AN: Hi, Hi! 314 reviews! Dies. Thank you! I love you all! (not in a gay way again)
Ok, last time I did this there were so many new characters everyone got confused. This is just to help you a lil' bit. There are 3 gangsters right now, Ice, Vis, and Jackal. Their body types are different which should help you a little bit. Ice is the youngest one, kinda scrawny. His weapon is a knife. The oldest and fattest of this lil' group is Vis. Yes, he's old and heavy-set. His weapon is a gun and he gets angered easily. Last is Jackal. He is about Roy's age and very muscular. He's the guy with the long dark ponytail. He has no weapon, fights with his fists. Out of the 3 the only one you really need to remember is Jackal. The other 2 are just there because it makes the story seem a little more realistic. There are more characters at the end of the chapter, but I think you should be able to keep them straight if you can remember these 3. If you're having trouble, tell me and I'll explain ways to remember them in the next chapter.
The Way to a Man's Heart Isn't by Crushing His Ego Chapter 30: Eyes Like a Flame
"Wanna play?" the more muscular of the three man asked with a smirk. He took a few steps toward Roy, and began cracking his knuckles, an evil grin on his face.
Roy's jaws began to ache as they continued to clench. He squinted his eyes, straining them to try and see if this man had a weapon. Ok… He thought to himself. The younger one has a big knife; the old one has a gun. What does this one have? I can't see any type of weapon on him.
"Heh…" the man smirked.
"What d-do we d-o, Master?" Reina asked as she looked up at Roy. Her words slurred as she tried to speak with frozen vocal cords. Roy glanced down at her for a moment, her dark brown eyes were full of tears, but too afraid to let them fall.
Roy didn't know what to say. He was about to look back to the gangsters when Kiro interrupted.
"Mwuu!" Kiro meowed as she took off out from under the boards. She had managed to get the rest of her paw untangled and her white body was now scampering through the sand.
"Stupid cat!" the old heavy-set man said as he pointed his gun at Kiro, who was headed toward Roy.
"Hey!" Jackal, the muscular gangster snapped. "Don't waste your bullets on a cat, Vis!" (Like I said, I'm horrible at making up nicknames.)
"Yeah, those are hard to steal. The only place we can get them from is the police station. We lose men trying to get ammunition from there all that time!" the young gangster added. He was about 20 or so. I can't say he was a high ranking gangster, but he wasn't to be underestimated. He was known as Ice.
"Shut up, Jackal!" the old man snapped at the muscular man with long dark hair as he lowered his weapon.
The wind blew hard again, the buildings cracked and the clouds began to roll in, making everything darker as they blocked out the moonlight. Reina shivered a little from the chilly air. She was cold, but she didn't focus on that. All she cared about was what was going to happen to them.
Roy still stared, waiting for the perfect moment. It looked like it would come at any moment. If he and Reina were quiet enough, then the men's attention would be taken off them, giving them a split second chance to escape. But to where?
"Mwuuuuu!" Kiro cried as she slipped a little in the sand.
Stupid cat, be quiet! Roy sneered as he glanced down at Kiro, then back up at the gangsters. Once he saw they hadn't noticed he looked back at the cat. She had run right to them, but instead of jumping in Reina's arms, she jumped up and squeezed through a little hole made by boards improperly fitted together over a window. Roy calculated this in his mind for a moment. He looked over to the right of them and saw that the window they needed to get to was in the building next to the one they were currently in front of, and the window Kiro had crawled in was only a few feet behind them. I think I found a way out. He smirked. He looked back to the quarreling men again.
"It's not my fault we always get caught at the station!" Vis snapped. His silver hair shined in the moonlight when he jerked his head as he yelled.
"But you're the one who's wasting all the bullets!" Jackal retorted in a harsh yet serious tone. The three men were clearly loosing their patience with each other.
Roy smirked again when he saw how they were getting into a quarrel. Idiots…
"Master?" Reina asked in a confused tone. "Why are w-we just standing h-here?"
"We're not!" Roy replied as he quickly reached down and put his arm around Reina's waist, lifting her off the ground. Her body fell forward in Roy's grasp and turned from an upright position to a position on her stomach.
"Ah!" Reina screeched in surprise as Roy held her. Her body was now set in a way that could be best described as lying on her stomach, in mid air. (Sorry, dunno how to explain this.) Her face was still facing the men, her lower chest and part of her stomach rested on Roy's arm, while her right side was pressed against his hip, helping to support some of her weight.
"Hey!" Ice snapped as he caught their movements out of the corner of his eye. Vis raised his gun viscously.
Roy jumped back fast. He used all the strength in his legs to push them backwards. His dark eyes stayed dead set on Vis. Once he saw the older man about to pull the trigger he quickly reached out with his free arm and snapped his fingers hard. A giant flame appeared, the blast sounded like an explosion. It gave them the boost they needed to break through the boards. Roy flinched a little as his back hit the wood hard. The wood exploded as his body broke the boards and went through the window.
"What the!" Jackal shouted when he saw flames coming toward him at a rapid pace. He and quickly ducked out of the way. He jumped far to the right, his arms shielding his face from the blaze.
The area lit up with a reddish-orange glow, smoke appeared as the fire consumed the wooden frame the military dog had just broken through. The area was immediately filled with an intense heat that radiated out through the street.
"Hm?" Riza's gaze was quickly taken to the wall to her left as the loud noise caused a sharp pain to shoot though her aching head. She showed no hint of pain and quickly shook it off as her attention remind on the wall, wondering what was going on next door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something. Her eyes quickly darted to the back of the building. She saw the flickers of a red and orange light coming though the small cracks in the wooden planks covering the windows.
"Look out!" they heard Ice and Vis shout as the men quickly ducked out of the way as well. They ran away from the window and once at a safe distance, turned around trying to figure out what happened.
Jackal sneered as his face glowed from the flames. Don't think you got away, pretty boy. I'll get you, you just wait. His eyes flickered with hate along with the flames. You could now see his eyes were a very dark shade of gray, his black ponytail swayed back at forth as it was picked up by the breeze. He spat and took off running toward the other end of the building. "Hey!" he shouted to Ice and Vis as he ran passed them. "I'm going around front. Hurry and get Grimm! Meet me in front in about two minutes!"
"Right!" the both replied and dashed off down the sandy street in the opposite direction.
Roy was lying on the floor, images of what had just happened raced through his mind as his back ached and stung from the fall. Just before they hit the ground, Roy grabbed Reina with his other hand. He pulled her small body on his chest, protecting her from the small, yet painful, fall. His back hit the dirty wooden floor hard with a thud. The floor cracked under his weight, but luckily didn't give way. He came back to reality as his dark eyes opened and he looked up at the window, which was flaming.
His as well as Reina's eyes flicked and their faces glowed with a hint of orange as the flames lit up the area, making their bodies visible in the dark, and warming the cold dark room.
"Whoa!" Reina screamed excitedly as she got up off Roy. Her dark brown pigtails were soiled with wood shavings. She quickly stood up, eyes wide and full of awe as she saw the area where the men stood being engulfed in hot red flames. He really is an alien. He has to be. How else could he do that? She wondered as she watched the flames eat away at the wooden frame.
The wooden building began to crack and moan as the wind and flames attacked it. The cracking got louder as some of the wooden ceiling began to fall around them.
It's going to collapse! Roy's mind told him as he glanced up at the dying roof. He quickly recovered from his aching back. "Come on!" he shouted as he scrambled up, his boots sliding on the wood shavings on the floor. He quickly grabbed Reina again, and took off toward the front door, dodging the falling planks along the way.
"What was that?" Tommy asked as his blond head popped up and looked around.
"It sounded like an explosion," Kenny replied, his dark golden eyes looking around, "And it was close, too."
"I wonder what it was?" Jazz asked as she got up from her squatting position beside Riza, and walked to the left, in the direction they heard the loud noise.
Riza's face became very serious. She looked in the direction of the loud explosion. What have you done now, sir? She wondered as she stood up. Her hand placed steadily on her holster. Her amber eyes fixed on the room, darting here and there, looking for any hint of life. She knew something was about to happen, and wanted to be ready for anything that came their way.
"Is something wrong?" Jazz asked as she looked back at Riza.
"Where are we going?" Reina asked as Roy pulled her along, his hand clasped around her skinny arm.
"To warn Hawkeye!" Roy replied as they shot out of the building and made a sharp right turn, almost slipping in the sand as they turned.
Who's Hawkeye? Reina wondered as she ran. It seemed like in the blink of an eye they were back to the building Riza and the kids were in.
Roy quickly pulled Reina in the building and headed for the back, the spot he had left Riza. So that's where you've been hiding. Jackal smirked. He was hidden safely in the shadows across the street. He knew Roy couldn't stay in a burning building for long, and waited just outside to see where he was planning to go.
"Lieutenant!" Roy shouted as he raced through the building, almost tripping a few times and his boots fell through and lodged in the wooden planks. "Second Lieutenant Hawkeye!"
"Sir!" he heard Riza shout and then the sound of Riza's boots, along with the sound of little bare feet pounding on the wood were heard coming in their direction.
When he heard her reply, Roy stopped and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He hadn't run that far, but the whole ordeal took a lot out of him. He just needed one minute to regain himself.
"Lieutenant Colonel!" Riza shouted and ran to his side, knelling next to him so she was eyelevel with him. Seeing him so out of breath made her worry. She quickly began scanning his body for wounds.
"I'm fine," Roy replied as he stood up straight. "I just needed a minute," he said as he looked down at her. He couldn't see it in the dark, but there was great relief in Riza's amber eyes.
Thank goodness. She thought as she stared back up at him.
"It's really hot in here," Jazz complained with a whine as she grabbed her tan shirt collar and pulled it away from her dark bruised skin, trying to let some of the trapped heat escape. The heat from the flames was still spreading throughout the area, and was getting even more intense and the fire grew and overtook more of the building.
"Hey Mister," Blare said as he walked up to Roy. His head bent his head upwards, trying to look into Roy's face. The difference in their height was almost amazing.
"Hm?" Roy glanced down at the small blond-haired, brown eyed boy. His body seemed to disappear as his dark brown shirt and dark blue pants blended in with the atmosphere.
"What happened?" the small boy asked somewhat shyly.
"Uh… we-" Roy was just about to reply when a very loud sound was heard coming from the building next to them.
Crreeaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkk!
The building cracked and creaked very loudly as it became engulfed in flames. Its whole structure was being eaten away. You could see the dark smoke lifting into the air from miles away. The air was filled with a heavy scent of burning wood and ash.
Crashhhhhhh! A loud explosion-like noise was heard as the building collapsed in on itself. As if fell through and hit the ground flames came shooting out of the pile of planks and wooden scraps, causing the windows in their building to explode and intense heat to rush in.
"AHHHHHHH!" all the kids screamed and ran to Roy and Riza, clinging to their uniforms and crying as the flames shot through the window frames. This made their building catch on fire. Luckily it was far enough away that they didn't need to worry about it… yet.
"AHHHH!" Jazz cried out in fear. She dropped Kiari and clung to Riza, grasping her pant leg tightly and burying her face in the blue material.
"NYA!" Kiari cried as she twisted her body to land on her black feet, she quickly scampered away.
"It's ok, kids," Riza replied as she bent down and put her arms around Jazz, Sayo, and Tommy. The fire couldn't reach them from where they were, but the heat sure could.
"Mwuuu!" Kiro cried as she raced passed them and in the same direction Kiari had taken off in.
"Kiro!" Sayo shouted, but was too scared to chase after her beloved pet.
Roy remained standing. He sneered as the loud roaring of the dying building continued. One of his arms was in front of his face, shielding him from the heat as engulfed him. Reina, Blare, and Kenny clung to his legs and cried into the blue fabric. Roy didn't seem to notice, either that or he didn't care. He sneered again. That's not good, now the whole group of them is going to know we're around here.
"Jackal!" a young feminine voice was heard coming from a nearby alley.
Jackal turned to look behind him. There were several black figures running toward him. The leader of the lot was a woman. She was young about 15 or so. She had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and red eyes. She wore black leather, which appeared to be the only expectable attire in this place. Several small silver chains hung from her thin waist, attached to the dark belt loops in her waistband. Her leather jacket had the arms cut off of it, leaving her pale skin even paler and more visible in the moonlit night, the jacket was also too short for her, it fit tight around her frame and left a few inches of her mid-drift showing.
"Did you find them?" she asked as she ran to his side. Ice was right behind her along with another man.
"Yeah, where's Grimm?" Jackal replied.
"Vis went to find her and her father. They'll be here soon," Ice replied.
"Good," Jackal said as he looked back to the building that Roy was taking shelter in.
"Do you think we can take them?" the girl asked. Her name was Rosie, but she went by Hell's Fire. She was Grimm's little sister, and Grimm was one of the best fighters, ok the best, in the whole gang. She trains a lot with her big sister, so you can bet she's good.
"I don't know," Jackal replied. He glared evilly at the building. "He's got some kind of special power. He made flames appear out of no where."
Hell's Fire then looked at the fallen burning building. "Did he do all that?" she asked in surprise and awe.
"Yeah," Ice replied.
"Heh," she smirked. "Then why don't we throw a little dirt on those flames?"
"Hmmm?" Jackal, Ice, and the third man stared at her; confused expressions replaced the fierce ones.
"You want to make them bigger?" the third man asked. He was a skinny man, by no means muscular. He had short brown hair and blue eyes.
Hell's Fire sighed, "No you idiot. I meant; I wanted to fire the man up even more. I want to see what he can really do," she said as she started toward the building.
"Wait," Ice said grabbing her arm, "We should wait for Grimm." Now don't let this fool you. The gangsters followed their one and only leader, and it wasn't Grimm. The leader goes by Lex, and Grimm was his oldest daughter. She'll take Lex's place when he falls. Since Grimm is the best fighter, the successor to her father, they would prefer it if she was there when things stared to get heated.
"Don't worry," Hell's Fire looked back at them with a smile. "We won't go too far. My sister will be here soon. She won't mind if we start without her. If anything, she'll be glad that he's ready to fight when she gets here, instead of having to wait for him to warm up," she said as she walked away, releasing herself from Ice's grasp.
Jackal smirked. He loved fighting. He followed Hell's Fire out into the open street. The fire was still burning strong. The third man covered his eyes and nose with his arm, trying to block out the smoke that made his eye burn and water. Ice was right behind him. Hell's Fire walked casually toward the building, the smoke not even fazing her. Her already red eyes flashed a deadly glow of crimson as the fire made them flicker.
"Don't you just love fire?" She asked. Her eyes full of passion and excitement as she stared into the flames, an evil smile on her face, "It's so beautiful, yet it can kill you at the merest whim. You can't even touch the beauty, if you reach out at it with desire. You'll just get burned." she said seductively as she looked back at her comrades.
"It sounds just like you," Ice said.
"Yes," she replied coldly. "Now, how about we go give our new friends a hell fired welcome?"
Jackal smirked again. Hell's Fire looked incredible standing in front of the flames. Her body shimmered and glowed as the flames lit up every one of her features. Her eyes glowed with as much hate and rage as the burning flames, like they had the same soul. "Sure, I'm up for a warm welcome."
"Good," she replied as she turned and headed for the building.
"Are you alright, sir?" Riza asked after she calmed the kids down. She stood up straight to look at her superior.
Roy just nodded in reply.
"Well, well, well, what do you have here?" they heard a female voice coming toward them.
The military dogs turned quickly to the door. Hell's Fire had just walked in, followed by her men. It was awfully blunt for then to just walk casually in like that.
Riza studied the young girl for a moment, and then glanced over at Roy, an unsure look on her face. She wanted to see what his reaction was like.
Roy just sneered. Them again, and they have someone new with them.
"Who would have thought our new intruders would be dogs of the military?" Hell's Fire said with confidence in her voice, and on her face. The teenage girl stopped 20 or 30 feet in front of them. "I hope the fire gave you a warm welcome," she said with a smile. She then laid a hand on her hip, her chain flashed as the flames bounced off the small silver links. "What's the matter, big man?" she asked when she saw the sneer on Roy's face. "Not hot enough for you? I can heat things up if you want." He's pretty cute. She thought with a smirk as she pulled out black bullwhip, it had been previously folded and tied to the belt loop in the back of her black leather pants. The whip was long and made of very fine leather. She smacked it on the ground in front of Roy. It made a cracking noise as it hit the wooden floor.