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Aspax, Basin: Desolate Ash: Arclop Palace: Hallway, Time: 3:45 PM
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Cauli was running sneakily, but a tap from his footwear echoed throughout the hallway.
"Alright, Cauli... you just gotta find everyone and leave," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, a loud alarm rang out through the entire building.
The Purified members at the opposite end of the hallway noticed him.
"Hey, that cargo shouldn't be moving!" one of them pointed out.
Another member corrected him, "That's not cargo, you idiot! It's the thief!" Cauli quickly set the cargo aside and prepared himself for battle, gripping his katana sheath.
Cauli dashed toward The Purified members as one of them tried to swing at him. He leaped into the air, stomping on his head.
"I'm gonna make quick work of you guys! Sakura Tempest!" Cauli unleashed his katana and spun himself, creating a pink whirlwind.
Sakura petals swirled within the whirlwind as it sent the Purified member flying upward, creating a wind geyser that pierced through the roof of the abandoned palace.
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Aspax, Basin: Desolate Ash: Arclop Palace: Main Area, Time: 3:50 PM
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Don and Layla were fending off a relentless wave of Purified members. They were surrounded, and more kept coming at them. Don wished he could just hit the ground running and escape this onslaught.
"Dammit, where is he?!" Don growled in frustration as he fired another gear bolt, hitting one of the Purified members right in the mouth, distorting their facial features.
Layla, on the other hand, was standing atop a growing heap of unconscious Purified members.
She had a knack for knocking them out cold. But even she was overwhelmed by their numbers.
As one of them swung a club at her, she swiftly dodged, only to have the attacker pierced by an arrow, forcing them backward.
Layla couldn't help but express her annoyance. "Oi! Give a warning, you metallic-faced drunk!" she yelled.
Don retorted, "Well, nice dodge, you short pansy bum!"
Their bickering ceased when they spotted a Sakura geyser erupting from the other side of the palace. "Oh, cool, there he is," Don observed as he shot a Purified member in the leg with his trusty revolver.
Layla agreed, "Let's just go already, you giggling oaf."
Together, Don and Layla hurried to find their companion, Cauli, who had caused the Sakura geyser with his powerful skills.
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Aspax, Basin: Desolate Ash: Arclop Palace: The Office, Time: 3:50 PM
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Inside the palace, the office seemed more luxurious and better looking than the palace itself.
Some of the posters and paintings were crossed out in red marker. A giant bounty board in the room seemed never to have been refilled for a while.
Sitting at the desk was a man with crimson short hair. One of his hairs went upward with darker yellow highlights.
He was wearing a red checkered button-up shirt and cargo shorts, with a red cape adorned with yellow pauldrons around his neck.
He was barefoot, and both of his arms were covered in rusty, moldy chains.
"Tumriiii, how long do I have to stay in this room?" Someone whined.
The man known as Tumri could only sigh at someone in the room; it was the lady who was getting Cargo at the same time as Cauli.
"Harlot, you know well why I have to quarantine you in here, right?" Tumri stated, tapping the ash of his ciggy on the ashtray.
"Dude, I am not sick, so why the heck did you even quarantine me?!" Harlot pouted. She was about to miss out on a fight that was happening downstairs.
Tumri decided to ignore her and discuss the important matter. "Well, let's talk about our payment, shall we?" Tumri crushed the ciggy on the ashtray, creating a small crack on the table.
"Okay, fine. Just note it down for me, alright?" Harlot sat straight up on the crimson couch.
A barking noise was heard as a dog came out from the pet house. Her body seemed to be more sandy and liquid-like, but her eyes and tongue seemed to be normal. She spotted Harlot as she quickly ran toward her.
The sand dog quickly got to Harlot's lap and begged her for pets. "Woof!"
"Oh, Sandy! It's been so long!" Harlot gave her some head pats and rubs while muttering, "Who's a good girl! You are!"
Tumri could only snort at the sight but decided to go back to the matter at hand. "My team has been discussing what we wanted this time, so we decided to make a bucket list for what we wanted." Tumri pulled out the metal bucket as he laid it down on the table.
"Mhm, I am..." Harlot pulled up Sandy's ear for a second, "all ears!" Harlot giggled at her joke.
Tumri could only let out a disgusted sigh before putting his hand in the bucket. "First one is..." Tumri pulled out the note, "More towers."
Harlot nodded a little, "Alright, we could do that." Even though DW is more in the scientific field than engineering, they could do some construction work now and then.
"And the second one is..." Tumri pulled out the second note from the bucket, "More towers." Tumri seemed unfazed by this duplicate.
"Okay, more towers, then, I guess?" Harlot seemed to be confused by this one. She knew that The Purified are a crazy bunch, but why do they even want more towers to begin with?
"And the final one is..." Tumri pulled the last note from the bucket, "More trowels." Tumri seemed surprised by this request.
Harlot blinked a couple of times as if she was seeing things right.
"The brickwork in this place is a shitshow," Tumri said. Harlot could only whine at the amount of stuff they requested.
Suddenly, a radio started to speak, "Yo, boss! Are we allowed to release the beast?"
"Are you struggling with the intruder?" Tumri asked, curious about how strong they could be.
"Well, I got a crossbow bolt stuck in my hand, so yeah, we are struggling," the member stated, causing a nod from Tumri.
"Very well, release it." Tumri gave his permission, and the member was in joy at this statement.
"Thank you, boss! We won't let you down!" The member stopped the communication. Tumri sat back and relaxed in his chair.
"You seem calm about this whole thing," Harlot commented, impressed by how composed he was.
"Panicking from a leader leads to the downfall of mankind. That's why you need to be calm at all costs," Tumri quoted, opening a fridge to throw a snack to Harlot.
She didn't even try to catch it, as some force somehow stopped the bag midair and placed it into her hands.
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Aspax, Basin: Desolate Ash: Arclop Palace: Main Area, Time: 4:20 PM
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Back in the Main Area, Cauli seemed to handle his predicament quite well. He dodged like a swift wind, backflipping to slash a couple of enemies in the chest.
"Cauli!" Don yelled out as both he and Layla tried to get across. The members realized they had walked into their trap.
"Pull the floor!" One of them ordered as the dusty cloth came clean off, revealing quicksand underneath.
"Ah, shit!" Don was sinking. "Layla, I need you to throw your guitar over!" Don was met with silence before he looked over to see she was sunk into the sand.
"Ah, crap basket." Don followed suit, saluting before he sank like a sinking ship.
"Don! Layla!" Cauli yelled out. He was now alone, left to his own devices. He kept his breath steady, assuming they would sink underground to the lower layer of this place.
THUMP! A loud footstep could be heard behind Cauli. His expression changed to confusion as he slowly turned around to see the behemoth behind him.
The man seemed to be almost 10 feet tall. His muscles bulged like crazy, and he wore a prisoner jumpsuit. His face was covered in a metal helmet, only showing his eyes and mouth. His hand twitched in freedom and excitement.
"Holy shit..." Cauli muttered to himself before preparing for a fight for his life.
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