[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/EQooviU.png[/img] [img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjgwLmM2MTc0YS5RV0prWld3Z0ppQkhZVzVuLjA/italianno.regular.webp[/img][/center] [hr] [hider=Stakeout]It was right then that the answer seemed to present itself, at least from the other end of things. Whatever other leads they'd gotten, the one pointing to the Cola Brothers had seemed the strongest and they were on their way. Drawing close, Abdel had reached out with his tethered range and picked up what he was pretty sure were the rest of the group. They'd just finished beating up some hoods and were not far from the warehouse that they'd been told to bring the money to. Xiuyang felt a pinch behind her ears that could only have been the group's lone tethered: [color=9e0039][/color] The reply came in the form of subtle binding magic. Xiuyang tattooed it temporarily across her shoulders where only Abdel could see. [color=slateblue][i]Learned much. Didn't catch it, yasoi. Colas, big threat. We go in with money, you ambush?[/i][/color] [color=9e0039][/color] Once at the edge of the supposed Cola 'territory', Abdel instinctive reached out with the gift. Blood pumping. Echoing stridors. Sweat drops slowly smealessly through dry skin. [color=9e0039]“Man, tied up on the floor. Porbably Yasoi.”[/color] he reported with squinted eyes. Dayanara gurgled, curious as to the smells and sounds coming from the warehouse. [color=9e0039]“Thre other people around him-”[/color] the squinting intensified. Was something wrong? It was not strain but a second-guessing. [color=9e0039]“One is MASSIVE. A monster. I have no idea how someone can get that big.”[/color] flabbergasted, he blinked a few times to reconcile what he had perceived with reality. [color=9e0039]“There are other people outside working. I can't tell if they with the folks inside as employees or others.”[/color] before any sort of conclusion could be made, he raised his hand to keep the attention on him. [color=9e0039]“There's a LOT of energy near the doors. I ... Can't tell what it is.”[/color] Johann nodded once. He took a deep breath, psyching himself up, and pounded a fist into his open hand. He seemed quite anxious. [color=goldenrod]"Then it's time for me to become a monster of our own,"[/color] he decided, taking another steadying breath. [color=goldenrod]"Maybe the other group comes in with the money and we're the assurance outside? the element they don't know about?"[/color] [color=9e0039]“This is what the others are planning. I've warned them of the fiend.”[/color] Abdel confirmed. [color=orangered]"So, he said a lot of words, but did we learn anything?"[/color] Xiuyang asked Ashon as she approached him. Then, suddenly, she erected a sonic bubble. [color=orangered]"Hm. Abdel is advising that we should keep our distance. There's a 'big enemy' at the warehouse, whatever that might mean."[/color] Meanwhile, she replied to Abdel as she dropped the bubble. [color=slateblue][i]Big enemy, inside warehouse? What else?[/i][/color] [color=9e0039][/color] Xiuyang snorted at "not BIG." She wasn't sure why she found it funny. Nerves, maybe? Then came her reply. [color=slateblue][i]Jaxan?[/i][/color] she asked simply. She put up the bubble again, this time making sure to include Seviin. [color=orangered]"Only that our enemies have two tricks up their sleeves. A 'big enemy' inside the warehouse, and a mystery door trap. That's a bit of a pissoff. I wanted at least the appearance of a negotiation, but it seems we're in for a fight as soon as we're there."[/color] [color=9e0039]< Not Know. >[/color] [color=slateblue][i]Jaxan, resistance. Enemy of Colas,[/i][/color] Xiuyang quickly relayed to Abdel. [color=slateblue][i]Negotiations likely futile.[/i][/color] Whatever they were discussing, they did not have long to do so. Niallus was the first to notice it, with Abdel being so distracted and Johann focusing intently on... [i]something[/i]. One could sense chemical changes within him, though. There were a couple blasts of energy and then a young yasoi woman came racing towards them from the direction in which they were headed, heartrate elevated, bright red hair pasted to her face in sweaty tangles or trailing off behind her. [color=DF013A]"You fucking [i]bastards[/i]!!!"[/color] she screamed in the direction of something behind her. Tears were rolling down her face, and she kept running right past them. Abdel side-stepped. The human-conatct role could be relegated to another, he had to figure out what had just happened. More Tethered senseroo. Seeing the red head run towards them. Perhaps this is a sort of way for us to help, thinking the best idea, he decided to help her from whatever she's running from. [color=3d5a88]"Over here, we'll help you."[/color] He said to her. As he dashed towards her. The woman ran right into his arms. She was small and soft. [color=DF013A]"They took it, the bastards!"[/color] she wailed. How the tears poured from her. [color=DF013A]"It was my future and they [i]took[/i] it!"[/color] For a moment, she pulled away, perhaps realizing that she had just run into the arms of a complete stranger. [color=DF013A]"Oh, you're a yan... A huusoi. I-I'm sorry."[/color] She clenched her fists in helpless rage. [color=DF013A]"Those [i]bastards.[/i]"[/color] Niallus braced himself as she ran into him. When she pulled away informing that, he is indeed a Yani.[color=3d5a88]"Yes i am, its ok. We aren't going to hurt you."[/color] trying to put her at ease, [color=3d5a88]"What seems to be troubling you?"[/color] He asks her. [color=DF013A]"It's those Cola Brothers!"[/color] she bawled. [color=DF013A]"I..."[/color] She swallowed, and then hung her head in shame. [color=DF013A]"I was forced to work for them. They paid well. I..."[/color] She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. [color=DF013A]"I needed the money. It would've been enough to start my own business, to not just be another poor girl from a broken land, to follow in my father's footsteps and be a candymaker."[/color] She took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. [color=DF013A]"It was my last time doing... that work before I'd have been done with it forever."[/color] [color=DF013A]"Fuck,"[/color] she breathed, almost inaudibly. [color=DF013A]"They didn't pay me, they stole everything, and then they were going to..."[/color] She stopped there, noticing the others, suddenly. [color=DF013A]"Sorry. Thanks for being here. They won't chase if you're here, at least."[/color] She looked uncertain, regarding Niallus' companions as well as him. [color=DF013A]"Could I impose a bit and stick with you just until the danger's cleared?"[/color] she asked anxiously. Abdel remained quiet for a bit. He took his time to alternate between keeping a keen eye on the warehouse and vetting this woman. It was odd that they'd make a scene now of all times. Why would they want more attention on them? [color=9e0039]“You should go home.”[/color] the Skuggvar-boy said flatly. [color=9e0039]“Once we're done, you'll get your money.”[/color] She came up short and swallowed. [color=DF013A]"I..."[/color] she breathed heavily, trying to steady herself. [color=DF013A]"Wait,"[/color] she remarked. [color=DF013A]"One you're [i]done[/i]?"[/color] She shook her head. [color=DF013A]"You're not thinking of fighting those monsters, are you?"[/color] She turned to Niallus? [color=DF013A]"For [i]me[/i]!?"[/color] She drew back and shook her head. [color=DF013A]"While I appreciate that chivalry isn't dead - "[/color] She glanced Abdel's direction. [color=DF013A]"Though bedside manner might be - Don't risk yourself on my account, unless..."[/color] She trailed off. [color=DF013A]"You weren't already..."[/color] She backed off, shaking her head. [color=DF013A]""Oh no no nooo..."[/color] [color=9e0039]“If it comes down to it.”[/color] he kept it at that. There didn't seem to be any sort of lust for blood, but he did have two vicious-looking Skuggvars. The sort that could maul just about anything - Look at that wicked gurgling! Oksana and Abdel spoke and then Niallus did. The woman perked up immediately. [color=DF013A]"Yes!"[/color] she exclaimed. Her eyes darted about. [color=DF013A]"You shouldn't fight them. they're strong and devious and they've been turning that place into a warehouse."[/color] She shook her head. [color=DF013A]"They've been building near the doors and I'm pretty sure those are traps."[/color] She shrugged sheepishly. [color=DF013A]"Not that I can say for sure. Not really the sort of thing a candymaker knows much about."[/color] She leaned in conspiratorially, smirking, the tears now dried on her face and took all four of her saviours in. [color=DF013A]"Not just a back way, suunei,"[/color] she addressed Oksana. She pointed upwards. [color=DF013A]"There's a false ventilation shaft on the roof."[/color] She twisted and pointed. [color=DF013A]"See that chimney?"[/color] She squinted and wiggled her pointer at it. [color=DF013A]"It has a ladder. It's their bolt hole and how they move people and small valuables they really don't want people knowing about."[/color] The yasoi woman grinned wickedly. [color=DF013A]"There'd be nothing more fitting than fucking them right through that damned thing."[/color] Her face hardened. [color=DF013A]"I'd be happy to show you where."[/color] Abdel, before making any decision, actually inspected the proposed passage. [color=9e0039]“The roof seems like a good shout.”[/color] remarked Abdel, his apprehensive gaze toward the woman softening just a little. [color=9e0039]“That said, if they notice anything, they could just flush you out. I'm not sure it's a good idea if they're actually prepared. That's where any infiltrator would go.”[/color] She shrank back a little and shrugged. [color=DF013A]"I guess you're right. I just know they use it a lot and they were trapping the doors."[/color] She shook her head. [color=DF013A]"[i]Definitely[/i] do nto go in through there."[/color] Niallus considering the options that were laid out for them.[color=3d5a88]"Apart from the traps, and the exit, miss. Do you have any idea whats inside?"[/color] He asks her. She nodded. [color=DF013A]"Well, it changes a lot, but they have a few things: lots of goods, both legal and illegal; weapons stashed about, sleeping areas separated from the rest of it, a safe or two that I was never allowed to even get close to, and..."[/color] She trailed off as if she was about to say more, but she noticed Abdel concentrating. [color=DF013A]"I have my suspicions about the basement, but I wasn't allowed there either."[/color] [color=9e0039]< Chimney. Maybe. Possible. Safe not sure. Door. Trap. >[/color] Xiuyang, shaken from her giddiness, takes a second to reconsider. [color=slateblue][i]Far away from door. Further than enemies. Blow it?[/i][/color] she proposes to Abdel. [color=slateblue][i]Spring trap, know their numbers. In position to flee if needed.[/i][/color] [color=9e0039]< Knock. Distance. Or distraction. Draw out. Confirm Yasoi boy. >[/color] [color=slateblue][i]Acknowledged,[/i][/color] she replied. And with that, she fired her kinetic spell right at the door, timed with the movements of the illusion. Abdel reached out to the downed young Yasoi. A bit of pinching was in order. [color=9e0039]< Hello. > [/color] came the reply after a moment. Then, however, there was an explosion, and then another pinch. Abdel didn't panic. Why would they put their ace in the hole in danger? [color=9e0039]< Close. Coming. > [/color] [color=9e0039]“Something's going awry. We need to draw these people out.”[/color] re-affirmed the Tethered, a palm on each animal to pacify their growing gurgliness.[/hider] [hider=KABOOM]The doors blew in with stunning force, exploding into splinters. The urns shattered and... there was nothing to see but a gust barreling in and then blowing violently back out. The fox-masked woman stood there amid the debris, her cloak flapping in the wind. She stalked forward confidently and it was perfect work, almost enough to make the [i]true[/i] Xiuyang proud. Two hoodlums - a yasoi man with red hair and a woman with short dark hair - coughed and reeled, but the great hulking figure who stood behind them was unbowed. There was a [i]Gargantuan[/i] surge of energy, but not much happened aside from a few weak gusts of wind in the area of the apparent Xiuyang. Then, a couple more in the area behind her. [color=3B240B]"Right in through the front door, not even an attempt to negotiate,"[/color] she chided, collecting herself. [color=3B240B]"I [i]had[/i] hoped to be working with professionals."[/color] [color=3B240B]"Fantas, they're not here to negotiate. They probably don't even have the money."[/color] She nodded. [color=3B240B]"Kill the kid and let's split."[/color] Abdel followed the movements closely. The explosion was not what he had expected, but to hurt and/or kill their only leverage? There was little time to act. The scrawnier henchman - the one approaching the hostage - was immediately stared down by the tethered's gargantuan gaze. [color=9e0039]“Go, now!”[/color] he ordered his group. [color=9e0039]“That big guy's going to cause a problem!”[/color] The big man began gathering energy again for something else [i]huge[/i] and it was clear that he was a real danger. Just as he seemed about to unleash it, however, the second yasoi man - the lanky ginger - froze and contorted. For a second, the youth in his kinetic grasp bobbled and began to fall. Then, he stabilized. Perhaps the others didn't know what had caused it or what it was, but it was Abdel and he had bloodwarped his enemy. Abdel had a metaphysical vicegrip on the unsuspecting Yasoi captor. Not too strong, not too aware. An easy target. His position was kept as it was, thus keeping the poor hostage in the air and on the brink of oblivion. [color=9e0039]“I got one under-”[/color] there came a deep, foreboding sense of dread that hit him. Trained his was was the ire of the monster he had identitied since they had arrived. He was found so quickly? Amidst all these people? If he let go, it could spell the end of the hostage, too. [color=9e0039]“Johann, Oksana! Big attack coming our way! I can't let go!”[/color] he yelled out, voice slurred from the hurriedness but clear enough, hopefully. [color=goldenrod]"I can feel the bugger,"[/color] Johann growled, closing his eyes and reaching out. [color=goldenrod]"Time for him to pick on someone his own size."[/color] He grinned maliciously. [color=3B240B]"Or [i]be[/i] picked on."[/color] An immense pillar of lightning blasted clean through the building's roof and struck the hulking figure in the middle. He spasmed and jerked, roaring in annoyance. [color=61380B]"Oh ho hooo! Someone big wants to play!"[/color] he exclaimed, but Abdel remained in control of the man who remained in control of the hostage as the two giants tussled. The red-haired yasoi straightened and, seemingly from nowhere, pulled out a pair of odd but wicked looking blades. [color=DF013A]"For the record, he's a sweet boy and I didn't enjoy any of it."[/color] She sighed and drew... and drew... and [i]drew[/i]: a classic yasoi intimidation tactic. Then, however, it was a two-on-one. The woman glanced between her two adversaries, taking stock of matters, and... while Oksana had been up there long enough to sense her massive energy draw, Lunara had not. A huge fiery blast came straight for the Palaparese, catching her cold. Meanwhile, Niallus would've done anything to be cold, though in a different way. Arduously, pulling in and expelling massive amounts of thermal energy, he carved through the thick ghulthite. He could feel his hair burn away and his skin start to shrivel and peel. At first the pain was incredible, and then it began to fade as nerves died. Yet... bit by bit, he completed his circle and then it wobbled. With a blast of kinetic force, it came flying free. It hurtled across the warehouse and slammed into the opposite wall with such force that it punched a hole clean through. A burned, raging figure emerged, smoke and steam rolling off of his grotesque figure. The outside world beckoned. [color=3B240B]"Very well,"[/color] the manly yasoi woman was replying in another part of the warehouse She ignored Ashon at first before being unable to resist a jibe. [color=3B240B]"You shall have your... 'son' returned to you safely in five."[/color] Meanwhile, Abdel, maintaining his concentration and slowly retreating out of range, soon found himself more or less out of the fight. It was a lot to maintain his lock on the ginger yasoi, however, and it taxed him to his very limit. Jerking his puppet on invisible chains, he began forcing the man to lower his hostage. Qadira and Dayanara stood guard to either side of him but, then... Dayanara let out a loud gurgling growl and turned her massive head. Qadira hissed and lowered herself into a ready position. So occupied was Abdel that he could not take the focus necessary to sense what was coming until it was nearly there. Dayanara sprung into action, leaping at the coldfire wyvern while Qadira barreled for the dreadmaw halassa. [color=3B240B]"Four..."[/color] Dorothea began to stir, the dread power of Levidan the Accursed dragging her from the depths of unconsciousness and demanding that she take action, that she [i]crush[/i] these subhuman nothings that had dared lay her low. It was at this moment, as the youth was being gently lowered from close to the ceiling, as Johann blasted the huge yasoi through a wall and was, in turn, himself, driven into the ground, that the ground opened up into a thousand needles and a gravitational slam to drive Abdel towards his death. [color=3B240B]"Three..."[/color] Seviin rose and gathered her power, filling Ashon and Dory with it. These criminals were not to be trusted. They had wronged Mother Oirase and now they were Lord Exiran's playthings if there was any justice in the world. It was then that Oksana felt another presence off to the far side of the roof. A tall, elegant man stood there with a thin black rapier in his hand. He flourished it and began walking toward her. [color=3B240B]"Two..."[/color] Abdel's one goal was to secure the hostage. Such a goal in such precarious conditions wasn't going to happen without getting one's hands dirty. He knew where this was going to end with thugs wielding too much power. Ever since his contact with those without faces, he was ready to be the one to pull that trigger. Now was the time. Just as Fantas had brought down the kid as per ordered by the one controlling the puppet strings, a new force had entered the equation. A wyvern accosted Dayanara while Qadira repulsed a shelled beast with her tail. Beast versus beast. [color=9e0039]“Mierda!”[/color] swiftly, upon freeing the redhead Yasoi from his merciless grip, he immediately rolled out of the way from the assailant's ambush. His eyes met with the final enforcer of that dreadful clan. [color=9e0039]“A lot of effort. A lot of exposure for just a cash grab.”[/color] remarked the Tethered teen between hearty breaths for air. [color=9e0039]“A lot of risk for a brat.”[/color] Beastmaster versus Beastmaster, a showdown not to miss! Dory's purpose was clear and her aim was true. In, she breathed, and out, and there a bullet flew. And yet, beyond her bubble, where a roiling calm prevailed, on past the perfect focus through which her bullet sailed... [b]Things were happening.[/b] Unbeknownst to Dory, some three hundred yards away, Abdel, for his survival, had been forced to free his prey. A momentary lapse seized that ginger-haired yasoi. He tremored and wobbled and then released the boy... [b]Who fell from the sky.[/b] It happened so fast the Gods must've desired it. He fell into the path of the bullet: she'd fired it. Dory had sworn to leave one of them dead. She'd aimed her gun straight for the lesbian's head. [b]But the shot struck the boy.[/b] For a moment, nobody believed it. For a moment, the shot had surely struck its intended target. Reshta did not play such cruel jokes upon any but those who had earned her personal ire. [color=3B240B]"One."[/color] Ashon, Seviin, and Xiuyang were caught off-guard by the shot, for Dory had acted solo. The woman who'd been counting froze, just about to take a step forward. No sooner had the ginger-haired yasoi regained himself than he crumpled. [color=FE9A2E]"Moila!"[/color] he screamed. [color=FE9A2E]"Dii! Oh Exi, dii!"[/color] His hands snapped the sides of his head, ripping at his hair. His sister's eyes widened like dinner plates and she stood there for a moment, frozen. Then, there came a cold rage. Niallus, having emerged from his deathtrap panting and snarling and still thinking that he had hair, did a whole lot of nothing but look angry, but he soon had cause to do more. He'd missed the exact details of what had happen, but all watched the boy hit the floor, his impact lessened by the red-haired man's intervention, but would it be any good? Had the bullet intended for his apparent captor done him in? Niallus didn't get the chance to ruminate on it. Two more thugs appeared from opposite directions. While one was at the other end of the warehouse, and made Dory his direct target, the second sent a wave of hyperdense slicing wind at the Eskandishman from less than a dozen meters away. The woman let out a shrill kinetically-enhanced whistle that carried through the whole building and even up onto the roof. Then, she and her brother barreled towards Ashon, Xiuyang, and Seviin with everything that they had. If the deal had looked about to go through, it was 'off' now, and the escape was on.[/hider] [hider=Abdel vs. Pepsii]Isolated, all his allies in the frey, leaving him with only his bestial vanguard - a vanguard soon overtaken by the enemy’s own mirrored initiative. Dayanara and Qadira were locked into battle with creatures. Two earthen dwellers, putted against adversaries from both the heavens and the seas. And there was Abdel, sandwiched between the two conflicts, eyes trained on the conductor of this wild orchestra. [color=9e0039]“You’re one of them.”[/color] deduced the Tethered upon giving a quick anatomical checkup of the man. Same physical quirks, and more RAS than the average refugee. [color=9e0039]“You should know this isn’t going to work. Not after this.”[/color] [color=CEF6EC]“It doesn’t matter.”[/color] spoke the Yasoi man, far more eloquent than any migrant. He had been here for a while, Abdel could tell. [color=CEF6EC]“Leave at once, or be killed.”[/color] he ordered, calmly. Abdel shook his head. [color=9e0039]“The more you fight, the more will fall onto your family. Give up the boy and we’ll leave as if nothing had happened.”[/color] Abdel proposed. And just as he was about to add another comment, both he and Pepsii sensed something that deeply disturbed them. Both looked to the warehouse as a gunshot rang through the area. [color=9e0039]“Damn it.”[/color] Abdel clicked his tongue. [color=9e0039]“Someone is going to DIE. Is that the goal here?”[/color] Abdel threw his arms up in exasperation whilst his beasts repulsed the assailants. A stalemate, for now. Pepsii’s body language was not one of retreat, however it was not one of pure rage either. This human was garbage - absolutely nothing to trifle over. But with so many humans entering conflict with his family, this would spell the end of their clan. His raison d’être, after losing everything that drove him once before. [color=CEF6EC]“Or we can silence you all.”[/color] the man decided as he drew and began to intensify gravity all around his range, and then focused all that power toward Abdel. The young Tethered, with Pepsii’s answer as his cue, drew the black sword sheathed inside one of Qadira’s backpacks, and wielded it with both hands. Stance clumsy, but his magnetic field more than enough to masterfully govern the weapon, she pointed straight at the Yasoi. [color=9e0039]“I’ve faced worse than you.”[/color] taunted Abdel, his nerves getting the slight better of him. [color=9e0039]“At the very least, I’ll keep you back long enough for that whole place to burn.”[/color] Thunderclaps and meteorite crashes collided. The battle to keep Pepsii back from nourishing the Cola forces had begin, with Abdel as the last remaining soldier holding the line. Pepsii stalked forward, his eyes distant and dead an implacable. [color=CEF6EC]“And you would sacrifice your very [i]life[/i] for a mere payday?”[/color] he responded, barely arching an eyebrow. [color=CEF6EC]“You are either contradictory or a bad liar.”[/color] From out of nowhere appeared a curved white blade in one of his hands. [color=CEF6EC]“Please move and I shall not harm you, tethered. We have no desire to cause any more pain.”[/color] He closed in almost... languidly, the amoutn of energy around him building higher, and higher, and almost [i]crushingly[/i] high. [color=CEF6EC]"Reach out with those enhanced energy senses of yours and know for truth who shot that boy. We are not your villains."[/color] [color=9e0039]“I'm not the one who rustled the hornet's nest.”[/color] retorted Abdel, just as immovable as the Yasoi. [color=9e0039]“But I must underline the irony of what you're saying - you wish to stop inflicting pain, yet you've left nothing but pain in your wake.”[/color] literal tensions rose in the air. He acknowledged the discrepancy in who shot whom, but it seemed to do little to rattle his stance. [color=9e0039]“You will release the boy. Do so and we will leave before someone actually gets hurt.”[/color] [color=CEF6EC]“Hah!"[/color] Pepsii laughed. [color=CEF6EC]“How can we release what we don't have?"[/color] He shook his head. [color=CEF6EC]“Those vaunted senses of yours aren't all they're chalked up to be, I see!"[/color] He stopped right at the point of the boy's sword, unimpressed, and stood there for a moment. It came seemingly from nowhere: the yasoi's sword tripled in size and came down in a wicked combo of slashes. Abdel had sensed the energy buildup, however. He was ready. Abdel remained steadfast, but the revelation was what he feared: This was all a bluff. His lips twitched and his posture opened up as if he was readying himself for a swing. But Pepsii was faster. There was no way this untrained swordsman could stop [i]that[/i]. What he could do, however, was what he did best - Bloodwarping. Not the whole body, not even a whole limb, just the right muscles that made holding this sword bearable. Enough to break a stance have all that energy misfire. All that so he could retaliate with a simple and very telegraphed upwards swing, from under the hip to overhead, aiming to sever one of the arms. A fantastic wave of kinetic energy separated the two before the attack could land cleanly, but it left a long, shallow slash down the inside of the yasoi's arm. His sleeve flapped open raggedly and blood trickled from the wound. He glanced at it annoyedly. [color=CEF6EC]"Why are you in Mudville, yanii?"[/color] He shook his head and spread his arms. The blade disappeared. Instead, surrounding the pair, came dozens more. [color=CEF6EC]"Come to police us?"[/color] He shook his head angrily as the blades began to rotate rapidly. [color=CEF6EC]"For some 'resistance' lickspittle?"[/color] He shook his head, throwing his arms out to his side. [color=CEF6EC]"You think you're the good guys! How little you know!"[/color] [color=9e0039]“I don't think I'm anything.”[/color] rebuttled an unenthusiastic Abdel, still catching his breath after barely getting chopped himself. His hat had flown away from the immense kinetic blasts, but he still stood at the ready. [color=9e0039]“My job's to find people, and so I did. You've been in the way of that.”[/color] the tethered drew once more, this time to exercise his magnetic field on the rotating blades and proactively prevent the next assault. [color=9e0039]“Why bother with such a stunt? It was never going to work with a family like that. And for just a lump of money that can be tracked? You should be explaining yourself instead of me.”[/color] [color=CEF6EC]"We don't owe you [i]shit[/i], yanii!"[/color] The blades whirled, one stabbing in every so often as Pepsii made his move and went to break around the stubborn boy. [color=CEF6EC]"After you ruined our home and even before those Tarlonese dirtbloods invaded it, I was here, trying to make this a home for our people: a place close to the mecca of magic, in good faith."[/color] A blade sliced across the youth's cheek and another speared him glancingly in the shoulder. [color=CEF6EC]"They only ever wanted to use or dismiss us, and all the drug dealers only wanted to keep setting us at each other's throats."[/color] He shook his head. [color=CEF6EC]"It's simple: we decided to fight the resistance because they were a plague on our land as much as any others, using the Tarlonese invasion to extort what little the rest of us have. It's a losing fucking fight, though. They control the narrative. We're always the badguys so, hey, that's what we've become. They blame us for the kidnapping, why not profit? With this money, I can get out - maybe all of us can. Now you bunch of clueless fucking do-gooders come in here and fuck it all up."[/color] He let out a bitter laugh. [color=CEF6EC]"You think you know Talthan and Emenii. You have [i]no[/i] idea how fucking evil they are. Now, get the fuck out of my way or I will tear you limb from limb for my family's sake."[/color] Abdel found a moment to reach out and acknowledge the situation. The boy had been secured by Xiuyang. [color=9e0039]“I did not do anything to your people.”[/color] corrected the tethered, each jab from the blades barely deflected by a mixture of his ferromagnetic matery and his robust sword. [color=9e0039]“You distinguish the grifters of your kind from others, yet cannot distinguish a Tethered from the humans in power. You are a hypocrite and a clown. It's no wonder we're all here.”[/color] he stood his ground out of pettiness, almost. [color=9e0039]“But I'm no fool. I will let you pass.”[/color] his blade was lowered, just a little. [color=9e0039]“But under two conditions. You give your word that you'll stay away from my colleagues.”[/color] dark eyes stared right into the eldest Cola's. [color=9e0039]“And you tell me about this set-up. If the resistance is the architect of this whole shebang, then my job isn't finished. Answer me, and this hiccup can go away.”[/color] [color=CEF6EC]"I have [i]vanishingly[/i] little interest in your colleagues, though your tone has..."[/color] For a moment, something infinitely cruel - Juulet-like - danced behind his eyes, but then it disappeared and there was a sort of weariness. [color=CEF6EC]"We think the resistance has him. He's one of those idiot rich kid sympathizers - I'm sure his parents love it - who willingly went to them, spawning darklings for the junkies all the way."[/color] Pepsii shook his head. [color=CEF6EC]"They have him and they've foisted the blame on us so some more rich idiots from the White Walls come and squash us and they can run this place unchallenged. Congrats. Now get the fuck out of my way before I put you on two, boy."[/color] Without any more than a tilt of the yasoi's head, all of the blades pulled back, hovering threateningly around Abdel. Abdel resisted the urge to maintain the confrontation. This man played the victim, but was as guilty as any other grifting organization with how he and his family treated others. That urge was as wicked as that glint in Pepsii's eyes. Still, he stepped aside, and almost simultaneously, the Skuggvars retreated with a more submissive demeanor. [color=9e0039]“Hey, fuck you too, guy.”[/color] arms crossed, the eldest Cola was granted passage. [color=9e0039]“Screw me, and I'll start with that scrawny ginger.”[/color] he warned. Pepsii had already started moving, their hostilities at an end. His two beasts, just a bit worse for wear, began to follow. Then came Abdel's words, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't turn. Instead, his voice was low and cold and [i]hard[/i]. [color=CEF6EC]"You wanna repeat that, boy?"[/color] He drew a supernova of energy. [color=9e0039]“You heard me.”[/color] repeated Abdel with words oozing with venom. [color=9e0039]“Screw with my people, I'll screw with yours. That's how your kind operates, right? Leverage, usually under the form of a close one?”[/color] he matched the Cola's show of power, albeit far less spectacular than the Yasoi's. [color=9e0039]“Feels terrible, doesn't it?”[/color] he nudged his head to the side. [color=9e0039]“Go save them before they get themselves killed. Instead of trying to impress me.”[/color] [color=CEF6EC]"You are a [i]true[/i] mage of Ersand'Enise."[/color] He shook his head and jetted away. The swords, no longer held apart, raced toward the magnetically-charged Abdel. Abdel sneered. Arms crossed before his form in a defensive formation, he focused his magnetic field into just a couple of metres around him. Concentrated and palpably electrifying, the [i]majority[/i] were deviated, but not quite deflected. He was left with a matching cut to what he had given to Pepsii. [color=9e0039]“I've a feeling you are intimately familiar with such a mage.”[/color] he remarked, his energy devoted to healing that minor slice. Xiuyang backed away, severely battered and burned, frightened by the power that reminded her of the dragons in ReTan. She would not stop the behemoth of a man from burying his sister. She had the money, and had been attacked and tricked multiple times. Feeling like a target, she moved to the outer edge of the conflict. She rushed to Abdel's side and whispered to him in hushed tone. She didn't bother to play up the accent—he knew who she was. [color=slateblue]"The hostage was another Cola brother. Before he tried to kill me, he confessed strange things to me. We might be able to find Jaxan, but I don't want [i]her[/i] with us. How do we lose her?"[/color] She gestured towards Dorothea as she slowly patched what she could of her burns. Abdel was still healing his lacerated flank and arm when Xiuyang had joined him. Ever the vigilant Tethered, once the big distraction named Pepsii was gone, he could piece together the current mess his senses gathered. Most notably the wicked and dense magic, one he had learned or at least a year now to be dark magic, was sicked upon one of the hooligans. [color=9e0039]“The eldest pinned it on the resistance.”[/color] answered Abdel without the trouble of hushing up. They were very much at the edge of the battlefield, and the sounds of war caught most outliers' attentions. [color=9e0039]“Did you hear something similar?”[/color] once his wound healed and his plain apparel knitted back together, he peered the Rettanese-Revidian's way. [color=9e0039]“If so, we could gather those we need and leave while this bordello solves itself.”[/color] he figured, nonchalant to the chaos unfolding. But then he let a half-hearted chuckle escape him. [color=9e0039]“What troubles you so much about her?”[/color] he did not seem amused, but instead pensive - a true pokerface barring the force smile when speaking. [color=9e0039]“A monster might be what we need to deal with other unsavory creatures.”[/color] once again, his eyes were made to meet Salomé's. [color=9e0039]“Would you save this woman that caused you grief if you could?”[/color] The Skuggvars were there, Abdel was ready, they could leave right now if they so wished. But he seemed more interested in knowing Xiuyang's position in all of this. It was Seviin who interrupted him, however. [color=F0FFF0]"I would. It is not ours to decide who lives and who dies, merely to respond as we are treated."[/color] Her hands found his side and sped up his healing until the wounds were gone. [color=F0FFF0]"She was a bad a person, but [i]nobody[/i] deserves this fate, [i]ever[/i]."[/color] There was still Xiuyang left, and Seviin hesitated for a moment, uncertainty in her eyes. Then, she reached for the Retanese as she had the others. [color=F0FFF0]"I will answer your question, Xiuyang Solari,"[/color] she replied beatifically, but her hands trembled as she spoke. [color=F0FFF0]"The only way is death."[/color] Soothing energies worked their way through Xiuyang's body after those words. Did they feel any different than they should have? [color=slateblue]"Yes, he said the same thing to me. From the sound of things... in the worst case, they may be... keeping him as an aberration generator."[/color] She squirmed at the notion. [color=slateblue]"We may need monsters, perhaps, but dark magic? ...I hate it,"[/color] she confessed. [color=slateblue]"I've seen the VOID. Its secrets should be buried,"[/color] she insisted, as one who had been swallowed by it during the Trials surely would. She turned to look at what was left of the girl who, like her, had tried to play ringleader and paid the price. [color=slateblue]"She dealt dishonestly at every turn. I was going to give her the money, forge an escape route for them if that wasn't enough of a bargaining chip. I had a ship ready and everything. I showed her far more kindness than she deserved... but even she doesn't deserve this fate, Abdel. All of us are good people, some with a few issues... but that woman is different. Can you not feel it? How she hates the yasoi, and takes shots at the vulnerable and fleeing."[/color] Then, there was Seviin, healing what Xiuyang could not herself. From the beginning, the preachy girl had been more useful than the pragmatic Rettanese expected her to be. Rather, had she been even the slightest bit preachy since this whole ordeal had started? Her presence had become almost soothing, even... ...and then, there was what she [i]said.[/i] Xiuyang's blood turned a bit cold. She glanced at Abdel to see his reaction. [color=slateblue]"We... It's not that simple a matter. What are you suggesting?"[/color] she replied, still whispering. Her eyes were locked on to Seviin's, inquisitive, but not judging. Seviin shook her head sadly. [color=F0FFF0]"Mother Oirase brings us all into the world with love."[/color] The burned faded from Xiuyang's skin. Surely, she'd have been able to heal these wounds herself, but the act of having another do it - another [i]care[/i] for you - was somehow a better thing. [color=F0FFF0]"I am not saying that we should kill her, but for the way that she is, death is the only cure."[/color] She pulled her hands back and wiped a single small tear from her cheek, straightening. [color=F0FFF0]"That is the Gods-honest truth."[/color] She tilted her head in consideration. [color=F0FFF0]"For now, we must be a united front, not violent, but drawing a line against such abomination."[/color] She looked meaningfully at Abdel. [color=slateblue]"...Right,"[/color] she offered, unnerved all the same. Perhaps it was her own family's legacy, her own darker nature at play, but she could have sworn that it seemed as if Seviin wanted her to arrange for Dorothea's "accidental" death, somehow. Perhaps she was fishing for some trick Xiuyang may have had up her sleeve... and in truth, she had two more cards to play, but now didn't seem to be the time to lay them on the table. This entire venture with the Colas appeared to be a waste of time and effort, and it was time to end it. [color=slateblue]"Thank you,"[/color] she hastily added. [color=slateblue]"I mean it."[/color] [color=F0FFF0]"But your assurances do not reach your eyes,"[/color] Seviin replied sadly. [color=F0FFF0]"I am sorry."[/color] Many appeals to emotion, some reasonable, some Abdel took issue with. Seviin's intervention was sweetened with her thoughtful assistance in the healing process, but sentimentality wasn't something this young man was going to afford. That said, the binary nature of their options didn't sit well with him. [color=9e0039]“She is a problem, but not one we should necessarily direct toward us. If anything, despite the alienation, this has been to our benefit.”[/color] he looked at the carnage that was happening, and chaos and destruction. [color=9e0039]“Well, sort of. Still, I'm of the mind that we finish this job and don't get on her bad side. Keep her as a boon.”[/color] very utilitarian of him, but the concern in his expression he tried hard, and failed, to keep cool sold out his own anxieties. [color=9e0039]“As for the Cola woman ...”[/color] she sighed, annoyed at the fact that what he was going to propose may very well complicate everything. But, alas, Seviin's approach to thing left him feeling as though he owed some humanity to the moment. [color=9e0039]“We do have experts on the subject in our current cohort, do we not? The short ones from the desert. If anyone can rectify VOID-bound issues, it could be them.”[/color] It was there that he sensed Dory execution. His gaze grew hollow. [color=9e0039]“... Nevermind.”[/color] Xiuyang's eyes widened, taken aback. [color=slateblue]"No, really! I know you care, and I trust your judgment. It's just... showing sincerity is hard, for me. No one trusts a Revidian, or a Rettanese."[/color] As if to prove her point, her eyes involuntarily averted themselves. [color=slateblue]"...Jamboi needs my help,"[/color] she said hastily, taking off. [color=F0FFF0]"As you say, Abdel Varga."[/color] Xiuyang had darted off, afraid of Shiin's truth, and it was the two of them alone. She watched him for an extended moment as Dory sliced the beast's head off, before turning to regard the developing situation there. She had no further words for him.[/hider]