Aubrey made it to his house with Emery, but an unfamiliar face appeared. In fact, it was one of the two he saw before, only this time he had an even bigger gun. Now that everyone had gathered outside his mother's bedroom, the hallway was a bit crowded. But the teenager didn't mind much as he opened the door. Stepping inside, he saw his mother was already sitting up in her bed, looking out the window. She didn't have a clear view to the town square, but she was aware of what was going on.

[b]"Mom,"[/b] Aubrey spoke up to her, motioning with his left hand for the others to wait for him in the hall. As he stepped in, her attention went back to him. [b]"We need to get out of here."[/b] The look on her face was something that seemed... sad. Not frightened, but sad. His mother let out a sigh, before slowly rotating around to let her feet touch the floor. [b]"Wait! Mom, you shouldn't be walking. Isaac came up for a plan to carry you."[/b] But his mother shook her head. [b]"It's okay, Aubrey."[/b] Slowly and carefully she got to her feet. The lack of muscle in her legs made her wobble for a moment, but she remained standing.

Immediately, Aubrey moved over to support her and prevent any sudden collapses. [b]"You're too weak to be moving around. Isaac and I can carry you on that thing he's making. We've got to be fast. The Crucible is here."[/b] As they reached the doorway to the hallway, there was a loud banging sound resounding from the first floor. Someone was banging on the door. [b]"I know, Aubrey."[/b] As they stepped out into the hallway, Melanie freed herself from her son's support and began walking to the stairs on her own. First Aubrey looked to Isaac and Emery for some kind of support, before looking back at his mother.

[b]"What are you doing? That's them outside. You're already walking around when you shouldn't be and we really need to go and-"[/b] Aubrey silenced himself as his mother raised her hand. Though she faced away from the youngsters, she turned her head to be able to see them. [b]"I saw it, Aubrey."[/b] For a moment this confused him, but she quickly continued. [b]"I saw them coming. A long time ago, I saw the Crucible coming. Krukow is done. Kuiper will follow within a few hours. They've begun, and you need to leave."[/b]

Her words were confusing, and in his pause she continued down the stairs. Aubrey glanced at the others again before rushing down the stairs after his mother. Once he reached the bottom, he saw she was slowly heading toward the front door. Before he could speak, there was another pounding at the door. [b]"Open up!"[/b] someone outside shouted. [b]"What are you doing mom?"[/b] Aubrey had to whisper, barely loud enough for her to hear. She turned around and gave Aubrey a smile. [b]"Allowing you and your friends to escape. Go through the back door."[/b] As she reached for the door handle, she stopped suddenly. [b]"Wait..."[/b]

---

The blonde-haired man dashed toward Weston, with his right hand pulled back like he had claws. Though he was fast, his adversary was faster. Weston dodged his strike effortlessly, leaning out of the way. And in Lieutenant Strong's vulnerable pose, Weston found a weak point. He brought his knee up into the officer's midsection with tremendous power. However, upon impact, there was a powerful reverberation through the air. The cobblestone beneath them shattered. Then Weston's leg bounced off the man's body with force, sending Weston into a spin.

Weston managed to put his hands up and springboard off the ground after that impact, but it let Lieutenant Strong have breathing room to laugh. [b]"Ha! Even the great Weston Bright is useless against my Bounce Magic. All your power is for nothing! Both magic and weapons alike bounce off my body,"[/b] the blond explained, before letting out another laugh. [b]"I'm untouchable!"[/b] As he stood up to full height, Weston shot a glance toward Captain Storm. The man was smirking with his arms crossed over his chest. He was quite confident that his Lieutenant could beat Weston.

With a sigh, Weston reached up and grabbed [url=http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091210084208/soulcalibur/images/c/c1/Requiem.jpg]the larger of his two swords[/url]. As he slowly drew it, the Lieutenant before him kept laughing. [b]"You idiot. A sword won't work on me either. I can reflect all forms of attack."[/b] Weston spit on the ground, before looking the man directly in his eyes with his one eye. The dead gaze sent a shiver down the officer's spine, but he still stood before the infamous criminal. [b]"The stronger the attack, the more it bounces back. You're liable to kill yourself if you attack me with a sword."[/b] Still Weston said nothing in response.

There was a brief staredown, before Weston suddenly shot forward with the blade to his side. As he prepared to slash, the Lieutenant grinned and pulled his hand back with the intension of hitting Weston while he reels from his own attack. Just as the two were upon each other, a blue energy surrounded Weston and his sword. In that split-second, Strong had a look of confusion. Then Weston swung his blade.

Storm looked on in shock as Weston stood back up to his full height, holding the giant sword to his side. The two halves of Strong collapsed to the ground almost noiselessly. The captain choked back some fear, staring directly into Weston's eye. [b]"Eh..."[/b] he began, trying to find the words. The soldiers that surrounded the fight were already intimidated, but now they were even more afraid. [b]"Uh... Damnit! Shoot him!!"[/b] As if snapped out of a daze, most of the soldiers raised their guns again and aimed at Weston. As Storm also aimed his hand at Weston like a pistol, the man in the center of it all jumped into the air. Just in time, too.

---

Aubrey heard a volley of gunshots from the center of town. His mother looked back at him. [b]"Now. Go now. Take your friends and go to the ship that crashed. It cannot fly now, but Isaac can get it in the air. The people on that ship can save you."[/b] Aubrey was confused for a moment. Tears were welling up in his eyes. [b]"How do you know this? Why can't you come with us?"[/b] A slight smile formed on his mother's lips. [b]"It is already decided. If I go with you, we will be caught. Please, go now. I will find you later, Aubrey."[/b]

The teenager gritted his teeth, before wiping the water out of his eyes. With a grunt of frustration, he turned away from his mother. [b]"Come on guys, the back door is this way."[/b] Now that he was complying, his mother smiled again. Outside the door, she heard two men start debating something. Perhaps they were discussing if it would be best to go examine the gunfire or if they should continue their rounds of searching houses. Either way, Melanie knew what she was going to do to distract them. All she had to do was keep them in front of the house for a few moments. All she had to do.

---

As Weston dodged the volley of gunfire, many of the soldiers had incidentally ended up shooting each other. As they began to recover from the confusion, they all looked up to see Weston in the air. Storm was growing more and more frustrated. [b]"Shoot him out of the air! Bring the Interceptor around to obliterate him!"[/b] Now Weston reached up and grabbed his [url=http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss31/misericordemika/Legend%20of%20the%20Sun%20Knight/14908abd2ca2f5.jpg]other sword[/url], holding one giant sword in each hand.

As the soldiers adjusted their aim again and began to open fire, Weston started swinging both the blades around at high speed. His arms were only a blur. But over the sound of gunfire, the clanging of metal bullets striking the blades could be heard. As gravity set in and he descended to the ground, he continued deflecting the bullets. Almost all at once, the gunfire stopped. All the soldiers had exhausted their magazines at the same time and had to reload. In that moment, Weston stared at Storm again. [b]"You should all think about what you are doing,"[/b] Weston finally spoke. This created a silence as another wave of intimidation swept the town square.

All the soldiers had stopped reloading and were staring at Weston, unsure if they should continue or not. Before Storm himself could decide, he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, Vladmir was holding his hammer in both hands and was mid-swing. As the giant hammer slammed down, Storm dissipated into a gust of wind, letting the hammer pass through harmlessly as he moved to the side. Once he reformed, he pointed his finger at Vladmir's face. But just as he fired again, Weston was upon him. With a downward swing of his blade, he sliced the wind bullet in two. As the attack was near invisible, it was difficult to see what happened.

But across the courtyard from the fight, two houses suddenly were impacted and began to crash down. It then became evident that Weston disrupted the attack. As he prepared another swing, a look of fear was on Storm's face. He quickly turned into wind again and began to flee, stunning his subordinates that were still in the square. [b]"Bah,"[/b] the mayor spat out. [b]"I didn't need your help, outsider."[/b] Weston looked up at the mayor with his one eye and a wave of intimidation swept over the older man. [b]"Don't think that I'm helping you."[/b]

---

The green-haired woman scowled at his offer. But then the scowl disappeared as she thought about it. If he was paying, then there wasn't really an issue of transporting him. [b]"Hmm..."[/b] she thought aloud, before glancing around the trees. It seemed he was the only refugee so far, but more would likely come. If the Crucible caused a panic, then more people would flee into the woods. Then Summer realized something else.

[b]"Weston's in there!"[/b] she exclaimed furiously, stomping her foot on the deck. [b]"He's going to get us all in trouble! Argh!"[/b] After she kicked her ship again, she leaned over the railing to look at Vallence. [b]"You can come aboard. I'll lower the entrance for you in a second."[/b] The sudden change in mood was likely a bit surprising, but Summer played it off flawlessly. As she headed back to the command bridge, she stopped by Heizo. [b]"Shoot any Crucible that are at risk of discovering us. Also be on the lookout for Weston and Varren. Once those two are back with a mechanic, we can get the hell out of here."[/b] With those instructions given, she walked into the bridge that overlooked the deck and hit a button. Along the base of the ship, two doors opened up and a ramp extended out toward the ground. Though, because the ship wasn't perfectly landed, the ramp was a few inches short of reaching the ground.