When the three of them decided to split up, they all ran in different directions, except for Fishy. Fishy stayed where he was, looking around at reflective snowflakes. He trusted Ziu and Clara and didn't need to run off anywhere fast. He was certain that they would get the far edges whilst he could search the close area, looking for their target.
He walked with his hands in his pockets, trying to blend in with the locals, using his brown hood to cover his face. As he walked around, he could hear shouting from afar. Fishy was too far to tell if it was happiness or anger, but after remembering where he was, he assumed the latter. He carefully walked around the snow, making sure to not seem suspicious. He passed familiar concrete houses and various homeless people, trying not to disturb the snow blanket that they were using to keep warm. And after walking towards the noise, he found the source.
The noise originated from a variety of people arguing. They all held large wooden signs and fought back against a line of tightly packed guards who pointed their rifles at them. The guard's laughed as they faced the screaming crowd. Their heavy armour protected them from any danger the starving citizens could attempt to use.
The bravery of the people in Tanba was unrivalled, but when faced against the Tanban guards, it was stupidity. Although the protest was peaceful, this was due to their experience of learning what happens if someone even nudged one of the guards.
Fishy watched from afar but a deep voice screamed out:
"YOU PUSHED ME!"
The sounds of bullets being fired filled the air.
Fishy tried not to flinch away as he witnessed the slaughter happen in front of him. He couldn't look away, as the rage swallowed him too quickly.
"BING BONG!" A cheerful sound echoed around the capital. The bell's covering up the sound of the bloodbath in hopes citizen's wouldn't notice, but the screams were too loud for anyone to ignore.
"This is King Ditor with your hourly update. Please do not fight. Do not resist. Do try to live peacefully."
The address from the king would fill anyone with a fury that would calm the snowstorm. The nation was starving and dying in front of him whilst nothing could be done by anyone.
"What a creepy message."
Fishy looked around and saw giant monitors that held Ditor's face on them. His face was too young and his hair was too bright to have matched with his old decaying voice. Most would be able to tell something was strange about the announcement, but no one dared to argue with it.
He continued to walk around until he came to a large open area, a market. An area filled with many stall-like buildings that were built of quickly rotting wood. Many of them have to be supported by those running them. Despite this, the street was crowded.
Fishy attempted to push his way through the crowd, apologising as he made his way through. As he did, he could feel a tug at his pockets.
"They've just stolen from you." Fishy heard a voice in his head speak to him, but he was too busy feeling his pockets to care.
"They've just stolen from me…" He said to himself, looking over the heads of the others to see a small group of people run in the opposite direction to him.
He wasted no time in chasing after them, no longer caring about those around him, his only goal was getting his money back.
Eventually, after running around very similar pathways, he was faced with a dark alley and stormed down it only to be attacked from above by a small child, screaming as his useless attack was instantly flung away by Fishy.
"Really…?"
The kid stood up from the snow he rested in and was joined by two older people, a man and a woman who charged at Fishy. Nevertheless, this was pointless as Fishy jumped up onto some nearby wooden boxes, stealing his wallet back from their back pockets.
"I'll be taking this back."
They all looked at him as if they're life was about to end. They were caught stealing, which would always result in death. They had seen it happen to their friends. They had seen it happen to their family. To them, this was the end of their life.
"We're sorry!" The man got on his knees and begged with the other two, his wife and son. "We didn't mean to steal from you! We are just really hungry. We have no money and no food. We just wanted to buy something."
Fishy sighed as he flung several gold coins down by their feet.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm here to buy information."
"What do you mean?" The man spoke for the family, cautiously picking up the coins in front of him.
"Have you seen someone around here who doesn't seem to fit in? Like how I don't fit in."
They tried to laugh off Fishy's joke, thinking back to who they have and hadn't seen. But in a place where eye contact had become illegal, everyone was useless to him.
"We have not… it's unlikely that someone from the outside would have survived this long here… they may have been caught."
"I see…"
"Venenum patrols the streets, checking everyone's documents. If you don't have the right ones, he'll kill you instantly."
"I've heard of him," Fishy said, reminded of the story he was told by the family that sheltered him before arriving in the capital. Venenum was only a child when the West took over and worked for King Ditor. "I'll be sure to avoid him, but you are all coming with me. We are looking for this person together. Don't worry. I'll protect you if anything happens."
The family could only nod at the request. They watched as Fishy jumped down, kicking up the snow that he landed on, and the four of them walked back into the depressed market that seemed to be slowly emptying out.
"So what do you guys do?" Fishy asked.
"We are weaponsmiths… we build the rifles you see. It may seem like a lot but they are cheap to make and anyone can do it."
"I see…"
"BING BONG!" Another announcement sounded off into the distance. Fishy looked up to the giant monitor to watch but was asked another question by the man.
"What exactly does this boy look like? What's his hair colour and all that?"
"Boy?" Fishy looked back down confused. "How did you know I was looking for a boy?"
Before asking too many questions, a knife penetrated Fishy's stomach. The family charged at him with three knives and they all ended up in his stomach. they stepped back, pulling the knives out as Fishy started to bleed out. He hoped to seal his wounds with his hands, but there were too many, and his legs started to tremble.
"You're losing too much blood. You can't regenerate with this many wounds! You don't want to rely on that power too much!" The voice in his head screamed.
The once populated street that Fishy stood in was empty. They all retreated as Fishy hit the floor. Crashing his knees on the concrete underneath the comfy looking snow. He looked around before his eyes started to fade, and heard a voice that was new to him.
"You've done well learning him out." The voice said as Fishy turned with blurry eyes to the man that spoke. A man dressed in a dark cloak who was also wielding a cane. Someone who was far from the normal Tanban resident.
"We've known about you intruders for some time now… We know very well who you are after."