Grim Cooperation

Worm/Dark Souls

1.1

I nodded to myself as my second knight rose from the fading circle on the pavement, stepping forth into the dusk. It's plate-mail shone darkly as traces of something similar to but different from smoke wisped from his form as it took up a position to her left flank, settling into a guard position. A swordsman, or a knight, that was good, a nice and general Shade. Paired with the other knight I had already summoned I felt safe with starting my patrol.

This was my third real patrol and I really hoped I could find something that my messages didn't warn me away from. Both other occasions the orange warnings had discouraged following any interesting sounds or indicators, even with a pair of Shades backing me. I sighed a visible breath, they were, however, correct.

If I had followed up on the more promising path from my last patrol I would have ended up in the crossfire between ABB and the Undersiders, and considering that Lung was present at the conflict, along with the reports on the incident over on the PHO…

That would have been quite a bit more than I thought my Shades could take, their strength was that they could fight for me, not any special durability of their own beyond a normal if strong human from my tests, what few I could accomplish on my own within their time limit, and they didn't seem to be able to harm one another when I had them attack one another, so my options for damaging them had been limited even beyond my unwillingness to harm them.

Nor could they explain anything themselves, being that they were completely silent, even if they weren't projections.

I wasn't sure if that counted as a Stranger aspect, when they broke something it still made a sound.

It was a puzzle I found intriguing every now and again.

"There goes another tangent" I commented to my heavily armored guards, before starting on my patrol down the street, taking care to heed my warnings so not to tread too far into the any of the major gangs territory.

About 10 minutes later, I spotted an interesting orange message scrawled near the entrance of an alley way.

-Safe but Help Woman-

That held promise, something I could handle without dying.

"Hold" I ordered my shadowy knights, before focusing on the area, the ground becoming overladen with more and more orange colored scrawls before my eyes.

-Low Danger but be wary of Thief-

A mugging then.

-Woman Fear on Left-

Nothing on my left here, so left of the alleys end.

-Thief with Group Poison Medicine-

Medicine poison? Oh, Drugs! And Group must mean gang, so Merchants, or at the very least a druggie, mugging a woman on the left of the alleyways exit.

Fast

I rushed down the alley with my knights flanking me, then outpacing me as they burst from the alley.

Pressing against the the wall at the end of the alley, I scanned the ground for any helpful messages before my senses dulled as I tapped there's.

Take him down, but no permanent damage

Twin viewpoints flickered to life in my mind, a rapidly improving if shaky vision of the man and woman, the man holding a switchblade and pointing it at the scared looking woman.

My Shades charged at the back of the ill-dressed man holding the young woman to the wall.

They slowed as they got into close range, immediately engaging the panicking druggie, "Shit! Capes!" the flat side of a long sword smashing his clumsily raised knife arm down, tearing the blade from the man's grasp and drawing a pained yelp from his throat. I heard it with a slight echo from my multiple viewpoints.

My other Shade quickly slammed an armored fist into his stomach, knocking him a few meters back and to the street with a painful gasp.

Scare him off

Both of my knights stood as tall as possible, their intimidating 7" stature and broad armored forms allowing them to tower above the mugger, and leveled their blades at the man as he wheezed and weakly struggled to his feet.

He looked at them, and I saw the resignation flash though the fear on his face as he turned and ran.

The woman spoke up then, "T-thank you… ?" she trailed off, questioning my knights names.

I grinned to myself beneath the bandanna and gave a mental order.

Bow, and Banish

My knights bowed to the dark-haired young woman, my view dipping to the pavement, before shimmering out of existence in a rush of smoke and mist as I released the mental tethers to them.

I did it! I helped someone! I stayed there, leaning against the alley wall breathing in the crisp night air and smiling to myself for a few minutes in happiness of what I had achieved with my powers.

As I was walking out of alley on the side I had originated from, I decided to let myself indulge this once.

I knelt down to the ground roughly where I had spotted the original message to help to woman, now long faded and focused.

I traced the letters with my eyes closed, making sure to use the words my power would allow.

Then I stood, checked my pockets for my pepper spray and keys, and jogged home, leaving behind three words that would get me through the rest of the week at Winslow easily.

-I did it!-

-Example- Is meant to be orange, however FFnet does not allow colored text.