Sanctuary Agency-Chapter 38 - 4th Arc

〘Date: 2/14 - Thursday〙

〘Time: 12:00 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Royal Creek - Red Panda Paradise〙

I sat along the play area of Momo's local zoo, playing and taking care of the pack of red pandas around me. Maika watched from the top of a slide, curiously swatting at a red panda's tail, the tiny creature scurrying off with panicked huffs.

"Maika, no swatting at the tails," I parented, pointing at her with a fatherly finger. "You know we're headed back to Oceanview next Sunday, don't make me snitch on you to your Mama."

Maika let out a vocal chatter, her meows laced with sarcasm and an eye roll following. Momo instigated in the background, snickering softly as she groomed her personal red panda on her lap.

"Your kitten's got some sass~ I bet she gets that from her mom. Who is the lucky mother, if it isn't any of the girls here," Momo asked, leaning back against me and rested her head upon my shoulder.

"Her lucky mother happens to be the Queen of Oceanview, Juliet von de Estrella. That woman is a handful, but she's a classy woman. She knows her way around actual Elite Class Status, unlike certain punks," I said, waving a rope around for the pandas to play with.

Momo gasped loudly and sat up quickly, setting Mojo down on the floor and pressed her chest against my back, wrapping her arms around me with excitement. "Oh em gee!!~ You've got to tell me how you even met and SWOONED the Winter Beauty like Juliet!~"

Maika's gaze flickered around with confusion from Momo's extreme reaction, one ear folding backwards. I chuckled softly as Momo gently pulled me back against her, causing me to gently lay atop of her, my head resting gently on her chest.

"Well...My cousin...half-sister... girlfriend type partner actually is very close to Juliet, she's her Advisor. I'm sure you've heard of Daphne's Perfect Kitchen right?" I asked, looking up at Momo and noticing her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah, me and Grandma watch her show all the time! I love Daphne's recipes even though I can never make it right..~" Momo softly giggled, gently playing with the hem of my shirt. "But wait, you said she's like your half-sister, girlfriend? How's that work?"

"Well, I have 15 half siblings, all of them sharing the same father as me and Desiree. Daphne is one of the fifteen Golden Children, inherited Dad's charisma and talent for sure," I answered, stretching lightly and reaching back to gently hold her nape.

"Huh...I guess they don't call you a tribe for nothing huh?~ So, Daphne and Juliet are close, and I'm guessing you connected with Juliet through Daphne?" Momo asked, tilting her head slightly with curiosity.

I chuckled softly at her curiosity, reaching up to push her glasses back on her face. "Yeah, they invited me to Winterfest with them and it was pretty fun. A standard outing for Austin."

Momo lightly snickered softly at my nonchalance, letting out a soft exhale of comfort. "A man gets to meet a Queen and treats her as if she's me. You're something else, Ry.."

"I know I—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Momo gently turned my head, leaning into me to plant a soft kiss upon my lips. I chuckled softly within the kiss, knowing it was her telling me to shut up in her own way. The kiss lasted for moments, each shared kiss between us deepening gradually.

Momo began to pull away slowly, a light hum sounding in her throat. "Sorry..~ I just didn't care to hear you gas yourself up for the next ten seconds..~"

"Yeah, whatever," I scoffed playfully, letting out a soft chuckle and teasingly pat her cheek.

Momo and I began to play fight carefully, sharing soft laughs until we heard the sound of someone knocking on the entrance door. We stopped our fight, turning toward the entrance and noticed Karin walking into the zoo with Matt.

"Yoo! We're back from getting some grub, and we're ready to get in some action! What we doing first, Sis?" Matt asked, making his way toward the play area and picked up Mojo from the floor.

"Honestly, I was thinking of taking it easy today. Especially after last night, you don't need to be doing jack shit," Momo said, resting her hands behind her head as she began to sit up and rest against a large stone behind her.

Karin chuckled softly at Momo's laid-back demeanor, walking toward us and taking a seat beside me and crossed one leg over the other. "While Matt is clearly recovering, Ryder isn't and we could really use his help in getting order back to The Spades. After all, if we are still serious about knocking Fredrick down, we need a bigger army."

"And that means a stable community to fight for the cause. The main issue we are facing right now are the Crooked Spades. Apparently from the talk around 5th and 7th Arc, The Fool killed Bear which is only adding targets for them to go after," Karin explained, leaning forward with her arms resting against her knees.

Momo and Matt glanced at each other, surprised that The Fool managed to actually beat and kill Bear, their gazes shifting over to me to see my reaction. I looked at the two of them, shrugging my shoulders and stood up on my feet with a soft grunt.

"They had it coming when they kidnapped the fiancee of the Mayor. But, that doesn't matter anymore...I won't allow us to stay in the gutter. I've already got plans on how to shift the Spades," I said, grabbing my keys and whistling for Maika to come with me.

"Eh? And where are you headed off to, Hot Stuff?" Momo asked, watching me rise to my feet and rose an eyebrow.

"I still have errands to run, plus I need to give Charlotte a call. I'll be back before 3 PM, but don't wait for me," I said in a charming tone, walking off with a wave, Maika quickly trotting behind me with a mewl.

"Bro thinks he's mysterious now," Matt teased, chuckling to himself and nudged his sister.

Momo rolled her eyes with a soft laugh, standing up on her feet as well and looked at Karin with a smile. "So, what's the plan for today? You crashing here for a few?"

Karin let out a soft sigh and tucked her hair behind her ear gently, closing her eyes with thoughtfulness. "Honestly, I wish I could...but after yesterday, The Spade District was just awarded $100,000 for saving Valerie and now I have to find a way to delegate this money into rebuilding."

"Ugh...I always hated the business aspect of these things, I just wanna knock some heads off and wipe Royal Creek clean of these goons! Especially after yesterday, I'm feeling more hype than ever!" Momo exclaimed, her eyes sparking with a fiery excitement within.

Matt smiled at Momo's renewed excitement, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get our chance, but for right now, let's allow the Queen and her new King to take some time to rebuild the Spade District."

Karin blushed softly at the implication of having me as her new King of Spades, letting out a shy, quiet grunt. She gently raked her fingers through her hair, standing up from her seat and exhaled softly. "Uh...yeah, what Matt said. Anyway, I'll give you a call if I need anything."

"For sure, sista!~" Momo giggled, waving goodbye to Karin as she walked off.

Karin's lips curled into a smile as she walked out the zoo, hearing Momo call her "sista" again for the first time in forever warming her heart. She got into her car, starting the image and let out a soft exhale, sitting back in her seat. She looked in the rearview mirror, noticing Jade and Allie riding down the street.

Allie held onto Jade's waist tightly, looking over Jade's shoulder to see the GPS. "So, where are we going again?"

"We're heading to 4th Arc, apparently there are some of Karin's old allies living there. Miriam and some girl named Voize... apparently they used to be big names around the Spade District," Jade explained, weaving through the traffic and revving her engine before splitting through the lanes.

Allie grunted softly as she braced herself for Jade's dangerous stunts, her grip around her waist becoming tighter. "Okay! But, are Wendy and Desiree going to help us out here?"

"Not sure! Wendy said she and Desiree were going to be meeting with Ryder for their organization business! We can call them if it comes down to it, I don't think it's gonna be that bad!" Jade replied, raising her voice enough for Allie to hear her.

Allie nodded, gently resting against Jade's back and closed her eyes, putting her trust in Jade's hands. "Alright! Let's get to it then!"

Jade hummed in response, speeding down the highway, pushing 110 down the asphalt. As her bike raced through the traffic, a gust of wind began to blow, a weak black and green dust devil forming along the top of a gas station near an exit.

The dust devil dispersed, forming into a cloak of raven feathers then I reached out to grab it, putting it on and the Mask of The Fool forming on my face. I watched as Jade and Allie rode toward Spade's 4th Arc, using Synco on Allie to track her whereabouts at any moment.

"So, Joker..~ What's your game plan? Planning to clean the streets as The Fool? 4th Arc isn't crawling with Crooked Spades unlike the other Arcs," Desiree questioned, walking next to me and leaning against the balcony of the rooftop, glancing over at me.

I hummed softly as I looked down at Phroa, noticing she had an hour of work left before we got paid our Daily Credi. "I'm thinking about actually leveling up my Art of Love...I'm getting the hang of the Arts, and I do need stronger abilities if I'm gonna contend with these experienced fighters."

"Until I know I can run in head first, I'm continuing my Ambush Tactics," I said, looking over at Desiree and fixing her mask on her face.

Desiree hummed softly at me, gently taking my hand and holding it in hers with warmth. "Look at you..~ More confident than your first time, my Tribal Prince is growing up so fast!"

"Oh stop it, and stop exposing me you fool! You wouldn't like if I just unmasked you right here right?" I scoffed, my usual sass returning in my tone.

Desiree gasped dramatically, gasping her pearls, literally, and recoiling sarcastically. "You wouldn't dare!"

Wendy watched us from the background, chuckling softly to herself and got off a phone call then snapped her flip phone in half. She adjusted her suit and hat, humming softly. "Alright, you two, The Boss gave us the clear. Spade District's police force will not target anyone associated with us, so we are free to flip this District upside down..~"

"Good," I said, my tone lowering into a mix between menacing and joking, my gaze shifting toward the 4th Arc Sign.

Desiree giggled at my dark excitement, knowing any Crooked Spades in 4th Arc were in for a ride awakening. "Alrighty~ Let's head out and support Jade and Allie's mission from the shadows."

Wendy and I nodded, each of us readying ourselves to split up once again. Desiree blew me a playful kiss, using advanced alchemy to teleport away, her body flickering out with a flash of blue light.

Wendy waved at me and ran toward the back of the gas station, vaulting off the roof and landing on an old abandoned car. She got inside smoothly, the car's body shifting into her personal car's model, a gray Flair Odyssey X2. She turned on the engine and drove off on the off road, taking a shortcut to 4th Arc.

I glanced down at Maika, who waited patiently for me to make my move. I smiled at her and picked her up, placing her around my shoulders. "Hang on tight, okay?"

Maika mewled, latching her claws onto my cloak and braced herself for take off. I spread the wings of my raven cloak, black winds rushing around and temporarily blinding everyone around. Once I took off, the calls of ravens echoed in the air, black feathers falling upon the ground.

The few people around the scene looked around perplexed, noticing the flock of ravens flying away and their black essence raining down gently upon them. The civilians murmured to themselves, wondering if the gas station was cursed with a bad omen.

〘Date: 2/14 - Thursday〙

〘Time: 1:00 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Spade District - 4th Arc〙

Jade swerved through the traffic on the road, grunting softly as she began splitting lanes to avoid the on going chaos on the streets. Allie held onto Jade even tighter, giving Jade call outs on where to avoid to escape a wreck.

Jade began drifting along a four way, Akira Sliding forward and came to a stop, noticing Crooked Spade members raiding and vandalizing the area, spraying The Old Sword logos upon the walls and cars. Allie let go of Jade with caution, her eyes nervously flicking around to access the situation.

"Not such a welcoming Arc...and escaping ain't gonna be as easy. The tires on my bike are wearing thin," Jade said, getting off her motorcycle and taking off her helmet.

Allie got off the motorcycle as well, taking off her helmet and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She felt a familiar tingle down her back, feeling my presence watching over her like a silent guardian.

"They are close by...I can feel him.." Allie relaxed, turning her gaze toward Jade for the next steps.

Jade gently grabbed Allie's hand, making her way toward the sidewalk and began to make an escape. "Well, that's refreshing, but we can't stay for too long. We're outnumbered."

Allie nodded and began trucking it behind Jade, the two of them rushing down the street to a safer location. Both girls panted as they covered a few blocks, both deciding to cut into an alleyway in order to find some form of order in the Arc.

Allie looked ahead, noticing a man standing coolly against the wall and began to slow down, whispering to Jade if they should as for directions. After a bit of back and forth, Allie decided to step to the plate and ask for directions to either Miriam's or Voize's house.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir!" Allie called out innocently, approaching the man with a docile gaze.

The man grunted lightly as he turned to look at Allie and Jade, his lips curling into a sharp grin. He rose his sharp, angular shades to the top of his head, his light blue eyes shimmering with curiosity. "Well, well...what are you two lost damsels doing in 4th Arc..?"

Jade studied the man's demeanor, her guard tightening around him as his eyes began to scan all over their bodies. "We're taken, thanks. All we need are some directions. Do you happen to know where Miriam lives or who Voize is?"

The man met Jade's hardened gaze, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat. He rose his sharp gaze, his blue eyes gleaming with a sinister glow. "Ahh, so you're allied with the same bitch who sold us out..."

Allie grunted as the man's tone changed, backing away from him with Jade and quickly reached for her handgun. Before she could react, she and Jade froze at the sound of the man's gun being cocked back.

"Before you can think of drawing out your gun, you two would already be on the news. Karin's allies are not welcome here..." The man said, readying himself to pull the trigger.

"Sigh...you're so dramatic, Lando...it's borderline goofy," Another male voice sounded, approaching Lando and lowering his gun with a calm hand.

Jade's and Allie's bodies began to relax as they watched the gun lower, the two of them still making distance from the two men. The second man looked at Allie and Jade, tilting his head and letting out a curious hum.

'I've seen the dark aesthetic girl before, but I have no clue who the second one is. Though...her energy is vastly stronger than the Rockstar beside her,' The man thought to himself, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Yo! What's the big idea, Free? You sucking up the fake tits of that traitor? Ain't the whole idea to knock off Karin's little pawns?" Lando barked, growling lowly of frustration from Free's calm interference.

"We aren't Bear and Escobar...we are not mindless brutes. We want our voices heard, but killing innocent people who simply support Karin is plain terrorism," Free said, rubbing the back of his neck and groaned lightly.

"However, these two seem like they would be in Karin's inner circle. They could make good use for us," Free continued, his dull gaze locking onto Allie's.

Allie grunted softly at Free's dangerous gaze, her body heating up from his threatening presence. "Jade..?"

"Yeah...I know, can't catch a break," Jade said, keeping her eyes on Lando and Free, reading their body language for some form of advantage.

Lando grinned at the girls, cracking his knuckles then walked toward them. "Well, enough standing around. I've been waiting to beat something up, man or woman, it doesn't matter!"

Jade watched Lando launch the first punch and pushed Allie out of the way, raising her arm to block Lando's blow. Jade grunted heavily from the force of Lando's attack, her guard breaking immediately, but she quickly recovered to dodge Lando's next punch.

Jade responded back with a cross to Lando's face, staggering him then followed it with a straight charge, driving his back into the wall. Lando grunted heavily as he hit the wall, grabbing onto Jade and tossing her off him with ease.

"Heh, you're one of the more resilient ones...I like that," Lando taunted, watching as Jade rose back to her feet.

Jade wiped her mouth slowly, catching her breath for a moment and began to grow more serious. She knew there was no running since they were faster than she and Allie were, but she knew she wasn't out of options.

"Hmph...You know, you talk real tough for someone kicking distance," Jade scoffed, flipping her hair and placing her hand her on her hip with a sassy expression on her face.

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"Yeah like I'd let that happen!" Lando scoffed, charging toward Jade once again.

From behind, Allie cut off his route with a low diving tackle to the back of his left knee, taking him onto one knee. Jade understood the assignment immediately, driving her foot against the side of Lando's head with a Roundhouse Kick, stunning him for a moment.

Jade followed with a Superkick to his face, causing him to groan and rise to his feet. With a primal scream, Allie charge at him with a step up knee strike, taking him against a wall then pulling him down for her Pretty Knees, driving his face into both her knees.

Lando held his face as he began to recover back into one knee, cursing to himself as he staggered a bit. "What the hell are these chicks o—"

Jade immediately turned Lando around, her eyes flashing with survival as she struck him with her Jaded Diamond, bringing him to the ground with a diamond cutter. Allie quick dove to catch Jade, making Jade let go of Lando mid fall.

Free grunted softly as Lando landed face first on the ground, shaking his head and letting out a soft exhale. "Geez man, four years ago you were the man, beating Escobar and Bear in fights. What happened?"

"Shutyobitchassup," Lando mumbled quickly under his breath, laying on the ground in waste and defeat.

Free smirked at Lando's retort, shrugging his shoulders then turned to face Jade and Allie. His gaze remained gull, his eyes gray almost as if they were void of emotion. "Well, you managed to beat my brother...if you were smart, you would've hightailed it out of here, but you're still here."

"I'm curious...why are you two looking for our sister?" Free asked, walking down the alleyway and blocking the girls' only point of escape.

Jade scoffed lightly at Free, holding Allie back with protection and met Free's unsettling gaze. "She, Voize, and Karin used to be close allies along with The Swords once right? We are in need of allies and supporters to help rebuild the Spade District and take down Fredrick's rule."

"We can do that without Karin, and the last person Miriam and Voize will listen to is Karin and everyone who supports her. Besides, if anyone's getting to Miriam first, it's us. Her family," Free declared, adjusting the sleeve of his jacket, yellow energy slowly gathering around his body.

"So that's why you're vandalizing your own sister's Arc? Some family you are... I bet you'd even throw your own family under the bus when it's most convenient for you huh?" Jade spat with disdain, her gaze hardening with defiance.

Free smirked at Jade and tilted his head slightly, his demeanor remaining cool under Jade's judgemental gaze. "You can say and believe whatever you'd like, all I'm saying is that Karin's rule is over. It's time a new Royal steps up."

"Karin's had four years to fix her problems...and she's spent the last four years hiding away after Momo burned it all because of her. The Swords ruined Spade, and those are facts," Free said coldly, his voice holding a matter of fact tone with deep certainty.

"You're wrong! You all continue to blame The Swords when all they wanted was to keep Grandma Amelia's legacy! Fredrick ruined Royal Creek as a whole and you aren't debating that!" Allie called out, stepping forward with an outburst of passion.

"It's people like you that's hindering us! That's why we are all going to clean up the streets from you as well!" Allie roared, preparing herself to fight through Free.

"While that may be true...we have our reasons for doing what we do. So, if you two want to keep walking freely, I suggest you two turn away. If you want to see Miriam, you'll have to get past me," Free challenged, taking his hands out of his jacket pockets, revealing a green gauntlet upon his right hand.

Allie glared at Free, knowing what she and Jade had to do to complete their task. She charged toward Free with a furious attack, but Free effortlessly dodged Allie, grabbing the back of her collar then swung her back toward Jade.

Allie grunted as she rolled backwards, her heart gradually racing faster while she stood back up and charged toward Free again, shifting her approach. She completely calmed herself, pulses of Silver-Blue energy flashing around her body with pure concentration, her first strike landing upon Free's stomach.

Free grunted as he staggered lightly, immediately countering with a left cross upon Allie's cheek, using his strength to try to knock her to the ground. Allie growled lowly, resisting Free's power as she began to obtain a tribal passion inside her eyes, her Love Sigil beginning to lightly glow.

'She's getting stronger..? How is this possible..?' Free thought to himself, dodging Allie's counter strike then gave her a big boot to her stomach, blasting her backwards into a group of trash cans.

Jade rushed behind Free with a chop to his neck, but her hand struck an afterimage, Free's body rippling into thin air before reappearing behind Jade. Jade felt her back tense up, sensing Free behind her and dropped to the ground to dodge Free's haymaker.

Allie charged forward once more, using Jade as she was down for a perfect step up knee strike to Free's face before chaining it into a hurricanrana, flipping Free onto his back with her legs and momentum. Jade went in for the finishing Curbstomb on Free to end the fight, but Lando quickly blasted Jade away with a burst of black fire energy.

Jade grunted as her back hit the wall, her body falling onto one knee on the ground with exhaustion. She looked up, noticing Lando helping Free to his feet. Allie hurried to Jade's aid, getting on one knee with her.

Free panted softly as he looked at the two girls, chuckling softly at them and pointed down the alleyway. "Alright...you two got it for now. If you want to reach Miriam's house, keep going straight and turn onto Suite Lane. Just be warned, this ain't over just yet.."

Allie and Jade didn't waste any energy replying back, the two of the scrambling up on their feet and hurrying away from the two men they fought and luckily survived. Free and Lando watched as they left, the two brothers retreating as well into the alleyway.