[center][b]"A Sheppard who guides his flock from the abyss must first have strayed into it" [/b][/center] Angel couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly these ludicrous events appeared to transpire, his gaze casually shifting from the two Asylums stranded atop to yet another amusing individual who had decided to don the garb of Nightingale. Yet what had truly gobsmacked A.M.R.O's Silver Reaper was the young Asylum's decision to challenge him, the logic of which rendered the Crimson vested Lost Number slightly stunned with amusement. Watching a mere Asylum rebel to authority was a feat in itself and yet to do so in an alien realm and that too against it's architect, it was baffling. Could an individual inherently programmed to prioritize self preservation make such a blunder? There are less painful ways for committing suicide after all and yet here was a pup indirectly bearing its fangs. Only a single word could be used to describe this situation, "adorable". "What an amusing little hamster, this one." Angel replied with a 'pleasantly surprised' grin on his face, wasn't everyday one would meet an individual with such a high sense of self-worth. "I appreciate your concern regarding my cumbersome chore of paperwork," he crowed in a tone heavily laced in sarcasm. "However you don't need to worry yourself, you see this 'paperwork' is a log of events of importance and trivialities are allowed to be omitted." Despite not saying it directly; Angel's words spoke volume regarding the reality of an Asylum's life, a life that goes unrewarded, unrecognized, forgotten hence ultimately unworthy of being documented. "Now let me address your second concern regarding the two gentleman doddling above us. Common sense dictates, if you are whisked away to an alien realm, the last thing you should do is stray from your host let alone attempt to leave through a door." As Angel chastised those around him, Rena couldn't help but giggle albeit for a completely unrelated reason. As Angel tried to explain the intricacies of the realm that lied beyond the physical reality, the Chrono appeared to be preoccupied in her attempts to braid Gris's hair. "This suits you much more, you look super pretty!" She chirped upon her completion, nudging the Asylum to look at his reflection, which he would upon opening the books within the library and realizing each page is but a reflection of the reader. "These doors, they serve more of an abstract idea. You can consider them as a grounding mechanism within this surreal reality. They define my domain and in doing so serve two basic principal; the first being that they prevent you sheep from slipping into the abyss. So there was never really anything to be concerned about and with that said I can point you to the real door." With that said Angel's arm casually extended over his head and a familiar sound echoed across the room, the sound of a snap that was responsible for whisking the Asylums in this world. The world in which they stood slowly appeared to decay and disintegrate. The walls began to cave in while bookshelves melted like the candle sticks around them. "But brother you never told them the second basic principal of the doors!" The Chrono suddenly uttered in excitement, her reminder indicating that these Asylums were not the first one's present in the Void. "I am sure they know, it is to keep what is out...from coming in," with these muffled words the very world shattered to pieces causing all the individuals to return to reality where but a few seconds have transpired. ---------------Xx-------------xX----------------- [center][b]"They call her the strongest Lost Number"[/b][/center] [i]“I don’t appreciate having my family being nearly killed twice in a short period of time. I thought AMRO would’ve trained their dogs better than this. Even if we’re only a nuisance to them, there’s little excuse for such behavior.” [/i] "Dogs...." came the only response from the young girl standing behind the Patriarch of the Laofengs. As the second Lost Number casually walked past her brother, her expressions quite visibly appeared to change in front of the kians. Once she had shed the facade of being nothing but a spoiled princess, there was a creature truly terrifying. Ying calmly stood in front of the Kian patriarch, her seemingly calm eyes concealing a malice that even Lei Gong dared not interfere with. "Do you know where this label originated from, along with the term 'rogues'?" She calmly whispered as she edged closer towards the Shah and his family. "Originally A.M.R.O intended to work in unison with the Alchemists of the world, bet you find that surprising huh? It was supposed to be a regulating body that would be a mediator between humans and alchemists, protecting both and keeping balance through mutual understanding and respect." Ying couldn't help but scoff in disgust at the though of such a relationship. "It is then A.M.R.O faced one of it's most degrading revolts, I am not talking about some riot but an organized assault led by alchemists....no....rogues who A.M.R.O made the misfortune of trusting. Do you know how the deceleration of this revolt was made?" As the Lost Number continued her story, her alchemic drive slowly began to warp and envelop her surroundings, death was quite literally in the air. "The deceleration was made by a display of power, some of A.M.R.O's most endeared soldiers were stripped and hung by their legs. Their genitals were eviscerated and placed in their mouths while a poem was torn into their chest. [center][i]"I am nothing but a hound and such is my fate, I hungered, I hungered So my own cock I ate"[/i][/center] As the Lost Number chanted the poem the shadows of all Kian's appeared to flicker, a motion only the perceptive eye could catch. "From that point onward the phrase 'hound' and 'dogs' became rather popular among the rogues. I suppose it made the poor pieces of shit feel a little superior, that event did after all display the fact even A.M.R.O's might Asylums can be slain. Do you know how A.M.R.O responded?" As she approached the climax of her little story, the flickering shadows appeared to take a discernible form. Despite the fact Ying stood in front of the Kian's, behind each of their shadow it appeared as if her own shadow was present. A silent message echoing through her actions, you can't outrun your shadow. "A.M.R.O purged the rogues indiscriminately and displayed the consequences of challenging the superior authority. The conception of trust and cooperation was replaced with but a single goal, submission or elimination. A.M.R.O's owes nothing to your family, you and your children and their children are nothing but property. When property begins to overestimate its value, it is usually a sign to end its value." As Ying carefully and slowly uttered her last few words the flickering shadows disappeared. "You are to never address me in such a manner. We are not here to protect you, we are here to clean your mess. All theories suggest to a Bloodline behind all of this and once shit hits the fan it is our hands that will get dirty so that the deaths in your family come to an end." With her 'decree' made clear the Lost Number regained her general composure and retreated with a polite smile. Her monstrous alchemic drive slowly dissipating. "You will have to excuse my lack of intervention," Lei Gong finally replied, his hand visibly shaking from the experience. "It is unwise to upset the upper echelon of A.M.R.O's....soldiers. Let us not fret over the matter, let us proceed to the meeting hall, we have greater concerns to address such as the fate of the Delacours and what it means for us."