Ethereal Madness

Chapter 20- Colony

"Are they all here?" I asked Naia.

"Not exactly. Out of the seven leaders you killed, five of the gangs are here."

"Which ones?"

"The Vixens, Rejects, Krazy Kids, Purple Poison, and Nightmare Hollow."

"And the no-shows?"

"The Assassin Kings and Present Wolves."

"Mm."

That's expected, but annoying nonetheless.

"Should we go hunt them down real quick?" She asked.

That would be nice. For invading the city, the more people I have, the better. Not only does it increases our chances of success, but it makes me a lot stronger. But, it also raises a few issues.

"No, it's not worth it. We already wasted too much time finding all the people we have now."

"Got it."

I sunk my hands behind my head. "Besides, the squads we have now are only here due to fear. And fear only works for so long."

Isn't that right, Arland?

Memories of the og gang leader filled my head, along with the cruel punishment dished at me.

You swore by controlling through fear, and look where you are now.

"But are you sure we have enough people?" She asked.

I nodded. "We already had around a hundred-fifty by ourselves, and with each gang rounding around one hundred, that gives us about six hundred to work with, even after factoring in how many Tucker crippled."

"That should be plenty!" She celebrated.

"Now for the next step."

"The briefing?"

"No, before that." I put my hand over her mouth. "Listen." Inside of the large, run-down auditorium, rowdiness could be heard clearly. The roars of simpletons plagued my ears, and despite being able to make out words, I knew in my heart, that they were all arguing over something stupid.

We swiftly walked into the building and the voices got louder the closer we got to the room. I knew this was an inevitability, but I'm still dreading it nonetheless. I peaked from the curtain, and my suspicions were, unfortunately, true.

"Turns out sticking the remnants of five different gangs in one room might lead to fighting," she laughed nervously.

You think?

I pulled the curtain to the side when Naia stopped me.

"W-wait a second!"

"Hm?"

"You're going already? Do you even know what you're going to say?" She asked.

"They're loud. I'm going to tell them to shut up."

"B-b-but what if they all turn on you?" She asked.

"Then I'll beat the mess out em."

Naia shot me a disapproving glance.

"Anymore questions?" I asked.

She sighed. "Just...don't do anything reckless."

"I'll do what needs to be done." I walked out to the worn-down podium in front of me and felt the curtain slap my back.

In front of me, five organized factions of at least fifty people each were divided amongst the large room. And four of them were bickering, their voices destructive enough to bring down the room.