6 - Corra
The restaurant was disgusting. Of course the one Julian told me to search had to be the most disgusting seafood restaurant I'd ever been in. And to top it all off, I'm allergic to fish. The joint was quite busy, I'm just surprised that it would stay open this late into the night. All kinds of thugs roamed the building and a few had already tried to hit on me. Of course, I always would quickly respond with a quick dagger to the throat, usually scares em' right off.
As for the actual building, It was a two floor building, with seating on the top and bottom with half of the bottom floor being used as the kitchen and counter where you place your orders. I couldn't find anything at all that pointed to Ray's location so to kill some time, I picked up a spoon and started to fiddle with it.
"Excuse me, miss." One of the pathetic thugs had tapped me on the back.
"What do you want, you pathetic little-" I whirled to see that it was the owner of the restaurant, and he didn't seem pleased.
"You break my cutlery, you pay for it," he eyed me down, "Street punk."
I was about to persuade him with the use of my trusty knives when a thundering boom rippled through the building, Rico bolting into the room at top speed, Alice trailing behind him, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
"Corra!" He yelled, "We gotta go!"
"Alright, alright. Yeesh."
We made our exit and Rico led me and Alice to the building that Julian and him had gone into, a tavern called, "Raven". It was your average tavern, stinky, wet, and cold. Surprisingly though, it was empty, not even the owner of the tavern was in sight. I followed Rico behind the bartender's counter and he pointed to a mossy trapdoor behind the stool that sat behind the counter.
He pointed to the trapdoor, "Ray's down there."
Without hesitation, I opened the trapdoor and jumped down, my ankles buckling as my feet hit a cold stone floor, soaked with blood. As I trudged down the corridor, I started to hear muffled voices of what seemed to be around five men. Stopping at the end of the corridor, I saw that it turned right into a dimly lit room. I could also hear voices now. It seemed like they were mocking someone, laughing.
I peeked my head around the corner, making sure not to be seen. It was a stone room, blood was spilled on the floor and it was only lit by two lanterns. Five figures stood in the room laughing and drinking and I immediately recognized them. It was the Wisps, a rival gang from the other side. They were even dressed in their gang clothing, a yellow scarf and undershirt topped off with black pants and a black vest. I turned to Rico and Alice who were now behind me.
"It's the Wisps." I whispered.
"Perfect," Rico groaned, "Any sign of Ray or Julian?"
"No, it's too dark. I can barely see at all."
Alice put her hand on my shoulder, "It's alright, leave this one to me."
She mumbled something, and clasped her hands together, trickles of light leaking from the tips of her fingers.
"Animalis mutare!" She whispered, and in a poof of blue light, she was gone.
"What the?" Rico reeled back, "Where'd she go?"
A smirk creeped up my face, "Cornelius, you clever little—"
"What? What is it Corra? Where'd she go?"
"You're little friend here can wield magic."
"Wait, what?"
"Umm guys? I'm still here." It was Alice's voice.
I looked down to see a little bird on the ground. It was a sky blue colour like Alice's jacket, and it had a golden seal glowing on its chest.
I knelt down, "Alice, you turned yourself into a bird?"
"Of course! Now I can look around the room without getting caught!"
Rico was still confused. I didn't have time to explain to him though, there was Ray and Julian's lives on the line.
"Alright," I told her, "Go do your thing."
Alice flapped her wings and she quietly flew into the room, disappearing from sight as she melted into the darkness.
"You mind explaining to me what just happened?" Rico asked.
"Considering we have to wait for Alice to come back, alright. Do you know what magic is?"
"Nope."
I facepalmed. Had Rico grown up under a rock or something?
"Look," I sighed, "Magic is the use of manipulating one's energy and transforming it into different spells. The more powerful the spell, the more energy it takes up, and if you use up too much of your energy… you die. It's incredibly hard to master and to make it worse, it's outlawed in most cities."
"Woah," Rico's eyes started to sparkle a little, "I never knew she was so powerful."
"Don't get all mushy on me now." I gave him a playful shove, "And plus, with magic combined with her morte, I can't imagine how powerful she'll be when she's older."
"Wait, her mor—"
"Guys!" Alice came around the corner flying at lightning speed, "I found Ray!"
"Where?"
"Well, there's a slight problem."
"What?"
"Ray's in the very back, and he doesn't look so good. And as for Julian, I couldn't find him anywhere."
"This is a problem," I muttered, "Theoretically, I could sneak up there and untie him, but if I get caught on my way there or back, we're all done for."
"That's true, but I don't see what other option we have," Alice noted, "That transformation spell used up a lot of my energy, I don't think I can cast another one."
"Looks like it's up to me then." I unsheathed my knives and dashed into the room.
As I ran into the room I rolled behind one of the many tables that had been tipped over in the room, my knives resting perfectly in my palms. I scanned the room, now that was actually in the room. The Wisps looked like they were having some sort of party, tables and chairs had been turned over and scattered everywhere, and there was shattered glass, beer, and blood all over the floor.
Still couldn't see Ray or Julian anywhere, I had to get closer. My knees scraped against the glass on the floor as I made a break for another table that was about ten feet away. Luckily, no one saw me, but now came the hard part. Around three of the five Wisps were directly ahead of me, there was no way I would be able to simply dash from table to table now. I observed my surroundings, looking for another way around. I looked back at Alice and Rico for suggestions but the only thing I got was a blank stare.
Great. What now?
It wasn't looking good, either I was going to have to risk going forward or retreat and find another option. But then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something, or more like someone. I could barely make out that Ray was across the room, tied to a wooden chair. He had been beaten badly and his face was bruised and bleeding. His clothes, even his signature red scarf were tattered and bloodstained. As soon as I noticed he was there, he made eye contact with me, his pale blue eyes looking desperate but calm at the same time. Wincing in pain, he nudged his head up at the rafters in the ceiling and gave me a look like he was saying, "You know what to do."
Of course! Why hadn't I thought of the rafters! I could easily climb up there and hide using the stones in the wall as stepping stones! Of course once again, we had a problem. It would take me roughly twenty seconds to climb the wall, so if even one of those thugs looked my way, I was screwed. I looked back at Ray, searching for some sort of advice, but all he gave me was the same look. I fiddled with my knives, resting them in my palms, trying to calm myself down. After I had calmed myself, I sprinted for the wall, trying to be as fast and quiet as possible.
I started to climb, my feet responding to my every command, moving at lightning speeds. My gloves were getting scratched and torn as the stone bricks made my hands raw as I climbed higher and higher up the wall, each step making me closer to the rafters. Finally, after a few nicks and scratches, I had finally reached the top. The rafters were made of rotting wood so I had to be careful when I traversed them. On top of that, they were awfully noisy so I had to make sure to be extra stealthy, despite the fact I was super high above the enemy.
As I crept across the rafters, I noticed a figure ahead. It didn't seem to be moving but I still proceeded with caution, my boots not making a single sound. As I creeped closer, an uneasiness settled over me like a blanket. It… was Julian. He was laying on top of one of the rafters, cuts and scrapes lined his body and his sword was caked in blood, the blade losing it's silver shine.
"C-Corra?" He coughed.
"Julian," I pleaded, "What did they do to you?"
"I rushed them head on and was able to take a few on, but they were too strong. Corra, these aren't your everyday street thugs, they're—"
"I know, they're The Wisps, our rivals."
"Would've been nice to know you guys had rivals." He started to cough, blood, running off his lip and down through his chest. "What are you doing up here anyway?"
"I'm gonna get Ray and then we're going to get you out of here. Can you stand?"
He sat up, wincing in pain, "I-I think so."
"Good, stay here and try to recover, once you feel like you can run and get out, do it. Don't worry about me, I'll grab Ray and do the same."
"Got it. I'll back you up in case things get messy."
I got up and started to head towards the back of the room, "That won't be necessary."
As I leap from beam to beam, the only thing I could think about was the Wisps. I had always hated them, especially because I was so close with Ray. It was Ray who had started our rivalry with the other team, way back before we had picked up Rico. I'll never know why, but one day we were sitting in a tavern together, discussing business when Ray spotted them, walked over, pulled out his gun, and started firing away.
Since that day, The Wisps have always hated us, but especially Ray. One day, we had heard that they had gained a new recruit, so we voyaged over to the other side to check it out. As we peered through the window of their hideout we saw her, a mixed ursa or bear. I've always hated her, especially because when I was little, I had a friend who was the same breed who was later murdered along with my parents.
As I reached the end, a shiver ran up my spine. What if she was here? What would I say? What would I do? Nomatter, I was right above Ray now.
"Psst." I whispered to him, "Ray, I'm coming down."
"Alright, just make it quick."
I scaled the wall, making sure not to be seen. Once I was at a level where I wouldn't break my ankles, I jumped down swiftly and hid behind Ray's chair.
"Listen," He muttered, "Blood spilling from his cut mouth, "I don't think I can stand, so once you're done untying me, we won't be able to simply waltz out of here, got it?"
I paused, "Got it."
I started to go to work on his bonds. Slashing at the rope tied around his hands and legs, being sure to slash with precision so I wouldn't puncture an artery. After they had all been cut, I slid them off of Ray and put it on my belt, I knew exactly what to use it for. I scaled the wall again and slung the rope around one of the support beams, creating a sort of pulley system.
"Grab on!" I whispered.
As Ray grabbed the rope and I began to pull, lifting him off the ground, one of the Wisp thugs —Greyson, the leader— noticed me.
"Well! Look what we have here!" He yelled, all the other thugs noticing.
Breath Corra, breath. You can do this. I lowered Ray and jumped down, my boots making a clack noise.
"Well well, if it isn't little Corra!" Greyson's little cronie —Eric— laughed, "Are we gonna get 'ta rough 'er up Greyson? Are we?"
I spun my knives in my hand, my wrists and blades becoming one fluid motion, "Heh, I don't think that's going to happen homus."
That's it Corra, just stall enough so Julian can go and get backup
"How dare you insult us with that barbaric street slang?"
Another figure stepped out of the darkness, it was the ursa. She was wearing a black slip dress that perfectly matched with her yellow scarf and leather boots. Her curly black hair was loose, waving in the candlelight. And she had a shotgun on her belt, fully loaded and ready to rip anyone apart who stood in her way. "Permission to finish her Greyson sir?" She asked.
Greyson held up his hand, his silver hair swishing, "Not quite yet Olivia dear. I still have some things that need to be taken care of."
"Once again, that won't be happening."
"No, I think it will." He lifted up his hands, and purple light began to swirl around it, great, he's using magic now. This just wasn't turning out to be my day. I grabbed Ray and we ducked behing a table as a bolt of purple lightning hit the chair Ray was sitting on, shattering it into nothing but splinters.
"My leg!" Ray screamed.
I looked down to see his leg, his pant leg had been torn off to reveal a massive gash.
Greyson laughed, "Why don't you filthy marauders want to come out and play?" Another streak of lightning arching off of his hand.
I put my hand on Ray's shoulder, "Listen, stay here. I got this." I stood up, sheathed my knives and walked forward.
Greyson pointed to Olivia, "She's all yours kid."
Olivia pumped her shotgun, "Alrighty! Get ready for a world of pain dear!"
I took off my gloves and anticipated the attack.
"You're just looking to be slaughtered, huh dear?" She pulled the trigger and a spread of bullets came straight at me, each one bringing death with them.
Breath Corra, just… Breath…
I threw down my gloves and focused all my energy into the palms of my hands. I imagined the energy spilling off of my hands and flowing all around my body, covering every nook and cranny until I was fully enveloped in energy.
I opened my eyes, "I'm sorry dear, but your time here is up."
The bullets whizzed into my body as I watched her shocked face stare back in horror.