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In carnage, I bloom, like a flower in the dawn.
A while later, Spring had arrived once again. A familiar vibe of clouds and rain hung over the fourth District, people acting as though nothing had changed. But in fact so much had changed, at least with the ones who had escaped Raxen's grasp. Or so they'd believed.
Cree had contacted The Order, giving an almost-year's worth of details about the bunker and the many operatives still inside. He provided enough information about Raxen to make anyone sick, and excused himself and Umbra, from working for them until further notice.
The great Khada Jhin, was registered as dead, having vanished for a full year without a single body to turn up under his name. As far as Epsilon knew, he had died under Raxen's grasp. The Order kept their word to have his name cleared from their list, since he did at least attempt the mission though it failed miserably.
A ceremony was held in Stardust's honor, the woman's death triggering a great deal of attention to Raxen and his lackies. The Order now had members volunteering to attempt to extract Raxen, wanting his head for the things he had done to their comrade. Her death brought on a powerful reaction, that would smother Raxen should he try to leave his hiding hole underground. Perhaps this would be enough, to keep him away- at least for now.
Angel returned home to Nocturne, the cat never being happier.
Siax and Axel moved into Angel's apartment complex, after kicking out some of the crackheads that lived across the way from her. They were very affectionate, kind-hearted neighbors. Khada Jhin decided he would live with Angel, not wanting to risk staying at his place and getting caught again. The Grinch, a friend of Axel's, had seen to it that no one had learned of Angel's apartment, and it was safely lost in the mess of the Epsilon ghetto.
Umbra and Cree spent a really long time at a bar, then moved into the same apartment complex as the others, directly above Angel and Jhin. Cree spent a full two days in bed, just hugging the bed because he almost couldn't believe that he was free. Umbra still had some serious trust issues, his mind continuing to play tricks on him rather often. He turned into a small black dog, and slept on top of Cree where he felt safest.
Due to severe PTSD, Angel glued herself firmly to Jhin, and the poor bastard almost never got a second to himself. Forever afraid of him disappearing, she became rather obsessive, and a little crazy. Jhin forgave her for this however, knowing that she had gone through as much as the rest of them. He spent a lot of time playing the piano, often hearing Umbra's claws above him. He knew the dog to be listening in, and would only smirk and continue to play.
Jhin kept Angel on his lap, or sometimes he just threw her over his shoulder and carried her around. He tried to show that he cared for her, so that everyone would stop giving him shit.
Cree made it a habit to have everyone together at night if they were awake, and Angel would open her door and let them all sleep on her living room floor. Jhin hated this shit, but he claimed his spot on the couch and let them all lay on pillows on the carpet. Angel would sleep on him with her cat, and he'd just think about things until he was too exhausted to stay up. He sometimes struggled to deal with the smell of having a dog in the house, but he did well to ignore it since there were worse things that could happen to him.
Raxen hid underground for a long time, continuing to work on his experiments. Jhada Khin, Whisper, and Joel all had problems with his ethics and behaviors, and started to hate him. This resorted in Raxen killing Joel in cold blood, then forcing Jhada and Whisper to undergo a procedure. The procedure ended with Angel and Jhada having a large metal disc fused to their skulls, the disc controlling them, and allowing Raxen to see through their eyes like what he did with his war beasts. Jhada and Whisper were still bonded, but felt nothing for one another, and didn't remember anything about themselves. Their data was wiped and their minds were fully controlled by Raxen and his men now.
Umbra still struggled with who he was, and resorted to staying in his dog form so that he didn't have to deal with it. Cree respected his choice, and always treated him well. He was his best friend, not just a pet.
Axel and Siax lived happily together, and became a great edition to their sideways fucked up family. They both jokingly called Cree "Big Daddy" and referred to Jhin as an "artist" instead of all those horrible things they used to call him.
Jhin still wiped off his gun four times, though he almost never got to perform anymore due to having to remain in hiding. He struggled with his hunger for violence, and sometimes snuck out at night, Angel forever trailing behind him. His kills went without shock and awe, and without their usual magical touch. Cosmic and the "Project" Jhin still hovered in his mind, but rarely made their way to the surface. Their voices were loud in Jhin's mind, and he had frequent breakdowns for a while because of it.
On the last day of Spring, everyone went out together in crazy neon masks, and attended the EDM dance concert like they once had a year before. Siax and Axel attended and even got The Grinch to join, though the mechanic had no dance skills. Cree watched Jhin and Angel perform on stage, but stayed at the front to watch them, with a black dog sitting beside him. The concert went without fail, and the audience gave their massive applause.
Jhin was center stage and got his spotlight, and no one ever knew that the man bowing gracefully as ever, was actually the serial killer the city had feared for years.
They ended their infamous night with drinks and celebration, but not a single one of them ever removed their masks.
