#othello lcb

[zelphin124]

LCB-3: Chapter 4

Shorter one than the last ones, but important all the same.

Major spoilers for Jekyll's story.

Masterpost

Chapter 3 <---> Chapter 5

~o0o~

Despite Dante’s protests, Maut insisted that someone ought to walk him back to the Limbus Company bus. Othello offered to do so, as he did not wish to take out his sour actions towards Mark just at that moment. Despite the former soldier leaving, the tensions did not ease. 

The group was silent, discounting their heavy footsteps echoing across the abandoned halls. No one said anything for the first couple of hours; it felt like the stairs to the first floor were never-ending. Water droplets fell onto the metal floor, adding to the hollow void of darkness the party was slowly entering into. 

Jekyll’s head started to spin. She slowed, gagging to herself and out of sight. Her head pounded like a drum, and her eyes began to burn. Great… the after-effects of split shards. 

She didn’t hear anything from Hyde, telling her that her opposite was still busy looking into the mirror worlds. She wondered if they would ever find another version of themselves and not useless shadows of dead bodies. 

Her head started to pound further, and she clenched her head, swaying from side to side. Her footsteps became more like stumbles, and she had to lean onto a close wall when the group stopped to stay upright. She clenched her neck, trying to catch her breath. Why did I ever invent such a sensation? 

“Right, this is the first time we are all down here in a Lobotomy Corporation Facility,” Dante ticked as he turned around, the fire on his head being the main light source within the room. “At least, for you new recruits. We should watch out for something that wishes to behead us.” 

“As long as we are visual, we should be fine,” Pen rested the end of his spear on the ground, tapping it and listening to the echoes it caused. 

Dante’s head only lit the rusted technological door behind him. His hand rested on the edge of it, waiting to push it open. The fire above his head lit up a text difficult to read, overrun by rust and moss. Nevertheless, Jekyll could see it said something along the lines of ‘Department.’ But… which one?

“Shall we head inside?” Dante asked the group, his voice weary and wavering. 

It was hard to see, but everyone gave subtle nods. 

The entryway was narrow, causing everyone to form a line. Upon seeing Mark eagerly placing himself in front, Jekyll forced herself to stick to the back of the line. The last thing she wanted was to be around him, especially after the effects had kicked in. Please just be over already… She cried in despair. Stupid… stupid drug… She figured it hurt more than usual because she was in a rush to use it, in fear of Mark’s words. Jekyll also couldn’t recall she was the one to deal with the after-effects, as Hyde was always fronting when it was over. She glanced down at the moonstones on her fingers glowing slightly. She sighed, a tinge of resentment attached to her toward Mark. He just had to force her to switch back and forth as if it wasn’t a big deal. It’s not like he cared about the consequences of it, and Jekyll was the one paying for it. 

More light entered the atmosphere the moment Dante pushed the door open. It took a bit for Jekyll’s eyes to adjust, lest with her head spinning. 

The environment was nothing short of abandoned. Many TVs were scattered across the walls, hanging by a single chord and shattered into pieces. Holographs glitched in and out on the floor, summoning random sparks each time they received a surge of power. Chairs and tables were broken apart and scattered across the room into the corners as if a giant had pushed them away in one swipe. Lights flickered in and out overhead as if someone had tried to use them for the first time in years and they exploded from impact. Human feet could not survive this room without being slashed by the various materials on the floor. 

That was not what Jekyll had her hazy attention upon, however. Jekyll couldn’t take her eyes off the various corpses that littered the room. Some had brown uniforms, their heads cut completely clean from their body and missing. Some reminisced about the demon syndicates they fought earlier, and others were unrecognizable from the green mold covering their bodies, revealing a horrendous stench. Their bodies looked frozen in time as if they were in an undead state. 

Jekyll glanced towards the headless bodies, admiring how clean a cut was made across their necks. Perhaps I should collect some blood for Hyde… Maybe she will thank me and stop bothering me for a bit if I do so. 

To her surprise and to further her dismay, there was an unusual lack of blood on the floor. There wasn’t even any salvageable blood pouring out from the victim’s neck. Jekyll never fancied touching dead bodies like Hyde and decided against any further collection of painting supplies. 

The stench only made her head spin more, anyway. 

Mallo walked across the room with grace, almost gliding over the floors with familiarity. She barely gave any attention to the dead bodies on the floor, giving them a look of disappointment and a dagger stare of patheticness. 

Pen, on the other hand, took great interest in the corpses, studying them carefully. He glanced at the green mold ones before studying the clean cut across the beheaded ones. “Why would a beast do this?” 

Upon hearing the question, Mallo finally gave the corpses some time of her day. “It’s much worse than a beast.” 

Pen mutters something under his breath, turning toward the next corpse. 

“It’s a completely clean cut,” Mallo bent down next to one of the beheaded corpses. She observed it with curiosity, not as to what did the damage… rather who. 

“Hopefully we will be fighting humans, due to the damage,” Lenore commented, investigating the wall for any type of trail or tracks left behind. 

Jekyll laughed to herself. Do you think humans can do this clean of a job? Never in my life have I seen something so perfectly done. Her head spun as fragments of the split-shard drug entered her vision. She paused for a moment, sighing. I sound like Hyde… 

“Wouldn’t count on it,” Mallo confirmed Jekyll’s thoughts. 

Pen glanced up from his observations. “Are distortions humans?” He asked out of the blue. 

“I think… they used to be,” Lenore replied. 

Mallo nodded in agreement. 

“I see,” Pen did not seem shocked by this information. “Good to know.” 

“What one hell of a hole,” Mark scoffed, drawing attention to himself as he rummaged through the pockets of the dead. 

What little remorse you have for life, Mark. Jekyll sighed. 

“The hell? Why is he carrying this?” Mark took his hand out of the beheaded corpse’s pocket, holding out a playing card: two of hearts.

“A card?” Pen asked. 

“I went through his pockets, I mean might as well take what they have, if it’s not useless,” he cursed under his breath. “They are surprisingly clean for being dead, and I found this.” 

Jekyll could only hear the sinners scrummaging through the pockets of the dead as shards covered her vision once more. Ngh… two more, and then it should be over. 

“I found a three of hearts,” Lenore walked over and handed it to Mark, who found another card. 

Mallo didn’t search hard enough to find a card, nor did she care to put effort into it. Her attention seemed to be divided. 

“Four of hearts on this one…” Mark continued, taking an odd form of leadership with this case. “Something tells me that each body might be marked by a card… It’s like the spade syndicate…” 

“I’m sure the spades use spade cards,” Lenore confirmed with a smile.

Mark ignored her. “I don’t expect the life insurance that hired us to have these cards… maybe the lone shark syndicate.” He started to loot the body Mallo didn’t give much effort into. 

There’s a sudden look of horror that captures Mallo’s expression. “Did they keep it here?” Her breath hitched as she muttered. She looked around the room in a type of panic Jekyll had never seen before. 

By the time Jekyll’s vision cleared to see things properly, she couldn’t believe what she saw first. Pen had knelt and grabbed one of the green-mold corpses’ hands. He jumps back in surprise as if something had reached to grab him, startled. “It’s not dead–” he cut himself off, tilting his head to the side. There was an odd pause before he spoke again. “Interesting.”

Mallo made her way up to one of the computers, pressing a few buttons and grunting in frustration when they didn’t work. She turned toward the party in a panic. “Is anyone good at engineering?” 

Jatayu raises his hand among the shaking heads. 

“I need help activating this,” Mallo points toward the computer that seemed to be the least broken. 

Pen stepped forward and assisted Mallo. Jekyll wondered why Jatayu hadn’t after he raised his hand, but she failed to catch his expression as another mirror shard covered her vision. The sensation was one of pure bliss followed by a sharp pain in her head. She clenched her head, taking her monocle off and rubbing her red eye, tears streaming from it. Jekyll’s environment changed around her, and she was face to face with someone she recognized… and someone she knew too well. 

She saw a person akin to her face in a dark navy suit with red markings. She held a large gun and wore her hair down to her shoulders. The red markings spelled the word ‘Limbus Company’ across her vest, and she was staring right back at Jekyll. 

Is that… me? 

“Jekyll? Are you alright?” She could hear Dante calling to her. 

Jekyll couldn’t see Dante, but the moment he started talking, the vision began to fade as reality returned. “Mm… give me a moment–” she tried to keep the vision going, reaching out to the different version of her.

Her efforts were in vain. The different version of herself faded from view, and the final slashing pain from the drug slit Jekyll’s head. She clenched it, shedding silver tears as the drug’s effect finally came to an end. 

Ugh… Jekyll heard Hyde come back into focus. That round was horrible. 

Despite being conflicted upon Hyde’s return, she couldn’t help herself as she checked up on her. You okay? 

The drug isn’t always that bad… Hyde stumbled upon her words as if she was still groggy. I didn’t see anything new, though. 

I saw… me. Jekyll sighed. 

Oh? 

“Finally, something hella useful,” Mark’s scoff cut Jekyll off. She glanced toward him, finding him in the other room looting more bodies. Ahn fell from his hand into his pouch. He continued to loot every single one, pulling out more cards and more ahn. Jekyll watched as he tried to break off one of the demon syndicate corpses’ arms for its weapon, using his pipe to break its shoulder. However, the arm didn’t come off despite his efforts. Frustrated, he kicked it in the face and walked out of sight. 

“What happened to you?” Pen’s trembling voice forced Jekyll’s attention back to him. He grabbed the hand of the corpse again and started talking to it. His face was covered in an uncomfortable emotion, and he closed his eyes. “And what do you want, my friend? Hmm… how can I do that…?” He followed his mutterings by taking his spear and stabbing the corpse in the face. The body limped and crumbled under the wound, dying on the spot as if it wasn’t dead already. Pen opened his eyes as he looked at the corpse. 

Pff, some hallucination he’s going through. Hyde rolled her eyes. 

Jekyll was tired of her commentary. You’re a hallucination. 

Hyde laughed sarcastically. How low of you. 

“I don’t know how I can help you friend,” Pen continued talking to the dead body, letting go of its hand. “Rest well, I will bring you vengence.” 

This child is insane. 

Jekyll couldn’t help but agree with Hyde. 

Patterns of computer noises filled the silence following; Jekyll turned her gaze towards Lenore and Mallo searching through the computer files. Well… more Mallo frantically going from screen to screen and Lenore reading what she could. In fact, she was going through various screens of the computer so quickly and so efficiently that it made Jekyll inclined to believe she had experience within the Lobotomy Corporation facilities. Only an expert can go through information like that… 

Mallo stopped on one screen, reading through it quickly. She stared intensely as her eyes widened in fear. She backed up from the screen, her hands raised in front of her chest as if they were frozen in their typing position. Jekyll could’ve sworn she saw her break a panicked sweat before she stormed over to Dante in a hurry. “Dante, I found something.” 

Dante turned to face her after staring at Jekyll for a long time. “What’s up?” 

“Follow me,” Mallo demanded more than asked Dante before immediately walking over to the computer, expecting Dante to follow. 

And follow he did. His head tilted from curiosity more than concern, and Dante didn’t seem to take into account the stressed state Mallo was thrown into. Nevertheless, he looked at the computer and started to read. 

“I found the culprit,” Mallo continued. “Something tells me you can’t come back from being decapitated, Dante?” 

“I’d… rather not think that would happen to me…” Dante grasped his hands with one another, his ticking slowed as he read. 

“Can you bring us back from it?” Lenore swayed her glaive back and forth, almost in a sense of boredom. 

“I think so,” Dante finished the reading. “This is definitely we should keep our eye out for.” 

“You need to stick behind us,” Mallo suggested. 

“Right… assuming nothing bad happens, it would be best to stick together.” 

Mallo took Dante’s words to heart and started counting the people in the room. She paused, counting everyone again. “Jekyll, Lenore, Jatayu, me, Dante, Pen…” she paused. “Where’s Mark?” 

“Oh whew,” Lenore smiled. “We are not missing anyone important.” 

Mallo was unconvinced. Her hands were trembling with shock. She bolted to the right in a panic, her breath hitched and caught within her lungs. 

Idiot, Hyde sighed. Mark literally went the other way. We watched him go left and rob everyone. 

Oh crap- Jekyll started running after Mallo into the next room before she thought about it. “Mallo!” 

By the time Jekyll called out to Mallo again near the end of the other room, she was out of breath and so was Mallo. The room was the same as the last; it consisted of broken computers, glitched holographics, various corpses, and a horrendous smell from the destruction. The room was yellow and purple, which were odd colors that Jekyll had never seen in a building before. 

To Jekyll’s surprise, Mallo did not have any cigarette in her hand, or any lit nearby. She looked around in a panic, searching for any sign of someone coming through this way. 

Jekyll collected her breaths before she rested a hand on Mallo’s shoulder. “Mallo…” she wheezed, tired from running after her. 

“Idiot’s gonna get himself killed…” Mallo muttered to herself as she turned toward Jekyll.

Jekyll could feel Hyde getting stronger. Huh, so despite the hatred you still care about the moron’s safety… Isn’t that interesting? 

“He’s over here!” Jekyll heard Lenore faintly shout in the other room, where she saw them go. 

“I don’t have time for this, Jekyll!” Mallo snapped, fury blazing in her pupils. “Spit it out!” 

“Uh-uhm, they are over there,” Jekyll stammered, surprised by Mallo’s reaction. “I heard Lenore… Mark went left…” 

She didn’t seem convinced. Mallo glanced towards the door continuing down the hall and back at the way she came. 

Remind her two brain cells that we need to stick with the party, Hyde snapped. 

Oh. “W-W-We should stick with the party, because o-of the decapitating thing… on the loose…” Jekyll sighed, staring into Mallo’s soul. 

There wasn’t another moment in between Jekyll ending the sentence and Mallo grabbing Jekyll by her wrist before sprinting back the way she came. Mallo’s hair brushed in the way of Jekyll’s sight, causing her to stumble and have difficulty finding her footing. However, she was able to keep up with the woman as her grip only tightened on Jekyll’s wrists the moment she even fell an inch behind the speed Mallo ran. 

Hyde was not happy. Jekyll, get out of her grip! She doesn’t need to drag you around like this!

Everything Jekyll was seeing was a blur. It-It’s fine! She knows what’s best right now… I should follow her lead. 

Her ‘lead’ is her walking all over you! You know what happens when you allow this, Hyde hissed. This is the third time you’ve been dragged around today. I’m tired of you just letting it happen. 

A wave of guilt washed over Jekyll as she finally found her footing and kept up with Mallo in an equal sprint. Well, you’re not the one in control. I will decide if I wish to be dragged or not. 

Jekyll was immediately filled with a sense of dread as Hyde spoke. Then I shall kill her like I killed the others that walked over you. 

Mallo and Jekyll ran past Dante with heavy footsteps echoing across the metal floors. They ran across looted bodies and corpses before they burst the door open into another room, where combat had ensued. 

Lenore, Jatayu, Pen, and Mark had taken care of the battle in the majority. Mark was dancing with maracas over a staggered demon syndicate, not having a care in the world in his current ID. 

Jekyll didn’t have time to laugh at how silly Mark looked before Lenore, also in another ID, stabbed the staggered enemy through the face, killing it on the spot. Her glaive had turned into a rapier, and the quick flick of her wrist sliced the man in two from the head down. The pathetic man with blonde hair crumbled to the floor. 

Mallo finally let go of Jekyll’s wrist, to Hyde’s approval. Jekyll brushed her now unkept hair out of her face, almost disappointed that this room was the same as the last. She took her brush and brushed it with her fingers, trying to untangle it from the winds that messed its sharp edges up. 

“Everything okay?” Dante’s ticks started to get louder alongside his footsteps. 

Mallo immediately grabbed the door handle. “Enemies, stay out.” She shut the door in his face. 

Jekyll couldn’t understand what Dante said once the door was closed. 

Pen slammed the edge of his spear on the ground, lighting up the room. The light seemed to linger around Mark and Jatayu, who immediately took action as the light lasted. 

Mark twirled in the air with his maracas and handed countless blows to the living demon syndicate, double-staggering it. His hat only moved an inch despite his quick movements. 

Jatayu didn’t hesitate to run his tanfas through the demon syndicate’s skull, beating it over and over again. Despite the clear signs it was dead, Jatayu continued to beat the corpse until it was nothing more than a pile of rubble. 

As soon as Jekyll had entered combat, it had ended. Mallo stepped out of the doorway and lit a cig, calming her down immediately. However, the smoke and dopamine from the cigarette didn’t ease the daggers that dove into Mark’s soul as she stared at him. 

Mark’s ID faded back to his usual self as he scoffed. “Hell do you need, loser?” 

“You’re an idiot,” Mallo hissed, her fingers pinching the cigarette in fury. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed.” 

“We can’t really die with Dante around, pansy,” Mark mocked. “It doesn’t really matter.” When Mallo’s glare did not let up, somehow Mark took that as a sign to continue blabbering. “I can handle myself,” he rested his pipe on the floor. “I’m not as incompetent as you all.” 

“He has a point,” Pen added. 

Jekyll turned toward Pen, shocked. Is he agreeing with Mark? 

Hyde seemed pleased. The kid has a spine after all. 

Mallo also glanced at Pen in confusion. “Huh? You… you can’t be serious about supporting him,” she glared back at Mark. 

“If we die, Dante brings us back,” Pen explained. 

“It causes our manager pain to bring us back,” Lenore stepped in, also turning back into her base ID. “It’s best and quite strategic if we don’t die.” 

“Unlike you two,” Mallo gestured to Mark and Pen. “I know what’s in here, I know what kind of beasts are kept here. There are some things Dante can not bring you back from, and the situation that we are about to face could be one of them!” 

“That’s a might,” Mark shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, just drop the dang subject and get out of here. These nitwits that we are actually facing are incompetent, and the threat you propose will be too.” 

“You haven’t seen what I seen,” an odd sincerity filled Mallo’s voice as she walked up to Mark. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Look, if you got monsters under your bed to talk about, Dante’s over there,” Mark hissed before turning his heel and walking into the next room. 

As Jatayu opened the door to let Dante in, Pen followed Mark into the next room, closing the door behind them. 

“Two enemies have been dispatched, Dante,” Lenore started to report the events. “The others are heading further into the facility…” She paused, heaving a sigh. “I’m not sure why they are going on ahead. It would be best to stay together.” 

“Don’t worry I’m sure you guys can catch up to them,” Dante reassured, adjusting his gloves. “I can’t, but that’s probably for the better.” 

“I don’t understand,” Lenore continued, leaning on her glaive with a forced neutral expression. “We are supposed to protect you, Dante. Yet, they keep wandering away from you, minimizing our chances at that.” 

“I mean…” Dante shrugged. “If they are out there killing the threats, it means the threats can’t get to me.” 

“Our ability to defend you is negated when they dwindle out numbers, lowering our chances,” Lenore didn’t seem to take the situation as lightly as Dante did. However, Dante’s opinions seemed to have formed from experience… 

Experience of being left behind? How cruel. Jekyll frowned, looking at the ground.

Yeah no wonder the other teams got fired, Hyde sighed. They can’t do their job. 

Yeah… but–

Jekyll. Hyde rubbed her head in annoyance. If you really think this company can offer you our greatest desire, do not get fired like the former employees. Protect Dante, I guess…

Jekyll flattened her face. Yeah, protect him from you. 

I threatened his life once, take a chill pill. 

You imagined his head on a stick!

Okay, but I’m not actually gonna do that, alright? Hyde laughed at the thought. Our lives are tied to him, anyway. 

But you made it clear…

Look, Hyde shrugged. You gotta assert dominance to make sure people can’t mess with you, and stick to your word. But there’s a beauty in well-painted lies as well. 

You’re sick. 

And you’re the one trying to get rid of me with this contract. 

Jekyll sighed, gripping her paintbrush and leaning on it, glancing toward the ground. It’ll be better for both of us…

Hell yeah, it will, Hyde snapped. You’re incompetent, and a fool. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead. 

If it weren’t for you, our mother would still be alive. 

Jekyll’s brain was silent before Hyde cursed and shut her mouth. Jekyll immediately regretted her words, but there was nothing she could do about it. 

The truth was always what hurt the most.

“You okay?” Dante walked up to Mallo, the flames on his head sparking endlessly. 

Mallo was lost in thought staring right at Dante, her hand at the edge of her mouth. She shook her head and looked away as he approached. “I’m fine.” 

“You don’t look fine,” Dante pressed. “Something bothering you?” 

“I said I was fine,” Mallo raised her voice, snapping. 

“If you say so,” Dante returned with a gentle tone. “If you do need anything, I got you.” 

Mallo rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Dante did not pick up on the sarcastic tone as he turned toward Jekyll. “How are you, Jekyll?” 

Jekyll glanced up from the floor. Oh crap, think of something to say uh– “Is there… really some stuff you can’t bring us back from?” 

Hyde snapped her attention back to what was going on. What kind of dumb question is that? We’ve already covered this–

“There’s been a few things that are risky, and it’s not impossible…” Dante explained, “It’s not something I would like to test. I-If it helps at all, I haven’t lost a sinner yet to death. I’ve only lost them through contract termination…” 

Sounds like a bunch of boring history I don’t want to hear, Hyde groaned. 

Jekyll fought for control as Hyde steered their body through the next door, closing it behind them. She sighed as her eyes adjusted to the darker room.

Up ahead were some enemies talking with a peculiar purple and black droid, who talked in a robotic high-pitched voice. It was too far away to hear what was said between them, but it was clear the syndicate members were ranked under the robotic presence. 

Mark and Pen were sitting down behind a wall, talking quietly amongst themselves as they observed an object. 

Jekyll sighed, realizing she had walked in where enemies could spot her. She tiptoed over to her comrades, sitting on the other side of Mark. 

“...a second-grade workshop,” Pen finished the sentence. 

“You’re spending so much on this lavish device,” Mark huffed. “Aren’t you afraid of it getting mugged?”

“I’m not worried,” Pen makes himself smaller than he already is. “The unregistered biometric thing handles it… I don’t know, but it does make people think twice.” 

What the hell are they on about? Hyde pressed, wishing to look closer. 

“Are we considered unregistered biometrics to this… thing?” Mark rotates the object in his hands, a soft, observing expression on his face. 

“You can probably hold it for about ten minutes before it starts acting out.” 

Mark shrugged, adjusting his facial composure. “I’m not keen on testing it, seeing how well we are going through this hellhole,” he gestured to the enemies up ahead. 

It’s nice to know that Mark can actually get along with people, Jekyll shrugged to herself. 

Pff, dude could get along with everyone back then, he could sweet talk you to death and everyone would love him, Hyde explained. His trip to prison probably changed that. 

Although Jekyll wished to recall what Hyde was talking about, she was more curious about the object Mark was holding. “What is it?” She asked, making her presence known. 

Mark didn’t seem startled by her suddenly showing up, and he didn’t say anything about it either. He just looked in her direction with a neutral expression, which was more preferable than the usual scowl to Jekyll. 

As Jekyll looked at the object, she saw it was a spherical object. A bunch of pieces orbited it like a solar system, the pieces tied by an invisible force. It glowed light blue and the pieces retracted and reconfigured from the object endlessly.

“It’s a modified A.M.F. matrix, U Corps singularity I believe,” Pen explained, taking the object. “It has an X Corp alloy, too.”

“It's expensive and unordinary in production,” Mark added. “Pen, you should patent this.” 

“It is already patented, I just modified it,” Pen answered, grabbing his spear and standing up. 

Jekyll followed his gaze to see the rest of the party finally walk into the darker room, alerting the enemies within the facility. 

“That drone is something to be cautious of,” Lenore said out loud. “It would be best to try and communicate to it, exchanging information.” 

Jekyll followed Mark as he stood and walked over to rob another corpse he found before changing her path toward the rest of the party. 

“That thing leads to things that can kill us,” Mark objected, glaring at Lenore. “It would be best to destroy it.” 

Mallo glared, which somehow shut him up. 

Lenore didn’t take his opinion into account. She simply walked up to the purple and black drone, ignoring the syndicates beside it. 

The drone stopped its mumbling and turned toward Lenore, its voice squealing in robotic delight. “Ooooh! What brings you all here?” The drone swayed back and forth, scanning everyone in the room. 

“I am here on behalf of the executive manager via Limbus Company,” Lenore started formally. “We were hired to investigate the facility under the law; I am obligated to ask why you are here.” 

“We are here to hunt,” Pen added, tapping his spear on the ground. 

The robot zoomed toward Lenore, getting in her face and leaving no room between them as the purple eye dotted back and forth. It did the same thing with Pen. “You two are not part of the syndicate~,” it said with glee. “Nor is the rest of your party… Enlighten me on your manager.” 

Dante had barely made it through the door, but he took no steps to approach the robot as they continued to chat. 

“I think that goes beyond our expectation and free information exchange,” Lenore snapped the robot’s attention back to her. “You–” 

“Hey,” Mallo resting a hand on Jekyll’s shoulder tore her focus off of what was happening. 

Jekyll sighed in relief and smiled slightly at her. “Hey, are you okay?” 

“Yeah…” Mallo sighed, an odd expression on her face. “You good? I’m sorry I dragged you around so much.” 

…Huh. 

Not now, Jekyll silenced Hyde and observed Mallo’s gloomy expression, which was very uncharacteristic of her. She tried to reassure her. “O-Oh! It’s okay haha,” she laughed nervously. “It’s the third time it’s happened today, I don’t mind… I guess I should get used to it,” she gently nudged Mallo on the shoulder, forcing a smile. 

Mallo nodded in response, pulling out a cig and lighting it for Jekyll. She stood awkwardly before she frowned and walked towards the enemies. 

Jekyll took the cigarette and watched it burn in her hands before inhaling some of it, coughing at the taste. However, it seemed to ease her nerves and not be so anxious about her interaction with Mallo. However, the thought wouldn’t leave her mind. Hyde? 

What do you want? 

Please… Jekyll found herself begging. Please don’t kill Mallo… She’s…

What? Taking advantage of you? 

She’s like mom. 

Hyde stopped, sighing. Jekyll could feel Hyde trying to peer through the other eye, and reluctantly, she took off the monocle to let Hyde have a look. 

How the hell is she like Mom? 

She is looking out for us… Jekyll stared at the cigarette in her hands. She’s making sure we are okay. Tell me, when was the last time someone did that for us? 

People did it for you all the time, idiot. 

But she knows about you, and yet still cares… Jekyll took one last inhale of the cigarette, covering up her left eye once more. Like mom did. 

Jekyll knew Hyde was conflicted; she felt her urge to tear everything apart that came near her, and the regret of her actions prior to Limbus Company. She cursed and threw imaginative things around. Fine! Fine… If she is as kind to me as she is to you, then I shall spare her. 

Jekyll sighed in relief. Thank you. 

I am not guaranteeing anything, Jekyll. 

There was a loud smash; Jekyll whipped her head up to see the aftermath of Jatayu swinging his tanfa across the drone’s head. His face was filled with rage as if the drone had offended him. 

The robot lit up, spinning in circles as it laughed chaotically. “Ohh! A feisty one! I can’t wait to study you all!” It mocked. 

Hey, she laughs like you, Jekyll scoffed. 

Excuse me, my laugh is so much better than that–

Mallo also seemed pissed off, whacking the robot with her stave as if it was a hammer. 

Lenore immediately followed, piercing it right in the eye. 

A strange gas started to pour out from the vent of the robot; it was dark and cold. The black smoke built up inside it, making a slow hissing noise as the sinners continued to attack it. 

I know gases like those… Jekyll’s heart was thrown into a state of panic. Something horrible is about to happen… it’s going to kill us if we stay in here!

Hyde took a moment to observe the situation. Well sh–

Dante! I need to grab Dante! Jekyll ran towards the manager and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the room. “Out of the way, Dante!” She cried. “Get into the other room!” 

Wha–” Dante resisted in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

This son of a mother– Hyde forced her way to the front, using her strength and techniques to successfully pull Dante out of the room, with Jekyll slamming the door behind her. “Get out of the way, Dante!” Jekyll couldn’t tell if it was her or Hyde speaking. “Get into the other room!” 

The manager seemed to have grasped the severity of the situation and obeyed, running to the edge of the room Jekyll was in. 

The moment Jekyll made sure the door was closed was the moment she heard a loud hissing sound before a minor explosion. Through the cracks of the door and holes in the wall, a black mist surrounded Jekyll, disrupting her sight. Jekyll gasped for air as she glanced around, unable to see anything as the black mist blinded everything in sight. She panicked, removing her monocle to hopefully see better. She could only see two feet in front of her and she felt her sanity drop. 

Jekyll started to feel sick in her chest as she glanced around, unable to keep Hyde from having some control over her anxiety. What is happening? Dante? 

Dante has disappeared from sight. 

Jekyll frantically searched around, turning around in circles. She had lost the manager she was trying to protect. “Dante?!”

[snitchesusa]

Chris Snitched on Mike's place in Othello

Chris Snitched on Mike's place in Othello

"People drinking inside and getting served" – Chris The aforementioned complaint was filed by Chris in Othello, Washington on Friday May 8, 2020 with LCB covidenforcement@lcb.wa.gov against Mike's place saying, Restaurants serving dine-in. No email address was given and no phone number was given. #chris #mikesplace #barorotherbusinesswithaliquorlicense Source: Chris Snitched on Mike's place in…

[zelphin124]

LCB-3: Chapter 3

Third session yayyyyyyy- This one took so long but so much happened and it was all too important to cut out! Enjoy!

Masterpost Chapter 2 <--> Chapter 4

~o0o~

The week that surpassed on the bus was nothing short of troublesome, however, most of the information was discarded as unimportant for the story. It was full of memorization of contract terms, cleaning, cooking, gauntlet grinding, and team quarrels. 

The team quarrels didn’t seem to let up. Even now, Jekyll knew Mark and Othello were arguing in the back as the rest sat up front to keep their eyes on the road. Their shouts gave her a headache. She wished to go sleep in a little bit more before she had to work, but she considered the trip not worth the trouble of getting between the two airheads. 

Lenore was adjacent to Jekyll on the other side of the bus; she spread across two chairs with her eyes closed. Jekyll admired how she could take a nap everywhere. Her form was so peaceful, and not anxious about anything around her. 

Mallo sat in the seats in front of Lenore, her legs also spread across both chairs. She was sitting upright with her hair tied back, looking straight ahead at the front of the bus. Between her fingers was a cigarette, as usual. Jekyll had lost count of how many she had. It came to the point where she wondered where Mallo got all the cigarettes from. 

Pen rested behind Jekyll, sleeping on the window and not being disturbed by the bumps on the road, as if he was passed out cold. Jekyll marveled at his ability to sleep anywhere. It was as if he could see the stars wherever he was and rest in their presence. 

Jatayu was adjacent to him. He simply stared at the ceiling with his hands in his lap. He didn’t seem interested in anything. Part of Jekyll wished to go and talk to him, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else, and she didn’t feel comfortable reaching out to start a conversation. 

Jekyll decided to stare at the window. She noticed in the blur of the gray slum buildings outside, immediately telling her she was in a backstreet of sorts. Little to no color besides the purple decorated the richer buildings. Everything was in precise ruin and gloom. It was clear that this corporation was downtrodden and poor. The sky too, was covered in clouds, hiding any form of sunlight. It was a horrible day, and not one person was in sight. 

“Alright, at attention everyone,” a raspy voice sounded from the front of the bus. 

Jekyll lifted her head just in time to see Vergilius turn around to face them. His hands were clasped behind his back and his eyes were more tired than usual. 

“This is your first mission,” he began. “I expect you all to be on your best behavior. You will retrieve the golden bough from the lobotomy corporation facility here in Q Corp. In addition to this, we’ve also made a contract with…” He let out a disappointing and terrifying sigh. “Where is Mark and Othello?” 

“They are in the back of the bus,” Pen answered. “If I remember correctly, they were fighting over something again.” 

The Red Gaze’s eyes turned sharply toward the door, a slight flash of annoyance woven in his mouth. His head gently turned toward his assistant next to him, his voice more gentle than the anger on his face. “Kuvira,” he bent slightly over to meet her eyes. 

Kuvira’s head looked up like an alert rabbit to a twig snapping. Her gaze relaxed as she saw Vergilius. “Yes sir?” She implied a tone of willingness and patience, something he did not return to her. 

“Check on the sinners in the back, Mark and Othello. Fetch them for me, and make sure they aren’t causing a fuss or doing anything stupid.” 

Kuvira stood up immediately, giving a quick bow of respect. “Right away, sir.” She nearly skipped away with a smile down the bus hall before reaching the back door and closing it behind her. 

“Sinners, any notable questions about the place before I continue?” Vergilius turned his gaze back to the crowd as Kuvira left. “Your task is to find the golden bough and return it to Dante.” 

“Hold on, we?” Pen gestured to his coworkers, a look of confusion on his face. “Aren’t you coming too? I thought you were our guide.” 

“I am the bus guide,” Vergilius replied, moving his hands from his back to grab his book resting on the bus dashboard. “I guide the bus, not the sinners on the bus.” He sighed. “I… assist now and then, assuming you guys don’t do your job and get lost… but I cannot guide you to the destination per contract regulations unless in dire situations.” 

Mallo raised her hand, her gaze fixed and stoic as usual. “You informed us that we were picking up a person. Who are they? What do they look like?” 

The only detail Vergilius gave of the person was the brown suit he would be wearing. Mallo didn’t seem to appreciate the vagueness of the answer. 

Lenore also made clear she had a question. “Aren’t we looking for the golden bough?” 

Vergilius stared at her as if she was deaf. 

“I mean, why do we need to sign a contract with someone with a simple task?” Lenore elaborated, rubbing the back of her neck. 

“The person in charge of the signed contract will guide you to the facility as they are well situated with the environment,” Vergilius explained. “They have additional tasks for you to complete on the way.” 

Lenore said her thanks and rested back in her seat. 

Jekyll adjusted the monocle on her eye, her gaze twitching slightly. The voice… well, Hyde, was strangely quiet. 

Not that she was complaining, but it usually didn’t mean anything good. “Where are you?” She muttered under her breath. 

I’m here, idiot. There’s nothing important to say. 

Jekyll rolled her eyes, regretting that she even asked. 

“Any other questions?” The guide sighed, waiting a moment before flipping through his book. He turned toward Charon and gestured for her to stop. 

Jekyll didn’t realize the bus had slowed, but she did notice the sudden jolt when it came to a full stop. Charon’s expression was blank as always, as if she had done nothing wrong, and nothing right. 

When the door opened, there was a man who stepped into the bus. As Vergilius had described, he had a prominent brown suit. He carried a gray suitcase that was the same shade as his combed-back hair. His face was square and he adjusted the large glasses on his face, giving a disgusted look at the state of the vehicle before speaking. “Is this Limbus Company?” He asked, his voice snarky and high-pitched. 

“Yes,” Pen answered faster than anyone else could open their mouths. 

The man alternated his stance to lean more on his left black boot. He seemed unamused. “I am supposed to meet Dante, I assume?” 

Quicker than anyone else once more, Pen pointed to the manager. 

Dante quickly thanks him before standing up. “Right, I will need a translator to talk to our coworker.” 

This would be a good time to show my good work ethic, Jekyll thought. She began to stand up, willing to offer her assistance. 

“Jatayu, can you translate for me?” The manager turned his head toward the veteran. 

“Oh, uh, sure,” Jatayu gently nods and hoists himself out of his seat, adjusting his jacket to look more presentable. 

Jekyll frowned, sitting back down in her seat. A wave of disappointment washed over her. She knew managers tended to choose people they trusted for various tasks, however, she couldn’t help but feel useless in that moment. 

Get over yourself, Hyde scoffed. Pay attention to what they’re saying. 

Jekyll had nothing better to do than oblige. 

Before Dante could start the conversation, the back door opened. Mark came out with a strangely calm look on his face. His white shirt and black pants were drenched in blood and reeked of guts. His pipe hung on his shoulders as he observed the situation before him. 

Kuvira was not far behind him, gently swaying to the side slightly behind Mark. She seemed to be completely unscathed, except for the end of her scarf which contained the same color of blood on Mark’s shirt. 

“Where have you been?” Dante turned around, confronting his tardiness.

“Sorry, Dante, I was-” Mark paused, his gaze snapping back to normal. “Wait a minute, why am I apologizing to you? I was at the ordeal gauntlet, pansy. None of your business.” 

Jekyll’s eyes narrowed, observing Mark closely. The blood on his shirt was definitely not ordeal blood. She knew what human blood looked like, to her dismay. 

Oh my gosh, the idiot killed Othello. She heard Hyde rant in her head. No one is going to believe his pathetic lie–

“How did you beat them all by yourself?” Pen stared at Mark with wide eyes in amazement. “Identities,” he replied. “Easy.” 

These idiots. 

Jekyll couldn’t help but agree with Hyde. Was it really not that obvious?

Mallo shot a similar glare that Jekyll had in her eyes at Mark. Mark made eye contact with her. “The hell is that look for?” He snapped, his demeanor becoming harsher by the minute. 

“Mm, none of my business.” Mallo returned the glare before turning around, taking another breath from her cigarette. 

“I’m glad you got the use of IDs down, pal,” Jatayu smiled towards him. 

Mark turned his gaze towards him. “Who are you?” 

The veteran looked confused. “Uh, I’m Jatayu?” He glanced at Dante before looking back at Mark. “Your coworker?” 

“Hmmph,” Mark looked away and took a seat in the back of the bus, irritated.

Kuvira gently passed Jatayu and Dante as she headed to the front of the bus. Jatayu adjusted his coat once more and also turned around, rather embarrassed. His body language told everyone observing that he wished to move on from the subject. 

Dante didn’t seem convinced. “That’s strange, I don’t remember pulling out any ID cards for you…” 

“You got flames for a brain, pansy,” Mark retorted. 

“It’s not that, I just hope another Ithas situation doesn’t happen… Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” 

Pen had a second take as Dante said that. “Is he lying?” He asked Dante, glancing at Mark. 

“He has no reason to lie,” Dante’s flames flickered as he turned towards the man. “There would be no other place that the blood could come from, anyway.” 

The hunter’s eyes lit up. “Well if he used an ID all by himself, that’s even more impressive.” 

Jekyll twitched her head as Hyde ranted. Idiots surround me… these people can’t come to a logical conclusion for sh–

“Do ID injuries usually transfer over?” Lenore asked, confused. “I didn’t expect the injuries to stay when switching back to our normal selves.” 

“Everything is usually fine after combat,” Dante scratches his head. “The IDs usually don’t remember what happened, and I heal whatever ID that fought after combat, anyway.” 

“Don’t mean to barge in this situation,” the snarky voice from the new guy stung the noise like a scorpion. “But can we get this contract settled? I want to get a move on.” 

Jekyll didn’t care for how nastily and pushy the man was being. She knew she would be polite when working with him, but his comments were unnecessary. 

“Yes,” Dante turned around to face the man. “Jatayu, please translate what I say.” 

“O-Oh, yes,” Jatayu shook his head, snapping himself back into focus.

“We as Limbus Company are a proud establishment,” Dante began. “We deal with distortions and collect golden boughs. Your contract has been made to help both of us with our personal goals. Things are going well, and we wish for things to continue going well.” 

Jatayu clears his throat. “Uh, we as Limbus company are a proud establishment that uh… deal with distortions… and things are not… well?” 

Everyone on the bus looked at Jatayu as if he was high. Dante tilted his head as a strange ticking noise sounded. “Jatayu, that’s… not what I said.” 

“Uh, sorry,” Jatayu stammered, scratching the back of his head as his eyes winced. “I’m a little antsy, I will focus better, manager.” 

The new guy had a disturbed look on his face subsequent to everyone else’s reactions. “Right… Anyway, the insurance company of mine wishes to hire you. There has been an astronomical rush of MK-Falons with so many people exploring the old lobotomy corporation facilities. As a life insurance company, we have good business keeping people alive. We have people’s well-being insured and compensate for those who pass into the next life. However, with the large rush of people exploring the facilities, they never come back up alive and are presumed dead. People keep exploring these facilities and we aren’t financially equipped to keep paying their relatives for their poor decisions that cost them their lives.” 

“You’re still paying for the deaths of those who effectively commit suicide?” Lenore questioned. It was a respectful and logical question, and Lenore asked it professionally. 

“Usually, we wouldn’t fund those. However, they are not… classified as suicides, and not many suicides occur in the backstreets of Q Corp. Higher ups did take that in mind, but because of their classification as a casualty and not a suicide…” The man sniffed as if to clear his throat. “The point being, my company has been in a downward spiral because of this rush of enkephalin. To save our hyde from–” 

He said my name. 

Jekyll winced and gently replied. No, he’s talking about a different thing entirely. 

That’s still my name, moron. No one just says ‘Hyde’ out of the blue. 

Shut up–

“We want you all to delve into this and save us money.” The man finished, taking a deep breath. 

Jekyll scowled at herself. She didn’t even get to hear the reasoning and the final part of the explanation. She had no doubt this would lead to further issues down the line. 

Mallo seemed pissed off with how the man pronounced enkephalin. She proceeded to argue with him many times about how the word was said, before giving up as his accent didn’t change how he said the word at all. Lenore tried to convince them both it was the same thing and to move on to more important topics at hand. 

Pen whispered something in the background, and Jatayu stood up to relay it. “So how does all this relate to distortions?” His voice was hoarse, exposing his exhaustion. 

“So, our company tried to take care of the issue on our terms, however, we are not exactly fit for combat, despite having a few combatants left… We tried to go ourselves, but while we were down there we found very… grizzly things.” He shuddered at the mere mention of the description, his hand going to rub his back and neck to calm himself down. “After that first failure of an exploration… we decided to call the experts – you all – knowing you are better trained and more prepared than us.” 

“This implies that you know what’s down there,” Jatayu pressed. 

“There was… a lot of beheadings, and we didn’t make it past the first floor.” 

The silence that captured the bus was loud. The man uncomfortably adjusted his feet as he waited for someone to speak up, getting more nervous by the second. 

Pen was the first to break his anxious bondage. “So, you’re saying we are going to fight distortions?” 

“I believe so,” he stammered. “Are there other monsters that are not in that classification?” 

Jekyll watched the rage immediately take over Mallo’s face. She took another breath of her cigarette to calm down before she spoke. “Abnormalities.” 

The man looked bewildered. “What’s that?” 

Mallo pinched her nose with her free hand, her mood becoming more irritated the more this man spoke. “You idiot–” 

“Did we hire the wrong company?” The new guy backed up nervously, his hands raised as his expression revealed his new fear. 

Jekyll watched as Mallo stood to her feet immediately, towering over the man. She walked up to him, bending down before breathing out one last cloud of smoke. “Abnormalities are feral monsters who exist for one purpose. They are crafted around a singular desire and will never change. They used to be people, but will never return to their former state. Distortions, however, are people who are consumed by a belief and an emotion to a mental breaking point. They can be taken care of and returned to their former state. Knowing the difference is key.” 

When the fear on the man’s face didn’t subside, Jekyll felt compelled to step forward. “Uh, distortions are killable! Unlike abnormalities, they are usually a one-and-done situation.” Jekyll stood up and walked to Mallo’s side. “Either way, we can take care of the monsters down there.” She let out a nervous laugh, clenching her hands together. 

You absolute idiot–

Although the man looked relieved, Mallo immediately became more angry. She turned toward Jekyll, her gaze piercing her soul. “I didn’t ask you for your opinion. You speak when spoken to, understood?” 

Jekyll took a step back, her posture shrinking inward. The fierce threat written within Mallo’s words sent shivers down her spine. Her gaze did not let up, and it only made Jekyll more afraid. 

What the hell are you doing?! Hyde barked. Don’t let her walk over you like that! Fight back!

Hell nah, Jekyll argued. I’ve already upset her enough. 

Jekyll I swear, you never stand up for yourself. Hyde hissed, more irritated than Mallo. This is why I took action with Danves, you need to–

“I suddenly feel that this is an unsafe working environment,” the new man was clutching his suitcase to his chest, glancing between Mallo and Jekyll. 

“Every place in this God-forsaken city is an unsafe place to work,” Mallo turned back towards him. 

“Ah–” The guy raised his finger to protest, but then clamped his mouth shut. “Fair point…” 

“As I was saying,” Mallo shot one more threatening glare at Jekyll before turning her feet toward the man, her gaze turning into a stoic glaze. “Abnormalities have their differences, but if you beat either of them up enough, they will go into submission.” 

The two continued to exchange information about the subject; Jekyll zoned out and went to sit back in her seat, making herself as small as possible. 

Are you done sulking like a dog without its owner? 

Jekyll’s eyes narrowed, not wanting to address Hyde. 

Don’t in all hell dare ignore me. Hyde snapped. You are such a wimp. Where is your strength to stand your ground? Do you even have the brain to notice they’ve been walking all over you?

KNOW YOUR PLACE! Jekyll screamed in her head, wiping away a tear that never fell. Know your place in this, Hyde. You are not the boss of me. Shut the hell up, or I’ll make sure to charge these moonstones real good. 

Hyde didn’t speak another word after that. Jekyll could feel her sulking in the corner just like she was. She figured she would get to hear all about it later. Hyde always complained that she didn’t know what she was doing wrong when everything she suggested was horrible. Jekyll knew she wasn’t bound by the same morals she was, but the lack of remorse her internal companion had was the most scary part about her. 

“Oh, there is one more group I should tell you all about,” the new man stepped away from Mallo to face the group again. “Other groups are searching for the golden boughs, and we’ve encountered a few of them. Have any of you heard of the demon syndicate?” 

There was a noticeable sound of a grip tightening. Jekyll looked up from the floor to see who it was. The only person who changed their demeanor was Jatayu. Jekyll had often taken Jatayu to be a relaxed, patient man. However, the rage on his face completely changed how he came off to everyone else. He gripped his tonfas mercilessly as if he was going to shatter them with his bare hands. His eyes were like fire. 

What’s his deal? Hyde piped up. 

Jekyll didn’t answer as she took a closer look at him. She didn’t know much if anything about his past, but she could immediately recognize the symptoms he was going through. From the clients she worked with to her personal experience, Jekyll could see the anger of uncertain origin fuel Jatayu. When the mere name of the Demon Syndicate was mentioned, the anger stemmed from a place of trauma as many memories flashed before his very eyes. It was a very common form of post-traumatic stress disorder, however, Jekyll knew every person responded to tragic events differently. She couldn’t tell what exactly was traumatic, but she knew it was causing Jatayu to boil in anger. If her knowledge didn’t fail her, it meant he was about to do something very brash and out of character for his normal composure. 

The man continued to speak as Jatayu walked towards him. “They’ve been lingering in this area, and we have lost many customers to whatever practices they’ve been– oh, hello–” 

Jatayu paid no regard to the man as he walked out of the bus and into the haze of the backstreets. 

“Clockhead, or anyone else listening, fill me in, I ain’t listening to this trash,” Mark got up from the backseat and rushed past Dante and the new guy, scurrying after Jatayu. 

“Are we supposed to be heading out?” Pen asked quietly. 

“Someone’s got trauma,” Mallo muttered under her breath. 

“Well clockface, if we die, don’t let it be permanent,” Lenore gently demanded before getting up from her seat and following the two men out the bus door. 

Pathetic speech anyway, let’s rush after them. 

Jekyll disagreed. She knew when meetings were interrupted like this, it meant not all the key information was given. She clutched her hands together before walking up to the contract man. “Well, you can always give me the remaining details and I will pass them along,” she suggested, casting a quick glance at Mallo to make sure she wasn’t going to yell at her again. 

Ew, boring, I don’t want to stick around for information. Jekyll could feel Hyde rolling her eyes. 

“Oh, alright, let’s head on out after the others and discuss–” 

“No, no,” Jekyll interrupted him, her eyes widening slightly as she motioned for him to not move. “The… backstreets are not safe to discuss important contract business such as this.”

“Good point,” the man adjusted his glasses and sniffed again, his voice becoming less constricted. “We want you to take the demon syndicate out, as they are also bad for our business. We can’t protect those whose souls are stolen, anyway.” 

Jekyll took a mental note of the new information. “Anything else we should know about the journey, the layout, the enemies we will be facing?” 

“Why don’t we walk and talk? I see most of your group has started already,” the man suggested.

Is he deaf? You JUST recommended to stay inside. What an NPC… Hyde insulted him for her. 

Jekyll couldn’t help but agree. She glanced out into the fog where Jatayu and Mark had disappeared, and Lenore slowly caught up to them. She heard a brief command from Dante for Mallo and Pen to follow the others, which meant she would have to go too. 

As Pen walked to the door, he pointed at Charon. “Is she not coming?” 

“Mephi needs company. Charon stays,” the bus driver replied in a simple tone, not looking his way as she swung her feet off the edge of the seat. 

“Huh, okay then,” Pen shrugged it off and walked into the haze, patting the bus as he left. “It’s okay you have Charon to be with you.” 

Mallo after observing the situation, followed Pen without a word to anyone. 

“Are you absolutely sure there is no more information you can give us?” Jekyll turned her attention back towards the contract man. “No loopholes, no hidden surprises that you know of, no hidden information about who we might be facing?” 

“All I know was there was a lot of red and beheading in the facility.” 

“That’s all?” 

“There was also a lot of laughter, but that is all I can give you. I am not combat efficient, so my job is to guide you to the entrance of the lobotomy corporation facility. After that, it is up to your company to complete the rest.” 

This bastard had better pay a large sum to the higher-ups if he expects us to charge in with the pathetic information he’s given us. 

Jekyll sighed, realizing she was not going to get any more useful information out of him. She glanced behind her shoulder to see Dante gesturing her towards the door. She took one look at Vergilius, Kuvira, and Charon before she walked past the contract man and stepped into the fog herself. 

“Dante,” Jekyll heard Vergilius’ voice behind her. He paused for a moment. “...Do not let them lose their heads like last time.” 

Jekyll didn’t hear the manager’s reply as she stepped into the fog. She barely caught a whiff of Jatayu and Mark as they took a turn down a street. As soon as she spotted them, they went out of her sight. 

The backstreets were oddly quiet. Jekyll had never been to Q Corp, but after seeing it, it would not be her first choice. The buildings much like the ones she saw on the bus were slightly in ruin and had a grand presence similar to a ghetto. The houses were more like slums, only varying in color by their different shades of gray. The richer parts of the backstreets that she could see, or at least richer objects had purple and violet hues. The only sound was the constant dripping of water off the broken roofs. The smell was horrendous, like the stench of cow dung and ash. It was difficult to make out any specific details due to the haze. The dark clouds above didn’t help at all with the gloomy and nihilistic environment. It was truly a terrible day. 

There were little to no people out. There was one person in front of them, and he seemed to be of no importance. The eerie silence made Jekyll feel the man was about to get jumped. 

“It’s nice to be out again,” Jekyll glanced to her right, spotting Pen in the middle of a stretch. 

“Weather’s hell as always,” Mallo adds a dark cloud to the fog with the smoke from her cigarette. Her hair gently swayed behind her, and her glare didn’t resist piercing into anyone who got in its way. 

Feeling that Hyde was distracted by something else, Jekyll took a step towards Mallo. I might as well try to make things right… She thought to herself. “H-Hey, Mallo?” 

Mallo barely turned her head towards her. “What?” She snapped more than asked. 

“U-Uhm I w-wanted t-to apologize f-for earlier… I d-didn’t mean to s-step out of line I-I-I am sorry…” Jekyll gripped her hands tightly, looking up at the woman who stood over a foot taller than her. 

Mallo’s gaze seemed to relax, even if it was only a little bit. “Hmm. Just remember not to step out of line. It will lead to more problems.” She gestured down the alleyway that Jatayu and Mark went down. “Like those two.” 

When Jekyll turned her head to see where she was pointing, Pen and Lenore were blocking Mallo’s preferred intention. “Are you going to follow them?” She heard Pen ask Lenore, who was too quiet for her to hear the response.

“Uhm, I a-assume you meant t-the two that a-already left, yes?” Jekyll stammered, turning back to face Mallo. 

“Yes, I did. Congrats on noticing,” Mallo took a breath from her cigarette and sighed. “Talking takes too much effort.” 

Jekyll nodded solemnly, relieved to have cleared that up. She didn’t ever wish to upset Mallo; Jekyll was quite fond of her. However, she couldn’t say the same about Hyde. 

That bastard walks all over us, she heard Hyde mumble in her head. Jekyll decided to ignore everything else Hyde ranted about after that. 

“Aren’t you supposed to direct us, Dante?” Pen appeared next to Jekyll and in front of Dante as if he teleported there. “Three of our companions just walked off.” 

Pen’s immediate presence made Jekyll jump. It took her a bit to consider his words. When Jekyll took a glance at the left alleyway, she realized Lenore had disappeared down it as well. She sighed. Really? 

“I wish I could tell you why they’ve gone off…” Dante sighed. “Perhaps they are trying to catch up with Jatayu? I have never seen him act this way before; he’s usually not like this… storming off to hell knows where. Either way, Maut is supposed to lead us to our destination, we should follow him.” 

It was about time Jekyll learned the contract man’s name. She nodded towards Maut before turning to Dante. “S-So are are going to wait for them t-to come back o-or are we following Maut t-to the destination?” 

“I mean, we need our entire party,” Dante answered. “So I guess we are following them to grab their attention.” 

Mallo didn’t think twice. She turned her heel and trod across the left alleyway where the others disappeared. 

This company’s organization is absolute garbage. Hyde sighed in annoyance as Jekyll watched Mallo walk off. You traded M Corp for this? 

We… I didn’t have a choice. Jekyll replied, sighing. 

You had every choice, and you chose the wrong one. 

Choosing the wrong one would’ve been to continue letting you be free, Jekyll hissed. 

I had everything under control! 

We were about to get arrested, Hyde! Jekyll’s breathing quickened as the memories came back. You committed horrible acts!

Horrible? How were they horrible? Are your stupid morals getting in the way again? 

“Shut up!” 

“Is everything okay?” Dante approached Jekyll, his hands gently extended toward her. 

Jekyll looked up immediately, forcing a smile. “Uh- uh- yes! Everything is fine, Dante.” She sighed. 

This pansy ain’t seeing nothing yet. Hyde took a strange control over Jekyll’s smile, tweaking it slightly. 

“If you’re sure,” Dante nodded, the flames on his head dwindling. 

I cannot believe that worked, Jekyll inhaled a deep breath of relief. “I suppose we follow the others, like you mentioned earlier?” 

“Yes, that is the initial plan,” Dante glanced over his shoulder. “Can anyone ask Maut, though?” 

“I can,” Jekyll immediately stepped up on the opportunity, not letting it get away this time. I need to prove myself to Dante. 

Screw proving yourself. Get all the information you can since we are choosing the boring route. 

Jekyll cringed at herself before walking up to Maut and waving her hand to get his attention.

Maut’s voice was as snarky as ever. “What is it, miss?” 

“Hypothetically,” Jekyll began. “To get to the Lobotomy Corporation facility, which direction would be the best to go in?” 

Maut’s finger pointed towards the alley more colored in purple and violet to the right. “Straight that way.” 

How convenient, Hyde snapped. 

“Uhm… how long would it take to get there if we went left where our other companions went, versus right?” 

“Turning right is naturally faster, as it is a direct shot. However, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours more if we went left. Turning left leads to a worse part of town, where my work residence lies.” 

Lovely. Ask him about supplies, and if there’s any information about the town we should know. 

Jekyll hated that she agreed with Hyde. “Would it be beneficial to stop at your work? Perhaps we could grab some necessary supplies and you can give us more information.” 

“I’ve already told you all the information about the facility,” Maut said, clearly annoyed. 

Is this bastard deaf? Information about the city– Hyde proceeded to curse the man out. 

“W-Well, at least we could go left to gather supplies and devise a plan to go through the city and facility, anything you can give us will help.” 

Maut’s demeanor changed immediately. “That’s a good idea!” He smirked. “Why don’t we do that?” 

Jekyll thought it was a sound plan. She turned around to see if Dante would approve. 

The manager seemed to be reassuring Pen that they would be getting a move on soon, as Pen appeared to have grown restless with the rising tension. 

Jekyll faced the left alley before walking down it. “Come along now, the backstreets are never safe for anybody.” 

The rest of the remaining group followed close behind Jekyll, traveling in silence. The haze thickened and the smell worsened, forcing Jekyll to plug her nose as she continued forward through the streets, twisting and turning with the roads. The atmosphere itself got darker and gloomier, but it wouldn’t be long until the gang reached an opening. 

“Is this a safer part of town?” Pen strolled to match Maut’s pace, looking up at the tall man with curious eyes. 

“No, less safe by a lot,” Maut answered curtly. 

Dante shuddered as he eavesdropped. He ticked gently, about to say something, but the narrow backstreet opened up into a small courtyard. There were dim purple lights to light up the main business buildings and their entrances. All the buildings were covered in chains and jail bars to keep anyone from going in or out without being tracked. To the left were more streets that drove further into Q Corp, and to the right were a bunch of buildings. Straight ahead was a more lit-up path with a broken sign. 

The party’s gaze rested on the only person out in the open. He wore a large purple coat and had his hair slicked back like Maut’s. The black suitcase resting at his side matched his boots perfectly in color, and it was easy to tell he was looking back at the party with a stoic face despite the glasses that covered his eyes. 

“Do you know him?” Jekyll lowered her voice, talking to Maut as she gestured towards the purple-suited man. 

“Yes! That is one of my coworkers, Mr. Fylar,” Maut wore a quick smile before it faded. “He’s a good companion of mine.” 

Bro’s got a nice drip. I would love to paint that, Hyde smirked. I wonder if his blood would complement the violet. 

Can you stop? We are trying to focus, Jekyll pinched her nose, adjusting her monocle. She made an effort to distract herself from Hyde’s comments as she observed her surroundings. It would be hard to navigate the backstreets without proper guidance. Having been on a similar mission before, Jekyll wondered if there was a backup plan in case the group got even more separated for navigation. “Do we have a layout of the city, Maut?” The doctor asked randomly, not looking at the contract man. “A layout of the city?” 

“I’m sure he does, quite,” Pen added. 

With the lack of response from the man, Jekyll snapped her fingers to get Maut’s attention. “Hey, sorry for all the questions. Do you have a layout or map of the area?” 

“Oh!” He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat once more. “I do work here so I have a general layout… but because this place is so filthy and grimey I don’t know it too well, as I usually stay in the nest.” 

“Okay, can you draw a general layout or a map of some sort, on the ground or verbally relay it?” Jekyll pressed, begging for any new information she could get. 

“I can… do you have a piece of paper?” 

Jekyll looked up to the sky momentarily, pulling her jacket forward so her other hand could rummage through her pockets. It took a long time sorting through the various jars and rocks to find paper and pen. However, she immediately handed it to Maut the moment she found some. 

Maut thanked her before placing the paper on a nearby wall and started to sketch out the section of the backstreets they were in, humming to himself as he did so. 

Finally, some useful information. Hyde rolled her eyes. Maut isn’t useless after all. 

Eventually, Maut handed her the map. Jekyll took a moment to observe it, holding it up to the sky to get a better look. A slight ray of moonlight in the sunset peeked through the clouds, giving her light. 

Hey, watch the rings! She heard Hyde snap. You promised you wouldn’t charge those. 

Sorry, Jekyll replied, glancing at the rings as they lit up. I can’t see the map otherwise. 

Do I sound like I care? Put them away. 

Jekyll sighed, putting the map down. She could make out the general details of where to go, but not much more than that. The rings eventually died down, the red light shining from them fading. 

“Dante, you need to get a better grip on your sinners,” Mark’s voice echoed as he stepped out from the shadows of the street straight ahead. “They’re going on about the fact that ‘family matters’ or whatever.” 

Dante tilted his head, confused. “Family… does matter?” 

“You’re delusional too?” Mark rolled his eyes, swinging his pipe around his shoulders. “Everyone knows that family is just some stupid concept, they always sell you out in the end for a price.” 

Jekyll froze at that comment, taking a step closer to the conversation. Family is… a stupid concept? Does someone else actually think that way? 

Hyde laughed manically so loud it rang through Jekyll’s ears. Hah! Markie the clawless cub… It’s about time he finally learned that. 

Dante lifts a finger as if to protest, but he pauses. “I… met someone who thought that way. He was betrayed by his family often. He didn’t make up everything with them, but he ended up forgiving them and he lives a good life now.” 

“Sounds like an idiot,” Mark scoffed. 

“He knew what he was talking about,” Dante defended, his voice getting more serious with each syllable. 

“Anyway, pansy, Jatayu, the gal with the cigarette, and the gal with the glaive are up straight ahead. All of them seemed pretty ticked off by the truth.” Mark shrugged toward the alleyway before setting his pipe on the ground and leaning on it. 

Dante sounded even more concerned. “Did… you tell them that family doesn’t matter?” 

“Is that wrong?” Mark mocked, giving an uneasy smile. 

It’s not wrong, Jekyll added in her head. Just… sensitive people can’t handle that. 

She was surprised to hear Hyde agreeing with her. Dang right. Family never matters, it’s always wise to get rid of them first before they hurt you anymore. 

Jekyll barely noticed Hyde’s voice was getting stronger, and her grip on reality was loosening. Her vision became blurry as she thought about what Mark had said, and how she agreed with him. 

She could hear Dante’s voice in the distance. “I’m… gonna check with them, and ask them what happened…” 

“You suck, you need to keep your opinions to yourself,” Pen stepped forward to confront Mark. Jekyll could barely make out the outline of the hunter’s figure. 

“Are you all delusional?” Mark seemed taken aback by the negative responses to what he said. 

Why don’t you tell him, Jekyll? Hyde’s voice sounded as if it was right in her ear. Why don’t you tell Mark you agree with him? 

I… Jekyll blinked, her heart stopped beating for a moment. 

I thought your whole thing was to relate to people, to validate their feelings. Hyde sneered. Go on, tell them that you agree. 

“I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, but please keep it to yourself,” Pen continued.

“How old are you kid? 16?” Mark changed the subject. After the hunter’s shrug, his smirk faded. “Let the grownups handle this.” 

“Your truths are disrupting the hunt.” 

“The only issue I see lies in the hunters, not the hunt itself.” 

“That hunter with the issue is you.” 

“Put some earwax in your ears if it bothers you, then,” Mark retorted, the grip on his pipe tightening. 

“If you disrupt my journey to the star, I will make you shut up.” 

Mark broke into a burst of laughter. “Try me.” 

That laughter blurred Jekyll’s focus entirely, it was too real, too terrifying… Too much like… me. 

Jekyll’s grip on reality loosened before she realized it. She could hear Hyde clearer than her own thoughts. Finally. 

The last thing Jekyll saw was Mark standing down, being intimidated by Pen and his spear. Her legs became weak, and she fell to the floor, clutching her head. She tried to fight it, but because of how distracted she became, it was already too late. “No, no, no, NO–” she screamed, her consciousness becoming locked in a cage, her body no longer in her control. Her vision became blurry, and the familiar feeling of being trapped in her own mind returned. 

Hyde had finally taken over. 

The cry of pain stopped, turning into a maniac laughter. Jekyll banged on the prison of her mind as Hyde rose to her feet, flipping the monocle over to reveal her diseased red eye. She slammed the paintbrush onto the ground, making a dent in the road before she stared at those in front of her. 

Oh no. No Hyde please don’t do this–

It was the first time Hyde saw a confused look on Mark’s face. “Oi, clockhead, your sinner is going crazy again.” 

Dante turned around from his previous wandering down the straight alleyway. “What?” 

“Are you okay, Jekyll?” Pen approached Hyde slowly, and one of his arms in a concerned position reached out to her. 

Jekyll begged them to run, but no one but Hyde heard her cries. Hyde simply ignored her. She laid eyes on the manager, and without another word to anyone, walked up to him and grabbed him by the scruff.

Dante grunted in surprise. If he had eyes, they would’ve widened at the sudden movement. 

It had been a very long time since Jekyll heard Hyde’s voice audibly. “Let me make this clear, clockhead,” she sneered, rage boiling inside her. “Jekyll is the one who signed the contract, but I am not she. I do not follow your pathetic excuse of a life and commands from your waste of air.” 

Dante cowered under Hyde’s grip, terrified. He couldn’t reply audibly to her in any coherent words. His hands rested around Hyde’s, the one that was gripping the scruff of his uniform. 

“Uh, kid, we might need to knock her out,” Mark started to speak with a new uncertainty, uncommon for his character. 

Pen nodded and raised his spear. “As long as I’m here, Jekyll–” 

“Jekyll?” Hyde turned her head toward the two men, dropping Dante onto the floor. 

Oh boy, here we go… Jekyll thought nervously, having no choice but to watch everything unfold. 

“No, no, I am not Jekyll, that lowlife wimp is not me. Please, call me Hyde.” Hyde extended her hands and bowed mockingly, before non-verbally asking for a handshake. 

Reluctantly, Pen shook her hand. “Are we playing pretend?” He asked genuinely. 

Oh no, oh this is so bad–

“Dante,” Mark shouted at the manager on the floor, actually using his name this time. “Turn her off and on, reset her, or whatever?” 

Hyde lifted her head to stare into Mark’s soul. She recognized him immediately now that she was fronting. “Off and on? Reset? Come on, Mark. You know that doesn’t work, it didn’t work for your hustle, now did it?” 

Mark looks Hyde up and down, laughing. “I have no idea what she’s talking about.” 

Only Jekyll could feel the hint of frustration Hyde chose to hide. Hyde walked up to the man with pride, a sly smirk on her face as her red eye gleamed with delight. Her voice lowered as she whispered like the wind. 

“Split Shards. 11th Day of Year. 04:56.” 

Mark’s eyes widened in fear. He stared at Hyde in unbelief, before uttering a single curse word under his breath. It was noticeable to anyone watching that he suddenly became very, very nervous. “Yeah, let’s reset her.” He barely got his words out as he took a step back. 

… That was the birth moment of your bestseller, wasn’t it? 

Yes, see, now you remember who he is, Hyde replied to Jekyll quickly. “There will be NO resetting, Dante,” she raised her voice like a lion. “Unless you want your head on a stick.”

Dante could only stare and nod in horror. 

Pen also seemed intimidated by the sudden change, and could only back off and watch the chaos Hyde brought happen. 

“Uh, hold on–” Mark stepped forward. “Hyde, would you really want to limit your canvas to a pathetic piece of hell like Dante? He’s only one body, even if that. However, if you go along with our original plan to kill these demon syndicates… you have many bodies to work with for your next…” Mark struggled to find his words as Hyde glared at him. “...Masterpiece.” 

Hyde smirked. “I like the way you think,” she rotated the paintbrush flawlessly. “Very well, where is this… demon syndicate?” 

Much to Jekyll’s relief, Hyde didn’t wait for an answer. Taking a quick look at the map Maut had given her, she followed the straight alleyway until it led to another alleyway. 

Jekyll’s efforts to take back control were useless. Her cries and pleas were ignored. She figured she deserved it; locking someone up for three years never leaves them happy. 

Hyde soon approached another plaza, where she found Jatayu and Lenore. There were a few seats to the left for restaurant dining, which no one was sitting in. There was a torn purple flag flying high in the air; everything else was the same as the previous opening.

“Ah, yes, the other two wimps this stupid company hired.” Hyde’s comment was oddly passive, but it drew enough attention to her anyway. 

“Are you okay, Jekyll?” Lenore stopped leaning on a lamppost as she gently approached her. 

Hyde rolled her eyes, showing an aggressive face. “Don’t call me that!” 

Lenore was taken aback. “Do… you have a different name you wish to go by? What is going on? I am… very confused.” 

Jatayu tilted his head towards Hyde. “Same…” 

Hyde pointed to the red eye that was now revealed and not hidden under the monocle. “Call me Hyde, and it will always be Hyde. Unless you can actually come up with an acceptable nickname.” 

She didn’t pay attention to anything else the two said as she continued down the alleyway for some time. Jekyll watched the sunset and the moon rise. She tried to plan how to get the moonstones charged whilst she was not in control.

Don’t. Even. Think. About it. She heard Hyde snap at her. 

Hyde, please, we are stuck with these people for a long time, Jekyll pleaded, realizing Hyde was finally listening. Please, do not be rude to them…

That is the least of your concerns, idiot. 

Two lamposts signaled to the doctor that another opening was up ahead. This plaza had the look of a marketplace… after it was raided and murdered. Bloodstained almost every stone on the cobbled road. Every building had boards to block the entrances from this area. This is where the stench of dead ashes came from. The former marketplace had clearly turned into a battlefield not too long ago as if a gang had just claimed it as their territory. 

Unlike Jekyll, Hyde was able to observe the scene efficiently and faster than Jekyll ever had looked at anything in her life. She gathered Mallo was walking towards another road further right, her hair swaying and not bothering to acknowledge who just came in behind her. To her left, she noticed three strange-looking creatures with green gloves and hostile faces. Their robes were also green and carried a dark presence about them. Knowing a bit about the area, Hyde reasoned they were the demon syndicates she was looking for. 

“You three!” She shouted, spinning the brush in her hand. She smiled wickedly at them. “Are you the demon syndicate?” 

The three men looked towards her in a confused manner before the second one stepped forward with a piercing glare. He seemed more outgoing than the other two and had a finer jawline. “What is it to you?” 

Hyde strolled across the cobblestone road towards them, dragging her paintbrush behind her as it left colors on the floor. Her posture was one of pride; anyone remotely knowledgeable of her occupation would recognize her. She admired how the second demon syndicate looked, and her thoughts filled with various poses she could use his remains to paint on her new canvas. “Answer me this. To be the canvas, or to receive the canvas?”

The first and third demon syndicate looked at each other in confusion as if she spoke in riddles. The second one copied their confusion and pasted it on his face. “You’re not making any sense.” 

Jekyll started screaming in Hyde’s head as she gripped the paintbrush tighter. Hyde no! No, do not start this fight, please! We are alone! 

“Relax, I got this under control,” was the last thing Hyde muttered to her before she lunged forward. 

Hyde’s attack was swift, completely catching the second man off-guard. She swung her paintbrush at him, retracting his blood and painting it across his face with multiple strikes. The man retaliated, shooting her with the green glove he had on his hand. 

The third one also shot her, and it ate away at her soul. Hyde finished her attack before resting on her paintbrush, smirking wildly at them. She hid how much pain she was in, as she realized this type of attack was a sin she never came in contact with before. It hurt more than the others, and left a dark, black impression on her mind, unlike the other sins that left colors. 

…You’re staggered, aren’t you? Jekyll sighed anxiously.

And? They don’t need to know that. 

Mallo was already making her way over to Hyde with a pissed-off expression. Hyde turned her head to see Lenore right behind her. Hyde then leaned on her brush and smirked at the enemies as they cowered into the back, realizing reinforcements had arrived. 

Lenore immediately raised her glaive and struck the second man, scratching his face. Her eyes were strangely mello, and the man hissed at her when she struck, waving his free hand through his long black hair. 

Jatayu and Pen were close behind Lenore. Despite Jekyll's rant in a panic, she and Hyde went silent as they watched Jatayu’s entire demeanor change. 

That same rage that enticed the man on the bus multiplied the moment Jatayu laid eyes on the enemies. He raised his tonfas in defiance, lunging towards the first syndicate member and bashing his skull with his weapons. Despite the man attacking him back, he struck four times in a blind rage. There was no room for mercy in his soul. 

Hyde figured it was because of the trauma she and Jekyll had spotted earlier. There was something this chill man held greatly against him. She figured it must’ve been a horrible, horrendous crime to make someone like Jatayu so upset. 

Not that Hyde cared. Much to Jekyll’s dismay, Hyde’s attention turned elsewhere. 

The big sombrero hat resting on Mark’s head as he entered almost made Hyde laugh. She knew what IDs were but didn’t consider them to be that… ridiculous. His entire attire was something straight out of a J Corp gambler. 

Lenore took the opportunity proposed by the distraction. She clashed with the second enemy, trying to break through his attack. She would’ve won from the force she used against the man before the green glove lit up and struck her with the same black, hopeless sin that caused Hyde to stagger. 

Jekyll’s voice only got louder. Is she okay?! 

Hyde rolled her eyes and glanced over at Lenore, who was standing just fine. She smirked. “I like you.” 

Lenore met her gaze and simply nodded in response. “I think we can get along.” 

Jekyll. 

She seemed taken aback that she was called. Y-Yes?

Gather as much information as you can about this… type of sin attack. It’s deadly, more than the other sins. As I’m fighting I will be expecting some information. 

Hyde seemed satisfied that Jekyll agreed to do so. 

Their attention turned toward Pen, who tried to attempt a surprise attack via his light teleportation. To his unfortunate circumstance, the third enemy was ready, and fired the black sin right into his face, eating at his health. 

It does damage based upon our health… Jekyll considered. But it seems they have to spend some type of energy to use it. 

Do they fail to use it if staggered? 

…Yes? 

Good. 

Mallo’s clothes folded and twisted as she stepped into combat, next to Hyde. They quickly turned into white silky chef clothes stained with blood. She turned her now pinned-up hair and glared at Hyde. “You’re an idiot, Jekyll.” 

Hyde rolled her eyes, still leaning on her paintbrush. “Yeah, I’ll catch you up after I turn one of these morons into a beautiful painting.” 

Mallo simply glares with rage but turns that rage towards the threat ahead. 

Jatayu let out a grunt of rage, not letting up on his attacks. He swung heavily at the syndicate member, but the first man was prepared. Despite the blind rage, the enemy evaded each of his attacks, analyzing Jatayu’s rage and using it against him. 

Mark decided to attack at the same time to confuse the enemy. He shook his maracas back and forth as he swiftly approached the second man. Once, twice, before he bashed the maraca across the head of the second man, making him crumble to the ground. 

Pen attacked at the same time Mark did, swinging his spear and piercing it into the third man’s side. The enemy countered, lighting up his green glove and shooting Pen with the deadly attack once more. Pen – to Hyde and Jekyll’s surprise – immediately got up and stabbed the man again, scratching his neck.

Hyde stood up straight, adjusting her shoulders. Her strength returned, and she was ready to kill. “Perfect~” 

Hyde, please, be reasonable with this–

Mallo was faster. Pulling out what appeared to be kitchen knives, she lunged for the second man, cutting his body like a vegetable. The man screamed in pain as he watched his blood soak into his skin. He was motionless on the floor. 

What a beautiful sight, what glorious inspiration! She smirked at the man on the floor, pointing her paintbrush at him. “Time to create art.” 

Hyde didn’t miss a single step in her calculated approach. Wielding her paintbrush she swung it and struck down on the man, then up, then to his left side, then up again, and finally ending her attack piercing his right side. Many colors covered the scene as the man cowered in fear. She pierced the man over and over again until he was nothing but a pile of rubble on the ground. The man’s bloody remains were scattered across the floor and her paintbrush. Hyde’s eyes widened in delight, seeing the blood everywhere; she couldn’t control the maniac laugh that escaped her throat. 

She bent down and pulled out a few jars from her coat, using her brush to collect the blood and scraps of the man’s guts. The combat around her did not matter so long she could gather the scraps while his heart was still beating. She stored them in special jars that wouldn’t smell as horrendous as the corpse did, despite Hyde finding the scent pleasing. 

Jekyll noticed how Hyde’s vision became blurry from delight, and Hyde’s grip on reality started to fade from the pure ecstasy she was experiencing. Now’s my chance. 

What?

Jekyll used all of the energy she had left to force Hyde to blackout, immediately taking the reins of control the moment Hyde was too distracted to stop her. She heard Hyde’s laughter fade, but it was too late for Hyde to stop Jekyll from taking control. Jekyll immediately chained Hyde to the back of her mind, as she stood up, glancing around in horror. It’s over… oh my gosh… 

Mark imploded the first man’s head like a balloon after Jatayu’s staggering attack of rage. To her right, Lenore and Pen worked together to stagger the third enemy before Mallo obliterated his remains as if she blended him into a smoothie. 

The fight was over quicker than Jekyll expected. She dropped her paintbrush in shock, looking at her bloodstained hands in horror before touching her jacket, realizing she had succeeded in taking control. With the force she used, she hoped Hyde wouldn’t recover for at least an hour. 

The party’s gaze turned toward Jekyll as her paintbrush clashed with the ground. Jekyll adjusted her monocle to hide the red eye before she started speaking. “Did… did she hurt any of you…? Are you guys okay?” 

“Who?” Mallo and Pen said in unison. 

Perhaps they didn’t notice, Jekyll sighed. “Oh, never mind.” 

“So… Hyde,” Pen took four steps toward Jekyll, his gaze curious. 

It visibly hurt Jekyll to be called that name, “Oh, oh my gosh she did the… uh…” 

“That’s not her name, idiot,” Mallo interjected. 

Confusion clouded Pen’s face. “That’s what she told me to call her–” 

“I’d know whether or not she wanted to be called by a different name moron,” Mallo snapped, her gaze fixed on the hunter. 

Jekyll couldn’t find her words. She had never explained her situation to anyone, and the first time wasn’t ever going to be easy. “That’s not… okay… she…” She paused. “Let me gather my words…” 

Some of the party members started to whisper to each other as if she was insane. Jekyll’s heart started to beat faster, and she shoved her hands into her pockets to hide how much they were shaking. It became difficult for her to catch her breath, let alone the words to explain. 

Suddenly, Jekyll’s feet were lifted off the ground and she felt her scruff being grabbed. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with Mark; his eyes were boiling in hatred. “You. Me. Talk now.” He demanded, before dragging Jekyll across the room. 

Jekyll tried to stop Mark, desperately trying to find her footing. However, Mallo stopped Mark with her stave, glaring at him. 

“Listen, I don’t have time to deal with you. I have a private problem with her, it doesn’t concern you.” Mark explained, attempting to move past the obstacle. 

Mallo stood in front of Mark, her stave blocking his way. “Well, I have a problem with you.” 

Jekyll looked back and forth between the two. What the heck happened while I was not there? 

The two picked up an argument right where they left off. Jekyll didn’t catch all of their heated banter, but she gathered it had something to do with family, being worthless, and not being able to land an attack. She didn’t have all the context, but apparently, the banter had been so bad, that the environment suddenly transformed. 

Jekyll knew immediately Mallo had summoned her EGO, as it shared many symptoms similar to her own. Mallo’s sword transformed into a shovel with a chained base. The handle cracked under her grip as she swung it towards Mark, pure rage and a hint of regret flashing in her soul. “It’s not over until I say it’s over!” 

Mark acted fast, he pushed Jekyll aside and barely ducked under the attack, completely evading the EGO. He stood up as Mallo caught the shovel, both of them breathing heavily. “You prove me right with every single miss.” 

Mallo’s face sank with despair, and her eyes widened as she stood back in disbelief. It was clear she didn’t know how to respond. 

The tension in the air made Jekyll incredibly uncomfortable. “Guys, please, let’s not fight. Mark, if you want to talk we can talk–” 

“Stop, this doesn’t involve you!” Mallo snapped, a familiar rage overtaking her face. “Remember what I said! Speak when spoken to!” 

“At least make yourself useful,” Mark rolled his eyes in a taunting manner at Mallo. “Follow tonfa guy, he’s wandered off again. You seem to be better at following anyway.” 

Mallo couldn’t formulate words within the rage that fumed inside of her. 

Mark scoffed with a smirk. “I know a guy that could get you moonstones to help with those emotions, your anger is bad for aging.” 

“Your face is bad for my eyes!” 

Pen gently approached the situation, but Mark stopped him. “Kid, don’t pick on me; she started it.” 

“Hopefully, these quarrels will resolve in time,” the hunter sighed. 

Mallo only muttered under her breath. “At least some of you have common sense…” 

“Anyway,” Mark’s gaze snapped to Jekyll, making her wince. “You can explain to them, but don’t take too long or I’ll bash your head in and drag you over to explain.” 

Mark ignored the seething glare he received from Mallo before walking toward the alleyway that the party came from. 

Jekyll gently raised her hand to the sky, charging the moonstones on her fingers, praying it would at least reach one percent soon before she faced the crowd. “Ah, okay… There’s no easy way to explain this… Two people are living inside me.” 

Pen was the most curious out of the three that listened. He ignored Lenore who also approached the group. 

“It’s… too long of a story to explain how it happened,” Jekyll continued. “But I am constantly fighting for control over my body from… Hyde, whom most of you… met…” 

“Sounds like hell,” Mallo commented. 

“Y-Yes, it very much is,” Jekyll’s heart rate picked up again. Mark’s glare only made her hyperventilate more. 

“So who’s the original owner of the body?” Pen asked, clutching his spear.

“I-I-I am…” Jekyll stuttered. Her heart rate was through the roof, and it thumped into her head all the way to her fingers. “Hyde o-only comes out w-when I lose grip o-on reality and m-my sanity drops…” She took a moment to try to catch her breath and stop her shaking hands by gripping them with one another, but it only made things worse. “B-But sometimes s-she c-comes out and i-it’s out of m-my control…” 

Lenore looked the most concerned. “How did this happen?”

Jekyll opened her mouth to explain, but the intimidating scowl from Mark terrified her. “I-I don’t have time to explain I… Another time when we a-are off t-the job–” 

To her surprise, Mallo and Lenore seem to understand, and both of their gazes soften. “Hey, Jekyll, look at me,” Lenore began. “Breathe slowly, count to three.” 

Jekyll averted her attention from the man threatening her to the woman in front of her. She nodded and tried to breathe; Lenore’s calming gaze assisted her more than she could put words for. It took a moment, but Jekyll calmed down, recovering from her initial panic attack. 

By the time she calmed down and turned her head to face Mallo, she was surprised by the face she was greeted with. Mallo’s eyes had softened to an extent that the doctor had never seen before, as if the woman felt pity for her. Her shoulders relaxed and her vibe drastically changed to what Jekyll could only describe as… motherly. 

Mallo dug through her pocket before pulling out a cigarette, and offering it to Jekyll. The moon gently lit her face. “It helps calm the nerves,” she offered, her voice mello.

Jekyll didn’t object; she took the cigarette and observed it. Not another moment passed before Mallo pulled out a unique lighter to light it. 

Jekyll observed the lighter. It was oddly childish. It had small stickers across it, ones that a child would use in a coloring book. The lighter itself was tattered and bruised as if it had been through the rough and tumble. It showed it was reliable. The stickers were also tattered, and Jekyll spotted a number sequence across it. She could only catch the number four before Mallo’s fingers covered the rest as she put it away. 

Having the cigarette lit, Jekyll holds it professionally between her two fingers before gently blowing on it. “If… If I’m ever telling myself to shut up or mumbling under my breath, I’m probably j-just talking to Hyde…” 

“I did hear Hyde muttering shut up, too,” Lenore confirmed. 

“Yeah, we both just wish the other would stop talking…” 

“I would love to hear how it all happened,” Lenore added. “I don’t expect it, as everyone has their secrets, but I’d be willing to listen to that story.” She put her glaive behind her, freeing her hands. “Perhaps it would be best if you let us know how to deal with her when she does come out?” 

Jekyll let out a small laugh as she took in another breath from her cigarette. “I wish I knew how to deal with insane people…” 

“And reckless,” Mallo added. 

Jekyll lifted her cig in acknowledgment. “If you figure out how to deal with someone constantly trying to kill you, let me know.” 

The group disbanded, and the anxiety that was in Jekyll’s chest returned when she made her way over to Mark, gently putting out the cigarette. She knew it wasn’t going to be a fun conversation; all she wanted was to come out alive. 

Before she could reach Mark, however, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find Mallo with the same somber expression as she had before. She sighed. “Listen, we are all team players here. If anyone causes any problems,” she gestured her head toward Mark in anger, before pointing to herself. “Tell me. I will have some words to say.” 

Jekyll nodded her head gently before giving a bow of respect. “Thank you, Mallo. I appreciate you.” 

It was the first time Jekyll saw Mallo smile. “No problem.” 

The warm feeling inside Jekyll’s heart eased her anxiety, and she smiled back. To have Mallo smile at you must’ve meant you were somewhat special to her. She did not take advantage of that and treasured that memory. 

Ugh, affection. 

Jekyll’s smile faded the moment Mallo turned her back. “You’re already awake?” She mumbled to herself. 

You know what happens when people get too close, Jekyll. If it happens again, you know I will take action. 

Jekyll shuddered, recalling what happened last time. She treasured Mallo’s smile in defiance against Hyde, before finally closing the distance between her and the man that threatened her with his glare. 

She briefly eavesdropped on Dante and Lenore talking about Jatayu’s disappearance, informing her he had run off in another blind rage again. However, that wasn’t her biggest concern. She couldn’t look Mark in the eyes as she glanced over at Pen, who had finished talking with him. 

“Took ya long enough. I was considering bashing your head in because you decided to take your sweet little time,” Mark snapped, his grip on his pipe tightening. 

“Pen… I need to talk to Mark… alone…” Jekyll ignored his retort and gave the hunter a solemn gaze. 

“Feel free,” his response was short and quick before he joined Dante in conversation. 

Jekyll immediately felt her scruff be grabbed as Mark dragged her into the alleyway. She could barely feel the gentle breeze of the night as she tried to find her footing, not resisting Mark’s strength. 

He didn’t speak as he continued down the alleyway, before finding a brick wall and slamming Jekyll to it, his voice harsh and cruel. 

The collision made pain snap through Jekyll’s neck, and the force of his grip was so hard she wouldn’t be able to cry out for help. 

“Imma need to make this clear,” he sneered straight into her ear. “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. If you say a single word otherwise, I will rip your body to shreds and make sure no one finds the body.” 

Oooh, blackmail against Mark eh? He has regrets after all. 

Jekyll muttered to Hyde to shut up, but the words were intelligible. 

Mark finally released his grip, taking a step back as Jekyll stumbled to the floor. “What’d you say? Speak up if you want to be heard, pipsqueak! No one is going to be gentle with you here!” 

This motherf–

Jekyll stood on her feet and dusted off her jacket from the duty floor, dried blood falling from her fingers. Despite her fear, she gives him a neutral glare. “Okay.” 

“And secondly,” Mark growled. “Let me speak to your… disorder.” 

“She can hear you,” Jekyll explained. “We share the same mind–” 

“If you want to do this the hard way, I’ll bash your head in until she is forced to come out!” 

Jekyll felt a lump form in her throat as her hands started shaking again. Hyde, come out now…

You have me locked in here, idiot. 

Then I shall force you to come out. 

There was one way Jekyll always got Hyde to come out. She hated the method, and she swore to herself that she’d never do it again. However, Mark wasn’t letting up and growing impatient by the second. She had no other choice. 

Jekyll flipped her jacket to appear on the inside of it. There were many straps across its cloth, each of the straps holding a certain bottle. Some were empty, some contained blood and guts, and some contained various types of moonstones. Jekyll ran her fingers along the top of the jars before resting on the one in the very back; the one that was the most inaccessible. It was encased heavily and had warning labels all over it. Jekyll gently pulled out the jar. 

Anyone looking could’ve read the warning on it. Split Shards - Version 3. Do not use unless supervised. The drug looked like it was crystalized despite being a liquid; it reflected any light that bounced off it. It was a clear liquid and the jar’s lid was attached to an eye dropper.

Jekyll let out a shaky sigh. Why did I ever create this horrid thing?  

Mark’s rage quickly vanished the moment he saw the drug. He took another step back, almost as if he was afraid. 

Jekyll glared at Mark one last time before she unscrewed the lid, removing her monocle from her red eye before placing two drops into her eye. 

The effect took place immediately as expected. Jekyll screw the jar up and placed it back in her collection before clenching her face. Tears streamed out of Jekyll’s left eye as her consciousness was thrown into a sharded place. Her spirit didn’t feel as heavy, and the eternal bliss she felt being free from the shackles of morality was too much of an addictive feeling to quit. 

Hyde was immediately forced to take the reins as Jekyll got lost staring at the various mirror worlds the drug opened her eyes to. The sensation would’ve been almost painful and overwhelming to anyone else, but for Jekyll, it was normal. 

Hyde rotated the paintbrush in her hand, slamming it onto the ground as she smirked at Mark, glad to be fronting once more. 

If Mark could even have an expression that read horrified, it would be the face he made as Hyde fronted. “Alright,” he began in a tame voice. “The incident, that was a single trade. The event will stay between us. The company, the others, no one needs to know about it, do I make myself clear?” 

Hyde simply stared at Mark. 

“Did I make myself clear?” Mark spoke faster. “Or should I threaten you like your painter friend?” 

“Relax kid,” Hyde shrugged, leaning on one hip as she looked up at Mark, smiling in a wicked way. “Bygones be bygones, I just had to remind you who I was.” 

“I did not want to remember who you were,” he hissed. “You paid me to do that, and I will never do it again!” 

“I’d say it’s money well spent,” Hyde smirked, finding his aggressiveness and frantic plea amusing. “That was my best-selling painting, after all.” 

Mark was confronted with confusion once more. “What painting?” 

“Oh right,” Hyde forced a pout face, mocking him. “Your little… arrest happened before I could show you. Don’t worry about it though, lioness.” 

Steam was blowing out of Mark’s nostrils. “You’re just trying to rally me up, this is not worth it.” He stood still like a soldier, tensing as if he was about to get shot. “As long as that whole thing isn’t brought up, neither of us have problems.” Hyde noticed how he tried to use his fear as a weapon. “As much as that painter girl has control over you, at least she knows what kind of situation she is in, because of how docile she is.” 

“She’s weak,” Hyde muttered under her breath. “Bound by the mortality she was taught.” 

“I’ll make sure you’re never heard from again if one peep of it comes out to anyone,” Mark sneered; it was less intimidating and to Hyde more like a plea. 

Hyde simply stared again, feeling part of her head spin from the drug that distracted Jekyll. 

Mark stared back silently as if waiting for something to happen. “I don’t have much else to say, go into your little cage now.” 

Hyde scoffed. “Please, you of all people should know the intensity of this drug lasts for two hours, not mere minutes like whatever crap you–” 

“Then figure something out!” Mark interrupted. 

“Come on Mark, you’re better than that,” Hyde teased. “Or have you already forgotten what happened?” 

Mark spat onto the ground. “Get the painter girl back. Should I threaten her to cage you up?” He forced a laugh. “Sit there spacing out, it’s honestly pathetic how helpless you are against that pipsqueak.”   

Hyde smiled, thrilled by the banter. “Helpless? You seem to be helpless and desperate for the situation to go under the radar.” 

“I will kill you and make sure Dante never brings you back.” 

“Then bring it on,” Hyde bowed mockingly. “Kill me if you dare, you’ll do me a favor and kill Jekyll too.” 

“I don’t give a hell, if she dies, you die too. I’d kill you both right now,” Mark pointed his pipe at Hyde. “You can’t escape that.” 

Hyde cackled, pressing the pipe down with her finger as she stared up at Mark. “What’s got you so convinced that I’m not trying to kill us both?” 

Mark looked disgusted. “You’re sick, it’s a good thing she has control over you and locks you up. You are just a dog on a leash, Hyde.”

“And you’re just a clawless cub who was betrayed by his own pride.” 

Something snapped in Mark. He swung his pipe with full force at Hyde’s head. She was faster; she immediately blocked, raising her paintbrush to stop his assault. 

To both of their surprise, the rings on Hyde’s fingers sparked, lighting up and glowing a soft red color. The moon had barely grazed them with light, charging them just enough to work for a moment. 

Hyde shrunk back and clutched her face, suddenly being hurled into the back of the mind where the drug was still taking effect. Jekyll immediately fronted, her sanity being brought to a stable place. She backed up, looking around as if she just had a nightmare. When she realized she was back in the Q Corp backstreets, she sighed in relief. Her head spun as the drug still took its effect, but her vision was more clear. 

Mark lowered his pipe, noticing Jekyll had returned. He pointed at her with his free hand. Jekyll could’ve sworn she saw it shaking and heard fear in his voice. 

“Keep that thing caged,” it was more of an ask than a demand by his tone of voice. 

Jekyll quickly gathered Hyde’s thoughts to analyze what happened before she held her hands together. “I’m trying…” She sighed, looking at Mark with a hopeless stare. “I wish she would stay caged.” 

There was a moment of silence before Mark cursed under his breath, marching back up the alleyway. 

Jekyll figured it would be best to stay behind Mark as much as possible. She adjusted the rings on her hands before taking slow steps into the night. She followed Mark from a distance, keeping a tight grip on her paintbrush in case she got jumped. 

The two crossed the courtyard without a word to one another. As they continued down the alleyway, they walked over dead demon syndicate bodies. They all had horrific expressions on their face as if they were attacked by a blinding, raging force. Mark followed the bodies before he stumbled upon the group surrounding Jatayu and asking him questions. 

From the looks of the situation and the appearance of Jatayu’s tonfas, Jekyll gathered his rage and soloed all of the combatants that stood in his way. She had no idea if he died or not because he appeared unscathed, but she would admit she was impressed. Seeing Hyde struggle to fight these guys and Jatayu blowing through them was amazing to her. 

Mallo turned around, glaring at Mark before looking at Jekyll. “You good?” She asked quickly. 

Jekyll met her eyes and sighed. “I’ll… explain later…” 

“Maybe we should do some team-building exercises,” Pen suggested, walking up to Dante. 

Dante adjusted his gloves as he sighed. “I would, I just don’t know which ones to do at the moment… tensions are high.” He did a head count of every sinner. “Wait a minute… where is Othello?” 

“You didn’t notice he was not hear this whole time?” Mark scoffed in disbelief. “You lack a spine. Let’s just go already.” 

“No, let me make sure he’s okay,” Dante took a step back and turned back the clock hands on his face. His flames shook in pain. 

At first, nothing happened. It took about ten minutes for Othello’s body to finally start forming. Some of the gunk on Mark’s pipe flowed down to piece together Othello’s body. 

Dante stared in disbelief. “Mark… did you kill Othello?” 

“He shot first.” Was all Mark said as he walked into the facility. 

Jekyll turned her eyes towards the building they approached. It was gray and black, with a simple box structure on the surface. It was clear that the building was mainly if not entirely underground. A large Lobotomy Corporation symbol sat on top of the entrance; it was torn and beaten by the weather and the passage of time. A strange, nostalgic smell flew into the air as Mark opened the door. The way the building loomed and creaked was enough to make Jekyll shudder in fear. 

“Looks like you guys didn’t need my guidance after all,” Jekyll turned around to see Maut before he turned his heel and walked back the way he came. 

Unlike Mark, the rest of the party waited for Dante’s command. Dante relaxed his shoulders and walked up to Jatayu before resting his hand on his shoulder. “You ready, bud?” 

Jatayu turned his head and gave Dante a soft smile. “It’s one step closer to getting them back.” 

No one else said a word as they entered the facility.

[zelphin124]

LCB-3: Chapter 1

A written account of the LCB-3 adventures from the perspective of LCB sinner Dr. Jekyll. My GOSH this is SO long. SO much happened the first day, but! I wanted to take you all on Jekyll's journey, so here is the first of the many written accounts of the adventures from the LCB.

Masterpost N/A -> Chapter 2

Lmk if you all enjoy stories like this!

~o0o~

One would often think the evening skies are as beautiful as midday on a summer afternoon. However, such a train of thought never occurred to those in the City, where the smoke and clouds covered the upper atmosphere for all the days of their life. To have the skies clear would be a sign of a catastrophe, and the gloomier it was, the happier the people were. In retrospect, happiness was a rare phenomenon of its own. 

The city at night was always empty, for people lived in fear in the crook of their homes to avoid the Sweepers cleaning the streets every night. Commonfolk stood no combative chance against the cult purging the roads like wildfire. 

Though some – either from stupidity, bravery, or sheer dominance – ventured at night. Each is for their different reasons, each risking their death. Yet to find a person in the streets at night was never a good sign. It was told to stay far away from anyone after the sun hit its face. 

That was the first thought that crossed the woman’s mind as she approached the bus. She approached another woman, with short white hair and a circular face, one with a look of absolute omniscience and a uniform kin to the vehicle behind her. She held a long sword by her side, and it was clear she had already spotted her. 

The woman approaching the bus was an average-height doctor. Her black hair was slicked back into a tight bun, woven around a headpiece that supported a red monocle on her left eye. Her uniform was of no importance or visible interest; the only conclusion one could draw from it was the association of its similarities with M Corp. However, the interest was in the weapon she carried. At first glance, it looked like a spear, but investigating it further would lead to the conclusion that it was a paintbrush. It was taller than the woman wielding it, yet it seemed as if it served well in combat, despite the tendency to believe otherwise. 

It appeared that the woman approaching had recently cleaned and tidied herself up as if to make a first impression. A few moments of caution passed before she approached the white-haired woman next to the bus. 

“You must be Ms. Jekyll,” the woman next to the bus stared her down. 

“Dr. Jekyll, yes, uh-” Jekyll observed the bus with her keen eye, before looking back toward her. “Is this…” she paused, before pulling out a mediocre invitation from her jacket. She unfolded the papers carefully and read them with quick precision. “Limbus Company?” 

“That it is.” The woman gently bowed her head. 

Jekyll adjusted the brush to rest on her back before extending her hand awkwardly to the woman. “Pleasure to meet you… Ms…” 

“Faust.”

“Faust. Are you my assigned manager?” The doctor asked, her eyes raised in a hopeful expression. She handed the paper that she signed to join the company to Faust. 

Faust shook her head, “That you are mistaken. The manager you seek is inside the bus, to which you will enter shortly, and give that paper to.” 

Jekyll’s face drooped disappointingly, retracting her hand and folding the paper back into the envelope. “I see. I shall follow you in, then…?”

“Faust will not be entering Metastolphilies.” She explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “Faust will stand by to wait for the last member joining the party. You may keep Faust company if you wish, your presence would be delightful.” 

“Very well,” Jekyll gave a soft smile, strolling to Faust’s side and holding her hands into a folded position in front of her. She rocked back and forth, looking at the sky before back to the ground repeatedly. 

The ever-growing silence bothered the doctor, it was only disturbed by the night sounds of the city. It had been a bit since Jekyll attempted small talk with someone new, but if she wanted to succeed in this place, and get away from where she came from, she saw it worth a try. 

“Have you ever seen the stars?” Jekyll asked, tilting her head towards her. 

“Faust has seen the stars many, many times.” 

Jekyll gave a soft smile. “I hope to see them one day. I hope they are as great as people make them out to be.” 

Faust did not reply, she only turned her head toward the front of the bus, before walking towards the man that stood in front of it. 

Jekyll followed suit to gaze upon the approaching man. She first noticed his shaggy blonde hair combed in strands His face was littered with scars across his eyes and cheeks, but they weren’t as attention-demanding as the disgusted scowl plastered across his lips and hazel eyes. His clothes almost complimented his attitude; his button-up shirt and shaggy shorts came off as uptight, and tough-looking. He carried a blunt weapon that Jekyll could not identify, and she was not curious enough to find out. 

“Mark, is it not?” Faust began to extend a greeting in his direction. 

“It would be a very unfortunate disgrace if this is Limbus Company. What kind of pathetic trash is this?” 

Despite Jekyll having experience with sour mouths, she never failed to zone out the moment more than a few curse words flew through the air. She took into account how the man – presumably Mark – complained about the poor travel experience via W Corp train transportation and how he was unimpressed with the company’s procedure of doing things. 

From Jekyll’s perspective, he yapped about stupid things, complaining despite the luxurious treatment the company had offered him. As far as she was concerned, she was not offered a first-class ticket to a W Corp train, she walked here, taking days in advance to map out her journey. She tuned in and out to the conversation, staying relatively behind Faust in hopes of not being noticed. Jekyll wondered if Mark knew any other words in the common language besides curses. 

After a long and painful conversation, Mark had agreed to head inside the bus, that Faust had named previously but Jekyll could not recall. However, when Jekyll looked towards the door of the bus, Mark met an obstacle blocking his way. 

The obstacle was another man, with blonde hair in a braid and a goatee, which was more well-kept than Mark’s hair. His eyes were a faint blue as if a war glazed over the beauty he could see. He wore a cocky grin of delight as if causing trouble was amusing to him. The rhino horn on his head and the bug wings on his back were a signature symbol that this man was from the former G Corp. He wore a commander’s bennet and stood a few inches above Mark. 

Mark threw curses towards the man, with a few fancy words such as ‘pansy.’ The man through insults back, but as if he was eager to see Mark’s temper explode. Jekyll was convinced that she never heard so many curses within ten minutes. 

Mark tried to push the man with incredible force, but the commander pushed back, smirking slyly. Mark raised a threat Jekyll did not catch, but her eyes widened as she watched the tensions grow. 

However, uncharacteristically, the man stepped back the moment Mark swung a punch. As if some other force compelled him to oblige for his life. 

Mark stumbled onto the bus and immediately took a seat within view, the anger increasing on his face. 

Jekyll swallowed hard, rubbing her hands together. “How long are these contracts supposed to last?” 

“Depends on how efficient you are at your job,” Faust explained, glancing back towards her. 

Jekyll forced a smile, rubbing her face. “Do I have to go in… right now? Like, are there any other members?” 

Faust gave a slight smile and shook her head. 

Jekyll sighed in defeat, feeling her hopes leave her body. She knew she signed up for difficult work on the move, but she was given zero information about the people she would be working with. She debated whether or not it was worth the gamble, and cashed all her luck in. 

And like gambling, she came out empty-handed. 

“Ngh, well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Faust,” Jekyll took a few steps towards the bus before looking back. “Will I see you again?” 

“Faust believes our paths will cross again in due time.” She nodded softly. “Until then.” 

Jekyll felt a tinge of pain as Faust turned and vanished from sight, so she turned and stepped onto the bus as well, minimizing the thought to process later. 

It took longer than she would have wished for her eyes to adjust to the environment. The bus itself seemed small, with maybe twenty seats, most of them already taken. The bus itself was gray and dull, with little to no room like a soldier's quarters. The windows were tinted, and the only interesting thing was the door at the back of the mini hallway. Jekyll decided to glance and get a general idea of who she’d be working with. 

In the bus driver’s seat was a young woman with symbolic gray clothing and a large hat. Her expression was dull and she paid no mind to the people behind her. Her silver hair fell to her shoes as her feet swung back and forth, listening to the person standing over her. 

Jekyll observed the woman pointing at the map in the bus driver’s hands. Her brunette hair fell to her shoulders in a messy cut perfectly around her face. Her eyes were a gentle turquoise, and her clothes had the appearance of sown scraps with many strings hanging from various places. The colors frequently switched from green, lime, and navy blue from her scarf to her shoes. Her skin glowed a golden color, and she talked in such a joyful and excited tone. Jekyll didn’t realize that kind of happiness still existed. Jekyll was only curious about the small blue necklace she wore around her neck, it seemed out of place for the style she presented. 

Jekyll took a seat in the front, the seat closest to the bus door. In front of her stood a tall, prominent man with gray hair and a red gaze that could pierce through anyone’s soul. His clothes were gray, similar to the bus driver’s. He had a looming presence about him, something that was told in the stories known across the city.

Jekyll searched her mind for the exact tale he reminded her of. The closest she could match the man with was the tale of the Red Gaze, a legendary freelance color fixer. His name was told to be Vergilius, and he hadn’t been seen around the City much despite his fame. 

If he was the Red Gaze, why would he be here? Jekyll thought.

Probably the same reason we are here, idiot. To run away. 

Jekyll shook as the other voice in her head spoke, it was more prominent than the previous days. She clenched her hands, fighting for control of her mind once more. 

She successfully repressed the voice again. She sighed in relief. That was close… too close… 

A figure stood up from one of the seats 8 o’clock from her. She wore a cruel and bland expression on her face as she made her way around to each of the sinners. Jekyll observed her long, black ponytail of hair flow gracefully behind her. Her clothes were black with a shard of yellow through them. She was tall and proud, and her emotions were the same level of pissed-off as the supposedly Red Gaze. 

She walked over to where Mark had sat, his feat spread out and his scowl all the same. Jekyll half-guessed the woman was going to slap him across the back of the head for his attention, but what caught her attention, even more, was the man that he quarreled with earlier was sitting right next to him. 

“Name.” The woman demanded. 

Mark turned around and cursed at her before giving her his name, and she replied curtly before turning toward the man next to Mark. “Name.” 

“Othello, darling.” The man’s voice was high, soothing, almost alluring in a shuddering way. He stood up and bowed, taking up the entire space as he did so. Othello still held that same smirk as he did with Mark. “Yours?” 

“Mallo.” She gave him a disgusted look before turning around to the person behind her. “Name.” 

The person she addressed was a tall man with long white hair to his chin. His eyes glowed like a light in the deep ocean, and he had a courageous aura about him. He stood proud with his spear close to his side, and his gaze was more determined than the others she had seen. “Pen,” he answered quickly with a light nod. 

“Mallo.” The tall woman strode away from him as soon as she said it. 

Jekyll’s gaze would’ve followed Mallo if it hadn’t been for Pen immediately walking over to her. “I like your spear,” he shyly mentioned, his eyes smiling at her. “Are you a hunter too?” 

Jekyll was taken aback by his approach, questions, and comments. He seemed sweet, and she didn’t wish to burn a connection that might or might not be there, so she answered carefully, her stutter getting in the way. “O-Oh, yeah, you know I guess this is a spear o-of some s-sorts, haha!” She adjusted the paintbrush to sit behind her. “I-I-I like your spear, too.” 

“Thank you,” he held his spear high and looked up toward it, smiling softly. “So are you-” 

“Name.” Mallo came forward, her expression bland as she stared at Jekyll. 

“Uh- Uh I’m-”

Say the right name. You know the right name. 

“H- Jekyll.” Jekyll shook her head, sighing in relief. “What about yours?” 

Jekyll knew Mallo would respond with her name and leave, and Jekyll winced as she did exactly that, knowing she already knew Mallo’s name. 

Pen also nodded and took his leave, sitting in a seat out of Jekyll’s initial sight. 

As Mallo went up to the front of the bus, Jekyll turned around to spot one more person she had not met. His hair was black and slicked back on his head in chunks like Mark’s hair, he had a scruffy short beard that could barely be seen on his tan skin. He already wore a uniform dedicated to Limbus Company, and he had a neutral expression any man in his late thirties would have. 

“Hello, I don’t think I’ve met you yet,” Jekyll turned around and waved her hand awkwardly. “I’m Jekyll, what’s your name?” 

“Ah, a pleasure to meet you Jekyll.” The man looked up and gave a short bow from his seat in response. “I’m Jatayu.”

Jekyll nodded and smiled upon receiving his name. “Jatayu, that’s a nice name, it’ll be a pleasure to work with you, hopefully,” she chuckles, shooting a glance at Othello and Mark. 

“Likewise,” Jatayu sighed, sitting back in his chair and looking straight ahead. 

Jekyll followed his gaze, resting on Mallo collecting the names of the people up front. Jekyll barely caught anything before the brown-haired woman started moving her hands excitedly, looking at the Red Gaze.

“Oh my gosh! New people! Can I talk to them now, please?!” Her smile beamed with energy, and she could barely keep her feet off the floor as if she was fighting the urge to jump up and down. 

The older man looked at her with a tired look. “Not just yet, Kuvira.” He name-dropped her as Mallo’s attention turned toward the man. She wore an expression of annoyance as if she was upset the Red Gaze didn’t let the woman speak. 

Jekyll’s attention turned toward the silent quarrel between Othello and Mark. She thought it was odd they both would deliberately sit next to someone they disagreed with. She shivered at the thought of having to do that herself. 

She could never. 

“Alright everyone, take a seat.” The older man raised his voice, holding a book in one hand and flipping to a certain page. “I will begin the welcoming speech shortly.” 

No one seemed to object as everyone turned their attention towards the legend. He sighed as if this was something he did not wish to do again. Jekyll pitied the man, perhaps no one had seen the Red Gaze for so long because he was here. 

He began to speak in a dull tone. “Greetings. Welcome to the LCB-3, otherwise known as the Limbus Company Bus 3. You have all been selected by our brightest minds to embark on a journey to obtain… heh..”

He paused for a moment, with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. “…You know... I’ve already done this... Twice now. I wish to not have a third time.” He turned towards the girl he called Kuvira. “Kuvira. Do you wish to be my assistant? Let us see how well your reading comprehension has gotten. Consider this a test to your… ‘extravagant work and effort’…”

Kuvira’s eyes lit up with glee. “Oh my gosh! Really?! I mean, yes, yes sir, I-” 

Vergilius tore a paper cleanly from his notebook and handed it to her. “Show me how you’ve grown. The Sinners are not the only ones who have to grow here.” He didn’t wait for a response before moving to the front, leaning on the dashboard next to the bus driver. She pouted, he moved, and her frown faded. 

Kuvira collected herself and stepped forward, clearing her throat. “Well! Welcome everyone! Before I begin, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kuvira Stone, some call me Kuv; I really don’t care what you call me. I am Vergilius’ assistant! I make sure a lot of the work gets done and eases everyone’s load. If you ever need anything, your gal’s got you, alright?” 

Jekyll leaned back in her chair, sighing. Everyone else seemed to get comfortable as well; everyone could tell it was going to be a long introduction. 

“To begin with a…” Kuvira skimmed the paper in her hands. “Gee, do I need to read all of this? This is long.” 

“If you wish to prove yourself via your reading comprehension, yes,” Vergilius answered. 

Kuvira forced a frown. “Okay okay,” she turned back towards the party. “Let’s start with… Oh! A bit of history and background knowledge. Alright… Limbus Company began in the year 984. 10 years have passed since its origins, and has gone through various developments. For the concerns of you all today, your only concern is the LCB team, or the Limbus Company Bus Team. Before you, 2 previous teams have been formed. The LCB-1, and the LCB-2. You all will form the LCB-3.”

How odd, there had been two teams before them and they have more work to do? Jekyll shuddered, wondering if this was a job that was going to be worth leaving everything else behind for. 

“As you have been made aware of before joining the company, you have all been entered into person-specific contracts,” Kuvira continued with a voice that fluttered like butterflies. However, there was a tinge of sass behind her words. “Each person’s contracts may have different clauses, but you will all receive the same reward for your efforts: your heart’s desire.”

There was a pleasant shift in the atmosphere on the bus. Everyone was reminded of the reason they were here. 

“However, in order to obtain your Heart’s Desire, and earn your greatest wish in this world, you must accomplish various tasks in service to Limbus Company.” Kuvira looked up from the paper, the glow from her skin dimming. “And you must do a good job, don’t think this job is one where you can do whatever you want. There’s a reason you are the third team, and we will expect you to follow the contracts. Hopefully, that is understood.” 

The doctor realized she would have to reread her contract to remind herself of the terms she agreed to. It had been a bit since she looked at it, and she signed the paper in haste.

Kuvira’s sigh snapped Jekyll back into reality. “Okay, this is like… really long bare with me guys. Here are the tasks you will need to complete! Number 1, You must Obtain Golden Boughs. As the name suggests, these are mysterious Golden tree branches or boughs.” Kuvira paused and turned towards Vergilius. “Oh! They’re tree branches? You’ve been collecting the…” she pauses, thinking for a moment. “I will ask that later. That’s just really good to know, huh.”

Vergilius’ face was full of impatience. 

Kuvira cleared her throat and continued. “This is your Primary Objective. Failure to obtain Golden Boughs can result in fewer resources funded to the LCB-3’s budget. Which means,” she looked up from the script again. “If you want good food, do your job well.” She smiled and adjusted the paper to read further. “If you have Questions regarding this task, you may ask your Manager Dante, or his Assistant, Jatayu.” 

Kuvira gestured to the man in the back. Jatayu took the opportunity to stand up, wave to the rest of the party with a slight bow, and sit back down. Jekyll couldn’t tell if everyone looked his way to acknowledge the veteran. 

“Secondly!” Kuvira exclaimed. “You will need to protect Dante with your very lives. Dante is your Manager and has the ability to enter Contracts with certain people. You, after being reviewed by our brightest minds, have been picked out as these special people. Whilst you are under a contract with Dante, you will be referred to with the job title of Sinner(s). This is your secondary objective. If you have any questions as to why regarding this task, you may ask your Manager Dante, or his Assistant, Jatayu.” Kuvira blinked a few times. “I suppose any questions will go to Jatayu or Dante… who doesn’t seem to be here at the moment.” 

Jekyll took that as a red flag. Managers should be at a meeting like this, yet the main one they were supposed to protect was not. Were they supposed to already be protecting him? 

Would she be able to protect the manager from herself? 

“Uhhh thirdly! You will need to Defeat Abnormalities and Collect EGO. EGO is special, reality-defying equipment that will assist you on your adventure. Abnormalities are a special type of monster that can only be fought by Sinners or those with EGO.” Kuvira flattened her face in a silly way. “Don’t get too cocky when fighting these guys. If you don’t have EGO, you will be powerless. I don’t care how dominant you were in your background, these monsters will destroy you without EGO…” She looked back at the paper. “Any other method is ineffective- oh hey it’s like this paper is reading my mind, haha!”

The silence was loud as she flipped the paper over. “There are a lot of intricacies and lore surrounding both, however, this is not the time to explain them. This is your tertiary objective. If you have any questions as to why regarding this task, you may ask-” her face flattened again. “I think you know who can take your questions at this point, so I shall skim over that.” 

Jekyll glanced around the room. In her eyes, the only person truly paying attention was Pen, and even he seemed to be slightly more focused on the woman’s radiant skin than what she was saying. Do they not see this as important information? She glared at Mark and Othello. 

Kuvira sighed. “Okay just a little more guys, I think… Uh fourth, you will need to suppress distortions. Distortions are a phenomenon that occurs when a person reaches a mental breaking point and has been occurring throughout the City. Distortions can be saved or killed. This is your quandary objective. If you have- yeah. Basically, you can distort too, it has happened in the company before… If you’re struggling mentally, please come talk to me. The party and the managers would rather not have you distort and disrupt the mission.” Kuvira sighed, “Speaking of, these are all your objectives. However, there is more to discuss. Should you cause too much trouble for the Company to benefit from, your contract with the company and Dante will be terminated.” 

Kuvira let out a sigh of pain in such a way that seemed off from a person like her. “This has happened,” she began. “I watched this with my own eyes, so please, be on your best behavior. It would be ideal that you see to your contract end. Your work will go to waste if you don’t.” 

Jekyll glanced around again, watching Jatayu shifting uncomfortably. She wondered if he was part of the first team, and had to watch both teams get fired… if they were fired, Jekyll needed to find out more information. It seemed important to know, but not information the company would immediately put out there for the newcomers to acknowledge. 

“Oh hey look, we are almost done, guys. There are just some important locations to know about.” Kuvira cleared her throat once more, holding the end of the paper with both hands. “There are various facilities on the bus that you should be aware of. The Hall is where you will be sleeping. You will have personalized rooms. The technology on the bus will cause the rooms to match your mental States, for better or worse.”

Jekyll froze in terror. Their rooms would match their mental state? Her heart rate started to quicken, and she noticed how she violently held her breath. Surely, they were exaggerating… surely it wouldn’t match what she had to fight every day. 

How would the room betray that, if they were telling the truth? 

“Uhh The Ordeal Gauntlet is where the LCB-3 can face ordeals, which are sub-species of abnormalities. Doing so can not only strengthen and train your body but can yield rewards. To practice yourselves, this seminar will end with a tour of the Ordeal Gauntlet for combat training. The third place is the Mirror Dungeons, this is where certain abnormalities that the LCB-3 and previous teams have failed to properly defeat and suppress the first time around. Using special technology, these abnormalities are located here, waiting for the LCB-3 to dispose of them. The fourth palace is the Refraction Railway, which is relatively new. It is a challenging gauntlet of fights not fully encountered in your adventure and yields treasures that otherwise you wouldn’t receive. There is no guarantee you will succeed and win. But doing the challenge proves yourself enough- this is odd wording. Basically, there are three areas to fight some monsters for rewards, or to let off some steam, if I remember correctly.” 

Jekyll noticed the slight smirk Vergilius temporarily wore on his face. 

“The Lunacy Storage is where Dante goes to extract various identities for the sinners. This will be covered by Jatayu during the combat training seminar.” Kuvira gestured to him in the back again, giving a soft smile. “Lastly, the Corridor. At various times during your time here, the Corridor will expand, with new features to enjoy. However, venturing into the corridor is highly dangerous, and has led to near-catastrophic consequences. Under no circumstances should anyone but Faust enter the Corridor.” 

Faust, the person who left in the dark of night moments ago. She said she wasn’t a manager, so why did Kuvira talk about Faust as if she was? Jekyll had many questions, which she figured she’d have to go out of her way to ask Jatayu about. He seemed nice enough, anyway. 

Kuvira gave a smile as she reached the end of the paper. “These are all the notable features of Mephistopheles, the bus, at this current time. And now, because Faust trusts Vergillius to allow Kuvira to read the remainder of this introduction, Faust would like to task Vergillius with explaining the concepts of EGO Gifts to the Sinners. Kuvira, presuming you are reading this, congratulations are in order-” Kuvira turned around and gave a sly smile to the Red Gaze. “Heh, Faust truly does know all.” 

The sigh from Vergilius was rememberable. 

“To the Sinners, however, this marks the end of the speech. Any questions can be directed to either Dante or Jatayu- as said many times, geez. Uh, when the Sinners are ready, Vergillius - presuming he has proven Faust correct - will lead the combat training seminar. Thank you for joining Limbus Company. Your every desire and wish will be answered.” 

Kuvira ended the welcoming speech with a bow and a smile. No one clapped for her. It didn’t seem to bother her as she stepped backward and handed the papers to Vergilius, looking up at him with glee. “How’d I do? Did I do well?” 

“You did… well, yes.” Vergilius sighed. “You’ve proven your reading comprehension to be quite adequate.” 

Kuvira beamed in delight, the glow on her skin radiating brighter. “Thank you! It seems Faust was also knowledgeable about me reading it, haha!” 

Vergilius placed the pieces of paper back into his notebook, heaving another heavy sigh. “Where is Dante?” He ignored Kuvira’s comment. 

“You know, he should’ve been here, let me go find him!” Kuvira took a step forward before looking back. “If that’s uh… alright with you, and you don’t have anything else for me to do at the current moment.” 

“No, no I don’t. Please, go find Dante. You may join us in watching the combat as well if you’d like.” Vergilius dismissed her with a wave of his hand as he searched through his book. 

Kuvira nodded and strolled across the bus between the sinners, but didn’t get very far as the back door swung open, revealing someone of high status. 

Jekyll turned her head to focus on the person who’d just entered the front of the bus. He had a red clock for a head, with yellow and black flames flickering out of his skull-like hair. He wore a pure red suit with yellow stitches and outlines down to his feet. His hands were covered with black gloves and he held many, many papers in his hands. Despite his lack of a face, Jekyll could tell his expression was panicked. 

“Dante!” Kuvira strode up to him with pride. “So good to see you, finally! We were just talking about you and I was coming to find you!” 

A series of clock noises ensued. 

“Here uh, you missed the speech,” Kuvira said in a more hushed voice, taking the papers from his hands and filing them into hers. “Go introduce yourself to your new sinners, I will take care of this paperwork okay? You got this!” 

Dante bowed in respect as Kuvira used her foot to close the door behind her. He then strolled up to the front of the bus with a proud posture, before turning around, raising his hands, and-

More series of ticking ensued. 

The sinners stared blankly, unable to comprehend what he was saying. Jekyll felt her heart sink into her chest. “I-Is this Dante?” She asked out loud. We’re… working for a manager we can’t understand?

The rest of the sinners mumbled under their breaths, giving judging looks toward Dante. 

“Uh, Dante, they can’t understand you yet,” Jatayu grabbed the manager’s attention. “You haven’t shook their hands yet.” 

Dante slapped his head, frantically going up to the closest sinners and extending his hands towards them. 

Mark was the first, scowling at Dante. “Great, we have a spineless pansy for a manager,” he cursed at him, reluctantly shaking his hand. 

Dante made a few more ticking noises, leaning backward. 

“Mark, now go do the others already,” Mark answered, pulling his hand away from Dante and looking out the window. 

Dante moved towards Othello, offering his hand. Othello shook his hand, with the same smile on his face. “Don’t mind Mariachi over here, he’s in a sour mood,” he teased. “Name’s Othello partner, a pleasure to be working with ye.” 

Dante didn’t hesitate to walk over toward Pen, the next closest. The lad seemed happy to meet him. “You must be Dante, our new manager?” 

Dante nodded, shaking his hand. 

“You’re going to lead me to the star, right?” Pen asked, with hopeful eyes. 

The ticking stopped; Dante looked around before speaking to Pen again in words Jekyll had yet to understand. However, his answer seemed to satisfy Pen. The sinner smiled and sat back down. 

Dante turned to Jekyll next, extending his hand. Jekyll stood up in reply, wiping her hands on her jacket and clearing her throat before extending her hand to greet her new manager. “H-Hi, I’m Jekyll-” 

She cut herself off the moment she touched his hand. Suddenly, it felt like a coil around her soul was unwrapped around her and tied to Dante. The fear of death, the fear of merely having mortality suddenly was attached to this man. Her life and death felt as if it was no longer her concern, but the concern of the one standing before her. 

The ticking noises suddenly became audible. “Jekyll! A pleasure to have you! I’m Dante, as I’m sure you know.” 

Jekyll let out a large sigh of relief. “Oh thank the Arbiters, I can understand you now.” She laughed awkwardly and scratched her head. “I was worried we’d have to communicate by writing or something.” 

“No worries,” Dante nodded before he turned toward the last sinner who needed their hand shook: Mallo.

Dante held his hand to Mallo. “Greetings, I am Dante,” he said in a light-hearted tone. 

Mallo stared at the hand, refusing to shake it. She didn’t understand Dante yet, but it seemed like she didn’t wish to, either. 

“Uh, you need to uh… shake my hand,” Dante scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. 

“You have to shake Dante’s hand for the contract, Mallo,” Jatayu informed her. 

“Nah, I don’t feel like it,” the woman replied, leaning back into her chair. 

Pen wasn’t having it. He walked over, grabbed Mallo’s hand, and forced it into Jatayu��s, shaking it up and down. 

Mallo resisted but failed to do so under the force upon which Pen acted. She cursed at him before reluctantly shaking Dante’s hand up and down herself, binding herself to the contract, binding herself to Dante. 

Mark glanced up with all the commotion going on. He made some comments Jekyll didn’t quite catch, but she paid close attention to the events that followed. 

Othello stood up from Mark’s comment, turning towards him. “Marachi trying to beat Mallo in the worst mood on the bus.” 

“You better shut your mouth before I do it for you,” Mark snapped, standing up to tower over the former commander. 

Othello seemed unphased. “You talk a lot for someone who doesn’t act on his word,” he taunted Mark, freely, belittling him and getting away with it. 

Jekyll could theoretically see steam blowing out of Mark’s ears. He raised his fists and cracked his knuckles. There were a few more lines of cursed banter before Mark hissed at Othello. “Let’s finish what we started, then.”

Othello grinned, raising his own fists. “Gladly.” 

Dante tried to step in, “Guys, it’s the first day! Please let’s not f-”

“Stay out of this, clockface,” both of the men said in unison, their eyes locked on the target. 

Othello lunged for him. He swung first, hitting Mark right in the nose, and sending him back. Mark caught his feet and reeled forward, punching Othello in the nook of his neck and shoulder, making him stumble back. 

Dante stepped forward to step in, but Pen stood up and pulled Dante away, standing between the manager and the fight. His spear was ready to kill if anyone dared to step in his direction. 

Jekyll noticed that Mallo watched with glee, a large smirk on her face. Jekyll’s attention returned to the two men as they collected themselves. It’s only day one, are these idiots serious-

Suddenly, without warning, a sharp, red light blinded everyone on the bus. Othello cried out in pain as he fell onto the floor, blood pouring out of his arms at a rapid rate. Everything up to his elbows had been cut clean off his body, and his clothes were drenched in blood. 

However, Othello was the lucky one of the two. Mark immediately imploded on the spot from the flash, turning into a pile of body remains and a puddle of blood. 

Everyone’s eyes widened in horror as the Red Gaze stepped forward, his eyes glowing with great intensity as he eyed down Othello, who was trying to keep his arms from shaking and losing so much blood. His attempts were futile, and he refused to return his stare at the man before him. 

“Couldn’t even go one day when without breaking a term on your contract,” Vergilius seethed, staring into Othello’s soul. 

Jekyll barely noticed the interaction between Vergilius and Pen, and how the Red Gaze explained how he wasn’t going to hurt Dante, so he didn’t need to stand his guard. Jekyll clenched her head, breathing rapidly. Her heart rate quickened as her gaze was locked on the remains of Mark. She felt her sanity drop alarmingly, and the voice got louder. 

HAH! HAHAHAHAAH- A LITTLE MORE, A LITTLE MORE AND I’M FREE! 

No, stop! Stop! Jekyll started to shake, she pressed her hands against her head. Be silent- you-! She couldn’t control the voice. Her vision got hazier, and her control was slipping by the second. Her voice became quieter and quieter as the other got louder. 

Keep staring, Jekyll! Look at the blood on the floor! How beautiful! How enticing! HOWEVER SO MALICIOUS AND-

The voice stopped, it was replaced with the loud sound of a clock rewinding. Jekyll looked up to see Dante clench his fists in pain, before heaving a few breaths and standing upright once more. 

Right before her eyes, Othello’s arms reassembled together, all of the blood put back into place moments before the attack happened. It was as if he had never been attacked in the first place. 

Same with Mark; Mark’s body slowly but surely rose from the ground, assembling in reverse the exact way he was destroyed. Limb by limb, every blood droplet returned to its owner, and Mark stood there, completely unscathed. 

Jekyll sighed in relief, slowing her heart rate down. That was way too close… 

She felt the voice pout. I’m still here idiot. 

Shut the hell up, Jekyll hissed at herself. 

There was more banter thrown between Othello and Mark, but Jekyll had a hard time remembering it and making sure her breathing slowed. Vergilius didn’t seem to address either of them before he went through the back door of the bus and didn’t look behind him as he closed it. 

“Right, you two,” Dante stepped forward. “No fighting your allies, it causes pain to bring me back.” “Ngh, I can do whatever the hell I want!” Mark hissed at Dante. “You're just our personal medic to help us get the job done, with no spine to command us at all. So get out of the way, pansy, and let me finish-” 

“You really want to be imploded again?” Othello smirked, rotating his arms as he got off the floor. “Couldn’t even take a single hit before you died.” 

“Sleep with one eye open, Othello,” Mark roared, getting up with no trouble. “Let’s get on with the tour of this trash, stupid bus already.” 

I love these guys. 

No, no we don’t! Jekyll groaned in pain, massaging her eyes in pain before standing up and giving a polite, passive-aggressive smile to anyone looking in her direction. 

“Right,” Dante sighed, gesturing to Jatayu. “Let’s give them a tour of the bus, I suppose.” 

The party slowly made their way to the back of the bus, which to the newcomer’s surprise, was a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. The hall stretched out to various sections, and each of the doors in the first room they entered were color-coded.

“Right, these are your rooms, where you may stay in your downtime!” Dante began, backing up and resting against the door of his room. “Your uniforms are inside, on your beds. Feel free to explore inside them.” 

Mallo was the first to enter her room, without a word. The others slowly made their way to their rooms, going inside and closing the door behind them. Pen and Jekyll were the last ones remaining outside in the hall, with Pen looking at the exterior of each door to every room, perplexed as if he was wildly suspicious of the bus itself. 

Jekyll shrugged and rested her hand on the door handle. She smiled softly. It’ll be nice to have my own room, thankfully. She opened the door and peeked inside. 

The first thing she noticed was how her room had two very different colors as if it was split down the middle. That was all Jekyll was able to see before she noticed the woman standing in the middle of the room, smiling wickedly at her. 

“Boo.”

Jekyll’s heart stopped. She slammed the door shut, stepping away from it as her hand clenched her chest. Her heart rate picked up again, and she couldn’t catch a breath to save her life. No, no, no, nope, no way, nuh uh, surely there’s another room I can- stay- ack- help-

The door slam caught the other’s attention. Pen was the first one to walk up to her. “Are you okay?” 

Jekyll stood up straight and glanced him in the eyes, unable to stop the laugh that escaped her throat. “Haha! Hahaha, yeah, I’m fine... I’m fine… uh…” 

Pen tilted his head curiously but did not say anything else as Dante came up and asked the same question. 

Jekyll gave him the same reply before her breath finally slowed down. “So sorry- I didn’t mean to alarm everyone, ahah… Do… Do we have to put on the uniforms… right now?” She stared at Dante with a pleading look of pain on her face. 

If Dante could have a facial expression, it would be one of confusion. “Well, I suppose you don’t need it right at this moment-” 

“Oh thank the Arbiters…” Jekyll sighed in relief, clenching her heart before her breath slowed again. 

Pff, weak. The voice mocked her. 

She retorted back. Moron. 

You jumped like a cat, it was hilarious. 

I hate you, I hope you know that. 

That’s the best part. 

Her internal dialogue was caught off as Mark burst the door open, storming up to Dante and grabbing him by the scruff, his eyes raging with fury. “How do you know that?!” He hissed. “How does the company know about what I saw in there?!” 

Jekyll looked around for Pen, but he was nowhere to be found. However, Dante seemed surprisingly calm as he replied. “I don’t- we don’t… We don’t know anything about how your room is, but as explained by Kuvira… your room matches your mental state, and reveals your memories.” 

Mark’s back heaved from the breaths he was taking before he dropped Dante onto the floor and stormed off to the right… He went in the opposite direction that they were supposed to go. 

Jatayu sighed and followed behind Mark from a safe distance, leaving Jekyll and Dante in the hallway alone. However, she didn’t get the chance to say anything before Othello came out of his room, seemingly in a good mood. 

Dante gestured to the left hall, mentioning that was the way to go. Jekyll decided to go immediately, not waiting for the others. She needed time to sort through everything that happened that day. 

To her dismay, Othello followed close behind her. She couldn’t recall if he said something to her or not, but amongst the very, very little small talk they had made, she remembers giving it straight that she would be referred to as Dr. Jekyll. No nicknames, no other names, only Dr. Jekyll. 

She had earned that title and was going to stick with it. 

Aw, I like nicknames though. The voice whined as Jekyll walked ahead of Othello to end the conversation. 

Your opinion is not needed. 

Eventually, Jekyll reached the end of the hallway and entered a spacious room, with some sort of control panel to the left, and another hallway to the right. The control panel only had a few settings on it, and it was labeled Ordeal Gauntlet. Jekyll connected that name to the speech Kuvira gave not too long ago. 

In front of her stood Vergilius with a box in his hands, full of various small equipment. Kuvira was by his side, trying to rummage through the box. Vergilius gently whacked her hand away each time she tried. 

“And what could these be?” Othello strolled up to Vergilius as if nothing happened. 

Jekyll was more hesitant to approach the two. Was it against the contract? Is she allowed to talk to them? Would Vergilius flatten her like a pancake if she tried? Should she even think about trying? Her anxiety spiked as she slowly took a few steps toward the Red Gaze and Kuvira against her better judgment. She vowed to read the contract in detail to make sure she didn’t break any part of it. 

“These are EGO gifts,” Vergilius explained to Othello. “These are for the party to assist them on the journey. Normally, I’d have everyone divide them up to what serves them best. However, seeing as only three of the six of you are here, I suppose it is first come first serve.” 

Jekyll turned around to see Pen walk through the hall into the room. Pen asked her why she was not approaching them, and she explained that she was afraid of the incident that happened in front of the bus.

“I sense no hostility,” Pen shrugged, taking a few steps forward. “I’m sure we will be okay. Come, let’s claim some of the EGO gifts before the others get here.” 

That specific wording triggered something in Jekyll’s brain. She realized the gifts were limited, far and few, and the urge to have the best ones overwhelmed her. She didn’t want to take any chances. Greed overtook her as she went up to the box first, scrummaging through the EGO gifts before choosing three that she thought would benefit her the most. She stepped to the side. Her mind raced as she put the EGO gifts on. 

See? You should listen to me more often. The voice hissed. You get more benefits when you put yourself first. 

Yeah, at the expense of others… Jekyll frowned. 

Do you really want to care about these idiots? No, you take what’s yours. 

I will give them back if someone needs them more, Jekyll argued, putting the last EGO gift on. 

As if I would let you do that. 

“Where are the others?” Vergilius asked openly, staring down the hall. 

“Dante stayed behind to wait for Mallo to exit her room,” Pen explained. “Jatayu and Mark went down the other hall.” 

“Hmm,” He hummed in disapproval, and took a few steps back, resting the box on the floor. 

“Oh my gosh, hi!” The familiar voice of the Red Gaze’s assistant ran through Jekyll’s ears. 

Jekyll glanced up to see Kuvira had approached her, her eyes beaming and her hand extended. Her skin glowed bright, but somehow, it wasn’t blinding. Jekyll was thankful for the recognition and shook her hand. “Good evening… Kuvira, was it?” 

“Yes ma’am! I’m not sure I caught your name, would you be so kind as to tell me?” 

“Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll.” 

“Oh my gosh, you’re a doctor?!” Kuvira’s eyes widened in delight. “That is so cool, like, wow! I’m sure you worked really hard to study for that, and it sure has paid off!” 

Jekyll smiled softly, retracting her hand and giving a slight bow. “Yes, it was hard work, and I appreciate your acknowledgment.” 

“Also before I ask all my questions, I just have to say I love your style, it is beautiful with the simple color scheme, awh! It’s just glorious, and it really compliments you!” 

“Aw, thank you,” Jekyll’s smile widened as she stared at Kuvira. This person is so… oddly kind. People with her energy and happiness would die easily in the city. Heck, most of Jekyll’s clients had stories like that. However, it was nice to finally meet someone with that energy, and still alive. At least, it was nice for Jekyll. 

The voice didn’t seem happy. Disgusting. Let’s kill her. 

“Shut up,” Jekyll’s face soured as she muttered under her breath. 

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t say anything,” Kuvira responded, laughing while messing with her hair. 

“Oh no, I wasn’t saying that to you, I apologize,” Jekyll’s face turned red from embarrassment. “Just… voices in my head, haha-” 

I have a name you know. 

I could care less about your name, Jekyll responded. 

Kuvira shrugged it off, smiling as if it was usual for her. “Just wanted to make sure! I know Vergilius has to tell me to shut up a lot because I ramble like, so much haha! So if I ever need to be quiet just let me know, okay?” 

Jekyll returned her focus to Kuvira. “I don’t think you need to shut up, I would very much like to listen. Preferably, to the answers to some questions I had?” 

“Oh of course!” Kuvira smiled. “I mean, the speech mainly said to give questions to Dante and Jatayu, but I can do my best to assist! What questions do you have, my dear?” 

Jekyll could not get her face to stop turning red, she was not used to this type of friendship and excitement shown to her. “Uhm- uh, f-firstly, I was curious if uh… Have you all been here since LCB-1? How long ago was that?” 

“Oh! Well, I believe Vergilius, Charon the bus driver, and Dante have all been here since LCB-1, Jatayu joined with LCB-2, and I joined midway through LCB-2. It’s been great for most, haha.” 

Jekyll raised an eyebrow. “What about Faust?” 

“Oh, Faust! You probably met her, yes! She was part of the LCB-1, and I believe she still is around as a manager of sorts! She doesn’t work directly with us as much anymore. She has better things to do, anyway!” 

“Right, okay,” Jekyll nodded, taking a mental note. “Is… Vergilius, well, does he kill all of us commonly?” 

“Oh no,” Kuvira glanced over her shoulder at the Red Gaze. “Absolutely not, he mainly gives consultations to the sinners who misbehave or are breaking their contracts. He tries not to kill them when it happens. Why do you ask?” 

“There was an incident at the front of the bus after you left, where…” Jekyll shuddered at the thought. “Mark imploded on the spot, and Othello got his arms ripped off after they started to quarrel.” 

Kuvira sighed. “Ahh, yeah, that might happen for a bit. Every team is bound to quarrel over something sooner or later, but eventually things work out, so I’ve been told.” 

“You mean, this is normal?”

“Yeah, of some sort.” Kuvira shrugged. “After death is no longer in the equation, people get initially violent over disagreements before slowing down. Things settle down after a while. LCB-1 and LCB-2 had that as well, don’t worry.” Kuvira tilted her head as she looked slightly down to meet Jekyll’s eyes. “Which sinners are Mark and Othello again?” 

Jekyll tilted her head and pointed in the direction Othello was heading. “That’s Othello, and Mark… is the one with the blonde shaggy hair.” 

“Gotcha, I will need to learn names eventually, haha!” Kuvira smiled sweetly before glancing over toward Mallo, who had just entered the room. “And she is?” 

“Mallo, if I remember correctly,” Jekyll mimicked Kuvira’s smile. “And over there is Pen.” 

“Gotcha, thank you!” Kuvira gave a soft nod toward Jekyll. “I appreciate the information, I will make sure it goes to good use!” 

“One more question, Kuvira,” Jekyll’s smile faded as she clasped her hands together. The mere thought of asking seemed like a burden, and the voice did not like it. 

I swear if you take one of those things again, I will lash out- 

“Of course! Anything!” Kuvira smiled. 

“Do… Does this workplace provide moonstones to keep our sanity levels the same?” Jekyll asked her visible eye twitching. “It seems our line of work will tamper with our sanity, quite a bit… I wanted to ask if the company had spare moonstones so our sanity can remain fixed.” 

“Oh! M Corp’s singularity,” Kuvira nodded, looking up at the ceiling to think. “Hmm, I don’t know of any moonstones in our possession, perhaps I can ask Vergilius for you, if you wish. I do know that sanity rises and falls when people use EGO, whether or not it's their personal one or ones from a…” Kuvira pauses, clearing her throat. “Abnormalities, so I do know that sanity rising and falling is a key part of the job, but I can see if the company has a moonstone for you. I don’t know if it would be allowed though.” 

Jekyll cursed in her head as the voice laughed with glee. No stability mentally? How was she going to keep sane?

HAHA! Oh, how perfect. 

“But hey,” Kuvira rested a hand on Jekyll’s shoulder. “If you ever need anything from me, to keep mentally sane or just need someone to talk to, I’m your gal, alright? I’m here for you.” 

Jekyll nodded in thanks toward the assistant. “I appreciate you, really. I will… take you up on that sometime, perhaps later, closer to the morning.” 

Kuvira opened her mouth to speak but clamped it shut as Vergilius announced the voting process to fight some ordeals in the gauntlet. She smirked, “Hey, go for the crimson ordeals, I heard they’re better than the amber ones.” 

Jekyll smiled and said her farewell before walking over toward the menu. She did her best to give Mallo space, but they shared proximity as she came closer to view the options. 

Mallo glanced over with a fierce glance at Jekyll. Jekyll met eye contact and started talking without realizing it. “So, have you heard of ordeals before?” 

Mallo’s gaze softened. “Yeah. I've heard of 'em. Nasty things from L Corp. Disgusting things that show up to cause chaos.” She inhaled a large breath from her cigarette and stood up straight, letting it out. 

Jekyll clasped her hands together nervously. It was the first time she heard Mallo speak more than one word. Her voice was quite pleasant. “Ahh... lovely, are they hard to kill?”

Mallo explained how the worms move around and jump, using flavorful curse words to describe them. She elaborated on how they make abnormalities breach and how they explode when killed but reassured it was more annoying than deadly. 

Jekyll nodded and cast her lot. The current votes were two to one, with crimson ordeals being in the lead. She stepped back, sighing. She would have to wait for the others to arrive before actual combat began. She wished not to fight, but it was the job she signed up for. A shudder ran through her spine, she knew what was about to happen. Oh, how wrong you were about this company, Jekyll.

[zelphin124]

LCB-3: Masterpost

The tale of Jekyll joining Limbus Company - inspired by the DND campaign I play within the realm of Project Moon.

Art is by S0ma.

Read it on Archive Of Our Own

Story

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 (coming soon)

[zelphin124]

LCB-3: Chapter 2

The second account of the first day on the Limbus Company bus from Jekyll's perspective. Ho boy was this fun to write. Finally got to lore drop a bunch. Masterpost Chapter 1 <--> Chapter 3 Off to the story!

~o0o~

Jekyll didn’t realize how long she had been listening to the voice in her head before she looked up to see a grand commotion that had taken place in the decorative hall. Pen and Othello were immediately in the middle of it. Jekyll couldn’t see over Othello’s massive bug wings as they fluttered and his voice raised, with Dante slowly joining him. 

I wonder what his wings would look like on a blank canvas. 

That is the least morbid thing you’ve thought of all week, Jekyll replied, rolling her eyes. 

What? I thought it was worse than Dante’s head on a stick. 

You son of a–

“Dante, a suspicious person has appeared,” Pen’s voice interrupted her internal dialogue as the young man approached the manager. 

“What do you mean?” Dante ticked gently, his clockhead tilting to the side. If he had facial expressions, he sure would’ve been giving off a peculiar face with curiosity plastered all over it. Though, his demeanor was less expressive and worrisome than that of Pen in front of him. 

“She seems to be a new member,” Pen answered, pointing towards where Othello stood. “She has a strange weapon, and Othello is holding them off.” 

Another one? Great. 

Jekyll winced, readjusting her position to look towards Mallo, who also temporarily turned her attention to the commotion. She was sure answers would come with time and didn’t feel the pressing need to get to know the person. She had already met many people today, one more wouldn’t hurt. However, she did not feel inclined to look forward to it either. 

She observed the Ordeal Gauntlet in front of her. At first glance, it looked like a large safe with an artificial, technological menu in front of it. The Crimson Ordeal selection was loading; it was at fifty-nine percent. Jekyll wondered what kind of logic and magic was used to make this possible. However, it wasn’t a question she was interested in seeking the answer to. She was perfectly content being left to wonder. The designs on the door caught her eye. It wasn’t anything fancy, but for a train-appearing bus to have all this inside, and having details on its features’ entrance, she would consider complimenting the designer for the nice touches. 

“So what’s with the paintbrush?” 

Jekyll glanced over her right shoulder to see Othello had taken a position behind her, his eyes squinted in addition to the wide smirk he carried on his face. He asked in such a way as if he questioned her skill, or at least that was how the voice in her head took the manner. 

She gently turned around, spinning the brush in her hands before letting the large edge slam the ground with a thud. “Be patient, and you might get the chance to see,” she replied, her other hand resting on her hip. 

“Oh darlin', patience is my middle name! Grandpappy thought he was real funny with that one.” Othello smiled wider, stepping a tad closer. His wings fluttered gently, and he lowered his head to meet her eyes. 

Oh darlin, the voice quoted the man in a mocking tone. Darlin your wings on my blank canvas–

“Please, just call me Dr. Jekyll.” Jekyll interrupted, holding her hand up in a serious manner. She could feel her hidden eye twitching with annoyance. Nicknames were already rough for her, but Jekyll knew she was more annoyed at the voice in her head than the person in front of her. Explaining that would be too much of a difficult task, in her opinion. 

The unfamiliar steps from the hall caught her attention. When she turned her head, she made eye contact with someone she hadn’t seen before. 

Her appearance was similar to Mallo’s. Her hair was longer, black, straight hair pulled back into a ponytail as it shaped her square face. Her eyes were a mix of silver and yellow from what Jekyll could tell. Her clothes matched the limbus uniform, with a black jacket falling to her thighs. The inside of it along with the outline of the outfits was a stunning red. She wore a basic white shirt with a red tie, matching the color of her belt. Her pants were the standard black work pants, but her boots were intricated with red laces and strings holding them together. She wore a thick work glove on her right arm, hiding her hand while the other was exposed. The weapon was a custom-made spear, sharp on one edge with a delicate and firm base. 

Jekyll smiled, she found it ironic all of the girls had black hair. She overheard the others introducing themselves and caught wind of her name being Lenore. She seemed nice, perhaps Jekyll would go over and make a connection–

“Oh my gosh hi!” A quick flash of light temporarily blinded Jekyll. She blinked a few times, realizing Kuvira had waddled over with a big box in her hands. “Please, take your pick!” 

Lenore seemed taken aback before choosing a few things from the box. 

“Oh, where are my manners?” Kuvira gently threw the box aside, adjusting her brown hair as her skin beamed with light. She grabbed Lenore’s hand with both of her own and shook it up and down excitedly. “I’m Kuvira Stone! Or Kuvira, haha! Most people call me Kuv but honestly, you can call me whatever you want! I seriously do not care. What is your name hun?” 

Like everyone, they stuttered on their words and were taken aback by her energy. Lenore was no different as she replied. “Uh– I’m Lenore, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Likewise, Lenore!” She took a step back. “Okay, your outfit though is top-notch, awh! I love it, it really suits you!” 

“T-Thank you,” Lenore nodded her hand, taking her hand back. “I apologize for being late. I was caught up in… something, something held me back, but I’m here now. Hopefully, I didn’t miss much?” 

Jekyll raised an eyebrow, smirking. Hah, we all were interrupted by ‘something,’ how subtle of you. 

Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? 

Jekyll smiled to herself even more and refused to elaborate to the voice. 

“Oh don’t worry hun, you like missed my really long speech about the activities and standards of the company and all that jazz,” Kuvira nodded and smiled, swaying from side to side. “If you just read the handbook front to back, that’s a more detailed version of what I talked about. Don’t worry about it too much!” She bent down and picked up the box one more time. “Oh! And if you ever need anything, I am always here for you pal! Whether you need someone to talk to or help with anything, I am your gal.” 

“Oh, thank you, I appreciate that,” Lenore replied in the most stereotypical response Jekyll ever heard. Jekyll concluded Lenore was still shocked by her abrupt introduction. 

Kuvira didn’t say anything after that; she turned on her heel and walked through the crowd of people back to Vergilius’ side. Her skin beamed as if the interaction had brightened her day.

How fascinating. What a waste of useless emotions on a simple human interaction. 

Can you shut up? Like, for once in your life? Jekyll rolled her eyes. It’s quite nice to have someone of her energy alive and spreading joy. 

“Alright everyone, listen up!” The ticking sounds from the manager rung through the room. “We will be giving an overview of the advantages we have in combat…” he paused. “Not me, but Jatayu is going to give an overview so please pay attention!” 

“Oh, right,” a hoarser voice spoke as Jatayu strolled up to Dante’s side. “Right, everyone, I am sure you all are proud fighters from where you came from. However, your contract specifies the powerful combat encounters we will face daily. Not to worry, Limbus Company provides some advantages in combat to assist with these increased difficulties.” 

“The first order of business you should know is Dante’s special abilities. As most of you have seen earlier today, the moment you shook Dante’s hand, you were bound to his time. This means that when he rewinds time, you all return to your previous state, regardless of what damage you took during a combat session.” His eyes glance from Mark to Othello, as if using them as a non-verbal example. He adjusted his coat and sighed before continuing. “Secondly, we use a tool called IDs, which are different versions of you from other mirror dimensions. They come in the form of cards and can be used for strategy when fighting greater enemies.” 

“A-Allow me to demonstrate,” Dante suggested, reaching into his coat and pulling out many cards in his hand, before he he pulled up a menu in front of him, almost holographic. He placed one of the cards in place of where Jatayu was, and before everyone’s eyes, they watched Jatayu transform from his former self to a different entity entirely. 

Jekyll’s eyes widened in horror. What the heck just happened to Jatayu? She bit her tongue, observing him closely. 

For once, the voice in her head was silent. 

“So this is pansies version of other realities?” Mark scoffed, running a hand through his hair to keep it out of his face. He took a closer look before he crossed his arms. 

“You just keep this party trick up your sleeve?” Othello chimed in, tilting his head curiously. 

“Yes,” Dante answered, adjusting his gloves and sleeves. “Another room in the bus is used for extraction. I am capable of pulling identities from other realities to get these cards, by spending lunacy; lunacy is a currency we get when you guys feel a lot of emotions. After the combat, I am sure we will give you a tour of the rest of the bus.” 

Lenore couldn’t take her eyes off the different Jatayu standing before her. “Are they even the same person?” She asked curiously, lowering her weapon. 

“Although some particular traits will carry over when using the ID, they are the same person. Jatayu is the same person we know, just with different skills.” 

Pen held up his spear in defense, his gaze fixed intensely on the red eye that stared back at him. “It won’t attack us… right?” He asked nervously.

Dante shook his head. “No, at least, it shouldn’t. We’ve had a few cases where stray IDs come and mess things up. However, it is a very rare circumstance, and nothing we can’t handle.” 

Dante continued to explain a few things to those who had questions. Jekyll’s attention moved to watch Mallo walk up to Jatayu, looking him up and down before getting in his face with her own. She inhaled a large breath from her cigarette and blew the smoke into Jatayu’s face with a cold glare. 

“138924,” Jatayu stares back, rapidly speaking in numbers as if he were saying something. 

Mallo doesn’t budge, her gaze staring intensely into the man’s soul. 

“Clockhead, translate,” Mark demanded, interested in the current situation. 

“O-Oh, right, I forgot sweeper identities can’t speak English…” Dante sighed nervously. “He asked Mallo to get the cigarette out of his face.” 

“Are they safe?” Mallo repeated.

Dante’s ticking stopped for a moment. “Yes, mostly. As I said before, there have been a few situations where they have not been, but it’s very rare.” 

Mallo communicates non-verbally that she feels suspicious of Jatayu and doesn’t trust Dante’s reassurance. However, she takes a step back in compliance with Jatayu’s request. 

“What do these things cost? Do we have to sell our soul or something?” Mark scoffed as if this question should have been answered already. 

“Yes, these identity cards cost lunacy. Lunacy is made from your emotions in combat. And I use that to draw different identities from other mirror worlds for you. There is no need to pay anything outside of what you will already be doing in your contract,” Dante explained. His voice was more tired than usual as if he was tired of explaining the same things over and over again. 

PFTHAHAH! Emotions in combat? Seriously?! How cliche can this get? Oh, we will be RICH with lunacy! 

Jekyll froze as the voice wheezed in her head. It was odd to see it so expressionate, yet for once in her life, she agreed with the voice. It sounded too easy, too pathetic. 

Mark also scoffed in response. “This is some kind of cult, isn’t it?” 

Dante shook his head. “No, it’s not.” 

“If we need particular teams to be efficient in combat, how difficult will the fighting be?” Lenore took a few steps towards the commotion. Her face was incredibly neutral and curious, unlike the rest of her coworkers. 

“As long as you are not dead weight, you’ll be fine,” Mallo snapped, glancing towards the ordeal gauntlet. 

Mallo turned her head away right before Othello pulled out his guns and spun them around in his hands in a flashy manner. “Bring it on~”

Lenore found that amusing. “If we all die, I’m haunting you.” She teased with a slight smile. 

Everyone started to get ready to enter the gauntlet one by one. To Jekyll’s surprise, everyone seemed to be at ease despite them heading into combat. Jekyll shuddered, she always tried to avoid combat when she could. It seemed this was required for her orientation, and it was made clear that combat would be a regular thing, but that didn’t help her anxiety about it at all. 

“Yo,” a voice sounded behind her. 

Jekyll turned her head before she realized it was Mark, and he wasn’t talking to her. 

“Jatayu, bud,” Mark stepped next to Jekyll’s side, facing Jatayu who was in front of her. He rested a hand on the assistant’s shoulder, smiling as if to uncharacteristically persuade him. “How about I swap spots with you? You know, to ruffle the bastard’s feathers and make them bleed so you can extract it better, I’ll do it just the way you like it.” 

Wait a minute… 

Jekyll rolled her eyes as the voice spoke. It was silent for so long, and now she had to put up with it again.

Jatayu seemed to tilt his head curiously at the words ‘feathers’ and ‘blood,’ before he responded in a sequence of numbers. 

Mark’s smile immediately faded. “Translate, clockhead,” he called out to Dante. 

Before Dante could explain, Jatayu stepped out of line and nodded his head, heading to the back of the line. 

I can’t see out of your eye Jekyll, I swear your vision is so bad. The voice roared as it tried to force its way into control. 

Jekyll shook her head, her hands shaking. Stop! What the hell do you want now?! 

The guy in front of you, Mariachi or whatever, said a phrase that I remember… 

Can you do this another time? Jekyll tried to sound firm, but it came out in her head as more of a plea. We are going into combat… 

Does he not look familiar to you, idiot?

Jekyll took a moment to stare at Mark’s face, which was now turned away from her. Some memory sparked in her head, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. She adjusted her paintbrush and tilted her head. I don’t… know…

The voice was cut off as the doors opened; one by one they marched into the facility, their gaze adjusting to the new light in the room. Jekyll wrinkled her nose at the smell of rotting corpses. Had this place not ever been cleaned? It was horrendous. 

Sounds of claws scratching a chalkboard filled the air, and the sight of monstrous body pieces everywhere on the floor contributed to the awful stench. The musky environment made the expansive hallway feel small. Guts and blood were splattered across the walls as if they had been there for decades. 

Everyone shuddered in their own way the moment carnival music started to play. Within the mist of the musky environment, enemies approached. 

Jekyll did not recognize them, but some of her coworkers did. Three small creatures approached them first. Their faces looked like a ball of leather was cut into to make a smile, and it wore out over time. They wore joker-like clothes and waddled back and forth like clowns putting on a show. 

Behind them appeared three large circus tents, with a tongue as a floor and teeth forming an entrance. They were large mouths, and some of them clamped up as an intimidation tactic, forming a large wall of teeth. 

There was a noticeable urge to attack the tents before the clowns in front of them. The urge was so strong that no one had their focus on the clowns before them. 

Ugh. People falling for the aggro again, I swear–

You are in a bad mood, help me use that energy to kick these circus butts. Jekyll interrupted, spinning her brush around, readying for combat. 

The voice, despite its sour intentions, complied. Jekyll slowly felt herself lose control over own own limbs. They became lighter and felt looser on her body. 

Do you trust me? 

I never trust you. But does it look like I have a choice? 

No, you don’t. Let me take the wheel and you’ll end up alright. 

Jekyll shook her head again, keeping control of her mind. One step at a time, moron. We aren’t that close. 

You literally cannot get closer to anyone else than I am– Jekyll felt the voice roll its eyes. Nevermind, let’s just–

Mallo lunged forward. Her stave was raised high as she swung it against the first tent’s teeth wall. It collided with a loud thud…

Nothing happened. 

Mallo’s eyes widened in surprise. The teeth took the blow perfectly as if she had failed to break its shield. Her gaze was uncharacteristically surprised and sour, and she cursed at the constant cheering accompanied by the obnoxious music. 

Jekyll glanced to her left only to watch Mark lunge forward next, attempting the same strategy as Mallo. He swung his metal pipe across the teeth with the bulge facing towards the mouth. To Jekyll’s surprise, it worked. The teeth cracked and one of them fell out. Mark’s gaze was focused and cruel, showing no visible sign of satisfaction. 

Now! Jekyll felt her body lunge towards the second tent, her hands swinging her brush before piercing into the side of the second tent. Blood trickled out as she took a step back. 

She sighed to herself in contentment. Oh, that wasn’t so hard–

Jekyll! Watch out!

Jekyll barely lifted her face to see the teeth of the tent coming down on her, crushing her on the waist. She cried out in pain and scrambled out of its jaws, slashing it across the lip to let her go. 

How many times do I have to tell your pathetic existence that enemies counter?! The voice sneered. Get away before it attempts it again! 

Jekyll’s head sunk low, limping backward. She watched Pen lift his spear which was now glowing. In a flash of light, he vanished, before he reappeared in front of the first circus tent. Jekyll noticed how he chose which one he wanted to attack, and pierced his spear into the side of the tent repeatedly, making the tent cower back. The loss of its blood was rapid, and it was clear to the rest of the coworkers it was almost dead. 

Lenore jumped on the opportunity, lunging towards the first circus and using the hole Mark created in its teeth to slash her glaive across its tongue. She then stepped out of the way immediately before it could react. 

Othello was right behind her. He spun his guns upward and into the nose of the circus tent, firing into its system. 

The tent shook violently, expanding rapidly. It took only a few seconds for the monster to explode, sending everyone near it flying back. Othello managed to hide behind one of the clown dolls to avoid getting hit. Everyone else, enemies and allies included, got flung back and collided with the nearest wall. 

Ow. Jekyll thought in unison with the voice. She rubbed her head and stood back up, trying to find her footing. 

“Yo, Jatayu, why don’t you attack this one?” Othello grabbed the doll by the scruff and tossed it at Jatayu. 

He was unprepared; the clown took the opportunity to bite at Jatayu’s arm and latched onto him. Jatayu scrambled and squeaked in numbers before kicking the clown off of him, holding his arm in pain. He glared at the clown, before returning a softer glare at Othello. 

Othello smirked and shrugged before he was surprised by another clown lunging at his leg and biting it. Othello also managed to kick it off, but not without a gaping wound in his leg. 

The other clown easily surprised Mallo, lunging similarly at her leg and gnawing at it until she kicked it off. She limped to attack it, but the screech and cheers from the tents distracted her. If smoke could come out of her ears, Jekyll figured this would be a moment where it would have done so. 

Jekyll took a look at herself and the others amid combat, each looked like they were on the brink of staggering. Her mind shook, and she felt her sanity drop. 

Jekyll! The voice snapped in her head. Focus! If you’re not going to get the job done, I will front and do it myself. 

Okay, okay, Jekyll shook her head, readying her weapon once more. I’m trying. 

This is no time to try. It’s do or die here. 

She took a step forward, but Mallo was faster. Mallo charged at the third circus tent, completely ready this time. She first broke the teeth across its mouth before shoving her stave down its throat, forcing it to suffocate under the force. 

The tent – like the first – exploded. The force sent Mallo back against the wall, crippling her. A tooth fragment came flying at Mark who approached the beast, causing him to fall to the floor as well. 

That was all Jekyll caught before she herself was sent back from the impact, passing out cold. 

* * *

Light slowly poured into Jekyll’s eyes, and the carnival music returned to her ears. Her head spun, but she slowly opened her eyes. 

She regretted doing so. 

Her gaze locked on Lenore, who lunged forward and stabbed one of the clown dolls in the head repeatedly. It spurred out blood till it exploded, causing everything else in the facility to explode.

Jekyll watched her limbs be torn off her body before her mind went black; everything around her became dark and cold. Jekyll shivered, clenching her arms. 

Wait… she was clenching her arms? Weren’t they just torn off? 

Jekyll opened her eyes again, looking down at herself. She could barely make out the faint outline of her body, all intact. She stood, her head spinning as it tried to see anything. All she could make out was the faint outline of many, many hands. 

She tried to scream from shock, but the hands swarmed her, gripping her body and pinning her to the floor, her grips tightening by the second. She tried to get out of the way, but her struggle was useless. Her body ached in pain as the hands fought for possession of her. Although it was dark and she could barely see, she knew each hand around her was pulling in a different direction. Jekyll thought she would explode at any moment. Her mind cried out. Help! Someone help! Please!

She noticed that the voice wasn’t there. 

The hands continued to grip and tear at Jekyll until a bright flash of light entered the room. It burned Jekyll’s eyes; she squinted to make sense of it. 

A large, red door had opened to reveal outside of the darkness. The hands immediately dropped Jekyll and swarmed out of the darkness towards the person who had opened the door. Jekyll forced her eyes to open as she stared at the figure. 

D… Dante?

Her surroundings immediately changed to the former battle arena. She laid on the floor and looked down to see her limbs slowly reattaching to her body, painlessly. The moment her lungs reattached, Jekyll sat up and gasped for breath, and she slowly gained control of every limb and finger once more. 

She sighed, still catching her breath. Was that what death was like? An eternal torment by the hands unless someone comes to resurrect you? Or was that something that came with being attached to Dante’s time? 

How… thrilling. The voice laughed. Looks like they weren’t lying about resurrection after all. 

Jekyll realized at that moment she didn’t have full control over her body. She struggled to get the voice out, but it already had one hand in control of her actions. Jekyll stood up, smiling against her will. You’re sick, I hope you know that. Jekyll hissed. 

Shut up, I’m trying to watch. 

Jekyll turned her gaze towards Pen, who also reassembled piece by piece, limb by limb. His spear reassembled too, and he stood up, looking around as if he was getting used to the environment before he stretched his arms. “Nothing like the first time.” 

What does that pathetic moron mean by the first time? The voice insulted, louder than before. 

“You should all get used to dying,” Dante’s voice caught everyone’s attention. Jekyll didn’t realize he had entered the room, but there he was, staring right at them. “I am here to bring you back from the dead, but this is something that’ll happen frequently.” 

Othello interrupted him from continuing further. “Don’t you have something else for me to fight? That was a cakewalk.” 

Jekyll narrowed her eyes. Cakewalk? The heck–

“There will be more things to fight and encounter, however, I assume you all would like to claim the rewards of your recent combat.” 

“Well, why didn’t you say that sooner, clockface?” Othello put his guns away and clapped his hands together. 

Jekyll couldn’t make out the passing comment Lenore said, and she barely caught Mallo pulling out a cigarette and smoking it. Both of them went to look at the chest that rose from the ground, talking about the two EGO gifts in it. Her head turned towards Mark, who also was looking at his body as if he had just been reassembled too. 

Move, Jekyll. The voice commanded, forcing Jekyll’s feet to walk up to Mark. 

No, no! What are you doing? Jekyll tried to restrain, but it was no use. 

Jekyll planted her feet right in front of Mark. If she was taller, she would’ve been right in his face. She stared into his eyes, unwavering. 

“The hell you want?” Mark retorted, returning Jekyll’s hard stare. He seemed pissed off that she dared to approach him. His eyes squinted, revealing the scars originally hidden by his messy blonde hair. His jawline appeared to be broken in some way, but it was as strong as ever. 

Are we done now? Jekyll begged, wanting to flee from this situation.

I can’t see well out of your eye, your vision sucks. The voice replied before continuing. This Mariachi fella… I’ve seen him before… his eyes are far too familiar… 

There was a moment of tension between Jekyll and Mark as she continued to stare silently, ignoring Mark’s question. She stared into his eyes, reading the harsh glare that planted fear inside of her, but there were many things hidden behind that rough gaze, and she knew the voice was trying to find it. However, the more she searched, the angrier his gaze got. 

Jekyll about had enough; she needed to get out of this situation.

The voice gasped. That’s it! That’s where I recognize Mark from! He’s–

“Shut up,” Jekyll hissed, using an internal force to take control and immediately leave. She turned on her heel and walked towards the gauntlet door. 

She didn’t get very far. 

“Nah, nah, nah, nah,” a firm grip rested on Jekyll’s shoulder and spun her around. She was face to face with Mark again. His other hand gripped tighter around the pipe resting on his shoulders. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? What the heck did you say about me?” 

Jekyll’s eyes widened in fear from his hard gaze. “N-N-Nothing! I’m sorry, I was talking to myself…” 

Mark grunted in annoyance, shoving Jekyll’s shoulder as he walked away, even more annoyed than before. 

Pfff, classic Mark. The voice cackled. 

Jekyll felt as if she was going to melt into the floor from fear. She gripped her brush tighter and shuddered. I hate you, so much. She watched Mark wander and kick anything that was in his way. 

“How was the nap?” Another hand rested on her shoulder and spun her around. 

Jekyll was now facing Othello and was perplexed by his sudden approach and question. “N-Nap?” She cursed at herself for stuttering; she couldn’t shake the fear Mark’s gaze planted in her soul.

“Yeah, the nap you took in the middle of the fight.” 

“What do you mean?” Jekyll tried to come off as polite as possible, despite being incredibly pissed at the voice in her head. 

“You died, did you not? Was the time passage weird? How was dying?” He said casually with a smirk. 

Jekyll snorted, almost laughing, which did well to ease her fear of the previous situation. It was a rather annoying question according to the voice in her head, but she found it funny. “I mean that’s what happens when you sleep, time passes by.” 

“Did you dream anything when you died?” 

Dream? Jekyll paused for a moment as she thought back to what happened. It was definitely not a dream. The hands that engulfed her and suffocated her felt more real than her standing alive at that moment. The simple thought of the hands made her shudder. “A-All I saw were a lot of hands… before they fled into the light as a large door opened… and someone dragged me out.” 

She ignored the next comment Othello made as she turned to Dante. She quickly thought of an excuse to get out of her current situation. “Dante, I assume now would be a good time to get my uniform?” 

Dante stared at her blankly. There was no response from him as the fire on his head cracked slowly. It became clear to Jekyll that he had overheard what she previously told Othello. She waved her hand in front of Dante’s face. “Hello?” 

Loud insults interrupted her train of thought. Jekyll turned around to see Othello and Mark at it again. Mark looked like he was about to blast the commander’s head off with his bat as he smirked and continued to taunt him. However, the moment he raised his bat, the moment the lights went off. 

“Initiating fight: Amber Ordeals, level two.” A robotic voice rang through the hallway as the environment started to warp once more. 

“Wait, wait no! Another fight isn’t supposed to start!” Dante snapped out of his trance and ran towards the door, trying to open it. “I’m not supposed to be in here!” 

Pen immediately stepped in front of Dante as the monsters appeared. “Stay behind me, manager!” He demanded. “Incoming!” 

Jekyll couldn’t pull her brush up in time to defend herself as she was swarmed by two new monsters. They chomped at her arms and bruised her legs. She hurriedly kicked them off in a panic, swinging her brush at their faces. 

The voice grunted in unison with her, and Jekyll dreaded the next hour that was more combat. 

* * *

If Dante hadn’t healed the sinners before they exited the gauntlet, she would’ve been limping on her right leg and had bled to death. However, she walked out just fine, despite the impending exhaustion that overwhelmed her. 

She noticed Vergilius and Kuvira standing outside the gauntlet. When the Red Gaze noticed Dante came out unharmed, he sighed to himself and walked out of the room. Kuvira stood there, grinning like an idiot. She tried walking over to Mallo to start a conversation but stopped herself as Vergilius called her name. She bounded off after him. 

“Alright everyone, you may go rest in your rooms until we call you out again,” Dante dismissed the sinners, limping himself. 

Jekyll hesitated, standing in place as everyone walked past her down the hall. Her steps became increasingly difficult as she neared the room that was supposed to be hers. It seemed to take forever and yet no time at all before Jekyll stood in front of the carefully designed door. She turned her head to see most of the sinners gone. The only two people left in the hallway were Mark and Dante. 

“Everything alright, Jekyll?” Dante opened the door to his office before turning his head toward her. 

“Y-Yeah…” Jekyll sighed as she rested her hand on the doorknob. Her body shuddered from the first time she opened the door. “I’ll be okay.” 

“If you need anything, I’ll be in my office,” Dante reassured before stepping inside his door and closing it behind him. 

Jekyll shuddered once more before glancing over her other shoulder towards Mark. She watched as he gripped the handle of the door to his room, before grunting with anger and storming up to the front of the bus. 

Jekyll embraced the silence for a few moments before she took a deep breath. I have to face her at some point… Jekyll’s shoulders tensed and she swung the door open. She took a step inside and closed the door behind her. 

Suddenly, her mind felt whole, as if she wasn’t competing for control anymore. Jekyll caught an immediate smell of chocolate mixed with blood, and the environment was thick and murky. 

She gazed at her room, realizing it was perfectly split in half. On one side, there was a small bed tucked up against the tan walls. Its sheets were white and complimented the rustic wooden floor. On top of the bed was the Limbus uniform folded neatly next to the pillow. Next to the bed was a desk with a small bowl of chocolate with the K Corp symbol on the bowl. The light on the ceiling was shaped like a moonstone, and on the desk in front of the bed were liquid containers containing various substances that Jekyll immediately recognized. 

In the middle of the room was a window covered in barbed wire like a prison cell; Jekyll could see the backstreets of where she was from. A small light illuminated the cobblestone road, but in the darkness ran small streams of blood. 

The other half of Jekyll’s room was red. The stench of blood came from that side of the room, with white walls that were splattered with various shades of red across it like an abstract canvas. Another bed was also tucked into the corner of the room, and there was an art stand with a blank canvas next to the bed. Next to the wall was a desk and a chair, and the chair held a person who stared right back at her. 

Jekyll’s grip on her paintbrush tightened, and she held it in front of her as she backed up, her gaze stern. So this is why my mind is free for a moment… she thought. Because the voice becomes her own person. 

The person smiled as it stood up and walked to the edge of her side of the room. Her red eyes glowed with perfection, complimenting her black hair that fell to her thighs. She bowed, bending in her black onesuit with a fancy apron over it, covered in various paint stains and blood. Her face was more wicked and cruel, but it was the same face as Jekyll’s. It’s surprising how much emotion can change my appearance…

“Jekyll,” the woman bowed before letting a chuckle escape her pursed lips. “What a pleasure it is to finally talk to you face-to-face and not just in your mind.” 

“Hyde.” Jekyll’s body became on high alert, watching every move the woman took. “It’s disturbing to see you without looking in a mirror.” 

Hyde laughed mockingly, her mouth wide as her eyes were crazed with insanity. She spun her own paintbrush around before slamming it against the floor, her demeanor changed to pure anger. “As it should be! I’m quite tired of you locking me away! I know how you tried getting rid of me. If we didn’t share the same body I would tear you to shreds and plaster you on a painting, making your remains a masterpiece, something you could never be!” 

Jekyll’s heart rate sped up in her chest as she backed up against the wall. Her eyes darted side to side before they locked back on Hyde. She couldn’t speak; her entire concentration went to calm herself down. 

Hyde’s face changed from angry to deranged in a blink of an eye. “Pff, look at you now, you can’t even meet your other half normally. You’re pathetic, Jekyll.” 

“M-Mind you…” Jekyll finally found the courage to speak. “I… I created you. Y-You b-better behave… Hyde…” 

“Or what?” Hyde took a step forward into her side of the room. “What are you going to do? Rant about your teenage crush to me? How childish.” 

Jekyll’s eyes blazed with fury. “I know where to access moonstones, idiot.” 

Just as she predicted, Hyde shut her mouth. She took a step back and kicked a blanket on the floor before setting her weapon aside and glancing at the blank canvas. 

Jekyll sighed in relief, dropping her weapon to the floor before strolling over to the bed, removing the uniform, and flopping onto it. Everything in her body ached, and it had been a long time since she got proper rest. 

“Hey, be happy about this temporary split,” Hyde scorned. “This means I can paint while you sleep and we both aren’t losing our minds to sleep deprivation.” 

“Shut up,” Jekyll groaned, taking the pillow and putting it over her ears. “Go out and be a menace to the coworkers or something.” 

“You’re the main body, idiot,” Hyde hissed. “I cannot leave this room unless you let me front. I only exist here because this place is your mind.” 

Jekyll turned over in the bed to look at the room once more. Hyde was right; the room very much described her mental state, and how she felt so split and out of control. She did find it odd how Hyde had their own form in the room. However, she figured it might be for the better. Her mind was free for the time being, and she didn’t have to deal with the constant struggle of her mind while she was here. Perhaps she could even get some proper sleep, perhaps this would be good after all. 

Her face flattened when she watched Hyde search through her desk drawer before pulling out jars of blood. Dipping some of the paintbrushes she found in them, she stroked the liquid across the canvas. 

It… wasn’t as loud as Jekyll thought it would be. 

Hyde glanced over her shoulder, meeting Jekyll’s eyes. “You complained about being tired. Sleep and let me do my thing.” 

“Do you really need to use blood for those?” Jekyll’s eyes fluttered shut, her mind slowly begging for rest. 

“We’ve talked about this multiple times,” Hyde rolled her eyes, her hair swaying back and forth as she stroked the canvas. “Rest. We will talk later.” 

“I hate you…” Jekyll muttered sourly under her breath as she turned over. 

What she failed to see was Hyde’s face softening, and she paused from painting. “...I know,” was all she muttered before she continued. 

Jekyll decided to ignore her as her body became heavy, and she drifted off into a peaceful, heavy sleep. 

[snitchesusa]

Anonymous Snitched on Mikes place restaurant and bar in Othello

Anonymous Snitched on Mikes place restaurant and bar in Othello

"Serving dine in, bar is open, place was packed Thursday and Friday night, no social distancing and if u call they lie and say it’s take out only, local grant county sheriff dept is aware but have yet to confront him!" – Anonymous The aforementioned complaint was filed by Anonymous in Othello, Washington on Saturday May 9, 2020 with LCB covidenforcement@lcb.wa.gov against Mikes place restaurant…