Episode 24: Eve of the Counterattack
Author's Notes: Greetings! Here's the new chapter! Please Read and Enjoy! :D
8:00 p.m., Death City— it was a cold and windy night as the Grinning Moon sailed across the starry skies. Looking down upon the land, it widened its ominous 'smile' as the bustling metropolis below anxiously preoccupied itself with tomorrow night's Xmas Eve Party.
However, as the whole city prepared for the upcoming festivities, there were a certain few who were not caught up with the holiday fever and chose to spend their time preparing something else.
Leaping from building to building, these individuals scoured the rooftops of the city. The first ones to reach their supposed destination, a large commercial building overlooking the busy PussyFoot Boulevard, were the meister Ox Ford, and his weapon Harvar. Upon seeing the various booths and kiosks being run by witches, Ox pulled out a small radio.
"Point 1 secured. No problem," he reported.
At the same time, 600 meters west of his position, within the residential district, Kilik Lunge the pot meister together with his weapons stood on Maka & Soul's apartment building. From there, they spotted three witches below selling snake oil to an unwitting crowd of students.
"Point 2 secured. Same here, no problem," radioed Kilik.
Immediately afterwards, something fiery flew past him. He was startled at first, but quickly recognized it to be none other than the lamp meister Kim Diehl and her weapon Jacqueline. "Yahoo!" they happily cheered, rocketing over the busy streets, passing Ox's position, and heading up the arduous stone steps of Shibusen.
Unfortunately, their little merriment was cut short when they reached the top and came face-to-face with the dangerous witch, Blair de Valesti. She didn't do anything except smile at them, yet they quieted down and slowly landed on the stone spire protruding over the schoolyard.
"Um, Point 3 secured. N-Nothing going on here," Kim was a bit shaken up.
"What the heck was that!" Ox complained over the radio. He then reminded them as to how they were given this rare opportunity of finally being given some page time and was quick to point out how important it was for them not to mess it up by flying around like a lunatic.
"Would you quit yelling at us!" she retaliated, annoyed of his know-it-all attitude. "Besides, we got paid to join! So we're not here for your 'precious' page—!"
"Everyone focus!" Blair's voice was heard on the radio. She had donned an earpiece and joined the fray. "The Christmas Eve Party is tomorrow. If you don't get this right, people WILL die!" With that, the bickering stopped.
"That's much better," she said. "Hey Sid, how did it go?"
"Everything's quiet here," he replied from the confines of the Death Room. There, he was accompanied by Nygus and the Death Scythe, Azusa. They were monitoring the screens which displayed the whereabouts of each and every witch in the city including that of Blair. So far, none of them showed any reaction to the flashy spectacle.
"The nerve of that person," Nygus couldn't help but express her ire at Blair's blatant disregard for age and authority when the witch kept addressing Sid as though she were speaking to a subordinate.
Speaking of the devil, she was signaling the three pairs to rendezvous back at the Death Room. By the time they all arrived, the Shinigami, Marie, Sid, Black Star and Tsubaki were also there.
"Alright people, listen up!" Azusa directed them to one of the larger screens. She had accessed Woogle Earth and showed them an overview map of Death City. She pointed to two buildings, "As planned, Points 1 & 2 will be the focal point of the counterattack since the witches seemed to have conveniently gathered around these populated areas." She highlighted their positions with red blips. Afterwards, she motioned Sid to explain the tactical plan.
"Okay… tomorrow night, we'll be stationing four teams here on the street, the surrounding alleys, and on the roofs," as he said this, blue blips appeared on the screen. "I'll be leading Team Alpha which will be positioned here," a small icon bearing his face appeared on the Main Street. "Both Ox and Kilik will handle the alleyways with Team Bravo and Charlie, respectively. Kim will lead Team Delta and secure the rooftops."
"Yes, sir!" they agreed in unison.
"Wait a minute!" Black Star spoke out after seeing how his face wasn't on the map. "Don't tell me you guys want me to sit this one out! 'Cos I won't!" He was immediately backed up by Tsubaki, who also wanted to help.
"I'm sorry, but this is a VERY delicate operation that requires both subtlety and team coordination," Azusa flashed her glasses to Black Star, "As such, you possess none of these traits. Furthermore, considering your inherent need to show-off, your presence alone would be enough to compromise the whole mission, not to mention endanger the lives of innocent civilians."
"Then why were we called here in the first place!"
"Ahem," Azusa cleared her throat. "I'm sure that all of you have already heard the rumors about Shinigami-sama showing his true face during the festivities," her cold steely gaze shifted to the Shinigami. "I have no idea how it started, but I can assure you that there is absolutely NO truth to these rumors. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to quell it down, it managed to get online and went viral. Now, the whole world wants to witness this occasion. In doing so, don't be surprised to see international media people roaming around the city." Afterwards, she turned to Black Star and Tsubaki. "Now, you two have been called here to provide assistance. With most of the personnel diverted to keeping order and security around the city, we have little to spare concerning Shinigami-sama's personal protection. So, you two will be his body guards for the duration of the evening, understood?"
Black Star quickly protested his role, stating that he was a fighter not a baby sitter. Besides, Death the Kid would've been the better choice for the role seeing as how the Shinigami was HIS father. Unfortunately, he was just as quickly scolded for insubordination. At the same time, Blair could only smile as Black Star stormed off in anger.
9:23 p.m., Shibusen forest grounds— it's been half an hour since he left the meeting and since then, he's been venting his frustration at the local hardwood. Punching and kicking whatever stood in his way, he had already felled fifteen trees by the time Blair found him.
"Ah, are you still crying for being left out?" she chuckled, sitting atop a high branch.
In response, he delivered a pulverizing punch to the tree and broke the trunk in half. "Leave me alone!" he snarled.
"Come on, don't be like that. I just want to help," she said, sitting atop the high branch of another tree.
"I don't need your help!" he also brought that tree down.
"Fine," she landed a safe distance away, "If you don't want to be part of the counterattack, then I guess I'll ask Tsubaki-chan to handle it alone," she began to walk away slowly.
"Wait!" was the all too typical response.
Blair turned around, Black Star had his head hung low and his shoulders dropped as he heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Okay. What do I have to do?"
Hearing this, Blair looked up to the Grinning Moon—its menacing 'smile' matched hers.
Everything is in place. Now, all that's left is …