Run thanked whatever deity would listen for handing him the wonderful gift of Mastema. The flight Teigu enabled him to evade the rock slide, but he wasn't able to grab any of his teammates. He landed on the ground and scanned around for any source of life. An eyebrow was raised when he saw an auburn-haired girl in headphones.
She must be with Night Raid... Run weighed his options and decided it was best to cautiously approach her. The moment their eyes met, she sharply backed away and glared at him. "I'm not here to fight." Run put both his hands up in an innocent manner. "Did you happen to see who blew up the mountain as well?"
She stayed silent for a second before she said, "...Yes. It was a member of the rebellion. If I had to guess, they planted the explosives here and waited for us to come."
"It looks like we were ambushed by each other's treasonous employer."
Chelsea looked at the huge quantity of rubble she narrowly avoided, thanks to altering her form with Gaia Foundation. However, there was a more serious matter at hand. As if it was some kind of cruel joke, it appeared that Night Raid was also targeted by the side they were fighting for. Before thinking about it more, she tilted her head towards the rubble to see a metal arm poke out that she recognized.
"Tatsumi!" announced Chelsea. While in his Incursio, Tatsumi squirmed out with Akame following behind. I see. In that second he had, he used Incursio to shield himself and Akame from the rocks. They still look like they're injured, though.
After Tatsumi and Akame were out of the rubble, they limped over to where Chelsea was. Incursio wore off while Tatsumi was clenching his hands in frustration. It was hard to tell because they both had jackets on, but they probably had some bruising around their body.
"I-I only had time to grab Akame..." Tatsumi said, gritting his teeth. "Everyone else..."
"I'm sorry to pile on, but the person who did all this was wearing the uniform of the rebellion. That rock slide was probably meant for us."
Both Tatsumi and Akame looked at her like she said something crazy. "T-that can't—" began Akame.
"Help us!" yelled a voice everyone recognized as Wave. "I can't get Kurome and me out!"
"He must have used his armor to shield both of them like I did," said Tatsumi.
Run walked over and tried removing the rocks trapping the duo, but it was proving very difficult to do without causing more rocks to fall on them. "Can I ask for your assistance?" asked Run, looking at the Night Raid members. "I won't be able to do this myself."
Akame winced a little when she while got off the ground and went to assist.
"Akame?" questioned Tatsumi.
"Now's not the time to be after each other's heads."
"Yeah, you're right." With the much-needed help from Tatsumi and Akame, they managed to remove the rubble safely enough to retrieve the trapped Jaegers.
"Thank y—" Wave stopped his sentence when he and Kurome looked stunned when they saw Tatsumi's face.
"Tatsumi!" they both said.
"The one and only," stated Tatsumi, extending his hand to Wave while Akame did the same for her sister. "Let's just focus on getting you two out."
"Y-yeah," replied Wave, looking away while the mortal enemies all walked away from the rubble. They caught their breath after reaching the flat earth.
"...Is everyone else dead?" quietly asked Kurome. Both her and Wave, who wasn't in Grand Chariot anymore, looked in as much discomfort as Tatsumi and Akame.
"It's hard to say," answered Run, looking troubled. "I'm not sure the others have appropriate means to survive something like that."
"Let's search the area," elected Tatsumi, causing everyone else to nod in agreement.
Everyone proceeded to spread out and see if there were any more survivors. Several of them found dead bodies of the Imperial soldiers sent to kill the Jaegers.
After a few minutes of looking, Tatsumi found Leone and Mine. Leone used her durable body, constantly regenerating because of Lionelle, to keep Mine safe.
"Every bone in your body must be broken, dummy," said a somber Mine, embracing her savior.
"Don't sweat it. My body can regenerate whole body parts and organs thanks to Lionelle. I won't lie, though—this hurts like a bitch..."
"I would think so," replied Tatsumi, letting Leone use his shoulder as support while Mine did the same.
Akame searched like a hawk for the last surviving member of Night Raid. How Lubbock could've survived by himself, Akame didn't know. However, Lubbock had pulled off the impossible before, so she wouldn't be surprised to find him alive.
After minutes of looking, she found the cheeky string master almost completely unharmed. "How did you pull that off?"
"I gathered up all my string and made a cushion for myself, absorbing the pressure from the impact. Thankfully, this kept too much debris from piling on top of me."
"Impressive. Everyone would be proud."
"You think so?" Lubbock practically had hearts in his eyes while he thought about a certain silver-haired female with an eye patch praising him. Lubbock started mumbling some more things, but Akame already tuned him out.
On the Jaegers' side, it was Run who managed to find one of his teammates first. It turned out to be Seryu—who was relatively okay, except for a wound on her head. In her arms was a motionless Koro.
"I assume Koro protected you at the last second?"
"Yes," answered Seryu, tightly holding him.
"Don't worry; as long as his core remains, he'll regenerate." Seryu nodded while Run helped her up and used his shoulder to keep her from falling because of dizziness.
Wave's search was coming up empty. Just when he was about to stop, he jumped when he heard Kurome scream. He ran to her quickly to see what was wrong. Upon getting there, he found Kurome on her knees while looking down at something. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She pointed down into a small crevice she dug. When he saw what she was staring at, his eyes widened and his stomach churned. It took all his willpower not to vomit when he glanced down at the remains of his masked comrade. He cursed loudly and hit the ground hard enough to feel one of his knuckles dislocate.
"I'm sorry. I'll make sure your family stays safe, buddy..."
After he and Kurome calmed down, they joined the rest of the group. All the remaining Teigu users quickly gathered away from the rock slide. Both Night Raid and the Jaegers were keeping a safe distance from each other during Chelsea's explanation of whom she saw blow up the mountain along with confirmation from Run.
"Does that mean Boss..." muttered Leone.
"No way!" yelled Lubbock. "There's no way Najenda would send us to our deaths like that!"
"Use your head!" snapped Chelsea. "You think it was just a coincidence she didn't come with us, and the mountain we were fighting next to just happened to have explosives on it?"
"What if it wasn't for us? They knew the Jaegers would be here, so who's to say we didn't just get in the way?"
"That still doesn't make sense. If that was the case, why did we have to come? Hell, there's multiple ways they could of went about this. The fact is...they wanted us here. Sorry to break it to you, but there's a good chance Najenda might've known about this."
"Shut up!"
"Stop it!" interrupted Tatsumi, trying to break the animosity. "This is no time for us to fight. We need to stick together in times like this."
"As if that means anything coming from you," added Wave.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what it means! All the Jaegers thought you were our comrade, and you were just playing us!"
"Lady Esdeath was really upset after you left," added Kurome. "That's pretty low, playing with a woman's feelings."
"I-it's not like that..." Tatsumi looked down, wishing this conversation would come to an end. "Esdeath forced me to go. I didn't have a choice but to take advantage of the situation she threw me in."
"To think we wanted to guide you on the path of righteousness," stated Seryu. "This whole time...you were nothing but an evil trickster!"
"You're one to talk!" exclaimed Mine, firing back at Seryu. "You talk about justice when all you do is take orders from some ruthless psycho! I knew a good woman once; she was a nice person that wanted to help those suffering at the hands of the Empire until you fed her to your demon mutt!"
"If it's in the name of justice," began Seryu, adopting a cocky smile, "I'd do it again!"
"You bitch!" yelled Mine, grabbing Pumpkin, which made everybody get ready for another fight.
Everyone—except Akame. "Enough!" she shouted so loudly that it made everyone freeze. "We need to focus on finding somewhere to go before they start searching for bodies. It's not smart for us to fight."
Everyone looked down, knowing Akame's words were correct. Everyone present was physically and emotionally exhausted from everything that had transpired in the last few hours. It was also true, while they were at each other's throats just a while ago, they all found themselves in a situation where it would be unwise to start any conflict.
"Can we all at least agree not to kill each other?" proposed Tatsumi. "You're free to hate who you want."
Chelsea, Run, Leone, Lubbock, and Wave all agreed to the terms, but Seryu and Mine were still glaring at each other.
"Mine, just try and tough it out," said Leone with a smile. "Do me a solid!"
"Ugh, as long as she doesn't go crazy on us."
"We understand you're frustrated, Seryu, but please restrain yourself," muttered Run. "We already lost one comrade..."
She looked away and agreed with a frown on her face.
"Earlier when it looked like we were about to be killed, you were willing to work with me, Kurome," said Akame, with a steely gaze. "I'm asking you now."
"If you say so," answered the smiling Kurome. "Either way, I'll make sure we're together in the end."
"..." Akame doesn't regret leaving the Empire because that's what her heart told her to do in the end—she regretted not forcibly taking Kurome with her. If she had, her sister might not be like this.
"As enjoyable as this party is," began Kurome, "how about we—" She stopped and grabbed her head when she began to feel intense pain.
"Kurome!" yelled Akame before Wave went to hold her upright.
"What's happening to you?" asked Wave.
"I need my snacks..."
"So you're still taking them," stated Akame.
"Forget it. I'm fine now, so let's go." She tried to walk but kept stumbling.
"This is no time to be proud." Wave gestured for Kurome to get on his back to which she squeamishly agreed. He doesn't know if he was imagining it, but he felt Akame glaring at him.
"You better not try anything," taunted Kurome. "If you do, I'll tell Sis."
"Believe me when I say I know the danger of what I'm carrying..."
"Oh, and I know how frail you are, so I'll adjust my weight so I'm not too heavy."
"Damn it!" Even under the circumstances, most of them couldn't help but laugh a little at Wave being teased by Kurome's antics. "Great, now I'm a laughing stock..."
"I guess Tatsumi will carry me!" purred Leone, rubbing her face against him. Meanwhile, Mine pretended to dry heave while crossing her arms.
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Wave.
"I saw a cave nearby when we came here," answered Tatsumi. "I can lead the way."
"I'll turn into a hawk and scout up ahead," offered Chelsea.
"I'll do the same," offered Run. "It would be smart to find some wood we can use as a fire."
"...Whatever," she replied, taking off into the skies with Run following.
It looks like she's still keeping an eye on me, thought Run. I could care less about any of this. Just as long as I'm able to get back to the Capital to search for him...
"If there's nothing else," began Akame, "let's move quickly."
Seryu tried to move but kept stumbling around because of dizziness. Mine, noticing how Seryu kept losing her footing, said, "Heh, looks like somebody has a concussion."
"You'll need someone to carry you," concluded Wave.
It was awkward when everyone looked at Lubbock, making him respond by glanced behind him to see if anyone else was there. "Wait, you can't mean me!"
Seryu looked offended while she yelled, "Even if my legs were cut off—I would never accept help from the wicked and unjust!"
"You guys heard her," added Lubbock.
"Come on," said Tatsumi. "You're in better shape than Akame, and I have my hands full."
"What about Mine? Do you want to do it, Mine?" Lubbock took the shot Mine almost blasted him with, if it wasn't for a quick duck, as a no.
"You can't ask me to throw away my pride as a soldier! I'd rather die!"
"We're not asking you to throw away your pride," said Wave. "We're asking you not to throw away your life. We don't want you to die."
"That's not what Bols wanted..." concluded Kurome.
Seryu looked incredibly torn, gazing down at the despondent Koro. She bit her tongue hard enough to taste blood before she reluctantly let Lubbock assist her.
"Geez, Lubbock," began Leone, "you don't have to look like we're sentencing you to death."
"That's hard to believe when this chick's bloodlust is so high, it's making my heart skip a beat."
"Seryu..." sighed Wave.
"Fine!" she yelled, calming herself down and looking at the ground out of embarrassment.
"Look at it this way," began Mine, "at least you can say you've carried a woman." Mine ducked behind Akame for cover since both Seryu and Lubbock's glares made her jump.
Will this night ever end...? thought Tatsumi, looking up at the full moon.
The motley crew followed Tatsumi while he led them to the cave he previously mentioned. They were careful while staying on the lookout for any more soldiers or Danger Beasts that might be lurking in the shadows. It was ingrained in all of them that the most fearsome beasts come out to hunt at night. Not to mention all the commotions from earlier could've alerted some undesirables to their location.
Tatsumi led them to a cave that extended into the side of a cliff. Everyone checked to see if any unwelcome visitors were occupying the cave's contents. After the coast was clear, the whole party settled into the cave before Run placed down the wood he gathered. Since Tatsumi and Wave were both skilled in starting fires, it didn't take long for the cave to be illuminated in a radiant orange glow. Night Raid was bunched up on the right side, and the Jaegers stayed on the left.
Everyone was silent, for what seemed like an hour, until Tatsumi said, "So...are we gonna talk about what happened?"
"What's to talk about?" answered Mine, asking a question of her own. "All of us were supposed to die. We've been thrown away."
"There's nothing else that can explain what happened," commented Run.
"Najenda wouldn't do that..." muttered Lubbock.
"I was a little harsh earlier, but it really is something we have to consider," said Chelsea, pulling out a lollipop.
Lubbock didn't say a word while Wave asked, "You guys don't think Lady Esdeath wanted us dead, do you?"
"Lady Esdeath wouldn't stoop to such lowly methods," stated Seryu.
"She's right," agreed Kurome. "She would've done it herself."
"Honest," stated Akame, which made everyone turn to her.
"The vigilante prime minister of the Empire?" said Seryu, standing up. "It could never..."
"It makes sense," interrupted Run, getting surprised looks from his teammates. "That man always seemed off to me. The way he acts in front of us is different from some rumors I've heard..."
"But...Prime Minister Honest?" asked Wave. "Why?"
"I can think of two reasons," stated Chelsea. "The first is that through some circumstance, he sees you as a potential threat. The second is that he wanted to replace all of you."
All four of Esdeath's subordinates were deep in thought since the prospect of what Chelsea said wasn't unreasonable. The question remained—who would replace them if that was the case?
"Wave," began Tatsumi, "where is Esdeath?"
"Anytime we'd asked to see her, we were told she was off quelling a rebellion somewhere."
"I haven't heard anything about an uprising being active," said Chelsea. "It could be a cover-up."
"By the way," began Kurome, "how did you guys know where we'd be? I can tell by the shot that almost hit me you were ready to ambush us. Also, work on your timing."
"My timing was perfect, you freak!" yelled Mine while Kurome stuck out her tongue.
"Boss told us you guys would be up here hunting a Danger Beast," answered Leone, earning her confused stares from the Jaegers. "Did I say something funny?"
"We were sent here because there were sightings of Night Raid in the area..." answered Wave. Almost simultaneously, a light bulb went off over everyone's head.
Was this really a coincidence? they all wondered.
"We all need to investigate further," concluded Akame. "We should probably look into what we can tomorrow."
"Right," nodded Tatsumi. "The last thing we need is to—"
"Hold on!" exclaimed Kurome, getting serious. "If the Empire really is after us, won't your family be in danger, Wave?"
"What? Don't be silly."
"It would be something to be concerned about," added Run. "You're the only one of us with a family the Empire knows how to get to. Well, besides Bols, but I doubt they would be in any danger now that he's dead."
"Absurd!" shouted Seryu.
"Wake up!" yelled Chelsea, who was getting agitated. "You need to accept that your righteous Empire has thrown you away. They always practiced the act of killing any kind of inconvenience, including innocent family members. It's probably something you've done, or have you forgotten?"
"W-what choice did I have! They were evil—"
Despite the current argument, Wave couldn't really hear anything at all. The world had gone silent while his worst fears started playing in his head. For his parents to be murdered by the very people he promised he'd work for—it was unthinkable. He thought of the villagers being tortured: adults, elderly, and kids...
"I have to go to my village!" shouted Wave, making everyone turn to him. He looked terrified. "It'll take a day if I hurry."
"I-I need to leave as well!" announced Seryu. "I have to speak with Lady Esdeath!"
"Do you have a death wish!" asked Mine.
"I have to confirm something." Seryu didn't know what she would do if answers didn't start coming now. "I know the area perfectly, so I'll sneak in during nightfall."
"Then, it looks like we're splitting up," said Chelsea. "I was planning on going to Night Raid headquarters and talk to Najenda."
"I'll go with Wave," stated Kurome. "You'll need someone strong to get you out of any trouble." Despite her sarcastic tone, Wave knew she was still concerned and wanted to help.
"Thank you."
"I'll come along," Tatsumi muttered. drawing everyone's attention.
Wave looked at him like he grew a third head. "Why do you want to come?"
"I'm from a small village, and I guess part of me sympathizes with your situation. If the Empire is attacking innocent people, I want to help." Tatsumi's determined look made Wave shrug in defeat. "It's like you said: you and I are kind of alike."
"It's fine. Thanks, Tatsumi."
"I'll go along," added Akame.
"Looking to babysit me, Sis?"
"I'll come along as a precaution. But also...yes."
"Suit yourself."
"I guess I'll go along with you, Seryu," said Run. "I, too, have some business in the Capital."
"I'm coming with you!" shouted Mine. If Tatsumi's statement caught them off guard, Mine's statement made them think they were hearing things. Seryu looked at Mine with a mix of shock and bewilderment.
"You sure you want to do that?" asked Leone.
"I'm going to make sure Ms. Justice over there doesn't rat us out."
Seryu looked like she was getting increasingly frustrated. It was likely the only thing keeping her from attacking was that Koro was still out of commission.
"The moment I think you'll turn on us...I'm gonna blast your psychotic brains out."
Seryu's hair was mostly covering her face, making it so no one could tell what her expression was. Instead of a reply, she walked to the entrance of the cave and hugged her knees. "I'll stay up and keep watch." She kept her glance glued to the outside.
"Mine, I understand how you feel, but the last thing we need is to start antagonizing each other," said Tatsumi.
"Yeah, but I gotta say," began Lubbock, "you sure are brave to take on that responsibility by yourself."
"You're coming with me," plainly stated Mine.
"Say what...?"
"When it comes down to quick escapes, you're the best one out of us. Also, it would be an even two for both sides."
"But, I wanted to go to headquarters..."
"I think you going with Mine is for the best..." suggested Chelsea. "If it turns out Najenda is behind this somehow, what would you do?"
Once again, when it came to the subject of Najenda's possible deception, Lubbock didn't know how to answer.
"Don't worry, Lub," happily said Leone, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Boss will straighten this out when Chelsea and I talk to her."
Lubbock nodded, completing the plans for tomorrow's groups.
"Let's all try and get some rest, then," suggested Akame. "We have a long day ahead."
Everyone made their own little space and dozed off except Mine, who opted to keep an eye on Seryu to make sure she doesn't carry out "justice" on one of her slumbering teammates. It turned out to be futile when both Seryu and Mine ended up falling asleep after a few hours.
Wave tried to get some sleep, but his worry for the village kept bothering him. He looked to his right to see that Kurome's head was resting near him. It was weird to admit, but the emotionless and sarcastic demeanor seemed nonexistent as she silently slumbered away. He noticed her neck would be sore if she slept the way she was the whole night, so he gently positioned her head in a better way without waking her. A smile crossed his face when he managed to do it successfully, but it quickly disappeared when he saw strands of Kurome's hair on his hand.
Just what happened to you? Feeling restless, he rose and exited the cave to find out Akame was already there before him. It was unclear when she woke up, but it looked like something was bothering her. It still felt awkward to speak with someone who was just your enemy mere hours ago; however, he figured since they'd be working together tomorrow, it couldn't hurt to talk.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked.
She turned to him for a second before returning her gaze to the moon. "No."
Wave still felt a little squeamish, but he decided to ask, "What happened between you and your sister?"
Akame's expression didn't change at all while she remained silent.
"If you don't want to talk about it..."
"Are you interested in my sister?"
Wave's face heated up while Akame looked at him with a weirdly blank expression. It was becoming more and more obvious by the second her and Kurome were sisters. "It's not like that! She's my teammate, so..."
"When we were young, both of us were given up by our parents and forced to participate in a survival challenge, courtesy of the Empire. I ended up on the main squad while Kurome was sent to a lesser one that was given performance-enhancing drugs."
"What?" Wave couldn't believe that experiments like that took place in the Empire. "Wait... Are those snacks she's always eating—"
"I'm afraid so."
"That's what's wrong with her..." Wave felt angry at himself for not noticing something sooner. Under that cool demeanor was a girl in a lot of pain. "Hold on, if you worked for the Empire—what made you join Night Raid?"
"I saw the true colors of the Empire, and my heart told me to leave. Kurome saw that as a betrayal to her past comrades, so she opted to stay."
"I get it now. You think by killing her...you'll save her."
"Yes."
"No offense, but I think you're nuts."
"Maybe so. Murasame and I are probably perfect matches because I do think that way." Akame looked at Wave, trying to read him. "What do you think about this? You're probably closer to her now than I am."
"I doubt that, but I want to protect her—I want to protect Kurome." Wave looked into Akame's eyes, his gaze rigid.
"I see..."
"Is there any way to help her?"
"There are ways...but it all starts with her."
Wave looked at the dark sky, trying to sort out the mixed feelings he was having about everything that's happened.
VVV
It seemed almost appropriate that everyone was welcomed with a gray morning, the sky being completely cloudy. Everyone was awake and ready to depart while the awkwardness was still running rampant through mostly everyone's mind.
"Our trips will take a few days," announced Akame. "Despite what happens, we will all meet here to discuss what we've found out."
Everyone nodded before the groups split apart and began on their way. There wasn't a single word muttered while all the Teigu users marched towards whatever truth awaited them. Only one thing felt certain ... At least one of them wouldn't be making it back.