[center][b]All cards [s]and a pistol[/s] on the table[/b][/center]

[i]“Is she angry?” [/i]

Heaving a weary sigh the Crimson Asylum lazily positioned his fingers to rest against his temple, feigning interest. Judging from his laid-back personality it was rather simple to comprehend Angel’s dislike for expending effort on triviality. This situation called for an activity most strenuous for the likes of XIII, pretending to actually ‘give a fuck’ as one may say. 

[i]“She definitely seems angry…..did I say something wrong?”[/i] The Lost Number contemplated as the Asylum in front of him continued her rant, clearly displeased about something. All the while he continued his charade of ‘listening’ with occasional nodding gestures, his nonchalant attitude concealing his sheer lack of interest. 

His finger tips gently tapped against the sides of his temple, clearly finding more entertainment in its rhythm than the complaints of an amnesiac. Even so Angel wasn’t completely aloof to what the Asylum spoke off and while he heard most to all, he simply refused to give her words any weight. Much like hearing noise and dismissing it for what it is, non-cohesive banter. 

[i]“Maybe she is angry because she wanted ice-cream too….I knew I should have offered to everyone and not just the Silencers,” [/i] The shaded Alchemist pondered while continuing to nod, a gesture quickly growing stale and becoming near sarcastic. 

[i]“Damn it, this girl just keeps talking. Am I really this annoying when I am talking….”[/i] throughout their ‘conversation’ this thought appeared to irk XIII the most, his eyebrows slowly raising for a second only to once again regain a steady composure. [i]“Maybe she is just irritated because she hasn’t had sex with her boyfriend yet, poor bastard probably got friend-zoned.”[/i] 

[b]“I didn’t tell any of the Asylums what they were dealing with, I thought it would be cute to speak in riddles instead of giving my team actual intel, so Lina was unprepared when she walked into the Circus’ center ring. My partner and I are too good to fight with lowly regular Asylums, so we waited until they were done getting their asses handed to them before we started our own attacks. It was an hour before the medics arrived, and she was already dead.”[/b]

The fingers that had nestled themselves against his temple slowly found their way towards his lips, restraining him from smiling. The Crimson Asylum wasn’t one to underappreciated sarcasm, as such to repay Lina he finally agreed to give her his undivided attention. 

[b]“Your teenage girlfriend threatened to murder me and most of the other Asylums if we don't come up with a strategy that ‘meets her expectations, so perhaps you could fill in a few blanks before you take her out for ice cream. Let’s start with something simple: did the Gemellie manage to capture Gadrael… or did you guys let him get away?”[/b]

“Is that all?” Angel finally replied, heaving yet another sigh. “I suppose I can help you with that, but you may be a little queasy in the end.” With that said the Lost Number instantly planted his index finger on Lina’s forehead, the impact of the poke causing her to have vivid flashbacks of all the gruesome events that had transpired. Images upon images flooded her mind, restructuring the puzzle that had come about due to her amnesia. This process repeatedly continued till all the pieces aligned perfectly, the sharp tongued Asylum had her wish. 
 
[b]“There. I think you had your share of ice cream. Now this lemming shall go off to finish her reports. Let me know when we are going to have a real briefing. Ta!”[/b]

A cold pink liquid slowly trickled down Angel’s face, a face that didn’t appear to be too amused. As he recovered Lina’s memories XIII found himself being assaulted, the weapon of choice – strawberry ice-cream. “Was that really necessary, not that I mind a face full of premium Italian ice-cream,” As the Lost Number expressed his disdain, his tongue slowly took taste of the delicacy that his face had become. 

“How dare filth strike him,” devoid of expression, soulless and empty these words echoed through the dining hall. The alchemic pressure around the bunker thickened rapidly, a forewarning of a Chrono’s wrath. The furniture, the décor, the cutlery and the food, all lay suspended in mid air for the laws of gravity had been undone. 

“Now you have done it,” The Angel of Misfortune crowed softly, his head shaking in frustration. “Do you people have any idea of the gravity of this situation?” No longer able to keep it at bay, XIII burst out in a fit of laughter as his body, along with a multitude of other Asylum’s floated helplessly in mid-air. And being who is, Angel found this situation befitting of a long awaited pun. 

“Executing…protocol…judgment,” Rin’s silhouette gradually began to draw near, engulfed in a poisonous aura which infecting all matter, organic and non-organic alike. As a result the plants slowly wilted and the walls began to corrode. 

“Oh shit, Rin we are not authorized to use that protocol. Let’s all just calm down and talk about this, okay?” Judging from Angel’s flustered demeanor it seemed obvious that whatever the Chrono had said held immeasurable weight enough to make her nonchalant partner hesitant. 

“Authorization has been granted, execution in process…” Angel’s words appeared to hold no significance; the Chrono was no longer responsive, an android of apathy gone raving mad. Even her tone seemed a kin to a program fulfilling a function. Upon the confirmation of her command, sigils suddenly began appearing on each Asylum’s forehead excluding her partner. 

“Execution successful, implementing protocol judgment,” As soon as these words parted her mouth, the sigils began to glow an eerie crimson, the glow serving as a final count down before the ignition. 

“Hey Rin, I forgot to give you something!” Angel suddenly screamed, loud enough for the Chrono to shift her focus to him. Her attention was all that was needed, with that accomplished XIII slowly opened his fist revealing a small ornament, a mobile phone charm. The trinket slowly drifted towards the Chrono in the zero gravity she had created, however the second it reached close enough for her to gauge it’s appearance, everything returned to normal. 

Once the gravity suddenly shifted back to normal, nearly everything found its way falling to solid ground in a big mess. 

“It seems I will need to explain a few things, so that everyone understand the position they are in,” Angel spoke once more, his casual nature instantly dismissing whatever had happened mere seconds ago as nothing more than a mild hiccup. 

Once he successfully brushed the dust of his signature overcoat, the Asylum continued once more. As he spoke his words unleashed a subconscious psychic compulsion, a means to coarse undivided attention from everyone. 

“First of all, I really didn’t mean any disrespect by what I said. Mainly because I do not have any respect for any of you, as such I really am not bothered if you respect me or not. You all have but one function, to play your roles,” As the Lost Number spoke, there was no doubt there was a strange charm in his words. While no doubt the Gemellie weren’t too keen on etiquettes, however they more than made up for this by their upfront and blunt attitudes. 

Strangely enough the Chrono appeared to be content with having her partner take the reins; her attention had already narrowed itself solely on the trinket that Angel had presented to her. A trinket Rin adamantly tried to attach to the grip of her pistol. From its appearance this ornament looked like a small panda bear, stylized to stress on its cuteness a fact which appeared to enthrall the little Chrono. 

“It is obvious that you all want an explanation, since each and every one of you is on borrowed time, I will provide it. First of all let me address Lina’s question. You said why would other Asylum teams be sent to assist us? Do not feed your ego child, you think A.M.R.O acknowledges your capabilities and sent you to assist…the Gemellie? The only purpose you all were sent was to be fodder.” As Angel concluded this last sentence, there appeared to be a strange cruelty in his tone, a cruelty that described the organization they all worked for. 

“Do you all want to know an interesting fact, A.M.R.O called an investigation on each and every one of you. Why you ask? Well we have no idea exactly on whose authority you all were sent to this very mission. I am going to take this slow and easy, hopefully your all will register what I am about to say. There is an 87 % chance that A.M.R.O has a leak; there is an unwanted element within the ranks of this organization. This…should have been impossible. As you may all know, Asylum pairs are connected via a link. This link is a strong bond between the Asylums and through it they shares their sanity, their souls…everything. However each link is connected as well, this joint connection between all the Asylums is known as the “CODE”. As Asylums you can only comprehend the link, the code can only be read by the director and a select few. The existence of the code negates all possibilities of a traitor hiding amidst us, for the code is the true essence of all of you…..there is no margin for lies. A.M.R.O’s elite know more about you than you people know about yourselves.” A fiendish smirk slowly spread across Angel’s face, this short pause allowing his words to sink in. 

“Now try to imagine that there is someone out there that can deceive the ‘CODE’. In essence this man is invisible, he is a threat and he is free to manipulate the most powerful organization that this world has ever seen, unchecked. He will also have access to secrets that can change the very foundation of the world we live in; Gadrael’s Sacrificial Alchemy is one of the more harmless secrets.” Taking yet another pause to unmount his coffin, the Crimson Asylum slowly stretched his muscles and sat down, leaning beside it.

“Now while many of you are crying as to why I allowed you all to face the likes of Gadrael unaided, let me assure you as amusing as I found it, it wasn’t my idea. While it is true that you all were bait to lure in Gadrael and his goons, but there was a greater purpose to it. So if you lot wish to complain please get an appointment with the Director, hopefully in another 20 years or so you may converse with his secretary.” With a smug look and an equally teasing smile, Angel scrutinized each and every one of the Asylum’s present. 

“Now being the hounds of A.M.R.O you understand there are two choices follow orders or die. Personally I despise orders but I think ill dislike death more, however returning to the topic at hand, A.M.R.O suspected one of you to be the traitor. Based on what I have told you it’s actually pretty believable and as such it was ordered that a ‘mind sweep’ be carried out. A mind sweep is something like a telepathic interrogation, the only difference is you can’t really resist and there is no margin for error. However to sweep through an Asylum’s mind can take days, weeks and not to mention it is incredibly monotonous. However there is a cheat code to this, if an Asylum is pushed to the brink of death, a complete mind sweep is possible in a matter of minutes. You all must be familiar with the term, ‘my life flashed before my eyes’, well this term is basically your subconscious and conscious melding together and in this state of complete awareness a ‘mind sweep’ is a breeze. Now you all know why you were sent to your deaths, compliments of A.M.R.O. Also you all will be quite pleased to know, none of you is the traitor.” Slowly, dreary claps celebrated the Asylum’s freedom from suspicion, however the sarcastic nature of Angel’s applause seemed to tell another story. 

“And then, everything got mucked up,” the clapping suddenly stopped, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence. “Each and every one of you witnessed something you weren’t supposed to. Being Asylums I am sure each and everyone of you known’s the penalty of breaking the rules A.M.R.O has set. Do you know how secrets are kept secrets?” As Angel questioned the Asylums his hand slowly reached inside his coat, pulling out a worn out pistol, an unloaded Beretta 92. 

“Secrets are kept secrets by disposing of all those that know what they aren’t supposed to know. This is how your employers have kept secrets for centuries, being soldiers who are supposed to follow orders I am guessing you know what this means?” As the Crimson Asylum hinted towards the inevitable end, his nimble fingers slowly loaded the pistol with .40 bullets. 

“Each and everyone of you should have been killed in the outskirts, that is what A.M.R.O would have demanded, that is the law. If it was anyone else….[b] if it was me[/b]…..I would have taken this pistol and pumped all of your heads with bullets. And do you want to know the most amusing bit to this, none of you can say jack shit. As Asylums you abide by the laws of A.M.R.O, as hounds you accept the fate allotted to you, hence I am sure you are wondering, ‘why am I alive?’” As Angel questioned on behalf of the Asylum he cocked the pistol rather ferociously, this ruthlessly act juxtaposing his calm and casual demeanor. 

“I do not need gratitude for I wasn’t the one that spared your lives, it was my partner,” As Angel spoke these words, a strange inflection in his tone showed clear signs of displeasure. His hands slowly brushed the Chrono’s head as she continued to tinker around with her trinket. 

“A person that considers you trash went against the rules, despite being a Chrono, and allowed you all to live, a fleeting sense of security, do you know why she did this? She couldn’t care less about gratitude from any of you, that is the reason she didn’t even feel the need to mention it. ‘If trash fulfills its purpose, than even trash deserves to live. A meaningless death is for they who are meaningless.’ This is what my partner said to me, when I opposed her. By going against the laws set my A.M.R.O she has offered you all a fleeting life and instead she will take the brunt of A.M.R.O’s retaliation and for who, a lot she considers trash. Do you think, A.M.R.O will turn a blind eye to a Chrono, their most powerful soldiers, refusing to follow through with the law of A.M.R.O. The only reason you are all alive is because Reri agreed to make you her property, hence you fall out of A.M.R.O’s domain and into a Chronos. Regardless be assured, A.M.R.O will catch wind and Reri will be detained. All of you are on borrowed time, your lives are forfeit. So yes this is a reminder of the position you all are in. When there is no stalling A.M.R.O I will be your end, I will not let my partner be discomforted for the like of you. However there is another option and what I mean by that is, this is your only option.” With all that said, all cards were on the table, the Gemellie had told the Asylums everything they knew, much more than was needed. 

“That option being, you follow my lies and deceit and prove your worth as Asylums hence removing the scrutiny that my partner will be forced to bear. The conditions cannot be revealed as they require you lot to work in the dark, in the end we are similar to A.M.R.O in that we will lie to you, we will deceive you and we will most likely send you all to your deaths. However we are different to A.M.R.O in that we will be blunt in our lies and deceits and they will always point you to the truth, the truth that A.M.R.O always keeps hidden from you. So pick your poison, i Gemellie de Demone…….

Or A.M.R.O and its Laws, in which case you can just unclip this magazine down your throats.” Angel had made his proposal clear, for those that wished for the latter the pistol that he had loaded and cocked rested atop the table. 

“Oh and Siera, that hearing aid was actually a 180 thousand dollar worth bio-cybernetic and its will be coming out of your salary. You and your partner will probably be dirt poor for the next few months.”

[center]~And there is that devilish smile again~[/center]