“Man, I’m beat- that test really kicked my butt,” Harutora ughed heartily as he pushed his way out of the school’s main doors, rolling his shoulders. “I hated that- and who decided that letters were allowed to poke their head into math? I want to meet that persons so I can put a few holes in him, if you know what I mean?”
“Honey, you’ve been watching too many American movies,” Aika, the dark-haired girl under Harutora’s arm, smiled and shook her head tiredly. “You can’t just put a few holes in somebody, you don’t even own a weapon…”
“Oh, you know what I mean. Don’t you hate math, too?”
“Not really…”
“Oh, so I’m just stupid? This is so cruel of you, Aika, how could you call your loving boyfriend stupid?” Harutora gasped in mock shock, wiping a few imaginary tears from his cheek.
“No, no, not stupid,” Aika giggled, wrapping her arms around her lover’s waist, walking a bit faster. “Come on, I’m thirsty for boba, so you have to buy me boba okay~? I don’t think you’re stupid though, I’m being honest… you understand computers and robotics way too well, those systems make my head spin… I’ll do the math for you, and you handle the tech for me, okay? Hmhm~”
“A-Alright, yes, let me buy you boba, my lovely little technologically-challenged wife,” Harutora chuckled, continuing on with Aika, rounding a corner on their trek toward the shop district. “I feel a bit woozy,” He noticed aloud- his head was beginning to feel a bit light, and there was an odd feeling in his stomach. A feeling of wrongness, he was dizzy, it was a bit hard to breathe…
“H-Harutora? Are you okay?” Aika asked, kneeling beside him and angling her head. “Is there anything that I can do for you?” Her voice sounded muddled though, and Harutora colpsed to one knee, gasping as pain exploded through his chest.
“I- Aika I can’t- breathe,” The young man gasped, eyes bulging. Her voice was becoming fainter and fainter, reaching him as if through water… gray tinged the edges of his vision, now. “Aika, I… call an ambunce…” He wheezed out, colpsing, fully unconscious before he hit the sidewalk.
=
“Alright,” Aurelia whispered, nodding to the fifteen or so people standing before her. “Remember, we get into the crowd subtly and when the summoning happens… it’s very important that we wait for the guards to make their move. We know they will, and we need the crowd to see that. Otherwise, we’re the vilins in their eyes. Once they swoop in, Lottie will deploy the smoke bombs and we go in. Everybody grabs one hero and RUNS. Okay? Any questions?”
“None, boss,” A young man muttered, saluting, and simir answers came from the rest of the crowd. Once they had, Aurelia nodded, satisfied… and pushed through the run-down tavern’s door again, stepping outside. “One at a time,” She called softly over her shoulder. “Don’t draw attention.”
Swallowing, nose twitching, Aurelia paced rapidly into the street and made her way toward city center, hurrying, tucking her head against the breeze. She had no problem blending in – city center was beyond packed with what must have been thousands; but even from here, she could see the raised dais in the middle of this pce, and its seven pedestals.
Narrowing her eyes, the young woman watched as the crowd began to cheer- for coming through the crowd somewhere to her right, raised onto the shoulders of an armed ptoon, was the king himself. He didn’t seem to be all that old, maybe in his forties or fifties- but there were enough soldiers slowly shouldering their way through the crowd to raze a small vilge to the ground. For a moment, Aurelia found herself surprised that there would carry him so exposed, but it occurred to her that there were likely snipers watching over the procession.
I’ll need to be careful… I miss when this was a medieval heap of bows and arrows… these rifles are obnoxious to work around…
A moment ter, the king was delivered to the stage, and as he stood straight, proud, the crowd cheered, so loudly that Aurelia found herself covering her ears, wincing… and then, all present fell quiet as the king raised an arm. He wore no heavy crown; just an expensive, dark suit and a circlet formed of ornate golden leaves round his head- but these were enough to convey his position. Taking a microphone from one of his men, he cleared his throat and began to speak, voice booming from hidden speakers throughout the square.
“I could,” the king’s voice rang clear, strong, “-give a great many speeches about the demons coming from the eastern sea. I could talk about how, time and time again, the beings from outside our great nation have brought us to ruin. However!! You all came here to witness a summoning!! An instance of controlled magic, your benevolent ruler bringing you seven superhumans from beyond our world to drive the beasts back and serve as our guardians!! They will, of course, be more than willing to aid our cause,” The king continued as a few more men joined him, on the dais. These ones were hooded, masked, their features completely hidden.
Of course, they’ll be more than willing to aid our cause… right, like your runes weren’t full of bullshit to dull their free will and sense of self for a while. Bastard, you’re pnning to brainwash them… that’s where we come in…
-
Harutora’s world went dark… and then, was he dreaming…? He y on his stomach, but everything felt wrong… the cold, rough floor under him vibrated with the force of thunderous shouting, appuse- and then, in the space of a few moments, it tapered off into silence… Have I died? Is that what this is, am I dead?
There was shouting, from somewhere nearby, but he couldn’t focus… his head felt like it had been put inside of a steel vice, and it was so hard to think… felt like concrete under his head… so hard to, get up… Can’t I just… rest a little bit longer…? I… no choice… so tired…
-
Charlotte paced up the stairs slowly, cat’s tail flicking, and drew out her binocurs, raising them, eyes on the other sniper tower… the other assassin was ready, and they gave each-other a small wave before moving in. Bagging her tools, the Cheshire Cat stepped forward and drew a smile along the sniper’s throat with her bde before he could react, then turned on her heel and darted back down the stairs as fast as her feet could carry her, listening to the sounds of chaos outside beginning to erupt.
-
The snipers should be down by now, Aurelia prayed, and darted forward as the king’s guard began to swarm the stage. Finally, she threw off that damned cloak, letting her wings spill free- long, slim, like a butterfly’s crossed with a dragonfly’s. She reached the stage at the same time as the others and ignored the guard, simply hooking her arms under one of the heroes and beating her wings hard, fast, lifting off.
“Stop them!!” The king screamed, and his personnel made to draw their weapons, but it was too te; the weapons were freezing over, a mage in the crowd smirking as she did it. Aurelia and the others altogether, winged agents alike, made haste away from the city center, following the pnned route. Finally, I can fly!! The wind felt like heaven, whistling past her ears and ruffling what hair had fallen out of her hastily-tied bun.
In and out, just like we pnned, perfect. Now we get to the rendezvous point and wait~
As she flew, Aurelia gnced around her- the other agents were drifting apart- better this way, harder to track if they took different routes. Soon, the assorted men and women had flown out of sight due to the trees and buildings- right, stay low, stay out of sight. She looked down, though, taking stock of the woman she carried; she was striking, if nothing else, with white hair streaked with bck and white eyeshes. Her ears… they were small and rounded, not those of a cat or a dog, but… What animal has ears like this…?
Swinging the woman up and pivoting, Aurelia held her bridal style and continued on, trying to ignore the woman’s nudity; soon, they’d reach the temporary safe house… then when the so-called heroes woke up, they could choose for themselves what they wanted to do… the important part was accomplished, now.
Almost there, Aurelia inwardly coached herself on as she left the city behind, reveling in the quiet; it seemed that the city was by and rge in city square or resting at home, not yet out and about. She flew over the trees, for a time, skimming so close that she had to keep her tail clear of the branches… and then, there it was; the rendezvous point, a clearing with an old, decrepit barn; the bygone ruin of somebody’s farm, most likely. Descending fast, Aurelia pivoted and carefully twisted her body through a hole in the roof, nding in the hayloft.
“Hello?!” She called, looking around- it was dark, but she could see well enough what with the rising sun and the many holes in the building. Perhaps, she was the first to arrive- there was no answer. “Is anybody there?!”
“Here!!” A man’s voice, and Aurelia’s head snapped to the left, watching a man with darkly-feathered wings nd, carrying a short girl with fox ears and a tail to match. “I lost track of the others, a helicopter was after us- but we should all be fine, not our first rodeo. Let’s wait here, yeah Aurelia?”
“Yeah. It’s fine, the pn is for all of us to regroup by sunset, so no reason to worry,” She sighed, hopping off of the hayloft and nding lightly on the floor below, setting her passenger down on a bale of hay. Instinctively, the naked demi-human curled up in the fetal position, and the fairy sighed, stepping back.
“We’ll need to find clothes for them.”
“Yeah, I agree,” The man behind her spoke, setting his passenger down in a patch of dry, brittle hay on the ground. “I’ll go and steal some rags; do you think that would work?”
“No, not necessarily. This barn… can you stay here and defend these two? I’m going to see if I can find the ruins of a home within a mile; might be able to lift something from whoever used to own this property.”
“Good idea. Yeah, I’ll stand guard,” The raven-winged man nodded, sitting down against a wall, yawning and drawing a small handgun from the holster on his thigh. “Hopefully more of us will have made it when you get back.”
“Hopefully,” Aurelia agreed tiredly, nodding and stretching, walking toward the door. “I’ll be back.”
“See you fairy girl.”
Tunabun
