Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In another Mirror World, things have gone about the same way as they had your world’s own.

One where a group of thirteen Sinners were destined to find a Golden Bough. Of course, they were joined by a new cohort, a red-haired girl of which the perspective shall be followed.

This is the tale of Twelve Sinners guided by the rays of the clock-headed light. The tale of a Color Fixer who will guide them all down the right path...

This is the tale of the Limbus Company, as was recalled by a Lobotomy Corporation Remnant.

Our story begins... At her end.

My name is Yuri, and I’m a former Lobotomy Corporation member, only now existing as a remnant of what survived of the entire thing.

It was a little frustrating, really. One moment, you’ve signed up and began working for one of the Wings of the City, but the next, well... It just up and collapsed the one day you decided to not clock in for the time being. The Light that shone upon the City made a lot of people look on in awe but, after that, things took a turn for... How do I even say it?

It’s not like anything changed in the City’s Backstreets where I had begun to live in and work for an Office. It’s not like people stopped killing each other over resources or clout. In fact, what came after that incident only attributed to just another statistic to be announced everywhere.

Distortions . It was something many offices out there were always suppressing each and every day. It’s scary to think that these Distortions would stem from someone like myself, or my coworkers.

I was hired today by a woman named Faust to act as a guide for their rag-tag group of “Sinners” called the Limbus Company. I wanted to tell them that I was a part of the place they were headed for to find a Golden Bough, but...

“Pinky-hair, why do you keep rubbing that odd paper in Charon’s face.” ...Their bus driver, Charon, leaves more to be desired. If I had to be completely honest, I was utterly baffled they even managed to find the meet-up spot I was told to wait in earlier with someone like her. In my hands was a map, a parchment that should have been helping her, and yet she vehemently denies any assistance from it.

“B-Because you keep going in weird directions! Take a look at this map. Our destination is to the southeast of here…” I said, pointing in said direction. She briefly looked at it with a cursory glance. With her dead stare and deadpan voice, I couldn’t even tell if she was considering it at all.

“Follow the heart. That’s where the true path lies.”

Another voice echoed from behind me, shouting out “Hear, hear! We all must follow as our hearts lead!” all the while. I swear I could hear her standing up with a fist clenched, bumping her chest while puffing it out in valor. Her name was “Don Quixote”, if that silver nametag was to be believed, and she was... definitely a character. The point still stands though, “...You’re just admitting that you can’t read a map.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I felt like both me and the orange-haired woman with the nametag of “Ishmael” were in sync. How couldn’t we, when we both facepalmed at roughly the same time, at least according to their Manager after I had asked them about it, but... I’ll get there when it’s relevant.

Especially since... I’ve only been talking about the past at the moment.

Right now, we were inside the remnants of an L Corp. Facility, knee deep, actually.

Aya had just died before my eyes, all thanks to that Abnormality known as Ebony Queen’s Apple... It just impaled her right through her gut. We even came across the Doomsday Calendar, and... Alex.

She was but another statue head belonging to that thing now. And even after that, we came across the Golden Apple.

It’s yellow, glowing body broke, and the raging fruit still grew. I thought that the Golden Bough was inside.

“I’ll go check it out!” I shouted, running up to check.

Oh, how a fatal mistake that was. The last thing I saw was the fruit’s cracked shell suddenly began to rattle as if it would jump at any moment. I was too slow to realize it until maggots swarmed my body and I blacked out.

I was dead.

At least, that was what I thought. The muffled voices of the others... I could still hear them. I could feel myself writhing within the False Apple. In hindsight, I should’ve stayed away, maybe I could’ve survived.

I was a fool, now a fool who sees a light in the distance, glowing brightly.

An afterlife.

Perhaps, maybe... I could be reincarnated into a better world. A world far kinder than the City... So why were there two chains suddenly rushing in towards me and someone else?

It wasn’t any time to think, though. As soon as the chain connected with me, I felt the maggots squirm all around me once again, I felt my neck being decapitated, I felt pain, anguish, my skin rupturing, my veins bleeding, my heart burning...

And I gasped for air, coughing up excess maggots in the end. Another voice was coughing a little too, right next to me in-fact, but I couldn’t see who it was, my eyepatch wouldn’t allow it.

However, what my eyesight did allow was it’s blurry vision to return. Everyone looked at me and the stranger next to me with wide, unbelieving eyes. Another voice could only mutter a small “How did...?” into my ears before I completely passed out.

By the time I had woken up, I rose to consciousness inside of the bus I boarded earlier ago. I was leaning onto the window, in a place I was not familiar in. I rubbed my remaining functioning eye, rubbing off the fatigue from earlier.

“What... Happened...?” Those two words were what I could say, leading to the gray-haired man to look back at me with cold, red eyes. I could only gulp in terror, seeing him look back at me.

“So, you’re finally awake,” He would say with that same, gravely and intimidating voice that spoke years of experience, far beyond anything that my lowly Fixer grade had, “You were passed out for a while, Yuri.”

“Where... Am I?” That was the second question I had to ask, “Am I dead?”

“For that, I’ve got good news and bad news,” The man said before sitting down before me. I didn’t quite understand what was happening. Just who was he? I... Couldn’t really remember much past the point of me dying to the False Apple. At least, that was until he cleared his throat. I instinctively sat up straight, my usual slouch had no place where he was before me. Better to fear a man who looks old in a profession where people die young, as they say.

“Good news, you’re still alive. Even after your encounter with that Abnormality the others have reported, you managed to stick around,” I guess that those were good news... But what about the bad news then? The answers I received weren’t exactly what I had expected though, “The bad news is that you’re now a part of the Limbus Company roster of Sinners... Me included. However, while I have a work clause that allows me to bypass this unless Dante calls upon me, you and your new cohort over there are unfortunately going to really have to carry your weight by the next mission.”

What?

I was... a Sinner now?

Chapter Text

It had been quite a few hours after that revelation. Not only was Aya back from the dead, like I was, but it turned out that we were in District 10... The district ruled by J Corp. A place full of gamblers and hecklers at every corner. I heard that their Singularities were based on locking anything that’s been exposed or open and the extraction, storage, and usage of “Wishpower” to boost someone’s luck.

At least that’s what the small notes that Ishmael had left before her departure had told me. Truth be told, I’ve never been here before, so it was still rather new to me. It was quiet on the bus, Charon was reading a book called “Demian”. It felt like an omen, but I decided to see if I can give something a shot.

“Charon?” I spoke, catching the girl’s attention, putting a bookmark on her novel as she closed it afterward.

“What is it, Pinky-hair?” She asked back, before I slowly pulled out my map. I could see her face wrinkle up in disgust at the sight.

“Oh, come on, I barely even pulled it out!” I forwent my initial plan of merely unfurling the map slowly but surely and just unfurled it completely, placing it before Charon, “Okay, so... Which District did we come from?”

“D Corp.” Okay, not a bad start. From where we were standing, that was Northwest of this current District we were in.

“Now, what direction is that from?”

“Mephi’s back.”

And so was I, back to square one that is. How hard could it just be, trying to find a way towards the destination we needed to be in? To think that we’re supposed to participate in the fights that are to come after will only make this feeling of being ever-so lost worse.

“If Pinky-hair has nothing else to say, can Charon continue reading her book?” I could only sigh, and decided to resign from teaching her, at least for now. Curling up the map that I had pitifully attempted to teach Charon how to read a map instead of a novel. I guess that we’ll be driving in circles by the time we head to our next destination. Speaking of... Looking at the map, the only possible Districts we can travel to are pretty limited.

There was the aforementioned District 4, ruled by D Corp. And from District 10, J Corp, we have a few options to head towards.

To our north is District 9, I Corp. It was one of the Wings that participated in the Smoke War, and... Wait... Why can’t I... Remember much?

It was odd. It looks like once I became another Sinner, I lose certain memories. But, that wasn’t important at the moment. To our East was District 18--The Nest of R Corp. stood tall there.

I remember that one, at least. They were the ones who provided the Rabbit Team when I worked at Lobotomy Corporation. To our Southeast laid District 19, where S Corp. reigned. I heard that they deal with agriculture and livestock, but at the moment, they are really in the midst of some pretty heavy political turmoil... I don’t even want to touch that if possible.

District 20 is right beneath us in the South. A land of no color, and home to another one of Lobotomy Corporation’s collaborators--TimeTrack Corporation... Or just T Corp. for short. They helped prolong our jobs but... At what cost?

Was it still so wrong... that I survived?

...I shouldn’t be so sentimental now. That’s that, and this is this.

To the Southwest laid part of the Great Lake, which extended beyond our City borders and partly into the Outskirts... And it was where U Corp. was partly located. They make tuning forks to merge the essences of objects, turning two affected items into one as if it was always made to be like that to begin with.

The man that introduced himself to me as “Vergilius” looked up, taking notice of a particular group celebrating together outside. I swore I heard... Maracas? And... Samba? This was confusing enough for Aya to stand up and look outside in curiosity, looking out through the window.

“Woah. Hey Yuri, c’mere!” She said, looking outside. I was curious myself. What was all that ruckus about? I took a peek outside and... It looked like they were coming back with bags of chips in their hands and a Golden Bough in Dante’s hands. They... came back with a Golden Bough! At least that’s what I thought that thing was.

Although, looking at Vergilius, a small smile grew on his face before it just as quickly faded, quickly taking notice of something that I hadn’t caught onto yet. At least until Aya pointed it out herself.

“Wonder who the new gal is!” Oh no. Another one? Seriously? The doors flung open as soon as Charon took notice, she was looking at them in curiosity as they all joyfully walked inside, the newcomer being the first to enter.

“Haha! I didn’t even know you all had good luck charms on ya! I normally wouldn’t condone it, but...” The woman said, her sombrero blocking her eyes to me for a moment before she looked up, smirking at the blonde boy with a nametag I could barely make out the name of... “Emil Sinclair”. She looked at him with pride, as if she was complimenting him for something he had done earlier. “You really know how to throw a Pañata party, chico !”

She chuckled a little, only for the celebrations to stop as soon as Vergilius cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him in fear, though the newcomer was the only one slightly startled, seeing that she’s never met him once before. From her outfit... It looked like she was a part of a Syndicate of some kind.

“Woah, uh... ¿Quién es usted? ” She spoke in Spanish. I didn’t quite understand it, but Vergilius’ eyes glowing brightly spoke plenty enough for her to gulp nervously, “S-Sorry, señor ...”

“Did you help them acquire the Golden Bough?”

A confused “Eh?” came from the woman, looking back at the others. Don Quixote in particular nodded her head hastily and rapidly, another man whose nametag I could barely make out named “Heathcliff” gestured for her to keep talking.

“ ¡S-Sí! ” She squeaked, raising her hands. Surprisingly enough, he smiled.

“I’m impressed. Not only did you all secure the Golden Bough, but your new ally assisted you in getting it at all,” He spoke, the gravely voice somehow being a lot more gentle as opposed to what he had earlier, “Tell me three things, lady... One--what’s your name?”

“Aida. Jefe de Los Mariachis . A Syndicate leader from J Corp, señor . ” The woman shook her maracas, “What’s your second question?”

“How does ‘ Aida, LCB Pecador ’ sound?” Vergilius smirked, looking at Dante, probably knowing full well of what just happened. I just managed to catch on myself, though Aya has yet to do so herself, “After all, there will be more Golden Boughs after the one you have secured today. And as you know--the more the merrier.”

Aida only hummed, putting a finger on her cheek as the rest of the Sinners began to catch onto what Vergilius was implying.

“A very tempting offer, señor . I’ll consider it,” She smiled, confident about what he might throw at her next. Although, given the atmosphere, I feel as though I know where it will go... “What’s your third question?”

“ ...How do you feel, knowing you and your men died back there following them deeper inside... And coming back as one of us, without being given much of a choice? ”

Aida fell silent. Rodion, one of the few Sinners to have taken a liking to me since I first appeared before them, spoke up.

“Heya, Verg! L-Let’s calm down a little, yeah? Come on, w-we got more winnings! Ahaha... Ah...” Her nervous laughter wasn’t helping much. Was Miss Rodion... hiding something? She looked so uncomfortable seeing Aida being so pressed.

“Rodya. Calm down,” Aida would sternly say. What’s gonna happen to her? The woman smoking a cigarette behind the others grew a toothy grin upon her face. “Ryoushuu”, I think her name was supposed to be. I was nervous, especially for Aida, “I’ve been doing some thinkin’ about it...”

“So? What is your answer?”

“... No te defraudaré, jefe. ” Aida could only smirk widely, her lips curled up completely. Ryoushuu’s grin quickly turned into a frown and an annoyed click came from her tongue, “That’s Spanish for ‘Not gonna let you down, boss’. Gonna be lookin’ forward to working with you troublemakers.”

A sigh of relief came from Rodion before she placed the bag of chips on a small table, leading Aya to open her eyes in shock. I couldn’t even fathom it... There were just so many of them!

“How did you even manage to do this?!” I couldn’t even believe my own eyes, what’s left of them anyways. But even with a second, functioning eye, I STILL wouldn’t even believe them! This was a fortune, a goldmine even!

“What can we say? Manager scored big,” Aida smirked, placing down a couple more, “really, REALLY big when I bring in my share.”

None of the Sinners could even believe it. We all had a lot of money and... This was enough for fine dining for a week! My taste buds were going to be in heaven for a while, that I know for certain.

Aida leaned into my ear to whisper, and something she said just... Plainly disturbed me a little.

“ Chiquita, don’t say anything... But I think that the Clock-faced manager looks kinda cute. ”

Well... That spoiled the moment a little. I can’t even think about how Dante and Aida would even work it out. But what do I know? I’m not a part of her little group. One thing I do know is that we’re going to go to our next destination after this.

Our escapades eventually led up to us finding ourselves within a K Corp. checkpoint. I think that from here on out, Aida, Aya and I are supposed to properly WORK with them this time around. As in... Fight people in order to get to the next area.

I thought it would’ve been a piece of cake getting past the checkpoint, if not for Don Quixote causing a ruckus. She just stabbed her lance right into the glass wall of the checkpoint and caused a Code Purple. None of us even knew what it even was, but from the guards that attempted to rush at us, I don’t think it was anything good. We had to fight hordes of them for a while, and... I swear, they kept healing each and every time we cut them down.

So this is how it felt—to be on the side of the Abnormality, while someone else spammed the healing equipment. Now I’m starting to feel what those Abnormalities are feeling at the moment.

Genuine frustration.

What I didn’t even expect was that our friends... They looked a lot different. Acted differently too. I think they were called “Identities”, and were alternate versions of themselves. I asked Faust if me, Aida and Aya had any but she’s yet to budge about it. I’m positive that we don’t even get that treatment at all, if any.

It also looked like Aida is getting quite tired, though. But given how she was a part of a Syndicate before being dragged into the Limbus Company like I have, I don’t think we were in any place to say anything, especially since this might have been a regular vendetta she had. Especially given the growl on her face when she looked right into the K Corp. Guard’s helmet, and how her maracas struck much harder than they usually were. It wasn’t like those graceful movements we saw her do once before whenever Dante would send us down into the Mirror Dungeon to “explore our kits” as he’s said it.

I decapitated an incoming guard who tried to sneak up on Aida, who was still mercilessly beating another guard down into a pulp, swearing something at him in Spanish. I couldn’t be bothered to ask what it meant, it was probably a lot of profanity. That, and my priorities at the moment was NOT being arrested at a checkpoint thanks to Don Quixote.

“It’s only this one time that I wished that I stayed in that apple,” I thought aloud, startling Aida enough to look at me in the eye with a confused look on her face.

“Did ya say something, niña ?”

“Nothing...” That was all I could realistically grumble at the moment, there were more on the way. Was there SERIOUSLY no end to them?! However, these ones only raised their shields, as if to box us all in for...

A loud crash came in, and that was the only thing I could hear for a while with muffled, dead ears. It all happened so fast, I didn’t even realize that I was dead. Just great... Although, now that I’ve caught myself inside the afterlife... I was quick to notice that some of the other Sinners were stuck in this void with me.

Well, them and some of the guards we had so violently killed.

“...So who’s the big guy that just squished all of us?” I would ask, seemingly a bit too casual about the fact that I’ve died. Truth be told, after remembering my millennia of servitude for L Corp... Am I really supposed to be surprised?

“Dunno ‘bout you, lass, but you’re WAY too relaxed for havin’ just been murdered!” Heathcliff would say as he had managed to appear in the void of the afterlife, “Come on, ‘least have SOME empathy for us!”

“Did you at least see who it was that killed us?” Rodion groaned, “I don’t think that the chiquita will be able to comprehend who it was that knocked her out.”

“Right, right... Big guy, blonde... Kinda an idiot,” Ah great... Was it him of all people? Really? That loudmouth is way too much, even for us. But knowing Dante, he’d most likely nab him while trying to bring us back... Actually, come to think of it, it’d be a very great boon. Having a Fixer as strong as that guy would help tons.

Sure enough, we all heard the familiar sounds of chains rattling. All of us have gotten used to such things already, it wouldn’t really change much now. When we took in the air once again, the purple lights ceased and Vergilius didn’t waste a second reprimanding Dante.

Over what, I already had a hunch on. I looked around, and saw Siegfried already signing an autograph for Don Quixote, who was barely even standing. How she hasn’t died from the blood loss currently going through her is completely out of the question, and I’ve quite already given up on thinking about it.

“Ah! So, these are the new allies I’ve squished, right, New Manager?” Siegfried leaned downward, putting a finger on his chin. Of course, I had to be lumped in the same category as this Fixer with a mouth as big as his ego–the type of Sinners that were more recently inducted due to Dante. Although, now that I think about it, I wonder what the logic behind that selection process was?

He did have some anxieties going into a fight against Backstreets Rats and other mooks that we often come across to refill the Enkephalin reserves on Mephistopheles, but other than me, Aya and Aida, nobody else has joined. Did we need to have a more direct interaction with Dante himself before we could actually do anything about it?

If so, then if someone were to directly harm Dante, they would most likely enter a contract with him. I can’t exactly say that for certain when he’s most likely just doing it on complete accident. I guess that kind of stuff was all to a coin-flip.

Vergilius understandably groaned, rolling his red eyes. He patted the clock-headed manager on his shoulder, groaning a small “Dante... I would like to request a chat with Don Quixote specifically later,” towards where his ear would’ve been. Something told me that tone of voice didn’t exactly bode well.

Just as it looked like Dante was about to give the still bewildered and starstruck Don Quixote a word, an armored vehicle appeared before us.

“A newfound foe?” Outis said, drawing her blade already, “Bold of them to challenge us in front of a Nest’s checkpoint.”

I wasn’t really a fan of back-to-back confrontations, especially with my new job, so I just let out a small sigh and my mouth ran off without me.

“Can’t we just sic Siegfried on ‘em?” I immediately slapped my hand over my own mouth upon realizing what I just said. Not like it mattered, both Outis and Aida seemed to be quite on board with the idea.

“Ooh... An astute observation since our newest recruit’s induction to our forces! Very well, Siegfried, get ready-”

“Nah.”

“What!?” Outis nearly popped a vein looking back at him, “Siegfried, powers be damned, we require you to-”

“I said no. ‘Sides...” The doors swung open, revealing two individuals inside, “They look like they’re with us!”

Two people, a man and a woman, crawled out of the back of the van, weapons already prepared. However, they did have little words for seeing... Well, me, Siegfried, Aida and Aya all still here. Honestly? Understandable stuff—we were either Sinners by proxy or Sinners after we died, and this was our curse.

“Hey there, Miss Faust! What's uh... What's that you got there?” The woman asked, pointing towards me in particular, probably because Siegfried was towering over behind me.

“They are... Incidents. Something has gone awry with the Manager’s clock,” Faust said. Jeez, calling us mistakes, much? I'm quite hurt. That’s what I thought, anyways. I’ve run my mouth enough to the point that I feel like I’d be next on the chopping block for the Red Gaze's “To Verbally or Straight-Up Murder” list, so I kept it to myself and this journal.

“Riiiiight, not like you totally didn’t just recruit them all somehow.” The man chuckled, “And hey, at least you guys got meatshields now!”

“Hey!” Almost all of us who abandoned all hope like all they who boarded Mephistopheles yelled.

“Listen here, smartypants.” Siegfried was next to run his mouth. Oh no... “Me and some of these other fine ‘recruits’ are all part of this bus much like lady Faust and this tiny specimen here!”

He’s certainly adjusted and taken to his new role immediately... But what did he mean by a tiny specimen?

Wait.

Nevermind, it was Don Quixote. She was still frothing in her mouth, having a seizure on the ground seemingly from how excited she was sticking around with the likes of the Red Gaze and Siegfried.

Thank God she finally calmed down after she was pulled up by Siegfried by her limp arm.

“A-Ah! Ahem! Yes, quite so! I and these fine assortment of individuals ended up as unlikely allies in this journey through the inferno!” The blonde spoke with her signature style of Old Shakespesrean English, “For the Manager Esquire himself hath... Uh... ‘Recruited’ them, to say the least. For you seeyeth-”

“Okay, okay! Calm down señorita !” Aida spoke up, “Long story short, clockhead o’er there keeps rewindin’ too far and consistently ends up causin’ us to be brought into the fold.”

“Ahh... That makes sense! Well, in that case, name’s Effie.” Effie then gestured over towards her partner, “And this here's Saude!”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Saude greeted, giving a small salutations to the others.

“And we are the LCBB team, Limbus Company Before Team! We basically just scout ahead for you guys!”

Right. A scouting party for our troubles. At least we’ll have SOME level of understanding just what is ahead of us in terms of what is gonna be happening.

As soon as we walked out of the checkpoint and finally ended up at Mephistopheles, we all entered the bus one by one as a pouty Charon waited inside, though I did stay outside for a moment after I had just realized something.

“Wait a minute.” I looked over my shoulder, looking at Siegfried who was just waiting for me, tapping Yi Sang before me on the shoulder before jabbing my finger at the gigantic Fixer, “...How the hell are we gonna fit Siegfried in this bus?”

Everyone else turned to look at me before Siegfried himself hummed, wondering how to get inside himself. An awkward amount of time later, we had finally managed to figure things out. But... I don’t think that some things are forgotten so easily.

“Right... Charon, don't move just yet.”

“Okay, Verg.”

The Red Gaze looked up at us, all of us... Before his focus shifted and it locked right onto Don Quixote. It looks like he was about to murder her on the spot.

“Don Quixote. Front and center.”

All of us filtered to our seats, save for Siegfried since he didn’t have one installed just yet... Or one that fit him. That left only Don Quixote to anxiously stand on her lonesome in the center of the bus.

“Let’s hear your excuse, Don Quixote,” Vergilius growled.

“I... could not turn a blind eye to the weak being persecuted—”

My vision couldn’t follow what happened in that instant. I blinked only for a moment, and... As soon as I caught up with the situation...

“Gahgk...! Ghk...”

...I saw Vergilius having already kicked Don Quixote to the ground, his heel on her throat.

“I asked for an excuse, not a justification of your views.” Vergilius’s raspy voice groaned while Don Quixote struggled to get up.

“This isn’t the first time, either, Don Quixote. You’re responsible for three separate incidents already. That’s three separate times you’ve jeopardized our work with your deranged behavior.” His gaze burnt into her’s once more. “What do you think? Speak. ”

“Wh… While mine own actions did inconvenience my colleagues…” Don Quixote’s pained groan grew louder as Vergilius dug his boot into her shoulder. I didn’t have the heart to step in. In fact, nobody did, it was almost our bodies refused to move even though we screamed at them to do so. Of course, Don Quixote was being punished for her own actions… But more than anything, it was evident that disrupting this wasn’t going to make the situation better.

This conversation... I... I feel as though I can’t write any more from this memory. This one’s... Best left off to be “off the record” as one would put it. Besides, I’ve already gotten used to these kinds of things. Minding my own business and not sticking my nose in places I’m not supposed to.

...It’s unfortunate to say that I know where that part came from most of all. I think that, despite my contract with Dante, he’s somehow allowed me to remember almost everything from my time in Lobotomy Corporation... Down to the screams, the horrors and the apocalyptic memories I had there.

Vergilius did stand up after we saw the now crestfallen Don Quixote scurry back into her seat, and Vergilius’ eyes stared down onto me, Aya, Aida and Siegfried. While Siegfried was probably just waving his hand, me and Aida were both completely frozen in fear.

“Listen... While we try and figure out how in the world Dante was able to form contracts between him and all of us who were not part of the Limbus Company Sinners prior...” Vergilius’ eyes glowed the equal red glow that he gazed upon Don Quixote with earlier ago, sending a chill down my spine.

“ Don’t think for a second that any of us are exempt from this. A company isn’t a platform for fulfilling egocentric dreams or preaching big ideas. While I may be one to talk, I would also be one to warn a fellow coworker that if they would still go against the terms of your employment contract to act unprompted, consider the consequences before you do. You’ll spend a grueling period of being unable to escape; not through death, nor through struggles at severance. ”

Gregor looked behind himself, and I swore he looked at Siegfried for a second before he just shook his head and muttered something to himself. However, Rodion and Ishmael were the next to speak.

“Sheesh, the mission hasn’t even started and we already got a scolding~” Rodion smiled, leaning back on her seat, “Have some tact before you act, ‘kay?”

“Phew... I knew this day would come sooner or later.” Ishmael sighed, “We should all be careful from now on.”

It didn’t really take a genius to look at the two and realize they were staring right at Heathcliff when they said that.

“Why are you two birds gawking at me? Looking to get stoned?” He asked with a raised brow.

“Perhaps a special interest~?” Aida teased, prompting me to just elbow her to stop her from speaking, even if Vergilius just turned his gaze back on the two. Aida only clicked her tongue whilst Heathcliff let out a “Fine, I got it!” after noticing himself.

With that conflict sorted out, the bus finally departed. Looking out the windows evoked a strange feeling in me and my fellow passengers... I... Never really got to go through K Corp, so this was still pretty new to me as well.

“Check out those people,” Rodion was the first to chirp up, “they look like they haven’t a care in the world...”

Something about the way she said that was... A little vindictive.

“<This is way different from the roads we’ve been through.>” Dante spoke next.

“Aha, I guess this is our manager bud’s first time traveling in the middle of a Nest.” Gregore mentioned.

“Ah, but of course!” Siegfried was next to speak. Him being right behind me and sitting next to Aya who was poorly positioned and squished up against the window wasn’t helping, “There’s a world of difference between the Nests and the Backstreets.”

“Yeah... Each Nest has its own cultural heritage too, I’m not surprised that you’d know about it.” Ishmael would reply. Huh... Somehow, she’s already taken to Siegfried as one of her own teammates already. I’m genuinely surprised. I looked over to Aida and... She just looked out the window with a silent stare. I think she might’ve been thinking about something... At least until she yawned.

“I’m booooooooreeeed.... Oi, jefe ... ¿ Ya hemos llegado ?”

“English, please, Aida.” Vergilius would groan, having heard her from all the way here.

“Are we there yeeeeeeet?”

“ El viaje del héroe es largo, compañero caspita !” Don Quixote spoke in complete Spanish, dear GOD there’s two of them.

“Attention, all.” Vergilius suddenly butted in, startling everyone. “Our destination is the town of Calw, situated in Nest K. Investigation revealed that a passage connected to a Lobotomy Corp. branch exists somewhere in that village.”

As soon as the name “Calw” was mentioned, Sinclair lapsed into fear once again and started trembling in his seat as if something was coming after him. Still, Vergilius continued to talk.

“But, as you have told me, a third party has occupied the area surroudning the branch facility. That’s why I requested an additional recon operation from Clearance.”

“Preliminary Observation Unit 3 from the Before Team has been dispatched.” Faust said with the same tone she had with every other conversation. “Mr. Effie and Ms. Saude should be with them by now.”

“We’ll receive a report from them once they get a good grasp of the situation.” Shortly after that conversation ended we were already deep within the Nest, but as we were entering Cawl... A thought came to my mind.

Since we were new Sinners, would that mean we would end up resonating with more Golden Boughs along the way, or will we just end up having to follow the ones who were already here before us like Yi Sang and Ishmael? I raised my hand to try and get Faust’s attention, but it seemed like Aida had the same thoughts I had.

“Oi~ señorita , ya forgettin’ lil’ ol’ us already?” Aida asked, “How come we gotta do some of the dirty work when all y’all need are the peeps actually important? Y’know, like Sinclair here.”

“That is because, despite the Manager’s... Quirks, Faust believes that Faust should become one who believes in uncertainty.” Faust replied, “While Faust may know all outcomes, Faust also knows that our strength as a unit has become far larger with the advent of you, Vergilius, Yuri, Aya and Siegfried joining our ranks, albeit unintentionally.”

“So... What, we some sorta outsider equation for ya?” Aya asked casually, resting her rifle on her shoulders.

“In a sense, Aya,” The white-haired woman replied once more, before she walked away, “However, it is quite interesting to have reliable allies such as you by our side. Our chances of survival and acquiring the Golden Boughs have increased significantly.”

“That’s some way of saying that we’re meatshields.” Aya nonchalantly smirked as the bus entered a quiet woodland path leading to Calw. Lush green trees rarely ever found in the Backstreets began to decorate the scene, which provided us with a comforting sight.

“Why is... smoke... coming from...” Sinclair’s muttering was what drew my attention to the ominous billow of smoke rising in the distance. Where there was smoke, there were flames. And where they were flames... Whatever it was, it was disturbing enough for Rodion to let out a concerned “Sinclair...?” as she tried to reach out to him.

“Charon, turn.”

“Evasive maneuver. Rumble-tumble.”

The bus suddenly made a sharp turn to the left, shortly before a gigantic nail flew in and noisily embedded itself in the back window, startling me and Aida as the nail had almost impaled through Heathcliff’s head, and I had JUST pulled Aida out of the way.

“ ¡DIOS MÍO! ”

“BUGGER! Who the hell was that ?! I almost kicked it back there!”

Faust hummed right after that.

“Though I hadn’t run a test with a projectile at such velocity, this does suggest that the windows need to be reinforced a little.”

“I’d appreciate it if it were bulletproof from the get-go, ¡ PUTA ALEMANA !”

“That was aimed directly at us. They must be the faction the Before Team warned us about...” Outis spoke, looking outside of the window as if to pause for effect. “The Employees of N Corp.”

“Verg, Mephi got hurt. Charon’s sad.”

“Doesn’t look like they’ll stop anytime soon.” Vergilius noted, before gesturing to all of us. “Off the bus, all... Except you, Siegfried.”

“Wha--!? WHY DOES SIEGFRIED GET A PASS?!”

“I’ll need to have a chat with him.” Vergilius groaned, clearly not looking forward to it.

“Ah, before ya do that, chief...” Aya raised her hand from the back of the bus. “Can someone help~?”

After we awkwardly tried to pull Aya out of a window and an overzealous place, we got off the bus and saw the group that stood in the way, clad from head to toe in rusty armor with faded coats of white.

“Halt. You may not use this road.”

“You should’ve said so in the first place, ‘cause what about our windshield?” Gregor replied to the knight.

“You’re rather rude for someone who attacked without warning.” Outis was next to speak. “Isn’t it at least common courtesy to state your affiliations?”

“We are Inquisitors. We are the nail that fixes the blasphemous, and the hammer that strikes down the sinful.”

“Nail and Hammer? What are ya buildin’? Can ya fix up our windshields?” Aida asked with sarcasm lined around her mouth.

“Wait a second, so... They’re an employee of Nagel und Hammer?” Ishmael asked.

“That’s... a very convoluted way of saying it.” I added. Yet still, the Inquisitor was persistent and still stood in our way.

“You shall not proceed as we are in the midst of cleansing heretical dissidents.”

“Heretics? Hey now, we just want to pass through, not looking for any trouble. We’re on the, uh...” Gregor silently muttered something to himself nervously. What was he planning? “A tour...! That’s right, and this is a tour bus.”

Labeled as tourists all of a sudden, all of us just exchanged looks in silence. I guess that to prevent another disastrous first impression, Gregor was doing what he could--even though his efforts fell flat for the most part--to gently appease the armored crowd. All of it accompanied by an attempt at the kind, harmless smile a tourist would wear.

“M-Mr. Gregor, I’ve been thinking... A-Are you into these kinds of bits?” I asked, leaning over to whisper into his ear. Rodion however, was a lot louder about her thoughts.

“I wanted to ask that too since I’ve been thinkin’ about it since the job at the mine...”

The quivering corners of Gregor’s smile roused some pity in my heart when he muttered a small “That’s not exactly it...”, but Aya suddenly rose her voice.

“Yeaaaaahhh, we were just tourin’ around~ Ya got any refreshments?” Aya asked of the Inquisitor, who just stared at her through armor. Even though he was masked, I could tell he was just squinting at her with utter confusion.

One of the other Inquistiors who was on a break nonchalantly raised another can with a fork to go along with it. Aya opened it and saw the mushy food provided to them. It didn’t exactly... Look too appetizing.

“This ready to eat?”

“...Yes?”

“Sweet.” Aya poked it with the fork, and threw a forkful into her mouth before chewing. “Hm, tastes like mushy pork.”

Though genuinely curious for a second, Don Quixote couldn’t even ask for a helping herself before Outis suddenly slapped the can away from Aya’s hands.

“Heeeey, I was eatin’ that.” Aya said, not even phased.

“Now is hardly the time to be joking around! Take this job seriously!” Outis demanded.

“...Odd form of irony coming to your ‘commanding officer’ aside, you all have yet to prove yourselves to be untainted.” The Inquisitor spoke, which did lead to Gregor realizing that the plan didn’t work at all, and simply clicked his tongue.

“Fine... Tell us how so we can get on with it.” Gregor scratched the back of his head. The Inquisitor suddenly pointed in Dante’s direction, leading to most of us looking his way.

“Behead that blasphemous traveler.” The Inquisitor asked of us, leading to a startled “<M...Me?!>” from our manager. “And kneel before our hammer as you consecrate their head to us. Such will prove that you are untainted ones, and your journey shall continue without hindrance. You will, of course, have to part with the defiled vehicle as well.”

“Love to spew on, don’t you blokes?” Furious, Heathcliff was the first to quit playing as a harmless tourist. Or rather, would he just be one of the more entitled ones if that was the case? “Oi, I don’t know who you think we are, but do we look daft enough to do as you say?”

“For a right price, I would.” Aida interjected, only for her to click her tongue while shaking her head as she approached the Inquisitor with Heathcliff in tow. “Unfortunately... It appears you martillos con clavos oxidados aren’t really money-savvy now, no?”

Aida looked back at Dante, who tried to stop the two.

“<H-Heathcliff... Aida... You two didn’t have to...>”

Those words were very poorly chosen, as Aida suddenly whipped her head around, and glared right back at the Inquisitor’s face.

“Perhaps we can move on by whilst you can come back to us with that query after you’re all... Hm~” Aida suddenly raised her maracas... Oh no. “Finally given a paycheck for your minuscule efforts in an ableist cult.”

“Y’all are proper trifling twits...” Heathcliff clicked his tongue... That’s not good either. “Who are any of ya tellin’ us to kneel?”

Nodding in response, the Inquisitor made his declaration.

“Understood. Then I declare all of you to be heretics.” With that, the group of Inquisitors moved into position at once, ready to attack, but just before that...

“And we declare you fresh meat for that vehicle you hate so much!” Aida suddenly swung her maracas right up the Inquisitor’s helmet, sending him staggering backwards while Heathcliff jumped in to bash his bat sideways at him.

Welp, I guess we were fighting the N Corp. Inquisitors now. These guys were somehow a little tougher compared to our usual foes... Then again, going from random Backstreets hooligan to partly trained knight who joined a cult against prosthetics is a bit of a leap... Well, comparatively to everything else anyway.

Even then, these Inquisitors weren’t exactly... Anything to be worried about. Given their numbers, some of us were taking about two to five until they died or Dante had to rewind the clock. But other than that, we actually got off relatively fine! I haven’t even been touched once and Aida and Heathcliff were...

Well, suffice to say they had the most kills in that one, easily becoming the most valued employees during that altercation.

I just hope that whatever happens next, we’re absolutely sure that we’re ready for it.