Psychics and Fairies and Demons! (Oh my!) Part 2: Siren Masquerade

This is a continuation of an earlier post I made regarding the Psychics, made back in 2014. I'm getting the urge to finish what I started regarding these guys!

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Balloons were soaring and crowds were roaring in Augusta Central Park today, the sun shining bright on the tall, marble fountain that stood in the center of it. Kids were squealing as several women, dressed up as fairies, gave them ice cream and hot dogs. Several of the women gathered around the fountain, wearing similar blue dresses and blue wigs. TV Newscasters  were speaking to a few of them, their OHOHOHOHOHO's loud enough to startle just about anyone.

Samantha wasn't sure why her roommate, Diana, brought her out here. She could vaguely remember Diana fangirling over some local hero before dragging her out. Least it wasn't the Feywilds again. Cool as they were, the last thing they needed was to be smacked around by another one of those kraken things and earning the eternal ire of the local barista.

As she wandered around with her Sarah Sisters shirt and some shorts, she managed to get a flyer from a very kind costumed lady. "Celebrating 1 Year of Heroism: Siren Day," she read out loud, taking a moment to adjust her glasses. "Food, drinks, and talks with the hero herself! Masquerade will occur at 7 PM at the Augusta Shopping Centre." She quirked an eyebrow as she asked, "So we're celebrating this Siren thing for some reason? Who are they, anyway?"

"Only the best hero we have next to the psychics~" came a cheery, bubbly voice. Sammy turned towards the source and saw Diana running to her side, holding up several shirts, balloons, and foam wings to her friend. "Sorry I had to leave you for a bit, but look at these! And they're dirt cheap! Ah, I am one step closer to filling out my collection!"

The chubby girl frowned. "But that doesn't answer my question."

In the next moment, Diana slung the items over her arms and dramatically wrapped her arm around Sammy's neck. "Oh yes, I almost forgot! For a long, long time, Augusta suffered from robberies and burglaries at the mall and museums! Valuable gems and jewels, stolen from right under our noses! So much white collar crime and unfavorable business practices!" Her eyes twinkled as she whirled around and gestured towards the sky. "But then, out of nowhere, a heroine appeared, catching them in their acts and putting them behind bars! Even when the police and security are of no help, she always catches the criminal! And none have seen her face, making her oh-so-mysterious!"

"How do you know it's a girl, though?" Sammy asked, glancing over at the crowd gathering towards the fountain. "If they haven't seen her face, that is."

Diana waved her off. "All the criminals testified the same thing: they heard a woman's voice speaking to them, telling them to stop their deeds." A grin broke out as she said with glee, "Isn't it incredible, though?! We have our own local hero, and she's been here for a year! Heck, just the other day, she stopped some creep named 'The Shadow' from stealing this really valuable diamond! It was on the news this morning, didn't you hear?"

Samantha couldn't bring herself to look right at Diana, unable to match the hype her friend was building up. "No, actually," came the soft, embarassed reply. "I usually don't watch that sort of stuff. I think I was watching the Super Sarah Sisters Super Show when the news was on? I dunno if using Pamela Anderson to portray Sarah was the best decision but it's super good-"

"Well then, today's your lucky day~! Oooh, let's go check out those people near the fountain! I hear they're doing a special newscast about Siren's biggest fans!"

 Before Sammy could think about protesting, Diana dragged her over to the fountain, eager to overhear the ever inspiring words of fellow fans. Sammy thought they looked stunning in those dresses and wigs, but she winced when an argument between two fans over who was truly the #1 fan broke out. As Diana stared dumbfoundedly at the scene, Sammy took that moment to escape through the crowds and into a more open area, with a lot less people screaming at each other around.

 She sat her tush on a bench and let out a loud sigh. "I just don't get the hype," Sammy said out loud, putting her hands on her chin and staring at the lush greenery below her feet. "Maybe it's because I've only been here a few days... or maybe because nobody actually knows who this Siren is. It would be cool to meet her in person..."

"Trust me, meeting her in person is probably the last thing anyone sane would want to do."

"Oh, thank you, suspiciously helpful voice out of nowhere!"

Blink. Sammy turned towards the source with a wide stare: Carlos, wearing a Galaga shirt and khakis with a green hoodie tied around hips and a coffee cup in hand. He took a seat next to her and waved at her with a free hand. "Hello again. Guessing Diana's the one who brought you along for the ride?"

Sammy nodded with a frown. "It was kind of out of nowhere, but she was so excited, I didn't really say no or anything. I think I would have felt a little guilty letting her go by herself when she wanted to show it to me? But I hardly know what it's about, nevermind the person they're celebrating." She sighed as she added, "And even after they told me about them, I still don't really feel so hype about it. And it feels weird, because everybody else hypes her up to be some sort of... of..."

Carlos closed his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee before he finished, "paragon of justice, right?" Sammy stared at him. "Yeah, I understand. I don't really get it, either, but Siren just loves bathing in all the attention and I can't really stop anyone from celebrating her accomplishments. You don't have to force yourself to get excited and happy over some hero you barely know. Just think of today as 'free food and drink and dress up like a pretty fairy' day instead."

 The chubby girl smiled and winked at him. "I don't see you dressed up as a pretty fairy though, bro."

"I think Siren would drown me in the bathtub before I even touch her wardrobe. I don't even fit in her clothes, anyway!"

 "Haaaa. You kinda talk like you actually know this chick, bro!"

 Sammy was not expecting Carlos to stare at her in disbelief.

"Um... Sammy? I do know her. I'm the only reason she's even here and acting like a hero. She lives with me."

 Thank goodness Samantha didn't have any sort of drink. She was sure to spit it out in Carlos's face if she had any. "You're kidding, right?!" she shouted, eyes wide. "You actually KNOW her and-"

Carlos hastily  grabbed her and put a finger to her lips. "Ssssh, sssh, ssssssssssssh! Only a few people know that! And I don't want the whole city to know; otherwise, I'll never actually get any sleep, between people wanting autographs and Siren gloating about all the fans she has! And she's a little, ah...  special. And not in the mental illness or psychic kind of way. Don't tell anyone else about this, please. Especially not Diana!"

After some furious nodding from Sammy, Carlos released his grip and leaned back on the bench, although he didn't break eye contact with his friend. "On a different note, how's the whole 'oh crap I can shoot lightning bolts' thing coming along? Any sign of it popping back up?"

Sammy shrugged and replied, "No go, broseph. Like, I tried giving it a whirl or two back at home but I couldn't even get a spark! Hell, even when I was gettin hype as hell about my games, all I could really manage was a few sparks that didn't do much other than cause static and shiz."

"So the normal thing for Alphas to go through, then. I wouldn't reccomend forcing it; psychic powers are finicky at first and usually take a while to actually control."

"But you said that Kenny dude was an Alpha and he had some control over it!"

"Only because he had a bit of practice. And you saw it fizz out at one point, didn't you? Alpha level psychics are just-realized psychics. Even if they do have some control over their powers, it's more likely to backfire and not work at all when you need it to." The elder psychic put a finger on his forehead and closed his eyes. "The way my mentor explained it is that in the beginning stages, it takes a lot of concentration to use one's powers... that, and a certain stimulus that varies from person to person. For one, it could be knowing that their loved ones are in danger. For others, it could be... I don't know, 'BUT THEN I'LL RUN OUT OF CHOCOLATE' or something." He looked down at the ground and sighed, "I don't know, I'm not the greatest at explaining weird things like this. In short, you just have to find that one thing that amps you up. No pun intended."

Sammy couldn't resist giggling at the pun before looking up at her friend with a grin. "Thanks, bro! I'll keep that in mind. Maybe later, you can actually tell me more about this psychic shindig thingy?"

Carlos smiled back, finishing off the last bit of coffee he had before using his powers to toss it in the proper recepticle. "Sure thing. It might be a lot to take in, and there's someone who can explain it better than I can. Don't know about tonight, though; It may be my day off, but I'm sure Diana might drag you to the Masquerade. So unless you wouldn't mind me babbling at you while everybody's all dressed up-"

"Bro. Bro. Bro. Like, BRO." Sammy could hardly resist grabbing Carlos, a spark in her eyes... and sparks coming out of her hands. "I'd definitely like to hang out and talk about all this shit! I mean, it's so weird, but so COOL, and I'm somehow involved in it! Me, with psychic powers! And I want to get up to speed and help you guys out with weird shit and all! Besides, if nothing else, we could play Last Legend V together or something!"

"Then it's settled: Meet you at the Shopping Centre at 7 PM! I mmmmmight bring Siren along; not like anybody could tell the real thing in a crowd of similar looking people. Then you can see for yourself whether or not you think she's worth the hype."

As Carlos got up and left, Sammy resisted the urge to yell out in delight. Waiting a few, long hours would be tough, but it would be worth it to hang out with someone she could at least sort of relate to in the sea of so many strange faces.

It's Raining Here.

Rain.

They always hated rain.

Whenever rain happened, bad things followed. It gets all dark and gloomy, and the radio keeps talking about all these car accidents on the roads. Everybody gets umbrellas out and has to fight against the winds and try not to get wet. And being wet meant being cold and uncomfortable and super soggy.

Most importantly, rain always meant that mom and dad were arguing again.

This time, they could hear beer bottles being opened and dad screaming over it. "You're turning into your damn father!" they could hear from the stairs where they played with dollies on motorcycles. "It's ridiculous how much booze a woman like you can put down. You're becoming an utter slob, too!"

"Shut up," they heard a slurred, feminine voice say. "It's only my second pack. And who's the slob? You don't even bother washing dishes when you finish making a mess on them!"

"That's nothin' compared to the stack of dirty laundry you leave around for the guests to see! I swear, if I see one more dirty sock-"

"Well, how about that fucking garbage you leave around the TV, huh? All those bags of Cheetoes and bottles of Pepsi aren't leavin' a good impression, either."

"Don't change the subject! What I'm getting at is that you're a filthy, disgusting alcoholic! You keep telling me it'll get better, it'll get better, no worries, but you just sit there and do nothing! Absolutely nothing! You wasted four years of your life getting a bachelors and you don't even bother to get a job!"

"What about you? You're no better. You get yours and you get your ass stuck in retail. You can barely even pay rent!"

"With YOU being a drain on my life, what did you expect? That everything would come out smelling like daisies?!?"

On and on, over and over. It happened a lot,but it always seemed to get worse on rainy days. This time, they could hear the sound of something breaking. Their hands trembled as they tried to focus on their dolls, pretending that they were a part of a motorbike gang. Maybe they rode the streets and gave starving kids ice cream. Or steak. Steak was nice. Not the one mom makes, though. Those were slimy and chewy. Kind of like how they imagined eating a car tire would be like.

The yelling became louder. Their hands trembled. They placed the dolls down, bringing their hands up to their ears. Imagine a happy place, they told themselves. Someplace really happy. An ice cream parlor in the middle of an island, wind brushing against their skin, sitting in a hot tub for longer than 15 minutes with sunglasses on...

"-I can't even belive how I even fell in love with a woman like you-"

Sunglasses? Yes, sunglasses. And flowers around their neck. A horse with a giant leaf in its mouth, waving it to fan them. Sun smiling down on them. Everything was fine-

"-bet you couldn't even pay child support if I left you-"

Everything was fine. Just sweating from the heat, that's all. Wow, so really, really hot. Bring another glass of water, horse. Yes, that's good. Lovely. Mm, tastes good-

"-ME? Take care of... No, you're out of your damn mind!"

Tastes... tastes really good. You're a good horse. Yes, yes you are a good horse. Please don't go. Please don't leave.

"It's not like I wanted the damn kid in the first place, but NO, your backup plan fucking FAILED, and now we're STUCK-"

Their heart stopped. Everything seemed to stop in that moment.

They ran. They didn't even know they could run so fast. Ran, ran, ran. It was too much. They were too much. Everything was too much.

Wasn't there a mountain? They heard it from the other kids at school. That it was cursed. That everybody who went up there was doomed to never return.


Yes, let's go there, they told themselves. Let's go, even if it takes forever.

After all... being gone would be better than staying home.

Spitfire

Dawn was possibly the worst time to wake up and go places. Streetlights were lit up, shining down on the streets, with morning dew settled on the potted plants that sat outside and survived the summer heat. Aside from that, though, nothing was open. The neon lights were shut off this early, laying dormant until the sun set; there was hardly anyone out, most of them staying in and snoozing their little lives away.

It was the always the time that Frank got out of bed and got all his necessities done. If you're gonna run a diner, you needed to open up early for those who wanted a bite of an egg sandwich before biking or driving their butts to work to work their 8 hours. Early bird gets the worm and all that. It had it's downsides, though: to be anywhere near functional, he'd have to prep up a coffee kettle, wait at the table and drum his fingers until he heard the coffee boil, and pour himself an entire cup to be barely functional. Repeat for half of another cup to be completely awake. Frank was damn sure that the dark brew was going to kill him faster than the cigs would, but it was a necessary evil at this point.

In about 30 minutes, he was ready to roll, with a silver pistol holstered on his side. Frank closed the door behind him as he left and walked down the sidewalk,  keeping under the streetlights whenever possible. He passed by brick and wood apartments, the plain janes in a city full of ritz. Passed by rival diners, with their ever familiar yellow and red logos sitting outside. Passed by fast food restaurants, with the few early morning cars lined up like a conga line, drivers ready to order a bite and get on the road. A cool breeze  blew by him, rustling his hair and clothes, a welcome feeling when you live way out in the desert. Strip joints were unusually quiet, and there was the occasional mutant sitting outside, like those with giant hands and others with  eyes all over their faces, having a smoke or just enjoying the outdoors.

Quiet, overall. Frank liked quiet.

Wasn't quiet for long, though, as he heard a soft chuckle coming from one of the alleyways, He glanced over, hand moving automatically to the holster, index finger on the cylinder.  He could hear the footsteps of two, three... four people, and the sound of a pipe being dragged across the ground.

 As the group of men started surrounding him, Frank studied them further: one looked like a rat-nosed punk, 'round five feet tall. Another, 5'4'' and looked like he got run over by the ugly truck, with a face only a mother could love. Third guy looked like he was the leader, bit shorter than the ugly one, but with a fierce look in his eye, a lion-like mane of hair around him. And the last was a big guy, bald like a cue ball, and a tower of beef and muscle. All of them wore matching leather jackets and black clothes; cue ball head had the pipe, leader had a pistol, and Rat had a bat.

 "Let's cut to the chase," the lion said, staring Frank right in the eyes. "Hand over all you have, and maybe we won't hurt you."

 Frank scoffed at him, not even flinching at his words. "How about this, kid," he said. "How about you go back home and fuck yourselves before you guys tick off the wrong guy?"

 He was sure he plucked a nerve, as now all of them were glaring at them, Leader pointing the gun at his forehead. "Cut the crap, bud, and hand it all over! Or I'll shoot!"

 Eyes locked on each other, neither man daring to look away.

 "Try me."

 Franky saw Lion's shaky grip and took advantage, dodging the bullet that flew out from the barrel. He drew his own pistol and put his finger on the trigger, eyes on the gun now. Bang. Gun flew out of the Leader's hand, out of his reach. Cueball  heaved up the iron pole and tried to smash it into his chest, but Frank rolled out of the way just in time. The big brute kept on swingin, hardly giving him a moment to get back up on his feet. Cueball was getting tired after a few swings, and Frankie took that moment to get up and try shooting his weapon out of his hands.  Guy had a strong grip, and he managed to get a hit on the ex-mobster, sending him reeling back. Rat and Ugly took their chance to gang up on him and land a few bat swings and punches while they were at it, laughing as blow after blow landed. Frankie wasn't amused at all and throttled Ratface with his free hand. Ugly didn't take too kindly to that and tried a haymaker, only to get a kick to the gut for his troubles. He doubled over, holding his stomach as Frank moved passed him towards the bigger threats.

Cueball let out a roar and swung his pipe again, Frank ducking under it  and moving behind him, Before Cueball could turn around, strange symbols appeared on Frank's arm, glowing with a soft blue light, tendrils of power sparking off from them. His gun glowed for just a moment as he aimed at the pipe and fired, a bright blue bullet flying out and striking the middle of it.

The tower of muscle turned his head towards the man and grinned as he was spared of the bullet. He began to turn around towards him, but he noticed a string of light  coming out from where the bullet lodged itself in the pole. He hardly had time to process it before the pole jerked  out of his hands and struck his windpipe. He tried clawing it off, ripping it off, but it kept pressing up against his neck, harder and harder. One last time, he tried, only for the pipe to fly back and smack him in the face, knocking him cold onto the ground.

The pipe flew over to Frankie now, where it dangled by a thread of light attached to his gun. A moment later, it clanged to the ground. As Rat and Ugly turned to face him and saw their buddy out could, the ex-mobster said with a smirk, "You're gonna end up like Muscles here if ya don't stop fuckin' around with me, kids. Last warnin': Fuck off, and I won't have to-"

BANG. Shot grazed his cheek. He looked back and saw that Leader had his pistol again. Wouldn't help him, though. Grip was still shaky, Leader pissed beyond relief. Heavy breathing, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Frankie focused on the gun, though. Listened to it. Lion wasn't shit without it. It spoke to him,whispered to him, told him secrets it dared not tell to its wielder. It only made Frankie grin even more.

The Leader didn't take too kindly to it. "What's so funny?" he demanded, "I'm about to shoot you and you're just. just... are you nuts?!"

 Man, he'd laugh if he had a chance. But no, time to end this. He aimed his gun at his again and said, "Maybe I am, but even your gun thinks you're a joke. Couldn't even shoot an ol' granny even if she was right in your face! And if ya can't even hit that, you've got no chance against me, kid.

But if ya wanna try, be my guest. Show me whatcha got, peabrain."

That did it. Leader fired off shot after shot after shot, rage overtaking him. His buddies scrambled on out, running as far as their legs could take them and hoping that none of the bullets ricochet  onto them. Frank, on the other hand, was dodging them just fine, like it was just a normal boogie on a dance floor. He counted down how many shots were left: Five, four, three... two... one.

Then none. The sweet sound of an empty cartridge rang through Frankie's ears. Horror dawned on the Leader's face as the ex-mobster approached him and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, close enough to breathe down his neck.

"Gonna let you off easy right now, punk," he said in a harsh whisper, ignoring the leader's pathetic whimpers. "But if you pull this shit on me again, you'll be eattin' a knuckle sandwich, if not lead down your goddamn throat. Got it?"

He loosened his grip, letting the punk go. Leader ran off fast as he could, dropping the gun he had on him on the ground. Frank walked over and picked it up, checking for any chips or any signs of damage.

 "Couldn't have done it without ya, bud," he said, putting both pistols away and patting down both of them like they were people. "You too, Nasina. Nah, don't get jealous; this guy is gettin' a new home to someone who knows what they're doin'. Real good home."

Dawn broke into sunrise, tinting all it touched a bright yellow. By the time Frank reached the Silver Diner, he couldn't help but smile as the sun gave the metal exterior a little color. Out came the keys. Into the lock they went, door swinging wide open from a gentle push.

"Hey, honey. Hope I didn't keep ya waitin' too long!"

Silver Diner

Another quiet day.

The red, cushioned barstools all lined up in a row were empty, the bartop gleaming from how pristine it was. The checkboard floor also shined, freshly waxed, not a speck of dirt to be seen anywhere. The lights were bright, highlighting the sleek, metal tables that stood underneath them, as well as the few faces that sat around in the cushy booths, chatting amongst themselves and smiling as they sank their teeth into a juicy burger.

There was the soft sizzle of the deep friers and grills in the kitchen,  the smell of freshly cooked meat wafting over the counters and throughout the diner. The waitresses greeted two or three more people who were coming in, pearly white smiles on their faces as they grabbed a couple menus and led them to their booths. One waitress, with long blonde hair tossed over her shoulder, her bangs parted and covering her right eye, lifted a finger and started counting how many people were in.

Seven total. That made about 20 today. Not bad, although not great, either. She couldn't remember a single time when this place was packed. No need for those fancy vibrating thingamabobs; wait times were nonexistant here, with how business was. She didn't mind it much; meant a lot more peace and quiet rather than the din of most rival diners. Made her head hurt, she swore.

As the night went on, the waitress nearly dozed off when a shriek pierced the silence. Her eyes flew wide open as she pinpointed the source: a young woman, kind of ritzy looking, staring down at her plate like she was witnessing the next coming of Satan. The waitress fixed herself up and strutted over as fast as she could on her high heels and asked, "Something the matter?"

"Th-That... that THING is the matter!" the woman yelled, pointing down on her plate. The waitress looked down as instructed. Nestled nicely in a bed of fries as a giant, fat roach, antennae twitching about. "I found it there, just as I was about to-"

The words went through one ear and out the other, as the waitress had a terrible thought decend upon her.

Frankie is going to kill us.

She swiftly picked up the plate and said, "Don't worry about a thing, I'll tell the cook to make another batch, 'kay? Just sit tight!" She ran so fast to the double doors that led to the kitchen like she was running from an angry dinosaur and turned towards the gaggle of cooks handling things. She could barely spit out, "Who made this?!"

Most of the cooks shook their heads. One of them slowly raised their hand. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked. "Did they complain that their fries are too soggy? I cooked them perfectly!"

"No, but there's a goddamn roach on them just sitting here. Do you know how much trouble we're in if we see just one roach and all? Do you know?!"

"It's just a roach, kill or something, Isabelle."

Shock turned to rage, and Isabelle hissed, "Make another batch before Frankie gets here. If he finds out we have a roach problem-"

SLAM. All the cooks nearly jumped out of their skin as the doors flew open. Isabelle looked back, then stared like a deer in headlights.

"So, what's all this blab about a roach problem, eh?" a man's voice rang out, standing above most of the cooks and Isabelle. He was dressed to the nines, with black hair slicked back, square frame glasses pushed up as far as they could go before sliding down the bridge of his nose. His dark brown eyes were fixed upon the diner crew, his cold gaze bearing down on them.

Isabelle was the first to recover and stammered, "Frankie, sweetie, how ya doin'? It isn't something you should be coming out and handling, oh no no no-"

"It's just one tiny little roach!" the cook shouted. "Someone complained about a roach! It isn't that big a deal, is it?"

Frankie slammed his fist onto a table and snapped, "Not that big a deal? You say it's not that big a deal?!  Maybe I should shove my fist up your ass, maybe that won't be that big a deal! For fuck's sake, if there's one, there's a fuckton more somewhere! And crawlin' on a customer's food?! Are you tryin' to get the Health Inspectors in, coz they'd find that this is a big fuckin' deal!"

"Just call an exterminator! Seriously!"

"With what money, you blockhead?!" Frankie yelled, shoving his way past to look the defiant cook in the face with a fierce look that rivaled a lion's "Maybe the bucks comin' out of your paycheck? I don't have cash flowin' out of my ears, and we barely stay in the black as it is! You know goddamn well we don't get much business here coz everywhere ya look, there's a brand name restaurant that's singin' swan songs  to bring in customers and make their wallets a helluva lot lighter than when they first get in! All they recognize are brand names, with only the locals swingin' by here for a bite! And you got the guts to tell me, when I know what the hell's goin on and own the damn place better than you know the girls you've been screwin' for the past few days, that I can just call an exterminator and it's all gonna smell like roses after, huh? Huh?!"

Isabelle put a hand on Frankie's shoulder and said calmly, "Now honey, you know that's going a bit too far. Take a deep breath, he's not worth it."

The cook stared right back at Frankie. "Well, you wanna know what I think?"

Panic set in. Isabelle and the other cooks started mouthing at him, "No, no! Don't say it! Don't you dare!"

"I think you're taking this shit way too seriously! All this over one, count 'em. ONE goddamn roach!"

It took all the remaining cooks and Isabelle's combined effort to restrain their boss before he could throw a punch. Whole kitchen was a mess, with screaming and yelling, mostly from Frankie.

"YOU  PIECE OF DOGSHIT THIS GODDAMN PLACE IS MY LIFE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN TAKE YOUR DAMN JOB SERIOUSLY-"

It took a few minutes to calm him down, with one cook freed to remake the meal before the customer decided to leave. By closing time, all the customers were gone, and Frankie was taking out all his anger on that fat roach, crushing it in his grip as everyone else helped with cleanup. Isabelle skittered over to him, pale as a sheet, and said, "You hangin' in there, Frank?"

"If by that, ya mean not throttlin' that punk into a paste, I guess so," came the grumbly reply. If there was a roach in his hands, it was hardly recognizable as one anymore. "I swear, I feel like I'm bein' taken for granted, with this bullshit. One roach isn't a big deal, my ass. She's gonna get on yelp and downrate us for it, and we need all the good ratings we can get."

"I understand that you were over-the-moon pissed," Isabelle said, handing Frank a napkin to clean his hands off before brushing her hair back. "But let's not add another reason why the police should throw you back in jail. You did enough time after that whole crime syndicate thing, didn't you?"

The slick man pulled a box of cigarettes out from one of his pockets and pulled one out. "Not enough, accordin' to some," came the reply. "Some think I should have rotted in that hellhole. Others think I should be dead by now. I only got out from a stroke of luck, that's for damn sure." He then looked out the window, staring at all the people and cars passing them by, all the lights for other restaurants dimming until there was nothing. A solemn look replaced the anger as he placed the cigarette between his lips. "Didn't believe in second chances once. Now that I got one, though... I don't plan on wastin' it."

Isabelle shrugged and sighed. "You'll end up wasting it if you keep this up. Guy wasn't even worth it. You gotta be more careful and pick your battles, honey."

"Yeah, yeah, careful and all that. Can't go makin' myself some rope to hang myself with, can I?"

"Not at all. Now, what did ya plan on doin' tonight?"

"Goin' home and sleepin'. The usual. Writin' this knucklehead a pink slip. Got too many cooks in the kitchen anyway; don't need one messin' things up for everybody else. Stacy's good, though. Damn, she comes up with good ideas and cooks well, too. I mean, who ever heard of a Dragon Burger?! That was some good stuff, so I've heard. Gotta try one myself."

"You'd cry like a baby, honey," Isabelle said with a wink, picking up her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. "So, see ya tomorrow?"

"Same time, same place," Frank said with a smirk.

He watched as his workers left, leaving the diner as pristine as they found it. He took a moment to light up his cigarette and take it all in: the sights, the smells, the sounds... Just looking around the place at it's best calmed his nerves. And all of this was his responsibility, his pride and joy.

"See ya tomorrow," he said to himself before flicking the light switch.

Golden Concerto, Stage 3 [Final]

Touhou 14.7: Eastern Towers of Avarice ~ Golden Concerto

Now Loading. Please wait warmly until it is ready.

Stage 3:  Golden Gensokyo Torrents

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Gensokyo glowed with golden light.

It brought out the greedy beast of night.

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Gensokyo, Hakurei Shrine

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Home. Home at last. Reimu essentially flung herself at her shrine's step, groaning with pain as Kaito jogged up to catch up with her. Even if it was for a little while, she missed the wooden floor, the sliding doors, the little donation box, everything about her home. Home was where the heart is, after all.

All of the pain seemed to hit her at once as she flopped like a mermaid up the steps and onto the floor, coughing up puddles of blood from the injuries she sustained. 

"Fucking fuck," were the two words that escaped her mouth after a few moments.

"That's one way to put our situation," Kaito replied curtly, setting Sukuna down and taking a seat beside his friend. "Didn't think it would get this crazy. Doesn't look like the beast is here yet; what happened?"

Reimu turned over to her side while the little inchling pulled out a hammer and sat down as if praying to the gods.

"Probably being held up by the barrier a little bit, but he'll be here soon enough. Gotta get help before then."

"Aaaand you haven't called this help... why?"

"Cell phones are an antique in Gensokyo."

"What?!? How do you guys even live without cell phones?"

"Sanae asked me the same thing when she got here, and I told her, 'Very carefully.' Life here doesn't work the way you'd think." Reimu visibly relaxed as all of those bones she broke put themselves back together again, the pain ebbing away as if a tiny miracle was granted by the gods. She took a moment to sit up as she explained, "Basically, Gensokyo is the dumping ground of most things people stopped believing in, so that demons and fairies and stuff like that aren't out of a job or dying out there in the real world. Things used in the real world often are rare treasures here, and vice versa. But since magic is mostly accepted and there are crazy things out there that people actually believe in, the barrier is pretty relaxed and just about anybody can come and go if they wanted. Wasn't true when my ancestors were ruling; might have been more of a recent thing... can't exactly remember."

Kaito stared at her for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "So magic- like red magic and stuff - is a real thing here," he said slowly. "You don't happen to know anyone who can summon Satan, do you?"

"I know a vampire. She's actually not all that threatening; she's polite and enjoys flower viewing parties every once in a while with her maid, Sakuya. Her sister, though? Broke the bones of everyone she meets. That's probably the closest you'll get to Satan that isn't actually dead."

"What a relief!" the thief replied with a smile. "One time, I dealt with a witch that used red magic, and by sheer luck, I managed to get out of her trap! Apparently, she really wanted my heart-"

 Thump. Thump. Thump.

 The thundering footsteps interupted the pleasant conversation, Reimu jerking up and taking off into the skies. The golden beast was approaching, and fast.

 "Can't catch a break, can you?" the thief draped in white asked as he peeked behind the shrine and saw the beast for himself, taking out his Card Gun and glaring at the mountain of stolen wealth.

The shrine maiden couldn't help but smirk. The scent of an incident rose; the thrill of dealing with threats to Gensokyo rushed through her veins. Years of incidents flashed through her mind in mere moments. All of the solved cases, all of the dramatic finales... Relived in minutes.

 And so she replied, "Wouldn't have it any other way!"

 Yin yang orbs surrounded  her as they fired off barrages upon barrages of tags at Greed, sending a few bigger tags to create barriers to hold off his approach. The beast roared and slammed himself against the barriers, his sheer weight enough to break them. When one was broken, though, more too their place, and he found himself pelted with smoke bombs of all sorts to throw him off. 

 Yes, this would do. Hold him off. Wait until the news spread through the tengu. Let the incident be known. All these boring stall tactics only had one purpose, as it felt like ages passed before the beast finally reached the shrine, ready to engulf all in its path.

 That reason became rather obvious when time seemed to slow down, and a streak of light crossed one of Greed's arm. When time resumed its normal pace, the entire arm was lopped off, distracting the mountain with worry before pink lasers and butterflies barraged its side.

 Reimu grinned at the newcommers and shouted, "Took you long enough, you two!"

"Sorry, Lady Yuyuko was just finishing up a meal when Aya reported the incident," replied the swordswoman, Youmu Konpaku, as she went and struck the other arm. Bikes and eletronics seemed to flow out of the beast like it was his blood, although he easily reformed his arms.

"It was a super yummy bento box~" added the ditzy ruler of the Netherworld, Yuyuko Saigyouji, as she waved a fan and distracted the beast with colorful butterflies before kicking him in the head.  "Sooooorrry, Reiiiiimooo~ I won't be late again!"

"Long as you're here, I'm good, Yuyu!" Reimu said happily, emphasizing her feelings with  giant homing tag to Greed's face and a flying hug right around her ghost companion. 

 Kaito smiled at the two before the golden beast reared up again, holding his arms up as high as they could go. Greed clapped his hands, summoning a tidal wave of muck and valuables that swept away all in its path: shrine, girls, and thief. Kaito shot at him, but was a moment too slow; the beast jumped out of the way (jeez, how could that glob even jump?)  and slammed down near the girls, gunk and gold bars flying everywhere and smacking them in their faces. Kaito quickly got back on his feet and fired off more cards, but one of Greed's arms formed a golden shield that protected him from the barrage.

 Reimu and her friends flew out of the gunkpile, bruised. In Reimu's case, she wasn't harmed too much, but she was madder than ever. "You fucking swept away my shrine, you piece of shit!" the shrine maiden yelled,  calling forth colorful orbs around her. "I'll kick your ass!"  The Fantasy Seal crashed right into the beast's shield, but the lights blinded him for just a moment. One moment was all it took for Youmu to take advantage and thrust her sword into his eye and Yuyuko to attack from behind with a fan of lasers.

 Greed roared with pain, clutching at his face as gold and valuables leaked out of the newly made wound. The shrine maiden took this chance to fire as many talismans  at him as possible. Sword slashes and angry energy butterflies assaulted him from every angle, not helped by actual bombs flung at him. When he had enough, he swept his mighty arms around and around, not hitting any of his targets, but sweeping his arms around the ground.

"The hell is he doing?" Reimu asked. "We're all the way up here!"

 "He might be making a tornado," Youmu pointed out, her eyes tracking the beast's movement. "Although it might be too slow for that."

 "Maybe he's doing a dance!" Yuyuko said cheerfully. "You know, 'swing your arms from side to side~' "

"Uh, he's not doing the Mario, if that's what you're asking, Lady Yuyuko."

 Too late. Yuyuko was already swinging her arms and having fun dancing in the sky. Reimu would have laughed, but she noticed both her and Kaito watching the beast intently. Or rather, they were looking at where his arms went.

 Before Greed could finish another sweep, Kaito shot cards at his face. Greed, on reflex, went up to guard it, while Yuyuko glared at the beast, holding up one of her fans to hide her lips.

 "You noticed it too, didn't you?" she asked the thief. "How he became bigger with each sweep?"

  Kaito smirked. "Doesn't take much to notice that, Lady Yuyuko," he replied. 

 "What are you guys talking about? He didn't get any bigger!" Reimu yelled out. "He couldn't have!"

 "Then tell me, Reimu: where'd all the stuff that gushed out of his body go?"

 Reimu was about to snap at Kaito, but instead took a moment to look around. Her eyes widened when she noticed that all the bikes, the china plates, the gold... All of the stuff he flung at them, gone. Back into the body in which it came. Not only that, bits and pieces of her shrine seemed to be missing...

 Wait. If he only absorbed valuable stuff... 

 Reimu became as pale as Yuyuko as she flew over to the shrine. "SUKUNA!" she cried out. "Sukuna, are you alright?!"

 Pop, went the little inchling as she flew up out of the shrine in a little tiny bowl. She didn't look too happy, though. "I'm okay," she said, "but I dropped my hammer when the thing swept away the shrine, and I think it went into the golden river thing!"

 Reimu bit back her anger for the moment. "Right, then get somewhere safe; things are about to get really ugly."

Sukuna nodded and flew off a fair distance away, leaving Reimu to give the monster her best deathglare.

 "I brought you here to Gensokyo, and the first thing you do is cause trouble," she said quietly, in icy tones. "You attack my friends, you damaged my shrine, and now you took the pride and joy of my friend's clan of inchlings... 

I'm through playing around."

Greed may not have possibly understood a word she said, but it isn't hard to understand than giant, glowing orbs to the face means pain. He staggered backwards before trying to punch the tiny shrine maiden, only for another barrage of Fantasy Seals to nail him in the face. Greed brought up the Miracle Mallet into his hands and tried to smash Reimu with it, but she grazed the blow and unleashed another barrage of danmaku for him to chew on.

While Reimu had the beast distracted and Yuyuko started cheering for her, Kaito looked over at Youmu and said, "Hey, got a minute?"

 The half human, half ghost floated down to the thief's side, eyebrow raised. "Yes, but aren't we in the middle of something?"

 "Oh, sure we are! Listen, though: are there any big bodies of water around here? Lakes, rivers, waterfalls?"

 Youmu dodged a stray blast from Reimu's spell cards as she thought. "The closest one would probably be the lake in front of the Scarlet Devil Mansion... but why do you ask?"

 A lake. Perfect. A sly smile crossed the thief's face. 

 "Help me lure him there and I'll show you why~"

 That certainly didn't ease Youmu's worries, but if it could help... She flew up and bapped Greed on the back of the head with the hilt of her sword to get his attention. The beast turned to her and tried to smash her with his arms, but she flew out of his range. He inched closer and tried again, and again, and again, but the girl was too quick, too nimble to be touched. Reimu was confused about this tactic: usually it was better if Youmu outright cut him up. 

 Then she remembered: the beast could regenerate. It would have been worthless, anyhow. And if the beast regenerates from collecting valuables, what better way than to lure him away from them? 

 So Reimu, instead, started using her barrier spells, conjuring barriers to try to push the beast away, towards wherever Youmu and Kaito were going. She was soon joined by Yuyuko, although her idea of pushing was by conjuring phantoms to actually push him away.

 Little by little, the group got ever closer to the lake through their collaborative efforts: Youmu and Kaito grabbing his attention, while Reimu and Yuyuko pushed.  When they were near the edge of the lake,  Kaito whistled, getting the beast's attention on him now. It's time for the final push.

 From his pocket, he pulled out a brilliant gem, blue and bright. It shined in the moonlight, almost pulsing like a human heart. Greed couldn't help but look, hands reaching out for this stunning rock.

 "You want it?" taunted the thief as he held up the fake Blue Behemoth. "Then go get it!"

 He tossed the gem up and over his shoulder. Time seemed to slow as Youmu, Greed, and Yuyuko watched the gem fall from the sky

 And into the lake.

 "MIIINE!!!" Greed boomed, ignoring everything around him as he lept up and dove into the lake. "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!" They could all see the bits and pieces of the golden muck that made up Greed's body dissolving in the lake. All the stuff he had collected while rampaging through Gensokyo and Tokyo either sank out of his body and to the bottom to the lake, or floated on up to the surface. Reimu saw the Miracle Mallet float up and soared down to grab it, and watched as the sad, pitiful kaiju shrink as he struggled so hard to get something that only looked valuable on its surface.

 Soon enough, he floated up. Not as a kaiju, but as a pathetic blob of mud that clung so tightly to the fake Blue Behemoth.

 "mine" he still chanted, even as Reimu grabbed it with a look of disgust. "mine mine mine mine mine"

 "Oh, shut up," Reimu grumbled before wrapping the blob in a talisman and putting him in her pocket. She then turned to Kaito and Youmu and said, "Good thinking, you two! If we had kept at it like we were before, we would have gotten nowhere."

 Youmu pointed over to Kaito and said, "Well, it was more of his idea to lure him here..."

 "What a clever boy he is!" Yuyuko squealed before pulling everybody into a group hug. "But it's through our teamwork we did it, right? Yaaaaaaaaay! We should celebrate with a big party~"

 "Heh, only expect the best from me, Kaito Kuroba~" the thief said with a grin to match his giant ego. "Nothing to it!"

 "Says the one who couldn't tell a real gem from a fake," Reimu sniggered.

 "Least the fake came in handy, huh? Gotta make use with what I have!"

 "Sure, sure. Well, lets get some help putting the shine back where it should be, then we can party hard!"

------------------------------

And so, Reimu did invite everybody to her shrine, after repairing it, to have a night of fun. She sealed the blob away in Makai, leaving him to enjoy his little fake rock. Kaito, Reimu, and everybody else partied the night away, drinking and telling ghost stories (much to Youmu's dismay), and having good food together.

In Makai, though... 

"How pitiful, how you value such a worthless gem.

Pitiful how your strength was outdone by cleverness.

Much power, you have. Power enough to destroy all of Gensokyo. But no mind to wield it well. A mere shell of a person, you are.

I seek that power. Power to take all that you desire. Take me in, and I shall be the mind to lead you to a path of glory, and of riches. A path in which you can cut down the annoying blades of  grass that hamper you with ease!

I... Ame-no-Murakamo... shall help satisfy your greed, and rain death upon those who wish to take what is rightfully yours!"

---------------------------------

PRESENT DAY, LAS VEGAS

---------------------------------

"Any sign of that dumb blob thing, Kaito?"

 "Nope, not at all. I'm sure that if he escaped from the seal and wants all the cash he could get, it has to pass by here! No doubt about it!"

 "Ugh, and I thought it would hold up. Then whoop, it fucking breaks in Feburary and he runs the hell off. And Yukari was too busy being a lazy shit to do anything about him! Dumb hag!"

 "No use worrying about it now. We'll have our chance to get back at him, I just know it! So for now, stop getting so angry and irritated. Can't be good for your beautiful complexion~"

 "Shut your damn piehole or I'm locking you in an aquarium."

 "Y-you wouldn't! You couldn't do that to me! No, you can't do that to me! You know I have a giant phobia of fish-

... That look tells me you would."

 "Damn right. Now shut up and go to your volunteer job at the animal shelter! You still have 900 hours to work on for community service! Chop, chop!"

-------------------

Thank you for playing the Golden Concerto Demo! 

Please wait warmly as we finish the full version.

Look out for the last three stages during the Roleplaying Season~

Studious Witch and the Giant of Frost, Part 2

(Author's Note: OH MY GOD I STAYED UP WAY TOO LATE TRYING TO FINISH THIS SO I'M SORRY IF PARTS DON'T SEEM TOO GOOD; I'LL TRY FIXING THEM ASAP BUT I HAD TO GET EVERYTHING DOWN FIRST. I AM WAY 2DETERMINED)


---------------------
The inn's doors flew open. All of the laughter and cheer died out as the hunter boy waddled in, eyes wide open as if he had seen a ghost. His breathing was labored, his legs wobbly from running a fair distance. His eyes darted across the room, scanning around until he laid his eyes upon a group of armored folk, All of them had some form of weapon... mercenaries, probably. Finally, people who could actually do something...

 Timothy took a deep breath before he yelled out loud enough for all to hear, "Giant! A giant! It's... It's in town!"

Panic spread like wildfire, the people screaming and getting up to pack their things and run, run far away. Glass and wood broke as people struggled to get out before this supposed giant decided to come over and devour them. Good; the sooner they got out of here, the less people that would get hurt. He didn't care much about the innkeep whining that all of his business was lost; as long as everyone was safe, it was worth it.

 The mercenaries didn't leave. They stood up and met the young boy's eyes, each one brandishing their swords and smirking. One of them, with a bushy mustache and a breath that stank of ale, walked up to him and asked, "Oh? Care to tell us more, kid? Our swords are a bit thirsty... And our skill is rusting away."

 "I saw one!" Timmy replied. "One walked into the big manor where my friend lives! It... it might end up eatin' her or somethin'! Biiiig fella, too! He'd... oh, he prolly has enough strength ta break the entire town to bits!"

 Their grins only grew wider, their leader flashing his half-rotted teeth.

 "Well, well, a nice bounty to line our pockets, then! Let's see if we can't mount a giant's head on our guild hall tonight!"

 Deafening cheers made the inn tremble as the mercs held up their swords, eager for challenge. And as they left. Timmy could only pray that Aurora would be safe.

------------------------------

"And here is where I keep my collection of coral I gathered in the tropics-"

 It felt so strange, being in a house like this, listening to the young witch as she guided him throughout the house. Strange that a human would approach him. Strange that they treated him as a person, rather than a thing to be feared. Stranger still that they would willingly invite him into their house. For so long, humans screaming in fear and shutting the doors and windows when he approached was so common, that he forgot what a human who showed no fear to him was really like.

 He watched as the witch pulled out a stack of books and said, "I keep a pretty big collection of books, by the way! My library's huge, with two floors in my house to keep them! Bigger than any library kept in towns like these! I like loaning my books to people, but sometimes-" her face twisted into something fearsome "-some people don't give them back, and that's a pain in the butt!"

 She smiled after a bit and sorted all the books back into their proper place before heading towards the kitchen. The giant marveled at how many cabinets she had, especially when she opened one up to pluck out a pink, flowery tea pot and what looked like tea leaves. He was so focused on all the things that were in there: cinnamon, sugar, spices, coffee beans, salt... So many things he'd absolutely love to try, but was too polite to ask.

"Make yourself at home," she said sweetly, with a cute little grin. "You're my guest, after all! We can talk more about all these measurements and baloney after tea, okay?" The giant could feel his cheeks burn red for a moment, burying his face in his scarf to hide his embarrassment. He wasn't sure if he was the type worthy of such hospitality, but if she offered, how could he say no?

 As the tea was set to brew and steep, the giant walked towards one of the bookshelves and pulled out a book, flipping through its pages until it settled on a picture of a young girl petting a baby dragon. Curious, he flipped back to the first page and began to read quietly, his eyes lingering on one word after another for a little longer than he'd like. How long has it been since he read something? 50 years? Maybe 100?

 The fragrant, sweet smell of tea wafted through the air as he could hear the witch humming as she poured it into cups. "All done!" she said with a smile to rival Auternia's, handing one cup over to him. "Drink it while it's hot! I left some sugar on the table if you need any!"

 He nodded and took a small bow to show his appreciation, then pulled off his massive mittens, set them aside, and picked up his cup of tea with the utmost care. One sip was enough to warm his entire body. Well, it would be considered a sip to giants, but really, he drank it all in that one sip. The witch didn't seem disturbed by this and merely poured him another cup as he set it aside and continued reading.

 From the corner of his eye, he could see her inching closer to him, a curious look on her face. She was trying to get a better look of what he was reading, wasn't she? He stood up and sat right next to her, the whole house jumping for just a moment before settling back into place, and he shared the book between them so that she could see, too. And, for a while, they read in silence, the giant content with her company.

 "I worked pretty hard on that book, you know," the witch said after a few minutes of silence. "It was my first book about the study of dragons. Everybody had this weird conception that dragons were the bad guys and completely evil, so I wanted to see for myself if that was true. Turns out, it was just a few bad apples spoiling a whole bunch!"

She crossed her arms and pouted for a moment before taking a seat beside the giant and continuing happily, "Most of them were really friendly, after the initial 'aaaaaag intruder' thing, and I got to learn a whole lot about their habits, their way of life. And as I got to know them, I didn't see them as the big, scaly beasts that fly off to kidnap princesses and only hoard gold. No, they were so much more than what people taught their kids about!

 And so, I studied them for years and years, until I knew enough about them to write down everything. Charts and diagrams of their movement and anatomy? No problem! Detailed sections of way of life? Definitely! I made sure every detail was factually correct, because..."

 The giant could hear it. He could hear the utter sincerity in her voice as she said, "Because I can't stand to see things that are so twisted from the truth stand up in our society! I want to prove people wrong about the so-called dangerous monsters of the world, that they're not all like what people say in the stories!"

 She took him by surprise when she suddenly grasped his giant hand with her two tiny ones, eyes bright with determination. "And I'll do the same for you and your kind! Even if it takes me a million years!"

 Never had he heard such words before. And never did his heart feel as warm as it did now. This human was so kind, taking him in from the winter storm he brought upon himself... and now spoke of dispelling the fear associated with him. He clasped at her hands gently, almost afraid that if he let go, she would disappear, like snowflakes never meant to stick to the blades of grass. His poor heart couldn't take it if it was all just a dream.

 He glanced over at the book once more, to read the author's name. And then, he mustered up the courage to speak up.

 "Aurora..."

  His body seized up, cringing as his hoarse, yet deep voice escaped his lips. His eyes locked onto the witch's face, searching for any sign of fear. He could remember all too clearly how quickly expressions of happiness twisted into that of fear, even children staring at him as if he had become death incarnate. His hand began to tremble, mind wandering to all the horrible possibilities...

 The witch blinked before a smile broke out on her face.

 "Yep, that's me! Aurora Frost, at your service, Mr. Giant!" she said, as cheerful as could be. "You didn't have to force yourself to talk, but it was really nice hearing you, anyway!"

 What could he do, when someone wasn't afraid of him? Afraid of his voice? Never mind that, she even complemented it! Goddess above, he could melt right here and now into a puddle! But for now, the tension in his body ebbed away, and he could feel tears threatening to burst out of his eyes.

 Aurora let go of his hand and poured him another cup of tea as she said, "I kinda know what it's like, having a voice you don't really like all that much." The giant's eyes widened as he took a sip of his tea, tilting his head to the side. She didn't seem like the type to hate her voice, especially when it was rather sweet! "It's really awful until you can find a way to deal with it... but you don't have to force yourself to use your voice! I can understand you just fine, I think!"

 The giant nodded slowly as he smiled underneath his scarf. He took a moment to look around the house when he heard the yells and screams of people. He froze, heart pounding against his chest.

 It didn't really help when Aurora jumped out of her seat out of shock. "What the heck?" she asked, hopping over to  a window to take a look outside. "What's everybody screaming about? Did something attack?"

 Hastily, he prodded at Aurora to get her attention. He feigned fear and pointed to himself, a desperate attempt to tell Aurora about what might of happened.  Pointing out towards the people, pointing at his eyes, then pointing at himself while trying to keep himself composed.

"They saw your eyes?"

 He shook his head, repeating his gestures, slowly this time, although he could see armored men marching down the street from the corner of his eye.

"Um... It has something to do with you... but you're pointing to your eyes, so... Aha!" Aurora snapped her fingers. "You're trying to say that they might have seen you and are scared silly, right?"

Nod, nod.


 "Crud!" the little witch swore, slapping at her forehead. "I should have cast an invisibility spell or something; now everybody might have gotten the wrong idea!" The little witch pulled out her ruby tipped wand and grabbed the giant's hand with the only hand she had free and said, "This is my fault, so I'm gonna talk some sense into them! So you just... just stay still! I'm gonna cast the invisibility spell, and it won't work if you move too much when I cast it!"

 Before he could protest and flail about, the witch waved her wand to and fro before a multicolored light shot out and covered him completely. He looked down and saw that the witch's hand was still holding onto his, but to anyone else, it looked like she was shaking hands with an imaginary friend. His hand trembled, worry building up in his heart like heavy weights set on a horse's cart.

 But all he could do was watch, as something pounded against the manor's front door and the witch headed towards it.

----------------------------------

 Aurora hardly reached the door before it fell over, hinges broken from all the slamming. Several men in armor were grinning, like they were ready to crash a party. Ugh, a whole mess of problems right at her doorstep. Wonderful. No time to grumble about it, though.

 "Oi, are ya the little girlie who lives here?" asked one of the men. Mustached and breath smelled of alcohol. Must be the leader, since he's the one asking questions.

 "I am a young woman, thank you very much!" Aurora snapped. "And yes, I am! What in the world do you need to tell me that needed you to bust down my door like a burglar?"

 They seemed to snicker when she pointed out she was a woman while their leader continued with an ever-widening grin, "Oh, nothing. Just heard ya had a... Giant problem, that's all."

 The only giant problem I have is you guys being in my house, she wanted to say, but instead, she settled for, "Well, if I had one, I don't have it anymore, but thank you for worrying about me!"

 "Hmm."

 Was that a good "hmm" or a bad "hmm?" Aurora certainly couldn't tell, but she hoped for their sakes that they took her at her word and got out. The less time they spend here, the quicker she could get her friend to safety. The stinky excuse for a leader leaned in closer to her, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Ya sure, girlie?"

 "Yes, I'm sure." Now get the heck out of my house!

 She was about to cheer when the leader turned his back and began to leave when one of the other men piped up and asked, "Ey, Armand, what if she's the giant, usin' a spell to make 'er look smaller than she really is?"

 Another one added, "Maybe it's one of them shapeshiftin' giants, eattin' people and then takin' their form to trick their family and eat them, too?"

 As the leader turned around towards her again with that same suspicious look, Aurora broke into a sweat. Of all the times they had to speak up!

 Armand leaned in again,  this time drawing his sword and putting it uncomfortably close to her neck. "Oh, how could I be so foolish?" he said with a chuckle. "Falling for a giant's trick like that? That's not like me. Not like me at all!"

  "I'm not a giant!" Aurora hastily retorted, fingers curling around her wand and clutching it tightly. "I'm a witch! A small witch! I'm telling you, I don't have a problem with Giants-"

  The blade pressed against her neck now as Armand tsked, tsked at her with his stupid grin.

 "Sounds like somethin' a giant would say, when they're tryin' to hide something, girlie." He was so close, Aurora could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath. "And ya never know... a witch could easily turn into a giant and terrorize the wee people, wouldn't ya agree? So come quietly, so we don't need to spend the effort choppin yer purty little head off, little girlie, and we can make some easy cash!"

 That did it. They didn't listen to her at all and plan on telling some stupid lie about her being a giant! The last thing she needed was to be thrown in jail or beheaded due to some stupid story that would be all to easy to believe, when there's no information about giants at all aside from the scary stories!

  So she snapped, "Like hell!" before pointing her wand at Armand and launching a relatively weak fireball at his face. Armand cried out in pain, dropping his sword and trying to swat the flames away.

 His friends drew their weapons and charged towards Aurora, but the witch was far too nimble and quick to let herself get hit. She whispered an incantation under her breath and held up her wand, unleashing a small beam that homed in on the closest merc that slammed into him. It didn't stop there, though: it bounced around all of the mercs like a pinball gone out of control before fading away. By the time they recovered from that, Aurora was hitting them with dark energy taking the form of an angry cat.

 Spell after spell after spell, she conjured, trying to drive them away. Trying to keep them away. She even took out a fiery weed and a pumpkin and combined them to make a pumpkin bomb to blow most of them out of her house. She smirked, confident she could win-

 WHAM. Armand's fist found its way into Aurora's gut. She flew into a bookshelf and collapsed onto her knees, keeping herself propped up even as books fell on her using her wand. Ugh, should have kept an eye on him, she chastised herself as the mercenary glared down at her. Or staring. It was hard to tell when his eyebrows were seared off.

 "Tried pullin' a fast one on me, girlie?!" he hissed as he picked his sword off the floor and approached her slowly. "Was thinkin' of maybe sparing you for a moment: a live giant's worth more than a dead one. But then ya had to go and do whatcha did! Shoulda thought before ya unleashed yer voodoo, little girlie!"

 Aurora raised her wand just as Armand rose his sword, hoping to stun him with a good spell or two before she felt something pressing against her shoulders. No, grabbing at them.

 It took a moment before she realized what was happening and opened her mouth to yell, Get out of the way!

The words never left her lips, as it was too late: the blade came down.

Blood seemed to float in midair as it trickled down to the floor. The illusion was dispelled; what was once mere air was now a giant. A giant holding onto a tiny witch, ignoring the pain the man inflicted upon him.

 "Why...?" the witch whispered, voice trembling. "I thought I told you to say still..."

 The giant didn't respond. He only stood up tall, facing the mercenaries head on.

 Armand was obviously less than pleased about this turn of events. Not that she could blame him: first a witch burns his face, now an actual giant is on the scene and might actually break his bones! An easy bounty became a hard one. "And now I see you were tryin' to keep one of yer little friends hidden right under our noses?!?" he roared. "I'll kill the both of ya and hang yer heads on the wall!" He whistled for his fellow mercs and ordered, "KILL THEM!"

They were more than eager to try to draw more blood, charging like crazed hyenas. The giant, unimpressed with their antics, stomped his foot on the ground once. It didn't deter them like it would most people, with all the shaking it caused, but the tall wall made of ice that stood between them and their bounty sure did. They banged their swords and maces and axes against it, trying to chip it away and get to the giant behind it, but it was like trying to chip away at a stone wall. Aurora had to give them points for determination, though, even when it was really obvious that the wall wasn't going to down to their lousy weapons. They tried attacking from the sides, too, but more ice walls rose from the ground and blocked their approach.

 "Yeah, that's the way!" Aurora cheered, slowly getting back on her feet and using her magic to put her books back as fast as she could. "Give 'em a good punch or two! Or let me nail 'em!"

  She lifted up her wand, ready to launch another spell, but the giant gently bopped the little witch on the head and waggled his finger, shaking his head along with. He then motioned to shoo her away from the action, from the danger.

 "But these guys need to be taught a lesson!" she complained, putting her hands on her hips and glaring. "They're aiming to kill you, and you're not really fighting back!"

 More shooing.

 "But what if you get hurt agai-"

 She could hear him sigh before he plucked her up, lifting her above the walls, and set her down closer to the kitchen.  He then  pointed at the cabinets. The witch was pretty confused, though. Was he asking for more tea? It's not really a good time for tea. Or food.

 Wait. Wasn't he trying to shoo her away? No; he seem to be making his best impression of someone playing peekaboo.   Maybe he was trying to tell her she should hide? Hide in the cabinets?! Well, it certainly was roomy, but why-

When all her sores from being tossed into a bookcase made themselves apparent yet again, hiding in the cabinets suddenly became a great idea. It hurt to scramble the hell in there and move everything so she could fit, but better than nothing, right?

 She did crack open the cabinet door a little bit just in time to see the mercs all tuckered out from their injuries and banging on a wall all day. Aurora snickered as they caught their breath, although her attention snapped back to the giant as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial. She had to squint to see that there was actually some powder in there. She leaned in a little closer, but spotted Armand sneaking up onto  the second floor and readying his blade with a grin.

 He was in the giant's blind spot, somewhere the wall wouldn't protect him. And he just jumped off the balcony, aiming right for his head.

 In a panic, Aurora grabbed a jar of cinnamon, loosened the lid, opened the cabinet, and hurled it at the bloodthirsty knight.

  The jar missed. Aimed way too high.

  Its contents, however? Well... Armand got the whole load of it. Especially on his face. And definitely in his eyes. He was so focused on screaming and getting all the cinnamon out of his eyes that he couldn't focus on chopping up his bounty, instead falling to the ground with a loud THUMP, his blade tumbling out of his hands.

 The giant looked rather alarmed at the flailing, crying merc who had a ton of cinnamon all over him, but focused on opening the vial and releasing its contents on the remaining fighters. Nothing seemed to happen for a while, until the fighters collapsed into a pile, slumbering their fatigue away.

 Aurora couldn't help but pop out of the cabinet and cheer, "Yeah, we got 'em! That'll teach 'em for messing with us!" She rushed towards the giant as the icy wall melted away and he plucked Armand up from the ground. "Nailed him with cinnamon, too! Poor guy will be sniveling for weeks!"

 Her friend didn't seem to be paying much attention to her right now as he took a deep breath and breathed out a small blizzard, freezing up part of Armand's body. He helped to wipe away the cinnamon, but also scooped the snoozing mercs into his mighty hands along with their leader before turning towards the door.

 "W-wait, where are you going?" Aurora asked as her friend marched on out. "Hey, wait! Wait a minute! Wait!"

 He didn't slow down at all, leaving her to try to catch up to him as fast as her legs could carry her.

--------------------------------

I caused more trouble.

The mercenaries were set by the inn. It was safer for them than outside of the village, where the snow was deep and they could catch frostbite. Someone would notice them and bring them in to take care of them. Sure, they may talk about him, but he would be gone before they could try to claim his head with more help.

 It was good that he kept his sleep powder; the last thing he needed was blood on his hands. It was hard enough to prove that he didn't mean any harm without it. He did not entirely expect that human to try to attack from behind, and he was rather thankful that Aurora tossed cinnamon at him when she did.  All in all, things turned out well, for a scuffle.

 That doesn't change the fact that I caused it.

 If he hadn't been there... if he left the witch alone... if he refused her hospitality... there wouldn't have been a fight. There wouldn't have been a need for her to hurt people. She wouldn't have gotten hurt on his behalf, she wouldn't, she...

 His hands trembled again. The blizzards kicked up again as he trudged ever onward, heart twisting in pain from what he inevitably caused.

Away. He needed to get away. Away from innocent people, away from mercenaries, just... away. So he wouldn't scare people, wouldn't get people hurt, wouldn't bother them. So that they could live without fear.

The blizzards howled around him, muffling the sigh he made behind his scarf, trying hard to hold back his tears.

 "Wait!"

 The voice was tiny at first, but became louder and louder. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and turned back.  A silhouette of a witch appeared through the blizzard, until it wasn't much of a sillouette and more of a witch running towards him before clinging onto his leg.

 "Finally... caught up...!" she said between breaths. "Thought I'd lose track...! But where... where are you going?" She took a few more breaths before looking up at him and asking, "I mean, are you leaving already?"

 He nodded sadly, turning away from her. He would take another step forward, but what if he crushed her on accident?

 "But we hardly got to talk!" she said. "I wanted to get to know you better, and then those guys came in and ruined everything! I didn't even get to make you food and tell you more stories and..." Tears flowed from Aurora's eyes freely now as she clung ever harder to his leg. "I want to go with you! I want to know more about you and prove all those jerks wrong! This is exactly why I need to do this: so everybody can understand you and you won't have to get hurt over stupid misunderstandings or stupid bounties or... or..."

 The little witch sniffled for a little bit before letting go to wipe away her tears with the sleeve of her witch robes. His heart twisted again as  her eyes met with his, watery and pleading, like a puppy trying to stay close to its owner. He caused her trouble, even with all her hospitality and kindness, and yet...

 He sat down, shaking the earth beneath them, blizzard calming down to mere flurries of snow. He looked at the witch for just a moment before pointing at her, then at himself.

 "Well, of course I wanna go with you!" Aurora replied. "We're friends, and friends help each other, and I want to help you, okay?"

 Moments passed. The giant clutched at his chest, heart all aflutter and warm.

 When someone has treated you so well, and wants to come along, even when one brings misfortune upon them... how could he say no?

 As he gave a nod of approval, Aurora pumped her fist into the air. "Hooray, it's settled~" she said happily before turning towards the village. "I'm gonna go pack my things and get ready to go, okay? While I do that, you have to wait somewhere... Hmm..." The giant tilted his head, confused for a moment before the witch snapped her fingers and said, "Aha, got it! We can meet at the hill we met at! It's my favorite place, so it's perfect! I'll try not to take long, uh... er..."

 It took Aurora a bit of word stumbling before she admitted, "Well, actually, you never told me your name. Would you mind telling me?"

 She looked up at him and smiled, wind making her blue hair flow behind her. He was hesitant to speak again for a moment. However, to the one who looked past appearances and sought the truth... No, to a friend, he mustered the courage to speak once more.

"Boreas... Boreas is my name."