Rendezvous (before battle)

*sigh* This is going from bad to worse, really. Dante seems to be tied up helping the other groups...

Outis's command calls have been working out well enough, I'll give her that. We've managed to hold the line better than expected, but we're definitely starting to feel the strain...

...!

Why are you waving your hand all of a - ah. Arm-and-hand signals?

Huh?! W-what signals? What's swinging the arm sideways even supposed to mean?!

You don't know?!

It's "scatter," dammit! So scatter!!!

*crash*

Th-that was close. We almost got flattened...

Dammit... Even rookies with nothing but the most rudimentary of military training would've recognized a hand signal that basic -

Well, we're not all trained soldiers here, are we?!

Verily, the flourish of a single hand doth indeed make boast of a chivalric elegance! Yet when thou suddenly wavest thine arm about, clenching and unclenching thy hand in that mystical fashion, only to suddenly turn tail... Forsooth, I am left bereft of understanding what thou meanest to say!

To think that of all the personnel in the team, only the swabbie has the discipline to interpret a basic field signal...

I only picked it up during my sailing days. And realistically speaking, did you really expect ordinary people like the others to understand professional military signals?

Tsk... This is unacceptable! After all the operations all of you have been deployed under my lead, you're all still ignorant when it comes to nonverbal signals!

I... I don't think even Dante would know those signals!

Yup, might as well be splitting hairs. Literally.

Let us appease our agitated hearts and follow Miss Outis's instruction. We should disperse and withdraw -

Megaton Landing!!!

*slam*

Eyyy! Pretty cool, huh? Let's face it - I know how to make one heck of an entrance.

W-whoa! Aren't you supposed to be cleaning up the Distortions upstairs?

Hmm? Oh, finito a million years ago.

You guys were taking forever, so I figured I'd take a peek and lend a hand! You're welcome!

Split by your thundering descent, the floor's form and shape are now crushed beyond mending, sunken deep enough to be likened to the incipience of a wellspring...

Eh, don'tcha worry your head about it. That's all After Team's to take care of!

Aaanyway... That should be all of 'em, right?

Mm. The force of your landing neutralized the last of the Distortions outside of the building.

Great! Can ya check on the Distorted peeps' faces and clothes?

Uh... Their faces are all... segmented. Makes my skin crawl - not a pleasant sight. As for their attire...

Hmm... This one appeareth to be a Sweeper! And that one yonder bears the attire of an ordinary Fixer!

And this Distortion I landed on... Probably a local resident, judging by the clothes!

Did any of you happen to see anything nearby bursting with a big pop 'n flash?

Nay, not once.

Okie-dokie. You know what, then let's all head upstairs. This suppression request is kind of a pain - we'll need to put together a nice neat plan before we start poking it too hard.

A plan, sayest thou...? How, how... Was this not a mere matter of slaying Distortions where they stand?

Huh? Wait, did nobody brief you?

This has oft been the structure of our assignments. We are given instructions, we perform them, and only afterward do we begin to perceive the nature and contour of the task to which we have committed our hands.

Really? Hm... Well, guess every department has its own way of doing things~ No big deal. I'll explain everything once we're upstairs.

Oh, by the way... you didn't get to meet the whole team last time, did you? Only our new girl. This time, that dude - I mean, Mister Bamboo-hatted Kim's also here, so...

Huh? H-he's okay now?

Hm? Sure he is! You'll be surprised once you see just how okay he is now.

But last time you said he was still under treatment...

Mm... To be precise, I believe Miss Aeng-du stated that his mind is yet to regain its former tranquility.

Aha~ that?

...?

*sigh* You'll get it once you see him. I feel like we'll just end up having the same conversation twice if I say anything about it now.

*crreeeak….*

Ah, you have arrived.

Ugh... It's blinding...

It's so bright... The midday sun is pouring in like crazy.

Mm. Yet the warm tickle of the sunbeam is rather agreeable.

... No, this is not sunlight.

Because unlike this, there is more to the sunshine than its warmth.

Then what exactly is this light?

*sigh* Why is this thing on again? It's bright enough to fry my eyeballs.

Apologies, Lady Ezra. I am yet to be accustomed to this machine. This is my first time laying a hand upon the complicated workings of such a contraption...

It activated of its own accord, and I have yet to discover the method by which it may be silenced.

That's why I told you to leave it alone. Fiddling with things you don't understand usually ends with something - or you - broken. Nothing good comes of it, I tell you.

But, Mentor... Lady Moses has instructed me that in every moment and event, clues are hidden under the veil of one's surroundings and must be examined with care.

Yes, and that only works if you're savvy about the knack...

Hang on. Did you just say "Mentor?"

Ah, I had not yet been afforded a proper opportunity to introduce him to you. This here is the esteemed leader of the Blade Lineage, who is all but a master under whom I have apprenticed...

Do you really have to dress it up like that...? I told you I only took on the role because there wasn't anyone else around to take the job.

Switch, switch, where's the switch... Aha! Gotcha.

*click*

...?

Goodness...

... known as Bamboo-hatted Kim.

Uh... Yes, that's me. Guess I should say pleased to meet you...? Folks?