The Bridge

“It’s not over until we say it is.”

They all stood in an arc, weapons bared, gazing at the cataclysm. It was formless. It had no name, nor did it ever claim to have one; it had no purpose and destroyed everything it touched, everything that ever began… The cataclysm was the meaning of an end.

The very essence of existence was dying. Stars in the distance flickered and went out like candles, void swallowed up everything tangible and real around them, not leaving a trace. It was a familiar sight for some.

They joined hands for the last time, looking around at every companion that stayed for this moment; each one had a wildly different background, and yet here they were… Nobles, explorers, deities and vagabonds gathered in one place to fight a common enemy.  

Nothing could have prepared them for this moment, and yet every single one had confidence that they would not meet their end here. Somewhere, beyond the bend, there would be another future. Perhaps it would be a future different from this one, one where not all of them would return. But it would be a place where the world could escape just long enough for new heroes to rise and fight the cataclysm once more.

The arc completed, a brilliant light burst from the fading earth, illuminating their figures as an eternal message to every hero who will follow them. The cataclysm, rising high and threatening to drain the last semblances of existence knew the message all too well…

This is the Never Ending Story.

As she gave him a glance of confirmation, he nodded, filling the void with the beginning of a familiar incantation.

“Blessed be the one to bask in the light…”






The shimmering ocean reflected clear skies, teased by a passing winter breeze.. It had to be impossibly clean- a perfect mirror of the town ahead could be seen in its waters even from this distance. Cruising its way through the water was a passenger boat large enough to have two floors, with enough room to carry fifty passengers just in its cabins.

Hardly any were in there at the moment despite the space though, as quite a number of passengers had gathered at the bow to admire the bustling town just ahead. Tourists pointed excitedly, snapping photos all at once and lightly pushing each other aside to get better lighting.

Some people knew much better than to crowd at the front with the tourists, leaning out just slightly from the rails to peek at their destination. Among those on the rails was a very small, circular creature- barely above a foot tall in height. It was a light pink, with red shoes and eyes that sparkled like sapphire.

Had she not been chatting with an attendant, most would have expected Impromptu Sorida to be some kind of armored plush left behind by one of the children running around the stern- but she wasn’t.

The kirby, after a swift apology for almost blinding the attendant with the light reflected off of her helmet, noted on the plethora of ships docked at the port.

“I’m assuming that sailors and merchants are coming home for the holidays?”

The attendant grinned, waving her finger towards the town growing ever closer. “That’s right; they come home just around this time of year, it’s one of my favorite things to see. Is this your first time?”

“Oh, hehe, yeah. I’m coming here on an apprenticeship with some friends of the family stationed here; super excited to end up in a place like this after all the time I’ve spent at home. I heard there’s this great market just up north, and this month's festival, oh…”  Impromptu followed the attendant’s finger, a gentle smile crossing her face.

“For some reason, just looking at this place makes my heart skip… It reminds me of so many things, and yet I’m not sure any of it has ever happened; is that weird?”

“Cor Lumina makes a lot of people feel like that, too. If anything, I bet it’s excitement for what’s about to come- you’re gonna love it.”
--
About ten minutes later, the boat pulled into Cor Lumina’s port, a slightly European voice over the intercom wishing passengers the best on their travels. Impromptu bade her new friend farewell as she weaved her way out of the stampede and into a nearby alley- even in between the storm of tropical-themed polos, she could see wreaths and festive decor suspended all over.

Grinning widely, Impromptu slipped out two of the only things she brought with her: a jet black trident with a single azure colored line running down the handle- plated at the handle with a high quality steel she still couldn't recognize- wrapped with a snow white cloak she had crafted herself. She slipped the cloak around her, helmet now concealed by its hood, and pointed the sharp end of her trident at the ground.

"Obscuro..."

On command, a pitch black curtain of shadow fell over her face, completely blocking it from view. Impromptu then lifted herself about four feet into the air with a spell she had been trying to perfect for a while- what emerged from the alley later was a cloaked figure that drifted its way among the bustling crowds. The magus had devised this plan on the eight hour boat ride in hopes of going through the town without being trampled- so far, so good.

"Now... Mom said it was the fifth house down on Oracle Avenue.."

The pink puffball was unaware of this, but another was looking at her. He was similar in stature, perhaps another of her species. It was hard to tell, though, due to the creature being cloaked in a robe and hood. It was very ratty, obviously unwashed for a long time. Light reflected off a pair of glasses barely visible through the hood. The figure watched as the girl put on a cloak and walked through the crowd. Where many would be unable to track her when she vanished into the crowd, He knew exactly where she was. He smiled. Target acquired.

This person was indeed the same species, but neither knew each other. He was yellow, unlike her, but they both had the same color feet. He had square framed glasses upon his face. Heaven knows how they stay there with no nose or ears. What he holds under his cloak is unknown to everyone but him. He stood up, as he was kneeling. He ran across the rooftop he was perched, then jumped, landing on the roof opposite. He ran across, silent and unnoticed as he followed the girl. He was soon ahead of her and climbed down, crossing the street quickly into another alley, crouched inside and waiting. He knew the girl would pass by. He was near the corner to Oracle Avenue, and she would eventually reach here. All he needed to do was wait...

As the boat sounded its horn, the voice of the intercom spoke again: "now leaving Cor Lumina t'wards Isle de Salazar." In the quarters of that boat, as people had sat down ready to depart- while one man; Flint lay selfishly on two seats, his eyes slowly widening as the intercom woke him.

"huh... Cor Lumina. That's where I'm going." He said to himself drearily, before a thought struck him with such force that he burst from his seats like an explosive, alerting the passengers around him as he scrambled over the crowds of legs to get to the exit of the cabin, causing quite a stir. He then backtracked just as clumsily to fetch his rucksack, a large and somewhat heavy camper's bag full of all sorts of supplies, dangling a frying pan from the top where his sheets were rolled in a tight safe bundle.

Flint struggled his way over the passengers for a third and final time and he left the cabin- the gangplank to shore had been raised already. The attendant was about to stop the man but he barged straight past them, twirling almost gracefully in his movement before returning to his straight-dash. He jump-kicked the gangplank right over and in his momentum, he slid down it and right onto the very last plank of the pier, landing hard on his end.

He stood up, tending to his bruised behind with one hand and watched as the boat trailed away with a gangplank hanging from its side. "Adios, Stupid boat!" he said while saluting, as if he was on some sort of 70s Cop TV Series.

Flint made his way across the pier to the town of Cor Lumina, where a hordes of people in many species mingled through the markets and high street shops that lined the town beyond a wall of hotels, harbour warehouses and restaurants. "I'd better find a hotel to stay in... hopefully it won't be like last time..."

"So, two things on the list today..." Jason mumbled to himself, holding a small slip of faded paper in his hand.

Someone actually dropped by at his shop the other day to put down a request to have somebody captured. Whoever did it was going to put down a pretty good sum, too, enough to pay the rent for a few months. That was number one.

He also heard rumors that some powerful magician was heading into town, and whenever a powerful magician had been in town, there was always a powerful magical artifact following. Exactly what Jason needed. Upgrading Equinox, his mana-firing Beretta 92 was still a top priority for Jason, and there was probably something hat he could use to modify it. Getting the gun to actually use his elements could be a possibility if this works. That was number two.

Jason stuffed the paper back into his pocket before getting back onto his feet, stretching out his left leg. Getting all the way to this rooftop took a while; the maps of Cor Lumina he get didn't give a lot of information on the actual skyline, so Jason was forced to run all over the place just to find the right rooftop. This seemed like a good place to camp out and wait for the target to come by.

He just suppressed a yawn in time to notice somebody run right off a boat at the last minute, sliding onto the pier with his rear end. He watched carefully as the man began walking down main street with a whole sack of things on his back. From the glimpses he could see, it seemed like the man was wearing the same outfit as the figure on the sketch he was given. "Look like today just got a bit easier," he mumbled to himself.

He quickly slipped from roof to roof and jumped down into the same street where his bounty had gone, landing right behind him. He didn't waste time whipping out his pistol, loading it as loudly as possible to intimidate. "I'm hosting a party, and you're invited. Your choice whether you want an easy ride there or not."

Flint put his hands up, after hearing the gun load behind him. He struggled within himself to remain calm- since there's not much you can do to combat a man with a gun near your spine. This person was experienced, they were well-versed in strategy and negotiation and had put him in a position with few options.

But positions aside- he had to decide whether he should accept the "easy ride" or to kick a fuss and run- should anyone want him in their custardy then it could only be them. And so with that assumption to move on from- he replied in the softest of tones "Invitation Declined." From which before running away into the crowds of people in the town of Cor Lumina, he flung a reverse kick to try and either disarm the gunman, or at least get the gun's aim away from himself.

High above in the sky a subtle figure soared around, anyone who saw the thing would believe it to be a bird. However this figure had arms and human legs in addition to the presently bird-like wings. Holding a scanner in its right hand it marked a pink ball getting off a boat as well as a man who stumbled off of the boat. It looked around and saw a yellow ball in a cloak and marked it before it ran around on some rooftops. Something moved in the corner of this figure's eye and it saw a red jacketed figure slip behind the man who clambered out of the boat. It marked this figure as well.

"Well... that's four of them, if I have any better luck the others should appear before the assassins appear," the figure muttered searching around again.

"We have a confirmation on the number of assassins, Deofol," a female voice whispered back.

"Tell me," Deofol replied looking around for more people to mark.

"25," the voice responded.

"Okay... it doesn't seem like I will be necessary for this intervention, Sophie would do better, send her in once I finish marking the targets," Deofol said as he lowered himself down. "I need to make sure I don't get seen though, or at least recognized later on," Deofol thought to himself.

As Deofol landed in an alleyway with no person, his wings folded in and transformed into a cloak, while this happened he shrunk in height becoming a little under 6 feet. After spotting no witnesses in his immediate area he walked away looking for more of these "targets".

Just as Jason was about to pull the trigger and incapacitate him right there, his prey threw a surprise reverse kick. Acting merely on impulse, he bent his knees by a small amount and held his arms rigidly to his side, blocking the kick that was aimed for that area. By the time that he recovered back into a shooting position, however, the man was already off and running into the crowds.

"Tch," he said to himself, fishing around in the inside pockets of his jacket. He yanked out a frag grenade and pulled the pin before throwing it right in the center of the crowd, not even bothering to move away and take cover right afterward; he knew all too well that the civilians would take all of the blast for him. He simply stood there with his gun at the ready, ready to shoot at the target once the crowd was stirred around and he could get an easier shot at him.

"Wow.. It's so beautiful of a town, I could almost say as if it's a place like.. Home..!"

A teenage girl, who appeared to be around her sixteens, hopped off of the ship at last as she snuggled her old, dark gray cap down and secure. Her dark timber hair swayed along left and right as a winter breeze came by, and her bright emerald eyes meanwhile sparkled as she looked around within curiosity. She wore a blue jacket with it covering her neck, a pair of long, black silk pants, and a pair of dark blue shoes with light blue socks. She also had a small shoulder-bag on her right shoulder, and a sheathed sword held within her left hand.

She moved along as she noticed the ship now began to leave out from the port. She didn't regret much for moving to the current town, for she was used to traveling places for years to come; however, it did gave her a slight sense of loneliness from giving a look about, as if something made her think of her home town..

The girl shifted her shoulder strap into a comfortable position and she went into the large crowd, wondering where a nice place to stay at would be. She continued to ponder about what to do, until she noticed a grenade suddenly rolling along. She became first very confused, but then panicked before getting some distance away in order to get away from the grenade.

"Oh my god, t-there's a grenade rolling about on the ground! I could have swore that thing was going to explode right next to me when I saw it!" The girl thought within much panic.

Impromptu eventually turned a sharp right into a street paved by clean stone bricks; a post she didn't even have to regard at that corner read 'Oracle Ave'. It was a lonely street compared to the rest of town, mostly composed of brick residences. The exception to this was just in the middle of a line of flats, a two-story shop building with a little chalkboard sign in the front. On the sign, written in clean handwriting:

'Benedixit Medical Offices: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week - We accept walk-in appointments!! :)

She smiled at the sign- the handwriting was familiar. If she was correct, it was the script of her (adoptive) cousin Sora.. They were close friends back when Sora's parents still lived in the castle, and she was quite excited to see her again after a ten year exchange of drawn-out letters. The magus looked around her before dropping the charm on her cloak, making a perfect landing on the sidewalk. Her cloak was now all around her in a heap, which she prepared to wrap up- but she quickly stopped herself.

The street was quiet. Strangely so, considering the hustle outside; as if something was holding its breath. An odd breeze came through Oracle Avenue, draining warmth from the air..

She unsheathed the Sage Trident, focusing mana into the fine steel at the end. It glowed, its shape unable to be identified behind the curtain of blinding light.. all until about a moment later, when the light faded to reveal a new weapon.

In the place of her trident was a bow with a somewhat angular curve- it was maybe three times her height, with three spikes coming out from the center, pointing away from her. Impromptu drew back the bow's azure-colored string, and backstepped closer to the office's window. She called out into nowhere in particular, her voice stern:

"I know you're there.. What do you want?"



Just west of where the magus was stood a beautiful cathedral.

Golden sunlight fell through the rows of stained glass windows, illuminating the heads of everyone inside. They stood silently, clasping their hands together and mumbling prayers, not even turning a head when the huge doors opened, or when a book dropped. Even the children were silent, reading little books or looking at the ceiling while their guardians prayed..

The scene inside the cathedral was meant to be serene; a place of grace and sanctuary. The silence was interrupted, however, as a tall rift opened up in the middle of a line of stained glass windows. There was no crack in the glass itself, just a distortion in space that that pushed aside the matter around it as if it were paint in water- gasps rose from the pews as the rift glowed a bright blue, nothing visible from the inside until..

A man fell through, back-first.

He landed limply on the pristine marble floors, no sound following him except for a blunt echo. There was a moment of silence, and then people began to rush their way towards him, those further away hesitating to pull out their phones. No people made it to the man before the priest did however, appearing before him in a pillar of light after he had only been standing on the other side of the church.

"....Oh dear.." Were the only words that the priest could utter as he looked at the strange man- He had wounds all over his body, ranging from burns to precise cuts, his face ashen. Most notably was the deep gash in his chest- it tainted his snow-white dress shirt, still warm. Next to the man were two strange artifacts: gears of black steel about thirty  centimeters wide in diameter, inscribed with odd blue runes which glowed weakly.

The priest took no time to ask questions, simply kneeling down and holding his hand to the wound. He began to mumble reassurance, holding his staff to ward off the crowd around them. Just as it began to glow with a golden light even more pure than that of the evening sun, a feeble hand grasped it to interrupt the spell.

"No..."

"Hnn?"

"I've done... Enough.."

The man opened his eyes. They were sad, and lonely.. Despite that, the smallest of smiles was left on his face. He tightened his grip on the priest's hand, looking straight at him- "...I don't deserve that right now. I just-"

"What is it, then?" The priest did not move an inch from where he knelt. He did his best to ward off the crowd around them without even casting it a glance- although after a moment of watching the man struggle to come up with a response, his face turned solemn.

"Forgive me..."

The figure who fell through time took a final breath before expending it on a reconciliation he knew he'd never be able to make penance for:


"...O holy spirit, have mercy on me... A sinner.."

Impromptu would hear a soft chuckling. She would be unable to place where it was exactly coming from. She then heard a soft clacking sound coming from over near an alley. When she turned to look, she'd see a small square die on the ground. It would take her a moment to realize what had happened, but right as she did, the hooded kirby darted out from the alley she now faced away from and took out a rounded blade, much like a scythe. He grabbed onto the back of her helmet, taking the blade and holding it millimeters from her face, trapping her on all angles. "Give me your weapon and all things of value, and I won't hurt you."

It would take a wise one to escape this losing nothing.

Flint noticed the Grenade fall before him, striking sheer terror into his masked eyes. "bloody hell! Is he serious?" and without any time to lose, he slung his bag off and took the sword that had been lodged between his back and the bag in his hand, stuffing the bag onto the grenade, hoping to minimalize the blast's power against the public. And he continued to push and weave his way through the sea of shoppers, sneaking his way into a local warehouse- which he quickly realised was a modest boat shed, with a large fisherman's boat docked within.

"Could I hide in the waters, or would that be my undoing?" He pondered aloud to himself. He took a moment to breath heavily as he sat down in the nearly empty warehouse. He was now able to get around faster without the weight of the rucksack that he'd reluctantly given up to save his own life, and hopefully the lives of some innocents too.

"Can't linger here any longer, I'd better find a place to stay, and a plan." He said to himself, checking his remaining possessions: a wallet full of money, a Swiss army knife (not for combat.) And an old Gameboy Advance with a copy of Super Mario World in it. Lastly, a Slim sword that he carried in his hand and a pair of Batons strapped on either side of his belt.

"Bollocks! my games were in that bag!" he complained as he stood up, gathering his breath again and making his way to the other side of the shed, hoping to find an alternate exit.

As the churchgoers crowded around the prostate man and the kneeling priest, one or two near the back began to be conscious of a cold wind licking at the back of their necks. A burly fellow with a face as stolid and humorless as a coffin lid turned and noticed that the door had blown open, and, oddly enough, was letting in an unseasonably chilly draft. As he approached to shut the manmade portal, a strange sight arrested his gaze.

In the center of the doorway, a ripple, similar to the one that had heralded the entrance of the mutilated stranger, began to materialize. But unlike that soft, noiseless discrepancy, this one let out a harsh banging sound, as if someone had taken a battering ram to the fabric of the universe. As the solid gentleman instinctively sprang back from the doorway, a brilliant light produced a strikingly different figure from the one who had previously arrived.

"Well, howdy all." The middle word was spoken without a trace of a southern accent, making it sound very awkward indeed. The light began to fade as a man stepped through the church doors. From the reactions of the assembly inside, he may as well have been stepping through a door to another universe. Which, if you wanted to get technical, he was.

"Now now, no need to stare," the man said as he pushed his sunglasses a little further up his nose, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "The name's Aquinas. I represent..." He thought for a moment before completing the sentence, "...the Time Police." A hushed whisper went through the crowd, which seemed to amuse the newcomer. Adjusting his posture ever so slightly, he strode up to the burly fellow. "And yes, sir, we know you've been hitting the snooze button every Monday morning. Twice, usually." He shushed the man's sputtering denial with an outstretched hand. "Ah ah ah. No use denying it sir, the Time Police know all. But it's your lucky day, because I'm not here for you." He began to wave the crowd aside as he approached the injured figure, exotic-looking firearm in hand. "You see, I have a warrant for this man's arrest. I've been instructed to bring him in, and if necessary," the man smiled cockily as he indicated his revolver, "to use force. But I'm sure our friend here won't be foolish enough to try anything risky..."

Cor Lumina was a thriving hub of commerce, tourism, and business.  Though it lacked the skyscrapers of its Western cousins, it was still among the most important cities in the Northeastern hemisphere.  This only made it all the more attractive to businesses, mercenaries, and tourists alike - and made it all the more necessary for travelers to pass through the town to get anywhere to the south.
So as a result, the raven-haired traveler wearing a heavy winter coat was able to easily lose himself in the crowds clogging the streets of Cor Lumina.  In contrast to the people around him, many of whom had the looks of tourists visiting a destination for the first time, he moved almost mechanically, his dark clothing clashing with the bright red, blue, and pink jackets of those around him.
Of course, probably the biggest physical difference between the traveler and most of the tourists around him was the handle of a jet-black longsword that protruded from his shoulder.  Despite this feature, however, he still managed to blend in fairly well with the crowds - though some tourists shied away, many more toughened specimens merely appraised him briefly and moved along.  He's just a wandering mercenary, they likely assumed - and their assumptions weren't too far from the truth.
A traveler he may have been - but this man was almost the opposite of a mercenary.  Rather than being one who killed for cash, he saved lives without taking a single piece of gold in return.  Of course, the downside to this was that he found himself almost perpetually low on funds, limiting him primarily to traveling places by foot.
But the man who'd recently taken the alias of "Meta" hardly minded - or at least, he didn't let himself mind.  He could save people this way, and that was all he could allow to matter.  To this man, saving people was the right - no, the only - path.
So despite his apparent focus on his destination - which, really, was only defined in such childish terms as "where I can save people" - the man's attention was drawn to the rooftops the instant he saw a blur moving across them.  In his experience, people who leapt from rooftop to rooftop were either in a hurry or operating with hostile intent - or both.  There was only a chance it'd be either case, but he was almost completely certain he'd seen someone moving up there...
Picking up his pace, Meta made it to the crowd around the docks just in time to see a man in a crimson jacket drop down from a rooftop.  Narrowly avoiding knocking a bystander to the ground, he watched as the man drew a gun from a holster on his thigh and pressed it to the back of a man in a tan jacket.  His eyes went wide as he instantly started estimating distances...
But that wasn't immediately necessary as the man in the tan jacket lashed out with a kick, knocking the gun aside and taking off into the crowd.  Meta had only begun to move to offer some help when the man in red pulled out a fragmentation grenade and hurled it into the mass of people.
What the hell...!?
Seeing the man in the jacket stuff a pack down over the grenade, he moved faster, now almost sprinting.  He knocked one man to the ground, but a little rudeness was worth it if it could save lives.
The pack won't be strong enough on its own, I can already tell... I just need to find an image.
Visualizing what the pack could become was easy, as the stuffed item's shape itself almost called to mind a thick metal shield.  But he could do nothing with that image if his Circuit wasn't hot...
Trigger, set!
In his mind, the image locked into place.  At the same time, he called forth another image - a handgun loaded with a single bullet.  For just a moment, the man closed his eyes, feeling energy run through his circuit like lightning.  When he opened them again, the normally dark irises were glowing as he slid the image of a shield into place like a bullet in that handgun.
Load...
Now came the hardest part - transposing the image onto reality.  Overwriting the structure of the pack with the energy fired from his Circuit.  Extending an open hand toward the pack containing the grenade, he clenched those fingers tightly as he released the energy he'd built up within.
Fire!
In Meta's mind, that handgun fired its only bullet.  As it did so, magical energy leapt outward from the man's outstretched hand, creating an invisible arc of power that filled that pack, reinforcing it with the image of a shield... and then the grenade exploded.
A mere instant after he'd completely emptied his Circuit, the grenade went off.  In that shattered instant, everything seemed to slow to a complete halt as he watched, hoping against hope that his mediocre reinforcement had done the job...
And the pack shot into the air, a concentrated blast pulverizing the neatly-packed cobblestone and sending small pieces flying into the air.  There was mass panic, but Meta slowed his sprint for just a moment, glancing around the plaza.  There were minor lacerations, and there was major hysteria, but no one was truly wounded.  Despite the low-quality job he'd done, it had worked.  He had saved lives with his Magecraft.
For that was Meta's secret.  In addition to the blade on his back, he had another weapon on his person: the single Circuit in his body.  He could never approach the levels of most Magi with only that single conduit for energy, but even one Magic Circuit was a precious gift that could raise him above what a normal human being could accomplish.
However, his job wasn't done yet - the man who had rolled the grenade still had that pistol, and likely half a dozen other lethal weapons as well.  He had to be taken down immediately, before he could hurt, maim, or kill anyone.
So immediately after suppressing the grenade with the man's pack, Meta changed direction, shifting his momentum and drawing the longsword from his back in one smooth motion.  Five lunging steps brought him within range of the man with the gun, and he lashed out horizontally, a precise and near-instantaneous move that would knock the man's weapon hand aside.  Immediately afterward, he continued to close the distance, lashing out with a palm strike to the chest to stagger his opponent...

Impromptu didn't have enough time to react as something grabbed the back of her helmet through her hood- a large, curved blade swinging around her front. It was a dangerous weapon, cold even from a distance. Even more dangerous was the voice that came afterwards, ringing behind her.

"Give me your weapon and all things of value, and I won't hurt you."

She stopped.

Judging by how close the blade was to her face despite being level with the ground, and the figure's grip, the thief could easily be someone like her- the voice was unfamiliar though, and he had the aura of a peasant.

She allowed the cold of Cor Lumina to enter her, quivering- playing the weak card didn't exactly suit her liking very much, but her mother always told her to be careful around these types.. Considering the blade before her, it was her best option.

"I-- I... Ahm... Hang on... p-please, just one moment.." Impromptu, still wearing her cloak, began to shuffle around for things. She began to bend down while mumbling small talk- 'Nothing there.. I thought I kept my wallet here-- oh...' During the motion, she pulled her bow in front of her so as to hide it from the thief's view.

Her mumbling slowly quieted, until the magus was completely silent. The cloak still shuffled around, although with each moment the folds grew ever weaker- until the structure swelled with air and jetted upwards to reveal the magus was no longer in the same place.

Beyond the reach of the thief's scythe, stood a creature of almost the same height but of prouder posture. Her gaze was authoritative- piercing right into his eyes- and poised in front of her once more to meet the scythe was the legendary jet black trident.

"Now," Impromptu flexed her left hand, the bright glow in its palm fading. "I don't know what motivates you- but threatening random people off the street and demanding their goods is deplorable no matter what the purpose is! Who do you think you are?"

"Two energy flux have occurred," a robotic voice echoed in Deofol's head which made him jerk slightly.

"Hm... were they scheduled?" Deofol asked in his head turning around away from the main street into a secluded alleyway.

"They seem to be expected, one of them is a target, the other is an ambiguous," the voice said.

"Back to the sky again..." Deofol muttered as his wings unfurled from their disguise.

Deofol crouched slightly down and jumped ever-so-slightly and with one wing flap he vanished into the sky. Along the way he marked all the various targets he noticed throughout his ascent.

"Okay, marked a person attacking the red one, as well as one in a store, and that special one in the cathedral," Deofol said. "Perhaps I'll just stay up here and wait."

He froze, looking at his would-be victim. He smiled, knowing she would see it visible from under his cloak. "Well done...not many could get out of that. I have no reason to give you my purpose to this..." His scythe retracted into his hood, and he brought out a bow, training it on her. "But I do know I won't be defeated by you."

Ah, there was his target. He just slammed his own pack onto the grenade before running off -- clever. He could see why the award posted for this guy was so high. Too bad simply taking off the pack revealed to Jason a clear line of sight to his target. He immediately re-positioned his aim right at his target, ready to fire a slug and take out his target.

Or at least, he would have, but somebody he didn't recognize wearing a dark coat immediately dashed right in the way and... crouched right next to the pack? Completely confused as to why anyone would actually want to go near the thing, he simply waited until he either moved or he suffered an injury from the grenade, gun still at the ready.

He was, therefore, naturally surprised when he saw the pack shoot up into the air, leaving behind a large impact in the ground, and the newcomer coming away unscathed. It was then that he noticed the sword poking out from behind this new face's shoulder, and the fact that he was turning toward him right now. His mind kicked into overdrive as to how to handle the fact that this guy was about to smack the living daylights out of him. Running was an option, since it seemed that Jason could outrun this guy, but that meant losing his lead on this month's paycheck, and his target would likely be prepared for him the next time. And man, was he sick of instant noodles.

An idea suddenly formed in Jason's head. By the time this swordsman took one step towards Jason, he jumped to the side, towards a teenage girl with dark brown hair and thick blue-and-black wear. In one swift motion, he put Equinox up toward the side of this girl's head while placing a hand on the hilt of the sword to the girl's side to make she wasn't getting any funny ideas. Once he figured she got the message, he moved his free arm around her neck to restrain her. He now had a hostage on his side, and surely this guy wouldn't try putting a sword through a hostage, right?

(Chat clarification: ??? did have an arrow prepared)

Impromptu tensed at the thief's response- It seemed as if he was looking for a fight more than he was her wealth, and the fact that he had targeted her of all people on this day in particular.. Of course, she figured that it was better she'd be targeted than anyone else, but she just got to town less than a few hours ago.

She immediately focused on the arrow; registering how long she had to protect herself from this distance, and with how much force it would hit her-meanwhile, her left hand began to glow a light blue.

"...My apologies if I refuse to hold back, then."

Mid-sentence, the magus stepped forward and threw up her left hand to project a translucent wall of energy- hopefully it'd protect her from weak strikes. Then, following the motion, she swung the trident in an upwards crescent to send a powerful  burst of wind towards her opponent.

"Iussum Ventus!"

Impromptu's barrier had shattered because of the wind's pure force, but hopefully it would put more distance between the two.. She set her trident horizontally in order to intercept any fast retaliation. Considering the boy pulled out a completely different weapon out of nowhere, having to match his style would mean putting up the defense to expect anything- She could do that.

The Kirby smiled, sidestepping her attack. He expected that might be her course of action. He aimed, without taking out any arrows, but it seemed one of green light appeared. He took a shot, and it flew at her from only a few feet away.

'Wait, how do you sidestep a gust of w- Never mind..' Impromptu was taken aback at how quickly her opponent had avoided the attack- Considering how close the spell was cast to him, it wouldn't have taken normal speed and reaction to know exactly what to do.

Then an arrow materialized just below her shoulder plate.

A moment's observation showed that the thief had drawn his bow amidst her pause; the shock of his attack somehow prevented her from flinching, although she was still vulnerable at their current distance. 'Mama would be screaming in my ear for that, would she? I can't get distracted..'


Impromptu yanked out the arrow as quickly as she could, keeping a straight face. The wound stung a lot- almost unbearably so, but she knew it'd be patched up within a matter of moments.. In the meantime, she'd have to play it safe.

Pulling speed from the wind, she swung her trident and slammed it into the ground. The incantation she let out was hardly audible behind the sound of a strong jet of water bursting from the pavement- it jetted two meters upwards, threatening to soak everything around it and send her opponent reeling.


The suited figure had already grown cold by the time Aquinas reached him. Low murmurs hanging in the air were the only thing keeping the scene from growing as cold as he, broken only when the priest held out his staff to meet the strange weapon in his hand. Figures among the crowd glanced at each other as if to summon one to intervene and stand by the poor old man, but none rose to the task- some pulled out their phones and snapped photos of the scene, evoking glares from those farther back.

"Unless you intend on interrogating a dead man, I'm afraid here isn't much left you can do by taking him in." The priest paused, making sure to lock a somewhat saddened gaze with Aquinas.

"...However, if you could enlighten me on what he has done to deserve such a fate, I would be grateful. He is a criminal?"

He flew back from her attack while he was drawing his bow again, an arrow materializing. He never saw that comi-

And that was when he was impaled in his own arrow.

His arrow had flown from his bow, landing behind him feather-side down, the point aimed right at his back. It was a miracle he hadn't been killed, but it was so thin it managed to slip around the organs that kept him alive, but it felt like it hit every other one. He let out a string of curses in the pain before falling to the ground. Perfect. Now the other would have the upperhand, and most likely finish him off as blood began pooling around him.

(HE'S NOT MILES I JUST MADE A BAD)

After scanning the other end of the shed from the front, Flint deduced that the way he came in was the only way out- bother, now he has to go back where he came from, where all the danger is. He looked around again to see if he could fashion a quick disguise out of his surroundings. All he could find were tools however, the last thing he needed to avoid attention, and he already had a pair of batons and a magic sword to boot.

He reluctantly left the way he came in, looking both ways as if he was to expect furious cars to come by, and snuck his way into the open lack of crowd, as most of the people that had before given him a sea to hide in had flocked to the town centre. He glanced around again in case his assassin was hiding or about to strike, he saw him through the gaps of people, that assailant (who he didn't get a proper chance to see before, in his escape) with a gun pointed to a familiar girl's head.

"Ery! what the?" he said to himself under his breath. "Why is meeting with you again such a fickle?" It would appear that that man is probably the one who started on him back near the port, the man who threw the grenade. The assassin had Ery hostage- what depraved lunacy is this? But tactically it was perfect for the assassin, it meant that Flint had a reason to not run away, it changed the game. Bloody hell! This is dangerous business and it's all his own fault really, not that knowing it would do any good now.

The assassin might be bluffing, but in this moment he doesn't want to take the risk, and more importantly he wants Erygirl safe. Assessing the situation further, there was another individual, he couldn't fully see him through the people but he had the assassin's attention, he'd brought a sword to a gunfight- not usually a smart idea no matter your skill- he'd only distract the assassin for so long, and he'd better not strike Erygirl! This is an awkward situation indeed- but at least of all things, if only for the moment, Flint had an advantage, his assailant was unaware of his return- or so he hopes.

He crept behind the assassin in a crimson coat, beyond the crowds that encircled the three people, and with a little hesitation, scanning the situation once more- he leapt over the wall of people with a burst of flames trailing from his feet, like a rocket. He reached the arc of the jump, removing his Batons from his belt and attempted to land upon the assassin with all his weight, and if not he'd have made an intimidating entrance, possibly enough to make him drop Erygirl. If not this is going to be a much more awkward situation than before.

Impromptu slowly pulled down her hand upon hearing some rather alarming words, lowering the jet of water until it revealed her opponent bleeding on the ground. She paused, considering the possibility of a fake-out; then again, considering his demeanor, he wouldn't seem the type to curse and-- "At that angle, it'd go through his vitals oh dear that's real blood."

At the sight of the motionless and wounded figure before her, Impromptu's feet seemed to move on their own- carrying her to his side. The look in her eyes made it very clear that if he pulled any weird tricks, he would regret it- locking on where the arrow pierced his skin, she placed her hand on his forehead. Within her palm, a soft blue light developed.

"Veni, spiritus misericors... Stella Nutrix!"

Following her exclamation, an ephemeral ribbon of pure white drifted out of her hand to wrap around her opponent's wound. It seemed to fit itself to his shape and halt the bleeding, as well as soothe its pain; taking out the arrow, on the other hand... She couldn't do that kind of magic yet, but certainly her best move at the moment would be to get this figure off of the sidewalks.

The magus stood.

"I'm going to take you to a doctor, understood? I promise, we won't hurt you; but getting that arrow out is a priority. And certainly, you can't do much with it lodged in your organs..." Impromptu pulled her cloak off of a nearby sign and pulled it around the yellow puffball, then proceeded to drag him through the Benedixit Medical Office's glass doors.

"Ahoooy! This one needs attention, stat!"

In the midst of an outright sprint towards the hostile, Meta encountered a problem.
The problem was that even at his top running speed, Meta couldn't quite overtake the enemy before he could finish those two steps and put a gun to that girl's head. The black swordsman had tried reinforcing himself before, and it was certainly possible that reinforcing his leg muscles could let him put on a boost of speed and overtake the hostile, but the amount of mana that would take to make a meaningful difference just couldn't be generated in the extremely short time he had before the situation went too far for him to handle.
So as a result, Meta was almost out of options. He could already tell that he'd be too late, that the crimson-jacketed mercenary could put a gun to his hostage's head just before he could make it within the range of his sword. He was completely out of options, mana, and time.
Meta skidded to a stop just outside the range of his sword, raising both hands over his head as Redcoat half-turned, keeping his pistol to the girl's head. He was just about to open his mouth and try to negotiate his way into a situation where no innocents would be hurt when an extraordinarily flashy sight erupted from behind the hostage-taker.
Flying upward on a jet of flame, the man who Redcoat had tried to kill earlier lifted himself high above the crowd, clearly aiming to smash the two Phillipine-style fighting sticks he held into Redcoat's head. It only took Meta an instant to discern the flying man's intent, and by the time that instant had passed, his eyes were locked on Redcoat again. Odds were that an apparent professional like this wouldn't be fooled and would immediately check behind himself... but if the mercenary took that instant to glance away, the black swordsman could just step in and swat his pistol aside...

The kirby watched her come closer, thinking she was about to finish him off. When she started to heal him, however, he was rather shocked. He watched as she did, silent. When she started getting help, he looked up at her. "I...I just attempted to rob you...how can you be so kind to such low scum like me...?"

(you used Miles again, are you sure you're not Miles)

Impromptu turned to the figure she had in her cloak. Weakly, he asked why she was helping him. In all honesty, she didn't really know either- but she couldn't really just leave him without an answer.

Her reply was cautiously put, but precise: "I am.. a Sorida. It would be a shame on the family name if I left you there for something as petty as theft."

A robed, distinctly asian man scooped up the injured puffball off of the floor and, after a nod of welcome to his niece, rushed off to one of the makeshift patient rooms upstairs. There, he and his daughter- a somewhat nervous looking teenaged girl in pure white priest's robes (who had been cleaning up there before he burst in)- set to work in removing the arrow.

The two wasted no time asking questions- rather, they hassled their patient with questions while swiftly doing their work. He was hardly conscious enough to answer any of them, and anyone observing would find that it'd be hard for even the most aware of people to reply at the speed they were going.

"Great Crystal, what happened to you?" Sora Benedixit, the young cleric, carefully gripped the arrow shaft and slid out the arrow, being sure not to disturb Stella Nutrix's effects. "I'm sure that shady looking guy who goes around has that magic pistol, not a bow... Who knows why he'd ever go after you though."

"I bet-" Kaito, Sora's father, sprinkled a strange powder mix over the newly exposed wound. It stung a little, but appeared to slow the bleeding to a mere trickle- as if it were a papercut. "He was unfortunate enough to walk by target practice for that archery competition going on downtown. My friend from Cor Fortuna- in all its irony- went there once, hehe."

"You said you didn't have any friends from Cor Fortuna though-"

"Precisely."

Downstairs, Impromptu tried to listen in on the chatter upstairs- it wasn't all that effective, considering her aunt was squeezing her like a plush doll. She worried though- if they accidentally shifted the angle of the arrow while removing it, that would have been bad... And she might have been a little rude earlier. But it was a little hard to think while she was being smothered by someone four times her height- the magus decided that perhaps it'd be better to put the idea to the side for the time being.

Kaito, after cleaning up the last traces of blood, patted his patient on the head.

"Hey there 'lil guy, you alright now?"

(I RP ON OTHERS SITES AS MILES)

The Kirby nodded slowly. "Y-yes...I feel better. Thank you so much..."

"All targets accounted for..." Deofol muttered to himself after looking around for a long enough time. "It's time to send her in."

Deofol raised up his hand and brought it down quickly summoning forth a sleek black ship which he dropped into. "I'll be back soon enough," Deofol thought. "Demini, let's get back to Graes Maroa, we have more business to attend to," Deofol said.

"You mean, you're just going to sit in your office looking important?" Demini asked.

"... You're joking..." Deofol said.

"Yeah... Yeah," Demini replied before flying off.

Jason only smirked as the swordsman could only stand back and raise his arms, putting on the face of a cold-blooded, remorseless murderer. In reality, though, he was mentally patting himself on the back; it wasn't often that he actually got to pull this trick. Ah well, at least he got to hear this guy try to talk him down.

Something was holding the swordsman's tongue down, though, of which Jason took note. He was about to say something, he knew, and he seemed like he had enough guts to spit out something, so why didn't he? Jason decided to bank on the prediction that hostage situations just outright scared this guy and capitalized on the moment.

In one swift movement, Jason pushed away his hostage towards the swordsman and jumped backwards, hoping that the hostage could distract the black-coated man and that he could disappear into the crowd quickly enough to make his getaway.

Or at least, he would have made it into the crowd, had not the exact same guy he was hunting crashed down right on him. He was just inches away from being outright crushed by the impact, but his side was grazed by a foot, causing him to roll in midair and make a hard landing on the ground, short of the edge between the clearing made by the crowd moving from the action. Though he was quickly able to recover into a combat-ready position, Equinox at ready, that didn't stop his side from hurting, and he wasn't as far or well-concealed from any of the three others as he would like. At the very least, he was the one with the gun.

Flint poised his left Baton towards the Assassin's face, meeting ends with his gun. He wasn't exactly at his mercy but the Gunman's position was only stronger than naught because of the gun. After a short moment Flint had taken a good glimpse of the man who'd tried to capture him earlier, almost succeeding.

"I never got a good look at you when I was running away- never realised my assailant actually looked pretty stylish!" Flint smirked, complimenting his near-killer, although it might be a little soon to say that, Flint wasn't out of the clear yet and still had a gun carefully poised towards him.

He looked at Ery behind him, in the Swordsman's care- only for a moment so that the Assailant wouldn't try anything, then returning his focus he placed the Batons back in their holsters.

"Alright then- let's strike a small deal and no one has to get themselves injured! If you tell me who sent you to "invite" me and where I'd be going then I'll come willingly, even if it is indeed KROSS like I'm expecting. If you refuse then I leave and you can bloomin' well sod off for all I care- try again and I won't be as merciful- I don't care what type of gun that is." He was careful in his mood to not mention his relationship to the girl he had taken hostage moments ago- besides it might be better for now if she stayed with the Swordsman rather than come with himself into what's most likely danger, despite how much he wanted her to tag along so he can be a show-off again.