Arbos paused in the doorway before turning back around and giving Thea another incredibly smug once-over. Say what you will about the value of a man who’d leer at a naked and incredibly embarrassed young woman in such a manner, but I’d wager fifty goldpieces you don’t have the insight into the mind of someone who spent the last three centuries without so much as a semi-corporeal jibbly to proverbially jabble. The spectre coughed, prompting Thea to go even redder then smiled his usual twisted smile. 

  “Why am I Here? Why ain’t that a question for the ‘stupid’ column! I’m a spectre kiddo…” - Cutting off mid-sentence Arbos grinned and suddenly changed form, dashing towards the girl in a form of a dark stream of blackness, flowing like a thick fog and quickly wrapping around her from the ankles to her neck. The smoke then formed his face once more, coming up from behind, cheek to cheek with Thea, toothy grin as wide as ever, whispering into her ear. – “…I can be anywhere and everywhere I so choose to be!” 

  As the poor girl yelped in surprise, nearly dropping the all-too-small towel Arbos let out a genuine deep belly laugh and cordially took his form back by the door, leaning on the frame with his arms crossed.

  “As for what’s going on it’s quite simple. One more ‘apprentice’ was supposed to come with you four” – Arbos spat the word out as if it was an insult – “but instead got lost, presumably spent several hours at a donut shop or some shit, then made his way back here managing to bring a tail of three Imperial Marshals with him. Needless to say the Marshalcy does not have an…[i] overly friendly[/i] relationship with the Rebels, which you lot are now I might add, as you might imagine.” 
Arbos’ ear barely noticeably twitched, as the sound of a loud crash and cracking wood came from downstairs. 

  “Aaah, speak of the devil. Looks like I spent too long playing with you girlie, the others are starting without us.” – The spectre’s golden eyes flashed, casting brief but ominous shadows over the room for naught but an instant, as he smiled once again. Though even despite his shadowy form Thea could tell that this grin was less pleasant than the one he flashed all throughout the debacle. This one… was more like that of a hungry wolf, sensing blood. 
“So, shall we go and join the fray before all your new pals are killed? Though you might want to put on some actual clothes first… unless you’d like me to cover you again? Hahaha!”

[hr] 

  The three marshals pushed the heavy oaken door and stepped into the Winchester’s, scanning their surroundings with hungry eyes. Noticing the brass filigree and heavy wood, Reggie whistled.
  “Aye, I’ll be damned! There’s be some expensive bleeding loot in this place! I changed my mind cap’n, let’s not burn this place!”
The other underling clicked his tongue and nodded.
  “Ye ye, what Reggie’s sayin’! Let’s just kill all these scumfucks and loot the place! My wife would love those shiny lanterns for the bedroom!”

  The Marshal-Captain remained quiet however, ignoring his gobby subordinates. His eyes, steady with the confidence of a true veteran scanned the interior looking for threats. He briefly stopped his gaze at the last two patrons, men in dusty grey suits who were seemingly completely absorbed by their drinks, before disregarding them in his mind and eyeing Corvo, Idris and Arda instead.  A nasty smug smile distorted his face as he noticed a flash of recognition on Corvo’s face. 

  “High and mighty people indeed, isn’t that right, [i]Sir[/i]?” – The way he stretched the last word gave it enough condescending venom to poison a good herd of buffaloes. He then motioned Reggie towards them. – “Perhaps introductions are in order. Victor Stronnenberg - Marshal-Captain of the 6th Advance Peacekeeping Division of the Imperial Grand Marshalcy, at your service. By the order the Lord Commander and on behalf of His Imperial Majesty himself you are all hereby arrested under the charges of treason. Reginald, cuff em… Preferably alive, but don’t strain yourself.” 

  Reggie's face also grew into a fiendish smile at the order, and with a quick ‘Aye Aye’ he moved towards the trio, tapping his quarterstaff excitedly on the floor with every step. However even as our three began to draw their weapons in response, a stern voice rocked the air.
  “Fighting on the premises will NOT be tolerated!”  - Klaus walked down the stairs into the main room slowly, his eyes filled with fury. Surprisingly to the others, even in such a tense situation the bartender somehow gave off an air of a heavy commanding presence. Victor’s smile faded as he watched the aged man descend the stairs with a furrowed brow. Reggie however, oblivious to the change in his commander’s expression, continued to loudly spit venom

  “And who are ya, ye old shite? Ya should sod back off to whatever wanking hole your ancient arse crawled out from and stay quiet, before ya get real hurt!” 
  With a twisted expression of condescension Reggie then formed a metal dagger in the air, grabbed it with his hand and flung it straight at the bartender’s head. Klaus twitched to the side, allowing the dagger to embed deeply into the wooden wall with a meaty thud. However as the old man straightened out a deep gash over his eyebrow could be seen. Reggie cackled as he saw the wound immediately begin bleeding profusely right into the old man’s eyes. 

  The asshole’s cackle however faded immediately as all three marshals saw barely visible threads shoot out of Klaus’s skin right around the wound before sinking in again, covering it and sewing it shut almost instantly, before a wax seal appeared over it, sealing it completely. Veins pulsed on the old man’s forehead and a barely audible creak of the fabric was heard as his muscles suddenly expanded, prompting Victor to curse under his breath and dash back to the door. 

  However, he was already too late.

  In the blink of an eye Klaus was hovering over Reggie with his fist drawn back, before delivering a massive punch right into the uncouth marshal’s gut.  For all who witnessed it time froze in a glorious picture of Reggie doubled over and practically wrapped around Klaus’s arm, before the force of the blow sent his flying backwards, sweeping up both Victor and the third marshal and crashing all of them right through the oaken doors and out onto the cobbled streets. 

  “Come! We fight them outside!” Klaus barked to the others and dashed out, fist raised and ready to finish off Reggie, who was sprawled out in a rain puddle along with the other underling, with one last punch. 
However before Klaus had a chance to smash the ingrate’s skull in, several steel pipes shot out of the ground at his feet, vying like snakes and wrapping around his body and arm, stopping him mid-motion. Victor was standing right beside him, gauntleted hand clawed, as if he was holding an invisible ball. The light coming from the now-broken doorway showed a tiny speck of blood on his lip from the earlier crash.

  “Tsk tsk tsk, doctor! Wasn’t there some sort of vow you had to take against killing people?”
Klaus gave him a look filled with murder then coughed and chuckled darkly.
  “Oh don’t worry you brat, I won’t kill you. Just beat you 9/78th’s to death!” With that said he took a breath, and released his heat charge, instantly melting the pipes and rushing the Marshal Commander. As the two engaged in a brutal hand to hand battle too fast for the untrained eye to see in the darkness, Victor shouted to his two underlings, who were now shakily standing up.
  “Oi! You two take care of all the small fry, I’ll take care of dear Doctor here! Kill the fuckers, they won’t know shit anyway!”

  Idris, Corvo and Arda, joined by Selessia (who was just behind Klaus the whole time) rushed out into the street just in time to hear the Marshal-Captain’s order. Immediately all four took their stances and got ready to fight, there was no way out of it now. Their opponents were two marshals, and regardless of how low rank that was one too many for comfort, even for all four of them. They knew it was now kill or be killed.