Souls of the Fallen

Backyard Again

Well, buddy, I'm not tired of your company but I have to send you away. Like I mentioned recently, Shina needs my strength. Kilik probably misses you, to be honest. He's such a chatty nerd sometimes. Now, begone with ya... I can stop talkin' like a foreigner and get back into my comfort zone to focus. Hope to talk to ya soon, friend...

Similar winds that brought you to Shoda's side lift you again. You coast away from him and float freely across The Flow in a familiar direction. The light show from before is as spectacular as the first time you made this transition. You are at ease until everything around you freezes. The Flow is no longer flowing. Colors are no longer changing from one hue to the next. You hear subtle footsteps and your body rotates until a shadowy figure comes into view. The weight of its power is increasing with each step. It approaches slowly but its figure reveals itself to be one of a being that you have been introduced to. Caius walks up to you.

I've been watching you, Soul. You have shown interest in this world. I appreciate that. I will not hold you long. My purpose for revealing myself is to empower you. You see... Like many demons, you are not connected to this realm. It is not impossible though. Be a positive force here and you'll feel the winds that guide us enter you instead of only floating around you. Before I release you, I will bless you with power to bestow upon those that may request it. Use it wisely.

A warmth courses through your body as you lift up once more. Motion gradually returns to the realm around you and Caius' figure dissipates nearly instantaneously. Your trajectory is set back in order and Kilik awaits your arrival.

Welcome back! Shoda left me the juicy story to continue you on. Are you okay? You seem troubled? I know what it is! You're worried about the gang and the situation with the officers! I'll get right into it then. Don't worry.

Shina watches the three officers enter her home. The female Eon that outed her stands at the beginning of the living room. She folds her arms as the others wander the house. "This will be a lot better for you if you just tell us where she is, girl," she says.

"You're good at reading minds. Figure it out," Shina says while taking a seat on the stairs. They glare at each other until the officer scoffs.

"We can either start flipping things over until we find her or you can tell us," the taller officer says.

"Do you expect her to be hiding under a piece of paper? She's clearly not in this room, idiot..."

The shorter cop rushes at her. "Look, you disrespectful twat!" He grips her tank top strap and tugs her towards him. "You're already in deep shit! Tell us or we'll tear this place apart!"

His voice travels across the hallway enough for the others to hear him. "There's someone here looking for something," Riku whispers.

"Shit..." Naru mumbles. "This is all my fault. I can't let them take us all in if they only want me. Let me through... I'll turn myself in."

"No," Reno says. "We fight our way out."

"We don't know how many there are, dude," Lucas says. "But... I'm also against letting you just give yourself up like that."

"Then what do we do?" Riku asks. They look to Reno and he looks back at each of them.

"What? I already said I'm ready to fight. As a matter of fact..." he walks up to Riku and bashes on the door behind his brother is leaning on. "Is it safe to come out?" he screams.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asks dumbfoundedly. Riku steps aside and stretches his legs. Lucas facepalms.

One of the officers gestures to approach the door. The Eon stays in her uppity position near the door as the cops position themselves in front of Naru's door. The taller cop whispers a countdown before booting the door open. He aims his gun into the room. A block of ice shatters as it collides with his head. The other officer turns into the doorway and blindly fires shots into the room. Twelve shots ring out in quick succession. Shina stands from worry rising in her. "Sit down!" the Eon commands.

"Screw off!" she yells as she knocks the woman out of her house with a well-placed kick to the gut. The traitor tumbles into the yard and Shina slams the door. The office sees this interaction and turns to the Magi. He attempts to reload but Riku, still dressed in Shina's short clothes, puts him in a headlock. He is flung into the nearby washing machine and it buzzes. The officer flops onto the floor unconscious. Shina walks up to join her friends. "Your clothes are washed but still need to dry."

"Are you okay?" Riku asks as the others exit the room. The step over the officers and enter the living room.

"I'm fine for now but I'm sure reinforcements are on their way." She casually pulls out Riku's clothes from the dryer and hands them to him. She walks into the living room with the others.

"We need to move," Reno says. peeking out the window next to the door. "Who is that woman out there?"

"She's an Eon that apparently can sense the presence of others," Shina answers. "A good asset for the police force to have."

"Hey, Lucas... Can you blow me?" Riku asks. Everyone looks back at him in the opening of the hall with his soggy clothes back on.

"Riku... Please, choose your words better," Naru says. He thinks what he said over for a moment then his eyes widen. "Yeah, now you get it."

"I'll get Teru and we can leave out the back," Shina suggests. "I don't think we're surrounded just yet." She exits to the hallway and the others follow. Reno glares out the window for a moment at the woman getting up from Shina's attack. He leaves to join the others shortly after. Once he's outside, he sees his brother standing in the yard with his arms and legs stretched while Lucas streams air his way.

"You should start your own dry cleaning business, Lucas," Reno jokes.

"Once I get old and crusty, I'll consider it." Lucas returns his attention to Riku, who seems to really enjoy the breeze. Reno shakes his head but locks on to the couple in the background. Shina is kneeling next to Teru at the back of the yard. She whispers a few things to him, gives him a hug and kiss, then lifts him over the gate into the neighbor's yard.

Shina returns to the group. "He'll be fine with my neighbor. We've had this planned for situations like this for years now," she says.

"We should expect a large turn out here soon, right?" Reno asks.

"Yep. They'll most likely send the demons this way," Naru says.

"Then we leave for the barracks while they're here," he responds to her surprise.

"You were serious back there?" Naru asks. Her face is full of worry and wonder.

Shina tilts her head realizing she's missed an important conversation. "Serious about what exactly?" She looks at Reno, knowing he's the source of the plan. It's pretty obvious when the other two are posing as if they were a model and a photographer. "Are you planning a coup?"

"Yeah, to put it plainly..." he mumbles. "Are you in?"

Shina looks back at the fence where she lifted her brother to safety. "I don't have much of a choice... This isn't something I'd expect from strangers. This isn't even your fault! Why are you so willing to fight for this cause?"

"Because our parents would've done the same in this position," Riku answers. "We have a large order on our shoulders already... This is nothing but sprinkles, sweetie." He smiles at her while the wind makes him look like a real hero. In his mind at least.

"We'll leave... As soon as we deal with that," Reno says.

"With what?" Riku asks. Reno points at the roof of the house. The female Eon from before stands at its tip with a footprint on her white lab coat.

"That's Orna Weiss. The Eon that they parade around on television," Naru says to the group. " Swearing that 'You will not escape' as she says with a mean finger wave. I love your commercial!" she yells sarcastically. "Piece of shit..." she mumbles afterward.

"There are more of you than expected. We were only prepared for one..." She levitates from the roof. While she descends, she tugs her jacket back at her waistline and pulls out a dagger with a glass capsule on its pommel. The capsule has a yellow liquid splashing about inside. "I still should have enough tranquilizer to put you all down." She squeezes the handle and the liquid fills the spine. It drips down the blade until it is completely coated.

The traitorous Eon lands before the backyard door and points the weapon at her initial target. "Try me, bitch," Naru says.

Reno's eyes flare light blue as his shard activates. Lucas' an emerald green and Riku's a deep purple. The boys step ahead of Shina and Naru. "Cute..." Orna says. "Protecting the women. How noble." She leans forward slightly and glides towards the boys. A strike is sent in Reno's direction first. He evades and counters by kicking at her legs. Orna flips over his attack but Lucas charges at her, ready to claw her. His attack clashes against the blade of an extra arm from under her lab coat. They deflect and distance themselves. "Attacking out of turn... That's rude."

"The rumors are true then. She's capable of handling groups alone," Naru says. "Lose the coat lady!"

Orna smiles and flings the coat into the air. Her arms are normal but there are two extra pairs of spectral arms above and below them. Each one wields a ghostly dagger that resembles the one in her right hand. She brings her hands together and splits the blade into the final spectral dagger. "Five of you... six hands. I think I'll be fine here."

She propels forward. Shina leaps over Riku and swings at the officer. Reno attempts to assist with a distraction and chills the air near Orna's face. Diamond dust blurs her vision but Shina is still held off by one of the blades. Her knuckles run across the blade but no blood is drawn. Orna flinches from the force of Shina's attack but quickly regains composure.

"You. What are you?" she asks Shina.

"A really good friend!" Shina rushes in again. She is deflected by one arm and another lowers swiftly for a stab. It stops halfway down due to Riku's grip. He stands at a distance with his arm extended and his hand clutched. Shina takes this opportunity to land a hit to Orna's stomach. The woman takes the hit but uses a phantom arm to attack Shina. The close combat fighter evades just in time to only get a slash across her shoulder. She rolls away and resets their fighting positions.

"You're a lucky girl," Orna says. She juggles the blades from hand to hand. Riku takes notice of the pattern. "Try that again. I dare you."

"Gladly!" The Magi explodes towards her opponent. Naru watches closely to see which hand Orna attempts to block with. She counters by snapping her fingers to whip tethering vines around Orna's wrist. Shina connects with another punch. This time to Orna's jaw. The officer takes the hit but is still able to respond by bringing two hands down to stab Shina. She is assisted by Lucas as he slides her feet from under her as he did in their fight. The blades swipe past her and the annoyance of this many Eons hindering an easy fight grows on Orna's face.

"You pest will all die! I won't waste time taking you in!" She kicks Shina away while using the other arms to cut herself loose from the vines. Shina slides up to Naru. Her friend halts her from tumbling further. Her six hands extend as she prepares to juggle the blades again. Riku slowly lifts his hand as she flicks the blades from hand to hand. Once he sees the real blade heading toward her real hand, he twists his wrists slightly.

"Ow..." Orna mumbles as she fumbles the real dagger. She looks at hand to see a gash with blood and the yellow tranquilizer pooling in it. Her eyes widen as her spectral arms fall limp and dissipate over time. She looks the group over. "Which one of you did that?" she asks weakly. Riku waves at her and smiles. He focuses on a nearby puddle of water and shares the pain he suffered from Shina's joy ride with the angry officer. It douses her and she falls to the ground in shock from his rude act.

"Guess you're... All washed up!" Riku bursts into laughter from his own joke. He holds his stomach and even slaps his knee.

Reno uses this opportunity to encase her in ice from the neck down. He walks up to her and grabs the dagger off of the ground. After examining it for a moment, he turns away and walks back to the group. "Let's get going." Naru helps Shina up and they leave the dazed woman in her ice block stranded in the backyard. "Riku..." he stops his brother for a moment as the others enter the house. "If you make any more puns like that, this will be a short adventure for you."

"Aw... chill out bro," Riku says on accident and covers his mouth. Reno glares at him.