(Please leave a comment, review, and your power stones)
:)
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In the dim, rainy woods of Meteor City's southern district, Carl walked silently beneath the weeping sky. His soaked coat clung to his frame, each step a slow, deliberate echo against the mud. Behind him, several men trudged forward, machetes and blunt pipes in hand, ready for the act they were about to commit.
Ahead, not far from the tree line, two small figures huddled near an overturned shopping cart, whispering to each other.
"There they are," one of the men grunted.
Carl said nothing.
He only looked forward, jaw clenched tight as thunder rolled above. His crimson eyes, faintly glowing beneath the brim of his hood, betrayed a flicker of turmoil.
*************
North of the city, Loki sprinted between alleys and debris-strewn paths, droplets whipping across his mask. His coat flared behind him as his boots struck wet concrete. He had broken into a panic the moment he realized Sarasa and Sheila were gone..
Something was wrong, and he knew it.
His breathing was steady, but his mind churned.
'You knew this was going to happen.'
He clenched his fists, aura lightly pulsing with each step into the wet ground.
'You knew the story. You knew Sarasa would disappear. You knew—'
But he had still let his guard down. He had thought that warning Sarasa to always bring someone with her was enough. But now she had brought Sheila and made this situation even worse.
And now...
He bit the inside of his cheek and forced his thoughts into stillness. Now wasn't the time to think like this.
He had to find them.
Chrollo sprinted beside him, his drenched black coat nearly indistinguishable from the sky above. Uvogin and Franklin barreled behind them like a truck, their large frames crashing through debris. Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan flanked their sides. Machi lagged only slightly behind, eyes narrowed against the sting of rain.
Pakunoda was close, hands clutching her coat tightly around her chest, her expression already trembling with fear.
"We split up," Loki shouted to Chrollo. "You take the eastern edge of the dump! I'll cut straight through the south!"
Chrollo nodded without a word, and their group splintered off like darts into the storm.
**********
Back in the woods, Sarasa yanked Sheila's hand, pulling her behind a large group of bushes.
"Run! Sheila, run!"
"I—I'm trying!"
Their sandals slapped against wet leaves and rotting wood as they scrambled into a tighter patch of trees. Thorns clawed at their legs as they pushed through the bushes.
"We need to head back to the church! Someone must be coming for us!" Sarasa whispered through ragged breaths.
"How? How do we go that direction with them behind us?!"
Behind them, boots squelched in the mud.
Carl's men spread out in a slow crescent, wordlessly stalking forward. The rain had slicked their hair to their skulls, their faces grim with boredom, not bloodlust.
"Remember not to kill 'em yet," one said. "Boss said we need to record the whole thing."
A few chuckled among themselves as they approached, and others were completely silent about what was about to happen.
Carl stood a little ways back, setting down a battered video camera onto a stool and walking around the trees.
He leaned his back against the tree before taking a cigarette and lighting it.
Taking a hit, he raised his head and let the rain drip on his face before looking back down.
His eyes glowed dimly under his dripping bangs.
'This is for the tribe. This is the only way.'
Behind him, he heard the men unzip a black duffel bag and pull out a rusted iron toolkit. The clink of metal tools rang louder than the rain and made him close his eyes.
*************
Loki dashed through the woods, aura flaring as he boosted his speed with Burst Step. With each step, water and mud splashed, getting him dirty.
Behind him, the group raced through the wet woods.
"They were in the South Dump earlier! They should be in the woods somewhere!" Chrollo shouted.
Loki's mind played the worst-case scenarios on loop as he ran.
He would never forgive himself if something happened to both of them.
'Calm down...'
He forced himself to calm his panic. He strained his senses as much as possible, searching for even a glimmer of life.
He would make it.
Pakunoda's voice broke through the rain as they ran forward. "I think I heard something ahead!"
****************
Sarasa screamed as she was dragged back into the clearing, clearly injured.
"LET GO!" she thrashed, kicking at the man's shin. He winced, but held her tighter.
Sheila cried, curled up beside a broken log, shivering.
One of her legs was severely injured, and her arm was broken.
"Don't worry, little girl," one of the men said, holding her down. "All this will be over soon."
Carl stood behind the tree as another of the men walked up and spoke. "Carl, are we good to start?"
Carl said nothing, but he closed his eyes and motioned for them to start. Getting the message, the man walked over to the camera and hovered over it slightly before starting to record.
Carl stared at the ground, eyes glowing red as he knew what was about to start.
Lightning split the sky, and the rain hit the ground harder, masking the noise.
A whisp of wind echoed in the distance, alerting everyone.
"Did you hear that?" one of the gang members asked, turning toward the trees.
"Do you think someone is coming?"
A few people looked around warily.
"Just hurry it up! It was nothing but the wind!" another yelled.
**********
Loki skidded to a stop as the trees ahead began to thin.
A large gust of wind sounded as they approached a clearing.
Chrollo and the others were just behind him.
Through the thick curtain of rain, something stood out as they rushed closer.
As they stepped into the clearing, the first thing that caught their eyes was blood.
Blood on the trees.
Blood on the grass.
And two cloth bags dripping blood from the bottom in the center of the clearing.
No one spoke.
Chrollo stared forward, mouth slightly parted.
Machi raised her hand to her mouth, eyes wide.
Phinks looked away, and Nobunaga's fists clenched.
Uvogin didn't move, and Feitan's expression didn't change, but something dark shimmered behind his eyes.
Pakunoda's eyes started to water before speaking.
"D-Do you think...?"
Loki and Chrollo stepped forward, slowly.
He stared at the bags as his eyes trembled slightly asd he stood over them.
He reached a hand forward but paused, fingers hovering over the blood-soaked cloth.
He couldn't bring himself to open them for a moment.
Calming himself for a moment, he hardened his heart and opened the first, with Chrollo opening the second.
The world went quiet, and the rain fell harder.
His fists trembled, and inside of him, something broke.
Chrollo immediately fell to his knees, causing the rest of them to get the answer they were looking for.
Pakunoda's voice pierced the air, raw and full of heartbreak. She fell to her knees, crawling toward the bags, tears blurring her vision.
"NO! NO! SARASA!! SHEILA!!"
As the realization sank in, the forest fell into silence. Even the rain seemed to mute, as if the world itself dared not intrude.
Loki stood over the bags, his breath shaking. A heavy fog seemed to press against his mask, drowning out all sound but the soft thudding of his heart.
Chrollo knelt beside him, his face unreadable. He gently placed a hand on one of the bags.
"Sarasa... Sheila..."
His voice was hoarse.
Loki didn't respond.
Behind them, the others stood frozen, barely daring to breathe.
Phinks finally turned and punched a tree, bark cracking beneath his knuckles with tears in his eyes.
"We were too late..."
Feitan's eyes narrowed with a cold aura surrounding them. "We need to find who did this..."
Nobunaga's hand hovered near his wooden sword, and he lowered his head as his eyes were cold.
Machi quietly wept as Pakunoda ran forward and clung to one of the bags, sobbing uncontrollably.
The storm howled above.
Loki remained standing with his hands curled into fists. Red light flickered in his eyes beneath his mask as his killing intent flared.
"We will find them," he said, voice low and cold.
"And we will return everything they did to them..."