The young hero stood upon the building, watching his handy work shine in the darkness of midnight. In all fairness he had only set fire to a garbage bin inside the pickpocket gang's den but that was all he needed to alert the town police to come there. He would like to do more but Phase certainly lacked in meaningful weaponry and those pickpockets only had simply matches with them. Yet pride filled Phase's chest, another job well done! No criminal was safe! For he prowled every night, staying vigilant to any villainy! However they resisted, how long they would run, it didn't matter. They could never...
"...They could never escape THE PHASE!"
Just as he shouted, Phase heard a window open beneath him. "Oh, will you shut up already! Yeah, you beat some thieves, good for you!" an elderly woman yelled, her head outside the small window trying to look at where Phase was shouting. "Now let us sleep, you lunatic!" She slammed the window shut before he could say anything, which left him startled.
The young man let out a sigh of relief. He then proceeded to drop down to the alley, one window edge at a time. After years of trial and error, he had mastered his means of "travel". He would use the Aura to cushion his falls, amplify his jumps and speed. Alleys and buildings proved a far better alternative to running around in plain sight.
The young man called himself "The Phase" after his own Semblance. He was rather proud of the name, given the fact he had came up with it thanks to his brother. Other street rats and some criminals who knew him had made his name the butt of their jokes, but Phase didn't care. At this point, he was attached to his name and wore it like it was a badge of honor.
Phase was living alone for sometime now, at this point he should be 16 years old but he never really kept track of his birthday. His pale complexion was complemented well by his dark blonde hair. He believed his average face was made "Above Average" by his green eyes and soft features. Of course, his dashing good looks were made a mystery to the rest of the world by his wardrobe choice.
Phase wore an outfit most would describe as "Trying too hard"; He wore a pretty basic metal mask that covered mostly his mouth, nose, his right eye and around it. It was obviously damaged countless times, not surprising from knowing it was made by someone with no smithing experience. To top his mask he wore a really unmatching black fedora with a single white strap. His black leather pants were a good choice, it didn't have any unnecessary designs, to prevent giving any advantages to his enemies. It was pretty featureless except for the additional multiple mini squares forming a bigger square around his knees and where his pockets are. Though it looked like a pure fashion choice it also functioned for protection.
While walking down the alley to his destination, Phase dusted his black-striped dark green shirt. It was good for nothing outside of being his favorite colors and protecting him against the mild breeze. Over the shirt he wore a long and loose dark leather trench coat, it went down all the way just before his dark grey hiking boots, ending at his ankles. These were his favorite pieces not just for being "Cool" in his opinion but they were also enchanted with multiple variety of Dust. A payment from a shop owner Phase once helped. His coat was able to block against variety of damage he'd receive, would dampen the physical attacks and would function as a parachute in case he fell from a high place, courtesy of gravity dust. He didn't know how all these worked flawlessly together, but Phase knew he had Brann to thank for.
While his boats would allow him to walk on any kind of natural surface, Brann had explained it as "Friction Manipulation" and in theory, Phase should be able to use this for many situations. However, he had skipped that class.
In fact, Phase was never in any class; not that Vale wasn't kind to orphans. It was just that he had run away from every authority figure he would come across. It was one of the things that came to him on instinct. As long as he knew Phase had an addiction to freedom. Although this attitude of his usually caused him to lack any guidance in this world.
Phase finally arrived to his "home" which was simply a makeshift camp, located at the center of a four way alley between several buildings. An old yet sturdy blanket functioned as a roof, attached to four points in each wall. Three lamps placed randomly provided some light and random clutter dominated the floor. An old chest without its top, filled to the brim with "souvenirs" one or two backup shirt and pants. A dozen socks were hung on a string after having it be washed in the nearby river. Lastly a radio for entertainment…
It was no luxury suit but it did the job and Phase was simply glad to have a place to stay. He opened the radio, a classical music began playing. He didn't particularly enjoy it but Phase found classical music relaxed him and helped him think, and he needed to think. This past month has been pretty uneventful outside of what he did tonight. Phase didn't know what the future held for him but deep down, even though he regretted it; he knew his future wasn't in the town of Venetia.
Patch was simply too out of sight and insignificant to accomplish anything in it. Phase didn't want to fight low time criminals his entire life. He needed to branch out, help people outside of Venetia, outside of Patch. The promise he made meant to protect everyone after all.
Phase rose from his lying position, uncertainty and fear weighed heavily on his chest. Could he even do such a thing? How would he live? He wouldn't have town folk to give him food -even though this generosity of theirs was purely to keep him from trying to cook again- and a million other things that could go wrong.
'Yeah well, perhaps It won't go too well. Maybe I'll be hurt, maybe I'll go hungry for a couple of days. But those are nothing new!' Phase encouraged himself, shooting upwards. He was definitely a fool but when did that stop him? His green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. He closed all the lights and went to find a friend of his.
The time was pretty late but if Phase knew anything it was that, street rats never fully slept. His friend even less so. Tar was an old school but small time information broker. Having made connections and gathering small favors since childhood he had built a sizeable network by the age of 19. He always had a soft spot for Phase, specially because he didn't beat him up needlessly or handed him over to the police. Phase after all was the second only who knew how to use his aura and semblance outside of a retired huntsmen. That would spell trouble for his business.
Phase turned a corner inside another alleyway and went into a children's park. There stood Tar under a street lamp. He wore a simple white shirt and blue jeans. His pale complexion is as dirty as ever. He didn't bother to fix his messy, curly hair and his deep brown eyes stared at his Scroll with boredom. His fox ears perked up after hearing Phase approach."Tar, you look like crap..."
Tar straightened from his uncomfortable position. "Well that's what happens when you disturb my beauty sleep."
Two men looked at each other before breaking into a brief laughter. After recovering from their momentary diversion both of them shook hands.
"Good to see you are still alive, Elandil." Tar said, smacking Phase's arm as a friendly gesture.
"Hey, I didn't give you permission to call me by my name…" Phase replied, looking mad for a second but couldn't keep up the act for long. He smiled again. "... But yes, I am happy to see you didn't become Beowolf chow yet."
"Meh, I am way too skinny for their liking." Tar than hid his hands inside his pockets, preparing a surprise without making it too obvious for Phase. "Besides why keep talking about the Grimm's diet, you had some big news didn't you?"
Phase nodded, rubbing his neck to relieve himself some of the stress he picked up on the way here, Tar was good at his job but he didn't know if he would do what Phase asked for free, after all it was bigger than any request he had so far.
"It's time for me to uhh…" he stopped for a second, trying to remember how the saying went. "...Spread my wings, I think."
"Are you sure about that, dude? I don't think you left this dump since you came here." Tar recalled, pointing around them while doing so.
"Nope, but I figured I can never be sure…" Phase answered in an unenergetic voice. "...Tar I don't wanna decay in this boring ass place, however nice the town is; I want to do more."
Phase stopped for a second to think about his words carefully. He figured he had one shot to impress Tar, enough to earn his favor perhaps. "Look Tar, I know what I asked was a tall one, but I swear the moment I find some liens, I'll pay you with interest. For now you can even have my tent and everything in it, and-"
Tar raised his hand to shut Phase up. "Dude, chill." he told Phase, bringing out what it seemed like a brand new Scroll. "Here take it. It has some liens in its virtual bank. Should be enough to keep you fed and warm until you find a place." he then stopped for a moment. "...Although I'll take your old home since you offered so generously. Was looking for a nice warm hiding place." he finished but was then tackled by Phase into a hug for a moment.
Both of them felt awkward after five seconds and they pushed each other away. Phase had failed to hide his joy. "Well that was, yeah-" Phase coughed. "Thanks Tar, I won't forget this."
"I thank you, buddy. You didn't rat me out to cops and gave me a nice little hideout." he said, smiling. Tar then offered his hand one last time. "You'll find all the necessary apps you need in there. Also there is a train about to leave for City of Vale if you hurry."
Phase smiled warmly, and shook his hand. "Thanks Tar… So long." he said, then turned and ran for the only train station Venetia had. Tar watched him from behind.
"You too kid, don't get dead…"
Phase was standing upon a hill, the shattered moon shining behind him. He crouched and started studying the scene before him. The location was a train station. It was purely for cargo transportation, therefore it was in the middle of nowhere and heavily guarded. Beyond the rails, he could see a cleared section of the forest to be used to store the merchandise that came and went through there. Phase could tell today's delivery was mainly Atlas tech.
This was good, Atlas stuff would usually leave many spaces open in order not receive any damage from a cramped journey.
A white colored train was standing at the ready and from the looks of it, it was almost fully loaded. Phase found himself a route he could sneak through, but a guard was patrolling the area. He slid down the hill and moved quickly while crouching, thanks to his Semblance. His body left an after image that lasted a little more than a second each time he moved. He stopped and held still in the tall grass for a moment for the guard to come back. The poor man made his way through his usual path again, lazily waving his flashlight around the field.
He saw a ridiculously dressed man for but a fraction of a second, but he disappeared before his eyes. He jerked back to call for backup, but before he could yell a punch landed on his chin from right below. As he fell down on his back the man also dropped down on him with his elbow first, cutting all the air from his lungs.
Phase proceeded to punch the man a few more times before he was out cold. Then before anyone could be any wiser he made his way to the train and threw himself to one of the open wagons. He sat between two giant crates and leaned against the wall. After a while, the train started moving slowly. Phase nodded to himself. And with that, Phase was making his way for Vale 'The city, not the kingdom,' he thought to himself wryly. The fact the cities and kingdoms had the same name always confused him. But regardless...justice would finally be witnessed at the hands of The Phase.
The shuffling of approaching feet prompted him to shut up. His monologuing was going to get him caught.
In time, he would be in the City of Vale. There shouldn't be any problems on this journey, since all the problems he had been facing now had moved there. But they could not escape. He would make sure of it.