Along the way to the takeout store Greg had in mind, he passed by a small but quaint cafe, its nice but not overly fancy exterior illuminated from behind by the warmth within. For a week now he'd be planning to treat his parents to dinner there as a special occasion, but there never seemed to be enough time. Plus, money was an issue. A restaurant of this nature couldn’t be too expensive, but still, it would blast a sizable hole in his savings to provide a lovely meal for three. Of course, he had been toying with the idea of not getting anything himself, but it didn't feel proper. That dinner would be a celebration of the King family versus the world that so often snared up its members, and any stinginess would only blunt its meaning. Just as soon as Greg had arrived, he was gone. Half a block more was his destination.

-=-=-

Quicksilver Seraph continued to observe as the two alter egos remaining by the forest brought out their weapons. Floating spears and a pistol, if her eyes served her correctly—not exactly monster hunting material. The girl's attire further discredited her ability; even Ironclad's poor eyesight could see the girl's halo of hair and flamboyantly colorful, alluringly cut garb. Though in the back of her mind she was sure that two egos could handle a beast like that on their own, her spirit was crying out to give them help. “We must assist them. If they are hurt, it will fall on Envoy for bringing it here and us by extension.” She readied her bow as Ironclad muttered coldly, “Not like they couldn't just regenerate.” A scathing look from Sera shut him up; he hated that about her. “Ironclad, you will help.” He crossed his arms, creating a hair-raising scraping sound as blades drew across armor. “I'm not running out there again.” When she pointed her weapon to the nearby ballista, he truculently rolled his blazing orange eyes and stalked off to activate it. 

After putting on a special glove connected to the machine, it roared to life and Ironclad began to direct it by moving his hand. Once he had a bead on the huge creature, which was currently being peppered by Breaker's guns to little effect, he clenched his hand and the gigantic crossbow fired. At the same time, Quicksilver Seraph loosed an azure corkscrew arrow. The two projectiles sailed through the air, and though the bolt was faster, the magic-infused arrow would seek its target.

Oblivious to the incoming fire, the negative continued to fight Fantasy Sky Breaker and Crisis Sonata. As the single Staccato Blade came near, the avian behemoth batted it away with a talon, only to squawk in annoyance as Breaker's bullet pierced its wing. Neither attack seemingly had much effect; Breaker would need to land a couple dozen more shots like the one he just inflicted to loosen enough feathers to send the negative tumbling out of the air. Meanwhile, it appeared that Sonata's full repertoire of lances might be necessary to bypass the negative's keen defense and land a vital strike.

At that moment, however, the huge, jet-black ballista bolt shot by Ironclad from the fortress walls screamed past the negative's torso and buried itself in a tree at the forest's edge, nearly reducing it to a pile of splinters. Startled but unhurt, the monster turned in the direction it came from only to receive an azure arrow to the chest. An agonized shriek resounded across the plains as the projectile detonated in an explosion of blue energy, rendering the negative distracted and stunned—perfect for a simultaneous onslaught from Sonata and Breaker.

A mile away, Seraph grinned.
“You missed.”
“Mine don't home. And I haven't got the eyes of a bloody eagle.”
“Hawk. I have the eyes of a hawk. I thought you'd know; you spend so much time staring into them...”
“You're unbelievable.”