Time had seemed to halt instantaneously when the threat of mass murder was exchanged. Instinctually Rika felt fear, not for herself, but for the people in the area who had not earned the ire of this woman. A reaction like that wasn’t normal for her, because no one had ever directly threatened her with the lives of others before. The fearful surprise on Rika’s face gave away any chance she might have had at trying to dissuade Aeva by proving that that sort of threat would not work against her. Her ability to read her efforts without challenge may have meant Rika would have wasted her time anyway. Seconds were going by that felt like minutes, minutes that felt like hours, and so forth. There wasn’t even a single flinch from either Aeva or Pepper, and that told Rika all she needed to know. These threats weren’t a game, everything was for real, and anything less than satisfactory might make this impossible. Leaning forward, Rika had gotten to her feet slowly, not in an effort to leave but an effort to make Aeva understand how serious she had started to take her. Risk of offense might mean much more severe consequences, and this position was too unfavorable to attack. This woman knew things she shouldn’t have, and if she knew as much as her very words and the location of that disc, then that may mean she knows what her capabilities were. 

[b]“These people have nothing to do with me, or you. Only scum would threaten children, I may be a thief, even a killer, but I’d never go as low as that.”[/b] Gritting her teeth, the fingers had begun to clench and her arms began to shake faintly. It was difficult to explain, but she was compelled to stop this from happening. Everything she had done so far would have made taking that bag of munny, handing over the disc, and walking away make complete sense. Aeva was wrong; this was still her game, and she’d walk away the winner regardless. Rika didn’t believe munny mattered to her. If you were this confident and collected, wealth didn’t mean a thing. [b]“So why not deal with me and me alone?”[/b]

[b]“I am dealing with you and you alone. Rika Masaki, do you not understand the position you’re in yet?”[/b] Aeva’s gaze left the standing thief, making a long pass at her surroundings. The various faces of people both young and old, all gathered here in the vicinity of a being that could kill them all in an instant. [b]“This is all to better yourself in the long run. I can’t make good use of you if you’re still foolish enough to believe you don’t care about others. You’ve been lying and scheming for so long that you don’t know who you are anymore. Start thinking hard.”[/b]

[b]“Then keep the money, I don’t need it.”[/b]

[b]“I don’t believe that. Thirty seconds.”[/b]

Rika opened her mouth again to protest, only hesitating once she heard several simultaneous coughs emerge from the throats of bystanders all around her. Covering their mouths with free hands motioning towards their necks, it was quite clearly not a coincidence. Rika had stopped acting a long time ago; her words were as sincere as she had ever been, and yet it still was not enough for this woman. Experiencing panic, and knowing full well her advantages were few to none, she would need to resort to something else entirely if it meant that these people could make it out of this alive. Of course part of her still wanted cash but when you were trained as she was then the endgame was all that mattered. This was no simple score like that storehouse, lives other than hers were at risk. She wasn’t a murderer without cause, but what could she do against a foe who had no humanity? 

[b]“You said you don’t believe it. I say that if you really go through with this, then I’ll …”[/b] Rika’s voice had trailed off, the coughing starting to grow louder. It had begun attracting the attention of other bystanders within the area and soon enough people were beginning to notice an outbreak of coughing fits. Those not yet affected covered their mouths, others sought to relocate to another area. 

[b]“You’ll …do what exactly? Tell me how horrible I am?”[/b] Aeva, for all her threatening, was enjoying putting this girl to the test. It was unlike others who would be quick to do the right thing or go against her, Rika was still putting her survival beside the survival of everyone else and was trying to avoid saying something that would get her killed. Every road she had traveled thus far was one of safety and security; she never got placed in a corner, it was the corner she placed everyone else in. Masaki were some of the most cunning women in any plane of existence, all it took was some experience to coax out the true ‘prime’ they had within. The coughing of the pitiful masses around her did not cause Aeva to hold any change of heart, but for Rika it would make her come to a decision that would affect her existence as a whole. [b]“You either fight for yourself, or you fight for others. Ten seconds remaining…start listening.” [/b]

[b]“S-someone help! It’s my son!”[/b] A voice cried out behind Rika, getting her attention. A young mother was clinging her son closely, who had begun to cough harshly with blood and mucus escaping his mouth and hitting the ground. People who were still healthy had moved in to assist, but they knew as well as Rika that whatever this was there was nothing that could be done. An outbreak of this size didn’t start from nowhere, but just how was she capable of controlling who it affected? There wasn’t any time to figure any of this out for herself, and Aeva was getting exactly what she wanted. This was the very moment, the very second, that Rika understood what side she was on. For better, or for worse, this wasn’t just about herself any further. Shutting her eyes tightly, what happened next she couldn't fully understand, only that it was her own motivation that prompted it and nothing more.

Light erupted from her very soul, and overtook the entire location. A loud crash in the blinding light was sounded, and then there was nothing but silence.

~-~

Deafened by the less-than-subtle sounds of a mechanical construct piecing itself together, Lin looked over her shoulder to see a monster reforming from the parts her and her comrades had worked to destroy. How it chose to reform did not matter, what mattered was putting it to rest for good and stopping people from being put at risk. What should have been fear emanating from her being was instead courage and confident; fear did no one any good here, and she had people who were counting on her too. Spinning like a strange top, the construct was beginning to race towards them, yet it seemed only Lin was ready to face the creature itself. This could be the moment she directed her friends and showed them that she too could be tactically brilliant. As the large and obnoxious situation sped closer towards them, her direction to Shizuka and Ace was halted as the strange beast bounced in the air. That arrogant stranger had taken it on himself to destroy the construct himself, and once the situation had ended had the nerve to, once again, display such arrogance at a site that didn’t demand his ego. Lin was bitter with this situation and bitter at how he believed they couldn’t have taken care of the monster themselves. They may be young, but they were just as capable as him!

Between the claims that he wasn’t evil or a ‘douchebag’, whatever that was meant to be, and wasn’t working with the Empire Lin had no faith in that claim. She shook her head, ignoring the holding out of his hand, and refused to share contact with someone who had been so despicable. Expecting Ace and Shizuka to do what she felt didn’t need to be said, she would be quite surprised at how Ace and Shizuka completely ignored what she had said. Looking back in disbelief at her friends, Shizuka believed that because he ‘helped’ them he was to be spared of criticism. Did she not believe they could have held their own and won? Worse yet, did Shizuka really think that this man deserved to be addressed? He was disrespectful on the site of death, and clearly took pride in who he was. Ex-general did not beg praise when you worked with murderers and cowards, and she had expected Ace of all people to understand that. He didn’t. Addressing him meant that his ‘pitch’ was worthy of recognition; he was insulting them and not even someone she once praised for being intelligent could see through this guise of friendliness? Lin didn’t trust this, and now was uncertain she could trust in her friend’s decisions when it came to people. 

Han, her dear brother and a hero in her eyes, always warned her of the evil within people’s hearts and how well they could mask it. Having dedicate much of his life to ridding the world of those who would gladly see good people suffer at the hands of evil, he was often away in order to help China and the other locations that shared the world with them. It had hurt, but she had always looked up to what he was doing, knowing it was for the best even when it seemed to cost him many companions. He told her that her path may one day demand she go alone, when others didn’t understand your position nearly enough to follow you on that journey called life. This was, as minor as it appeared, a wake-up call to that fact. Lin had expected some serious outrage from both her friends, but Shizuka was suggesting that this man earned their kindness, and Ace was actually tolerating him after what he had said and done? Were Lin already not behind them due to the relocation of that bad man, they might’ve seen a flicker of hurt in her eyes. 

[b]“Ace, Shizuka!”[/b] Lin said in a hushed but urgent tone, calling for their attention. Where friendliness and enthusiasm once showed true, the face of their friend was in a scowl of disappointment never once directed at them until this very moment. Having been completely disregarded by them, Lin’s hurt was not going to remain hidden, and this entire situation had put a damper on a reunion that was, above all else, supposed to be happy. [b]“He comes to us proud on the site of fallen, and you still wish to hear what he has to say? He would have sooner let us die than aid us, but you’d believe his intentions are good? It is self-interest, attacking a creature that was headed for him as well doesn’t change anything I have said! He doesn’t care about anyone, least of all us!”[/b] biting her lip, Lin’s fists would be noticeably balled up and shaking. This was no mere overreaction in her eyes; she took pride in the friends she kept, but friends had to listen to their friends, otherwise they were no friends at all. To acknowledge someone who would celebrate the idea of these creatures harming them, or other people, was disgraceful. [b]“If you really care about what he has to say, then you can continue honoring him by listening. I will have no part in this. Find me when you’re through.” [/b]

Her convictions were ignored, and so, Lin turned away from her friends, from that ‘Cerden’, and let them make whatever cases they’d like. To acknowledge someone who celebrated murder and violence brought great shame to them as her friends, but she would not order them to discontinue it. She’d trust that they weren’t stupid enough to believe in a man like this ‘Cerden’, but should they do so, perhaps her friendship had been misplaced. You don’t honor someone like that, not even with a smile, or a name. 

With her head lowered and her eyes towards the ground, Lin wandered off with no direction, but hadn’t gotten very far. Her only desire was to be left alone with her thoughts until this business with that disgusting excuse for a man was done, but it had appeared that a group of several people at the very edge of the site had something else in mind. 

[b]“Excuse me young lady.”[/b] Lin had stopped her brisk walk away from her friends and had paused, looking up at a group of unknown faces. Some were young, others old, children in the foreground and adults in the very back. Beside the children appeared a very elderly man who had a few inches on her. Lin looked among them all, unsure of what to say. Her visit to a new world did not excuse a lack of manners, she was quick to stand up a little taller and bow her head in a greeting that the man was acknowledging, followed by the rest. [b]“Y-yes? Is something wrong?”[/b] Lin asked. From where she was standing everyone appeared unscathed and safe, which was the entire goal of the ground she stood. 

[b]“Not at all, thanks to the efforts made by you and your friends. We all heard that announcement, and none of us believed a lick of it. The Empire is beyond trying to win over our hearts.”[/b] The elderly man’s voice was warm, warm enough to bring Lin’s wounded spirit back to the warmth of the world around her. She looked from the elder to the curious kids hugging at his legs, then to the adults beside him and behind him, all eyeing Lin with genuine happiness. Lin’s earlier negativity was beginning to feel pointless. This did not mean her opinions had any less merit to them, it only meant that she came here to meet her friends and to be happy. One man’s insensitivity should not cause her to forget why it is she came.

[b]“What is your name, child?”[/b] The elder asked.

[b]“Lin. Well …Meilin Xiao Yu, but my friends call me Lin.”[/b]

[b]“I see. You’ve got a good, strong name. A name worthy of the strength you carry in your heart.”[/b] Nodding in a sage manner, the elder of this group had bowed his head to her once again. [b]“On behalf of those you stood your ground to protect today, we thank you for your help.”[/b] Picking himself back up, he looked back to his group. [b]“Everyone, together now.”[/b]

[b]“Thank you very much!”[/b] Simultaneously came from man, woman, and child. The gesture was genuine and brought a smile to Lin’s face, revealing her teeth in the process. Gratitude was expressed to her, recognition she didn’t think she’d get so quickly out of China, and all she could do now was grin like an idiot and blush. Her efforts were appreciated by the people, and that was what mattered here and now. The kids that accompanied the group were quick to approach, abandoning their previous shyness. 

[b]“Can you show us that fire ball again? How do you do it!?”[/b] Said an eager youngster.

[b]“The way you were ready to fight that monster was so cool!”[/b] From a little girl.

[b]“Can we go out sometime?”[/b] Requested easily the youngest of the group, causing everyone else to laugh.

Lin was far off from her goal and becoming a hero, but this wasn’t an experience she’d forget. Looking among this group of grateful citizens, Lin had bent her knees and clasped her hands together, allowing a small sphere of fire to emerge between them. With the awe of the group and the affection she so desperately wanted to earn, Lin watched the impressed stares on their faces lighten up at the sight of such a thing. 

[b]“Don’t try it at home, at least that’s what my brother tells me to tell everyone.”[/b] Lin’s cheek turned a rosy red, and the sphere expanded. She allowed it to rotate around her body and carefully gain size as it did so, increasing speed until it was an incredible blur. With a back flip, she allowed the streak of flame to launch itself from her legs and soar into the air before exploding into a billion specks of flame that soon vanished in the air, almost like a firework. Still on her hands, she managed to balance on her right hand and wave with her left effortlessly. The people were entertained by her efforts and she had even managed to get an applause from them, with the children asking for an encore. 

Lin was happy for their happiness, and that meant more to her than the disrespect she had felt before.