Evident from the thick clothes of the people in Seventh Peak (two layers of sweaters, a thermal jacket, plus undergarments) the weather in the city isn't something to be taken lightly. The people that live in the city can honestly say that they despised the night time winds; the breezes could fall to a staggering negative twenty degrees Celsius and, apparently, compared to the scorching hot sun during the afternoons, the colder-than-ice winds were something they couldn't get used to (plus. the sudden change in climate sometimes results in different sicknesses among them). What made it worse was, during the final months of the year --in this case, September-- the temperatures would drop dramatically. Even during afternoons, the citizens going on about their lives have to wrap themselves in warm clothes just to keep themselves from freezing. Some of the older people in town would call it a blessing and reason out that, ten years ago, Seventh Peak was as hot as a desert, but the newer people would shrug it off and most would simply try to avoid the night.

       HimChan didn't mind the cold though, as it was somehow comforting to him, "a kind of reminder to home" would be what he would say if someone would ask him. It was only last night when the curious blonde was able to roam around the city at night; the apartment he was staying in was attacked during midnight, AeSol dragged him out into the cold winds of Aberrant Street, and on the way back he felt the familiar breeze of Twelfth Settlement. Of course anyone would say that's impossible as the place was miles away from Seventh Peak, but somehow the winds felt familiar, and HimChan had grown attached to them. 

       The blonde sighed as he walked along the quiet streets, contemplating if he should head to Central Square or continue walking along to wherever his feet would lead him (he didn't even care about gangs or thugs, which is a first). Soon his mind wandered to AeSol, and how she had quickly dragged L.Joe to their room when they came home the night before. AeSol wasn't in the best of moods when they left the Emporium then but her face suddenly changed when she saw the pink-haired man sitting on the foot of the stairs, his head resting on his right hand and his usual gun on the left. Come to think of it, it was the only time HimChan had noticed a silver '4' tatooed (although it looked etched) on L.Joe's wrist. He was always wearing some kind of wrist band and the split second before AeSol dragged him away was the only time HimChan saw him not wearing something around his wrist.  

       What shook HimChan though, was how AeSol had left so early this morning, only leaving a note behind saying that HimChan could do whatever he pleased and that she may not be able to come home that night. L.Joe didn't tell him anything, though he looked as if he knew the reason why she had suddenly left. He didn't say a word and simply ate the breakfast AeSol left for them, not even looking up at HimChan who sat across the table. HimChan waited for him to say something, even an insult or a joke, but no word came from the man. When he finished eating, he simply stood and walked out the front door, not even nodding or saying goodbye. Something told HimChan to stop L.Joe and force him to explain what was going on, but given how L.Joe easily pushed him away two night ago, he doubted that he could intimidate anyone with his 'strength'.

"Poor baby."

       The witch-like voice rang through HimChan's ears. It was too familiar to forget, for the past week that exact voice had stuck to his head, repeating a single phrase that he barely heard during his firat day at Seventh Peak, yet when he tried to remember the voice, it sounded so clear as if it was being whispered in his ear. HimChan whipped his head towards where the voice came from-- upward, from the second floor balcony of a nearby building, sitting on top of the balcony fence...

"So confused, trying to figure out what's happening with the woman he's infatuated with," the red-dressed woman smiled as she crossed her legs, flashing a mischievous grin as she scratched the top of the metal fence with her red-painted nails. The screeching noise from the scratch rang across the empty street, frightening the small creatures that lurked in the darkness. But HimChan didn't flinch. He didn't blink, nor did he say anything; he didn't feel anything but a deep repugnance for the woman clad in red, and a strong impulse to run up to the second floor and attack this woman right this second. But like his inability to be frightened by her presence, he also found himself unable to move, not even the tiniest movement of opening his mouth or closing his eyes. His sight was glued to the woman, and he couldn't look anywhere else.

"Be careful. Your eyes are turning red," she smiled and balanced herself on the thin metal, "I'm looking forward to your performance tonight."

       HimChan's trance was broken with the ringing of his phone. Whatever it was that constricted HimChan and stopped him from reacting properly disappeared, and he found himself struggling to steady both his breath and his heart while rummaging his pocket for the said ringing phone. 'Dasom...' His head whipped towards where the woman was , but now there was nothing there but the lonely balcony and a small cracked pot. HimChan sighed and answered the call before the person on the other line decided to give up on him.

"Hello," he breathed heavily and tried to steady his voice.
"Newbie it's me," HimChan's face lit up (as if being told some exhilarating news or something of the sort), a huge weight on his shoulder disappearing.
"AeSol I--"
"I need you to come back, now."
"Ok. I'm on my way." 

       With that, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and pranced back to wherever he had to go. It seems HimChan was too happy to hear from AeSol again as he was not a bit interested in AeSol's uninterested mono-tone when she talked. Even when HimChan arrived at their apartment and even when the woman barely even looked up from the magazine she was reading, HimChan still cheerfully greeted her with a grin (AeSol smiled a bit when he did), while L.Joe simply rolled his eyes and grabbed his coat. 

"Remember the girl from the other day," AeSol started as they walked along the streets HimChan was just walking on. 
"The missing one," HimChan asked as he racked his brain, trying to remember the certain 'girl from the other day'. 
"Yeah. Seems like the owner found a lead and wanted us to check it out," AeSol explained, "someone said they saw the girl squatting around an abandoned warehouse of some kind."
"They said she was just passing by, though," L.Joe corrected.
"Whatever. Point is, she's there and we need to get her."
"This seems like the perfect set-up for a trap though," HimChan pointed out but AeSol brushed it off.
"If anyone would ever dare to trap us, we'd just kill them. Simple as that."

       Despite the reassurance AeSol tried to give, something still ate away HimChan's confidence and the back of his neck started to sorely ache. Especially as they approached the warehouse district where countless red and blue barrels littered the surroundings and the rocky ground that had craters here and there made it hard -- almost impossible -- for something on wheels to cross it. HimChan almost tripped on one of the barrels full of stinky liquid as he barely noticed it was there (the place had no lights at all). It was a good thing that L.Joe gave HimChan his spare flashlight though, if not, he would've fallen on the ground, face first, and would've landed on whatever else was littered around. 

       Trying to follow the two confident figures in the dark, HimChan quietly listened to the two's voices as they reported everything they saw. It would be an understatement to say that HimChan was nervous; he could hear his heart beating against his ears and his breathing was no where near stable. That crackle here and mysterious sound there didn't help at all. He nervously pointed his flashlight to places where the sounds came from. Anxiety took over his body and pretty soon--

"AAAHH!"

       AeSol and L.Joe quickly turned around only to face a pitch black nothingness. The nervous blonde that had been following them... where'd he suddenly go?

"Newbie," AeSol called out as L.Joe gritted his teeth and loaded his gun, then tossed another similar gun to AeSol. She nodded to L.Joe as they slowly moved towards where the blonde last stood. Pretty soon, another crackle would alert the two that there was something there besides them. L.Joe unhesitantly fired at the direction, and whatever he had hit somehow triggered a dozen of scurrying -- almost ticking-like sounds from multiple directions. AeSol quickly scanned their surroundings with her flashlight, only to find them surrounded and approached by countless silver mechanical spiders. Closer inspection showed that their backs had gold W's painted on them. AeSol pointed this out to L.Joe before proceeding to decimate the bugs three at a time. 

"Joe, behind you," The brunette warned as their synchronized gun shots rang throughout the area. They both cursed as the spiders stacked up on each other, forming into a somewhat larger spider. Athough it only took one bullet to put it down, the spiders continued former larger and larger shapes, soon overwhelming the two fighters.

They struggled to shake the bugs off, a thought of shooting at herself even crossed AeSol's mind, but the bugs had bitten her (as they were probably filled with anasthesia) and rendered her unconscious before she could even perform the feat. L.Joe on the other hand, thought he was smart and pulled out a knife, slashing and stabbing wherever he can. Up until something had caught his limbs and stared him straight in the eyes. 

"."

       Along the streets of Central Square, there was a line of guests dressed in colorful clothing and different varieties of masks waiting to step into the large red tent. A woman that seemed liked a man,  having short blonde hair while dressed in red knee-shorts, a black undergarment, and an orange vest, danced and flipped her top hat, inviting passer-by's to watch their 'show', the gold 'W' on her right cheek shining every now and then. In front of the entrance of the tent was another woman with long black wavy hair donning a pink ballerina dress and red fishnet stockings attended to the guests in line, a similar gold 'W' on her wrist showed, despite the fact that she wore white gloves. Among the ruckus, a woman clad in red caught the dancing woman's attention.

"Dasom, glad you could make it," the man-like woman smirked as she had no problem identifying the woman, despite her feathered eye mask.
"This is a show especially made for me, Amber," Dasom touched her black hair that has been fixed into an updo.
"Afraid to admit you only wanted to come for me?"
"As a matter of fact, I actually know some of the performers," Dasom smirked.
"I've read the memo, no need to brag about it. You know the drill, just talk to Sulli and she'll let you in."

       And with that, Amber returned to dancing and singing, the deed she was doing before Dasom arrived. The woman in red simply smirked and walked up to the girl at the entrance of the tent, ignoring the long line of people who muttered and cursed the woman quietly. She glanced at them a bit, quietly challenging them to speak up but none accepted. Instead a few started breaking away from the line and walking away, probably realizing that this place wasn't exactly for them. Dasom continued on to the girl at front, busily looking at the thin book in her hands while asking the guests their names.

"Sulli," Dasom greeted and smiled, amused when the girl in pink looked up from her book and turned red at the sight of her. 
"Dasom," Sulli snapped but went back to her book, telling the next colorful guest that he needed to leave.
"It's so nice to see you again--"
"Cut the crap and just go in," Sulli impatiently said and even opened the tent door for her.

       How nice, Dasom sarcastically thought. She was still amused though, it was expected that the young girl would reply to her like that. After all, it is Dasom's fault that she was put in this position. But because she is here right now that she should be thankful, though Sulli never tried to argue back, seeing as how it would be pointless to waste her breathe on closed ears. She simply tried to avoid Dasom in the hopes of her returning the gesture, but with the same Master and her favouritism for Dasom, it wasn't really helping the cause. 

       Without another thought, Dasom stepped in the large tent, nodding to Sulli before she closed the doors. Dasom looked around as the benches that encircled the elevated stage were slowly occupied by guests as colorful as those outside, the sequins on their feathered masks glittering at the slightest glare of light. They muttered amongst themselves, waiting patiently for whatever was to begin. The clanging sound of high heels meeting with steel echoed through out the tent, and the muttering voices of the crowd started to fade into whispers. Dasom confidently smiled as all eyes laid on her, 

       "Ladies and gentlemen", her voice echoed throughout the tent. A voice at the back of Dasom's head mocked these godless wannabe's, but she knew well enough that it was not her position to punish them. The thought was too tempting. Dasom her lips as the images of dead bodies littered around the tent flashed through her mind. Though she calmed herself down in an attempt to keep her hostess facade.

        "I am proud to present to you the first act of our presentation. Let me reassure you that everything has been exclusively prepared for this day," she waved her hand towards the elevated stage. The lights dimmed and a single spot light rested in the middle of the platform; revealing a blonde man curled in a small ball slowly looked up. His eyes were blood red and hot tears ran down his face. His trembling arms wrapped around himself shook even more as he slowly looked over the audience that looked down on him. He opened his mouth, silencing the audience with two simple words.

"Shut up!"

       Dasom smiled. She almost wanted to pat both herself and this man for doing such a good job. Even from the start she knew this was fool proof, and now that it's in motion, it's going fantastic. She looked over the crowds, her smile fading when she noticed a particular brunette sitting in between two blonde woman. Her long golden brown hair rested cleanly on her white suit. Even through her black mask, Dasom could tell who she was. Dasom clutched the lower part of dress, calming herself.

'No matter how powerful she is, this is a fool proof plan.' She bit her lip as the brunette slowly turned to her, her white painted lips curling into a smile which paralyzed Dasom entirely. 'This just--'

A gunshot silenced everyone's thoughts.

A/N: Halo~ Sorry for not updating OTL m(_ _)m *dances sorry sorry* /getbybricks

​Anyway, just wanted to warn you that two or three chapters from now, I'll probably start introducing a lot of characters and it's gonna get a bit confusing. Thank you if you're still hanging on with me TT^TT 

​I promise I'll seriously make this fic work (though I'm a bit over my head with the things I'm planning OTL). Seriusly thank you *mwahkiss*