Chasing the Warlord - Fishman Island Arc

She seemed to be in the mood for some mischief generation. Not that he wasn't, not necessarily, but this probably wasn't a very reliable place to involve themselves into more adventures of the bed kind. This wasn't exactly a very high quality-looking establishment, for starters. And everyone else was nearby, potentially in trouble -merely looking at them was enough to worry anyone that they'd somehow screw something up-, trouble that could jeopardize their own well-being, too.

"Erm, we .. ought to leave, if you can walk. Leaving them in charge, it already sounds like a disaster condition on its own." he barely managed to finish that sentense, only to hear loud screams and shoots from nearby. Were they already in trouble?

"You ... you mentioned "Cebros Cerberus", did you not, tall tuxedo human?!" The guards had circled Ginji, Percy and Crows; the other 3 ruffians were nowhere to be seen, potentially drifted away -another condition ready to trigger a disaster-. Except that this time, it didn't seemed like any of them tried to provoke anyone into aggression.

"Oh my, they are lovely upset ... all I lovely did was answer them, they lovely asked what we were looking for." The armored ones were also approaching the bunch now. "Cerberus ... is currently our number 1 on the list for people to be banned and hunted down if seen ... looking for him, you must be allies of his!"

"What the fuck could he possibly do to be such a menace anyway?" Percy growls in agitation.

He was correct. They had work to do - her dizziness was starting to go away and she certainly didn't deserve to be rewarded for her failure. If anything she caused him more trouble than she was worth. She began gathering herself - looking for more suitable attire. Perhaps suitable wasn't the correct word - what she found was a black skirt made of over-lapping leather panels along with an leather top of interlocking armored-like panels and leather sandals that laced up her calves. The last bit was a black hooded cloak. She looked like some sort of odd ancient warrior assassin at this point. "So ... who in the hell picked out these clothes? ... and where in hell did they come from?!"

She shook her head at the audacity of it all - as it managed to covered less that she shirt but her choices were limited. She sighed as she looked around for her sword belt - surely no one would be dumb enough to separate her from it. She turned her attention back to Hawks. "Thanks for having my back again." Her lips pressed lightly against his cheek for a moment - she felt undeserving of even that much, sadness and shame flickering in her eyes. "I'm .... sorry for all the trouble. It won't happen again." She lifted the cloak over her head - a soft shadow casting over her face, green eyes lightly glowing within.

"Right, about that collection of garments ..." Hawks flashbacks of sometime shortly before setting foot on the inside of the "island" that was were Fishmen reside, where Crows, after Catz had completed handling the nursery of Jade, offered a tightly wrapped packet of clothing, with him seriously stating that "these are clothes for true warriors". Althought, Hawks was near certain that he noticed Crows having a suspicious nosebleed upon handing them over, but he decided to dismiss that bit of detail.

"Don't be silly now. If it wasn't for you quickly taking action and offering a blade, am fairly certain that this robot of a man would most likely end up dead." That was mainly to confort her. The reality was far stranger. Once he approached the creature, the massive crab stared at his blank, creepy expression, and that was it. Literally. It just took off, visibly spooked.

"Did you hear something?" the voices had reached them, too.

Jade located her sword belt, happy and relieved to see it perhaps as happy as she was to see Hawks when she woke up in a strange place but she wouldn't admit to that part as she was still accustomed to trying to hide everything. I would get the better of her eventually - but for now she tended to her precious blade with great care before shuffling her cloak over her ridiculous attire and approaching Hawks, her ears perked for the approaching sound. "Is that a patrol of some sort? I though Xan was going to thin out the guards? Never a dull fucking moment"

-------

Xan's eyes widened as the familiar figure of his father came into the archives. He spoke with a skeptican annoyed voice. "I see you have returned, my son, and empty handed. Since you have avoiding your mother and I since your return, I presume you weren't able to procure the pri--" He catches himself just as he notices Lexana in the corner, looking a bit panicked as well. "... weren't able to procure the parcel you were sent after. What are you two doing down here, exactly?"

Xan got to his feet, bothered by his fathers secrecy and general disrespect for the creature he likely coerced into this absurd situation. "Parcel. Charming, father - really charming. We were down here reading about the extensive history of our family trying to find a suitable name for our son - or is that a parcel too?"

His father's eyes widened. "Son? You mean - ?? I must go and inform your mother." Without another word her father departed - he still seemed annoyed but also excited and confused. That clearly wasn't something he had anticipated and he didn't quite know what to do with the information.

Laxana smirked at him a bit amused but mostly bothered. "Son? Clever - though it would have been more clever of you to tell him a lie that didn't have a very specific expiration date range and didn't drag me into the middle of it. You weren't supposed to tell me about her were you?"

Xan frowned. "No, I wasn't. Sorry - I didn't know how to explain snooping through all of these old files immediately after returning within having reported back about the missing princess."

"Now now, can we all just calm down?" Percy questions, while holding a few communication devices, all tossed into a makeshift wrap bag. "When did you took these? How?!" one of the guards shoots. Ahead of and between them were a few fallen guards already.

"My My, I really didn't want to lovely fight, but then they lovely charged at me, I had to fight back!" Ginji explains.

"They are strong ... we need the elites to step in-!" A gust of wind knocked the Fishman to the side. "On It!" "Hm?"

A strong clash between one of the elites and Crows halts an attempt to hit Ginji. "Whoa, lovely rapid!" Ginji claims, as Crows is pushed away. *These armored ones are no joke ...*

Jade closed her eyes as she heard a bit of crashing and the sounds of her idiot companions who were supposed to be keeping a low profile, not starting a goddamn brawl. "Idiots." She sighed - she didn't mind battles but she found it bothersome to waste energy on unnecessary skirmishes when such a large enemy loomed - especially when it could have and should have been avoided, but that would require those clowns to actually follow orders. She began moving toward the door and checked the security of her blade. She paused for a moment, her battle composure momentarily breaking as she kissed his lips with uncharacteristic gentleness, appreciating that this may be the last time should would safely get to taste him for a while. "I'm sorry ... I... suppose we should go assist those idiots before they destroy the entire island. Maybe we can find a way to infiltrate - think you can keep up?"

"Right, earlier I noticed that th-mmmmhmm?" He was about to share some information and observations taken prior to her awakening, but that kiss took him by surprise, evident from the widened eyes and tremendous blush. He almost forgot everything he was going to speak out. "Erm ... so, there was ... ah, one moment!"

"2000 Tiles!" a powerful shockwave was thrown towards, and was parried by, Ginji, who was still pushed backwards a few inches. "Oh my, these are probably the Kingdom's top-tier lovely fighters, that stung!" finishing that, he twisted around in the air, then attempted to deliver a kick on his assaulant's head, which was blocked by the foe's arm. "Hey! Wait a minute ... you lovely are ..."

"... Some of these high ranking people there aren't Fishman ... they are regular humans. We need to fight Catz to ensure that no bystander or guard will manage to inform of what is happening." He explains to her. Armored men clad in so much armaments that it was hard to see their faces. Interesting.

Jade narrows her eyes. She knew only the worst sort of fishmen would emplay humans to be their higher officers and it would because humans were capable of more brutality, more deceit, more dishonor than even the worst fishmen were capable. These officers would have no standards. "Humans as officers - these fishmen must monsters that want real thugs working for them. We may be able to use that to our advantage. Perhaps we can capture and interrogate one ... fishmen would hire humans with no standards of ethics or violence, and not even someone that was necessarily loyal. Fishmen only employ humans for their dirtiest work ... and only human scum would be willing."

She tossed him a cloak if her wanted to bother with a disguise. It would be easier for them if they could keep their actual appearance a secret for as long as possible - wouldn't want anyone looking for a detailed description of them if anyone managed to escape to inform on them. "If they see us, they can't be allowed to escape. We cannot be captured. Especially not if they're after the..." She couldn't even bring herself to finished that sentence and entertain the idea that even more people would be after that terrible weapon that her won blood could unlock if they figured out the ancient texts. "...we should go, yeah?"

"Meow, you guys go do your stuff, and once done, signal me so I can warp you away so we can leave. Brosko and Mark are safe." Catz, virtually out of nowhere, patted their backs. It was so unexpected that Hawks couldn't help but flinch. He quickly got between them, assuming that she could, simply as a reflex to protect her or himself from a sudden attack, lash out without warning. More importantly, how long was he close enough to hear them or watch them? But that aside, his statement was a solid one. Hers was an excellent idea. Combined, they formulated a very rigid plan.

"Alright, Miss Jade, that idea of yours, I like ... as for you, Catz Sir, await our signal as suggested." He awkwardly nods to him, and them turns to her and gives her a nod, as well. "Gotta be fast, you know that. Am counting on you." he says, then leaps out of the window with her. Behind them, Catz shook his head, and, once they had distanced themselves enough, monologued "Miss Jade ... silly man, aren't you?", followed by a, surprisingly gentle and kindhearted, chuckle.

The sound of a voice, thought familiar startled Jade enough to turn on a coin's edge, her blade fully draw and at the throat of ... Hawks who had stepped between them - she tensed, bringing the deadly trajectory of her blade to a halt, barely in time and she stood eye to eye with with her would-be victim. She didn't breathe for a long while, before she swallowed hard, visibly shaking.  She was furious with that fucking cat.  After she composed herself and offered an apologetic and horrified look to Hawks, she stepped away from him to approach the Catz, though still upset, she managed to choke out. "IDIOT!  Do you realize what I could have DONE?!?!?!?! How long have you BEEN HERE?!"

Suddenly her demeanor changed. Something about his approach struck her - so sneaky ... like a cat.  Of course - how could she have forgotten?  She hadn't been in a feline skin in so long she'd nearly forgotten the espionage benefits. She sheathed her blade and ruffled the cats head.  "Brilliant little kitty, you!" ... She thought for a moment. "We may signal for you to collect a prisoner - you enjoy creative interrogation, do you not? Look for a creature wrapped in black ... call it a gift"

She had moved out the window ahead of him - the street seemed clear but she could hear something around the next corner - her acute hearing could hear the sound of boot steps and someone speaking.


------- Just around the corner

A young man came marching up in full uniform, his fresh young face full of hope. He tried to look more stern as he approached his commanding officer, offering a stiff, well-practiced solute before speaking mechanically, making no eye contact.

"Captain Oboron, Sir, reporting for patrol - half past the hour and all's clear!"

Oberon had just exited a tavern minutes before the young soldier's arrival, the black linen face mask that superior officers wore to denote their rank hid the scent of the rum he'd just consumed. The mask covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, the sides meeting the edge of the ornate helm her wore upon his head that seemed to mimic fishman ceremonial armor but made for human dimensions. He wasn't completely drunk but he certainly felt better than he did before he walked into the establishment.

"Excellent work, Lt. Varo - see that it stays that way.  Finish the second half of your patrol and I'll debrief you at the end."  

"Sir, yes sir!"

The young man announced and stiffly saluted once more before turning around and marching back the way he came, pleased that, for once, the Captain didn't have some harsh critique for him.

After the boy was out of sight, Oberon's eyes had grown glassy from the rum and so he sat down on a nearby barrel to rest.

-------

Jade waited for one set of footprints to depart before she seemed to disappear under her cloak.  Seconds later a small cat with golden fur and bright green eyes emerged from under the black cloak.  She blinked slowly at Hawks, signaling him to fall back for a moment until she could secure a distraction.
She took a deep breath before sauntering around the corner, rubbing her face on the edge of the stone while purring loudly.  

Seeing a somewhat tired looking soldier in full armor, she chirped softly, still purring as she threw herself on the stone ground the belly up as she rolled side to side in most adorable feline fashion.  Purring, she trotted over to the armored man, rubbing her fluffy cheeks against his legs while purring and looking up with glassy eyes.  

Oberon observed the feline creature and searched his pockets for anything he could feed the stray.  There were oddly several cats around the island - how did they even get down here, he wondered - must have stowed away on ships only to be left behind. "Sorry little fella, I don't have anything for you."  He patted the cats head gently, allowing it to rub its cheeks on his fingertips.  "Friendly little thing aren't you? I still don't have any food to give you ...

The friendly gold cat proceeded to hop on his lap and make itself comfortable, belly up, large green eyes glassy and adorable. "Alright now - I see what you're after - I'm not takin' you home!  No time for pets... go on now... find someone else to 'adopt' ... I'm too busy."

The golden cat put her little paws on the man's shoulder and nuzzled his chin and meowed loudly and brightly as if she was calling someone. He patted the cats head to try to deal with the enthusiasm of an overly affectionate cat while coping with the fact that he was apparently drunk enough to have a domestic dispute with a random cat or ... any cat. "Meowing won't change my mind. I told you I can't ave any pets!"

"Oh, good grief, she went off my Room's radius so I had to extend it. This hurts in the long run, you know." Catz was speaking to himself, somewhat sweaty. He was cleaning himself up, when he heard someone knock on the door of the room he was now left alone. "Is anyone there? We need to run a check on you, erm ..." Catz narrowed his eyes. He tried to mimic Hawks' voice, responding that he needs a minute as he was "not dressed". *Suppose they are suspicious of these two as well. But no signal then so I have to stall a bit. Gee, them, their "captor", or whatever she meant ... this is going to shave off all my stamina for a few hours. Hope we get to rest a bit after that.* he was thinking to himself.

Atop the roof of the building literally above them, Hawks, somehow reaching up there undetected, was waiting for her signal to jump on them, while also scanning the area for Brosko and Mark, as well as observing what the others were up to; if he would realize that they were in peril, he'd have to go help them, he thought to himself. Looking back down at Jade, he waited until she looked up, and made a signal. "As soon as you are ready, signal me", he meant her to understand. They had little time before someone was going to inform the central about a fight occuring at this area. Thankfully it was scarcely populated, but all it'd take was one person to make contact.

---

Above them all, high up, a flying figure was eyeing them all. While Fishman island was depraved of birds, he had kept such a distance that, only if someone was to actually look up and scan specifically to locate a flying creature, few could notice. *It is those same people ... we are being followed. Matters not, they will never reach us now that they got into the Fishmen's bad side.*

While purring, the little cats eyes darted about, looking for something specific. After some time, she spotted her companion high about her position. Clever. It would be easy to startle him with a transformation - compounded with an assault from above, they should be able to quickly and quietly dispatched this foe. She gave a subtle nod. She still had her little paws on his shoulder when she began her transformation.

Her body grew and twisted as she remained in position on the soldiers lap. The process ended with her straddling his lap, facing him, paws had turned into strong hands which moved from his shoulders to his neck and began to squeeze.

The rum had begun to hit Oberon hard and he tried to discourage the friendly cat which seemed to be getting heavier... a lot heavier ... where did this person come from?! "Which the f--" His words caught in his throat as pressure closed around his throat. He began to struggle with the hands around his neck attempting to tear them away from his throat. After getting to his feet, he began to grab at the neck of his attacker, attempting to slam them against a nearby wall.

"Excuse me sir." Hawks calmly states, coming down on them from above, and quickly encasing his upper body into what appeared to be a black cloth. "This is made from a special fibre, the more you struggle the more it will tighten, so give it a rest and cooperate." he adds, ensuring that his grip is loosen and unable to cause them any trouble. "That's my kitty cat, by the way, so am gratefully you got your hands off her."

"Mr. Xan? Excuse me ..." a Fishman, potentially one related to guard duties or the like, approaches the Fishman. He seemed to be rather new to his post, as he was shuttering and looking around akwardly and nervously. "T-there seems to be a conflict occuring on the West Outpost .. so, um .. it appears that even the Elites patroling there are in trouble .."

Flashback of not too long ago, when a shadowed man that seemed suspiciously similar with Eratos, approached that same Fishman and gave him some information. "I'd suggest you inform Royalty immediately, young one." he bullied him -clearly picked that specific one after deciding that he was too timid to question more.

"S-so maybe we, I mean you, should d-do something, m-my Prince?" The enemy had attempted to direct as much attention to the group as possible. But, luckily for Jade and everyone, that guard happened to come across their ally, Xan.

Jade's claws has started to protrude just as Hawks arrived with the restraints. She mover her hands from his neck, leaving behind tiny puncture holes and ducked away as the cloth arrived, the two moving like a perfect deadly symphony. As she spun away, she pulled her blade, using the momentum in of the turn to hit the back of the soldiers cloaked head with the blunt hilt of her katana - not hard enough to kill him but definitely enough to knock him out. "We should get him out of site before the patrol returns." She eyes the size of the unconscious solder and eyes Hawks for a moment. "Hmm - your ... kitty cat ... may have an idea..." Her green eyes reflected something that resembled pure mischief.

Xan turned to the guard, regarding him respectfully, as always. The guard contingent was loyal to him because he treated them with respect and kindness. He listened to their needs, concerns, and plans to improve their own stations - unlike his parent who treated them like tools with a pulse. He listened to the boy with the appropriate measure of concern. "Thank you Lt. I appreciate you coming to me with this directly. I'll take my personal guard and see to the matter myself. If you see or hear anything else, please come to me personally. To show my appreciation, expect an extra two weeks pay and a months worth of provisions for your discreet loyalty and attention to this matter. "

"Hey, plans changed a bit." Catz voice was heard above them, to where Hawks used to sit before charging down to catch that man. He pointed towards the motel's direction. "They got too hectic and impatient so had to zoom out of that place. Doesn't matter too much. You finished down there? We ought to pick up the others and make a run for it for now. At least until we can have our Fish friend clean up for us."

Hawks turned to her, while lowering their prey to the ground. He smirked "He just can't not appear everywhere huh? An idea?" He questions.

Jade has her blade pulled when she hears a sound from above - that damn cat again. She picks up an apple that had fallen from the soldiers pack and throws it at the cat. "Quit doing that, damn you! What do you need?" She turns back to Hawks, studying their victim for a moment. She runs a thumb over the finely woven, sturdy fabric of the uniform - the rich blue colour offset by gold edges of the finest quality, clasps embedded with gems to denote the stature and rank of the official. "This uniform - it may help us move around the island more freely and extract information. This seems to be a high ranking officer so this could be very useful. We got lucky - any one who talks to alley cats probably doesn't have anyone waiting for them at home to miss them if they disappear."

"So you say that after we extract information, one of us infiltrates into their ranks? That is risky ... but having access to details he might not feel comfortable giving us could help us. Seeing all that has made me suspect that there may be things Mr. Xan is unaware of, too." Hawks explains, while on the background, Catz crashed on a large, abandoned crate behind them, victim of a vicious apple bolide impact.

"But either case, we should go ... we can't really do much about the ship, but am certain they won't cause it any harm; it is more likely that it will be kept under surveilance as a "safeguard" to ensure we don't just leave so easily." he adds, while, on the background, Catz was cleaning himself from thick layers of a white powder -the box was filled with what seemed to be expired flour, snarling irritated, and with a swollen right eyebrow -the point of impact.

"I don't think we should fully trust someone we met only days ago - someone who has a psychotic family and possibly multiple wives along with their families. We don't know what their motives are or where his loyalties truly lie. Even if he is sincere, he could be being used by any one of them. Of course we should be friendly and helpful when interacting with Xan but we should also be careful and have a another plan. We're depending on enough strangers right now anyway." She give the fallen cat a suspicious glance. How did a cat have reflexes that bed - she threw an apple not a cannon ball. "Do as you like - that won't fit me well enough to be convincing. In any case we need to get this soldier out of the stree before he wakes - or worse, before anyone else approaches"

"Let's go pick up the others then." Hawks comments, picks up the unconscious male, and dashes towards the direction where a skirmish had erupted between some of his newfound, and mostly a pain to have around, crew and the guard line.

Upon arriving, he realizes that they are no longer there -the sounds of battle had stopped ever since they caught that man, but he didn't really considered it as he was occupied with other issues. All that was there was a lot of fainted, beaten and restrained, but all alive, fishmen and human alike. It appeared that the trio had taken everyone out, but where did they go now? As if they didn't had enough to worry over.

" Hey, that blonde was with them! And is carrying someone! Someone get them!" citizens begun yelling. One even grabbed and threw a massive cargo box towards Hawks group. "Crap, even regular citizens are superhumanly strong. We have to go, Miss Jade, Mr. Cat!"

"Sure, if we must. We apparently haven't attracted enough attention to ourselves and need to make it worse. I'll not bother to suggest anything again. I'll stick with what I know - blood." Jade retrieved her cloak and pulled up the hood before running alongside her party to find a battlefield littered with unconscious enemies who hopefully wouldn't be waking up any time soon. She shuddered to think where those idiots had gone now - everywhere they went, they brought waves of disaster and stupidity. She should have locked every damn one of them in the brig, but they only would have destroyed her ship before causing a disaster.

Annoyed with the constant chaos of having to clean up the messes of the "crew" she never really asked for, she turned her attention to the people who were now shouting and coming their way. She was in the direct path of the air born cargo box and didn't bother to deviate her path. So much for staying off the radar. Her blade was drawn and at the last moment a horizontal slash pieced the air leaving the box to fall on either side her her, bottles of wine rolling out, while others shattered and stained the ground. What kind of idiots would waste wine that way?

Constant annoyance, frustration, and rage had taxed her so much she currently felt nothing... no regard for her own well-being, no anything... she just needed to fell sweat, see blood, find something that made her feel alive... Her catatonic state continued as she approached a man who was rushing her carrying a barrel over his head. She sheathed her katana, before removing the dagger from her hip and sending it flying, hitting the side of the mans leg in just such a way to sever a tendon sending him crumpling to the ground under the barrel, which shattered on impact, leaving him covered in a mound of salt as he wailed in agony. She collected her blade a she passed by, but not without giving a quarter turn to open the wound more as the blade was yanked out, her boot unceremoniously flicking a bit of salt over it as she made her way past.

Just as she got up, she felt a sharp blow to her head, liquid covering her shoulders, dotted with blood where a tall mad with a cigar had broken a wine bottle over her head, the glass shards has torn into her neck and shoulders. She leveled a gaze at him as he brandished the remaining bottleneck at her - She put her dagger away before her hands found his neck as she stared into his eyes, her attempted to stab her through her abdomen cloak, the sharp edges gashing her occasionally as it pieced the fabric. She continued to squeeze, her dead-eyed gaze fixed upon his eyes, eager to see that light flicker away - soon the bottleneck hit the ground as he began to claw at her hands for release, his panic only depleting his oxygen more rapidly. His eyes widened seeing some of the smaller cuts on her neck seal before his eyes. The cigar fell from his lips before he lost consciousness.

She heard another attacker approaching her from behind- she turned, dragging the limp body around with her, just in time to catch the impact of the short sword meant for her in the unconscious man's back. She dropped the body allowing it to fall on her would be attacker before three others had surrounded her. Blood was running from her head, down her face as she unsheathed her katana and adapted her stance.

"Oh my, everyone is after us. Well, let me handle this." Catz nonchalantly remarks, only deciding to act after Jade was smacked once; maybe on purpose, maybe he just wanted to calculate and analyze the situation. Who knew? He placed his right arm forward, his paw fingers forming an arc. A sensation of a breeze traveled across everyone. "Confiscate."

A plethora of items, the majority of which could be used as weapons, suddenly appeared and begun falling on the ground below them, causing all the citizens to stop on their tracks, the ones trying to attack Jade freezing in surprise, as they too witnessed items in their possession now missing. "W-what kind of an ability is this?!" one shouts in disbelief. "Hey, cupcake, your head's alright? Anyway, Hawks, we should ... Hawks?"

Turning around, everywhere, he was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, he had disappeared, only the unconcious male they captured being there. One from the crowd then remarked something utterly bizarre and suspicious. "He disappeared just like the others."

Jade Paused as the cat used his ability to disarm the citizenry - being somewhat shaken from her trance. "Cupcake?" She turned toward the cat just has he remarked upon the magicians absence. She narrowed her eyes and sprang toward the cat with stunning speed, immediately seizing his collar. She was a mixture of furious and fearful, teeth beginning to protrude as the feral beast raged inside her human skin, only barely kept restrained just below the surface of her consciousness. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?!"

She was almost shaking as it began to rain, the cool drops feeling heavier than they were as it rinsed the blood away. She fought to take out her frustrations and feel something ... but now all she felt was genuine loss and the anger that would have her tear this city apart with her clawed hands to find him. She released the cat, deep down knowing he wasn't responsible, her voice reduced to a whisper. "I'm sorry... please we have to find my... my associate... "

"Are you kidding me, why would I do anything so distasteful and pointless here of all places?!" The feline hissed back at her angrily; he too was shaken to find out that their subordinate -no, everyone else for that matter, had disappeared so suddenly and unexpectedly. He did saw that her demeanor changed almost instantly, however, thus stopped himself from getting into an argument with her. Besides, this wasn't a good place to get into any form of confict with people allied with.

The citizens, stopped and scared, now begun to approach them again, this time slower and with more caution. Raining down there -apparently that was somehow possible, kind of coincided with their mutual sentiment. They were really in crippling, debilitating trouble. "Right ... we need to leave this place. Grab that meatsack of a drunken male, and let's zoom out before either one of us suddenly pops out of existance, too."

Jade approached the soldier when was just starting to open his eyes, giving him the blunt end of her katana to the side of the head to reinstate his unconscious state. She picked him up, hoisting his body over her shoulder as she turned toward the cat.

The citizens seemed to be getting over their shock and regarding them as an enemy in need of extermination. She wanted to end every last one of them but there were more important things on the line right now. She failed to keep her nakama safe and their was no excuse for it. She didn't bother to respond to the cat, she just followed, ignoring the creatures who were in pursuit.

Appearing at a location that must have been a few blocks away, they find themselves hidden in a shadowed, abandoned alley. Tumbling on his posterior upon arrival, Catz left out a large sigh. "I .. need a few minutes to catch my breath, if you don't mind; I used Room on a very large scale and overexerting this ability depletes one's stamina."

Meanwhile, at an unknown location, Hawks, handcuffed and restrained, was tossed forward, falling onto the cold ground. "Ugh." he grunts, agigated, disappointed, upset. What the hell had happened? All he remembered was a sharp sensation of a hand pulling him away, and that was it.

Soon, he heard footsteps. From the shadows, some boots-clad feet emerged. A broad, stern, serious voice was heard letting out a coughing sound. "So, Hawks, formerly a pirate working under the Flag of the Black Cross. Good work there, Gregor ..." the person says, and a figure behind Hawks lets out a faint chuckle of delight. But more importantly, that voice sounded familiar to the magician. "Y-you are ...?!"