“Oi, oi, you were serious about helpin’?”

“…It’s nice to see you again, too, Dean Wrikax,” Saito responded dryly as he and Hackett settled into Davídrius’s office. Late afternoon sunlight shone through the office windows, illuminating the austere, dusty space and everyone standing within. Davídrius remained seated at his desk, flanked on his left by Selind — who casually leaned against the wall — and on his right by Ralak, who stood tensely with a stoic expression on her face. Saito and Hackett stood across Davídrius’s desk from him, as they prepared to finally meet about the main purpose of their presence in Compound Tresnon.

“You’ll have to excuse Davídrius,” Selind remarked airily. “He’s been a little antsy lately.”

“For good fuckin’ reason…” Davídrius retorted.

“You weren’t able to see us until two days after we arrived,” Saito pointed out. “If you’re that busy, I can’t blame you for being a little stressed out.”

“I don’t need the sympathy of outsiders…”

“But we could sure use the help,” Selind insisted.

Davídrius passed her an annoyed glance before turning back to Saito. “…Right. So. Selind here tells me that y’all came back to help out with our Bleeder problem. That true?”

“Pretty much,” Saito replied. “We might not be here for long, but we’d like to help out however we can.”

“That’s a pretty different tune from the last time y’all were here. If I recall right, you said somethin’ about wantin’ to be on vacation. You also grilled me about lettin’ the Keys get into danger… you gonna do that again?”

The Colonel released a wary sigh. “…I’ll be honest with you, Dean. During that discussion, I really did think you were being irresponsible with the ‘Keys’. But since then, I’ve talked about the matter with the leaders of both the NSD and SERRCom. And wouldn’t you know it…” He adopted a bitter smile. “Neither seem too sympathetic to the plights of Treséd, the former members of Hero Machina, or the Schools of Chaos as a whole.”

Davídrius mirrored Saito’s expression. “Finally realized what shit we gotta deal with here, eh?”

“You could say that. So I’m taking matters into my own hands. My team might not be much, but we’ll do as much as we can, regardless.”

“Even a squad as small as yours could have a big impact on the Bleeders, given your trainin’,” Selind remarked. “Ain’t that right, Ralak?”

Ralak glanced uneasily at Selind. “…Right.”

“I still find it hard to believe, personally…” Davídrius muttered. “Outsiders never care about Treséd. And when they do, it’s always cause they got somethin’ to gain from it. So, Colonel. What do you got to gain?”

“That seems unnecessarily adversarial,” Hackett interjected.

“It’s fine, Major. He has a point,” Saito responded. “Dean, what we have to ‘gain’ from helping you is making sure that SERRCom’s own recruits — the ‘Keys’ — are safe. Nothing more, nothing less.”

A moment of silence followed as Davídrius steadily stared at Saito, as if trying to peer into the Colonel’s soul and determine his true intentions. Saito steadily returned the eye-contact, standing with a straight and confident posture all the while. Eventually, Davídrius broke eye-contact and released a resigned sigh. “…Alright. I’ll take your word for that, then, Colonel. Dirt knows we could use your help, anyways…”

“Fantastic,” Selind remarked. “Glad you finally came around, you stubborn ass.”

“I’m just lookin’ out for Tresnon,” Davídrius insisted.

“Yeah, yeah. Why don’t we look out for Tresnon by gettin’ to the actual point of this meetin’?” Selind pushed off of the wall and took a couple steps forward, her expression growing serious. “Colonel, Major. Y’all wanna know what we know about the Bleeders, and what y’all can do to help, right?”

Saito nodded. “I’d like a quick background primer first, though,” he said. “I’d heard about the Bleeders before our last visit, but after they attacked Tresnon, I’ve come to realize that I don’t actually know that much about them.”

“Especially about this ‘Strén’ person,” Hackett added. “The way everyone talked about him on the night of the attack, he seems like a serious threat to be wary of.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Ralak stated.

“So you wanna hear about fuckin’ Strén…” Davídrius muttered, his face briefly contorting into a furious scowl before he relaxed into merely furrowing his brow. “…Well, that goes back to over 20 years ago. Ralak and I told you last time how the Bleeders are usually a bunch of different, disconnected groups, right? There usually ain’t anythin’ in common aside from the name and the fact that they fuck shit up for their neighbors.”

“Most Bleeders don’t care about anythin’ aside from their immediate future,” Ralak explained. “If they got food, water, and pleasure enough for a month or more, then they’re happy. If they don’t, then they raid. They don’t think about or plan for the future at all.”

“But every so often, an enterprisin’, charismatic fuckwit can convince a bunch of different groups to unite under their name,” Davídrius continued. “Strén was the most recent example of that, 20 years ago. And from what I hear, the most successful.”

“By far,” Selind affirmed. “He had pretty much every Bleeder in the Northern and Eastern Wastelands under his fist. Almost half of all Bleeders across the continent.”

“Given the tech level around here, that sounds like an impressive feat,” Saito remarked.

“It was straightforward,” Ralak said. “Strén appealed to the base desires of Bleeders across Treséd — he always preached that ‘might makes right’, and that united Bleeders would have more might. He was able to back up his words, too. Dozens of Bleeders challenged his leadership, but he mercilessly killed or… subjugated every last one of ‘em. And under him, we— the Bleeders were able to actually capture entire Compounds, for the first time in generations.”

“I take it the Bleeders themselves don’t usually operate out of a Compound, then?” Hackett questioned.

“No,” Davídrius answered. “Like the Bleeders, the Compounds are usually decentralized. But every Compound knows that they can’t ignore what the Bleeders do to other Compounds, or else they’ll suffer the same fate, eventually. So when a Bleeder raid happens, nearby Compounds will usually send help as soon as they can — and then the Bleeders will leave before they get slaughtered by trained Compound Guardians. Which means that the Bleeders usually live a highly nomadic lifestyle. But under Strén…” The Dean’s brow furrowed more deeply. “…The Bleeders got numerous and organized enough that even Guardians couldn’t retake a captured Compound.”

“What’s a ‘Guardian’?” Hackett asked.

“It’s what we in Treséd call someone who’s officially taken on the job of protectin’ a Compound,” Selind answered. “They’re usually Chaotics, and most Compounds only have a couple. I was a Guardian of Tresnon, once — one of the only non-Chaotic Guardians in Treséd, to boot. Once we created the Tresnon Defense Force and I took over as its head, though, I stopped callin’ myself a Guardian… though most folks in Treséd still think of me that way.”

“Davídrius used to be a Guardian, as well,” Ralak stated. “A young one, but known amongst the Bleeders as bein’ especially fierce.”

“Fat lot of good that did me,” Davídrius grumbled. “I was never once able to beat Strén in a fight. Never once did I save one of the Compounds he had captured, or any of the people trapped within…”

“Pardon me for asking, as I’m sure the answer isn’t pleasant…” Saito spoke up, “but what do the Bleeders do with the inhabitants of a captured Compound?”

“That… depends,” Ralak responded uneasily. “Anyone who resists is killed, or made an example. Anyone who has an important job for the Compound’s survival, like takin’ care of food or water, is forced to keep doin’ their job. Everyone else…” She trailed off, her lips pursed, and her gaze diverted. “…Let’s put it this way. Most Bleeders are sadistic hedonists. They care mostly about food, drink, sex, and inflictin’ harm on others. Now imagine what happens if people like that are put in charge of a helpless town.” She then looked down at her gloved hands. “…And it gets even worse if the Bleeders are Chaotics.”

“…I suspected that would be the case,” Saito grimly replied. “And even then… no one else on Nimalia has thought to offer Treséd any aid?”

“No,” Davídrius said. “Most outsiders don’t even care what happens here. Hell, they enable what happens here, by dumpin’ their shit on our coasts. Most of it is unusable trash, sure, but some of it ain’t. And most of the usable stuff ends up in Bleeder hands.”

“I see. What about this Strén person, then? The last time we were here, Dean, you spoke of Strén like you thought he was dead. What happened?”

Davídrius scowled irately. “He should’ve been fuckin’ dead… 20 years ago, when Hero Machina was first founded, the three members at the time — Kevérin, Kaoné, and Siyuakén — all came by Treséd to try and recruit me. I was still Guardian of Compound Riken, at the time, and I was more concerned about keepin’ Riken safe than helpin’ with a bunch of fuckin’ outsiders. So I gave them what I thought was an impossible task: kill Strén, and I’ll join their stupid team. And then, they went and fuckin’ did it — they killed him. Or at least, they sure thought they did…”

“You weren’t there?”

“…No. When we attacked the Bleeder base, I went ahead of the other three, but I ran into one of Strén’s lackeys before I found the man himself. She called herself ‘Ind’… the same woman goin’ by ‘Feral’, now.”

“And you didn’t recognize her when she petitioned to join Tresnon?” Hackett questioned.

“I only saw her once, 20 years ago,” Davídrius replied. “We fought underground, in poor lighting. She kicked my ass, sure, but… Kevérin and Siyuakén told me that she and Strén were dead. Those two fucks should have been dead…”

“You said that Feral had a prosthetic when she attacked on Hunger’s Bane, right?” Selind pointed out. “Chances are, whoever gave her that prosthetic are the ones who saved her and Strén. I’d bet Strén has prosthetics, too, come to think of it.”

“It’s true…” Saito mused. “An organization wealthy and advanced enough to hand out such a well-disguised, high-functioning prosthetic to lawless criminals is probably the same kind of organization that could rescue said criminals from near-death. …Still, if Strén and Feral were able to be rescued, then it sounds like your friends didn’t do a good enough job of ensuring their deaths.”

“You don’t fuckin’ say…” Davídrius responded with a scowl. “And now, Strén’s back to terrorize Treséd, again… and it sounds like he’s got the Bleeders all under him, again.”

“With a personal vendetta against you and Tresnon, it sounds like.”

“It stands to reason,” Selind remarked. “Davídrius here, and Compound Tresnon itself, are probably the two most well-known symbols of safety and security in Treséd—”

“You, too,” Ralak interjected. “If you ask the Bleeders what they fear most, most of ‘em would say the Ghost of Light.”

“Ghost of Light?” Hackett echoed incredulously.

Selind jerked a thumb towards the sniper strapped to her back. “When I was younger, I made a habit of sneakin’ up on groups of Bleeders and shootin’ at ‘em from afar with my laser sniper. Too far for them to get back at me — I’d always be gone by the time they came lookin’. The damn idiots thought it was an actual ghost blowin’ their heads up for a while, ha ha!” Selind flashed a self-satisfied smirk before returning to a serious expression. “But, yeah. With me and Davídrius both here in Tresnon, that’s basically all of Treséd’s symbols in one place. Strén probably thinks that if he destroys us, then it’ll prove to the rest of Treséd that the Bleeders are in charge.”

“If they manage to capture Tresnon, then they will be,” Ralak pointed out.

“They’ll only get Tresnon over my dead, rotting corpse,” Davídrius declared.

“That would be their goal, yes,” Selind replied.

“Tch,” Davídrius snorted in annoyance. “…Sometimes, I regret startin’ this damn school. If I wasn’t Dean, if I was still a Guardian, then at least I’d have time to go around and mop up these fuckin’ Bleeders…”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Selind retorted. “What you’ve done here as Dean of WCU has helped out Treséd far more than anythin’ you did as a Guardian.”

“The Reformation Program, as well…” Ralak commented. “If not for that, I might still be with the Bleeders, now. Perhaps even preparin’ to fight Tresnon. …Though I’ve already sabotaged Tresnon’s security, once…”

“What, because the two Bleeders you vouched for turned out to be duds?” Selind questioned incredulously.

“Davídrius still let them in on my word,” Ralak insisted. “I was the one who carelessly spoke for them, just because I thought Tresnon wasn’t in any danger. But that carelessness put us all in danger.”

“For fuck’s sake—!” Selind glanced between Ralak and Davídrius in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m the one sayin’ this, but the two of y’all need to get a fuckin’ grip! Nothin’ that we’ve talked about now is your fault.”

“But—“

“Don’t ‘but’ me. Everyone always acts like the Reformation Program wouldn’t exist without me or Davídrius, but you’re a big part of it, too, Ralak. You’ve convinced dozens and dozens of Bleeders to leave all on your own, and watched over all of them as they became actual useful members of Tresnon. Think about that, Ralak — out of all the people you’ve vouched for, out of all the people who you helped through the program, you know how many of ‘em actually turned against Tresnon on Hunger’s Bane?” Selind held up two fingers. “Exactly two. The same two that we were already suspicious of, in fact! Hell, the few Defense Force members that Shade killed on her way to sabotage the power generator were all former Bleeders, who ended up dyin’ in the name of protectin’ Tresnon. That’s what you should focus on.”

“That in itself could just be Strén sending a message,” Saito pointed out. “By killing former Bleeders, he tells everyone that if you aren’t with him, you’re against him. It scares the Bleeders under him into staying under him, and it might even scare those who had turned away from the gang into returning.”

“If you’re suggestin’ that we shouldn’t trust any of the former Bleeders here, that just ain’t possible,” Davídrius stated. “A good chunk of the Defense Force are former Bleeders. Some of our maintenance and food-keepers are former Bleeders. Hell, a couple of the students are former Bleeders. We can’t afford to stop trustin’ ‘em, and even if we could, that’d only drive ‘em back into Strén’s hands!”

“I understand it’s a delicate situation, but it’s still something you need to keep in mind,” Saito insisted.

“And we are, don’t worry,” Selind replied. “But enough whinin’ about the past. We need to focus on what we’re doin’ now.”

“It sounds like Strén is using the same playbook now as he did 20 years ago, at least,” Hackett suggested. “That should make it easier to fight him.”

“Yes and no…” Davídrius responded warily. “He seems to’ve united a lot of the Bleeders, yeah. And he’s still goin’ on about ‘strength’ and ‘power’ and shit. But they haven’t been capturin’ Compounds, like they did two decades ago. They’ve been raidin’, sure, but they don’t stick around to occupy the place.”

“Given everything you’ve said here, perhaps your Reformation Program has bolstered your own Defense Force beyond what the Bleeders want to face in a head-on attack,” Hackett suggested. “Or even robbed the Bleeders of enough people that they aren’t confident they can hold a Compound against an attack from the Defense Force.”

“On one hand, I agree,” Selind said, “but on the other, somethin’s still off. Bleeder raids are nothin’ new, but what’s new this time is that all the people of the raided compounds just… disappear.”

“As in, kidnapped?” Saito questioned.

“I’d assume. Sometimes there are bodies — piles of ‘em, buried under the sands, but that alone is weird. The Bleeders have never been known to hide bodies, before. But the dead bodies we’ve found are never nearly enough to account for the Compound’s entire population, which is also pretty damn weird, because the Bleeders have never been known to capture and kidnap more than a dozen or so people at a time. Why the hell are the Bleeders buryin’ bodies, if not to capture the Compound? But if the Bleeders ain’t holdin’ any Compounds, then… where the hell are they takin’ the people?”

“You don’t know?”

“Not yet…” Davídrius muttered. “Strén’s a skilled Geotechnic, on top of bein’ a Forcetechnic. Even 20 years ago, he mastered the ability to make underground bases, even in the sandy wastelands. So the Bleeders could be fuckin’ anywhere.”

“But we do have a couple leads, at least,” Selind stated. “All hints point to the Bleeders bein’ based somewhere to the northeast, maybe even near the Eastshield Mountains, by the Tekdecénian Dumpin’ Grounds.”

“Is that where they’ve been getting all of their tech?” Hackett questioned.

“I doubt it. If they were scavengin’ from Tekdecé’s crap, then they’d have Nimalian armor and weapons. But as Gavon can tell you, all the armor we’ve seen ‘em with are Black Suns.”

“What’s the likelihood that the Bleeders are being propped up by an external force?” Saito asked.

“A hundred percent,” Davídrius declared. “There just ain’t no way the Bleeders could pull all this shit off all on their own.”

“Is it possible that’s why they’re kidnapping people, then?” Saito suggested. “Whoever’s behind the Bleeders wants the people, for whatever reason. Human trafficking, maybe, or perhaps they just want to clear the land.”

“Clear the land…?” Davídrius echoed, and then scowled. “…The SFC!”

“SFC… that’s the Stealth and Force Corps, right?” Saito questioned. “A Nimalian PMC based in Riverana, that acts as Riverana’s official military. That SFC?”

“That’s the one,” Selind replied. “For a few years, now, they’ve been tryin’ to get their foot in on Treséd. They want control of the land, and the Compounds, for whatever reason. At first, I was happy to get their help, but… one read through their contracts shows they were askin’ for a lot in return.”

“Too much,” Davídrius declared. “So we kicked ‘em out. Same story’s played out across most of the Compounds in east Treséd. I dunno what they’re up to, but… it’d make sense if the SFC were the ones behind the Bleeders. They can hide behind the Bleeders, use ‘em to decimate Treséd and eliminate the fiercest defenders, maybe even smear the Black Suns a bit by feedin’ the Bleeders Black Suns tech… and then, in the end, they can come in with their superior military trainin’ to wipe out the Bleeders. Maybe even pretend to the world that they’re doin’ Treséd a service… tch. I can’t fuckin’ believe it…”

“Do we have any proof the SFC is backing the Bleeders, though?” Hackett asked, “or is this still speculation?”

“Still speculation, for now…” Davídrius muttered.

“Still doesn’t seem right…” Ralak commented. “I agree that the Bleeders are backed by someone, but Strén’s always hated outsiders. I can’t see him even pretendin’ to take help from an outsider. So if he really is takin’ outside help… then they must have some dirt on him, or somethin’.”

“If we can find out what that dirt is, then we might be able to break the ties between the Bleeders and this mystery organization,” Saito pointed out. “But where would we even start with finding that out…”

“Well, we can start with the northeast Compounds,” Selind suggested. “The Defense Force is already workin’ on gettin’ a presence over there, but it’s tricky, since they ain’t usually within Tresnon’s sphere of influence. They don’t really trust us — not enough to let us put our people there, at least.” She then looked over at Davídrius. “It’d be a big help if the ‘Sentry’ were to put in a personal appearance, you know. They all love you.”

“’Love’, right. Sure,” Davídrius deadpanned, and then sighed. “…You’ll have to do without me for the immediate future, though. I got shit to take care of. Ugh…” He then shook his head in disapproval. “Can’t believe I’m even thinkin’ about leavin’ Tresnon at a time like this…”

“You’re leaving Tresnon?” Hackett echoed incredulously. “Are you looking into the Bleeders yourself?”

Davídrius stared blankly at Hackett for a second before uneasily diverting his gaze. “…Where I’m goin’ is a secret. But I won’t be gone long.”

“If you’re going to be gone, then maybe we should stay here, to make sure Tresnon is protected.”

“Not many people know that Kaoné or I will be gone. We need to keep things goin’ like normal, so that the Bleeders don’t suspect anythin’.”

“Kaoné is leavin’, too?” Ralak questioned.

A pained expression crossed Davídrius’s face. “…Tch. Look. Somethin’ important came up, somethin’ we have to deal with. We won’t be gone long.”

“This have anything to do with that ‘trip’ you’ve scheduled for the recruits?” Saito questioned.

“The ‘trip’ has nothin’ to do with the Bleeders,” Davídrius countered irately. “Which is what we’re actually here to talk about?”

“You let your friends talk you into somethin’ again, didn’t you?” Selind remarked.

“As I said, it’s important. Now shut the hell up about it, most people ain’t supposed to know I’m leavin’ until I’m gone,” Davídrius insisted. “In the meantime, Selind, Colonel, I want y’all lookin’ into the Bleeders. Ralak, you got any ideas there?”

“If we think the main Bleeder base is to the northeast, then…” Ralak paused for a moment in thought. “…If you’ll trust me, I have an old contact in Compound Falnon, to the north. I could see if he knows anythin’.”

“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be fuckin’ askin’.”

“Still, if you don’t mind, I’d like to come along,” Saito stated. “I’d like to bring all of CSF-1, actually. That way, Ralak, if you find a lead, we can go right after it, instead of you needing to report back to Tresnon.”

Ralak passed Saito a doubtful glance. “…Alright. But no one in Falnon is gonna be able to understand you, and my old contact — while no longer a Bleeder — still doesn’t think too highly of outsiders. So watch yourselves.”

“Duly noted. You won’t need to worry about us.”

“I will, though,” Selind remarked. “This SFC thing is still speculation, but if they’re really behind the Bleeders, then be careful. I know Gavon says that they’re a shitty PMC, but they’re still a PMC.”

“If things get too dangerous, then we’ll bail out and report back before doing anything else,” Saito declared. “But we’ve dealt with PMCs before.”

“Then it sounds like we finally have a fuckin’ plan,” Davídrius said. “Y’all will go with Ralak to Falnon, and see if you can get a lead, there… I damn well hope you do. We need to figure out where the hell the Bleeders are based, and where the hell they’re takin’ all these Tresédians. Where the hell they took my damn student…”

“I don’t mean to be gruesome, but…” Hackett eyed Davídrius uneasily. “Can we be sure she’s still alive?”

“Of all the Chaotics at WCU, Minilas is the one the Bleeders are most likely to keep alive,” Ralak declared. “She’s passive, and more importantly, her Chaotic ability lets her make food out of thin air. There ain’t many Chaotics that can do that, and none others in Treséd, far as I know. So I don’t doubt that she’s still alive. As for how well she’s doin’, however…”

“All the more reason to find her — and everyone else — as soon as possible,” Selind said. “Colonel, while y’all are in Falnon, I’ll keep workin’ with the Defense Force to secure the northeastern Compounds. With any luck, we’ll find another lead there, or maybe a Compound that’ll let us stage an attack force.”

Saito nodded firmly. “Alright. Ralak — how soon do you want to leave for Falnon?”

“I still got classes to teach, tomorrow…” Ralak responded. “I can get someone to fill for any classes I miss next week, but the earliest I can leave is Skydia mornin’.”

“That’s when I’ll be leavin’,” Davídrius pointed out. “Maybe we can use you Earthians as cover for me an’ Kaoné, and Ralak. Make it look like just y’all are leavin’, to throw off anyone that might be spyin’ on us.”

“Do the recruits know they’re getting involved, in this?” Hackett questioned.

“No. And for everyone’s sake, it’s gonna stay that way.”

“…Just to be safe, I’ll go ahead and assign Mark and Danielle to that trip of yours,” Saito stated. “But otherwise, it sounds like we have a plan. Skydia morning… that’s two days from now, right?”

“That it is, Colonel,” Selind replied as she stepped forward again, this time moving toward the office’s door. “Sounds like we’re all done here, then!”

“So it does,” Saito replied, turning to follow Selind out — though stopping to nod at each of Davídrius and Ralak before he did. “Dean, Ralak.”

“Colonel,” Ralak nodded back.

Saito and Hackett then began to leave, with Hackett stepping out first. But just before Saito could leave himself, Davídrius called out to him. “…Oi, Colonel.”

“…Yes?” Saito prompted, half-turning to look at Davídrius.

The Dean responded at first with silence, his arms crossed as he stared at the Colonel. After a couple seconds, he eventually said, “…thanks. For helpin’ out. Don’t see many outsiders like you ‘round here.”

Saito responded with a quick smile. “It’s no problem, Dean. Getting rid of these Bleeders is good for everyone. But for now — I’ll see the two of you in two days.”

And with that, Saito finally stepped into the sunset-lit halls outside the office, ready to begin preparing for tracking down the Bleeders.