Coexistence

by Anonymous

Summary:

Snow, a Grade Three Fixer, has to take on the city head on yadda yadda yadda this is shipping content with my wives.

Notes:

HAIIII GUYS!!!! This was written by me and edited by bird.

Chapter 1: Briefing

The mission was simple: Get in, kill as many Bloodfiends as possible, save any potential lives there, and leave for a paycheck. Snow was familiar with the cycle of being a Fixer, that being take any odd jobs that could result in your body being torn apart limb by limb for a paycheck that barely keeps the lights on. This one wasn't any different, save for the fact this is the first time she had to deal with Bloodfiends. Snow was confident though, since she's a Grade Three fixer, and learned in the briefing that they were starved to the point of being on the brink of death.

So why did the slight feeling that things weren't going to go smoothly settle over her?

Her pink foxtail softly swayed back and forth as her pink fox ears twitched. The fox ears were an augment that allowed her to hear a pin drop from half a football field away, meanwhile the tail is mainly for cosmetic purposes. Hey, she can look cute while being a badass Fixer.

Snow looked around the lot to observe the other Fixers to see what she was working with. Most of them looked soft, way too over their heads with prospects of earning money to even think about their strength or well being. Snow can just tell there were going to be significant loss of human life tonight. There were some notable Fixers however, as she saw a group containing Camille, a Fixer the same rank as her. As for who was with him, she had no clue who they were. But with Camille, it’s harder for someone not to know who he is from his daily streams. From what Snow could tell, his attitude and manners were abysmal… but he was damn good at his job.

Camille noticed Snow’s observing eyes and with a shit-eating grin, walked towards her. When he was close, he shoved the camera in her face and began talking loudly to his audience.

“Look, chat! It's the wonderfully cute Snow from Chain Office! Isn’t she so cute, chat!?” Camille then tried to pet Snow, which only resulted in Snow slapping his hand away with some force. That smug smirk didn’t leave his face however as he turned to his phone and pretended nothing just happened. “Ooo~, a feisty one. Chat, do we like our Fixer girls feisty?” Snow just sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to get an apology from him anytime soon. A woman in Zwei armor appeared beside Snow in a somewhat apologetic manner.

“I know, he’s a handful. Sorry about that, he just doesn’t know people’s boundaries,” The girl then faced the fox Fixer and stuck out her hand. “The name’s Paula by the way,” Snow grabbed her hand to shake in greeting. Paula then pointed to the other Fixer that was with them who hadn't said a word yet. “This is Bird, he’s also with us. Not a bad guy,”

The other Fixer just threw a peace sign up and said “Sup.” Snow just waved and smiled at him. His clothes suggested that he was a part of the Streetlight Office. She wondered how that was gonna go: An Office that wasn’t really known for strength against Bloodfiends who, even in their weakened state, were sure to put anyone through hell. Whatever the result is, she didn’t wish any harm onto him. Onto any of them… except for Camille, he could afford to be knocked down a peg or two.

Snow said her goodbyes as she paced around the lot. There wasn’t much to do to pass the time until the Hana Association came to give them a more in-depth briefing than the one she got from her Office. She did nothing but stare at the ground as she walked until she bumped into someone. She looked up to see a bulky man with long braids wearing a thick grey leather trench coat, and wielded what seemed to be a giant hammer with spikes on it. The man turned around and seemingly looked down on the fox Fixer despite the fact that she had at least a foot above him.

“Ah, sorry about that-” Snow tried to apologize, but the man simply shook his head. He seemed deeply offended about her bumping into him.

“You don’t look like the type of Fixer to take on jobs that involve Bloodfiends." He began harshly. "Do you think that just because you’re a Fixer, you can take on Bloodfiends without any experience in fighting them?” The man seemed to be more offended that she was taking on the assignment than her bumping into him.

“Uh, I mean I've taken on plenty of Urban Nightmares before. I’m sure it’s not too different from those-” The man shushed her mid sentence. He looked at her disapprovingly.

“Lady, Bloodfiends cannot be classified by that system. No matter what level a Bloodfiend threat is in the eyes of the Hana, Bloodfiends are always going to be more powerful than you can imagine, especially the higher ranking ones. They should've just left this job to us at the Fanghunt office!” The man slammed the handle of the hammer on the ground.

Snow just tilted her head. Fanghunt office? She never heard of it before. “Well, I need to put food on my plate. Ain't no one gonna stop me.” Snow proudly takes out her broadsword and gives it a good few swings. The Fanghunt did not look impressed.

“Oh really? Maybe this will change your mind. Boys! Why don't we show her how Fanghunt gets things done?!” The man yelled, and his subordinates quickly followed. None of them looked particularly impressive, but she can show them why she's a Grade Three fixer.

The first underling tried to swing his hammer, but Snow quickly dodged the attack with no issue. As the weight of his hammer slams down on the concrete, Snow hits the back of his neck with the pummel of her sword and knocks him out. The second one takes a whip out and tries to smack her with it, but she effortlessly dodges that attack as well and delivered a chop to his neck. One by one, all of the Fanghunt were getting effortlessly knocked out until there was one left. He looked different than the others, wearing a fedora and scarf that covered his mouth.

The leader, who was standing on the sidelines, began to yell at the goon. “Chaydon! Don't mess this up! Show her the power of the Fanghunt!”

The fixer named Chaydon simply nodded as he took his hammer out. Snow just assumed she'd be able to pull off the same tactic. When Snow tried to close the distance, Chaydon swung the hammer. Snow again dodges it with little worry and attempts to hit Chaydon's neck.

She was only met with the shape edge of his elbow. She took a step back only to have the hammer come crashing down her. She blocked it with both her arms and pushed it off. She was lucky she was enhanced with some good augmentations that increased her durability, otherwise that elbow and hammer combo would've hurt. She had gotten so cocky with low level fodder that she was easily surprised by someone who was clearly on a different level than the rest of the pack.

The leader just looked smug. He thought that the fixer named Chaydon would finally be able to overpower the fox Fixer.

Time to show him the true skill gap.

Snow quickly stepped into his range. She moved at speeds most couldn't see without non-augmented eyes. Chaydon quickly puts up his block instead of trying to see and counter what Snow throws at him. But it didn’t matter as Snow’s fist went past the block and landed square on his cheek, the force so strong Chaydon was sent flying to a wall and fell unconscious as soon as he made impact. Snow stopped as quickly as she started and wiped the sweat off her forehead. That type of speed wasn’t something she could pull off for long, but it was necessary for the Fanghunt to see how powerful a Grade Three Fixer truly was. Their leader looked stunned before he regained his composure.

“Hmm… clearly we underestimated you. I’m sure you’d make a fine addition to our-” Now it was his turn to be silenced.

“Save it, I’m already loyal to the Chain Office. The tune up is appreciated though.” Snow left the chief of the Fanghunt office and continued to wander. The lot seemed to fill up more and more with different Fixers from all sorts of Offices and even Associations. No big shots like Camille, but still some notable powerhouses were here. Snow took notice of two men with gas masks and clearly huge tanks of gasoline on their backs. Snow barely recognized them as part of the Firefist Office. She overheard them talking.

“We’ll burn this place down and take every Bloodfiend with it! For our sister!” One of them exclaimed. He raised his hand with the massive gauntlet in the air and the other member followed.

“Right on, brother Goku! For our sister!” Both the members fist bumped before discussing their method of attack. Snow didn’t really care but from the sounds of their plan, they’ll be great sacrifices to enter the park.

The last group Snow really took notice of was one of around thirteen people. Oh and the Red Gaze was with them too. What was a Color Fixer doing here? Snow didn't want to know what business he had here, so she just decided to ignore him. Soon the Hana Association and P-Corp Wing employees had finally arrived and had set up a tent for them. Soon, all of the Fixers were gathered up and the briefing started.

The man there was so monotone and the woman so condescending, Snow didn't know how she stayed awake through all of their blabbering. But she got enough information to understand the assignment. It all just boiled down to “kill as many Bloodfiends and Bloodbags as you can.”

The jabs about her being common muck and lesser than the so called Grade One on the stage weren't necessary but whatever. She doesn't care about what some snobbish Hana Fixer had to say about her. And it was more so directed towards the asshat that said they had enough information anyways.

What shocked Snow was the shout of a woman. She was short and had yellow hair. She yelled something like “What about saving people?” Snow couldn't care less about the people if there were any. The City was too harsh for her to afford to care about anyone but herself. That woman was either a privileged Nest Dweller who hadn't suffered a day in her life, or someone with a very childish and whimsical view in justice. The fact that she's here suggests the latter.

Camille, who was just making sure his hair was perfect for the camera, scoffed at the idea of helping anyone other than who they were paid to help.

“Is that a character you're playing?” The tall Fixer said. He clearly thought this was some big joke or something and was not enjoying it. “This is no good, a character like that won't make it big on stream. Isn't that right, chat?” He asked his audience, still focused on his stream.

“Nay! Tis is no character! There arth people that are in need of a hero!” The yellow haired gremlin-like woman spoke in really weird fake English. Snow still couldn't care and was just waiting for someone to end this feud.

Turns out no one else wanted to step in as they found themselves outside again watching the two duel. The girl was seemingly matching Camille, but Snow knew that he was holding back for the stream.

“We got a donation! “Come on, end the fight already! We've seen enough of her!”,” He read out casually as he blocked and parried the woman's jabs with her lance. “Seems like the chat has had enough of you. You did well, but it's time to end it.”

Camille finally just went all out, brutally cutting the woman like she was bread. She kneeled in pain as she clutched her lance, trying to stand back up despite the pain. Camille was about to finish with a final pierce attack that would most certainly kill the woman if it landed. Snow knew she had to do something.

A loud clang was heard as Snow blocked Camille's attack. The streamer just got angry.

“It's extremely rude to interrupt a duel! Chat, do we finish her off too?” Camille prepared his weapon again, but Snow just put her sword down.

“No, I'm not interrupting a duel since you've already won! There's no need to continue!” Snow sheathed her weapon, glaring daggers at him, still irked at her earlier interaction with the man.

Camille too put his weapon away as he gave another smug smirk. “I suppose you're correct. Very well, her dues are paid.” And just like that, he walked away while continuing to talk to his chat.

“Fucking prick…” Snow whispered under her breath as she walked away as well. Her little group all came to help her, getting her on her feet and leading her somewhere secluded, presumably to patch her up.

Finally, after getting assigned to their groups and what areas each group was responsible for, they were all prepared to go into LaMancha Land. She didn't know what to expect but whatever it is, she'd be prepared for it. She just hoped that every other Fixer was as well.

All of the Fixers soon gathered around the massive ball of flesh that was holding LaMancha Land inside of it. Soon, it descended upon them and massive tears of it landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The buildings seem to expand to cover a mass much larger than most originally thought. The entrance was blaring an obnoxious song that sounded out of tune, like the machinery was failing. It makes sense though, this place is ancient. Every towering structure all had this eerie red tint to them. Like they were covered in a thin layer of blood.

From the entrance, it seems that many excited Bloodfiends and Bloodbags rushed out to “greet” the guests that were the Fixers. Like Snow predicted based on their conversation, the two FireFist Fixers rushed in to try and burn them all with one swift move. Their movements in sync with each other like they practiced this a thousand times.

“FOR OUR SISTER! FIRE FIST! ARAUGHHHHHHHHH” They both yelled as their gauntlets turned to a very bright orange. Somehow, a miracle happened in Snow’s opinion. Their combined fire fist power was able to blast through the crowds of Bloodfiends and Bloodbags, decimating the once pretty sizable horde to ashes. The ground they ran through was covered in blood, ash, and flames. Snow realized that they, intentionally or not, created a clear path that could get her inside without much hassle.

“Those motherfuckers,” She mumbled to herself as she swiftly ran after the FireFist brothers and entered the amusement park. Others followed the path, likely with the same idea. Most of them made it, while some were too slow and got caught by the Bloodbags that missed the fiery inferno. And those that did get caught, only a few were able to pry them off in time. Snow quickly mourned the ones that fell before they even made it in as she assumed no one else would. Soon the clear path began to be swarmed with the blood suckers when she looked back. No time to think about it now, she’s in and that’s all that matters.

As she and the other Fixers who made it past reached Area One, she heard the speakers crackle before a voice spoke. It was an enthusiastic woman who sounded way too excited for Snow’s liking.

“Greetings guests! Come one, come all to LaMancha Land! Where all of your worries will come to an end!” There was a hint of irony in that line with her meaning their lives when she said worries. Snow unsheathed her blade in preparation for anything that can jump out at her. The other Fixers did the same with their respective weapons.

Snow looked around to see who did actually make it. She noticed that it was only the group of thirteen from earlier, the yellow headed woman seeming to have no sign of injury now despite being cut to bits. So they must be a group with a lot of money to spare for K-Corp shots, but not enough for better Fixers? Whatever the case was, that didn’t matter. She also saw some shady guy in a blue hoodie but he was so unremarkable that Snow didn’t bother to even remember what his face looked like. And there was also the Fanghunt Fixer that was able to get a clean hit on her, Chaydon, if she recalled his name correctly.

Snow tried searching for the two FireFist Fixers, but it seems they had completely ignored whatever was set up here and went somewhere else. She really prayed for the best for them, their combined power was why she was able to get in without much blood staining her hands.

The area itself seemed to resemble a shooting range, with all of the targets and wooden cutouts of Bloodfiends. Suddenly, the lights cut off, leaving Snow and the odd group of Fixers in the dark. Snow tried to move her muscles, but simply couldn’t. It was like she was frozen in time with the only thing unaffected was her mouth and mind. The lights flashed back on, now grouped with the other Fixers forced to watch the stage with a play she never wanted to attend.

The speakers then crackled again as the woman’s voice returned. “Humans and Bloodfiends have had a complicated history together. Although one thing remained consistent with the two, they both utterly hated each other!” The narrator spoke as the scene once again changed to depict a war between the humans and Bloodfiends. “The Bloodfiends hated the humans for keeping all of the blood to themselves while the humans hated the Bloodfiends for killing their own kind to feast!” The simple cutouts showed the war between both species as best as they could. The voice kept on speaking as she explained the conflict before the lights went out again. And when they reappeared, the scene had changed to a cutout of a man with a coat as grand as his hair was silver. His pose suggested that he came up with an excellent idea, an idea you could even say was ingenious.

“But one day, a Bloodfiend had a crazy idea! What if Bloodfiends and humans co-existed!?” The voice seemed mocking now and Snow could see why. The very idea that Bloodfiends and humans could co-exist was one only a fool would make. Bloodfiends feasted on the blood humans relied on to live and turned them into one of their own with no regard for any family, friends, or future the person had, which in turn caused the humans to hunt and kill any Bloodfiend they could. It clearly wasn’t for the best that humans and Bloodfiends should mix.

The disembodied voice continued to ramble on: “So the Bloodfiend then came up with-” a huge banner dropped as the woman finished her sentence with what was said on the banner. “-LAMANCHA LAND!” She yelled with fake pride. “A place where Bloodfiends and humans could link arm to arm! Nothing could go wrong, right?” The lights flickered one last time and when they turned back on, two things appeared. A big red button, and a woman who wore a long red dress with elegant frills and patterns sown into it. Her long drills bounced and a little piece of her wavy hair proudly stood straight up. Her mask resembled a bird of sorts with its long beak.

“WRONG!” She yelled out as she laughed maniacally. “We were starving for so long! We couldn't take it anymore. Oh, the delightful taste of running human blood!” The woman laughed maniacally again as she took out a pair of comically large scissors and snipped the blades at the group. “I'm The Barber by the way! And all the blood from all of you is going to taste even better! But before then if someone could tell me who the name “Don Quixote” belongs to and presses that big red button, I'll let you live and get to the next area!”

The suspicious fixer then immediately turned on the group and pointed at the yellow haired girl.

“It's her! It's her!” He screamed as he tried to go up to press the button. But before he could even reach it, a woman with the white button up and short black hair acted and cut his hands off.

“ARAAAAHHHHHGGGGHHHHH!” The blue hooded traitor yelled as he fell and rolled around in pain, blood gushing everywhere as he soon fell unconscious from the blood loss.

“O-oooo…. So much y-yummy blood! All going to waste!” The Barber looked so desperate, like it was taking every bit of will power to not gun towards the floor and lick up all of the red liquid. She snipped her scissors at them again with anger in the red light of her eyes. “You're all going to pay for wasting blood!” Then she pointed the blade at the woman named Don Quixote. “And you! You're going to pay for everything you've done to us! Done to father!”

Don looked extremely offended while the others just looked at her with shock. Did she have a history with these Bloodfiends? Was that even possible? Another snip of the scissors caused them to all look at the actual threat.

The group of thirteen were getting ready for a brawl with the crazy lady, but Snow and Chaydon stopped them.

“Go on ahead to Area Two! We’ll handle her!” Snow exclaimed as she and Chaydon brought their weapons out. The man with a clock for a head just looked and nodded at us before leaving for Area Two.

“Awwww you guys are no fun!” The Barber slammed her scissors down and rushed towards the two with hunger in that hollow mask. “There’s less of you to munch on!”

She sliced her scissors through the air, the sound of the blades whizzing by were terrifying to the ear. Snow and Chaydon barely managed to dodge them in time, though Snow dodged in a much flashier and flamboyant way by backflipping away from it while Chaydon just ducked. Chaydon from that crouched position used the momentum to spring back up to hit The Barber's jaw with his hammer. But when it made impact, she looked almost unfazed by it when she barely moved when the hammer hit. Snow attempted to slash at her, but The Barber jabbed her scissor blades as a reaction. Snow was able to guard against them with her sword, attempting to move in closer to hopefully close enough distance to fight at a range she was more familiar with.

When she saw the chance, she stepped in and thrusted at The Barber’s gut. The Barber dodged with a sway of her hips and positioned herself behind Snow, now attempting to punish her by piercing her back with her scissors. Chaydon, however, moved in and stopped it by slamming the hammer against Barber's backside. This caused her to almost tumble to the ground as she absorbed the impact of the hit. However, it didn’t look like she was even damaged by the hit. The strength of a higher Kindred was absolutely terrifying even when they’re starved.

“Ugh! You guys just don’t know when to quit!” She gained her footing and started another rush. “I’LL SNIP YOU ALL INTO LITTLE PIECES!!” She yelled as she sliced at the two. They were able to dodge most of it until they noticed something.

The scissors were opened.

When they dodged the first blade, the second blade came down and sliced into their legs clean. Snow was lucky they had a more durable body, but Chaydon wasn’t, and had to back out some distance so he could tend to the wound. This left Snow to deal with The Barber by herself, and the scissors that came with it. She dodged one blade? The other blade would close on her and slice into her body more. The Barber just kept throwing out these types of slashes at a rapid pace, making it extremely difficult to learn the rhythm of when she’d throw out an open scissor blade or a closed one. But Snow had a plan.

Once she exhausted The Barber enough and felt she had dealt enough damage to her to stop, Snow took out a K-Corp healing ampule and stabbed it straight into her arm. All of the cuts and gashes disappeared as Snow reverted back to how she was before the fight began. But a full heal wasn’t going to end the fight, which is when the second part of Snow’s plan kicks in. She was sure The Barber could see and move at the speeds Snow could at max gear. But with her tired from trying to slice down the Fox Fixer, Snow could finally go at her top speed. She had dubbed this “FoxSpeed.”

Snow’s fox-like feet moved as fast as they could as she sliced and diced The Barber as many times as she could before she herself was at her limits. The Barber could do nothing but attempt to block as many attacks as she could with her scissors. Snow knew she couldn’t keep this up and had to stop at one point. Her feet made a loud screech as she slowed herself down. As she looked at the woman she tried to cut down, she was shocked at how she was still standing.

“WAH HAH HAH! D-DON’T STOP! KEEP FIGHTING! I-IT MAKES THE BLOOD ALL THE MORE TASTY!!!!” The Barber yelled in a manic frenzy. It seemed that she was using every ounce of strength just to stand, the only thing motivating her was the taste of blood as she attempted one last rush. Snow was too tired to move, having bet everything on this plan, to no avail. 'The assholes at Fanghunt Office were right,' Snow began thinking as the Barber moved in. 'I had no clue what I was possibly up against...' She prepared for the worse, the scissors closing in.

But the pain from the scissors never arrived.

For all she heard was the heavy impact of a hammer and the shattering of wood as she opened her eyes to see Chaydon looking down on The Barber.

Her mask was shattered into bits by the blow, a miracle they held on so long given they already had so many cracks in them. The Barber must've been extremely good at her craft to make wooden masks durable enough to last 200 years. But the real shock was The Barber's unmasked face. The holes surrounding her features suggested that she sewed the mask onto her face, keeping it on permanently. She looked so tired, so starved, so depressed, and... terrified? But Snow didn’t care about any of that, the adrenaline of the battle making her focus on one thing: Killing The Barber. She didn’t have the strength to do so though, so she yelled at Chaydon whose expression she couldn’t make out.

“COME ON! FINISH IT ALREADY!” Snow shouted as the adrenaline started to wear off. Chaydon however, just stood there.

“I… I can’t… She looks too vulnerable… too scared… too human…” He would trail off, conflicted upon seeing a Bloodfiend display human fear, contradicting what he's been taught about them at Fanghunt.

“THE HELL DID YOU SAY?! SHE’S A MONSTER! THAT’S WHAT YOUR OFFICE TAUGHT YOU, RIGHT?! KILL HER!”

“Yea, but... but my heart is telling me to save her, to take care of her, to show her compassion.” Chaydon then picked up The Barber into a bride's carry and began to make his way out. Her body unconscious still from the massive hit. “I’m leaving, both LaMancha Land and Fanghunt. I can’t do it. There’s still a bit of humanity in them.”

Snow just stared as Chaydon left with The Barber in tow. The excitement and fear of battle wore off, Snow crumbling with exhaustion. As the two walked off, Snow could hear The Barber awake from her slumber.

“Wha- Where am I?”

“With me, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill you.”

“...idiot.”

“Maybe, but you can’t do anything about it.”

“I’ll bite you and drink all of your blood!” The Barber tried to show off her fangs, but the exhaustion was too much for her and she just gave up the idea.

“Tired?”

“...Shut.”

“Name’s Chaydon by the way, what’s yours?”

“The Barber.”

“No, your real name.”

“In here, that’s my real name.”

“Then what about out there?” Chaydon pointed to the exit of LaMancha Land, surprised that there wasn’t any resistance on their way.

“...Nicolina.”

“Such a gorgeous name for a gorgeous person.”

“...I’m not gorgeous, haven’t you seen my face?”

“Yeah… and if it’s this beautiful now, I can’t wait to see it when it heals.”

“Sap.”

“I know.”

“I’m gonna drink your blood.... once I recover, you know.”

“Maybe, but I’m sure there’s something you dream about more than blood.”

“Yeah? ...like what?”

“Maybe making costumes?”

“I've been doing that for... centuries already. What difference will this be...?”

“Maybe nothing, but it’s better to try than to simply give up.”

“...You sound just like Father right now.”

The two leave the amusement park behind them. Their fate is unknown but now connected. Snow, however, is still in the shooting range to recover her lost stamina. She knew she had to press forward soon, and attempted to stand up and move. But the moment she tried to walk, she found herself stuck, no, more like unable to move her muscles. Her whole body felt like it had shut down with no explanation. Soon a figure appeared wearing a blue suit and top hat. He held a black cane and had long black hair. The mask he wore also represented a bird. But it seemed to be more elegant than The Barber’s mask.

“Hello, Snow. My name is Sansón, and I shall be your tour guide throughout your trip through LaMancha Land.”

Snow tried to move her arms to grab her sword. But they wouldn’t budge no matter how much she tried.

“Come on! Don’t just take the easy way out! Fight like a man!” Snow yelled. But Sansón didn’t budge. He just continued to talk.

“My my, I know you’re antsy. But the show is only starting. It’ll be a story of love, loss, and family. And at the end, we’ll all celebrate at the big parade.” Sansón spun his stick as he talked about what Snow thought was utter nonsense.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see it due to Miss Snow. But for now, I must bid you farewell. I’ll see you again at the second attraction.” And just like that, Sansón quickly disappeared as fast as he appeared. Snow finally gained the ability to move her muscles again as she quickly regained herself.

“What the fuck is this place?”

Chapter 2: Area Two

Summary:

Snow makes it to Area Two and learns more about bloodfiend problems

Notes:

FINALLY IT'S HERE!!!!!!

Snow made her way out of the shooting range and into Area 2. The area outside is more gray and blue than the red tint she had encountered so far. In front of her stood a manor with a large sign in front of it indicating that it served as a haunted house attraction at one point. There really was a lot of effort put into it to make a haven for humans and Bloodfiends to co-exist.

Snow made it to the front entrance and slowly pushed the door open. As soon as she walked in, the foyer smelled of decay from the bodies of Bloodfiends that lay on the floor. They must've fallen a while ago considering it already smelled of rot and decay. As Snow took in the scene, she noticed a soft ballad playing in the halls. She assumed it must've played during the haunted house tour. It was a soft piano melody mixed with elegant string, the composition eerily beautiful to Snow's ears.

A groan could be heard out loud. ‘One of the Bloodfiends must've lived.’ Snow found the source of the noise slumped against the stairs. The Bloodfiend was a woman, wearing a dress indicating she was part of The Barber's area as she adorned a similar red dress, albeit less elegant and complex.

“W-Where am I…?” The girl asked as she looked around. She noticed all of the corpses of her former family. She then looked at the fox Fixer. “I-It seems we were too brittle. My head hurts so much… I'm not even hungry anymore…” the Bloodfiend used her last bit of strength to stand. “I… I only have one thing I desire… I know it's not the best time… but may I have a dance with you? The music is beautiful tonight,” she stuck her hand out at Snow. Despite their differing goals, she still asked her for a favor.

Snow looked at the Bloodfiend with mixed feelings. She really shouldn't risk dancing with her. It'd be easy for the girl to drink her blood when she wasn't looking. But when she looked at her face, she couldn't sense any bit of malice. With a heavy sigh, Snow accepted the dance. She wasn't very experienced in the art of ballroom dancing, but with some help from the bloodfiend, she got the hang of it well enough.

The two of them gracefully danced around the foyer. The corpses disappeared from their view as they looked at each other. The Bloodfiend looked so happy despite being heavily wounded. Snow shared a smile with her too, happy to help someone in their final moments. As the two danced, Snow felt the Bloodfiends body getting heavier. She was slowly losing the small bit of strength she had and was starting to lean into Snow. Snow caught her and continued to dance with the Bloodfiend on her shoulder.

It would've been so easy for the Bloodfiend to take a bite out of Snow's neck. But that urge has long passed, for she only wanted to dance like this with what little time she had left. It was her dream to dance with her family as they held performances for the humans, before hunger had quickly snuffed that dream out. However, in this very moment, that hunger was satisfied by the simple movement of her feet as her dance partner held her.

The music had finally ended. With the ballad over, so too was the dance. Snow gently sat the Bloodfiend on the floor with her back against the board. She looked up at the air with what little light was left in her eye.

“T-thank you for letting me dream once more…” Snow could hear the soft sniffles as the Bloodfiend presumably cried into her mask. “Do you… do you think I'll get into Heaven after the sins I inflicted?”

Snow sighed as she sat next to the dying Bloodfiend. “I can't say. I haven't met the person upstairs, so I don't know,”

“Wherever I get sent to, it'll be better than here…”

And with that, she slowly slumped from her spot, her head drooping to the side as her eyes soon glazed over . Snow felt a tinge of guilt. These weren't monsters like everyone said. They had humanity within them, and the capacity to dream and love.

Snow just sat there and curled into a ball for a moment. The City doesn't allow anyone to feel compassion for one another. Anyone who dares to try is usually met with a swift end. This is just how City life is: caring is weakness and weakness gets you killed. But for just a moment, Snow wasn't in the City. She was in LaMancha Land, a place where humans and bloodfiends could care for each other.

“How strange, you weep for a Bloodfiend. Weren't you here to exterminate us?” Snow quickly turned around to see a tall man who looked even more malnourished than the others. He has a ghoulish face with sunken cheeks and slicked back blueish gray hair. His mask seemed to represent a ram. He was bloody all over and his legs were shaking. “I'm sorry to disturb you so, but this is my area after all. I am The Priest, and I run the haunted manor and the confession booth.”

Snow calmed down but still remained ready for anything. “So you're the overseer of Area Two? You aren't looking for a fight, are you?”

“No, I am no fighter. And I've already been beaten by a woman with pigtails and a man with glasses,” The Priest walked over to the body of the now fallen Bloodfiend and gently caressed her cheek. “I just came because I heard a beautiful song. One of my favorites. I was shocked to see a human and Bloodfiend dance together to say the least. But it reminded me of Father's dream,” The Priest then looked towards Snow.

Snow looked at the man confused, only having bits and pieces of the story. “Who is your father?” Snow asked The Priest.

“Father is a very hopeful man with ideas brimming through his mind. He could never settle for a second, always having a new project or interest for the month,” The Priest looked into the air like he was expecting someone to drop down. “I remember when he got into crocheting. He was quite skillful in the quick time he learned, but always hated when the needles got stuck. After three weeks, he moved on and all of the yarn we bought went to The Barber.”

Snow was even more intrigued by their father. “By the sounds of it, he seems very eccentric,” Snow looked around, noticing all of the small details. All of the paintings and tables and even candles were of extremely impressive quality that would put modern workshops to shame.

“That he was, but it was his best trait,” As The Priest talked about the man that was his father, Snow suddenly felt her muscles lock up again, which meant that Sansón was here. Snow shuttered as she felt his cold presence in the room, for he seemingly came out of nowhere. He approached the two slowly with his cane in his hand spinning.

“Like I said, I’d be here to guide you in Area Two. And here I appear,” Sansón casually caressed Snow’s face with his cane. “So now, let me guide you through the journey of the man who built LaMancha Land. Father of the Bloodfiends who reside here.” Suddenly, Snow blacked out. When she awoke, all she could see was a castle. The same castle mentioned in The Barber’s story.

“There once was a man who lived in a castle. He would hide in this castle for years upon years in his eternal life. In this castle, he was lonely. With only him to occupy it, it didn’t feel like a home to him. He needed a true family,” Sansón’s voice mimicked that of a grand story teller. He soon changed the scene. One by one, other bloodfiends joined the man’s side in his castle. “But he soon found the family he was searching for. For years on end, he and his family lived happily. No sorrow in sight. That was until a Fixer appeared, The Knight of the Moon. The Fixer challenged the First Kindred to a duel, a duel he was willing to accept for his family.”

Snow blacked out once more until she appeared inside the castle Sansón talked about in the story. Her clothes changed, she wore a thick red coat with elegant patterns and stitching. In her hand was an elegant red lance which she assumed was made with blood. On the other end was The Priest, who wore a blue knight's outfit, and held two swords and a bow. He was similarly confused.

Snow soon felt her muscles move on their own. When she looked up at The Priest, she noticed that his muscles were also moving on their own. They drew their weapons unwillingly and made the first clash. The sound was loud and metallic, ringing through the superficially endless hallways of the castle. They were moving at high speeds as their muscles moved with a mind of their own it seemed. As the two battled un-consensually, Sansón’s continued his story.

“The Knight and First Kindred’s duel was intense and exhausting. Neither were willing to back down as they traded blow for blow,” As Sansón said this, Snow and The Priest’s blades clashed again. “The two of them went at it for at least three days before finally reaching a conclusion.”

The Priest and Snow continued to clash. The Priest would step back and draw his bow to shoot an arrow, but Snow would rush in and swipe it away before attempting to stab. But The Priest counteracts by trying to slam his sword into Snow’s back. Snow would dodge and jump into the air to strike him down. This back and forth lasted until Sansón finally froze their muscles again. The scene changed again as Snow continued to watch the story unfold.

“It’s conclusion? A draw. The two gained mutual respect for one another, and The Knight would share her stories with the Bloodfiend. Each story grew their bond, and more importantly, the Bloodfiend’s obsession with Fixers. Soon all of these ideas flowed through his head. One day, an idea came to him. One that would defy the natural order, and that was the unification of Bloodfiend and human,” Sansón’s scene was slashed in half as a new scene appeared. The castle they were just in is now being destroyed and replaced with what is now known as LaMancha Land. “So he tore what made his family happy. They sacrificed their current happiness in order to give it to the humans in hopes that it would replace their lost sense of joy,” Sansón changed the scene again, this time of a more promising time of LaMancha’s history. “At first, it seemed it was all going to work out. The people were happy, the Bloodfiends were supposedly happy, and they all got along at that moment. But this happiness didn’t last long. A Bloodfiend’s hunger couldn’t be satiated by replacements.”

The Priest looked to the side, clearly wanting to object but he knew he couldn’t. “You’re right, Sansón. The hemobars never worked. Despite them containing all of the necessary proteins and vitamins for a Bloodfiend to live off of, nutrients weren’t the real problem. They tasted… poor. It could never replace the taste of running blood. It couldn’t even replace dry human blood,” The Priest looked at his hands, his body now unaffected by Sansón’s trickery. “My body still shakes. It craves blood, demands it. Yet I hold that impulse in very unorthodox methods.”

Snow felt herself becoming more sympathetic to the Bloodfiends the more she learned about their past. ‘They're not mindless monsters…` Snow thought. ‘They were people under a curse to forever hunger for blood. They were granted strength, eternal youth, and blood manipulation at the cost of their humanity. But it's clear the bloodfiends here didn't just let themselves be converted just for that. They wanted a family. A place where they belonged.’

All of those Bloodfiends Snow had killed, they weren't too different from regular people she came to realize.

The scene changed again. This time, it depicted a lower Kindred licking the tiniest of puddles of blood clean, the desire for blood finally beating their Father's dream. Snow could hear him moan in pure mania as he licked the ground for any bits of blood he missed. It was savagery in a way she had never seen before. Soon, other Bloodfiends came over to help escort the one in pure pleasure from licking the dirty ground where blood once resided. Though they looked at him with jealousy, like he was the lucky one for having just a shot glass worth of blood.

Snow looked at the sorry scene with sorrow in her heart. She could see why the Bloodfiends were perceived as monsters. This hunger for blood had completely overtaken their humanity. This is what they had to deal with everyday?

“Bloodfiends would do anything for a drop of blood. It is in their very biology to yearn for it. You cannot replace that urge with anything. Especially not the hemobars,” Sansón finally broke the mirage and Snow found herself back into the real world with her muscles back in her control.

“Hemobar? What's that?” Snow asked as she moved her body to get used to having full control again.

“It was a creation that me, The Barber, and Father spent hours upon hours perfecting. It was made with animal blood mixed with a small amount of human blood that was condensed and dried. While it supplied what a bloodfiend needs to live… it was lacking in flavor,” The Priest explained. He looked so depressed over the failure of the supposed solution to the constant hunger.

“Ah, so it's like trying to replace a sandwich with a crayon carved into the shape of a sandwich,” Snow suddenly started to crave a sandwich from her favorite sandwich place, Hamham PangPang.

“I… suppose it would be like that,” The Priest couldn't remember what a sandwich was because it had been so long since he was turned into a Third Kindred, but he assumed that Snow was making a fair comparison.

Snow looked around and saw that Sansón had disappeared from her sight. The talk about sandwiches messed with her focus and she lost him. “Dammit! I needed to ask him more questions,” a voice then called out to her.

“I'll be back when you reach Area Three, then you will get the whole picture. Until we meet again, Snow the Fox,” and with that, Sansón left Snow behind without as much as a hint of where his location was.

The Priest then let out a soft cough to let Snow know he was still here. “Why don't we go to my confession booth? There's something I'd like to discuss with you.”

“Oh sure, quick question though. Why haven't you attempted to drink my blood?” Snow asked as the two walked down several hallways, multiple bodies of bloodfiends scattered about.

“Call me naive, but a part of me still wishes to follow Father's dream. Despite me being a part of the plan to… how do I put this… show him our suffering,” The Priest opened a door that led into the confession booth. It was nothing special, a gray stone room with a wooden box that was meant to resemble a confession booth from ages ago. Rarely anyone believed in a higher power anymore that wasn’t The Head, and those who did were considered freaks by the same people who replaced their heads with prosthetics or added animal traits to themselves.

The irony was not lost on Snow.

The Priest looked at the booth with sorrow mixed with fondness. “There was once a Bloodfiend named Lorenzo who’d come to me almost everyday. At first, it was small things like how his day was going or how the weather was. He was holding in his urges so well, I really thought the hemobars were working,” The Priest looked off into the distance as he continued his story. “But as the days passed, he’d start to confess that the urge was getting stronger. I asked if he was taking his daily hemobar ration. Most of the time he’d give a lazy reply, but…” The Priest slammed his head into the stone wall.

“One day he just lost it when I asked him about it. He told me, ““Oh, you mean that useless trash?! Of course I didn’t! They taste like shit! I can’t take it anymore! I need real blood!”” His shout startled me, but it was to be expected. More and more of these outbursts happened as time went by. It was clear that the hemobars weren’t working,”

The Priest looked at Snow, his expression unreadable in the mask. But the light in his eye showed a glimmer of hope at the Fox Fixer. “However, when you were dancing with Adelina, I couldn’t help but notice how she didn’t desire any blood from you. She spent her last moments dancing with peace,” The Priest put a hand on Snow’s shoulder. “If anyone can help LaMancha Land, it’s you.”

Snow gently pushed off the hand as she sighed. “Listen… as much as I would like to help LaMancha Land, I have bills to pay and food to eat. I can’t afford to be a hero.”

“I figured you’d say no, but it was worth a try anyway,” The Priest moved over and pushed stones in the wall to reveal a secret door. “This will lead you directly to Area Three. My button has already been pushed by a group of what looks to be some sort of royalty. You will meet my Mother there: The Princess of the Parade.”

The name made Snow shudder. The Princess, who was probably an even higher Kindred than The Barber and The Priest? No thank you! The Barber was enough of a tough fight, She didn’t need a more difficult one.

But then she thought about Adelina, the Bloodfiend who showed her that there was still humanity left in them. She was able to die a peaceful and fulfilling death. Snow then started to think about The Priest’s words about how she could be the bloodfiend’s hero. Usually, she doesn't like nor want to ask to be a hero, but in this situation, LaMancha Land is asking…

No.

…begging for a hero. And Snow wasn’t about to let that chance slip by her. She also figured that it would probably help her boost her Fixer rank. If she was lucky, she could slip into Grade One and be on par with that bitchy Hana Fixer. Snow looked back at The Priest as she entered through the door.

“On second thought, being LaMancha Land’s hero doesn’t sound too bad.”

The Priest smiled at Snow. ‘If that’s the case, then you’re going to have to convince Father that Bloodfiends and humans can coexist again. He’s weakened and starved to the point of barely functioning, but his power is still overwhelming. You’ll probably need a team to be able to contend with him.”

Snow nodded, she soon exited through the door and into the outside where the parade was being held. The lights of purple, red, and blue flashing Snow’s vision for a bit. When she regained her vision, she saw a massive horde of Bloodbags, Bloodfiends, and bodies impaled. It looked like no Fixer wanted to even touch that mass.

“Must… burn… MORE!!!”

Well, no one except that Firefist Fixer would be enraged enough to try it. If Snow recalled correctly, that fixer was the one named Goku. Snow watched as Goku tried to start up his gauntlet again, only to no avail. All that came out of it was smoke and steam. However, it looked like he was still trying to go for it anyways.

Before Goku could go in, Snow stuck her arm out to stop him. “Are you insane? You’re just gonna get killed and achieve nothing. Stick with me and I’ll show you how you could avenge your sister,” But Goku smacked her arm down while he tried to start his gauntlet back up.

“Out of the way! I only need to focus on burning this fucking place down! To remove this shitstain from the City! Just like sister would’ve wanted!” Goku yelled at Snow. Finally the gauntlet lit back up to a fiery orange using the last bit of gas Goku had in his tank. “If you’re not going to get out of my way, I’ll burn you too!”

Snow quickly used her superior speed to smack Goku, hoping that it’ll bring some sense back into his brain. But instead, it just made Goku feel even more rage. He decided that his last Firefist would not be on the Bloodfiend that killed his sister, but on some random Fixer who’s trying to save his life.

“FIRE!” He pulls back his fist. Snow tried to run but when she smacked him, Goku had gripped her shirt hard so she couldn’t move out of the way. “FIS-” but before he could shout the iconic catchphrase of FireFist Office, something crashed into his head hard, knocking him out cold.

“Oi, that fuckin idiot. Trying to start a brawl here in all places?” An aggressive British voice yelled out loud. ‘Wait a minute…It was the group of thirteen from earlier!’ Snow didn’t know why they were exactly here all of a sudden, but she wasn’t complaining. She really didn’t want to tank a whole fire fist herself.

A small, blonde male then approached the Fox Fixer with a bit of caution. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine I think,” Snow dusted herself off and looked at the whole group. Not a single scratch or dent on them. They must’ve been more impressive than the duel with Camille suggested. That or they just had so many K-corp bullets they didn’t know what to do with them. Snow doubted that it was that last one though, they don’t seem like the type of group to have those on hand.

Snow then got a great idea: she could try and get these people to join her in her quest to save LaMancha Land. “Say, why don’t we stick together? I would feel better if I had a group to stick with. And I did protect you from The Barber,” Snow tried to flex that negotiation noggin of hers. The group just looked at each other then looked back at Snow. That clockhead started to tick rapidly and the group just stared at him like he was spouting actual words. The girl with the white hair nodded and opened her mouth to speak.

“The Manager said it would be beneficial to have you in our group as well. So you are welcomed to join us for the rest of this mission,” Her tone was monotone and boring, though it did have a sort of cute charm to it. Snow nodded and grabbed Goku to throw him on her back while the group began walking towards the heart of the parade.

“Alright sleeping beauty, let’s get you to somewhere safe,” Snow followed the group and started to get acquainted with them. Most of them were outcasts, it seems. Much different from the type of people you’d regularly find in The City, but it was a breath of fresh air to Snow. These weren’t people who’d try to kill her at every second they could just to make a quick buck or would make fun of her for literally no reason other than they could.

As the group got closer to the heart, they had to fight more and more waves of Bloodfiends and Bloodbags. Snow tried her best to not kill any of them herself since she was supposed to be their savior according to The Priest. It was hard to be their savior when all of them were trying to eat her, and carrying Goku on her back complicated things, but she’ll make it work.

“Ugh, how many more are gonna come at us?” An orange-haired girl with freckles complained as she bashed a Bloodfiend’s head with her mace, blood and brain matter getting all over her uniform. A Bloodbag came at her and was unfortunately able to sink their teeth in her neck. A tall, stone-faced man named Meursault was able to punch the Bloodbag off, but the damage had already been done. That woman wasn’t going to make it from the looks of it. But Snow noticed the others didn’t look concerned in the slightest as the tall man looked at their manager.

“Manager, Ishmael needs to be revived,” he said in an even more monotone voice than the one they called Faust. The Clockhead nodded and his clock turned. And soon enough, Ishmael was back on her feet like nothing happened.

“I’m sorry? What?” was all Snow could mutter out as she saw the absolute miracle that was the revival ability. She was at a loss for any other words.

A tall woman with long brown hair wrapped her hand around Snow’s shoulder. “Yeah, we get that reaction a lot. Don’t sweat it sweetie~” She then tried to pet Snow’s tail. Whether out of trying to comfort or just wanting to see if it was real, Snow didn’t care to find out as she smacked the hand after feeling it brush against the softness of her fluffy fox tail.

“No touching! That tail costs more than what most of you make in a year,” Snow yelled as the said tail wagged, trying to protect itself from any more attempts to touch it.

“Not a hard bar to cross considering we barely make anything at Limbus Company,” Rodion said with a sad smile on her face. Snow figured this company must be as shady as the rest of the companies that existed, but didn’t really care to figure out more. Her job here was to stop the Bloodfiends by saving them and she's not making much progress on that front.

“A.A.S.T.B,” A woman with short black hair and red eyes named Ryoshu pointed at the even bigger gathering of bloodfiends. The music was blaring loudly as they all danced around the impaled bodies of those they considered food. What Snow found most intriguing was the parade float that was in the middle of it all. It housed someone that looked like a woman but Snow couldn’t tell what features she exactly had.

“Sinclair!~ Translate please!” Rodion grabbed the dirty blonde hair kid named Sinclair by the shoulders and pushed him towards Ryoshu. The kid looked like he was about to piss himself, but he still did as he was told.

“An awful sight to behold is what she said,” Ryoshu smirked as she looked at the kid with a bit of pride. Seems that Sinclair is their translator for the woman’s abbreviations.

The man with a bug arm named Gregor suddenly got the group’s attention when he saw another wave closing in on them. “Guys! We got incoming!” he yelled. Most of the others groaned before they got their weapons ready. The only ones who seemed to enjoy the slaughter was Ryoshu because, in their words, “she was a fucking freak for murder,” And Don Quixote, who just really loved justice and thought she was being hero by stabbing them all with her lance.

Snow wondered how she was still alive in The City, considering that it doesn’t take kindly to heroes. But she'd be a hypocrite for insulting Don Quixote for it when she was doing the exact same thing for La Manchaland. She was going to help them one way or another by storming the First Kindred’s location, convincing him that Bloodfiends and humans can live together, and… actually, Snow didn’t know what would come after that. ‘Would the other Bloodfiends take kindly to him changing his mind again?’ Snow thought. ‘Probably not, they were all suffering for so long and it would most likely anger them again if he switched sides once more.’

Snow’s gotta think of a better plan than that.

No time to think about that however, she’s got to get pass the horde and a button she’s gotta press before she can even think about confronting the Bloodfiend that started all this. Wave upon waves came at them, trying to greedily drink some of the red nectar in their bodies. Snow dodged and knocked them out before lightly chucking them to a safe place, meanwhile the Sinners smashed and bashed any thing that dared to stand against them while Dante stood behind them in case they needed any revivals.

Snow once again noticed something weird about them. Every time they get into a fight, their outfit would change. And with each different outfit, they’d seemingly had new abilities to go with it. Some of the outfits she knew from different Offices and Syndicates like the Blade Lineage and the Devyat Association. But some of them were very different from anything she’s seen and she had no clue where they came from.

“Hey guys, what’s with the costumes?” Snow asked as they defeated another wave of Bloodfiends, slowly but surely getting closer to the heart of the parade.

“Faust can answer this: They are us from different realities. While Faust can’t give a detailed explanation on Mirror Worlds, all you need to know is that we can use the powers granted in other realities in our current one. It is a technology that both Faust and Yi Sang had developed. That is the best way Faust can explain it,” Snow noticed Faust's little smug smirk when she mentioned that she helped create the system that allowed them to access other versions of themselves. Despite rarely showing it, Faust must have a lot of pride in herself. But Snow was satisfied with the answer.

The group finally made it to the heart of the parade. The music was cheerful and uplifting, which would be fitting if one ignored the piles of bodies littering the ground and screams of pain from humans being suppressed by the music. But Snow now understood that they were forced to starve for centuries. She too would celebrate if she finally had a meal after a month of not eating. But what caught Snow’s attention was not the hundreds of bloodfiends dancing. No, what caught Snow’s eye was the huge skull parade float, specifically a woman standing on top of it.

She had long platinum blonde hair, extremely pale skin, and wore a long and frilly purple dress with flowers sewn all over it. Her mask was in the shape of a butterfly, something that represented beauty and how fleeting it was. But Snow felt her heart in her mouth as she thought of only one thing:

She had to get that beauty out of La Manchaland if that was the last thing she was going to do.

Chapter 3: The Princess of the Parade

Summary:

Snow goes to Area 3 and bags her first baddie

Notes:

IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT! IT WAS EXHAUSTING GETTING THE MOTAVATION TO WRITE AND MY EDITOR HAD A SHITLOAD OF WORK TO DO BUT WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK!!!!

The beautiful Bloodfiend glanced down on the Sinners and Snow. The sharp red light in her eyes gazed at the yellow haired gremlin with recognition and contempt through the mask.

“Those eyes, they haven’t once changed since the last time I saw you. You’re still looking at me with that same look, albeit a bit more… whimsical,” The long-haired princess spoke directly to Don Quixote.

The girl looked back at her with an equally defiant look. That usual happy smile now gone completely. “You villain! You dareth to think I would associate with your kind? I would never group thyself with someone as vile as a Bloodfiend!” She shouted with all of her heart. The Bloodfiend just lowered her gaze in response, before she spoke once more.

“If that’s how you see it, go ahead. See if I care. I’ve lost all hope for this place before the idea of it even came to fruition. Father neglected us, neglected me! His gaze never fell on mine no matter what I did. You were always his favorite.” The Bloodfiend was vindictive against the short woman for some reason Snow didn’t understand, but her focus was still on how she was going to save this gorgeous woman from this hell.

‘Well, for starters, I should probably get this group out of the way so that I can potentially get this beauty on my side.’ Snow thought, turning to face the Sinners and Dante.

“Guys, you all focus on the other Bloodfiends surrounding this area and pressing the button! I got this one!” Snow said as she pointed at the Second Kindred. The group seemed to all be in agreement…

“HOOOOOOLD!”

…Except for one. Don Quixote looked at Snow with a twinkle in her eye and a crease in her brow. “I request to aid you in thy quest to slay this villain!” Don was persistent in her idea of helping Snow. The others just looked at her, like they were all saying ‘she’s not gonna drop this, so just go along with it,’ and Snow sighed before nodding.

“Fine, just don’t mess up my flow.” Snow said to the Sinner as she prepared her sword. Don took her lance and pointed it at the Second Kindred. The woman didn't even seem to flinch at this action.

“I suppose it was always meant to be this way, you and me at odds,” the elegant woman said while she took out her parasol. Its elegant design and purple color made it give off an air of royalty, a design fit for a princess.

Don made the first move. She lunged at the Bloodfiend in an attempt to stab her heart. The Princess simply sighed and blocked Don's attempt with ease, pushing her back into Snow with immense force. Snow was able to catch Don and keep her steady, placing Don to the side to go in for her own attack.

Snow closed the distance fast and moved to slash at her parasol. She didn't want to hurt the woman, just tire and weaken her so they could talk. Her sword and the parasol clashed into each other. Both were equal in power, unable to overpower the other.

“Geez lady, you certainly seem to hold a grudge!” Snow commented as both finally relented. The Bloodfiend simply attempted another swing, which Snow ducked under to dodge. “You haven't even told me your name!”

The bloodfiend simply stared. “Wouldn't you like to know? It wouldn't benefit you in any way,” Another swing came at Snow. This time she blocked it with her arms, its force knocking her back a few feet.

“It'd give me something to call you when I'm trying to talk to you,” Snow launched her own flurry. Making sure it was targeting her weapon and not her. “Unless you want me to call you a pretty princess from now on-” Snow's sentence was cut off as she felt a strike right on her head. Snow could feel light blood streaks flow down her forehead, causing her to wince. “Ok, I deserved that one. But still, I'd like to discuss this with you!”

“There's nothing to discuss. For centuries we have yielded our hunger. I can't wait another second longer!” She then opened her parasol and started to twirl it. Soon, a tornado of blood chunks was flinged towards Snow. The Fox Fixer tried her best to block and dodge the attack, but the overwhelming amount of chunks that flew at her was too much to handle. She could feel them scratching at her, every gash bleeding profusely. After the Bloodfiend stopped spinning her parasol, the damage was clear. Snow looked like she fell and hit every single thorn in an oversized rose bush. Her skin was cut up and she's slowly losing blood.

“Tch, this is nothing…” She took out her second K-Corp ampule and stabbed it into her thighs. The gashes and bruises all went away in a second. “Remind me not to be hit by that again. I don't have the supplies to tank another one.”

The bloodfiend looked astonished, but she pressed on. She started to twirl the parasol for another round. It looked like she was about to begin the attack when-

“GRHK,” The bloodfiend hissed out as she felt herself being impaled hard by Don’s lance. It didn’t quite reach her heart, but it was so close that Snow was certain that a couple of centimeters would’ve gotten the job done. Don’s smile was so bright, it would've been awe-inspiring if it weren’t for the fact that Snow was trying to keep this woman intact as best as she could. The bloodfiend reacted by backhanding Don with her parasol, killing the yellow haired woman instantly.

“Hmph, much weaker than I remember… Sancho…” The Second Kindred was breathing heavily, the stab clearly damaging a lot out of her. But still she stood with elegance. Snow was impressed; This woman was so gorgeous and also a tough opponent.

‘No, now is not the time to crush on a Bloodfiend, Snow. Focus on just getting her to surrender.’

Snow lunged at the woman. She might be standing, but the strength to do so must be exhausting her. If any time was good to apprehend her, it was now. Snow did her traditional step in, making sure to duck under all of her swings. When she got close enough, Snow wrapped her arms around the Bloodfiend’s waist. ‘...So thin,’ Snow noted as the Second Kindred started to struggle around Snow’s grasp. She launched a knee at Snow, hoping that the force would be enough to pry her off, but Snow kept a firm hold.

“You refuse to give up!” the woman launched another knee, but Snow kept on holding her tight. “What do you possibly want out of me!?”

“I just want to talk! I don’t want to hurt you!” Snow said in response, her gut bruised from the brutal knee strikes.

“Talking will get you nowhere! I have no interest in trying to communicate with food!” The woman wound up a kick and sent it straight to Snow’s gut. The sharp points of her heels dug into Snow’s skin. Snow finally released her grip, jumping out of the way to dodge the swing of the Bloodfiend’s parasol.

“God damn, that hurt,” Snow quickly recovered. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way now.”

“So you’re finally going to try and kill me?” The bloodfiend started twirling her parasol again, ready to unleash another tornado of blood clumps.

While the fight between the princess and the fox Fixer waged on, the SInners themselves were having a rough time as well.

“Executive Manager! There still seems to be more coming through, shall I go help in the fight against the princess so we can get this over with sooner!?” The woman named Outis shouted as she stabbed three Bloodfiends with her… scissors?

Seems like she had an identity that closely resembled The Barber. What a terrifying thought; this group had access to people of immense strength under their thumb essentially.

<”You're fine to stay here Outis, we need as many people on the front line so Snow can focus on the Princess,”> Dante ticked out of his clock.

As soon as he said that, a Bloodfiend tried to rush the clockhead. But was promptly slashed down by Meursault in an Cinq West Section outfit that looked way too familiar to a certain streamer that pissed Snow off earlier.

<”T-thanks Meursault,”> Dante stuttered out.

“Oi! These fuckers are real resilient, I'll give ‘em that!” Heathcliff and Ishmael were both fighting back to back with their Kurokumo clan Identities on. It was like a scene from an action move with how they both moved perfectly in sync. Whether it was because of their identities or just the strong bond they've formed, it didn't matter as they sliced down any Bloodfiend and Bloodbag that came across their way.

That was until Heathcliff tripped on Goku's unconscious body.

“WHO THE BLOODY HELL PUT THE FUCKER HERE!?” Heathcliff yelled as Bloodfiend tried to pounce on him. Ishmael quickly split them in half before they could even get airborne.

“Now's not the time to get so worked up idiot!” She sliced down three bloodbags in a row. The kimono gracefully waved in the wind. How it didn't fall off was a question that no one, not even Ishmael, could answer.

Heathcliff had to pick up the sleeping Goku and put him over his shoulder as he skewered a Bloodbag and pushed them into another one. “Worked up!? Ain't I allowed to be worked up!?” He slashed another Bloodfiends hands off. “Bloody bugger made me lose my flow!”

Gregor and Rodion were hacking and slashing through waves of the bloodsucking members of the parade, Gregor with his Twin Hook identity and Rodion with her Kurokumo Wakashu identity.

“Gregor babe~” Rodion called out as she completely split a Bloodbag in half. “These Bloodfiends are so creepy! Imma need a hug out ya to make me feel better~” She teased.

Gregor hooked into a Bloodfiend's eye, blushing hard from the teasing as he completely blew their brains out. “N-not now!” Gregor checked on how much ammo he had left.

‘Three more bullets…’ he made a note to himself.

The taller woman went over and wrapped her hands around the smaller man and tightly squished him. “Oh come on, you know you want to~” as Bloodbags came after her, she managed to cut their heads off without moving from her position, much to Gregor's embarrassment.

Hong Lu’s hooks gashed into some Bloodbags and effortlessly weaved through the crowd. “Haha! There’s a sort of forbidden pleasure I get when I stab into them!”

Sinclair slammed his halberd into a crowd of Bloodfiends. This version of him dressed in some white suit with bits of armor over it, all of it stained with blood. “Yeah… yeah I get that feeling too.”

Yi sang and Faust were both laughing like maniacs as they slashed and stabbed through waves of bloodfiends and bloodbags. Both of them seemed to be high, probably on the smell of blood.

“I'll S.Y.N.C if you don't stay still.” Ryoshu sliced into Bloodfiend's hand with what seemed to be a kitchen knife, chopping it clean off.

The SInners were all managing themselves fine, able to keep the crowd at bay while Snow and The Princess continued their fight.

Both the Second Kindred and Snow were looking exhausted, having been at it for the last twenty minutes, Snow was ready to wrap up this fight.

“Stop it… stop trying to talk to me!” The Bloodfiend slashed at Snow with her parasol. Snow dodged and ducked under, stepping in to attempt a kick at her legs. The Second Kindred stepped back before Snow could connect and spun her parasol again. Before she could start it up, Snow stabbed into it with extreme force, creating a massive hole that would increase air resistance, hopefully shutting down the bloodsucker’s most powerful move.

“I… I won’t give up till we talk it out! Please, don’t make me hurt you!” Snow shouted out. The Second Kindred looked at her with pure malice. She took a step forward aggressively.

“What is there to talk about? You want humans and bloodfiends to co-exist!? Look around you! That delusion’s the cause of this! Trying to connect the two only hurts them! We had to lock up our own father to save ourselves from this! It was his dream, and our nightmare!” The Princess of the Parade yelled out. Snow thought this was a good start; Have her start letting out that built up frustration.

What was not good was that she was starting up her strongest attack. Snow was confident she wouldn’t be able to manage it; That hole she caused earlier should be able to cause enough resistance to stop her. But the Princess jumped up into the air and started spinning her parasol extremely quickly. Soon, the tornado of blood was coming straight at Snow. It was even faster than the one she started on the ground.

It was the Grand Finale.

The chunks of her hardblood shot at Snow like a speeding bullet. But Snow refused to give up, as she sliced the chunks coming at her in half. If she can't dodge or block them, she’ll counter it. She got closer and closer to the eye of the storm.

“If you won’t listen by choice, I’ll make you listen!” Snow yelled as she finally jumped to the parasol. One massive slash was able to destroy it completely. This caused the Bloodfiend to be tripped up and make both of them fall down and crash into the rough stone path.

Snow was the first one to get up. She dusted herself off as she saw the Bloodfiend rise, her feet wobbling as she struggled to summon the power to stand. Snow dug into her coat pockets until she found what she was looking for. She absolutely hated this thing, but it was necessary if she was to stop the Second Kindred.

The contraption itself was simple: It worked like a net gun, but instead of nets, it shot out extremely strong chains that would perfectly wrap themselves around the victim. It was this device that the Chain Office’s name derived from. Snow aimed the device at the fallen woman.

“I hope this works… I don’t know how much longer I can stand,” Snow shot the chains at the Bloodfiend. The force of the chains hitting and wrapping around her caused her weakened body to fall over. She sat back up and tried to struggle her way out of the chains, but had no luck.

“Huff… Is… is this what you wanted? To capture me so you could kill me later? Or perhaps you’re going to hand me over to someone else who wants me dead… either way, you’ve succeeded,” The Second Kindred slumped her head back in defeat. She was so utterly exhausted.

Snow shook her head. “I told you, I just wanted to talk,” Snow smiled at the Bloodfiend, who simply replied with a scoff.

“Talk? You keep going on about wanting to talk with me… but what could there possibly be to talk about? You think a conversation is going to change my mind? That’s laughably naive of you.”

Snow sighed. “You’re right, one talk with me isn’t going to completely change your mind about your Father’s dream,” Snow then grabbed onto the butterfly mask that the Bloodfiend was wearing. “But I want to at least try to give you the slightest bit of hope in your life. I’m going to rip this mask off, ok?”

The woman gave a reluctant nod.

Snow then ripped off the mask as carefully as she could without hurting the bloodfiend. She didn’t make any noise as the sound of flesh ripping off was heard. Soon the mask was fully gone along with bits of her skin. Her ruby eyes were sunken in and dull. Yet Snow still couldn’t help but find them attractive.

This woman will be the death of her.

After Snow gave The Second Kindred a moment, she continued on. “Nothing I do will change what you think. But I want to change what you feel. You’ve given up on ever believing that things might change. I will gladly give you a reason to start believing again,”

“And how are you going to achieve that? Just sweet talk me until I just give in? Telling me that I’m beautiful and lovely and that’s the reason I should have hope? If so, then I will ask you to be silent. I’ve heard those words many times before and the result is always the same. I feel nothing but bitterness and envy along with starvation,” the Bloodfiend scoffed.

Snow paused for a minute. “No, I’m not going to say any of those things. I’m going to defeat your father,” Snow said confidently.

The woman in chains just stared at Snow like she was absolutely insane. “Defeat Father? What an absolutely idiotic statement. You were struggling against me and you only won because you had help. What possibly makes you believe that you even have the slightest bit of a chance to win against Father?”

Snow stood up and looked her dead in the eyes. The chained up Bloodfiend felt as if gravity had multiplied. “It’s because I am the Hero of LaMancha Land,”

The Second Kindred then saw something in the eyes of this Fox Fixer. Her eyes seemed to glow so much brighter. There was such confidence and genuineness in that utterly ridiculous statement that she almost believed it to be real. No, she wanted it to be real. She was so entranced by the way this simple random Fixer talked, she was reminded of the Fixers from that blue-haired woman’s stories.

And for just a slight second, she swore she could see a bright golden aura surrounding the kitsune.

‘No, no this isn’t right. She’s talking sweet again. She doesn’t want to be a hero for your kind. And even if she did, she didn’t have the power to actually carry out that desire. It was too good to be true. It just had to be.’

But those eyes, those eyes spoke a different truth.

She wanted to dream so badly that this was real. That this Fixer could save them. She didn’t understand the desire to dream like her father did; what was the point of imagining possibilities that weren’t feasible?

But now? She gets it.

And that feeling of never ending hunger in her stomach goes away.

“I… I want to believe you,” The Second Kindred admitted to Snow. “I want so badly to dream that you can save us. Your eyes… your eyes are so different from Sancho’s. When I see them, I see hope for a better tomorrow,” The woman started to shed tears. “I see someone who sees us as people, not monsters or obstacles. I see a warmth that I only thought I could get from Father,”

Snow wrapped her hands around the chain of the tied up bloodfiend. “I am so happy to hear that. Although you have yet to answer one of my questions,”

“And that is?”

“What is your name?” Snow smiled brightly at the Bloodfiend, which caused her to blush a bit.

“...Dulcinea”

“What a beautiful name, Dulcinea,” Snow started to untie the chains, trusting that Dulcinea wouldn’t pull a fast one on her.

As soon as she was free, she tried to stand up using Snow to help support her. It was rough, but soon she was back on her feet. Snow could feel her soft chest on her arm, but mentally smacked herself for having that thought.

“Dulcinea, do you need some blood?” Snow asked cautiously. The Second Kindred shook her head in response.

“N-no… I don’t hunger,” Dulcinea was tripping on the stone path as the two walked.

“Clearly you do, and I don’t mind supplying it to you,” Snow used her sword to cut a slight slit in her skin. Soon, small drips of blood came pouring down. Snow offered the wounded arm to her. “Here, drink up,”

Dulcinea did as she was told and started to drink. It was so refreshing, she never tasted blood this good. As she drank, the wounds that were inflicted slowly went away, even the big hole near her heart. She soon stopped, feeling guilty over the amount she drank from her hero.

“T-thank you,” Dulcinea shivers out. Clearly having some blood in her system after two-hundred years of starvation would give her a bit of whiplash. She then gets off of Snow, much to her dismay, and walks around a bit. “It seems I’ve been healed enough to walk right now.”

Snow gave another smile her way and she returned it back, Dulcinea’s heart fluttering a bit. Guess she wasn’t as mentally closed off as she thought, but that didn’t matter now.

Soon the Sinners finished picking off the remaining Bloodbags with Don being revived as well. When Don saw Snow and the bloodfiend interacting, she thought that Snow was being turned into a Bloodbag and rushed in to try and stop Dulcinea.

“HALLLLT-” As she screamed, a fist came out and smacked her directly in the temple. She wobbled around a bit before falling over and becoming unconscious. Snow took a few deep breaths as she recoiled her fist.

“She’s not an enemy anymore. She’s our ally and-” Snow felt the tip of a blade pointed at her neck. The military woman, Outis, had an expression of disgust on her face.

“Nonsense! You’ve now betrayed the Executive Manager! If you beg enough, I won’t slit your throat and instead you’ll be captur-” Outis paused as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Dante’s.

<”Outis, back down. I got this,”> Dante said with an air of confidence. The clockhead stepped forth and began to speak. Well, tick his clockhead.

<”Snow, are you sure this is a good idea?”> Dante had Faust translate for him.

“Of course, they’re just as human as us. They’ve suffered like we have. She loves, she hates, she has fears, and she has dreams,” Snow held Dulcinea closer to her, trying to protect her. Dulcinea just scoffed, but still appreciated the gesture.

Dante just stared for a second before nodding his head. <”Yeah, we can trust her. I have no doubts about it,”>

“But Executive Manager!-” Outis was about to start before she stopped herself with a loud cough. “V-very well. If that’s your choice, then I will support it,” It was very clear that Outis did not support the idea in the slightest. But she really had no other choice but to accept that The Second Kindred was a part of their team now.

Dante tried his best to express an emotion, but gave it up. Instead just using words.<”Outis, we’ll talk about this later,”> Outis just silently nodded.

The Fox Fixer and the Bloodfiend separated and the group started to make their way to the center of the park. There is where the giant ferris wheel lied… and where Father lied too.

They only got a few steps in before Snow felt the similar feeling of her muscles locking up. Everyone was stopped dead in their tracks. A familiar face soon appeared in front of the group.

Sansón.

“Snow, your tour of the park is soon coming to a close. I’m very impressed with the progress you’ve been making. Turning the Princess of the Parade into your ally is most impressive,” He started to twirl his cane until he stopped. He stood right in front of Don Quixote. “But there’s still one more stop on the way before this tour can end. Wouldn’t you agree, Sancho?”

The yellow haired gremlin looked at the tall bloodfiend like he was insane. “Nay! I hath no clue what you’re speaking about!”

Sansón let out sound. And with a few taps of his cane, Don started to levitate and the shoes that were known as Rocinante were soon released off of her feet.

“NO! I MUSTH HATH ROCINANTE! MY TRUSTED STEED! DON’T TAKE THEM OFF!-” As Don Quixote screamed from the top of her lungs, the shoes were slowly being removed from their owner’s feet. And once they were fully off, a change in air was present.

Don began to squirm around as if she was in pain. Letting out bloodcurling screams. Her hair started to become more messy and wavey, her neck began to be wrapped by a red scarf that was most definitely blood, and her eyes became the same ruby red as any other Bloodfiends’.

“Are the memories flowing back? Do you feel yourself remembering who you once were?” Sansón dropped the woman down flat on her back. She slowly started to rise up onto her feet.

“Yes… It’s all coming back to me now. This filthy place,” The woman then looked at the group of her former co-workers and friends. She walked up to them, giving them an apologetic look. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. But I am not who I said I was. My name, my real name, is Sancho,” She looked off to the side, breathing in a deep breath before resuming. “And I am a Bloodfiend. I am a monster that kills others to sustain my own greed. So I am here to tell you that I am quitting. I must leave you all behind and help my father out,” Sancho started to walk off.

Snow felt her muscles unlock. She attempted to tackle Sancho so she could get more answers out of her. But when she stepped in, she felt a nasty fist land against her gut. It was clear she wasn’t ready to take on another second kindred after facing Dulcinea, especially one that was less starved and more powerful. She was pushed back into Dulcinea.

“Snow!” Dulcinea yelled out as she carefully caught her. She looked up into Sancho’s eyes. They were the same, they’re always the same. The same uncaring and indifferent cold look Dulcinea was so used to. “I see you’ve not changed in the slightest bit,”

Sancho gave Dulcinea a look. “And I’ve seen that you’ve changed a bit too much. You used to hate Father’s idea so much. Yet you’re holding a human so tightly. It’s not like you to care about anything,”

“She’s not just a human! She’s the most human person I've met. She has made me dream of something better than this! She’s…” Dulcinea paused, wondering if it was a good idea to say it outloud. She decided that she had to if she was ever going to get into Sancho’s thick skull. “She’s the Hero of LaMancha La-” Before Dulcinea could finish, Sancho rushed in front of her, ready to impale Dulcinea’s head with the blood lance in her hand.

Before anything like that could happen, Snow jumped out of Dulcinea’s grip and blocked the incoming attack with the rest of her strength. “You heard her! I am the Hero of LaMancha Land!” She pushed Sancho off. Sancho just sighed before beginning to walk off again.

“Hero? Please… all of the heroes I know aren’t real,”

Snow took a deep breather as she crumbled down onto the stone path. Dulcinea slowly lifted her body off of the floor and into her lap. “Are you doing ok Snow?”

“No… not really,”

As the two began to talk, Outis began to fume. “First, it was this Bloodfiend joining us!” She pointed to Dulcinea, who didn’t notice as she was in the middle of taking care of Snow. “And now, our former soldier turns out to be a Bloodfiend too! We were living with a monster this whole time and it was right under our noses!” She looked at Dante. “Executive Manager! Did you know about any of this!?”

<”well I… Um-”> Dante stuttered out before Faust came in to talk for him.

“Faust figured you were going to act like this. That’s a reason why we didn’t tell you-”

“So you knew! And you let your crew be in the dark because we would rightfully kill that thing!” Outis started going off until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Oi, don’t be calling our friend a “thing”! The lass is not a monster! She fought with us side by side. Besides, we’re all monsters aren’t we?” Heathcliff laid down a surprisingly insightful argument. Outis fumed even more.

“How dare you say that! Implying that we’re similar to it in any means!” Outis was about to continue, but this time it was Sinclair who stepped up.

“O-Outis! Are you saying that we should just give up on our friend because she’s different?” Sinclair gets the courage to speak against someone he’s still deathly afraid of.

“It’s not because she’s different! It’s because she’s a horrible creature! You’ve all seen what happens when humans and bloodfiends try to coexist, it creates a place of horror like this!” Outis shouts out.

Dante steps in front of Outis and puts his own hand on her shoulder. <”Outis, Bloodfiend or not, Don is still a part of this team. Whether you like it or not, we aren’t going to stop until she returns to us. Don is our family,”>

Outis stares like she’s trying to see through Dante’s head. “So you’re willing to save and ally with people that’ve committed terrible atrocities?”

Dante nodded his head. <”As long as they have the will to change and grow, I will accept them,”>

Outis sighed and stepped back. “I will be sure to make note of that, Executive Manager,”

Snow finally got up, feeling quite refreshed after being in Dulcinea’s care. “Alright guys, are we ready to start heading towards the ferris wheel?”

The Sinners all nodded. Heathcliff went over and picked up the still unconscious Goku.

Sansón stared at the group, mainly Snow. “Snow, your tour is almost to a close. But the trials ahead are going to test you hard, both on physical and mental strength. Do you think you can carry the burden of being called the Hero of LaMancha Land?” Sansón looked at Snow dead in the eyes. And he could see it, that golden glow Dulcinea saw.

Snow gave him a serious look. “I am the only one who can,”

Sansón nodded, “Very well, it’s time for me to take my leave once more. I’ll see you at the end of the tour,” And Sansón disappeared without a trace once more.

Snow looked at the Sinners and Dulcinea. “Alright, let us get a move on,”

And the group walked into the hedge maze ahead where Sancho went in. They were all brimming with hope for a better tomorrow.