Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20190205035159/@comment-5999656-20190405033213

Sorrel crouched behind the barricade, back pressed against the cold concrete. At the mention of Wynston's words, he tilted his head forward and scanned the motley array of gangsters rallying themselves for a second charge against the SAINTs. Not one of them looked familiar, and not wore a familiar uniform.

Rally the rest? Not one of them was a Dragon ally. And in the underworld, anyone who wasn't a friend was an enemy. Sorrel could feel his temper rising at the flourishy naivete of Wynston's words. Not a moment later, an electric blast rocked the ground just a few inches from the snake's hand.

"How about," he began, seizing the man by the sleeve and pulling him further behind their blockade, "You keep yourself alive before talking about rallying anyone else?"

Sorrel scanned the scene before him as the SAINTs' attention was diverted by the newfound resistance coming from their right. On the other side of the hallway, he could make out a young dual pistol-wielding Huntsman engaging in a desperate firefight with a crew of criminals that far outnumbered him.

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Aster backflipped overhead as a barrage of bullets shot below him. He landed unscathed, but the shots found their mark in some undercover cops crouched a few meters behind him, who promptly crumpled to the ground with blood pouring from their orifices. Crouched low against the ground, he dove behind the stage as the lead hailstorm ricocheted out again.

No good, no good, he thought, taking a deep gulp of breath as he tried not to panic. The law enforcement was outnumbered here, even with the SAINTs present. All around him, the bodies were piling up, and all the market props were being shredded into chunks as a result of the neverending firefight.

At this rate, it looked like everyone, good and evil, was going to end up dead. Aster's heart pounded in his chest. How much longer did he have to live? He reloaded both pistols grimly as the barrage on his position continued. Time for the counterattack. He cricked his neck, and raised his head just a few inches above the stage to make out his next target.

Before he could fire again, however, a loud whirring could be heard far above, like the beating of countless chopper blades. A second later, massive searchlights beamed through the ceiling lights, casting their blinding glow on all the fighters present on the auction floor as the lights swung to and fro. The massive silhouettes of a half dozen Bullheads could be made out against the sky, hovering hundreds of feet above the space which Aster was crouched low against.

A moment later, the skylights of the facility suddenly burst one by one, sending countless glass shards raining down below. Dozens of brightly clothed human forms dropped down, landing forcefully against the floor and immediately launching themselves into the fray with transforming weapons swinging every which way. The Huntsmen had arrived.

As Aster watched in awe, a black, female form landed in the midst of the criminals who had pinned him, sending them sprawling to the floor to avoid being crushed as the woman's trenchcoat billowed out dramatically. A second later, and Nozomi was cutting down the thugs with the beautiful, heartless precision only a professional Huntress could summon. Her blue-pommeled knife drew abstract lines in the air as it sliced and stabbed through the flesh of the shooters, every movement blending into the next as she took full advantage of her surprise to terminate every one of the enemies with extreme prejudice. A few of the gangsters on the outskirts of the huddle opened fire, but the bullets glanced off her armored coat as she shielded her face. A few seconds later Nozomi had made short work of them as well, leaving them to bleed out on the floor with their hands clutched futilely over their fatal wounds. Nozomi jogged over to Aster's position, her knife still dripping blood.

She clapped him firmly on the shoulder, and pulled him back upright. All around them, it looked as though the Hunters were slowly evening the tide of the battle.

"How...?" Aster managed.

"When we saw the auction drift off, we knew it was time to call for backup. Huntsmen love these kinds of high-tension things, you know? Sorry it took so long. We had to organize everyone a little first," Nozomi said, giving just the slightest grin as she scanned the large venue.

"Have you seen Lustra? I need to tell her that it's time to drop the 'watch and observe' act."

The police duo, by some unknown compulsion, turned in unison at where Alyxia, Brunhilde, Wynston, and Sorrel were crouched in the hallway.