Happy Valentines/Singles Awareness Day!3 :D

I typed this up earlier, but accidentally made my browser go back so now I gotta type it all over again -_- Anyways, I'm going to write mainly in 1st person for this story, so every "I" and such will be from Estelle's POV. On the other hand, I will still write in 3rd person for the other character's POVs. Not sure if that makes sense or not but if you get it, good. If you don't, you'll find out later on.

Anyways, onward to the story!

Phase I: Mercenaries

I slowly walked across the forest floor, trying not to trip on any roots as I slowly felt my way across the pitch black forest, making my way to a small cabin housed in a small clearing deep within the forest. The cabin seemed quaint from the outside. There was a porch with a wooden chair that sat in front of the window. A flower pot was placed on the railing of the porch, making it seem like the place was inhabited by a quiet old lady.

"Is this the place?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah," my partner, Jack, answered.

We looked at each other, sapphire blue meeting storm grey, and nodded as wordlessly we split up, Jack moving off to the left while I went to the right. Creeping from shadow to shadow, I used my cloak to the best of its abilities, taking advantage of the mottled green color to help me blend into the forest as I scanned the perimeter of the building as I moved in a semicircle. At the back of the house was a small stream that flowed quietly, the only calming sound in the dead silent forest. Spotting Jack standing behind a tree, I made my way towards him when I nearly slipped on a rather large rock or something. I glanced down in irritation but my eyes widened in shocked as I saw a human skull clattering loudly down the stream.

"Holy crap, Jack," I whispered as he ran over.

"What is it? Are you alright?" He asked me, concerned.

I nodded numbly before inspecting the water that I stood in. True to my suspicions, beneath my feet were the remains of the person who had previously occupied the cabin, before the perpetrators killed him or her. Or at least I assumed so. The bones could have been from a rather unfortunate member of the bandit gang that we were supposed to infiltrate to steal some sort of treasure that our client wanted. Anyways, it wasn't my concern. My only concern was to go in, get the item, then get the hell out of this goddamned forest.

Beside me, Jack remained quiet for a minute before he murmured, "Let's go."

I gave him a curt nod before retreating back into the cover of the forest, making my way towards the side of the house with Jack by my side. The moonlight helped us see where we were going as we crept up to the windows, quietly listening for any sounds of movement before we peeked inside. Nothing moved. I heard the rustling of a cloak next to me as Jack slithered up to the porch, his soft boots making no sound. He checked the door and found that it was open. Jack signaled to me that he was going to scout the inside and I nodded, keeping my hand on the sword hilt by my side and gripping it as I prepared to barge in if he had trouble. I would have gone with him, but unlike his soft boots, mine were made solely for combat purposes and not for stealth. If I tried to sneak around it would be nearly impossible because of the rather rickety looking wooden stairs and the overall wooden structure of the building.

Hearing someone snap his fingers quietly, I looked sharply to see Jack signaling to me that the coast was clear.

"I found the entrance," he mouthed.

I nodded and got up, noting the slight stiffness in my knees from crouching for too long. Carefully making my way up the porch steps and into the house, wincing every time something creaked, I followed him to a floorboard with a metal hoop conveniently placed in the middle of the single bedroom. Placing my ear against the wood, I could hear the laughter of many voices echoing from down below. Yep. This was definitely the place.

I slowly eased the wooden entrance open until I could see into the area. Directly beneath the entrance was a set of stone stairs with a soft light lighting up the corridor. I could immediately tell that if I walked down the stairs I wouldn't be seen because of the fact that the soft light seemed to be reflecting off of a wall, thereby giving off the effect of a soft glow. There was probably a corner that led to a room with many lights or maybe even a fire that caused this glow.

I looked up to see Jack staring at me curiously before signaling to him that it was safe to enter, but that I would go first. He merely nodded and waited for me to gingerly ease the floorboard open so that I could go through. Once I was through I didn't wait for him and carefully made my way down the stairs trying not to make any sounds or accidentally kick any loose bits of cobblestone.

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs in my ever so slow process of going down at least ten steps, I quietly walked down the corridor until I reached the place where the sound of laughter was loudest, making a note to check the other rooms that lie adjacent to the corridor.. Pressing myself against the wall, I slowly inched my way towards the corner and peeked at the scene before me.

There were five grown men sitting around a table drinking and laughing as they casually gathered around a table, presumably around a deck of cards because I could hear the loud clanking of coins being thrown onto the table. I saw a half a dozen barrels of what could only be wine against the right wall while the wall facing the corridor had a rather large moose head hanging on the wall.

I retreated back and turned to face Jack, who had been standing silently behind me the entire time. I pulled him close and whispered into his ear, fearing that the drunken bandits might hear me if I didn't do so. "What are we supposed to be looking for?" I whispered in frustration before I pulled away.

Jack tilted his head slightly, his short blond hair covering one eye as he placed a finger on his chin in thought for a moment before he raised it up again as he remembered. He tapped my shoulder and I leaned in as he whispered back, "I believe it was some sort of sword. The Count said that it had a ruby embedded into the hilt."

I glanced back into the room once again and scanned for any sign of a sword. "Nope, no sword here."

"Then let's keep looking," he said. Before he could take a step, I blocked his path with my arm.

"Wait let's think of a plan first," I whispered rather loudly so that he could hear. We froze fearing that the bandits had heard us when we realized that there was no laughter, but then heard the distinct shuffling of cards. Releasing the breath that I didn't know I was holding, I looked back at Jack. "Either we charge right in, guns blazing, or we sneak around until we find the sword, and then kill them all. Either way works for me," I added with a shrug.

Jack rested his elbow on his arm as he cupped his chin in thought. "Let's explore a bit before we go in for the kill," he said. "We may just find our target and grab it before anyone notices we're here."

"Yes sir!" I gave him a mock salute before I pressed myself against the wall once again trying to see when the bandits weren't looking in our direction. As soon as I heard the loud roar of laughter as they slammed their mugs of beer against the table I casually strolled past them as if I belonged there. The worst idea was to sneak around and suddenly get spotted by someone. Better to act as if I belonged because these drunken bastards would probably believe me if I told them I was a new recruit. Maybe.

Making it to the next room, I once again pressed my back to the wall and inched towards the corner, careful not to disturb any rocks that might have been loose. Finally reaching the corner, I peeked into the room to see it full of worn down beds lined up against the walls. Inside a few of the beds I could see the round outlines of some people as they tossed and turned, sighing and snoring as they did so. I glanced over at Jack, who was inspecting the room across from me, who shook his head. Not the room we were looking for.

I took a moment to head inside the rooms to silently assassinate the sleeping people inside, not wanting for them to become reinforcements should we raise the alarm. Finally finishing with the last sleeping man, I wiped my knife on his shirt to clean the bloody blade and swiftly ran to the door to rejoin Jack, who had stayed out in the hallway the entire time.

There were only two rooms left, both with locks attached to them. I assumed that the bandit leader was behind one of those doors, presumably with the sword we were looking for. The other would probably have to be the storage room where they kept all their food and loot. We neared the end of the hallway, and the door on the right side came first. I slowly and soundlessly tested if the door was locked, and found that it wasn't. Gently easing it open a crack, I peeked in to find an aisle lined with shelves full of food, wine, and beer. This was the storage shed. I pushed the door open more so that I could go in, signaling to Jack that the coast was clear and that he could go in as well.

When we were in, we closed the door behind us and swiftly but silently went down the aisles of food, pausing every now and then to check to see if there was anyone further in. Finally we reached the back of the room, and saw shelves lined with valuable items like statues, plates lined with gold, and other things that I suspect were stolen from some rather unfortunate merchants who happened to pass through the general vicinity.

"Alrighty then," I huffed and began sifting through the piles of loot. Beside me I heard Jack do the same as we hurriedly looked through the shelves for the sword. "Find anything?" I asked when I had searched everywhere on my side of the room.

"Nothing," Jack shook his head disappointedly.

"Don't worry," I assured him cheerfully. "It just means that we'll have to break into the leader's office to steal the sword back."

He frowned before nodding and following me out of the storage room. Back in the hallway, we made our way towards the very last room. I slowly reached out to turn the knob only to find that it was locked. "Bingo," I mouthed to Jack before I stepped aside to let him pick the lock. I watched him carefully take his lock pick set out and insert a pick and tension wrench into the keyhole, twisting them gently to and fro before we heard the distinct click that meant the door was unlocked.

Gently easing the door open, we peeked inside and saw the sword leaning against a shelf next to the desk across from us. From inside, we heard the distinct sound of snoring and I slowly pushed it open wider to see a man wearing a black eye-patch sound asleep with his feet propped up on his desk. His dreadlocks were tied up in a ponytail and numerous scars littered his face, showing that he was involved in countless battles. His beard was roughly shaved and practically screamed the fact that he used a knife to shave himself, which, given the amount of scars that had formed around the area, meant that he wasn't very good at it.

I ushered Jack in and pointed toward the sword, taking advantage of his softer boots and mentally cackling to myself because I didn't have to be as careful as he had to be. I stood back as Jack tiptoed past the man and grabbed the sword. When he successfully retrieved it and tiptoed back towards me, we silently patted each other on the back as we prepared to exit the room, only to realize that something was amiss. The snoring had stopped. Our eyes were wide as we slowly turned our heads towards where the sleeping man had been, now wide awake.

"Um…" I began as I backed out the door, laughing nervously. "Good morning?" I had only stepped back a few steps before I bumped into someone behind me. I glanced up to see an intimidating looking bandit staring down at me. I gulped and looked to Jack, who had encountered a similar crisis.

The bandit leader slowly got out of his desk and walked towards us with his hands behind his back, his steps echoing loudly in the now silent corridor. "And where do you guys think that you're going?"

"Out?" Jack answered for me, this time laughing nervously in my place as he took the lead.

"Oh I think not," the bandit chuckled darkly. "You're our guests, and since we hardly ever have guests here in our humble abode, I think that this calls for a little…celebration."

"What kind?" Jack inquired nervously.

"Oh you know, just the usual," the bandit smiled widely. "Dinner. I think we're having a feast today."

Jack laughed uneasily, "That won't be necessary sir; we were just on our way home."

"Oh but I insist!" The man approached even closer, his hand reaching to cup my chin.

"I don't think that's a wise choice, sir," Jack advised him. "You see, she tends to get a little…aggressive."

The bandit leader laughed loudly before cupping my chin more forcefully so that I looked into his eyes. "That won't be a problem, lad." I stared at him emotionless until I heard a familiar click coming from Jack, who nodded imperceptibly. "Look at me," the bandit before me growled. "Now…smile."

The slasher smile I sent him probably chilled him to his very bones, because he suddenly released me. A moment later, I reached down to where my gun holster was strapped to on my thigh and in less than a second, unlocked the safety and shot him in the stomach, unleashing chaos inside the cramped hallway as I shot down the oversize man that had been restraining Jack. I elbowed the bandit behind me who was now trying to restrain me and shot him in the kneecap before I unsheathed my sword and stabbed him in the throat, watching giddily as the blood spilled onto the stone cold floor. The stench of iron filled the air as I whirled and fired at every bandit that came towards me and Jack as we ran down the corridor towards the exit.

I momentarily glanced behind us and shot down some pursuing bandits before my pistol ran out of ammo. Sighing, I shoved it back into its holster before turning back to face the front, only to find a crossbow bolt slam into the bandit that had suddenly appeared before me.

Jack placed a firm hand on my shoulder as he ran past me. "Gotcha covered partner," he smirked.

I laughed happily and enjoyed the adrenaline rush as Jack took the lead while I covered him from behind; brutally stabbing our pursuers before I kicked them back down the stairs. "Estelle!" I heard my name being shouted from above. Shoving the final bandit back down the stairs, I quickly ran up and found Jack waiting for me with a broom in his hand. Hurriedly slamming down the floorboard, we used the broom to jam the entrance before we sprinted out of the cabin and back into the woods where we knew our pursuers would lose us.

"Did you bring the sword?" I asked him breathlessly.

"Yeah," he unsheathed it and we both leaned in to admire the design. Its hilt was intricately designed with gold that only served to heighten the overall beauty of the sword. The hilt was made of lightweight but sturdy material, and when I reached for it to test its weight, I found that it was very well balanced. I pointed the blade straight up and brought it close to my face, my free hand running along the flat part of the sword as I admired every letter that was etched onto the silver blade. I then gently fingered the tip of the blade, ecstatic when it drew blood. That only meant that the blade was extremely sharp and could cut through almost anything. Lowering the sword, I finally looked on the inscription that was etched onto the blade.

"Talion," I read, "a beautiful name for a beautiful sword." I smiled sadly and gave it back to Jack, who sheathed it once again. It was a pity that this sword was probably never going to see any action. It was destined to remain in the grubby fingers of a collector and not in the refined hands of a swordswoman such as myself. It may be strange, but I felt strangely drawn towards the sword. It was as if it was calling to me to wield it. I shook my head resignedly and dismissed the notion.

"Let's head back to town," I said. "It's starting to get dark."

. . .

A few hours later, we finally reached St. Petersburg, the city where our client resided in. It was early in the morning by the time we got there, and both Jack and I were completely exhausted. We dragged our feet down the streets trying to find the nearest inn. The sleeping town was utterly quiet, save for the crunch of snow beneath our feet as we slowly tread our way through the snow covered streets.

"It's so damn cold," I shivered and wrapped my bloodstained cloak around myself in an attempt to get warm.

"I know right?" Jack agreed as he copied my action.

"Do you know where we are?" I asked him, but before he could answer, I held up a hand, "Wait! Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh!" I shushed him as I raised a finger, my eyes scanning the area around us. Jack sent me a questioning gaze but he did as I told, remaining silent.

Soon the shrill scream of a young girl echoed in the distance, shattering the silence between us. My eyes widened as I momentarily glanced at Jack to see him nodding and following me as we ran towards the source. The cold air pierced my lungs as my breath became the only thing I could see as I ran through the moonlit streets, following the cries of help that echoed throughout the otherwise silent night. I turned a corner, then another corner when I could clearly hear the distinct sound of sobbing. I turned left and was met with a dead end.

"Shit!" I cussed, turning back and retracing my steps. "Where the hell is she!?"

"Estelle!" I turned to see Jack standing a little farther down the alleyway pointing towards the riverside.

I sprinted towards him and began following him through the maze of alleys when suddenly we heard a loud bang, as if from a gun. For some reason it sounded more like a cannon had fired the round, but my mind simply wasn't functioning correctly. My blood ran cold and I shouted to Jack, "Hurry!"

We heard the sound of water splashing against stone as we neared the riverside and we pushed our tired legs to run faster in hopes that we could maybe save the young girl. When we finally reached the water, it was too late. There, by the brick wall was an extremely large bullet hole, far too large to have been fired from a gun like mine. I knelt down towards the pile of dust that littered the ground in front of the wall, and a simple pale blue nightgown with an oversized hole that tore right into the middle of the dress. A slight breeze began to blow and took the dust with it, leaving me still kneeling on the ground with the dress clutched in my hand.

"We were too late," I whispered in anguish as I remembered something painful.

Jack remained unmoving behind me, "Estelle I-"

"Watch out!" A random voice shouted to us from the bridge.

I quickly glanced behind me to see three men in long, cream colored, hooded jackets that were lined with zippers on the left and right breast. They were pointing at something in the air above me and I looked up to see a large floating balloon-like monster staring down at me emotionlessly. It had a large pentacle on its forehead and a tattoo-like design that made it seem as if it was weeping as well.

"Wh-what the hell is that!?" I stuttered as I stared at the monstrous entity. It continued to stare down at me emotionlessly until one of its turrets suddenly swiveled in my direction, pointing straight at me.

I realized too late what was going to happen.

I tried to move, to jump out of the way, but my legs stood locked in place. 'Ah...so this is it,' I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and turned my head away, waiting for the inevitable pain to come. I heard the loud and resounding boom of a cannon shot. Someone shouted my name and soon the air rushed out of my lungs as I was tackled to the side and into the ground, hitting my head in the process.

I stared up at the night sky dazedly, my hands holding the back of my head as I tried to deal with the nauseating pounding that resonated in my skull. "Estelle." I faintly heard someone clearly saying my name, but the sound was muddled and unclear. I felt someone's firm hands hold my cheeks and turn my head so that I faced my savior: Jack. "Estelle, can you hear me?" He repeated firmly.

I stared at him blankly before nodding softly, trying not to become dizzy again. Much to his chagrin, I slowly got up and stared at the being that had silently floated above us. It was now facing the strangely dressed men, cannons pointed towards them menacingly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a slight glimmer to my right. I turned to see the sword we had acquired, Talion, emitting a luminescent green glow. As if in a trance, I slowly reached out and pulled it out of its sheath. The blade slid out easily and I weighed it in my hands before slowly getting up, using Jack as my support before I took my gun out of its holster. Quickly removing the safety, I swiftly emptied a round into the monster.

"What are you doing!?" One of the men shouted at me. "Guns won't make even a dent on it! Just run!"

I let out a low growl once my cartridge was emptied. The thing turned to face me as my gun clattered to the ground. A sweat drop fell down my brow as I realized that I had no plan of action, other than to distract the monster from killing the men. As I frantically tried to improvise, in the corner of my eye I saw a small green light that now eerily glowed around the ruby embedded into Talion. Its ethereal shine seemed to draw me in and I was lost in its luster. An idea hit me as I looked over to Jack, who stared at me questioningly.

"Distract it for me, will you?" I asked him, nodding towards the monster. I quickly turned around and ran out of the alley before he could utter a reply and ran toward the nearest wall with many ledges that I could climb up to lead me towards the roof. Finding a ledge with reasonable footing, I backed up a few steps.

"Okay Estelle," I told myself as I took a deep breath. "You can do this." I quickly sprinted up the wall and quickly grabbing the nearest handhold when I lost my momentum. Once that was accomplished, I slowly climbed my way up until I reached someone's balcony. Grabbing hold of the rails, I heaved myself onto the balcony and collapsed there while I took a breather and allowed myself a moment to rest my tired muscles. When my brief respite was over, I once again picked myself up and began climbing as fast as possible when I heard the distinct sound of cannon fire echo nearby.

"Almost there," I muttered as I neared the top of the apartments. Once I grasped the ledge, I used my thankfully strong upper body strength to pull me up. I ran over to the edge of the rooftop and paused momentarily to glance at the situation that was unfolding below.

Jack had taken out his crossbow and was firing a few shots every couple of seconds to keep up the aggro and make sure that the monster's attention was centered on him only. I smiled in relief. I could really trust him to handle the effects my every decision and whim. He was my partner, after all.

Speaking of whims, I once again glanced at the sword I had taken with me in a sudden moment of inspiration, an inspiration that I had forgotten while I was busy scaling the wall. I let out a loud sigh. Jack is going to kill me. I just know he will. The ruby embedded in the sword had stopped pulsing a few minutes ago, but when I drew near to the monster, it once again let loose it's luminescent light.

'Ah...I remember now.'

I stared at the sword for a second as I gathered my resolve, my hands tightening their grips around the hilt of the sword. I once again peeked down at the situation below to make sure Jack was alright. When I saw him dodge another bullet, I steeled myself for what was to come and promptly backed up a few steps after making sure that the monster was still in the same location. When I felt that I had a good distance, I sprinted towards the edge and leaped off of the roof towards the balloon-like thing, raising my sword up above my head as I quickly fell towards the ground and the monster that remained floating below me. I instinctively brought the sword down in front of me and felt the blade cleave through the monster as if it were made of butter.

I felt a large explosion behind me, making me freefall faster and faster towards the ground. My eyes widened in shock while my lips curved up in a sort of grimace.

'So...I'm just going to die here after finally becoming a hero for the first time in my life? How...disappointing.'

I prepared myself for the inevitable pain that was to come. Silence. I tentatively opened my eyes to find that not only was I thankfully still alive, but I was also lying down on something firm but soft. Jack.

"You...alright Estelle?" He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. I blinked and quickly got up.

"S-sorry," I stammered, a blush tinging my cheeks as I focused on everything but him. "Thanks for saving me."

Jack let out a low chuckle. "No problem. We're partners aren't we? I'll always be there for you," he smiled.

A small smile appeared on my face as I pinched his cheek lightly. "You cheesy brat," I teased. "Stop taking all of the cool lines!"

He swatted away my hand and laughed lightheartedly before picking himself up. He held out a hand to me. "Coming?" I grinned and took the proffered hand.

"Sure!"

. . .

"Did you see that?" A low voice whispered in a dark alleyway.

"They destroyed the Akuma!" Another voice whispered in quiet disbelief.

"Are they Exorcists?" A third voice joined in on the conversation.

The small group of men had quietly retreated when the Akuma had been destroyed, and they were now huddled together, quietly trying to wrap their minds around what had just happened. They looked to one another, hoping that someone would stand up and take the lead to do what they all had in mind. One brave man soon stood straight and caught their attention one by one.

"No, I don't think that they're Exorcists," he stated. "If they were then we would have recognized them."

"But Juan," one of the men - Toma - spoke up unsure. "If they aren't Exorcists, then what are they?"

A murmur arose as Toma voiced the doubts that most of the Finders held. "That's right." "What are they?" "Their clothes..." "I think I saw blood on their cloaks!" "Not just anyone can fight Akuma off like that..."

Juan heaved a sigh and massaged his forehead. "Just...call Headquarters," he ordered. He walked out of the alley and leaned against the adjacent wall staring in the direction that the duo had gone. He crossed his arms and whistled a few notes to pass the time while the others attempted to reach Headquarters.

"We've found ourselves some Accommodators."

*Note* Estelle and Jack are both 18 and 19 respectively at this time. If you have any questions feel free to pm me or something!

So what do you make of Estelle and this chapter? Please review~