One Piece: Bounty Seven

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Heroine of Love and Justice, Part 5

For the first time, Siegfried found himself annoyed by Venus, probably the longest it had ever taken someone to feel that. The theatrics rolled off him like water to a duck: he'd done his fair share of that himself, after all, so he couldn't really be bothered by it. What did was thinking - practically knowing - he'd been right, and then turning out to be wrong. It felt like the girl had almost set out to rub it in, showing up when she had. But Siegfried was the kind of person who took being wrong as a sign to just try harder.

"So, you want to know about Miss Lackland's medical history, do you?" the doctor said, sounding bored. "That's a new one. Probably the only thing about her these boys haven't been asking about, which to a man of my experience seems somewhat foolish." He peered at Siegfried through his glasses. "That said, if you are working for her I'd hope you have a different reason for asking."

"Nothing of the sort, I assure you." Siegfried replied with total honesty. In so far as he had a type, Victoria wasn't quite it. "But if protecting her is my job, it would be helpful to know anything that might come up."

The doctor gave him another stare and then sighed. "I suppose there's no harm in that, whoever you really are. Just about everyone in town knows her situation by now anyway, so it's hardly a secret."

He pursed his lips. "First of all, from a certain perspective Miss Lancaster is totally healthy. Nothing foreign is afflicting her, and she doesn't require medicine of any kind."

Siegfried didn't comment, so he went on. His bored expression had given way to something more grave. "Children will run around for hours any chance to play they get. Victoria did as well when she was younger, but would grow exhausted in a fraction of the time as her peers. When she gets out of breath, it affects her far worse than the average person. I've seen her nearly faint depending on the weather."

He took a moment to compose himself. "But after so many years as her physician I can say for certain there's no illness or disease making her this way. None of her organs work in the wrong direction, and her muscles and bones move as they ought to. They're just…" The doctor leaned forward. "I greatly dislike using the word 'inferior' in my profession, but that may be the only word for it."

Siegfried made to speak, but the doctor held up one hand sharply. "You might be about to ask me how this came to be, but when it comes to your duties I frankly feel that's all you need to know." His stare turned hard. "I'm not sure how any of her, ahem, suitors would react to this, but I hope, and recommend, you not give them the chance to."

"Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of true love," Siegfried remarked. "But I don't see any, so I'm afraid these three will have to be going home unhappily. Thank you for your time, Sir."

"Ha. Just don't expect politeness to work on them - or me, either. You keep her safe, if that's the job you want to have."

So there it was. There were countless Devil Fruits out on the waves, but while many could change a body's properties, or even what it was made of, there wasn't a known breed that could fix an illness that deep. It sounded like just about anything he'd seen Venus do would put Victoria to bed for the rest of the day if she were lucky, and that was assuming she could hire a perfect double.

That meant he was back to square one as far as her real identity worked - or rather, he'd never actually left square one to begin with. Which only left, oh, about every girl on the island around that age, and realistically some outside. You didn't need money to find a Devil Fruit, whatever Oswald had paid for his.

Still, it wasn't the end of the world. He had already decided to send the three bachelors packing, and he didn't intend to go back on that now. Venus obviously wanted the same thing, so he had plenty more opportunity to find out who she was.

Now, what should his next move as bodyguard be? The three of them knew who he was and that they'd have to go through him. Oxwald and Rolando obviously wouldn't mind, even if the former was more direct about it. That left Richard - he obviously wasn't as rotten as the other two, but it was obvious he had some ace up his sleeve back there.

He took a look behind him, at the mansion on the hill. Relocating there if possible seemed wise. It was only a matter of time before the three suitors lost their patience.

"Yo, Sieg," Adrian said, waiting as he turned the corner. Asakura was nearby. "You get jumped, or just say something stupid to her?"

"Couldn't it be both?" Siegfried asked innocently. "You two don't look so spotless yourselves," he added, looking them both over. "I take it Rolando did something foolish?"

"Him and that Richard kid," she nodded. "Hired that woman who had it out with Venus yesterday. Seemed like she was the one in charge, but that still makes three hotheads we have to cool."

That would do for an ace, then. At least that meant she wasn't an unknown angle. And his intuition was still accurate, at least when it came to things not pink-and-blonde. "I heard the local heroine made an appearance. You three got along well, I hope?"

Behind Adrian, Asakura gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I have met many at least as eccentric as her, and it seems to be mostly an act. I have no objections for now if we do end up working together."

"Same, I guess?" Adrian echoed. "She's not the most irritating person I've ever met, either, but I really hope she does have an off switch to that…uh, everything." She gave a little smile. "I'll say this, though, she knew what she was doing. That's more than plenty of Devil Fruit users I've met can claim."

The assassin snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, and she also mentioned she'd see you on the roof of our hotel tonight. Assuming she makes it, anyway. Rolando got her pretty good in her left leg - he has a Devil Fruit power too, by the way, something to do with cameras - so who knows if she's still up for the trapeze act."

She gave a little click of her tongue. "Not that she seemed too bothered. I guess if she's been doing this a while she must have arrangements there. Can't be the first time somebody's managed to wing her."

"Wounds can look worse than they are sometimes," Siegfried replied mildly. So she was mortal after all. Venus could make you doubt that sometimes with her attitude.

"Yeah, but she's like, tiny," Adrian replied, waving her hand in the air at about where the heroine came up to compared to her, about shoulder height. "Ended up throwing her during the fight, and she weighed practically nothing. Somebody that size takes stuff harder than others, but it was like she forgot about it after. It was weird."

It did, when she put it like that. Which meant they could toss it on the pile along with everything else odd about the girl. "Well, she didn't seem like a girl who'd promise things if she couldn't follow through," Siegfried said. "I'll make time for her if things are still quiet. Maybe I can get another clue on her identity then."

A ways away from the street that had been a battlefield not too long ago lay a humble shop. It did fair enough business thanks to having a particular clientele, and had never been the focus of any real danger or controversy. The business of Victoria and her suitors had gone over the head of its owner completely; none of what he sold was any use to them, after all.

Nonetheless, today the door opened with a tinkle and a rush of footsteps entered the building, quickly moving about the shelves. A particular one was soon emptied of its stock, all of it dumped on the front shelf. The owner, an old man who regrettably never kept up much with local events, looked up and smiled at the masked men.

"You boys be careful with these, now. They don't need to shoot bullets to put someone's eye out!"

Oxwald stared at the gate like it was there to offend him personally. As with most noble manors, the Lancaster's home had a very clear idea of 'in' and 'out'. Anyone in the second category was going to stay there unless invited or willing to contend with a tall fence winding across the whole property topped with spikes, or of course, a gate that didn't look like it would budge to anything short of a battering ram.

Many people would agree, though not to his face, that Oxwald certainly fit that description in human form, but that left him at something of an impasse. On a certain level he understood that knocking down the gate and then the door to Victoria's home would likely put courtship off the table - not to mention being rude. People would talk, and the last thing the Warringtons needed was another scandal.

Next to the gate was an alcove in which sat a Transponder Snail. Oxwald picked up the receiver and cleared his throat. "Hello? This thing on?"

The snail's eyes fluttered open. "Hello, Mr. Warrington," Victoria's voice said in a level tone of voice. "You seem no worse for wear after earlier."

She could see him? His eyes flicked up to the long window on the building's second floor. Blast. He really ought to have cleaned himself up after that scuffle.

"Do you know something, Mr. Warrington?" the Lady Lancaster went on. "You're the first of you noblemen to walk up to this house and say hello like that, even before all this started."

Oxwald grinned.

"I still won't be letting you in, of course," she added. "I just thought I should tell you that. It would have been nice if you had lead with that, and not beating people up in the streets."

He furrowed his brow. "And let a bunch of riff-raff take up a lady's time? The only man I've met who can throw a decent punch he didn't hire out is your bodyguard! Incidentally," the noble said as his smile returned, "are you feeling better after that fainting spell earlier? I was a bit concerned seeing you like that."

"I would hope so, since you are the one who caused it," Victoria replied. "But I appreciate your concern all the same. Was that all you wanted? I am rather busy."

"Of course, of course," Oxwald nodded. "The last thing in the world I would want is to inconvenience a lady. I'll return tomorrow, and perhaps we can discuss things in person." He chuckled happily. "I'm sure we'd be the talk of the town if only you could things from my point of view. Good night, Lady Lancaster."

He hung up and strode off. The events in town today hadn't escaped his notice, but they weren't terribly important to the golden nobleman. That Rolando hadn't made a move on him yet, which seemed quite sensible to Oxwald. A shame he'd no doubt ruin it by coming here at some point, but that wasn't all bad. Nothing could endear a girl to him more than saving her in her most dire hour. She'd practically fall into his arms, surely.

If he had stayed on the line a moment or so longer, he'd have heard a muffled thud, like someone throwing a sofa cushion at a wall.

Once they were back at the hotel, Siegfried wasn't too surprised to see it much quieter than yesterday or even that morning. Evidently Rolando and Oxwald were a bit more than the average suitor had bargained for. Even the ones remaining seemed to have the wind out of their sails.

But if they had the sense to leave instead of escalating this arms race, it was good on them. Better to not have any more strands to this knot than there were already. And now there was one he greatly wanted to see untangled.

"You keep flipping through that book and the binding is gonna unravel," Adrian commented from her position on the floor doing push-ups. "Can't blame you, though. Nothing she does works with any Devil Fruit I've heard of, and I try to keep up as much as I can."

Siegfried made a vague noise of agreement. He hadn't eaten one of his own, nor particularly wanted to, but he knew they had rules. If you ate one you couldn't swim, you couldn't eat two without dying (supposedly, since no-one really wanted to test that rumor), and they only gave you powers based on one concept.

The problem was that no matter how he rearranged Venus' powers, they simply refused to fit. Paramecias could change their bodies in some form or fashion, which she didn't appear to do, and very few of them could make something out of nothing, which she appeared to do all the time. The only fruit in this book that had anything to do with creating light was a Logia used by one of the Marine Admirals, and even assuming there was another like it, her being hit today ruled that out.

"Y'know, maybe this is a dumb question," Adrian asked, switching to another arm, "but if you want to know she is, and how her powers work, would just asking her be off the table? Seems like she sorta likes you."

"I certainly could do that," Siegfried replied. "But someone who wears a disguise obviously has something to hide. I wouldn't ask Asakura what's underneath her mask, or any number of questions I'd have about you." The shinobi was out at the moment.

He shrugged. "Besides, I do want to recruit her. She didn't strike me as someone who'd be in a hurry to join someone who couldn't figure out anything about her beforehand."

"She struck me as someone who likes seeing how far she can drive people up the wall and get away with it," Adrian grunted, switching to push-ups. "I guess in your case that'd be not knowing something, eh?"

The psychic didn't comment, since there was no point denying that. Finally he sighed, getting off the bed and heading for the door. "I'll go and get some fresh air, and see how the town is doing. I need to think more like a Devil Fruit user."

"Well, if you end up thinking too hard stay away from the shoreline, eh?"

The shops had begun taking down the advertisements for nobles, and while friendly the town felt like it was more guarded than when they had arrived. Siegfried frowned: those three could be doing anything with their wealth and legacy, and instead they were making normal people feel less safe. Such a shame the most noble noble on this island was the one being targeted.

Siegfried turned down a side street, and then another, and then finally stopped in his tracks. "You know, it's not really wise to follow me around like that," he called out, turning around, "even if you do have help, Richard."

The young noble emerged, looking guilty. "She's not with me," he mumbled. "I just wanted to talk."

"Alright," Siegfried said, gesturing with a hand. "It's a free island. But if you're after scheduling a render-vouz, I think that's about off the table now."

"I…" Richard took a breath and composed himself. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for how things turned out today. With those two around I had to hire someone to protect me - and Lady Lancaster as well, of course! Things just got out of hand, but I made sure to tell Cindy not to do something like that again-"

"Unless you tell her to?" Siegfried asked mildly.

Richard bristled like he'd been slapped. "Are you suggesting I'd-!? I assure you, my intentions in coming here were never anything but pure!"

"Your intentions?" Siegfried echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Was it really your plan to come here and romance a girl you've never met, and seem to know nothing about? Is she really the first person you can think of to do all this for?"

Even if the nobleman's face had been a closed book, his mind certainly wasn't. A face rose up in the forefront of it without Siegfried even trying. He looked away quickly before he could make it out.

"I - the only woman appropriate for me is Lady Lancaster," Richard replied in a flat tone. "I must see her, no matter what. And I will, even if I must go through you."

"You don't-" the bounty hunter began, but Richard had already turned and run off. "You don't have to do anything, Richard," he muttered to the empty alley. "But I suppose people have told you otherwise."

Siegfried looked up, and Asakura dropped down next to him. "He was telling the truth; that woman is nowhere nearby," she said. "Should you not have restrained him? For his own good, at least."

"That would make things a lot trickier than they already are," he said, pursing his lips. "And I'm not sure that would neutralize his lady-in-waiting anyway. I didn't get the impression she attacked Venus yesterday on his behalf, and why would a common mercenary want her out of the picture?"

Asakura nodded. "If they felt she would be a hindrance to something later on, perhaps. The boy may be innocent, but those connected to him may not be. Nobles seem to be capable of almost anything."

"And are expected to be, too," Siegfried replied. "Marine training was difficult, but it's starting to seem like a walk in the park compared to the weight they have. You certainly can't pack it up and go home."

"Not everyone can handle responsibilities of that kind," Asakura said thoughtfully. "You were implying he was only following his parents' wishes, and not his own. Perhaps it was easier to let this woman guide him than to disobey them."

Siegfried nodded. "Well, if he does something particularly stupid I'll gladly cool his head, but I can't solve any other problems for him. You need to come up with answers to things like that yourself, whatever they end up being." He smiled. "I'm glad I caught you though, Asakura. I'd like you and Adrian to keep an eye on something."

"Anyone else feel really stupid?"

"He's still paying us, so it's eccentric. But yeah, a little." One of Rolando's grunts adjusted what was in his coat. A group of what he had remaining was perched on a hill west of the town, hidden from view.

Another stretched out, sighing. "If this doesn't work I'm asking for more pay, or I walk. That girl's bad enough news when she's acting happy, and I give a 50-50 chance all this does is tick her off."

"If he's right it'd be nice, though," a third muttered darkly. "I'd love to see the look on her face once she can't-"

"Can't what?"

The mooks all collectively flinched. Then they realized the contralto voice wasn't the one belonging to their topic of discussion, though the lack of any speech probably should have been the first clue. Not that what they beheld instead was much better.

Cindy's gaze swept contemptuously across them all. "Do not bother," she said icily as they made a move for their weapons. "Nothing you have can harm me." Her eyes twitched toward one who had fumbled, exposing something. "Especially not with those. What are you-"

Her face suddenly shifted in clarity. "Ah, I see. Clever, surprisingly so for your employer."

With a swish of her dress she turned and walked back down the hill. "If you are after her, I have no quarrel with you. Target my master, and you will regret it."

They all suppressed a shiver until she was gone. "Once this is over I hope I never see a girl with a Devil Fruit again," one muttered.

"Well, if this works we'll have one less to see, ever again," said the vengeful one. "So keep watch. First one to see her gets first shot."

Things were quiet for the rest of the day, eerily so in Siegfried's mind. It was reactionary to sit and wait, he knew, but chasing around any one of their foes would almost be giving the other two permission to do what they pleased. Rolando in particular likely wouldn't show himself unless he stood to benefit from it immediately.

Finally night fell, and the psychic climbed up onto the hotel roof. Nothing happened immediately, so he sat down on the edge and waited, flipping through a book he'd brought to read and listening as hard as possible. How quiet was she when not deliberately being anything but?

"Whatcha reading?"

Quiet enough he didn't hear a whisper of her until she touched down on this roof - not bad. Siegfried turned and smiled at Venus, currently leaning over his shoulder. She waved. "Hi~. Sorry about no speech, but that's only for bad guys."

Her nose wrinkled as he shifted the book to show her the cover. "Oh, that little thing. Hope you didn't pay too much; just between you and me I've always thought it was kind of a cash-in."

The heroine pursed her lips. "But, uh oh." She hopped up onto the rim of the roof and leaned closer to him. "If you have that, then are you a - fan of mine? Is that allowed? I wouldn't want to distract you from guarding your lady."

Siegfried smiled. "I assure you, in terms of my job I only have thoughts for Miss Lancaster. Besides, wouldn't that imply I felt you couldn't defend yourself?"

"Oooh, good one," Venus giggled. She hopped back onto the roof proper and gestured to him. "But it's pretty obvious you want something from me, so don't leave me in suspense, now."

Siegfried shut the book with a snap and thought to himself. "Tell me, Venus, how do you feel about the situation in town? The would-be Mister Lancasters don't seem to think much of the people in it."

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Venus shrugged. "What else is there to say? It stinks. The sooner we send them packing, the better."

"Not that I expected otherwise from a heroine," Siegfried said happily. "But how do you feel about things in general? The state of the world that lets nobles do as they please like this?"

Venus raised an eyebrow. "Now that's an odd thing to say. But I'll give you the same answer." For the first time Siegfried saw the girl look truly angry. "There are nobles out there worse than all three of them combined, who can get away with everything based on who their parents are."

With a flick of her wrist, the wand was pointed at him. "The thought of it makes me furious, to tell you the truth. But having someone dance around my questions doesn't make me very happy either, so spill it already."

"Very well," Siegfried nodded. "I'm forming a group of people with particular skills, one that wouldn't be beholden to any government or pirate flag. I think you would be a perfect fit, Miss Heroine."

"...dunno what I expected, but it wasn't quite that," Venus remarked as she lowered her weapon, twirling it idly. "That sounds like revolutionary talk, but I don't think you're one. A revolutionary wouldn't care one bit what happened to any noble, girl or not."

Siegfried shook his head. "Probably not, and the people here would probably lock their doors if they even thought a revolutionary was in town. That's because they're an unknown quality, working in the shadows."

He extended a hand toward her. "The group I plan on would work in the daylight, and become as well-known of heroes as the most decorated marine. But for that I need someone who's a hero now. Someone like you."

The blonde girl was silent a moment, another new quality from her. "That's sure a surprise," she murmured, tapping her wand against her chin. "Here I thought I'd just hello, maybe talk shop a bit."

Venus finally shook her head. "It's flattering, but I can't just leave this island. Not to toot my own horn, but plenty of pirates would be a lot happier if I'd never shown up. It's not exactly a magnet for pirates, but this island does seem to be in a blind-spot for the marines."

"No true hero wouldn't be concerned about that," Siegfried replied. "But I believe I can solve that problem for you, if you decide to come with us."

"Hmmm, can you now?" Venus hummed. She suddenly pointed to the book still in Siegfried's hand. "Tell me something, Siegfried: if you've read that, you must know it has a big section on who I am when I'm not out being awesome."

The heroine smiled. "What about you? You seem to think you're awfully smart, so you must have given it some thought. Tell me who I am, and I'll consider it."

Well, there it was. On one hand it was nice to see someone he was scouting have a bit to them, but on the other it would be nicer to be asked this when he had any clue of the answer. That thought must have sadly shown on his face, because Venus laughed. "Oooh, seeing you look so bent out of shape was worth the trip over!"

"But I guess that is a little mean," she admitted, toying with her hair. "I keep my secret identity pretty much under lock and key, so it's not like you really have anything to go on, huh…"

Venus snapped her fingers, and then held up three of them. "Since your friends helped me out a little, I'll give you three questions. I might not answer them, but I'll at least listen. Generous, right?"

A test, then, to see what he'd ask. Even if he had no clear evidence for her identity, Siegfried had been mulling over the facts surrounding the girl. They amounted to a lot more than three questions, but there was no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Let's see," he murmured to himself. "This might seem like an odd thing to start with, but you are a Devil Fruit user, correct? There's a bit of debate on that in your book." Maybe a waste of a question to some, but Siegfried was proof you didn't need to eat anything to have strange powers.

"You're seeming more and more interesting by the day if you had to ask that," Venus mused. "But as a matter of fact, yes, I did eat one. Although," she added with a flutter of her eyelashes, "personally I don't think Devil Fruit really fits if I'm the one using it."

The heroine sighed. "I really had to roll my eyes at some of the guesses for mine. A couple are even totally made up, can you believe that? And after someone already put the right one in that encyclopedia you can buy in the same store…" She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops, said too much. But we can call that a freebie."

She was enjoying this, obviously. Venus couldn't actually know how many times he'd scanned that book top-to-bottom, but she obviously knew how useless that information was on its own. "Alright, for my second question…" Siegfried thought a moment. She wasn't wrong that the book left more than a bit to be desired, but it did have some interesting facts about her.

"This book also claims that no-one has ever seen you come out under rain, and people on the street seem to agree," he said next. "Is there any meaning to that?"

Venus didn't skip a beat, pointing a finger of each hand to her pigtails. "Uh, hello? You really don't want to see this when it's wet, it'd ruin my look completely." She paused. "But more seriously, I just don't do too well in weather like that with how I fight. A petite young thing like me would practically get washed away."

It was a little hard to imagine her making speeches and leaping about in a downpour, even if that was still probably a bald-faced lie. But a lie for what? "That's certainly true, one of my friends noticed you were very light earlier," Siegfried replied happily. "And speaking of, my third question would be asking if you're really alright. I heard Rolando hit you hard in the leg."

"Oh, c'mon, you too?" Venus pouted. "I'm a hero - people aren't supposed to be worried about me." She tapped her left leg on the roof, grinning. "See? As if a creep like that would put me out of commission."

"I'm quite glad to hear that," Siegfried said, nodding. "But I'd hope you would be alright there, considering it was your left leg he hit."

She was cool as a cucumber even when caught in a lie: the girl's mouth barely twitched. "Oh, that's right. See? It mattered so little I even forgot where he hit me."

While being so slight a bit of rain would get in your way? The two locked eyes for a moment. He still had no idea who she really was, but Siegfried knew one thing about Venus for sure.

Before he could say it, unfortunately, something had to interrupt. "Venus! We know you're up there, so come down, now!" It had come from the streets below.

"Can't have a moment to myself, can I?" Venus huffed, the tension in her face disappearing. She marched up to the edge of the roof, Siegfried following.

It was Rolando's men, though the noble and his bodyguard were nowhere to be seen. What could be seen was a member of the town who'd obviously been in the wrong place at the wrong time, standing knees quaking with a gun to the back of his head. "We're waiting!" the grunt who'd spoken and the owner of the gun, called up. "Or do you only care about your public plural?"

Fisherman dreamed for bait as good as that. But from the way Venus' face had darkened, it was the kind that worked. She hopped down before Siegfried could even begin to stop her. "And you can stay put," the grunt added, calling up to him, "or else!" He cocked the gun.

"What's wrong?" Venus asked, stepping closer and eyeing the masked man. "Can't handle both of us at once? So sorry you got involved in this, sir, by the way," she added to the hostage. He nodded wordlessly, barely daring to budge.

"We can deal with him any time," the head grunt spat. "Getting rid of you and that smug look on your face sounds a lot more appealing, too."

Venus smiled, not turning her head to look at the men surrounding her in a circle. "Uh-huh, because you've been so good at that so far. You know, I think you all had better go home before I get-"

In an impressively-smooth motion the lead grunt his hostage a quick blow to the stomach, crumpling him, then raised his gun and fired at Venus. His friends quickly drew their own weapons and did the same. Siegfried ducked.

"-in a really bad mood," she concluded, dispelling her barrier and watching those still holding their weapons drop ruined versions of them thanks to the deflected bullets. "You know, the least your boss could do if he's going to send you after me is teach you something new."

Something was off. Usually when she did her thing people lost their temper, and this bunch had plenty. Right now they were angry, but completely calm.

"Actually," the grunt said, grinning, "he just did today."

With a clatter all of them reached into their coats and retrieved a second set of firearms. These ones were all brightly coloured, long, and with transparent tanks. Anyone who had seen Venus gladly weave between bullets and blades would have been shocked to see her eyes widen at the sight of them, her confident look suddenly gone.

The men all opened fire at Venus with their squirt-guns, discharging the water within in a chorus of spurts. True to form, she leaped into the air, but Siegfried, now descending from the roof, could tell something was wrong too. He'd watched Venus dodge attacks, but always with the air of them not being of real danger to her. This leap had been different, a sharp movement that was function only.

She turned to face them in the air, and with the same tense movement sent down a series of rays, not even bothering to call them out. Two struck a pair of the offending toy weapons, splitting them apart and soaking the ground with their ammunition. The other gunmen thought quicker, firing streams of water upward.

One ended up colliding with one of Venus' attacks, and something odd happened. The very second it touched the water the beam of light came apart, scattering into several motes that rained to the ground uselessly. The streams continued upward and despite her best efforts to twist aside, one struck Venus in her right leg - she tumbled out of the air with a cry like she had been hit by a real bullet.

Siegfried was already on the ground and running closer. Two of the men at the back dropped their squirt-guns and made to get in his way. About four punches took care of that in a hurry.

He quickly looked back toward Venus, and blinked in surprise. The girl had made it back to her feet one way or the other, but looked shaky on them regardless. One glance at her stricken leg gave a hint to why: where the water had touched her there, the heroine's skin and clothes had turned a drab gray.

The how or why of that could wait. Venus still held her weapon and was on her feet, but he could see her eyes flick between the six remaining guns pointed at her. Her smile was gone, while her foes had very pleased ones to a man. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Siegfried took a step toward them - they'd need a lot more than water to make him afraid - when he heard a very familiar shatter. Down came a hail of glass shards, targeting the area around and in front of him, and about as hard to dodge or deflect as rain. He hopped backward, flicking his eyes up to the rooftop: sure enough, there was Richard's woman. Here on his orders? Didn't matter.

Back below, Venus made the first move. Her back was to a literal wall and she seemed incapable of making a leap back to the roofs, so she settled for a twitch to the side. One aimed his gun and fired water in that direction, but the heroine pulled up short and fired a ray that took his knees out from under him before cart-wheeling through the space that opened.

At least, that would have looked quite impressive. When Venus hit her feet again off the maneuver her whitened leg buckled under her, sending the girl spilling into a tumble instead. This time she barely pulled herself up above her knees, clearly favoring her unharmed leg.

This position gave her the perfect view of Cindy on top of the hotel - and the pane of glass she'd pulled back her weapon to shatter. Another storm of glass rained down, this time at someone not in a position to dodge. Venus flicked her eyes from the attack to the men and picked her poison, throwing up a barrier in front of herself.

The glass shards struck against the wall of light, either bouncing off entirely or sticking in and halting. What didn't bounce off was another of Cindy's shoe projectiles, the toe spinning away at the barrier. Hairline fractures began to spread throughout it, and through them Venus could see the men lining up another volley.

But ah, tunnel vision could be a terrible habit. One of them near the back turned as he heard a thud, and his brief shout of warning rose into a cry of agony that was echoed by his fellows. They collapsed, hands groping for glass shards embedded in some very painful locations.

Not exactly the nicest way he'd attacked someone, Siegfried would admit, but it wasn't as though they were planning to let her off with a tap on the head, was it now? That left Cindy, and he could hear another salvo of glass strike the cobblestones behind him as he ran toward Venus. One sliced through his shoe, and he picked up speed.

One of Rolando's men who'd been unlucky enough to get one of the hurled shards embedded in his leg looked up, swore, and grappled for his toy weapon, managing to fire off another stream before Siegfried's boot put him down for good. Venus flinched as it struck her barrier, the cracks in it racing to every edge within moments. She winced. "At least there's no crowd for this."

When her shield shattered like glass, the heroine made a game attempt to dodge the shoe by twisting to the right, and half-succeeded. 'Succeeded' in the sense that it didn't take her head clean off, as the glancing blow the attack dealt Venus sent her rolling the rest of the square's length, only stopping when she hit a wall. Just as Adrian said, she seemed to weigh almost nothing.

Siegfried skidded to a halt in front of her, then turned and was already throwing a mental punch to deflect the next volley of glass, and then another for the one following that. He watched Cindy's lips twitch, and the woman disappeared from view. He turned to Venus.

The girl chuckled weakly as he carefully pulled her up. "Didn't mean to end up looking so lame in front of you, Siegfried," she grunted. That was an understatement: the razor-sharp slipper had left a vicious gash across the side of her head, its red discharge looking alien to someone like Venus.

Around where she had been struck, the phenomenon from her leg had also appeared again. Her left iris had lost its pink hue and was now totally white, and even her hair was a mix of blonde and gray. "I must look like a mess, huh?" Venus said, looking at his reaction. "I'd explain, but-"

"That can wait for after you get this looked at," Siegfried cut her off, checking the wound. It looked worse than it was, but she still needed some kind of first aid, and somewhere safe for that matter. He looked around; Richard's mercenary wasn't nearby, or at least didn't appear to be, but that didn't mean much.

When he looked back, Siegfried noticed something strange about Venus' wound. Where the blood left it, it was the normal (for anyone in their line of work) shade of red. The further it moved from there, however, the more it changed colors, becoming a thick…black?

"Can you uh, keep a secret, Siegfried?" Venus asked.

"Of course. A gentleman never tells," he replied, nodding.

"Then I hope you can't either, because I-" she exhaled. "Can't keep this up any longer."

Her voice had changed in the middle of that sentence, becoming lower-pitched but just as familiar. Siegfried watched as the heroine's figure vanished from the legs up, disappearing into the same light as her attacks. What was left was a young woman in simple dark clothing, smiling ruefully.

"Hello again, Siegfried," Victoria said.

To be continued…

Siegfried: Amazing. I would never have thought you could use it like that.

Rolando: This is what happens when I stop being nice.

Cindy: If you get in my way, you will regret it.

The Heroine of Love and Justice, Part 6

Victoria: She's right, honestly. I am dangerous to be around.

So, hi. You all probably deserve some explanation for where I've been, since it's been oh, four years? For that stretch of time I was in University which didn't leave me much time for writing casually, and for some time after I wasn't in a great mood for it either. I guess you could say I lost my muse, and then recently I just sort of started again. I plan on trying my hardest to keep this consistent for the coming year, since I forgot how fun it was. Cheers for anyone still following this, and apologies it took this long.