A two-parter? Oh my. Had some stuff come up over the last few days, so this chapter took a bit longer than I intended it to. Managed to catch up on the tail-end of the writing process, so all's well that ends well.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 54: Surprises
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.(Chapter Start)
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October 13th (Same night)
Sunday
Clear
They rounded the final set of stairs before their target floor, taking only a precursor look on the other floors they passed to see if they would find anything. Her scans had said not much would be found, and they happened to be correct in their assessment of the building. Both Azura and Croc took up positions besides the door, looking at each other for a moment before Croc put two fingers to her earpiece. Azura could hear noise coming from it, a static hearable from here after some words had been spoken.
"Was that Avis?" He asked quietly, keeping a cautious ear to the door as he spoke.
Luna took a glance over the railing of the stairs as Croc answered with a frown.
"Yes, it was. I'm not sure what happened, but her connection died as she was talking. I think she found what we think the White Fang were here for, I just hope nothing of importance was there in the first place."
"She'll be safe." He said to assure her, a small smile crossing his face.
"Hood would hate that optimism...appreciate it." She replied, trying and failing to see a scan if her scowl meant anything. "If this person is here...they'll be here. I'll trail behind, you lead as the fighter between us."
Azura nods, opening the door slowly with weapons at the ready. Luna flew in over him, sweeping the area ahead of him. It was dark, even for Faunus standards. Despite night vision, Azura could tell that not even the light of the shattered moon shined through the windows that lay covered up. Scattered papers and unused technology covered in dust lay in heaps around them, creating what would be a precarious trip in a fight, were it to break into one with a hidden foe.
Luna acted as an invisible guide as he walked forward, Croc only a few footsteps behind him. As they entered the center of the room, a square in the middle of all the clutter, Azura saw Luna freeze and instantly go alert. Her tail twitched, ears flicking every which way as her blade hung in her hand, causing Azura to instantly scan around him. He held an arm out for Croc to realize that something was occurring.
"We're being watched." He whispered.
"Above, to the left!"
Summer's warning shouted and echoed through his head as Luna's body twisted to the exact location Summer pointed out at the same moment, and Azura stepped in front of Croc and felt metal screech and create sparks as a spear glided along the edge of his sword, bouncing off and spiraling away before exploding in fire Dust.
Through the shadows, caught by Azura's eye, a figure lept out at him and forced him into a clash of blows. Dagger caught black armor on their arm, sword stopping their own blade from contacting beyond the flare of fire Dust across the blade. They had a power struggle for a moment before they forced him to jump back with a small cone-like explosion of fire Dust, allowing him a moment to examine them.
The same black getup, the same ebony black hair that curled right at the chin, and the same faceless mask that covered what he could safely assume was a woman's face. The only thing he had to ask himself was why she was here, and what for? What did this place hold in common with the CCT, if at all?
He didn't have more than mere moments to consider the questions as his opponent elegantly flicked their blade, the sound of air flying out whooshing past Azura as the weapon flared with an angry red. It was set ablaze, like a fire stoker left in a still burning fireplace. She thrusted forward moments later, flames licking at his aura as their blades clashed again, and Azura pushed forward and up to break the standstill that they found themselves in twice now. She stepped back, flames billowing out as she swung in front. Azura pushed forward, shooting out lightning Dust from his dagger and saw them seemingly move around his opponent's body, gritting his teeth as he sped forward to attack with Luna sweeping from behind.
She stepped forward then, meeting him with a raised arm as she tossed fire Dust behind her. A pillar of flame erupted from it, forcing Luna to move around to slash vertically down towards her feet as Azura made contact. Their blades stopped right at the faceless foe's armor, a reverberating hollow noise ringing out before she threw them back with an audible grunt.
He was pushed back by several feet, stopped by both Luna and Croc. He sized his opponent up in a shock, surprised to see a person a good few inches shorter than him able to push him back with the amount of force exerted.
"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here after such a big target in the CCT?!"
His words fell on deft ears, as if the words weren't even heard. Instead, she threw herself forward once more, one hand clutched now with the blade in the other. Azura met her head-on while Luna flew off to his right and Croc to his left. Unwilling to take more unneeded damage to his aura, Azura sidestepped a slash and then another, feeling the hungry and burning flames fly by like an afterimage of the blade. She met his own weapons and attacks, as if she knew them to be her own, forcing Azura to play the role of the training dummy while Luna and Croc attempted to make their own attacks.
Luna swooped forward above him as Croc swung her knife, both of which connected as Azura deadlocked her with an overhead swing as he stabbed forward with the dagger. He pulled the triggers of his dagger, seeing once again that the lightning Dust just completely avoided her. Fire Dust dropped to the ground around them, forcing them all back as smoke began to fill the air. The technology around them whined, the initially cool temperatures of the room rising in the tight central area.
That was when Azura noticed a flash drive on a chain around her throat, bouncing slightly against her chest through the fire and flames. Was that part of the goal, then? There was no way the tech was ready to be used, right? His target was the flash drive now, and he had to make sure he could grab it.
"That flash drive could be why she is here.. Croc, take left." He said, stepping near her ear as the fire began to die down. Try to constrict her from behind."
He gets a nod in response, and she dips out of the fight and into the shadows. Azura watched their opponent's head turn to her, seeing sparks of lightning come from her hand as Dust was crunched under it. She intended to fry the entire hall of tech to catch Croc!
He ripped through the dying flames as rose petals burned to a crisp, firing ice Dust at her hand. A shot grazed it, and her hand reflexively opened up from the mental shock of the searing cold bite of ice Dust. The lightning Dust fell to the ground, exploding outward as both Azura and the woman were caught in the crossfire. The two of them were toppled over by the force of it, falling backwards and to the ground with grunts.
Struggling back up, nerves somewhat frayed due to electricity coursing through them, Azura quickly came to his senses and felt Summer manually trigger her semblance to push him forward. He still had his sword in hand, standing on top of the woman with it pointed down to her face.
"Luna, Croc!"
While fast, neither of them could make it to him in time to restrain her further. His mistake cost him, lightning Dust being thrown at him and completely throwing him away and out of the fight. He flew through the air for a second before crashing back down. His ears rang and his chest ached, vision blurring and swaying as he wheezed for air. He saw Croc wrap her tail around the woman's waist, staggeredly jumping on her. They were both of similar height, so she merely proved to be a nuisance that couldn't be shaken as Croc hung on with all she could.
Luna could do nothing but watch, Azura's focus having been completely shattered now. He forced himself back up again, moving forward in an awkward run to assist her. He watched the masked woman stop fighting Croc's arms around her throat to reach into a pocket, then moved her hands to grab onto Croc's left leg as lightning and fire Dust crackled within her fingers.
Azura couldn't even scream for Croc to let go before the girl let out a blood curdling shriek, instantly dropping to the ground with a thud as she began gasping and tensing up and grabbing her leg. Her cries were accompanied by the whining technology and now burning floor.
He ignored it to the best of his ability, finally reaching forward and grabbing onto the flash drive with all of the strength he could muster. His senses were returning rapidly, putting his other hand to her chest to push her back as he pulled forward on the necklace. The two of them were in a struggle until Luna grabbed on from behind, which put Azura in an advantageous state as she slowly lifted her into the air. Just as it began to give way with Luna's help, she dropped to the ground with another hollow reverberation. This freed her arms long enough to grab for her pockets, forcing Azura to stop struggling for the flash drive and attempt to stop her from using more Dust.
Her body was as hard as a rock, completely unable to be moved from her actions now. Both fire and lightning Dust were in hand, as well as a noticeable wind Dust crystal in each hand.
"You have way too much Dust, damn it!" He growled, winding back and punching her mask.
Another hollow noise echoed out and his hand ached even with aura having protected it. Luna was unable to do much of anything either, but Azura was able to hold her hands with the Dust and stop her from dropping them. He did not have much time at all, but a desperate measure was all he had now. He barely dodged her headbutt, feeling it graze into his shoulder, then felt a knee drive into his stomach. His legs nearly buckled from the unexpected blow, but he stood his ground for a moment longer before relenting and dashing away in a flurry of petals towards Croc as her cries and whimpering entered his ears once more.
Grabbing hold of her like she was a child, he covered her to the best of his ability as he braced himself, Luna on the other side doing the same. He felt electricity and fire burn at his aura as the sounds of exploding technology was heard, then the wind Dust exploded like the howling anger of a tornado and blew them away. Luna slipped away as Azura went flying, holding Croc close to his body before slamming into a wall.
His vision started fading to black with the mysterious woman getting away once again.
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.(Line Break)
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Neo felt drips of ice cold and likely dirty water drip onto her shoulder while in disguise, a pink shimmer rippling from the point of contact. The basement of this place was dilapidated, and she wasn't particularly happy to be in such a dank and damp location. They were no longer around other White Fang members, which felt weird to her, given that they were adamant about getting into the place.
She paused at the corner that rounded to a more open part of the basement when she saw Avis stop and glance over it. Neo hated to be the useless one, but Avis had a vision unlike hers. Being human did come to some downsides, a lack of vision in the dark being one of them. But she noticed that something was wrong when Avis held a hand up and then put a finger to her lips to signal silence, and likely stealth, given that Neo was already as silent as she could ever be.
Avis waved her hand for her to follow closely, then moved off slowly. They shifted between empty containers and boxes, making Neo wonder what exactly Avis had seen. She could only hear the sounds of boots against concrete, but not much else, one hand sliding against the boxes as she let Avis act as her guide. They stopped once more at the edge of a wooden crate, with her looking around the corner again, then she turned back to face Neo.
"Three are at the back of us, other end of the basement floor." She whispered, gears turning as a plan formed. "Two at the front, and the vault is already open. Seems like Croc was right to presume something was left behind. Damn incompotent fools, having no security measures beyond hiding the place very well."
Neo wondered if that was the point. She would not put it past law enforcement to turn a blind eye to some crimes to have a reason to exist.
"We'll have to work around the three in the back, they'll likely be watching our direction every so often. I need you to cause a commotion here while I move ahead to take out the other two, just to make sure we can keep it to a two on three fight if it comes down to it." She explained, her plan finally hatching. "Whatever you do, make sure it's not a lethal kill. We aren't here to spill blood."
Neo rolls her eyes, but nods anyway. She understood the plan, so she just needed Avis to actually enact it. The older woman watched her for a moment before she herself nodded, then moved forward and into the darkness. Neo's eyes had adjusted to the darkness to the best of their ability, so she could only hope it was enough to know what was happening.
"In position. Time for your distraction."
She was already in motion, putting her strength fully into tilting a large box over just enough to have it fall. Her teeth were gritted, not particularly the strongest of all fighters. Everything in her combat style was based on agility, so most of that strength was purely in the legs, making the task rather difficult. However, the box began to give way and eventually fell down with what felt like an earth-shatteringly loud thud.
Voices could be heard further down to her right, meaning that it was such an obscure thing to happen that it'd be worth investigating. That was all she needed, slinking off into the shadows to hide behind a series of boxes. Non-lethal engagements were not her thing, and she would have likely disobeyed Avis to let her urges take over, but the nagging feeling that Azura would have said the same thing whispered in her mind.
"Good, heading into the vault to deal with the other two."
She shook her head, trying to focus on the task before her. She didn't care what some schoolboy would say.
Footsteps neared her position, then passed by her and towards where she made the box fall. Taking a peek from beyond her hiding spot, she saw one of them standing over it and looking down at it.
"Think it just tipped over somehow?"
"Probably. I doubt anyone's gotten past the entire group up above."
"Yeah, I guess so. Well, come on, let's get it back up. We'll get a use out of some of these."
Three different voices, she got all three's attention from that then. She watched as the box was hoisted back up, leaving one of them all alone in the space between. Quick on her feet, she snuck up on the guard and kicked out at his knee, quickly covering his mouth with her hands to silence his noises. They struggled for several moments before their knees gave out and fainted.
"Wait, what was that? Hey, are you good over there?"
Not quiet enough, it seemed. Neo rolled her eyes, telling herself that this was why she didn't do non-lethal takedowns. She tensed up, preparing herself for louder and less stealthy takedowns as her hair and eye color turned purely brown. As soon as one of the two others showed up and gasped in surprise, she kicked off of the very same box that was just tipped back upright, smacking her opponent with her parasol and flipping it with the handle around her wrist and opening it to hit the other one behind her as soon as she landed.
She then kicked forward towards her frontal opponent's leg, moving the parasol to smack them in the chest with the knife atop it skating across their clothing as she released it. She ducked down as the White Fang grunt swung an empty fist where her head was, drilling an elbow into their stomach, then skipped ahead to be behind the person in front of her. Raising her weapon once more, she batted it directly into their back and threw the still unbalanced grunt into their ally.
They both fell to the ground, where Neo felt her urge to spill blood reach to her heart. She denied herself the pleasure, choosing to give a swift and vicious kick to their heads to knock them out instead.
Her part of the job done, Neo quickly returned to her natural tri-colored eye and brown and pink eyes. She followed the boxes, hand trailing along them to guide her without any light or help from a Faunus. Even with poor sight in the dark, Neo could tell that she neared her destination as the boxes became fewer and farther from each other.
"You're good to come out."
The voice of one Avis Nightingale almost startled her, but Neo did stand after a moment. She could see the figure of the woman, weaving through the boxes and stepping cautiously to stop before her.
"You'll want to see this, follow me."
They walked at a slower pace, one that Neo knew by now was for her sake, making their way past the two Faunus in White Fang garb unconscious next to each other. They entered a door with some sort of security measure that was clearly dated and no longer functional, a noticeable chill in the air now. The place was insulated, but it was oddly colder than she felt the place had any right to be.
They walked down what felt like long hallways, until they reached a door that had a still functioning light above it. Neo tilted her head as she looked at it, both confused and surprised to see that any part of this place still had power.
"Not just that, no. It's what is inside that you'll want to see." Avis says, speaking once more. "Or rather, the message left in there."
The words were said with a grimness to them, causing a bad feeling to stir within her stomach. Something was definitely not going good, then. The two of them proceeded forward, with Avis pulling ahead to open the door and let the light shine out into the darkness. The light showed that the door was intricate and decorated, suggesting that this was the vault that her intel girl spoke of. They entered the room, and Neo silently gasped at what she saw, a reaction that was rather unlike her.
Painted on the wall, with what she presumed was black paint, was a picture of a headless bird with the words "The bull will kill you." written haphazardly next to it. The rest of the room was empty besides the message, which made the ambiguous feeling she felt in her head blossom into a slight panic.
"The Dust weaponry and whatever else was stored here is gone. We were too late." Avis said, sounding calmer than Neo had expected. "I'm more pressed by the fact that they knew I would come here. Does that mean everyone here was placed purely to test us? Trap us?"
Neo waved to the door, suggesting a hasty escape to her current partner in crime. Minus the crime, she supposed.
"No, you're right. We need to lea-"
The sound of an explosion going off cut her off, the entire foundation of the building shaking down to its core. Being against and below the ground made the shaking less intense, allowing them to get a head start as they ran through the halls that led them here. As they ran as fast as they could, Avis held two fingers to her earpiece and spoke into it with haste.
"Someone tell me what's going on up there!"
The response she got was heard through Neo's own earpiece.
"Explosion of what I think was fire, lightning, and wind Dust. Came from a level far above your own, meaning that it was the kid's and Croc's team. Building doesn't look like it's too stable...what's the plan, boss?"
Neo's heart rate spiked at the words, feeling some sense of responsibility come over her, but quickly shook it off and tried thinking nothing of it. She'd be damned if she lost him when he was right in her clutches.
Avis spoke between breaths. "Everyone needs to scatter, now! Hood, call in the fire department anonymously. Any sign of Croc and Azura?"
"We saw Croc come down into the building, so something went wrong. They were likely caught in the explosion."
"Damn it. We'll make our way up to them, then!"
"No can do, Avis." Hood's voice said, the static not missing the grimness in the tone. "That explosion took out the main supports of the floor, including the side of the building keeping the stairs. Only thing you two can do is get out and hope they do too."
Neo felt some sickening feeling settle in her stomach at the words.
"Fuck. Fuck! It was a trap!"
The woman sounded genuinely angry, but quickly contained herself.
"Do as I instructed, Hood. Neo and I will try to find a fire escape or some side stair to use." Avis commanded, putting her hand down. "We need to find them, but hear me out!"
She couldn't exactly respond, so she waited for her to explain as they ran forward.
"I'll go find them, but I need you to exit without being seen as suspicious!" Avis yelled in explanation, speaking between breaths. "If this is a trap, they'll have people waiting for us! I have night vision, so I can find them easier!"
It made sense to Neo, who managed to give a thumbs up while running to let her know that she would follow what she wanted.
They ran faster after falling silent, if that was even possible, the sounds of boots clinking against the concrete as they made the mad dash to both exit the building and find the two young Faunus still within. Neo stuffed down the fear that she felt creeping into her heart and mind. She shouldn't care what happened to Azura, he was just a means to an end for her.
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.(Line Break)
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Azura's eyes slowly opened as sweat dripped down his face, a small mass keeping him pinned to the ground. He groaned, the taste of blood and flames on his lips, jolting awake as everything came back to him. His eyes snapped to survey the area, finding that the ground was crumbling slowly as the long lines of technology shattered against the ground as they toppled over.
His hands twitched and he moved to stand up, freezing once he heard a cry of pain from doing so. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he re-examined the area, realizing that Croc was essentially curled up in his arms and seemingly as out of it as he had been. Was she delirious from the pain?
"We don't have time to think, Azura." Summer said, her voice tight and focused. "Set her aside, then pick her up after. Luna can carry you two out once a way out is found."
Azura refocused himself, an aching sensation in the back of his head reminding him of what had knocked him unconscious in the first place, putting Croc down gently to his side as he then stood up. Looking around himself, he tried to find a place where they would be able to escape. His thoughts were dislodged as the floor beneath him groaned and the entire building seemingly shuddered, pulling him into action as he crouched down next to Croc and placed one hand on her back and another right beneath her legs. There were nasty looking Dust lines crossing over each other, the skin of the leg beet red.
"Croc, I need to do this if we're both to survive...brace yourself."
The girl nods, but still flinches and lets out a shuddering sigh that muffled a smaller cry of pain as he lifts her up. Her tail wrapped around his waist as he held the girl close, moving away from the encroaching flames and looking for any way through. All sense of direction was lost to him, but he spotted Luna waving to him through the blazing orange color next to what he could only tell was a window.
He hesitated as he looked through the fire, not wanting to use Summer's semblance with Croc in her predicament, but was quickly reminded that there wasn't an option when the floor beneath his feet shook once again. With that in mind, he kept Croc close and triggered Summer's semblance, the rose petals burning away to ash as flames licked at their auras. Slowing down at Luna's side, he used his own semblance to let her destroy the window while his hands were full.
The window was larger than the other ones on the floor, and when Azura looked through the now shattered window, he saw that there was a fire escape. Easing Croc's legs up, Azura stepped through the hole that Luna created, not caring for the shards of glass biting into his aura.
The fire escape groaned as their weight remained on it, startling Azura to examine closely. The wind Dust had to be very raw or pure, since the only answer that came to him was that the wind Dust had been strong enough to hurt the structural integrity of the building.
"Yes, that's like what it was. All the more reason to get out of here, let's go!"
Azura turned back around to Luna, offering Croc to her. When she did, he spoke.
"Just go strai-"
The fire escape hinged as something fell apart inside of the building, throwing Azura into the guardrail as it tilted at a forty-five degree angle and forcing Luna to swerve out and away as the level above of the fire escape did the same thing.
"Fuck!" The swear escaped his lips as the fire escape lurched again, his eyes now staring down at the ground.
The guardrail broke moments later as the old age of the entire building was made apparent, and Azura could do nothing but brace his aura as he hit the guardrail on the fire escape below and bounced off towards the ground. Petals came flying out and flew into the sky above as his fall began to slow down and stabilize. Even with that, however, he still hit the ground with a hefty thump.
"Well, this entire night has had surprises." A voice said, a smug air to it. "You are not the Motherbird. And whoever caused that fire tells me it wasn't you, either. You're no more than a kid."
Azura struggled up, feeling that he was immediately in danger. Hands on his weapons, he stared up at the man and felt completely threatened. He knew nothing about who this man was, but he could tell that he was no one good. Two horns protruded from his red hair, his White Fang mask emblazoned with red lines and not wearing the normal get up that the group wore. He was a higher up, then.
"That leaves me with only one question. Who are you?"
Azura remained silent, eyeing Luna and Croc just behind him. There was a decent chance of them being able to outrun him, presuming they didn't also have some semblance that sped them up. He had to weigh the next few seconds very cautiously and hastily, one wrong move could end up with something happening to himself or Croc or both.
The air of the young man before him exuded with arrogance and intimidation as he took a step forward, causing Azura to take a step back.
"Protecting one of us, huh? Yet you fear me...perhaps you know what is done to traitors, then."
Before Azura could even say a word, a voice yelled out from the side as sirens could start to be heard. Flames blazed far above and caused the ground to be illuminated in a faint orange.
"Don't say a word, run!"
Avis' voice broke through his standoff with the masked figure as she ran past and grabbed Azura's wrist, squeezing several raw crystals of wind Dust and throwing it at the man while running past as dust and sand kicked up and created a smoke-like cloud on the ground to obscure them. With the wind pushing them forward with momentum, Azura kept his gaze forward as Luna zipped by overhead with Croc still in her arms. The two Faunus jumped over the rusted metal bar that would normally block cars from entering and made a mad dash across the street and into the alleyways between buildings.
His breathing was ragged after a minute or two of running through the alleys of the twisting district surrounding the police department. They followed after Luna, who strictly stayed in front of them and guided them through a path that they would be able to follow with ease. They stopped once their legs burned and they were hidden away in the dark alleys all around. Luna swooped down and offered Croc back to Azura, who quickly took her into his arms before he watched Luna fly back up into the air to watch from above. Azura turned his semblance off, examining Croc's wounds as he crouched down and set her on his knees while keeping her hurt leg elevated.
"Of course the...handicap gets hurt." She says lightly, her breathing slightly erratic. "And it's the limp leg, too."
"I shouldn't have let you fight...I'm sorry." Azura replied, shaking his head.
"Can't leave someone dumb enough to fight someone stronger than them alone." She replies back. "Not even if I have only known you for a day or two."
"You always were the motherly one." Avis said once she finished making sure no one they didn't want finding them was around, walking up to them now. "Should have someone look at your leg when we get back. Aura and medicine should get you back on your feet in a few days."
"It's not motherly. Just hate dumb people." Croc grumbled. "And while he seems smart, he's still a kid."
"And you're a kid in my eyes. Now, get up, you can carry her when we leave. Neo should be here soon." Avis said back dryly, rolling her eyes.
"Neo and you split up? Is everything okay?" Azura asked, alarmed at the news.
"The entire thing was a trap. It was meant to be both a trap for us and a way for them to get whatever was in the vault, so we split up to cover different ground. I had her sneak off and try to get behind whoever was likely waiting for us while I searched for you. I have far better vision at night than her, so that's why she agreed to do it." She explained, placating his worries. "It just so happened that you fell right next to me."
"In front of that guy, too. Any idea who he is?"
"Not at all, no. Never seen the guy in all my years in the White Fang. I don't think he's from Vale or the Vale branch of the White Fang." She answered, shaking her head. "Maybe we can find something in the system via a hack."
"Doubt it." Croc said. "They've tightened up security since I last did such a thing. Also," She flicks her eyes up to Azura before looking back to Avis. "This is embarrassing."
"Well, it's the young boy or the old woman. Or the...white fox Faunus lady who carried you before." Avis responded, shrugging.
"Who was that, anyway? She appeared around you and then vanished after handing me back to you."
Before Azura could answer with some excuse, the sound of someone walking towards them put all three of them on alert. A pink and white parasol came into view before opening up and rising up to rest on the shoulder of one Neopolitan, who walked towards them slowly before twirling the parasol and closing it a moment later.
Azura smiled at her as he adjusted Croc's position in his arms. "Glad to see that you're safe."
"Were you followed?" The older woman by his side asked.
Neo shook her head to answer, glancing Azura up and down.
"Yeah, I'm kind of a mess. We all are." Azura says, trying to placate any worries she might have. "But, we really should leave soon. It's not safe here, not with both remnants of White Fang here and the fire department already coming."
"Don't think you'll be making it back to Beacon until the early morning airships, either. Stay with us for the night." Avis said. "Might not be the nicest place, but it's better than trekking across Vale at night to get back there. Especially with that fall you took, it looked nasty."
"Well, it's higher than falling from the highway overpass, that's for sure." Azura quips, shaking his head. "I'll take you up on that offer, though. Thank you."
"Whatever gets me to not be carried like some princess." Croc grumbled under her breath. "Stupid injury to an already injured limb."
The three people currently standing all smiled tiredly in their own way before making their way through the darkened alleys and towards their destination. It had been a long night, and Azura knew he would have an even longer day tomorrow.
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.(Chapter End)
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Nothing just ever goes right for Azura, does it? If I wasn't the writer, I'd assume that a certain someone was around. Ah, well, this chapter was a doozy to write and create.
Have a good day/evening!