//Salforge Traverse Town (???) -- [color=fdc68a]"He fell pretty hard...is he dead?"[/color] [color=8882be]"Hey! Neku don't poke him!"[/color] [color=fdc68a][i]'Man your annoying, you apply pressure to see if the nerves respond moron.'[/i][/color] The sound of voices were faint, suddenly his body began to tense and embrace motion. "[color=8882be]H-he's moving! He's alive!"[/color] [color=fdc68a]"Hey Mr. You fell pretty hard just now, you alright?"[/color] Salforge turned his head, spotting two kids in their teens. One with brightly colored orange hair, the other a young female with a faded rose colored hair. He nudged, before bringing himself up to both of his feet, and walking past them both almost as if they were ghost. [color=8882be]"Hey! Talk about rude!"[/color] [color=fdc68a]"Shiki. Maybe he can't see us, don't tell me you forgot about the game already."[/color] [color=8882be]"O-oh right."[/color] "No. I can see you kids fine." Salforge turned and looked at them both making eye-contact. [i][color=fdc68a]'Hmmm. We should confirm this by using the player pin...'[/color][/i] The teen in the purple threads tossed up a pin and clutched it in his hand. The player pin was a symbol of participants in the reapers game, it also construed a gift that helped players reach objectives by enabling them to read the minds of those on the RG or real ground. As the boy clutched it tightly the area illuminated blue for him, as he attempted to scan the mercenary, there were bars of interference, as if protected by noise, there was only static above where normally would be a speech bubble. [color=fdc68a]"You see that??"[/color] the boy said to the girl. "Your name is Neku right? And your Shiki." His response was met with cautious and confound eyes, "Don't look so surprised, using each other's names so casually when talking to a complete and thought to be unconscious stranger was a bit lax. Anyway, you kids look like you know this area, I only want some information." The two looked at each other, then back at the mercenary. [color=fdc68a]"For all we know you could be a reaper. Hardly willing to take that chance, we can't scan reapers either and Hanekoma said they can move between the RG and UG. If your not a support, you've gotta be a Harrier. I don't trust any of you to be honest about anything."[/color] He looked almost as if he were ready to fight, the mercenary didn't falter in stature, it would almost seem out of character if he did so even remotely. Salforge sighed, then turned his back to walk away without notice before the situation escalated any further. "Based on your response towards me, this isn't going to get anywhere so don't waste anymore of my time. I'll ask someone else, see ya." The was a shot at his feet, he wasn't even fifteen feet away and there a singed spot on the ground. Just before, the sound traveled from high up, the kids and himself were on the ground, this easily meant it wasn't them. The mercenary stopped walking and put the hands on the back of his head, as if he were under arrest. He chose not to resist this time. [color=440e62]"To think you was actually appear here after what happened."[/color] Jumping off the roof an easily recognizable teen that was transitioned into his later teens. The mercenary turned around slowly, captivated by the face of the young man. He suddenly began to remember, this was his hometown. "Derek..." Salforge said lifting his hands from his head. "To think Clement didn't catch you...to think he failed to move your world from orbit. You...everyone, it's been years-" [color=440e62]"Anya's dead. Thank you, when I learned you were the one that captured her, I had to wait for the day to-"[/color] "Take revenge right? Something about how human beings interlope always brings this into consideration. Do want to beat me within an inch of my life in order to validate that you did something? I'll tank everything you can throw kid, then walk away still alive having done nothing. I don't like fighting kids, but too many times have I been forced to. Nobody likes the empire, I'm just means to suppress those kinds of people, it's what I get paid for kid, don't take it personal, thats how Anya died remember?" Derek's anger seemed to fester as if about to overflow. "Before you loose your cool, I'm not entirely sure if Capell was executed or not, but I know for a fact Concordia escaped, Ty Dex was silence by me. Man he resisted harder than any of you pushovers, vitality and endurance is king in times of war, remember that. Anyway, everyone seems to be rather upset with me today, that I can speak so calm yet coldly of all past occurrences. Ok? Doesn't exactly weigh on your conscious, heart, or whatever you call it, when it's made of steel, it already takes the burden as the same alloy it's produced from. Go figure." The children were still watching, listening to every word. Clearly Derek couldn't hear or see them, and to confirm what they said about reapers, perhaps something happened to him during that light show not long before. Either way the mercenary found himself eating a string of compressed magic bursts fired from Derek's Tonfa's. He came down and angrily charged the mercenary collectively striking him in random places as Salforge didn't bother to move, but concentrate on the rapid repairs using haste. "You should know, it was Haruka that killed her, he only did it to spite you Derek. Yes, I captured Anya, but he was the one that executed her, to lie is irrational and unobtrusive. All this what I can only determine as rage, frustration, and anger collectively, is only serving to weaken your ability to comprehend the magnitude of what's happened. You really want to do something, join those in resistance where your group failed, thats all I will say really." His frustration only continued to escalate as he rapidly attacked the mercenary, who simply did nothing but stand there and absorb the damage with his passive defenses and high durability. After a while, he slowed down and dropped both of his tonfas (they were key blades btw) and slugged Salforge right in the cheek, pressuring so hard it left him red, and threw him through Ghepetto's window.