Instead of reaching down to her pockets where her weapon was, Elizabeth raised both of her hands up to her shoulder, her knuckles shown clear as day.

  As for Sean, he had both of his hands raised in a cautious dispy of surrender, yet his all-focused stare was not directed at her. Instead, he looked toward one of the cabinets that held golden artifacts, with one of the artifacts being a simple golden ordinary sword.

  But in quick work, a silhouette formed from the feet up was soon molded, taking the appearance of none other than Sean.

  (Sean) Looks like you’re going to have to catch me.

  Using his left hand, he immediately grabbed a small smoke canister from inside of his leather jacket, gripping it with just his fingers. Pushing her feet, Elizabeth lunged as she pulled back both of her hands, aiming toward Sean’s liver while Sean remained still.

  Jumping back, he soon threw the smoke canister down to his feet.

  A cloud of instant smoke forming, Elizabeth tumbled forward into the pit of darkness. Being on all fours, she quickly got up by pushing her right foot off the ground, panning her head to the original position of Sean.

  (Elizabeth’s thoughts) No, no, no…

  Coughing out dryly from the smoke, she hovered over her chest with her left hand, while having her right hand cover her mouth. Bits of dust escaped from her lips, the smoke began to clear out as she barely opened her eyes from the stinging particles of smoke that nestled itself on top of her eyelids.

  But not a trace of Sean nor his clone was seen.

  Thrusting her right hand into her brown thin jacket, she pulled out her electric hammer.

  Eyeing every corner or shadow that could be filled, Elizabeth had her hammer close to her, trying to capture any clue on Sean’s magic trick. Looking down, she noticed a pair of boot prints tched in smoke.

  (Elizabeth) If I follow these…

  Keeping her eyes peeled on the floor, she hunched her back as the more the smoke began to cease from the footprints. Leading to a dead end, she lifted her head as she took note of the st trace of the boot print ced with smoke. And right in front of her…

  (Sean) Hello.

  Was Sean.

  Taking a long step back, Elizbath pulled back her right arm, extending it as far back as she could while keeping it in pce. In return, Sean remained still.

  Having both hands inside his leather jacket pockets, his lips curled upward to form a smug grin.

  (Sean) What are you waiting for? Christmas isn’t coming early this year.

  (Elizabeth) Just please get out of this ranch.

  (Sean) Not unless you give me that card.

  (???) She means now Sean.

  From out the wooden door, came a man walking in brown leather boots and a brown thin jacket, with both hands lying on his sides.

  Having long blonde hair, he didn’t have a speck of facial hair below his chin or his jawline. His hair looked as if he dumped a cup of oil onto it, it glowed on the light from outside, the light that came with it smoke and screams.

  Sean quickly raised both of his hands in the air, hunching his head down like a turtle all the while Elizabeth gawked her mouth open.

  (Elizabeth) Johnny! What are you doing here!?

  (Johnny) I heard from my no-good mother that Sean had arrived. Never thought I would see the day that Sean would be back here on this ranch; with an army.

  Keeping his distance from Sean, he pced both of his hands on one of the wooden desks that was in front of him. Swaying away a strand of hair that tried to get in his eye, he looked over to Elizabeth who had beads of sweat rolling down her temples. Hovering her other hand onto the grip of her hammer, she looked down to the ground, her eyes averting from Johnny’s.

  (Johnny) But I told you Elizabeth to never let your feelings get to you.

  (Elizabeth) But Johnny you know what he’s doing…

  (Johnny) I know… but please Ellie let me speak first.

  Turning his attention onto Sean, the elf only smirked smugly in front of the greasy-haired man who was several inches shorter than him. Giving him a small wave, Johnny let out a long exhale of his lungs, and he soon pulled out a metallic can from inside his jacket.

  Having his fingers rub the top metal of the canister, the pin of it was kissing itself onto his fingernails.

  (Johnny) Now Sean, why are you still fixated on stealing the info from this room?

  (Sean) Well for one, I want to help my friends out in any way they can.

  (Johnny) But is it really for your benefit? Or for theirs?

  Sean soon let go of his cheeky smile, repcing it with a cold frown that widened both of Johnny’s and Elizabeth’s eyes. Like watching the transition of a quiet man releasing his pent-up rage, Sean walked over to the greasy-haired man, towering over him as the fmes from behind lit up the night.

  Looking down, he noticed something about Sean that was in front of him.

  Something crucial for the sake of this internalized battle.

  (Johnny) Got you right there, just like how I know that you’re really just using a clone huh?

  Thrusting both of his hands onto Sean, his knuckles went through Sean like he was materialized like air.

  Both of them saw this, Elizabeth soon checked to see if her pocket still contained the notecard that she had with her. Grazing all around her pocket, the little card that she tucked away from everyone…

  (Elizabeth) Oh …

  Elizabeth let her mouth open.

  Gritting both ends of his mors, Johnny then noticed that another Sean was in front of the wooden crafted train design that was next to the rge desk. Seeing that Sean just stood in front of the wooden train with his right hand enclosed, he put enough pressure on both of his shins to sprint toward the ginger-haired elf.

  Jumping to the left, Sean evaded Johnny’s lunge, but what about Elizabeth?

  Using his peripheral vision, a cat-human threw back her right hand, her electric hammer buzzing on the lowest mode as bits of sparks flew out from the metal.

  (Sean) Woah-Woah!

  Narrowly avoiding the hammer strike, Sean then made a beeline out to the wooden door. Now allowing himself to look back, the wooden door got closer slower and slower as if he was running in his dreams.

  Halfway toward the wooden door, it swung wide open.

  And in front of the door, was the group of maids wielding nothing but revolvers.

  (Sean) Woah shit…

  Turning his body around, he saw both Johnny and Elizabeth blocking his way of escape, as the clocks of ammunition of bullets reloaded in back of him. Making a deadpan face, he gnced behind to see the maids aiming down their barrels at the elf’s head, all having their fingers on the trigger.

  Since the hallway didn’t have the same electrical power as it used to, all of the lights of the ranch house went dark. Leaving the fmes from outside to be their guide, their shadows weren’t as well traced as before.

  Being in front of Sean, Johnny took out his hand.

  (Johnny) Give that piece of paper back.

  Sweat began to drench his neck and colr, and some of the droplets soon began to drip down onto the wooden floor beneath him. Making a low frown, he gnced at both groups in front and back of him, while his lungs hammered down onto his ribcage. His feet, which were mostly stable throughout his entire time in the raid, soon began to feel weak under the pressure that finally caught up to him.

  His knees like jello.

  His elbows locked.

  His mind grinding against his skull.

  He felt—

  No, he smirked. A smirk that can either be a dispy of insanity or denial.

  Then came the ughter. Taking two steps back, Johnny’s entire body swayed as his feet were loosened from his heels.

  (Johnny) W-W-W-W-What’s so funny!

  Having his left hand over his stomach, Sean continued to ugh as his dry cackle reverberated the entire room from within. Tucking his right hand inside his pocket, bits of tears soon rolled down his eyes as wheezes took form to repce his ughter.

  Slowing down his ughter, Sean wiped away a bit of tears that were still stuck near his eyelids, using his pointer finger instead of his eyes. Extending his right hand, he continued to have the paper in his hand, but he didn’t allow it to drop.

  (Sean) I forgot to mention to you guys. When it comes to my blessing, you know that my clones can’t interact with objects, such as grabbing or using weapons or anything that matters, but!

  Still having his hand stuck out, Johnny saw as the piece of paper that was wrapped in a cage by Sean’s hand was then let go. The paper in a free fall, Johnny’s hand made contact with the paper—

  The paper passed Johnny’s hand like air.

  Landing on the floor, no sound emitted from the drop, only letting Sean’s smirk push upward to the height of his lower ears. Gawking, Johnny slowly lifted his head toward the elf.

  (Sean) If I clone myself, and if I have anything inside of my pockets or clothes until that point, then that thing becomes part of my clone. Pretty cool right?

  The gss from the other side of the room shattered.

  Everyone turned their attention, they all saw one foot on the shattered window frame, as well as having both hands on either side. The maids, whose hands began to shake in pure anger, started to finally pull their triggers as loudening bullets filled the room with deafening gunshots.

  Jumping out of the window, Sean didn’t see that the window was three stories high.

  (Sean’s thoughts) Oh shit! This is not cool—

  Landing in a bush, he fell chest and face first onto the thorny shrub that somewhat protected him from the fall.

  With a low monotone groan grunting him, he lifted his head upward as if a rge textbook was pced on top of it. His eyes are barely operable, many leaves soon littered his scalp as the gunshots from before started to slow down.

  Trying so that both of his feet were holding him up, he soon walked toward the commotion, wiping away a bit of blood from his lip.

  (Sean) At least … I finally have it …

  Letting out a dry chuckle, he gnced down at his hand that he balled into a fist, with a paper folded four times still in his grasp.

  His left leg slightly limping, he lifted his head upward to look at the night sky that was clouded by the smoke and embers from all his doing.

  (Sean) I hope … Luke would be proud…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Reverence 1, 59 / 10:01AM)

  A man with ginger hair coated in all bck soon stood in front of the four agents.

  Tucked away inside his jacket, two chainsaw-bded swords were seen just from Briggs' vision, making him pce himself in front of the three. Spreading both arms apart, he looked up toward the man.

  Briggs' gre was as cold as liquid nitrogen.

  Kenichi frowned as cold as dry ice.

  The two of them not seeing eye to eye, Doug put himself in between them. Having a cigar in his mouth, a rge plume of it soon sprouted out in the air, causing Briggs to take a step back from the smell.

  The same goes for Kenichi.

  (Doug) I know you want an answer, but the best thing I could give you is a simple expnation of why I have him.

  Doug walked back toward his desk, using his right hand to smoke the brown cigar that began to puncture his somewhat pink lungs. Blowing out the puff of smoke, he pced his left hand onto his stomach, looking up toward both Briggs and Kenichi who remained silent like a field mouse.

  Letting the cigar be motionless to his side, Doug had his attention on the blonde-haired agent who now gred at the chubby man.

  (Doug) After the demi-human skirmishes, I was merely a soldier on the battlefield. Once the war ended, I came across something of a miracle…

  Hunching his back, he soon folded both of his chubby hands together, his eyes darkening under the morning sun that shined down his neck. Gathering everyone’s attention, including Kenichi, he noticed that agents Eren and Ada, as well as Spartan Alexandra all hunched their bodies forward.

  While Briggs slouched his back, letting his fedora block the sun.

  (Doug) Right in front of me, was a man hovering over a diseased body. As I looked closely, there was nothing particurly off about it, but like something out of the bible … the diseased body sprang back to life…

  Everyone except Doug turned their heads toward Kenichi, all noticing him having both of his hands clutching together. His eyes looking downward onto the group of agents, he had his eyes on Briggs who furrowed his right brow, despite his fedora blocking the view from above.

  (Doug) And if you put the pieces together, then that person is none other than this man right here. Because of that man, he was brought back to life again, and I eventually took him under my care.

  (Agent Briggs) But that doesn’t answer my question though.

  Briggs soon jolted out from his seat, his knees buckled while his feet made his body wobble back and forth. Leaving his hands hovering over the armchair rests, his soulless dark eyes locked onto Doug’s, as the chubby man put his cigar back into his mouth.

  While Briggs scrunched up both of his hands together to form fists.

  (Agent Briggs) He was one of the enemies during the attack. Reports match a detailed description of him causing havoc on the Zirardge Tower and the northern part of the city. Care to expin that?

  Another puff of smoke soon blew out from his mouth, letting the cigar be motionless to gravity as he remained it near his thigh.

  Slowly standing up, Doug walked over toward a garbage bin that was filled with nothing. Extending his hand, he dropped the cigar into the bin, letting it dent the pstic as it littered it with its nicotine and tobacco.

  Pcing both of his hands inside his jacket, he inhaled a rge intake of secondhand smoke into his lungs yet again.

  (Doug) I know a guy … that I ran into a couple of years after the war … he goes by a nickname called “The Fox”.