being beaten and arrested for a heinous crime like treason. The guard captain revealed from his uniform a pair of metal shackles that he placed on Victor’s wrist. The now prisoner motioned Kanda to lean in, “Great job buddy, this is totally believable. Although, your sense of the dramatic might be a tad much, i mean, wings? Really? Keep it up, we’re almost done here.” Kanda didn’t speak, afraid someone other then Victor would notice this whole thing was just a big act. It didn’t stop Victor from whispering, “Did you also have regenerative powers?” The captain replied to the odd question,”Shut up, now what?”

Before the last word left the swordsman lip Victor forcefully thrusted his knee upwards in Kanda’s most precious of body parts. The prime’s wing’s instantly dispersed into the air as he dropped to his knees, coughing his lungs out. Both hands holding onto his jewels for dear life. Through his blurred cross eyed vision he saw Victor disappearing into the crowds with his shackles still attached. The emotions Kanda was feeling at this very moment were a cocktail of Rage, fury, despair, pain, betrayal and death. Laying in fetal position the captain was physically broken. It took several minutes and two of his men that were on patrol to get him back to his feet.

“Are you alright Captain, what happened?” One of the men asked, with great concern for the captain’s health and raging mood. Underneath the shadows of Kanda’s eyes a grin appeared, “It’s fine, everything is set in motion. Now we wait.”

[Victor Wolfe]

Tempted to press the button on his belt and just hide Victor resisted his instincts and training knowing that they had to make as big a scene as possible. His breathing quick but manageable, any guards that did manage to spot him attempted to give chase, none of them able to truly keep up with the fleet of foot assassin. One guard in particular thinking that he had cornered Victor, raising his glowing gold glaive and demanding the rebel lord to surrender, only to be left dumbfounded when Victor launched himself into the air ten metres high, landing with a backflip as he turned and proceeded to free run across the roofs of the city laughing like a madman as he danced across the Nippurain skyline.

The hot desert air blowing through his hair, the sweat on his brow caused by the suns rays on his almost all black uniform, this was the life, not one piece of paperwork to look over and not a snooty vassal to tell him what he should and should not do, but as much as he was enjoying the little game of chase with some slightly more competent pieces of cannon fodder than he was used to having Victor knew he would have to act quickly, the guard captain was not a patiant man after all and he was only going to have so long to execute his plan, especcially given that he had not told Kanda every detail and step, did not want his simple little justice obsessed brain to get too caught up on the finer sides of espionage and deception. 

Looking down at his knee the lord chuckled, he was pretty sure even given the situation that such an honourable swordsman would have expected to be hit in such a dirty and low down move, but Victor was trained in the art of doing everything he could to ensure victory, he had met and fought many so-called chivalrous men before, and at the end of the day he had always found a hand full of dirt into their eyes followed by a swift blade to the throat quickly silenced any talks of fairness or honour, well kind of silenced, more replaced it with gargling, choking and acusitory glares.  

Spotting some movement out of the corner of his eye he noticed two large hooded figures, both physically imposing specimens and both trying to be as subtle as they could about drawing the lords attention, one of them whistling, hands held to his back as his fingers twitched towards the pair and the second spurting out "Lord Wolfe!" between loud coughs. Controlling his anger that tweedle dee and tweedle dumb as a sack of bricks had been the ones chosen for a secretive mission like this Wolfe decided that it would be best to quickly go to them before half of the guard force not in on the act descended upon this location, having them all humiliated and then executed for treason. 

"Oy look bruv, ain't it the treacherous lord emself"  the fist of the two hooded men pointed at Victor who was at this point a seething pot of disappointment and rage, they had literally just pointed him out in the middle of a street, if there had been any guards nearby he was sure that they would have already attempted to make the arrest, and with how vital Victor assumed this pair of mongrols where that would likely lead to one badly cut up guard, after all, he did have to keep up the act and if that meant killing poor Gerry who was only three days away from retirement then it would have to be done for the greater good of all, well except Gerry, but who really cares about Gerry? 

"I think yous is right bruv, our boss wants to speak to you governor, " said the second of the assumed twins as he raised his hood like a top hat, revealing a chiselled if bland and stubbly jawline, followed by mean looking blue eyes and a bald head. Using every inch of his being Victor resisted just gutting the two of them. Spending most of his life working in the shadows the assassin knew that showing your face to someone whose intentions were not fully known could be the difference between life or death, did no one know how to be a good minion to an all-encompassing despot anymore? Even the honour bound guardsman had shown more street smarts than these two curs, and he was the one that got taken out by a low blow.

"Well that is just perfect fellows because as my own little take over plan seems to have been caught in an earlier stage than I would have liked, and your boss seems to be able to get things done, so perhaps we have more goals in common than I had thought?" Victor lied through his teeth his voice slick and smooth as he waxed off lines so familiar to him, the same song and dance he had done hundreds of times before. 

"you mean, you had yer own plans to take over guv?" the first of the brothers asked, Victor, could almost see the dumbfounded look under the hood of this well-muscled street thug, apparently the idea that someone other than their boss having the brain power or ambition to want more than to just be the side character in someone else's story was a shock to them, whoever their parents where had clearly prepared them well for their lifelong role of generic and totally disposable minions, Victor wondered to himself if these two shared any relation to the old guards of Nippur as their exposed and well-oiled abdomins and total incompitance at their jobs would suggest this to be a possiblity. 

"of course I did, I am the banisher Victor Wolfe, do you think I just spent the last two years fornicating with every woman I could find and acting out revenge fantasies on helpless undead? Of course not, whilst your boss was securing his plans I was making moves on my own, not every prime in this city owes their loyalty to the King, after all, I was the one who helped organise the early responses, of course  as good as I am I thought that I could weasel my way into the guard captains mind, then my little coup would have gone off without a hitch. I asked a little too early and he was not willing to do what is truly right for this city." Victor said with a confident smile as the brothers now named idiots one and two seemed to be convinced of Victor's intentions, they had seen him stab the pretty girl in the back, so why not do the same to the pretty guy. This seemed like a flawless plan to their primitive brains. Wolfe realising he had them eating out of his hands made a grand motion as he grinned 

"so we must prepare," he said smugly causing the two idiots to scratch their chins, Victor wondering how they even remembered how to breathe without accidentally exhaling a lung.

"prepare for what?" idiot two for the first time in the conversation took the initiative, the pair looking eagerly at the eccentric man in front of them.

"For the death of the king!" Victor proclaimed proudly, only for his eyes to narrow as the minions in front of him seemed to be struggling to add it together.

"Why? Is he sick?" idiot one questioned, causing the assassin's blood to boil even more as he realised that this was an honest question and not some sly ribbing like his fellow assassin would make jokes around. 

"No you fools, we are going to kill him, and Sasuke too" Victor growled, annoyed that he had to spell out everything for the disastrously dumb duo in front of him, but managing to reign in his anger back to convincing slyness as they walked towards the direction of the bakery that the New babylonians had scouted out before, realising that maybe the baker was not actually a clever warning system but actually just that obvouisly the guy Victor sighed, he thought he was onto something major, a multi layer plot, but nope, it was the baker, with the Dave, in the throne room. Still what they did not know was his motive, and that was what the diplomat was actually interested in. 

"Great idea, who needs a King?" the two idiots almost started to dance along the path in celebration at the idea of returning to the anarchy of yesteryear causing Victor to have to stifle his voice from a shout, eventually calming himself enough. 

"Idiots, there will be a King! The Baker will be king, if we stick with him, we will never go hungry again!" Victor proclaimed his new and very temporary loyalty causing the mindless drones guiding him to start chants of "long live the king!" The assassin keeping his head buried in his palm as he wondered just how they had gotten so far without being stabbed to death by suspicious Nippurian guards.

The three men walked quickly, reaching the bakery, it had been a relatively short walk but the assassin felt more drained than he thought was possible, every muscle in his body twitching, if not for the fact he was infiltrating their base, Victor would have left the twin reprobates in tiny pieces all over Nippur, that or had an aneurysm as he stabbed them and they took several minutes to even process that they where dying, so dumb that even evicting them would not provide any pleasure.

Reaching the door the two stooges decided that they would be better served standing guard outside the bakery because it's not like the guy they just met that was a known traitor could be playing them just to quickly stick a blade into their boss right? Letting out another sigh Victor pushed open the wooden bakery door the smell of fresh dough and cooked bread flowing into his nostrils, was their any better scent for reminding people of more innocent times? However at the counter rather than a genius mastermind was just another goon, triplets maybe? Opening its mouth the flurry of sound and noise only made Victor think of someone trying to vomit out words, none of it sounding anything like a language he recognised.  Giving a stupid smile with his tongue still hanging out of his mouth the third idiot simply pointed to a side room. 

Deciding to just ignore what he had just seen and heard Nippurs finest diplomat gently knocked on the door to the room, labelled "Boss", knowing he was expected it wasn't long before he heard the sweetest sound he could have hoped to hear, a polite "Why don't just stand out there Lord Wolfe, do come inside and take a seat, we are ecstatic to hear that you have decided to defect to our cause" all of the tension left Victor's muscles as the clearly well educated and polite voice called him inside, it was the first sign of culture he had seen in the last few hours, a return to his element, someone with the mind to acutally play mind games with and try to worm his way into their head. 

Entering the office the boss as he was know was at the other end of a rectangular desk, his chair almost resembling a throne with its high back and regal design, the carpet leading to the guest chair reminding Victor of the one in the throne room of Nippur. walking forward Victor pulled out the second chair, taking a seat as he leaned back, something seemed off though. Sure that the Baker judging by his rotund and stout frame was nowhere near as tall as the lanky assassin, he wondered why it felt like he had to crane his neck just to keep eye contact with the man, looking down to the floor he noticed a step, much like in the throne room of Nippur, allowing the baker to look down on everyone that entered his kingdom of bread. 

"I am happy that you are so happy to have me on your side, would have been very awkward if you just viewed a man with my wide skill set as more trouble than I am worth, although I must say seeing your little throne room in here you do not do much to hide your ambitions do you?" The assassin chuckled as he crossed his legs. His eyes examining his companion for the moment. 

Short and stout like a teapot the baker maybe reached five ft five but probably weighed around ninety-five kg. His black hair glossy in the light coming in through the Venetian blinds of the office, he wore a beige suit, and although Victor could not see due to the desk covering his feet he assumed he was the type of man to wear platform heels and demand his workers walk around hunched over. 

"Why of course, I have always admired you since you came here, starting out as a fountain fresh and not backing down against a grotesque monster, even though you lost you still came back swinging. Then alongside the rest of your comrades in arms you go and make a gargantuan splash during DA, showing that you have the cunning as well as the bravery needed to do whatever needs to be done for the survival of New Babylon. You fought bravely in the battle for Nippur and died allowing some people to escape. And recently you have been trying to change our public image to make sure those sorts of misunderstandings could never happen again. Frankly, Mr Wolfe, it would be insanity at this point to refuse your help, after all, I feel that if we did you would probably find a way to bring us all down, after all, if you die you get to come back, and we both know I do not share that luxury. But you see Victor we are a lot alike you and me, we both had to work to get to where we are today, you through training and doing whatever it took to get to where you wanted to be and I through making all the right business decisions."  The Baker pushed a pair of spectacles up his face as he reached over to a glass bottle of what looked like Whiskey "Drink?"

"Well it would be rude to refuse woudn't it" Victor said in a playful tone as a glass of the golden brown liquid flowed into two glasses, Victor picking one up, waving away at the ice not wanting to ruin the drink with water as he took a drink, it was good, going down very smooth the sort of drink that would fetch a good price in his own world. Clearly, a show of affluence rather than an act of kindness, after all this man was a secondary, he had to work to get what he had. "And who knows, would not be the first time I would have crushed a coup that was within inches of completing their goal simply because they insulted me. But you do seem to have a fairly large scale operation going here for a baker, so what is this really all about, did Gilgamesh raise the tax on flour when I was not looking? Ban the selling of croissants after ten pm? Why the coup, and what is the real extent of your operations Mr?" Victor leaned forward inquisitively allowing his hand to slip behind his back, where he had placed his dataverse device, sending a message to Kanda informing him of the next step of the plan Vic knew that he would still have some time to question the master of bread.

"I thought you would be the first one to understand Lord Victor, you see when the battle for Nippur happened everything collapsed, except my business, even the bandits did not want to lose one of the few sources of hot food available to them consistently, I was one of the few people able to keep money flowing, and thus one of the few still hiring. Other businesses tried to come back when the bandit problem was not as bad, after all when you have already raped and pillaged just about everything that isn't nailed down why stay? But as I had this bakery as a constant cash stream I could open up my own version of their idea and pay better. Once the competition went bankrupt or sold themselves to me then I could drop the wages again and make a profit. Usually, then I would hand it off to people I saw as loyal, good followers and the like." The man leaned forward, pride beaming in his voice and an evil grin on his face "You wonder why the economy seems uncompetitive? I own almost everything!, I own the blacksmith, I own the grocery store! I own the company that removes snakes from peoples houses!" Victor was certainly impressed the baker had like all capitalist scum used a national disaster to expand his influence to almost be on a similar power level to the lords themselves. 


"Seems like you are doing very well for yourself, so why not just control from the shadows, why all the risk of a coup? You had to know that Gilgamesh would send people to track down whoever tried to assassinate him? I am just not certain why someone who is clearly doing better than the average Nippurian would take the risk you did?" The assassin was ecstatic in his chair, apparently, this conspiracy ran much deeper than just an evil bakery, he would have to thank the swordsman later, this had the potential to solve so many issues with the economy and infrastructure of the city but he had to know more about why someone in such a strong p
osition would risk it all on a huge gamble. 

"Well you see Victor, at the end of the day I am still a commoner, and whilst Gilgamesh was gone I could underpay workers, extend the working day, force overtime, kidnap a kid or two to get rid of the threat of unions, and over all just rule as I please, but as it stands, you lords seem to want to actually improve life for the common folk, and that cuts into my profits, so I had a revelation, why don't I gather up all my trusted employees and we get rid of this despotic monarchy, replace it with a nice merchant republic, run by me of course. And if you can help me take out the King, not only you but your allies will profit immensely as patricians in our new republic. So what say you, Victor?" the Baker extended his hand "Will Victor Wolfe and Boss Baker create a shining beacon of greed in these dunes?"

[Yu Kanda]

Everything went according to plan, well almost everything went to plan. Not once was the low blow against the crown jewels discussed. Kanda was displeased with the turn of events the lord’s plan took. He just hoped that all this trouble was worth it, being able to feel a pulse within his precious stones was unnatural and clearly unhealthy. When this was all over he and Victor would have a “talk” about all of this. The commotion in the square was exactly what they were going for, guards attempting to get a grip on the situation. Seeing a lord fall from grace in public was truly a rare sight to behold, many of the gathered people were left with questions. Questions which the guards themselves didn’t have answers for. Was it Victor all along who planned the assassination on the king? What else did he do? Will he be hunted? No one really knew what was going on. The lack of public knowledge was clearly displeasing for these poor folks, so many things happened in Nippur recently, they had to know it was safe.

Kanda motioned for one of the guards to come closer, in his current state he was not able to speak up properly. With a lower, clearly struggling voice he instructed the soldier, “Spread the word, once Lord Victor is in custody everything will be revealed, trust the guards and the protectors of the dunes that even a crisis as this will be dealt with.” The guard gave a firm nod, acknowledging the order before returning to his tasks. It wasn’t long until the words started to spread. It pleased Kanda to see his men work as efficient as they did. The crowds started to disperse, less and less men were needed to keep nosey bystanders at bay. Sitting down, leaning against the wall of a nearby building the exorcist was still catching his breath. Not even demons fought this dirty. An elderly lady stopped by the Captain, in her hand she was holding a clay cup which was emitting steam. Her long gray hair were pinned up in a bun on top of her head. The wrinkles on her forehead were like canyons of wisdom that weighed heavy on her eyelids, forcing them downwards, leaving little room for her actual eyes to open. Wearing a brown apron with sandals on her feet she made a very casual appearance. The symbol on her apron was the same as that on the sign above him, it seemed he was resting against the local tea house.

Her soft and heartwarming smile made the nut hurt exorcist forget about his current position. “I saw the whole thing, you need some herbal tea to get your strength back. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” The old lady extended the cup towards Kanda, combined with a traditional bow. He simply couldn’t refuse without it being bad manners. Gracefully he accepted the kind offer, it was a clear signal that the new guards were being accepted into the heart of the good people of Nippur, well, almost all. The beverage’s aroma was strong enough to clear his airways, blowing several times before taking a sip Kanda noticed the woman not taking her eyes off of him, it was almost uncomfortable. Not only that, a silence followed which didn’t help. “Thank you ma’am for this act of kindness.” Hoping the lady would take her leave. Unfortunately she didn’t, it even seemed the granny was waiting for the captain to finish his tea. Trying not to be rude Kanda started taking bigger gulps of the still very hot tea. With every sip his new admirer simply smiled and nodded, as if she was approving of what he was doing. It was at this time the swordsman wished to go back to getting kicked in the balls again.

*Bzz Bzz Bzz*

The vibration within his jacket broke the silence, ‘Excuse me, i need to check this.’ Once again he got nothing more then a nod and the exact same smile as a confirmation. Eyes moved left to right as the exorcist was reading a message he received. For anyone paying attention it was obvious there was an internal struggle. Kanda was pleased that Victor actually proved himself useful, he wasn’t too happy with everything else he read in the message.  The message was clear though, time for action. Looking for anything to hold on to he found some stone sticking out from the wall, grabbing it firmly in order to get himself off from the ground. The still sensitive “war-wound” already started to recover. At Least now he was able to stand. Two of his men came to his side offering a helping hand, a gesture dismissed due to the man’s pride. A simple dismissal handwave kept both guards at bay. “ One of you contact Barry, tell him to meet me at the guardpost as soon as possible. Once the crowd here is dispersed and order is restored tell the others to resume their duty as per order 6.”

“Yes Sir.” the combined voice of the two responded and did as they were told, they returned to their tasks. “Oh my, such a commotion. Is everything alright mister guard sir?” The kind old lady inquired with her crackled voice. “Yes ma’am everything is quite alright. I do however have...urgent business to deal with.” He slightly hinted at his male pride with a subtle shift of his eyes before returning the half filled cup. “Ooh hoho.” The hospitable lady responded “I understand mister guard. You are a busy man, don’t let an old tea crazed woman like myself keep you from your duties.” The chuckle in her voice was heard, she took the beverage out of the captain's hand and started walking back to her store. It was a nice sight to see an actual act of kindness in this place.

With the old lady taken care off Kanda took off, at first he had a very slight limp. He made sure people saw him in this state. After a few corners and the Captain knew for sure he wasn’t followed he started walking more upright and stepping up the pace. Not knowing who might have been watching he had to uphold the charade long enough to be convincing. It wasn’t long before he reached the guardhouse. Once again he needed to get back into character. With a slight limp he walked through the door of the Guardhouse, both Dave and his female co-worker got up from behind their desk, “Captain, are you alright?!” She asked.
“Just sit down, i’m fine. Has Barry arrived yet?” The female guard nodded, “Yes sir he and some of the men are waiting for you in your office, what’s this all about?” Again, Kanda was unsure how deep the infiltration network was, for now, he decided to keep running with it. “Lord Wolfe has betrayed the crown, this is an emergency meeting to hunt him down and bring him to justice. Not even a Lord is above the law in Nippur.” Strong words for an even stronger purpose. Dave did not say a word, he probably knew something was up after Victor exposed him in the bathroom, a scene he would have much rather forget. With the captain making his way to his office both the guard as the ‘volunteer’ took their seats and returned to their tasks.

Once inside his office he saw Barry with a handful of former Black Order members, all wearing the Babylon Lion crest on their uniform. These men have been with the order for as long as Kanda could remember, this were men he could trust. Seeing as most of them haven’t been in Nippur for very long, there was no way they were already working for some shadow organisation they never heard of. Loyalty was one of the strongest features within exorcists, it was their faith that kept them bonded together. Barry was the first to speak up, “So what’s going on Captain? What’s with all the secrecy?” Before answering the question Kanda made sure every door and window was sealed shut. “We got ourselves a situation gentlemen.”

“Yes we know, you and that Lord Wolfe guy have been going at it. It’s always the suits that are corrupted aren’t they.” Barry interrupted slightly annoyed. “Lord Wolfe is innocent, at least for the crime he was accused of, the whole thing was a setup that we came up with.” Barry’s face turned,”He what now? Captain, care to explain?”

“The attempt on the kings life was a plan brought forth by a shadow organisation within Nippur. They have been pulling the strings here for a while and are not happy with the changes this place is going through. Their first logical step was to take down the king. In order to do so they kidnapped private Dave’s daughter and started torturing her. In order to keep her save the idiot did as he was told and went for the kill. He confessed to both Lord Wolfe and myself. Neither of us doubted the man’s story and we were right. Moments ago i received a message from Lord Wolfe, confirming our instincts were right. He was approached by one of the members of the organisation and is currently at their hideout. A hideout we are going to hit within minutes once a plan has been formed.”

It was a lot of information to process for the men in the room. Even Barry seemed flabbergasted by the entire twist of it all. “Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell use before?”
“Because it was an undercover operation, the lesser people that know of it the higher chance of succeeding, and knowing you, Barry, whole of nippur would’ve known by now.” The cold response from the captain made a few of the men chuckle, the reputation of the man proceeded him. “Now. let's form our plan of attack.” The swordsman placed a device in the middle of the room, pressed one of the buttons and a 3D layout of the building was emitted in the air in front of him. This is the place we are going to raid, these schematics aren’t complete but we will have to make due”

“Wait, isn’t that the bakery?” One of the men noticed. “Yes it is.” confirmed their boss. “So, the Baker is an evil mastermind?” Barry snickered. “It is too early to assume anything, now focus, we don’t have much time. And stop with the jokes.” The smiles quickly disappeared as they all knew what happened when Kanda lost his patience, and it didn’t take much for him to do so. Getting back to business Yu started to lay out his plan, “Every exit needs to be covered, once myself and two others go in i want every inch of this place surrounded, no one gets out, we keep radio contact at all times. Remember Lord Wolfe is undercover and his position is not to be compromised. Our mission is to arrest them, not to kill them. I will attempt to apprehend Lord Wolfe and the mystery man myself, if for some reason they slip away i am expecting you guys to capture them as soon as they step outside.” After his little speech Kanda started to point out positions for Barry and the outside team, making sure they covered every exit of the bakery. “Speak of this to no-one, once we leave this building we immediately head for our target.” After this Barry carefully raised his hand. “Isn’t it suspicious as we walk out the front door with this kind of group?” Kanda grinned, that's why we take the Backdoor.“ He placed his hand against the wall and started molding the Omnilium inside the stone wall, creating a new door within a mere minute. “Now let's go, stay in the shadows, move quiet and fast.” With those words the group of guards snuck out of their own command centre and headed for the bakery.

With silent hand motions Kanda directed Nippur’s swat team to their positions. A simple nod from everyone in position was the signal for the exorcist to move in, time for a surprise attack. Making his way over the rooftops he looked down at the backdoor, no cameras no guards. It seemed like an ordinary bakery entrance. Kanda motioned for one of his men to head for the door. With a sharp eye the expert swordsman followed his man. With great care he approached the door in the alley. A few meters from the entrance a few bags of rubble started to move. What appears to be a homeless person came out from underneath the pile of filth to see what was going on. But, what reason would a hobo have to press what appeared to be a small panic button. Kanda’s sharp eye noticed a red blinking light, a silent alarm. They had to move fast. From above the captain formed the spearhead of the swat like charge, coming down covered in radiant energy, crashing into the back door, blasting it from out of its hinges. “Nobody move!” He shouted as a few of his men entered the premises. Two guards bursted through the front entrance almost at the same time as Kanda allerted the people inside with his warning. A few employees of the Bakery dropped what they were holding, the scent of freshly baked bread illuminated the scenery. One of the women screamed in fear when the place got swarmed from all sides. With great discipline the guards moved through the store, the actual bakery, their supply room and even the side room labelled ‘Boss’.

‘No sign of Victor, there must be other rooms.’  “Search the place!” Kanda commanded as he joined his men. “Sir! Over here! One of the guards shouted from the bakery. Yu rushed over. “There appears to be something behind this oven sir, look at the markings on the floor.” It was something that was easily overlooked but very recently this oven was moved, and a few tracks were walking into where the oven was standing now. A secret door, an escape hatch perhaps? “There must be some sort of handle?” The sharp guard said out loud. Perhaps a bit too loud, it alarmed one of the goons in the store, after hearing their ‘secret’ doorway was found he start resisting, attacking one of the guards standing near him.

A commotion was heard in the other room, “Go take care of it, ill go after them myself.” Yu said while drawing and activating his weapon. With a single strong strike he cut straight through the oven. The machine was still standing in his way, there was no time for this kind of bullshit. He held Mugan close to his side as he concentrated to perform the eight flower mantis move. Within the blink of an eye eight lightning fast cuts were made in the symbol of a flower. The cuts light up briefly before exploding, obliterating the oven and revealed what was a secret passageway. Not knowing what kind of headstart they had Kanda didn’t leave anything to chance, he allowed the triple illusion spell to take over, three dots appeared in his eyes. With even greater speed then before he rushed through what appeared to be a long tunnel away from the Bakery. The few traps that were set along the way were unable to keep up with the speed of the now powered up exorcist. He knew he had to hurry in order for his plan with Victor to work, he couldn’t break character. Up ahead a salvo of arrows were released, it seems he triggered yet another trap. Allowing the speed-surge to move through his body he was able to either deflect or dodge them pretty easily, it was clear these people were not used to dealing with primes. Up ahead he noticed daylight coming from the ceiling, the exit was near.

Making his way up Kanda found himself crawling out of a manhole, next to it was a sand covered lit. That’s how they managed to hide it for all this time. When he noticed the metal plate he also noticed a group of people looking at the captain not far from him. Three he did not recognise, the last one was Victor, smug looking Victor who was already giving him a certain look that rubbed Kanda the wrong way. Luckily for him, two of the goons charged him, a perfect stress release. The innocence energy crackled as it formed his second illusion sword. He felt the divine power surging through his body, started to make him excited, it had been a while since he was attacked. With a strong throw he launched the energy copy of Mugen, sending the spinning sword flying towards his assailants. One of them had enough brain capacity to duck for cover, the other not so much. Holding his axe in front of him, clearly attempting to block the incoming katana. Kanda smirked, with a simple hand movement he controlled the spinning deathwind and moved it sharply to the left. Barely able to keep up with  the wind’s movement the brute made a wide swing at it, hitting nothing but thin air. His sluggish movement was no match for the speedster, he was left wide open. Blood coloured the floor red as the sword slashed through the thug’s back. The victim fell to the ground. The deathwind blade was making its way back to Kanda who was in a vulnerable position. Coming in fast was the other dimwitted fool, attempting to avenge his fallen brother he send his knuckle brace wearing fist towards the exorcist who in turn was forced to jump backwards. During his leap he gracefully caught his sword mid-air. From behind he heard the lowest of whispers, “Sorry Candy.” Crap, Victor. Kanda glanced towards where both the Baker and the lord we're standing, the assassin however, was no longer there. Ofcourse he wasn’t he had to uphold his character as traitor. In his back he felt Victor’s boot forcing his way through, sending the captain flying towards the dumb brute, who was ready for strike two. Yu had could not completely avoid this next attack, he could however soften the blow. Using the momentum of Victor’s kick he tapped the ground once with his right food, sending his body in an awkward upwards spin. The grunt’s fist connected with Kanda’s upper leg, sending him flying even more. The agile prime managed to maneuver in the air, making a pretty decent landing. Victor was nowhere to be seen, a skilled assassin indeed. He had to make quick work of this scrub still standing in his way. A single slice through reality opened up a portal for the hellworm to pass through and headed straight for its target. The hired muscle had no idea what was happening, the undead-like flying beast was heading straight for him. Unsure how to fight it and obviously scared shitless he started to run, screaming as if the devil himself was chasing him. The screaming suddenly vanished when both the dimwit and the much faster worm went around the corner, hell just got a new soul to entertain.

‘Only Victor left,where is the little prick hiding. The captain’s eyes shifted from the Baker who was still standing there with his a satisfied grin on his face, he obviously knew something Kanda didn’t. To be on the safe side he took a defensive stance, waiting for a sign from his ally. He kept both sword horizontally, one in front of him and one at the back. Starting to store the innocence energy Kanda was ready for the surprise attack he knew was coming from the shadow warrior. Silence struck, every gust of wind was heard, every grain of sand moving across the wasteland. A sensation bolted through Kanda’s body, his eyes shot open and he noticed from behind him a heavy sigh was let out. A rapid high speed spin released the stored energy, sending Victor flying against the walls behind him. The captain turned to his attacker who was holding his favorite weapons, dual dagger. “You move quite well for an amputee.” Victor mocked as he relived what seemed a pleasant moment. ‘Well, he clearly and specifically asked for it.’ Kanda charged at high speed towards the assassin, closing the gap between them fast. The Lord did a lousy attempt at running for cover, hopefully the baker did not notice it, when the dagger wielding warrior noticed he was being driven into a corner he moved both daggers forward, once again a half-assed attack, at least that’s what it looked like to Kanda, he had heard the stories of Victor, this wasn’t him trying at-all. But, what kind of loyal subject would Yu be without listening to a Lord’s command every now and then. With a swift movement the expert swordsman relieved the fallen Lord of his daggers by guiding the ever sharp energy coated katana’s through the wrists of his foe. Both hands and daggers fell to the ground as Victor dramatically fell to the ground on his knees, “NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo.” He shouted while raising two stumps to the air, crying out in agony. This triggered the crime boss known as the baker who started to run. But it was too late, Kanda’s chains of justice were summoned and chased after their target, grabbing both ankles, forcing him to the ground and restraining him. And just like that, Barry showed up with backup. “Captain! You alright Captain?”

“Took you long enough, Barry. Nice timing as always, after everything has been dealt with.” Kanda grunted, “Take him into custody.” motioning towards the Baker who was still faced down in the dirt. “I will take Lord bullshit in myself.” The guards did as they were instructed and lifted the baker up from the sand and put him in chains. Kanda did the same, the cuffs however, were a bit useless at this point. Victor was laying on the ground, lifeless, eyes open staring into nowhere as blood was spreading. The captain grabbed one of his men, “Go to the hospital, get one of the ER doctors to get their asses to the guardpost. I will make sure this criminal does not escape his faith this easily.” He pressed the energy coated swords against the wounds, cauterizing it. The smell of burned flesh in combination with Victor’s painful moans were very satisfying to each and every one of Kanda’s senses. Even though this was what the Lord wanted and ordered him to do he still enjoyed every minute of it. Then again, what if this was one of Victors sick and twisted little games. That final thought made Kanda pull back his weapon, he didn’t want anything to do with this man’s sick fantasies. Grabbing Victor by his neck the somewhat less honorable warrior now got his prisoner onto his feet. “Move.” The finally silent assassin obayed and started walking to where he was guided, everything went according to plan. Even though it was Victor’s plan, it was still working. With the Baker being escorted a few meters in front of Kanda and his partner in crime it was the perfect moment to place the key where Victor requested it. Yu was no thief or skilled with sleight of hand, so when he saw his chance and nobody was watching he placed the requested key deep inside Victor’s pocket. Something he regretted a mere second later, “Easy there Candy, you should at least buy me dinner first before you go there.” whispered the clown. Even with his hands cut clean off he was still making jokes. At least Kanda hoped they were jokes.

During their escort many eyes were following the group of swat guards, word travelled fast. At the guard post several people gathered to see the disgraced lord and for some reason the town’s baker. With a straight face Kanda led the group inside, it was a strong message that he send throughout Nippur. Hopefully with this Victor will be able to get all the information he needed and they could end this whole shadow organisation nonsense and a normal regime could be formed. The single cell of the compound was opened and both the Baker as the lord were pushed in. A few other lowlifes were still in the cell but didn’t make much noise, by now they knew better. “You, watch these two with your life. They don’t blink without me knowing it. The doctor is on his way, don’t allow him to examine his lordship over there without my presence. We don’t want them escaping their faiths.” The captain said to the guard who was now stationed in front of the jail cell. “I finally got you bastard. Tomorrow we will let the king decide your faiths.”

“I would clap and congratulate you on your great achievement captain but, i seem to be short on hands….get it? Short on hands!” Victor shouted as Kanda was taking his leave who in turn ignored the wise ass comment. “Well done Barry, mission accomplished.”

[Victor Wolfe]

The plan had worked out perfectly, the idiots where dead and now, Bakers only friend in reach was the assassin, even if it had gone a little too far, he had asked for a hand to be cut off, not both, the blood loss before the wound had been cauterized causing Victor to become slightly delirious as the world faded in and out of blackness. Keeping his stumps hidden under his sleeves as his hands began to regrow Victor turned away from the guards. His new acquaintance, however, was in a bit of a panic as his eyes darted around at the criminals in the cell, some of them already eying up the new soft and squishy meat in the holding cell. Noticing Victor turning the baker did the same, scooting next to the assassin, knowing that even without hands, he was the best hope the merchant had, after all, some of the men in this cell had turned to a life of crime as a direct result of his aggressive business policy costing them jobs and homes.

"We have lost, I know that things were going too well, why did this have to happen, I just wanted my own republic, and now I am going to rot in a cell, or worse yet be killed!" He bubbled away tears in his eyes, his ambitions were crushed before him. Victor thought for a few moments, thinking to the hand of possible cards he could play to get the best result. Knowing the guards probably had a vague idea of the plan and would probably not try to interfere Victor decided to fully commit.

"Have we lost? Or did this all play into my overall plans?" The assassin smirked, the pained look on his face being masked with his usual cocky, overconfident smile. As his eyes darted to the side, turning his head slightly, noticing the guards pretend to be distracted, one of them drawing scribbles as he pretended to fill out paperwork, and the other seeming to take an interest in a particularly bland part of the ceiling. I looked like they at least knew enough to play along.

"What are you going on about now? Did all that blood loss make you even more delirious with your lust for power? Look at us, you have no hands, and we are in a state prison cell, awaiting the word of a very despotic and easily riled king, you don't get it, this is real for me sir, if I die I am gone, if you die you come back after a few days. And as we have seen even if they did banish you, even that is not permanent as the golden despot showed us all." The baker said genuine fear in his voice as he felt that his fate was already sealed, a defeated man, someone without any hope. Victor prepared his words coiling them like a viper ready to strike, his favourite method of operating was about to begin. Step one, build up hope.

"We are? The way I see it we are in the stomach of the beast right now, the control centre for all the guards in Nippur, the base of operations if you will, all we need to do is cause some chaos here and a few things could happen, for example all the guards could rush back to see why their base was destroyed leaving our little monarch far less defended and easier to overwhelm and burn at the stake for holding the merchant class down" Victor grinned showing his pearly whites in a predatory gaze. 

"Or losing their head would cause them to rush around directionless like a chicken, making it very easy for us and our comrades in arms to cause a few riots in the chaos and get rid of the monarchy in the process" Victor continued his devious smile as the oligarch seemed to be starting to take the bait, however with a shake of his head he sighed.

"And to do any of that we need to get out of here, and you need to be able to deal with the guards that are here. How do you plan on doing that? Because I don't think I could give you enough of a hand Lord Victor, at least not to the point that we could deal with these guards quickly enough" the overweight merchant sighed he started to lose hope once again.

"Ha, you assume that I need arms to beat up these guards, I could do that on one leg with my eyes covered. As for getting us out of this very tight little squeeze I am a prime remember? If I focus hard enough I could destroy this building and have us both running to safety before anyone even realised what was happening. However, I do need you to do one thing for me, as the leader you know exactly who is in on this whole scheme, I have an acquaintance on the outside who can help get everyone to safety and read to help us execute our little scheme but as you can see I cant type them out. So I need you to go into my side pocket and email the person labelled as Candy, tell them who everyone involved is, and they can get everything ready for once we escape boss man" Victor smiled as he saw the hope fill the eyes of the almost destroyed man, however there seemed to be some lingering doubt in his eyes, he took a minute or two mulling something over in his mind, the silence filling the air, had Victor went to fast and blown his cover? 

"I am not exactly sure if that is the best idea, you see... hm, I am not actually the one who organised everything, I am more like their accountant, I just organised the books and make sure the funds for new businesses get to the right people. And she said that the only people who were to know every member of this organisation where her and I, so that if one person fell the whole thing would not burn down around us. " The older gentleman smiled sheepishly, as Wolfe had to hold back a glare, resisting the urge to walk over and start bashing his head into the wall the assassin sighed and shut his eyes, tilting his head back as he realised that his gut instinct was right, this man was no evil mastermind, just the guy that does their taxes and pays their workers, a salaryman with a fancy title. Less a Victor and more a Kanda. 

"under normal circumstances that would work but you do not know that guard captain, he will find something in that office of yours even if he needs to tear it apart, anyone who has ever done business with you in your books legal or otherwise could wind up dead, think about it, he was hired by Gilgamesh and is thus probably utterly ruthless. Do you have a family Boss?" The assassin asked, noticing that as soon as he mentioned the idea that anyone connected to him could be in trouble caused the fat man to start sweating bullets.

"y,yes , I have a wife and daughter. My daughter turns nineteen in about a month" the baker showed a worried but still very proud smile.

"Well, think about it, if we don't act quickly and they don't find anything at your office, well you already kidnapped another mans kid, so maybe they will decide that she might know something, they might take you out of here before we can act, and force you to watch as your wife has to "please" the entire guard division, then as she is totured and touched , all the while you and your daughter watch, they finish with her and because you are a loyal and stubborn man the captain takes that sword and begins to do what you did too little sophie, and as bits of her litter the floor he finally ends her missery, then he turns his gaze to your young and innocent child..." Victor painted the image as vivid as possible outlining the possible brutality of the new guard system causing even the other hardened criminals around the pair to give the assassin and guards fearful gazes. Stopping only when the Baker lashed out, hitting Vic on the upper right arm. 

"Stop it! I get it, please not my poor daughter, she knows nothing!" The man continued to panic and mutter to himself unable to even think straight anymore as the reality that his own greed may lead to his entire bloodline being purged simply for sharing his name and possibly knowing a thing or two about his business." 

" This is why we need to act fast, do you think that the real leader of this thing is going to let you stay captured for long? No they are probably going to pay to have you killed in this cell before the guards can even talk to you, after all, you know everyone involved, too much of a risk love, can't have you spilling the beans, then they will probably just go back into hiding and keep being wealthy whilst you rot in the dirt and the guards destroy the lives of everyone you hold dear looking for a now covered up and dead trail. But if we can act now, maybe you can be the true second in command for making everything work out so well!" The assassin saw the furnaces of hope reignite in the felons eyes as he nodded, not sure if he should really be doing as the traitor said, but not seeing a better option.

"Fine, I will give you all the names" The baker reached into Victors side pouch, his body between the baker and the guards allowing the slow action to be covered from their vision, he began to tap away at the screen a list with names, occupations, and ranks within the organisation quickly appearing, after a few minutes the baker grinned. Finally, he selected Candy and hesitated, his eyes questioning the name.

"Prostitute friend of mine knows the underground very well and is great at organising people so this is right up her alley, not bad of a hooker, kinda flat but a very nice ass" The baker shook his head as he sent the mail right to the guard captain causing Victors smile to turn a little more mischevious, standing up he walked over to the cell door, and pulled up his sleeves, hands now fully regrown he reached into his back pouch pulling out the key Kanda has so graciously put there, and opened the door, stepping out he turned and slammed the cage again causing a dumbfounded look on Bakers face, slowly the peices falling into place, before he could try to explain Victor always being one to gloat stole the spotlight.

"You see my overweight repulsive love pillow. I have been playing you all this time, whilst you thought you where clever playing your little game of economic checkers I was playing political chess, and I just checked your king all thanks to a treacherous little pawn" Victor grinned as he rubbed salt into the prisoner's wounds.

"Now let me tell you a thing or two, for one Victor Wolfe despite my reputation is the single most loyal follower Gilgamesh has, I have sent people to the underverse for that god amongst men and I would happily do it again if he so much as asked, I have given up my life many a time to serve the banners if this glorious city and its people, and that is how I climbed to the top, through grit, hard work, and dedication to the cause. Not through crushing the will of the people by keeping them poor and making the very few rich. So no, nobility cannot be bought, because even after all of the wealth you acquired through dirty means, at the end of the day you are still another mongrel peasant who would not be good enough to even shine my shoes and your existence brings shame to your entire bloodline, but since I am a very nice guy and you did help us out with that list of names. I will give you a much lighter sentence than the rest of your disgusting lot, so come over here right now!" Victor snarled, his words filled with venom and disdain that he had internalised over the last day, the rush of releasing it bringing him satisfaction at last

Boss Baker was in shock, once again he had the hope of a better future dragged out from under him, but at least he seemed to be getting a lighter sentence than his former co-workers. Standing up he shuffled slowly towards the bars of the cells, wondering if the assassin wanted to shake his hand for at least giving him an interesting game.

Before any of the guards could react, or Baker could back away Victor in a swift and fluid motion with one hand grabbed Baker by the shirt pulling him towards the bars, and with the other lifted his silver dagger, into the air and embedded it right into the eye socket, the sound of metal scraping bone, flesh and brain matter filling the room as the face of the assassin was covered in dark red blood, removing the blade as some of the guards nerviously motion to try to restrain the Lord, Victor dropped the corpse of the baker, it faling backwards with an ugly thud as blood continued to pour from the wounds, the eye and one at the base of the skull where the dagger had poked a hole. Shaking off the Guards Victor smiled 

"What? I promised him a lighter sentence, these idiots are going to wish I had just killed them by the time they serve their punishments, now go get Candy! We have things to discuss" The assassin smirked looking at his kill again as he awaited the captain of the guards.

[Yu Kanda]

“Captain! Captain come quick!” a panicked voice called out for his superior just outside the captain’s quarters. “What is it?” the captain replied towards the shut door which was thrown open the second his voice was heard on the other side. The guard rushed through the entrance, slamming the new door against the wall, cracking it in the process. Kanda wasn't amused with the sudden commotion in his office, ‘What's the meaning of this?’ He shouted as he stood up from behind his desk, both hands pressing down on top of the hardwood.

‘my apologies Captain, but you must come quick, it's Lord Wolfe...He…but we didn't expect….we were too late.’ the guard’s words stumbled and tripped out of his mouth, not making much sense to the captain. ‘Just spit it out, you're not making any sense. what about Lord Wolfe?’ The exorcist’s words and authoritative tone of voice demanded attention and clarification.The shocked messenger was finally able to get a proper sentence out after taking a deep breath. “You better come with me Sir, we weren’t able to stop him. There is blood everywhere.’ A shimmer of shock appeared in the swordsman’s dark eyes. Did he make a mistake placing a lord in that situation? was the Baker secretly a skilled fighter and made an example of Victor? Without any further delay the captain got out from behind his desk and rushed towards the jail cell. Speculations filled his already concerned mind, with Victor dead he might have to answer to the king, why did he listen to the dumbass’ plan. Who would claim his body? Did he need to send an escort to the Nexus in case he was brought back? Within mere moments every single thought gave him the nervous sweats. With his first high value “package” already dead, he feared how the masses or even the king would react to his inability to serve and protect. With a heavy burden weighing on his shoulder he pushed open the metal door separating the inmates from the rest of Nippur. Kanda’s first sight trembled his very core.

A pool of dark red treacly liquid was spreading across the hardwood floor, sipping through some of the cracks. The pool’s source was a body on the floor no longer moving. Victor’s hands, torso and part of his upper legs were covered, drenched in the fresh drawn blood. His regenerated fingers were moving across the wall across from the cell, they stopped when he noticed the guard captain joined his presence, “Ah Candy! You made it, i was just explaining to these fine gentleman here our brilliant plan and it was executed so brilliantly by providing some visual stimulations.” He took a step back and pointed towards the wall. “See, there are you, that’s me, over there is the corrupted baker and his goons. Oh this is where you fought the two idiots. This over here is my final piece, where you come storming in here lecturing me.” The exorcist stood in silence, dumbfounded. He turned It took at the blood painting on the wall, a few stick figures and some smeers of red covered the wall. His brain took unusually long to process what in the name of all that's holy was going. The silence continued towards the border of being uncomfortable. Kanda shifted his attention towards the other inmates. Within their eyes he discovered a new species of fear. Never before had he witnessed grown men, criminals, trembling and crying the way they did. This man, Victor Wolfe was either a brilliant man for putting up a show, creating legendary and tall tales that will send a clear message throughout the streets not to screw with the leadership of Nippur or…. He was a complete and utter psychopath, in desperate need of psychological help or a swift blade to the head. At the moment Kanda was leaning towards the latter. This Lord Wolfe could be a danger to himself and everyone around him.

“Candy?”

A single word pulled Kanda back to reality. Even Victor himself took a step back when he noticed the expression that was revealing itself on Kanda’s face. Deep within the swordsman, his anger evolved into one more step beyond rage, a paroxysm of fury exploded. His voice reaching a volume like never before, “ Are you absolutely mental ?!Out of your insane mind?!” He bouldered, the force behind the words were as if they were shaking the foundation of the building itself. “You killed him?! You actually murdered him? After everything we did to obtain him? Not only that you used him as your personal paint bucket?” The questions continued, Victor, never losing the smugness that seems to be permanently resident on his face, raised a blood covered finger trying to get a word in. The captain however was too far gone in his fit of fury, so the assassin quickly retracted it. “You may be a lord but you are not above the Law!” Kanda drew his sword and pointed it towards Victor. “Lorde Wolfe you are hereby under arrest for the murder of the Baker. You disappoint me Victor, you are not a judge nor are you an executioner, for this, you will stand trial. Guards! take him into custody!” Victor did not resist and allowed himself to be placed in shackles. His voice was calm and for once serious when he uttered a single sentence, “Check your mail,Candy.” After which he was taken away by a small escort of heavily armed guards.

Kanda sighed heavily looking at the aftermath of the slaughter that took place within his cell. King Gilgamesh would have to decide the fate of the lord. For now there were other matters that were more important at hand right now. “Clean this up.” He muttered as he walked back to his office.

The captain dropped in his seat shaking his head, pondering how he could've let things get to this point. Disappointed in how it all turned out and how Victor had fallen. He has always been an odd one but this time he went to far. Remembering Victor's last words he grabbed his dataverse device, apparently the Lord of Mayhem still had more surprises in store for him. The quick reading eyes of the captain widened as he read the email from Victor, the bastard actually did it. in front of him he had the four names of accomplices including the person running the entire charade.

“Dave!!!” He shouted as if calling his personal secretary.“Yes sir?” Dave replied after rushing into the office. “Get me Barry and his men.” Dave nodded and did as he was told.

It didn't take long for Barry and his squad to arrive once more. “Oi oi Captain, if i didn't know any better i’d say you had a little bit of a crush on us. Think we already deserve a fancy title or at the very least a raise.” Barry was answered with a cold deathlike stare and an uncomfortable silence. “Alright, don't get worked up. What can i do for ya, boss?”

“We got the names, all of them. Now we need to round them all up, at the same time. Before they warn one another and hide where we can never find them again.” The gathered soldiers knew how important this was, they remained silent and listened as the list of target's were distributed. “I will go after her myself.” The captain pointed at the top of the list, the ringmaster of it all. The men nodded and gathered their weapons. They left the guardstation in pairs to avoid suspicion, but they all knew where to go.

Kanda arrived at the square where it all began, where he arrested Victor in order for their ruse to be successful. He stood in front of the tea house, where the old lady running it was kind enough to offer him a warm beverage in his time of suffering. He walked inside, there were but a few customers enjoying the local speciality. The inside had a very persian vibe to it, walls were decorated with rugs. A small curtain of mist was created to add a more mysterious glow to it all. Small tables with gold coloured kettles filled the room. Near the counter he noticed the same old woman pouring two cups of tea. Kanda waited patiently as the elderly came walking up towards him. “Please take a seat Mr. Captain.” She placed both cups on the table near him before taking a seat herself. He obliged and sat down in front of her. “I take it you know why i have come?” He spoke, cutting straight to the chase. He was met with a smile as she sipped from the steaming beverage “Oh yes, that was quite a mess in your little jailcell there. Did you have to kill the poor man?”

“An unfortunate accident which will have consequences for the man involved. However, seeing as you know why i am here, you also know you won't be here to witness said consequences. I hereby place you under arrest Miss.Cuthry.” The tea lady simply chuckled, oh boy, do you truly think it would be that easy? that you simply walk in here and take me away?”. Around the couple several men stood up from their tables, a few more showed themselves from behind the curtains. She had at least twelve strong capable men with her. “If you start a fight here, my men will take the fight to the good people of nippur. I wonder how many innocent lives will be lost by your heroic attempt to take them all down? Just to arrest a little old lady. That won't look good on you Captain. But, i tell you what. I know when i have been defeated. Grant me safe passage and i will leave town tonight without any further victims.” Kanda simply grunted, she made some strong points. “What about the girl? Dave’s daughter.” The woman rubbed her chin, playing with a single grey hair, “The girl stays with us, as collateral.” The swordsman eyes scouted the place another time, there were too many here. He finally stood up, “Don't you dare hurt that little girl.” Finishing the statement the official started heading for the exit. “So we have a deal then?” the lady shouted after him. She received no reply, the morally defeated captain just walked off.

Back at the station the other were successful at rallying up the remaining members of the faction. “What happened?” Barry asked when his superior walked in empty handed. It was then that Kands started explaining the situation. Dave’s face betrayed him as emotions were overtaking it. “There were rumors, that the one in charge had powerful magical powers. What can be done?” He sobbed. “Now we show the power of Nippur guards. Barry i want you and ten others to change into civilian clothing, you go to that square and start the slowest evacuation ever. We don't want to alarm her or her men. Make sure that by nightfall there are no civilians left in or near the square, keep a few guards posted in uniform so we keep the show up.” The exorcist explained. “Then what?” A third guard asked. Kanda locked eyes with him, “Then we go to war, we march on that teahouse with a large enough force to make sure no one ever tries to pull shit like this again.

And so it was done, Barry and his men started smuggling people through their own town, one at a time. Slow but steady the operation continued, and so far, nothing suspicious happened near the criminal den that was Nippurs teahouse. The sun started to set, and the moon took it’s place in the now somewhat clouded sky. It was is the curtain was lifted for the grand spectacle. In the distance the sound of thunder was heard, a storm was brewing.

The square was lit with torches attached to the buildings. From a distance the sound of marching men could be heard. No tricks, no traps, just a warning, men of Nippur were coming. Kanda led a small army of guards towards the square, when they approached the plaza they were greeted by an equally large mob of men, carrying torches, weapons and a banner. A symbol was clearly visible, a dark dragon hiding in fog. It must've been the symbol the old lady used for her criminal enterprise. She stood amongst her men, a mysterious grin on her face as she was resting on an old wooden cane. The men surrounding her were loud, shouting, chanting and provoking the guards who in turn kept in ranks. Above them the storm finally arrived, as if god was ripping the skies above them in half, the first flash of lightning lit up the sky brightly. The bouldering sound was like angels banging the drums of war, creating a fitting divine setting.

No words were uttered, both groups stood across from one another. Kanda waited with giving the order to start the bloodbath. It was obvious many lives would be lost this night. It was this fact, together with the unknown location of Dave’s daughter that held him back. Another loud rupture in the sky was heard. The leader of the shadow organisation walked forward and spoke up. “I am the head snake of the black serpent, known amongst my people as the shadow queen. Heed my warning, leave this place now or find your soul lingering these streets for all eternity!” Her words were emphasized with a reaction from the heavens. Amongst the men there was starting to be some discomfort, the guards were starting to become nervous. They had heard the rumors of magical powers as well, and at this moment, some started to believe it.

The situation had a grim premonition to it. Kanda had a firm grip on his sword. Any moment now he would give the word and sentence a large portion of these men to die. A large inhale of air before shouting his order got interrupted when the torches surrounding the square suddenly stopped burning. A darkness set upon the scene, causing a slight panic amongst both sides. Out of nowhere a spotlight got turned on, shining towards the rooftop of the teahouse. Two large speakers were seen by all. Oh god no. Was the final thought going through the exorcist’s mind before the criminal leader cried out her voice,”Who dares to interrupt the shadow queen? Speak and i shall consider sparing your life. Speak and-...” Her speech got cut off when music started blasting loudly through the speakers.

“Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for a place to go
Where they play the right music”

Victor emerged in the bright spotlight as the lyrics of the song continued, at his side a sobbing blonde girl. His grin was as wide as an open sea horizon. Every eye on that square was looking up towards him. As he jumped down the spotlight followed him.

“You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the dancing queen
Young and sweet”

The lord of theatrics swayed his hips as he moved through the crown. Dancing to the loud song from his speakers. The elegantly moving assassin was like a drop of water flowing through a river, no one was standing in his way. It wasn't long before he stood in front of the old tea house lady. It was then the music stopped. She took a breath to speak up. Before able to do so Victor balled a fist and landed it directly on her nose. A large cracking sound was heard as her head flew backwards. The body followed by crumbling to the ground. what followed was a silence as the dead body of one of the biggest criminals was on the ground. Neither party moved.

It was Victor who made the first move, he walked over to Kanda, tapped him on the shoulder, “ It seems our job here is done Candy, we make quite the team. Oh and i left you a present on your desk.” He tried to walk off but was stopped by the Captain, “Hold up! What happened, how did you..? You were in custody! You committed a crime...you can't simply walk off after that!.”

The lord turned around and tapped his golden lion’s crest, “Diplomatic immunity Candy, look it up. Or take it up with the King. And remember, it's all in the hips.” A single fluent hip move and Victor left the scene. With a single blow he ended this entire thing.

With their leader gone the men laid down their arms and were taken into custody. They achieved victory in the strangest way imaginable, by a dancing smug looking assassin. The next few days would consist out of clean up and making an official statement what happened that night. But Kanda wouldn't even know where to start describing it.

At the end of a long night he sat down in his chair. When he noticed a piece of paper on his desk. It must've been Victor’s present. It title said: ‘Town with no name’. The next chapter for the guards of Nippur.