The Legend of Heroes II: Trials by the Light

[Winter]

~"I would sooner die on my feet then live on my knees"~​

~The Flying Courage Carriage 8"~
​

Naomi gave a respectful nod as Esterfania excused herself from the conversation, "Thank you" she replied softly before watching her leave. 'What an interesting young woman' she thought to herself, turning to look out the window as she revisited some of the details from their conversation. She hadn't really had many opportunities to converse with people like that, not through lack of trying but she'd found people were often too busy or unwilling to talk with a complete stranger.

She exhaled softly and once again closed her eyes, returning to her previous state of calming relaxation as she allowed her mind to wonder between the peripheries of sound that echoed throughout the steam powered machine. She'd have remained in that state for a while had she not been disturbed by some unsettling sounds coming from the other end of the carriage, causing her to furrow her brow slightly as she listened intently.

'How odd... she thought to herself before raising from her seat, the perception she'd explained to Estefania earlier taking it's effect as she processed the sounds she was hearing, sounds which flagged on her mind and convinced her something wasn't quite right. She pressed her hands on the door and slid it open before slowly and cautiously peeking around the corner, seeing the open areas of the carriage with the many people seated. She narrowed her eyes as she saw the scene before her.

It appeared that four men were ordering the seated civilians to give up their possessions, demanding they empty 'everything' into the bags they held in front of them. Naomi felt uneasy and briefly looked back into the carriage to where her belongings were situated, the many maps she'd procured now at risk of being stolen. 'I can not permit this' she thought to herself, walking over and gathering them into her bag before stepping out of her booth.

"Hey you!" a strong voice called to her from behind as she closed the door behind her, "Hand over your bag, now!" he stepped forwards, the other three of what she assumed to be his comrades taking little notice, apparently having confidence in his ability. Naomi said nothing at first, but turned in his direction as she contemplated her options. After a moment more she eventually responded, "I'm afraid I can not do that" she replied, causing the man to raise an eyebrow.

"Then me and you are about to have a big problem" he said before reaching to his side to pull what she suspected was a sidearm. Naomi clenched her fists as she raised them in front of her, exhaling as she pulled focus. The windows would begin to frost over and the temperature inside the carriage would drop at a quick rate. Soon enough the temperature dropped to a level which caused peoples breath to plume in a cloud in front of them with each exhale.

This time the other three were paying attention, having noticed the dramatic change in environment and now seeming to look at her suspiciously. "Girl you don't want this fight, I don't know what you think you're up to but there's four of us and one of you" he warned as the others moved into reinforcing positions behind him. Naomi knew the odds weren't in her favor, after all these didn't look like regular thieves, but she couldn't part with her maps when there was so much at stake.

Without a word she'd exhale before her arms moved in a quick fluid motion, water materializing from the moisture in the air to form two water snakes that circulated in the air beside her. The two water snakes would combine and compress into a large ball of water, it's shape changing till it made a fist which hardened into ice. Naomi stepped forwards and threw her right fist in a punching motion, the fist of ice hurtling towards the first hijacker. As it traveled she was already preparing her follow up attack.

 

[Kettlehead]

The Flying Courage, Carriage 8

Domino squatted sadly by a soapy bucket, sponge in one hand and dirty plate in another, attacking a piece of cheese with the rigor of someone who hadn't expected to be punished in quite this way. Mr. Thrace, as it turns out, was very creative with his punishments, and Milly – the assistant cook – could conjure up a bit of water magic if asked, and was quite happy to do so if it meant keeping Domino quiet for a while. Enthusiasm like hers should be against the law, thought Domino mutinously, failing entirely to see the hypocrisy of this.

Having made a committed victory against the cheese, the young man leaned back on his heels, glancing around the kitchen backroom. Only Mr. Thrace, the cook, was here; the other serving assistants were being kept busy by the lunch crowd. Domino cast a longing glance at the door to the carriage proper, and threw the sponge into the bucket. He wouldn't dare make a break for it, not with Thrace peering down his neck...

Or would he?

There was a thud and a scream from outside, and Mr. Thrace shouted, "What the –"

Domino got to his feet, blinking at the commotion. He could hear gruff voices out in the carriage: "...And don't tell us you left your belongings by your seat – if you wanted lunch, you'd have brought your mira with you! So hand it over... Hey! You!"

Thrace backed away from the doorway, his large hands raising defensively. "I – I don't want trouble, mister –" and in the doorframe, Domino saw a man, wiry and so tall he had to duck to enter the cramped backroom – along his belt, gun cartridges – and in his hand, a grisly and enormous rifle.

"Neither do we," the man said, grinning easily. "Killing is a pain. Figuratively and literally, right?"

There were guffaws from behind him; although Domino couldn't see them, he could only assume more armed strangers accompanied the man with the rifle, whose smile disappeared abruptly. "Show us your belongings, cook," he growled. "And you won't get hurt."

Domino stepped forward, feeling his face grow redder. "Hey," he said, as loudly as he dared, "Hey, you – you're taking their lunch mira? What're you, a schoolyard bully? You'd better stop right th–"

Without giving the boy a second glance, the rifleman twisted on his heel – and kicked Domino directly in the stomach. Domino choked and reeled backwards, falling on the wet floor with a thud. His vision grew dark 'round his eyelids; through it, he could see the rifleman turning away once more, disinterested.

"We'll get to him when he remembers to behave," Domino heard him say through ringing ears – "if he lives that long, with a tongue like that."

The guffaws again; the rifleman smirked; behind him, Mr. Thrace cringed away. Everything seemed to be getting hotter, in this cramped, wet little room. The man rose his gun; why was everything so close – and so loud? Why the hell was this happening?

Domino snarled, and the cartridges on the rifleman's belt exploded with such a ferocity that their wearer was blown sideways, colliding with the wall and sliding down. And with a shriek of truly epic proportions, Domino's jacket split open – buttons popping against the floor – and a long, multilegged ruddy lizard shot out from beneath like a cannonball.

"Ah, shit!" said Domino, and the carriage erupted into chaos.

 

[Dannyel]

The Flying Courage Carriage 7

Oh Cadfael, you great masked macho man! Reyna was so thrilled she probably could have kissed him, with the way that he drew the rifleman's attention away from her. With that done, she dug in her back, pushing aside all her clothes and junk until she got what she was looking for.

Her gauntlets.

Bouncing to her feet, Rehna strapped them on. They were metal monstrosities, clamped tight around her wrists and giving her extra protection around her hands. And that wasn't even getting into the fun stuff. Over the years she had added new tricks to them, and she was eager to try the latest of them out.

No time like the present. Two of the reinforcements had…tripped over each other, or something, but that still left one going for Cadfael. "NOT SO FAST!" she screamed, leaping forward. The man turned towards her, just in time to feel the brass knuckles of her gauntlets slam across his jaw from her right hook.

She wasn't done yet, as she brought her left hand up and stuck out her middle finger at him. The knuckle split wide as she pressed her finger to the internal button, and pepper spray burst from within, hitting the hijacker right in the eyes.

"Take that, you jerk!"

 

[Taerinn]

Kabalic City: The Flying Courage - Carriage 7
Cashmere, Cadfael, Rehna

Here it comes... Cadfael braced himself for a beating that never came, thanks to the invisible force that momentarily halted two of the goons' advances and Rehna's well-timed decking of a third. He whipped his head towards the person standing behind him, acknowledging his seatmate's handiwork with a look of surprise. Rehna apparently wasn't a Guilder, but maybe she was...?

The hijacker with the broken nose struggled to get onto his hands and knees, blood pouring thickly from his nose onto the floor. "I'll finish you off myself... Uaaagh!"

Cadfael knelt behind the man and seized one of his arms, drawing it back painfully into an armbar position. "Should I break this as well?" he taunted, although he had no intention of following through on such a threat -- Guilders had standards, or so it had been explained to him.

However, this still left the two tripped-up hijackers, who now brandished daggers and hurriedly began slashing at their pants to regain their mobility.

 

[Warden]

The Flying Courage: Carriage 3

The duelists of Gualtierrez are widely renowned as fearsome, calculating fighters, and their style boasted an encompassing study of a range of sciences and philosophies. Despite her bluster, Estefania felt concerned with her ability to keep up with these legends. Of course she knew the extent of her abilities, but these doubts always persisted in the back of her head. Perhaps they were a natural response to conflict. The condesa certainly hoped so. She had always regarded hesitation as a harbinger of insufficient skill and to feel such emotions now, no matter how miniscule in scale, was… not good, to say the least.

Her fingers grew cold as the bandit swooped in, stepping into her 'circle', and she disregarded her train of thought. No more wondering about expectations and appearances; the battle had commenced. Her feet moved on her own and then her arm was raised, the squeal of steel against steel brittle in the air as her rapier slid into contact against the offending club. Estefania twisted her wrist to bring her guard up and push the spiked head away from her face, darting off to the side before the mercenary could recoil. When he did so, the condesa felt just a tiny bit vindicated at the surprised look on his face; the tip of her blade managed to lacerate his cheek and her exiting sweep had cut away a few strips of his armored vest, leaving it hanging to the side in a comic fashion. "What the hell…"

"Really, this could've been prevented if you and your friends had a touch of common decency," Estefania sniffed and tossed her hair over one shoulder. So this was the taste of unrestrained combat. Interesting. A mess, though. It was unfortunate that her rapier had to be soiled by unrefined blood.

Perhaps taking her more seriously this time around, two of the thugs lunged for the girl.

 

[Pachamac]

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 12

"...what was that? It came from the next carriage."

Pausing in the midst of their looting, the four hijackers currently in the process of ransacking the passengers in Carriage 12 stopped and turned as one towards the door leading to Carriage 13 at the end of the aisle. A mixture of furrowed brows and suspicious looks formed upon the bandits faces, who all started to look amongst one another one by one. The noises that had been forming from that direction were strange indeed. And now that they considered it, they didn't seem to be the only ones either. They were much more quieter and distant, but even so... one could swear there was a series of strange noises coming from the other direction as well.

The bandits silently nodded amongst one another. There would no doubt be some fools aboard the train whom were stupid enough to attempt resistance - there always was, despite how quickly it'd be paid to rest. Even so, it'd be wise to check it in.

One of the bandits, the carriage's leader, reached for the radio transmitter at his belt and lifted it up to his mouth. After quickly pressing down a particular sequence of buttons that would get him into contact with the group in Carriage 13, he started to speak. "Tyrone? This is me, Max. Everything going okay in there? Tyrone? ...hello?"

No response. Max frowned. Looking down the carriage's aisle and to the bandit posted closest to Carriage 13 he nodded. The man nodded back and turned on the spot, moving to go check out the situation.

He didn't get very far however before a loud flush sounded out from the cubicle at the end of Carriage 12. The bandit paused, frowning. The toilet's door then unlatched, and from it out strolled a certain vagabond whom was seemingly none the wiser about everything that had been going on. Wiping his hands dry on a paper towel and whistling a delightful ditty to himself, Flynn suddenly stopped when he came face to face with the bandit in front of him.

They both blinked.

The man reached for his gun, swiftly bringing it up to aim towards Flynn.

Or at least, that was the plan. But Flynn's gundraw was much, much quicker, and before the bandit even had the chance to react he was already bombarded by a series of gunshots pointblank to the forehead from the wandering vagabond. Unlike the ammunition the hijackers were carrying Flynn's were all nonlethal - each bullet was far less potent then the variety the hijackers packed. But even so each of his bullets packed a concentrated punch, and a succession of them fired this closely... well there was no questioning how painful such an attack would be upon the hijacker. He hit the wall behind him and slumped to the ground, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Draw a gun on me, ya little... ah." Flynn's admonision of the man was brief, for it was the chorus of clicks and readying of more guns from down the carriage that drew his attention away and to the fact that the other three hijackers were now all looking at him. Blinking again, Flynn took one step backwards into the toilet cubicle, and then promptly locked it shut again.

"...I forgot to wipe."

"Get him!!" Shouted Max, leading his two companions to race down the carriage aisle and outside the locked door. After pounding it with his shoulder several times Max leveled his shotgun's twin barrels at the door's lock and fired, blowing it wide open. His two companions had their handguns already primed and aimed inside, pointed no doubt at the rough interloper whom had just beaten their friend...

...only to find it completely empty instead, with the window just beyond the toilet wide open.

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 12: Rooftop

"What th'heck is goin' on?" Flynn muttered to himself as he scratched the side of his neck, peering over the train's side from where he had climbed up to the rooftop from. Crouching atop the speeding train's roof, Flynn wasn't at all a fan of the situation he found himself in. A man couldn't just use the john in peace, could he? But being on the roof at least beat being riddled with holes. For now though... that was still a very real distinct possibility if he didn't play his next cards right.

---

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 6

"Lady, I don't know who the hell you are, but you just made a big mistak-"

The hijackers' leader was unable to finish his command, before the blue haired woman shot forth from the crouch she had been in after kicking the man whom had attempted to take her headphones. Moving with remarkable speed, Josette had crossed the length of the aisle in record time, drawing close to where the hijacker's shotgun toting leader was standing. His eyes opened wide in surprise, but clenched teeth and keen reactions allowed him to still aim and squeeze the trigger in time, to hit Josette directly in the chest.

Only he didn't. To the disbelief of everyone else watching his attack seemed to just stop in mid air. The shotgun pellets seemed to hit something - an invisible force of some kind - and lingered in the air before clattering along the ground. The hijacker's leader took an uneasy step back. He didn't know what had happened but that was impossible. It had to be. Whatever the case he readied his shotgun again to fire...

...only Josette was now upon him, swinging her foot out in a blur and hitting the man square in the gut. The force of the blow propelled him backwards off his feet, smashing straight through the door at the end of Carriage 6.

And through the door into Carriage 7 as well! As if the adjoining carriage wasn't already in a state of bedlam thanks to the hijackers' battles against Cadfael, Cashmere and Rehna, now they had the sudden and unexpected entry of the battle in Carriage 6 spilling over as well! Everyone within first turned in shocked surprise at the injured man's arrival and subsquent landing upon the carriage floor, before then redirecting their attention to the young woman with a shock of bright blue hair dashing towards them. Who on Ddaear was she?

There was no time to ask however, because Josette had already reached them and jumped into the air, spinning around to a deliver a backwards round house kick...

...aimed squarely at Cadfael's face.

Clutching a hand to her chest, Milia breathed hard, in and out. To anybody watching it would look as though the woman was in the midst of a panic attack, and indeed she was. Trying to weave a defensive shield so quickly and to protect against an attack as powerful as a close range shotgun blast was not easy, the mental anguish alone close to wounding her. She was pleased that she had managed to protect Josette, however there were still two more of the bandits inside her carriage, and Milia was not sure at all what she could do to possibly try and stand against them.

---

Current Character Locations:
Carriage 3: Bestefania
Carriage 6: Milia
Carriage 7: Josette, Cadfael, Cashmere, Rehna
Carriage 8: Dining Area: Naomi
Carriage 8: Kitchen Area: Domino
Carriage 12: Rooftop: Flynn
Carriage 14: Shiloh
Carriage 18: Volcun, ???​

 

[Rexcalibur]

The Flying Courage: Carriage No.14

...there were more thugs in this carriage too. The same number as last time. They probably wouldn't have thought much of a coward hiding under a table, if curses weren't heard from No. 13. Grrreat. Fortunately the time Shiloh had to spare underneath his table and conjured up a different plan. Because if he didn't act quickly, they'd probably leave him a bruised mess on the floor. So much for trying to do the right thing.

This time, two shadow hands slid out from beneath his table. Rather than materializing, they wormed through the aisle like silent snake silhouettes. With the thugs still occupied in their robbing, one shadow hand (right) crept up behind the nearest thug. As he conned an elderly man into handing over his generations-old golden watch, the hand materialized and emerged from the thug's shadow and plucked the pistol from his holster.

Of course, this did not go unnoticed. They were trained hijackers, after all.

"Yo what the fuck? Somebody over here think it funny to play hoodini or somefin'?"

The bandana-wearing thug armed his rifle and shot the shadow hand. A direct hit, but it still held strongly onto the pistol - at least until it was chucked at a cracked, and now open, window. Now they had wind to play with! The same thug shot the same hand again, which winced in response this time (along with a cued "ow" from Shiloh), but the left shadow hand pounced straight for his rifle like a panther and grasped firmly onto the barrel. Unable to rip the gun from his grasp, as it was quickly kicked off, Shiloh opted for bending the barrel instead and making it useless.

The bandana was losing it. "Don't just stand there, ya clueless bastards! Gettim!"

The injured right hand by the window slipped back into the surface, still getting shot at by a third thug like a fly on the wall. The left shadow hand was - "Ow ow ow," Shiloh heaved - getting battered by a dagger. So it went for the guy's nose and plugged his nostrils.

Cue two thugs from No. 13 and one from No. 12 coming through. Including big-n-burly Tyrone. Uhhh... uh oh. Shiloh sent the unoccupied right shadow hand their way, but almost immediately after it emerged, Tyrone grabbed hold and snapped its velvety thumb - sending the whole hand back into the ground. Shiloh cried out from the sudden sharp headache. Like a headless chicken, the hand-shaped silhouette snaked around them while they attempted to stomp it out.

 

[Dannyel]

The Flying Courage Carriage 7

Rehna let out a woop of glee. Looks like her latest modification worked just fine. The bandit fell to the ground, his eyes swelling up from the pepper spray, and Rehna leapt over him as Cadfael threatened to break the other man's arm.

Geez, he wouldn't actually do that, would he?

But there were still the other two to handle. Now that she got a closer look at them, she realized that hadn't simply stumbled over each other, but their pants were sewn together. How did that happen??? Not one to question her luck, Rehna swooped into the man on the left an old one-two punch to the kidneys.

Unfortunately, that meant her back was turned as Josette flew in, kick aimed right for Cadfael. Sorry buddy, but Rehna was too busy trying to dodge daggers!

 

[Kettlehead]

The Flying Courage, Carriage 8

Mr. Bigs was gone – the lizard's tail whipped around the kitchen's doorframe and out of sight, and Domino (with an anguished cry) ran after, limbs flailing against the wet kitchen floor. "Hey – Mr. Bigs, don't – we're gonna get in trouble, so much trouble –!"

He barely heard what came out of his mouth. His mind was scrambling: it had happened again. It couldn't be a fluke – it had come from him. It was his fault.

But this time they'd deserved it.

Whether with precision or through sheer accident, the boy scrambled right under the cursing rifleman's blind right punch and his closest lackey's knife – and then toppled right over a thug's outstretched leg, sprawling straight into the corridor of Carriage 8 with a squeal. Struggling to his feet and trying to get out of punching range, Domino nearly stopped short and gasped – he felt cold.

That wasn't normal. Even on the brisk autumn nights after dish shifts, Domino had been quite comfortable – in fact, since he'd found Mr. Bigs, he'd nearly forgotten what cold felt like. Now, stuck with an open jacket in a frigid train car, he found little goosebumps trickling up his arms.

"Oh-ho, that feels odd!" said Domino, and then immediately regretted it – as he spoke, three thick, burly thugs twisted around and spotted him. Between their legs, Domino could see a pale, willowy gentlewoman standing confidently in the center of the corridor, arm outstretched; beneath her lay a downed thug, clutching at his shoulder.

"Who the hell is –" began one of the men, and his companion shouted, "Yates, get 'im!"

The moment her assailants were distracted, the woman twisted to react; but Domino didn't get to see what she did, because one of the men immediately rushed for him, one hand outstretched and a grisly baton clutched in the other.

 

[Taerinn]

Kabalic City: The Flying Courage - Carriage 7
Josette, Cashmere, Cadfael, Rehna

The hijacker caught in Cadfael's painful hold continued to spit curses and profanities. He pulled on his arm a little tighter. "Hitting a train like this... Did you really think there wouldn't be any Guil--"

The door to Carriage 6 was completely blown off, hitting the floor with a loud metallic clang, with a hijacker sprawled on top of it.

... Which would be all well and good, if not for the blue-haired woman speeding across the length of the carriage, right towards him!

Cadfael was hit square in the jaw by the absurd force of Josette's unexpected kick. Having no time to react or even brace himself, he released the hijacker's arm and was sent flying diagonally, right back into the corner where he and Cashmere had been seated moments before. Catching the very tops of a pair of empty seats, he tumbled backwards out of sight.

 

[Cephalogod]

Kabalic City: The Flying Courage - Carriage 7
Josette, Cashmere, Cadfael, Rehna

This carriage had an astounding number of fighters, it seemed. Cashmere recognized the blonde girl as the one who had that book with the very interesting title from the dining cart, though the gauntlets were certainly a new addition. Very useful, she mused as the man clutched at his eyes trying to wipe the pepper spray away. But clunky looking. If they were redesigned...

The two men continued to cut at their pants, but the thread was strangely tough to saw through. Of course it would be, since thin metal wires had been woven into them- they'd have to cut off their pants if they wanted to be free. Too bad they didn't have the time to do so, considering how much danger their kidneys were as the blonde girl descended upon the two.

She didn't expect the doors to carriage six to slam open, nor was she prepared for a blue blur to zoom and kick the masked man in the face. A thug rushed by her and she reached out from her hiding place in the booth, clotheslining the guy by the back of his shirt. She clenched onto the fabric and focused, feeling the cotton strands shrink under her grip. Within a moment his shirt had become several sizes too small and dug painfully into his armpit, serving as quite an useful restraint. Another moment later he had been sewn to the plush lining of the seats and the thug screeched in anger.

"Are you part of the train robbers?" Finally she stepped out, a small pair of sewing scissors pointed at the blue-haired woman. She didn't look particularly thuggish, but underestimating someone based on appearance was never a good idea.

 

[Pachamac]

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 7
Josette, Cadfael, Cashmere, Rehna

With one swift strike Cadfael had been blasted back to his and Cashmere's seats, clipping the top of several of them on his way to his rough and subsequent out of sight landing. As he did Josette landed on her feet, knees bent but briefly before she rose to her full height again and the company of two women and a gaggle of hijackers. Warily aiming her sewing scissors in Josette's direction Cashmere's eyes narrowed, considering their new blue haired arrival very carefully.

"Are you part of the train robbers?" She asked.

"Guilder." Replied Josette curtly and with little more to the nature of her identity beyond that. With a frown she sneered only slightly. "You're welcome." One would have thought that a thank you for being saved by one of these thuggish attackers would have been the least someone could do.

But before Cashmere could reply, or Rehna interject an opinion of her own...

"FREEZE!!"

From out of Carriage No.6 emerged the last of the two bandits inside, both of them lining their rifles' sights directly down the aisle towards the three women. With the distance resting inbetween them there was no way Josette, Cashmere or Rehna could cross the carriage's length in time to fight before they were shot at. "Any of you crazy chicks make another move and you're dead!!"

"Well," Josette laughed a low, feral laugh. "He's not wrong about being crazy."

---

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 8: Dining Cart

"Careful!" Called out one of the hijackers to his two other companions, warily moving about the dining cart's wider aisle space to try and encircle where Naomi stood, all of them with brandishing their firearms in Naomi's direction. Lying in a groaning heap on the ground close to her was one of their companions, clutching painfully onto his shoulder from where Naomi's attack had struck true. It wasn't just a force of impact which stung the man, but a piercing sensation of pain as well. Frostbite was not a welcome companion. "Woman's a mage!"

"Y-y-yeah n-no shit!" Retorted his colleague, his teeth gnashing against the chill. His hands trembled slightly, but was still rigid enough to ensure he wouldn't miss.

"What the hell's going on here?" Asked yet another brutish thug from the group that had assaulted the dining cart's kitchen compartment. Stepping out from it and back into the carriage's main dining area, he frowned towards the woman who stood seemingly nonplussed at all those who surrounded and the incredible danger she was in. At the same time, the man's ally Yates came down on Domino hard, swining his baton with another force atop the back of Domino's head to drive the would-be chef directly down to the carriage's floor. Domino was still conscious, but the pain swimming around his head was palpable.

Striding up towards Domino with all the confidence in the world, the thug pressed his boot down on Domino's neck, hard. Squeezing it and making the poor man gasp. At the same time he cocked his handgun and pointed it directly down at Domino's head. At the same time his two other still standing companions (the fourth of their group had been rendered unconscious following Domino and Mr.Bigs unexpected tandem attack upon the rifleman's belt moments before) meant that the dining cart was now home to six standing hijackers and with five of them all drawing their weapons in Naomi's direction. Fearlessness or not, there was no denying just how dangerous this situation was, especially with the lives of innocent bystanders at stake... such as Domino. Caught between a rock and a hard place.

---

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 3

Lunging forward in unison, two of the cut bandit's companions moved to tackle Estefania as one. Pausing to take first a deep breath, Estefania then moved, twisting her body to the side and with a slight bend of knees slip through the both of them gracefully. As she did she twisted herself around again and struck in the men's confusion, scoring another swift and shocking strike to one man's cheek, and another to the man's partner's shoulder. Both cried out in shock and alarm more then from any actual pain, but this was enough to help bolster Estefania's confidence. These rapid, flea bitten curs were truly little more then mongrel dogs. More bark then bite. Whereas her bite... her bite was vowed to be deadly.

But then-

BAM

Just as Estefania was in the process of spinning once more to face her initial attacker she was hit, with the force of a big, meaty hand striking her cheek with a back handed slap. Estefania was wrenched from her feet and thrown about the private carriage, slamming into the wall opposite the seat she had previously been sitting in. The cup of tea she had been sipping on before the hijackers' rude interruption tilted over and crashed with a violet shatter atop the private compartment's table, tea marring its surface and trickling down in thin rivers formed in time to that of the Flying Courage's movements.

"You're a mouthy one, aren'tcha?" Spoke the group's leader with a disgusted sneer across his face. As Estefania groaned in pain the man brought his boot down atop Estefania's sword, slowly but surely putting down more and more pressure in incremental levels. "You nobles bitches always tend to be. Thinking that just because you're holding a sword that somehow means you're a soldier. What would a pretty little girl like you know about war, hmm? You probably don't even dress yourself without the help of a servant. Feh."

"Take the sword, tie her up and search through her belongings. Make sure you take everything. Don't feel like you need to be gentle about tieing her up either. Bitch lost herself that priviledge."

 

[Rexcalibur]

The Flying Courage: Carriage No.14

Seven. He counted them all. One two three four five six seven. There were seven hijackers in this single carriage. And there was only of Shiloh - only one person bothering to stand up against them. At least in his location; there seemed to be some chaos going on in other carriages, based on what he could hear from their communicators and distant noises and screeches, but that didn't matter here. Shiloh was alone.

His shadow hands continued to put up resistance, to fight off the thugs from coming anywhere near his physical position. He managed to fling a thug at the unarmed one with the bandana, but Tyrone landed a punch so hard afterwards that Shiloh barely had enough strength to grip anything further. With the other thugs landing shots on the shadow hands one after another, both of them eventually withered away into the shadows. Like shriveling flowers.

The thug from No. 12 crawled under the table and yanked Shiloh from his hiding spot, then throwing him into the booth directly across from them. Shiloh made no attempt to recover from his position, bobbing his head from various coughs and sputters. He held onto the side of his face, nursing a fierce headache.

Those gunshots... they could kill somebody. And here they were using them to rob unarmed passengers. Anger boiled deep within the mage, but he did nothing to display it. He couldn't.

"Must have somefin' good in that bag of his after putting up all this fight."

Still coughing and breathing deeply, Shiloh glanced up to see the bandana'd thug retrieving his paper bag from the seat. He said nothing as they emptied its contents onto the table. It landed on the table with a single solid thump.

"The fuck is this!?" The bandana thug stared at Shiloh with a mixture of anger and incredulity. "A picture book? About squirrels!?"

"You still hidin' somethin' from us!?" Tyrone gripped Shiloh's collar again. To which the poor mage coughed back at him. On the plus side that made Tyrone let him go, since spit got on his face and all.

"No... is all I have," Shiloh lied. Somehow still calm in the midst of all this. He leaned back against the window, taking deep but shaky breaths.

Tyrone and the bandana thug exchanged looks with one another. "So- so what, why'd you bother puttin' up a fight over this mangy book? You a goodie two-shoe guilder or somethin'?"

Shiloh hung his head. "No. Sorry." As if he was apologizing more for disappointing them than for resisting. Something about his answer irked the other thugs; they all lowered their guns but exchanged irritated whispers with one another. But Tyrone, eyes locked on Shiloh, he began pounding his fist into his palm. Either that was a threat, a way for him to release his steam, or... perhaps, he was about to beat him up, now that he had no way to defend himself. Shiloh looked away, holding his hand to his heaving chest.

 

[Kettlehead]

The Flying Courage, Carriage 8

The pain was quite literally blinding, and for several moments Domino could see nothing but sparks dancing against his eyelids. He yowled – a sound cut short by a well-placed boot against his esophagus. And with that, Yates was on top of him; and if Domino were in any logical frame of mind, he might have noticed the cold touch of metal against his head as the thug leveled his gun at him.

Domino didn't notice; he couldn't speak, could barely breathe. He was only just regaining his eyesight. He was... pinned to the floor, or what he assumed was the floor; everything was reeling and tilting like a sinking ship. A carpet... a blue carpet, and beyond that, the door to a booth... Gods, his head hurt...

Teeth bared, Domino managed a weak gurgle. To his weak and confused surprise, he saw a few sparks dancing across the carpet floor toward the boots of the thugs. The embers grew stronger, building upon each other even as the pain in his head built, sparking and spitting and turning to tiny firecrackers of light, smoke, and heat. They were little more than distracting annoyances, but Domino couldn't turn them off. He could only watch as they snapped at the mens' heels, throwing sparks at their legs, flaring to the rhythm of the throbbing in his head. And the room – as a result – was beginning to warm up. In fact, it was beginning to get hot. Domino didn't know it, but he was quite accidentally erasing Naomi's own hard work from several moments earlier.

Above him, Yates was cottoning on. He glanced sharply at the firecrackers, and then thrust his gun harder into Domino's hair. "Hey! 'Sthat you? If you don't quit that shit, I'll blow your brains out right fuckin' now – and that goes for the precious little lady, too." He glanced at his companions, who all took confident steps forward, their guns trained on the mage.

"C-can't – help... it..." Domino rasped into the floor, and for his trouble he could hear a threatening click from the gun above him.

"One more word," hissed Yates.

 

[Winter]

~"I hate guns... they only make a mess"~​

~The Flying Courage Carriage 8~​

Naomi drew her arm back as the fist of ice collided with her first target, grounding him with the sting of colds embrace. Of course he wasn't unconscious, that'd be far too much of a dramatic reaction to such a basic attack and her intention certainly wasn't to kill. The young woman rotated her arms and moved into an elegant stance that resonated, the water around her responding as it encircled her, moving as if it were possessively defending her against the attackers.

"Woman's a mage!"

The words brought forth a small amount of amusement across her features, the ignorance of these men some what entertaining her. For the word 'Mage' was a poor title to describe her ability, her power innate and not something learned from a tome of magic or taught by a magister. Her smile would fade as the next sequence of events unfolded before her, spotting a baton as it came down hard on the newly arrived man before a gun was placed against his head.

The young woman exhaled, her breath pluming in front of her before dissipating into the moist crisp air. She was indeed aware for the discomfort she was bringing to the bystanders by dropping the carriages temperature, but it became necessary in controlling her environment against uneven odds. Her eyes flitted between the hijackers and the man held at gun point, bringing her hands closer to her frame as she pieced together a strategy to turn the tables once more.

Naomi would close her eyes and once again tap into the sounds around her, noting every detail from the shuffling of feet to the click of the pistol above the mans head. In her mind she could see their positions far more clearly than if she'd used her eyes, just by concentrating on the sounds they made and the intricacies within those sounds and what they suggested. She opened her eyes once more as her mind settled upon a plan, one which just might work providing the man had quick enough reflexes.

She took a step forwards into a nimble spin, twisting her midsection as she extended and arm towards the floor, the snake of water spilling across it as if a large cup had been pushed over. Her other arm curled into an upwards motion, the other stream of water that hung in the air following the motion before it spread out in front of her into a wall, providing her with some cover against the guns. The young woman would then crouch and with an audible growl she threw both her arms upwards.

From the water that'd been spread across the floor, columns of ice would shoot upwards, some striking the hijackers while others were dodged, forcing them out of position. The man they called Yates took a column of ice to the chin, causing him to reel backwards with a growl of pain as the gun came away from Domino's head briefly. 'I hope you've got something over there' she thought to herself, hoping the man had some way of getting himself away or making use of the moment to attack.

 

[Dannyel]

The Flying Courage Carriage 7
Josette, Cadfael, Cashmere, Rehna

"Are you part of the train robbers?" She asked.

"Guilder." Replied Josette curtly. "You're welcome."

"Weeel-" Rehna's incredulous reply was cut off with arrival of two more bandits - and their rifles. Just what they needed. Oh well, she'd chew out Blue for what she did to Cadfael later. Right now they had bigger fish to fry.

Blue seemed to be a kicker, and Rehna figured the least she could do would be to get her close enough to do it.

Meeting Blue's eyes, Rehna matched her wicked smile with one of her own. "They ain't seen crazy yet. Cover your eyes."

Throwing up her right hand, she clenched her fist and the design on the back of the gauntlet flashed brightly. Now, it wouldn't be nearly as effective as it would been in a dark alley at night, but it should still have them seeing spots.

Turning, she tackled Cashmere and pulled her to the ground, shielding her with her body. As she curled up around the Guilder, she could hear her gauntlet hiss.

Damn bulb had burned out. Well, it was good while it lasted.

 

[Warden]

The Flying Courage: Carriage 3

Estefania could see red.

Oh, it wasn't because the first thing she saw when she reopened her eyes was the intricate scarlet wallpaper. Neither was it due to her abrupt loss, although the resulting embarrassment and disbelief contributed greatly. They were taking her sword. Her sword. Even a thousand of their ilk couldn't compensate for the value of its hilt alone, never mind the blade! She knew its every groove and edge like one would an extension of her own body. Only she could wield it; it was hers and hers alone. To steal it would be to commit an unforgivable, personal offense against her person.

Despite Estefania's struggling, her petite frame made it easy for the mercenaries to tie her against a table leg. The condesa began to seethe again, her flushed cheeks reaching a brighter hue. Treated like a cargo worker would a burlap sack! If the half of her face and the near entirety of her body weren't so aggravatingly numb, she would've… Well, she would've done something! Her legs just felt like two useless pillars of dough at the moment.

The thieves began rifling through her luggage bag, and she had a feeling they were doing so in plain sight to further offend her. The condesa inhaled deeply, but in truth she was starting to have a difficult time controlling herself. After a few tries, the fiery color obstructing her vision began to pale. She was beyond furious… but she didn't want to throw a fit, not even if her face felt like it was on fire. She had to remember to face defeat with grace!

Even if it was the first time she lost ever. Or that one of them had the audacity to answer her challenge with such brazen terms. Or that the four of them attempted to assault her, a true blooded noble, with one of them actually scoring a hit. Or that they had defiled her possessions with their filthy paws. Or that they were taking her rapier as a token of victory.

Estefania began to see red again.

 

[Pachamac]

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 18

The back of his body slammed roughly against the metal side of the container/carriage, slumping down to the floor with an agonised groan. From across the way of the nondescriptly dressed guardian in hoodie and beanie hat of Carriage 18 was the hijacker's commander Volcun, looking in his opponent's direction with a terrifying grin. This battle that the two were engaged in was instilling a sensation of pure delight within the large, muscular villain, an elation which could not be easily abated. Not even when his three underlings called out to him.

"Boss!" Cried out one. "We're getting reports from the others of resistance across the train in numerous carriages! Some of the passengers are trying to fight back!"

"So?" Retorted Volcun, passing back only the briefest of glances. "Of course there's people foolish enough to try and fight back. There always are some clueless idiots who like to pretend that they're heroes. So what?"

"...boss?"

"You're all professionals, aren't you? Deal with them. Don't let a bunch of ragtag morons get in the way of your job, or else you'll have me to answer to!"

"Y-yes sir!!" With that, the three armed men turned and motioned themselves out of the carriage and back towards number 17, communicating over the radio to begin co-ordinating the various groups of hijackers to start fighting back. Very soon those desperate few who sought to resist the machinations of the train's hijackers would find the situation grow more and more desperate by the second.

But meanwhile...

Distracted briefly as he was through ordering his men, Volcun didn't see the attack from his nameless adversary come until it hit, another direct smash against Volcun's face with the blunt edge of the battering ram-esque board attached to the man's right arm. The sheer force and shock of the attack pushed Volcun's body back into a short skid. He grinned again, his entire being brimming with excitement.

Volcun's hand swung out and struck his attacker with a mighty backhanded slap, interrupting the man's subsequent attempt to hit Volcun and instead send him reeling backwards, crashing into a metal shelf and sending it and the contents it carried spilling down across the ground.

"You got guts, kid. But guts ain't enough."

 

[Kettlehead]

The Flying Courage, Carriage 8

The man they called Yates took a column of ice to the chin, causing him to reel backwards with a growl of pain as the gun came away from Domino's head briefly.

It was a short chance, and Domino nearly missed it. His head still felt like pulverized jelly, but with a grunt, he managed to roll sideways, out from under the enormous man's legs –

There was a BANG, enormously loud and extremely close in the crowded corridor. A gun. The floor inches from Domino's head splintered and shattered. He felt the shrapnel graze through his shoulder, catch his cheek. "You asked for it, water mage!" he heard Yates bellow, and the barrel of a gun swung above his head, searching for a truer target. Behind him, he heard the other soldiers begin shooting too – probably towards the woman.

That got him moving. The boy yelped and twisted upwards, and as he did, the firecrackers dancing on the carpet exploded outward, not with force but with a great plume of thick grey smoke. Like an unstoppable stormfront, the smoke filled the cramped carriage in seconds, and the gunfire rapidly ceased. The thugs began yelling, trying to scout out each other's positions in the haze. In the confusion, Domino dragged himself to a wall and slumped against it, trying to mask his panting (and his surprise).

"Someone open a window, dammit!" he heard Yates yell, somewhere in the fog. "And guard the exits! Don't let anyone escape!"

 

[Pachamac]

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 7
Josette, Cadfael, Cashmere, Rehna

Despite her warning, the subsequent use of Rehna's gauntlet's flashbulb attack blinded an ill prepared Josette just as much as it had the two hijackers with their weapons poised towards the three women. Muttering a loud and very foul laced swear, Josette shielded her eyes with her arm and tried desperately to blink out the spots that danced all across her vision. A warning was good, but a warning of what would have been better. Alas.

"Goddamnit girl, what the hell...?" Grunted Josette, using her free arm to try and feel around for the seats in order to steady her balance and gain sense of her surroundings.

That was when a chorus of gunfire rang out from the carriage adjacent to theirs - the Dining Cart. Little would any of those in Carriage No. 7 know, but the antics currently unfurling within the Dining Cart, courtesy of Domino and Naomi's manipulation of temperature and the subsequent smokescreen that had unfurled, inspired little more then absolute chaos for both that carriage and the ones adjacent. The two blinded riflemen started to panic, believing themselves to be being shot at, and so over exasperated yells they too started to fire.

"Get dow -- aghh!!" Yelled Josette to everyone inside the carriage, seconds too late. For it was then that a bullet whizzed past and hit her in the shoulder, barrelling her down forcefully to the ground. Clutching her wounded shoulder and hissing through clenched teeth, Josette unfurled another barrage of very unhappy swears. First being blinded, then being shot at... this was turning into a wonderful day, wasn't it?

From the open door in Carriage 6, Milia looked on at the men firing. Her whole entire body trembled. She... she couldn't believe what was happening. This... all of this was just so... so horrible. So wrong. She... she...

Despite all of the warning signs her brain was sending to her body, Milia couldn't help herself. Before she even realised it she was up and out of her seat, sprinting with all due haste in the direction of the thugish hijackers. To theirs, hers, and everyone else's surprise she barrelled straight into one of them, throwing them down to the ground in a rough and very awkward tackle that most likely hurt her more then it did them. With an agonised groan Milia gingerly rubbed her head. She had stopped the one she had tackled from firing, and given the other pause enough from sheer confusion, but it wasn't long before he trained his weapon on Milia instead.

---

Halfway across the Orial Bridge connecting the Continents of Arabrasia and Cerenis
The Flying Courage: Carriage 14

Frustrated by the irritating chase that Shiloh had led them all upon, especially when the man's so called priceless belongings was something as ridiculous as a picture book on squirrels, Tyrone slowly started to walk up to the robed mage, fist pounding into his palm. It didn't matter whether or not the man had now looked to have given up all hope of resistance, he still deserved the beating he had coming to him for what he had done to him and his men. An example, Tyrone thought, to demonstrate to everyone watching why resistance was ultimately futile and pointless. It really would go a lot better for everyone involved if they simply did what they told...

"Tyrone? Is this it?"

Stopping the man in mid way to proceeding to beat the ever loving daylights out of Shiloh was the appearance of several men from the door to Carriage 15. Raising an arched brow, Tyrone looked over towards them and frowned.

"What?"

"We've been hearing reports over the radio of resistance from the locals. Is that it?"

"...well he's been resisting, yeah. But I never sent out any report. Did you?" He turned to look around to his fellow companions, who all shook their head from side to side. "...sigh. Then there must be more of these idiots across the train."

"Don't waste your time with him then. Tie him up and then send your men on down to clear out the rest of the train. Keep two men to a carriage so we can carry on with the job, but no more then that. C'mon, we've got bigger things to worry about then just a kid."

"Right, right." A scant few minutes later and Shiloh was left tied up at one of the carriage's ends with an armed guard watching over him whilst a fellow hijacker proceeded to resume his business in robbing the train's passengers' blind. The rest of the hijackers all continued to move on down the carriage, swiftly meeting up with their companions in Carriage 12 and moving swiftly on from there.

Whilst atop the rooftop of Carriage 14, having overhead everything inside and Shiloh's plight...

"Well well, so that's how it is, hmm?" Flynn mused quietly to himself. "Nice to see that the kid has a backbone, and that there are others onboard who do too. Now the question is... how to take advantage of all this...?"

---

Current Character Locations:
Carriage 3: Bestefania
Carriage 7: Josette, Cadfael, Cashmere, Rehna, Milia
Carriage 8: Dining Area: Domino, Naomi
Carriage 14: Shiloh
Carriage 14: Rooftop: Flynn
Carriage 18: Volcun, ???​