Blazing Tempest had finished its course of action, knocking Ace off the roof to kingdom come. A huge black text appeared over his head as he soon collided into several trees and shrugs. He fell on his back, hard. On the fortunate side, Ace managed to lodge his greatsword into the trees as he fell, which considerably slowed his speed down. Thanks to that, he survived the fall. A crazy feat in the eyes of someone playing extreme sports. And yet, this was no sport. This was his life on the line.
The moment Ace fell on his back, he coughed out a big splatter of blood. If one had a close look, this blood was tainted with black spots. It took a moment for Ace to gain his bearing, and observe where he was.
"Ugh, what in the hell just happened to me?", Ace uttered, feeling pain all over his body. He was used to winning and killing his targets. This pain was foreign. Something he hadn't felt since he took the mantle of the One of Swords.
Taking a moment, Ace saw that his earlier wounds were completely frozen over and had dried up. New ones were also visible. Several pierce marks could be seen, dripping with fresh blood. Sadly, before Ace could react, steel wires suddenly shot out from all directions, and latched onto his body. Ace couldn't move.
"Got you.", Sharon's voice said, only to make an appearance from one of the trees nearby. She wasn't alone either. Both Ennea and I walked out, and arrived at Sharon's side. I knew I could trust Ennea's strength. Adding hers with mine, we took down most of Ace's health. I could see he only had around ten percent left. Anymore would be pushing it. We managed to descend from the Reinford Building. Largely thanks to the crimson wings now on my back. Sharon used her wires to traverse downward. Seriously, how skilled is she?
Some time had passed since then, and the large slash wound that stretched from my left shoulder down to my right hip was now closed, and a scar formed. All thanks to Regeneration. It healed enough to reach that state. I didn't think I'd develop a scar similar to the one Rean gets after Father gives his heart to him. But mine is much bigger, haha!
Ace just stared at the three of us, seeing that we were in front of him. One would think he would show surprise in his eyes, but all he displayed was confusion seeing the three of us arrive beside him.
"Okay. I'll bite. Who the hell are you guys?", Ace asked as he called out to us. Sharon came to a sudden halt, not expecting to hear that. Ace just ignored the fresh blood dripping from his chest. Even the blindfold-like headgear he had on that blindsighted his eyes had completely fallen apart.
We saw Ace for who he truly was. A brown-haired man who looked quite similar to Guy Bannings. Even the messy hair was similar. Just his complexion alone was completely different. Guy has a much more upbeat and laid back look. Ace doesn't.
Still, even that question caught me off guard. Ace looked at Sharon too. "And you seem familiar somehow."
Sharon just blinked her eyes, not expecting Ace to say that. He's acting like he has completely forgotten us.
"Do you have any idea of the trouble you caused Milady? Acting like you don't know won't guarantee your life. You and your little Garden wrecked havoc all over the Reinford Group.", Sharon coldly said, keeping her dagger poised and near his throat. She was ready to move should we make the final call.
"Hey, I'm being honest here. I don't even remember what my last five damn minutes were, let alone you guys. I could take an educated guess as to what happened, seeing my body being unable to move much.", Ace said, struggling to move his body. He really did pile up many injuries from both our battle, and the fall he took. Even I became confused after hearing that.
"Are you saying you don't remember the battle we just had, not even a tiny bit?", I asked, and squinted my eyes.
"Damned if I knew. Where even is here anyway?", Ace asked. He acted as if he truly had lost his memory, not knowing what had just taken place several moments into the night.
"Outskirts of Roer. You sent in a group of assassins who targeted Milady's life. That alone is punishable by death.", Sharon said, and pressed her danger further into Ace's skin. Ace raised his arms upward, showing his hands free, acting like he was captured.
"Roer...You mean this isn't Calvard?", Ace asked. A genuine look of shock appeared in his eyes.
"Hmm...", Ennea uttered, gaining interest at the matter at hand. Ennea took a moment to approach him, only to crouch down slightly, and saw a big pool of blood surrounding Ace. It was much clearer now. Traces of black, tainted spots could be seen. Reaching her hand out, Ennea cupped a tiny bit of it, and proceeded to sniff. She then rubbed the blood off, letting it fall back down.
"Looks like some mind-controlling agent is at play here. Perhaps it is administered the moment the Garden takes someone into the Factory and after they finish their training, the substance takes over, making them comply and follow orders. Ace may truly not remember what happened tonight, let alone anything that happened recently. She then looked at Ace. "Tell me, what's the last thing you can remember?"
"The last thing I can remember---?", Ace tried to say, and spent a moment recalling his memories. And yet the moment he tried to do that, he felt an intense pain strike his head, making him clutch it. "Ugh..."
Ace couldn't exactly remember his last known location? Talk about suspicious. Is this Melchior's doing, knowing that he came from the guidance of the Oathbreaker? I recall him being quite proficient in toxins, so maybe Melchior developed some of his own, despite being so young still. It's likely a toxin was spreading through Ace's body this entire time, and only by bleeding it out did he gain his consciousness. Talk about gruesome.
Ace took a moment to calm the pain in his head, before his eyes turned serious. "...Are you tellin' me I've been controlled? I wonder if that bastard figured out I was trying to flee Calvard? I just managed to scout a nice place too, damn it!"
After Ace said that, he looked at Ennea, still bound by Sharon's chains and her dagger.
"I take it whatever mission I was assigned to was a failure then. I did hear something snap inside my mind, but if I really was being controlled, I likely inflicted a lot of damage to whatever my target was.", Ace said, feeling guilty after realizing what had transpired. He then glanced at me, and saw the huge sword scar on my chest. "And it looks like you took a pretty nasty hit too, whoever you are."
"Well, yeah. That sword of yours is no joke. We're with Ouroboros, and came to intercept you to try and mitigate the damage that was caused tonight. You blew up parts of the Reinford Building, and even if we decide to not kill you now, you would definitely be put on trial for your actions. No matter which way it goes, or if you flee from here and make your way back to Calvard, any government that catches a whiff of this will use tonight's event as a catalyst. You're not left with many options, Ace.", I said, becoming more serious in my tone. Just that alone caused Ace to have his eyes remain on me.
"It's that bad huh?", Ace uttered, and frowned. "Feels like you're putting me in a corner here."
After Ace said that, he tried to move his body, but Sharon kept him still. It didn't help that Ace barely had any energy left to move his body. Even if he wanted to flee, he couldn't.
"That's because you are in one. Personally, I'd kill you myself, but if you really are being controlled, killing you won't solve the root of the problem.", Sharon said. "I bet you don't even remember me."
That allowed Ace to get a good look at Sharon, who still had her dagger pressed against his neck. He looked at Sharon with a surprised look. Ace acted as if he had recognized Sharon. Not from tonight's battle, but from long before.
"Hmm. So you do remember the days of the past, then. Your silly little assassin Garden kept pestering me to join while I'm currently on active duty to the Reinford Group.", Sharon said, and explained her side.
"Honestly, fair. I've no answer to that. Nor do I know why the Garden wants to control me. It's possible they figured out what I wanted to do. However, it would prove no good if you kill me here now, since I was also seeking death myself.", Ace replied. His eyes turned dead after saying that.
"How so?", I decided to ask, gaining interest with what Ace said.
"Been lookin' for a place to get out of that shithole. Same goes for my body. However, leaving the Gardens isn't so simple. You cannot betray them. Should they find out, they'll kill you without remorse. But there's a catch.", Ace explained.
"A catch, eh? What is it?", I asked.
"That is, if your partner decides to kill you instead, they'll no longer be seen as betraying the Garden. It's practically a free slate.", Ace explained.
"So what you're saying is, you want your partner to kill you, which will give him a chance to flee the Gardens. This partner of yours will do the deed, and after they confirm your body, they'll be seen as no longer betraying them, and while you spend time rising up from the dead, this will give them a chance to flee?", I asked, getting a clearer picture of what Ace was painting here.
"Exactly! It is exactly that. And that is why my death will serve no purpose if you kill me now. But instead, I'll play dead, allowing my friend to escape that place. And once he's out, we'll flee together. I just haven't grasped the "rising up from the dead" part. I know there are toxins out there that can make you feel like you're dead, but it's hard to acquire one...", Ace said, wondering how he would do the latter.
'Ace must be talking about Swin...', I thought to myself. Basically, inside the Gardens, if someone is deemed a traitor, and their partner kills you, they'll be seen as not betraying them. They could use that as a scapegoat to flee the Gardens, which is pretty much what happened inside the games.
Except here, Ace is talking about rising up from the dead, becoming a new man. Granted, this would give me a perfect excuse to recruit Ace to my side. I recalled what happened tonight, and the option of wanting to kill or save Ace was still on the table. I personally wanted to recruit him. The anger he had caused had completely subsided by now.
Seeing a determined look in Ace's eyes, I didn't immediately make my decision to kill Ace or not. I was still a little unsure what to do here. Instead, I glanced over, and looked at Sharon. Right now, Ace's buddy, Swin Abel, was likely getting acquainted with Nadia Rayne, Ace's younger sister, inside the Factory right now, which is where the Gardens trained their assassins.
"Sharon?", I asked Sharon.
"Hmm...", Sharon uttered, not immediately making a decision either...