*thump*
The Oracle trio, with their backs turned, suddenly heard a few thuds hit the pavement of the narrow street. Aiden and Synnove stammered back, Aiden reaching for his sword and Synnove prepping her Vines - yet to no avail.
A few men dropped from the rooftop, and encircled the two. Aldegar and Fornicus immediately rushed to fight, Monique throwing a barrage of Crimson Darts, but…
The mercenary furthest back, a tall man cloaked in shadow, a long black trench coat hiding every feature of his, and a large hood blocking his face. No one could tell what he was preparing to do, until, from his mouth exuded a sparkling, putrid purple gas. Aldegar and Fornicus were stopped in their tracks, momentarily paralyzed by the sight. The cloaked man moved with an eerie fluidity, dodging Monique's Darts with ease. The gas reached Aiden and Synnove, who collapsed instantly, their bodies crumpling to the ground as the toxic fumes took effect.
The purple gas continued to spread, creeping towards Fornicus and Aldegar. Realizing the danger, they swiftly retreated a few steps, narrowly avoiding the noxious cloud. The air was thick with tension, and the smell of the gas lingered, sweet yet sickening.
Suddenly, one of the mercenaries whose face was uncovered clapped his hands together, producing a massive explosion of smoke. But this wasn't ordinary smoke - it was thick, moist, and cloying.
"Steam!" Fornicus shouted, recognizing the danger. He made a move to dash through the obstructed view, but Aldegar grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait. They could've laid a trap. Go around," Aldegar commanded, his voice steady despite the chaos.
The trio expertly dashed around the billowing steam, running with all their strength towards the men. They picked Aiden and Synnove up, before turning a corner and seemingly vanishing.
Monique realized that they might duck into the alleys, and so she dashed left, before calling out to the two. "I'm going through the alleys, I can take care of them alone. You two follow the main road!"
Fornicus and Aldegar continued their chase down the main street, turning corner after corner, barely seeing any trace of the assailants other than a brief sight of their legs or their backs turning once more. Meanwhile, Monique ran down alleyways with a Scarlet Spear formed in her hand, ready to jump at anyone who might appear in her way.
Monique was ducking through and past gates, fences, dumpsters - all the while, still no trace of anyone. Fornicus and Aldegar made their way to a T-shaped crossroad, where the road didn't continue forward anymore. Left, dashed a man carrying Synnove, while the hooded man who put them to sleep dashed right. With a nod of the head and a confirmatory grunt, Aldegar and Fornicus split up, taking chase.
Aldegar took off after the man who took Synnove, chasing fast behind. The man was fast, but Aldegar was fueled by an unexpressed anger. Now alone, he didn't have to keep up his composed act as much as he did have to around others.
"Would Mental Map help me here?" he thought as he closed in on the attacker. Alas, he wasn't certain of his power's effectiveness in a situation like this, but, it couldn't hurt to try.
With a deep breath, and a hard exhale, Aldegar dragged a hand across his face and closed his eyes - in front of him suddenly appearing a large, almost grid like map of the area around him. He couldn't see with his eyes closed, and yet, Mental Map made everything as clear as day.
Looking off to a wooden box to his right, Aldegar imagined himself throwing it at the escapee, only to see he'd dodge and continue. His gaze switched to his throwing knife resting in his pocket, his running continuing almost on autopilot.
You see, Mental Map is an intriguing power. It is precognition, but with a caveat. Aldegar must imagine what he wants too see, the box, the knife being thrown, and the outcome will be shown to him. Meanwhile, the rest of his body continues fighting off of instinct, on the defense. Although not perfect, Aldegar claims Mental Map has a 97% accuracy. Personally, I've never counted, so I can't confirm…
Either way, as Aldegar's chase continued, he kept envisioning outcomes in his head, trying to counter his speed not allowing him to catch up. Issue was, this man was fast and agile - Mental Map was showing Aldegar him dodging every direct throw, and he wasn't about to risk a throw, betting on a failed activation.
The chase continued, the mercenary attempting to fall back Aldegar with throwing of his own. But, instinctively, Aldegar's body had activated Swiftstride. So, he had no problem dodging, however, he had to find a solution quickly. He couldn't dismiss Swiftstride without deactivating Mental Map. And if he did, he might not be able to set it up again without a short resting period.
Idea after idea, it finally showed to him. Aldegar saw that if he threw two knives, one directly and one off to the side, the other would bounce off of a road sign and hit the kidnapper in the neck. It was risky, despite the high success rate, but he had to try it.
He locked in his choice, before dismissing both Mental Map and Swiftstride. He timed the shot perfectly, doing it exactly as in the precognition. He dodged the first shot, not expecting the ricochet, and it hit him straight in the jugular. The wound wasn't too deep because the refracted shot didn't have much power, but that caused the knife to not lodge itself in the neck and instead fall out. This caused a large gushing of blood, the man grasping at his neck before falling to the ground and dropping Synnove.
"Damn it, why didn't Map show me that was going to be a fatal wound?" he shouted, before quickly picking up the still knocked out Synnove from the ground and throwing her across the shoulder. He looked around for any landmarks, before calling a number from speed dial on his phone.
"Hello, Dr. Ishikawa? It's Aldegar, I need an ambulance." he looked back at the man, now lying in an ever-increasing pool of blood. "No, no, I'm not injured. An enemy, we might need him for interrogation. Industrial District, 7th Street, just down the road from where your brother works. Alright, thanks…"
Kohaku Ishikawa, #2 of the Medical Corps, and the man in charge of the emergency response unit. Aldegar said it was for the sake of interrogation, however, he lied. In reality, he hated killing, despite knowing this was a man who intended on hurting his loved ones. He continued running, briefly looking back at the man laying in a pool of his own blood now.
"If Ishikawa makes it in time, he should survive. Encase is mighty powerful in situations like these…" he thought as he continued zipping through the streets.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the industrial district, Fornicus was giving chase to the mercenary who held the power which originally knocked out Aiden and Synnove. The then hooded figure now got rid of his coat and threw it to the side, revealing a shirtless man with and scarred, darkened and distorted skin. His left hand appeared to have six fingers, and his purple hair was falling out, bald spots visible.
"Stop there, you bastard!" Fornicus called out, agitated. He was chasing like crazy, without a second thought or a plan in mind. The assailant briefly glanced back at Fornicus, a dim street lamp casting a glow on his face. The face had the same scarring the rest of his skin did, but, his eyes. Aniridia. His irises were completely gone, leaving a horrifying, empty eye behind.
Fornicus was attempting to keep close to the man, but, in fear of another sudden release of his power, he had to stay a bit behind. Corner after corner, the man was not losing any speed, and Fornicus' breath began becoming ragged and weak. Until, at an intersection, the assailant stopped in place, before turning to Fornicus.
He opened his mouth and let out a gut-churning scream, one that'd shake anyone to their core. Again, gas came out from the man's mouth, but, in a much larger amount. An amount so large, it completely obstructed Fornicus' view. He jumped back, hearing an intense coughing from the other side, and by the time the smoke cleared - the man was gone.
"Fuck!" Fornicus screamed. "I lost him, damn it!"
He violently grabbed his phone from his pocket, before dialing Aldegar. "Yo, Aldegar, that bastard with the sleeping gas power got away. Any luck on your end?"
After wounding the assailant who was carrying Synnove, and calling Dr. Ishikawa, Aldegar reconvened with Monique. She was able to catch two of the attacker group, and scared one of them until he gave her the needed information.
"Monique, I know you don't really believe that these people are equal to us, because they sell their pride… but don't you think you went a bit overboard?" Aldegar pointed his finger to the interrogated man, a wound on his shoulder, and him, curled into a ball crying. "You basically told him we were going to torture and kill him…"
"Don't worry, I'm not a monster. I'll talk to Ingrid and make sure his cell is more comfortable than the usual. As an… apology." she giggled.
"Yeah, Fornicus. We caught two, I injured one, and now I'm with Monique. One of the attackers ratted out, their reconnaissance point is an abandoned warehouse on 9th by the pier." he responded.
"The pier on the 9th? But, that's on the other end of the industrial district. Did they really think we wouldn't catch them?"
"No, I don't think so. They had a deal that a few of them will act as human shields and hold us off." he said, looking at the two men, Monique treating their wounds that she inflicted. "The one I ended up wounding got scared and ran off the wrong way, so, at least we got Synnove back."
"Alright, that's good. Our focus is on Aiden alone now." said Fornicus with a sigh of slight relief. "Let's meet up at the crossroad where we separated, okay?"
"Got it."