"I'm going to kill that bitch!" Kris hissed through clenched teeth as she picked up Kagami's sword and bracer. "I know it was her!" She whipped her body around and pointed towards her two other friends with the sword. "I know it was Asher!"
Still half asleep, Elise rubbed her face while her eyes adjusted to the morning light. "What... are you going on about?" She tilted her head.
"I think she's saying Asher kidnapped Kagami." Cheyenne said while carefully taking the bracer and sword and holding onto them. "Guess her fathers don't have as much control over her as they thought."
The brunet slowly realized what was going on. She flashed her teeth and tensed up. "Where do you think they went? They could have been gone all night! How early did we go to bed?!" She quickly looked around. "Should we tell her dads, would that help any?!"
"I say we just go find that whore ourselves!" Kris held up her fists. "Pummel her into the sands until she tells us where Kagami is!"
"I'm right here actually." Kagami spoke up.
All three girls jumped.
"Hehe, sorry." The jadette smiled as she slipped between them. She had one of McCree's hats and looked tired. It had been a long night. With a grin, she placed her elbow on Elise's shoulder and leaned onto her. "Howdy." She winked while tipping the hat.
Looking over at her, Elise froze. She noticed her leader's eyes were a blazing red and her teeth flickered in the early morning sunlight. She went to speak but her voice cracked. She went silent. She didn't even breathe. Her face turned a deep shade of red just before she disappeared and a cloud of smoke that trailed back into their tent.
Kagami quietly laughed while standing back up straight.
Cheyenne furrowed her brow and tilted her head. She stared for a moment before her eyes widened. "Kagami!" She snapped.
Blinking, the jadette's eyes returned to normal. "What? I thought it was funny."
"It's not-" She cut herself off and quickly stepped over. She reached up and snatched her leader by the ear. "I expect this behavior from Kris! Not you!" She pulled her along to scold her.
Moving past them, Asher grinned and took her father's hat back. She turned around and placed it on her head with a chuckle. "I thought it was funny."
Kris stared blankly at her for a moment before baring her teeth. "You! What did you-?!"
"Oh, quiet, Red Hot." She waved her off. "I've had enough yellin' for one night. Don't need more from you. Just go play with your friends or whatever. I'm going to go see what's being made for breakfast." She started walking away.
The short redhead stared off at the endless sea of sand. Her eyebrow twitched aggressively and she let out a frustrated shout that made Ravagers stir and fly away across the horizon. She couldn't wait till she got to Vacuo. At least things would make sense there. Though she was still questioning if they would ever make it there.
Sitting under the harsh noon sun near the edge of the camp, Hori calmly breathed in and out. He waited motionlessly until he felt the presence of another's aura. A man in white robes turned tanned from the sand and short curly blonde hair approached him. Beside him was a man with a blue ponytail.
"Mr. Suashi." Hori stood. "I know you are a messenger boy, but I did not expect you to come to Vacuo. I figured Ms. Sanguine would have sent Mr. Lightheart."
"Apollo is busy." The blonde reached up and scratched his head. Sand fell out of his hair. "He and Ares were meant to come and collect the pests."
"But Sanguine sent Hermes and I instead." The blue haired man spoke up.
"Right." Hori nodded. "And who are you?"
"A new hire. Berry." Hermes started walking forward. "Sanguine wanted to test him. We see if he's worth his pay today. Take me to them." He demanded.
"Told you we should have ran away." Kris said with a glare. She was sitting on the ground in front of a crate with... her hands tied.
"Kris." Cheyenne took a deep breath and looked over. "Shut up."
"All of you shut up." Asher crouched down in front of the team. She had a revolver out and held it up next to her shoulder. "It's just for show. Now play along."
"Would be easier to play along if we knew what game we're playing." Kagami glared up. She then grunted as a foot pushed against her back.
"You are playing prisoner." Smoke narrowed his eyes while pushing his body weight against her. "It is not that hard."
Black shoved him off her. He shook his head and adjusted his belt. "Oum Brothers help me. I'm about to cross the devil."
"No." McCree corrected him with a chuckle. "You're about to cross the woman that killed the devil."
From the rooftops, Snape let out a whistle and pointed.
With a deep breath, Holland pulled his shotgun close. "Are you guys sure about this? These girls really aren't worth this much trouble, right?"
Black gave him a look. Holland retreated behind Hawkes.
Despite trying to lead the way, Hori was a few steps behind Hermes. The blonde man stopped in front of team MACE and looked them up and down. "Well, nice job, Troy. You always did get the job done. Persephone knew you wouldn't let her down when she asked you to catch them."
Hermes crouched down in front of Kagami. He stared. His eyes met hers.
She swallowed hard and shifted back a bit. This man's aura was unbelievable. It was as strong and as powerful as Baren's. But while hers was kind and caring in nature, his aura had a very malice intent. Of course he had to be Sanguine's ally. He just had to be an enemy.
He scoffed when he saw her withdrawal and quickly stood up. "Alright then. Your payment for catching them, Troy." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch. He tossed it over.
Black snatched it. He opened it up and glanced inside at the gold coins. He tied it back up and slid it away. "Pleasure doing business." He tipped his hat. "Just tell her not to call me for a favor again. I'm retired."
"You can't ever retire from this life." Hermes shook his head. "You die living it." With that, he looked over his shoulder at Berry. "Grab two of them and we'll start heading back."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now." He stepped in between the two and MACE. "Whacha think you're doin'?"
"Excuse me?" Hermes flashed him a glare.
"Evelyn told me to capture them in her note." Black crossed his arms. "That's what I did." He narrowed his eyes.
"They're strong and can be forced to do plenty of labor around here." McCree added. "You'd think we'd give up something like that for free?"
"Not to mention how much fun we could have when they're not working." Holland grinned. "I mean, just look at them. Four beautiful girls." He quietly laughed.
"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Hermes bared his teeth while eyeing the armed men. "You got your damn payment. Hand over the kids."
"That's gonna cost you and Evelyn more." Black placed his hands on his hips. "I already did my job. I captured them and they ain't going to bother her anymore. A deal's a deal, messenger boy."
"This was not the arrangement!" He raised his voice.
Kagami shifted and pulled against the ropes around her wrists instinctively. Elise took note of this and moved a little closer.
"What's up?" She whispered.
The jadette gulped and bit her lip. "We never should have gotten involved with Sanguine..."
"Oh but it was." Asher snickered while twirling her revolver. "You wanted them caught and out of the way. Well they're caught and out of the way. You can leave now."
"If you want, perhaps we could talk about the arrangement." Hawkes spoke up with his quiet and gentle voice. "New terms. But with the CCT System still down, that will be a lot of running back and forth on your part."
"Tch." Hermes growled before exhaling. "I see. Well, I'll inform Persephone of this new information. I'll be back for them." He swiftly turned around on his heels and started walking away.
"Better hope they don't find a way to escape by then." Black called out. "They're trouble makers. Would be a real shame if Evelyn had to pay me again to capture them and then pay for them."
Hermes stopped dead in his tracks. He took a few deep breaths before he continued walking. "Berry! Let's go!" He shouted.
"Right." The blue haired man quickly jogged up next to him. "Um, what are we supposed to do now exactly...?" He asked quietly.
"Nothing. Those gold coins don't have any lien value anyway. The only thing Persephone has lost is a strong ally. It's a shame. I heard the stories of Troy Black's achievements. He's a man not even she should try to fight." He sighed. "But," he perked up and grinned, "we have gained very important information." He fixed his robes. "Team MACE is in Vacuo."
Watching the two men leave, Black eyed his husband. "How many men are needed to deliver a message?" He asked.
"Just one." McCree spun his revolver around and took aim.
"Wait!" Kagami pushed herself up slightly.
Before she had a chance to act, McCree squeezed the trigger. There was recoil, something flew through the air, but no bullet fired. Up ahead, Berry suddenly stumbled. He took a few steps before collapsing.
Kagami took a few deep breaths before looking up at McCree. His left eye had glazed over with a bright yellow crosshair over it. He blinked and it returned to normal. His aura fizzled a bit before breaking.
"Deadshot." Smoke clarified with a smile at the looks team MACE had. "He sends his aura out in an invisible bullet that will kill his target instantly."
Rolling his eyes, Black knelt down and started to untie Kagami's ropes. "I don't expect you to understand. I'm not even going to try and make ya. But we have to keep our image otherwise, well..." He looked over his shoulder at Hermes. The blonde didn't even bother and kept walking away from his fallen partner. "Well, ya know." He stood up.
"No. I don't know." She rubbed her wrists a little before going over to untie her friends.
"You think we'll be alright?" McCree asked while walking away with his husband.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it." He adjusted his hat. "We'll be just fine. We got each other. That's all we need." He smiled.
"That we do." He smiled back. Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "That we do."
Snape, Smoke and Holland immediately left the four girls while Hawkes went to prepare a snack. Aiding her in freeing her friends, Hori neatly wrapped the ropes up.
"See, all was fine." Asher flashed a smile. "Just had to trust us."
"Yeah... never again." Kris growled.
"Oh come on. What's your problem?" She held out her arms.
As the two redheads started shouting back and forth, Cheyenne shook her head. She then noticed the look Kagami had. Her brow furrowed. "Hey, you alright?"
She glanced up. "Uh, um, yeah. I'm fine." She nodded.
"No, no you saw something. What was it?" Elise stepped over.
Kagami exhaled. She eyed where Hermes had walked off into the sandy horizon. "I didn't see anything. I felt it. That guy's aura... it..." She trailed off. "It was ungodly."
Well it's been a hot minute. Life happens what else can we do. I started writing this chapter then stopped in the middle so I don't fully know if this is exactly how I imagined/wanted it to be but it is what it is. I hope it's decent enough.