Aster lands in a another world where he finds himself on the private property of a crime syndicate. Initially he isn't accepted, but it is his goal to rise up the ranks and get recognition within the syndicate as it's the only thing he has!
Side Not...
In the middle of the night, a fight was about to begin, between Aster, Fleur, Craaq and Sulena, against Rene and two of his soldiers. Sulena held onto a shovel that she had found at the campgrounds, and an apple. The battle started, and Sulena quickly closed the distance and attacked Rene with the apple. She made a punch, as if to slice his head, but he sidestepped the attack. Sulena grinned, "Score one for me", she boasted.
Fleur spun around with her large sword, attacking the shin of one of Rene's soldiers, "Our syndicates clearly have opposing philosophies!", she declared as her opponent toppled over. Craaq attacked with his crossbow, "Ohh yeah!", he exclaimed in delight as he hit his opponent square in the face with it. Sulena and Aster quickly joined in on the fight, slicing both soldiers and making them fall again.
Aster readied his sword, "It's a shame, you'll lose.", he said as he came down to hit the soldier's stomach. The two soldiers looked back in pain as Aster grinned, "Take that!", he shouted. Rene chuckled, "Seems you're all rather capable fighters. Look at my soldiers, they're battered and bruised. Never mind, they're only mere weapon users such as most of you, my ability will be sure to destroy you!", he gloated.
With the cut off, Craaq readied his crossbow and Aster readied his sword. The soldiers held their spears and prepared to kill their teammates, "Get ready!", Craaq ordered. Craaq shot and arrow out of his crossbow, signalling to Aster to charge. Aster smirked, as his sword was parried by the spear, he jumped in the air. "Steel Forme!", he yelled. Suddenly he could hear Fleur's voice from behind, which stopped him in his tracks. "Help!", it squealed, he turned around to check if she needed assistance, but in his distraction, he dropped his sword as Rene grabbed him from behind.
"What?! Fleur?! Where are you?!", Aster screamed. Rene tightly gripped him as he kept hearing Fleur's screams echoing throughout the campsite. "Let me go you asshole! I need to help Fleur!", Aster continued to screech as he kicked Rene repeatedly. Fleur then appeared in front of him, "Aster, I'm fine. Why are you worried?", she questioned him. Rene drew a knife and put it to Aster's neck, with tears in his eyes, he answered Fleur's question.
"I-I heard you screaming for your life…", cried Aster. "Let him go you creep…", Fleur scowled, but almost immediately she was pulled back into battle with a soldier. "Aster, watch out!", he heard Sulena call out. However, as he turned his head, he could feel his neck becoming increasingly painful. Swiftly, he grabbed Rene's arm, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!", Aster grumbled. "Don't you want to listen to your friends?", replied Rene. "Well yes...no…I don't know!". Craqq tried to rush over to free Aster from Rene's grip, but was kicked over by one of his soldiers. "Aster! You have to figure out what's happening!", he announced.
Aster was confused, whose voice was real? Was his ability to do with playing with your head? Was his close proximity involved? As he kept trying to fend of Rene, Aster took a quick glance around him. His friends didn't need help at all, they were dominating Rene's soldiers. But what was Rene's ability? The screams of his team kept playing in his head, but he may have an idea of exactly what's going on. He just needed Rene to answer this one integral question. "Rene, mind if you remain quiet for a few minutes?", he enquired.
"And why would I do that?", Rene responded. "Surely it's such a basic request, unless it's integral to your ability…", Aster teased. Rene held Aster tighter, Fleur's screaming became more and more intense, but Aster felt no agony, "The voices in your head can't be my doing, can they?", Rene remarked. Aster had him right where he wanted, "Okay then, show me by shutting your mouth. If the voices go away, I'll believe you.".
"If you insist…". Rene was completely silent, with his mouth and eyes closed. Just as expected, the voices stopped. "I know your ability, Rene. You can manipulate your voice to sound like someone else, and the closer in proximity you are to your opponent, the more powerful this ability becomes, hence why you're so close to me. It's impressive really, if you were facing any other group, I can guarantee your victory. It's a shame you had to lose…".
Rene put his hands in the air, letting Aster go. "I surrender! You can advance!", he announced. "Heh, seems we're more than worthy.", Craaq commented. "Aster, are you either us?", Sulena asked, checking on Aster's sense of focus. "I'm fine. Just a hard ability to deal with…", he muttered. "Let's go, we can prepare for our next trial as we walk.", Fleur declared. The group continued on, ready for anything on the long road to the Renegard mansion.
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