Act 2 Chapter 3: This for That

The men encircled the motley crew. Squall smirked at the large man before him and was ready to strike. Simon grabbed the blade and lowered it down while leaning in to whisper to Squall. "Are you crazy?! If we want them to help us, we can't go picking fights like this!" Simon muttered as he kept his grasp on the blade. It rattled a bit as Squall tried to raise it back up and break free from Simon, but he was noticeably holding back. Squall scoffed and put his sword away after a short while and crossed his arms.

The man laughed yet again with his men following suit. "So, finally coming around? Well regardless, we can't have you disturbing the Mayor at this time. He's a busy man, you see."

Squall clicked his tongue and looked around him to size up those around him. "And this welcoming party is your way of keeping the 'riff raff' out? Or are we THAT special?"

"Im sure he... is just doing his job! Right, Simon?" Tea said with a weakened smile.

Simon knew she was already pushing herself doing this much so he had to try and calmly and quickly diffuse the situation at hand. "Yea, he is." Simon kept his head turned to Tea and looked over his shoulder to see what Squall was planning. "Let me handle this, Squall. Don't try anything just yet." The 2 traded glances before Simon finally met the gaze of the man. "First things first, what's your name big fella?"

The man leaned forward with a handshake, his fingers were rather long but his leather armored suit and mask made it hard to tell what was underneath. "The name's Goud. Im in service to the Mayor directly. I keep any... unwanted guests from interfering with his hard work." Goud leaned back and motioned his hand around to the overgrowth and large roots assaulting the streets and buildings. "Im sure you can see that we have a LOT on our hands already. And if I stand correct-" He stopped and his men readied their weapons. Simon held his hand back to shield Tea, while Squall kept his calm stoic pose while sighing. "You lot came from that Navy ship! And sense you ain't wearing navy uniforms... you are the escaped pirates that my men saw earlier!"

A sweat bead ran down Simon's head and he gave a nervous smile to Goud. Tea gave a shocked face and pointed and Simon saying, "you didn't tell me you were a pirate?! That's so cooooool!"

Everyone fell on their faces at this comment, and Squall turned in embarrassment. "You're just now figuring that out?!" He pulled out his sword and took on an offensive stance. "Looks like your way ain't working Simeon. Now its my turn!"

Simon grabbed Tea and picked her up, jumping over one row of the men as they fired at him. Squall, in one swift move, slashed all around him and took out almost all the men with little effort. After making it a bit ways away, Simon set Tea down and went to go help Squall. The men laid bloodied on the ground but still alive. "H-Hey! You didn't have to hurt them so badly!"

Squall scoffed and sheathed his blade. "Anyone dumb enough to point a weapon my way had better have the guts to back it up." He shot Simon a glare and crossed his arms again. The men slowly stood back up but Simon held out his hand to signal them to stand down.

Goud remained unscathed, only dusting off the mere scratches made on his suit. "Not bad, for riff raff." Goud raised his hand into the air and snapped his fingers. Rows of men appeared on the rooftops nearby, all armed with rifles. "But your luck has run out, it would appear." Simon and Squall look around at the countless masks facing them. Their fingers at the ready to pull the trigger. "We have no tolerance for your type. You strike down my men, even after I gave you the option to leave? That's pirates for you."

Simon held up his hands, his sleeves sliding down to reveal the cuffs he had kept hidden away. Squall caught a glimpse of them and smiled to himself before turning away to face the other side of riflemen. "Look, we honestly just want to get a cure for the girl. She's sick. Your doctors, if you could just take us to them... we would be out your hair, honest."

Goud looked over at Tea who was breathing heavier than before but trying to make her way to her pair of comrades. He scratched his belly and gave a solemn, "no, I don't think so." He signaled to his men to open fire and lines of smoke trailed down the rooftops. The pellets sparked across the streets as Tea looked on in horror. Squall swiftly pulled out his sword and deflected the pellets. Simon used his cuffs as shields to stop the onslaught and noticed that with each successful deflection, his wrists seemed to breathe easier. "What are you fools doing?! Take. Them. OUT!" Goud shouted while stomping his foot, but his guard was down for just the right moment.

Simon rolled to the side, away from the shots and flung his right cuff hurling toward Goud's face and knocking him off balance. His men seemed to hold their fire after seeing this, but this only gave Squall and even easier opening to counterattack. His blade spun in his hand rapidly, gathering a gale of wind and collecting the fallen pellets around him. He spun in a circle before unleashing the gale upon the line of riflemen above him while shouting, "Surging Talon!" The gale and pellets tore thru the men tossing them about like ragdolls. "Don't worry, you won't die... but I'll sure make sure you never raise another puny peashooter to ME again."

Goud let out a snarl and charged toward Simon, who stayed knelt. As Goud got closer he readied his arms for a wide grab to catch Simon and subdue him, but when he went in for the catch- he was empty handed. He looked around where he last saw Simon, but no-one was there. A sudden ringing echoed thru Goud's ears as he was bashed in the back of the head from above. Simon landed behind Goud, dropping the second cuff on the ground as mist rolled off his body.

The remaining men hopped down and switched to their shock batons. Squall and Simon took the opportunity to run for the Mayor's office, Simon grabbed Tea and carried her with him. They could hear the marching footsteps echoing behind them. As they got closer to the main building, Squall suggested that they not head straight to the front door, as it could be a trap. Simon agreed and they cut into an alley nearby and searched for another way in thru the side. The building was sizeable but not big enough to take long to circle around the back.

They cut the corner and ran into a rather unassuming man who was startled by the sudden intrusion. "W-who are you guys? What are you doing here?" The man asked as he clutched his paperwork close. "If you're looking for the Mayor, he's in his meeting at the m-moment and-"

"Shut it," Squall interrupted. "This meeting is about to get cut short. Take us to 'em, we have important business to take care of." He point his thumb over his shoulder toward Simon who was carrying Tea.

"You gotta work on your people skills!" Simon scolded Squall as he stepped up to the man. "He is telling the truth though. The girl is sick and needs a doctor. We'll do anything to be able to talk to the Mayor before he leaves."

The man didn't take long to nod and open the door. "Follow me," he said as he stepped inside. Simon and Squall followed and Tea observed silently. "I don't believe I've seen you all around. My name is Orion, might I ask yours?" The others introduced themselves as they continued thru the halls. "I see, so you wish to speak to Kernel. He is... rather tough to talk to... but if you show him Tea in her condition, I would say he'd be willing to help..."

They stopped before the Mayor's office. A silence covered the hallway. Orion knocked thrice on the large ominous door. A raspy voice allowing them entry. The door creaked open and a gust of wind rushed thru to lighten the atmosphere. A man sat at his desk with a book close to his face. The group stepped in lined in front of the large desk, lined with various pictures, files, and empty food trays. Simon glanced down at the book the man was reading. It was an issue of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure... no wonder he looked so menacing. The man closed his book and set it down gently. "So," the man looked at those before him. He saw Tea breathing heavily, then to Simon who was visibly concerned. His eyes ending on Squall who had a death stare on his face, quickly looking away. "You all have interrupted my meeting... what is it that you want?"

"You call this a meeting? Looks like a nerd-"

Simon rushed to stop Squall from finishing his sentence. "W-we are here for the girl... she's sick. We don't have a boat, and heard you have one that can travel between the islands." Simon looked down at Tea who was barely able to keep one eye open. "Listen, I know it may be a bit much... but she doesn't deserve this. If she can be saved, we have to try something!"

The man looked back in his chair and turned to the window that overlooked the sea. A fog was creeping in over the distance. "You and everyone else on this island..." His voice grew stern as he continued to look out. "I know of this girl. Her mother had a similar sickness to her as well. And seeing how you brought me such a request, you must not know-"

The air seemed to stop. Everyone could tell what was coming and wished it didn't. "W-what is it? Tell us!" Simon pleaded as he nervously held Tea close.

The man turned back to them with a serious face. "There is no cure for her sickness... same with her mother. Her bloodline is cursed to meet such a sad fate." He stood up and pointed down to the ocean. Simon walked over to see what the man was pointing at and saw the boat bobbing in the water not far from the building. However, there were heavily armed men guarding it. "There is my prized boat, it will not leave this island without my permission. If you don't believe me, there are a few doctors on the island doing research into our... far more important issue. If you can convince one of them to help you, then I'll consider letting you ride with them when they depart." The man sat back down and tapped his finger on his book.

Simon grit his teeth and loosened his grip on the sickly girl. Squall sighed and crossed his arms again. "So, you want to make us work for it..." he tipped his hat up and shifted his weight to one leg. "Fine, where are they?"

Orion placed his paperwork on the desk and checked his watch. "Around this time... they should be near the south end of the island. They've been slowly working their way to the end of the island from this town to see what they could find. I can roughly mark where they are on a map for you, if you would like." Orion pulled a map from his pocket and a marker. "Come with me, I'll explain everything to you along the way." Simon followed behind Orion but Squall stayed in the room with the man.

"You guys can go, Im going to talk to our 'friend' here myself." Squall shut the door behind Simon, who had little time to react.

"Don't do anything stupid! We don't need you causing any more..." Simon could feel Squall ignoring him thru the door and walked away. Orion led Simon to his side office, which was effectively the size of a large closet. "Is this...?"

"Yes, my office. Im a data clerk for the Mayor. Im sorry he didn't introduce himself. His name is Kernel Pops... I," Orion took off his mask to reveal his face. He had short wavy hair and a clean shaved face. "I am Orion Pops, his son. I apologize for his crudeness. The stress of his position has really weighed on him as of late. But he means well." Orion laid the map down and instructed Simon on where to go to find the doctors and circled the location they were likely to be. "If you don't find them by sun down, its likely they have already collected what they needed and will leave." He capped off his marker and placed it back into his pocket. "You could wait here, you know. However, without a mask, you'll fall victim to the effects of the fog that comes out at night."

Simon was following along until that last revelation which caused him to almost turn stone-faced. "The what...?"

"The fog," Orion repeated as he hung his mask on the hook by his chair. "The tree releases a fog after the sun goes down that seems to cause various health issues. The masks have a filter on them that can help minimize the effects but it isn't perfect. The doctor's made them for us to use, but the filters are a scarce resource given out to the Mayor, the Roditore militia, and I."

"That militia... I think we ran into them earlier. What's their deal?"

Orion sighed and shook his head. "They came with the doctors, almost overnight. They promised the safety of the mayor while the doctors examined the island. I suspect they are up to more than they let on... I'd watch out for them if I were you. Being an outsider must have them on edge."

"I see," Simon said as he sat Tea down for a moment to rest his arms. "Can you watch her while I go get these doctors? I know its a big ask but I could get there in no time if Im free to move on my own." Simon stretched a bit and limbered up for his approaching travel.

Orion agreed and left to the next room to get her a bench that she could lay on in the time being, and a blanket. "I'll give you my baby transponder snail to stay in contact. Or if you run into any issues." He handed over the snail that donned a small helmet over both its eyes that resembled Orion's mask. "Be safe Simon. I haven't met you long, but I can tell you're a good man at heart."

"Thanks, Orion. I really appreciate that." Simon pocketed the snail and made way for the door, but stopped when he heard rushing foot just outside the door and whispers of men searching for him and Squall. "I-I almost forgot my partner, haha. Let me go get him-" Simon ran back to the Mayor's office with haste.

Back in the office...

"So that's your angle?" The man continued to tap his finger on his book. "And what exactly do I get out of this? You're expecting me to poke the hornet's nest and not want compensation?"

Squall kept a solemn face as he thought deeply of an answer. "As long as I can speak to Vegapunk, I could care less what you want..."

The man let out a groan and turned to face the window again. The fog in the distance was staying in position. "You think you can strong arm whatever you want? And those consequences won't find you?" The man shot Squall an angered look, staring dead into his eyes. Squall didn't break stance but definitely felt the pressure of the situation upon him. "Villains like you are only concerned with yourself. Know this, you may think you can go free and do as you please, but your sins will come to strike you down where you are weak. Only then will you feel what you have done."

Squall was ready to lash out at the disrespect he just received but Simon slammed thru the door and lifted Squall off his feet. "H-Hey what do you think you're doing Simeon?!"

"No time to explain," Simon huffed and puffed. Footsteps echoed thru the halls, a mass of them. "We gotta go!" Simon swung the window open and tossed Squall out first. "Sorry for all this," he bowed apologetically before leaping out behind his partner in crime.

The man stood up and watched them run toward the forest of trees. He thought to himself for a moment before sighing and shutting his window. He sat down in his chair and looked down at his book. The mass of feet entering his office and searching all around for the intruders. After some time, they stopped and made way for a larger figure to enter the room. The figure ducked under the doorway and loomed over the Mayor's desk, who's owner met the gaze of the figure. "So, is everyone going to barge into my office unannounced?" The door slammed shut behind the figure.