AN: The work you see here was written by "dude932." The rest will be written by me. Understandably, I won't be able to match his style, but I'll do the best I can to continue the story. Also, there songs that I'll be putting in all belong to their original creators. And the AGK series and GATE series do not belong to me at all.

Expect irregular updates, for I am also doing my story, "Far From Home."

The halls of the Palace were quiet as Esdeath's heels tapped along the marble floors. She had just come from a de-briefing with Minister Honest, the Emperor was conveniently away with Budo at the moment giving Honest an even greater rule with the absence of the Emperor, or more so the absence of Budo. He had already set his sights on greater endeavours in the Emperor's absence, seeing as he didn't need to fool the puppet Emperor. Esdeath had informed the Minister that one of her Jaegers had perished in their pursuit of Night Raid, luckily they were able to discern the assassins base location and there were numerous soldiers ransacking the structure to find any evidence that could lead them to victory in this war. In the days to come the General expected results from the base which would give them a step up on the Revolution.

It had taken almost a fortnight after Dr. Stylish went missing but eventually the evidence was more than clear and they had tracked down the monstrosity that Stylish had turned into, the clear signs of Murasame's curse had been at work during the autopsy of the rotting creature that the doctor had become. Seryu was still grieving over the fact that Stylish was gone but her sadness turned into rage, directed towards Night Raid after they found out the circumstances of Stylish's death. Esdeath would need to keep an eye on her, to make sure she didn't do something foolish like Stylish had. If her subordinates couldn't follow her orders they were useless.

Her new team was down one member due to Stylish's careless actions, she thought she had judged better in her choosing of the Jaegers members. Just what had he sought to gain from going alone and just how had he managed to find Night Raid's base so easily? Now with this it only soured her mood more, with Tatsumi having vanished just before Stylish's death and not a trace of him since, the constant flow of unsanctioned experiments the Doctor created flooding the Capital's surrounding areas causing chaos to erupt among the people and losing a member of her team all in a short period of time her mood was quite irritable, things weren't looking any better as of yet.

As she walked she stopped as she felt an unnatural chill, something was wrong. Her Demon Extract made her immune to cold, yet she had felt one just now. Eyes narrowed as she looked around the marble hall, there was nothing in sight. But that didn't stop the gut feeling she had that something was amiss. Alarm bell's rang out signalling an attack and her eyes widened, it came from the direction she had just come from. The Throne Room.

Soon the Palace was an uproar of chaos as Esdeath turned and headed back the way she had come towards the Throne Room, but the battle had already begun. Imperial Forces stood against unknown creatures, beastly physiques and grotesque appearances as they fought with melee weapons against the soldiers of the Empire. She stood behind the masses completely stunned at the large structure that hadn't been here moments before when she had been giving her report.

It's size was immense, cracking support pillars and even reaching the tall ceiling. It looked perfectly sculpted and let out a presence that was just unnatural. As the battle waged on her eyes traveled over the sudden opposition, who were they, where had they come from, just what was this… Gate, and where did it lead? So many questions and no answers.

"General!" Esdeath heard the plea and turned her face to the man on the floor, just looking at him pitiful and weak made her narrow her eyes. He seemed to be have been taken off guard, there were three arrows in his shoulder and there was a noticeable amount of blood from a stomach wound leaving a trail through the carnage he had crawled through. It was Minister Honest himself. "Do something!" He cursed and she smirked, raising her fingers to her lips she let out an ear splitting whistle that sang out over the entire throne room.

"Retreat, fall back from the Palace." She ordered, not a single soldier disobeyed, those with vantage points took up rifles and laid down suppressing fire as the others started the retreat. As the unknown force of attackers tried to pursue they were halted by a massive wall of ice surrounding them, she had made it weak and she didn't have a single doubt that they would soon break through. Esdeath could already see that they were breaking through.

"I give you a few minutes Minister, before they break through." Esdeath smiled cruelly down at him as his eyes widened in horror. "I wonder if you'll survive or not." She mused, turning and following the retreating soldiers. Honest grit his teeth as he swore that he'd pay her back for this! As she left the throne room she knew the ice had broken and she heard Honest's screams down the hall.

Exiting the Palace the entire military force within the Palace was waiting for her to give them orders, with the Emperor gone, Honest likely dead and Budo with the Emperor she had full reign to do what she wanted. What she wanted was War, while Night Raid was still a priority, this seemed to be more amusing right now. It might even draw Night Raid out.

"The Palace is lost." Esdeath told them. "Fall back to the lower district, the enemy is advancing quickly."

"Ma'am, what about the upper district, surely we can set up a parementer around the Palace to halt their advance." Esdeath's cold gaze crossed to the man and he went pale, sweat beginning to form on his face under her gaze. "N-Never mind Ma'am." Esdeath watched as all the soldiers set about their orders, some ordering for the evacuation of the upper district, it would be impossible for the entire upper district to be evacuated in time, she didn't see the point. The nobles of the upper district weren't strong, they just had wealth and circumstance of birth.

Looking back to the Palace, the shouts from obvious looting soldiers, the screams of slaves and servants enduring the monstrous horrors of war that always lingered on a battlefield. Taking a deep breath in she smiled. Soon the Upper City will face the same situation which will rally the Empire to respond and retaliate against this unknown force. Once the force on this side of the Gate had been utterly destroyed The Empire will push through the Gate and discover just who was foolish enough to pull the lion's tail.

"War is just too fun." She smirked as she walked away from the Palace, wondering just how long she could make this war go on for? This revolution was growing boring ever since she had come back from the North. She was also curious on just where would that Gate lead her and the Empire? Just how much blood would it let her spill. Grinning a sadistic smirk she felt a shiver of anticipation as the sounds of war washed over the palace. She could hardly wait.

X-X

"The Capital has been attacked." Najenda spoke as she read over a message that she had received that morning. Night Raid was still atop the Marg Plateau, it had only been a short few weeks since they had retreated from their old base after the defeat of Stylish who had tracked Tatsumi back to their base. None blamed Tatsumi for the discovery, afterall Lubbock and Akame hadn't picked up on the man trailing them either. "The Palace and the Upper City have fallen."

"Who attacked?" Mine asked, the other members of Night Raid standing around Najenda as she informed them of what was happening.

"An unknown force suddenly appeared via some kind of unknown technology in the center of the throne room." Najenda said as she continued to read the letter before sighing and rolling it up. "We're requested to head back to Revolution HQ, apparently the Emperor has called for peace talks."

"WHAT!?" A resounding shout came from the members of Night Raid, the only one that didn't comment was the large humanoid teigu Susanoo who remained quiet, simply taking in the information.

"You're saying that the Emperor wants the Revolution to lay down its arms against the Empire, yet raise them for the Empire against this unknown force?" Chelsea asked. "That's completely insane."

"Like it or not these are our orders." Najenda spoke. "Our current orders are to return to Revolution HQ, I'm to meet with the Leaders and join the peace talks with the Emperor, Grand General Budo and General Esdeath."

"That's suicide! It could all be a trap!" Mine shouted. "This is nuts, there is no way we can just take this and go along with it, we might as well dig our own graves."

"Enough." Najenda ordered, the group falling quiet. "Have you forgotten what we've been fighting for all this time?" Mine lowered her head slightly. "Our goal is for the eradication of the corrupt system in the Empire, not the destruction of the Empire." She told them. "We're returning to HQ."

"Yes Boss." Was the unanimous reply.

X-X

Tensions were high, two opposing sides across from one another. This forced confrontation of peace was something that members of neither side could accept but it was needed. With the new development that had struck the Empire, such a situation needed to be confronted and with how things were unfolding, it was necessary that these two sides would undoubtedly need to come together.

With the Gate of unknown origins and the large force that had come through the gate, ravaging the spoils that were held in the Palace, then proceeding to the Upper City and terrorising civilians while reports stated that an unknown amount of the Empire's citizens had been dragged back through the Gate. So far the Empire had held them off from entering the lower city, Esdeath's army along with the Empire's Police force had stopped the army from advancing any further however no order for advance had been given, for the sole reason that the Revolution might take advantage of the situation.

With the invasion been taken place within the Imperial Palace, most of the Empire's monarchy had either been killed or captured and dragged back through the gate and with the unknown forces spreading to the Upper City numerous nobles were unaccounted for.

The Emperor, having not been present at the time was safe and at this current meeting however the whereabouts of the Minister was unknown. Nobody had been discovered and the rumour was he was taken captive beyond the gate had started to form . Something that left a bad taste in Najenda's mouth.

Great General Budo and General Esdeath sat either side of the child Emperor who did his best to hide his nervous stature as he sat between the two Generals, a boy among Titans. The meeting wasn't taking place in the Capital, per the Revolution's request. They wouldn't have held the meeting in enemy territory and the meeting was in a small village south of the Capital.

Opposite the three were the most notable people of the Revolution, while the true leaders of the Revolution weren't present which Esdeath had commented on upon the their arrival, instead Najenda the former General now leader of the most active force against the Empire sat at the opposite end of the table, Akame stood stoic behind her not taking her eyes off the two generals flanking the Emperor then finally the leader of the Path of Peace simply known as; The Lord.

"It has been a long time, Najenda." Esdeath's cruel smirk made the former General scowl as she glared across the table with her uncovered eye, just being in this close proximity made her old wounds ache. Instead of giving the blue haired woman a reply she turned to Budo who had remained quiet, with his eyes closed and arms crossed as he waited.

"Budo." Najenda began in greeting, the large man opening his eyes. "Emperor Makoto."

"It's a shame we're to meet on such unfriendly terms, General Najenda." Makoto spoke, even if he was nervous he spoke clear towards her. "I've heard from both General Budo and General Esdeath that you were a considerable asset and were in high regard in my Father's forces." Najenda frowned slightly, unlike the current Emperor the former Emperor was a man of worth, she had her suspicions about what happened to the parents of the current Emperor but now wasn't the time to bring it up and she had no proof of what happened to Makoto's parents.

"We've come to discuss the terms of peace." Najenda spoke getting back on track. She still wasn't sure that this wasn't a trap, while the spies that had returned from the Capital had confirmed the unknown force and existence of the Gate there was still a lot riding on hearsay.

The full force of Night Raid would be ready at a moment's notice should she not come out of this alive. They had strict instructions to retreat with the Revolution and spread the news that the entire Monarchy was dead to the surrounding nations. It would cause the neighbouring nations to come together to defeat the tyranny of the corrupt Empire, Najenda was positive that Budo and Esdeath hadn't shared the information that they had no government in place with a weak leader. Esdeath and Budo were still a massive threat and it was highly likely that there was something going on here that wouldn't undoubtedly end up with lives lost.

"As you are aware, the Empire has taken a hard hit since the Gate arrived and the unknown force invaded the Imperial Palace." Budo began, staring across to Najenda. The silver haired former General didn't let it show, but this was the first time the information she had given had been a hundred percent confirmed. All she had going into this meeting were words of spies that were planted in the Imperial Palace. Now she knew it to be true, she fully intended to come into this meeting to die, but now she didn't know what to expect.

Reaching deep into the black coat she wore, the Royal Guards around them tensing and placing their hands on the hilts of their weapons, Akame reacting in kind as she placed a hand on the hilt of Murasame. Instead of a weapon Najenda pulled out a pack of cigars and placed them on the table before producing a single black one and placed it in her mouth before lightning it, taking a long draw before breathing out a large cloud of smoke. Leaning back in her chair she looked to Budo, now that she knew this wasn't some ruse, it didn't ease her any about the current situation but it certainly changed things. Honest was likely unaccounted for due to the fact that he wasn't here controlling his little puppet and the fact that this meeting was happening. Budo was probably the one taking charge of everything knowing if Esdeath was in charge there would have been a lot more carnage by now. Instead the blue haired General was simply going along with things so far.

"Prime Minister Honest is unaccounted for." Najenda couldn't hide her reaction this time, her eye flying wide open, her mouth hanging low her cigar resting on her lower lip from the moisture of her mouth. "Emperor Makoto wasn't present at the time of the Invasion and was spared from what transpired in the Palace." Budo continued. "The amount of citizens of the Empire taken beyond the gate is unknown, whoever these invaders are they're taking slaves. Each day more forces come from the Palace making an even larger force in the centre of the Capital." Budo explained, Najenda was still trying to overcome the fact the biggest piece of scum on this planet might be dead. A hundred thoughts were running through her head all at once but that all came to a stop when Budo spoke once more. "This Revolution of yours, it has to end." Najenda's cold stare would have made any lesser man flee in terror; however Budo remained unaffected while Esdeath smirked. Emperor Makoto shifted nervously, still letting Budo handle everything.

"You act as if something's changed, Grand General." Najenda all but spat back, noticing Makoto's shock, never had he seen someone speak such to the Grand General before, just how much hatred did the Revolution have against the Empire? "If anything, the Revolution should be allying itself with this unknown force; after all they've helped us." Budo's brow furrowed as his gaze grew tense and the panic in Makoto's eyes was easily seen. The boy Emperor expected this to go exactly to plan, not knowing the truth after being fed lies due to the Minister.

"Then you condone the acts of slavery that they wrought on the innocent people of the Empire." Budo growled out. "The Upper City couldn't be evacuated in time, these unknown warriors flooded into the upper districts of the city, killing and raping what they could, dragging woman and children back through the Gate, pillaging our great Empire!" Budo's hand crashed down onto the table causing a crack to run straight through the wood running from the impact all the way to where Najenda sat. "Is that what you've been fighting so hard for!?" Najenda could see that Budo, despite his appearance was furious at what had happened, how he had failed in his duty to protect the Empire.

Najenda had respected Budo when they had been allies; even now she respected the man. Budo wasn't at fault for any of the Ministers horrors, no his duty was keeping the Emperor alive. Najenda knew the man, knew how frustrated he was upon the Ministers corruption of the young Emperor. There was little Budo could have done to rectify the situation and simply continued his duty to protect the lineage.

"Please." The Lord spoke for the first time as he rose to his feet. "We've gathered here to attain peace towards one another." Najenda clicked her teeth as she sat back in her chair, folding her arms as she took another long drag of her cigar. She was too ill informed of what had happened; had she known she would have never provoked Budo like that. But there was also one thing that worried her, the silent monster sitting quietly. What did Esdeath think about all this; now that the Minister had disappeared it wasn't likely that Budo was going to let her do what she pleased meaning her place in this was unknown.

"What are you proposing Budo?" Najenda was honestly curious to know what the Great General had planned.

"We need to come together in the Empire's time of need." Budo concluded. "The Emperor is more than willing to sit down with the leaders of the Revolution to broker peace and end a conflict that has plagued the nation for far too long." Najenda caught the sight of mild irritation cross Esdeath's face as she crossed her arms trying to act indifferent but it was clear that she was not happy, but even Esdeath couldn't take on Budo and hope to escape unscathed, any injury she sustained from Budo would undoubtedly lead to her loss in the end against the Revolution.

"There will be terms of agreement that both sides will need to agree too, but this is an opportunity that we can't ignore. Honest has been outed and the root of the corruption has been torn out, I intend to rectify the mistakes that have been made in the Emperor's naivety." Budo added, Najenda glanced at the Emperor who had his head down, it seems with Honest's absence Budo had informed the Emperor of the corrupt nature of the man and was leading him along another path. Better late than never she supposed. "This is the time for the Empire to rise as the Nation that it has been in the past, to converge against this single enemy."

"With Honest missing, and Budo in charge it's unlikely any corrupt noble would try to take authority of the situation." Najenda pondered to herself, knowing full well that Budo was feared just as he was respected. "They would need Budo to lead their armies, turning against Budo would simply cause chaos, the Imperial Soldiers would follow Budo and Esdeath seems to be playing along for now." Letting out another breath of thick smoke into the air, Najenda leaned back in her chair.

The Revolution had decided to let her solve this matter, Najenda having the best interest for the Revolutionary army. If she decided to agree to Budo's terms and it all worked out, it was all well and good but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that didn't trust the woman sitting next to Budo. What did she gain out of all this, Esdeath only ever did something if it benefitted herself, so what was it?

"I must agree with Great General Budo." The Lord commented from beside Najenda, by no means was the Path of Peace a solid ally to the Revolution but they had been planning an insurrection which the Revolutionary army had planned to take full advantage off when it came down to it. Najenda could at least confirm that the man spoke his words with honesty. "The Empire must rise as one, to long has there been bloodshed over our lands. We must come together to deal with this new foe, together with unity and the full strength of the Empire." Undoubtedly from his words, the Path of Peace planned on taking Budo's offer to join together, leaving Najenda's own decision.

"When all is said and done, when this unknown force is dealt with," Najenda began. "then what?"

"We will have peace." Budo told her. "Will you ally with us again Najenda or will you condemn the Empire you once served and now wish to save?" Najenda frowned as she felt a growing unease in the pit of her stomach; everyone's lives would be affected by her decision here and now.

"Very well Budo." Najenda nodded. "I have the authority to make such a decision; I will contact the leaders of the Revolution." Najenda told the General as she rose from her chair. "You can work out the details with them."

"Very well." Budo nodded as Najenda left with Akame.

X-X

Two weeks had passed since Najenda had returned from the peace talks, with news of the ongoing negotiations. It was than agreed that the Revolutionary army would head to the Capital and ready for the impending attack on the unknown forces through the Gate before proceeding through the gate to subdue any threats that may still be present on the other side.

Tatsumi walked through the streets of the Empire, the closer one got to the Upper Districts the more military orientated it got, soldiers were occupying former homes, less citizens were present and it almost seemed like martial law was in play. Sometimes if you walked past the erected barriers you could hear the sounds of conflict on the other side. So far, Tatsumi hadn't seen the other side yet.

Luckily Tatsumi's business didn't direct him towards the upper districts, instead he was heading for the industrial district of the city. He never really went into this part of the Empire before this so called peace, hell there was a lot of the Empire he hadn't seen yet. But he had been employed along with Susanoo and Lubbock as blacksmiths. With their identities still a secret, they had to play the part of helping out.

The citizens were still wary of the known members of Night Raid such as Najenda, Akame and Mine. Even among the soldiers of the Revolutionary Army, Night Raid was a sore subject, they had been an unwanted necessity. Whenever Tatsumi caught sight of Mine and Akame it was clear that the others were keeping their distance on purpose, they didn't want anything to do with the assassination group.

He often heard people talk about how they were just hired killers only in it for the gold, he wanted to defend Night Raid however Najenda had made it clear that if people didn't know they were apart of Night Raid it would be better, it seemed the Boss still wanted to keep the identities of the group a secret, meaning there still might be a need for Night Raid in the future. Tatsumi didn't know how this would all work out. For those of them with wanted posters such as Mine and Akame it was much more difficult for them to interact with other members of the Revolution and people in general.

Finally Tatsumi reached his destination, a large warehouse he had been assigned to due to his skill set as a blacksmith. Susanoo and Lubbock were already there waiting for him along with a large group of others that had been pulled into the workforce. The large Teigu he had only met a few short weeks ago had become a rather close companion to both Tatsumi and Lubbock, while nobody could replace Bulat, Susanoo was like a big brother to Tatsumi too, despite him being a Teigu.

"Yo Tatsumi." Lubbock greeted, the green haired assassin sitting on a stack of crates while Susanoo stood next to him.

"Sorry I'm late, I've still be getting use to the trek here." Lubbock nodded knowing the feeling. "Do we have the plans for today?" Tatsumi asked.

"Apparently they're being fitted today." Lubbock shrugged. "We were all just called incase anything breaks."

"It won't." Susanoo told them flat out making both assassins turned to him. "I checked everything, twice." He confirmed.

"Well if Mr perfect says it's fine, it's fine." Lubbock waved off. "We're just waiting for the Danger Beasts now." Tatsumi nodded and the trio headed inside the large warehouse.

Their job assignment was to outfit Danger Beasts with both armour for battle and to create and test designs for faster travel for larger battalions of soldiers. For the two humans, it was back wrenching work while Susanoo acted as if it was a cakewalk. Tatsumi and Lubbock had barely any time to themselves over the last month and what time they did get was either spent training or sleeping, it was just the a small group of them on this project and if it all went well that would change after today.

Day after day, they had been sent designs to cater to different species of Danger Beasts that were being tamed for the oncoming conflict that was to come. With the two Teigu that could control Danger Beasts, one belonging to the Revolution and one to the Empire, the Danger Beasts were being used for vehicles and weapons to use in the forces that went through the Gate. It wasn't long before the doors of the warehouse were pulled open causing the three to look up from their last minute checks to see the city police leading the way, massive creatures of all types could be seen being lead into them.

Susanoo was the first to see the tension in his comrades as they spotted the girl at the head of the Imperial Police. Seryu Ubiquitous was leading the group of soldiers. One might think it strange that the two assassins were more focused on the girl instead of the deadly Danger Beasts being led into the the massive warehouse.

"Go, if she sees you in here she'll report it to Esdeath." Lubbock hissed at Tatsumi, the brown haired assassin gritting his teeth. He could never truly control his emotions around Seryu, she had taken someone special from him. However the time for leaving was too late as Seryu was looking around before spotting them, her eyes instantly widening as a massive smile came to her face as she came charging over to the three, the small teigu she had with her begin dragged along on the leash with her.

"It is you Tatsumi! I saw your name on the work order but I had no idea it would actually be you!" She cried happily before leaping at the last moment and Tatsumi barely had time to brace himself before metallic arms wrapped around him and the full weight of Seryu along with Koro fell on him causing his legs to give out and for him to end up on his back. Tatsumi let out a grunt as his head bounced off the floor, Seryu's grip tight around him.

Lubbock meanwhile was fuming, chewing on his white and green cap in envy, Seryu might have been someone both of them hated but damn if he wasn't jealouse at the fact that despite everything, her slender body was currently pressed extremely tight up against Tatsumi's! Susanoo meanwhile just tilted his head at the action, his eyes focused on Tatsumi's strained face, the cheerful face of Seryu as she now straddled his waist talking a mile a minute all the while Koro was chewing on Tatsumi's pant leg.

"The General will be so happy to know that I've found you Tatsumi! It's was really rude how you just ran off like you did! I know it wasn't the most proper way of going about things, but the Generals a maiden in love, you can't fault her for that, can you?" Seryu continued on, Tatsumi watching her awkwardly from where he lay beneath her.

"S-Seryu. Seryu!" His voice didn't seem to reach her and he quickly shot a hand up and covered her mouth causing her to stop speaking and look down at him with glittering eyes. "C-Can you please get off me?"

"We're gonna make it! We are gonna make it!"

"NO, NO, NO! Let me go! I need to save her! That's my best friend!"

"I WILL MURDER YOUR FACE, YOU BASTARD!"

"Tyuule!"

"(Gasp!)"

It was late at night when a white-haired woman woke up yet again from her nightmare. The same nightmare that haunted her three years after she was held captive by that man. In her small room, with nothing but the bed she lied on, and rags for clothes, she let out a heavy sigh of frustration and held her head. Her name was Tyuule, an ex-Queen of the Warrior Bunnies, and current slave to the Emperor's bastard of a son, Prince Zorzal. Her bunny ears twitched when she thought she heard footsteps of her enemy, only to realize it was only a breeze blowing a stray leaf inside her room.

"Geronimo," she muttered to herself, "when will this hell ever end? Will I ever get out of this place and see the world again?"

VVVVVVVV

(Спокойная ночь · Кино)

"Good Night" by Kino

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