Rin shivered as she finally started to come to her senses. Opening her eyes ever so slowly, she found the cold snow around her and the horrible pain of a migraine starting behind her eyes. Sitting up with one hand on her head, she tried her hardest to start thinking.
"What the hell happened....?" She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes slightly. Slowly, she started to notice the place she was at... It was familiar. She was laying on the forest floor outside her village. Immediately, she felt a horrible pain as she started to recall her memories.

"O-..... oh no..... D-..... did I kill...!? Oh God.... God!.... I didn't ask for this...." She mumbled as she rested her head on her knees. She wished it never happened. That it was only a dream... But sadly, she knew it was impossible. She knew that she just destroyed half of her town and probably killed many people. She shivered slightly as she looked up at the bare branches. Tears slowly streamed down her face. Her family.... They were gone.... Dead.... She looked back at the place that used to be her home town. It burned brightly not too far away. She could even feel some of the heat of the fire from this far away.

Slowly, the realization hit her. She wasn't going to be accepted anywhere... Her friends would hate her if they were alive. Any place would shun her. She was alone... Completely alone....

Dianne poured herself a glass of water, and sat down at the kitchen table. She had just woken up after sleeping in, to the sound of what seemed to be an explosion. She looked out the window, to see half of the town was either rubble or on fire.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED THIS TIME?!" Aurelie woke up to the sound of Dianne's exasperated voice, followed by a loud sigh from her. Dianne shuffled back into the bedroom, to gesture to the window next to their bed.
"Why are you being so loud?" Aurelie rubbed her eyes, and sat up.
"Do you not see that SOMETHING JUST BLEW UP IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN?"
"Good lord, Dianne," Aurelie got out of bed, "It can't be that ba-" She looked out the window "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Now that you understand, we can go find out why the whole world is going mad." Dianne got dressed, and headed to the door, and Aurelie quickly followed.

"I think I saw something go that way earlier, and it looked like a person." Dianne pointed into the forest, and the two started walking in that direction.

Alizé was currently having her morning smoke on the balcony when the commotion happened. An explosion rattled the city as Alizé gasped, coughing on smoke in the process. Taking her cigarette out of her mouth, she looked into the distance. A strange power filled the air out there... It was.... Odd.... and different... Oh well, to her, she didn't need to decide it at that moment. At that moment, she had to warn her mistresses and then examine what the hell happened out there.

Backing up, she turned and hurried to her mistresses' quarters. Right as she was about to knock with the hand that currently didn't have a cigarette, the door opened and she took a quick step back and to the side in case if they wanted to move quickly.

"Mistresses, somethings happening in the city. I can't tell what caused the explosion but I sense it's something.... Off... It's not normal at all.... But I can sense one thing... Whatever caused that explosion had way more where it came from..." She informed them as she waited patiently for their response.

The snow had settled in the forest and all the plants were asleep. If you knew where to look, there was life all around, as dormant as it was. It was quiet, the only noises being the slightest breeze through the sleeping branches of the trees, the gentle rough rustling of their dry, cold extremities, and slowly, along a path so beaten down some that the snow had packed into ice, were the soft boot falls of Vercingetorix Máedóc with his walking staff. He felt the cold on his face as he let his hood down, the noises of the world all but absent from this place. "Something... Something is going on that you don't want me to know about."

"We've talked about this. I don't keep anything from you. If something were going on and I knew about it, I would tell you. Though, there is an odd smell in the air."

Maedoc stopped and took in his surroundings a little more. The direction the air was blowing had shifted and there was an odd feeling about. He turned, looking in the different directions. "I... I know something about it." He held his head. "I asked for them to find someone..." His head was in pain as he tried to remember something that seemed to be blocked from him.

"What was that noise?" Bries made a sound in Maedoc's mind like a twig snapping in the distance.

"Who's there?" Maedoc gripped his staff and turned towards the sound. He felt this was someplace safe, came here often and so did not bring anything else with him.

Silence.

"You, Bries. It's you again, playing tricks on my mind."

"You need to keep your guard. You never know what might happen out here. The forest doesn't grant the cover it normally does, right now. We can't climb a tree and hide from anyone following us. You brought no real weapons, just your staff which you handle like a fool. At least I can fight. If we're ever in real trouble, you'll have to let me in. I have the instinct for it. I can move your body faster than you knew it could move."

"If I let you in, I would never regain control. Or if I did, at great sacrifice, I'm sure. It's enough to keep you at bay when you don't have the full powers of form. You'd twist me, make me dark and before I knew it there would be nothing left of me. Just vile darkness as a Demonic. I would rather die."

"And if you died? What would stop me from using the last of your magic to heal your body and take it myself? I just don't know what I'd do with all the ROOM! Do you know how cramped I feel, stuffed up in here with you?"

"I may have some idea."

"You don't know the half of it. You were born into this body, you belong here. I feel comfortable anywhere, as long as I can rule. You know, there's a special place where I would put you. We know of a small emptiness in everyone where, if you squish them down enough, they all fit into while we take over. If I were in charge, I'd push you down in there and not let you see the light for months. Too bad you don't know how to do that to me."

"And that is why you never will be in charge. I... We..." His head started to hurt again as he began to recall their joining, but again a noise distracted him. "It won't work. I don't know what you're trying to block out, but I will find it. I'll remember h..."

"SHUT UP! That wasn't me."

The sounds of someone else walking down the path on the snow that was almost ice continued to get closer. Maedoc readied himself. He turned to see who was coming to him. "I'm busy. What are you doing here?"

Juliet walked quickly, sending he wolf out before her to find her leader. Once the wolf found him, he reported back to her and she ran as fast as she could to her leaders location. Since Juliet was half vampire she could run faster than humans, but not quite as fast a full blooded vampire. She reached him quickly, slowing to a walk as he turned to face her.

"I'm busy. What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, But there has been an explosion in the town...Almost half of it is nearly destroyed..." Juliet said in an almost rushed tone. She had been walking toward the town to pick something up when the explosion happened. She did her best not to be too badly shaken by it. She was being as calm as she could.

" There also seems to be something very off about this entire situation, it seems there is a very strong magical presence in the nearby woods." She explained and anxiously waited for his reply. She didn't like the current situation, and knew that something even more dangerous than the explosion could occur.

"Come with us. That explosion is much too magical to be something that we shouldn't know about." Dianne motioned to Alize to follow them. They continued on, and finally left the building. The magical presence was blatantly leading into the woods, so they followed it.

"Whatever caused it, we are most likely going to either kill it, or take it, and, above all, make sure the Chikyuu no Mirai do not get it." Aurelie said, scanning the nearby area for anything, or anyone, that would be of use.

"Wait," Dianne stopped the group, "Do you see that? Those two in the distance?" She pointed out a few humanoid figures, just close enough to tell that they were at least shaped like people. Aurelie gave a nod, and then the group started walking towards them, this time at a faster pace.

Alizé nodded and quickly followed her mistresses. She could sense the magical energy in the air. It was thick and strong. She wondered if her leaders could see it too. She quickly put her cigarette in her mouth and looked forward.

"Whatever caused it, we are most likely going to either kill it, or take it, and, above all, make sure the Chikyuu no Mirai do not get it." One of her leaders said as she nodded in response. The Chikyuu no Mirai didn't deserve whatever did this. It was either obtain it, or kill it before it went out of our grasps.

"Wait, Do you see that? Those two in the distance?" Her other leader mentioned, as they skidded to a halt. She pointed at the two and they quickly started walking towards them.

Who were they? Were they Chikyuu no Mirai? Random towns people? Maybe they were looking for who caused this explosion like they were... She didn't know...

---

---

Rin shook her head and wiped her tears away. She slowly got up and looked at her town once more. This would be the last time she would probably see it. Turning her back, she walked quickly away. Her head hurt so much, but she could just lay in the snow and get a cold. Although, a cold was the least of her worries. What on earth happened back there!?

She slowed to a walk suddenly. In the far distance, she sensed trouble. She didn't know how or why, she just knew. Taking a left, she tried to go around the two groups without causing a commotion or getting too close. She didn't need a fight after all that happened. All she needed was to understand what on earth happened back there and how she would continue now that it did.

"I'm sorry for snapping. Today has not been a good day for me." He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "But that would explain what I..."

"I sent out the God's Hand to deal with it. But I haven't heard anything from them and I'm worried they may not get there on time. Go, find the source quickly. We will follow when we can." When Bries talks, it's the same voice but a different tone and his eyes begin to fluctuate between different colours. He blinked a couple of times as he returned to normal and looked around.

"Move, quickly. I fear we are not alone." He pat her shoulder and focused in on sounds in the distance. They weren't on the path and were approaching briskly. They weren't fleeing, it was too slow, but they were moving with purpose. He held his staff and stood tall, making him look as big and commanding as he could. He waited until he could clearly see who was approaching before addressing them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

A large rumble sent Bane Skamour sprawling out of his bed. He instinctively reached for one of his throwing knives and turned to face his attacker. His luck, it would probably be Peter or some Shikaku.

But no one was there. There was no attacker. The rumbling continued a bit and then stopped, as if a sleeping giant somewhere had ht the snooze button. WTH?

Groaning as the realization that he'd woken up ten seconds ago hit him, he stretched his arms, touching the ceiling of his well hidden tree house. It was comfortable enough, but what was more important was that it was concealed in the leaves and branches of the trees. Anyone looking outside at the moment would see nothing, even if they looked closely. Every hidden path to the place was well concealed as well, seeming natural as it blended into the snow-covered forest. He was very careful, indeed.

He was still wondering about the rumbling, his curiosity burning a hole in his pocket like a liquor addict's newly-founded twenty. There was no doubt about it: he was going to check it out.

He was already wearing his cloak, for it made a great protection against the cold. He only needed to decide what bow to bring, just in case it was violent and he had to defend himself. He looked at his ivory wooden bows. He finally selected the Recurve Bow. It had a smaller range, but was more accurate. And since he was going into the city, he didn't have to shoot very far. The city was as great a start as any.

He walked over to the bare wall. He tapped a branch with his foot. The branch gave way, showing a passage down. He leaped through it, landing on his feet and barrel-rolling to keep from breaking a leg. He kept waling from there, putting his fedora over his eyes so few would recognize him. He was wanted by the Shikaku and the Chikyuu no Mirai after all...

There appeared to be a gathering along the road he was on as he passed by. Two were talking and another two were heading their way. He avoided the possible conflict, walking a little further until he had a perfect view of the city...or what was left of it.

Well, that explained the rumbling! There had to have been something huge to cause that explosion to decimate half the frickin' city. He sighed in disgust as he wondered who could've done this and why. Then, his good personality took over, telling him that it could've been an accident. He liked that part of his inner voice.

Not wanting to see anymore, he turned away and started walking back. It was too soon to be hearing any news about it. He'd head back, make a nice breakfast, and walk back in an hour, when gossip would be spreading across the other half of the town and he could listen in on a few conversations without being noticed.

He realized as he approached that he'd have to once again cross paths with the group of four. He decided to stay completely out of sight this time, detouring through the forest, walking around it, like a shadow following the morning sun. He would most likely not be noticed.

His senses tingled as he heard a barely noticeable crunch of snow ahead of him. Looking ahead, he spotted a woman, not fifty years away from his current spot, appearing to be doing the same thing he was doing, only with about half the skill. He didn't know why she was hiding from the party, but she would be discovered soon if she kept at it like that. He had to help her. Without knowing why, he ran forward and tacked her silently, covering her hand so she couldn't scream. "Ssshhh..." he quietly whispered into her ears while putting a finger over his mouth to motion to what he just said. He pointed at the small group gathering to show her what to be silent of.

Then, he got off of her, crouching low and steadily moving forward through the trees, motioning for her to follow, but to be silent and to keep low. He didn't want to hurt her, he wanted to help.

Matthew was crouched up on a tree branch, watching the situation. He had been heading to town and - had all gone as planned - he would have been in there when it exploded. He had missed death because he had overslept in one of the few occasions he had actually gotten sleep. However, he banished that thought from his mind the moment he sensed urgency and tenseness in the air. Looking down from the branch, he got a grasp of the general surroundings - and saw three parties which confused the heck out of him. His first instinct was to run, but as he listened to the conversation it was clear that it was not him they were searching for, but for the perpetrator of this explosion.

As if that was any consolation to him.

Staying on top of the branch, he crouched and continued to listen. If any of these people around him at the moment turned out to be from the Shikaku, well, he'll have a chance to rampage again. To that end, he quietly equipped his brass knuckles, ready in case a battle broke out and Shikaku appeared.

Rin was slowly and quietly trying to pass by these people until something, or actually, someone sent her into the ground. She tried to scream but he covered her mouth so it was impossible. Her eyes widened in horror as she thought of who it could be. Maybe it was an assassin sent to kill her for what she caused. Panic filled her eyes as she was about to elbow the man.

"Ssshhh..." the man whispered in her ear. Like hell she'd listen to him! She needed to get away at that very moment! She almost continued her attack until he pointed. He was trying to keep her hidden from them. Were they the danger she was trying to avoid? If so, she got to close. It was only a matter of time before she was found out if she continued.

Slowly the man got off her and crouched as he moved forward and gestured her to follow. She hesitated a second, but then followed. Why the hell not? She had nothing to lose anymore.

Looking up, something caught her eye. She grabbed the back of the cloak of the man in front of her and tugged slightly, pointing at something or someone in the tree.

((OOC: Sorry DX I could've put these two posts together but I forgot ><))
Alizé's eyes suddenly widened as she saw the man address him in the distance. She didn't recognize the woman, but boy, did she recognize the man. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the Chikyuu no Mirai leader. How ironic, they were just talking about him and here he was with what she assumed was one of his underlings.

Alizé stayed quiet and as she looked around. Did they happen to find the source of destruction before them? She looked around until she sensed something around her. It was the power that seemed to fill the air when they were farther away... but it was thicker. More powerful. They were close to the source, but she couldn't tell where from.

Looking to her leaders, she waited until she gained eye contact with one.

"I believe we are close to whatever caused this destruction... Very close..." She mouthed out silently and she made sure the Chikyuu no Mirai couldn't tell by taking her cigarette out of her mouth and using her hand as cover. She then blowed out some smoke and put it back in her mouth in case she needed both hands for whatever fight might follow.

"That's a disgusting habit, ruins your lungs, you know. What are you doing here? I thought no one wandered outside the cities this far. Although, I can't say I'd blame anyone right now, the commotion that's rising." It was rather obvious he had no real defense, at least no physical defense. But he knew when he looked at Dianne, no amount of distance between them would keep him safe. He wasn't fast enough, so he walked over to them in a royal manner, head held high, commanding posture.

"I haven't seen either of you in a while. It's been, what?" He tried to remember but his head hurt. A hint of pain flashed on his face and he tossed the matter to the side. "Too long anyway. We never talk anymore." He heard movement and in town, noises people investigating and trying to save anyone hurt in the explosion, even in the distance, began to fill his head. He couldn't separate them enough to tell what made them or from what direction. "Lacoix..."

"Aurelie. I missed you. We used to have such fun so long ago. Before I was trapped in this... Wretched piss-pot."

Maedoc shook it off and looked to Ryder. "Still filling your body with poisons. I would think you'd want to keep all your wits about you. You'll die in your bed, coughing on your own vomit before you die in battle." He went to grab the cigarette but wasn't fast enough. "Fine. Saves me the trouble. But it seems so... Meaningless. And that's the real question, isn't it. What's the meaning of this? Why have the two of you come out here? What business do you have?"

"We've come here for whatever made that explosion. We'd rather not start a fight here and now, so, we'd be willing to negoti-" Dianne was interrupted by Aurelie, "Bries, It's been quite a while! Luckily, I was put in this lady here," she pointed to Dianne," and we figured out how to clone her, so now we just live in two separate, but effectively identical, bodies. Even more fortunately, we're very similar in personality, so we get along wonderfully." Aurelie put her arm around Dianne's back, and pulled her closer. The Demon shifted to Grim Tongue (the language that only Dianne & Aurelie speak), and said,
"We could get a hold of the source, without even needing to fight them. Their leader is a demonic, and it's pretty obvious the host and demon don't get along. Maybe, we could strike a deal with Bries and Maedoc, so that we get to take the source, and, in return, we could try to convince Bries to try to be a little nicer to Maedoc. The host would be overjoyed of this, and would likely take the deal."

Dianne glanced to Maedoc, then to Alize and Juliet. She responded in grim tongue, "The challenge will be to convince the demon to work with us on this. We need to earn some sort of favor from him. You're a demon too; think of something that he, or a demon in general, would want a LOT."
"Let's negotiate for now. We can figure out something if we continue to talk to them." Aurelie replied, running through things that could work in her head.

The entire discussion, to everyone else, just sounded like a garble of consonant-heavy gibberish, with sounds and syllables that seemed near-impossible to pronounce. Their mouth movements didn't match the sounds at all, but would still lip-read as gibberish.

They switched back to English.
"We'd like to find the source of that explosion, and attempt to peacefully negotiate what will happen to it." Dianne said, and Aurelie nodded, flashing a small grimace to Maedoc, hoping that Bries would notice it was directed to him, not the host.

"That's a disgusting habit, ruins your lungs, you know. What are you doing here? I thought no one wandered outside the cities this far. Although, I can't say I'd blame anyone right now, the commotion that's rising." The Chikyuu no Mirai leader said as her eyebrows furrowed. She glared at the man but said nothing. She grew so used to smoking already that she sometimes didn't even notice she was. She knew she was addicted but she knew she could heal her lungs if need be. That way she wouldn't die from her addiction.

Soon the man addressed her mistress before looking back at her.

"Still filling your body with poisons. I would think you'd want to keep all your wits about you. You'll die in your bed, coughing on your own vomit before you die in battle." He stated as he went to grab her cigarette. She quickly pulled back, keeping out of his reach. She gave him venomous eyes as he neared and and hated him for attempting to get close.

"Trust me, I'm perfectly fine here. It's you and your underling you should be worried about." She said coldly to the man. It wasn't his business what she did with her life.

"Fine. Saves me the trouble. But it seems so... Meaningless. And that's the real question, isn't it. What's the meaning of this? Why have the two of you come out here? What business do you have?"

A slight smile tugged at her lips as her leader answered. Such an obvious thing for him to address.. They were after the same thing she assumed he was. Whatever caused this destruction.

Bane Skamour felt a tug on his cloak. He knew the girl wanted his attention. He turned around. She was motioning upwards to the trees. Bane's gaze moved up as well and his eyes fixed on a man in the trees. The man appeared to be studying the small group gathering as well. He mouthed "We're okay," to her before motioning once more for her to follow once more.

He moved slowly, securely, following the pattern of the shadows as the sun continued to rise in it's slow fashion. Like it was a normal day. He knew it wasn't. Half the city was destroyed, groups were gathering, and he was helping a girl he didn't know for reasons he ddn't know either. A part of him told that she knew something about what had happened and that he was to know how. A part of him was telling him that she wanted to avoid contact with the gathering in the road at all cost, once more for reasons unknown. And to top it all off, there was a unique feeling there, a feeling he usually never had unless...

I know this girl...

The realization hit him faster than a load of bricks. That explained his natural instinct of why he wanted to help her. He should be helping her. He'd known her from way back when, although who she was and exactly when was still fuzzy and unclear. But he still hasn't had a chance to look at her face closely. When he tackled her, it was a blur.

He looked onward at the group. There wasn't any fighting going on...yet. He could see from the tension of their eyes that they were very close to, indeed. He recognized a few faces immediately. Shikaku and Chikyuu no Mirai, the leaders among them. He'd rather not confront them, therefore making the right choice in diverting from the path the second time. They'd obviously be looking for the source. With his luck, they'd probably find a way to pin this on him. He was innocent, but he'd sabotaged both organizations before. It would seem like his kind of doing...except that they all knew that there was a magical precense in the air. He'd known it was there for quite some time and also knew, with no doubt, that it was the magic that caused the destruction.

He took one last glance at the party and the man in the trees, making sure they were both distracted, then led the woman out of the sight, out of their earshot, and towards his little concealed treehouse. "Okay, we're out of earshot, but whisper just in case. My home is not at all far from here. I'm not here to hurt, I'm here to help." he encouraged as he reached the trunk of his home. "Here we are. Look around until you find a hole in the tree and climb through it. The ladder will be above the entrance. climb it and I will meet you there." he instructed before leaping up the tree, clearing the branch he used to get out earlier, and concealing it. He then reached the hatch where the ladders below led and opened it. When the woman got into the hole, he'd motion upwards to make sure that she knew she was in no danger.

Everything happened for a reason, but it is always the people involved with the reason that shape the course of the future by themselves. When something happens, it happens because something else had influenced another something which caused it to reach the point in which it had happened. So, nothing was truly random. This was the motto by which a man known to most as "Fate" had lived by, and the words spoke to his heart so.

With that being said, it should not come across as a surprise that when the carnage from an explosion had effectively leveled an entire city, killing many and injuring many more, that he showed not the slightest frown nor concern for his own well-being. After all, something had caused this. If anything, it had him curious as to what might have caused such destruction so quickly. The thought of such power residing within someone was such a mysterious source of excitement, and fear. Was it a group, or was it a single person? No, certainly not a group -- at least not one he was aware of. He was knowledgeable on both of the biggest groups in the world - The Chikyuu No Mirai and the Shikaku. The latter of which he was associated with to a common degree. Were someone there able to do such a thing, he'd have known. But nobody was.

Knowing that, he had one guess. Before his long-time friend, Dianne, had managed her way up the ladder and onto the position of the Master of the Shikaku, both the Shikaku and the Mirai both found themselves worried about a source of power so great that it could shape the very destiny of the world. This source of power was in one person who was known only as "The Destroyer". By the time leadership had changed, the groups didn't seem so worried about this rumor; this myth. But Fate.... that story always appealed to him. A force so great that it could not only shape its own future, but the future of anyone and everyone in the world? Awesome. Inspiring. Intimidating.......and full of potential.

Manipulation could either shape the world or destroy it, if this "Destroyer" was indeed a person as told by the stories.

And Fate, the man he is, would love nothing more than to be that manipulator. To be the one to make the person who held the world in their hands bend to his will. For it wasn't the person with the power, but the person who controlled the power that was in command of the world. Yes....

....he would be in command.

Fate had seen his friend leave her residence upon waking up along with her 'friend'. At the time, he wasn't doing much but nothing and chose his destiny by following her -- discreetly, of course. Now, he stood far behind, easily avoiding detection by anyone and everyone simply because he was further behind them. However, upon approaching Dianne and the people she had begun to converse with, he noticed.... three people. One in a tree, overlooking the gathering down below, and two others sneaking around in an even more suspicious manner than the one above.

It was left to a flip of the coin to decide where his destiny took him. Heads, he confronted the man in the tree. Tails, he followed the two to wherever they may go. Dianne could handle herself in a fight, and the Chikyuu leader didn't seem to resort to violence upon recognizing his opponent's identity, so he predicted leaving them alone for a small while wouldn't yield unfavorable results. Thusly, he flipped his coin with his thumb and watched it as it flew into the air, then plummeted down onto his palm, which he then turned over to reveal.....

Tails.

Well, either way, he was probably going to follow them simply because of their behavior. Who attempts to hide from others during a crisis like this? It was obvious no start of any war, so such an excuse was implausible. They knew something, or so Fate would hope as he stealithly followed them, paying care not to cause anything beneath his feet to reveal him to the two.

They reached a tree soon after, where the had stopped to climb. The boy instructed the girl to climb and look for an entrance. They, of course, were whispering. However, when they had stopped, he simply moved to the other side of the tree and kept his back to it via Gate, smirking at the fact they were none the wiser. But he decided that enough was enough. He wanted to question the two, especially after recognizing the man's voice. Though nothing too remarkable, this young man was known as a thorn in the side of both of the major parties. He wasn't too bad at getting in and out, and since he had never managed to do anything to Dianne or himself, Fate never found a reason to pursue him, even if he could. Another Gate placed him behind the young girl, whom he didn't recognize whatsoever. Before she managed to grab a hold of the tree, he tossed a charged card straight at the tree, above her head, slamming into the trunk and detonating with a concussive force that, though sturdy, made the tree's branches shake wildly, and caused a loud bang. Leaves and weaker branches fell from said tree due to the sudden attack, and it might've even scared the life out of the two. But that didn't matter. What did is that they were aware of his presence now, for trees didn't simply do that. "Eheheh! Hate to make a dramatic entrance, but I'd reckon you'd just bolt up the tree if you weren't aware of how vain it would be." he began, approaching the girl in a walk with a sly grin on his face, but stopped some feet away from her. "I ain't no Sheriff, but I wouldn't mind you telling me what you two are doing sneaking around here. Doesn't seem to me like you have much of an obvious reason.... unless you're involved in what happened in some way?" Fate kept his eyes open, allowing neither the boy in the tree or the girl before him to move one bit without him noticing. That, and his hand held in it a few playing cards as ammunition. To them, maybe they'd figure it was odd, but to him, they were of course, weapons for him to use in either defense or to interrogate. He'd hope Luck would allow neither to be required.

"I'm sorry for snapping. Today has not been a good day for me." He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "But that would explain what I..."
He explained and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I sent out the God's Hand to deal with it. But I haven't heard anything from them and I'm worried they may not get there on time. Go, find the source quickly. We will follow when we can." Her leader said.


Juliet nodded.

[i]Move, quickly. I fear we are not alone." [/i]

He spoke again and patted her shoulder. Juliet nodded again and turned to leave when two Shikaku members walked up. The leader and a subordinate who Juliet had followed before but didn't have much information on. Juliet turned around and glanced at her leader, hoping he'd give her an excuse to take off with out the two shikaku members suspecting something. She also didn't want to leave her leader alone, he was weaponless. Well he had his staff, but that wouldn't do much damage. Juliet stood there, wishing she could just run away and find the source of the explosion, and listening to the conversation that had started. She watched the lower ranked shikaku member give a glare to her master. Juliet glared anther but she didn't think she had noticed since she was too busy eyeballing máedóc. Juliet must have looked bored as the shikaku members tried to negotiate with her leader on who dealt with the source of the explosion. She didn't believe in negotiating with the enemy.

Bane Skamour

Suddenly, the tree shook again, but not from another explosion of the town. This one was much closer, maybe even right below Bane Skamour...

He kept his balance, despite the shaking of the floors below him, leaping out of the tree to see the commotion. In front of him was a man he had yet to encounter. His aura told him that he'd had years of experience fighting. It was that right balance of knowing he was good without overexaggeration. He wasn't cocky, nor unsure of himself. He was just the perfect balance of lethality. But so was Bane. He slid out his short sword made of hardened lapiz lazuli and a throwing knife. He wasn't going to attack right away; he would if the man was persistent. But the trick now was to show no fear. However, the weak link was the woman, he feared, but didn't show in his emotion.

"Eheheh! Hate to make a dramatic entrance, but I'd reckon you'd just bolt up the tree if you weren't aware of how vain it would be." He sounded much more perky than he was led to believe, but maybe that was the dandy man's opening act. He noticed the cards in his hand and saw that they were not only the source of the explosion, but they held more than explosions to the naked eye.

"I ain't no Sheriff, but I wouldn't mind you telling me what you two are doing sneaking around here. Doesn't seem to me like you have much of an obvious reason.... unless you're involved in what happened in some way?" Dandy Man had said. Instead of taking a step forward, like a brute would do, he took a step back, not out of fear, but for accuracy. He liked it better when he had a bit of distance between him and his opponent.

"Hey, dandy man. None of us were involved in that attack in any way." he smiled, coldly, keeping his gaze locked on his stance. "If there's a huge explosion that wipes out half the town, people are going to feel it and investigate. I wanted to investigate it. There's no crime in that, is there Sherrif?" He flicked his sword once, his smile gone. There was a sharp piercing look in his eye and his aura changed to one of "I'll kill you for breathing..." He felt his inner power rise to his fingertips, ready to fight if he had to. "I also do believe that you're in my territory, so my suggestion would be to take your magic tricks somewhere else..." he finished, almost dead tone. He hadn't moved an inch.

Maedoc was about to say something when the sound of a small explosion sounded not far away. Everyone's head and attention turned to the sound. He didn't know if anyone else would, but he immediately started toward the sound. As he ran towards it, he noticed at least three distinct tracks in the snow. He didn't have time to kneel down and examine them as he was sure the others were also moving to find the source of this second, though much smaller, explosion and most of them were much faster than he.

The tracks ended at the base of a large tree with a girl and two men at the base, apparently having words. There was a black mark in the tree and many of the hibernating branches had fallen from it.

"HOLD!" His voice, unexpectedly loud from someone so usually soft spoken, carried over everyone in the party. "Now, wait! Just hold on. There's too much commotion going on. It's starting to feel rather crowded here, quite honestly... So before we continue bickering and huffing and threatening each other, there are a lot of questions that still need answered. Like who all of you are and what you know about all these explosions that have been happening."

"Okay, we're out of earshot, but whisper just in case. My home is not at all far from here. I'm not here to hurt, I'm here to help." the man whispered as they started to leave the group behind. She looked at the an and decided to make her final decision. She had nowhere else to go and no one left to trust. The best she had at the moment was him and if he would keep her safe from the groups, she would have to take her chances.

"Thank you..." She whispered. She knew the chances she was taking while following him. She took the same chances and got her sister killed when she was ten by doing the same. Now, she had nothing more to lose. It didn't matter anymore.

"Here we are. Look around until you find a hole in the tree and climb through it. The ladder will be above the entrance. climb it and I will meet you there." he said as she quickly nodded and started looking. Suddenly, and explosion went off in front of her, causing some branches to fall and getting a yelp out of her. At first, she thought she caused it again but quickly realized someone was behind her.

"Eheheh! Hate to make a dramatic entrance, but I'd reckon you'd just bolt up the tree if you weren't aware of how vain it would be." the man behind her said as she whipped around to see him approaching.

"I ain't no Sheriff, but I wouldn't mind you telling me what you two are doing sneaking around here. Doesn't seem to me like you have much of an obvious reason.... unless you're involved in what happened in some way?" He finished as Rin's eyes widened. How could he tell so easily?

"Hey, dandy man. None of us were involved in that attack in any way." The stranger who was helping her said as he jumped back down, saving her from talking.

"If there's a huge explosion that wipes out half the town, people are going to feel it and investigate. I wanted to investigate it. There's no crime in that, is there Sherrif? I also do believe that you're in my territory, so my suggestion would be to take your magic tricks somewhere else..." The stranger continued as he whipped out his sword.

Suddenly, she heard people running in the distance. Her heart threatened to stop as she saw the group she intended to avoid rush to the fight.

"HOLD!" the man who looked like the leader of the group yelled as she froze.

"Now, wait! Just hold on. There's too much commotion going on. It's starting to feel rather crowded here, quite honestly... So before we continue bickering and huffing and threatening each other, there are a lot of questions that still need answered. Like who all of you are and what you know about all these explosions that have been happening." Rin's eyes widened as she started to panic. Would they kill her if she told them?

---

---

Alizé ran toward the explosion as soon as she heard it. Getting to the clearing, her heart sunk as soon as she saw Fate.

"God damn it all..." She muttered under her breath before she glanced over at a timid looking girl who had a guilty looking face. She smiled slightly as she decided to use a bit of her powers to "Persuade" her to give the information she needed.

"It's okay, you can trust us. Just tell us what happened." She said with a fake smile as Rin looked up, her eyes slightly grey.

Suddenly, Alizé's eyes widened as she quickly grabbed her head in pain. A golden essence filled the air between them and she gasped in pain.

"I cause them..." Rin said, her voice and face devoid of all emotion as her eyes took on a greyish gold color.

Despite the fact that the people around him completely ignored his presence, Matthew continued trailing the girl. Or perhaps it was a good thing that they did; it made his job that much easier.

"I cause them..."

And apparently, this time, he hit jackpot.

Hearing that girl confess to causing that explosion was - despite the fact it could be her single most stupidest move she could make in that situation - a major hit for him. Why? Because it made her a target of the Shikaku. If they got wind of this, they would probably come down on her in the dozens. She was the ultimate Shikaku magnet, his ultimate source of revenge.

But first, he had to figure out what all those other people around her were. Were they Shikaku? Mirai? Friend? Foe?
Only time would tell.

(Double Post)

"Hey, dandy man. None of us were involved in that attack in any way." Fate was answered by the man who was in the tree, shooting him a glare and holding his weapon, a blade, as he continued. "If there's a huge explosion that wipes out half the town, people are going to feel it and investigate. I wanted to investigate it. There's no crime in that, is there Sheriff?"

Someone like Malcolm could never be frightened by mere looks or a situation alone. He had in fact picked up some feeling from the intense glare he received, but his unflinching expression told nobody anything about what he was thinking or feeling. But such was the benefit of playing poker so much. One couldn't see a single twitch in his mouth as the man continued with, "I also do believe that you're in my territory, so my suggestion would be to take your magic tricks somewhere else..." However, this was when Malcolm's facial lock broke with a grin replacing his poker face.

"Simmer down, Hotshot." he instructed. He was merely looking for answers, not a fight. But that didn't mean he would leave to avoid answers he was seeking. Besides, this man was placing distance between them, which would only provide Swain with a better advantage. If this man thought for a moment that these cards played fairly, then he would would be sorely mistaken. Then again, it's not like many people could really predict a card doing what it could in Fate's grasp. "I only seek what hand you've played in this whole affair." But that was the last line Fate could speak before suddenly....

"HOLD" a man boomed. It was the leader of the Chikyuu, to be specific. Truth be told, Fate has dealt with this man in the past, non-aggressively, but hadn't ever heard his voice go much about a whisper. "Now, wait! Just hold on. There's too much commotion going on. It's starting to feel rather crowded here, quite honestly... So before we continue bickering and huffing and threatening each other, there are a lot of questions that still need answered. Like who all of you are and what you know about all these explosions that have been happening." Foolish, this man was. Was that not exactly what Fate just asked? Of course, he obviously put pacifism before the answers, and would probably listen to the demands on someone if they promised to refrain from violence, which would be counter-productive. Fate needed these answers more than he wanted to avoid conflict, so it was only natural he'd fight to get them.

He needed to be the one in control.

If there was any positive about this situation, it was that the young woman seemed to know something. She had, after all, a wide-eyed look on her face when Good Guy Greg questioned their involvement in the explosions. Maybe he was onto something. Yet, predictably, before he could open his mouth and get something out of her, more people showed up, one of them being his favorite toy, Alize. Malcolm tipped his hat at her and wore a smirk, knowing it'd only annoy her. That was his favorite thing about the Shikaku, was that he could go there to blow off some steam by playing around. But important matters first -- Her charm was much more.... 'potent' than his in that it nearly forced someone to listen to her. That was a big plus, but his was much more subtle and you never could tell that you were being manipulated which, in the long run, was more useful to reaching a long-term goal, like Fate had. He only watched as the young toy of his approached the girl and worked her magic.

"I cause them..."

The girl admitted in a monotone. She had caused this big explosion which had rivaled any explosion anyone had ever seen ever before. She had admitted that she was the cause of this, and that she had killed many people through it. With only three words, she admitted that she was the one Fate was looking for, and that he was so much closer to being the one to manipulate the events in this world.

He wanted to let loose a loud laugh, an evil chuckle, a howl of a sort. His objective was already in sight, all he had to do is whittle away at it's free-will and harness the ability to change the world! By the way she acted, such a task wouldn't be of much difficulty to a man who could caress someone's ears with his voice and words. So, by that logic, the actual act of manipulating her would be of no problem. But there was a problem....

His friend. And the Chikyuu No Mirai.

Two sides of the same coin, they were. And they'd both be heavily against them if they ever found out what he had in mind for The Destroyer. They both wanted to prevent destruction in this world, but with different means. Chikyuu'd try to teach her to manipulate her power by herself, while Dianne would most likely not want to risk it getting out of hand again and kill her to protect Kuusou. Either way, they were messing with Fate's goal, and that was something he could not allow. But simply turning on his friend here would prove to be a mistake. No, he could still use his relationship to his advantage, for now. And so, before anything else happened, Fate acted.

"Lady Luck is smilin." he began as he slowly closed the distance between him and the Destroyer. At this point, he knew he couldn't allow Diane, who was probably shortly behind, to order her execution. Well, at least, he couldn't let her carry out the execution. But it'd be hard to retrieve her if the Chikyuu got a hold of her, since they weren't so trusting of Fate. "Luck has delivered her straight to us. The cause of all this awesome destruction sits right before us." he was mentally laughing at all of this. The best way to get her out of this scene alive and without being apprehended was, of course, to provoke both sides at once into conflict with each other. Their ultimate goal the same, but their means different - it meant that such a task was simple, obvious. All he had to do was confirm to them what they already would suspect, and the die would fall right into place. "She has delivered unto us the Destroyer of Kuusou." he was now right behind her, within grabbing distance, but did not touch her...yet. "So, then what would we do?"

Or rather, what I do? You guys on the other hand....eheheheh!

Bane Skamour

"Simmer down, Hotshot," Okay, now that would've been a clever pun if the dandy man knew anything about his powers. "I only seek what hand you've played in this whole affair." And he he was good with his puns as well. He still kept his gaze locked on his form, checking for any surprise attacks. The small gathering had heard the explosion automatically and alerted them to the scene. God damn it all...

"HOLD!" came a surprising booming voice from the leader of the Chikyuu no Mirai. "Now, wait! Just hold on. There's too much commotion going on. It's starting to feel rather crowded here, quite honestly... So before we continue bickering and huffing and threatening each other, there are a lot of questions that still need answered. Like who all of you are and what you know about all these explosions that have been happening." Like hell he was going to hold. If any one of them made a step to attack him, he would definately retaliate. It was a natural ability of him: defenses. He hadn't failed to hold his own, even from the rare surprise attacks that weren't actually very surprising because robbers moved more loudly than a marching band.

I caused them...

It was the first words he'd heard from her yet...and it still revealed so much about her. He knew everything. Her name was Rin Hayashi. She was a very stubborn girl, but a very kind and shy one. She only wanted to do good for the world, so the fact that she caused this had been something of a surprise to him. It could only have been an accident.

How had he known all of this? He knew her. They were friends growing up together, separated for so long when he was sixteen...and she shows up again, three years later. It's a small world...

"Lady luck is smilin'." Now he definately didn't like that tone coming from dandy man. "Luck has delivered her straight to us. The cause of all this awesome destruction sits right before us. She has delivered unto us the Destroyer of Kuusou. So, then what would we do?" He was now behind her, close enough to touch.

I don't know about the rest of us, but you better be thinkin' about stepping away...

"Look, fate is fate, dandy man," Bane began. "But I can tell in your eyes what you're about to do and you better not do it. Rin Hayashi is just a simple girl with bad genetics. It's not her fault she's in this position." He paused for a moment, searching for more words. "Look, she's still unaware of herself. She wouldn't hurt someone without purpose. Maybe she can control her state. But killing her isn't the way to go." He directed that at the Shikaku leader. "Anything you do to her, I will unleash on you tenfold. And I make good on my threats." he said to the dandy man, not caring what the others thought of this. "So play your cards right..."

It was then that he saw the yellow-ish glimmer in Rin's eyes. He got into a more defensive stance, not just from the dandy man, but from Rin as well.