Goldenclaws HQ, Entrance
The next day, on a long road leading toward what looked like an ominous super-villain headquarters straight out of a spy movie, two horse-drawn carriages approached their destination.
In front was a fancy, closed carriage. Kovalski—dressed as a bodyguard—held the reins, while Megan and Young Mo sat inside.
Behind them followed an open carriage carrying the Misfits. Irving, also disguised as a guard, was driving, while Ivy and Bella—dressed as slaves—sat in the back.
“Okay… let’s just stick to the plan,” Irving muttered. “We won’t know anything unless we check it ourselves.”
Ivy and Bella nodded.
“That’s right,” Ivy said. “The map suggested there’s a secret passage anyway. Maybe they haven’t found it yet.”
“And if they have it,” Bella added cheerfully, “we’ll just take it by force! Along with whatever valuables they keep in their vault!”
---
CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK
Dozens of guards atop the gate wall raised their rifles in unison.
WHIIIIIRRR
Wall-mounted cannons swiveled toward them.
THUD THUD THUD THUD
Several menacing steam armors moved forward, taking defensive positions, their cannons locking on target.
HUUUUMMM
An airship shifted into position overhead, all guns trained on the approaching carriages.
Kovalski, Irving, Ivy, and Bella stared ahead in dumbfounded disbelief.
“…Whose idea was it again to rob them by force?” Ivy whispered.
“Halt! Who goes there?!” a guard shouted from the wall.
The window of the front carriage slid open. Young Mo—now transformed as the merchant Dillian Walric—leaned out confidently.
“Dillian Walric!” Young Mo declared loudly. “I’m here for the meeting!”
The guards murmured among themselves.
“Prepare your identification for inspection!” the guard shouted again.
Several guards approached. Some inspected documents, while others searched the carriages.
After a tense moment—
“Clear!” the guard declared. “Open the gate!”
The massive gate slowly creaked open as the carriages rolled inside—every cannon and rifle still trained on them.
“…Okay,” Irving whispered desperately, “maybe not by force. We can still do this using our brains.”
Ivy and Bella nodded quickly.
“That’s right!” Bella said brightly. “We’ll use our usual method—distraction and misdirection! Easy, as long as we’re together!”
---
Goldenclaws HQ, Interior
“Serfs and slaves are not permitted beyond this point!” a guard barked. “They will wait at the serfs’ station!”
Bella and Ivy were escorted away in a different direction, while Kovalski and Irving followed Megan and Young Mo.
The Misfits exchanged looks—wide-eyed, panicked, and deeply betrayed—like children being separated from their parents in their first day of school.
“W-well, okay,” Bella said, forcing optimism. “Maybe from the serfs’ station we can roam around and gather some intel!”
---
Goldenclaws HQ, Prison
SLAM
The door shut.
Bella and Ivy found themselves locked inside the ‘serfs’ station’—a cramped 3×3-meter iron-bar cell.
“W-w-well maybe,” Bella tried again, desperately upbeat, “from this prison we can—mmph!”
Ivy suddenly clamped a hand over Bella’s mouth.
“Please,” Ivy said darkly, “stop jinxing us any further.”
---
Goldenclaws HQ, Waiting Room
The waiting room was unexpectedly cozy—luxurious even—completely betraying the fortress-like exterior of the HQ
Young Mo lounged casually on a couch, legs crossed, fully relaxed.
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Megan sat beside him, elegant and composed.
Kovalski and Irving stood behind them, stiff as statues.
Drawing on every memory he had absorbed from the real Dillian Walric, Young Mo calmly reminded the two newcomers:
“Let me repeat the plan,” he said.
“They’ll allow only me into the secret meeting, where I’ll record everything as evidence.”
“The meeting will take a couple of hours,” Megan added.
“They’ll give me a private room to wait. I’ll sneak out for ninety minutes to gather additional evidence. Your job, as guards, is to make sure no one enters my room.”
“If anything happens,” Young Mo continued, “activate the emergency transponder Megan gave you. They’re connected directly to Langley. Capisce?”
“Yes, sir,” Irving and Kovalski replied in unison.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
“DIIIIILLIAN! HAHAHA!”
A short, fat noble barged in, followed by guards and a butler.
“Ah! Duke William!” Young Mo reacted perfectly in character.
“I saw your carriage outside,” William said enthusiastically, grasping Young Mo’s hand.
“And I simply must congratulate you—your five-month mission was a complete success!”
“Oh my, that means so much to me,” Young Mo smiled. “Coming from the Master of Coin himself.”
“Not just me,” William said smugly. “You’ve made our king very happy as well.”
He leaned closer and covered his mouth.
“His Majesty even arrived here personally today to congratulate you.”
“Oh? Really?” Young Mo smiled—though his eyes briefly turned cold.
“So make sure you behave yourself, hahaha,” William added.
“It is a great honor, Duke,” Young Mo said, bowing politely.
William’s attention then shifted to the beautiful woman with long hair standing behind him.
“Oh?”
“My, my… what a magnificent beauty.”
He slowly approached Megan.
“Nice to meet you, Duke William,” Megan said with a bow. “My name is Honey.”
“I found her during my travels,” Young Mo added smoothly.
William bowed and kissed Megan’s hand politely.
“Is she…?” William glanced toward Young Mo.
“Yes, she is,” Young Mo replied with a nod.
William continued kissing her hand—longer this time.
Megan shot Young Mo an annoyed look.
“Does she…?” William peeked again.
“Yes, she does,” Young Mo replied with a pleasant smile.
William’s kisses grew increasingly enthusiastic.
Megan shot Young Mo an annoyed look.
“Will you…?” William asked once more.
“Totally,” Young Mo answered cheerfully.
Megan felt a tongue briefly brush against her hand.
Megan shot Young Mo an—I will murder you after this mission finish even though you are my boss—look.
William finally pulled back, panting slightly as he wiped his mouth.
“Oh, I cannot wait for tonight, Miss Honey,” he said with a lustful grin.
“O-hohoho…” Megan laughed nervously.
“THEN LET US GO, DILLIAN!” Duke William declared.
“We cannot keep His Majesty waiting—and I cannot wait to ‘open’ your present! HOHOHO!”
“Yes, of course, Duke,” Young Mo replied.
They exited together.
The butler then approached Megan.
“Miss, I will show you to your waiting room,” he said.
Megan nodded,
She, Irving, and Kovalski followed him out, leaving the waiting room behind.
---
Guest Room
Moments later, Irving and Kovalski stood rigidly outside Megan’s guest room, acting as guards while Megan prepared inside to sneak through the base.
Inside the room, Megan had already reverted to her normal form and was now wearing her tight black leather infiltration suit.
She opened the door just a crack and leaned out.
“Okay, I’m heading out now,” Megan whispered. “Just don’t let anyone enter this room, alright?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Irving replied immediately.
Megan closed the door again.
A moment later, they heard the window slide open—then shut.
Silence.
Several seconds passed.
Irving and Kovalski looked at each other.
They nodded.
And bolted.
---
Storage Room
Inside a dim dusty storage room, Irving and Kovalski hurriedly changed into their own infiltration uniforms.
“All right,” Irving said while fastening his vest, “we’ve got less than ninety minutes. We find the treasure quietly, then go back to our post like nothing happened.”
“Killing is okay?” Kovalski asked casually while attaching a suppressor to his MP5 submachine gun.
“Only if we have to,” Irving replied, pulling his own automatic rifle from a sub-space bag.
“Everyone here is basically an enemy of Murica anyway. They can’t exactly file a complaint.”
“What about Ivy and Bella?” Kovalski asked.
“They’ll find their own way,” Irving said flatly. “They already know we need to search underground.”
"And this BICH transponder?" Kovalski wave a small device given to them by the BICHes.
"Bring it. Just in case" Irving said.
Both finished gearing up and pulled tactical masks over their faces.
Irving cracked the door open and checked the corridor.
Clear.
The two nodded to each other and slipped out, moving in tight tactical formation.
No matter how questionable their life choices were as Misfits, they were still Murican Rangers—elite, trained to be efficient and decisive.
---
Prison
Even though, the ‘other’ Misfits were still struggling to make even a single decision.
“Come ooon, just do it already,” Ivy hissed. “You are a vampires. Sneaking to someone house is literally your thing, and this is just a stupid bar.”
“But I’m not stealthy at all!” Bella complained. “Why can’t you just pick the lock?”
“All my tools are in the sub-space bag,” Ivy snapped. “Just hurry up and transform. The key is literally right there.”
She pointed to the cell key hanging on the wall outside the bars.
“Just promise you won’t comment,” Bella said, embarrassed.
“I promise,” Ivy sighed. “Now hurry.”
“…Fine,” Bella muttered.
Bella took a deep breath, holding it until her cheeks puffed up like balloons.
PUFFF
Smoke burst out. Bella’s dress fell to the floor.
Where she stood was now a bat.
A stubby bat.
A round bat.
A shocking pink bat.
Ivy stared.
Offended.
“Which part of 'that' is stealthy?!” Ivy blurted out.
“I TOLD YOU NOT TO COMMENT!” Bella screeched.
Her voice was now high-pitched and shrill—somehow even more annoying than usual.
“I told you before I’m different from other vampires,” Bella squeaked. “This is why.”
“No wonder BICH won’t accept you,” Ivy muttered, studying her.
“Anyway—” Ivy suddenly grabbed Bella.
“KYAAAA!” Bella shrieked.
Ivy walked over to the bars with Bella in hand.
“At least now you can fit through the gap,” Ivy said, lifting her up.
She shoved Bella toward the gap between the bars.
THUNK
"Blegh"
“…Eh?” Ivy blinked.
Bella was stuck.
Her bat form was… simply too fat.
“How... could you…” Bella whimpered in pain.
Then—
“KYAAAAAA! I’M DYING! I’M DYING! BRRRPPP”
Bella screamed as Ivy struggling forcing her through.
“Why are you this fat anyway?!” Ivy gritted her teeth, pushing forcefully with both hands.
“I CAN’T SUCK IN MY BELLY IN BAT FORM!” Bella cried, now wedged halfway through like a rubber ball.
And then—
POP
Bella shot out and rolled across the floor.
“Phew, finally,” Ivy wiped her sweat.
“I think Kovalski’s right—you eat too much.”
PUFFF
Bella automatically transformed back into her normal form—naked, bruised, and barely alive.
---
Moments later, the cell door was open.
Ivy stood outside while Bella—now dressed again—wobbled beside her, covered in bruises.
“All right, here we go!” Ivy declared. “Let’s find the Single Piece!”
“…Riiight,” Bella replied weakly.
And with that, every Murican inside the Goldenclaws HQ set off—
each on their own path,
each with their own agenda,
and absolutely no coordination whatsoever.
