Embers of a Gentle Flame[Mixed Updates]

Chapter 1: Conviction

"Come on! Turn you piece of-!"

A hiss can be heard from a tube of Dust before the powder enters a canister. The slender young man with hazelnut hair wipes sweat from his brow. He was inside a shop called "Pixie Dust," a modestly sized building neatly stacked with Dust crystals, canisters, and bullets within the checkout counter for Huntsmen. The young man sighed from exhaustion, which wasn't helped by the stuffy nature of the shop. A simple sneeze could set off an explosion if nobody was careful.

"God, I wish..." The door to Pixie Dust opened with the bells attached to the door ringing. The young man looked to see his coworker, Finn. With little context, Finn's shifts his eyebrows. "What are you wishing about Anvid?" "Perfect timing, Finn! I could use some of that 'Huntsman muscle.' And remind me again why you brought a polearm to the shop?" Finn tilted the naginata, currently in his left hand, to his left. "Boss's request. Dust prices are through the frickin' roof right now. We could be robbed at any moment without any protection, and I'm the only employee who has had some Huntsmen-based training." "Bet it's nice having an Aura to give yourself a boost... And doesn't it have a name?" "Yeah. Most... If not all Huntsmen-grade weapons do. I named it after my dad's prototype: Bifrost."

"Eh... Well, livin' the dream, I suppose." Finn walked to the checkout counter to attend the cash register and leaned Bifrost on the wall behind him. It's late, but it didn't mean a customer can't come by. "So, how's your brother doin'?" Anvid was at another valve. "I... Believe he's beEEEN...! Doin' good. ...A little help?" "Alright... You get the canisters ready. I'll turn the valves." Anvid nodded before the metal creaked and turned in the generally silent shop. A generator hums to power the valves, but that is the only noise created constantly within the sky-blue walls.

But just when things seemed as if they were going to be simple... The door to Pixie Dust opens as the bell jingled once more. Finn, upholding policies, unknowingly greeted an unwelcomed guest. "Howdy! How can I-!"

There he was. The man who was responsible for the inflation of Dust prices: Roman Torchwick. It was not like him to plainly waltz into the front door himself. He candidly leans on his cane, pulling the cigar away from his mouth with his left hand, and blows some smoke. "Do you have any idea how many Dust shops there are that are open this late at night?"  Wasting no time, Finn ran to the checkout counter, grabbed Bifrost, and shot at Roman. The succession surprised him--and while he did dodge and was outside the shop, he didn't expect resistance. "Anvid! Call the police! I'll try to hold him off! Don't be a hero!"

He rushed outside to ensure that Roman could not escape. If he could catch him now, the prices would return to normal. And then... Then Lien wouldn't be so limited in his household. This was a minor setback, but Roman could play the part.

"You think Imma let YOU escape?!" Skillfully, he twirled Bifrost before pointing the blade at Roman--and like he accepted the challenge, Roman spun his cane, the Melodic Cudgel. "Boy, do you have any idea how many Huntsmen I faced and got away from? I'll let you guess." "My guess's that this is the night you're gonna fail!"

He launches himself at Roman before slamming Bifrost down; Roman dodges with swagger. While it wasn't as hard as he could have struck, Finn left cracks in the road before he swung Bifrost to the left -- not letting Roman have an advantage -- and Roman swung the Melodic Cudgel, attempting to reposte like he was using a saber. Within a split moment, Finn spun the handle of Bifrost with force to nearly knock the Melodic Cudgel out of Roman's hands before striking Roman across the chest, staggering him. Finn attempts to follow up with a thrust, but he barely dodged the strike with the blade of Bifrost's blade grazing Roman's fine white suit. 

This was an opening. Roman attempted to shoot Finn with a reticle from the base of the Melodic Cudgel flipping out. If Finn dodged, Pixie Dust would be partially destroyed with Anvid being injured or worse, and he didn't have enough time to react.