"Hoho! Take that you dastardly embers of destruction!" Port shouted across the blazing northern fields as he fired heavy blobs of blue dust above the burning crops. His weapon, dubbed as the Blowhard, was a modified brass blunderbuss outfitted with a double-headed axe by the trigger. While simple in design it could blast through Beowolves and Boarbatusks as if they were made of paper.
Dressed in his usual red suit, his heavy gray boots trudged across the heated dirt as the stout hunter reloaded. Being the first to answer the call of service, Port immediately contacted his fellow teammates who assured to bolster his efforts.
"Port, my dear comrade!" A spectacled green blur blitzed past a crowd of screaming farmers as he shifted beside his best friend.
"Ah, reliable as always, Oobleck!" The mustached hunter beamed a pearly smile and patted his cohort on the back.
"Glynda and Thumbelina will join us shortly, but we've been instructed to assist the fire department in quelling the flames. I've packed a great deal of water dust pellets, so we should hold out until the firefighters establish their hoses." Oobleck pushed up his glasses and threw his thermos into the air.
While an innocent instrument that kept his daily brews nice and warm, Antiquity's Roast served as a collapsable flamethrower that could transform with a press of a button and a pull on the handle. However, instead of spewing destructive flames, when loaded with blue dust the extended torch could launch damp shots of water much like a hose.
Oobleck tossed Port a handful of ammunition, and the two charged straight into the heart of the danger.
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"I can't believe the size of this inferno!" A peach-haired huntress fixed her goggles and armed her weapon dubbed as Doctor's Orders. A sniper rifle modified to resemble a syringe, the wide chamber after the hilt served as the magazine that supplied the weapon with varied ammunition.
"Keep your wits about you, Thumbelina!" Her pale blonde leader snapped. Her violet dress swishing over the dusty roads, Glynda's disciplinarian emanated a bright purple light that responded to her semblance.
Scorched lumber and stained steel soaring into the sky in a cluster, Glynda grunted as she hurled the pile away from the crowds of fleeing Faunus. Blaring sirens and horns ringing her ears, the esteemed leader of GPPO waved to an approaching group of firemen and police officers after they'd parked a good distance from the burning windmill.
"Huntresses!" The head officer tipped his hat and adjusted his tie. A smudge of cream on his badge, it appeared he'd been interrupted during his coffee break. "We've rallied the majority of the civilians in the northern areas, but the second and third windmills along with their fields have yet to be inspected."
"Understood." Glynda wiped the sweat from her forehead and narrowed her eyes on the burning buildings in the distance. "My partner and I will calm as much destruction as we can. Please inform your fellow officers to bar off the hazardous areas and continue to evacuate the farmers."
His orders received, the head officer thanked the women for their efforts and left to rally his men.
Glynda wasted no time, dialing the numbers of her teammates on the hilt of her weapon, the blonde was relieved to hear her partners were already doing their best to temper the blazing destruction.
"Port, Oobleck, come in."
"Ah, there's my reliable leader!" Port chuckled.
"Doctor Oobleck at your service!" The green-haired hunter laughed.
Their leader rubbed her temples and sighed. "Thumbelina and I have our hands full in the eastern parts of the farms. Have any other hunter teams arrived on the scene?"
"Why yes, we saw Summer corralling some of the anxious civilians toward the river. With some other blonde man trailing her footsteps." Oobleck replied.
"Blonde man?" Glynda curled a brow. "Tai hasn't recovered from his injuries yet has he?"
"That would be correct." Oobleck hummed. "I dropped off our team's goodie basket just this morning for our dear pun-lover, but he was definitely still tied to his bed when I last saw him."
"What did he look like?" The witch inquired, her persistence drawing a confused expression from Thumbelina who listened to the conversation in silence.
"Well, I couldn't get a good look at him through the smoke and fire, but the stranger is definitely taller than Tai, and his hair reaches well past his shoulders," Port replied.
Glynda blinked. There was only one figure who popped into her mind, but Hawkins had made it clear their shared mission was a one-time thing, so why would he have any reason to assist Summer after the fact? However, such questions were irrelevant at this hour. The raging fires bolstering in size, Glynda ordered her teammates to regroup at the first windmill after they settled their current affairs.
"Ka-Boom!"
A sudden explosion beckoning a few blocks away, the largest of the windmills was engulfed in hungry flames that devoured the wooden sails and chewed at the falling debris.
"I know I might be jumping to conclusions," Thumbelina growled and reloaded her rifle with water dust, "but I don't think these fires were a coincidence."
/-/
"Oobleck, Port!" Summer cheered with a relieved smile.
In a blurry of rose petals, she joined her former classmates and they quickly gave her a rundown of the situation. Collapsing her dual blades, Summer saw to it to rescue as many civilians as possible seeing she wasn't properly equipped to battle a raging inferno.
"Keep up, Hawkins, we need to save as many people as we can!" Summer called to the magician behind her.
Oobleck scratched his cheek. "I'm sorry, but aren't you alone, Summer?"
Her eyes wide, the red reaper twirled around to find that she was indeed solo. Gripping her hair, she stomped her feet and furiously shook her head. Begging her friends if they'd seen the stoic man, Port recalled witnessing the blonde figure, but lost sight of him after he and Summer passed the northern fields.
"Ka-Boom!" Debris flew into the air from the nearby barns while vexed farmers did their best to corral their frantic cattle and sheep.
"I know Hawkins is an independent person, but this is ridiculous!" Summer yelled in frustration. Biting her lower lip, she decided the magician could look after himself as the cries of frightened civilians took priority.
"Wherever you are, Hawkins, I hope you're safe..."
"65% chance Carla and the others are in the second windmill." Hawkins wheezed as his boots skidded to a stop. After a few tarot readings he concluded that the chances of finding those he cared about were higher if he and Summer separated, though he disliked this predicament, he was never one to deny the percentages of the cards.
His crimson eyes fixed on the largest building of the district, the second windmill housed the most workers during the day and served as the hub of highest production. However, this also served as a detriment. With so much ground to cover, even if Jaune and the others were inside that building the chances of Hawkins finding them were slim.
"Let me through damn it!" Screamed a faraway figure.
Sirens blaring and lights flashing, the magician shielded his eyes from the brightness as his heart quickened in pace.
Wrestling against a group of police officers as firemen fastened their hose lines, a deer Faunus with a straw hat atop his head shouted at the authorities who blocked his path.
"Please calm down, sir. That building is too dangerous for a civilian!" A bearded officer shouted.
Sam grabbed the policeman by the collar. "My wife and our adopted kids weren't at the riverside. This is the only place they could be, and I'm not going to just sit around while they're in danger!"
Hawkins' head snapped to the old farmer then back to the blazing windmill. Lights, too many lights, the magician's body trembled as haunting memories began to resurface. The burning district swapping for the setting of Sabaody Archipeligo, the sounds of gunfire and cannons rang his ears and gripped his heart. Laserbeams soared overhead along with the screams of civilians and pirates alike while buildings were uprooted from their foundations.
Hawkins stepped back. He was way in over his head. He didn't need to put himself in danger for a future that was not meant to be. He could purchase a new set of tickets to Mistral in a heartbeat and forget about all this nonsense the next day.
"Let me go! Carla!" Forced to the ground, Sam bit a handful of dirt, as his arms were pushed behind his back.
Tears drenching his cheeks, the farmer continued to wail and thrash while calling out to his loved ones. For a moment, Hawkins didn't see Sam. Instead, he saw himself, down for the count with the lives of his crewmates slinking away to the dark depths of the ocean. He... couldn't do anything for them, only watch as all those he held dear were sent to a watery grave.
"Captain!"
"Hah!" Hawkins fumbled to a knee. Clutching his aching chest, he punched his forehead repeatedly until the illusions of his nightmares dispersed. Blood dripped from his nose and trickled down his chin. His chest rising and falling, his trembling fingers wrapped around the hilt of his longsword as he stood himself up.
The fire brigade and the police force didn't have the power to infiltrate the burning mill, and it would take too long to find Summer or any of the other hunters who were spread around the district. With a heavy heart and weary resolve, the magician charged toward the windmill with fury blazing in his crimson pupils.
"Straw Sword!" His attack broke through the smashed and scorched debris barring the main entrance.
"O-Oi, what do you think you're doing?!" Called the nearby authorities.
However, to the one man who recognized the stoic blonde, Sam's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets as his antlers and ears pinged toward the sky. Though his throat was overused, he took a deep breath and yelled the only thing he could
"HAAAWKIIINS!"
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"Argh!" Embers pittered against his skin and cloak. The heat engulfing his pale body, sweat-drenched his being as the veins atop his forehead twitched and bulged. The walls collapsing and stone threatening to rain from above, Hawkins wafted the ash and smoke from his face as his sights locked on a set of rickety stairs.
Staggering through the smoke and scorched debris, Hawkins' shin knocked against a fallen barrel and he almost fell over. His cloak ruffled, a photo slipped from its chest pocket and fluttered to the floor. The magician scowled. The image of a goofy blonde infant and its adopted family huddled around a birthday cake, their smiles struck a cord in the tarot reader's chest, but this ominous sensation swelling under his skin felt uncomfortable.
"Crack!" A beam, loosened from its support, came crashing down and thudded against the back of Hawkins' skull. A light dribble of blood dripped down the nape of his neck and the magician's senses ran amok. Wheezing in unsteady and rapid beats, the flashes of his failures emerged once more, only physical pain would not rid him of this mental torment. His blade reflecting the amber flames, Hawkins hacked and slashed at his surroundings as the vision of a mighty admiral teleported around the room.
"Rah!" The sword cut through a shelf of flour, spilling the poofy contents of the paper sacks all over his person. Hawkins slumped to his knees with his hands on his head. His blade thudded against the ground as the blaze inched closer and nipped at the hems of his cloak.
"Just make it stop!" The blonde wailed. The bright display of hungry fire emphasizing his traumatic experiences tenfold, he closed his eyes and cursed over and over. He didn't want any of this, he should have left for Mistral and allowed himself to be forgotten.
The salty tears stinging his burnt skin, seconds passed as the shadow of death loomed closer and closer. The devastating inferno appeared almost welcoming, its embers and smoke swirling together to form an ashen cloak that wielded a fiery scythe. Peeking through the black smoke, was an amber smile of cruelty with a pair of serpent-like pupils that narrowed on the poor soul before it. Hawkins jumped back and landed on his ass.
His once stoic crimson, now wide in terror, stared straight into the daunting abyss that would soon send him to Davy Jone's locker. It's scythe raised, the shadow of death let out a cackle and swung.
"Waba!"
The scythe's fiery tip, inches from the magician's forehead, paused.
"Waba! Waba!"
Time froze right then and there.
"WABA!"
Hawkins blinked. That voice... there was only one baby on this earth with that voice.
"Haw..."
The shadow of death stepped back. It's devilish grin twitching to a scowl, it retracted its scythe and waited.
"HAWBINS!"
His core shook, the former pirate whipped his head back and forth in search of the voice's source.
"Thump!~" His once thundering heart had calmed to the beat of a steady river. He couldn't see Jaune, nor could he tell if the child was on the same floor. But... he could sense... something familiar? The strange feeling was gone as quickly as it had come, but it had definitely happened.
Hawkins' visage, now filled with tearful emotion, he stood himself up and straightened his broad shoulders. The shadow of death screeched, flailing its scythe in remorse for its lost victim. In an attempt to claim the soul it desired, the ashen reaper lunged with its weapon raised.
The magician stood still, the broken gears of his conscience clicking together in harmonious rhythm, the dormant devil within heard the call of its master and obeyed without question. Straw spewed from his pale skin, entwining themselves over his limbs to form a massive scarecrow well over twelve feet tall. Iron nails as long as daggers replaced his fingers, as his crimson eyes flared to life.
"DEMON FAAACE!" His roar beckoned through the windmill, shaking the establishment as his massive transformation almost touched the ceiling. The menacing ashen reaper now appeared as nothing more than a pesky insect. With a mighty howl, Hawkins tore apart the smoke-based illusion until only he remained.
"Huff... Huff..." His straw, ruined by the flames and embers, shed off his person and clumped around his boots. For a moment, all seemed well despite being in a roasting building veering on the brink of destruction.
"Waba! Waba!"
The calls of peril ringing his ears, the magician set his sights on the staircase once more with conviction.
/-/
"Stay close you two!" Ms. Berry, a slim Faunus with a pig's tail who also happened to be Penelope's mother, ushered the kids between herself and Carla.
"C-Carla, please watch your step!" Wailed a Faunus with ram horns.
Stuck on the fourth floor of the windmill, Carla and a handful of women along with Jaune and Trifa, stood huddled in a corner as the surrounding flames devoured the walls and floorboards.
"Keep your heads low and avoid the smoke! We can't stay on this floor, if we do we're all done for!" The old farmer snapped.
Her clothes ruined by embers and ash, Carla untied her apron and wrapped it over her shoulders.
"Carla, watch out!" A stray ceiling beam broke from its position and spiraled to the crowd below. The cow Faunus managed to jump to safety, but the impact from the beam caused the floor to teeter making all those on it lose their balance.
"Waaah!" Trifa yelped as Jaune rolled from her grasp and the protection of the others and tumbled to the end of the room.
"Waba! Waba!" The baby cried in pain with a thick lump on his head.
"J-Jaune!" The ladies cried in despair.
"No!" Carla leaped from her position, running across the burnt floorboards, and tripped a few feet from Jaune. Hot splinters nicking her shins and palms, the old farmer hissed in pain but reached out for her grandchild.
"Waba! Waba!" Fear etched on his face, Jaune bawled and tried to crawl to his guardian.
"Kroosh!"
Another cry of alarm, Trifa, and the other girls watched in horror as the windmill's great spur wheel broke free from its supports and fell to the story below. It banged against the floor, shifting the balance again as it lodged itself in front of an open doorway that led to the lower stairs.
"T-That was our last chance of escape!" Shrieked a Faunus with dog ears. As the other exits were either engulfed in flames or dismantled beyond repair.
"D-Don't give up you idiots!" Carla panted and raced back to the others. She gave Jaune to Trifa and made her swear to never let go of him again.
The cow Faunus then joined the other women as they gathered to one side of the spur wheel and pushed. Grunting and huffing, the piece of machinery proved too great to dislodge. Despair gripping her heart like iron bands, Carla continued to push even after the other girls gave up.
"W-We're done for..." Trifa wept and hugged Jaune in a bear-crushing embrace.
"Don't you dare say that!" Carla spat. Her temper skyrocketing, she dashed over to the kids and clamped her palms on Trifa's shoulders. She shook the bluenette violently, screaming at her to not lose hope as her voice cracked and became raspy.
The other adults turned away. They'd never seen Sam's wife so frantic, and it scared them to see her furious face soaked with tears.
"But we are gonna die!" Trifa screamed back, thus inciting another screaming fest between her and Carla with Jaune caught in the middle.
The bastions of her sanity near the breaking point, Carla shot ramrod straight and lunged at the great spur wheel that blocked their freedom. Shoving turned to clawing, to the point that her dulled nails drew blood.
"Why won't you move?!" Carla cursed. She'd failed Sam in giving him the gift of children and having a family, and the moment she'd been given a second chance, she was about to pay the price for her shortcomings with death.
The flames and smoke choking her lungs, Carla's life flashed before her eyes. From the time she was a little girl keen on making her parents proud, to the rebellious stages of slipping away with Sam on late night dates, to the happiest moment of her marriage followed by a wonderful honeymoon at the famous Vacuo oasis resort.
"Please, Oum, I've lived a full life, but the women behind me and the innocent children, haven't had such a pleasure. If I have to die today, please let them survive..." Carla forced out a final tear as she cried herself dry. The remorseful droplet slinking down her cheek and neck, Carla backed away from the blocked doorway and slumped against the wall.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The cow Faunus' ears twitched as did those of the other Faunus with enhanced hearing. Were those footsteps? And were they coming from behind the blocked door?! A glimmer of steel peeking through the smoke and fire, a familiar stoic cry echoed through the room.
"Straw sword!"
Yelping, Carla and the others jumped back as the great spur wheel was whacked across the room. The old farmer couldn't believe it. She expected the fire brigade or any other being of authority, even Sam came to mind before him. Her expectations dashed, to her bewildered delight, a tall man adorned in a ruffled cloak stood firm and proud as his crimson eyes surveyed the area.
"H-H-Hawkins?!" Carla shouted with a hand over her mouth.
His breaths ragged, the magician locked glanced at the old woman, and offered a curt nod. His sights quickly darted to a trembling pair of cobalt that held a blonde tyke.
"Hawbins!" Jaune cheered, his goofy smile on full display as if he weren't in a perilous situation anymore.
His objective registered, the former pirate called on his devil fruit powers once more, however, he only lengthened his limbs which he used as a rope to tie around the waists of everyone present. The other ladies screamed in panic, unfamiliar with Hawkins' straw powers, but a scolding from Carla shut them up.
"Hah!" With a great heave, Hawkins vaulted each of them over his shoulder an back, while cradling Trifa and Jaune in a straw sling below his chest. All accounted for, the magician turned to the staircase, only for the wall's supports to begin their full collapse. His teeth grit so hard, Carla could've sworn she heard a tooth crack.
Undeterred by the risks of death, Hawkins sped down the crumbling staircase as stones and lumber rained from above. Whenever a section of debris threatened his passengers, Hawkins would shift abruptly to take the hit instead. Past the second floor, the path to freedom grew ever closer. With a mighty roar, the magician swapped all those he carried to his back as he used his front as a battering ram.
"KROOSH!"
Through the billowing smog of ash, smoke, and fire, Hawkins threw Carla and the others to safety. Firemen swarmed the rescued lot, hurrying them out of danger as a few others rushed to aid the weakened blonde man.
"Oi, look out!" Cried the head office as the sails of the windmill dislodged from their rotary clamps. Escape futile, the firefighters raised their hands in a futile attempt to protect themselves and the man beneath them.
"C-C-Clank!" The blazing wooden mechanism never touched the ground. Blinking and tilting their heads, the firefighters cheered as a violet hue encircled the fiery piece as a silver-eyed huntress blitzed to the scene.
"H-Hawkins!" Summer shouted.
His face and body smeared with ash, scratches, and burns, the red reaper ordered the fire brigade to retreat as she snatched the magician by his ruffled collar. Gone in a flurry of rose petals, Hawkins was rushed to an ambulance where doctors stood by with medical supplies in hand.
"Thanks for the save, Glynda!" Summer beamed as she passed the witch who rolled her eyes with an equally bright smile.
The next time Hawkins would wake, his surroundings would be very familiar.
*Lost And Found Arc. End.*