"Hey! Come back here!" Phoebus bent forward to catch the little rascal, but his arms closed around empty air. [i]Holy Mother, he's fast...[/i] The soldier quickly turned on his heel to chase after Barrel. He saw Esmeralda chase after a boy in red with a fire poker in hand, but stuck after his own quarry rather than trying to assist her. Luckily, both children were headed in the same direction: the front door. The boys reached the door at the same time, both adults right behind them.

Pierre was busy pondering his "memories" of "Cynthia's" christening when a purple triangle dropped onto the table he was sitting at. He stared in drunken bemusement as other patrons tried to grab the little... witch? ...Then stood with a holler as he realized Esmeralda's daughter was about to go through the same misfortune her mother had, and at a much younger age. Even the Madame was chasing after her, the voluptuous harlot! He stumbled awkwardly in pursuit, slurring something about "pprotectoring the youthful innonence!"

Phoebus, seeing the strange, probably evil shadows -- WAS THAT A SKELETON?? He drew his sword and quickly shoved the boys behind himself. The motion drew his attention to Shock, who had reached the group and turned to run off somewhere else. He quickly grabbed her by the collar of her dress and pull her back to her brothers, but the sound of a firearm snatched his attention away from her, allowing her to easily squirm away.

Pierre, seeing that both he and Esmeralda were distracted by some hooligans in black, decided to be the sort of hero that requires absolutely no courage, and followed after Shock so he could herd her back like a lost sheep to its flock, and thereby gain all the admiration and appreciation a doting parent with a stable paying job and position of authority had to offer.

The captain managed to catch sight of the shooter just as the second shot went off. He almost let the man get away with using a weapon inside the city, given the demonic creatures he was aiming at, but then Gaston swung the gun up toward a rooftop. What was he aiming-- 

"NO!" he shouted, diving toward the handsome brute just in time to pull the barrel away from his target.