He was eternally grateful for the fact that Elioenai Seibert was tagging along with them on Operation Endgame for Eli was as witty as a comedian and had this bright, optimistic aura around him that lightened the atmosphere regardless of where they were.

Eli was his longtime buddy especially back in the days when the Agency was not as developed and advanced as it was now. Back then, when he was sixteen, he would train daily with Eli, and the two were so close that they were always mistaken for being twin brothers- the fraternal kind, of course. What had drawn him to Eli was that he was incredibly pure and the definition of goodness- there was no bad bone in his body.

He had missed his friend dearly when he was later relocated to the Bomb Squad and Crypto of the Ascendancy Agency when the Agency finally found a place for Eli's talents to work and serve them best.

Nonetheless, how Eli maintained that rare, optimistic trait of his was always a puzzle to Maren, for the obsidian darkness in this world was so strong that most people ended up submitting to it.

I know that I have.

Now, all they had to do was ensure that everything for this Operation was here and to take attendance. This time, Valesque had gone out of his way to make it a success.

And I will not fail him.

"Ladies and gentleman, today's star has arrived!" Eli childishly whooped and applauded for himself, with only Maren following suit.

"You're not here to fool around," admonished Alara as she returned her attention to whatever she was looking at.

Eli poked Maren in his stomach. "Who's Miss Grouchy?"

"Alara," he mouthed back, biting back a laugh.

"Surprising that Governors' security teams' uniforms are blue." Alara clucked her tongue, ignoring what Eli's sass. "Especially when it is the colour of peace. How ironic."

It had taken a mere six days for the city to go into a huge frenzy over the news that the Agency had leaked- the news that was about the details of Governors trying to kill every member of Ascendancy Agency, the truth of the children that the middle and upper class knew as 'blessings' and 'gifts'. To fuel the fire, the Agency had even leaked why the Governors had been trying to kill them, that the Agents had only infiltrated the gala to rescue the children.

Unsurprisingly, most were in the dark regarding this affair, and when reporters were sent over to the Agency- the one that was in Alara's hometown-, the citizens of Excidium had been in an outrage when the media presented in a way that implied that it was a hoax.

The trending news were now low-class residents' interviews with reporters consisting of heart-rending rants recounting their harrowing experiences with the Amorals. While this had happened to the middle-class, it was rarer compared to the higher classes as this usually happened in rural areas most. Majority of the upper-class and Governors remained impassive and made no comment on the issue, thus further inciting the people's rage.

And yet, as the old brilliant Shakespearean quote says, 'The truth will out'. When it was proven true, riots became instigated and the formerly glamorous and secure city were now full of bloodshed and ruins. Fires were set on any establishments belonging to the Governors and their supporters. Meanwhile, those families that had been robbed of their children allied together as they started heated protests and clashed with the upper-class and Governors.

"They love irony," remarked Eli. "When we received intel that they were deploying security measures and bringing the children away in speedy caravans away from the battlefront, that was the first thought in my head."

"Well, since the city is no longer safe..." Alara smirked and continued, "I guess it's time for the Agency to act."

Before they left, Tania was fed a lethal poison to ensure her cooperation- and if she did as she had promised, she would be given an antidote for it. Alara had chosen a slow-acting poison that will take exactly 87 hours to completely attack every single system in Tania's body, as Alara needed her to perform well during the mission. If it was a fast-acting poison, the chances of them succeeding was lesser.

"Quick, into Transcendence now!"

As everyone rushed into the cars, Alara thought of Gabriel's last words. He had told her to unlock the chest in his room which contained instructions as to how to construct his and Rielle's other inventions.

But she hadn't yet. The key to the chest was Gabriel's necklace, which she had fashioned as a choker and never took it off her neck. Considering the fact that neither of the lovebirds had entrusted the information to Valesque, she didn't either as they clearly didn't trust him. And she wouldn't too unless Valesque proved himself wrong.

Thanks to the car's invisibility mode, they were undetected throughout their ride thus it was not long till they reached the back of the Governors' mansion.

And now, it was time.

Most of us never realise how lucky we were in certain situations, until one day, the polar opposite of it happens to you.

That indescribable feeling that you have when you realise just how strongly Lady Luck blessed you back then will make you fall to your knees in regret for having not cherished it well, let alone thanked her.

That was the feeling Alara Berrera was struck with when it dawned upon her how easy they had gotten off in Operation Ner when it came to infiltrating the Governors' Gala.

Back then they had Jonek's invitations, it had allowed them to successfully manipulate their way in without little to no suspicion. The question of 'Will I need to risk my life to enter the gala' had never even crossed their minds in the very first place.

Jonek. Her fingers trembled momentarily, but she forced herself to refocus. Now is not the time for this- we need to be able to remain camouflaged among the trees, but with our uniforms being black, we may be easily found out. We cannot fail at the first stage.

For Operation Endgame, Maren was elected as leader, and his plan to evade garnering unwanted attention and unnecessary combat was genius. Even I have to credit him for that. As ordered by him, they had alighted from Transcendence when it was still in invisibility mode.

Though they had been able to camouflage themselves well thanks to the trees which protected them from the Governors' and their security team's view, Alara had no idea how long this would last. It'll be very unrealistic of us to think that there's no keen-eyed member among their elite team.

I knew that selecting Maren as leader was best. He even found a secret pathway leading to the back entrance of the Governors' mansion! How his friend achieved this was something he could never understand. Maren's in his own bloody league.

While they sneaked in stealthily, his brain replayed Maren's speech that ignited a sense of courage in him. Maren Santos was not just a brilliant strategist, but also an excellent orator.

"We have a vow to each other. What's that vow?" Maren had thundered back when they were in the car. He had adamantly refused to continue on until they recited their vow.

"We will stay safe, we will stay strong, we will never give up."

"Why are we doing this?"

"For Excidium! For the future generations of Excidium to be safe and merry! For peace and justice!"

"Good. I want you all to be cognizant of your surroundings and never let your guard down."

His speech, albeit a short one, resonated deeply within them all, winning their hearts in that moment. He hadn't just given them hope or renewed determination; he had given them a sense of valor.

I will not let you down, Maren. I will not. The vow I made to you will never break.

I'm sorry, Maren, but I swear, this will be the only vow that I made to you that I will break.

She knew that it would not be long before a stranger posing as their ally suddenly appeared. That was the Assassin that her father had hired, and he was apparently a master of the art of persuasion and cunning. For that, she was relieved as she was sure that Alara could see through almost anybody. For her dreams to come true, the Assassin must play his part convincingly. He must.

Ignoring the twinge of guilt she felt whenever she caught Alara's eyes and her reassuring smile, she told herself, this must be done. I'm doing her a service too- she can be reunited with her family after she dies.

I am sorry.

Fortune must be smiling on us today, Alara thought as she and her team blended in with lightning alacrity with the actual members of the Governors' security team. Each and everyone of them was so focused that they did not realise the extra members of their team.

Perhaps a factor was the vociferous opponents of theirs as protesters outside the main gate commanded everyone's attention. The only thing that shielded them from them was the gate that acted as a barrier.

From what Alara recalled from the reports, these protesters were the minority that only used their words as weapons. Further away, the classes that had allied together were vandalising and committing arson at Ashlar's vast gardens and streets.

In a classic defense tactic, the Governors' security teams had used tear gas in attempts to drive them away. How the protesters even found this place is scarily amazing.

Honestly, she was both transfixed and frightened by the brutal commotion. In a way, Excidium wasn't the only one at war; she was too. At war with herself.

A part of her implored, "This isn't right, and you know it. You should achieve your goals by peaceful measures- not this. Not violence. You supported the Agency's idea of leaking the truth and letting the people incite the riot. You're using the people as a pawn- you're no better than Amorals and Governors if you continue this!"

Yet the other part of her countered, "Peaceful measures? HA! What can peace achieve? What good can a speech do? If speeches are all that's needed, the old adage wouldn't be 'Actions speak louder than words'- it'll be 'Words speak louder than actions'! It will always mean to end up in a riot. This was meant to happen. You can't stop it now. All you can do now is to go along with the plan!"

Which part of me is right? Is this wrong? Did I use the people for my own goals?

But there was no time left for her to cry over spilt milk when a Captain for her team started motioning for them to gather around in a small circle. "This is getting out of hand. I didn't think they would continue this foolishness for the third day in a row! We have to get the children out soon- it's imminent for them to start setting fire at the manors. Our forces won't be able to hold them back for long."

They wouldn't have to hold them back if you didn't kidnap their children.

Abiding by the Captain's orders, everyone split into organised groups of five, ready to enter into different manors.